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Matt Z

Gastric Bypass Patients
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Everything posted by Matt Z

  1. Matt Z

    1 Month Post Op

    I'm considering reducing my blog posts to either every 2 weeks or once a month+ anytime I have issues I need to voice, I don't know, I guess we'll see. This past week has been interesting. Being firmly locked in Bandster Hell I'm having slight intake control / willpower issues. I'm still well under my calorie burn totals for the days, but I'm eating more. When I'm at work, it's easy to keep my intake under control, but weekends and at night, not so much. Just need to tough it out until the 28th for my fill. I've had to drop a size in underwear because the 2x i was wearing, was falling down while I walked, so I had to drop down to just XL and I was shocked that even those, are fitting just right / not tight. My stomach fat is getting soft and squishy, my pants are VERY loose to the point where I cannot wear them where I used to (under my gut) now I have to wear them around my belly button / waist. Not sure where my weight is right now, I'll weigh in either Saturday or Sunday and I'll update when I do. Emotionally I've been great! And I'm glad that things are going so well. Stay Strong!
  2. Feeling Great today! Now if only work was done...

  3. Feeling Great today! Now if only work was done...

  4. Matt Z

    Week 3 Post-op Wrap Up

    If you work with your band it will work with you! Just have to stay strong, It is by far the best thing I've ever done for myself!
  5. Matt Z

    Week 3 Post-op Wrap Up

    So today is the end of my 3rd week. Saw the doc on monday and her scale said I was 321.6. Not sure exactly how my medical scale (with weights and slide) compares to her digital one. The 321.6 was weighed with shoes and all, so I don't know. I haven't weighed myself today because I returned to work. So lets start the weekly break down. Physical: I've noticed a very large increase in energy. To the point where my wife is getting very happy because I'm doing stuff around the house, not just sitting there tired. I've had the energy to move around and get stuff cleaned up and what not. I can take a flight of stairs with no issues whereas just 6 short months ago it would have winded me. I actually took the 2 flights of stairs to my appointment rather than take the elevator. I started to "feel" the stairs at the 1.5 flight mark. It slowed my pace down, but It didn't take all the wind out of me or put me into a sweat, which was a huge NSV for me. I used to be a VERY active person, always on the go and wanting to do stuff, I could walk forever. I'm happy to see that I'm getting back to that. My pants are not fitting anymore, I used to wear my pants under my gut, now I can't if I do that they fall down, so I've been resorting to wearing them around my actual waist up on my gut over my bellybutton. The only side effect is that now when I walk too far, my underwear falls off my butt! More funny than anything else, my own personal inside joke. My sex life has greatly increased as well, the energy and stamina I have now are getting noticed lol. The downs, I have to wait until the 28th to get my fill and I've been hungry often and if I chew properly I can get anything down in larger amounts than I would really like. I've been doing good with my calorie intake and burn, averaging a 3550 daily burn with a 1170 intake. So I'm tossing 2380 calories out the window each day on average or 1 pound of body fat every 1.4 days. Not too shabby, I guess we'll see how well I'm doing when I weigh in later today. Emotional: I'm feeling SO much better emotionally for the most part. The being stuck in bandster hell has put a damper on my spirits a bit, but I've been keeping things in check with my food log and trackers. I just have to stay strong and tough it out. I'm glad to be back at work. My wife has been extremely happy lately and that is just making things so much better overall at home. I have felt slightly defeated when I stepped on the scale and saw a weight higher than what I had the week before, but when I checked at home, I was the same weight as the week before, so I'm not going to focus so much on the numbers right now, I'm going to keep things in perspective, I'm just starting out and even at a mere 2 lbs a week, that's 110 lbs in the year. I can deal with that. I've actually wanted to exercise more. I take the long way to the rest room at work and even started taking the stairs down a floor than back up on my way to or from the rest room. It's been a icky week weather wise, so I haven't been able to get out and do some walking but I'm finding other ways to make sure I keep my burn rate up. Other: My boys are starting to show some weight loss, even though they are not specifically on a diet which is fantastic. My wife is smiling and happy both for me and about my overall increase in spirits and health. Things have been getting better each day and I love it. Now I did get stuck the other day and I'm sort of glad I did. I was eating an orange (LOVE ORANGES!) at work and I went to bite a piece off a section of 3 lobes that were stuck together, I went to seperate 1 half of a lobe when the whole 3 lobe section broke in half in a way that sent it straight to the back of my throat and my bodies automatic response was to swallow. I freaked a bit, but when I didn't feel anything, I figured that it was small enough or soft enough to pass through my totally unrestricted stomach. I waited a few minutes knowing from reading that I might have to let it back up so I preped for the run to the rest room. Nothing. So I finished my orange. A good 10 -15 minutes AFTER finishing the orange I felt this odd sensation of food moving back upwards, not the contraction like a purge, just stuff trying to work it's way back up. I tried to burp, no burp. I sipped some water, stood up, put my hands on my head and walked around a bit, nothing, the feeling was still there. I sipped a bit more water and it was very hard to get down my throat, this triggered the feeling of needing to purge, still no contractions. I bolted to the rest room, took the handicapped stall and stood so that my stomach was above my mouth and I just let the food work it's way back up with no assistance on my part, it was very odd, I knew not to enduce a purge reaction for risk of causing damage to the only 2.5 week old surgery, I did have 2 instances of purge contractions, but I quickly forced them to stop, I got a good amount of orange, but not the piece that caused the problems. I was producing lots of saliva, but after the pieces came up, I didn't have the purge feeling or the uncomfortable "moving up" feeling, I still felt odd/sick the rest of the day, I drank a bit more water and it went down but slowly. So I kept it liquids for the rest of the day and was feeling fine the next day. Some have asked "why are you happy that it happened?" the answer is pretty easy, with any fears, you don't know what exactly is going to happen, now I know, I know why it happened, I know how to prevent it from happening again and I know that in the off chance it does happen again, exactly what to do. Plus, I really do not want to repeat that feeling ever again. So that little negative reinforcement is a good thing. I will update my weight (good or bad) later when I can weigh in. Until then, Thank you for reading, I look forwards to reading your replies and comments and STAY STRONG! ***UPDATE*** Weighed in at 316. w00t!
  6. Matt Z

    Do you eat the calories you burn?

    Check your BMR http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and add any exercise burn to that and you'll get the real amount of calories you burn in a day. Right now I've been averaging a daily burn of 3541 and only taking in an average 1166 daily. You can see for yourself on my fitbit profile. http://www.fitbit.com/user/22LNWP Starvation mode only lasts the first 2 weeks with a DRASTIC decrease, like that of 500 calories or lower. After 2 weeks of a reduced intake regime your body reconfigures it's low intake triggers. As long as you are taking in the Vitamins and Proteins needed to support your system, your body will simply revert to using it's stored energy to make up for the calories you are not giving it, IE fat.
  7. End of week 3, 316. Nice!

  8. Matt Z

    Holy Hidden Calories, Batman!

    No need to go to a gym, you can get your Basal Metabolic rate online, granted it's not going to be exactly specific to you, but it's easy to get close. Just remember that when you lose weight your BMR changes so check often! http://www.bmi-calcu...bmr-calculator/
  9. Matt Z

    Week 2 Blues

    Weighed in today, 319. Only 2 pounds since last friday. I know why and I have to change it. I've got zero restriction now that the swelling has gone down, I'm eating around 1200-1500 less than I burn each day, so I'm a little unsure at the lack of weight change. I know 2 pounds a week is a good rate, but it's disappointing. I'm mad and upset. But I know it's ok. What am I going to do about it? I'm going to get my ass out and walk more. I'm going to ignore the growls creeping out from my belly. I'm going to keep up my protein intake, my water intake and I'm going to keep logging every single piece of food that enters my mouth. I am not going to be effected by this slow down. I haven't had a fill yet and I know that this is the main reason why my weight loss has slown down. I have my first post-op appt with my doc on Monday and I'm going to push for a fill. I just hope she agrees. Weight loss issues aside, I feel fantastic. Walking is so much easier, I don't get winded as quickly as I used to, standing for longer periods of time doesn't bother me as much either. My clothes are fitting better and my face is noticably thinner. I just have to stay strong.
  10. I was banded on the 18th of Nov. The first week was great, good restriction (due to stomach swelling I'm sure) and everything was going good, then the restriction started to go away. Now I'm at the end of week 2 with no restrictive feeling at all. I have my first post-op appt on monday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the doc will give me a fill.
  11. So I had my appt today, everything looks good, I wasn't able to get filled today, but they did bump up my fill date a week and a half. So I'll just have to stick it out in Bandster Hell and keep counting my intake making sure to stay well under my burn. Sigh. Oh well, here's to trying right?
  12. Liquid meds are so much worse than crushed meds.. yuck!

  13. Awesome Raleigh, can't wait to see what your doc says. Thanks for the input everyone. This really sucks. I've been good and I've kept my Protein high, my carbs low and my Water intake at around 2 liters a day. As well as keeping my calorie intake under 1500. Just sick of being hungry 24/7.
  14. I'm actually looking forwards to going back to work next week!

  15. Good luck today BRD! Just take it easy, make sure you do your incentive spirometer breathing when you are out of recovery! If they don't give you one, ask! they are amazing little devices!

  16. Matt Z

    1 Week Post Op

    Today marks my 1 week post op and what a week it has been. Let me recap in a few important catagories. Physical I've experience the pain, which in all honesty isn't as bad as I would have expected. If we ignore the day of surgery and the day after, the rest of the week has been ok. I haven't needed any pain meds since the 3rd day post op. Pain has been limited to gas pain and incision site pain, both completely tolerable. The begining of the week I was a bit more tired than usual and I became tired quicker when doing simple activities like walking, each day this gets a bit better. Today I went shopping with my mother, my fitbit says I took around 3500 steps and walked 1.4 miles. My knees feel better, my back feels better, my feet feel better. I am actually sleeping better and waking up feeling as if I slept, no more waking tired. Looking forward to the next week! Emotional This has been one of the toughest things to deal with, the disappointment in not being able to enjoy the foods I love has hit me pretty hard a few times, always when out. I went to breakfast with my wife and her dad, I assumed that the resturant would have yogurt for me to eat since most do, they didn't. So I sat there with a decaf coffee and a kids sized orange juice while they ate. I don't like eggs and what not, but the smell comming off of their plates was so amazing, it took most of what I had to keep from breaking down into tears. I focused on why I'm doing this and resolved in the fact that I would be able to eat again in a few weeks. The biggest test was Thanksgiving. My family are big eaters, Italian families know how to eat. So I was dreading Thanksgiving at my parents house. The night prior I jumped the gun on my puree phase and attempted some pureed meat pie, a tiny 1/4 inch slice and some beef broth, blended it up, poured it into my 1/4 cup ramekin and heated it up. It looked so nasty, but the taste, after all the liquids and puddings and jello's was so damn amazing. And lucky for me, I didn't have any problems with eating it, I finished the serving a little quick for my liking, but I held off and sure enough, I felt the fullness coming on, but it never got painful, so I knew I hit the mark size wise. This gave me a bit of a bump for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and I pureed some turkey with gravy, some corn and potatos and took a 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce about a cup of food in total. We all said our thanks and got to eating. I focused on taking my time, I watched the clock and put my spoon down between "bites". About 20 mins in I knew I should stop, the fullness was just starting to kick up, so I put down my spoon and pushed the plate away. Everyone was suprised by how little I could eat. But they were all impressed. So one more big eating day left and it will be a smooth year. Weight I saved the best for last. I weighted in at 350 when I finally decided that I had had enough and that diets and yo-yo weight gain/loss had to go. My last appointment with my surgeon I weighted in at 343. The last "official" weight in at my pre-op training class was 336.8. The night before surgery I weighed myself on a medical scale at 335. Pretty good. But these next numbers are amazing. I had surgery on Friday, the following Monday I weighed in at 329, Yesterday, I weighed 324. So from 335 to 324 in 1 week! and all without feeling underfed. This is the motivation I need. I'm feeling the weight loss in my clothes, on my back and knees. It's noticable. I'm greatful to everyone here for the information and support that you are providing. All comments, both positive and critical are appreciated. I understand that to learn we need to be shown our faults. Stay Strong LBT!
  17. check your local community centers, usually they have very low fees and end up being great places to go to. Join a walking club, the whole "I don't have time" thing is a cop-out. Stop using it! I have 2 boys and work an hour away from my home. So that's 2+ hours of driving on top the 8+ hours of working. Then it's helping the kids and cooking dinner since my wife works 2 jobs and is almost never home. I find time, because there IS time. Instead of sitting down and just catching up on a few hours of tv. Get outside and walk, find a local bike path or walking trail, explore! Get a small stationary bike and set that in your living room, ride it whenever you are watching tv. Look into getting a step tracker like the Fitbit. It's amazing how much calories you actually burn when you don't realize it, like stated above, park farther away, walk around the office, on your 15 min breaks, don't just sit there or go for a coffee and donut, go walk around the building, inside or out. Take a few flights of stairs rather than the elevator the whole way. Walk down the stairs after work. Every little bit of effort, which might seem trivial at first adds up. I'm burning on average 3500 calories a day now, and only consuming 1300. So right now, I'm dropping one pound of fat every 2 days or so. It really is amazing when you can track every bit of movement each day, it will show that small adjustments, make big steps forwards! Find something fun to do with your kid, take them walking with you, do nature hikes, kids LOVE that and it gets you out and moving! Good luck and Stay Strong!
  18. Isopure Zero Carb RTD's have been my fall back Protein source. 40 grams of protein in 20 oz of clear Fluid, no carbs, no fat, no sugars, only 160 calories. Tasty light drink. That and Muscle milk. People always say "but it's higher in calories" that's fine since I can't pack down the calories like I used to and being banded one "serving" could be 2 or 3 for me. So it really does balance out. They taste GREAT too! A bit tip I have for people getting sick of broths, is to invest in a tea steeper. Steep your broth in seasonings that you would normally cook that meat with. IE Lemon and Herb with chicken broth. Garlic, onion, pepper, basil with beef broth. I will pour out a set amount, like 1/2 a cup or so and drink that slowly. When I feel a bit heavy in the chest, I stop. Don't want to push it and cause slippage or early pouch expansion! Good Luck and Stay Strong!!!
  19. I know the feeling LB4Me! I'm still not 100% sure it's in there lol. I'm only 9 days post op and I have zero restriction now, once all the swelling went down, I was back to normal. But I have been making sure to superchew and picking my proteins and veggies over carbs and sugars. Been working pretty good. That restrictive feeling will come back once we hit the green zone. I guess this is bandster hell... Stay Strong!
  20. Matt Z

    1 Week Post Op

    Fivey, I used to inhale my food, no joke. When we were out to eat, I'd finish everything before the wait staff could come back to see how everything was going. Lots of "look at that fatty" looks from them. Now I put down my fork/spoon. I chew until I can pretty much swish the food around in my mouth, then I swallow. Then I repeat. Using smaller forks/spoons help too, and I use a timer afterwards so I know when I'm safe to drink. Just use all the tools you can and It won't be so hard. Talking to someone between bites helps too!
  21. 321 today! Damn I love this!

  22. Matt Z

    1 Week Post Op

    I have been floating around 340 - 350 for close to a year I suspect. I avoided the scale as much as possible. I knew it was "time" when I couldn't stand for more than 10 mins without my lumbar going numb and my knees bothering me. I know the "seperation" issues are normal, it still doesn't prepare you for them. As much as I can say to myself, "it's fine, it'll be ok, don't worry, it's normal" the emotion still comes up, I just make sure not to let it take over.
  23. Happy Thanksgiving all! Walked to my parents again today, felt much better, weighed in at 324!!! That's 5 more lbs since monday, 11 since surgery and 26 since I started. LOVE IT!!!

  24. not sure exactly why you are going to be required to wait between removal and sleeving. The process of sleeving removes the left most portion of the stomach, I've seen video where and erosion was removed and sleeved all in 1 surgery. Since they are going to be potentially cutting to remove the eroded band, whats the reason for the wait to cut rest of the stomach off and staple up? Something I would ask your surgeon.
  25. You first step should be to contact your insurance company and get the list of approved and expempt surgeries. For my current insurance, all I need is to have a flap caused rash, sores or infections of some sort to qualify for the abdominal region. As far as everywhere else, that's a much different story. Your steps to this process should be as follows. 1. Find out if your insurance covers it and under what conditions. No sence getting your primary or your WLS involved if your insurance has it exempt for all reasons. 2. If your insurance company does have conditions that garner approval, check to see if they are what you are experiencing, if it's sores and the such and you say "well I have mobility issues" they will point back to the coverage documents and tell you goodbye. 3. If you do have a condition that is listed as an approved reason for plastic/cosmetic surgery, contact whomever has been treating these issues, have them fax all the information to you so you have a copy as well. If this person is your primary, next would be to contact your WLS and inquire about plastic/cosmetic surgeons that they have referred patients too. Some medical insurance requires referral from either your primary, your WLS or both. 4. Depending on method required by insurance, you will either contact the plastic/cosmetic surgeon yourself to set up consultations and the plastic/cosmetic surgeon will file the insurance claim. Or your Primary or WLS will file the claim prior to you seeing the plastic/cosmetic surgeon. That's pretty much it, hope that helps you out some! It's a right pain the butt with each and every company working in different directions to get something done!

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