livvsmum

It was supposed to be 6 months, but be prepared for more. By the time I got through all the testing, etc that was required it ended up being 8.5 months.

Stupid time of the month is giving me a higher starting weight than I would like. Oh well. At least my first week's loss will be good! I have a trip to Mexico planned for the end of this challenge, so that is super motivating! SW: 152.4 GW: 138

No carbonated drinks....ever. Honestly, once you get off them, you don't miss them. I got my family off of them as well and if they have one out somewhere or at a friends house or something they can't even finish it. It just tastes gross to them know. I'm not a beer drinker, but I would imagine the same would hold true. Plus it's just a bad idea to drink your calories. As for caffeine, the surgeon's advice on this is as varied as their zip codes. Mine said to avoid it because it can be an appetite stimulant. I have not avoided caffeine since about 1 month post op. I haven't had a problem with it at all.

In theory I "can" eat whatever I want. I am 2.5 years post op. I try most days and most meals to stick with the plan though. It's easy once you hit your goal weight to get "comfortable" and let old habits back in. You will regain if you do this. It is more of a lifestyle change for me, so I try to stick to it as much as possible.

Oh my gosh! I'm so terrible at updating these, but I NEED this one! We are leaving for Riviera Maya on May 21, right before Memorial Day and I need to shed these last pounds before then. Please count me in!

Oh wow! That is scary! I hope everything is ok. Do you have any trouble breathing when you are laying flat? Did they have you doing the spirometer or whatever it is called when you were in the hospital?

I had the first transfusion today. It went fine. It took about a 1/2 hour for the Iron IV and then a 1/2 hour observation to make sure there was no reaction. I feel pretty normal at the moment, but she said it would take a couple of days to really feel any difference, then I'd feel much better after the treatment next week and then in about 3 weeks I should feel 100% once the red blood cells have reproduced. Feeling hopeful that I can get my life back soon.

What type of Iron are you taking? Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App I was taking an oral iron supplement 2x a day. That didn't help so now I will be going for an iv iron infusion weekly

I think physically and mentally I was pretty prepared. Maybe over-prepared in that I never used all of the millions of kinds of Protein powders I stocked up on....lol. What I wish I would have known ahead of time was the emotional work it would take to be successful after surgery. I never realized the emotional connections I had to food, and it was really surpising to me what a struggle it was when that coping mechanism was gone. I would have read up on Geneen Roth's writings before I had the surgery. That would have helped so much! Good luck to you!

Goal weights are so arbitrary in my opinion. I mean, your surgeon probably has a goal weight that he would like to see you at, but until you start losing you don't really know what is realistic. I set my goal weight too high, not realizing how quickly the weight would fall off and I adjusted it down from there. It also helped me to set little goals as I went, like losing the first 25 or 50 or getting under 200 or whatever. The little goals help to keep you motivated to meet the larger goals. :-) Good luck!

Welcome! We have a lot in common! I also have 4 kiddos, and was right around your current weight when I had surgery. My surgery weight was 278. My initial goal was also 150. I found that I easily reached that and kept pushing forward. I was also close to your age when I had surgery - I was 33. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. It has been so awesome for my kids to see everything I've accomplished and my whole family has changed their eating habits. We no longer keep "junk" in the house and we're all able to be active together. I think you're going to be so pleased with the changes beyond the scale that it brings to your life and your family. Good luck to you!

I would recommend seeking out some success stories and reading through about their journeys. That helped me when I was early on like you. I think it's 100% normal to be nervous about the life changes. I view that as a good thing because you are really seeing the changes for the significant lifestyle changes that they are. I think that makes you so much more likely to be more successful than if you just viewed it as a minor thing and something that would not impact your life choices. Just keep reminding yourself of why you want to do this and keep coming back to those reasons. That is what would get me through when I started second-guessing myself. Good luck!

That's awesome! Congrats! It is a moment you won't forget! 3 years later, I still remember it vividly :-)

It sounds like you know what you are doing wrong, it's just a matter of getting back on the right track. Like you said, when you are doing it, it is not difficult. It's just getting back there that is hard. Maybe you need to do some soul-searching to try to get at why you are allowing self-sabotage with your nutrition. Perhaps there are some underlying issues there? For me it was emotional eating, and before I did the work and got a handle on that, nothing lasting was going to change. Good luck to you!

That's awesome! congrats!

Congrats! You look amazing! It's not an insignificant amount of time!! It's a life-changing amount of time! Keep up the great work!

Congrats! You look amazing!

I had my appt with the hematologist yesterday. She was very good & made me feel a lot better about things. I have to go in on Tuesday next week. They are going to do a blood transfusion to give my blood volume a quick boost and a series of weekly IV Iron infusions. After that in about 10 weeks she will re-check my levels. She said that she hasn't had anyone who has had to have more weekly infusions after that, but then again she said she has never had anyone with iron as low as mine....basically non-existent. She said she will also test my b12 when she re-tests after the infusions, but doesn't want to do it now because she doesn't want me to lose anymore blood, not even for a blood test. Finally, she said that I may need to do this every 6 months or a year long-term if my body never finds a way to absorb iron. I'm actually pretty excited because at least I have a plan of attack and she said I am going to feel 100% better. Thank goodness!

But.... What if you CAN do it?? I think it speaks volumes to your capacity for success that you are already identifying some of the underlying patterns you have with food (ie the emotional eating, etc). The fact that you are doing that shows that you are ready to face them head on and make the changes you need to make. You've got this!!

Yes, there are some days I can eat more than other days. Typically I find that if I eat a lot of Protein and very few carbs one day, the next day I have a lot of restriction and can't eat much. If I eat a lot of carbs or sugary foods the one day, then the next I am hungry and want to eat everything in sight. That's just the pattern I've seen in myself....

I can only speak for myself. I don't think there is anything magical about weight loss that changes you inwardly. I have, though, changed a great deal inwardly. But it was not for lack of trying. I didn't want to be the same. I wanted to conquer the demons that I've battled all my life with emotional eating and disordered eating so I didn't have to battle them the remaining years of my life. I did a lot of work on myself through reading, writing, and therapy. So, yes, I have changed fundamentally. I've taken back power. I've developed new coping mechanism. I've become confident. I speak up in a room instead of hiding in a corner. I am not afraid of what others are thinking anymore. I (try to be) kind to myself in my self-talk and self-care. These are not things that just one day "changed" because I lost 50 or 100 pounds. They changed and I changed because I worked on it every, single day. So I guess my answer is different than most others, who say they didn't change. But like I said....I can only speak for myself. :-)

I believe I took about 2 weeks off. I definitely could have used another 2 just for the fact that I was extremely exhausted. Good luck to you!

My initial thought would be b12 or iron deficiency can also wipe you out

If money was not an issue and I didn't need to use my insurance, I would have gone forward with it. I didn't really feel like anything magical happened for me in the 6 months pre-op. Honestly most of my emotional growth has taken place post-op.

Thank you for the tips! I have been doing that. I've researched everything. Feeling very hopeless. Whatever they do I hope it helps, and quickly! I'm glad that you are starting to feel better. That is a good sign! Yes, extreme exhaustion & constantly being cold are some of my symptoms. I actually made a list to take to the specialist tomorrow, and it is a very, very long list of symptoms. lol