PorkChopExpress

I don't coddle people. I try not to make them feel stupid, or insult them, but I'm going to call them on it when they are excusing their own behavior or seeking someone to enable them.

The Duodenal Switch is the most aggressive of all the weight loss surgeries, so I reckon it'll have the toughest recovery physically...but I imagine you knew that, going in. What you're enduring mentally, though, pretty much everyone goes through in some form or another, I think. My first couple of weeks, I was pretty obsessed with food. I was watching food Network a lot. I don't know why I was torturing myself but it was like my brain was raging against the fact that I had taken away its comfort, entertainment...whatever. It was almost like it was trying to punish me, reminding me of what I'd given up. Eventually I started to think of it that way; that my psyche had become so accustomed to using food in ways other than simply providing fuel, that it was rebelling against the change.
But you know what? It passed. The obsessing about food passed, and each strange new wrinkle that I have to deal with mentally or emotionally has passed, given time and exposure. I just realized over the past couple of days that I no longer feel weird about my portions. I used to be dealing with the feeling that it wasn't enough, every time I put my little portion on a plate. Now it feels normal to me.
You are going to go through ups and downs mentally, but be aware of them. Think about why you're feeling the way you are and ask yourself if it's rational. You know why you had the surgery, you know what you wanted to achieve through it. You knew what you were giving up, and the reasons for it. This is where the rubber hits the road...you've had the surgery, and now it's time to change. And I think most of us know that you're feeling the resistance to change that your "old brain" is putting up, because we've all felt it in some form or another. And the unfortunate thing is, we'll all probably be dealing with that for the rest of our lives...working to counteract those impulses. But you took a big step to get it under control...and that is what you've done. You have taken measures that will allow you to get it under control.
The physical stuff will improve as you heal, a little better every day. The mental stuff will take time and conscious effort to change. But it'll come together, you just have to be patient and diligent. Just do what you can. As for the "doctoring" your Protein shakes, I'm afraid of what that means...but I am hoping it doesn't mean adding stuff you shouldn't be having, because you'll only be causing yourself problems if you do that. If all you can do is drink Protein Shakes and you need to skip meals, then do that - as long as you are getting your Protein every day, and you are getting your Water, you will be fine. Over time, you'll get meals in too...just don't sweat it. One foot in front of the other.
And stay off the scale for a few weeks. People obsess about the scale. It is your enemy, avoid it. I am only weighing once a month, personally.

If you're only consuming 800 or 900 calories a day, and you're doing intense exercise daily for around 45 minutes, your total ACTUAL calorie intake is probably more like 400 or 500 calories (because you're burning the rest off). So you're starving your body and it is responding metabolically.
What I would suggest is not just to up your calories a bit to like 1,200/day but start doing carbs (no protein) about an hour before your workout and save the Protein for after the workout. This will enable you to burn the carbs you just ate through exercise (it looks for that as a fuel source first), and use the Protein for recovery after the workout.
Also remember...the lighter you get, the less calories your body requires to function and therefore, the slower your weight loss will be. It's a curve.

@@Barepigies3 I had the kind of depression that required 8 months of therapy and Paxil to correct a chemical imbalance. The therapy gave me the tools I needed to manage it and the Paxil helped reset my brain chemistry. I still have to be aware of my emotions, to this day. But for years, it was untreated and it contributed to my weight gain. But it was because I had come to use food as a coping mechanism that I gained weight, and I could have opted to make exercise my outlet instead. I just didn't.
The fact of the matter is, it won't do any of us any good whatsoever to sit around absolving ourselves of responsibility and saying, "No it's my genetics, it's my depression, it's because I didn't get enough hugs as a child..." No...it's because we ate too much and moved too little, and we developed unhealthy relationships with food. That's it.
I wasn't trying to attack you, I'm just pointing out the fallacy in your thinking. Nobody is helped by passing responsibility off onto someone or something else, we have to OWN this in order to fix it. I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me for where I got to and I don't feel sorry for myself. In fact I feel like I've finally taken control of the situation, and that's empowering.

That's awesome, welcome to the club

Hello all!
My name is Amanda and I was sleeved 5 weeks ago! I'm down 32 lbs already!
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If that's the case, then why do people who have surgery lose weight? It's because of the calorie deficit. None of us obviously had enough of one to lose weight and keep it off before surgery. I'll be the first one to admit it. I ate like crap and sat on my ass, therefore I was fat. Now I eat less, eat healthy, and no longer sit on my ass all the time, therefore I'm not fat.
I agree with you that there are factors that make losing weight more difficult, but let's not sugar coat it. Sometimes those factors are nothing but excuses. After all, you didn't see people in concentration camps who were fat because of depression or PCOS.

Wait...WHUUUUUUUT?? Who is pissed off? What war?
Just because someone disagrees does not mean they are "attaching" you.

What most people don't understand is that fat cells don't actually GO anywhere. They shrink and swell, they're just storage containers.

Hubby and I were just glad to feel normal...just out on a date..we still behave, but not stress ourselves. This journey is still at the beginning, but hey...it's gonna be ok!
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Thanks
It was a little hard on my wife I think, because we have always ordered the spinach/artichoke dip appetizer whenever we go out and they have it, and we can't really do that anymore...I wouldn't be able to eat anything else! But she said, "At least you can still go out and enjoy stuff like this, even if you can't eat a lot of it." Truer words were never spoken. And the funny side effect of this surgery to me is, I'm enjoying the food a LOT more than I ever did, before. Chewing much longer, lingering on it more, enjoying the flavors more. It's pretty interesting, the effect it's having on me. All positive. But yeah, for me to be boxing up 90% of my meal, while she's boxing up maybe 20% of hers, made her feel a little self-conscious. However, she is planning to have surgery herself over the summer break, so it won't be long before she's experiencing the same stuff I am. That'll make it a lot easier!

Addiction transferrence. You basically are prevented from indulging in your food addiction, so you end up transferring it to another thing, in order to "cope." Often, that's alcohol. The solution is, don't drink alcohol. My surgeon said I need to avoid it for a year post-op, anyway. Probably partly because it converts to sugar and partly to avoid the risk of transferring my mental/emotional addiction to alcohol.

Well...those people are where the cautionary tales come from. So in a way, their failure can help future patients. I met a guy in one of the support groups I went to prior to surgery who had RNY, he must have weighed over 500lbs. He went in for surgery, lost about 100 pounds over the first six months, but when he was healed up he decided to go back to drinking Coke. Then his pouch stretched out and he started eating crap again, thinking "Wow, the surgery helped me lose 100lbs and I could eat pretty much whatever." In short order, he regained the 100lbs and then some. He was back in another six month pre-op program to have a revision...this time, with the knowledge of what NOT to do. I took his story to heart, and I knew that if you don't go into this with your mind right, you are SCREWED.
I see a whole lot of that on this forum and others. Cautionary tales waiting to be written.

I specifically didn't cheat because I was trying to recondition myself mentally, prior to surgery. My thinking was, if I couldn't succeed at following the rules for two weeks pre-surgery, how was I going to succeed at this long-term? I took a lot of pride in sticking to the plan, and it paid off when I weighed in the morning of surgery. I feel that pre-op diet really set the tone, for me.

You just discovered what anyone who's had the surgery already knows...the surgery isn't a magic bullet. What has to be fixed isn't your stomach, it's your brain. Making your stomach's capacity smaller is only a tool to help you "get over the hump" when it comes to correcting your behavior. You have to be 100% aware of what you're doing and why, starting now...because you'll definitely need to be in that mindset, post-op.
Take this next couple of weeks as a personal challenge to discipline your mind, because it's going to be even more important after you've had the surgery. Make it a point of pride that YOU have taken control, and it isn't your "obese mind" that is at the wheel, anymore.

At the moment, probably reading about weight loss surgery experiences and successes. I have a tendency when I get into something to get kind of obsessive about it for a while. Eventually I'll exhaust myself of reading and researching it, and then move onto something else. I only do it with one thing at a time, usually. Right now, this is it. The next thing I WANT to become an obsession (that will last long-term) is lifting weights and fitness.

Well...those people are where the cautionary tales come from. So in a way, their failure can help future patients. I met a guy in one of the support groups I went to prior to surgery who had RNY, he must have weighed over 500lbs. He went in for surgery, lost about 100 pounds over the first six months, but when he was healed up he decided to go back to drinking Coke. Then his pouch stretched out and he started eating crap again, thinking "Wow, the surgery helped me lose 100lbs and I could eat pretty much whatever." In short order, he regained the 100lbs and then some. He was back in another six month pre-op program to have a revision...this time, with the knowledge of what NOT to do. I took his story to heart, and I knew that if you don't go into this with your mind right, you are SCREWED.
I see a whole lot of that on this forum and others. Cautionary tales waiting to be written.

You may have a genetic predisposition to putting on weight, but that is NOT what makes a person obese. Eating more calories than you expend, eating CRAP, and not being active over a long period of time is what makes a person obese. I am absolutely the architect of what I am, today...I take 100% responsibility for it and I know how I got here. I also suffered from depression in my mid twenties...and yes, as a coping mechanism I often ate. But that was because I had begun using food for purposes other than fuel - and that was, again, something I could have chosen NOT to do. But I didn't...I kept doing it, because it made me "feel" good, temporarily. Meanwhile, the pounds just kept piling up.
When you reach a certain level of obesity, I will agree that it becomes almost an impossibility to reverse it based on sheer willpower and self-discipline, alone. Very few people are able to stick it out for the duration of time it takes to lose 100 pounds...let alone 200 or more. But it was the choices they made throughout their lifetimes that got them to the point where they had that problem.
So no, @@Barepigies3, I can't agree with you. It isn't a mystery why we are all obese. We ate too much, and we ate the wrong things, repetitively, over a long period of years. I suggest you start taking ownership of your role in your weight and the behaviors that led to it, because you will find success in long-term weight loss very difficult if you don't.

You may have a genetic predisposition to putting on weight, but that is NOT what makes a person obese. Eating more calories than you expend, eating CRAP, and not being active over a long period of time is what makes a person obese. I am absolutely the architect of what I am, today...I take 100% responsibility for it and I know how I got here. I also suffered from depression in my mid twenties...and yes, as a coping mechanism I often ate. But that was because I had begun using food for purposes other than fuel - and that was, again, something I could have chosen NOT to do. But I didn't...I kept doing it, because it made me "feel" good, temporarily. Meanwhile, the pounds just kept piling up.
When you reach a certain level of obesity, I will agree that it becomes almost an impossibility to reverse it based on sheer willpower and self-discipline, alone. Very few people are able to stick it out for the duration of time it takes to lose 100 pounds...let alone 200 or more. But it was the choices they made throughout their lifetimes that got them to the point where they had that problem.
So no, @@Barepigies3, I can't agree with you. It isn't a mystery why we are all obese. We ate too much, and we ate the wrong things, repetitively, over a long period of years. I suggest you start taking ownership of your role in your weight and the behaviors that led to it, because you will find success in long-term weight loss very difficult if you don't.

Just about six weeks post-op now and I can get up to around 850/day if I work at it, but my Water intake tends to suffer because I have to do four meals to achieve that. I'm wanting to get up to around 1,000 so that my metabolism keeps going and I have a bit more energy every day, because exercise is burning off a lot of what I eat. However, my stomach and body can only do so much, this early on...so generally I'm right there with you at around 600-700 calories, with 48-60 oz of water.

If you're only consuming 800 or 900 calories a day, and you're doing intense exercise daily for around 45 minutes, your total ACTUAL calorie intake is probably more like 400 or 500 calories (because you're burning the rest off). So you're starving your body and it is responding metabolically.
What I would suggest is not just to up your calories a bit to like 1,200/day but start doing carbs (no protein) about an hour before your workout and save the Protein for after the workout. This will enable you to burn the carbs you just ate through exercise (it looks for that as a fuel source first), and use the Protein for recovery after the workout.
Also remember...the lighter you get, the less calories your body requires to function and therefore, the slower your weight loss will be. It's a curve.

You may have a genetic predisposition to putting on weight, but that is NOT what makes a person obese. Eating more calories than you expend, eating CRAP, and not being active over a long period of time is what makes a person obese. I am absolutely the architect of what I am, today...I take 100% responsibility for it and I know how I got here. I also suffered from depression in my mid twenties...and yes, as a coping mechanism I often ate. But that was because I had begun using food for purposes other than fuel - and that was, again, something I could have chosen NOT to do. But I didn't...I kept doing it, because it made me "feel" good, temporarily. Meanwhile, the pounds just kept piling up.
When you reach a certain level of obesity, I will agree that it becomes almost an impossibility to reverse it based on sheer willpower and self-discipline, alone. Very few people are able to stick it out for the duration of time it takes to lose 100 pounds...let alone 200 or more. But it was the choices they made throughout their lifetimes that got them to the point where they had that problem.
So no, @@Barepigies3, I can't agree with you. It isn't a mystery why we are all obese. We ate too much, and we ate the wrong things, repetitively, over a long period of years. I suggest you start taking ownership of your role in your weight and the behaviors that led to it, because you will find success in long-term weight loss very difficult if you don't.

I agree,..I'm 8 mo post op. I personally discovered my personal addiction to food when i started my pre liquid diet. I seriously didn't realize the magnitude of my addiction. I also didn't realize i was that huge!!! I recently held up my sz 28 shorts against my now sz 14 body and asked my husband.....why didn't u tell me i was this huge? He replied by saying. ..thats why i let u blow 18 thousand in 1 day. Lol.....
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Well...those people are where the cautionary tales come from. So in a way, their failure can help future patients. I met a guy in one of the support groups I went to prior to surgery who had RNY, he must have weighed over 500lbs. He went in for surgery, lost about 100 pounds over the first six months, but when he was healed up he decided to go back to drinking Coke. Then his pouch stretched out and he started eating crap again, thinking "Wow, the surgery helped me lose 100lbs and I could eat pretty much whatever." In short order, he regained the 100lbs and then some. He was back in another six month pre-op program to have a revision...this time, with the knowledge of what NOT to do. I took his story to heart, and I knew that if you don't go into this with your mind right, you are SCREWED.
I see a whole lot of that on this forum and others. Cautionary tales waiting to be written.

Anyone suffering from obesity and a repeated failure to overcome it could tell them what the "average person's" opinion was on the topic. Somehow, people equate needing to lose 10 pounds with losing 200 pounds. They have not a single, solitary clue about the challenges obese people face, trying to lose weight and get in shape. Not one. They don't get that the amount of willpower that is required to last two straight years or so on a calorie restricted diet, when your entire body will fight to maintain homeostasis and will require you to bust through month-long plateaus while feeling like your stomach is eating itself alive all day long, every day and you are quite literally BOMBARDED with signals to eat all day long, every day...not to mention you have behaviors and attitudes well-worn into your psyche that uses food as a tool to cope with issues in your life, and taking that away creates even more difficulty in staying on a program for years, to lose that much weight...it's asinine. Especially given that most people who are morbidly obese have a lot of co-morbidities that interfere with fat loss, like diabetes...and their entire metabolic system is different than a "normal" person's.
If you have only ever been 10-20 pounds overweight, you frankly have absolutely no business commenting on what obese people should or should not be doing, in my opinion...because you don't have a clue what we have to deal with.