terrydumont46

Hi...
I hope this is the best place to introduce myself. I'm new to all of this stuff still, although I've been thinking about it since March or April.
I'm in the research stage, although hopefully coming to the end of it soon. I've been reading here, various clinic sites, studies, etc so that I'm as informed as I can be.
I've struggled with weight for my whole life... I was an Atkins success story around 2008, but that quickly turned to a nightmare turning the 120 I lost into a 160 gain. I hit rock bottom a couple of summers ago being diagnosed with type II and blood pressure so high they almost called the squad. The type II diagnosis scared the hell out of me... I have a family member who is so type II they have an insulin pump and eat what they want. That kicked me into gear and I started eating better and exercising. I was down 60, but I've put some of that back on due to several stressors in my life.
My diabetes is largely managed. My doc was happy with my progress, but I've not had much lasting success on the weight loss front. I made an off-handed comment to him "now if I can only get the weight off". His response was "Have you considered surgery?" Needless to say, after another couple of talks with him, here I am.
I'm leaning towards surgery... on paper it all makes sense. I just am trying to figure out if I'm trading one set of problems for a different set that are more difficult for me. I also feel a bit like I'm cheating... that I'm taking the easy way out. I know it's not, and that it's a lot of work.
Well, anyway, here I am, looking forward talking with everyone.

Even though your surgeon doesn't require a certain amount of Protein, try to get in as much as you can. It really helps with healing.
That said, stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the weight loss process. If you intend to lose a large amount of weight, you will stall. None of us loses at a constant rate.
Almost everyone experiences their first stall about three weeks after surgery. It's how our bodies work.
If the numbers on the scale are going to dictate how you feel, then I recommend you stay off the scale.< /p>
Just focus on getting in your Protein and fluids, take your Vitamins and supplements as instructed, and exercise when cleared.
Embrace the Stall!
http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Loveeee myfitnesspal. I honestly dont think i would have been successful without it

I love myfitnesspal and even though it doesn't take into consideration our low calorie count it tracks all my nutrients very effectively.
I think I was very successful in part because of how I track everything I put in my mouth via myfitnesspal.

Whatever my cousin is cooking...and my band tolerates. I'm sure I'll be able to cut the turkey up enough to get it down and the veggies as well. A little bit of potato will be nice and a little bit of dessert as well.
More important than what I'll eat, is how I'll be able to move around her place..and not have to worry where I'll sit (narrow chairs with arms are no longer off limits)
It will also be wonderful to think more about what I'll wear rather than what I'll eat. I'll also be thinking about being able to drive now that I can move my leg and press down on the gas and brake pedals since my hips are good again. It's easy to not take mobility for granted once you've nearly lost it. Just being able to walk again is way more of my focus these days.
When I sit at the table and think about what I'll be thankful for this year, mobility, health, and my life back will top my list.

I eat fish and chicken and a vegetable or starch or salad for dinner. when I am eating the fish my husband who is normal wt. eats pop pies or tv dinners, frozen Entrees like lasagna, chicken alfredo. that way we don't have a lot of left overs and he gets the food he likes. the starch I eat is the little red potatoes. by wt. I can have 3. it has 5 grams of Protein even. I roast them so they don't need any toppings.

So my husband has made two comments recently that got under my skin.
1st) I make dinner for the family. I'll eat the Protein and the veggie, but not the starch. Thats leaves lots of leftovers of rice etc, that no one ends up using after the initial meal. So it dies a slow moldy death in the fridge. So one night I skipped the starch, deciding not to add to the piles gone unused in the fridge. He comments that I've essentially said screw them since my surgery and stopped cooking complete meals. Grrr. Not true.
2nd) he made some comment about me 'trying to be the only skinny one in the house, (never mind my Kids are of normal weight) and I'm not trying to help anyone else'.
Though he was not angry and probably said both as tongue in check type comments, it irked me. I'm a firm believer that truth is often spoken in jest.
He's a grown up, he can cook and take control of his health... But I guess it's easier to shift reponsibility from himself.

Can you serve the starch leftovers for a few days? Say cook 2 cups of rice and serve it plain one day, stir fry the next, spiced rice the next. That way no waste and he still will get his starch. Sounds like he is getting jealous of your weight loss and how good you look!

The EASIEST stuffed peppers ever......saute some onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil until soft. Cut peppers half long ways, remove seeds, rib. Put a piece of provolone cheese in the pepper, add a few slices deli sliced roast beef, top with another slice of provolone cheese. Bake at 350° until heated through and cheese is melted. Low carb deliciousness!

my doctor has me more of calorie intake than volume. my pouch only will handle less than a saucer size amount of food. I am at 3 months too and am working on trying to get to 1300 calories. I am unable to achieve this calorie count yet. more like 650-900 calories so far. but my Protein intake is good as well as Water so I am not to concern.

I'm almost 3 months out, and I have this same sensation when I eat certain foods, namely heavy Protein shakes and ground meat. Are there certain foods that do it more than others? Are you eating very, very slowly? Some people need to eat even slower than is recommended. Usually the full, uncomfortable feeling is either from foods that your stomach just does not like or from eating a little too fast. At least, that's what I have experienced. Hope you feel better soon. I know how frustrating it is to feel sick every time you try to eat.

I am so sorry to hear that you have been ill. It must be so disappointing to have your surgery delayed so I understand how you can be discouraged. My surgery was delayed while I lined up financing. While I was disappointed, it ultimately worked out for the best.
I hate to hear anyone talk so negatively about themselves. We are all human and do not deserve less than the kindness and caring that we would show toward others. Negative self-talk is not productive and will ultimately keep you from being successful.
Do you have some specific goals for helping you prepare for surgery?
To prepare, I did several things that really helped. I tried to pick one or two goals to focus on at a time. They included:
Weaning myself off of caffeine and carbonation.
Increasing my Water to at least 64 oz a day.
Exercising 60 minutes a day.
Tracking my food.
Eating mindfully (taking small bites, chewing slowly, etc.).
And
Trying different Protein shakes.
Now is also a good time to start journaling if you haven't done so already. Try writing about why you want this surgery and what you want your new life to be like. It will give you something to look back on when you feel discouraged.
I find if I find some positive action to take toward my goal, I don't feal as hopeless and helpless.
You can do this.

I am not sure I have great advice but I don't want your question to go unanswered! I would say you took the first step by coming here and asking for help. My number one piece of advice is go see a therapist if you can at all. That will help. (Call your surgeon for a referral of someone who works with bariatric patients.) At the very least, seek out a local support group if you cannot go to a therapist. Secondly, maybe try a reset by just doing shakes for a few days and go through that "withdrawal" of the addictive foods again. That may help you get back to where you were in your mind the week before your surgery. Spend some time during those few days really thinking about why you did this and how far you have come. Every time during those few days of shakes that you want to reach for food or think you are hungry, go lock yourself in your room or in your car or somewhere away from food and really concentrate on your accomplishment this far. Why did you have the surgery? What was your first big NSV? What was your favorite NSV? Write it down. Start a journal and turn to that journal instead of eating.
You have lost 105 pounds! That is amazing! You have the drive. You can totally do this!

Also, don't forget that you're human. One mistake is just that...a mistake. You haven't failed, you've just proven your humanity. Forgive yourself. I also agree, a counselor can help you explore the "why" and help you figure out how to make a better choice next time. You should be proud of how far you've come!!! Don't let this define or defeat you.

I was back up to 273. at time of surgery down to 261 and now I am 218 as of todays weigh in. I weigh on Friday mornings/

one word. reflux. I already suffer from it and I was told the sleeve wasn't a fit for me. I revised from the band and had the same problem with it. I haven't had one episode with the gastric bypass. I like the gastric bypass it really keeps you in check. no way am I going to be able to eat around it like ppl do with sleeve and lapband. my hospital and doctor won't do lapband anymore.

get a referral from your surgeons office. they might be able to get you in sooner. if not make a appointment and ask to be put on a list in case of cancellation by another patient. its always worked for me.

Very interesting. I had a VBG in Oct 2002 and have never been able to eat dense fruits, vegetables or meats without reflux issues. After all these years, I am in the process of being approved for removal of the VBG and revising to something else - Still to be determined. I also developed a hiatal hernia which will be repaired at the same time. We are hoping for surgery in either December or January depending on insurance.

Packet is submitted for real and now we really wait! Whew! Today I promised I wasn't going to obsess over this anymore and ruin another day so I've purposely tried not to think about it and kept busy and I just got an email saying it was done! I should have given up sooner! ????

Congratulations!

Oh I think guys in sundresses is hot.

I'm so not impressed by that research.
There's as much variation in risk ratios between the cohort of WLS patients who live in rural areas and all other WLS patients as between all WLS patients and those who haven't had WLS.
I say move everybody downtown.
Seriously, some of these studies are so badly designed I just want to jack-slap the researchers. It sometimes seems they're thinking: "We have no frickin' idea what this means, but we went to the trouble of collecting data, so let's publish anyway."

Here's the link to the article below. Just curious what you guys think.
I think that there are lots of reasons why someone would want to harm themselves and there isn't specific data as to why...just that there's a possible correlation.
My take on this is that food and overeating for many of us is a symptom. It's our drug of choice rather than alcohol or heroin. But just like someone in treatment goes through psychological help, so should some folks who have food issues as well. Obviously not everyone...but enough of us. I was banded in January of 2013 and a year and 100 lbs. later, found myself so very unhappy that I went into therapy. Now, I had other issues, but it started with the weight and still involves how my weight is and will always be, a huge part of my life. I feel like I have to be vigilant like anyone else dealing with an addiction.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Obesity/54035

I'm down 51 pounds (as of today)...So 2.5 months out from revision. I had only lost about 65 with the band...and regained all of it back (plus 20 pounds)...I'm so happy with my decision to revise
Leslie