FunkyMunkyBrat

I also have refluxmy surgeon said" what I am seeing is 1/3 of patients will have reflux after the sleeve, however MANY people 4, 5 months after the sleeve procedure are having horrible reflux daily, and want,a revision to bypass". Maybe get another opnion. Sleeve is not good for people with reflux. Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

Did they already do an upper GI and EGD test? My doctor waned to do the sleeve then said no because of reflux had to go bypass
Munky

Below 25-50 grams of carbs a day and high Proteins will put your body into Ketosis and force your body to burn fat for fuel since it doesn't have carbs to burn
Munky

Eating is a great source of pleasure for many people. The pleasures of eating push our “happy buttons.” Eating is pleasurable on many levels. Many foods taste delicious, eating feels good in our mouth and belly, eating soothes our emotions, and the act of dining, especially in restaurants or other special settings, can be a wonderful experience. This isn’t just true for some people; it’s true for everyone to some degree. Unfortunately for some, eating can become a disproportionately pleasurable experience, one of a few or perhaps their only "happy button."


Many of our pleasures, passions, hobbies and interests develop during childhood and adolescence. As a child we’re a bit like an empty chalkboard – nothing has been written on it yet…a blank slate. Our parents are often the ones who first write on the chalkboard. If they like to ski, they probably brought you along. If they like music and art, they probably tried to instill a love of music and art in you as well. And kids eat it all up…eager to explore and discover their world. Every experience is new to a young child. This is not to say that you will necessarily enjoy every experience they introduce you to, but good parents create opportunities for their children to share in their passions and encourage them to develop those of their own. While it is certainly possible to develop sources of pleasure later in life, it can be much more complicated. We get stuck in our comfort zones and if some of our previous sources of pleasures fall away or never really developed – that comfort zone can become awfully small.
What if your parents had few passions to share with you or worked such long hours that they had no time to share? What if your parents were not around or perhaps were not the best parents in the world? It’s also possible that you never had the opportunity to develop sources of pleasure and enjoyment for yourself. You never discovered what pushed your “happy buttons.” Alternatively, perhaps you had some “happy buttons” but can no longer participate. For example, skiing can be physically demanding and also expensive. Skiing might have been accessible at one time in your life and not as accessible in another. There are many explanations for why passions and pleasures at one time in your life don’t last throughout your lifetime.
Eating is a “happy button” for everyone. For some it’s a small pleasure and for others it’s their biggest pleasure. We are genetically wired to enjoy eating. Our species would not have lasted very long if that wasn’t the case. So the desire to eat and the rewards of eating are a “built in happy button.” In modern terms, it’s an app that comes with our iBrain. We like food. We love food. But if food is one of your only “happy buttons” and you push it too often…well….we know how that story goes.
Developing new happy buttons takes a great deal of work. Begin by asking yourself; “What would I like to do?” or “What could give me pleasure?” or “What used to give me pleasure that may once again?” Don’t be surprised if you draw a blank. If it was that easy you’d have a panel full of “happy buttons” to push by now. It’s understandable that skiing might not pop into your head if you’ve never been skiing before or if you’re still struggling with your weight and are questioning if you even could ski (you probably can!). Avoid that old impulse to shoot down everything that pops into your head. Reasons you CAN’T do things always seem more available than reasons you CAN. Don’t be discouraged. Remember back when you were a kid and everything was new and everything was cool? Try to recapture that spirit.
Two other ideas are to consider the many hobbies and interests that your friends and family enjoy as well as to discover the many things that are going on in your community. What do your friends and family do for fun? What kinds of activities are they involved in? What events are being promoted online and in your local newspaper? Instead of trying only to think of what you might enjoy, consider investigating what’s out there. Film festivals, concerts, street fairs, talks, classes, etc. Potential new “happy buttons” abound! Generate as many ideas as you can before editing them down. Again, work diligently to avoid the impulse to immediately say “no” to any of your great ideas. It’s so easy and maybe even automatic to think of why something ISN’T for you. Let the doors of your mind be open to let it in what COULD be. With an open and curious child-like mind, the sky is the limit.
I know…you’re sighing and saying things like, “It’s so hard,” or “I tried that already,” or “I’m not a “joiner”,” or maybe “I just don’t feel like it.” I understand, but consider this: OF COURSE YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT!!! As adults, we rarely feel like doing things we’ve never done before. The adult brain doesn’t like the new; it prefers the familiar…the comfortable. The adult brain prefers to run on autopilot. That is exactly why we keep going to the refrigerator or ordering take-out even though we know it is precisely what we SHOULDN’T be doing. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety or feelings of self-consciousness regarding your weight you might have an extra dose of “I don’t feel like it.” Fortunately, you don’t have to feel like it. Feel the feelings and try it anyway.
Have you ever not wanted to do something and were either encouraged to do it by a friend or pushed yourself to do it and found you actually enjoyed yourself? Of course you have. Because feelings are often WRONG! You’re not a fortune-teller and your initial feelings are not facts. Also consider that if you never try anything new and only do what is comfortable and familiar, you can’t possibly discover new “happy buttons.”
The “new” often feels scary and uncomfortable. That does not mean that it is scary or uncomfortable or that it will remain so. When you first tried to ride a bike, your enthusiasm was likely mixed with fear and anxiety that you might crash or hurt yourself. With encouragement after a few minutes, when you figured out how to steer away from the bushes and use the brakes, that feeling of anxiety was replaced with exhilaration and pride. The big scary waterslide at the amusement park that you refused to go down the first time quickly became the same slide you wanted to go down 50 times into the evening before you had to go home.
Yes, developing new “happy buttons” to replace eating isn’t easy. It can also be a little scary. You are fighting inertia and you are fighting your brain’s instinct to stick to what is safe and familiar. Comfort zones aren’t called comfort zones by coincidence! However, with consistent effort it is possible to change your thoughts and actions. You are in change of your own control panel and the buttons you put on panel. Your life is in your hands. Start experimenting, just as a child would and start pushing lots of buttons until a few become new “happy buttons.”

I would tell them that's what I used to think too, before I looked into it, and that sadly there is no such thing as an easy way out. WLS just evens the playing field, so that people with chronic obesity can have a reasonable chance at maintaining weight loss. It doesn't magically make it happen, as the 40% of people who don't maintain it can attest. However, compared to the more than 99% who fail with "traditional" methods alone, I'll take it!
People who talk about "the easy way out" may not even realize that they are equating a disease with a moral failing. Science doesn't bear that out, and you shouldn't buy into it either. If you had hyperthyroidism and needed your thyroid removed, would you feel guilty about taking the easy way out? Or would you try to use will power to even out your hormones?
Chronic obesity is a misunderstood disease that requires lifelong management. But, hell, if there was an easy way, I'd take it in a heartbeat. There is no prize in this life for people who beat their heads against a wall.
VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 296

Thanks for the response.. I'm going to do this for my health and no one else's opinion matters.. people always have an opinion on issues and say what they want ..
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thankfully, no one has had the gall to say that (at least to my face). But if they did, I would probably go into a laundry list of everything I have to do and monitor daily, and remind them that, surgery or not, losing 160 pounds (and counting) is a remarkable and rare feat. Then I would tell them to bite me and fiercely walk away! :-)

In a book I read recently, the author had the gastric sleeve surgery and when people tell her she took the easy way out she basically asks them do they wash their clothes on a rock or washboard or do they use a washing machine? Washing machine is the "easy way out" and she makes other comparisons like that. I thought that was funny.
I haven't had the surgery yet but nothing I've read or heard in any way, shape, form, or fashion says this is easy by any means. Knowledge is power!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I use to be one of those people that thought that.. After doing alot of reading about the procedures then jumping through all the hoops(all the testing) from April till my actual surgery date of November 22nd then having to be opened up instead of laproscopic.. Developing an infection 2 weeks after surgery ending up back in the hospital for 4 days and having to learn a whole new way of eating n weighing foods n still having to be strong and not have Sweets and/or starches(my weakness) making sure you get enough Protein.. Enough Water.. Take your Vitamins 5 times a day on top of the antibiotics you have to be on for 5 months because of that infection.. Yeah.. Sooo not the easy way out :-/
Munky

Some people have got no clue what it is like to have a lifetime of food addiction let alone the mental torture of bullying by family and people in general have serious issues with my health and I get from family members why don't you just do it to which I replied if it was that easy I would be doing wouldn't I and I have had said to me well you know my thoughts on it to which I replayed either way I'm a heart attack waiting to happen and I have had I can't see how it will stop you eating to which I gave facts that when doing the gastric sleeve the hormone part grehlin is removed which makes you full for longer.I could go on I don't know about anybody else but I have had so many tests in a short space of time found out got sleep apnea and had a cancer scare in the middle of all these tests.So I sure know what I am doing and certainly ain't going to back down by someone's stupid negitive comment will make me feel better cos it won't.In life do what you want to do and tell the haters to jog on and only tell people who will give you the right encouragement along your journey.I due to have gastric sleeve March 2017 date to be confirmed.Anyone that wants to added me for support along their please do as I have not worked out how to do it yet
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Before surgery, the only way I could drink a lot of Water is to use Crystal Light. Now that I am post-op, the only thing i want to drink is plain Water. It is so strange how the surgery changes your cravings and everything.
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

How much chicken are you eating? How much veggies are you eating? How much fruit are you eating? How many total calories are you consuming every day?
Your Water intake sounds ok.
I recommend touching base with a nutritionist or bariatric nurse educator/ case manager regarding their recommendations. Each institution usually have their own program and can guide you as far as what you should be eating and how much/ how often.

Well for one thing we can't take big bites and big drinks like we use to.. Have to take sips rather than gulps
Munky

Uhmm.. I did it.. I had to quit and be off for 2 months before they would let me begin any of the process I left his office January 28th after finding that out n quit February 4th cold turkey.. Finally had my surgery this past November.. Munky

Uhmm.. I did it.. I had to quit and be off for 2 months before they would let me begin any of the process I left his office January 28th after finding that out n quit February 4th cold turkey.. Finally had my surgery this past November.. Munky

I don't think it's about people understanding, it's about your safety. It has to be incredibly hard. If you need more time to tackle your habits one at a time, then take it. But to second guess why you're doing any of it because your doctor wouldn't jeopardize your safety isn't logical. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. Things happen. I get it's a huge letdown, but quitting seems counterintuitive to why you were going through all this in the first place. You're entitled to feel discouraged, but you're going to need to brush yourself off and keep moving forward. You can lose that 50 pounds! Try to think of it as a delay rather than an end.
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Surgery is a tool not a guarantee if people go back to eating the way they were before.. Fast food.. Useless carbs/calories .. Sugary drinks etc etc they can definitely gain the weight back.. Thats why we have to change our minds, the way we look at food.. For this to work over the long haul.. food is fuel not a reward or for depression or whatever
Munky

Maybe they aren't eating the way they are suppose to be and that's why they're getting sick..
Munky

Maybe they aren't eating the way they are suppose to be and that's why they're getting sick..
Munky

Thank you for sharing!
Munky

So I started looking at these Belts that I have had since beginning this journey. The longest with the white pen is where I started before surgery. I'm on my third belt and the silver pen is where I'm at now.
So a quick summary of my journey. I started seeing a nut in mid 2014. My doctor recommended bariatric surgery. So I was almost through the process when in early January my son was diagnosed with cancer. He had suffered with a disease called NF1 and a severe case since he was 1. Everything was tabled. On July 6th, 2015 one of the brightest lights on this earth went out. I miss him every day. I hope one day to see him again in heaven. It's been a struggle as his sister has the same disease and other problems too. She is my best buddy and my reason for working hard in so many ways. So his mom still can't deal with the loss. A few days before my surgery she said she had decided to move back to NC from Florida. So the day of my surgery she had people clean out the house..a d as you after surgery she was gone. All this and my Mom here in NC had stage 4 cancer. 3 days after surgery I was basically homeless..I had a car that was 2 payments behind(Disney is fun, but pay isn't). And that's about it. I drove to NC. All this leads up to this... Work hard, trust the Lord, and love your family. I had very little, and now I have a good job..my bills are paid...I spend as much time as possible with my daughter. I have a nice place. And somewhere in may I was in the 410's. My first weigh-in was in late June. 406.7...I am now 256.7...that's 150lbs. My RNY was September 6th. I feel like and look like a different person. I don't have all the answers, but life is tough. If I can be where I am then all of you can do it. I follow my diet... I work hard. And although I am divorced and single. I am doing well and WLS was the best decision I have made in a long time.
Sent from Larry's S7

When I'm feeling unsuccessful or discouraged during a stall I ALWAYS refer back to this chart. This is average weightloss per time period and for your weight. Often, people compare their success with the success of someone 100 lbs heavier than them and feel like they are failing! It's going to different for all
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sorry for hijacking this thread a bit but every time I see something that related to before and after, I like to remind folks that when the outside changes so drastically, the inside almost always changes as well. Many folks can adapt over time but for those who cannot, there is no shame in getting professional help as I did.
Without it, there would still be a harmful disconnect between the woman on the right and the woman on the left as just like the OP, we consider them two separate people rather than the same person.
I needed help to be the normal sized woman I've become because I was the fat woman for such a long time and lived my life that way. I had to learn to live my life normal sized and that's easier said than done for many of us.