Ginger Snaps

For beginners, it's easier to plank with your arms on a bench or chair or something stable, so that your upper body is a little higher off the floor. If planking on the floor is too hard, try doing it at an angle with the upper body higher. I also have wrist issues so do mine on the forearms.

It is a good article and there are some relevant things there that we can use but then they have to throw in things like "take the elevator instead of the stairs" like that's gonna reverse obesity or something. Haven't we all tried all of that stuff already? But, still -- it has some really valid points.

Look on the internet and search for videos on how to ride a bike. There are some great techniques where you first just coast down a small grassy hill (no feet on the pedals) then gradually work up to riding. Also search for bike clubs in your area and ask them if the have any learn to ride clinics for adults. We have a couple of local groups that do this and you'll find bike people SO happy to get someone else addicted to riding. And they are so helpful and really help you not to feel embarrassed. You can do this!

These were recommended by my NUT and yes, I love them. However, they are so dense, I can still only eat a half one and I'm 5 weeks out (today). Some of the flavors are better than the others -- there's a chocolate chip cookie one that is SO good! And the oreos and cream one is pretty tasty, too. They are a healthy choice (no sugars, no carbs) but if they're addictive to you, it wouldn't be so healthy now would it?

OK... doing great with the surgery, sticking to the eating plan, feeling lots of energy and overall SO HAPPY with my decision. There's only one food that I've had any cravings or "head hunger" for... it's those freakin' little miniature cupcakes with buttercream icing. I used to routinely head over to my local grocery store, buy the 12 pack, take them home and eat them all and hide the empty package from my teenaged boys. Or sometimes I would only eat 9 or 10 and leave them one or two. It's funny just a week ago the subject came up and they told me they couldn't believe I would eat the whole package... guess I wasn't hiding anything from them after all! And, it had to be yellow cake with buttercream icing -- I'm not even attracted to the chocolate cakes or whipped icing. I think it is triggered from when I was a kid and my mom baked and decorated wedding cakes and we got to eat what was cut off the cakes and any leftover icing. Anyway -- having watched some documentaries about how the food industry adds things to food to make them addictive, I thought I understood some of why they crave them. But I had an "ah-ha" moment at the grocery store yesterday -- just look at how they market those little demons of cupcakes!!! This is by the front door, completely unavoidable! Balloons and streamers... I swear they should play like marching band music around the tables they're so festive! I talked with my NUT about it and we talked about trying to find something that could substitute or take the place of or maybe just having one -- but NOTHING would ever come close to substituting and there's NO WAY I would eat just one (you can't buy them individually) and I just CAN'T take the chance to go down that road. So, goodbye yellow cake buttercream icing cupcakes... good riddance! Now I just need to find a new grocery store!

@kyrickchick64 LOVE IT!!! Thanks for posting that!

Way too many carbs and too much sugar for me. My plan rules out a "meal" or "serving" of food with more than 10 grams of sugar. And, then, it should come from natural sources like fruit or veggies. I'd stay away.

It's interesting that these articles reference the NIH website as being so anti-WLS but I did a quick search and found good balanced information there: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004466/ "Weighing less should also make it much easier for you to move around and do your everyday activities. To lose weight and avoid complications from the procedure, you will need to follow the exercise and eating guidelines that your doctor and dietitian have given you." On the flip side, the CSWD has as one of their beliefs: Weight diversity is a positive goal. Our dream is a world in which a person's life, health, well-being, and happiness is unrelated to that person's weight. Tell me how many people you know who are obese and eligible for surgery where their life, health, well-being and happiness is unrelated to their weight. My friend is having surgery this morning and her weight has put so much pressure on her back that she walks hunched over with a walker. Do you think her life, health, well-being and happiness are unrelated to the fact that she can't walk unassisted??? I'm so tired of these "fat acceptance" groups just ignoring the truth that USUALLY obesity severely impacts the quality of life and health of the obese.

I think that may be more common in open surgeries where muscles are cut... I didn't feel the need for anything like that Ginger

Stacyann. Not everybody gets a catheter... I didn't. It's something you can ask your surgeon if he routinely does.

I just got released at 4 weeks to go back to lifting. I had a pretty big hiatal hernia so I was afraid the doctor wouldn't clear me that quick. Did my first workout this morning and I was surprised it actually felt good. One thing my NUT told me was to add more carbs into my diet if I'm going to be working out hard because you need it for the quick energy. I was so focused on Proteins I wasn't getting many carbs at all. So, I've added in more fruits and veggies this week, still getting 60 grams of Protein and can definitely feel the increase in energy. Of course you need clearance from your doctor but when you do go back, just lift with a little lower weight than you were before surgery and listen to how our body feels.

I was also able to start beef at week 4 and I've eaten hamburger meat and some thin-strip steak without any problems. I do put chili on it or maybe dip in fat free mayo if needed to make it a little more moist to get down easily. I'm thinking of steak now.... yum... ginger

I use an app called "Eat Slower"... you can set the timer for any amount of time up to three minutes. It starts a countdown and will vibrate or ding every three minutes (or whatever you set it to). I just sit it by my plate and it vibrates, I take a bite, chew, chew, chew then wait for the next ding. You still need small bites but it does help you learn just how slow you should be eating. Ginger

If you look at the average weight loss by surgery, the RNY has a much higher percent of excess weight loss. My doctor told me he will only do the band on really young women who are highly motivated, no kids... and he prefers not to do them at all. Personally, even before he told me that, I wouldn't have gone with the band. I can't come to grips with the idea of having something implanted in me and having to have the fills. My RNY has been basically painless... lost 25 pounds the first month (and I'm a relative lightweight -- that's over 10% of my starting weight). One month out, no nausea, no vomiting, no pain -- eating healthy (small) portions now and loving the feelings of no hunger... food doesn't control me any more. Ginger

Mine are awful from 3 pregnancies... never found anything that helped and you can see how the elasticity is gone behind them, so I think they're perm. I consider them battle scars.

I had to repeatedly tell my 2 teenaged boys it's OK if they eat what they want in front of me. They don't want to "smell up the house" and cook what they like but I told them this is my challenge and I'll live with it. It's certainly easier now that I'm on "real" food. I found out at Red Robin you can add a patty onto a burger for $2... so, they order their big gigantic hamburgers with all the stuff and I add a patty on for $2. I'm a cheap date now! Ginger

The incision to the right of my bellybutton was the worst one... It bled after surgery and when the doctor pulled off the steri strips. The doctor said it looks like the internal stitches pulled out on that incision. It has also been the longest to heal and looks worse than the rest of them (which have completely healed). I think that must be the site where the doctor did the most work... like some of the other sites just hold cameras and lights and that one is the one they go in and out of the most. I agree -- call the doctor -- but you might just have one spot hat stays worse than the others.

Thrush is pretty common after taking antibiotics. Let your doctor know and he may order meds for it. It will also help if you are able to eat yogurt with live cultures in it. I haven't looked at the sugar content in Activia, but if it's on your plan, it helps rebalance the good bacteria in your stomach (which is basically what a yeast infection is). When my babies had it, I'd paint their tongues with gentian violet (an herbal treatment) that completely cured the thrush but it's dark purple and stains for days, so it's probably not the best option for adults! lol Ginger

I take 1000 mg a day -- got sublingual tabs for under the tongue. I started presurgery and my fingernails have NEVER been stronger! I've chewed my fingernails my entire life without being able to stop and now they are so strong and healthy I have completely stopped chewing them. I don't know if it will help with hair loss or not but I'm enjoying the effect on my nails! My surgeon and NUT also recommend it. Ginger

Call your doctor and ask them why they need the notes and what the possible options or paths will be. They are the only ones that can really tell you what you want to know. Here's hoping it turns out perfect and you have a great surgery!

Praying that God send peace and comfort to you and your family. Take care of yourself and those that matter most to you. Ginger

OUCH! I agree -- call your doctor and make a recommittment to do the right thing -- FOLLOW the PLAN!!! If you do, you'll be so much more successful, feel better sooner and be much more successful losing weight. You can do this -- just follow the rules! Nothing tastes so good it's worth hurting yourself. Ginger

It's so normal to be nervous. You're having the bypass? I'm not sure what port you are talking about... maybe you meant drain? I didn't have one, no catheter. I had practically no pain. I just had gas pressure in my chest and shoulders which is what I've had before after laprascopic surgery. I was very tired the first 2-1/2 weeks or so -- but I had pneumonia and had to be readmitted to the hospital or I think I would have felt better sooner. I only had tylenol in the hospital -- no other pain meds and didn't come home with any. I've had some "discomfort" now and then from he surgery -- not pain but just the feeling that tings are different in the tummy now. But, after 4 weeks, I'm so happy I did this... 25 pounds gone forever! Worst part of the entire experience? For me, it was the IV. I have pitiful little flat veins and they collapse after about 20 hours of an IV, so I was in the hospital 6 days and had 5 different IVs. UGH! I'm SUCH a baby! lol Ginger

I hope you finally get the surgery and the relief you deserve. Keep us up to date.

I lost about 22 pounds the first 2-1/2 weeks and then stuck at that number for the past 10 days. Finally this morning the scale moved down a pound. I saw my doctor Tuesday and he was very happy with my progress. I'm determined NOT to let the scale numbers rule my happiness. Each pound I lose means another number on the scale I NEVER plan to see again. I know if I keep eating on the plan (right foods and right amounts) and exercising, this weight will come off. It HAS to! You cannot continually eat a LOT fewer calories than your body burns and NOT lose weight. The only way you'll stop losing weight this early is if you quit the plan and start eating like you used to (only I don't know how I could cram that much food into my stomach now). As far as getting stuck... I've found it really makes a difference on how moist the food is. I've never been one to use a lot of sauces or dips on my food, but now I regularly use fat free mayo mixed with my chicken or beef to help it go down. I've also heard it's good to dip in FF Greek yogurt so it even pumps up the Protein some. You can do this -- try to quit worrying about how fast and how much and just keep focusing on doing the right thing and learning how to fit the food plan into your life. This is temporary!