Creekimp13

oh man...a kiddo, too. What a horribly difficult position to be in. Best wishes to you, George. I hope your therapist helps you to understand you don't deserve to be treated like that. And your kiddo doesn't need to observe you being treated that way, either. You can't save the world, George. But you can save yourself and be a good Dad who won't let a toxic stew become a child's definition of normal. Wishing you brighter days and a healthier future.

Mental health...if your batschit-ness is sabotaging your weight loss, nothings gonna fix that until your batschit is addressed. Some forms of nuttiness have very little impact on weight, though. But yeah, being mentally well...is a good first step. Emotional stability....if you don't work on this and you're an emotional eater, you're going to sabotage your best efforts. Or develop a cross over addiction. Or destroy your relationship. Or find some other destructive outlet other than eating. This is a good one to get on top of Will to succeed.....Have heard it said that "Wanting to stay married" is 90% of staying married. I think a similar thing can be said about most goals, even weight loss. If you wake up everyday and WANT it...even if you've screwed up multiple times and are utterly imperfect...you'll still get there because you won't give up until you do. That will to accomplish something is a pretty strong force. Supportive Home Environment....I can see how you'd rank this one low if you live alone, and higher if you live with person with poor eating habits. Having somewhere to nuture your new habits where you can in peace...is very important. This is also true of remaining emotionally healthy...which can also figure in strongly. Diet...undeniable important what you eat. Whatever your strategy is...having a strategy and being accountable to that strategy is going to pay off on the scale. Exercise....this one is hugely more important to me than other people, I think. It helps in so many ways for me. It bolsters my emotional stability and will to succeed. It complements my diet by adding more flexibility. It gives me a serotonin boost and pours gas on my metabolism fire. it boosts my supportive home environment cause going for walks and swims together sets a stage for talking and nurturing relationships. Having fun together...is important. It's one of my most valued tools. Skill of surgeon.....incredibly important for safety of procedure and good follow up. But ultimately, not a major factor in over all success (unless you pick someone awful who ends up doing an inferior procedure). Luck....more important than we want to admit. Some folks have an easy time doing well after weight loss surgery, for some it's very very difficult. Genetics, personal physiology and anatomy... are luck. And they're a very big piece of the equation. Our socioeconomic standing, our intelligence, mental health....how we process the decisions we make....are largely predetermined by forces we don't control.

My opinion....you need to leave your abusive relationship and find someone healthy to build a healthy relationship with. There is nothing wrong with how you look. You look like a fit healthy guy next door. Just an normal decent looking guy.

I am loving the variety of responses and the reasons why people rank them. And the important stuff I forgot. How interesting! No right or wrong answers here....just kinda cool to get a look inside other people's thought processes.

Good catch, Tealeal. Health improvement motivation is big one for me...not wanting to take meds forever, have health issues, desire for longevity, mobility, athleticism.

I'd agree:)

i'm curious how people would rank these eight factors in importance for success after weight loss after surgery. Which of these matters the most? Which matters the least? If you don't want to do all eight, even ranking the top three or providing some insight into your choices....could make for a fascinating look at how we approach our journeys. Diet Luck Exercise Supportive home environment Will to succeed Emotional stability Skill of surgeon Mental health Are there other important factors not listed here?

It gets better.

How much does luck figure in? The fact that my body responded beautifully to this surgery and that I can eat the diet I prefer and lose weight...is not lost on me. How much was strategy, and how much was luck? I'm not saying I don't work extremely hard. But there's a curve in all results. How much of it is pure luck of the draw that I ended up on this side of the curve? Which factor is more important to long term success? Diet, exercise, supportive home environment, work ethic, emotional stability, skill of surgeon, mental health? it's an interesting little puzzle....and the people who make the noise are very rarely representative of the whole. Self reported information has a huge bias.

This is perhaps the most valuable (and perhaps only..lol) insight that this thread produced. This is something I think about a lot in reference to my experience at BariatricPal.

Insomnia is super common after surgery. Lot of posts about it:) It eventually goes away.

It gets better:)

Three important things to live: Airway clear, Breathing, Circulation. Breathing is pretty important. Seek professional help if you can't breathe. Side thought... Sometimes acid can cause people to feel discomfort or stress in their chest. Can't hurt to try an antacid and see if it helps. Sleeves do slip...if you develop a hiatal hernia and your stomach starts living in your chest with your lungs...that's a problem and might make breathing kinda weird. Wild theories aside...the best thing to do is to tell your surgeon and get some damned tests done. Best wishes!

Not quite sure how....but I read that "shortness of breasts" That is something I am decidedly NOT suffering. My boobs look more like sweat socks dangling with tennis balls in the toes.

theresahyatt19....wishing you wonderfully negative results ASAP. I know the waiting is brutal....but you've gotta be safe! Best wishes:)

Thanks Summerset:) It's all good. I LOVE my body:) Could not be happier with my results and wouldn't pick a lighter goal if you paid me (the rudeness and ignorance of others be damned). My doctor's goal weight for me was 172-178 per my body fat analysis. I've already undershot that by a few pounds. My skin is recovering pretty well in most areas, My muscle mass is AWESOME and I look strong and healthy. I not only look pretty damned good...I feel beautiful and like I could climb a mountain. Come to think of it...I sorta have:)

It is a serious enough issue that if any of my tests were coming back positive for H. Pylori...I would take the meds and continue to test until results came back consistently negative. Even if it would delay my surgery to do so. You really don't want H. Pylori after your surgery. Leaks can be life threatening and you don't want to be a feeding tube for months. Out of curiosity, why did they decide to test you twice if the first test was negative? If I were you, I would insist on an endoscopic biopsy to be tested for H. Pylori. (In fact, I did this, because it is the most accurate way to detect it definitively)

If your doctor prescribed medication, your test was positive for H. Pylori. It's very important that you get this infection cleared up before surgery because it can cause ulcers at the incision ....which can cause life threatening leaks. Why are you calling it "a false positive"? Is there any reason to believe your test was inaccurate?

170 pounds = about 77kg. 77kg x .65g = about 50g per day So...WHO is saying the median protein requirement is a little lower than American nutritionists who put it about about 61g per day. (for a 170 pound healthy person) This is pretty negligible to me. I'd probably err on the +10g side the Americans go with because our breakdown of foods has been altered (by our surgeries) and I like to err on the side of safety. My personal feeling is to follow my doc and dietitian's advice on this and shoot for 60g. Seems reasonable and not significantly different than what WHO recommends for people with intact stomachs around the globe:)

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43411/WHO_TRS_935_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (this link works better) From Page 38... Based upon the data available for normal adult humans, protein requirement has a log normal distribution (7), as shown in Figure 4. This distribution has a median of 4.654, equivalent to 105 mg nitrogen/kg per day or 0.656 g protein/kg per day.

I don't use it in everything, but I LOVE curry and I buy it by the bag:) My favorite brand is Anthony's Organic Tumeric...you can get 2 POUNDS of it on Amazon for $12! Anthony's also does a terrific pea protein powder that I use a lot.

Rule of thumb... .36g of protien per pound of body weight for healthy maintenance. (Also...this should be obvious....but always talk to your team about making these changes.)

My doc and nutritionist say 60g per day is minimum....and getting it from plant based sources is totally ok. But DO get your 60g.....It's important to protect your muscle mass....because your muscles are the furnace that fuel your metabolism...don't let them waste. Also, remember that your heart is a muscle and needs to be protected.

My favorite thing to do with Chia seeds is Chia seed pudding. The texture is weird, but you get used to it....and then start to crave it. Good stuff! The basic ratio is 3 Tablespoons of Chia seeds per one cup of Coconut, Almond or Cashew milk. (I like the 30 calorie Coconut milk for this.) You put the seeds and milk in a storage container with some vanilla and some splenda (or whatever sweetener you like) and shake it. Then stick it in your fridge and forget about it until the next day. Next day...serve this wonderful stuff with fresh fruit, or by itself. Love this stuff! Eat it several times a week:) Very smart! Some excellent research on curcumin in cancer prevention and anti-inflamatory benefits (curcumin is in tumeric) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/expert-answers/curcumin/faq-20057858

No. Read what I wrote again. I'm saying if people fail repeatedly on low cal and keto they need better advice than "you need to do low cal and keto." I absolutely agree that there is no "one size fits all" which is why the same advice over and over (even when linked to previous multiple failures) seems so tedious to me.