Your SIL is right. You so always have that "fat girl" syndrome especially if you're not able to have the skin removal surgery. It's a very important part of the mental part of the surgery. That's a huge reason why pictures are SO important. It's also very important to get to the emotional aspect of "why" you turn to food. For me, it was childhood sexual abuse which led to and was compounded by a food addiction. It is so important to deal with these issues in the first two years post-op. That is the time frame when you lose the most. What the surgeons don't tell you is that after that your body begins to adjust to what it considers two years of starvation. The malabsorption of vitamins and minerals is forever but the malabsorption of calories usually only last a maximum of two years. That doesn't mean your doomed to gain the weight back it just means that it is so important to learn how to follow your lifestyle changes and deal with the emotional issues in those first 2 years. WLS doesn't mean you will never have to deal with food issues again. I don't mean to discourage anyone because I'd have mine again in the blink of an eye. It has literally changed my life. The only thing I would have changed is that I would have gotten into therapy much earlier.

As for the amount of calories am "allowed" post-op, that's a tough one. For me personally I just recently upped my calorie intake. I have been stuck at a plateau for over a year and I was eating 1600 calories a day. After doing some research, eating that amount was actually sending my body into starvation. I have upped them to 2000 and the scale is moving down again. I know that will probably sound like a lot of calories to you. But you have to remember, I am 8 1/2 years post-op and I still weigh 290 pounds. Much better than 500+ pounds but still technically morbidly obese. That's a very depressing though if I ponder on it too much.......lose over 200 pounds and still be morbidly obese. So I guess the short of it is that your calorie consumption years post-op will depend on your body and how it reacts to the calories you take in and burn off. It's very individual. I know people who started out at a lower weight therefore they reached much lower weights in the end and they are only taking in around 1000 calories a day. Hope I didn't confuse or discourage anyone. It was not my intent.

Oh no, I'm not getting discouraged. I have no intent on giving up. I have made a complete lifestyle change. I'm not always perfect, but hell, who is? The loss might be slow (sometimes way too slow) but I have to remember I did this entire journey to get healthier. Losing weight is just a side effect. I'm off my high blood pressure and high cholesterol meds, I can move around and do so many things I couldn't do before and I'm not living the life of a hermit anymore. Even if I wasn't to lose another ounce, I still consider my WLS to be a success. After all, I'm 8 1/2 year post-op and and I have lost 70% of my excess weight (I set my end goal as 199) and I have lost 58% of the person I used to be. Like I said, a complete success!!!!!

As for post-op calories for me, I have been told by my doc and nutritionist not to think about calories but to focus on getting 60-85 g of protein per day. It is a hard concept to grasp for me because I've been so focused on calorie intake in the past when trying to lose weight. I'm failrly new to this and so I am still adjusting my mind set to using my sleeve as my tool and not a diet per se.
My daily focus in not on the calories, it is on protein, water and exercise. (I'm 7 weeks post-op)

PLEASE keep in mind when reading about my "allowed" post-op calorie intake that I am 8 1/2 years post-op, I would never suggest that someone who just had surgery eat like this. Of course, when you first have surgery you won't worry about calories. You are more worried with getting your protein and water in and you should be. Just wanted to make sure no one misunderstood me.

As for the amount of calories am "allowed" post-op, that's a tough one. For me personally I just recently upped my calorie intake. I have been stuck at a plateau for over a year and I was eating 1600 calories a day. After doing some research, eating that amount was actually sending my body into starvation. I have upped them to 2000 and the scale is moving down again. I know that will probably sound like a lot of calories to you. But you have to remember, I am 8 1/2 years post-op and I still weigh 290 pounds. Much better than 500+ pounds but still technically morbidly obese. That's a very depressing though if I ponder on it too much.......lose over 200 pounds and still be morbidly obese. So I guess the short of it is that your calorie consumption years post-op will depend on your body and how it reacts to the calories you take in and burn off. It's very individual. I know people who started out at a lower weight therefore they reached much lower weights in the end and they are only taking in around 1000 calories a day.

I've moved the notch I am so happy it felt FOREVER to get there! Fit Pal says I lost 3lbs always taking that 1 pound from me LOL but it doesn't matter I moved that notch down! woo woo time to celebrate with a big ol' juicy hamburger j.k

thanks Dee! I'm so proud of you for how much you've lost keep up the great work!