The day of surgery I weighed 370 lbs. Diabetic, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, kidney not 100%, just am all around, typical obese individual with no drive, no energy, just a desire to eat, always planning my next meal. The attached picture was yesterday's walk. By no means am I ready for a marathon, and there are definately people doing better then me, but I'm not in competition with anyone. I just left the doctors office where I was taken off of ALL MY MEDICATIONS! I weigh 317 lbs as of this morning and I haven't felt this good in MA NY years! Have a great day and thanks for reading. ????
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I was rethinking my quick answer. The answer is still no, but I also wanted to support you in rethinking your relationship with food. We all need to re-establish our relationship with food. For many of us food is our reward, our celebration, our "I earned it". Your desire to Celebrate with ice cream is what our norm is but we have to look at food with a different perception post surgery. Food is what we need to sustain our new healthy living. Our reward is our health and being able to do things better and the ability to do new things. I want to wish you a happy birthday. Please Celebrate your birthday with a wonderful activity with those you love. Now that's a celebration!
I'm 8 days post opp and generally doing pretty good! Really not too much pain until tonight. My husband was saying funny stuff and he is hilarious and I could not stop laughing. I know this sounds ridiculous but I was laughing for like 5 minutes straight and holding my stomach because it hurt so bad but he was so funny I couldn't stop. Now that I have finally calmed down...my stomach is so so sore and I'm worried I popped a stitch or did something. Any advise!? Should I be that worried?
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I would imagine that you will be fine, but if you have any doubts, call your surgeon. Also make sure you are taking your pain medication as directed. Your stomach muscles are still recovering from surgery, and all that laughing just gave them a workout.
What an awesome reason to be in pain, though. So glad you have a funny hubby to help you recover!
While i dont accept "large boned" as an excuse for being overweight, i do think it actually exists.
My mom is 5'5 and her wrist is 5.5in. Whether she was 165 or 275.
My sister is 5'2 and her wrist is 6.5in. Her weight has been between 135 and 220.
My grandmother is 5'0 (maybe less now that she is 82) and her wrist is 6.5in.
I am 5'10 and my wrist is 7.25in. Its bven that size at 275 and at 385 (cw)
My brother is 5'11, 175lbs and wrist is 7.5in.
We are all genetically related but have very different weights, heights and measurements. That leads me to believe that skeletal frame size can vary, otherwise our ratios would be a lot more similar.
I had my surgery March 28th. I went yesterday to have my 6 months post-op lab draws, this will be the first lab results post-op. Guess what? The padded arm that swings down on the "lab chair" actually swung down and I had a good 3 inches between it and my body. You guys know what I'm talking about!!
Me: To the left, you can see my stats and at the bottom you can see my ticker. I am pleased with my progress and having been overweight for so long if my weight loss stopped today I would still be happy. I haven't been this size in 20yrs!!
In the beginning, I had most of the questions I see posted protein/water how in the hell can you get all that in? To be honest, I didn't! I tried my best and kept Water by my side constantly, I forced water and Protein so much I actually got sick a couple of times before I acquiesced that my best was going to have to be good enough! No carbs, no added sugar and every bite I took contained protein. The first week was rough, the second week a little better by month 2 I kind of had a handle on my routine and things fell into place.
Hair: Month 3 my hair started coming out. Insert those frequently heard comments about "protein and water...". Yes, I know, but I could not, in the beginning, make myself physically ill to reach that goal. I have always had A LOT of hair, not thick strands just a lot. This part is shocking and you truly think you're going to be bald or better yet have bald spots all over the place. I tried not washing my hair as often (every 2-3 days if I was hanging at the house), Tried thinning hair shampoos, co-wash Shampoo you name it, nothing worked. Just these past two weeks it has slowed considerably! Could be though I have considerably less hair, no bald spots but as the day goes on and your hair naturally loses it's "Oomph" you can see my scalp more readily. I work in healthcare so I have to keep my hair up (I've never looked good with short hair so I still have it long) and yoga headbands cover up the sparse areas up front nicely.
Skin: My highest weight ever was 370 before I lost 93lbs on my own with the help of the DASH diet and exercise. The reason I investigated WLS was after 18months I started re-gaining and once I hit 40lbs up I tried some of the old tricks and none worked. Well, those years of being overweight have done a number on my skin. I exercise weight training 3x's a week and walk 2miles a day at a good clip 2 days a week. I don't exercise 7 days a week because I work 3/12hr night shifts a week. My neck has a wobble that can be hidden with the right head position for selfies and the like. I carry most of my weight in my stomach/middle section so the true flabbiness of that area is yet to be seen. My boobs flat pancakes, my arms have a little of the jiggle and my inner thighs have loose skin as well. Keep in mind I am 44 and never had the best skin genetics, to begin with. I can get a superficial scratch and it will turn into a tan scar that lasts for years...
Tools: Things I have discovered through trial and error! I know after surgery a lot of people have very specific temperatures for their liquids. Mine is ice cold!! Seeing that I work night shift in a hospital and I am not stationary to one particular unit I needed something portable. I tried so many options! Then I found my Hydro Flask!!! Best money I've spent to stay hydrated on the go. Mine initially came with a plug type screw cap which did not make it very convenient then I discovered the sport cap with a pull-up spout. Keeps ice for 12hrs and me hydrated all night long. It is a permanent fixture wherever I go even if I'm out shopping. The food scale is something I used at the beginning and it is a must I purchased a cheapy through Amazon. I bought a Ninja Bullet and it works well, used it twice and never used it again. I'm not a smoothie girl and protein powders are not my friend. The only Protein powder I use on occasion is GENEPRO. The most expensive is my refrigerator, I had an oldie with limited storage space so I took the plunge and bought a fridge with a filtered water/crushed ice dispenser. It's been a win/win we use way less plastic water bottles and my husband even drinks more water than ever before.
Food: I read food labels constantly, it's a must! I can't do the high Protein Bars, but I can enjoy a Kind bar for Breakfast when I hit the ground running in the mornings. I only choose the ones with protein and low carb usually the "nut and spice" line. I do have a few Snacks I enjoy like Somersaults sunflower/sesame seed bites have 6gms of protein per serving, My husband and I split a honey crisp apple with Peanut Butter and it's my fave at the moment. Just read those labels and I try my best not to consume anything that doesn't have protein in it or on it. I have on occasion, but I don't go crazy that's for sure! I've been perplexed at the range of dietary suggestions given to each of us from our Bariatric teams. If all of these places are "Bariatric Centers of Excellence" you would think there would be more uniformity in the foods allowed and how often we should be eating a day. My plan is a 3 meal a day no snack plan and I can't do that. I'm smart about it, but I do have snacks. And yes I do eat out on occasion. It's hardly ever fast food unless it's someplace I can get a bowl of Chili. I make smart protein filled choices, bring the rest home.
Stalls: I started having little stalls in August. I weigh daily another "no-no" but it keeps me motivated. I went almost two weeks the first time before the scale budged. The odd thing is that while the scale didn't move I could physically tell by clothing and just a sense of self that I was still losing something from somewhere. Those two weeks I had more people comment about my weight loss than ever before. When the stall broke I lost 6lbs in 4 days and didn't change a thing. I still seem to lose slowly then stop for a week then lose 5+ lbs in less than a week. I think like others have said, your body has to catch up to what the hell is going on.
Me today I am down 89lbs, in size 18 jeans (use to be 26/28 pre-op), 2x t-shirts (I like mine comfortably loose and use to be 4x/5x). I don't have any qualms about sitting in booths at a restaurant and will not have any issues flying to visit my parents in 2wks. I wanted to share some of my experiences and tips because I know I felt a failure at first and scared about what the future would hold. I have realistic expectations for myself and end result. I know I will probably reach my ultimate weight loss goal and loose some more or maybe even gain a little back. "They" always say food is a control issue for overweight people since they feel they can't control anything else. I say bullshit! I control everything in my life and food was the one thing I didn't have to think about, that's why I made it all the way to 370lbs. Be smart about your choices, find what works for you within those smart choices and soldier on.
I had RNY gastric bypass surgery and the weight fell off fairly rapidly. I transitioned from the Weight Loss phase into the Maintenance phase at around 7 months. Sleeve patients lose weight at a slower pace but they lose weight over a longer period of time, sometimes 2 years, and can achieve almost the same weight loss as RNY patients. Even though I lost weight rapidly, it was not a shock. Some people no longer recognized me.
It is good to take a good before photograph so that you have something to compare it with after surgery. Many people do not see how obese they really are. I never appeared in photographs because I was the photographer in the family. When I looked in a mirror, it was alway straight on. The problem is that many people do not see how obese they really are and after surgery do not see how much weight they really lost.
So in my case I took a before photo and a 6 month after photo. I tried to strike the same pose so it was a good one to one comparison. Here is the photo.
Just wanted to chime in that I got a two-fer when I went to my doctor light headed this week
He stopped one of my blood pressure meds... hence the lightheadedness. Then he went on to remove Diabetes from my chart! I nearly cried.
