Having a tough time--need encouragement

 Yes I have been looking through the DS board to see if anyone there had the 2 stage process and did find one woman who has the DS scheduled for Aug. I asked her to keep me up on her progress. As far as I understand my surgeon does not do DS but he would do a RNY with the sleeve, so further surgery is not out of the question yet. 

Even though 13 pounds of skin doesn't seem like a lot, I have it in strange places like right above my knees and it hangs over my kneecap. I am a bottom heavy hourglass shape, much of my weight is below my waist and in my legs. I think it would really help my mobility even more to get that taken care of.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I feel your frustration.  It sounds like you are doing what you can.  Have you considered going to Weigh****chers or some other groupo such as TOPS?  I go to TOPS weekly and find that being accountable to those scales is motivating.  Do you log everything you eat and drink?  I find that makes me accountable too and find calorie counting as somewhat cumbersome at times, I know it keeps me on track. 

Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do!

 Thank you for your response. My WLS group has support groups twice a month and I can visit the nut as often as I wish and get weighed in on the Tanita scale. I do track my food and my exercise so I know there is a deficit.

I agree with the others, 136 lbs is fantastic.  You should be very proud of your accomplishment and your improved health.  I am 3.5 years out.  I reached my goal and it actually made me look really old and haggard, I looked much better with 10-15 lbs, plus it was hard for me to maintain.  I did well and maintained my weight for over 2 years. ... then life and a lot of issues I could not handle happened and I returned to food to cope.  I gained 20 lbs in 10 months eating a lot of junk.  I went back to my shrink, Weight Loss Doc (not the surgeon he is an  endocronologist) and saw the nut.   I got one of those tests for my BMR,  I knew it was low, it was confirmed.   If you have insulin resistance, PCOS or something else going on check with a doc who specializes in that....   I did the cottage cheese test and my amount I can eat is the same as it was at 1 yr out.  I can eat about 5 oz of cottage cheese in the 5 mins of the test, so the sleeve has not stretched, it was just what I was putting in it!

Do you know what size sleeve you have ?  and what is your capacity??   Sounds like you are doing everything right. 

My weight gain equaled eating 200-250 calories more than my body was using packing on 2 lbs a month.  I have lost about 15 lbs and am maintaining.  That was at 3 years out, so losing is not out of the question.   I am now ready to tackle that last 10 lbs.  I am working on my exercise, you are doing a much better job in that area.  I was able to reach my goal without exercise, but cannot maintain without it!

As to another procedure, you need to decide if losing that weight is really important or not, and follow your gut feelings and your heart.  I would worry about the malabsorption with either procedure and getting good nutrition.    I currently cannot afford plastics and refuse to go into debt for them.  I'm sure you realize if you loose alot more weight plastics will possibly be an issue.   I know I would lose about 10 lbs or more if I had the skin removed. 

As to choice of procedure, you will need to do your research.   You may want to see if there is a good DS surgeon in your area and get a consultation.   

Good luck and don't give up. 

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it.
 
Yes, If i did not exercise I would have gained weight back, because on those days when the emotions get the best of me, my rational mind is out of the equation when it comes to making food choices. Besides that I use exercise for stress relief.

My sleeve looked like a drinking straw when I saw the leak test after the surgery. I know it is narrow but long (strange for a short waisted woman). I still have restriction, no doubt about it.

I know my BMR is lower than what the charts or food trackers say. I still have to keep the calories at 800 to lose and if I go over 1200 I stall. And that really sucks. I don't have PCOS or insulin resistance. But if that is what my BMR is actually, no wonder I became SMO.

I am incorporating the visualization of my metabolism being turned up, seeing a little knob turned to 2000 calories for maintenance. Lee reminded me of that resource I have available (and its free, just a little time commitment).