ObesityHelp

I am maintaining my weight at around 220lbs... I get a lot of compliments and most of the people around me either weigh more or "look" bigger than me. I think two of my biggest problems with my weight loss has been my increasing difficulty of my illnesses (which are preventing working out) and my eating habits. Since surgery, I dont really eat a "meal". I hardly ever sit down with a plate of food and i think this a big problem. When i do sit down with a plate of food, it is waaaaay too much food. I tend to over eat and my stomach hurts and then come the "foamies"... So, against my doctor's advice, I will be going back on a strict diet of vegan protein shakes and raw vegan juicing for a while. Im hoping to get back on track with my eating habits, loose more weight in the process and clean out my body of all the toxins i have been putting in it. Meat and meat proteins have not been my friend since surgery. I try not to compare myself to others on this site who have lost a significant amount of weight , with the same surgery over a much shorter time frame-mostly because i DID have many complications post-op, now i have been diagnosed with fibro/lupus making my dietary needs different than anticipated, have had a lot of other things to stem from this surgery. I definitely see that the compression garments are key to looking better, bc it doesnt matter how much weight you loose you will have the excess skin. I think this is something i will be stuck with-as not too many doctors want to operate on lupus patients, as it takes longer to recover and the complications are higher risk. I DO think my pouch has stretched, also slowing down my weight loss. Since i never really measured myself on how much I was eating from the beginning, now I just kinda eat things in passing and keep it moving. I do have slight feeling of hunger, but i am noticing that over time my old habits have slipped into my diet. Not eating breakfast, not eating small meals throughout the day, i am eating regular sugars and sometimes even fried food. One good thing i will say though, is that my body will still let me know when i have messed up... If i do intake too much simple sugar or fried food, i feel really sick. Fried food hurts and sugar makes me feel like i have food poisoning. I am going to be updating my progress on my new detox and fresh fruit/veggie juice fasting i will be doing in the next month. I am hoping to clean my colon and my liver (mostly), while incorporating my fresh veggies and fruits. I have to get back on the wagon. Im hoping that this will in turn drop me at least under 200lbs, get my mouth used to eating "properly" again and with the increase of antioxidents in my body, will help my issues with my pain from my other diagnosis. we will see where this all takes me...

I am very close to reaching my goal weight and have been told by my doc to stop! o_O my illnesses will cause me to loose weight w/o effort... Who knew... Just gotta watch and see what happens i guess... Will update again soon...

I know I'm a couple days late... But better late than never. Well, I must say that this past yr has been a true life changing and learning experience! People have asked me often if I had to do it again would I... Honestly, with everything I've experienced I'm not sure if i would. Yes, I have had weight loss success. Yes, I have gotten lots of compliments. Yes, I can see a huge difference in my lifestyle. But there have also been changes and issues that may have been avoided had I not had weight loss surgery. My weight loss has revealed medical issues that were being attributed to my weight... Fibromyalgia and lupus. I know take a crap load of meds that i wasn't on pre surgery... I can't take my all reliable ibuprophen, this change has been the biggest problem for me as I have widespread pain, and am now on narcotics... I almost died 3times,post op... I try to tell those who ask don't take my situation as the rule... Everyone's situation is different. I'm just glad I did actually make it to my SURGIVERSARY and lost the weight I was aiming for. My actual goal weight is still out of reach right at this moment, but I know i have to this in my own time. To all those reading this, I wish you a safe and pleasant journey on your weight loss... It's not always as easy as it looks...

my weight loss has stalled. i have never been a "small" person so i have had some reservations about my weight loss overall... i wanted to be at a "healthy" weight, but i think my goal (on a personal level) is unrealistic. I am now able to eat mostly anything i want. Of course in very small portions. but i find myself "grazing" all day because when i sit down for a "meal" i tend to either eat to fast or over eat and then im hurting... I think i want to get down about another 30-50 lbs and MAYBE touch "wonderland" (just for the sake of saying i did it!), but i dont want to pressure myself into loosing much more weight. My weight loss has uncovered lots of medical issues i didnt know i had and was once attributed to my obesity. But i hate coming on OH and seeing how others have lost so much more weight than me in a much shorter time. I DO have a lot of loose skin, however, with my weight loss stall im seeing my body "readjust" to the loss and it doesnt seem to look as bad as it once did. I have had a lot of hair loss too. But i have to be honest. I dont eat like i should and i dont take my vitamins/calcium supplements at all. I know i dont drink enough of anything (let alone water). So i understand that my weight loss has a lot to do with my bad habits and i am working on that. I have considered the fact that this was a life threatening surgery AND post-op, but when life takes over and my other illnesses...i just dont focus enough on ME to take care of ME. I have yet to get ino a gym. I did 1 gym experience since i have been released, but my other docs are telling me not to do it until they can get a handle on other ailments of my body. When i feel "GOOD", its good. When i feel bad, its really bad and i find myself regreting the surgery. People often tell me how good i look and they are so happy for me. and they just dont know the struggles i have on a daily basis simply BECAUSE i had this surgery. Im glad for those people who have had it,love it, love life and everything there is to enjoy being a smaller person and having lost the weight you had targeted for. All im saying is this may not have been the best thing for me... 

im just past 7months post op. ive been having a bunch of tests done. Turns out i ultimately DID have a "botched" surgery. i dont even know what my recourse is at this point. this would explain my slow weight loss all these months, my nausea, feeling of hunger...etc... my "pouch" looks more like a slightly larger tennis ball perched on top of a tube about 1/4in wide... it just all feels so wrong. this journey has been bitter sweet, i have finally lost enough weight to appreciate the surgery. being that i didnt have the surgery for 'vanity' reasons, it feels somewhat a waste. the ailments i had prior to wls that were attributed to my massive weight are still present and issues worse, i guess im still asking myself why did i do this. im so glad this has been successful for so many others, however, i cant share in the joys-i actually feel a sense of jealousy that i have yet to feel pleased with this decision. i also need to readjust my eating habits because i find that since i dont eat much,i usually just graze all day. the vegetarian way of life is working a little better for me than eating meat. i will put forth more effort to loose more weight before my surgiversary...