2ndSpring

@lkerrigan
Honestly at 7 years post-op unless you are having some kind of gastro issues, you don't really need a bariatric Dr. A starting point would be to have lab work done and get your Vitamins in order if they are not in order.
Once you are that far post-op, losing weight is basically the same as it is for anyone else.
Track your food, all of it
Weigh your food for accurate tracking
Be active even if that is just walking
Eat dense Protein, eat real food.

Good luck. Congrats on being clean

Congratulations on becoming clean and sober. You have accomplished a great deal by acknowledging your problem and taking action.
Bear with me...okay. People who are in the early stages of bariatric surgery research often ask, "Which surgery is the best?" when deciding between a lap band, sleeve, bypass, duodenal switch, etc. I usually want to respond, "The best surgery is the one that fixes our heads, not our stomachs."
In other words, 90 percent of success with bariatric surgery is psychological. Until you conquer the depression, I conjecture you'll continue to self-medicate with food. If your head isn't in the right place, no amount of post-op care with a bariatric surgeon, dietitian, nutritionist or program director will do any good.
There's a salient saying: "Bariatric surgeons operate on our stomachs, not our heads."
Again, I commend you for slaying your drug habit. You overcame adversity. Now is the time to continue to work on taming your depression. Good luck to you!

The judgment is out there! You're doing this for your health if dieting worked you'd be at your goal so don't let other people's issues get you down. It's a big decision but you'll be fine and it's bs that you won't be able to eat normally with your family when you have kids. I'm 2 years post op and I eat normally. Make sure you take your Vitamins and Protein shakes! It becomes part of your life. As for the stupid comments I know they are frustrating. I told very few people and still got judged...especially when you lose your excess weight and they are still overweight. You don't owe anyone an explanation for your surgery. If you were getting your gallbladder removed you wouldn't need people's approval. It's no ones business and I'm 2 years post op and I'm starting to find people are forgetting I had the surgery cause I eat healthy but normally and exercise...normal healthy lifestyle.

Because I have no patience for the types of comments you received, I'm only telling a select few. I have enough to focus on without negative comments (even well meaning ones go right through me).
It's sad that we feel we have to defend a decision to improve our life. Ugh!

Hi Laney,
thanks for starting a new group. sorry I couldnt make the meetup - definitely next time.

This has been my experience EXACTLY. Noodles taste like paste (the, like, two that I've had). I have attributed it to the change in taste buds postop. My interpretation is the surgery has "fixed" my tastebuds, so I can taste what food ACTUALLY tastes like, and not some rose-colored glasses interpretation.
So far, my tastes haven't lied. Sweet stuff is too sweet. Things made with plain white flour taste like you'd think plain white flour should taste like I can taste the baking soda in baked goods!! That bears repeating. I can taste the baking soda in a chocolate cake or muffin!!
Can't wait to go wine-tasting (and spitting of course).. I might be in for a nightmare or treat, not sure which!

its ketosis from being zero carb right now. Your body is adjusting to burning fat as a fuel source and the stank breath is an unfortunate side effect. - btw, your breath stinks too LOL
it will taper off in a few weeks. drink as much as you can to flush the ketones out. I relied heavily on warm Decaf tea.

I've been successful by avoiding most carbs. I'd skip the rolls, tortillas, Buns, even brad until you reach your goal, and then only incorporate the quality, complex carbs, and do so sparingly.
At 8.5 months post op, and just 10 lbs away from my goal, I just today ate my first slice of bread. It was whole grain, and I had it with turkey. I also worked out today! I feel great, but I wouldn't have (and don't suggest) you eat bread early on. Carbs are way too addictive and plus they take up and waste. valuable space in your tummy.

The guide my Dr gave was packed with carbs. I realized quickly that 1) I wouldn't hit my Protein goals if I ate the way it described and 2) carbs make me crave more carbs and spiral out. I probably average about 30grams total per day but I try to eat only complex carbs so no bread, sweets, pasta/rice. I eat potatoes a couple times a week but about 1/3 of a cup max.

I didn't incorporate tortillas, bread, and rolls back into my diet until I reached my goal weight.
Still, I'd tread carefully. I run an average of 30 miles per week, so I can eat plenty of carbs and maintain my weight. For those who are less active, eating carbs and sliders often spells REGAIN.

what worked for me was putting the fork down between every bite. I don't pick up the fork again until I'm done chewing that mouthful. it took many months and I still screw up every so often.

Beautiful! and you look younger too - bonus

the bariatric chewable vitamins are kind of gross tasting, right? I had such fond memories of flintstones Vitamins and thought they would taste like that, but alas, no.
I was approved for a regular Vitamin at about 3 months. I use garden of life. for a few months, I broke the pill in half, but now swallow it whole.

@Roux-en-McClanahan
this is off topic, but OMG, I love your screen name!!! it is so funny and creative

So the notion that low weight/high rep lifting tones is a myth. Toning is another term for hypertrophy.

The term is usually associated with building muscle mass, but people mistakenly believe that mass is the same as bulk. In men, mass CAN lead to bulk if they have the body chemistry for it and work especially hard toward that goal. Women almost universally do not have the testosterone levels to add enough mass to become bulky. Rather, the mass they build simply adds firmness and some limited definition - that's tone.

The ideal approach to hypertrophy is a median approach. Weight around 65-80% of your max, reps between 8 and 12, 4 to 6 sets.

I'd advise a mix of cardio and weights through your losing phase and a greater focus on lifting afterward.

Your scale may stall temporarily, but adding muscle is harder than losing fat. If you stick to your diet, the scale will start going down even if start lifting again.

I have had success in the past with the hard knocks approach. Complete elimination off all forms sugar and sugar fruits. The first couple days are hard but after your body isn't getting it, it will stop craving it. Now I tell myself it's ok to crave it, just because you're thinking about food doesn't mean you have to have anything. Sometimes I think our, ppl with obesity as a disease, simply just think about food so much more and we think that we have to eat when we think about food. I don't know this logic works for me.

Well said!!!

its ketosis from being zero carb right now. Your body is adjusting to burning fat as a fuel source and the stank breath is an unfortunate side effect. - btw, your breath stinks too LOL
it will taper off in a few weeks. drink as much as you can to flush the ketones out. I relied heavily on warm Decaf tea.

I don't enjoy cooking. I also want to minimize my time spent food shopping. But i've learned the hard way that I am much more successful on weeks that I cook vs weeks that I wing it.
Leftovers are my new friends! I make 2 or 3 different vegetables on the weekend and that is enough to last me the rest of the week. Then at dinner, I just need to make a quick Protein. Dinner leftovers are then tomorrow's lunch.
Frozen shrimp and scallops take only a few minutes to defrost and cook. I also made and froze some foods for quick grabs - like "quiche" made with almond flour crust, a batch of baked falafel, and some Soups.

Hair loss is temporary. It started for me around the start of month 4 and lasted for a maybe 3 months. I was just at the salon yesterday getting my roots done and noticed as she sectioned my hair that I had a ton of 1-2 inch long hair hidden in between layers.
Here is a great post from another member that explains it in detail: https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/384412-post-surgery-hair-loss-explained/
One of the biggest things I looked forward to was losing my 40DD, so I can't help you on that one. I'm halfway there and already my clothes lay nicer, my shoulders don't hurt from straps and backaches are less. I would love to be a C. perky would be nice too, but you can't have it all LOL

Well said!!!

You're starting at 197 pounds. You're considered a 'lightweight' in the weight loss surgery world.
Lightweights generally don't lose at the speed of light. You are very, very unlikely to be one of those folks who loses 30+ pounds monthly until you reach your goal weight. You are unlikely to post a daily or weekly weight loss every single week, either.
Weight loss after bariatric surgery doesn't take place in a linear, predictable pattern. We lose a few pounds, hold on to a few pounds, and stall (plateau) on occasion before losing again.
Now, here's the big picture: when's the last time you lost 17 pounds in less than two weeks? I'm guessing the answer is "never before." You're doing better than most sleevers in your weight range.
I never had a single month where I posted a 17-pound weight loss and I started out heavier than you, yet I attained my goal weight and have maintained my loss successfully so far. Slow and steady wins the race, while fast and crass doesn't last.
Good luck to you.

what worked for me was putting the fork down between every bite. I don't pick up the fork again until I'm done chewing that mouthful. it took many months and I still screw up every so often.

its ketosis from being zero carb right now. Your body is adjusting to burning fat as a fuel source and the stank breath is an unfortunate side effect. - btw, your breath stinks too LOL
it will taper off in a few weeks. drink as much as you can to flush the ketones out. I relied heavily on warm Decaf tea.

After surgery, I found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than harder foods such as steak and chicken. So that is what I primarily relied on. I put a few recipes of high Protein home made chili and soups at the end of the following article. Generally I would make up a pot, store it in the refrigerator and eat a little bit each day. I like the chili so much that for a while I would eat it for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anyways if you are supper busy, then this may be an approach that you may use to minimize the time for food preparation.
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf