HumanMerelyBeing

OK, I really appreciated all the replies. I especially smiled at the overthinking comments. Wow - that's pretty accurate and a great reminder. I suspect I might be an overthinker.
Hee hee - In fact, I am also an over-researcher. For example, on Day 4 or 5 post op, I almost lost my voice (probably just post-anesthesia stuff) but of course, I googled it and found a number of sites that said some people never regained a normal voice post-op or could never sing again. Immediately, I imagined my new voiceless life. I was going to be like the Little Mermaid who had gotten her much wanted feet, but would never speak again. Quite a trade-off.
Of course, 2 days later my voice fully returned and that was that. It's probably good I am back to work this week - too much time to think = bad things!!!

Hello all -
I know several of us are hitting our 1 month mark this week. Mine is today.
The body is an incredible thing, truly. It's a healing machine quite frankly.
At one and two weeks out:
-you wonder what you have done to yourself and you are pretty sure you will never feel quite normal again
-you can't imagine yourself ever sleeping anywhere but the living room recliner
-the thought of driving or going back to work seems like an unrealistic commitment you made Way Back Before Surgery
-you can get in so little Water and Protein that it dawns on you that THESE are the weeks that will cause Hair loss several months from now
-you learn what "sliming" is (ewwww)
-MyFitnessPal tells you repeatedly: "You are getting too few calories. If every day were like today, you would be DEAD in 5 weeks."
At three weeks out:
-you feel better but not really there yet
-you need extra naps on the weekend
-getting in your water and protein can be done with the effort of a full time job
-you have a strange painful stitch in your side that you've resigned yourself to bravely live with the rest of your life
-you accidentally sleep all night with the heating pad on your largest incision site on its highest setting
-you walk 20 minutes on the treadmill and then come onto this site and disbelievingly post, "WHEN did they say I should start exercising????"
-your body decides you must be on a grueling episode of Survivor and goes into starvation mode yielding the world's most devastating weight loss stall prompting you to decide that you are a failure and did this all for NOTHING
At four weeks out:
-you sleep in your own bed in whatever position you want
-the fire-hazardous heating pad gets put away
-you walk 2+ miles at lunch and think maybe you could have done more
-you have enough energy to really start cleaning the house again and get totally aggravated at hubby and kids for how little they managed to do for the past month
-you randomly feel happy, mad, silly, sad as hormones and emotions take their toll
-you have to pack up the first set of clothes which are now too big
-you feel healthy....dare I say...normal?
Yep, the first month is kind of amazing.

1st pic was taken in Tijuana at the beach 2 days after surgery 02/12/2017

2ND pic was taken last night 04/01@ 7 weeks 1 day post op

Oh, nooooooooooo!
Well, then....what's done is done. Time to start over. Just as a refresher, here are the basic concepts again:
While you are hanging out here for support, you can initiate the following steps that most of our plans have us do for our pre-op preparations.

Drink no calories.

Drink Water until your eyeballs float - 64 - 80+ ounces per day.

Don't eat anything made in a factory. You can do this by shopping the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the aisle unless you need a spice or paper towels...that kind of stuff.

Eat at least 60 ounces of Protein per day, and at any meal, eat your Protein first - then veg - then fruit.< /span>

Dessert should be something like an apple, not apple pie with two scoops of ice cream.

Avoid sugar, grease, and salt as much as possible. Eating clean will help you discover the real taste of natural food. If it weren't for sugar, grease and salt, McDonald's would have no business. When I gave up candy bars and started eating dark chocolate, I realized that it wasn't the chocolate I missed - it was the sugar.

Try to wean yourself off of soda and diet soda. Most bariatric plans discourage soda pop and anything with bubbles post-op.

Reduce starchy carbs like bread, flour, sugar, rice, noodle, biscuits, white potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti etc.


So what is left to eat? meat, eggs, cheese, Beans, Peanut Butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, and fresh fruits and non-starchy veggies. You can adjust your current recipes to reduce carbs. The World According to Eggface is a good place to start. Check out the forum here for recipes, also Sparkpeople.com and Myfitnesspal.com.

Many of us use Myfitnesspal.com for logging our food every day. It is really an eye-opener if you are honest with yourself about what you eat.

Weigh and measure your food to accurately acknowledge your actual portion size. There is a scientific principle that says, "You cannot control that which you do not measure."

Exercise where you can. Move your body every day. Don't become part of the sofa.
Hugs for a new start. Now, off you go!

Eight years ago, I weighed twice what I weigh today. Thanks to bariatric surgery, I’ve lost 116 pounds. Sometimes I look in the mirror and still see Fat Jean. And sometimes I look in the mirror and see Slim Jean, and I think “What the heck happened?”


What happened is that, as an acquaintance once said, I’ve lost an entire person. And what also happened is that I’ve gained an entire person. One who likes to dress in nice clothes that show off her nice parts. One who longer wishes she were invisible, is willing to chat with complete strangers, and can drive past McDonald’s and not feel French fries pulling her into the drive-through line.
And this is a person who’s willing to try new things, even as my hair grows silver and my mind and body grow slower and my energy diminishes…but so far, it hasn’t diminished to my pre-op activity level: sitting for hour after hour in a big, soft armchair with a mystery novel and 2 small dogs on her lap and a bag of potato chips within easy reach. Please God, don’t ever let me return to that!
But it’s not God’s job to prevent that. It’s my job. Forever and ever, amen. Because this journey never ends. And that’s OK. Because the day I take this weight loss and my new, energized, interesting life for granted is the day my Bandwagon veers off the road and into a deep, deep ditch. I’m determined to stay on the WLS path. I marvel almost every day not just at my size 4 wardrobe but at my mostly wonderful quality of life.
So please don’t be discouraged if, despite WLS, you find yourself plodding down the road hand in hand with your old food devils or trapped on a weight loss plateau. Sometimes we need to revisit old places, if only to help us remember how far we’ve come and motivate us to climb the next hill.

I will join you!!! I'm 15 months past surgery and just holding steady, but not feeling in control of my food, Water, exercise. Today's the day - thanks for the inspiration. I'll post tomorrow and report how I did jumping on your "Band" Wagon. heh heh

Hello all! I'm a bit behind everyone in this challenge having just joined this week. Today is Day 2 and I am getting back on track. I walked 50 minutes both days and reduced overall calories down to about 1100. I also reintroduced a daily Protein shake which is helping with the mid-day cravings and I avoided a Sun chips Vending Machine Tragedy today which is good.
Hoping to increase Water tomorrow which really seems to help. I'm trying not to weigh every day...maybe I'll do every 3rd or 4th day. : )
Thanks for starting this!

@@katesuccess, @@MissMac, @@Success2013, @@loseitsoon, @@longtimecoming7, @@CowgirlJane , @[humanmerelybeing"], & everyone else (cuz I know I haven't remembered everyone:/!): Good thoughts & congrats to all on getting on track/ recommitment / whatever you choose to call it. I am the 18- month veteran who gained a scary 14 pounds in December and January. I need to lose 1.5 more pounds and then I will have it off and will also be where I need to be to win the Dietbet ( dietbet.com) that I'm currently entered in (& need to weigh out of by 5/11). I have been working to get this off for 2 1/2 months. In essence, I have not had anything fun to eat in that whole 2 1/2 months – yikes! It was really hard the first couple of weeks, but once I was detoxed from carbs and eating sensibly (with steady-but-minor weekly weight loss) I was so encouraged that I would eventually make it back to my lowest weight (and that I thankfully hadn't ruined my sleeve results permanently!) that I got very inspired & committed to give myself that do-over /re-set (no matter WHAT it took!).
The elements of my success this round have been two 2- mile walks each day, eating few carbs to try to remain in very light key ketosis, taking Gummy Fiber and lots of Water daily. I've also been taking three or four coconut oil tablets each day along with cinnamon and chromium (in a Quest for balanced blood sugar & craving control).
If I can keep losing 2-3 lbs/month with this no-recreational-eating-whatsoever approach, I MIGHT just get down to that elusive 150/loose size 10 after all!
(PS - Longtime, I sent you a private message thru this site last week, but I don't think you opened it?)

Sorry you've been so sick @@Success2013 ! I hope you feel better now - yes?
I'm checking in now that I'm at day 9:
Still losing weight - slowly of course. (Sigh.)
+ Get all my Water in today -- Yup, well on my way and did well yesterday too.
+ Log my food today - Another 'yes'.
+ Back to the gym - yes, and heading there midday today since i have an evening meeting. (Apparently I'll be the sweaty one at that table!)
+ Stop any off-plan eating - Yes - except an unplanned Tblsp of chopped pecans anyway, though i was still within allowances.
+ I'll redo my measurements... I only do this once a month, but doing well not freaking when the scale tells me bad stuff.
- Continue to pre-make more meals I like - Yes, and making plans for cooking more of them this week.
+ Celebrate behavioral successes, not just the scale ones - Yes - not sure how this week though.
So, today I'm pleased to be doing well on this plan, packed and brought my gym bag, and pre-chose dinner from the restaurant menu on line. SO far so good!

I will join you!!! I'm 15 months past surgery and just holding steady, but not feeling in control of my food, Water, exercise. Today's the day - thanks for the inspiration. I'll post tomorrow and report how I did jumping on your "Band" Wagon. heh heh

I will join you!!! I'm 15 months past surgery and just holding steady, but not feeling in control of my food, Water, exercise. Today's the day - thanks for the inspiration. I'll post tomorrow and report how I did jumping on your "Band" Wagon. heh heh

Ok Veteran Sleevers, for those of you that are still rocking that sleeve with no backsliding, kudos to you, you are Rock ⭐️Stars! BUT, for those like myself that have left the "rock ????band" to pursue another career and want to get back onstage, I'm challenging you to join me in a 10 Day Rock Tour! (Please forgive my witty puns here, gotta keep my sense of humor in tack) Here's my plan to get those unwelcome 20 ????groupies (pounds) off my stage (body).
1. Take my "act" on the road. ????????Walk/run at least 3 miles EVERY day. No excuses. If it's raining ☔️I will walk on the treadmill or go to a mall and walk. The 3 miles is in addition to any normal walking I already do. This will get me ready for a 5k which is about 3.1 miles.
2. Drink at least 8 glasses of Water every day. No, Rock Star ????energy drinks don't count.
3. Try a new ????song (diet plan) I'm going to try the 5:2 song. (If you don't know what that is you can search it on this forum or google it) Basically try switching things up or go back to the basics from when you were first on tour (sleeved).
4. Report daily to this post with my success. ????
5. Measure myself before???? and after????
6. Log ????food, Water and exercise.
Then party like a Rock Star ????????????????when I complete the challenge and win a Grammy!
Who will join me?

15 months post op and down 119 lbs but seriously plateaued. Just had blood work done and low and behold my overall cholesterol is pretty much the same (214) as when I weighed 283 lbs. Sooooo, looks like it is probably genetic. (It's funny how the medical community wants to blame being heavy for everything that is not right. They never really addressed the number before but just said, "You need to lose weight.")
Now that we can all agree that it is genetic, I'll have some decisions to make with my doc about whether or not to go on meds. Although the total number didn't go down, I do note promising changes in the healthy cholesterol, HDL up 39 points and the bad LDL down 15 points. Tri's are very healthy at around 50.
I'm thinking I'd like to wait another 6 months or so before I commit to any meds. Given the positive direction on the HDL/LDL ratio, I'm wondering if further weight loss would help these borderline numbers edge over into normal or if this is just a genetic card I've been dealt.
Although I look good now, wear a size 8 regular or 10 petite and have a lot of muscle, I could stand to lose another 20 lbs by the charts. Well, technically by the charts, I could lose another 50 lbs and be in the normal range, because I'm short. However - literally I would be a size 0 and have to consume about 800 calories per day for life to maintain. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I'm still considered at the top of the overweight scale. It's hard to imagine because I feel so normal and healthy. I never thought I'd buy size 8 clothing and still be considered 1 point away from obese. : (
I'm thinking it would be realistic to work hard to break the plateau and get down to about 150 and then see what happens with the cholesterol at that point.
Anyone have any experiences with the ability to impact genetic cholesterol issues?

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking. With no other medical issues, and a borderline numer, my goal would be to postpone statins and see if I can affect a bit of change with additional weight loss. Then I can monitor again in 6 to 12 months.
Thank you for sharing your experience!

I don't have a lot of information on this but do have a similar experience. My chol went back down to normal range after WLS and stayed that way for about 3 years (I'm 4 years out now). My eating habits have remained very controlled with whole foods, mostly plant-based Protein, and no processed junk. Chol levels mysteriously started rising again at 3 years and I was told by my medical team that they are seeing a pattern of this happening and don't really have a lot of data yet as to why. Like you, my ratios are in a good range, so the decision for me right now is to NOT go back on meds. But, like everything else and because cholesterol treatment is SUCH A CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT right now, many of our physicians probably differ greatly on treatment decisions. The latest announcement last week about dietary cholesterol intake not being a major contributor to high serum cholesterol just adds more confusion to making the wisest choices for ourselves.
Of course this is a decision that only you and your physician can come to, but if my circumstances were exactly like yours, a total chol of 214 would not be high enough to start back on a statin, especially since your HDL and LDL have shown some improvement(but of course I don't know if you have any other medical conditions that might make 214 a dangerous number FOR YOU). It may well be likely that the genetic card we both have been dealt with will result in eventual use of statins, but I personally am cautiously holding out hope that some other less risky remedy other than statins will become an option sooner than later.
Good luck in making your decision, and congratulations on your great progress!

Quoting myself to address your ad hominum tactic, it's clear you missed it above even though I basically laid it out in a bullet point.
This isn't reddit. This isn't yahoo answers. This isn't 4chan. So I'm going to stick with compassion. You want snark, you want rudeness, you'll have to find that from me on a different corner of the internet. On support forums I provide support. The harshness I gave you after your OP was deliberate, and was as harsh as I'll get on here (except maybe when we are talking about Penny). You can provide whatever level of discourse you like, just don't fool yourself when you do it. Text or in person, mean is mean. If that's what you think people need, have at it. My posts will stand to let them know that support is out there. Feel free to reply, but I'm done, repeating myself isn't going to change your mind, and vice versa.

1. This is exactly the place for someone who is experiencing temporary difficulties coping - I don't think it has anything to do with being thin skinned. It's experiencing a major life change, and a bariatric support board is exactly where they should be able to find help. I'm not saying that everyone should be uncritical all the time, that is just pandering and is not helpful. I'm saying that there is no need to be cruel.
2. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis the very day I started grad school. After 8 years, my symptoms were too severe to continue working. It would have been unfair to my patients to let my disability interfere with their care. I am still qualified as a therapist, I just voluntarily left the field because I was struggling under the weight of my MS symptoms.

It has nothing to do with weakness. Depression is a physiological phenomenon, a biochemical mechanism that can be stirred up by huge life change and/or major trauma. It doesn't make sense, it's not always rational, and that's because ration is not a feature of the brain structures that control emotion. They operate independently of our rational mind. When someone's mind is already off kilter due to major life changes and maladaptive biochemical processes, something a simple as a post on a website really can be a kick in the teeth. That's because the mind is already reeling from these changes. It can take time for a person to get sorted out, to mentally get back on their feet to the point that they can just dismiss ridiculous comments on the web. We're all human, and so we are all vulnerable, we can all be stressed when someone, even a stranger on the internet, pushes on our weak spots or kicks us when we are down.
Frankly, in this day and age, with the widespread knowledge of depression and its causes, I'm shocked that you don't know all of this. I used to be a therapist, and most of my patients had at least some basic knowledge like this before they even sought out care.
I hope your post doesn't scare off people who are, however temporarily, in a dark place, and are sensitive to comments, on the internet or otherwise. It is absolutely normal to feel the way they do and experience sensitivity to the opinions of others. I mean, the opinions of others are exactly why we are all here!

Well, I got the old back handed compliment again today. I've seen this woman 2 or 3 times since my surgery and everytime she sees me she says these seemingly positive things. "OH MY GOD! You are like half your former size now." And in a large group of people she asked me, "So how much have you lost exactly? It's like another person!!" Her comments always accentuate how extremely large I was before and how I must have also been very unattractive overall.
Well, today she saw me and said, "Seriously, I CANNOT believe you look this good." So I just smiled and said, "Well....believe it."
And hopefully, that will be that.

Wow...that's so sad...guess I'm lucky...I go to a bariatric center of excellence, so they are focused on good eating and understand the genetics of the problem.
My therapist teaches Success Habits and is an addiction counselor AND she had WLS about 10 years ago and is still maintaining... she is PERFECT...love her to pieces!!!
I guess, as always, everyone is different...for once, I am one of the lucky ones

Well, this is one of the things I like about my bariatric center. For the first time in my life I began to understand obesity as a "disease process" and all the REAL reasons I could not maintain a weight loss without WLS.
I agree with you though, and alot of nutritionalists are freaking clueless. Pre WLs, I went to a nutritionalist who apparently thought I was illiterate and clueless because we played with plastic fake food. Like, if only I really understood the difference between a potato and brocoli. If only I could grasp that 1/2 cup is half of a cup.... then i would clearly have control over my obesity. It was all I could do to refrain from saying "I am fat, not necessarily stupid"

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

Well, I got the old back handed compliment again today. I've seen this woman 2 or 3 times since my surgery and everytime she sees me she says these seemingly positive things. "OH MY GOD! You are like half your former size now." And in a large group of people she asked me, "So how much have you lost exactly? It's like another person!!" Her comments always accentuate how extremely large I was before and how I must have also been very unattractive overall.
Well, today she saw me and said, "Seriously, I CANNOT believe you look this good." So I just smiled and said, "Well....believe it."
And hopefully, that will be that.

The road to weight loss can be a slippery one. We’re on this journey, with bariatric surgery packed in our bags, because so many times before we lost our way and found ourselves back at the beginning, maybe with an extra 10 or 100 pounds inour bags. So how can we drive on these icy roads and arrive at our destinations safe and sound and thin?


Brrrrr. It’s winter, and a bad one in some parts of the country. I’m somewhat safe because much of the time, I can work from home, but that can be risky business too. Just think about it: my office door is only six feet away from my typically over-stocked middle-class American kitchen. There’s no caramel gelato in the freezer, no Cookies in the cupboard, but despite that, my brain keeps wandering back to the kitchen, over and over again. No doubt about it, winter driving is tricky business for WLS patients, indoors and out.
This doesn’t mean that your most precious vehicle (your body) is destined to slide off the road despite the nifty tool of bariatric surgery. These are just some musings from a formerly fat girl with a lot of miles on her. I’ve writtena lot on that subject – a lot? Heck, I wrote a whole book about it, but I’ll start by introducing myself. Here goes:
Hi, I'm Jean, and I'm a control freak. I have a really hard time trusting thatfate, or God, or anybody else, is in control of my life, my weight, my health,big things, small details, anything. The story I’m about to tell you is absolutely true.
Years ago I was a passenger in a car driven by my boyfriend. I was in the passenger’s seat; his 9-year-old daughter and her dog were in the back seat. It was a very cold, dark, snowy night on a curving mountain road in New England (not much different than conditions up there was I write this).
Suddenly the road before us was a sheet of ice and in panic, I said, "Slow down, Jack, that's glare ice ahead." He didn't slow down, didn't even respond, soI cried, "Jack! Are you nuts? We’ve got Kristin and Taffy in the car!"
He said, "If I brake now, we'll spin out. We're just going to roll over it."
So we rolled right over the ice, and we all survived. The car was silent for amoment or two, and then we heard Kristin behind us, saying, “Can we stop at Friendly’s for ice cream?”
What does this story have to do with bariatric surgery? Sooner or later on your weight loss surgery journey, you will hit a stretch of bad road. It will be dark out, and you’ve never driven this road before, and it’s raining cookies or sleeting potato chips and the visibility is terrible.
You'll be lost, without street signs or landmarks or a map to guide you, facing unexpected events or conditions. You'll hit a weight loss plateau or experience a weird symptom or your beloved surgeon will leave his/her practice and move to Tibet to study Buddhism. If you're like me, a person who always has to be solving a problem, you'll ask yourself, "What am I doing wrong? What can I do to fix this? What should I do now? Right now."
The answer to those questions may very well be, "Nothing." Sometimes the best course of action is no action. Sometimes you just have to stay the course.
So the next time you face a rough spot in your journey, try not to panic. Don't hit the brakes, or speed up, or turn suddenly. Just roll over it. You’re notin charge of the world and someone in heaven’s got your back. The ice and snowwill melt, you’ll be able to read your map again, and you’ll crawl out of thatditch you’d slid into. You’ll firmly tell Kristin that no, we’re not stopping for ice cream, and you’ll hit the WLS road again, one foot at a time, over andover, while your destination grows ever nearer.

My "OTHER" is BOREDOM!!!!! In the evening, when I'm watching TV and my husband is sleeping, I'm tempted. Most days I resist with a cup of tea or Protein bar.