Yammi

Having been on maintenance for about 5 months now, I am battling daily with what my norm is. When I started, the Dr said my goal weight is going to be 195. I have since hit that goal and am going lower. When I began hovering around 187 – 188 for a few months, I thought this would be my new norm. I then went out of town on a family emergency and a few days there I weighed myself and found that I had lost 4 pounds in a few days. I weighed in at 183. Thinking the scale was wrong, I did not pay too much attention to it. After two weeks when I got home I weighed myself to find that the scale was right as I think I was 182 at that time. I am definitely obsessed with weighing myself. During the weight loss stage I was motivated by seeing my weight go down at such a rapid rate and weighed myself daily. As I got closer to my goal weight, I then began getting hyper focused on not gaining any weight and would panic at a pound or two change. Focusing on my physical feeling, when I would see myself up a pound or two I would physically feel “fat”. During the day I would have a bloating feeling and worry about my weight. When start feeling this way, I try on my larger clothes and even some smaller ones to put my head back in place and ease my anxiety. I would also weigh myself when I get home and see that I was only a pound up or even the same and that the feelings are in my head a bit. I am definitely struggling with what my norm is and as I lose more weight I am feeling that my norm is also going down. Now that I am at 183 I am looking to be at 185 to 187 as my range. The problem is that I am terrified of gaining weight that I am not changing my way of eating. Still afraid to bring in additional carbs and really watching the food. I am used to my current menu and rarely stray away from it. Bringing in veggies through Kale chips, steamed and also adding fruit has helped with my stomach issues. With my weight going down, I am also hyper focused on how my clothes feel. I know that my stomach is mostly skin and not fat but I still feel like it is fat and sometimes feel like my shirt is getting tighter. This is not true as my weight is not changing that much. Some of this could be physical but I am sure some of it is mental. This back and forth is driving me nuts as I tell myself that I don’t want to lose any more weight but I like when I can fit into a smaller size shorts. Just the other day I bought a size 32 waist short and can wear them. This is a bit of a high to me but also I know that this is not the normal me as I should be at a size 34. I am at a point that I will feel huge if I put on weight, even a few pounds as I am feeling just right where I am at but continue to go down a pound or two. Where do I stop? When will it feel right?

This is a movie I put together showing my journey. October 15 will be one year. https://www.dropbox.com/s/35z07bxuvk5l627/My%20Transformation.mp4?dl=0

When you sit in coach seating on an airplane and feel like you are in first class.

Mine was after reading a medical report form the ER labeling me as morbidly obese.

You look amazing. Great job.

Thanks

Last year I went to my pcp for a physical. When I read the report I was described as morbidly obese. I weighed in at 303 lbs with a BMI of 43. I have tried many diets and lost, regained, lost, regained. I decided it was time to change my life and started researching WLS. This journey started in June 2014. I went to one Weight Loss center and felt pressured into having the surgery. At my initial consultation I met with the bariatric coordinator and she was already asking me what surgery I wanted. This raised some red flags and I moved on. My PCP recommended a dr at Rex Bariatrics in NC. I then continued my research and started reading posts on the various forums. I scheduled a consultation with Rex and was very impressed with their program and level of support. I decided to proceed with my journey and started the process. I was required to attend three pre op groups, have a psychological review, get an endoscopy, meet with the nutritionist, etc. With my insurance company there was a six month physician monitored weight loss requirement. While completing the requirements, the insurance company dropped the diet the six month diet requirement. After completing all the prerequisites I then waited for the approval letter from the insurance company which arrived after about two weeks. There was not turning back at this point as I was certain that this will change my life forever. I decided to have the VSG and had a surgery date of October 15th 2014. One day before my birthday. On the day of surgery I weighed 284. The surgery went well. It is imperative to walk as soon as you get back to the room. Unfortunately I tried walking and kept on passing out. That evening I experienced severe shoulder pain. I was told that this was from the gas used to inflate my stomach being absorbed into my body. I was able to work through the pain and the next day I was released from the hospital. I would say that the first three days were challenging. I had extreme pain where they removed my stomach. I was definitely tired. On the fifth day I was feeling much better and off the pain meds. I was out shooting pool by the weekend. For the first month or two I was loosing about a pound a day. One big challenge for me was getting my required amount of Water in. With the lack of water I experienced severe constipation. This was the worst complication from the surgery. I battled with this for many months. I was taking colace and also Amitiza for IBS. When I added Fiber into my diet everything got much better. DRINK YOUR WATER. My goal weight was 195. I was able to hit my goal in about six months. I then went into Maintenance at that point. From eating 500 to 600 calories during my weight lose phase I then went up to about 1000 to 1200 calories and 120 grams of Protein and 60 grams of carbs. I continued to loose weight and leveled off at 187. I thought this would be my optimum weight and stayed between 184 and 187 for about two months. Currently I am eating about 1600 to 1700 calories a day. 120 grams of protein and 120 grams of carbs. I am petrified of weight gain and having a hard time transitioning to real food. I am still having yoghurt, Protein Bar (Quest Apple Pie) and cottage cheese. For lunch I have a protein bar and some fruit. I make dinner my big meal and usually have egg salad, salmon or tuna salad or eggs. I have cooked some baked salmon and some casseroles. As I write this I am weighing 183 and trying to not go any lower. My optimum weight is around 187. Well that is my journey and I hope it will provide some insight on tips and details to help with your journey. Please reply if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them. Again this was the best decision I have made in my life and I no longer have diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

No I did not have any skin removed.

These pictures are from the start of my journey at 300 lbs and a recent pic of me at 184

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I had my surgery October 15th 2014 and weighed 280 at surgery day. At six months I made my weight goal of 195. I am currently in maintenance mode and it is so much harder as increasing my caloric intake and addition of some good carbs make me anxious on gaining weight. As of today I am down to 189 but am stabilizing. Dr wanted me to go below 195 so that I have a buffer. I noticed it's the addition of some increased Fiber, I feel bloated. Not sure if some of this is in my head but definitely that that feeling. Has anyone experience this feeling of being bloated?

You look great. Keep up the great work

At my highest of 306 I was wearing a size 48 waist. Today I am holding at 193 and wearing a size 34 waist.

Had my surgery on October 15th 2014. This past week I hit my goal of 195. Highest was 302 last July and 280 at surgery

During my research I found some information on the changes in the gut flora as a result of having VSG. Here is a link that discusses the effect of FXR and t sleeve. go.nature.com/g4lamP