NYLux12

I stopped losing weight a few weeks ago. I guess I need to join the gym again. Sigh. I hate exercising.

I stopped losing weight a few weeks ago. I guess I need to join the gym again. Sigh. I hate exercising.

I've lost 90 lbs, and only in the past 2-3 weeks have I noticed an actual change in my appearance and how my clothing fits. But, I have about 150 left to lose. I started big. I do still feel fat. My back doesn't hurt all the time anymore, and it's easier for me to fit on small furniture and to get up from a deep couch. Little victories all the time!

I realized yesterday that I fit comfortably in the chairs at a doctor's office. No getting stuck anymore! That was always so embarrassing and painful.
I have only lost a very few pounds in the past few weeks, but obviously my body has been shifting and shrinking.
I can also no longer keep up 2 of my largest pair of pants. It took 75 lbs, but my clothes are finally starting to fall off!

I've lost 90 lbs, and only in the past 2-3 weeks have I noticed an actual change in my appearance and how my clothing fits. But, I have about 150 left to lose. I started big. I do still feel fat. My back doesn't hurt all the time anymore, and it's easier for me to fit on small furniture and to get up from a deep couch. Little victories all the time!

I'm at my first stall. I'm 7 weeks post-op, and the scale hasn't moved in 2.5 weeks. I am eating my Protein, drinking my Water and exercising.
BUT... my clothes are getting looser by the day. Today I was able to pull my pants off without un-buttoning them, I've never been able to do that in this pair before. And people are starting to notice my weight loss. So even though the number is not going down, my body is changing. And for that, I am glad!

I like Burger King's grilled chicken burger with a bit of ketchup, lettuce and pickles. The entire burger is 16g Protein 2g carbs 11g fat.

So glad the diuretic is working! They still need to figure out WHY this was happening though. Make sure they figure it out.

I urinated 7 times overnight and when I weighed this morning I had already lost 10 pounds of Water weight.
I have since urinated about 5 more times today and have lost another 5 pounds of Water weight.
So, thankfully, the diuretic is working as I have lost 15 pounds of water weight in only 18 hours. Yay!!!!

I agree with going to the ER emergently. Didn't all this start when you went in for your kidney stones? All that edema sounds like kidney function.
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we will all be looking for an update tomorrow after you see that doctor.

Inflammation and all the IV fluids. I wonder how much kidney function reduces. That may also be why you're holding Fluid. Then there's the Constipation and slowwwwwww motility from anesthesia and narcotics. Our colons can hold 8-12 pounds of waste [emoji12]
I just posted on a vets thread about some of this.
Don't panic. It will come off when you start moving.
It's not fat. Promise!

As soon as you want to start gaining weight.

I've lost 90 lbs, and only in the past 2-3 weeks have I noticed an actual change in my appearance and how my clothing fits. But, I have about 150 left to lose. I started big. I do still feel fat. My back doesn't hurt all the time anymore, and it's easier for me to fit on small furniture and to get up from a deep couch. Little victories all the time!

I had one about 2 years ago from high oxalic acid. I was told by my urologist to drink Crystal lite brand lemonade since they add extra citrate to it, which helps break down my type of stone.
Believe it or not, what I think helped lead to my stone was drinking a lot of non-sugar iced tea. Tea has a lot of oxalates. So I've quit the tea and moved on to lemonade and orange flavored Water.

OK, just what are Lee's green Beans, and what am I missing in my life because I've never heard of them?

Bariatric Realities
I’m doing this series called “Bariatric Realities” as a result of many frustrations. In this case, the energy generated in my body and brain, as a result of these annoyances, is my motivation for developing this series. I need to “get it out,” put my thoughts and feelings on paper - and on video - and share them. I want to talk about what I see and hear, day in and day out, from the patients I work with. These vulnerable men and women tell me about the realities of dealing with weight issues, the struggles related to getting extra weight off and keeping it off, and the underlying emotional hurdles interfering with their progress.


Bariatric Realities
I’m doing this series called “Bariatric Realities” as a result of many frustrations. In this case, the energy generated in my body and brain, as a result of these annoyances, is my motivation for developing this series. I need to “get it out,” put my thoughts and feelings on paper - and on video - and share them. I want to talk about what I see and hear, day in and day out, from the patients I work with. These vulnerable men and women tell me about the realities of dealing with weight issues, the struggles related to getting extra weight off and keeping it off, and the underlying emotional hurdles interfering with their progress.
I’m frustrated that patients, whether they are seeking medical weight loss assistance or opting for weight loss surgery, are given only part of the story and only part of the solution. The emphasis in all bariatric programs, obviously, is on meal planning and “behavior modification.” These are, of course, essential elements of weight loss and healthy weight management, but they are only part of the deal. The emotional components related to weight issues – shame, self-esteem, body image, family of origin issues, past trauma, relationship changes following weight loss – these and many other crucial, emotional/psychological issues are so often ignored.
Not to me, they aren’t. And these will be addressed in this series.
In addition, I want to inform other professionals in the medical, psychological and psychiatric fields about things patients (and, to be fair, some professionals) know, but the scholarly types won’t listen to, because what I have to say isn’t “evidence based.” Meaning there are no formal research studies or statistics to verify or validate what I, and so many others, know to be true. Oh, I am a believer in, and supporter of evidence based research – without a doubt! And yet, so many topics that need to be addressed in the area of weight loss have not been formally researched, nor do they always lend themselves to scientific investigation. (Not to mention, the evidence found in evidence-based research is very often conflicting and ever changing. That, however is another paper…)
I will address those very real problems related to weight loss and maintenance that are largely ignored due to a lack of research-based evidence. And yet, those topics are so very, very real.
Here’s a sneak peak at the types of things I’ll be addressing in the Bariatric Reality series.
Alcohol Use After WLS
This topic is widely debated by patients and professionals alike. It is, indeed, discussed at the professional meetings. In fact, just a few years ago, a big fuss was made at one of the largest bariatric surgery professional meetings about brand new research related to Alcohol Use Disorders following weight loss surgery. The actual researchers presented findings of their newly published data recently released in The Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA): Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before and After Bariatric Surgery. The authors reported a 2% increase in Alcohol Use Disorders at the 2-year post-surgical assessment.
Is this information helpful? Of course it is! Does it tell much of a story, really? If you ask those of us who work day in and day out in surgical weight loss programs, I’d venture to say that the majority would report that this 2% statistic at two years post-op doesn’t even begin to tell the reality of the problems we see with “Alcohol Use Disorders” following weight loss surgery… some a year after, some two years after, some five years after. And it’s not just alcohol. It’s also abuse of pain medications, spending, promiscuous sexual behavior and eating disorders.
And tell me… how many WLS patients who have “Alcohol Use Disorders” haven’t returned to their bariatric centers for follow up to be included in the research results? How many haven’t mentioned anything about “Alcohol Use Disorders” to the multidisciplinary team? A lot.
Yet we can’t present the very real information from patients who tell us about their friends who won’t come see the doctor after their surgery … the ones they are worried about because the person of concern isn’t eating but is consuming the majority of their calories from alcohol. We can’t count, or report on, the patients whose won’t come in for a follow-up and who drink so much they are falling down and hurting themselves. There is no “data” to indicate the number of patients calling and insisting they need more or higher doses of pain medication and become hostile or abusive to the staff when told the doctor won’t prescribe any more. We don’t have “numbers” for the patients who sit in my office and cry because they are sleeping with anyone who shows any interest in them. We have no data on the number of patients who tell me and other providers around the country that they meet strangers at motels for sex, something they never did before. How do we help educate other professionals about very real, very dangerous “anecdotal” reports of problems, when, alas, we have no DATA?
No, this type of information is not discussed at the “professional” meetings because we don’t have scientific evidence. But these things are happening. They are real. And they need to be talked about. So I’ll talk about them and hope someone listens. A lot of someones – so that people won’t be afraid to ask for help for these issues, knowing they’re not alone. And so that professionals may – just may – stop pretending these things aren’t happening because there are no “numbers” to support the reality.
Food Addiction
Last year, I spoke at a national weight loss conference for overweight and obese patients. The moderator of the panel of which I was a part, felt strongly that food/eating is not an addiction. He therefore posed this question to the audience of approximately 200 people: “How many of you consider yourself to be a food addict?” Nearly every hand in the audience shot up immediately. I explained to him, and to the audience, that the hallmark of addiction is knowing something is a problem and has caused problems (think of all the health-related problems associated with obesity), wanting to stop (wanting to lose weight) having made many attempts to stop (consider all of the prior dieting), but not being able to stop (most people regain any lost weight from dieting and feel hopeless about being able to make permanent changes to their eating and exercise behavior). These people who consider themselves food addicts are addicted to food/eating, physically and/or emotionally. They know their weight is causing serious problems in their lives, they want to stop, but they cannot. That’s addiction.
“Where’s the evidence, Connie?” Well, I don’t have it. And I can’t find that many others do, either. I did find a “scholarly article” from 2013 of a study of 652 adults from the general population in Newfoundland, in which the prevalence of “food addiction” was 5.4%. The majority of other “scholarly articles” that even discuss food addition focus primarily on Binge Eating Disorder or the “neurobiology” of food addiction. Often the conclusions are similar: professionals differ on their beliefs about the idea of whether or not “food addiction” is real.
Ask your patients. They believe food addiction is real.
So if, at the professional meetings, we can only discuss food addiction based on the “research,” it seems we are limited to debating the existence of food addiction, or to sharing the percentage of “food addicts” in Newfoundland. How, then, are we supposed to talk to professionals about the myriad of non-scientifically-researched REAL issues that patients experience in their REAL lives?
I’m frustrated.
Bariatric Realities is my new outlet. I will talk in REAL language about the REAL issues experienced by the REAL patients I work with all day long. I hope it will get others talking! Share your REAL thoughts, feelings and observations with me and other readers! THANKS!
The NEXT TOPIC for Bariatric Realities: Genetics and Sources of Weight Problems – What ARE You Accountable for?
Connie Stapleton, PhD
connie@conniestapletonphd.com
Facebook: Connie Stapleton
Twitter: @cstapletonphd
LinkedIn: Connie Stapleton, PhD

filet o fish, minus the bun, I love tarter sauce so I occasionally eat a little of it.

I have had a rough time making the numbers I wanted after surgery. During the all liquids phase I did excellent with my weightloss but it slowed drasticly after I started foods again. I had trouble making it to 64 ounces of Water and meeting the protien recomendations. a little overa week ago I was desperate when I gained 4 lbs in my fourth month so I decided to consume 120+ ounces of water and go over my daily recomended Protein requirments. I lost 11lbs this week!!! I was really affraid I wouldn't lose any more weight but my hope is renewed =) Just wanted to share and encourage anyone who isn't drinking enough water or getting enough protein!

I've lost 90 lbs, and only in the past 2-3 weeks have I noticed an actual change in my appearance and how my clothing fits. But, I have about 150 left to lose. I started big. I do still feel fat. My back doesn't hurt all the time anymore, and it's easier for me to fit on small furniture and to get up from a deep couch. Little victories all the time!

I had one about 2 years ago from high oxalic acid. I was told by my urologist to drink Crystal lite brand lemonade since they add extra citrate to it, which helps break down my type of stone.
Believe it or not, what I think helped lead to my stone was drinking a lot of non-sugar iced tea. Tea has a lot of oxalates. So I've quit the tea and moved on to lemonade and orange flavored Water.

Mdlange, it will eventually slow down and stop. It's very scary to go through this phase, be assured it will stop.
Everyone's time frame is different. For me it started about 6 months after surgery and slowed down about 5 months later.
Talk to your hair stylist and ask for suggestions on what sort of style/cut will help you and your areas.
Tips:
For bald spots their is a powder you can use to help color in scalp so it's not so viable. Joan Collin's sold one too on QVC. Search Amazon too
You can get creative with dark eye shadows to your hair color. I use mascara for my gray hairs when I can't get to my stylist soon enough
I had long straight hair it was a very scary sight and feeling to go through, so I decided to layer it and it helped with the balding spots. Washed at night with Shampoo by nioxon for dandruff (lil expensive, but worth it) as I read it had extra zinc and when i start to see my hair start to shed again I go right back to using and it helps. Wash at night, I put a bit if mouse on, roll up in a bun, still semi-wet in the morning, I damp a bit more, blow dry hair head upside down (give it more volume) and scrunch up towards scalps, if you have it layered to style use round brush and blow dry to curl/style, flip head back upside down, lightly spray hair, scrunch again and flip hair over slight spray and your hair will feel and look fuller.
***You must get in all your required daily Protein, Water and oil.
I take/drink lots of Water, Biotin, zinc, Iron ( Vitron-c ) recommend by my doc they're great and help especially
during menses, fish oil or take your preference of oil your Nutrionist recommended.
I like to add extra butter to my scrambled eggs, or coconut oil to my drinks. Find foods like salmon, tuna in oil, sardines if you can tolerate taste are great fish on and healthy for us, avocados too
Put mayo on sandwiches, just try to get your oils in, any of your choice, as much as we are still counting and watching our calories, we still need oil to help with our Hair loss. This is my personal opinion, I think they need to emphasize this more during consultation before wls and tell everyone it's a must to help shed so much hair.
Even my face was super dry, so to this day I go to Walgreens or your preferred store, I buy the Nature Bounty brand Vitamins as many times they have buy one get one free
But I stock up on their Vitamin E-oil 30.000mg bottle, cost around $7 -$10 worth the cost and rub all over my face at night time to rehydrate my skin and also good for scars, so you can rub some on your wls scars too.
Hoe this helps a bit!! It will eventually stop as you will see the new lil ones growing out too.
Your hair stylist will probably see your new Hair growth before you do as it tends to grow toward bottom back of head which we can see and then you will see the lil ones on top yourself.
Push you hair back like a tight ponytail and you will see the new ones.
Be assure it will stop and regrow!!
Take good care and stay hydrated!

I luckily have curly hair and can kinda hide the Hair loss but I'm discovering bald spots everywhere! I try to only Shampoo every 3-4 days cuz it seems to be worse after shampooing. On my off poo days I just do a conditioner rinse being that I need all the conditioning I can get ???? I did have to dye my hair recently as that I'm a natural blonde but I have a ton of grays, super scared I was gonna need a wig afterwards, but it was surprisingly not too bad! Hang in there girls, maybe our head just wants to join the bandwagon and lose some weight too!!!! my crazy hair^^^

I've lost 90 lbs, and only in the past 2-3 weeks have I noticed an actual change in my appearance and how my clothing fits. But, I have about 150 left to lose. I started big. I do still feel fat. My back doesn't hurt all the time anymore, and it's easier for me to fit on small furniture and to get up from a deep couch. Little victories all the time!

We often coach people to go"back to basics" when struggling. I am conducting a small experiment on myself and preliminary results are interesting.
Background, I don't record consumption AND post sleeve I don't care much for plain Water anymore. I drink disguised water - mio drops, crystal lite, Vitamin water etc. and keep a rough tally in my head.... getting about 64 ounces per day. Obviously, those flavor enhancers have artificial sweeteners.
Due to recent kidney stone, I have been advised to drink 2 liters of water a day and to add orange juice or lemonade. I didn't want to add the sugars from juice so he suggested lemon in my water.
I slice and squeeze a whole lemon into a 4 liter pitcher with the goal to drink it 50-50 over 2 days. Of course, I am not having the mio drops etc.
The stubborn water weight from my surgical procedure has dropped since I started this a couple of days ago.
My initial conclusion is that actual water, without artificial enhancers helps your body way better. I am giving this a solid month experiment but I suspect this will help with maintaining AND prevention of the dreaded kidney stones.
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