MTJC78

Hello all. I took several people advice. I'm now doing Water aerobics everyday at the ymca. I've lost 50lbs since my surgery on 4-29-15. I love it. They have a chair that takes you in the water. I walk with a cane and have a bad back so this is awesome. This is my first time in a pool. I was so scared to get in for personal reasons but I did it I just wanted to share this with the community and say thank you for the advice that you all have given me.

I had the same fears pre op. 60% of my excess weight still leaves me in the "obese" catagory with 40 more # to lose to be normal. What I'm OK with now, 3 weeks post op in a one week stall, is that this small stomach will be a weight loss tool for the rest of my life. I don't find it hard to stay on primarily Protein with veggie back up. I now drink a lot of Water because I'm thirsty, not because I have to force myself. Down the road, if I go off the plan I'll still be eating MUCH less and I doubt weight gain will be an issue as I swim every day. Losing weight down the road is easier, I hear, by re-conforming to the diet in concert with the "baby stomach".

Hello all. I have a question. I'm 19 days post op and I walk with a cane because I have bad knees and a bad back. My doctor told me I could go to the gym and get on the treadmill or elliptical. I was excited so I went to the gym and stayed on it for 15 minutes even though it bothered my back. The next day I was so sore and stayed in the bed most of the day. I can do the treadmill for a while. So far I've lost 28lbs. Does anyone out there deal with my problems and if so, what kind of exercises do you do. I appreciate any help

I get what you mean about 'diet'. I am never one for denying myself something, that just makes it harder. I'd rather look at this whole process as, ' I am finally choosing to be thin' and this is just what it takes. I heard someone in this forum use the term "fat brain". And they were absolutely right. There is 'fat brain' and 'normal brain'. People who have 'normal brain' don't have to pay as much attention to every single thing that they eat! People with fat brain should have been.
Yes there were many food funerals! But for me it was really saying 'goodbye'. If I didn't love all of the wrong things, I wouldn't be here. There were many things, I just realized that I should never eat again and some if I did, should be in very, very small quantities. I didn't overindulge, just enjoyed it and then said goodbye.

Since then in prep for surgery (which is in 4 days) it's been all liquid, which at first was really hard, but got much easier as time went by, and am preparing now for the 'menu' post surgery. The funny thing is that I've just gotten used to it. At first all I could think about was <insert something here, I don't want to mention mine, as it would be cruel to anyone reading this and struggling with certain foods> for some reason, but now, eh. As long as I stay full and Protein shakes and chicken stock are doing that, I'm good. (Food funerals are not for everyone I do know that, but for me am glad I did it. I don't miss those things now).
I thought at first it was ridiculously stupid to quit smoking right before the liver shrinking diet but I just waited until the very last possible minute, it's been about 45 days. But THAT is all I can think about! Here I thought it was food I was addicted to! At least my mind is occupied, healthily or unheathily.
Thanks for the input! Keep your successes coming!

Ultimately, this is WLS patients' last chance to resolve their lifelong overweight / health issues.
If you can't wrap your mind around the fact that this is not just another diet (which we have all failed at before) but radical surgery that gives you one last chance to explore and reset the emotional and behavioral issues that kept you from being healthy, then you haven't understood the most important part about this surgery:
The surgery will be on your stomach, not your brain (and, if you're so inclined, your spirit or soul) -- where all of the changes you need to be successful long-term must occur.
While you're losing weight, you've got to learn to live very differently than you have lived up to now. Those food funerals ... hmmmm ... not a good sign.
Your potential resources to change how you think / feel / problem-solve / plan / execute are:
* nutritional education
* psychological education
* a positive attitude
* healthy support from others
* environmental controls
* psychological therapy / counseling
* spiritual counseling
* relaxation techniques
* learning how to live in this moment (not the past or the future)
Very best to you.

For me, it's follow the "rules". All day, every day. It's what we do over the long haul that will make the difference.
I'm human, I slip up once in a while. I'm human, so I decide to "go off the rails" (read eat what I know I shouldn't, and too much of it). However, I don't let that get out of hand. It's usually not more than for a meal, and never more than a day. I can do a lot of damage in a short time. And probably the number one thing for me is to be honest with myself. I track every bite, even when I'm off the rails. I log it all, and face it. Usually that's enough to reign me in. A key ingredient to my success has been to look at the big picture, and just keep on doing what we know we need to do, day in, day out. It's why I always failed before - I couldn't sustain the change.
One other thing I forgot to mention earlier - I do take ibuprofen every day, and have since I was about 2 months post op. That was one of the primary reasons I chose this surgery. My doc says RNY patients are predisposed to ulcers, but sleeve patients are not. It's one reason I chose the sleeve. I do know there are differing thoughts about that, but I also know that many sleeve patients take NSAIDS without difficulty.

@@Lauriep, I hear what you are saying. I had my initial consult and I had several things go through my mind. I had my heart set on the sleeve because the thought of having my insides rewired was scary. I was only choosing between the sleeve and the bypass oh and NOT HAVING SURGERY AT ALL!! And I do take ibuprofen for occasional pain from degenerative arthritis.
The thing that got to me was IF I'm going under a general anesthetic to loose weight and halt some chronic disease processes, I want the procedure with the highest percentage of average weight loss.
The thing about the pain, well at least the arthritic pain, it's an inflammatory process. So, there is a high chance that joint pain would significantly improve with improved diet, exercise and less weight.
I've loss a considerable amount of weight before and maintained it for many years (on my own) and then I lost that control. And I'm here thinking that I could do it on my own but my ability to maintain weight loss is virtually impossible. Some weight loss, especially by big people can be easy (barred serious metabolic issues) but we all have the history of "gaining it all back and then some" that is a common thread in our story.
There is gravity in the decision, but just remember to keep it real and be seethingly honest with yourself. Only you can decide. I don't know what you have gone through for your insurance co., you would definitely have to do all that again down the line.

I'm just going to put this out there. Surgery to lose "only" 90lbs could be the difference between living another 20 years versus living another 40 years. Is it worth it if you could extend your life by 20 years?