drmeow

Hi Snowkitten - do you know why you were overweight to begin with? Have you done some soul-searching, preferably with a therapist who works with eating problems, to figure this out? I am still pre-op so I have no idea how well this is going to work for me, and I certainly am not criticizing you - I know how incredibly hard it is to stick with any type of weight loss plan (which is why I'm here

But I've been seeing a therapist for awhile before even getting to this point b/c I recognized that I was using food to stuff down my anger over things I could not control (bad childhood, bad marriage). Maybe you aren't like that at all but I think a lot of people do use food for comfort for various things.

Geneen Roth has written several books dealing with emotional eating that might be helpful too.

Best of luck!

I'm not sure the reasons for denial-my BMI was 41, so I didn't need another reason.. They were saying it had to do with my paperwork -once it was the fact I gestational diabetes-I had it many many years ago.. I was like um ok? My surgeons office kept putting it through since I should've been approved no matter what..

Ridiculous! Having had gestational diabetes makes you more likely to become a type 2 diabetic at some point, so you needed surgery even more! I'm pretty sure insurances routinely deny lots of cases off the bat just to see if some people just go away. And yet my doctor's office told me that the insurance saves enough money in prescriptions alone within 2 yrs to have paid for the surgery. Stupidity.

I don't think you outlined what kind of exercise you are doing (if so, sorry I missed that) but if you are burning off 700 calories per day you are working too hard right now. I would back off substantially. Focus on some weight lifting (low reps, medium to high weight depending on what your tolerance is) to tone muscle, do some walking but minimize too much cardio. You are breaking down muscle at that calorie intake level. I second the idea to eat some fat. Fat free, lowfat was the biggest mistake this country made nutritionally. Avoid sugar and starches, get your Protein in and add some healthy fats to it - avocado, nuts, olive oil, butter (esp grassfed), grassfed beef if you can tolerate it, coconut oil. I add coconut oil to Protein shakes. You have to eat fat to burn fat; otherwise your body is burning your carb intake first, then your Protein intake, then your muscles.

I call BS on the part that says research has shown artificial sweeteners do not cause increases in blood sugar. As I've been trying to use low carb dieting over the last several years for weight loss I experimented with various art. sweeteners and I have found many many people on different forums who have problems with their blood sugar on them, as I do. Now, since WLS puts diabetes in remission very quickly and you are no longer insulin resistant, that may change afterward. I am still pre-op, and splenda and equal both increase my blood sugar and then it drops rapidly just like after regular sugar. I am not diabetic, "only" prediabetic. I have not checked it with stevia, as I've never been able to find a stevia product that tasted right to me. In addition, when I cut out all art. sweeteners for 3 weeks, my sugar cravings disappeared much quicker than when I did Atkins and used SF products daily. YMMV

I think it's great to have options for occasional use but I don't think they should be an everyday part of one's diet.

Mine's only 1 day as well.

Do you know why you overeat, or eat the wrong things? Don't feel ashamed that you've regained some weight - if we could keep losing and keep it off without surgery we all would have done that by now!

But if you don't figure out why you are overweight it will be harder after surgery. I've been seeing a therapist for 2 yrs working on this very thing, hoping I'd then be able to lose weight on my own. Now I feel I have a good handle on the emotional stuff but need the physical tool of the bypass for the rest.

Good luck!

The pain you described on your right side - that sounds like gallbladder pain -do you still have your gallbladder? If so, ask them to check you for gallstones, and if that is negative, ask for a HIDA scan. I had my GB out years ago, but it took 6 years of pain, and at least 5 different doctors to get diagnosed b/c I did not have gallstones, just a GB that did not work.

The pain is up under the ribcage on the right and can often be felt in the back or shoulder as well. It is very common after rapid weight loss.

I hope you get some relief soon!

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding over the sleeve with people thinking it is a simpler procedure. Yes, the intestines aren't cut or moved but a huge part of your stomach is removed forever. With the bypass, the extra part of your stomach is still present and producing digestive enzymes to help you digest; they just are added back in at a lower area of the intestine. So if there are problems a bypass can actually be returned to normal. Once your sleeve is done, there's no going back to the original, although you can be changed to a bypass at that point. I know there are a lot of people on here with great success at the sleeve; however it seems there are some who develop GERD afterward that requires revision to bypass. If you already have bypass the sleeve is likely to make it much worse.

In addition, the sleeve only works by restriction. Eventually it begins to stretch back out, as will the bypass "pouch." However, with the bypass you also have the possibility of dumping to help keep you from eating the wrong things, or overeating, even once the pouch has stretched out.

The longterm success of bypass has been proven for years; the sleeve's longterm success is still being proven.

I doubt your doctor meant for you to jump right in on 30-45 min if you haven't been used to doing anything for awhile. I think he was just giving you a goal to shoot for. I would not worry too much about HR, etc. yet either. Just get out and walk for whatever length of time you can manage at a comfortable pace. Gradually increase the pace and the distance but not at the same time - go longer one week and the next week stick to that but go faster, etc. Personally I would aim for doing it almost every day, though. And don't worry about a gym until you need more than walking to get a good workout.

I know it's just a waiting game and they have up to 30 days to approve or deny but just wondering how quickly I might hear back on this if someone else has this insurance. My stuff was submitted 4 days ago and I'm so anxious to get my surgery date scheduled b/c of some things going on with my job which dictate when I can take off, etc.

I just had the gastric bypass too, on Feb 17, 2015 and was losing weight steadily. All of a sudden it seems my weight is going up a couple pounds and I'm freaking out. Is this normal? All I'm eating is the Protein shakes and one fat free slip in slide snack a day. Is it possible to be gaining? I have lost 29 lbs so far.

Some fat free products have a lot of sugar to make up in taste. I'd be more concerned about sugar free vs fat free. It's sugar that leads to insulin resistance, which leads to weight gain. Aren't you able to eat real food yet? Why still on Protein Shakes?

Hi all, I've had great success with my surgery... List 100 lbs in 10 months... But I've been drinking wine again and it scares me a bit. I'm wondering if I've changed my obsession with food to alcohol. I really never drank much, I always got horrible headaches. But I don't now. Anyone else having issues like this.

I think you will get more responses if you start your own new thread - right now your post is buried in another topic. You are right to be concerned about trading one addiction for another. Usually when people do this it's because they have not dealt with the underlying reasons they overate in the first place. I was a huge stress eater, and ate especially to bury angry feelings that my EX refused to hear or acknowledge. I've been in therapy for 2 years to figure this out and deal with it before surgery. I hope you find some help!

Great topic! I am still pre-op (hoping for an early June date, waiting on insurance now) but I made a list of goals several months ago, none of which have any numbers associated with them. They are all non-scale victories, things I want to be able to do. As I lose weight and check these off I plan to add new ones. I like the idea of continuing to set new fitness goals. I used to run many years ago but the weight and several foot surgeries nixed that. I am not sure whether I'll be able to run again once some weight is off, but if not, plan B is to use my bike and set increasing goals of distance with that. I also used to hike on the Appalachian Trail, so that's another goal to reach again and I can increase the distance on that as I get fitter.

Have you tried changing the percentages of what you eat without lowering your calories? Obviously Protein has to be your main focus, but after that, how many carbs are you eating? Do you eat some healthy fats? Calories aren't the whole story.

Also you say you work out heavily - is it mostly cardio or do you do enough strength training to build muscle? More muscle burns more calories. Even just trying some different types of cardio and/or different types of strength training may make a difference.

Also, no matter how much you've lost, the last 20 lbs or so are always going to take longer, maybe a lot longer. You might need to maintain awhile where you're at before dropping further.

Wow, that is terrific and what a way to Celebrate a big milestone. I'm looking forward to being much more active after surgery as well.

I like "Real food, Real Weight Loss, Real Delicious" Thanks for some great recipes to try soon!

I am in exactly the same situation. My BMI when I started was 39.8 but I have co-morbidities - hypertension, reflux, asthma, arthritis, possible sleep apnea. I was told that insurance may not think my hypertension is enough to approve it, b/c it's controlled on one medication. The reflux has not been documented by EGD yet (although it was 20+ years ago when I weighed less) and they won't schedule the EGD until I"m approved for surgery b/c then insurance might not pay for the EGD! My surgeon's office doesn't require a sleep study since surgery is going to fix that anyway, but I've gotten a referral from my PCP for one anyway b/c I am exhausted all the time and my Fitbit shows lots of awakenings each night (less accurate than a sleep study obviously)

I was also required to do the 3 month supervised dieting and I was afraid to be strict and lose much, but I also could not gain. Luckily I managed to lose 5.5 lbs without going too low. They are submitting my paperwork this week for approval. If it's denied, we will re-submit after the sleep study if it's positive for apnea but I'm on pins and needles now just hoping for approval first time through.

It's ironic - my nutritionist said that the insurance companies save enough just on medications within 2 yrs to pay for the surgery. Not to mention extra doctor visits, lab work, etc.

Those 3 months of waiting were awful since I was afraid to lose too much, yet I was at my highest weight ever and knew I'd feel better even losing 10 lbs. I did do a little trick to improve my odds - on my first weigh in I made sure to wear heavy clothing, and then afterwards I wore my thinnest pants and T shirt, etc. each time to be sure i'd lost a little bit (it's hard to gauge from my home scale, weighing naked, etc)

I think most of us can empathize with the impatience to get the surgery done. However, some of the things you've written sound like you believe your depression is due to your weight and will magically go away once you've had surgery. This is a very dangerous assumption; while obesity can certainly contribute to depression, there are likely other things that have caused it, and depression can lead to obesity. If you are not already seeing a therapist I would highly advise finding a good one and working on your mental food issues first before rushing into surgery. I have read that many people who are unprepared, find that when their main source of comfort (food) is gone, they have no idea how to handle their emotions. Some transfer their addictions to alcohol, shopping, gambling, etc. Some get help and some probably never do, and end up regaining weight once the honeymoon period is over.

I've been seeing a therapist for 2 years for my depression and overeating. It took awhile but I have finally reached the point that, while I still overeat sometimes, it's not an automatic reaction to stress or anger. I buried my anger at my husband for 20+ years in food. I've now separated from him, before deciding on WLS.

Also, from a practical standpoint, there are lots of things you can be doing while waiting for surgery - practice all the things you'll need afterward - start walking if you aren't already, practice eating small bites, chewing thoroughly, no beverage with meals, drinking 64 oz Water per day, etc. Wean yourself off caffeine if you drink a lot of it now, same with sodas, etc.

I would also do a lot of reading here and elsewhere on the web about the lap band. I know there are some very successful people here on BP who have had it. I also see a LOT of people who either were unsuccessful or have had to have it removed due to complications and are often moving to bypass or sleeve later. So be sure you've done your research before deciding on it. My surgeon won't even place them anymore b/c he spends more time removing them.

Hey, @@Sunshine_Gal, congratulations on your loss and I hope things continue to go well for you, and that the resp infx goes away soon. We've had 2 of those go through our house in the last 2 months, after having a relatively healthy winter.

I can't wait to be on the losers' bench with you!

thanks for the reminder about post-op weight lifting restrictions. I was planning on getting a set which has either multiple weights (2,5,10) or the kind where you add/remove discs. But we do have a few handweights I was going to start out with, to see how I like it. I've heard good things about kettlebells, but was surprised when I watched part of the DVD, how much is swinging it out and up, rather than lifting slowly. Not sure how that is for joints.

I'm still pre-op (bypass in June hopefully) but I want to increase my exercise now and hopefully become one of these people who loves to work out afterward Currently, I walk, usually just 1.5 miles/day taking my dog, so it's not always fast or continuous, depending on his need to sniff. I also have a nice bike I plan to start using again soon but I know doing some weights would help with strength and possibly reduce the loose skin a little bit afterward (I'm 53 and realistic!)

I bought a Jillian Michaels DVD for kettlebells and still need to buy a/some bells but was wondering if anyone else uses them?

Yep, I'd love to meet a man who'd also had WLS and could understand the whole lifestyle change, etc.

@@Packerfan61964 - you have a great pic!

If you haven't already, it's a good time to practice some of the post-op habits you'll need, like not drinking with meals, chewing your food 25 times before swallowing. My NUT has me trying to do this and I was having trouble remembering when eating, so she suggested I get some special plates or napkins that would be automatic reminders. My regular dishes are mostly white, so I got some Fiesta ware red salad plates - instant trigger to help me remember.

Also, if you are still drinking coffee or tea, it's a good time to wean off the caffeine slowly (hopefully you're already off soda) so you don't get a big withdrawal headache.

Increasing your exercise (I know, hard to do while we're heavy) - longer walks, maybe some light weights, etc. Supposedly helps with recovery.

Take some good "pre-op" pics showing you at different angles, and measurements too, for post-op encouragement.

Think about what food means to you now - comfort, friend, etc. and if you haven't come to terms with that yet, work on it - therapy or just finding substitutes for eating.

I'm looking at June surgery and have been waiting since Dec so at least you're a little ahead of me!

The stoma is the size of the opening (in mm) between pouch and intestines, not the size of the pouch (which is the cc you are referring to)

From what I've read the best thing to prevent them is just to drink, drink, drink more Water. Also avoid acidic foods like coffee, citrus and tomatoes in large amounts.