alisiak

I had my first cocktail 1 month out from surgery - did just fine. I have cocktails on a regular basis now - no problems at all - I'm 7 months out. My surgeon says try it out and see what works for you. No carbonation though! ENJOY!

Amazing! Congrats on your loss, you look fantastic. I also want to thank you for your posts, I've learned a lot from them. ☺

One friend of mine saw me in September after not seeing me since March or April (sleeved in mid-June) and said, "Is it just me, or have you lost a f**k-ton of weight?" I replied that no, it was probably closer to half of a f**k-ton so far. It was very funny.
I do get a little uncomfortable when people ask me how much I've lost... partly because I am embarrassed that I had over 100 lbs to lose in the first place! I mean, of course everyone knew I was fat, but they didn't know just how fat I was.

Top picture is the week before surgery. Bottom two are current photos. Starting weight 277, current weight 182. Total loss of 95 pounds just shy of 6 months. Could not be happier!!

Thanks so much everyone! I had RNY on July 1st, 2015. The weight loss has really slowed down and although it's frustrating I know that if I stick to the plan I'll keep plugging away. It's so hard to stay off the scale! I'm only 5 pounds from my goal weight but my Dr says that I will continue to lose for another 3-6 months. Best decision I've ever made!!

Top picture is the week before surgery. Bottom two are current photos. Starting weight 277, current weight 182. Total loss of 95 pounds just shy of 6 months. Could not be happier!!

Top picture is the week before surgery. Bottom two are current photos. Starting weight 277, current weight 182. Total loss of 95 pounds just shy of 6 months. Could not be happier!!

The first 3 months after surgery I had the same issue. It's definitely slowed down now and they are super light as of lately. I think our bodies are just so out of whack everything is trying to figure things out.

I just downloaded the Baritastic app (thank you for suggesting it) - it is really great because it understands our needs. I am getting ready to have a revision of my sleeve in January (because I have had terrible GERD) and want to really do it right this time. This app has timers for time to take to eat and time in between meals and drinking, trackers, a journal, you can link your fitbit, it has information about the different surgeries, links to resources, recipes, and a link to forums. And it is free!

I would say depending on if your belly can tolerate it and a shower may not be the place to test it. I was at a Soup supper last weekend and there were tables and tables of dessert. So, I looked over the dessert and thought that pumpkin pie would be the best (health wise) of what there was to choose from, so I took a piece, ate three small bites of the pumpkin only (no crust) and was completely satisified! Was I hungry? - no! Was it a bad choice? - not necessarily! If you know you can limit what you are doing, then I think it's fine. I will not have another bite of pie until Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I have found that my tolerance hasn't changed much. The hangover however is so much worse!!! And thanks for being honestly in your post, some people claim to be perfect on this site.
I drink vodka and Water with a splash of crystal lite liquid in it. Just FYI. I would say 2 of those will do the trick

I have found that my tolerance hasn't changed much. The hangover however is so much worse!!! And thanks for being honestly in your post, some people claim to be perfect on this site.
I drink vodka and Water with a splash of crystal lite liquid in it. Just FYI. I would say 2 of those will do the trick

Thank you both for the kind words!
I do feel good, but I still can only see the difference if I look at the side-by-side pictures. If I look in the mirror, I see myself just a little bit smaller than before (even though intellectually I know that 65 lbs is not "just a little bit," and plus it's 66 lbs as of this morning ).
I don't know why the mirror reflects a different image to me than the pictures do, but I trust the process. I still have many steps to this journey and maybe I need to still give a proper goodbye to the person whom I have seen in the mirror for so many years before I can see what other people see.
Thank you for the encouragement! It helps tremendously!!

I have found that my tolerance hasn't changed much. The hangover however is so much worse!!! And thanks for being honestly in your post, some people claim to be perfect on this site.
I drink vodka and Water with a splash of crystal lite liquid in it. Just FYI. I would say 2 of those will do the trick

Oh how about " you can't eat that!"
I just literally spazzed out on my husband because I asked him to pick up some pudding at the grocery store. I get so agitated when people who have not been sleeved , nor have met with any nutritionist, nor any doctors- try to tell me what I can eat or can't eat! I'm the one who just had 85% of my stomach removed! Do you honestly think I'm going to eat any-damn-thing that is going to hurt me or impede my success??? Just shut up already!
* I think this was more of a vent than anything.*

I don't know that she was being judged or if it was more observational. I'm the first to call out something mean or catty but I don't know that this was either....

I'm 9 weeks post op and still never feel full. I just eat until I'm not hungry anymore. Usually about 4 ounces. It's totally hard but trust me, you'll get the hang of it. I've already lost 50 pounds! Hope that gives you some encouragement.. It's all so worth it.

Hi everyone,
Before I begin, let me say this, Please don't get angry at me because I remember thinking that people my size complaining about this were ridiculous and trying to get attention. It made me angry that they called themselves fat when I had so far to go. But after being fat for my entire life, it is so hard to see anything else.
I just wanted to ask if anyone else is in the same place I am. I. Have lost over 150 lbs. according to the doc I am beginning to be underweight but my BMI is still 19.8. I don't know what to do because it is so confusing to go from "lose weight or you'll die" to "you need to stop losing and maybe even gain a few lbs"
Please don't think I'm whining or complaining, I'm just confused. I still feel overweight and there is extra skin on my stomach, arms and legs that looks like fat. So it's hard to say " ok, that's enough, I'm happy with what I've lost" because I'm not. What do you do to change the way you see yourself when you see a fat person still and they see underweight? I had my surgery 2-6-13 and I was 287.7 then. I'm 5'9" and 134.4 now in a size 3. . I'm 37 and it has all been spent obese except about a year in my early 20's and even then I was 200 lbs.
Is there anyone else who is finished losing who is struggling too? And even if you still have weight to lose, do any support groups talk about this issue? I'm not in one. Please help if you can and please don't be angry at my post, I'm writing with sincerity.
Thank you if you read this, Kat

I'm 5 weeks and had no hunger at all until about 2 weeks ago. I have slight twinges of hunger, but could be the head hunger. It's so hard to tell. It's nothing like the pre surgery hunger.
My stomach gurgles too. Especially when I eat.

My surgeon said surgery will not remove hunger. It will allow you to physically eat less, in one sitting, if you follow the rules. Before surgery, I am always hungry. I am hungry all day. However, I only eat 3 times a day. It takes a lot for me to feel that full feeling. Surgery is supposed to help you reach that full feeling. If you give in to the hunger all the time, you won't be successful. bypass won't take that struggle away. The first 6-7 months, your body is in control. You lose the weight. After that, you have to maintain it. You have to eat to the point of near full, slowly, to give your body time to feel that you are done. Then you have to stop. You have to tell yourself, this small portion will fill my tiny teeny stomach, and I will be fine.
I have lived my whole life being hungry. I know I will still have hunger. But in 2 days, I will be given a tool to help me control how much I put into my body. And after that, it's up to me.
Surgery is not a for sure fix. Or a quick fix. Or a miracle. It still takes work. But it will help you if you follow the plan. Protein first. No liquids with meals. STAY AWAY FROM EMPTY CARBS. No alcohol, and don't drink your calories. hydrate hydrate hydrate.
My NUT has preached this to me over and over and over. If I fail. It is going to be because I just flat out didn't follow rules. And I am not about to let that happen.

Yeah, I do weigh-in too much! Thanks Janet. I will take the advice and only really count the # on the scale on Monday (even if I do still weigh everyday). It's all such a mind game!!! It's definitely not as easy anymore! In my teens and 20's I could hurry up and lose 50-60 LBs in 6 months and be close to goal...now it takes forever and lots more work (not that it was ever actually easy), and that's only in my 30's! I don't want to even imagine beyond that weight-wise, but hopefully I won't have to and my band will control that. :party:

I think it's funny that everyone assumes easy way is a negative. We are so programmed to think that if we don't suffer to lose weight then the weight loss isn't valid. If you ignore weight loss and look at this another way, you quickly see how stupid it is to think easy = bad.
Imagine a desired outcome called outcome A. There are two ways to achieve outcome A: one way is slow, painful, and inefficient. The other is faster and easier and more efficient. Now what dummy would proudly choose to achieve outcome A via the first method?
After surgery you still have to watch what you eat, think about all your choices, address emotional issues and exercise. But the restriction makes it easier and lessens that feeling of sacrifice that comes with dieting when your hunger is out of control. Yes it makes it easier. And easier is smart. I'm glad I made the smart choice.

Came across this article on FB today. It was exactly what I needed to see. I've gotten comfortable with the fact that I can still indulge in small amounts and not see any weight gain or experience dumping. Well, that's NOT a good thing for someone like me, because it will simply continue and then eventually I will see regain. I don't want to waste all the hard work I have put in and everything I've endured to take my health back into my own hands.
Having said that, some parts of this surgery might strike chords. Please remember that I didn't write it LOL so don't attack me if something makes you feel some type of way, especially that last header/paragraph. That's a sentence we all probably will take issue with, but please try to keep things in context...
http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/05/not-what-you-want-to-hear-bariatric-nos/
Don’t eat bread! That latte has 35g sugar! No macaroni salad. NO tortillas. No rice.
It won’t last without change
There is no delicate way to say this. We have always set ourselves apart from other bariatric groups in that we don’t look the other way while post ops continue to eat the bad carbs. We try and bring them back to the bariatric reality. We coax you to knock off the Pasta, rice, tortillas or bread and often people get mad or try and justify it. For years we’ve watched people blow through this surgery and they all have the same story. Everyone thinks they are ‘Different’, that they can handle the bad carbs and the sugar (they don’t get sick!) and ‘because they have lost 100 pounds in 7 months they must be doing something right’.
The first hundred pounds is the surgery
Hate to keep making the same point, but your surgery did it, not you. Remember that you are not driving the car for the first year. Eating the same foods that grew you to 300 pounds, but in smaller amounts is not a good long term plan as eventually you will be able to eat larger portions. Ask yourself why eating the same bad carbs would be a good plan. No doctor has advised you to eat the same way post op as you did pre op. Post ops pick this up somewhere, latch on to it and defend it, often to the bitter end of a total regain.
No one fights for broccoli carbs!
It’s not that the bagel will kill you, it’s that these carbs make you hungry. They rapidly turn to glucose and burn… poof, gone, #Lookingformore. They don’t give you any nutrients. They don’t create a feeling of satiety or lasting fullness. The empty carbs work against what you are trying to achieve. If you were arguing for eating salad or green bean carbs, more power to you… but people are trying to hang on to foods without value. If this big argument was for VEGETABLES… well it wouldn’t be a debate as vegetables didn’t make us fat, it was those ‘other’ carbs. Did you ever meet an obese vegetarian and wonder ‘HUH?’… how’d they get obese if they are vegetarian? Same deal… its not the vegetables, its the other stuff… the carbs… the potatoes, bread, macaroni, rice, tortillas and sugar!
Square peg… round hole
Stop looking for slightly better substitutes for bad choices and find new healthier foods to love instead. We keep trying to force that square peg into that round hole. Stop EATING crackers and chips… don’t find ones that you can justify because they have fewer carbs. Enough with the terrible fishy Shirataki tofu noodles. Learn to live without bread and Pasta so it will not call your name. We aren’t changing the behavior or trend if we continue eating them, just slightly shifting it. Before long you’ve got your hand back in the Doritos bag & fork in the Mac and cheese.
Look It’s Protein Cheesecake!
Don’t add Protein to muffins and convince yourself they’re good for you. Stop with the Starbucks Creme Brûlée Lattes because ‘they’re your one indulgence’; they have 500 calories and thin people don’t even drink them. Stay the heck out of Wendy’s. I read an article the other day touting all the ‘good choices’ in fast food restaurants. How about stay out of them. That’s the best choice of all! Why go to the place where you know there is danger. Before you know it, oops… there are fries in your bag!
You know people gain back weight, right?
In our first month of new Facebook Support group I have cried for new members who have gained back all their weight. I am not immune either after fourteen years, three bariatric books and knowing better. When life hit the fan, I comforted my bruises in the way I knew best and it has taken me ten months to lose fifty pounds of it. People are having revisions, a lovely sounding word for a second serious body damaging operation. What will change? Unless there is major change along with that new surgery, won’t it have the same result?
Step away from the bagel!
Own that there was and maybe still is something wrong with your food picker! Use surgery as an opportunity to change, not cheat. I used be bothered by the ‘word on the street’ that we were the carb or food police, but am now proud of it. If you want to promote the virtues of Everything in Moderation while eating half a Subway, there are plenty of groups that will help you do it. If you want to eat right and learn new behaviors to make the feeling of slipping on those skinny jeans last… we have a support group that’s a healthier fit.
Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out
It’s a personal food cop that is always with us, that helps us push away from the table. We make it hard when we don’t live by the bariatric rules we’ve been given. There is nothing harder then gaining weight back after surgery. There is nothing better than losing it a second time. Control is empowering.
If you need to pick up and start losing again… If you need to work off a regain… it’s not too late and your pouch works just fine if you choose the right foods. Clean those lethal carbs from your life and go back to Bariatric Eating – protein first and lots of fresh salad and vegetables. We’ve got the support for you to make that change!

Mr Dr says that about 3/4 of bariatric patients will get dumping after surgery. I've had tiny bites of sweet things and nothing has happened. I was hope to suffer from dumping (sounds crazy I know) but I'm wondering if it's not going to affect me. Hmm, guess it's a waiting game and trial and error at this point.

we all know it has no nutritional value but many of us are still going to want to enjoy a drink now and then.