Djmohr

LOL! I am and have been a daily weigher ever since I had my surgery. It provides me with information needed to remain focused. I think I will now forever be a daily weigher. Every once in a while I do weigher twice in one day just out of curiosity but that is not the norm. The scale is one tool in my tool box for maintaining my health. I usually pay closer attention to my clothing.

Honestly I boost mine in the morning with 1 premier Protein shake. It has 30 grams of protein and I need to get 70 per day. This is my breakfast as I cannot eat eggs and yogurt is a slider food for me. I them try to balance out the remainder of my protein between lunch and dinner as well as my Snacks. I have a pretty heavy restriction still so I have to snack to get all my protein in even with the shake. I track absolutely everything in myfitnesspal. It tells me exactly where I am and if I need to make any adjustments as the day goes. I think I have been so successful because of tracking.

For me it started in my face, hands and feet. Then my butt joined the party and every single ounce of fat I had there left. Literally I have zero fat on my ass and that is a big problem! Then I swear everything literally started shrinking from my head and neck down after that. I am very very thin in the neck, collar bones, shoulders, lower arms. I am 10lbs from my ideal weight for my height but I have big upper arms, tummy and thighs, all of this being loose skin with some fat still there. I feel a bit like a sharpei dog. LOL! My husband agrees that I should consider having my upper arms done now because they were really really big and the loose skin there is terrible.

Yeah! I just broke up with mine too! I could have stopped using it 6 months ago but I had a real problem getting used to not using it. For me it was a comfort having it. Then I was finally on the lowest pressures possible (mine was Bi-pap) and the damn thing get waking me up because the pressure was still too high. So, I started one day at a time and then I would ask my husband if I snored. He said not at all. I kept it at my bedside for another 2 months but did not use it. So last week I let him pack it away. It is so nice not having all that crap strapped to your face when trying to sleep. Congratulations to all of us that no longer look like airplane pilots when we sleep!

I was not a revision but had a BMI at 45 and am currently at 25.3. I have lost 133lbs so far and have 11 to go. I am very very strict about getting my Protein, Water and Vitamins in every day. I have been restricted from exercise since June due to 2 spine surgeries and that is not going to end anytime soon. My weight loss slowed way down but I am still losing around 8lbs per month. I track every single thing I put in my mouth and have had many many stalls the longest lasting 28 days. I have had several people tell me I was likely done losing and I tell them they are full of crap. I may lose more slowly but it is up to me to follow the plan, if I do I will continue to lose. I get between 900 and 1200 calories a day with 70 grams of protein. I try to keep my carb intake under 90grams and I get a minimum of 48 oz, of straight water and usually more like 60oz. It can be done but you must push yourself hard and really look at your activity. Even though I cannot exercise in a gym, I keep my arms moving even when I am sitting and I try to walk as much as I can.

Have you tried premier protein? They are ready made shakes and do not have that gritty texture or nasty aftertaste. Each shake has 30 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar with 160 calories. In the first few weeks after surgery I had to add milk to them just to thin them out a little but honestly they taste pretty darn good.

Honestly this is the hardest part! I remember wanting to chew something so badly I thought I would lose my mind. In the end, I literally took it one day at a time until I got there. I had chicken breast and veggies cooked soft for that first real meal. That chicken was incredible. But you must take it even slower than you think. If you find you cannot tolerate yet, go back on soft foods, it's worth the extra time to let your tummy heal. Good luck! You are close and it will be here before you know it!

I told just a handful of people that I trusted. My hubby, my grown sons and 2 of my closest friends. Then after I had surgery I have pretty much told anyone who has asked me how I have lost all my weight. I also have thick skin and a big mouth so anyone that would dare say something rude would get my rude self right back. I really truly don't care what people think. I know this surgery saved my life and I am proud to say how I have done it. With a lot of very very hard work on my part. The reason I kept it smaller to begin with was because I had a lot of hoops to jump through and at any point could have been denied. I did not want to tell people at that stage in case it did not happen. Once I was approved and had a date I really did not care who knew. If you do share prepare yourself for all the people who knew someone 10 years ago and failed because believe me everyone will tell you about the horror stories. Just remember that you are 100 percent in control of your success as well as your failure. If you follow the plan you won't have issues. Good luck to you!

I found that early on with the bypass I was lucky if I could consume 1/4 to 1/2 cup. The thing with Soups and stews, unless they had a lot of dense Protein in them, they do not keep me full for long. I found them to be more of a slider food. I started adding double the chicken or beef into my soups and that really helped. The more protein in them, the less volume I could eat but the longer I stayed full. I hope this makes sense?!

Those are great examples of NSVs! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Glad to hear it! Enjoy that diarrhea, in another week or so you will wish you had that instead of the constipation that will come and stay. All that Protein and so little Fiber in the beginning makes things not want to move. Good luck, it sounds like things are going fairly well for you!

Good luck today! Best wishes for a very safe surgery and speedy recovery!

@@phatfatgirl Have you tried premier Protein ready made shakes? I too could not tolerate any of the powders in the beginning. My Bariatric team had me pick up Premier Protein. Each 11 oz. shake has 30 grams of protein with only 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories. They don't have that grit or nasty nasty after taste. The chocolate is the best as it is not overly sweet. The vanilla and strawberry seem sweeter to me and although I can drink them I pretty much stick to the chocolate. If you have not tried them, they really are better for you than simply drinking a protein shot. They have other Vitamins and minerals as well.

One gram of protein for every inch you are tall. That is the recommendation from my Bariatric team. So for you 79 grams would be just right.

Thanks so much for sharing your story. It is truly inspiring! Congratulations!

Good luck tomorrow! I hope you have a safe surgery and speedy recovery!

By the way, I also was a type 2 diabetic, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea as well as severe Gerd.

I had both elevated Bun and terrible creatinine levels pre surgery. I was told that I had stage 3 chronic kidney disease. It is the reason I made the decision to have bypass. In fact it was my nephrologist who made the recommendation to me to move forward. I was told it would not be long before I would need kidney dialysis. I left his office and immediately took the on line course that evening and went to my first class the next day. At 1 month post op, both my BUN and creatinine had moved to a normal range. Now my Bun continues to be slightly elevated but that is coming from my high Protein diet now. I just have to stay at the minimum protein for my height. The damage to my kidneys was permanent but I have clearly stopped it from progressing. I had no problem getting approved at all. My paperwork got faxed in to the insurance company after following all the requirements and I had an answer by that afternoon and was scheduled for surgery 3 weeks later. Of course it took 9 months to get through all the requirements but it was well worth it's! Good luck to you!

Tapas! My husband and I love restaurants that have Protein based tapas and we share. Usually we still have leftovers! If tapas are not something on the menu, I will look close at Soups and salads. Breakfast is the worst for me because I cannot eat eggs. You can usually find a yogurt parfait but they can be dangerous because restaurants like to add very sugary fruit to them. If I cannot find anything for breakfast I will go for a plain crepe with sf syrup and bacon or sausage. There is very little flour in a crepe and for some reason I can tolerate all the egg in one.

LOL! Well, you could look at it this way, you can always put layers on to warm up. When you are hot it really sucks! I am in that lovely phase where I am freezing 90 percent of the time but because I am suffering from multiple hot flashes daily I prefer the cold. We live in Wisconsin where it is cold and I just turned the heat on 2 days ago, mostly because my poor husbands teeth were chattering. I simply wear lots of layers and those lovely jackets with the thumb holes to keep my hands warm, them when a flash comes along, I throw all the blankets off, jackets off, etc. I will be sweating like crazy but my hands and feet are literally frozen. Then of course when the flash stops, I am soaking wet and freezing cold! I swear menopause is my own personal hell! I hope it ends sometime soon!

Bella, I am so sorry that this continues for you. What you are experiencing is definitely not typical. I definitely would go get that stricture taken care of. You deserve to be able to enjoy the little bit of food we can eat. Also, I cannot imagine feeling so crappy all the time. Please try getting that stricture fixed. I am guessing your only being able to eat soft foods is also causing you to be hungry more frequently because they are simply sliding through. I almost hate hate hate to say this but if getting the structure fixed does not help have you considered getting your surgery reversed? You cannot live like this forever with the physical issues and every once in a while there is the need for reversal.

I eat jersey a lot! I started at about 6 months post op as well.

My Mom was a great cook, she always stuffed our turkey and I grew up knowing that recipe. I made my turkey that way for 20 years. The turkey was good but I swear the breast was always a little dry. Then about 10 years ago I saw a way to make turkey that keeps the turkey very moist and delicious and I have been making it this way ever since. This year because there was only 4 of us I chose a smaller 12lb fresh turkey which may have made an even bigger difference. I used this new process and my husband who is not a turkey fan ranted and raved how delicious this turkey was and even asked for more yesterday for lunch. That, never ever happens! Here is what I did. I started with a fresh turkey not a frozen thawed turkey. I washed him with cold Water and then patted him dry. I them sprinkled salt and pepper in both cavities. I quartered a lemon and orange, sliced a onion in quarters leaving the skin on, cut a whole head of garlic in half skin on, grabbed a bunch of fresh thyme and fresh sage. I stuffed all these ingredients inside the two cavities. I then took a stick of butter that had been softened. I chopped more fresh sage and thyme. The I mixed that into a compound butter. I separated gently the skin off the breast as far down as I could and squished about half of that butter under the skin of the turkey. I used what was left on the outside of the turkey and gave him a nice massage. Last I sprinkled him lightly with salt and pepper. Lastly in the bottom of the roaster, I chopped a whole carrot in big chucks, a couple stalks of celery, a cup of Pinot Grigio and a cup of chicken stock. You can add more stock later if you need to. I used a gravy separator to remove most of the fat before making gravy. That was delicious too. I did make my usual stuffing and used plenty of chicken stock so it still had that great flavor and baked it in a casserole on the side. This bird was so juicy and flavorful. It was definitely the hit! The little bit of citrus in the cavity sort of perfumes the bird.

Honestly Protein is such a personal preference. I found that I simply could not tolerate the majority of the powders, they are gritty regardless of whether you mix them with a shaker ball or put them in a bullet. Post surgery I simply could not take the whey protein and grit taste at all. I would gag and vomit. My Bariatric team recommended Premier Protein ready made shakes. There is no grit, 160 calories, 1g sugar and 30g of protein in 1 11 oz. shake. In the beginning I had to milk them down by half because they are a little heavier but they taste great, fill you up and keep you full for hours. To this day they are really the only protein I buy. If I had to pick a powder I could live with I would choose syntax.

Woot woot! Congratulations!