jersey0601

I was the guy that came here studying the forum for stories of how people restarted successfully and never did anything about it. Or very rarely did you find people willing to discuss this because once they were back on track they didn't come back to the forum. So here is my success story so far.
On September 1st I had had enough of regain and decided it was time to change my bad habits. I had VSG 4 years ago and dropped from 385 to 285 in 9 months. Then I slowly crept back to 335, a 50lb regain!
So what did I do? I did 3 days of shakes then 4 days of shakes and small portions of chicken. Then I discovered reddit.com/r/keto and started reading. For the last 3 weeks I have been full blown Keto with 5% carbs, 25% Protein, 70% fat on 900-1200 cal per day. I follow intermitant fasting on a 18:6 ratio. And I walk 3-4 miles per day. In one month of have lost 25lbs and only 25 more to my lowest but I won't stop there this time! Before I get yelled at about how horrible this is just do a bit of research. Many people have CURED their diabetes with a keto lifestyle and there is actual science backing all of it.

There is a really good post from 2016 that explained this based on needing to change the way we sit after losing weight ... I will try and find it to post .. or try and check it out

The struggle is real - I get so sick of hearing that the surgery is a tool... but is is very true

I would postpone only so you can get " more ready" for success once the restriction is less and more reliance on your food choices

I know where you are now - and if you go ahead, I can guarantee you will lose some weight- but if you truly want to get to goal weight - you may need to get more control over food choices

Can I ask if you are walking or doing any activities while on

The obvious for me is not needing a seatbelt extender. That takes alot of fear from traveling
i also enjoy shopping for clothes In A STORE !

Get dressed up nicely, including the kids and have a professional (someone who does it for a living) take your pictures. Tell the photographer that you want a flattering photograph and let them pose you and the kids. Look at the camera and remember to smile.

My confidence is way up since losing about 80 lbs, but I still feel like a deer in headlights in front of a camera. I've been avoiding them for so long I have no idea how to look good in photos! I guess this means I am not photogenic, but there must be something I can do to get a flattering photo of myself.
I have only one picture taken with my 6 year old, and none with my toddler. I would really like to take some pictures with them. Any tips?
TIA!

My 20yo has been struggling with her weight since middle school. She's 5'7" and 255lbs now and has successfully gone through all her pre-op. She has a 6/21 date for her sleeve surgery. Her dad and I are not supportive of her choice. We feel she's too young to take such a drastic step when other than her weight, she's a healthy young lady. She has been up and down with her weight but she also gives up too easily on the lifestyle change required to keep a healthy weight. We fear because of previous behaviors she'll do the same and not stick to this commitment.
As her mom, I won't let her go through this process alone and will help her with her healing process but, this decision has caused friction and stress at home. It breaks my heart. We've asked her to hold off and we'll work with her to go the healthy route with seeing a nutritionist, a physical trainer and a therapist to guide her through this journey. She said no that her minds made up. She's under our insurance and the thought has come up to mention to the company that we don't approve this surgery but don't know if that may back fire. Another thought is to remove her and encourage her to get a job with insurance and she can do it and pay for it on her own. I'm conflicted and scared.

Well, if it is insurance paying for this, then I can totally see why they are doing this. Some insurance carriers make you jump through tons of hoops to get approved. Very aggravating I agree.

It could be. I hadn't thought of it like that. I love black coffee but not allowed to have that at the moment. Maybe when I try it that'll taste drastically different too.

I don't get it.. you didn't ask them why the dose changes?

Ultimately, I posted this because I was frustrated with the way in which some people responded to the people on the forums. I feel that many overweight people are stereotyped and have likely had little compassion for their situation. In my opinion, compassion and patience do not equal coddling per say. Tough love doesn't mean being rude; it represents honesty and a genuine willingness to help someone. Perhaps I was a bit unhinged and didn't completely express myself as I would have liked in the initial post.
I do not disagree with being honest by any means, but as some have mentioned, there's a difference between being honest and being rude. Bluntness can be necessary, and I agree there are many posts in which people are seeking justification for bad choices.
Additionally, I should say that when you post something on the internet asking for advice, you should show the same respect towards the people who are genuinely looking out for you and ignore those who are taking the time to be hurtful and mean.
My post is mostly to say that I wish people wouldn't assume something about a situation, stereotype weight loss surgery patients (especially those who are WLS-patient's themselves), and to in general show kindness to one another. Outside of this community is already flush with judgment and it would be nice if we could just be nice.
I appreciate everyone who contributed their thoughts, and I apologize if I didn't accurately express my feelings. I did not intend come across as we should live in a world with rainbows, unicorns, and sunshine all the time. I simply mean to say, that you should think about what the person is asking, consider if what you're writing truly expresses what you mean to say, and if it's worth saying what you have to say.

I've realized, now that I'm 4 days post op, that there's very little im expecting or shocked by. From the posts I'm seeing, there is not much different in the experiences.
Bloating and gas is real
Walking eases it
Deep breathes hurt and help
Water water water sipping all day
food tastes gross (especially Protein powder/shakes)
Incisions hurt and itch
You gain surgery weight from water/gas
Pain meds are bad and good but mostly have worse side effects
It feels like it's pulling
Feels tight and hurts to drink a lot
Pain radiates elsewhere on the body
And of course there are those few who don't feel a thing and wonder if it "took".
The forum has the same topics and answers that I've been reading since my first consult and I'm grateful for it in a way because I'm not worried about any of these normal effects. So far, I'm just looking forward to the maintenance phase lol. Forcing myself to drink Fluid is more frustrating that I thought it would be. Especially since I know I'm thirsty for it, but feel very full.
I keep thinking that when I heal, everything will go back to "normal" but that's not the case. The only thing that will return to normal is the bloating and pressure plus incision pain associated with surgery. In 2 weeks, I hope that will be gone. Other than that, it's a bit of a shock to think I am going to live with stomach discomfort for a long while.
HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

@Delta_35
My concern is that with do many people qualifying for surgery now that seem to be obviously bad candidates and failures that it will skew statistics and make WLS seem less effective than it is meaning long term, surgery may not be covered by insurance or harder to maintain.
I had an evaluation but it was a joke. I was prepared for surgery but no one prepares you for the end. The losing phase is easy, the end and loose skin is tough.

I told tall tales? And you know this because...???
I never said anything untruthful. What would be my motivation to make anything up anyway? What would be the point?
I had bypass. Had complications. My bypass was converted to a sleeve. I got a bad bad stricture. I relapsed into anorexia. I got therapy. Got my stricture dilated. I got even more therapy. Recovered from anorexia. Gave up dieting. Found balance. I have dumping with my sleeve.. but otherwise I'm well.
That's all true. What sounds TALL to you about that?
My story hasn't changed cause that's what happened. It sucked. I survived.
I simply told of my experiences. People didn't want to believe me because the complications I went through are rare... well that's up to them. But nothing I ever said was a lie. I don't know why you care anyway. You don't know me! I was never banned. I just took a break. a lot of people don't want to hear about potential complications when they begin this process and I don't blame them. But they do happen and happened to me. I went through a lot. And many people on here were very mean to me.
But it's okay. Water under the bridge. I'm just here to give support to whom I can.

I too, rarely respond to posts anymore. I'm too far out from newbies and I let others take the lead on questions posed. What I do try to do is give hope to those who feel hopeless. If I can accomplish that, it's enough. All I know is when I read old posts now and again, I get sad because so many of the people who were here when I started and even during my weight loss journey are simply gone now.
I can't help but wonder where they are as they were so important to me as I was going through everything. I hope they are all well and happy and have just moved on...but there was a time when I had really good virtual friends here and not many are left now...
Sorry for the sad post...

People need to take self accountability and not ask enablers to validate their poor behaviors.
I need to lose some more weight and have fallen back into some old bad behaviors, but I take full responsibility for my actions, regardless of what the stresses may be; recently they have been quite significant.
I like to paraphrase and modify what Harry Truman said: "The fork stops here". As in, I ultimately control what food I eat.
Bottom line, everyone should have been briefed on the basics of pre/post bariatric surgery lifestyle changes. If someone is not sure, they can easily research the information from reputable.sources on theinternet or ask their doctors and nurses.
Unfortunately enablers and people validating their bad or dangerous behaviors can appear to some of the readers as acceptable.
We can't save the world, but we can help people who want to be helped.

@@LipstickLady sez "%^&." Spell that.
Someone wrote in one of the recent flying fish-fry topics that it's a wonder that some people pass the psych evaluation. I wrote the same a while back, but more to the point, that some IQ and reading comprehension testing might be better indicators. The resistance and tantrums are frustrating to vets and others who have a grasp of reality. Magic-seeking seems to be an organized sport. WLS and life overall have always been this way and will remain so. Ain't much to be done about it. That's why it's necessary to walk away from time to time. At least regroup and re-energize before the next attempt to help.
Rx: Fresh air.

This is not an easy stroll. I think it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and mindfulness almost daily( no one is perfect)
My take is to try to have the good, healthy days continue in a row .... yes. They get disrupted by life, but in general... I start to try to string together the compliant days.
( banded12/06). The longer I do this. The more it becomes habit
I fight some demons at the grocery store. If it is not here. I don't eat it!!!
It is still a struggle. Mostly in the evenings.
Good luck to all of us trying to maintain a healthy weight. It is not easy most days!!

I haven't been back to this site for a while and of course I am because I'm struggling...I know what I have to do...I just can't seem to keep motivated. I'm up about 23 pounds from my goal that I did hit...for about 3 hours!!! LOL I'm in a support Facebook page and it seems like a lot of us are really struggling and even talking about getting re-sleeved...I don't think I would do that but am quite curious...I mean I thought I had 75% of my stomach removed...would it even be safe?

Thanks Munky! That's a great outlook. I actually did put myself out there after I originally posted this thread. I don't remember so many perverts the last time I tried this though. Lol. It has been a couple years and actually how I met my best friend. It didn't work out for us romantically, but we did become real great friends and I'm grateful to the heavens for that friendship.

Now to find a friendship like that that will lead to a romance and I'll be doing real good![emoji23]

I know fake Match.com profiles were discussed here and I'm having a hard time determining if one is fake. The red flag is that she says in her profile to contact her by email. Unlike other profiles, she has a bit lengthy profile that seems legit. She has 3 pics with other people in them. She's attractive but it's not like model shots. She's 26 and looking for men 23-35 which seems reasonable. The fake ones usually look for ones 20-60. I guess I could email her and see. Obviously I won't give money or anything.

It's still hard to navigate. I don't ever see anyone on it.

I signed up the other day, imo the website is hard to navigate. I think this is a great concept but it needs some work as far as layout and search function. I look forward to seeing this take off!

No cat scan or colonoscopy were done. I now have to travel home and get a hold of my primary care doc and see where I go from here. The documents say they fixed the hiatal hernia and were getting prepared to connect the bypass and a large mass was found in transverse colon. So they then sent me to recovery.


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

carbonyl Iron is also well-absorbed, and is much easier on most people's stomachs than ferrous sulfate. Heme iron is the best absorbed but is very pricey.