LittleMissSunshine
A Lot Can Happen in 2 Years
Apr 02, 2014
So here I am, yet again, struggling to get back on the wagon... though my fall from grace wasn't entirely due to lax eating habits.
I was actually doing pretty well for a little while after my last post in 2011, but a few months later, I found out that I was pregnant.
With Twins.
Needless to say, my priority had to shift from keeping my caloric intake within the weight loss guidelines to meeting the daunting requirements my doctor prescribed for ensuring the twins were properly nourished -- I never thought I'd struggle to hit 2,000 calories! I had to eat constantly because I was never able to hit her goals, but thankfully, the twins didn't suffer in the least... despite being high risk because they shared a placenta (identical twins always do), it was a textbook pregnancy. They were born full term via scheduled C-section in November of 2012, one was 5lbs, the other 6lbs so they didn't need to spend any time in the NICU at all.
Even after the twins arrived, I stuck around 285 for the longest time... but then the ice cream started. And the cookies. And the sugar loaded coffees (not surprising, I did have newborn twins after all). And here I am a year and a half later back up to 323 -- or, rather, I was 323 when I started the pouch test diet 3 days ago... now I'm 318.
On the upside, if I didn't have my sleeve, I would have been back to my highest weight of 360 by now, and if my usual pattern is any indicator, I probably would have gotten as far as 380 or higher. The weight never just came back, it always came back and then some.
Over the course of the past year and a half, I managed to put 40lbs back on, so let it be a lesson to anyone who stumbles across this thinking that sleeve will do all the work for you. It won't, but it will help you know when to stop. I not only ignored those "stop" signals time and time again, I also went overboard with liquid calories... I had a pretty good run on vanilla frappucinos for a while there. At 290 calories a bottle and my habit of 2-3 of them a day, I certainly wasn't doing myself any favors.
Suffice it to say that this is a lifelong struggle, but you just have to keep at it and listen to your sleeve when it tells you that you've had enough. I think the pouch test is going to be a huge help with getting me back on track. I did the first 2 days with just protein shakes and sugar free jello and pudding (and dropped 5lbs, woot!)... this morning I got 2 scrambled eggs at my office cafeteria (day 3 is soft protein) when I got in and found that I couldn't finish it. Just last week, I was able to put away 2 scrambled eggs and 4 strips of bacon without even thinking about it.
So, again... here I am, back on the wagon and trying to stay accountable to myself for seeing it through to my goal weight. I don't know if any of my old VSG board pals are still around or will even see this, but if you do, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you're doing. I imagine most of you are either close to our at your goal weights by now :).
