OutsideMatchInside

This is going to be long so if you don’t care about the story part, skip to the bottom for the numbers. I never thought I would be here, post-op from WLS surgery, especially a surgery that removed most of my stomach but here I am, and I am thrilled to be here. I grew up in a healthy, athletic family, really athletic, at the Professional level. We had healthy food and some not so healthy comfort food, but always real food in the house. I was always athletic, but slightly overweight growing up. Then in college, I started to yo-yo. My weight would change between 20 and 40 pounds. Then I had a baby, BOOM. I gained 70 pounds with the pregnancy and never lost it. I started working with Tech Startups in the dot com era and we had all the perks. Free food, free alcohol, all day every day. I moved up the ladder and with all the five star hotels came high calorie free meals. Extensive business travel meant eating out 5-6 days a week 3 times a day. On the days at home the eating out continued because I was so exhausted from the work week. I was healthy with low to normal blood pressure and not diabetic most of this time. I was a healthy fat person for a long time until I wasn’t. I was active. I exercised, I could walk circles around even my thin friends in a mall. Then 10 years ago, diabetes. It was easily managed with pills and diet, so it didn’t create drastic changes. I never took it very seriously because I was never really extreme in my high sugars. Then about 4 years ago it seemed like things took a turn, I could never lose more than 20 or 30 pounds. My ability to exercise and be active seemed to diminish. Carrying all that weight was finally catching up to me and my body was breaking down and suffering. Then last year, high blood pressure came. After taking high blood pressure meds for 2 weeks that made me sleepy and made it almost impossible to run my business. I decided to have WLS. I had researched and looked at WLS for years. I read WLS forums and talked to people, but always talked myself out of it. I finally decided that even if I died on the table that was better than dying slowly. So I knew I was ready. I went through the process very quickly. Almost not trusting myself to drag it out and I felt a real necessity to get the weight off quickly. I went from my first visit with the surgeon to surgery in 8 weeks. BCBSIL was wonderful and the whole process was fast and easy for insurance approval. Another deciding factor that WLS would work for me, was because the post-op diet was something I was already familiar with. Low carbing? Sign me up. I had been an avid low carber off and on with varying levels of success for years. I realize now that the reason I was never successful was I gave up in stalls, but with the sleeve there is no giving up during a stall. I have always enjoyed low carbing because for me it makes my mind sharper, it is like doing coke or Adderall (no, I have never done either but I have been told the experience in great detail multiple times from multiple people). I have never viewed it as a punishment but a perk. My issue prior to surgery has always been portion control. I skipped meals, focused on work and then would be ravenously hungry, and consume a whole days plus worth of calories all at once, or maybe in 2 meals. Even low carbing and eating healthy I would eat huge amounts. A 12 to 16 ounce ribeye is 900-1300 calories. I was lucky to have an uneventful, rapid and easy recovery. I had very little pain, went back to work as soon as I came home (I work for myself), and stopped taking the pain meds within 36 hours of surgery. I met my Protein goals after the 2nd day. I eat all of the foods I enjoy, just in small quantities. I was lucky in the sense I never ate or liked a lot of the things that people have issues with giving up post-op. So I don’t have issues with avoiding them. I gave up sugar years ago to try and control my diabetes. I gave up alcohol for the same reason. I was already years out from either of these things when I had surgery so I didn’t have to give them up post-op. Okay that is by backstory and how I got to the point surgery and why I felt it would work for me. This is where I am now. Numbers The weight I have on here is the weight when I first went to the Dr. It is not my actual highest weight. HW 377 SW 358 CW 231 Total weight lost 146, 134 since first surgeon visit, and 127 since surgery. Inches lost Measurements in Inches Bust (fullest part of bust): 20 Pecs (just above the bust line): 15 Ribs (top of rib cage just below the bust) : 21 Waist: 25.5 Abdomen: 22 Hips: 17 Right Upper Thigh: 8.5 Right Lower Thigh: 9.5 Left Upper Thigh: 8 Left Lower Thigh: 10.5 Right Calf: 2 Left Calf: 2.25 Right Upper Arm: 6 Left Upper Arm: 5.5 Total 172.75 I wore a tight size US Womens size 28 plus and a comfortable size US Womens size 30 plus. Now I wear a Misses 14/16 I am almost to a 12. I have boundless energy to match my personality. I am so active in my everyday life in big and small ways. I don’t hurt all over anymore at the end of the day like I did before. I thought that was natural, because I had been so heavy for so long, I didn’t think there was a different way to feel, I thought that was norm. Now I know the difference. I feel like I have taken 20 years off my age. So that is my story, if you read it all, thanks. I hope it can help someone. Obviously I am still not done. I need to lose at least another 50 pounds and once I get there I am going to evaluate and see if I want to lose another 20 or 30. I never thought that would be an option, to get my weight that low, but I think now it is a possibility.

People 3 weeks out usually have a 3 week stall. Google it.

Why not as for an earlier date? I asked for a sooner date and I had surgery 2 weeks earlier than they offered me.

@@fatgirlsvelte I'm sad you won't be around much because this place could really use someone like you. In a place with so many people that hate themselves, I am not surprised at all this happened.

The one I used did not, but I heated the broth first, not too hot, and then I added the protein powder slowly with my mini whisk.

Trader Joe's has a high potency chewable. I take NOW Women's formula at this point. The pills are huge so if you have an issue with swallowing pills, these aren't the ones for you.

add it broth Almond milk

It looks like a banana but empty I doubt it is that wide at all. The highlighter is probable the most accurate. Honestly there is no way to really tell. I have never heard of a Dr actually measuring while operating. They use the bougie as a guide but they can only get so close, so it isn't the actual size of the bougie either.

@@Babbs said is right. You look like a healthy person with a defined waist. Maybe see a therapist?

@@Candygyrl The base for lobster bisque is heavy cream and butter. The amount of Protein is very low, and it is calorie dense. Which is what my doctor told me, he didn't tell me not to have it, but he told me he didn't think it was the best option. Like it isn't the worst option, but I decided it wasn't worth it when I was still struggling to meet protein goals.

No real attorney is going to pop up on internet forums. I mean I could be wrong but all my attorney type friends graduated from Top 25 schools and they would never ever. I love when companies popup on the bodybuilding websites and show their entire ass. It is always hilarious. Quest did the same thing, which is why their name is mud with a lot of people.

Food scale or body scale? If you have a pocket food scale, maybe. Weighing yourself, don't bother.

@@mileysfitmommy A therapist can be helpful for the reasons listed above. It never hurts. Especially if you are an emotional eater. Everyone struggles with the pre-op diet. It is hell, so that struggle depending on what happened, you didn't provide details, doesn't necessarily mean you have a food addiction.

231 If it wasn't so damn hot and I was retaining Water, I would be lower but ohh well. I'm still pleased. Congrats on all the hard work everyone.

@@Mooseknuckle My Dr suggested fish. Seafood is my preference anyway, even pre-op and in my fattest days. I love fish, lobster, crab, mussels, oysters. The hardest thing for me was making it to 6 months so I could have steak again. chicken is the hardest thing to eat for me, even now. I can eat so little of it, and it is way to easy to over eat on it, even eating the same amount. Some days 3 ounces is fine, some days 3 ounces is hell. I posted some seafood recipes in the recipe forum. I need to add some more. Shrimp and cauliflower grits is awesome in the winter.

I don't think she is chubby chaser big. Her husband just doesn't want things to change.

@@higher Well historically man made carbs are peasant food. They were created to provide lots of cheap energy for labors to work on. meat has always been expensive, and fruit and vegetables were seasonal and not easily obtained year round around the world. Even if you canned them there were limitations for the average person A Victorian era laborer needed 6000 calories a day, they got most of that from bread.

Yeah, I don't understand wanting peasant food like PB&J. I was trying to get my Dr to let me have lobster bisque, lol. In the end I looked at the nutrition and decided it wasn't worth it I love lobster bisque and I still haven't had any since surgery, I never even think about it.

When I was in my pre-op nutrition class all the questions were about when people could have [insert all the foods that got them fat in the first place] again.

Like @@Bufflehead said, gastrectomy is a very old surgery, research it. The only thing new is specifically just applying it to weight loss. Lots of people live without parts of their stomach for a very long time, and you can even live entirely without a stomach. What you can't live without are intestines, well, not well, which is why I chose this surgery in the first place, it was safer with more data. In 30 to 40 years I will old and I will have other organs failing that I will have to worry about. At least I won't have got to that point carrying a whole entire person on my back in excess weight like I have been. At first all the changes for surgery seem huge and forever, but seriously one year out and I am basically a normal person, I just eat well. My food choices and diet isn't any different from any of my other health conscious friends.

@@Kaze On my plan at 6 weeks I could have raw veggies and I had very firm cucumber slices as crackers/mini sandwiches for eating ham and cheese.

@@Nikki Monroe I am not dating anyone now. When I was about 3 months I started dating. I didn't tell the guy I dated for a while and he never asked me questions even though my eating small amounts when we went out annoyed him (because he was cheap). So now at a year out, I can eat enough that no one would question if I had surgery. I just seem like a picky eater, because I am a picky eater and I always have been. Or I seem like just someone with a small appetite or something that would really please my Grandmother, I eat like a lady. There is no reason to tell about my surgery because I have basically perfect health and no specialty nutritional needs beyond anyone else that is health conscious. So if I met someone and was dating them seriously, I wouldn't feel the need to tell them unless we were getting married. The only people that need to know about my health is the person that is my emergency contact and empowered to make medical decision for me, and right now that is my best friend and it will stay that way unless I meet Mr Right.

When he eats those things, leave and go for a walk. I am not going to speak on the relationship stuff because I am not a relationship type person. After you have surgery he is going to be worse, and you are going to want to eat more, and eating then can endanger your life. Do you have a friend you can stay with for a couple weeks post op? Mom? Sister? So you can recover with someone that supports you? He is just afraid you will get attractive and leave him so he is using reverse psychology on you. Don't fall for it. Okay I did say something about the relationship, but seriously you need some support because your health matters.

I read that before and ignored it but I am just going to say, to be successful you have to change how you think about food. I like my chicken salad on a buttery croissant, but I can live without it. So I eat my chicken salad in a bowl. Eating chicken salad in a bowl is a very small price for me to pay for losing 130 plus pounds in less than a year, and buying clothes in pretty much any store I want. When you are fresh from surgery and have all the restriction in the world it is really easy to stop at 2 crackers because 3 crackers are going to hurt. Later, when you are almost 6 months out and people are stuffing themselves at Christmas and you are almost fully healed you might not be able to stop at 3 crackers. Crackers are a slider food. You could sit later on post-op and eat a whole box if you wanted. and wash them down with a bag of chips. Soft slider foods are easier to eat than dense Proteins. So while you have restriction to support you, it is better to not start these habits, and change how you think about food. In the end you can eat whatever you want, it is your life and you might be better than most people and be able to control yourself with slider foods. You pointed out that you are 19 and you don't want to have to be super healthy for the rest of your life, you want some space to enjoy things. Your youth works for and against you, you have a better opportunity to retrain your habits and how you think about food because you haven't created these habits for as long. It works against you because you have a long life in front of you, even with a kidney transplant (I have a friend that had one as a child and is now pushing 50, after being told they would never see 13), which gives you more time to regain. More hard life issues that food might seem like a comfort, and other things. IMO it is better to try and go hard in the beginning when it easy to go hard, while you have your restriction from your sleeve to support you. Later if you have issues with regain, it is harder to make changes. Good Luck

@@chycky The main in ingredient in them is rice flour, so the formulas have as much if not more carbs than normal crackers. They are meant as gluten free crackers not low carb. I thought they were an interesting option until I looked at the nutrition on them. The Cheddar aren't so bad... I think normal crackers have more Fiber than these. Also, there is nothing wrong with eating chicken salad with a fork and hummus with a spoon. Ladies watching their figure have been eating chicken and tuna salad with a fork for decades. Who here is old enough to remember that diet plate that restaurants used to have? They served a chicken or tuna salad on a bed of lettuce with cottage cheese and fruit as the side items. Lots of ladies who lunched chose this option.