MaryCatherine

Some surgeons get rid of the flap before weight loss surgery. It makes the person more comfortable and mobile. I would get rid of the flap and save for a complete tummy tuck with muscle tightening after goal is reached. The belly button is discarded with the panniculectomy that the insurance company is paying for. That would happen even if you were at goal. To save the belly button and tighten the muscles, people pay extra for abdominoplasty. Abdominoplasty is really only a good choice when you are at goal and do not ever intend to lose or gain more than 10 pounds.

It takes most people about one year to lose the first 100 pounds and then about five pounds a month for another six months. Some people are much quicker and some are much slower. The important thing is to be sure you are weighing, measuring and tracking everything that you eat and drink.

You are eating candy disguised as Calcium supplements. I use chewables from unjury. Four tablets has 5 grams of carbs.

Rice and bread are for when you are really too skinny and want to start regaining. After nine years, I still do not eat them.

Your weight loss so far has been faster than average. It is normal to get to your goal in about one year. This is a diet, but one that will last for the rest of your life. Once the weight is gone, it takes a lot less calories to maintain the loss. Just stay on your eating plan and you will succeed. Drinking more Water sounds counterproductive, but your body holds on to water when it is not getting enough. Be very careful with salt and check labels for sodium. Get as much exercise as you can and keep your calories low.. This is a temp;orary setback and your body will adjust. Try to buy a scale that measures water weight. It will let you know how much of your body is water weight.

Few studies yet but plenty of raw data showing that patients who get pre op education are half as likely to regain more than half their weight loss at five years. I can't believe that Medicare pays for WLS but not for comprehensive pre op preparation. Oh, and while I'm here I was wondering when you people started to drink beer again. I'm 3 weeks out and could really go for a cold one... Wait until you are ready to stop losing and to start regaining weight.

Putting something in the microwave, especially meat, will make it too dry. You can heat leftovers if you heat in a pan on the stove.

hair follicles are put into a sleeping state during surgery and the hair falls out about three or four months later. Cutting your hair now won't change that. You can make that decision when you see how much fall out you experience. It could be none or a lot.

You are early out. There are plastic surgeons who can put some junk in the trunk. After a year or so you might fill out some on your own.

So the protein shakes don't count as a meal or snack? You can have three meals AND protein shakes? That I could do. I always wondered how you could get all the protein in eating only three meals. I mean I know some people do it but I couldn't have done it. But if you add in protein shakes then I get it! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App It totally depends on how many calories are in those small meals. Protein shakes have protein and calories. They are not a "free food". I had to stop having protein shakes when I could get my calories in from food.

Never push to eat more. That is what got us fat enough to need surgery. You capacity will increase and by the end of a year, you will be able to eat a lot more most of the time. Measure your portions before you eat and if you can't finish put it away for later. I have always eaten five or six very small meals a day, about 200 calories for each meal.

Not everyone has problems with gas after surgery. I never did.

The vagus nerve tells your brain that your stomach is full. During surgery it is often cut or compressed. When the vagus nerve is cut you often never feel hunger again. I have not felt hunger in over nine years. When your new stomach is full you get a runny nose, sneezing, or hiccups. Your new stomach is swollen and can hold very little. The runny nose just means to stop putting anything into it. As the swelling goes down, you can eat or drink more at a time. I stocked up on lots of broth and ended up that one can lasted more than a week. I pictured my old stomach as a two-liter bottle of soda and my new stomach as the cap on that bottle and aimed for enough at one time to fill a soda bottle cap.

​My bariatric clinic has huge chairs. During one of my pre-op meetings I suggested that we all make an agreement that the same time the next year, we would sit two to a chair. There were ten of us and a year later we easily fit into five chairs.

I had no twitching, just an ache like I had strained muscles. I gave up caffeine several years ago and no longer have sore legs.

What fixed my aching legs was giving up all caffeine.

I wore silk long underwear and camisoles under my clothes. I wore sock liners and glove liners. When using the PC, I wore gloves with the fingertips cut off. I kept an electric blanket on the bed and had an electric throw for the couch. I went to the Jewish Community Center and sat in the steam bath. I took long hot baths. I drank hot tea and warmed my Protein drinks By the third year, I adjusted and no longer get cold in summer.

After surgery, I spend extra money to have what I crave without giving up the weight loss and high Protein benefits. Buy Quest protein chips and get 20 grams of protein from a bag of crunchy chips. Heat a Quest chocolate Brownie Protein Bar in the microwave over for about five seconds and it becomes a gooey, chocolate treat. Get online and find recipes that are bariatric friendly and plan your meals without sugar and flour. This is a diet and it is a diet for life, so learn how to make it as enjoyable as possible.

Many big girls are very pretty with their soft, rounded faces. When that fat is gone they are not as "pretty". For about a year after surgery, I looked too skinny. I still have a more angled to my face than when I was fat. But a lot filled back in by year 3.

I track and was coming up with about 1200 calories a day. Then I bought a digital food scale and started weighing everything instead of measuring it. I was at 1800 calories before my bedtime snack. I found out I am not that good at guessing and not that good at measuring. I can get a lot of ice cream into a ¼ cup. I can eat a piece of cheese and think it is one ounce but when I weight it, it is 1.4 ounces. All that adds up. The digital food scale helps me stay honest with my tracking.

A cordial is an alchoholic drink made from fruit. fruit juice is basically liquid sugar. Most of us use Crystal Light or other sugar-free additives to enhance our Water.

The only way to lose weight is to cut calories. My dietitian told me not to drink Protein shakes. They do not fill you up and are just a way to get calories in at the beginning when you are not able to eat food. Drinking them now can make you gain more weight more quickly.

I know you want to get visitors to your site, but how would a 5'4" female weighing 277 pounds benefit from reading about maintenance? I think she still wants to lose weight not learn how to keep it on.

Buy and use a Garmin Index scale. It measures weight, BMI, body fat, muscle mass, bone mass and Water weight. I know if I gained or lost muscle, fat, bone mass or water.

Surgery is considered a success if you lose 60% of your excess weight. To lose more than that requires a dedicated lifestyle change. I accept the fact that I will always be on a diet. I will always need to exercise and eat low calories or I will gain weight very quickly. When I had to work long hours, I still preplanned my meals and made sure I had everything I needed. I weigh daily. I wear a fitness tracker and make sure I get my steps in. I measure and weigh my food and track it with My Fitness Pal. People wake up and turn their life around every day. You have to want it bad enough.