Need some input... kinda long

Many of you know me and some do not. I am in a pickle!! I am about 2 years out of VSG and am having a battle with my weight or head...cannot figure out which one!!

Okay, so I got to 130 lbs last year. That was my lowest and when I weighed that went in for a breast augmentation and a tummy tuck. They took 2 lbs of skin off my tummy and my boobs weigh 2 lbs. I gained 14 just from fluids and ect, but 5 of those lbs never went away!! :(

Sooo....I was recouping from my surgery in which they tightened my muscles and it sucked and was released to start working out 3 months post op. Weighing 135 lbs I was working out 4 to 5 days a week, but just kept gaining....I got my body fat percentage done by my gym at the end of last year and it came out to be 25 percent body fat. So, not bad, but was hoping for 24 percent! Plus, I was still 11 lbs from my "goal" of 124 which would put me as normal on the charts.

I was still tracking what I ate, but seemed no matter what the lbs kept coming on...I started doing weight training and now weigh 143, which is 13 from my lowest and 19 from my goal weight. While I have been told that BMI charts are not accurate for individuals, it bothers me to death that I have seen a lower number in this journey...

Oh, yeah. I forgot to say that I got to a size 4 and can still wear them to this day. They are a little more snug on my butt and thighs and that bothers me, but I also know i have more muscle in those areas thanks to the stairmaster! So...I do cardio 3 to 4 times a week for an hour each time and then have a lifting program from a trainer that I do 3 times a week and it switches routine every 3 weeks. It has seemed since April (when I got my plastics) I have been dedicated, not perfect, but dedicated, and the scale DOES NOT budge! If i do lose a couple of pounds a day later it is back on.

Then I got to thinking...when I was on weigh****chers I got to 143 and tried for a year to get under that and my body would just NOT budge another pound. That is also what I weighed in high school and was not by any means a big girl.

My question is...is it my head or did my body lose to 130 and then say wooww, this is not where I am supposed to be and put weight on to that magic number...143?

I need some input because if I am really at "my body's special number" I have to go through admitting that and moving on because it seriously eats me alive! I do feel great and I mean, I am in a size 4! Ha. it is just those dad gum numbers. I have seen it lower...sooo...although I am told I need to not only go by the scale since I am intensely working out, but by my muscle and stuff...it still bothers me, but I just don't know if I really am done or just need to push through for another 9 months!

I will go again at the end of May and get my body fat percentage done. I am going to do it every 6 months and we shall see then what my BFP is nowadays!

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you all have some input. Nice to know I still have all you guys to lean on when non sleevers dont understand.

 If you are gaining weight but your clothes still fit and you are working out and doing strength training than you are gaining muscles. This is a GOOD THING and it's why our scale and our weight can only tell  us so much about what we doing.

Did you see this in Val's thread:

Attention Scale Addicts

Well, I saw it now! Haha. I just thought that 8 lbs since devoted weight training may be a little on the how in the world side!? If it were just a couple than I would be a believer that is the main reason.

Thanks for sharing that blog! Amazing that she looks so much better, yet didnt lose a pound! She looks GREAT!

How long ago did you have plastics?  I ask because many people still have sweeling for almost a year out.

What are your measurements?  And other indicators of body size?  Are you tracking your food?

Ms Shell

I had plastics April 28th. Soo...9 months ago and yes, I feel I still have a tad bit of swelling at night in my midsection.

Also, I do track. Not every day anymore, but probably every other week to make sure I stay on track! As far as measurements...I have never measured anything but my body fat. I should have and will probably have my husband do so to put a stop to this horrible number game I have been playing bc in the end...if I am not gaining inches than chances are I am not gaining weight!!

How are you Ms. Shell? Haven't seen you in forever! I need to get on more often.

I am WONDERFUL love trying to get my head on straight to get this regain off.

If you were a tracker.  Starting say tomorrow.  Weigh yourself, measure yourself and start tracking.  Do it for 2 weeks and see what happens if you lose/gain/change inches etc?  It's worth a shot just to see right?

Ms Shell

Hi there,

I have to say that I would be very happy with a size 4!  I think you are probually full of muscles!  How tall are you?
It sounds to me like your body is happy at this weight..and I mean a size 4 is pretty darn good...do you really want to be smaller?  The number on the scale is just one part of things...how we feel and how we feel lin our clothes means alot.  Maybe you are being too hard on yourself and your body is just right!  Think about it...what if you were someone else and they asked you this question..what would you say?  (does that make sense?)  I bet your look great...but you need to feel great!

by the way...I am 6 weeks out from my TT and I love it!  I went down 1 size to a size 8 and am very happy with that.  I have honestly never been any smaller of a size .again..how tall are you?
I hope you get the answers you are looking for.
Patty

Thanks, PBJ! I am happy with the size 4, definately. I just feel that so many on here get to there goal weight or under and I feel sometimes as if it is failure if I dont. I do feel great the majority of times and I am 4'11"! Short, yes I am! Haha. 

Anyway, thats why I said it is a battle with my brain. The majority of time I feel good, but my head tells me I am not done bc of what the scale says!

I am loving my TT also. Although, I feel I need to go in for some revisions! BOO. That was the worse thing I have ever done in my life...they wouldnt have to tighten the muscles with revisions so I think it would be 100 times better! Hubs and I are not excited about this and I am not ready!

"Thanks, PBJ! I am happy with the size 4, definately. I just feel that so many on here get to there goal weight or under and I feel sometimes as if it is failure if I dont."

I didn't plan for it to work out like this, but it turns out that not having a specific weight number in mind has really put a stop to a lot of that thinking. I still occasionally beat myself up for not being able to sustain the lowest number I got like lots of people do, but I do my best not to do that either.

I believe that we are trained from birth to never be happy with ourselves. The media and Madison Avenue fuel this. But so do certain cultures and certain parenting styles. Some people put a spin on it like it's a good thing: I have high standards for myself. But I think mostly it's not a good thing. Mostly it's not really about having high standards -- because being a size 4 (or 2 in my case) and losing tons of weight and changing your life around certainly meets a pretty high standard -- it's about beating ourselves up for not being perfect.

So, um, cut it out! 

Yeah, I know it's not that easy. But finding my "happy weight" is a goal for me now. I've decided that it's crazy to be unhappy when I'm at an excellent weight for my age and frame, just not a fantastic weight. So rather than putting the energy towards beating myself up, I put it into not beating myself up and figuring out what is the best weight for me given what I am and am not willing to do to maintain my weight.

 I find the scale a bit frustrating now...It was terrific when I had tons of pounds to lose, but when you are working out a lot with weights and when you are close to ideal goal weight and body fat %, the scale becomes less effective in the feedback we need.

I am going up and down by as much as 5 lbs periodically. Some days I go up a pound, down a pound, up a pound, etc...it really is meaningless.

In the meantime, my clothes fit the same, but my body is becoming tighter and firmer....you really should do your measurements! Many times, I am losing a good amount of inches, with no pounds registering on the scale.

With that being said, if you were gaining size and pounds, I would increase your reps and lower your weight, and stop doing the stairmaster...Instead I would do running sprints for cardio. When I do this, I burn fat & muscle, and really slim down...of course, now since WLS, anytime I start doing too much cardio, I lose my butt! LOL.....