tankheadmommy

At age 64 I’m happy I had my R-N-Y Bypass. My diabetes is in reverse and I went from 210lbs. at 5’6” to 160lbs. In three months.

Now that I am down 51 pounds from my heaviest, I have some new found courage to explore going back to school to learn a trade. I am 41 years old and spent most of my adult life working in Information Technology. I've fallen a little behind the times since going on disability. Now that I am feeling well enough to return to the work force, I am finding it increasingly difficult to get hired. Information Technology is a young man's game. Well, now that I've lost some weight it dawned on me that I could go to a trade school to learn a trade and hopefully get re-employed in an entirely new career field. I am thinking about going into the Automotive/Diesel Technician field or maybe becoming an electrician. Previously, I think I would have written this off due to weight and movement issues. I found three nearby trade schools and went to an open house yesterday. I was pleased to find other people my age looking to train for a new career. I just have to see what makes the most sense. I am equally interested in both fields.

Hi everyone It has been several months since I was on here . I am now at 262 lbs yaaa. but i have been at a stall because of a medical issue . I tried going back to my job in the oilfields and my functional capacity test was terrible the company made me lift 125lbs from floor to a shelf at chest level 15 times then walk 100ft with it and step up and down off a stool. 30 times. then walk back and do the shelf one again. had to do this 3 times. But long story short the drills were no problem but it ripped my hyadila hernia repair on my gastric sleeve. I passed my test but 3 days after I was having such severe pain and I couldn't eat much anymore it hurt bad to eat unless it was soft stuff so I ate a lot of mashed potatoes and gravy with ground meat for almost a year.( Forgot to say I had to resign from my job it hurt to bad). finally went back to my surgeon and he did all the tests and found that my stomach was falling out. It damaged my sleeve too. So I just had a revision surgery Apr 2 . Had a nice rip in there. took 9 or 10 stitches to fix and of coarse revised to a gastric bypass now. It has been a challenge to have this change a tablespoon size stomach lol I can do this I have been through it before and with all you great people supporting each other makes this so much easier. I am converting to my soft stage today . i had a tablespoon of salmon mixed with yogurt and seasonings of coarse. yummy . It was a good 30 minutes to eat that but it went well. I am going to attempt to attach before and after pictures. I should lose about another 50 lbs. with this surgery. doctor wants only 30 to 40 at the most ? his goal weight is 230 lbs. but he thinks it will go closer to 200lbs. as I am 6ft 2inches tall and haven't been 200lbs since 8th grade lol.

Good news! I made it through the green smoothie apple peel incident without issues. I may have to try another one this afternoon with the Ninja.

Hehe, I'm 5'2" and hubby is solid and 6'3", so even once I could fit my butt into his jeans they would be like a foot too long. Might still be funny to do for a photo op sometime though?

WEEK 7 What Am I Eating?
What am I nuts??? I'm telling you, I'm tempting the weight loss gods and may surely regret it. I am DESPERATE for the boost from greens. I miss them terribly, and I'm sorry but 10g of greens per meal does not cut it! So what's a girl to do? I decided to try a combination of Dr. Weiner's Green smoothie and Dr. V's Green Smoothie.
One tiny problem. I only have my gigantor Ninja or burr (stick) blender. Being the lazy ass I am, I opted for the stick blender. Sadly, I decided to leave the apple peel on and so I have little chunks of apple skin in my smoothie. I'm sweating bullets that I don't get it stuck in my stoma on their way out.
Happy to report, I was able to drink a crap ton of blended up veggies and it went through my new tummy very easily. (Sorry no piccys. Again, read the part about being too lazy, mkay?) There is no way I could sit down and physically eat that many veggies right now or maybe ever, post op. But when you blend them, they become a slider food. I do feel full right now though. So I'm not going to put the rest of my smoothie through the tums just yet. It actually made me feel pretty satisfied and I'm sure I got a hit of the carbs from the veggies and Granny Smith apple.
This could come back to bite me in an hour or two. If it does, speak of me well. Swearsies?
Big Ass Green Apple Smoothie
Serving Size a big azz blender cup--maybe about 12-oz? Who knows?
1 oz organic baby spinach, fresh
1/2oz organic super greens trio (probably want to do kale in future), fresh
2oz cucumber, peeled and diced
1 1/2oz Granny Smith Apple, diced (may want to peel this unless you have a serious blender)
2 tbsp lemon juice (or lime), freshly squeezed
16g vanilla Protein Powder (Isopure)
4-6oz Water
4 drops liquid vanilla stevia
4-8 ice cubes
Blend like all hell's breaking loose and smoothie is perfectly smooth without lumps.
Nutrition: 100 cals; 14g protein; 0g fat; 11g carbs; 2g fiber; 9g net carbs; 6g nat sugars
Note: I know this is probably all in my head, but after drinking it, I do feel a small surge in energy. I don't know what is going on right now--whether it is the switch in BP meds, or something, but my ass has been draggin' trail for the past few days. I feel soooo exhausted and like eating can't possibly cure it. But this has made me feel better and so I may have to start making my green smoothies for breakfasts--Dun Dun Dunnnnnnhhhhhhhh--unless that is, this somebeach makes me gain weight.
This post sponsored by Blake Shelton's Some Beach on The YouTube:

Thank you ladies! Thank you for your friendship and support!! You make this trip much more fun--that's fo' shizzle! MUAH!

Fluff, your commitment, your eating choices, your outlook, and your progress are inspirational.
I sit in a stall (I know, I know, only for a week, it will pass but SHEESH) and I got huge joy from this post. Thank you so much - sharing your journey has been an unexpected joy on this journey.

taken the other day by one of my students #preschooler [emoji23][emoji7]

the pic on the left is probably me at my heaviest 🤦🏾‍♀️

Dear Lord, hold me!!!! You are so freaking beautiful!! What an incredible transformation!!!! Look at you and your adorable self! I can't believe such quick results girl!!!! Are you so proud???

I am [emoji41] but I am more pleased with the new opportunities that have opened up to me. People who are thin or even ppl who are just a little overweight, can’t really begin to understand what it’s like being obese living in todays society. I have had countless doors closed to me and missed opportunities because of my weight. Now, I feel unstoppable!

What Am I Eating at 6 Weeks - Breakfast
Egg White Ham Spinach McCheeseCracker
Serves 1
60g Egg Whites (HEB Real Egg Whites)
seasoning to taste
1 slice Hillshire Farms Naturals Black Forest Ham
6g organic baby spinach
1slice Boar's Head Red. Fat Lacey Swiss cheese (cut 2, 6g circles from the slice)
Nutritionals: 87 cals; 13g protein; 3g fat; 1g carbs; 0g fiber; 1g net carb; 0g sugar
It's been a while since I posted a pic of my food to keep track of where I am visually. I was able to eat the entire sandwich which occupies about 1/2cup of volume. It weighs a little over 3oz by the scale. And that's fairly close to where I should be volume and weight per meal at 6 weeks. I am now getting feedback from my pouch. And my new tiny tummy says, "MMMMMmmmmMMMMMM de-LIC-ious! And just the perfect size of breakfast!"
I was pretty pumped cuz I figured out after all these years of making them, that the nuked cheese crackers work really well with reduced fat cheese slices. These crackers were made by cutting out biscuit round shapes from a slice of Boar's Head Lacey Swiss Cheese. We get our Lacey Swiss, which is reduced fat, cut on a 1 1/2 at the deli and it is about 1oz by weight for the entire slice.
I tore the remaining piece of the cheese into little pieces and nuked them to make crackers for later. Much much much much cheaper than buying Parmesan crisps from Sam's or the grocery store and just as satisfying for a fraction of the calories and fat. Score!!! Huzzzaaahhhh!
I've been eating the same 1/2c volume for a couple of weeks now and still feel perfectly satisfied. I eat about 1 3/4-2 oz of food per meal and then fill up the rest of the volume of the 1/2c with veggies. The only time I get impatient is when I think of eating salad. There simply is a volume challenge to eat salad while trying to get that Protein into your bod! And in the rock-paper-scissors game of life, protein beats green.
Anyway, hope this inspires you to go play around with the microwave, parchment paper (not wax paper) and cheese!

Update: 6 Weeks Post - 206.6lbs (-15.8lbs from SW of 222.4lbs--hey, that's 2.6lbs/wk--I'll take it--grudgingly! )
So this past weekend was Easter and we traveled to my sissy's house to spend it with her and BIL and the kiddos. We had a ton of fun with great visits! There was too much time spent in the kitchen, too much time spent decorating for Easter Brunch and not enough time spent playing Hearts! LOL.
It's so funny how perspective changes when you only consume about 1/2c per meal (about 3oz of food by weight max). I've gotten to where I can make dinner for Mr. F. and I in less than 15 minutes most nights. Clean-up takes about 5-10 minutes and we're done in 30 minutes or less (or your meal is free) and that includes clean-up. And bless my sissy's heart, even making tuna salad and sandwiches for din Friday night took about an hour plus more time to clean up! LOL.
So I was cheat free--even the sugar free candy I bought for Mr. F.'s Easter Basket! But there was late night shenanigans with 5 Peanut Butter stuffed pretzel bites and 1/2oz of roasted salted peanuts. I fought with foot/shin cramps. I knew it wasn't Calcium, cuz I take my vits religiously. I knew it wasn't hydration, cuz I get in 120oz of liquids daily. But I did figure it was either magnesium or salt and these delicious morsels gave me both. And the only magnesium rich food around were peanuts, these pretzels, and pure peanut butter. I do admit I made a bad choice with the pretzel bites.
So between the Easter night cheat, travel, and salty Proteins like ham, I'm was up 2lbs yesterday. I'm happy to be down a pound this morning, but it still sucks to see the scale go upwards and to see all the swelling in my feet and ankles. Otherwise, I easily stayed on plan with food and had no angst about not drinking alcohol. So that's good! (Oh and I ran out of my low carb calcium capsules so had to sub back in the calcium chewy bites which are 15cals each and have carbs from sugar alcohols in them. So I don't know if maybe that's contributed to the scale going up or not?)
Tomorrow is my cardiology appt that I rescheduled due to stormy weather last week. So will ask him about diuretics again...
More later.

I had the lapband in 2009 and it was removed in 2017. I had RNY in Dec. I also had difficulty with feeling full and I had discussed this with other lapband revision patients and they have experienced this as well. I just made sure I measured everthing so I would heal properly. I still measure everything, because I do not get a full feeling. I used to cry when my family ate, because I wanted their food and I could not eat it. I spent a lot of time in my room when they ate to help me cope. When I started eating food, I started to feel better and I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I ended up being lactose intolerant, so I was not able to consume any diary. This could be the issue behind some of your GI issues. I felt so much better once all dairy was out of my diet. I used nectar Fuzzy Navel and GENEPRO to help with my Protein needs when I was on liquids. By the way, I also tasted food and then spit it out. We have food issues and it takes time after surgery (maybe a lifetime) to work through our food issues. We need to be kind and love ourselves even when we make a bad choice. I hope this helps you to feel better.[emoji4]

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Yay...I'm so happy for you. You are doing an amazing job! By the way, your breakfast looks delicious! [emoji2]

I had the lapband in 2009 and it was removed in 2017. I had RNY in Dec. I also had difficulty with feeling full and I had discussed this with other lapband revision patients and they have experienced this as well. I just made sure I measured everthing so I would heal properly. I still measure everything, because I do not get a full feeling. I used to cry when my family ate, because I wanted their food and I could not eat it. I spent a lot of time in my room when they ate to help me cope. When I started eating food, I started to feel better and I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I ended up being lactose intolerant, so I was not able to consume any diary. This could be the issue behind some of your GI issues. I felt so much better once all dairy was out of my diet. I used nectar Fuzzy Navel and GENEPRO to help with my Protein needs when I was on liquids. By the way, I also tasted food and then spit it out. We have food issues and it takes time after surgery (maybe a lifetime) to work through our food issues. We need to be kind and love ourselves even when we make a bad choice. I hope this helps you to feel better.[emoji4]

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

You are looking for external validation and for someone else to make this super-serious decision for you. That way, if you fail it won't be your fault--cuz it wasn't your decision to begin with and you'll claim that you had your own doubts all along.
So I'ma call BS on this one and instead will say, seek your own truth. Make a pro-con list. Listen to your heart and your gut. Come to us for questions, research, experiences, etc--but don't come ask us to tell you what to do. Cuz opinions are like assholes. They are a dime a dozen and great supply. But sadly, nobody wants to see or hear 'em.
You can DO this. Think for yourself. Do you!!!

Sorry, my current weight is 403. Before I got the lapband I was 450. I originally got down to 370 after getting banded, but have now been in the 400-410 range for about a year now. My insurance won’t cover anything that has to do with weightloss so it’s not an insurance thing for me. I’m just going to get a medical loan and pay it back with my HSA money

It’s hard to give complete guidance. You say you are “completely overweight”.
Gastric bypass is for obese patients. Most insurance requires a BMI of 40 or above with no comorbid conditions. A BMI of 35-40 with comorbid conditions.
I would never base a medical decision based on something a personal trainer had to say. If they mentioned it again I would let them know I was only interested in their opinions on fitness. If they persisted, it’s time to find a new trainer.
Lots of people on here have gone from bands to sleeves or bypass. You may want to share more of your stats for more specific responses.

I am going through a similar situation. My husband tells me that having surgery is the easy way out and that he's afraid I'll fail and then get even more depressed about my weight. He is as also morbidly obese and I suspect that he's afraid I might not want him if I "get skinny". I'm guessing your hubby might feel the same way. I've already scheduled my surgery for April 18th and although I respect my husband's opinion, nobody will stand in the way of my choice. It is your health and your body. Best wishes to you on your journey!

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Copper5, a little over a month until May 8th, how are you doing hon? Haven't heard from you in a little while but I still think about your situation and you. Please post again

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You Rock Lady [emoji173]

You Rock Lady [emoji173]

MUAH! you girl!