ButterflyRainbow

Hi folks, this has been an incredibly smooth and uneventful procedure, to the point where I almost didn't want to say it because I hear of so many problems on here. But it's been a breeze knock on wood. So here are the two things:
1) the unanticipated great pleasure is crossing my legs. When I sit and cross my legs now the experience is completely different as my legs don't splay out, the fold neatly and the folded over leg just goes straight don along side the other leg, if you can see what I mean here. It's no longer uncomfortable. But it's something I would never have thought of.
2) Has anyone heard of people reaching their goal weight in TWO months? Well I'm about to do that. Granted because I lost 45 before surgery, I didn't have as much to lose but now I've lost another almost 35 and so in a few weeks I imagine I'll be there. Just strikes me as strange but utterly wonderful... I'm 6'2", highest was 305, and now I'm 211, goal is 195 or 200.... this is a trip!! wow

I'm the same way. Arms, legs, face are all normal looking now, but my belly and back still have loads of fat.
I've heard that when losing weight, it's "first on, last off". That's certainly proving true for me!

http://www.bariatriceating.com
Good website for recipes and all sort of bariatric advice.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, your weight loss is achieved through meal volume control. In the beginning the size of your meals are incredibly small. Therefore you need to supplement Protein shakes or other Protein supplements so that you do not damage your body. Your daily protein requirement is a combination of the amount of protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements.< /p>
As your meal volume increases, you have the option of reducing your consumption of protein supplements provided you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. This is important because the protein supplements you are consuming contain calories. As my meal volume increased I went from 3 Protein Shakes a day, down to 2, then to 1 and finally none. That approach broke my stalls.

Yes, no processed foods. Clean means simple.
I was told don't eat anything White cuz it's going to be crap.No white flour,
no sugar, etc
Milk is the only thing white that I imbibe and even that in real small moderation,
only in my tea or coffee. Obviously one can get carried away with the word"processed",
any oil could be described as processed -
I mean oils and vinaigres etc could be called processed but that's not what
we're talking about here. Those things have been made for a millennia, we're talking about avoiding
modern processing processes in factories, so this cuts out a ton of food, but I don't know about
you guys, but I wanna change my life and the habits that got me to Bariatric surgery in the first place
.

oh, also sometimes nuts/peanut butter, hummus, and certain fruits like bananas. Generally I try to stay away from fruit until I've gotten enough Protein. Really your goals should be centered on low carb, low sugar, high Protein, and once you've met that protein goal, the rest is veggies and some fruit. That's the general diet that is recommended.

Way to go!! 100 lbs lost is amazing. Collar bones are the best! I still constantly rub mine.

Looked in the mirror this morning and saw my collar bones. Closing in on 100# lost. Yeah, I rock.

Me too just yesterday!! I was looking in the bathroom mirror and thought it was a shadow. Nope!!

WOW! What a transformation one year out!!! You look fabulous! You were very pretty to begin with, but my goodness, you look like you never weighed more than you do right now!
I have a question for you as I get close to surgery. Do you have a lot of hanging skin (your picture does not look like you do) and if not, how did you keep from getting too much hanging? I need to lose about 100 or so pounds, and most of the weight is in my stomach, but I am afraid about hanging skin being a nuisance.
Congratulations on your weight loss! Can you also offer any tips to us newbie's? What was the hardest part, what was the easiest, etc. What an inspiration!

Ok so I just had my nutritional evaluation, scheduled my psychological evaluation and have class tonight. The more time that goes by, the more I keep finding myself thinking I can't wait to be skinny! I can't wait to wear all of the cute shorts and outfits that I've always loved but we're too big to wear! I'm very excited because at this moment I am more sure than ever that I want this surgery. Has anyone else had that aha moment where they put something on after surgery that they never thought they'd be able to wear? I bet it feels great. I can't wait to be skinny. Until then I will continue to work out and do my best with my diet but hopefully I won't chicken out before surgery.

I stepped on the scale this morning and was greeted by a triple milestone surprise!
1. I've officially lost 100 pounds!
2. I'm halfway to goal!
3. I am no longer morbidly obese!
Such a happy happy day.

Yes, thanks for the comments. I am 4 1/2 months post RNY and am beginning very noticable hair loss. Plus my hair is very dry now. I've lost 65 pounds, so I'm still very happy. I bought a really expensive shampoo/conditioner at the stylist's, but not doing that again. Found some cheaper today at Sally's (hope it works better) and have been religiously taking my Biotin. I still struggle daily with getting close to enough Protein, so I know that's the problem, but I get so sick still from so many things.
I know this didn't help but I just wanted to join the conversation. Thanks for listening. And best wishes. It's a journey, that is for sure! So glad people are saying it grows back. Faith is the key.

Thank you so much for this post Homecie, I really needed it. Just the other day, I spent the morning crying after washing my hair and realizing how much has fallin out. Being over weight my whole life, made me feel like all I had was my long hair so this side effect of the surgery was very hard on me. I'm hopeful now tho

Yeah!
Every doctor I have seen about this has told me not to worry that as soon as my weight loss slowed down, my hair would stop shedding.
They were right for sure! After 12 long months of which 9 I shredded about 2/3 to 3/4 of my hair volume.
Now, I have short hairs poking up everywhere and the shedding has finally completely stopped. It actually is funny and if I wasn't so happy to see all those beautiful new hairs I would be annoyed because I swear I look like alfalfa from the little rascals!
Everyone going through this just really needs to have faith, it will come back!

I am 11 months out and 5 lbs short of goal. I had given up on any regrowth of my hair. My loss was severe with the look of male pattern baldness in front. Well, I am happy to announce that it is growing back and growning back with vigor. I am taking prenatal Vitamins and Biotin with sucess but it took all this time to see results. For those of you who have had the same experience, don't loose faith. It will grow back for sure it will. Give it time... Then you can smile at your beautiful hair and nails and the beautiful, healthy body you now have at any time in your journey. God bless your travels to good health.

The head hunger and cravings were very intense early out for me too. But I held firm, and at nearly four months out I can tell you that it definitely gets easier. Just try taking it one day at a time. Don't beat yourself up for past transgressions, but work towards getting through one day, then two, then a week without cheating, and so on. The end rewards are so worth the sacrifice.
This honeymoon period is when it'll be the easiest to stay strong, the hope being the further out you get the more your body gets used to eating healthy and the easier it will become to fight back against the cravings.
You can do this!

hello fellow RNY folks.
Well, today is my six week surgiversary. I'm doing well, feeling great, trying to figure out the learning curve with what food, how much food, etc. But all in all, things are going well.
Except for exercise. I am 61, still weigh 259, and hate it. I have a treadmill and just forced myself to walk 3/4 of a mile in 24 minutes (=slow). I really dread it and am worried about my continued success if i don't exercise much. Are there some of you out there who have had extended success with just the food portion and not the exercise part?
My bariatric center even gives me a year free membership at their fitness club but i have no desire to go there. Even a meeting with a personal trainer. They have a pool so i COULD do the aquacise thing (I used to do that many years ago) but where will i get the ambition to get dressed, in this 5 degree weather, and drive 25 minutes to the gym and then do it, and reverse it all?
I'm sorry I'm having such a pity party. Just feeling down today about it.

Exercise is a part of the weight loss journey. It sucks, but is a necessity to improve life style. There are plenty of workouts you can do at home. There are also home workouts with tools like resistance bands, kettle bells, etc.
One of the programs I've come across is Exercise Launchpad on Youtube. This is geared towards obese and limited mobility patients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPJKAG0mknI

I'm 2 1/2 months out and my belly is definitely shrinking, but now comes the loose yucky skin. Don't worry, you will lose belly fat. It can take awhile. Depends on how your body distributes the weight to begin with. As a rule last on, first off. My ass is virtually gone now. It's hard to sit on a boney ass. lol

Your body does weird things with alcohol after surgery. You get drunk fast and sober really fast which leads to more drinking. Many people become alcoholics because of this. Be careful. Many people in my surgeon's support group have experienced this so no alcohol is suggested.

13+ hour rotating night & day shifts here.
Water is truly never a problem.
I always have a Yeti cup full of ice Water near me at home or in my vehicle.......at work I always have a water bottle in hand. Usually wear cargo pants at work and slip the empty bottle in a pocket until I get to a filtered source to refill it.
Never let yourself get thirsty. It's a constant intake....or at least it is for me.
Admittedly, I drink 2-3 cups of coffee on my night shfits and try to overcompenstate for it with more water intake.

I work 12 hour night shifts and in the beginning it was a bit of a challenge, especially earlier post op when I could not eat much at one time. I had to be very aware of what I was eating and I found that if I planned my food intake it was a lot easier.
For example, I found if I took a ready to drink Protein Shake with me to work and made sure I drank it on the way home then I would start my "day" with 30 grams of Protein. When I woke up I would make sure to eat a high protein meal such as fish, grilled chicken, tuna, etc. that way by the time I headed to work I usually had another 20 grams of protein in. At work I try to eat a couple of small high protein meals.
It is definitely doable, but does take more effort than being on day shift. Occasionally I work a few weeks of days and it is much easier.
One thing I have to be careful of is: if I don't drink a protein shake or eat a meal before I go to bed when I get home from work then I sleep all day. Occasionally I will do that and then sleep too late to eat before work. That puts me starting my shift with no protein for the day and then its hard to meet my protein goals.
It does get easier as you get into a routine. The key for me is tracking my food and planning.
Good luck!!

So I will play the devils advocate here; popcorn made low cal is a very healthy snack. I do beleive I would wait until you can consume say crackers, broccoli, lettuce foods that take more to digest. I do not think it would at all hinder your weight loss. Check with your doc but 6 months seems like a safe bet; a year I think that is pushing it you would be able to eat ANTHING by a year out!

I hate it. I can only eat 5 bites of a chicken breast but a whole bag of popcorn. I purposely never buy it because of that.