ChatCat

How you all feel is totally normal. This is a big deal, major surgery and you need to educate yourself as best you can so you feel as prepared as possible. There is tons of info out there if you look and organizations like American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America and all kinds of other sites that have info too. I felt a lot better knowing all the information going into the surgery. I read everything I could get my hands on, night and day! If you need help with exercise there is the Bariatric Guru Erin Akey who has had RNY surgery herself and runs marathons now and is very inspirational. She is on Facebook and is a great champion to have in your corner if you need motivation to exercise (she even uses hula hoops to help you have fun while you exercise) Also, having plans that require you to do 6 months or more of work to get to the operating room door is also good because you have time to really know you want to do it or not and develop good habits.

Amanda, at the top of the screen there is a button that says "reply to this topic" that is how you make a post without using the quote if you want.

I have the same problems but I know one of the issues is sugar free sweetener. If I have too much, look out. I will be in the bathroom all day. It makes me crampy and gassy too. The sugar alchols so that might be something to watch for those with crampiness. And yeah, the poop is stinky. Probably from all the supplements/vitamins/minerals - I would assume that since we malabsorb, they are coming out there. Lot of magnesium is helpful to get things moving in the bowels. I take 600mg/day and that keeps me moving really good. Sometimes you have to ease up if it is too much and find the right amount. Milk of Magnesia, magnesium tabs, miralax. Those work for me.

WAY TO GO! That is so awesome. What a fabulous accomplishment! I am so proud of you and I don't even know you :-) I just started the Jeff Galloway 5k trainer so I hope to get there myself.

I never had a pain pump and I was up and walking in a couple of hours. Never used any pain meds for pain issues at all. No issues at all so count yourself lucky and enjoy it! I have had a totally wonderful and amazing journey so far. I do feel bad for those who have a tough time because that is never pleasant.

You might try miracle noodles or rice. The rice is made with glucommanan which is a supplement my Dr. gave me a few years ago for appetite control. glucommanan is a Fiber so they are fat free, calorie free etc.. www.miraclenoodle.com (website says the noodles are made with shirataki but my co-workers says they are good and not smelly like the tofu shirataki you have pictured. I did not like those either and I rinsed the hell out of them) Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 3 oz Servings Per Container: 2.3 Amount Per Serving Calories 0 Calories from Fat 0 Total Fat 0g 0% Protein 0g 0% Protein <1g 0% Sugar 0g 0% Carbohydrate <1g - only fiber Zero Net Carbs, Zero Calories, Zero Glycemic Index Ingredients: Water, glucomannan (soluble fiber), Calcium additive. No soy, gluten, or wheat!

It is really normal to have stalls. Especially in week 3-4. I have found in all the reading I have done that is very common. Your body is going to go through stalls periodically while it catches up with you! Starving ourselves causes our body to freak out and hold on for dear life so just try to work with the stalls and know your body is just trying to save you and they will pass.

Welcome Jen! This is a crazy ride and you will continue to feel a wide array of emotions as you walk this path. If I can be of any help to you, please dont hesitate to contact me on here. I check in here just about every day. Best of luck to you. With your attitude, you wont need a lot of help! Loving yourself is the biggest hurdle to jump in my opinion and since you already love yourself the rest is going to be easy!

I enjoyed reading this even though it was painful for me to see your words on this screen. It is so sad what people say to us and even more sad, how we believe it and buy into it. I am glad you did this and you are doing something great for yourself!

Wooo Hoooo! Congratulations. Hang on for the ride my friend! You actually look really good in this picture for just having surgery. Your color is good and you look great. Take care and enjoy your new lease on life!

Start off small. You dont have to walk 5 miles on the first day! Just set a goal you will walk around the block the first day or few days. Then go a bit longer until you are walking twice around the block. Or, turn up the music in your house and dance around for 10 minutes to start. Find something fun to do, you might be surprised how much you end up liking it. Do aerobic house cleaning! Take a class or get a personal trainer and make appointments you keep. Once you have surgery you are going to feel so much better it will get easier. Like I tell everyone, take belly dancing classes or salsa classes or yoga or just try something new and see if you like it.

I had bouts of dizzyness for about 6 weeks. Once my protein was increased at that point to 80g/day it went away. Has not been a problem since.

I also hit two stalls in the first 6 weeks. I lost nothing, not one ounce for 10 days and then got stuck again for 2 weeks. I was only getting 40-50g Protein a day. My program did not allow Protein shakes but just in the last two weeks changed that and now I get one scoop of Isopure per day and now the weight is really dropping. I also cut how much cheese I was eating down to one meal per day. Have not had a stall since. My guess is you need more calories and protein. The Water is critical too. best of luck to you! Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

Something else to consider too is the kind of whey you are getting. I got this from the Six Pillars of Nutrition book: Protein concentrates. Protein concentrates are created by pushing the protein source (milk, whey, etc.) through a very small filter that allows Water, minerals, and other organic materials to pass though. The Proteins, which are too big to pass through the filter, are collected, resulting in Protein powder. When this process is used to make whey protein concentrate, it yields a protein powder that is 70-80% protein and up to 5% lactose. People with lactose intolerance will have trouble consuming large amounts of whey protein concentrate. Protein isolates. This is the next step up in purification; the protein is purified again using more filtration or a technique called ion-exchange or cross-flow microfiltration. Protein isolates have very low levels of carbohydrates and fat and are almost exclusively pure protein. People with lactose intolerance usually don’t have trouble with whey protein isolates. Many companies that make whey protein isolates will certify that their product is lactose free or they add lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) to the protein powder to help with digestion. A really interesting area of protein research is looking a whey protein peptides (i.e. short chains of amino acids). Studies are showing that these peptide chains have additional benefits independent of the actual amino acids. For example glycomacropeptides are found in whey protein. They have been shown to cause your body to release the hormone CCK which signals your brain that you are full (pretty cool, huh?)

Also, I mix mine with water, not milk. Makes it a lot thinner and tolerable to me. I drink it with a LOT of ice too. Better when they are really cold. Seems like the smell goes away.

Go to Nashua Nutriion's web site and you can order samples of all the Protein shakes they carry. For $1.95 they give you a single serving size to try before you spend too much. GNC also allows 30 days for returns on Protein powder. I use Isopure Zero Carb Vanilla and add SF white chocolate syrup and some chocolate extract to it. I like it. I have also tried Protizyme Peanut Butter Cookie and it was amazing and BSN Whipped Vanilla Cream - also good. I have to add SF syrup and doctor it up good to drink it but they taste really good to me that way. Good luck!

Oh this is such an exciting time!! I was jumping with joy. Yes, it is normal to have a million what ifs but try to make them positive ones!! Dont get too hung up on what if something bad happens, turn it around to look at all the amazing ways your life is about to get better!! This is one hell of a roller coaster ride so hang on and enjoy it!

Welcome! Sounds like you are on your way and headed toward the post WLS roller coaster. The time before surgery will fly by so hang on!

I use Zicam and it is amazing. It might help now but you are supposed to take it at the first sign of a cold. It's not something that should be a problem before surgery since it is zinc. Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

Overnight.

Finally! A fellow Oregonian. We've been keeping it rainy here for you :-)

This whole process is a huge emotional rollercoaster and maybe there is something going on with you emotionally that is causing this physical problem. I just want to say that this surgery is not the be all, end all answer to all your problems with food. I am not saying you are looking at it that way but there are still issues post surgery that you will have to deal with so do the best you can to make sure your head is in the right place going in. The surgery starts you down the road but it is still up to you to stay hydrated, take your Vitamins, eat enough Protein and exercise. Is there anyone you could talk to that has had surgery that might be able to help you through this in person? Do you have a support group or dietician that could help you? Or maybe some therapy to just get over this hump. This is a huge deal and you need to be as positive as you can be going in IMHO. Whatever it takes to get there will help you tremendously after surgery. Best of luck to you. I hope you get it all worked out. Its no fun feeling sick all the time.

I also dont care for the gym and am a total clock watcher. I do better when I make fun playlists for myself on my iPhone and listen to those or french tapes (learn to speak French) or even read a magazine. I make a deal with myself to read the whole magazine (skimming a lot of it) and not get off the treadmill or eliptical until I am done. The time whips by that way. The other thing is maybe you do enjoy being active you just dont enjoy the drudgery of the gym? You could swim, walk outdoors, try belly dancing, ride a bike, go hiking somewhere beautiful, play volleyball with friends, go golfing, the list is endless. There are lots of things you can do to move your body, it does not have to be at the gym. Some fitness centers also offer a boot camp style workout where you could meet some other people that might help you stay on track and maybe you could walk with those people or something. Just some ideas! I hope it gets better.