Matt Z

I'm eating upwards of 6 times a day. I won't say 6 "meals" because folks tend to think "Plate full of food" when it's really not that way at all. I'll have a protein shake in the morning, most times I add frozen fruit to it I'll have a protein snack a few hours later, this could be one of Kay's Naturals, or some greek yogurt or other protein heavy snack I'll have something else protein heavy a few hours later Later in the day I'll have a sandwich or something, super high grain count breads, low/no fat cheese, lean meats I'll have another snack of some nature, typically fresh fruit or some oatmeal I have another shake later, I'm using Casein protein for muscle recovery overnight And I'm getting upwards of 128oz of water a day as well. Spend at least an hour in the gym each day on top of what I do all day for exercise. Been going fairly smoothly thus far.

You can simply redo your pre-surigical diet to the reset. The reset really just allows your pouch time to retract if possible.

I would second the laparoscopic over the open, SO much less complications with the minimally invasive option. If you have the choice, go laparoscopic.

I haven't personally, have you talked to your surgeon or nutritionist? Curious because I see you are about a month ahead of me surgery wise, so I'm curious if this is something I'll end up with in the future as well. Let us know what you find out!

I had a few hunger pangs the first few days out, but they went away. I've even had the part of the stomach that's no longer used for food rumble a few times, now THAT was an odd sensation! So, totally normal, don't stress, just stick to your instructions and get walking! And Congrats!

Only you can decide what's right for you. Don't let anyone else tell you what you can and cannot do. As far as the surgery, if your surgeon is aware of the abortion and says you'll be fine to keep your WLS date, then you have your answer. Don't worry about anyone else not performing your surgery, follow the advise of your surgeon.

Congrats, I was banded back in 2011, so I understand the pensiveness! Good Luck!

Check out the search option at the top left of the page, be sure to select "All content" and search "Davis Clinic", I found quite a few posts for "Davis Clinic".

Our brain/bodies do some crazy things. Usually cravings are caused by your body signaling that you need something that a particular food might provide. Sometimes they are caused by hormone imbalances of all things. And then there is the addiction part, where your body craves the endorphins caused by eating certain foods. Sounds like you've got a handle on satisfying the craving while staying within your WLS requirements which is awesome. I almost always crave beef after working out, not sure why beef, but pretty much every time I walk out of the gym, I want a burger.

Congrats! Before Surgery: work on cutting *all* added sugars, caffeine, carbonation, fats. Start the daily exercising habit now. If you don't have a scale that measures body fat, if you can, get one. The added measurement can REALLY make things easier on you when you hit a stall or gain (happens to me almost every other day now) the weight might go up or not move but body fat can still drop, if you aren't tracking body fat, then you'll miss out on a very helpful measurement. Things for surgery: Lip Balm and Dry Mouth Spray! Sweatpants or PJ bottoms. Your own pillow (helps for the ride home as well so you can put it between you and the belt) Phone, charger, maybe a book. Congrats again and good luck on your WLS!

Just keep working on getting a little bit more each day, you aren't expected to hit your goals right out of the gate, and it does take time to get up to your marks. Don't get frustrated, keep your liquids with you and just keep at it, you'll get there sooner than later!

You should have been provided with an exact breakdown of when you can eat what... follow that. If you weren't provided with one, reach out to your nutritionist and/or your surgical team and get that information ASAP. You **REALLY** need to follow the post op guidelines to ensure you heal correctly... you don't want to jeopardize your whole journey by not following the rules and regulations you've been provided. Remember, this is a massive change that will effect the rest of your life, make sure you do it right the first time or you'll end up having to get revision surgery down the road. Speaking from personal experience here.

The not eating and drinking is easier to overcome than you'd realize. Get yourself an 30 mins hourglass, having the physical item helps the process greatly! Start the exercise habit now, I didn't do this when I had the band installed and it really made things exponentially harder, with my revision to bypass, I joined a gym and started going every day while I was still out of work, now it's become an easy habit to continue as I've had time to ensure it becomes part of my life and it's been one of the best things I could have done. If you don't have a scale, get one that does body fat. Honestly, having this 1 extra measurement can save so much frustration and depression. It's almost every other day now that I either gain weight or just don't lose, *BUT* I'm dropping body fat. So even though I'm gaining *weight* I'm losing body fat, so I'm still on the right track and I know that what I'm doing is working, even if that weight number doesn't keep dropping. Inch for Inch, muscle weighs more than fat, so DO NOT obsess over 1 number!

You are over thinking. I've got 2 kids myself, I started my WLS back in 2011 when they were in their early teen years, I can say that they both benefited greatly from my WLS. You didn't specify which WLS you were going for. When I was banded back in 2011, really the only thing the band did was reduce my quantity, this helped my kids even still, people tend to overeat and not realize it. When I was revised to Bypass this past March, I had to greatly reduce my sugar and fat intake, this has already had a positive impact on my whole family, less sweets, fattening foods, etc and more healthy options has already started to show on my family. Honestly best thing I ever did and I truly wish I had done it sooner. Just be open and honest with your little one, even at 8, they understand things better than you'd think.

Hit the search at the top of the page, make sure you select "all content" and search for the doctors name, I found 3 different posts about this doctor.

Honestly I'm surprised they even bothered to continue using the band, given that several major manufactures have stopped making parts and one company actually sold off their whole Lap Band section of the company. You'd think that if they were going to open you up, that they would have provided you with a better option than adjusting/fixing a product that no one is really even using anymore due to issues and complications that have caused the whole Lap Band industry to give up. Any adjustment to the band position is going to drastically change how it works, so it's wholly possible that the adjusted angle means it's going to take more fluid to reach some level of restriction, as far as air in the band... why didn't they burp it when they had the chance to do so? I'd be questioning everything the surgeon has said and done at this point personally, This is only my point of view, having been banded back in 2011 myself and all the issues I faced with the band and my conversations with my surgeon about the band, which lead to me being revised to Bypass this past March. Sorry I don't have more specific answers to your questions, Good luck with your continued journey!

Advice, if you don't have a scale and are looking for one, get one that does body fat as well, so many times people only track weight and get frustrated because they are in a stall or gained a little. Without tracking your body fat, you might think you aren't doing as well as you are. I weigh in every day, and I frequently gain weight or don't loss, but my body fat % has continued to decrease even during gains... even today, I gained .4 lbs from yesterday, but lost .2% body fat. It's still initially frustrating, but knowing that I'm gaining muscle and losing fat helps quell those frustrations and lets me know I'm still on the right path. Not everyone loses at the same speed, so don't measure your success off of someone else! For surgery, get yourself some lip balm and dry mouth spray, after surgery it's amazing how much these 2 little things can make your recovery that much better! Congrats and good luck!

It certainly will, keep walking and using your incentive spirometer! Deep breathing exercises help greatly as well, take a long slow deep breath in, hold it, then press into it slightly (like doing a crunch) hold it for a few then exhale slowly. This forces gasses trapped in your abdomen into your bloodstream, helps out more than you can imagine!

I totally get this. I typically don't let it bother me, just like I don't really get too worked up with all the Flatearthers bs. I tend to scoff internally about how I can't fathom why anyone needs a magical controller to be happy or to explain what can't yet be explained. I can say without any uncertainty that everyone here can thank those less or non-religious for their lives, because if it wasn't for those that bucked religion and backed science, none of us would have ever had WLS. Hell, more than half of us wouldn't even be alive. I don't prescribe to the "atheist" tag, mainly because I don't know. To say that there isn't something much more powerful than I, that just happens to exist outside my perception of the universe that happens to live WAY the hell longer than I do, doesn't exist, is just as daft as saying one does exist. We are still infants, barely able to stand at the door looking out the screen at the yard in front of us and assuming that's all of existence without knowing or seeing the rest of the world that sprawls outward ahead of us. We've got a a LONG way to go as a species, religion is just an archaic answer to questions we've already started to be able to answer. That said, whatever Jelly's your Donut as long as you don't attempt to jelly mine.

As we get older and thinner the minimum amount of calories to keep us alive also decreases. You can check your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) here https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr What this means, is that it takes more effort to continue to lose weight because your body needs less calories, so if you don't adjust your intake or burn, the same level of consumption and exercise just doesn't equal the same as it did when first had WLS. Try other exercises, there are a number of exercises that are minimal or impact free. Make sure your water intake is high, your body cannot process fat if it doesn't have the water to do so. Also, Larger Muscle consumes more calories than smaller muscles, even while at rest, so if you can, start doing some bodybuilding, it *WILL* Help with fat loss and will strengthen and support you better. You can also do a reset, which is where you redo your pre-sugical liquid only diet. Good Luck!

There is no such thing as too much sleep, only too little. Rest for as long as you need, whenever you need and don't be too concerned about it, you'll be fine!

51.2 lbs lost since 3/02, Surgery was on 3/21. 35.6 since 3/21.

Welcome to being 100% normal! How to deal with emotions... be logical, rational and accepting. Be logical, understand what is causing the emotion. Change is hard. Be rational, are you really mad/angry/sad or just stressed due to change? Be accepting, accept that this is hard, accept that it's not going to be easy, accept that it's not going to happen over night. The good thing is, that once you've worked through the change, it will be the new normal. Don't focus on the now, focus on the goal. If you only paid attention to every step you took, you'd never see what's around you and you'd miss out on lots of amazing things. Embrace the struggle and revel in conquering it. You got this!

I **HAVE** to have water near me when I sleep, I've got a CPAP as well. A sip shouldn't be an issue. But I would discuss with your surgical team.

Weight loss will slow. What most people miss, is that your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is both age AND weight relative. So, as you get older and as you get thinner, the amount of calories your body needs to just exist (IE in a coma, alive, breathing but not moving at all) continues to decline, *SO* if we don't adjust our caloric intake and/or our caloric output... we are not at the same level of deficit to continue the same level of fat burn. That's just 1 part. Then their is excess skin, this can weight quite a bit. You appear to be 4 lbs from your goal weight, After 82 lbs of weight loss, I'd be willing to bet you've got well more than 4 lbs of excess skin adding to your total weight. Suggestions. Figure out what your BMR is now, use that to ensure you are burning more calories than you are eating. Make sure you are getting all your water and proteins first and foremost. Get back to the gym and work on those muscles, larger muscles require more calories than smaller muscles, even at rest! https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr Do a "reset", this typically is just redoing the pre-surgical diet that everyone hates... it'll suck, but you should see some more weight loss in doing so. That's really all you can do, keep tracking your intakes and burns and Keep Exercising!