SuzeMuze

One of the easiest things to say, but hardest to do is not compare ourselves to others who had bariatric surgery at the same time we did. I'm about 9 weeks post op myself, and have come to terms with the following, which hopefully may help you:
1. Everyone loses weight differently. To hold someone else's success as our standard is dooming yourself to failure...frustration...and a higher level of recidivism back to your old eating habits.
2. From my own conversations with my surgeon/NUT...folks also lose weight relatively in proportion to how overweight they were to begin with. I was 242 pounds at 5'6"...and yet I was told I "wasn't that big". I'd love to lose weight faster too, but every person I've talked to has said the heavier you initially are, the faster the weight will initially come off. I believe it.
3. Take a good, close look at your diet. Find out your surgeon's recommendations for Protein, carbs, fat and total calories. I thought I was doing well enough until my first post op NUT visit where I found out I was expected to have only 30-50 grams of carbs a day. (increasing at about a year post-op) As someone who doesn't care for meat or dairy products, it's not leaving me with many choices. Add to that the disappointing discovery that my Vitamins (which we'll be taking for the rest of our lives) total 15 grams of carbs a day, it's really hard some days to keep my ingested carbs next to nothing.
4. Exercise is a horrible/beautiful thing. The hardest part is actually getting my butt up and getting started. I'm miserable and complaining in my head for a good 20 minutes on the treadmill, resenting every average weight yet lazy person I can think of But once you cross that "hump", walking can become addictive, especially if you use a step tracker or something like a FitBit or Jawbone. There are a number of step counter free apps for Smartphones out there, and before I got my FitBit, I used one to set daily goals for myself. I actually feel guilty and angry/determined if it gets to be dinner time and I haven't met my goal. Seeing those numbers turn green with a smiley face is very motivating to me. (As are a really good pair of walking shoes). Long story short, exercise will help with weight loss... seriously.
5. Your body has just gone through major surgery about 3 weeks ago- be gentle with it You'll still be healing for weeks yet, as your body tries to figure out what you just did and start letting go of the extra pounds instead of clicking into "starvation mode".
6. You've lost 13 pounds?? That's fantastic! That's 13 pounds less to carry around, and maybe 13 pounds more than you'd have lost trying another unsuccessful diet.
I'd be a big old hypocrite if I said I never compared myself to other folks who also had surgery in October. But I don't know their stories, just my own. I'll get there when I'm destined to get there. And I'll be thrilled

One of the easiest things to say, but hardest to do is not compare ourselves to others who had bariatric surgery at the same time we did. I'm about 9 weeks post op myself, and have come to terms with the following, which hopefully may help you:
1. Everyone loses weight differently. To hold someone else's success as our standard is dooming yourself to failure...frustration...and a higher level of recidivism back to your old eating habits.
2. From my own conversations with my surgeon/NUT...folks also lose weight relatively in proportion to how overweight they were to begin with. I was 242 pounds at 5'6"...and yet I was told I "wasn't that big". I'd love to lose weight faster too, but every person I've talked to has said the heavier you initially are, the faster the weight will initially come off. I believe it.
3. Take a good, close look at your diet. Find out your surgeon's recommendations for Protein, carbs, fat and total calories. I thought I was doing well enough until my first post op NUT visit where I found out I was expected to have only 30-50 grams of carbs a day. (increasing at about a year post-op) As someone who doesn't care for meat or dairy products, it's not leaving me with many choices. Add to that the disappointing discovery that my Vitamins (which we'll be taking for the rest of our lives) total 15 grams of carbs a day, it's really hard some days to keep my ingested carbs next to nothing.
4. Exercise is a horrible/beautiful thing. The hardest part is actually getting my butt up and getting started. I'm miserable and complaining in my head for a good 20 minutes on the treadmill, resenting every average weight yet lazy person I can think of But once you cross that "hump", walking can become addictive, especially if you use a step tracker or something like a FitBit or Jawbone. There are a number of step counter free apps for Smartphones out there, and before I got my FitBit, I used one to set daily goals for myself. I actually feel guilty and angry/determined if it gets to be dinner time and I haven't met my goal. Seeing those numbers turn green with a smiley face is very motivating to me. (As are a really good pair of walking shoes). Long story short, exercise will help with weight loss... seriously.
5. Your body has just gone through major surgery about 3 weeks ago- be gentle with it You'll still be healing for weeks yet, as your body tries to figure out what you just did and start letting go of the extra pounds instead of clicking into "starvation mode".
6. You've lost 13 pounds?? That's fantastic! That's 13 pounds less to carry around, and maybe 13 pounds more than you'd have lost trying another unsuccessful diet.
I'd be a big old hypocrite if I said I never compared myself to other folks who also had surgery in October. But I don't know their stories, just my own. I'll get there when I'm destined to get there. And I'll be thrilled

....and the purpose of shrinking your liver is primarily two-fold. First, it's beneficial to try and reduce the fat around your belly and liver prior to surgery. Your liver is located very near to your stomach, and a too large and/or fatty liver can cause your surgery to be delayed, or possibly be performed as an open procedure, which has a higher complication rate. Also your liver and spleen are surrounded by little things called triglycerides, and by reducing them prior to surgery, you're also potentially reducing the likelihood of complications and recovery issues. With that being said, I'm not a doctor... nor do I play one on TV. But I did read a whole lot before my WLS, and I ask a ton of questions

....and the purpose of shrinking your liver is primarily two-fold. First, it's beneficial to try and reduce the fat around your belly and liver prior to surgery. Your liver is located very near to your stomach, and a too large and/or fatty liver can cause your surgery to be delayed, or possibly be performed as an open procedure, which has a higher complication rate. Also your liver and spleen are surrounded by little things called triglycerides, and by reducing them prior to surgery, you're also potentially reducing the likelihood of complications and recovery issues. With that being said, I'm not a doctor... nor do I play one on TV. But I did read a whole lot before my WLS, and I ask a ton of questions

I started taking 2500 mcg daily about 3 months prior to surgery, so for about 8 months total. I also have a dose of Biotin in the Multivitamin I take. Originally, I used to be on the "more is better" bandwagon & took huge doses of anything I could get my hands on, since the idea of losing hair was my worst nightmare. However, GB limits the amount of anything we can process from what we eat, so I don't know that it really makes a difference- kind of like protein- from what I understand, if you try to eat/drink more than 30 or so grams of Protein in a sitting, it just passes on through, since your body can't process that much at a time. Best of luck to you!

I started taking 2500 mcg daily about 3 months prior to surgery, so for about 8 months total. I also have a dose of Biotin in the Multivitamin I take. Originally, I used to be on the "more is better" bandwagon & took huge doses of anything I could get my hands on, since the idea of losing hair was my worst nightmare. However, GB limits the amount of anything we can process from what we eat, so I don't know that it really makes a difference- kind of like protein- from what I understand, if you try to eat/drink more than 30 or so grams of Protein in a sitting, it just passes on through, since your body can't process that much at a time. Best of luck to you!

....and the purpose of shrinking your liver is primarily two-fold. First, it's beneficial to try and reduce the fat around your belly and liver prior to surgery. Your liver is located very near to your stomach, and a too large and/or fatty liver can cause your surgery to be delayed, or possibly be performed as an open procedure, which has a higher complication rate. Also your liver and spleen are surrounded by little things called triglycerides, and by reducing them prior to surgery, you're also potentially reducing the likelihood of complications and recovery issues. With that being said, I'm not a doctor... nor do I play one on TV. But I did read a whole lot before my WLS, and I ask a ton of questions

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on Valentine's Day 2013 and an A1C of nearly 13- that was the tipping point for me that I knew something had to change. I managed to lose about 40 lbs. on my own, but was taking a handful (literally) of pills a day to help bring my sugar down. 40 lbs. is great, but it and the medication wasn't enough. I chose RNY because of the promising results I learned with Type 2 diabetes. I took my last handful of pills the night before surgery, and since then, my sugar hasn't gone above 85 or so, no matter what time of day, or whether I'm fasting or not. I'm a total believer that the surgery is what did the trick- I've got about a month to go till my 6 month post op bloodwork, and I'm very eager to see what my A1C is now and to watch my PC doc type "resolved" on my chart!

....and the purpose of shrinking your liver is primarily two-fold. First, it's beneficial to try and reduce the fat around your belly and liver prior to surgery. Your liver is located very near to your stomach, and a too large and/or fatty liver can cause your surgery to be delayed, or possibly be performed as an open procedure, which has a higher complication rate. Also your liver and spleen are surrounded by little things called triglycerides, and by reducing them prior to surgery, you're also potentially reducing the likelihood of complications and recovery issues. With that being said, I'm not a doctor... nor do I play one on TV. But I did read a whole lot before my WLS, and I ask a ton of questions

@@leag78
I've read through your post several times, and will offer my thoughts with the disclaimer that it's not my intention to offend anyone. At. All.
While I do believe that some friendships/relationship will change as a result of bariatric surgery, I think the causes can be quite different. I can't say that I've had the experience of a friend suddenly becoming jealous or try to sabotage what I'm trying to do- in fact, they've been some of my biggest cheerleaders. Then again, I'm not a young person anymore, which may come into play as well. My circle of friends and I are comfortably nestled into our 40's, and none of us play the part of the "hot friend". At the risk of stepping on any toes here, it's my thought that if one of my friends suddenly became distant or resentful of me making a decision to live a healthier life, I'd question the friendship itself. If it's a friendship that's really special to me, it would definitely be worth having a heart-to-heart to find out where the insecurities lie. Truth be told, weight loss seems to bring out a lot of insecurities in other people, just as our weight revealed a lot of our own insecurities. Friends who were once close can become distant. Significant others can suddenly feel left behind, wondering if you'll "trade up" once you've lost your weight. I try very hard to remain cognizant that while my decision to have WLS was primarily for health reasons, there may be those who only focus on the physical changes that accompany it. I would hate to see anyone go through relationship changes that are negative- but we're worth being good to ourselves, and removing not only the "toxic" food from our lives, but also the "toxic" people who can't understand what we're going through, or feel threatened by our decision. Just my 2 cents

@@Smye I have a challenge for you! What do you have in your Bari Bag o' Tricks for those of us who choose not to eat meat or eggs? I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't care for the taste of most meats (can't tolerate them anyway) and the thought of eating an egg or drinking a glass of milk makes me gag. I'm living life on Syntrax & less than 30 carb a day & would love some suggestions of "real food"- I miss chewing!

Ok, I've got two from my Lane Bryant days...
One being that just cause I was a size 22/24, does NOT mean I have huge boobs. I get it that cutting sizes need to be proportional to the overall garment, but I am not proportioned correctly, and by the time I found something that fit over my belly, it was so huge in the boobs that the arm and neck holes hung way too far down, so I ended up having to tailor stuff anyway.
Second...how short so many things seem to be! I appreciate the plus sized industry wanting to make the same cute clothes as the smaller gals, but c'mon...at the size I was, the last thing I wanted was a crop top!

I completely agree with you, James! I also think it's important to point out that there's the equally scary reality that some folks don't "dump" at all no matter what they eat. It only takes a bite with no ill effects... that turns into two...and possibly more, which will defeat the purpose of what your'e trying to accomplish. Me personally? I stay away from fatty sugary stuff from an equal fear of dumping and worrying that I won't dump and revert back to old habits.

I completely agree with you, James! I also think it's important to point out that there's the equally scary reality that some folks don't "dump" at all no matter what they eat. It only takes a bite with no ill effects... that turns into two...and possibly more, which will defeat the purpose of what your'e trying to accomplish. Me personally? I stay away from fatty sugary stuff from an equal fear of dumping and worrying that I won't dump and revert back to old habits.

I completely agree with you, James! I also think it's important to point out that there's the equally scary reality that some folks don't "dump" at all no matter what they eat. It only takes a bite with no ill effects... that turns into two...and possibly more, which will defeat the purpose of what your'e trying to accomplish. Me personally? I stay away from fatty sugary stuff from an equal fear of dumping and worrying that I won't dump and revert back to old habits.

Congratulations to you! You're taking a huge step toward a healthier you, and the fact that you acknowledge there will be bumps in the road is actually a good thing. These forums were (and still are) a great source of information, experiences and support for me- I hope it's the same for you. Best of luck to you!

@@leag78
I've read through your post several times, and will offer my thoughts with the disclaimer that it's not my intention to offend anyone. At. All.
While I do believe that some friendships/relationship will change as a result of bariatric surgery, I think the causes can be quite different. I can't say that I've had the experience of a friend suddenly becoming jealous or try to sabotage what I'm trying to do- in fact, they've been some of my biggest cheerleaders. Then again, I'm not a young person anymore, which may come into play as well. My circle of friends and I are comfortably nestled into our 40's, and none of us play the part of the "hot friend". At the risk of stepping on any toes here, it's my thought that if one of my friends suddenly became distant or resentful of me making a decision to live a healthier life, I'd question the friendship itself. If it's a friendship that's really special to me, it would definitely be worth having a heart-to-heart to find out where the insecurities lie. Truth be told, weight loss seems to bring out a lot of insecurities in other people, just as our weight revealed a lot of our own insecurities. Friends who were once close can become distant. Significant others can suddenly feel left behind, wondering if you'll "trade up" once you've lost your weight. I try very hard to remain cognizant that while my decision to have WLS was primarily for health reasons, there may be those who only focus on the physical changes that accompany it. I would hate to see anyone go through relationship changes that are negative- but we're worth being good to ourselves, and removing not only the "toxic" food from our lives, but also the "toxic" people who can't understand what we're going through, or feel threatened by our decision. Just my 2 cents

Congratulations to you! You're taking a huge step toward a healthier you, and the fact that you acknowledge there will be bumps in the road is actually a good thing. These forums were (and still are) a great source of information, experiences and support for me- I hope it's the same for you. Best of luck to you!

For what it's worth, I'm 9 months out and have been able to enjoy pizza for the last 3 or so. Thin crust, and usually not even a whole slice...and not always. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes I regret the choice, but for the most part, pizza is in my life now and then

At first I went with the Pure Protein chocolate drinks...not too bad. Now without a doubt my fave is the Syntrax nectar brand- they win the taste test hands down! Some of them are too sweet for me, but the Lemon Tea is my drink now every single day- I highly recommend trying some samples! (I purchase it at the Vitamin Shoppe)

At first I went with the Pure Protein chocolate drinks...not too bad. Now without a doubt my fave is the Syntrax Nectar brand- they win the taste test hands down! Some of them are too sweet for me, but the Lemon Tea is my drink now every single day- I highly recommend trying some samples! (I purchase it at the Vitamin Shoppe)

Congratulations to you! You're taking a huge step toward a healthier you, and the fact that you acknowledge there will be bumps in the road is actually a good thing. These forums were (and still are) a great source of information, experiences and support for me- I hope it's the same for you. Best of luck to you!

Even if you do get sufficient Protein, hair loss can happen. Since about a month after surgery, I've consistently gotten over 100g of Protein a day and still had it happen to me. I think I'm the only one who notices it, but it still really bothered me. Fortunately, a couple of weeks ago, I pulled my hair back and laughed out loud when I saw this little 2 inch corona of baby hairs framing my head- looks like it's growing back- yay!

@@caligul
Congrats on venturing into what I fondly call "The other Side of Dress Barn"! For years my only stores were Lane Bryant & Dress Barn, and I dreamed of the day I could stroll about any store I wanted and be able to wear some of those cute outfits. But... oddly enough, when it happened to me, it was a near panic attack when I walked into Dress Barn and instinctively went to the right side of the store, only to find out nothing fit me any more. I cautiously wandered over to the left side & immediately convinced myself that nothing would possibly fit- everything looked so small! It'll get easier, I promise! The only thing I still can't get used to is actually having to try stuff on- that was always a nightmare for me & I got really good at eyeballing what would fit and what wouldn't at those stores. Strange how the clothes I was so eager to wave goodbye to were actually such a source of comfort to me in a weird way. I still have a few of my original clothes & try them on from time to time to remind myself of how hard I've worked and that this life is way better than that one was!

@@caligul
Congrats on venturing into what I fondly call "The other Side of Dress Barn"! For years my only stores were Lane Bryant & Dress Barn, and I dreamed of the day I could stroll about any store I wanted and be able to wear some of those cute outfits. But... oddly enough, when it happened to me, it was a near panic attack when I walked into Dress Barn and instinctively went to the right side of the store, only to find out nothing fit me any more. I cautiously wandered over to the left side & immediately convinced myself that nothing would possibly fit- everything looked so small! It'll get easier, I promise! The only thing I still can't get used to is actually having to try stuff on- that was always a nightmare for me & I got really good at eyeballing what would fit and what wouldn't at those stores. Strange how the clothes I was so eager to wave goodbye to were actually such a source of comfort to me in a weird way. I still have a few of my original clothes & try them on from time to time to remind myself of how hard I've worked and that this life is way better than that one was!

As someone who's going through exactly the same thing, here's what I would advise based on my consultations with a plastic surgeon.
1. Take a good, honest look at your body and prioritize what you really want/need to change, and what you can live with. Due to anesthesia limitations, my surgeon told me that I couldn't wake up and be "fixed", but could choose two of the 4 procedures I wanted done at a time. For me, that ended up being the boobs & arm lift- the two things I felt caused me to feel the most self conscious and were the hardest to disguise, especially in the summer. The other two can wait till winter time.
2. Get an expense estimate with the length of validity. Plastic surgery is quite expensive, and depending on what you're interested in, many insurance companies won't cover the cost. Check out financing options to help guide your priorities.
3. Ask to see before/after pictures, and allow the surgeon to "manhandle" you to give a relative idea of the results. This part was a living nightmare for me to be honest- standing in a pair of (horrifying) surgical panties in front of a complete stranger who was pushing, pulling and tugging at parts of me that I didn't want to touch, let alone someone else But....it gave me a semi-realistic view of what he could do to help, and he realized my discomfort immediately and said something along the lines of "I know this is rough for you, but think of it this way. I see women just like you every single day. I'm not looking at what you are, but what you can become. I'm an artist, and your'e my canvas. Let me show you the beautiful artwork I can create." I was sold.
3. If you're going for a boob job, don't be afraid to try them on for size. My surgeon had a special bra you could pop implants in to get an idea of how you'll look- kind of like those maternity belly pillows some of us tried on in the store when we started needing maternity clothes It's ok if you have no idea what would look good- he/she will, and will be able to explain the types of implants and what they would recommend.
4. If the idea of scars freak you out...I asked my surgeon to use his marker to actually draw the placement of the scars on me. I "wore" them for a day and decided I could live with it.
5. It's your body, but it's his/her specialty. My surgeon was recommended by my RNY surgeon as the best in our area, and I couldn't agree more. I did a ton of research online about him, his practice, and the procedures I was considering. If there is anything about any procedure that I'm not completely happy with, he'll "fix" it without charge. I'd recommend that anyone else do the same.
Hope this helps!