Ginger Snaps
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Everything posted by Ginger Snaps
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Weight loss plateaus and a bit of panic.
Ginger Snaps replied to Mel_74's topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
37 pounds in 7 weeks is great! The weight loss is not going to be at a steady rate. I had 2 ten-day periods where I lost nothing then would drop a pound a day for a few days straight. Make sure you're on plan with your food and exercise and just stay on track. The weight will HAVE to follow. Also, I've heard that when you're not losing pounds, you're losing inches. I'm not sure if that's true but it's worth taking a measurement or two or having some really tight pair of jeans to try on every couple of days so you can tell if inchces are dropping. And be sure you're really staying on plan. Are you getting your recommended Protein every day? My goal is 80 g/day set by my doctor. I eat no processed ccarbs at all -- no bread, no rice, no crackers -- fruits, veggies and protein. Drink that Water all the time. Don't drink and eat -- no drinking 30 minutes before or after eating. You're in the right place to get support -- just keep moving! -
GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!!!!
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My surgeon asked me to speak at his support group meeting in January -- sharing my experience... How cool is that?
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When you're ready to stop losing
Ginger Snaps replied to Ginger Snaps's topic in WLS Veteran's Forum
Thanks @DLCoggin... I'm currently around 800 calories a day regularly, so I'd have a LONG way to go to even get up to 1200/day. Maybe I'll start now just increasing and getting up to around 1000/day even though I could still lose more and be healthy. I've been focused on BMI but I'm going to have a body fat analysis done, too, next week and try to set a goal based on a % body fat. I know they are closely related but I've been working out with weights pretty hard so I might want to be at a little higher weight than if I weren't. I think a little fear has crept in that I won't know when or how to stop. I already feel a little bony in places (wrist, elbows, collar bones) and I don't feel like my brain has caught up with what the body looks like, so I'm not feeling like I can trust my eyes to tell me when I'm where I shoudl be. And the loose skin around the belly always stands out to me... no matter how much I lose and lift and plank, I'm not gonna have concave, six-pack abs. I'm going to meet with the nutritionist again and get this body fat analysis done and try to see if I can come up with a healthy number that's specific for me and then just try to land within about 10 pounds of it somewhere. Thanks for your help again -- I'm sure I'll be back asking more questions! -
Lab concerns -- low ferritin / low protein / high b12?
Ginger Snaps posted a topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
I see the doctor tomorrow to review my month 3 labs but they were posted online through a patient portal and most look fantastic except I am very low in ferritin and like double the B12 I should be. I supplement with B12 so he'll probably just have me drop the supplements. Looking online, it's very rare to be high in B12. I'm also low in Protein and ferritin. I understand the protein, it's a sign of malnutrition and very common after WLS... I'll probably just have to redouble efforts to get 60 grams a day or he may have me set a higher daily goal. The ferritin bothers me a lot. I CANNOT take Iron supplements at all... never have been able to. From the first day I take them I get so constipated I can't go at all. Right after surgery I tried to take them but go so stopped up I was having to take 2 stool softeners and 2 laxatives along with Fiber supplements to even go at all. I was developing hemmorhoids (sorry if TMI) and at one point thought I was going to have to go to the hospital because it hurt so bad and I couldn't do anything. I paranoid he is going to try to get me back on iron but I just CANNOT go through that again! As great as I feel with all the exercise and energy, I was really surprised to see that result come back like it did. I feel like crying over this one... anybody else have a similar problem with iron and any ideas? I can't live on laxatives and stool softeners and STILL be in so much pain. Ginger -
I stick with protein for breakfast, so I usually drink a shake or have a Greek yogurt. If I look at the nutritional value of a bowl of cereal, there's just not enough protein and way too many carbs for me.
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please tell me the truth
Ginger Snaps replied to itsmekarenlee's topic in Gastric Bypass Surgery Forums
@@itsmekarenlee --- I've had pizza toppings -- I just scrape it all off the crust. After being off processed carbs for so long, they don't even taste good to me anymore. But the toppings and cheese and pizza sauce... yum! -
What do you see when you look in the mirror ?
Ginger Snaps replied to gowalking's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
@@Beni -- I was 70 pounds overweight and it took me getting around the 50 pound mark before all of the sudden I started getting the comments right and left. I had dropped down a lot of sizes and I couldn't believe people weren't saying anything. Now, it's constant. And, unlike some people, I'm LOVING it! ginger -
One more pound down, one more to goal... is this really happening???
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What was your most recent NSV? (non-scale victory)
Ginger Snaps replied to tamg26k's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
@tamg26k Best wishes! If you have questions, stop them and ask. If it hurts, tell them so they can give you something else to do. Do one more rep when you think you can't. You can do this! -
What was your most recent NSV? (non-scale victory)
Ginger Snaps replied to tamg26k's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
@@Bandista -- I understand how you feel. It takes some time before it kicks in but once you start getting that runner's high, it's a fantastic feeling! Keep up the great work! -
Are you losing "Friends" now that you are losing weight?
Ginger Snaps replied to LilMissDiva Irene's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I have had nothing but positive experiences from good friends and even casual acquaintances. I try to be careful about how much I talk about the surgery with them. Of course it seems to have been a huge focus in my life for the past 5 months so I try to be sure I shut up about how happy I feel and try to not give a pound by pound replay of weight lost. And I make extra effort to listen to them and really let them lead the conversation. I have really been blessed to have nothing but support from everyone who knows. -
When Do You Exercise?
Ginger Snaps replied to Alex Brecher's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
If I don't get it done in the morning, it doesn't get done. Cardio at 5 am on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weights Tuesday, Thursday at the gym (around 6 am). Weekends try to get in at least one fun active thing -- dancing to my favorite band, long brisk walks in a park somewhere, riding bikes or maybe a 5k. -
What was your most recent NSV? (non-scale victory)
Ginger Snaps replied to tamg26k's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
Fitting into a size 4 jeans and being able to breathe! And going to DIck's Sporting goods for some new yoga pants and hoodies and such because my old ones fall off my butt now and ending up in size SMALL!!! Unbelievable because I think the sizes at Dick's actually run small because I couldn't even fit into their XL last winter.- 82 replies
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Two more pounds and I'll hit GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!
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My surgeon asked me to be in the fashion show for the Christmas support group party -- gotta find a red dress to rock!
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What do you see when you look in the mirror ?
Ginger Snaps replied to gowalking's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I was just discussing this with a friend yesterday. Obviously if I look in the mirror I can see my stomach has shrunk and I can almost reach my fingers completely around my thighs and I've gone from a size 16/18 jean to a size 4... but I still don't feel thin or "skinny" or even small. I went to get the size 4 jeans today because the 6's I bought about 4-5 weeks ago are sagging off my butt. As I'm pulling them off the rack I'm looking at how small they are on the hanger and thinking "there's no way I can wear these" but I can and I can still breathe in them. But my brain just doesn't think of me as being that small. I think part of it is the number on the scale... I don't think of someone (me) weighing 145 pounds as being tiny... I think of someone in the 120's maybe as being "skinny" but not someone in their 140's. And I've started getting the "don't lose too much" comments and I think to myself my BMI just hit the high point of normal so I could lose more and still be in a healthy weight range. I guess eventually with enough people telling me how great I look and when I have to keep buying all these small or medium clothes or size 4 (or smaller) jeans, my brain will connect with my eyes and the mirror. -
Yeah, they're size 4P jeans and I'm rocking 'em!
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Would just be funny if my brain would believe it... I took them out this morning to wear and looked at the butt and thought... "no way my butt is that small"... even after I put them on and can even breathe in them, my brain keeps saying no way... It's crazy when your brain argues with what HAS to be reality!
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TODAY IS MY SURGIVERSARY!
Ginger Snaps replied to Jonathan Blue's topic in Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories
@Jonathan Blue What a great story! I know people say the surgeon only operates on your stomach and not your brain (when referring to emotional eating) but I SWEAR my surgeon flipped some switch in my brain, too! I feel so much happier and in control of my life. Like you I started doing some heavy duty exercising and I've 2 5k's now in a little less than 5 months after surgery. Running on the treadmill in the mornings, lifting weights and in general just being MUCH more active. It's like I got a blank slate to start rewriting my life into an active healthy lifestyle! No more sleep apnea or GERD... Life is SO good! Keep up the great work you've been doing so far! -
What's Your Surgery Opinion?
Ginger Snaps replied to RiskyGirl21's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
For me it was an easy decision. I didn't want the band with the adjustments needed (complete fear of needles) and didn't like the idea of some foreign thing in my body (especially the port up under the skin). My doctor also told me he doesn't prefer bands as he sees better results with VSG or bypass. VSG was out of the question for me because I already had severe reflux and it can make it worse. So, with his suggestions and my own phobias and ideas in mind, I went with bypass. It is a very personal decision based on your goals, your concerns, your ideas about having surgery and your medical history. Nobody but you can make that decision, with your doctor's suggestions of course. My advice is this: Don't make your decision based on fear. All of the surgeries have risks of complications. They all modify your body (even the band can erode and change the shape of the stomach long term). Again, personally for me, I don't understand the concern over "re-routing" the intestines... VSG removes part of the somach. Bypass leaves it all there but reroutes the intestines. So, like most have said -- it's a personal decision. Work with your doctor, research and figure out what's best for you. -
Great news to share!
Ginger Snaps replied to LilMissDiva Irene's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
Woot Woot!!!! The no sugar thing must be really hard but you're DOING IT!!! And anytime a doctor says "you don't need to see me anymore"... how great is that! Woot Woot again! Ginger -
How do you get to the point where you look in the mirror and see what other people see instead of the way you used to look?
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Thanks ladies... it's just hard to wrap my head around. Today, laying in bed, I checked just to see and I can almost wrap my hands completely around one thigh. And the size 6 jeans I'm wearing are sagging in the butt and I have a date tomorrow night, so I'm going to get the size 4's today in the same brand. But when I look in the mirror I don't feel skinny. But a SIZE 4 JEAN??? I MUST be small, right? Just so weird.
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Cold Weather Check up
Ginger Snaps replied to BaileyBariatrics's topic in Weight Loss Surgery Magazine
I thought you were going to say something about warm clothes to wear. My closet is practically empty and I had to go this weekend and buy a coat and sports winter jacket... Don't have anything remotely fitting from last winter! -
Actigall is it really necessary
Ginger Snaps replied to Janice1968's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
My doctor didn't take my gall bladder and didn't give me the meds. We never even discussed the meds (although I did ask him to take the gall bladder out). Time will tell if it was the right decision. -
My insurance didn't require a referral, so I just went to an information session at my local hospital and made an appointment directly with the surgeon. You can shop around information sessions if there are several in your area and find a doctor you like. Then check out his reviews online (google his/her name and reviews). I don't know if my personal doctor would have agreed with my decision but he's very happy with the progress I've made. You might also want to look and see if any hospital in your area is a bariatric center of excellence. Or what hospital is in network for your insurance.
