Djmohr

Congratulations on your fantastic progress! You look terrific and probably feel pretty great too. Oh, and do not believe that you are done losing, yes, we slow down but if you stick to the plan the weight will continue to come off. Good luck!

I eat 3 tiny meals and 2 to 3 Snacks just to get all my Protein in. I am pretty restricted depending on what I eat. I will say your nut is right eating several small meals a day really benefits your metabolism and obesity is a metabolic disease. I used to skip Breakfast and lunch and then I would eat a huge dinner and garbage all night long. That is how I ended up morbidly obese. I really wish I knew then what I know now about nutrition. You must not skip meals if you want a normal metabolism.

Honestly I still have trouble switching between constipation and diarrhea. I don't think I have had a normal BM since I had surgery. I believe it is part of what we deal with now.

I am not familiar enough with the correct diet one should follow with the lapband. I am pretty sure it should be similar to other WLS. High Protein, low carb, low fat It sounds like you definitely have a much bigger appetite than you did a month ago. Who do you get your fills from? Can they give you a food plan to follow that fits with your type of surgery? Might you need a fill currently?

The only way I would be where I am is by tracking everything I put in my mouth good or bad. It allows me to make much better choices.

Last year because I was only 8 weeks post op, I made what my son and hubby wanted, ham. Not this year, I am making traditional thanksgiving dinner: turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato soufflé, mashed potatos, green bean casserole, Brussels, cranberries and pumpkin pie. I will likely have a small taste of everything with an emphasis on turkey. After tasting everything I will be probably past full so I will likely not touch the stuffing or pie. Don't really need to go there.

It actually makes me crazy how much food restaurants put on our plates. We wonder why/how we got here. I do not understand why they don't make the portions smaller and charge a little less. Yes, I get that they are worried about turning enough tables to make their businesses profitable but I have to believe this somehow needs to be regulated. My husband finds it necessary to finish what is on his plate and then because I can only eat a very small amount he sometimes goes after mine. I have had to get very on purpose about getting to go containers when I am served my meal so he doesn't eat two meals. We share when it makes sense but most of the time we do not make the same choices. I make healthy choices and he does not. I am very worried for his health and usually refrain from eating out because of it but of course you cannot always do that. I guess the good news is, we never ever ever eat at fast food dumps any longer at least not if I am with him.

Isn't that a great feeling! I used to be the heaviest in my family (hubby, and 2 sons). As of 2 days ago I weigh less than all 3 of them. My youngest son who is a very healthy young man and exercises regularly and is a fashion hog is now excited about shopping for me. He is so particular about his clothes and dresses very trendy, I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with. It should be very interesting.

Congratulations! Things do slow down as you head into those last 30 but they don't stop. You just have to be patient and stick to the plan. You will be there soon!

Nice job. You have made significant progress in the last year! I have just 14 left to go myself to get to an ideal weight for my height and body type. Sometimes when I look in the mirror I cannot believe it is actually me, other times I still see the fat lady. It can be very consuming but slowly my brain is catching up with my body.

Welcome and congratulations on your surgery. From your stats you look like you are doing fantastic!

@@terrydumont46 I am so surprised to hear your doctor has you focused on calories vs. volume and Protein. I am just shy of 14 months post op and really have to work hard to get 1100 calories in. I don't worry about it right now because I still have more to lose and hit my protein goals everyday. The crazy thing is, I am still pretty restricted so I have to have 3 meals per day and 2 to 3 Snacks to even come close to 1100 calories. I often worry about when I get to maintenance. I know I will need to add to stop losing but I am not sure at this point how I will do that. I plan to address with my nut. The only reason I know my calorie count is because I track everything that goes in my mouth, good or bad.

I do get that feeling from certain foods. For me the major culprit is eggs of any kind. I decided to try them again yesterday for lunch and after 14 months post op still have this issue. For the most part that feeling is usually related to certain foods. You may need to eat much slower and pay attention to what foods cause that feeling. I would bet there are some specifics and it is not everything you eat. Yes, things get more normal as time goes on but that does take time and going back to regular food requires a lot of trial and error. You are only 16 weeks post op, that really is not a lot of time. Your entire digestive system was rerouted. When you think about that 4 months is not that long.

I agree with @@TristanNicole, I would do both immediately. Once you are in counseling and working closely with your doctors office then file the appeal and ask your surgeon to do a peer to peer review with your insurance company if necessary. Don't lose faith, keep pushing through and remain as patient as you can. It takes a while to jump through the hoops but it is worth it in the end. Keep your head up! You will get through this and come out on the other side if you follow all the required steps. Good luck!

As Alex said, don't be afraid of the hair loss. It is so very worth it in the end. I was one of the unfortunate people that had massive hair loss for a very long period of time. I also am going through menopause so I am sure this added to it. Mine started what I will now call mild hair loss while on the liver cleanse diet. (At the time I thought it was a lot and was hoping it would mean it would end sooner) Well, it was just the beginning. It started very heavily right around 10 weeks post op and it progressively got heavier. It was still coming out at 12 months post op for me and I had lost about 2/3 of my hair volume. Of course while this was happening I was taking loads of Biotin, getting my Protein every day consistently, getting at least 64 oz. of Water on top of all the other fluids you get in your foods. It started growing back in very fast almost right away all the while it was still coming out. I saw several doctors and everyone assured me that when my weight loss slowed down, my hair loss would slow down. Right about the 12 1/2 month mark the loss slowed and has now almost stopped. At the end of this month I will be 14 months post op. I have loads of new hair growing in and of course short hairs popping up everywhere. Hubby and I were looking at my pics I have been taking along the way and you can see that my hair is returning to its full volume. I chose to cut my hair short while this was happening just because hair was everywhere. I had a new short sassy haircut and a very healthy svelte body. Who can companies about that. If I haven't said it, it is worth every hair that falls out of your head.

@@beachgal2935 Wow girl, very scary! I am so glad you got yourself healthy. You look absolutely fantastic. Congratulations!

Hi there! I had originally decided to go with the sleeve only to find out that the bypass was the best solution for me given I had diabetes and severe Gerd as well as several other Comorbitities. Once I got on board with having bypass, I was all in. And 13 months later I am down 130lbs, no longer have diabetes, no longer have Gerd or any type of heartburn, no longer have sleep apnea, no longer have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or stage 3 kidney disease. All of these issues were resolved almost immediately after I began the pre op diet and by the time I was out of the hospital. I am 14lbs from a optimal weight for my height, .7 from a healthy BMI. I have not had any complications, don't suffer from dumping syndrome and have been beyond happy with my decision to have bypass. I don't think you will be sorry and have heard extraordinary stories with women who have had fertility issues pre surgery and ended up getting pregnant by accident within months post op. Please be careful not to do that as your body really does need time to settle in to its new digestive process and it would not be initially healthy for either you or your unborn child. Everything will come together for you following this surgery. Congratulations on making the decision to get healthy!

I take a regular generic one a day type Vitamin with added D at the advice of my Bariatric team. All of my labs have been great. I also take a generic Vitamin D, B1 because my Thiamin was low and calcium citrate. My B12 was so high they pulled me off for 6 months.

Congratulations!

Sorry, I just cannot handle canned soups and I really want to know what is going into my food. It really is worth it to make them from homemade and pop them into the freezer. I cannot tell you how I went from an occasional cup of soup to eating it at least every other day. I look up recipes on Pinterest for soup and tweak with what I like or can have. This week I made Ina Gartens Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs. Oh my goodness so worth it. You can leave the Pasta out or do what I did and cut the pasta recipe by half and use whole wheat pasta. Chicken tortilla soup without the tortillas, I just posted this recipe on Lipstick ladies favorite meals Cauliflower chowder with bacon - recipe on Pinterest Chicken vegetable Lasagne soup - I am making this weekend for the first time and using zucchini instead of lasagne noodles. - recipe on Pinterest

chicken tortilla Soup Boneless skinless chicken breast poached and shredded or a rotisserie chicken shredded Olive oil Onion - chopped Poblano pepper chopped Carrot - diced Celery- diced Frozen corn - or if u like Beans swap them out Large can of enchilada sauce - I use mild but you can kick this up Large can of whole tomatoes - smash with your fingers 8 cups chicken stock 1 can of green chiles 1 t. Cumin 2 t. Chili powder Toppers : avocado, limes, tortilla strips that you buy for salad Brown onion, poblano, carrot, celery in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Season with salt and pepper. Add stock, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, chiles, chicken, corn and spices. Simmer until carrots are tender. If you like your tortilla soup thinner, add more stock. If you like it thicker reduce stock by half and keep adding until you have your desired thickness. I like mine thinner. Top with your favorite toppings. I use a tablespoon or fewer tortilla strips in a cup of soup.

chicken cacciatore Chicken breast - boneless skinless cut into pieces Olive oil Green pepper Onions Garlic Favorite marinara sauce Parmesean cheese Brown chicken on both sides using a small amount of olive oil and remove from pan. Sauté chopped onion in peppers until tender. Add chopped garlic and sauté for a minute or two stirring constantly so that the garlic does not burn but softens. Add marinara sauce and bring to simmer. Add chicken back in and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Top with grated parmesean

I had RNY as well, I chose it because of the proven track record to cure diabetes and Gerd. I had severe Gerd. I would not say that weight loss is any faster than the sleeve, you have to remember that everyone loses differently. RNY seems to provide more initial weight loss but slows over time and at the end of the day it seems they all catch up. Recovery for me was a piece of cake. Very little pain. I can eat whatever I want, that does not mean that I do. I have been eating fats since the very beginning and can even eat sugar. I choose not to over indulge because carbs slow your weight loss. Good fats keep you fuller longer. The biggest part of recovery for any of these surgeries is truly adapting a new lifestyle around food. It takes time and patience, trial and error. You learn quickly what to do and what not to do. I am now down 131lbs with 14 left to get to my ideal weight. Having bypass surgery was the best thing I have ever done for myself. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner, before I cause damage to my joints. Good luck to you!

I was never given an expectation and believe it or not my bariatric team does not focus on weight loss. They will tell you that for bypass patients the average total loss will be right around 75 percent and likely a 10 percent regain over a period of time. They never ever set goals for me other than health goals like curing my severe Gerd, diabetes, kidney disease, etc. those are the goals they spend all of their time on. I will say at my six month check in I had already surpassed that 75 percent reduction in overall weight and they told me given my weight loss and significantly improved health issues that I would be considered a successful bypass. They also told me at that time that my weight loss would slow down but I would continue to lose if I followed my new eating plan and stayed as active as I could. Honestly the scale is important but there really is much more important barometers for success. Your health being most important. Incidentally I have averaged right around 2lbs loss per week.

Hooray! Great job!