Laughing Bird

@mousecat88 thank you for posting that video! That was incredibly helpful. I actually took a few screen shots. I wish my surgeons office had explained the mental/emotional side of things a little better and that video seals a lot of holes in my knowledge. Thank you!!!!

And keep chanting " This too shall pass", yeah it sounds silly but sometimes it helps!

I think getting all my fluids in is my biggest battle and I agree weekends are harder because there's no routine! Oy. I think I made it to about 48 oz yesterday. I aim for at least 60 most days.

Went and made me my bari-cup up with one half Minute Maid 15 lemonade and one-half mandarin orange Nestle Splash flavored water which is no calorie, should cut it down to 7.5 calories per 8 oz, that's unbeatable on a galloping 🐎. One of my weird relatives saying , never knew why she was obsessed with horses galloping, never saw her on horseback at all.

Thanks for the reminder. When I just don't feel like sipping anymore, I grab a sugar-free popsicle to get more liquid in.

Thank you for the reminder. I struggle on the weekends because i never stay at home. It is so much easier during the week when i have a schedule throughout the whole day. I need to get this weekend thing figured out. I drink but i do not think often enough. Its 639pm right now and i can honestly say.. I dont think i have had 20 ounces today... I got up, struggled with BM so that was my first concern. Then i made banana pancakes and ate since it was late by the time i resolved the BM issue.. Then my adult children decided they wanted to go to Animal Kingdom today. I made a 20 ounce bottle of Water, and maybe drank 3 ounces.. and i did have half a Decaf coffee, but my brain said you put too much light cream in this.. so i threw it out after i was done with half of the 16 ounce cup..It was too cold outside today so i did not want to drink cold water while outside.. We went to lunch inside the park and i did my 30 min wait before and after, and then i had a milk.. 8 ounces.. i am not working on a 20 ounce Protein Shake, but i just started.. oh and i had a sf popcicle.. so if i add it up... hahaha i might be at 28 including the Protein shake i am working on.. so i was close, but that means.. i have to finish this to get another 20 ounces in and still need to make dinner.. It is going to be a long night!

Hi Amber,
Yes, this is common experience for many of us.
I knew I was overweight. The term morbidly obese was hard to hear. Honestly, I hid from cameras and didn’t spend much time looking in a full body mirror. I was not seeing my self correctly pre surgery. It took time for my mind to catch up with the rapid weight loss. I finally saw myself correctly after goal and my weight settled.
A vet gave me a good suggestion. Place a photo of yourself at your goal/low weight on your bathroom mirror. Look at it as you get ready in the morning. I used a counselor to get past this issue. She said some people eventually see themselves correctly, some may take years and some never do.
I see myself as smaller. I have confidence and feel comfortable in my own skin. (I should say loose skin) I’m maintaining five years out. It’s ridiculous that a five-pound weight gain can make me feel like I am at my high weight all over again. The fear of weight gain is still something I’m working on. I am better with this as time progresses. I’ve had to learn to trust myself more.

So we are very similar in that I never saw myself as being as big as I was. my heaviest was 364 and I am 5' 10in tall. (used to be six foot but I am shrinking lol) So now I see my body changing and an totally enthralled with the changes. and what it can do. twisty yoga bendy poses, jump rope. run.

I guess everybody is different but I am 2lbs away form 100lb loss and I feel sexy, sassy and FREE

Oh yes! For about a month or 2 after surgery I was a hormonal nightmare. No one warned me. It was awful

Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

My surgery was on June 4th and I've lost 90lbs since surgery! I've lost 119 overall through all of last year. I can't believe how well my sleeve is working! I feel like a completely different person. I struggled a little during November because I had stopped weighing my food, now that I've gone back to that I've been so much more successful.
I hope youre all doing well these first few days of the New Year!

I ended up switching psychiatrists after my surgery. The one I had been going to for almost 8 years said I was getting too weepy and I should go into intensive outpatient therapy and really freaked me out that I was losing my mind. My therapist told me my psych was full of it and I got a new one. So much happier now! Not all docs are created equal and some just suck lol

Just a little reminder to drink your Water today! Us Barifolks dehydrate easily and in the winter we tend not to drink as much. Make sure you get your water today!
😍😘💙

Just a little reminder to drink your Water today! Us Barifolks dehydrate easily and in the winter we tend not to drink as much. Make sure you get your water today!
😍😘💙

Just a little reminder to drink your Water today! Us Barifolks dehydrate easily and in the winter we tend not to drink as much. Make sure you get your water today!
😍😘💙

Just a little reminder to drink your Water today! Us Barifolks dehydrate easily and in the winter we tend not to drink as much. Make sure you get your water today!
😍😘💙

I just started my third week post op and I’ve lost 35 pounds since December 1st.

Keep it up. We’re doing great

I ended up switching psychiatrists after my surgery. The one I had been going to for almost 8 years said I was getting too weepy and I should go into intensive outpatient therapy and really freaked me out that I was losing my mind. My therapist told me my psych was full of it and I got a new one. So much happier now! Not all docs are created equal and some just suck lol

There is a great website that we therapists use to list ourselves and makes it easier for people to find us. It's called Psychology Today.

You can filter the therapies by location, insurance, problem (there isn't one for bariatric surgery, but weight issues and maybe obesity are options) and even preferred gender of therapist.

Working with a psychologist or therapist is a huge help, and a letter from them should make your docs, surgeons and/or psychiatrist take you seriously.

~SW: 278 CW: 165~
RNY 1/5/2005
"What got you here won't get you there."

I found a phychologist who specializes in weight issues with a sub specialty in weight loss surgery. It has been SO helpful. She understands all the emotional things that happen after having surgery and all of the emotional/mental things that need to be dealt with to make surgery successful. I highly recommend seeing if someone like that exists around you. And, if not, if there is someone you can find that does skype appointments. Good luck!

So I met with my Psychiatrist yesterday and I left my appointment feeling very frustrated. All he talked about was how I was suddenly cured by having this surgery? Like it's the end all be all and for some reason that really go under my skin? As I needed to talk more about the changes and what to expect going forth and not "Oh, you should be so excited - your are now cured?? I had to remind him that this was not going to fix a couple of my other issues like my torn shoulder rotator cuff or my incisional hernia and that I have 2 more surgeries going forth and yet I just spent a lot of money and now have the stress of figuring out how I am going to cover these future surgeries and bills. I also have limitations due to these other two illnesses and won't be able to lift over 15 lbs until my hernia is repaired and healed. So this will limit me from doing strength training. I wanted to tell me what psychological changes I might be facing and have a game plan on how to handle these? Isn't that what they are supposed to instead of assuming everything is fixed and it's all going to be bright sun shiny day??

Oh my gosh you have given me such great information and I really appreciate this. I have looked and can not find any support groups in my area so this forum has basically become my support group. I do see my pysch next week. And will pick on him to see what he knows about bariatrics as I have a feeling he is not so practiced in this. When we talk he always refers to another patient who doing really great and had started the special diet before the surgery and is now below her weight. Other then that he hasn't spoke much about Bariatrics so this is why I am questioning his skill here. I have been with him for a few years to be treated for Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Depression which he says is medically related - whatever that means. So the information you just gave me is invaluable and I will try to find more information on the web to self help me. Thank you.

I love love LOVE this response! And love other pros chiming in! Bravo!

~SW: 278 CW: 165~
RNY 1/5/2005
"What got you here won't get you there."

100% normal right now. Oh honey, your body is already running off of the fat cells just to keep you upright, so you are getting a big old hormone dump.

Since we hardly get any nutrients early on, we are using way more calories than we take in just to think, breathe and keep our organs running. So our bodies are just throwing fat cells into the furnace and those hormones are raging.

It WILL continue to get better, bit I know that doesn't help now. Vent here. Rant here. Let us support you, cheer for you and Celebrate with you.

If you DO want to journal, don't think of it as a "dear diary" type thing. It can be your thoughts, song lyrics, doodles, or even a giant profanity scrawled across the page! LoL

Whatever you feel, feel it. Your experience is valid and real. Allowing yourself to feel thos stuff now will help you beat cravings later because you will know that you can live through the feelings without food. And you'll be a rockstar!

~SW: 278 CW: 165~
RNY 1/5/2005
"What got you here won't get you there."

I agree, this is a whole bucket of emotions. I suggest journaling, get a new psychiatrist that has experience in bariatrics. First of all - you are still recovering from surgery, anesthetic and from lack of nutrition - the first few weeks I passed out a few times, try to keep fluids way up there, it takes work but it is very important, take a nap - it's okay. Soon you will be much better, and it won't seen so daunting. Good luck.

A lot of this, for me, was hormonal. After about three weeks I started to feel normal again. I have bad days, like raging head hunger and urge to eat everything in the house yesterday, but those are occasional and manageable. Right after surgery I was super emotional, anxious, depressed. It felt like extreme PMS. I am 8 weeks out now and feeling pretty stable. Good luck.