Djmohr

@@Melanie89

Stir fried veggies are just fine, maybe back off the seasoning a bit. You might find that helps with Water retention or drink more Water in between to flush the salt out.

Best of luck to you!

@@LipstickLady

I live for cheese! I dont think i could live without it. Then again I live in Wisconsin. I eat cheese daily and i eat full fat cheese, sausage, bacon, and many other lean meats. I also use butter.

My son scolded me last week for ordering some cheeses from Sweet Grass Dairy in Atlanta Georgia. LOL.....He scolded me because we live in cheese head land. The thing is there are a few cheeses from that dairy that I absolutely love and cannot live without.

If not for the fact that hubby is taking me out for date night tonight, I would be having some cheese for dinner tonight.

It definately helps me maintain. I probably eat too much for weight loss but then again, I am in Maintenance so i am ok.

If there was booze in the pie it is possible. LOL!

It takes very little alcohol for me to actually feel drunk. Like I cannot drive drunk.......really drunk.

Sugar, no......I just feel really crappy if i eat something with too much sugar.

I had a very small piece of wedding cake at my friends sons wedding. It had a boozy chocolate mousse in it. I did not get drunk but could seriously feel the liquor.

@@Melanie89

Do you use soy sauce in that stir fry? If so, that right there might be your problem. Even if it is the low sodium kind and you are using your seasoning.

The important thing to remember is to drink tons of Water then the salt doesnt matter. In fact, I was told to increase my salt intake because of how much Water I drink. It caused me to have low blood pressure.

I am guessing the stir fry was alot of salt for you.

@@asantiago

My personal opinion but if you are going to try it, i would make sure there is some type of Protein vs just veggies and carbs.

I do eat thin crust pizza every once in a while and I mean cracker thin crust. I do make sure there is alot of meat and of course it is not the most healthiest of meals. BBQ chicken pizza.......

@@Hammer_Down

Thank YOU! I was beginning to think I was alone here in this point of view.

I have to say I learned so much through the diet yo yo phase of my life and now after bariatric surgery. I wish I could turn back the clock to when I started yo yo dieting because it was my downfall for sure.

I think if I knew what I know now, I would have had bypass surgery in my late 20s. Before I did all this damage to my body. But, in the end I am just glad I did it, glad I lost all of my excess weight and most importantly glad that I now know how to eat healthy while still enjoying food.

@@tasha_kelo

I am sorry to say that yes, I lost my curves. I am happy to say that I lost all of my excess weight and although i no longer have a butt and my breasts sag, I am healthy and happy.

I think my figure is more of a boy shape now. So, I have chosen to remove all the loose skin. I had an arm lift in July, will have an abdominalplasty and breast lift with augmentation in January. Then I am sure I will do something about my butt and thighs. I literally have no rear. Hubby tries to pinch it and literally cannot pinch anything. We do laugh about it.

For me, getting healthy was the most important thing and I did that very quickly.

@@Melanie89

It is likely just Water retention. Have you had too much salt? I literally was a daily weigher all through the weight loss phase.

If i had anything salty the day before I could expect a couple pound swing the next day or two. Especially if i did not hit my Water goals for that day.

Also, it can be hormones. I survived the daily weigh ins by literally telling myself to not get upset at my scale because your weight will fluctuate from day to day. I honestly paid no attention to the 1 or 2lb swings either way until they remained that way for 3 or 4 days. Meaning if the scale told me I lost a pound, I did not count it until that pound was gone for good for at least 3 days, same thing with gains.

You definately DID NOT gain 2 lbs for real so try not to worry. Some people stay off the scale if it really gets to them.

I had to do it once after a month of no movement whatsoever. I just stayed off for a week and then wham, i started losing again.

Best of luck to you!

@@redheadjo

Your best chance of success is making good choices. 90% of having weight loss surgery is a head game, 10% the surgery. Especially after the honeymoon period.

I personally believe the longer you have to prepare yourself (like you are), the better chance you have of long term success.

I exercise very minimally at this point, I wish i could do more. For the first 9 months i exercised 1 hour 5 times per week. As I lost more weight, I began to have more issues with my spine. 9 months after bypass I had a 3 level cervical fusion and my hour a day cardio came to a screeching halt. That was my 6th back surgery since 2001. 5 months later i had my 7th.

And yes, I am still having alot of trouble with my mid back. I guess fusing your lumbar and neck ultimately causes trouble with your mid back which is now wearing and extraordinarily painful.

So, I have to control my weight with food and do what i can.

I had 9 months to prepare for post bypass life and I am thankful now, at the time i thought it sucked to have to wait that long. I believe that for me, that time allowed me to prepare and have a better chance.

I ended up losing all of my excess weight and I had to do the last with pretty much diet alone.

You should do well! Keep the right mind frame and know that it really is all about choices.

@@redheadjo

I know this can be frustrating but really it is helping you. Your body takes breaks and is probably fighting the loss but if you stick to the plan, your liver will shrink enough and you will lose weight.

Also, the liquid diet helps you detox from all of the carbs/sugars and it really does make it easier to deal with the diet you will follow the rest of your life.

If it makes you crazy, I suggest staying off the scale. also....i am sorry to say if it is making you crazy in pre-op, you might want to consider not weighing at all post op either. Initially you will gain back most everything you lose the week of surgery and then there will be many stalls along the way.

Keep your eye on the prize and try not to worry about the scale.< /p>

Best of luck to you!

@@Christina.Rose

Did you read your original post where you called people liars?

Pot/Kettle......just saying.

I am with @@Babbs on this one. I have to be very careful or i start to gain a few pounds.

I am two years out and cannot eat whatever I want as I am not active enough. So, I play the 90/10 rule, watch the scale and how i feel and plan for those 10% days.

Unfortunately i think monitoring what i eat and how much i eat will be a lifelong worry for me because like you, I am terrified of regain. I like where I am at and would like to stay here for the rest of my life.

Your friend may be more active than you think? Not sure about this but if i ate and drank what you described, I would gain weight, especially if I did it regularly.

Best of luck to you!

Wow. How supportive and welcoming. I am DEFINITELY concerned about the extra skin possibility. Im in my 30s and dont want to go from a cow to a deflated elephant. To call people stupid and whiny for daring to care if their self esteem and possible depression or living misery of feeling ugly and abnormal will get better or potentially worse is judgemental and none of your business. Mental health is a part of being healthy too and if you say you didn't care about what you would end up looking like after surgery and you were only doing it to get rid of....diabetes/apnea/joint pain blah blah etc, then you have to be lying. What is with all the Fatty divas on this site? This site is supposed to be here for questions, concerns, support, not being a jerk and complaining about peoples personal issues or struggles. Guess what. You were fat just like everyone else. It doesn't make you a leader or rock star because you got cut up before other people did.

Sent from my SM-J700P using the BariatricPal App

I can honestly say that when i had WLS it was 100% because of my health. My kidneys were failing and I was headed for dialysis and possibly a transplant down the road.

My nephrologist suggested WLS knowing that I had been trying to lose weight on my own for years. I was also 51 when I had my surgery and the concern was losing and keeping it off to give my kidneys a break.

Never once did it occur to me that I would lose all of my excess weight nor did i care even a little about what i would look like after.

Not until the 3 month mark did it even occur to me that I would care. Once the fat was gone, I started to feel fantastic. My kidney function was better, no more diabetes, high blood pressure, severe GERD, sleep apnea. My knees and feet no longer hurt. I could walk for miles and miles.....after only about 3 months!

What people dont realize is how that extra skin makes a person feel. The possibility of looking as good as you feel finally begins to hit you. (It takes a while because your brain needs time to catch up with your body)

You are finally at goal but now the extra skin is pulling on you and it is ugly so plastics then enters your head.

I get it you are 30, you probably do not have the health issues many other morbidly obese patients have so you can not relate. And i totally understand your concern about loose skin because I am living it and would not want to be as young as you are and know that it will happen.

But, all that being said. I NEVER EVER thought about having WLS for any other reason than my health issues. Getting thin and now caring about how I look came after i realized that I could lose all my weight and not only be healthier but look halfway decent too.

Please dont assume that everyone who has had WLS is doing it for non health reasons. It simply is not true.

@@mariernest

It depends on the city you live in. I live in Wisconsin and had my brachioplasty done in July. The cost was 5950.00 and I went home the same day.

In January, I am having a full abdominalplasty, breast lift with augmentation. Two nights in the hospital (my choice) and the cost is 16,800.00. The two nights in the hospital will cost 500.00 per night and that is included in the price. I am choosing to do that to take the scary part off my husband.

I have seen costs in larger cities go way up in price. My surgeon is double board certified and am very happy with her.

I am now wondering what it will cost to do a neck lift. I would see her partner for that and I am not ready to even really think about it yet. I want to get through this big surgery first.

The only thing that works for me is detoxing from them and then avoiding. If I eat sweets, I will crave them and dealing with the cravings are much worse that simply avoiding them altogether.

The thing that did it for me was the pre op liquid diet. Once I got off the sweets I did not care about them.

I have since let small amounts back in and have to be very careful. My sweet of choice is dark chocolate.

@@summerset

@@Djmohr You're telling me lots of things in your posts but unfortunately you didn't answer my question:

Did you ever count calories when eating like this and when you weren't on a diet? Like really counting calories with weighing everything and not only estimating so you can compare the amount of calories with what you're eating now?

So how many calories did you eat when you ate "all that crap"? Do you know?

(most people don't, including me - I have no clue how many calories I ate while gaining weight and being at my highest weight because I only counted calories when being on a diet)

You say:

There may be other ways, but i have experienced both and guess what? I gain weight......I gain if i eat crap and I gain if i graze.

Of course you do - you're getting in more calories because you either eat

1) more food (grazing)

or

2) more calorie dense food (the crap as you call it)

i am guessing I am not the only one.

I am also guessing you're not the only one gaining weight when eating more calories.

@@summerset

Yes, I counted calories when i ate like that. Why are you so worried about my calorie count?

You seem to assume that if you count calories, no matter what you eat you will lose weight. That is simply not always true. If it were, most of us that simply eat less than 3500 calories a day would continue to lose weight. It is not that simple. Which by the way, I do every single day yet I am at the same weight (My goal) that I have been since March.

If you want to eat the old foods that got you here, go for it. I happen to know that does not work for me. I GAIN weight!

Not everyone is the same but clearly you have it figured out. Let us know, after you are through the honeymoon period if it works for you.

As for me, I know what works and what doesnt. I also know the calories i consumed both before and after surgery. And I know what I ate mattered more than how much i ate. I know this from tracking my foods both before and after surgery and I have had both nutritionists and doctors tell me that I was morbidly obese and malnourished at the same time. This comes from eating too many bad carbs, not enough dense Protein and vegetables.

Wow, I got my results the very morning after my sleep study both times.

I am two years post op. It is very easy for me to put on a few pounds and difficult to get it back off.

Thankfully I have been so paranoid about it that i simply gain and lose the same 6 pounds over and over.

I pray that as i get many more years out, that i find my groove. It looks like i had RNY a month before you.

I was able to get to goal and even lost a few pounds more but yes, maintaining for me is the hardest work of all.

Definately dont stress about it. The biggest thing is making sure you have plenty of Water, homemade broth, and maybe even some sf popsicles or sf pudding. For the first week you won't eat much more than that.

Also, have a heating pad available. It helps with the gas pain.

Honestly for me this surgery was a piece of cake. It was getting used to the life changes after that are more difficult but it just takes a few weeks and you will be well on your way.

Hope all goes well! See you on the other side.

I would definitely do the pouch test to start with and detox yourself. Your pouch will always be there, you just have to retrain it and get all the crap out of your system.

Once done with the pouch test, I would go back to measuring and tracking my foods and I would stick to dense Protein and vegetables and some whole fruit. This will actually keep you fuller longer.

If you have not read this, you should because I believe it will help you relearn and execute given how far out from surgery you are.

http://www.amylhwilliams.com/pouchrulesfordummies.html

You can do this! You did it once so you know you can.

I agree with the OP regarding the intent of this post. I have always said, I will take loose skin over my unhealthy morbidly obese body every single time. Those that whine about it, clearly don't get it and may be looking for excuses to keep their round plump selves. It might take them some time, but if the weight continues to creep on, their health will be the driver in the end. I know it was for me and my only regret is waiting too long to have the surgery before it damaged my body further.

That being said, removing the extra skin is not just about vanity. And she is right, plastics is a very serious high risk procedure that is absolutely barbaric and leaves you with very large scars. The scars are the trade off for the loose skin.

I will take the scars over the pain from dragging around all this low hanging skin anyday.

It hurts and pulls on my body. Having had 4lbs of skin removed from my arms has helped me with the pain in my neck. Yes, i did have my arms done because they were so big and embarrassing.

In January, I will have my tummy and breasts done not only to look and feel better but to tighten my core and support my back. I have a very bad back and this skin that drops lower as you lose weight pulls on your body.

At the end of the day, I agree......the extra skin is better than all that unhealthy fat, the scars are better than all that loose hanging skin.

I would do it all again in a heart beat. I am 47 days away from having my TT and breast lift with augmentation done. I am NOT looking forward to it. Plastics is way more painful than WLS but I am dreaming about have a nice tight core again and cannot wait to see if it helps my back.

Just sharing some before plastics and after so people get a sense for how loose hanging skin can effect you.

Before:

After:

Thanks for reposting this. After I saw it the first time, I have tried the Water loading and it really does work.

The whole process works.

@@teedsg

Originally I was going to get the sleeve and after meeting the surgeon learned that Gerd can sometimes become very severe after sleeve surgery. In fact, some end up with GERD after never having it before surgery and ultimately end up with a revision to RNY.

After doing some research on RNY and understanding all of the elements I went for it and have not regretted my decision to do so. It is still the gold standard in weight loss surgery. I lost all of my excess weight - 152Lbs.

I had severe gerd and was on max dosages for PPIs everyday. Since the day of my surgery i have not even had a slight case of heartburn. RNY literally cured my gerd, put my diabetes and stage 3 kidney disease into remission. Cleared up my high blood pressure and high cholesterol and cured my sleep apnea. NO MORE BIPAP for me.....

My goal was to get healthy.......I did not have any idea that I would actually get to a normal healthy weight. That was a plus!

Lately, I've been thinking of doing the bypass, but, I have these concerns:

1. I'm scared of having my innard's rerouted,
2. I do have mild case of Gerd, (does eating the right food still give you Gerd? For me, it does.)
3. I have sleep apnea
4. My bmi isn't that high. (The nutritional visits are really helping.)

Not sure how I can make this final decision. Are there any other factor's to consider?

the sleep apnea is completely irrelevant when it comes to which surgery you choose

GERD often gets worse with the sleeve. If you have GERD now, even mild, I'd strongly consider the bypass.

I know a lot of people are freaked out about having their intestines re-routed, but to be honest, I don't really think that's any more radical than having 80% of your stomach removed...

high vs low BMI really doesn't matter, either. Most people who have the DS have high BMI's, but with both the sleeve and the bypass, it's a mix - some high, some low

What she said!!!! This is just me but even having a slight case of GERD would make me choose RNY over Sleeve. The Sleeve can cause people who have never had it to suddenly get it because of the design of the surgery.

RNY cures it and I honestly do not believe rerouting your digestive system is any more aggressive than removing your stomach.

With RNY, it can be reversed. With sleeve, when the rest of your stomach is gone, the only thing that can be done is to convert to RNY.

Does this make sense?

@@emardee

Pinch, Pinch, Pinch! It is real, crazy and fun. Enjoy it! You have worked hard for it.

Everyone loses at a different rate. It will slow down when you get closer to goal and then you will wish for the months that you lost quickly.

It took 9 months to lose my first 100lbs and then another 9 months to lose the last 52lbs.