une nouvelle vie

I looked around a bit and I've seen apps mentioned in individual threads, but I didn't find a thread where people came in to specifically sing the praises of (or warn against) apps we can use to help us with our new relationship with food. I'm a big believer in using any help available and I see my sleeve as the greatest tool I have so far but far from my only tool. So since many of us use our phones and tablets for a multitude of things, what are the apps you use that help you with your journey? If you don't mind, please link to the app online if there is a page for it. That way others can check it out and see if it may help them as well. Two that are helping me so far: Fluid you're drinking. I love my surgeon's food and exercise tracking feature on his website, but his Water tracker could be better so I love this app. lunch break for so long where I used to work, but I knew I needed to slow down once I was sleeved. Even though I tried, I still found myself eating too quickly and I was afraid I'd start eating too much if I wasn't careful. With this app you can set the interval of time you want to have between bites and it alerts you (sound and/or vibrate) when it's time to take another bite. So those are my two for now. Anyone want to share?

You just go. I'm 100 pounds more than you are right now and I just pay attention to me and me only. Luckily my gym is ladies only so I feel people are there to work out and not be seen by the opposite sex, but you have to believe that they're paying more attention to themselves (as they should!) than they are to you. Do it because in the long term, to be successful, we need to incorporate exercise into our lives. Do it because you value YOU more than what they think of you because truthfully, they probably won't think much about you either way

I would personally not have too much on hand because who knows how much you'll need. I bought WAY too much. I don't use it anymore now that I'm 6 weeks out, but I do like having it on hand in case I need it. I bought mine from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G8VK1QS/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is your current weight is correct at 158?

What are you calling the deep end? How many feet is it? I'm not a Water aerobics expert but I believe you should be able to push off the bottom of the pool during your workout. I've not heard of a class where they do it in more than 5 feet of water. Usually (not always) the more overweight you are the more buoyant you are. I'm 336 pounds and I think you'd have to use 3 people to hold me down if you wanted to drown me because I'd go straight to the top without trying. In fact, my buoyancy makes it hard for me to actually swim even though I know how to, so I end up doing 45 minutes of intense doggie paddling instead.

Boy do I feel what you're going through. I worked toward weight loss surgery for years and got stopped at every turn. At one job in month 5 of my 6 month diet we changed insurance companies and weight loss surgery was no longer covered. I turned back to trying it on my own. I switched jobs and had to wait 6 months to get insurance. At month six I started again toward surgery and while I was waiting for approval (after 6 month diet) they closed the location where I worked and I was downsized. Lost my job and my insurance. But wait, it happened again! Another downsizing occurred at my NEXT job and I lost my insurance again. I was so beat down and had given up hope. I really figured I'd die much too young and much too fat. I finally had surgery this June and although I wish I'd had it years ago, it's worth the wait. It will be for you too. You'll get there one step at a time. It worries me that your surgeon is so unresponsive now because what will they be later after they've been paid? Are there any other doctors in the area you could talk to? Hang in there and vent here as much as you need to.

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I think you should definitely report this to your primary care doctor for two reasons: To get some relief! They can give you the best product and advice to get through it. To report the skin irritation now so that maybe if it continues and you need surgery to remove excess skin there is a paper trail that you have been addressing this with your doctor and tried non-surgical fixes. Good luck.

I could be totally wrong but I was under the assumption they called it the honeymoon phase because your sleeve is freshly done and not at all stretched out and the small amounts it can tolerate is what causes the most weight loss. Well, that and right after surgery you're most motivated to do exactly what you're supposed to do. I've heard people refer to it as the first six month after surgery and the first year. My surgeon's office says to eat 5 or 6 times a day, every two and a half to three hours. One nutritionist calls it 3 meals and 2 or 3 Snacks, another calls it 6 small meals. They've told me to shoot for 60-80g of Protein daily and about 25-35g of carbs. I was going for 90g of protein daily but that left no room for carbs at all and I was getting less than 10g a day. They told me to back down my protein a touch and make room for good veggie carbs. I think you'll get as many answers as there are docs/programs who do bariatric surgery.

I was a diet soda addict. I'm embarrassed to tell you that I drank anywhere between 5 and 12 cans A DAY of diet soda. The mere thought of giving it up would make my heart race. I feared the caffeine headaches most. I started tapering down at the beginning of the year since I knew I couldn't have it after surgery (or shouldn't). The first 3 days I drank 6 a day. Then 5 a day. Then 4 a day and on and on. When I got down to only 1 or 2 a day I took an occasional caffeine pill to help with the headaches. When I was done completely I'd take a half of a caffeine pill a day for 2 weeks and then I stopped. I haven't had a soda since. I feel better and I've saved a lot of money

Personally for me I'd go with: 1) My doctor and nutritionist are very thorough. They have a lot of experience and they're tailoring their expertise to my personal needs. I feel in good hands. How has your summer been? 2) A lot of people are used to seeing me much bigger so they're not used to my weight loss. So far I'm really happy with my progress. How is work going? 3) Yes, I had weight loss surgery. Statistics show it's the best chance people have for keeping the weight off. Do you think Hillary will get the nomination for 2016? Everyone has to find what they're comfortable with though.

Take a deep breath. The surgery should be one tool in your toolbox of things to help you get healthier. You can't expect it to solve your problems because it just won't. The restriction will help you lose weight, but it won't keep the weight away. Only you can do that by making sure you do as much as you can to change your way of thinking and your lifestyle. I am opening myself up to trying different things to help me. Therapy, support groups, books on the subject, working with a nutritionist, reading blogs and getting support and ideas here. In the future as the weight comes off I plan to add a few sessions with a personal trainer. I might decide to work with a lifestyle coach at some point or do my own blogging. There isn't much I won't try to commit to being healthier but I know FOR SURE this surgery isn't a "one and done" kind of thing were I can just believe it's going to take care of everything. Maybe you can make a list of all the things you can do to improve your chances of success and look into implementing them one by one?

Isn't it amazing the changes in your life? pancakes were never my thing but before I made up my mind to have the surgery I thought absolutely nothing about inhaling a fast food meal regardless of the "nutrition" information. Twice since surgery I've pulled up to a fast food place thinking I'd just get a burger and throw away the bun or something else. Both times I pulled away before I even pulled up to place the order. I know a lot of people would have never pulled in to start with, but it's something I'm happy about being able to do... pull away and go home and eat something better for me.

I'm six weeks out as of today. I've lost 110 pounds since February, but I'm still a big gal at 336 pounds so I'm afraid to do anything too strenuous because (as you can imagine) my previous version of exercise was walking from the chair to the fridge. So I've been swimming, walking back and forth in the pool, and treading Water for 30-45 min at a time. It makes me TIRED. I'm trying to keep my calories under 600 a day and I know that has a lot to do with it, but I'm also super out of shape and I'm sure that has even more to do with it. When I lose another 20ish I hope to start using either an eliptical or a stationary bike or a treadmill at the gym, but for now I'm in the pool. Hoping to hear from more people about their experiences.

At least at first you'd have to forgo most simple carbs and you'll want limit them later to maximize your weight loss and success. I've read a few blogs by people who are a few years out and they do sometimes have things that aren't straight Protein, they just don't seem to do it on a regular basis. Also, there are low carb bread crumb options. I think part of the way to work it is to find new ways to prepare old favorites utilizing healthier ingredients. Maybe start looking for a new way to fix your favorite!

I've been loving her site. She's so positive and funny with a lot of practical advice. She has a few different contributors for recipes and they have good stuff too.

Inspiring! You give me hope.

I'm sorry, that had to be awful. Just think how good you're going to feel when you're on your way to health.

I love this place! I didn't know there was a thing called Carb Balance! I'll be looking for those. I'm on the soft food phase and can have tortillas but kept thinking I "shouldn't" because they're just a simple carb.

I remember reading one of those etiquette experts give advice on how to handle nosy or mean spirited (said as if well-intentioned) comments and questions and I think it works in a lot of situations: Look at them with mild surprise, count to three in your head and then say "I'm sorry, what did you say?" and when they repeat it say slowly "That's what I thought you said." and change the subject. If they persist then I'd just tell them that my doctor and I made a health decision and although they're certainly entitled to their opinion, it doesn't really factor into my views on my own health and well being and then end the conversation. Luckily, I haven't had anyone be so awful to me. (Yet)

I think a lot of it will depend on how your surgery goes. We all have a different experience. I had no complications and only had to take a total of 3 pain pills so I felt great. Even still, I have two cats and there were times in the first 48 hours I felt too lightheaded to mess with their litterboxes so I can't imagine not feeling well and taking care of a dog, they're a touch harder than cats. I agree with the members who said to have people check in on you. If you have a visitor 2 or 3 times a day they can help you do some of the things you can't do on your own if you need someone. On my 3rd day post-op I sent my helpers home but that's only because I got very lucky with a smooth surgery and no complications. Keep your options open!

@@hopeful one I agree with a lot of what you've said. A few (not all) of these responses remind me of the attitude so many have with obese people. Why didn't we just learn about nutrition and listen to our doctors and eat right? Why not find out the exercises that work best for us and do them? There's so much information out there about how to lose weight, how dumb obese people are for being lazy and fat and unwilling to change. I get that it can be frustrating to see someone 3 days out saying they might eat pizza and is that going to hurt me, but I won't lie... many answers here ring of a smug type of "Tsk tsk, I'm glad *I* am smarter than that!" Yes, be glad you're smarter than that and you get it and know a bunch, not everyone is and not everyone does. People come here for support and answers. Not just answers, but also support. Maybe they don't have people in their lives they can say "I sure would like a cheeseburger even though I had WLS!" to so they come here.

This is a fear of mine as I move forward. I'm doing okay as of now, 5 weeks out, but I fear it for the future. Have you thought about counseling for the issues that bring you to food? I ask because now that I'm feeling recovered from surgery I'm starting to seek out the tools I can use to fix THAT part of what went wrong for me. I see the sleeve as only one part of helping me get healthier. I didn't get to be morbidly obese just because I ate too much. There had to be more so I'm going to do counseling, some reading, and bariatric support groups. Are any (or all!?) of those something you think might help you? I really do think we have to change our way of seeing food.

I can't believe I'm just now seeing this. Thank you *so* much, I really do appreciate it. I'm going to take advantage of these.

I feel for you, I do. I had to wait a long, long time to get my surgery. I was working toward having it done at a previous job and then was downsized and lost that insurance. There's no way I would have been able to pay the $1500 a month COBRA premiums to keep it. So then I get a new job and their insurance expressly prohibits weight loss surgery. I was crushed. I had to start working toward self pay. I was horribly overweight and miserable. I decided while I waited I was going to do every single thing I could to lose weight and work toward learning about the sleeve to prepare myself. I lost 85 pounds before surgery and was just sleeved at the end of June. The surgeon is waiting because that's what is best for your health. It would be highly irresponsible for them to put your health in danger to do the surgery before they feel you are ready for it. In the meantime, start taking steps and making plans to tackle the surgery head on. Learn all you can about the sleeve. Find out what makes it work and how to best utilize it. Find out what it takes to be successful with the sleeve for life so you don't have to go through another surgery. Make sure your expectations are realistic as well. Don't look at it as losing a year. Look at it as spending a year researching, preparing, and working toward a goal because the surgery isn't the end of the journey. It's just a tool along the way.

I just assume they're asking a question they don't know the answer to and want to see if anyone is willing to answer, it really doesn't bother me. In my job I deal with people of all levels of intelligence and so what seems crystal clear to some is going to be confusing and a gray area to others. Since quite a large number of people who have weight loss surgery lose weight and gain it all back I think it's an opportunity for us to support each other and provide as much good information as we can with as little judgment as possible. As to why they'd commit to such a big surgery without a lot of research and reflection? Myriad reasons, I would imagine. Again, I think we're all assuming everyone has above average intelligence and self awareness and a lot of people simply do not. They may be feeling so desperate to lose weight they don't consider consequences or how much work really goes into it. Maybe they know someone who breezed through WLS and think they can too. As many reasons and you have people who do it.