BackAgain

One year ago today I had my RNY bypass done! One year later and I'm down 125lbs and I have lost a total of 90.5 inches!!!!
I feel amazing, my knees don't ache every time I move and my feet aren't so sore from carrying that much weight around!
I don't get winded walking up a flight of stairs anymore and have found that I love jogging and I love yoga and riding a bike is fun again!!
I still struggle with who I see in the mirror so I take a lot of pictures. I take measurements every month or so and I Celebrate with activities instead of food now.
What a difference a year can make!

I still can't believe I'm at this point. It feels like a dream!
High Weight: 292 (1/31/2017)
Surgery Weight: 247 (Gastric bypass on 5/1/17)
Current Weight: 191.2
Goal Weight: 140-150

Two years out. RNY patient.

I've never dumped. Most of us don't.

I maintain on 1500-1700 calories a day. Most of the time this is fine. My stomach is small, so 1500-1700 works. There are days, though, when it's a struggle to stay within this range - like holidays or if I'm eating out a lot. I just know I can't go down any slippery slopes because people can - and do - put a lot of the weight back on if they're not careful. I still weigh and measure everything most of the time since "portion creep" is real...

I could probably still lose if wanted to, but my PCP told me to stop, and my body fat is at 22% - which is fine, but I was told not to go too much lower or I'd just be eating into muscle.

I still feel restriction if I eat dense Protein

Today a stranger called me skinny... Sitting in a doctor's office a woman I used to be comparable in size to asked me to trade seats with her because I had (out of old habit) sat down in a bigger chair without arms and the only seat left was a smaller chair with arms.
She walked over and blushingly embarrassed and asked if I would mind moving over to the other seat so she could sit down too. I smiled politely and told her of course. She joked that some chairs were for skinny people like me and some were for fat people like her.
I felt the hurt in what she said. I remembered it, I knew the bitter taste of those words.
I moved that armed chair closer to the unarmed chair and told her a year ago I would have needed that bigger chair. I told her I understood and that I was sorry I was thoughtless enough to even require her to ask me to trade in the first place.
We talked for a while. I told her about my RNY bypass and how in 11 months I was down 120lbs. I lost a person. I told her that in my head I still look for the bigger seats because that person from a year ago still lives in my head. I only see a real difference in pictures. The biggest change I made for myself because of that realization was to take lots of pictures. Everyday I show myself the progress I have made because I can't see it in the mirror that clearly. I showed her my pictures and she was amazed. We discussed my before and current stats including weights and measurements.
I made a friend today. She called me skinny and it felt foreign and bizarre but we touched each other's lives and found a common bond.

Hey there . Thanks so much! It's amazing how immediate the transformation is!

To be honest, I was ready for plastics a year ago, I had been maintaining my weight, felt good, and just thought the time was right. The universe had other plans, lol! I had consulted with two plastic surgeons and had decided which one to go with. That's when it all went wonky. I learned that because this procedure is elective, it would. NOT be covered under my short term disability plan at work. FMLA was approved, which would protect my job while I was off...but I would not receive any pay. I couldn't afford to pay for the surgery AND take 5 weeks off without pay to recover. I ended up having to cancel my plans, and we waited another year so I could save up my vacation time. It all really worked out for the better. I found another surgeon, who I just adore, and who ended up doing my surgery for me. We saved up additional money for the surgery so we could pay 100% cash, and I had enough vacation time to take time off to recover, and still get paid. I'm taking 5 weeks off.

My insurance plan does not cover any part of my procedure, so I was completely self pay. We knew that plastics would be something I would want/need, so we saved for about 2.5 years to be able to pay for the surgery. We did not want to finance or create additional debt for this surgery, so we made sure we had enough cash to pay for it. In the end, it actually came out to be slightly less than we had planned, so we had additional left over.

Most surgeons book out quite a way, so I would give yourself at least 6 months before when you'd want to have surgery to start scheduling consults. I had my consult back in December, just before Christmas, and booked my surgery for June. She did have some opening sooner, but we planned for summer and around our daughter's school schedule. As hard as it is, because the whole process is so exciting and you're just ready to get it over with, try to see at least 2-3 different surgeons. You want to feel totally comfortable with them, and with their price point. You don't necessarily want to go with the cheapest option, but I saw 3 surgeons and one was about $10k more than the others, mostly because he was with a very prestigious practice. He was amazing, but I could not justify his prices just because of the name of the practice. Price was important, but mostly I needed to feel confident in my surgeon. Dr. Folk's work is AMAZING, she is kind, personable, honest, and very well known in the area as a top surgeon (I work in the medical field, and she is well known amongst nurses and other doctors as being one of the best). She had everything I was looking for, and from the first moment I met her, I just had a great feeling. I knew she was the one!

Plastic surgery obviously Isn't something we go into lightly. It is expensive, life altering, major surgery, and you want to feel really good about who you go with. Even if insurance DOES cover some or all, finding the right surgeon is so important.

I wish you luck! The time flies, and your surgery could be here before you know it! [emoji1]

Started at 147kg
Now at 88.5kg
The smile says it all!

I eat my veggies as their own separate meal. They are usually my afternoon or after dinner "snack". I don't eat veggies with my meat because if I do either they take up too much space, or they make my dense Protein not as dense and I am not full for as long.
I think an unflavored protein powder could work with a stir fry but you could have to be really careful with the temp so it doesn't clump or curdle.
One of the reasons I enjoy eating them alone is because I can eat them in a large quantity.

Hello!
I had lap-band installed in April 2009. Lost about 50 lbs total and have since gained back about 30. So net loss = 20 lbs. That's okay, though, because that weight was the difference between being mobile or not (weight at time of surgery was 382 - I'm now in the 358-363 range). The advice I got after the band was not to eat rice, bread or Pasta for 6 months after surgery and to go in for periodic fills of the band. I had 3 fills before losing my job, my insurance, and eventually my home to foreclosure.
Fast forward to October 2015. I'm diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I immediately look into getting a revision. While I start seeing a nutritionist and taking all the vitamins/supplements and learning to eat Protein first and 3 meals a day, I'm consequently diagnosed with Severe Obstructive sleep Apnea. Approximately 6 months later, I'm diagnosed with GERD. The local surgeon in my small town was requiring that I lose 40+ lbs before he'd qualify me for surgery and was pushing the Sleeve on me (even though I knew By-Pass was the best route).
After struggling to lose (I gained about 9 lbs in the 6 months under that nutritionist), I chose a different surgeon. This one the head of his department and very experienced bypass surgeon. Started seeing a new nutritionist (May 2016) and slowing started losing weight - about 1 pound a month. He only required I lose 15 lbs which was a MUCH more achievable goal in my eyes. I finally qualified in October 2016.
Blue Cross Blue Shield declined my request for coverage on 11/30/2016. My surgeon did a peer-to-peer review on 2/1/2017 and I was declined after that as well. After hearing from someone in a Facebook revision support group, I decided to look into Lindstrom Obesity Advocacy. I spoke with Kelley Brown Lindstrom earlier today and just sent over my records and payment. I'm paying for the expedited service (they get my file together and submit it within 3 days). So far my impression has been very favorable. Kelley has been knowledgeable and supportive and I'm impressed with her breadth of experience with different insurance companies. For the first time in a very long time I'm hopeful that I could have this revision sometime this year!
Anyway, I'll keep people posted as to how it is working with them. Wish me luck!

Just wanted to share an exchange I had with my insurance company today (fepblue basic). Right now I'm going through the process with a local bariatric clinic, but am keeping Mexico, Vegas, Florida Medical Tourism surgeons in case I receive an insurance denial (BMI is 35.1) . If insurance approves, it's a great deal, but if they deny, I'm not paying the $18500 cost. I am also not sure if I want to wait till October.
I asked (via secure portal) if I had surgery
in Mexico,
away from my home state,
was cash pay,
or anything other than approved and paid for by fepblue,
Would complications be covered? Such as a stricture or a leak. I also asked if there was any stipulations regarding the original surgeon or facility needing certain accreditation, (JCI, Center of Excellence, Surgeon of Excellence, etc)

Their response can be seen below. This makes me feel so much better about considering less expensive (yet fully qualified) programs. Complication insurance quote was almost $500 - I think I'd feel less pressure to purchase it now.

Mrs. Wood,
Medically necessary corrective measures needed to correct complications arising from any procedure, whether the original procedure was approved or not, no matter where the original procedure occurred or who the surgeon was, would be considered for coverage and payment; the corrective procedure would not automatically be excluded or denied but would be considered as any other medically necessary procedure would be.

Sincerely,
********
Customer Service Advocate
Federal Employee Program
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina

Since I had already failed with a restrictive only procedure, I chose to go with rny for my revision. Also I had developed sever GERD and the sleeve is known to make it worse. One other thing: someone above wrote that rny is not reversible. It actually is. Im not sure how often it is done, but it is done. The sleeve, however, is not reverible due to part of the stomach being removed. The sleeve can be revised into a rny bypass.

I commented on your post over on reddit, but I like this site for asking questions better lol.

First, congrats on your weight loss. Outstanding!

How many calories are in taking in per day? Any tips you would give someone who is a week and a half out, like myself?

Good luck to you on your weight loss journey my friend. Though others who haven't walked in the shoes of a person morbidly obese, may say that surgery is the "easy way out", I'm hear to tell you that there isn't anything easy about this procedure at all. So the first tip I will give you is this, prepare to work your ass off, cause thinking that this is the magical cure all for your weight-loss blues is going to sourly disappoint you. You have got to prepare your mind and will power for this life changing procedure. Because its just that, life changing.

If you have an unhealthy relationship with food (i.e. using food as a cope mechanism, addict, emotional eater, etc) then I would highly suggest that you need to deal with those issues first before going under the knife. Get a very good support system in place to help you mentally deal with those things prior to the surgery. For me I had friends who had already had the surgery that I could lean on for advice, and I was seeing a therapist to deal with some of my emotional issues related to stress/food/and image issues.
Because once you get cut on and have 80% of your stomach removed, you won't be able to use food as a comfort release or coping mechanism as you may have done in the past. I learned that lesson the absolute hard way and I spent a good bit of my first year post surgery fixing and dealing with those mistakes that I made, because I wasn't as mentally ready for the surgery as previously thought. And experiencing dumping once or twice and needing IV fluids to be able to see, and comprehend again will make you follow the damn meal plans.< br />
Carbonation beverages I would just avoid, especially the first year or so. Now you will have a lot of people here that say never do it and some say its alright, I leave that up to you for you are an adult and can make your own decisions on that. For me I do rarely consume carbonated beverages (maybe a soda or hard cider ever 2 to 4 months at most), but I mostly find comfort in drinking flavored water, tea, coffee, and juice. I use to be about a 1.5/2liter a day diet Pepsi drinker and now I may have a can every 6 to 8 weeks at most and usually when I am out.

I haven't really had a beer in like almost two years but I have consumed hard alcohol like Tequila, Rum, Bourbon, and Whiskey. Alcohol is very different for me now in that I don't need no where near as much as I did pre-surgery to get a buzz. So because of that and the fact that I don't like the "buzzed/drunk" feeling I limit the amount of alcohol I consume too. If I am out socially I usually have one to two drinks at most and I sip them slowly throughout the evening to minimize the affects that the alcohol will have on me. As the farther out from surgery I have gone, my tolerance has slowly increased, but its nowhere near where it was at per-surgery. Again not a bad thing because alcohol, especially beer is empty calories, and gas which you will not need. Trust me on the gas part cause being bloated is an absolute pain in the gut literally.

I say all of that in the regards that you don't need the stuff really. Those first 12 to 24 months you should honestly be focused on eating properly and getting into a good workout/exercise routine so that you can continue to post gains(weight loss) while your VGS is still in its magical weight-loss phase. Cause eventually you will hit the stall and the tool will at some point stop being so magical. Get into good habits and work your ass off literally and you will see the difference.
Sex
Yes it will change. If you had low stamina and energy, it will increase. I mean you will have a lot less weight and body mass to deal with, so there is that bonus too. Also men tend to store testosterone in their fat cells, so the more fat you burn off the more testosterone you will be releasing into your blood stream. This means more Hair growth, stronger erections, huge sexual desires, and if you hit the gym a lot some more strength. Guys with erectile issues may see those issues go away when they lose the weight off.

Also your confidence will start to grow the more the weight comes off. You will look and feel better in your clothes. If you have a lot of fat padding around your pelvic area that will shrink away, which can help in penis growth a bit. Less fat around the "Ram Rod of Justice" I say the better for both you, your ego, and his/her pleasure (for my bi/gay friends there don't wanna leave you all out).
I say all of this because I too was in your shoes almost three years ago. Hell if they would have told me about the sexual benefits, as well as me buying normal size clothes in normal stores I would have done the surgery years ago. Instead all I heard about or feared was the complications from the surgery, and all the foods I could no longer eat. Yeah sometimes I do miss being able to eat anything I wanted to eat, but I wouldn't go back to it at all. Because now I enjoy so so much more out of life than what is on my plate.

Got some great news from the scale this morning, I'm officially down 100.4 pounds from my starting weight of 314.6 on 12/7/16. That was the date I started my pre-surgery diet, and my surgery date was 12/21/16. I never dreamed it would work out so well. So close to my ultimate goal, but this was an unofficial goal for two reasons. First, 100 pounds just sounds nice Second, when I did Weight Watchers about 10 years ago, the lowest I ever got was 214, so I wanted to get there again. Before that, I can't even remember the last time I was so low, maybe 25 years ago. Anyway, just wanted to share!

It is very common to hit stalls along the way especially after sleeve surgery. It is so common that someone on this site coined the phrase "embrace the stall".
The three most important elements after surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

You're just experiencing the "three week stall" that almost everyone experiences. This will be the first of many stalls you will go through in your journey. During my six month pre-op diet program, my weight loss was linear (3 pounds a week like clockwork for six months). During my seven months post-op, it has been more like a step function. I lose 10 pounds in 10 days or so, and then I stall for a week to 10 days. Then the cycle repeats.
My advice is to stay off of the scale for the first month, and then to only get on the scale with a frequency that won't cause you mental anguish. Some people can weigh every day and contextualize what it is saying without causing distress. Others can't do that. You'll do yourself a big favor to figure out which camp you are in and weigh accordingly.
Good luck!

Yup, same exact thing. For me it was upping my Water intake that started me down the losing path again. Deli meat has a bunch of sodium in it as well, so water weight retention may be an issue for you as well. Realistically a stall that has been going on for a few days is not a big deal. For reference, it took me 3 weeks to break my stall.

I had gastric bypass surgery on 1/24/17, and went back to the gym the second week after. I was sore and swollen, but I was more than ready to start losing the weight....plus I vpulndt stand to lay and sit around and only walk around my house. I started light, just walking the track at my local gym, everyday for at least 30 minutes a day. From there I have progressed to running a mile and half, 30 minutes of weight training, and swimming laps in the pool for an hour a day, 4 days a week. I have lost 50 lbs so far and 15 inches. My heaviest weight was 330, pre surgery weight was 274, and now I'm at 224. I'm feeling alive again. The problems I was having with my osteoarthritis have gone down drastically! I'm keeping up with my 3 kids, 2 of which are teenagers, and I'm loving life again! I have changed from one of those people that dreaded walking too long in a store to being one that looks forward to the gym days and hiking trails. I can't wait to see what summer brings!!
I keep trying to upload my pics but can't seem to figure out how to do it. Can anyone explain that please?

I've not tried broccoli, but I love Brussel sprouts. My nut said all vegetables were open game during mushy phase IF they were cooked to a mushy state. I found Green Giant steamer packs, when cooked about 5 minutes longer than recommended on label, produce a very nice and mushy Brussel sprout. I could tolerate them very well early on and it was in compliance with my NUT, so I felt good about them.

I'm gonna tell you a horror story. I had prostate cancer, had to have it totally removed. Well, since they took the prostate out, which is about 1.5 inches in diameter, Mr. Wilson decreases by the same amount! You are basically taking 2 inches of pipe off from the inside. Not only did taking the prostate out it embarrasses ya while making ya in employed.

Ps . It does add 2 inches to your tongue, so I guess things even out in the end.

Sent from my SM-G930V using BariatricPal mobile app

This guy looks like a fool, but he is actually very knowledgeable and incredibly strong:

He's also pretty funny. That being said, he reiterates several points I have made on here and thought you guys might get a chuckle as well as some insights.

Start weight: 350
Surgery date 12/20: 338
Current weight: 253
I haven't seen this girl in so long it amazes me still that with this tool I have been successful with it unlike every other weight loss diet and trend I had used since the age of 15. This picture on the left was me two days ago and the picture on the right was about two years ago. I use to play roller derby and with my size back then I had a hard time just skating in a circle. I feel amazing now and can't wait to try skating again. I couldn't imagine being where I am now if I didn't have gastric bypass. This tool works and I'm so happy I did this to better my life. Yes I do have these cheat days and I tend to slip a little bit I find myself acknowledging it and getting back on track. This definitely is a life changer and it's a slow process to change but I am doing it and I know better now then I did when I was 350 pounds.

Thanksgiving 2015
Thanksgiving 2016
Gastric bypass on May 25th 2016
Hw 305 in 2009
Surgery/w. 260
Cw 185
Gw 150
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Well my advice is to take what you learned the first time around and use it. I feel like my recovery from rny was easier than the band because I knew what to expect. I knew the gas was the worst thing about post op...so by evening of my surgery I was up walking, walking walking I was in the clinic for two days but was asking to be released after one because I was feeling better! At home I walked. I knew warm Water goes in when cold does not work. I knew to take my Prevacid. I knew to get my Fluid and Protein in first and I have been rigidly sticking to plan. And not trying to uneccsarily restrict calories.
Rny gives a metabolic reset so I am not going to destroy this new baby metabolism with crash diets like I did the last one. I have observed that many of the vets who lost weight on really restrictive calories guess what..they also have to maintain on really restrictive calories. I know other vets who focused on healthy foods like protein lots of vegetables, healthy fruits, complex carbs if you have room etc.,, they are able to maintain on 1400-1700 a day. That's who's plan I'm following. Now that I have had a malabsorbtive surgery I really have had a mindset change to eating what my body needs, as opposed to eating for entertainment. I don't eat processed food. My filter always is "does this offer me the most nutrition?"
I tried to get my calories to 800 as soon as possible (by 2 months). Then to 900 (by 3 months). At six months I'm now between 1050-1100. Still losing...slightly slower but who cares...I'm in this for the long term not the short term.. this one I want to be forever.
This is what worked for me. It isn't the only way, of course. But it changed my life.
Sorry for the long winded answer.

If you are talking about social or business functions, try going back to the classics. Cosmopolitans, old fashions, sours, white/black russians etc...
If you are talking about ending the day with a drink, can't help you. Most of the "convenient" drinks that come in cans, bottles, or mixers are just corn Syrup and shitty quality alcohol one step from diluted isopropyl alcohol.