LumpySpacePrincess

I don't have a full length mirror at home. I guess I have always avoided it. My boyfriend laughs at me because I look at my lower half reflection in the tv or the microwave! Recently, though, I was at Ikea and there was a secluded little corner full of mirrors. I went there to check myself out where no one could see. I was amazed at how small my butt is now! In fact, my whole body looked like I'd had some kind of body transplant. The weight loss for me happened overnight, basically. I've lost it so fast with no stalls and for that I am grateful. But there are times I am at the mall and look in the bathroom mirror and the first thing I do is nitpick little things like my slowly shrinking belly roll, or my batwing arms. I have to force myself to stop putting myself down and focusing on all that has changed for the better. Do I recognize myself? Its weird, but I was never really aware of how large I was when I looked in the mirror. I have a photo of me a few years ago when I hit 250 pounds after months of dieting and I thought I was so skinny. I think I was in denial about it until I saw a photo of myself from vacation last year, and my face looks like its slowly sinking into some flesh colored quicksand that was my head. Its awful, and I never want to look like that again!

The pain and not being able to sleep on your side is normal. I forced myself to gradually tilt to the side over a period of days and it made it easier. Surround yourself with pillows, prop up your belly and put one behind your back. It helps a lot! I also created a bed wedge out of pillows and a blanket over them (think one sided pyramid) so I could sleep reclined in bed. Every day I'd take one pillow out until I was sleeping flat. As far as the hunger goes, they remove the gland that produces the hunger hormone during surgery, so you won't feel true hunger for a long time. If you do find yourself feeling hungry, the usual culprit is excess stomach acid, so make sure you are taking your acid reducer. If it gets really bad you can take two at a time. Tip: the longer you stay away from refined sugars and grains the longer your hunger cues will stay away, which is a good thing! Sugars and grains cause blood sugar spikes and drops that can mimic true hunger, causing you to eat more than you should.

Just tell the in-laws "I'm trying very hard to lose weight." They don't need to know the method. I know how you feel, though. The second day of my pre-op diet I had to go to a wedding. I looked terribly out of place drinking a Protein shake at the reception. I can't remember what they served at the wedding, but I can tell you the thrill I had a few weeks ago fitting into a size 10 jeans!

I am a little over 10 months out and here is what my average day looks like. Breakfast: 3 egg whites scrambled with green pepper and red onion, 2T feta cheese and 2T reduced fat cheddar = 142 calories, 2 net carbs, 7g fat, 18g Protein Morning snack: coffee with 1/3 cup 2% milk and 2T half&half, sweetened with Splenda = 83 calories, 5 carbs, 5 fat and 4 protein Lunch: 4 ounces tuna canned in Water, drained, with 1T Hellman's lite mayo = 146 calories, 0 carbs, 6 fat, 23g protein Dinner: Yankee Trader brand Crab Cake with 1/4c lettuce and 1T yogurt Bleu Cheese dressing = 150 calories, 8g carbs, 8 fat, 7g protein Evening snack: 6oz Chobani fat-free plain Greek yogurt, sweetened with Splenda = 80 calories, 6 carbs, 18 protein Daily total: 600 calories, 22 net carbs, 25g fat and 70g protein

So I'm only 17 pounds away from hitting my goal. I'm a fairly quick and steady loser with no stalls at all in my whole 9 months since surgery (thank you, body, for finally cooperating with me on something!!). I'm estimating I should be down to my goal weight by early November. That's not too far off, and I want to start planning for maintenance now. Can anyone share things they wish they'd known before they went into maintenance mode, things that make it easier/harder, and how my daily life should change during that phase? I want to start preparing psychologically now so the transition won't be as bumpy. Thanks!!

I love baking! My secret recently has been using EZ-Sweetz liquid sucralose (splenda), instead of the granular and everything comes out delicious. I'm going to take your suggestion and use unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil in baking. Fall is usually a busy baking season for me, and I didn't get to do any last year as I was prepping for surgery then. Lately I have been baking so much, even if I don't eat it. Thankfully I have a boyfriend and a son who are more than happy to scarf down pumpkin bread, apple cider muffins and the like of which I won't eat now. There's just something satisfying about baking; mixing everything up and smelling it bake in the oven. What I'm really looking for are some bariatric friendly holiday cookie recipes that don't use a ton of nut flours.

My nutritionist actually has Wendy's chili on her approved list for easing into the chunky food phase, so its not that bad!! Some Panera Bread Soups are also fairly low in caloires and fat. Their broccoli cheddar is actually pretty reasonable!

What about getting some unflavored Protein powder and putting it in a more savory broth and drinking that instead of the sweet shakes? The pre-op is twofold: it helps shrink your liver but it also starts to reorganize how your brain thinks about food and hunger before surgery. To me, this is one of the most vital components. If your head isn't in the right place, post-op will be more difficult.

Everyone is different. I've averaged about 650 calories per day since about three weeks out (before that it was much lower) and have had steady losses and no stalls. I have my Vitamin levels checked regularly and my nutritionist says they are stellar. Another friend of mine who is a nutritional sciences professor at a local college tells me that the majority of people fit in all their required nutrients per day into about 800 calories, and most of everything else we eat aside from that are unnecessary items. If your 800-1000 calories per day are packed with Protein and you are getting your Vitamins in, there isn't much to worry about. Don't try to increase calories just for the sake of meeting some arbitrary number goal.

I had to lose 100 pounds before I could really go down in sizes significantly. It was pointed out to me by someone who works in the fashion industry that the reason is because plus sizes are sized 'generously', meaning there are large gaps in between the sizes so you may not see a size change for awhile. Regular sizes, however, are sized more close together so once you get down past a 14, you'll notice sizes changing fairly quickly. I have been stuck between a 14 and 16 in pants for months now for this reason. There is a ledge between 14 being 'regular' and 16 being 'plus' that my body just won't allow me to jump. However, I can wear a size medium skirt and fit into a size 10 dress if it is the right shape. Its really confusing, but give it some time and you will be shopping in the 'regular' section!

This is embarrassing so I'll just come out with it. About a month ago (8 months post op) I started getting really smelly gas. Like the kind that will hang in the air for awhile and smell like a sewer in the middle of the Sahara! Has anyone else experienced this? I was blissfully bad-gas free for 8 months and now its back. I'm not lactose intolerant, and I don't dump, try to limit my refined carb intake, too. The only other thing I can think of is I only 'go' about once per week with the help of a laxative, though this has been status quo since surgery and the gas was never smelly like this before. Maybe I need beano?? Thanks! P.S. yes, I contacted my surgeon's office and they didn't seem concerned.

The first month or so can be an extremely emotional time. Be careful not to get it stuck in your head that you have problems in your relationship popping up, and instead remind yourself (and your spouse!) that your emotions will be all over the place for awhile. I would wait to re-analyze your relationship until you are at least six months out and your hormones have stabilized a bit. A lot of people talk about relationships getting weaker after surgery, but I am here to tell you that many of us have relationships that have strengthened and improved. Its important to remember that eating is a social activity, and a great deal of our relationships surround it. Remind yourself of the other things that attracted you to your partner and start devoting your time to those activities together from early on to replace the social eating.

I asked the same question of my sister-in-law who is a cosmetologist. She told me to wait until about a month after the hair stops falling out noticeably, because even though the hair loss is from an internal source, the follicle is still weak at this point and you can slow down hair regrowth if you damage it further.

Yes, Valley Hospital is a CoE and they have a NUT in house. All the surgeons there are wonderful. I chose Dr. Bagloo after researching her career and education for awhile, and she sounded very competent. She also took the time to answer my questions during the initial visits and didn't rush me. Very caring person and really takes the time to spend with her patients. Dr. Schrope, the director, is also a very good surgeon.

This is a very personal decision. I looked into both of those surgeons and eventually went with Dr. Bagloo at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. I'm so glad I did!! The experience has been nothing short of amazing. She is a wonderful surgeon and the nutritionist at Valley is also outstanding. Wonderful program. I converted one other patient to Valley a few months back who went to Dr. Schmidt and thought they were a little pushy. She's also glad she went to Valley. I kind of think of surgeons as a "you'll know when you find them" kind of deal. If you're unsure, keep looking.

When I first started, I heard a lot of people say that around 8-9 months, things started to backslide a little bit. I'm 9 months out, and I can definitely see this in myself, though it hasn't affected my losses that much. This whole process can be tiring, and after months of being so diligent its comforting to just relax with it a little. Its important to recognize your trigger foods and keep them to a minimum (if not nil) for awhile. I'm wondering if it is the sugar in the granola bars that are causing you to graze? I know this about myself, that when I eat refined sugar I tend to eat more in general throughout the day. Maybe stop with the granola for awhile and see how it goes?

I have a TON of saggy skin!! Do I hate it? Well, its not appealing to me. On the other hand, saggy skin doesn't make my knees hurt when I go upstairs, or keep me from breathing regularly when I go for walks, or get in the way when I need to bend over for something. I mean, sure, it sounds like someone jumping on a waterbed when I do jumping jacks, but at least I can DO the jumping jacks!!

My surgeon told me that weight loss is like a staircase: you will have lots of flat plateaus and sudden drops. Don't expect it to be a straight line to goal. If you are doing what you should by your nutritionist and surgeon's orders, your body will get there when it gets there, and no amount of stressing out will make it go faster. At two months, I also thought I was a slow loser. Now I'm 9 months out and down 141 pounds. It adds up very quickly!

Definitely call your surgeon. In the meantime, make sure you're getting enough b12. I get light headed and faint when I forget to take mine.

I was just noticing that this morning when I put on some lace up shoes. They used to be tight in a size 8, and now they are so big. I had to go from an 8w to a 7 regular.

One of the only issues I've had since surgery is the inability to have a bm on my own. I usually take a single stimulant laxative once a week and that has done the trick. However, I'd like to start being able to go naturally. I know when I do eat bread, I have a bm usually the next day, so I think the problem isn't that my bowels are sluggish, there's just not enough volume to what I need to pass for it to signal my body that its "time." I do not like eating bread or grains on a regular basis because they are trigger foods for me, and when I eat them its much harder to get my Protein in for the day. I also do not like Fiber supplements because they give me some major bloating that gets really uncomfortable. So I'm looking for ideas that will give my bm's bulk so I can have more regular bathroom habits and go without the stimulant laxative. I've tried Beans, but they don't seem to work unless I eat a lot of them on a daily basis. Lettuce sometimes helps but gives more of a diarrhoea effect. Any advice is appreciated!