goblue9280

Recently watched Master of None... it's a netflix original series that just recently came out. Created/written by and starring Aziz Ansari (Indian guy from Parks and Rec.) It's hilarious and smart. I've heard it described as Louie for millennials, and that's pretty accurate... so if you like Louie, Seinfeld or Aziz, I think you'll love the show.

Yep!!! The quicker the better!!!!

That's what she said! (Sorry, binge watching old episodes of the office tonight.)

Had a little bit last month when we went to see Star Wars... I was about 3 months out (bypass). It didn't seem to cause me any issues, but I chewed very well. I personally found it to be rather low on the satiety to calories ratio scale, so I haven't indulged since.

Full disclosure, I admit there have been times I've done a double take and exclaimed "Damn!" while driving down the street... but I was by myself in the car, with the windows rolled up and did not slow down/stop or make myself obvious.

That being said, to the guys that make a habit of catcalling out of a car, I wonder what they think the possible outcome is? I can't think of a single male friend that has ever told me a story that started with "So I was driving down the street when I saw this girl running in yoga pants..." and ended with "... and then she hopped in the back of my car."

Not necessarily anything wrong with that... plants have Protein too!

I can't eat meat period I don't like chicken,fish,or pork I'm damn near a vegetarian.

This... it's a much more eloquent way to state my initial male reaction which would have been to go with the black/white because your curves are kicking.

Black and white. It gives you more definition!

Not really. I've stopped tracking my food intake, and stopped focusing on macronutrients. It's too much work, and I know from past diet failures that if the diet feels like work, I'll fail. 4 months out, I have a good feel for how much to eat and how often. I recognize that this surgery will only be effective 10, 20, 30+ years down the road if I completely change how I eat. So I'm focusing mostly on plant based options... beans/legumes, seeds, green leafs, veggies, berries, nuts on occasion and starting to work some whole grains in. I rarely eat meat/dairy right now but will occasionally have a whey Protein bar when on the go. If I do have meat, it's lean turkey/chicken or fish... though I did have some rather delicious bacon recently from whole foods. Almost no processed foods with the exception of occasional frozen veggie burgers and store bought hummus. I do know which plant based foods have the highest Protein density, and I try to incorporate many of those at each meal... so in that way, I gauge some on my food intake based on protein content.

Again, for me it's about doing a 180 on my lifestyle... here's a quote I like: "The problem with nutrient by nutrient nutritional science is that it takes the nutrient out of context to the food, the food out of context of the diet, and the diet out of the context of the lifestyle".- Marion Nestle PhD

My surgeon required an upper endoscopy as well. Turns out I showed signs of gerd (wasn't aware of) and it looked like I might have Barrett's esophagus... however the biopsy came back negative. He told me the gastric bypass I got should reverse the gerd and inflammation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7l8dx-h8M

I've been eating solid foods for almost a month now and I can eat all the fruit and veggies I want..but when it comes to Starches and meats..my stomach rejects it horribly

Nothing wrong with incorporating high Protein veggies into your diet if your stomach can handle it. Obviously meat works best to hit your Protein goals because it is so calorie/protein dense... thus you're getting more bang for your buck volume wise. However, it is possible to get lots of protein from a plant based diet, but with our limited capacity it requires some grazing. Grazing can be an issue if you aren't very careful about what you graze on... weight can easily pile back on down the road if you choose the wrong foods.

@@OneDollarBill Yeah, that's what I've been looking at doing was the C25K program. I can already walk a couple miles at about a 16.5 minute pace, so I'm getting there. A few walks I've started to jog while counting to 30, but only did that a couple time so don't know how many intervals I could do of that. For some reason I have it in my mind that I need to be under 300lbs before starting the C25K program... so maybe February 1st Looking towards a May 5K.

@@OneDollarBill Not to sidetrack the convo, but how did you get started running post surgery?

I've never been a runner, but kinda have this goal in the back of my head of running a 5K with my older kids (13 and 12) that are both athletic. I'm walking daily, but apprehensive to start jogging. Just curious when you started the process.

Insurance required only a letter from my doctor and a psych evaluation. My surgeon additionally required 1 nutrition class and an upper endoscopy. I also had to do a stress test and a cardiac ultrasound, but I'm not sure if that was insurance or surgeon required.

I have BCBS of TX and bariatric surgery is a covered procedure with a $5000 deductible... no diet/waiting period required.

@@DavidOso I asked the same question recently and got some good feedback from @OKCPirate here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/356960-couch-to-5k/

I have not started the couch to 5k program yet... but I'm still walking daily. Every now and then I try and jog for 30 seconds while walking... for whatever reason I have it in my mind that I want to be below 300lbs when I start.

Here's my easy coffee recipe: leave work and drive to starbucks, order a grande americano (it's espresso with added hot water), pay with app, sit and drink and let go of my daily worries for 20 minutes.

Mine is similar, but requires a little more work.

Take out a Keurig adapter.

Fill with my own ground coffee I buy from a warehouse club ($16 for 40 oz for Starbucks, or less for other brands).

Brew it into my own coffee mug.

Add a little milk and artificial sweetener.

Take $2 out of my wallet.

Wave it in the direction of Starbucks Headquarters in Seattle, Washington and taunt them.

Put the $2 back in my wallet.

Drink the coffee while relaxing and realizing how much better that coffee tastes when sitting on 2 comfortable $1 bills.

I have a Keurig too... only problem is it is located in a home with 4 children, so my steps would look something like this:

1. Dig coffee mugs out of backyard where the 6 year old buried them while playing pirates

2. Wash coffee mug

3. Stop to help 13 year old with algebra homework she just remembered she had

4. Put K-Cup in machine

5. Brew cup of coffee

6. Take a sip

7. Dart up the stars to investigate the loud thud noise that is obviously the 12 year old showing his 7 year old the finer points of a WWE style drop kick.

8. Re-heat now cold cup of coffee in the microwave

9. Gulp it down in 30 seconds so that kids are not late to school

10. Look into wallet to find that the two dollar bills (plus 10 of their friends) that I thought I saved by not going to starbucks was taken from my wallet the day before and spent on the ice cream truck.

So you can see, the 20 minutes of "me" time I spend at Starbucks is well worth the $2.50.

delete

It will get better, stick with it and give your body a couple of days to adjust. No doubt about it, it is tough... especially mentally. You got this!

This is the 2-week all liquid pre-op diet my surgeon put me on: 3-5 Bariatric Advantage shakes and 72 ounces of water/clear liquids... if I could make it through that, anyone can!

I imagine the main reason is because it is a diuretic. But if you have no trouble getting in your Water, I doubt it is much of an issue. My doctor is fine with it.

Highly acidic coffee may also be bad for sleeve patients due to increasing acid reflux risk.

coffee can also increase hunger for some, but for me it is an appetite suppressant.

Here's my easy coffee recipe: leave work and drive to starbucks, order a grande americano (it's espresso with added hot water), pay with app, sit and drink and let go of my daily worries for 20 minutes.

I have not heard of any but I would think that after WLS the risk of cancer lessens since obesity is a risk factor in various cancers.

+1.

Even if there were a slight uptick in cancer risk with bariatric surgery, it would be outweighed for me by the decrease in risk of dying at a young age from heart disease as a morbidly obese person.

Personally, I wanted to move away from liquid sources of food as quickly as possible. As your plan allows, you need to move towards more real foods... and eat as clean as possible. Avoid those processed foods. Lean cuts of meat for Protein, but also remember that Beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, broccoli, quinoa etc all have Protein in it that can add up... and they are chock full of nutrients, complex carbs, good fats etc to keep you satiated for much longer than a liquid Meal Replacement.

First, read up and educate yourself on everything. Focus on the hospital stay and the week after, as she will need your help most during that time. Having my wife in the hospital with me (even though I was only there overnight) was a huge relief. She is an RN, so she took charge of my care and was not afraid to question the nurses/docs (but was incredibly professional about it.) I was doped up and sleeping most of the time in the hospital, so it was nice to have her there to insure I was properly cared for. Those first few days back home, she was also incredible... making sure I had my scripts and was following the doctors orders as well as getting me to my postop appt. My parents came into town to watch our 4 kids, so she was able to focus on me. If you have kids, I would highly recommend making arrangements for the hospital stay and the first couple days so that you can concentrate on your wife.

As for what to do after the first week, that's a completely different ball game. My wife has given me quite a bit of space to go on this journey, which I like best. She is also overweight, but without the commorbidities I had. She has tried to lose weight since my surgery, but it has not worked... which leads to tension between us. She's there for me, but sometimes talks endlessly about "this incredible gift I've been given" and makes offhand remarks about wishing we could have afforded to get the surgery for both of us. It can be upsetting as it insinuates it is all coming easy to me, when in fact it still takes an incredible amount of work and will power to do this right. I bring this up to highlight that it won't just be you helping her through this journey, you will also have your own things to deal with as she progresses, so be prepared for it.

It gets better/easier the further out you get. A couple things that have helped me:

1. Stick to measuring out your recommended portion sizes
2. try and eat meals at the same time each day

I had a lot of head hungry the first few weeks, additionally I never got the "full" feeling from my 1/4-1/2 cup portion sizes. I also stress ate a ton, so anytime I was anxious during the first month or so, I'd get hungry. As @@mishi said, the key really is to stick with it and eventually your mind will adjust to the new normal.

If your plan said its ok, give it a try. I was allowed soft fruits at a month out (told to avoid the skin), and cleared to start trying others at 2 months. I've had some banana, berries and canned (no syrup) pears and was fine... also have had some bits of fresh apples in a salad. I've yet to dump on fruit... However, I did try a bit of dried apricot at Christmas and that was too rough on my stomach this early.

If you're cleared for cereal, use as little milk as you can. More liquid means it'll slide through you faster and not keep you full as long. I haven't tried cereal only because haven't had a craving for it.

It's a perfectly normal question that has been coming at a higher frequency the further along I get. For whatever reason, whenever some one asks me, I get anxious and lie to them saying "I really don't know." Truth is, I know... I weigh myself multiple times per week and am always thinking about how much I've lost to date. For whatever reason I don't want to let people know I've lost over 100 pounds since it is obvious I still have quite a ways to go. It's like I know I've accomplished a lot to date (I promise I'm not fishing for atta boys here) but since the journey is far from complete, I feel uncomfortably openly discussing where I am on the path. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this quirk or if I'm just a nutcase.