Michelle Rynsai

Is there any support groups on the Kitsap Peninsula that you're aware of?
I live in Port Orchard and hoping to find some people over here that I can meet with

Hello, chickabo. Please know that I come from a place of wanting to help provide you some information and share my experience. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, this is just my experience over the past 8 weeks. And I know when I was pre surgery I wanted as much information as I could get to help me.
Before I go into my story below, I found a doctor online, Dr. Garth Davis, (http://www.thedavisclinic.com), who is a Bariatric surgeon in Texas -he is a 'plant based' doctor. I found this guy after I had my surgery, but he seems to be a good resource and one that I wish I would have found pre-surgery. You may find his information helpful or at least contact his office to get information sent to you so that you have some to help you with your doctor.
Here is my story, if you want to read further:
I was a vegan for several years pre-surgery. So was my family (husband and two sons). We did it for the animal issue, not the health issue. Trust me when I say I have seen more than most people on animal cruelty and food and I battle mentally with it everyday.
When I first started looking into the Lap-band, I didn't find anything on vegan and Lap-band. All I kept seeing was 'Protein, Protein, protein' and more 'protein.' But I knew, as a vegan, that I could get enough protein to hit 60 grams or more a day per what my doctor was telling me I had to have. I had done it for years and didn't see the issue.
(When I say protein here is what I mean: There are only a few "complete proteins" (a protein that contains all the 8 essential amino acids that your body is unable to make on its own) for vegans and they are soy milk, tofu, and tempeh (these are the only true "complete proteins" for vegans). All other Proteins that you get from plants are called "incomplete proteins" like grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. Now as vegan, you can take two "incomplete proteins" and combine them to can get a "complete protein." Example: grains + legumes or legumes + seeds/nuts.)
So the issue wasn't getting "protein" per say. The issue that I saw right away was getting the enough of the right "protein" (complete proteins) which lead me to where I would have the biggest issue being vegan-- the volume of food that I would need to eat to get a minimum of 60 grams of protein a day.
You see, when I was vegan (pre band), I could eat a large tofu "egg" wrap with a cup of broccoli and vegan cheese inside for Breakfast. This would give me ~14 grams of protein for ~350 calories or so (including a low carb wrap). However, when I look at the numbers in more detail with my post-band rules, this just doesn't give me the right amount of protein for the calories (10/1 - for every 10 calories in the food it should have at least 1 gram of protein). So, even thought it would give me "complete protein" for the meal, it wasn't the 10/1 rule. But more importantly, that is a HUGE amount of food to be eating after Lap-Band surgery. There is no way I could eat that much in one sitting. I might be able to make two meals of it now. That means for two meals I would only be getting ~14 grams of protein.
So, having said that, I could (and do on occasion) supplement with Protein drinks (Sun Warrior Original Flavor chocolate or vanilla is the absolute best tasting and it has a 80 calories / 4 carbs / 15 grams of protein - which is great), but I quickly learned after I moved to soft solid foods (after the liquid diet pre and post surgery) that I wanted to eat food - I was SICK of drinking my calories. So Protein Drinks can fill in the gaps for getting more protein, but I found that I wanted to eat my calories instead of drinking them. So this wouldn't be an option for me longterm.
So, what's an animal loving vegan who really wants / needs a Lap-band to do? As I was doing research, I ran across an article that talked about a devout vegan (animal lover) who was vegan for years and all of a sudden started craving animal protein. Long article short, she took a bite of something that had animal protein in it and as she said, "guess what, the world didn't end!" That was my moment. I thought, I have spent years battling my weight and part of that was doing everything that was 'best' for everyone else and it was time that I took care of me. So that is when I made the switch to vegetarian. I had huge amount of guilt (that I still carry around) but I knew I needed to at least try it versus continue down my road of being obese and miserable.
You see, WLS patients aren't choosing the easy way out, contrary to what you might think, read, see, or hear. We chose surgery where we are cut open and surgically altered - that is not easy. We chose to eat very minimal amounts of food when others around us are eating pounds of it - that is not easy. We chose to exercise at least 210 minutes a week - that is not easy. We chose to have to chew every little bite we take 20-30 times - that is not easy. We have to take Vitamins that are horrible every single day - that is not easy. So to me, making a few food changes to my diet didn't seem that hard compared to all the other "not easy" stuff I was agreeing to do.
So, after my pre-op and post-op diet of all liquids (which I had for 3 weeks), when I made the move to soft Proteins I incorporated some yogurt (which I still can't stand) and then I incorporated some string cheese and some egg whites (not eggs). I did this very slowly. I then progressed to eating salmon, tuna, and shrimp. I still use all my vegan Condiments (vegan mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.) but I chose to add in easier proteins to my day. I'm not going to tell you how great I feel or how I'm losing weight by the lbs daily, but I'm just going to tell you that it is working for me right now, today and that's all I have. Opening my mind and putting more focus on me is working for me, today. And everyday is another day to do it better. I have tried to get away from "I did bad today," to "I will try to do better tomorrow" and that has helped to.
I hope some of this has helped you a little bit. It's okay if it didn't. I just want you to know that whatever you choose to do, do it for you. This is YOUR time and no one or no thing can take it away from you.
Sending you all the best and well wishes. Keep us posted on here!
Jen

If you're looking for a great group of friends on Facebook where we educate, motivate and inspire those of us on our own bariatric journey. Whether you are pre-op, just starting your post op or a long time post op, we here to lift one another up.
We don't want anyone shamed or bashed at all, so please remember, positive comments or posts always.
And most importantly, don't be afraid to ask any questions, we all have them, and we're all adults.
You're More Then Welcome To Join Us!!!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allthingsbariatric/

If you've had or are considering any kind of weight loss / bariatric surgery, you're welcome to join my group here.
I just created it
It's very motivational, educational and inspirational with others that are both post & pre-op
You're more welcome to share this to let others know also.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allthingsbariatric/

I'm Michelle, 44 years young, mother of 2 wonderful young men, 20 & 13, wife to an amazingly supportive husband and all around fire-cracker!
I was sleeved on March 18th, 2015 and never regretted one moment of it like some do in the beginning.
I've met friends since and we even decided to start our own Facebook group where we can just be ourselves, be motivated, inspired and educated as well.
It's for both post & pre-op You're more welcome to share this to let others know also. https://www.facebook.com/groups/allthingsbariatric/

Ooops, I forgot to answer.
My surgeon allowed full cardio one week post-op and weightlifting one month post-op. You should always follow your surgeon's directives, of course.
Keep in mind that you are still recovering and your caloric intake is likely low, so definitely do not overdo it at the gym. Start off slow with reasonable workout lengths and build up over the upcoming months. It's very important to stay hydrated when working out because it's likely harder for you to take in liquids also.
Best of luck to you!

Strength training to help minimize loose skin. Work major (largest) muscle groups. Don't waste time on teensy muscles. Cardio for overall endurance.

Got the call from my dr's office this morning, I'm on the schedule for 7:15am on Wednesday *happy dance*

I have a countdown timer on my phone and I get so excited when the days slip away, 2 days and a wake up for me lol

Thanks so much ladies, I appreciate it so much.
I made the mistake of looking at a Facebook group for support and it was becoming a bit political, I don't need negativity, positive is all I have room for in my life now.
I'm very much looking forward to this journey and watch how much not only my body changes but I change mentally, physically and emotionally all around.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Michelle.

I'm a mother of 2 wonderful young men (at the time I'm writing this, they're 20 & 13).

I'm a remarried widow, to a man that makes my soul sing, my heart soar and my dreams come true each day that I wake up and see him next to me.

I'm of Italian / Greek decent, and my entire life was based around food.< /span>

I'm not an emotional eater, but there was always food around based on emotions, for example, lots of food for weddings, funerals, graduations, celebrations, birthdays, good days, bad days, etc.



A few years ago I looked into getting banded but my insurance wouldn't cover it.

I felt completely defeated, between being rejected for surgery, yo-yo diet plans, and everything that goes along with it.



Then, last year (2014) I decided to look into it again since my insurance company finally changed, and I noticed procedures did too. The sleeve caught my eye immediately and I researched it for quite some time before meeting with my dr and making the choice to move forward. And now, finally, on March 18, 2015 I'm getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure done and couldn't be happier to finally leave this old me behind and break out of this jail cell and walk in the sun of life again a free woman.

I also "came out" on Facebook. Can't say anyone was particularly supportive regarding the surgery, but no unsupportive comments either. But I worded it very carefully and I really didn't leave an opening to comment one way or another. I really don't care what anybody thinks since I am so sure it was the right choice for me. However, people are always eager to tell you you look better than you did before....what a mind job that is....

OFFICIAL SLEEVER NOW!!!
Had a great first day, lots of fluids, got up and did some laps around the nurse's station, had some friends and family come visit. Going home in a few hours. :-)

@@donnag53
This is what I use, the multi Vitamin one
http://www.wellesse.com/offers/

@@LaTrisha R. Lake That's so awesome!!!
Congrats on the loss! Keep up the great work.

Hi all! Just checking in. So far I'm down about 12 pounds from my weight the date of the surgery. I've been walking almost daily, except the last two days. Got back on the treadmill with a vengeance today. 64 minutes walking plus about 15 minutes of yoga. This is the last weekend before I go back to work. Each day, I learn something a little different about how to be successful. Like organizing my meds and Vitamins. Hope everyone is doing great!

I can't believe everything is so smooth for me. I've been reading how others are dealing with pain, vomiting, cold, no energy, etc. I've not dealt with any of that.
I started walking the day I had surgery and have been walking more each day since. This morning I got a wonderful 30 minute walk in and have over 4,000 steps on my fitbit so far for today. All before 9am LOL

I had my 1 week post-op appt today and everything is great!
I'm down 15 lbs! Started at 253 and today at 238!!!
Yay me! LOL ????????????

I had my 1 week post-op appt today and everything is great!
I'm down 15 lbs! Started at 253 and today at 238!!!
Yay me! LOL ????????????

Day 3 Post-Op and I'm feeling great!
To be honest, I'm rather surprised based on things that I've read and people that I've talked to that have had the same surgery.
Many were saying they were very tired, still in pain, etc, but not here...
I'm still on Clear Liquids through the rest of the day today (mainly just had Water or water with a Protein & Fiber enhancement in it) but feeling really good, lots of energy.
I was able to get back to my "norm", ran some errands this morning, got about 30 mins of walking in, was sure to keep my water bottle with me and sip sip sip smile emoticon

Home finally, feeling great, lots of fluids in and day 2 of my Clear Liquids. I'm also getting about 30-40 mins of walking in each day too.
The only thing that freaks me out is I never feel hunger... I've had nothing but Water or enhanced water with Protein & Fiber from Wal-Mart but I'm feeling fine.
Good Luck @@mechele8

OFFICIAL SLEEVER NOW!!!
Had a great first day, lots of fluids, got up and did some laps around the nurse's station, had some friends and family come visit. Going home in a few hours. :-)

I'm so inspired by how well you are doing!!! My surgery is a week from today ????

Yep...I got busy walking as soon as I felt ok, about a week? And have had almost no issues. In the last few months I did have two vasovagal attacks when I accidentally ate too fast and overdid it a bit. I fainted at the dining room table! Scared the heck out of my family but know now that I really have to be careful not to overeat even a mouthful. Otherwise, smooth for me too...losing consistently now but more slowly.

Congrats Michelle! I'm 6 mo. post-op and had a similar experience to yours. Isn't it great to feel the control in your hands? Yay for you for sure! :-)