My Bariatric Life

Well Connie, it looks like you disrupted the masses. It would be much easier to post an article telling people what they want to hear. Congrats on doing the right thing by telling us the Truth instead. More than a decade ago when I had my gastric bypass surgery, patients were led to believe that they'd be normal weight, if not thin, after weight loss surgery. I guess that falls under the realm of education and awareness that you speak of in your article. We all know what a lie that is today. As for me, I don't drink alcohol anymore. That includes beer and wine. I haven't for years. I also don't eat processed foods, smoke cigarettes (never have), or watch TV either. It is a lifestyle. You're either in or you're out. There's no dipping your toe in the Water. Choose health or choose anti-health. More than a decade ago, I was a processed food junkie and couch potato on ~10 prescription medications for obesity-related illnesses. In 2003 I made a decision to chose health. Had I not done so, I would not be alive today. Today I choose health. Today I choose life. Today I choose me. Here is My Story of reclaiming my life. Climbing down from my soap box now...

I wanted to share this story of inspiration with you. I am sure it will lift your spirit as much as it does mine! Fabiola Apollon is familiar with the setbacks and success of weight loss. She was not a first time winner, nor a second or third, for that matter. However, she is a woman of great spirit, and her determination finally won the battle with a gastric sleeve revision, spirituality, and dedication. Please read Fabiola's story of faith, patience, and perseverance over obesity here: http://www.mybariatriclife.org/gastric-sleeve-revision-patient-story/

Looking back to when I had my gastric bypass surgery in 2003, I don’t believe that my bariatric surgeon really discussed the gastric bypass pouch rules or stressed their importance with me. I recall him saying, “I do the surgery. The rest is up to you.” So, I am very glad that I came across the “Pouch Rules for Dummies” published free online. The “Dummies” version of the pouch rules was adopted from an original article written by Dr. Edward E. Mason, the “father of obesity surgery.” It is well-worth your time to read and follow these rules. They should be an intricate part of your bariatric lifestyle so as to achieve permanent weight loss. In fact, it is suggested that you become an expert in their use. It also is stated that even years after gastric bypass, by returning to the use of the pouch rules and the proper use of your tool, that you can drop excess weight that has been gained from what you originally lost. Learn more here: http://www.mybariatriclife.org/gastric-bypass-pouch-rules-for-dummies/

@@Pedro Valle-Inclan it is always best to do what you feel is best for you rather than blindly follow information. I understand your concern. I recall that when I was early out I had a very hard time with poultry. I would eat it and not be able to hold it down. It was just too hard on my pouch for some reason. So, it does make one wonder about the advice to "eat hard Proteins quickly." I am interested in what your surgeon says. Please update us. Thanks!

I interviewed Jonathan Blue, a bariathlete and inspiring weight loss success story. The Obesity Action Coalition defines “bariathletes” as people who have lost weight via bariatric surgery and now compete in endurance events. One-year post-bariatric surgery, Jonathan competed in endurance events such as the Disabled American Veterans 5k and Great Ohio River Swim. At the age of 30, he has reclaimed his health and his life after losing more than 200 pounds following gastric bypass surgery in November 2013. You may read Jonathan's story here: http://www.mybariatriclife.org/patient-stories-from-obesity-to-bariathlete/ Jonathan also contributes articles on BariatricPal here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/contributor.html?author=237259

@Stevehud That is odd. I posted a reply to you days ago but it is not here. Oh well. I want to ask if you study consciousness or psychology or spirituality? I ask this because your comments seem to indicate that, specifically in the area of taking personal accountability for one's self: "Anyone who says "i never realized" is lying out their butt. We knew it, we ignored it, we chose our lifestyle, its part of overcoming this. We have to take responsibility for ourselves. Or else this is all just a simple exercise in blame and futility... Its part of our humanity that we decide to ignore what we want." It always surprises me when people give away their own power (myself included). When we come to realize how truly powerful we are, we realize that we are unstoppable, that in fact the only thing holding us back is ourselves. We create our own Heaven or Hell by our perceptions and our choices. Obesity and everything that goes along with it is Hell, not only for one's self but for our families whom we drag down with us, whom we burden with taking care of us when it is we ourselves who need to take care us. Yes, there are food manufacturers who engineer packaged foods/processed foods/fast foods to be addictive, particularly by manipulating fat and sugar. That has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. You are free to choose to believe that or not. Likewise they have engineered artificial sweeteners and GMOs knowing they are detrimental to human life. In fact, I interviewed the former lead FDA investigator on aspartame, who quit the FDA because he could not stomach the lies and corruption that went on in the clinical trials. Part of the overcoming as you call it, or as I call it: "waking up," is seeing the Truth that is so plainly in front of those who have eyes to see (paraphrasing Mark 8:18). Then we must make the choices that serve our highest and best. But here is where we disagree, Steve: Its not enough to come to this awareness and keep the information to one's self. We must share the knowledge we have gained so that others can overcome, or wake up, to the Truth as well. When you see someone post that they are three months out from surgery and eating 3 Protein bars a day, do you try to help that person by gently exposing them to the truth or do you condemn them and make fun of their ignorance to that truth? There but by the grace of G-d go I.

@Stevehud we each should discern what is true for one's self. but to say that anyone who is deceived deserves what they get is unjustified. are you truly telling me that a patient who puts his/her trust in a doctor or medical professional and is deceived by that doctor, and then suffers health consequences for it, deserves what s/he gets? surely i have misunderstood you. i am not sure if your second paragraph refers to me directly, but if it does, then i will tell you that you assume you know who i am, but you do not. i could be a former fatty turned self-proclaimed expert as you say or i could be a biochemist. i may have worked in healthcare my entire career. i might be an experienced researcher and writer whose work has been paid for and published. i will further tell you that two of those statements are true. you say that these "doctors" are so full of crap and it causes me to wonder if you are exhibiting the very same personna that you admonish, "who were fat their whole lives then all of a sudden they lose weight and as fast as that they are suddenly experts. after all, what makes you an expert to say these doctors are so full of crap?

@2goldengirl good point and thanks for sharing your POV. I firmly believe we should look at the points and counter points and trust our gut, so-to-speak, in the end.

I just added a link to a shocking infographic from HealthCentral to the article. Check this out: http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/380545/179644/sugar-blame-infographic/ to see how much sugar we as a nation are grossly over-consuming! As well as the many covert names by which sugar is disguised in your packaged foods.

In the late 1970s the government mandated we get the fat out of our food. The food industry responded by putting in more sugar. And that, we see by historical data, correlates to the time when America’s obesity epidemic began. Read my article, “Cause and Cure of Obesity in America.” In the New York Times best seller Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease, author Dr. Robert H. Lustig, a renown expert on obesity, points out that “a calorie is not a calorie.” Not all calories are equal. Whether the calorie comes from fructose, glucose, protein or fat is important to its metabolic effect and how much fat that calorie accounts for. Fructose and glucose — just two of the many names that sugar goes by — and even protein are said to be the culprits behind insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are two primary causes of obesity in both adults and children. If you are struggling with the problem of an overgrown waistline, aka “belly fat,” this may be an indicator of these health conditions. Read my article, “Belly Fat is a Danger for All People.” If metabolic syndrome is the cause of your weight gain, a diet that is low to moderate in calories coupled with an exercise plan may not be enough to lose the weight. And if you continue to eat the wrong foods, exercise and diet may not help at all. What are the Wrong Foods? Sugar goes by a variety of names, about 52 in all, including glucose, maltose, sucrose, and fructose. The result has been an altering of our biochemistry that has driven our eating out of control, according to Dr. Lustig. Dr. Lustig further states that so-called healthy sugars such as agave, coconut and palm sugars are all “crap.” Checkout this HealthCentral sugar infographic named Sugar is to Blame: http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/380545/179644/sugar-blame-infographic/ Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known guru for holistic health and integrative medicine, agrees on this point. Dr. Weil warns that sugar is toxic, and coupled with modern industrial food, has disastrous effects on the hormones that control hunger, satiety, and weight. Both Dr. Lustig and Dr. Ron Rosedale, author of The Rosedale Diet, advise that branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) and protein contribute to insulin resistance and obesity. I’ve been eating a high-protein diet and taking BCAAs because I thought I was doing my body good. Whey protein, which I and the majority of bariatric patients have been conditioned to consume, is one of the worst foods for releasing insulin in the body according to Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, a Swedish medical doctor and specialist in family medicine. Dr. Eenfeldt, commonly known on the web as the “Diet Doctor,” interviews Dr. Lustig on the "Causes of Obesity" in the video below (or watch it on ). The Bottom Line If you think metabolic syndrome may be the cause of your weight gain, then eating a traditional “healthy diet” combined with exercise may result in failure to lose weight. Talk to your nutritionist. Further, you may wish to explore three diets for metabolic syndrome from Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Robert H. Lustig, and Dr. Andrew Weil in my article, “Metabolic Syndrome and Weight Loss.” Living larger than ever, My Bariatric Life

@@vincereautmori in an article that I wrote several years ago, I had that very same ah ha moment, and specifically made the correlation of fattening cattle on corn and the amount of HFCS in our food. There was another article that I wrote that exposed the engineering of just the right amount of fat and sugar in foods by scientists at food manufacturers to create "addiction." Shame on them.

@@2goldengirl I agree that there aren't many studies. And one of the primary reasons for that is the study results would not support the entities who fund them. However, there are many doctors and healthcare professionals who support this line of thinking. I mention three or four in the article. There is also Dr. Mercola, Dr. Atkins, Dr. Loren Cordain, Dr. Weston Price, to name a few off the top of my head, as well as all the supporters both healthcare professionals and patients who support this way of eating. As well, data have shown that sugar-laden drinks are one of the top causes, if not the top cause, of obesity. You sound as though you are in the field. Have you seen any scientific evidence that would refute what Dr. Lustig is saying? I'd like to hear the counterpoint. Thanks.

@@Inner Surfer Girl I recently bought gourmet tuna salad from the grocer. I had to feed it to my dogs. It was inedible owing to the sugar that they added. Who the heck puts sugar in tuna salad for crimes sake?!?!

When you get to the hospital, look around and try to take in and remember everything. I did not do this for my tummy tuck, but I did it for my second stage plastic surgery and it was amazing. It was such a surreal experience! It was such a big moment in my life and I wanted to remember all of it. I wrote about my plastic surgery day if you want to read it and prepare yourself. Good luck!!! MY SURREAL BODY CONTOURING PLASTIC SURGERY

@@BCs 1000 I am going to have to watch that documentary! Wow do I ever miss my farmer's market in NJ. Out here in Indianapolis it is much harder to access quality food. Geez, you should see the lines at the Mc D's drive-thru!

Thanks for sharing the link. I have not seen this documentary. In one of the videos on YouTube of Dr. Lustig, he was talking to food manufacturers. He mentioned that a doctor he knows sat in on meetings at the Big Food Corp he worked for wherein they tried to figure out how to hide the sugar on the nutrition label. Lustig said that is the reason why sugar goes by so many different names. So they list, for example, maltose, dextrose, and sucrose on a label and it appears further down in the ingredients list. According to Lustig, if they listed them as "sugar" it might appear as the first ingredient in the list!

It is amazing how the taste buds of "society" have become de-conditioned to the taste of sugar because, exactly as you say, it is in everything! Products that come to mind immediately are the REAL taste of tomato sauce and Peanut Butter that have no sugar added. Why add sugar one might ask? Because it is highly addictive and thus people eat more and the food manufacturers make more money. Ugh, I even have a challenge finding dried fruit that has no sugar added!

Great suggestion! High fructose corn syrup is in more than 90% of foods in the grocery store. We need to eat real food and take control of our health. In one of the videos I watched on Youtube with Dr. Lustig, a woman who worked in marketing for General Mills started crying and said she was in a consumer focus group and a mom said she liked feeding her children Fruit Loops for Breakfast because she felt good about giving her children fruit in the morning.

@@Alex Brecher well, I may have some old ones. I can access my records online and check.

PatchMD delivers Vitamins and nutrients via a transdermal patch. This can be a great route of delivery for bariatric patients as our bodies may not absorb whole pills as well. I have a friend who is using them and she's very happy. I have begun to use them. My only complaint is that sometimes my patch falls off. Otherwise, it beats the heck out of taking a handful of pills. I like that the nutrients are absorbed through your body over a 12-hour period. I believe this is preferable to bombarding my system with a handful of vitamins 3x a day. I just thought I'd pass along the info and the great savings they have going on, 40% off your order with code OH2015. Shipping is a flat fee of $5.99. Has anyone else tried them?

How are the PatchMD Vitamin patches working out for you? I liked them! I haven't had any labs done but I've felt fine with the patches. I do take supplemental liquid Iron drops as I feel better at a higher iron level than most post-bariatric patients.

A patient must have realistic expectations going into plastic surgery after massive weight loss. Reeducating people about self-image is a critical component to accepting oneself after weight loss. The plastic surgeon must manage those expectations and explain to the patient her realistic outcome. Self-acceptance is, after all, a state of mind. One patient told me that a plastic surgeon said to her, “I operate with a scalpel, not a magic wand.” While another patient told me her plastic surgeon said, “Let’s go for a 10!” I wonder about these statements. Does the first plastic surgeon lack the skills to deliver the results that the patient wants? Is the second plastic surgeon just telling the patient what she wants to hear? A patient must have realistic expectations going into plastic surgery after massive weight loss. The plastic surgeon must manage those expectations and explain to the patient her realistic outcome. This is done by the plastic surgeon pulling tight her excess skin on each area of the body to simulate her results after plastic surgery. As well, showing before and after photos of other patients with similar body types. Body Image and Media The media has baited the hook, and the public chases after a trophy that will probably never be had. It is similar to purchasing a winning ticket for the lottery: It is possible but not probable. As a matter of fact, the average five foot four inch tall American female will never be tall and slender. She cannot match the media sales image of “desirable.” A major global study concluded that current characterizations of beauty are restraining and normally beyond reach. A current contention is that this unrealistic presentation helps to promote social acceptance of discrimination against obese people. It also sets the bar too high for realistic expectations of what we should strive to look like following post-bariatric plastic surgery. Plastic Surgery Post Bariatric Surgery While I was recovering from my body lift I thought deeply about the body image held by many of the patients I’d interacted with online, as well as my own image of my body. What are the emotional implications of plastic surgery post bariatric surgery? We found our bodies unattractive, or even ugly, after losing 100 pounds or more. We were left with excess sagging skin that could not be exercised or dieted away. Having body image issues about breasts, thighs, and tummy being deflated and sagging is quite understandable. Wanting the sexy body you have always wanted is normal. Body contouring plastic surgery was the only way to restore the body’s normal shape. Read, “Female Body Image and Sexuality.” Reality Check after Plastic Surgery The patient must understand that it takes several months to see plastic surgery results. If months have passed and the patient remains unsatisfied, it is a good idea to pull out before and after photos for a reality check. Improvement is more likely than perfection for a massive weight loss person, but it should be significant improvement. Read my article, “18 Insider Tips of Plastic Surgery.” Body Image after Weight Loss Reeducating people about self-image is a critical component to accepting oneself after weight loss. This will help lessen the extremes people employ as they try to grab a brass ring that is always beyond reach. Your goal should be one of significant improvement in functional mobility, stability, and aesthetics, rather than perfection. One patient told me, “I am not looking to be Barbie or Twiggy, but rather a more compressed me if possible. I feel like a barrel even after the plastics I’ve been able to have via my ***. At some point I have to just accept me for me with my bodily flaws; and every scar on my body has meaning to me!” Self-acceptance is, after all, a state of mind. Self-image is the idea a woman has about her abilities, appearance, and personality.

Thanks for the great tips! Why is it that we should stop eating by 7pm to boost metabolism?

Thanks a bunch @Gaylene!!!

Choosing a plastic surgeon after weight loss is an important personal decision. Someone told me that you do not buy a procedure, you buy a plastic surgeon (Read: Understanding Post-Bariatric Plastic Surgery). I completely get that now, having gone through a total body contouring and facelift, but it wasn’t always that way. When I was beginning my plastic surgery after massive weight loss, I did not understand just how much obesity had deformed my body. It was later made clear to me that I was a much more challenging case than women seeking plastic surgery whom had never been morbidly obese. Add to that, I was more prone to complications during surgery and recovery owing to my former health conditions (diabetes, hypertension, etc). Dr. Joseph F. Capella underscores the inherent challenge, “Many surgeons have come through their training not having been exposed to post-bariatric body contouring. Because of that these surgeries are not considered traditional procedures, in the sense that they’ve been honed over decades like many of the other plastic surgery procedures. And so what plastic surgeons may do is use these more traditional procedures and apply them to the post-bariatric patient, which often will lead to sub-optimal results.” How does the massive weight loss patient choose the right plastic surgeon? After all, while there is rigorous training, and requirements for a plastic surgeon to become certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, just as there are for a bariatric surgeon to become certified by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, there are no rigorous requirements and certification for a sub-specialty in bariatric plastic surgery. What is a patient to do? Dr. Capella recommends “For each of the procedures you’re considering, ask the plastic surgeon: How often do you do them and how many have you done? The doctor should make other patients readily available to you who have had these plastic surgeries done. And, of course, the doctor should have a wide array of images to show you of hopefully body types that are similar to yours.” My additional advice: Travel out of state if you must to find a plastic surgeon who specializes in the massive weight loss patient’s special needs. With all due respect to patients who travel outside the country for their surgery, selecting a plastic surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is an essential step to ensure the best training and credentials. I have corresponded with too many bariatric patients who’ve had complications after plastic surgery and had their surgeons ignore them. Don’t let this happen to you. Be sure that your surgeon will be responsive 24/7 during the many weeks and months of recovery, come what may. Of course, all of us gathered here on BariatricPal understand the value of connecting on the Plastic Surgery Forum with patients who candidly share their surgical experiences and discuss their plastic surgeons. Be sure to tap into this very valuable resource. Last but not least, personal compatibility is an essential element in the patient-physician relationship. You must feel comfortable talking to your plastic surgeon about all of your concerns. And you must have that sense of trust that s/he has your highest good as top priority no matter what may come. The bottom line: Plastic surgery should be a life-changing experience for the better. For further reading, I highly suggest my article “18 Insider Tips for Plastic Surgery.” Living larger than ever, My Bariatric Life