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All I will add is that I totally 100% believe that because I went through the long drawn out process it allowed me to change bad behaviors more slowly. Not everyone leverages that time to do the best they can but I am not certain I would be as successful as I have if it were not for the 9 months I spent with my nut, surgeon and bariatric nurse. I learned a ton about this disease and how to treat it properly. If i were to have gotten through the process so quickly I am convinced I would not have lost 100% of my excess weight nor would I have kept it off this long. Just my two cents.....it would be interesting to get a real accounting of success rates with a waiting period vs none. There is a reason why many surgeons and insurance companies require it. I have to believe there is real data somewhere about why.

@@candacer If you search success stories on this site you will likely get alot of information. I was 51 when I had RNY gastric bypass. I chose bypass over sleeve because I suffered from GERD and RNY is know to cure it. I also had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and stage 3 kidney disease. I am 5'10" and at my heaviest weight was 315 lbs. I lost a 152lbs in 18 months and reached my goal this past march. I went from a size 26 to a size 8/10. Best of all I no longer have GERD, sleep apnea, high BP or high cholesterol. My diabetes has been in remission since the day I had surgery and my stage 3 kidney disease has been in remission since 3 months post op. For me, having this surgery was the best thing I ever did. I had no complications and I believe that is because I followed doctors orders to the letter. I was scared when i started mostly because of all the required change but once I started the process i kept my goals top of mind and they literally drove me. Best of luck to you!

@@genn Got it, when you said juice I thought you meant fruit juice. Any of the sugar free drinks like crystal light and such work but I am with you I cannot eat or drink anything with sugar substitutes. They cause migraines for me.

I had RNY bypass 2 years ago, lost 152lbs and have been at goal since March. I chose bypass because I had gerd and that can get much worse with the sleeve requiring a revision to bypass anyway. I have had NO complications at all. I can literally eat anything that I want, not that I do. The only exception is eggs, my stomach just feels heavy when i eat them so I dont. If you get your blood work done on schedule and take your Vitamins everyday, bypass is an extremely effective surgery. By the way, you have to have your blood work done and take vitamins with the sleeve as well. Both surgeries are aggressive but effective. RNY creates a small pouch for your new stomach and reroutes which provides a malabsorption factor that assists greatly in weight loss. On the other hand the sleeve creates a banana shaped pouch and removes the other 90% of your stomach. As you can see.....both aggressive. RNY is the gold standard in WLS surgery but the sleeve is fast becoming just as popular however there is less long term data available. The important thing is to choose a surgeon you are comfortable with and do your research.

Usually juice is not on the list because of all the sugar.

You are so close! Congratulations and all of this stuff will be well worth it. It is normal to be a bit nervous right before surgery. Be good to yourself the next two days. Take a hot bath, read a book.

Yes. It is called reactive hypoglycemia and it is common post RNY. It happens when you introduce too many simples or if you dont eat often enough. I have had to switch to 5 or 6 small meals a day vs 3 or it happens more frequently. A few times my sugar got so low I did not know what was happening to me and if you eat sugar to get your glucose up, it will simply happen again an hour later. It is really important to catch it early and ensure you eat Protein.....it happens more frequently if I choose to have cream of wheat for Breakfast and dont follow it an hour later with a Protein shake.

I got so sick of the sweet cloying taste of the shakes, Jello and popsicles. When I talked to my bariatric team they suggested making some homemade fresh chicken broth. Not the canned stuff..... If it were not for that, I dont think I would survive. I sipped on it alot pre op and definately post op.

In terms of the weight loss, I have a feeling you are not eating enough and your body is fighting you. I would suggest adding 100 to 150 Protein rich calories. It might bump you off your stall. I had a stall that lasted a month and I thought I would lose my mind. come to find out I was exercising too much and not eating enough so my body was fighting me. I reduced my hour a day cardio to 30 minutes per day and increased my calorie intake up 150 calories. within 3 days my stall broke and I never had another long one like that again.

@@asantiago I dont have the answer to the belt question. I just wanted to say that I am glad you are on the mend and hopefully feeling much better. Take care!

For me, there was no minimum time but just take it very very slow. figure out how it is sitting before you take the next bite.

Well firstly fruit juices of any kind have alot of sugar and calories so they are usually off the table. You do not want to waste calories with drinks as they dont fill you up with the exception of milk. Milk turns to a solid in your stomach fills you up and is a good source of Protein. Milk does have carbs though but they are good carbs and should be tracked.

1% cottage cheese is also an excellent source of Protein. I have been eating it for the last 2 years. Measure it out but at this stage you will likely only want a spoonful or two. it is very filling and keeps you full for a very long time.

Glad to hear you are home and doing ok. Hopefully the blood pressure thing will get better for you. Before surgery I had high BP and took medication every day for it. Now I have the opposite...I have low BP and very low heart rate. They figured out they needed to get me off the BP meds when I went in for spine surgery 9 months after my bypass. My heart rate and BP was running so low it was freaking them out. They ran multiple EKGs before I went to the operating room. So we discontinued BP meds. Then 2 weeks after my 3 level cervical fusion, I went to get up out of a chair and woke up on the floor. Thats when we discovered that I really do have low heart rate and bp. I still get black outs so I simply wiggle my feet for a few minutes before standing up and that regulates it. I know it is low because my watch tracks my heart rate and I am regularly in the 30s and 40s while sitting. It is crazy how your body changes once the weight comes off. Best of luck on your recovery and I am so glad that you are happy you did it. For me it was the best thing I ever did for myself.

Every once in a while I eat oatmeal. It has lots of fiber and is good for you. I never eat grits......although shrimp and grits sounds fantastic. I suspect it would feel heavy in my tummy even now two years later.

@@Redmaxx Well, I can tell you that ever since I had my RNY and started losing weight, my hands and feet are always freezing. For me, it has nothing to do with Iron. there are many threads on this site about this topic. Also....soon your butt will hurt too. LOL! When you lose the weight, it is insultation from the cold and the chairs you sit in......It is just the way it is. All summer hubby keeps it 68 in the house and I am wrapped in sweaters and blankets. I am used to it now......

27lbs is fantastic! When is the last time you lost that much weight in that short of a time? You have to remember that you did not gain all that weight in 8 weeks you certainly wont take it off that fast either. Be patient.....Slow and steady wins the race..... Best of luck to you!

This is where the heavy lifting comes in (pardon the pun). Most people lose on average 70% of their excess weight during the honeymoon period. My surgeon made it very clear that if I intended to lose it all (and I did) that I would have to work very hard after things slowed down or stopped. I lost 100lbs in the first 9 months, stalled for over a month and then things slowed to a crawl. It took alot of hard work and 9 more months to lose my last 52lbs and honestly the last 20 were pure torture.....or so I thought. Getting to maintenance and staying there has been challenging for me. I gain and lose 5 to 7 pounds constantly. I totally understand it is up to me and have to bust my butt to stay below my goal. I am fighting that 10 to 15% regain with everything I have. It can be done, you just have to stick to the plan and work through it one day at a time. Many are just happy with where they end up. For me, I want to stay where I am....at or slightly below my goal. Then again, my biggest fear is regain. It has happened to me so many times in my life.

@@Allie Smith There is alot of benefit to the wait time that insurance companies and doctors require here in the U.S. I know in the beginning I was frustrated with it as well. My 6 month supervised diet took 9 months before I made it into the operating room. That being said, that time allowed me to make changes one or two at a time that has carried me for the last two years and I hope will carry me in to the future. It isn't about losing weight at all, in fact there was no expectation on me to lose anything. It is all about building good habits and ensure you are ready to take such a drastic step. Alot of people don't understand that until you are several months post op and you realize how hard it is to change and get the best out of your honeymoon period. I hope this helps explain that at least a little. I am very very thankful for that time that I had to get my head straight. Having WLS is 90% head game and 10% surgery.

@@Marie1120 Glad to hear it and best of luck to you! It will all be worth it in the end.

You need to get your teeth taken care of before for sure. Once you have been on antibiotics for a period of time, the infection should be under control so if you get going on it, you will meet your timeline. if you cannot get it done soon, I personally would push out my surgery. it is dangerous to go into a surgery with an infection of any kind. Not sure how Mexico works but i know here in the states, they run a test in pre op holding area just to make sure that your body has no infection. At least they did with me.

The biggest challenge for me came at 9 months post op. I had to have spinal surgery and that meant no more exercise other than walking. So, I had to lose the last 52lbs with nothing but diet which meant my calories needed to stay below 900. Now of course that is impacting the maintenance phase for me. Honestly I feel strongly that losing weight post op is 100% up to me and my ability to change behaviors. So, if anything perhaps the ability to speak with a therapist that specializes in obesity and the disorders that come with it covered of course by insurance. Also, I feel strongly that obesity is a disease and once you lose the weight you are left with skin issues that impact you both physically and mentally and for that reason reconstruction should be covered by insurance. I have spent many thousands of dollars for the last 2 years on both my diet, exercise and plastics. It is a very expensive disease. Next year, I am investing nearly 18k for my tummy tuck and breast lift. The weight of this drooping skin is pulling on my body making my back issues worse. Also, it is way more expensive to eat healthy than it is to eat crap. In this country, this should change. It is almost ridiculous. I learned about the surgery options from my nephrologist, and leveraged my bariatric team for my Vitamins. I am no longer on other medications for obesity.

If you stick to the plan you will lose more weight. My longest stall was 28 days and it was pure torture. the best thing to do is stay off the scale and follow your plan and it will work itself out. I promise......