Berry78

There seems to be a lot of people interested in putting on running shoes after surgery. I did some research to see what might be the best way to tackle this endeavor. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23790819/ Alright, so I created this chart based on the recommendations in the article. This seems like it could be a very reasonable progression.. a bariatric couch to 5k, if you will. In approximately 7 months, a person following this plan can go from walking 2/3 of a mile at 2mph to running over 3 miles straight. The chart above shows a 10% progression (and indicates the quickest we should advance. More slowly is fine). Time allotted is 20 minutes. A 5 minute warmup and 10 minute cool down are not included. Walking or running should be undertaken every other day, and if you are sore the day after running, then go back to the previous week's plan. The goal is to have a pain free experience (especially joint pain. A bit of muscle soreness is to be expected). Once we reach 5k at 7mph, then we can work up either speed or distance, gradually, from there. And, as mentioned, weight lifting is also a great thing to start to go along with the running. Weights can be super simple. Twice a week go to the gym. Do 12 reps on each machine, trying to make sure to work each main muscle group. Start at the lightest weight. Each week increase the weight one level (usually 5-10lbs). The first few weeks will feel like a joke. And it should be. Make it fun, make it a habit.. and you won't mind going back.

I had a family reunion coming up and couldn't stand the idea of skinny aunts silently tsk-tsking at my weight.

Considering D.V. of biotin is only 30 micrograms, 5000mg is plenty. 10,000 isn't going to be more effective and is just going to cost twice as much (and could potentially be less well-tolerated). 1-2 egg yolks meets your daily requirement.

If you are drinking enough and getting some salt, and your BP is still low, you should go get checked at your doctor's. If you develop a high fever or start feeling really badly, be sure to seek treatment right away.

Make sure you are meeting your goals. Then just ride it out...

Hi and welcome! I'm sorry to hear about the regain. I hear good things about SIPS, though. (I am 7 months postop with a sleeve). In general, revisions don't pack the same punch as a virgin procedure, so you may notice slower weight loss than last time. But if you stick to your program, it'll come off. I had the opportunity to speak with a DS patient who was 5 years out of surgery. She had lost 1/2 her excess weight, then stopped losing for a couple years. She was following the plan, but didn't understand why the weight loss stopped. An external influence came along, and got her to count her calories. She was eating over 2500 calories in meat, fat, and veggies. Too many calories! So she cut them down, and started losing again. Hit goal less than a year later. These surgeries work (partly.. and I daresay mostly) because we eat so few calories postop. The couple instances I've heard where the patient ate maintenance-level calories right after surgery... the patients didn't lose any weight! Hopefully someone with a SIPS will be along soon. Good luck!

As for sleeve vs bypass.. they are both good, effective procedures. With preexisting GERD, bypass may be a better idea, unless doc thinks the hiatal hernia repair will solve it. So far I'm happy with my sleeve.

Fluff... I wonder if it would be possible to give you an xl sleeve... so you'd get disruption to your hormones, but it wouldn't be the high pressure environment. There wouldn't be restriction, so you'd still have to control your portions yourself.

Nope. It happens because of the shock to the body. Some people don't seem to lose much, so you can hope you're one of them.

Wilsonnnnn!!!!!! (Reference to the befriended volleyball in the movie "Castaway") Ok... yeah, the enema thing is probably too much. But the medicine ball gag could be hilarious! Love it!

Yep, definitely have to relearn. I was never a clumsy person, but now I am! If you start working out doing yoga type stuff, it will assuredly help. I don't work out (yet), and I know that's a lot of my problem.

Sooo funny... just don't let 'em see you eat for the first couple months! Instead of medicine balls.. do enemas! Mom calls and says your brother is obsessed with enemas! And look, he's dropped 50lbs in a couple months!!!! Oh man, there was a show.. strange addictions or something like that.. people do the craziest stuff sometimes! (There was a couple that were addicted to coffee enemas.. they did it like, I dunno.. 3 hours a day or some such thing...).

I'm always finding out new stuff. But here is a really nifty calculator. http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/information/planner+results.php Scroll down a bit and put in your preop weight, height, and start off with 65% excess body weight. See how closely the curve matches your current weight trajectory. If you change 65 to 60 or 70 or 100, it'll change the graph. My personal stats: 5'7 female Started at 305lbs Lost 16lbs on preop diet Month 1, lost: 17lbs 2: 13lbs 3: 8lbs 4: 12lbs 5: 14lbs 6: 7lbs I'm almost 7 months out and have lost a total of 96lbs. My losses seem to be pretty .. median. Some lose faster or slower, a lot seem to lose at the same rate. When I type in 87%, the losses on the graph mesh up with my current weight (which means I may well be WELL above the 65% average). My final weight according to this graph will be 168lbs. Another calculation is to simply take your starting weight (for me, 305lbs) and multiply times 0.6. 305x0.6= 183lbs. (Which is 77% according to the graph calculator). So many different ways of calculating potential losses.. and none of them agree with each other! The real answer to your future is what your body and mind can work together to produce. Statistics, charts, averages, calculators.. these things take hundreds or thousands of people, and lump them together to figure out how bariatric folk, as a population, fare. The individual trials and triumphs are erased. I have 3 surgery-buds that all started lighter than me, but our weights have all tracked along, sometimes to the pound! 2 had sleeves and one had a bypass. By 6 months postop, they were all within 10lbs of goal. Since I started out 50lbs heavier than they did, I still have quite a ways to go. A couple of them exercise a lot, one exercises moderately, and I don't exercise at all. But we all have lost the same amount of weight (to this point). I do believe the surgery is what does the work for the first 6 months. After that, it's more up to us to effect the change we want.

Aww shucks.. what's the fun of the high road? Yeah.. 2 week liquid h*ll... oh, I meant diet. Tori.. thanks for chiming in. Half the reason I post when I do is to see others' responses. As for my "yesses" and "noes"... during the first 2 months postop it was all constantly evolving. By 9 weeks, I had tried out most foods and had a handle on what baby tummy liked and didn't. Then a week or so after that, someone on here asked "what a typical day" looked like. So, dutifully, I thought about it. And I realized through answering that question, that there is such a thing as a typical day. The clouds rolled back, and I could SEE. My yesses are always yes (but I count and measure.. yes to one apple, no to two). My noes are a bit flexible. Special occasions permit special accomodations. And if I want a 10 calorie lick of my hubby's ice cream cone.. I do it! And I don't feel guilty. Lol. But, just because we went out for ice cream doesn't mean I need a cone of my own. It's not a birthday. If I'm busy sipping on water, then I have something to do too. Ice cream isn't about ice cream.. it's about "going out". But, say it IS a birthday. I take a full size serving of cake and ice cream and eat what I want. If it's a sheet cake of grossness I'll probably abstain and eat gently fried-in-butter sweet potatoes at home instead. Mmmm... sweet potatoes... Yes, I've become a good-food snob.

Preop, eating just happened willy nilly, with little thought or plan. Hungry? Just go grab something. Immediately after surgery there are rules. We have to consume just so much protein and water, while minimizing carbs and calories. Eating becomes work. Goal-oriented, structured, planned-for, routine. Now I have to plan ahead for the day. There are "yes" foods and "no" foods. I finally feel some relief... probably because hunger hasn't reared its ugly head. And I always know what I'm gonna eat. Hey.. off topic! My MIL brought like 16 kinds of junk food into the house one day while I was on the preop diet. Now SHE is on a diet (jealous, much?).. and I could care less about cakes and such. Should I bring that stuff into the house? FIL and the kids can eat it... *evil laugh* muhahaha muhahaha!

Anyone having this difficulty should ask his/her family doctor for a test to make sure there isn't a UTI. Once I lost about 80lbs, I noticed I started having trouble. I seriously think it's to do with the loss of the fatty tissue, so my urethra is flopping around (getting pinched off). Lol! Ok, so that's just a guess and I'll ask my primary doc about it at my next checkup.

My family finally is willing to eat something better for them. Raisin Ezekial bread. So happy. Tastes good to me too, but I'm not at goal yet.

Miss Robin is at goal, so she gets peanut butter. For anyone wanting to keep losing... fill up on non-starchy veggies. Don't add fat unless you're keto. My favorite way of preparing veggies.. Uncooked: pick up a tomato or bell pepper and eat it like an apple. Cooked: boil things like green beans and broccoli in an inch or two of water (covered). When its pretty much done cooking, let the water cook off and the veggies brown (not burn). It caramelizes the naturally occuring sugars and yum yum. I frequently don't even have to add water to frozen veggies cooked this way. ... maybe not as healthy as lightly steamed, but I'll eat a bunch more of it and not feel deprived.

To lose all her teeth, in a short period of time, only a year postop tells me there was something else going on.. not just surgery. Surgery may have been the straw, but not necessarily. My FIL did the exact same thing. Lost all his teeth, suddenly, in his 30s. He was a 2-pack a day smoker, didn't brush or visit the dentist, drank nothing but coca cola, and became diabetic a few years later. (In other words, he was a mess).

If it feels right.. then do it! It won't hurt anything. Just make sure this is a celebratory endeavor and not some sort of self-flagellation. I would recommend adding either low sodium v8 or coconut water because most protein shakes don't provide the electrolytes you need. If you feel badly then you can always stop and re-evaluate. Congrats on your 1-year surgiversary!

You don't have to be in maintenance if you don't want to be. It's easy to get "calorie creep" that slows losses. Be sure to track for several days to see where you're at. You want to stay below 1200 to keep the scale moving. Stalls can still happen for a week or two.. so if your calories are in line, then that may be what is going on. You're lookin' great!

http://www.mybodygallery.com/photos-51538-body-shape.htm?StartAt=11#.WeYX_3MpBnE Here is some inspiration I hope...

This board is full of people that surpass the averages. Fingers crossed that we can join them, Fluff. I like to have a solid, realistic goal.. and when I get there, then move the bar lower. Who knows.. maybe we'll be thrilled with 170 or 180! Lol. What I don't want to do is convince myself that 150 will come easily, then beat myself up if I don't get there. Keep in mind, the nadir weights on that chart are at 28 months postop on average.. so weight can continue coming off for well over a year postop.

You should call your insurance company to find out whether bariatric surgery is covered. If it is, then call around to find out which bariatric programs take your insurance. Then you should figure out which program seems like a good fit. It sounds like your doctor has a surgeon in mind, and that is always a good place to start. You will likely have a long term relationship with your bariatric team so make sure you are comfortable. Welcome, and good luck!

Looking at your before is like looking in the mirror for me. We had the same body type. I still have a long way to goal, but only hope I look as good! Congrats on reaching and surpassing goal! What does your diet/exercise program look like?