Cervidae

my bmi was 64.4 on the day of surgery. who knows why things fluctuate so much. Maybe my surgeon trusted that I had already shrunk my liver after working with the nutritionist for almost 7 months.

I felt similarly in the beginning. I'm in the bdsm scene, and a big girl with a pretty face and a dominant personality was like... the trifecta of awesome for many in the scene. I actually liked myself, visually, before I had surgery. I did it purely for health reasons. Now at almost 6 months out, I'm 115 pounds down from my first consultation with the surgeon, and I'm experiencing feeling bad about my body for the first time. I'm shaped much like every other woman in my family: short little stubby legs and a round upper body. I feel like I look like an egg with legs, and only when my stomach is completely flat will I actually like the way I look again... and deep down I sort of don't really believe that's ever going to happen, even though it's a real possibility. Body image is a weird and fragile thing. Since it fluctuates so much, I try to focus on the health aspect. There's no denying that I am a LOT healthier now, and only getting better every day.

the first few weeks were difficult, because I felt the same way you do now. Just all out of sorts, tired, weak, miserable. But it's about this time that things will start improving exponentially. After 3 weeks or so my recovery sort of jumped forward, and I got to the point where I could almost forget I had surgery unless I was trying to do something really physical or eat. Even now, at almost 6 months, I'm still getting used to a lot of the mental aspects of surgery. But the physical difficulties from surgery greatly reduced pretty quickly and I'm betting they will for you too. Just keep your chin up, keep taking really good care of yourself during this intensive healing time, and you'll be amazed at how great you feel in another two and a half weeks.

That sounds amazing! I'm going to need to make this, thank you for sharing.

Mine was rather different than most people's, from what I've gathered. I had no pre-op diet. I was just instructed to drink only liquids for 24 hours before, and nothing at all 12 hours before. I put myself on a mostly Protein shake diet the week before and lost 10 pounds, anyway, just for the hell of it.

I was fortunately approved pretty quickly, but I think I absolutely would have had this problem if I had waited longer than my 7-month interval between joining the program and having surgery. Stay the course! Look at how your body is changing for the better, look at your own or others' progress pictures, plan and track you food, whatever it takes. Remind yourself why you're doing this, and why it will be SO worth it in the end. You've got this! Feel free to friend/message me anytime if you want someone to talk to.

I didn't know there was a chat room either! That's a really cool feature. I went in there about two hours ago and said hi but it echoed around the empty room, lol.

@@VSGAnn2014 perhaps this is because I'm only 6 months out, but I'm fortunate enough that I don't need to binge to feel comforted. That full feeling I get when I eat a quarter cups of black Beans or 2 ounces of chicken is enough to make my brain think "man, we're stuffed! we must have just stuff our face with something!" I wonder how much that will change and how soon. For now, I see it as a huge blessing. Especially considering it wasn't really junk food that was my vice before, it was binge-eating.

congratulations! You look great. I have trouble with salty/crunchy cravings as well. What works for you?

Thank you for all of your suggestions, everyone. I feel a lot better today. I suppose I should have specified that I meant healthy comfort foods. Usually my Protein Soup with some chili powder to give it a kick does the trick, but I can't order another shipment until next week. My goal is to find foods that are healthy that also satisfy certain cravings, primarily savory cravings. There are some really great suggestions here. My favorite one and one I unfortunately can't do for another couple years is to get a dog, but luckily my friend has the sweetest beagle ever and I'm allowed to go over and play with her whenever I want. Thanks for the support. I think I was just in a bad funk after having a lot of bad things happen all at once. The wildest thing I was never in any danger of eating too.much or eating something bad. I just didn't have any desire or hunger for it. Guess it's just going to take time to learn how to cope and how to navigate my new body and stomach. Thanks again.

congrats. Good luck with it!

feel better soon, and take good care of yourself.

Hey all. In 6 days, I will reach my 6-month post-RNY date. So far, while it certainly has been an emotional roller coaster, I haven't really had one of "those days" - you know those days. The ones when you wake up and it seems like one crappy thing after another is happening, and nothing is going right, and everything is falling apart. Well, today, I had one of those days. I won't get into it but suffice it to say I'm worried about my future, I'm frustrated with the physical and mental health monsters that still plague me, and, as a nice little rotten cherry on top of the rancid melted sundae, I got snubbed by a prospective client (I'm a freelance photographer and artist) and I'm generally feeling like the most useless, untalented, and hopeless lump of poop ever. Well, these days happen. But my question for you all is how do you soothe your emotional aches and pains and anxiety after weight loss surgery? If I'm not willing to go eat something delicious and unhealthy, but I'm in desperate need of comfort, what can I do? What helps you? Are there bariatric-friendly foods that have been successful replacements for comfort foods for you? Exercise makes me feel incredible, though exhausted (physically) but does very little in the way of making me feel better emotionally. Sex is great, but for various reasons not always readily available. I've realized since starting this journey that I am an extremely sense-oriented person. I'm tactile in the way a lot of little kids are. If it feels good, I'm going to touch it, or do it, or possibly rub it against my face (sorry, kitties). It's certainly a contributing factor to my binge-eating before surgery, I know. Any help would be very, very much appreciated.

@@baylyy the whole point is that whether you're a fat person who is working out and eating healthy and trying to lose weight or a fat person who likes pizza and eats it every daya nd is slowly killing yourself, you deserve to be treated like a human being. And as a general comment about medical professionals and the fat acceptance movement: the connection between the movement and medicine/doctors is that there's no denying that doctors often sort of just brush aside other possible health issues when someone is overweight. It's common for a doctor to take one look at the number on the scale and automatically chalk up all symptoms to obesity. The movement is trying to say "hey, yes, weight can and does cause health issues, but assuming a fat person is automatically unhealthy is utter idiocy, and it needs to change." The fact is even medical professionals can be discriminatory towards obese people. And that's a big, big problem.

The fat acceptance movement is a lot like the feminism movement in that a lot of people have utter misconceptions about what the movement is actually about and why it exists. Much like the crazy people who call themselves feminists while attacking men, saying we should just kill off all the men, saying the men are inferior, etc are not ACTUALLY feminists, people who truly believe that being fat is healthy and that all doctors are just being hateful and discriminatory are not actually fat activists. The point of the fat acceptance movement is the same point as the broader body positivity movement: it doesn't matter if you weigh 800 pounds and literally can't move off your bed, it doesn't matter if you have made yourself unhealthy with poor choices or if you are making no move whatsoever to lose weight. Every person deserves to be treated like a human being, with dignity and respect, end of story. Fat acceptance is all about treating fat people like they are humans instead of the often appalling way we are often treated, ways that are still socially acceptable and that need to change, NOW. The point is, no one has a right to judge you or treat you poorly because of your body because it's your body, not theirs, and no one gets a say unless you want them to. These misguided people who stubbornly tell themselves that fat acceptance is about pretending to be healthy and thinking fat is better are just that, misguided. I can't really blame them, in some ways. Being treated like less of a person because of how you look is just absolutely wrong and ridiculous, and doesn't serve to actually help people. No true body positivist would ever ignore medical advise just because they are hurt and offended by the truth, just like no actual feminist would say that men are inferior. There are idiot radicals in every movement, but what's important to take away from it is the core message.

You look beautiful! My boyfriend and I will be slumming it here all day and then going to see Deadpool, so I don't think I'll be wearing anything fancy. Actually, I don't currently own anything special that still fits.

bring your tooth brush, wipies and chapstick with you to the hospital, and prepare to possibly want to sleep in a recliner for the first week afterward (laying flat hurts many people). Also make sure you're SUPER hydrated going into surgery so they can put in an IV easily and so you're not quite as parched afterward. You've got this.

@@kfs5628 I've had that exact problem. Turns out I was supposed to take my iron supplement twice a day and I was only taking it once. Now my iron levels are low and I'm slowly building them back up. Not taking vitamins may work for some people but there's a reason it's standard procedure after a bypass. Also, for the rest of you, your levels may be fine now but a few years down the road, you will almost certainly have vitamin deficiencies. So keep an eye on it and ignore doctor's orders at your own peril!

I had my surgery back in August, but I totally remember how insane my schedule was in the months leading up to surgery. There were just so, so many things to do to prepare! Sometimes I had multiple appointments a day, several times a week. Today I had a therapy appointment at noon, then I have a physical therapy appointment at 3, and then a bariatric support group meeting at 6:30 this evening. It's a busy day for me too. I feel your pain.

I was very close to the same weight as you on my surgery day (387) and seeing this post and your awesome before and after pictures has given me a whole new boost in excitement and inspiration. I can't wait to be where you are! You look freaking incredible. How do you feel? Did losing that much weight that quickly make you tired, or make you tire easily? I'm struggling right now with this constant state of exhaustion. I just had blood work done and other than a mildly low Iron level, nothing is amiss. My surgeon thinks it's just my body's way of coping with losing so much so fast. I'm interested to know how the process went for you. Congratulations on all of your success.

I completely understand body image issues, and wanting a tool to allow you to be at the weight you want to be. Considering your low bmi and general good health, have you considered getting a less drastic/invasive procedure than the RNY? Maybe a band or a sleeve? The RNY can be pretty intense and takes a LOT of work and diligence just to stay healthy for the rest of your life. Most people have absorption issues of some kind forever, and you have to take vitamins AND supplements every single day of your life. It's something most people do because they are significantly overweight and the risk and huge effort it takes is worth it because the alternative is death. For someone who is as decently healthy and with such a low bmi, it might be safer and more effective for you in the long run to get a band or sleeve. Just my two cents.

oatmeal was something I was told to wait a while for, because it can get stuck. You also have to be really careful with the sugar content. As for salad, I was cleared to eat it within three months but my nut advised against it. Basically she advised against any food or drink that isn't Protein or Water. I was told to be especially wary of fibrous fruits and veggies, and the skins and seeds of fruits and veggies. I had my first banana around 3 months and could only eat about a quarter of it, and it made me so full and sat so strangely in my stomach that I couldn't get the protein and water that I needed that day. I guess what I'm saying is be really, really careful. I know it's frustrating to be stuck eating the same things but this won't last forever and you need to make sure you have room for your 60+ grams of protein and 64 ounces of water. Gotta give your body what it desperately needs to heal and keep itself running during this huge biological shift. Did your nut give you a list of fruits and veggies that you can eat?

yay! Good luck.

woohooooo! Good luck, keep us updated!

I also had a LOT of weight to lose when I first started the program. In the first 6.5 months or so I lost like maybe 5 pounds max, despite following the diet and exercise plan. During the week leading up to surgery, I put myself on my own version of a pre-op diet, because my surgeon didn't require a pre-op diet. I basically just had mostly protein shakes, with a high protein meal thrown in every other day or so. I lost 10 pounds that week by essentially starving myself, and while it felt good to FINALLY have lost something, I'm seeing now at almost 6 months post-op that it wasn't actually something that really mattered. What mattered was that I put my liver into the best condition it could be. The weight was insanely stubborn coming off before surgery. Now I'm almost 6 months out and I've lost over 100 pounds. So just take care of yourself and make yourself as healthy as possible for surgery and you'll do great.