anaxila

To annoy you to death I'm sure! Lol.
It was explained to me at the doc's that to get the full feeling that will train your head to not feel hunger for the 4 - 5 hours until the next meal you have to take that 25 to 30 minutes to eat your meal. Apparently it takes time for your stomach to talk to your head. A snail mail issue, I believe. Another way of putting it a 10 minute meal will keep hunger at bay for 2 hours, a 15 minute, 3 hours and so forth. Obviously the small bites and chewing everything to death is to allow proper digestion given our new stomachs.
It is a known fact that obesity and eating fast go hand and hand. Given what I know now, I wish I had taken to heart what nutritionists had told me in the past before WLS. You have to eat slowly.

I will join the chorus of people singing the praises of the Fitbit. I have also tried Jawbone's UP24 and Misfit's Shine, and the Fitbit has the best overall balance of features, reliability, and usability.

It's so interesting to see the differences between what different surgeons and their teams require. Mine doesn't do pre-op liquid diet at all. They don't believe in Protein shakes and insist on getting Protein the old fashioned way. Instead, they have a 1300 kcal/day diet (men get to have slightly more) that they want us to follow for the two weeks leading up to surgery, but even then my nutritionist has given me her blessing to eat properly for both Christmas and New Year's Eve in advance of my surgery on January 6. I know they say not to eat or drink anything past midnight the night before surgery, but I think that's about it. I'll learn more at my pre-op class tomorrow morning.

My surgeon's request for pre-surgery weight loss is 5% of total body weight, which in my case is about 15 pounds. For the two weeks leading up to surgery they ask patients to follow a 1300 kcal/day with mix of 110g or more Protein, 100g or less carbs, and 55g or less fat, all the way up until surgery. However, my nutritionist gave me her blessing to have proper good-bye meals for Christmas and New Years Eve so long as I get back on track immediately after.
I'm mostly thrilled to say my good-byes to favorite foods all the way up until the surgery (which is 1/6 for me), but part of me wishes I had the pre-op liquid diet to help get my head in the game and sober me up a bit. I feel like it's almost a rite of passage and I worry that I am not taking it as seriously as those who are more restricted.
I guess there's just no pleasing us. The ones with the liquid diet hate it, and the ones without it feel left out.

@@anaxila I love your story! Glad you could talk to your boss.
I realized I need to tell people up front, rather than chasing the rumor mill from the back end. I'm a pastor, so hundreds of people are looking right at me every week. They will notice. If I'm gone two weeks, then reappear and start dropping weight, it would be very obvious what I did, and set a bad precedent that weight struggles are to be ashamed of.
So I started a month ago telling a few of the most gossip-y people I know. Now I don't have to speak to everyone about it, and the word is out.
One of my best supporters is a colleague with no weight problem herself, but who is really wanting to help me get healthy. It's been great to have someone non-judgey to talk to. So far, all the comments made to me have been positive, including some people who kind of want WLS but are afraid. They are watching my experience closely.

I am in my 12th week post op and I feel like I have a whole new life. I am off every single medication now. No more diabetes, no more high cholesterol, no more high blood pressure. I CAN and do exercise regularly because my joints do not hurt as bad as they once did. I no longer have cravings for sweets at all, thank goodness! I currently do not suffer from dumping either so I have tasted sweets, they simply taste horrible to me.
I eat much healthier because that is what my new body craves. I am down 4 sizes already in clothing and close to getting into the next size.
Everyday I wake up I have more energy than I can remember having in the last 20 years.
I thank god everyday for this gift and never have I regretted it even for one second. It was a lot less painful than I was anticipating and that was only for a day or two.
Good luck! You are going to do great and you will be happy you made the decision to get healthier!

This phrase irritates me so much. Everyone "takes the easy way out" on all kinds of things. Just because we rely on modern technology and conveniences, as well as advancements in science, doesn't mean we're lazy. I bet your sister drove a car and didn't take a horse and buggy or walk to reach a destination recently. She probably used a smart phone to connect to people via satellites in space rather than hand writing a letter. She probably changed a channel using a remote control instead of walking across a room (or having a kid do it). Still, no one accused her of "taking the easy way out" when she opted to take advantage of modern advancement.
Additionally, as you stated, there is NOTHiNG easy about WLS. I have counted more calories/carbs/protein grams in my one year since surgery than I ever have in all of my life. This is the longest I've ever "dieted," and I don't see anything about my present relationship with food changing anytime soon. I know it's the same for many, many WLS patients. People who accuse us of "taking the easy way out" really just have no idea.

@@anaxila ok that good you don't really have a restriction and my surgeon is Dr Enrique Eli at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I went with this surgeon because I have seen a few people who had their bariatric surgery done by him and he is also the head of bariatric surgery at this hospital. But then again there are different restrictions for different people and my liver was a lot larger as to why my pre op was liquids all day with a Protein for dinner as in chicken fish or other protein rich food? ???I'm gonna be a full year post op as of 1/28 /2015 . So good luck on your new journey????

Hello Ladies! First of all, Congrats on taking the first steps! I am not in the beginning of the 6 month journey but my surgery was just the week of Thanksgiving so I remember all too well how my journey started. I had a horrible addiction to caffeine as I work midnights in an extremely high stress profession, and I work a lot of hours a week on top of having a family to care for. I thought i would NEVER kick the habit. I started by cutting back on the number of coffees I allowed myself in a day. I made a small "surgery bucket list" of things that I wanted my husband and I to do together before the time came to put all of my focus into resting, healing, and working out. We went hiking at a favorite location, we went on a few dates that we had been talking about doing and hadn't done, we went to a couple restaurants that I knew I would always experience in a different way after surgery, and I ate Wedge salad about six times because its my favorite taste ever and I knew it would be a LONG time before I was able to have a taste of it again. With that said, my list only contained four of my absolute favorite restaurants and we went to about one a month for the first four months of the six, and I made healthy choices at ALL of those meals to test myself. I found that I was NOT any less satisfied with making healthy choices than I had been with prior meals at those locations. I learned that what I enjoy most is the environments, the company, the conversation, the time with my family, and good quality food, not quantity or fat content. So as it turned out, I was learning new things about myself and my eating habits while I was completing my bucket list. Start slowly by picking one or two things a month to work on within yourself, and start rewarding yourself with things other than food. Enjoy it, the time will FLY by!!! Best of Luck!

H
M
O

I don't want to repeat myself, but I can't help it. I've been talking about this exact stuff on other threads and it's all still very much on my mind.
Fearful About: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/326057-january-rny-surgery/
1) Recovery time. The magic google machine says I should expect to go back to work in 2-3 weeks. My surgeon's office says 6-8 weeks. That's a big difference. I am probably starting a new job (at my same company) on January 1 and I hate to leave them for 2 months immediately after accepting the position, but I really want to focus on new habits and getting healthy and I only have one shot to get it right the first time, so I'm worried. You can tell when I'm worried because my sentences run on and on and on.
2) What if I fail? Since I've failed at every other attempt to lose weight over the past 30+ years, why should this be any different? My need to be fat seems to be very persistent across time and space and circumstance. What if I can't beat it?

3) Who do I tell? I tend to be an open book - sometimes a bit too open - so it would be consistent with my personality to tell everyone everywhere what I'm doing. But I feel very fragile about this topic and am trying to be a bit more reserved in general so maybe I should just keep this to myself until I can't anymore.

4) I blame my weight for a lot of things, from petty disappointments to major issues, but what if my live is not magically better when I'm smaller and I have to deal with my actual limitations and not just knee-jerk blame my size? That'll be a good thing in the end, but could make for some rough adjustments.

Excited About: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/326541-things-ill-be-able-to-do/
1) My health is going to improve! I have no critical issues, but lots of things that could go bad quickly, and this should address all of them.

2) I'm going to be able to travel and be active and move my body the way I want to. I can't wait to have a body that obeys my wishes.

I've started a list of things I can't do today, and look forward to doing once my excess weight is reduced or gone. I don't recall a day when I was suddenly unable to do these things, but I know I can't do them now and am excited to see them return. In other words, these are some of the small victories and milestones I look forward to achieving. What are yours?

In no particular order...
buy clothes in a normal store wear necklaces without extensions wear knee-high boots board an airplane without worrying who'll be next to me and whether I need a seatbelt extension cross my legs in a meeting ride a horse fit into a wetsuit hike and schlep around mountains and islands and monuments in general ride a roller coaster sit comfortably in a theater take the stairs at work take a walk around the block without being winded tie my shoes straight use a regular bathroom stall comfortably climb a ladder

Hi there! please don't let everything you hear scare you. If you follow all the guidelines many of these symptoms don't happen. Everyone is always afraid of malabsorption when in fact it is what helps you lose your weight. The important thing here is that you:
1. Take your required Vitamins daily/ weekly - by the way it is only 1 more than people with the sleeve take. This will help ensure your bones and hair remain healthy
2. get your recommended Protein in as soon as your new tummy will allow - this will help with healing and potential Hair loss. This is also true of both surgeries
3. Stay hydrated - sip, sip, sip Water everyday. It is the best thing you can do for your body and is even more important now
4. Make sure that you go to your doctors appointments to have your blood levels checked to make sure that your Vitamin levels are where they need to be. This is important for us bypass patients so if we are missing something in our diet it gets caught.
Some, not all people lose some of their hair around the 3rd, 4th month. This is usually due to both the shock of surgery and lack of Protein and Iron if the have not caught up. The good news is, your hair grows back 3 times faster than it falls out. There is also a medication they can give you to assist with this. I found this was a risk worth taking for me personally and by the way, this could happen in either surgery.
I initially was going to have a sleeve done and had my mind set on it. Then when I met with a bariatric doctor she asked me why I wasn't considering the bypass since I had a severe case of Gerd and type 2 diabetes. I told her I was afraid of the malabsorption issues. She spent some time educating me on the above. I then saw a gastroenterologist and he confirmed that I should not do the sleeve as it could make my Gerd worse.
I went on line and started reading and asking questions just like you are.
By the time I had my surgery I was convinced that the bypass was the right surgery for me. Now after reading how many people convert because they have bad reflux following sleeve surgery, I am so glad I went this route.
I am down 63 lbs in 12 weeks. Diabetes is in remission, NO reflux/Gerd at all, high blood pressure gone, high cholesterol gone and stage 3 kidney disease has improved.
What a gift!
Good luck in your decision, please don't be afraid unless you are one of those people who decides down the road they are not going to take their Vitamins or ensure they get their required protein.

check your local salons, and spa's for something called Laser Lipo, I have signed up for sessions (christmas sale), and it worked wonders for my friend to help tighten her skin some (especially arms)..... though you are right, plastics is on the horizon for most of us.

Personally, I think an important thing to keep pointing out is for all of these horror stories is that they can possibly occur if you don't follow your surgeon's advice and/or don't keep up with your medical checkups after surgery. Do your bones lose density? Yep. So we take extra Calcium. Could you experience hair loss? Yep. So we make sure to get plenty of Protein to try and prevent it. No surgery is risk-free, and no side effect can be guaranteed it won't happen. Like Thin-for-Kidney said, follow what your doc tells you, and you'll have the best chance of sailing through

I misplaced my Fitbit about 10 days ago and it's driving me INSANE. I will finally break down and order a new one if I don't find it by the weekend. It's still live and still syncing (empty) data to my phone, so I know it wasn't stolen or anything. I'm sure it's in the house somewhere but damned if I know where. I had no idea how addicted I was to it until now.

I will join the chorus of people singing the praises of the Fitbit. I have also tried Jawbone's UP24 and Misfit's Shine, and the Fitbit has the best overall balance of features, reliability, and usability.

I have recently started using the Everyday app on iphone, and thought some of you might enjoy it as well. The app prompts you to take a selfie of your face every day, enabling you to make a time-lapse movie of your face over time. I got the idea from watching this:
It seemed like fun to see how my face changes over time with WLS, and thought you might enjoy it too. You can read more about the app on their website (http://everyday-app.com/) or in the app store.

Yeah! There you go! Now you've got it.

Not sure if this has already been said but.... When you feel like you're reading about a lot of bad keep in mind that the people who are having a difficult time are the ones who need the most support so they feel the need to post more often. People who are successful and happy don't necessarily need support from a forum.

@@Mark in Ohio, congratulations! I'm just a couple of days before you (Jan 6th), and already I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can't wait for it to be an actual weight lifted instead of a metaphorical weight. :-)

There are two blogs I can recommend, http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ and http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/ . I recently heard about a book of bariatric recipes, and I'm waiting for my copy to come in. It's called Recipes for Life After Weight-Loss Surgery: Delicious Dishes for Nourishing the New You. There is a bariatic surgery for dummies book that has recipes, as well. I hope that helps.

It only took me a few days to realize that keeping this news to myself is just not feasible. I’m so open with all other aspects of my life that being cagey about why I’m taking this medical leave of absence is not working at all.
I told my boss (Joe) about having surgery as soon as I got my approval, but didn’t say what it was for. He asked, but didn’t push back at all when I said I was keeping it to myself for now because I hadn’t even spoken with my family yet. During a subsequent conversation, I clarified that it was “abdominal”.
I’d heard that the head of our division (Larry) had gastric bypass years ago, but I didn’t know him then and I can’t picture him at the size people have said he was. He’s extremely fit and a true success story. As you may have guessed, Larry had an immediate inkling about what I’m having done, and told Joe that if I’m having bariatric surgery it’s a really really big life-changing deal and that Joe should tell me that Larry would love to talk with me about his experience if I was interested.
That led to a hilarious (if painful) conversation where Joe was asking-without-asking if I’m having bariatric surgery next month, and if so offering-without-offering to chat with Larry about it because he’s been there too. Joe is incredibly handsome and fit and a golden boy with absolutely no frame of reference for how to ask a fat woman if she’s having bariatric surgery. He managed to make himself understood without using the words "gastric", "bariatric", or any variation on "weight loss" or "obese", and it wasn't easy. We’re great friends and allies at work, and I adore him to pieces as a boss, so I very much wanted to put him out of his misery.
We’re close enough that I could mock him for his horrible awkwardness afterward: “Hey, could we engineer more situations where you have to have incredibly uncomfortable conversations that you dread? Because that was really fun for me!” We had a good laugh over it, and I learned my lesson about maintaining relationships and trust with the people at work who are like family.

Yesterday afternoon, I scheduled my surgery for January 6. It's been more than a year leading up to this, and all of a sudden things are getting very real.
My concerns:
1) Recovery time. The magic google machine says I should expect to go back to work in 2-3 weeks. My surgeon's office says 6-8 weeks. That's a big difference. I am probably starting a new job (at my same company) on January 1 and I hate to leave them for 2 months immediately after accepting the position, but I really want to focus on new habits and getting healthy and I only have one shot to get it right the first time, so I'm worried. You can tell when I'm worried because my sentences run on and on and on.
2) What if I fail? Since I've failed at every other attempt to lose weight over the past 30+ years, why should this be any different? My need to be fat seems to be very persistent across time and space and circumstance. What if I can't beat it?
3) Who do I tell? I tend to be an open book - sometimes a bit too open - so it would be consistent with my personality to tell everyone everywhere what I'm doing. But I feel very fragile about this topic and am trying to be a bit more reserved in general so maybe I should just keep this to myself until I can't anymore.
4) I blame my weight for a lot of things, from petty disappointments to major issues, but what if my live is not magically better when I'm smaller and I have to deal with my actual limitations and not just knee-jerk blame my size? That'll be a good thing in the end, but could make for some rough adjustments.
My excitement is:
1) My health is going to improve! I have no critical issues, but lots of things that could go bad quickly, and this should address all of them.
2) I'm going to be able to travel and be active and move my body the way I want to. I can't wait to have a body that obeys my wishes.
That's enough for me for now. Geez, ramble much?

I'm totally with @@orionova on this one: I literally can't imagine a scenario where that statement makes sense. No matter how I twist up my face or stand on my head or try to look at it from another angle, this just comes back as crazytalk. I can't imagine dealing with that objection, and I give you all the props in the world if you're able to keep your cool in that conversation. Know that we're here for you.

I don't want to repeat myself, but I can't help it. I've been talking about this exact stuff on other threads and it's all still very much on my mind.
Fearful About: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/326057-january-rny-surgery/
1) Recovery time. The magic google machine says I should expect to go back to work in 2-3 weeks. My surgeon's office says 6-8 weeks. That's a big difference. I am probably starting a new job (at my same company) on January 1 and I hate to leave them for 2 months immediately after accepting the position, but I really want to focus on new habits and getting healthy and I only have one shot to get it right the first time, so I'm worried. You can tell when I'm worried because my sentences run on and on and on.
2) What if I fail? Since I've failed at every other attempt to lose weight over the past 30+ years, why should this be any different? My need to be fat seems to be very persistent across time and space and circumstance. What if I can't beat it?

3) Who do I tell? I tend to be an open book - sometimes a bit too open - so it would be consistent with my personality to tell everyone everywhere what I'm doing. But I feel very fragile about this topic and am trying to be a bit more reserved in general so maybe I should just keep this to myself until I can't anymore.

4) I blame my weight for a lot of things, from petty disappointments to major issues, but what if my live is not magically better when I'm smaller and I have to deal with my actual limitations and not just knee-jerk blame my size? That'll be a good thing in the end, but could make for some rough adjustments.

Excited About: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/326541-things-ill-be-able-to-do/
1) My health is going to improve! I have no critical issues, but lots of things that could go bad quickly, and this should address all of them.

2) I'm going to be able to travel and be active and move my body the way I want to. I can't wait to have a body that obeys my wishes.

I've started a list of things I can't do today, and look forward to doing once my excess weight is reduced or gone. I don't recall a day when I was suddenly unable to do these things, but I know I can't do them now and am excited to see them return. In other words, these are some of the small victories and milestones I look forward to achieving. What are yours?

In no particular order...
buy clothes in a normal store wear necklaces without extensions wear knee-high boots board an airplane without worrying who'll be next to me and whether I need a seatbelt extension cross my legs in a meeting ride a horse fit into a wetsuit hike and schlep around mountains and islands and monuments in general ride a roller coaster sit comfortably in a theater take the stairs at work take a walk around the block without being winded tie my shoes straight use a regular bathroom stall comfortably climb a ladder