livvsmum

I had a tummy tuck and panniculectomy at about 19 months post op. At that point I had lost 140ish pounds. I have before and after pictures in my blog (linked in my signature) and I think on my profile picture here. I was able to get my insurance to cover it, so I only paid my small co-insurance fee. Second to my sleeve surgery, it was the very best decision ever. It was a tough surgery to recover from , but I'm so glad I did it. I'm now in the process of trying to get my upper arms covered by insurance. After that, I think I am satisfied. :-)

I did not have a drain for my sleeve surgery. I did have 2 of them for my tummy tuck though. worst ever.....

That's a tough stage that you are at. Your choices are so limited. Everyone has given you lots of good ideas. I don't really have food ideas to add. I will add though that I remember feeling SO emotional, angry, sad, irritable, etc at that point that you are at. You are starting to really feel the "loss" of your go-to choices. For me I was also dealing with the loss of my go-to coping mechanism, emotional eating. You really are learning a whole new lifestyle. I promise each day will get better and once you get up to full foods, a whole new world will open up! :-)

Hopefully it's not a very physically demanding job. I returned to a desk job 2 weeks after surgery. It was fine except I was SO tired. Like a new level of tired kind of tired. Completely drained. It took a good 6-8 weeks to really get back to full energy. B12 shots helped. Also, plan on taking your food with you and plan, plan, plan in advance. It takes so much stress off you to have your food/snacks and not have to figure it out on the fly and make poor decisions.

The first 4 days for me were really about just getting by and getting enough fluids in. I ended up staying in the hospital and extra 2 days because my potassium was low and I wasn't able to drink enough. Don't even worry about Protein or anything in that first little bit of time. You really have to focus on staying hydrated. Good luck!

Wonderful! Congratulations! I definitely had cold feet, especially as the surgery date approached. But I made a blog post early on about my "surgery bucket list" which basically had the reasons that I was having the surgery. Whenever that fear started to creep in, I would go back and revisit the post and remind myself of why it was so important to go through with. I mean, without the surgery, I'm certain I was headed to an early death or at the very least a lifetime of living from the sidelines with physical discomfort and increasing medical issues. I wanted more than anything to actively live a life with my husband and kids....and a long life. While no one can guarantee a long life, the surgery and getting healthy improved my chances of that. I just kept reminding myself of that. Now in retrospect, I can say it is the single best thing I have ever done for myself.

This is something I still struggle with 2+ years post op. I have been in therapy with an eating disorder therapist since about 7-8 months post op. That has helped tremendously with starting to see myself as I really am. I don't think it's something that just clicks for you some day....at least it wasn't for me. I had to actively seek out assistance in dealing with the emotional/psychological outcomes of food issues and body dysmorphia issues. I still sometimes will see a picture of me or catch a glimpse of myself in a window or mirror and be kind of startled at what I see. :-)

During the first week I definitely didn't get all of the Protein in. The focus for me the first week was fluids and keeping from getting dehydrated. It was difficult to drink Water and Protein shakes were a real struggle. That was about the only option though during the first week. Focus on getting your water in for sure. The protein will come.

I wasn't planning to, in fact in never crossed my mind. But I went to the bank to make a withdraw and they ask for my license and they had to call the manager out because they didn't think it was me. LOL. Kind of a good problem to have. We were getting ready to fly around the same time and I figured if the bank gave me problems there was always a chance the airport would give me problems too. So I paid the small fee (I think it was around 20 or 30) to get a new picture taken for my license.

That is awesome! Congrats on all your hard work paying off!

You are in the driver's seat. The sleeve is just a tool. It alone won't make you lose or gain back any certain amount. It will help you get to your goal if you use it in the right way. Once you get to your goal, then it just becomes a game of maintenance. If you are really concerned about losing too much, I would consider meeting with a nutritionist once you get close to your personal goal so you can figure out the calories and nutrients you would need to maintain your weight as opposed to losing more.

So at a bit over 2 years post op, I still like to use a Protein shake as a meal replacement/protein boost maybe not "every" day, but a few times a week. I am SOOOO tired of just chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, etc. So I searched on pinterest for Protein Shake recipes to see what kind of fun "on program" types of foods I could add to the shakes to flavor them differently. I found several I am excited to try. But, I want to hear from you all. What protein shake recipes or "add-ons" have you tried that you really liked?

For me, I would say the two things that have made me successful thus far were the following: 1. Follow the plan. Stick to your numbers. For me, I shoot for 70g Protein, less than 40g carbs, and at least 100oz Water daily. The weight flew off sticking to that. I "really" stuck to it though. I tracked everything I put in my mouth on MFP religiously and DID NOT deviate from the program until I reached my goal. 2. At around 8 months or so post op I started struggling to do what came so easy for me in the months right after surgery. I started to struggle with cravings and food choices again, much to my despair. It terrified me, so I sought out therapy with an eating disorder therapist. I have been working with her every single week since then, and I am now over 2 years post op. ONe of the first things she did in my first session was introduce me to Geneen Roth's writings, particularly "When Food is Love." By the title I thought, "pftt...that doesn't apply to me...." But when I actually read the book, I took pages and pages of journal notes because I couldn't believe how much it changed my life. Buy it. Read it. Re-read it! Good luck

I think if it's just a resting trip you would be ok. Just know that you will be exhausted, probably emotional, and you will need to take most of your food with you. I went away for work half way across the country 3 weeks after surgery and it was a challenge but doable. Good luck!

I hit my goal of losing 140 pounds by 10 months post op. I think if you are meticulous about every single thing you put in your mouth it does fall off very quickly. That's a good thing! Congrats!

Oh I think that is totally normal! In fact I remember posting about it too! :-) I was SO emotional the first few weeks after surgery. I remember being really surprised by it. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I think in retrospect it was a lot of things combined....... my body adjusting to this shock it just went through, me going through sugar/carb/caffeine withdraw all at once, and at least subconsciously dealing with the realization that my go-to coping mechanism (eating my feelings away) was gone. It's a lot to adjust to! Give yourself some time.

Definitely take something you are comfortable eating if it's a "take something" party. If you are at the stage where you can eat full solid foods, you should be able to find something at the parties. I don't think I've ever been anywhere I couldn't find "anything" that I could eat. The biggest thing for me is having a plan going in to it. Even if I don't know exactly what's going to be there, I know what I WON'T be eating. Getting that in your head ahead of time is helpful :-) Oh you also could go on pinterest and search whole food appetizers. There are tons of boards and pins on there with great ideas.

Awesome! Congratulations!

You look amazing! Very motivating to me as I'm working to get these last 15 pounds off. I'm sorry to hear about the difficult time you've had medically, but you pushed through and you have amazing results to show for it. Congratulations.

I can't add anything new, but just hit some of the points that others have said that have personally worked for me. First of all, I think that as you eat foods that are higher in carbs and sugar, you trigger that "addictive quality" that they have and you want more and more and they make you feel hungrier and hungrier. I find that on days I really stick to the 70g Protein and no more than 40g carbs I feel good restriction the next day. On the days I don't, I'm hungry the next day. I haven't personally done the full 5-day pouch test, but I've heard good things about it. When I start to get off track I do a version of a re-set where I go back to protein liquids for a few days just to get that good restriction back and flatten my tummy out. I always feel so much better when I'm sticking to the plan ....physically and emotionally. I also have been seeing a therapist weekly for about a year and a half now to work on the underlying causes of my eating issues. That has helped tremendously and I know for certain I would not have been able to keep the weight off without addressing these issues.

I don't remember the exact number but I do remember a several pound gain and it really just was from the IV fluids. It came right off.

Tell them what you are comfortable with. I only told one friend at work and she never would tell anyone else. I simply said that I have to take a medical leave. No one asked questions. They may have speculated between themselves, but no one came right out and asked me. The only one I had to tell was just the person in HR simply because it was written on my FMLA paperwork that I had to file. As the weight started falling off rapidly, that is a different story. While people are not likely to straight out ask you why you went on a medical leave, they will have NO problem pestering you non-stop about how you are losing so much weight. There was one secretary at my work who asked me literally every single day for months what I was doing. It got to the point where I would just altogether avoid her. My response has always been that I cut out sugar, wheat, and flour, eat lots and lots of Protein, lots of Water, and I started running. None of these things are lies. :-)

It is a long process and can be discouraging at times. Hang in there! Your surgeon wants you to have your surgery. Even if you are denied they will help you with an appeal. Good luck! It is a long process and can be discouraging at times. Hang in there! Your surgeon wants you to have your surgery. Even if you are denied they will help you with an appeal. Good luck!

Congrats on a smooth road to your surgery! Good luck!

The pre-op liquids are hard! But you will get through & it will be so worth it. If it's on your surgeons recommended food list, sugar free Popsicles helped me when I was really craving something "normal" Good luck on your journey!