Berry78

This is AMAZING!!! I'm so happy for you! Can't wait for your 6 month external photos when you feel up to it My hubby also has lower spine pain (not as severe a problem as yours was though)... and he's lost 35lbs and has felt some improvement. I'll share these pictures with him and hope it motivates him to keep going (he was about 80- 90lbs overweight as well).

Once you are physically full, any residual hunger is likely head hunger. Start planning an absorbing after-meal activity that will take your mind off food. Maybe set up a puzzle, then when you finish eating you go look for that little blue piece with the squiggle edge instead of worrying about whether your food was boring

I forget how long I was supposed to wait for citrus. You might ask your team to make sure it isn't too early. (Some programs frown on fruit in general.. your best bet is to follow your team's recommendations.)

I love waffle fries. .... Well.. I dunno if I still love waffle fries, but I used to! Lol!

It is typical to undergo a "supervised diet" for 3 months to a year (6 months is the most common). This "supervised diet" should meet that requirement. Look for a program near you that accepts Tricare, and they will tell you what the process will be.

Ok, let's separate out the different time frames. 6 or more months preop: As referenced above, it's to keep calories in check and get some weight loss started. If you can control caloric consumption while eating fat, I don't see a problem with it. Liver shrink diet: Needs to be a low fat AND low carbohydrate to be sure that liver has shrunken sufficiently to make a safe procedure. Postop: Back to keeping calories in check. Ideal weight loss happens somewhere between 800-1200 calories for the year or two after surgery. The first couple months postop it's almost impossible to get "too many" calories. After that, you have to start watching.

I seriously doubt it. Don't know about LBLs, but a tummy tuck has you out of driving for 4-6 weeks. Might want to talk to your surgeon.

There is a support group called overeaters anonymous. Check out their website to see if it sounds interesting for you. https://oa.org Congrats on trying to get a handle on the behavior aspect. I do urge you to think big-picture with your dietary/weight goals. The average sleeve patient loses 65% of their excess weight. That would be you at 205lbs. So you actually did a bit better than average. The 10 pound "rebound" is also perfectly typical. Congrats on having a successful surgical outcome! Since your weight has been relatively steady for 9 months, you know that you are at or near your new set point. Your newly found desire to get back on the wagon is probably due to you being a few pounds above your set point, so you'll find dropping those first pounds almost effortless. Now, how does your 200lb set point affect you? Well, as much as you'll WANT to drop another 50lbs, your body won't want to, so you'll have a fight on your hands. If you want to fight, that's fine. No problem. But keep in mind that whatever you do to shed more weight, you'll need to keep it up long term. Otherwise it's just another diet like preop and back to the yoyo game. By all means.. do your pouch reset for 5 days.. but when you restart your normal diet, you need to have durability in mind.

Oh man! Laurna is so right! I totally forgot about those knots.. they were still there after a month, so I dug those suckers out of there. Blessed relief! Of course I can't recommend you do that (and you'd split yourself open if you did it soon... I'll reiterate.. I did it after a MONTH). But at least it should make you feel better about what you are experiencing.

Welcome to your new set point! It sounds like you're still 75lbs down from your surgery weight, so you are still golden. You CAN keep fighting, or you can work to just maintain. Pregnancies just DO this to everyone, and I hate to see you tear your hair out at that 25lbs, when it's (probably) really just an aesthetic problem for you. If you wanna fight.. that's fine. But the fight has to be permanent. The changes you make to lose the weight have to remain to maintain those losses. (No more unsustainable liquid or crash diets!) Not knowing what you are doing now (calories, protein, carbs, exercise).. don't know what to suggest.

Well, upon a quick google search, there apparently CAN be a risk. But, we have to evaluate what is causing the risk, and how we all can minimize it. Nutrition is probably the biggest factor. If your electrolytes are off, that can lead to problems with the heart rhythm. Obviously that would be dangerous. We all need to be aware of our sodium/potassium needs and consumption. Long term malnutrition takes protein away from the heart and other organs, weakening them. Excessive exercise can put too much strain on a heart that may not be accustomed to it (starting a new exercise program should be slow and steady.. not couch to 10 miles the first week). Etc etc. In other words, eat right, exercise carefully, keep in contact with your physician, and chances are excellent that you'll be fine.

These are the bean noodles my local store sells.

Ok, thanks for clarifying where you are coming from. That helps me formulate an answer for you! I also was (am?) all about pizza/pasta. At 3 months postop I had my first slice of pizza. The slices were very small, but one quickly turned into 2. Apparently pizza is going to be a problem for me. My thinking at this point is to limit its consumption. To tell myself I'll *never* have pizza again is unrealistic, so it's a matter of thinking.. how much/little can I consume that item without messing up my physical or mental program. 4 times a year seems like a reasonable amount (first day of each season).. it would be a heck of a lot better than 4 times a week! Pasta is easier. Bean noodles have a ton of protein and fiber and low carbs. Put a little pile into an 8oz bowl with the tomato-based sauce, and I'm golden. Totally on plan. Can have weekly if I want. (I prefer chili though..using actual beans instead of the noodles). As you can see, it's about substitutions and limitations. We HAVE to change our behavior around food, or the surgery won't have lasting benefits. As for gym time, you only need to lift weights once or twice a week to maintain muscle mass. Building muscle takes ... I dunno.. lifting 2-4 times a week I suppose. The 6 week healing period is going to take away a significant portion of your preop muscles. It's amazing how quickly muscle mass can be built AND lost. So even if you don't want to be a gym rat, you should plan on lifting weights twice a week once you are medically cleared and have the energy. "Lifting weights" can be as simple as doing pushups or yoga or the like. I prefer gym machines since I don't have to be creative.. just move from machine to machine.

My surgeon is also in Mexico. I relied heavily on reviews, and I felt comfortable during the intake process. I spoke on the phone directly with my surgeon when I had questions preop. Postop, I'm confident I have support if I were to need it, but haven't needed anything so far. My family doctor is handling my routine followup.

Imitation is the greatest compliment. Thank you very much! I hope it works for you!

SOOO FUNNY!!! LOL!!!! I'll check to make sure gender is on my profile. I think I'll take that as a compliment (I've always had some masculine characteristics (science/math brain and all that), guess it's coming through!). Hope you won't think less of me now

Talk to your surgeon/team before deciding how much risk you want to take getting that bug... Lots of people vomit postop, I don't think it is THAT easy to rupture.. but, if at all possible, see if you can hide someplace away from the family. Wear gloves and a mask. Hand sanitizer. Shoot, if you have someone else that can take care of the kids, go check into a cheap motel for a week or two. When I was pregnant (long before the surgery), we had a stomach flu in the house. My kid vomited like, 3 times, total. My hubby about the same. I freakin' was vomiting every 10 minutes for 12 hours straight. I'm sure it was because of the pregnancy, but you are also in a delicate condition. Please don't catch that bug!

Nah... I look like a purple snail.. I just borrowed a human for the pics.

I didn't say anything unusual.. just a couple breaths of "oxygen", and I was out. My surgeon had come to see me before I was put under, and was super sweet. The only thing I remember him saying (it was just a quick visit) was "you'll feel restriction". Lol. Don't know if he tells everyone that, or if I got an extra tight sleeve. My postop eating seems average.. so I suspect he just says that to everyone. It hadn't occurred to me that I WOULDN'T feel restriction! Made me start wondering a bit! First meal outside of the hospital, I could take like 6 sips of liquid over 45 minutes. Yup! I had restriction!

Thanks everyone! The funny thing is I was so pleased with having lost the 16 pounds preop, that I thought I looked pretty good in the day of surgery photo! Lol! I hadn't looked back at that pic until today to post it, and I'm utterly floored! And to think.. only 3 people have "noticed"! I suppose more may have noticed without saying anything... (I mean, how could they not?). I do feel SOO much better! Not sure why I have that haggard look around the eyes, maybe too much time spent on Bariatric Pal! Lol. This is a great "intermission".. since it's halfway through the first year, and I'm ready to start hitting the gym (I haven't to this point). We'll see what my next photo brings in March!

You are writing EXACTLY what goes through my head. And I do have a theory about that last paragraph. Insulin is a building hormone. When insulin is present, lots of work gets done building lean body mass...hormones and muscles, and the like.. but it also puts fat into storage. So you gain fat weight as well as structural improvements. The idea is once those structural improvements are finished, then there is more lean body mass, which increases the metabolism, and assuming the caloric intake stays the same, the fat that was stored can burn back off (because the increased metabolism now needs more calories than are being consumed.) Once the excess fat is burned off, then the appetite increases, so that you are eating the right amount to maintain your lean body mass. Obviously increasing lean body mass needs exercise (like weight lifting) to really pack on a lot more lean pounds to REALLY raise the metabolism. And keep in mind that even protein can raise insulin levels.. not just carbs. So all those body builders pack in the protein to build those muscles, and my theory still holds. I re-wrote that like 3 times to try and make it make sense. Let me know if I was successful! Lol. As for where to go for RMR/BMR.. you'll have to go look for it at an exercise physiology lab type place. They charge for the service.. something like $100-$120 as far as I know. Sometimes colleges have those labs, etc. Maybe do a google search for your area. I haven't had mine done yet, hope to in the next couple months.

I'm now a few days short of six months postop. Down a total of 86lbs. (305 to 219). First photo was day of surgery. I had already lost 16lbs on preop diet. Second photo is today. Third photo is my face at highest weight before preop diet. My pants are size 14 (brand runs large). Top vest is a large. Undershirt is a tight medium.

Is the pain just during your period, or all the time? If it's just during your period, then it's probably related to your PCOS. If it's all the time, then you need to get the doctor to look at you again.

Even though the stomach is tiny, you can fill it up a bunch of times a day. So if you can fit in 240 calories each time (not hard), then you eat 10 times.. bam! You've got it. It IS easier to drink calories though. I've been consuming 1200 calories since about 12 weeks postop. I don't want to consume more, but see how I could if I needed to. Low calories during the weight loss phase is good (you should aim to get to 1000- 1200 asap postop though).. and by time you hit goal weight a year or so out, you'll be able to eat more. One thing we are all excited by is getting your bmr/rmr tested. Maybe before surgery, then every 6 months after. That way you can see how many calories you actually need, and see if it changes over the course of your journey.

I do the same as rainbow. I consume food in its normal form. Milk is just plain, whole, milk. Yogurt is plain. Can add plain whole berries to it for a bit of sweetness. I do add butter, ground black pepper, garlic, and salt to things I'm cooking. I have been putting milk in my tea, but adding a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup would be fewer calories and help me transition away from dairy (dairy was my bestest friend immediately postop, but it's not as good anymore). Plain tea doesn't work for me. My vitamins are full of artificial sweeteners, but they work ok so I'll keep them. The idea isn't to be devout.. it's to retrain yourself in the direction that makes sense for you.