Ginger Snaps

I was cleared for walking immediately (of course) and at my 4 week appointment my doc said I could go back to lifting. I was surprised because I had a large hiatal hernia repeaired, too, but I started back and everything feels great. Well, my butt and legs are still dying from a hard workout Monday, but it's that good "my muscles did something" soreness.

I've started lifting again (doctor cleared me at 4 weeks) and like you, I found myself basically too tired to do anything that required that much exertion. I talked to my nutritionist and she said I needed to have a healthy carb just before working out because that requires "faster" energy than Protein. She suggested I eat a piece of fruit or to toast half of one of those whole wheat sandwich thins and have that right before I exercise. It really has helped. She also suggested I add more carbs in throughout the day. I was only eating protein and keeping carbs below 30 or so a day and she said that was just too low if I was going to be active. So far, so good -- I have energy to exercise and have still lost weight.

When I saw my doctor at my one month I complained about constipation, too. I told him I felt so stopped up that if I had a good bowel movement I'd lose 5 pounds. I had been taking laxatives occasionally. He told me to stop that and to take a stool softener twice a day (recommended Colace) and to add Fiber to my diet (found some good fiber gummy chews and started eating more fruit). He said when I got normal, drop one of the stool softeners. It's worked like a charm -- even better than the laxatives.

He's a snake oil salesman in a white coat. I watched about 3 episodes of his show and thought it was more like an infomercial than anything. I work in pharma so I may have a little more medical knowledge than the average non-medical person but I thought his exaggerated strung out object lessons on how the body works were ridiculous. How about real medical diagrams or animations like WebMD has. Maybe raspberry flavored green coffee bean extract at 10 am every day could have kept ALL of us out of surgery...

I had surgery June 9th and I'm heading to Belize August 9th and my doctor OK'd it. I asked just to be sure. I'm 5 weeks out now and I feel like I would be safe going now -- have plenty of energy, feeling good, eating whatever I try (only trying stuff that meets the "rules"). I had pneumonia immediately after being released and got readmitted so I feel like I'm still about a week behind on recovery but I'm feeling wonderful. It would probably be good to ask your doctor just to confirm and you might want to purchase travel insurance in case you have complications that push back your recovery, but I think you'll be fine. I plan to pack Protein bars and powders to have on the trip just in case I'm somewhere (like stuck in an airport) and I can't find good food. Have a great time!

I think everyone gets nerves -- if you didn't it would be because you're not taking it seriously. And, it's the fear of the unknown making it worse -- not knowing how you'll feel or look -- if you'll be very different. But, again, I think it's all normal. I think if you focus on why you're doing this, what your goals are and how you want to feel, it will help calm some nerves. Best wishes -- you can do this!

@beachgurl84 My OB/GYN always does the quick finger exam... every one of them I've ever seen did. So it's not abnormal or anything... maybe some doctors don't do it but a lot do.

Regarding cardio -- I got great advice once about cardio -- this book said you should do something for 30 minutes at whatever speed lets you go for 30 minutes. So, if you're on the elliptical or treadmill or bike, just do it so slow that you lets you keep going for 30 minutes. You're striving for long time periods not speed in the beginning. Once you can go 30 minutes, you can choose to either increase the intensity (how fast) or time (how long). So, go at a snail's pace if that's what lets you go for a long time. Then work up some speed when it's getting easy for you. Great job on trying something -- keep up the good work.

One other thing... if you're still on painkillers, they may be contributing to depression / anxiety. If you are on painkillers you might try tapering off significantly.

I was borderline at 36 with comorbidities. My doctor told me not to try and lose weight so I wouldn't drop below 35. My insurance didn't require weight loss. But, they also told me that insurance reviews based on your weight recorded at the first visit. So, it's worth asking your insurance about. Call the member services number on the back of the card. And then call your doctor's office and confirm with them.

You make the decision to keep going and not be discouraged. If you're following the food and exercise plans and keep working it, the weight will respond. It's a big mental game but the part you have control over is what you put in your mouth and how much you move your body. Not the number on the scale. Here's hoping you continue having great success.

I forgot to mention one other thing about the mental game... I want to exercise early in the mornings because that's always what worked for me to maintain a habit of exercising. So, every morning when that alarm goes off, I have this argument in my head: "I don't want to get up" "I need to get up and exercise" "but I don't want to get up" "It's too early I'll just skip today".... My new strategy is when the argument starts (I don't want to get up) the first thing I argue back is "I want my new body!" It's really important in life to try to turn your self talk around so it's not destructive to you.

I didn't tell a lot of people before surgery... a very close friend, my kids and ex-husband... I told 2 friends at work right before surgery because they are candy pushers and if I didn't let them know, I would have come back to work with a big package of candy on my desk welcoming me back. Almost every one I told was positive. I got a couple of "you're not big enough" comments (BMI 36) but I just replied "well, my insurance and the surgeon agree I am". After surgery, I've pretty much told anybody that asked. They have all been positive, too. I don't just announce it to people but for people I have relationships with (coworkers, friends at church) I'm going to be straightforward and honest. I hope it helps some other people who might need the surgery.

Dayummm... you look fantastic! I hope you bought all three of them!

I understand the "just let me eat some food" feeling... Be patient, it will come. And, I think if you push it too early it actually slows down being able to tolerate food instead of speeding it up. Just focus on what you can eat this week and then next week focus on what you can eat that week and soon enough, you'll be back on food again. I'm 5 weeks out and am really enjoying again! Best wishes

I agree -- the "pooch" in the belly is definitely a place where I see a difference -- both in the front view and side. It's an area where I've seen a change too (first). Do you have an old shirt that you avoided wearing because it pulled around the belly? If so, try it on and see if it fits better now. Nice job!

I drove a little in the neighborhood 4 days out but not on highways and such until about 10 days out. I didn't have any pain meds after the second day -- I've heard you need to be off pain meds for at least 2 days. However, I had pneumonia and landed back in the hospital at 5 days out and it took me another week before my brain didn't feel fuzzy and tired even without any pain meds. The tummy and incisions and such weren't the issue for me as much as the brain inadequacy! You should ask your doctor what their rule is but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be LESS than 2 days off pain meds. Pain meds can get you a quick DUI. Ginger

I'm thinking that there are some people that just have addictive personalities -- my ex-husband was one of them. He smoked and stopped, then took up cross-stitching (excessively, 6-7 hours a day while working full-time), then soduko, then crosswords, then planning flower gardens (not gardening, planning them). It seemed like he couldn't stand life without one all-consuming hobby or thing to do. I'm sure it's the same with alcohol... even after you beat the demons of food or alcohol, you might replace it with some other thing. I'm glad you're in therapy -- that should help figure out your compulsions. I have heard people say to focus on exercise and get "addicted" to that, but that can even be a problem if it gets excessive. I hope you find help that works for you and I hope you find lots of support here on the boards.

@MindyP If God hadn't given us mothers, we'd never need therapy! And, as a mom, I know my kids will be sitting on a therapist's couch talking about me some day, too! I didn't tell my mom before surgery because I knew she would fret over it so much and tell me the story of the 2 people in their church that had surgery, lost weight, got divorced and gained it all back. And any other negative story she could think of. She knew I was having the hiatal hernia fixed and I planned to tell her about the bypass the night before but my dad had just gotten out of the hospital after a 10 day stay that morning and when I called to tell her, she talked about my dad a lot and was in a hurry to get off the phone. So, here I am 5 weeks out and I still haven't told her. I still plan to -- just haven't yet. Try to focus on the reasons why you want the surgery and what you hope to get out of it and maybe that will help calm mom's voice. You haven't gone into this without thought -- focus on your own reasons and tell mom to be quiet (in your head of course!) Best wishes! Ginger

I'm 5 weeks out and really haven't had any complications -- most food is fine and I haven't had nausea. But, I can empathize with some of your points. My tummy rumbles forever after eating anything! My electricity was out over the weekend -- no TV = quiet house. I sat down and ate and it was just hilarious how loud and active my tummy was. Gurgling, squirting, churning... it's really strange and I guess perfectly normal. I've been out to eat and it feels a little crazy -- I took my boys to Red Robin and they ordered those gigantic gloppy burgers and I ordered a $2 add on patty and only ate about 2/3. About the timing of it all... it is a little challenging. I watch the clock... about 30 minutes before I want to eat, I stop drinking. I look at the clock when I stop eating and wait 30 minutes and then start the drinking again. Basically I'm either eating or drinking all day long. I eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack (just before getting in the car to go home), dinner and a night snack. It does get easier as I get further out because I'm getting the routine down. I'm not always precise about the 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after but I'm pretty close. (time to start drinking now -- just finished breakfast). One thing I've learned about in therapy and life is to watch the language we use. In your post you talk about eating "full-sized" meals. We have to readjust what a "normal" meal is. A giant plate of Pasta with sauce and meatballs is NEVER going to be "normal" for WLS patients again. It's what got us overweight in the first place. Americans have a very distorted idea of what a portion should be. Take a look at this graphic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/portion-sizes-infographic_n_1539804.html Try telling yourself this is your new normal. Try to focus on what is right about the new style of eating instead of wishing you could eat the old way. The way you used to eat is directly related to the weight you were, so this is the new way of eating for your new body. I'm bypass, so I expect dumping if I eat high sugar/fat foods but I have seen on the boards here it can also happen with sleeve patients. However, I actually had a kiddie scoop of sugar free fat free vanilla black cherry ice cream and it was great and I tolerated it well (even though it is going to be a once a month treat if even that much). I think you're still so early on that you're body is still adjusting. I believe you will feel MUCH MORE normal soon. I'm 5 weeks out now (early June surgery) and I can say I do feel "normal" -- I just have to be careful about what size portions I eat and I focus on Protein, protein, protein. The couple of times we've eaten out I always manage to find something to eat (chicken breast, hamburger patty, beans). Best wishes!

One thing my doctor told me after c-sections is that even sitting in a rocking chair and rocking can help move the gas out. I guess any movement that shifts your chest/body around can help. But, I agree -- walking is probably the best thing to do.

@pink dahlia -- I like your post. Sometimes people who haven't experienced depression don't understand it's a chemical imbalance and sometimes we just don't have control of it without medications. Diet and exercise might help alleviate symptoms but many times that's not NEARLY enough. My ex-husband used to say "I don't know what you're sad about..." Like you said, if there were a proverbial switch I could flip and be happy, don't you think I would have done it by now??? Turns out he was one thing in my life that made me very unhappy in addition to the depression. Once I got out of an unhappy situation, I certainly feel better but I still have depression. I can just manage it so much better. One of my standard lines back to him was "There's no pill that's gonna make me happy to be with you!" See why we're divorced? lol While I expect weight loss to help me feel happier, I don't anticipate it will cure my depression as I've had it since I was a teenager and I only became obese after the birth of my second son twenty years ago.

I have also struggled with depression since I was a teenager (48 now). For the past 8 years I have been treated with medication and it did take a while to find the cocktail that worked, but we did. Getting out of the funk of depression made me realize what a bad marriage I was in and I finally felt the self-worth and sense of "I'm better than this" to get out. It also spurred me to have this surgery. Now that I feel happier, I wanted my body to cooperate and be healthy. The surgery is totally doable even with little support in person -- this board is a wonderful place to get support and help for every question you can come up with. Your surgeon and nutritionist are also 2 very important people. My NUT is great and she helps me out a lot. I also have one very close friend who wasn't very excited about me having the surgery, but once she saw my determination to do it, she fell in line and supported me just for my sake -- whether she agreed it was the best choice or not. So, maybe you can find someone similar who says they will support YOU -- by helping you with the surgery. Best wishes and keep coming here and you'll feel surrounded by support.

BMI is not the most accurate measure of healthy body weight anyway. People with a lot of muscle mass (weightlifters, etc.) will rate high on the BMI scale because it only takes in height and weight. Nothing about the content of your body. I agree body fat percentage is a better gauge. But, I also agree with RJ -- it's so much more than the number on the scale. You have accomplished a lot and should revel in that. If it is worth it to you to put in more effort to try to lose some more pounds, do that, but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't happen or if you decide to just accept the weight you are now. You're not a failure either way.