DivaTri619

So i read all the post, some positive some not... But, none the less... we are all here and for our on personal reasons we had some type of WLS. I would venture to say that we ALL used diet pills at one time or the other... So you won't hear me judging you on that. If your dr says this may be what you need and you take as prescribed... then do what your gut tells you.
The past few years have been hard. I got my band in 2009. Ups and downs.. of course. My lowest weight was 143, today 145... but i had gotten back to 160 for a while and was miserable. So I... Me... sat down and thought... what the hell was wrong with me... Was i going to be one of "those" people that have WLS and gain the weight back? Are was i going to take my life back again... so i did... I looked at the things i had done over the years that helped me get to the 143... I worked out, i watched my diet, i had a positive outlook. I became an inspiration to other that made me what to do better...... What led to my gain.... I stopped working out, started eating things i should not be eating... and i let my husband dictate too much in my life. He stopped paying for gym, criticizing me, telling me i was too thin... Etc. So this past August...i said.... NO MORE. i'm going to make me happy again.... and i did i put aside the bad foods again and started taking the stairs... walking more (he still won't pay for gym, but im rejoining anyway)... and just having a more positive outlook about me (so im not 130.. but, im not 230 either). I can't change others.. Just me.
@@McButterpants Observation: your profile says you started at 255 and are around 180ish now... ok that's 75ish pounds lost. That is amazing. I also saw that in you past post you were running and exercising, but the last yearish post has nothing.... Are you still exercising? Are you still watching your food and what KIND of food? How are you feeling about your self? What can you do today, one thing, to make a more positive change? Not saying that what i did was the end all be all... but, sometimes we all need to look at ourselves and take inventory... weed out the bad.. and take in the good.
Wishing you all the luck....

I've been taking the appetite suppressant for a few days now, and I can say it's a night day difference. Would I rather not need them? Absolutely. However, I am going to do everything in my power to prevent more regain than I already have. I feel like that switch has been flipped off. I've successfully stayed 700-900 calories, without the torment I usually experience to keep from eating. I don't plan on using this forever, just during difficult times. I just can't afford a gain while I wait for that to pass.
Also, my life is exponentially better with weight loss. I'm still me, only V2.0 is way better! I am not willing to risk losing this life I fought so hard to get.
One other thing - while the number on the scale isn't the only thing to focus on, I don't think you can ignore it. When I was overweight, there was number associated with it, and it was bad. That number was making me less than healthy. Now, at a lower number, I'm good. I think the message is in settling on a good number that supports the health and lifestyle we want.
There's more than one way to skin a cat. Don't judge when you can never take a walk in someone else's shoes.

I was having a snacking problem that resulted in a one month stall, no gain, but still a stall of gaining and losing the same single pound. It unfolded out of a particularly harsh PMS and then just became daily practice. I tried to get myself out of it, to no avail. So, I turned to some old Hydroxycut I had left in a drawer from my pre-sleeve days. It has allowed me to stop snacking. I will not use it long term, just to break what had become my typical snacking routine. Today is day two.
I know I will probably face another criticism for this, but I don't care. I will not fail at this. I refuse. I am doing this my way.
Ducker

I think everyone should be free to use whatever aids they feel will help them in achieving their goals. No need to condone anyone if they decide to use hydroxycut or some other diet pill. A warning might be OK if you feel such a diet pill is dangerous or detrimental, but no parenting please. We are all adults and live in a free society ( for now). This means we can do what we please if it is not illegal, dangerous or harming someone else.

How to order when you eat out? Seriously easy.
Before I go to a restaurant, I check out the online menu (if possible) so I can familiarize myself with their offerings. Learned this over all those years at WWs and it's a habit that serves me well.
Nine times out of ten, there is something on the appetizer menu that is perfect for me. Mostly Protein, few carbs, exactly the right portion for me to eat as a meal and still enough to share if anyone is interested. Cheaper, too. Just ask for it to come with everyone else's meal.
If there is no appetizer that looks interesting, I go to the soup/salad menu. French Onion is a favorite of mine and a Soup most restaurants have. I love a seafood chowder, too. Again, ask for it with the meal, not when everyone else gets their salad.
If there is no Soup, I go for a salad with Protein and just eat the toppings.
I will peek at the kids' menu, but those are usually so unhealthy, I rarely find anything for me.
My next recourse is the sandwich menu. There are so many yummy variations and I simply ask for it without bread and with salad or veggies on the side instead of fries or chips. This is a common request and I've not had a restaurant deny me.
If I am still unable to find something, I will <gasp> skip the meal. Not a game changer, not a big deal. I will survive and I won't even be unhappy. I nurse a glass of wine and a cup of coffee and I enjoy the conversation. This rarely happens because I can't find something but happens more than I thought it would because I've finally figured out that just because it's lunchtime or everyone else is eating, if I'm not hungry, I don't **HAVE** to eat.
Fast food.
Chili. A burger without the top bun. A grilled chicken sandwich without the bun. A cup of soup or a salad. A wrap, peeling off most of the tortilla. A steak and cheese (YUMMMMMM!), just eating the insides. A sub, again, just eating the insides or asking for it as a lettuce wrap.
Personally, I am partial to sushi. One roll and some edamame is a favorite.
At Arby's, I love a junior roast beef, no top bun.
At a Mexican joint, a kids' fajitas, Beans, no rice, no tortilla. Or fish tacos, yum!
At a deli, seafood salad or hot ham and cheese, no bread.
Panera, soup or 1/4 of the steak and white cheddar panini on flatbread. (My restriction is tight, tight, tight.)
Sliders are all the rage right now. Perfect for sleeved tummies.
Chick Filet has grilled nuggets and awesome chicken soup.
Chipotle has a great single taco kids' meal. Double Beans, no rice. Or I get a bowl, no rice, double beans and eat it for 3-4 days.
Asian. Shrimp dish, beef dish, chicken breast -- not fried, with sauce on the side and no rice.
BBQ, no bun.
pizza places are my biggest challenge and I usually get an order of cheese sticks to share with the table or I eat the toppings off a slice with a bit of crust. Sometimes they will have a meatball on the kids' menu and that's a perfect option for me.
Seriously, eating out is easy and can be healthy with the right choices.

I don't usually post a strong opinion on any nutrition topic because everyone's journey is different and there are multiple paths to success.
However, I feel strongly enough about this that I gotta come out and say it......refined carbs like bread, rolls and Pasta should be avoided during weight loss. They trigger cravings and head hunger, they slide through too quickly, and they take up room that should be allocated to food that provides nutrition.
A big part of how WLS promotes success is our new ability to feel full and satisfied on less. If your stomach empties shortly after eating, then the tool's effectiveness is undermined.
Also, my experience has been that my desire for them is stronger than the satisfaction from eating them. I had the flu a few months back and doc's advice was to eat simple carbs for a day or 2 because my body needed them temporarily. I was psyched. FREE PASS!!! I ordered lo mein and thought it would be delicious. But it was Gummy and tasteless. I guess I used to inhale it so fast (and with a ton of duck sauce and crushed up fried wonton noodles sprinkled on top) that I never noticed it wasn't that good to start with.

I have never ate lettuce based salads because lettuce has zero nutritional value.
I like baby spinach salads. Spinach totally breaks down. I can eat a lot of spinach and I find it makes a great afternoon snack. 3 ounces of spinach is 1/3 of a bag of a spinach, and 20 calories.

I have found salad to be something of a slider for me, too - which isn't really a bad thing considering the high nutritional density of most salads (if you do them right and don't load them up with a lot of high calorie junk!) I found when starting with salads a month or so out that if I cut back my normal serving capacity of meat from 3 oz to 2, that I had comfortable room for another 3ish oz of salad veg (typically chopped spinach, avo, Tomato, green onion and bell pepper, and/or whatever else I had around. I found it a convenient way to get in at least a token amount of veg, and make my eating a bit more "normal" than typical post-op fare, which made for less of a "being on a diet" feeling and reinforced what good sustainable eating habits that I already had. Such salads are still a staple of my diet five years later.

Today was my first time eating salad with chicken after the surgery (Wich was a month and two weeks ago) and I was surprised with how much salad I was able to eat
Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

Why do people act like progressing to the next food stage at your doctor's orders is failing your sleeve? If you're able to progress to the next stage and still make healthy choices that's one step closer to living a normal healthy life. Some of the healthiest foods are not allowed in the liquid and pureed phases and I'm sure there are plenty of mushy foods that got us to where we are today.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I skipped the pureed stage and went straight to soft foods. The very thought of eating pureed meat made me gag. I tried and couldn't do it.

I never pureed anything. I ate soft stuff (canned meat, pimento cheese, etc) and just chewed till it was puree.

Sent from my XT1254 using BariatricPal mobile app

Im going thru it now but im 30 days out have only lost 3 lbs in a week

Sent from my SM-J700T using BariatricPal mobile app

When I wanted to start gaining back some of the 200+ lbs I lost after weight loss surgery. Which is a long way of saying never.

I couldn't wipe my bum without being a contortionist

Sent from my SM-G930V using BariatricPal mobile app

I think I posted on this thread months back but it's worth a revisit.
So many reasons, but in a nutshell I was tired of hiding from life and not living. Living in shame and making excuses to not participate in life due to weight shame. Life is way too short and we only get one shot. I didn't want to waste this precious gift of life!!

I wasn't going to have the surgery because I was losing weight naturally since attending the Healthy Balance class Givin by Kaiser. But when I saw the Bariatric Dr ( NOT the surgeon) he explained to me how my diabetes can get worse the longer I have it an that having the surgery can cause my diabetes to go into remission. He used a very sensible illustration of termites being confined in 1 part of my house & how I may be okay with that and not being willing to pay the money to get rid of them. But what if of those termites started to move out from that spot? Now you will have to pay more money than you would have if you would've takin care of it when it was just a small area that was infected. He helped me to appreciate that I should focus more on the health benefits of the surgery than the weight loss part!

Sent from my SM-T530NU using BariatricPal mobile app

The pain! I have always embraced my curve's, but when my curve's started to get wider and knees started to make noise's I knew that it was time to do something diffent. I made a dr. Appt but didn't see my primary. It was actually the float Dr. that complained to about my back pain. My primary was totally against surgery. So I thought I would ask for diet pills. Unfortunately I am allergic to caffeine so he suggested that I enroll in the bariatric weight loss program and find out why to improve my eating and maybe get surgery. The best advice that I got from that Dr.

My straw that broke the camel back was watching Dr. Nowzardin and people on the show that were obese. I heard their pleas and saw myself as these people saw themselves. I thought about how I felt going up stair and barely being able to breathe. I saw myself for the first time in a mirror..........I mean really saw myself and I remember crying out that I was tired of being fat and out of shape. Then I saw an advertisement on a commercial with Alexian Brothers about Weight Loss Surgery and that was the beginning of a new day for me. It was the best decision I could have made because it allowed me to take back my life!

I owe the government 45k firmly nursing degree and my hip hurts. That was pretty much my final straw.

I have many but what really opened my eyes was when I went on vacation to Puerto Rico. I had to call the kayak place, the horseback riding, the zip line place, all the excursions basically to ask what was the weight limit!
It made me so sad. I thought to myself I am not fully living life, I have a life of limits and restriction. I do not want to live like this. I want to experience life. So I am now waiting on the schedule department to call me back tomorrow and set me up for pre op testing and surgery date 😌😁. I am ready for a new life.

The final straw so to speak was calling myself being on a diet and I would lose 5 lbs and then magically gain it back overnight. I was tired of gaining and losing the same 20 lbs over and over again. I was also tired of not eating as much as everyone else yet gaining weight. I was no longer even able to maintain so I got tired threw up my hands and aid "f" it

There are many many straws for me but the one that started the ball rolling was when my father very tall and thin man smoker all his life suffered many debilitating strokes. He fell at the nursing home once and i helped get him up since he was hurting the nurses, my god he was so heavy. It made me appreciate the nurses so much more.
I started thinking on my life i have no one other than my two sisters and my mom who is only 4'10 all i kept picturing is her taking care of me in the same state.
Pops died during that week i somehow messed up my knee went to ortho she said i will not be able to walk in two years due to arthritis and weight.
One year later messed up the other knee and was halving trouble walking. That scared the carp out of me i quit smoking and went to my physician and told him to refer me.
While i was waiting for a call for an appt. I was coming home in the wee hours in the morning from work. I started to watering and went out to turn it off when i stepped on a wet spot on the top of concrete stairs and fell directly on my arse then bounced forward and messed up my knee some more so there i was 391 pounds of me lying on a wet concrete floor with the sprinkler going and a toad staring back at me. Yup almost squished a toad. So im wondering how im going to get up was in so much pain i had to crawl to the Water shut off then had to crawl up the stairs i finally manged to crawl into bed wet clothes and all i just could not move i felt so incredibly alone and i flashed back to my father and seeing him on the floor. I knew this was it i was done being fat!
Sent from my SM-G920P using the BariatricPal App
There are many many straws for me but the one that started the ball rolling was when my father very tall and thin man smoker all his life suffered many debilitating strokes. He fell at the nursing home once and i helped get him up since he was hurting the nurses, my god he was so heavy. It made me appreciate the nurses so much more.
I started thinking on my life i have no one other than my two sisters and my mom who is only 4'10 all i kept picturing is her taking care of me in the same state.
Pops died during that week i somehow messed up my knee went to ortho she said i will not be able to walk in two years due to arthritis and weight.
One year later messed up the other knee and was halving trouble walking. That scared the carp out of me i quit smoking and went to my physician and told him to refer me.
While i was waiting for a call for an appt. I was coming home in the wee hours in the morning from work. I started to watering and went out to turn it off when i stepped on a wet spot on the top of concrete stairs and fell directly on my arse then bounced forward and messed up my knee some more so there i was 391 pounds of me lying on a wet concrete floor with the sprinkler going and a toad staring back at me. Yup almost squished a toad. So im wondering how im going to get up was in so much pain i had to crawl to the Water shut off then had to crawl up the stairs i finally manged to crawl into bed wet clothes and all i just could not move i felt so incredibly alone and i flashed back to my father and seeing him on the floor. I knew this was it i was done being fat!
Sent from my SM-G920P using the BariatricPal App

Mine was people asking me "So when is the baby due?" So disrespectful because they assumed I was pregnant they never asked! My youngest son is 15 years old so needless to say I was feeling really bad.

I've definitely had more than one straw. Not being able to go to events at my kids' schools because it's too hard to walk and do stairs, not going on rides and missing how much I loved them, having my husband always scout out the best place for us to sit in the restaurant based on booth size, having little kids whisper to their parents "She's big", not having any energy, huffing and puffing through my day, not being able to clean my own house.
I am doing this as much for my family as myself. I can't live like this any longer and I don't want to. Grief from losing twins at birth got me most of the way here, but I can't let it take control any longer. I have to be a survivor and a fighter. I am stronger than my impulses and temptations. I am strong! I can do this! Hey, WE'VE ALL GOT THIS! Look out fat - you are in my target range!!!!!!