Malcy

Just passed the 1 month surgery mark. I travel a lot for business and I had an entire strategy about sitting at the back of the planes, trying to secretly put on the seat belt extender, super humiliated if someone sees me do it, and overall just felt really terrible even using one. Today I flew without one on 2 different airlines. No one except me knew why I was smiling so much upon take off. Bye Bye Seat Belt extender!

Hey all,

I’m now 2.5 months out from Surgery. Recovery was straight forward. But last night I woke up with the most intense pain in my stomach. It felt like a 400lb sumo wrestler was sitting on my abdomen. It literally took my breath away. I got up and was gasping for breath, it eventually subsided after about 30 minutes. I’m far enough out I thought I wouldn’t have anything like this.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what this could have been?

Maybe Angie you should tell out this orney insurance company so we all know who to avoid.
A little insurance humor(well it's funny now -wasn't then) when late hubby and I were going to be blessed with a third child, we checked. into our insurance coverage to see what kind of maternity benefits we,had, wasn't very clear so we filed a request for clairification. Back flew a letter, they were attempting to deny coverage,their excuse? Quote -Pregnancy is an avoidable disease -unquote. The insurances company. was Connecticut General. They had a a commercial ditty which we paraphrased:
Making sure we'll all be screwed
That's what Connecticu General people do!
We appealed and they finally,agreed to cover. See when they and my,life husbands company had initiated the coverage they thought only adults would need coverage.
And outside my family and doctor, no one knew how hard I battled infertility to achieve that pregnancy!
Incidently that "disease" is now 39 years old and the joy of my existence.😜&👨

You look amazing! Congratulations to you

Don't let the weight control your emotions. You will stall, slow down, plateau and gain. Your taking in food now not just liquid so your body has to adjust. Don't eat less or stick to liquids because your body will go into starvation mode and you'll stop losing for sure.

I am glad you posted this question. I am 1 month post op and am in a stall also. I'm feeling a little anxious about moving into soft foods.

just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and safe Labor Day. I know that many will be going or hosting BBQ's. I raise my Premiere Protein Shake to you. Stay strong!

Ha! Yeah sure, with a linebacker's thunder thighs. LOL. I should go for the Heismann!

@FluffyChix You're rockin' that hourglass shape, aren't you? I'm still more like a stopwatch!

Ok, I'll start this. I'm about 6 1/2 months out from RNY surgery. I'm down 123.6lbs from my most recent high weight of 287lbs as of last May 5, 2017. You can see my stats in the signature panel and on the left side of each post. I love my surgery and have few problems--in fact, my pouch is named Iron Will cuz nothing bothers it except a high fat diet--then I will wish I'd died.
I'm starting IF because I had amazing results with it before a cancer dx and used it all throughout treatment. It protected my healthy cells and exposed the cancer cells to vulnerability. I am on a cancer drug that causes super-menopause--shutting down as much estrogen and progesterone as possible. So I'm terribly hormone-imbalanced and losing is harder than it should be. I also have thyroid issues that I'm dealing with as a result of life-long PCOS (metabolic disease).
I will do a bunch of gyrations with my IF--far more than most would need to do--so don't think "my plan" is the proper way to IF. I think most people don't have to jump through the extreme hoops I have to jump through in order to lose weight and stem inflammation--my ultimate goal.
I found ADF using the JUDDDD plan years ago. This doc who developed it was one of the pioneers in modern-day IF. JUDDDD stands for The Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet or ADF (Alternate Day Fasting Diet). You can get the book here. It's a very easy and effective plan and is based in part on the work of Dr. Valter Longo and his SIRT (longevity gene) research. It's based on growing telomeres to counter-balance the effects of aging. The diet also helps reduce inflammation and is very good for asthma/allergies in addition to helping a whole bunch of chronic diseases.
Here are my beginning stats. I will weigh in weekly and will add my measurements every month on the 20th. I'm beginning this IF journey on Labor Day 2018. Cuz you know...why not do something fairly hard on a national holiday lol.
My personal JUDDD plan will include alternate days of 500cals. The other alternating days will be normal eating patterns between 900-1200 cals. In addition, I will continue my low carb diet and will keep the following macros as much as I can. My plan says that being 100cals one way or the other makes little difference. So I won't sweat being a couple cals or grams over or under.
Down Days (DD) 500 cals: 60%Protein (75g); 15%Carbs (19g--total non-net); 25%Fat (14g); Fiber where I can; <10g daily natural sugars
Up Days (UD) aka Normal Days 1000 cals: 30% Protein (75g); 15%Carbs (50g--total non-net); 55%Fat (61g); 25g Fiber; <15g daily natural sugars
Intermediate Medium Day 750 cals: 40% Protine (75g); 15%Carbs (28g--total non-net); 45%Fat (38g); as much fiber as possible; <10g daily natural sugars
Alternating Schedule:
M-W-Th: DD
Sat: MD
Fri-Sun: UD
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I'm also going to be eating within a 14:10 schedule which means, 14 hours fasting (currently considered the optimal fasting/eating window for females) and 10 hours opportunity to eat scheduled meals. I eat roughly 3-4 hours between meals. So I will be available to eat between 11am-9pm keeping roughly the 3-4 hours between meals.
09.03.18 Weight:
166.4lbs
08.20.18 Measurements:
Chest 40.5
Waist 32.5
Hips 41.5
Neck 13.5
Right Thigh 22
Left Thigh 22
Right Arm 11
Left Arm (Lymphedema from cancer) 12.5

Almost everyone hits a stall when they change phases. It's perfectly normal, though annoying. Just stick with your plan and the weight loss will start up again.

I'm struggling with motivation at 6 months out. So I do get it. But I will remind you--cuz otherwise why post the mea culpa bs? LOL. Fuc* transparency. We are not your confessors. So either: A) You want confirmation that your actions are not seriously screwin you and permission to go forward on this path that can only end in disappointment --in it's present derivation. OR B ) You actually want motivation and a kick in the hiney to get your sh*t back in gear.
So which is it? Otherwise, this post is just a ginormous waste of your time.
I know why I'm posting here again. I want to be held accountable. I want to borrow motivation from others until I can generate my own motivation. So I read here about all the wonderful losers and how they succeed. And I plot and plan.
What I'm doing to get the love back is making small changes:
1. Making sure to get my 100+ oz of Fluid in each day (plain Water + 3 cups decaff)
2. Kicking crap Snacks or just snacks and bites to the curb. I can literally "taste" myself past the point of eating back all my exercise calories. A bite here. A bite there. A lick here...one little chip. It all adds up quickly. And kill any sugar in there...
3. Eating to my Protein goal and trying not to eat beyond it of lean very dense protein
4. Eating to my low glycemic veggie and low glycemic berry goal: 1lb per day raw weight
5. Taking my supplements as prescribed/religiously.
6. Meeting my daily exercise goals: 1 hour minimum of walking daily--7 days per week unless sick or dying.
7. sleeping 6+ hours per night.
8. Destressing.

I still don't feel the first fire in my bellah that lets me be happy on 600cals per day. I CAN do it. It's just not easy now. It's hard. And I want to rationalize and talk myself out of it. And I'm stalled between 163 and 165. But I will do this. I WILL meet my minimum: 145lbs or less.
You can do this. You just have to remind yourself EVERY DAM* DAY! How much you wanted this and why you did it. You can't forget, if you do, you will squander your golden shot to do this.

The right picture is December, 3 months before my surgery and the left picture is beginning of August, almost 5 months after my sleeve. Down 90+ lbs!

Now that we’ve all confessed our deepest food sins- let me post what the heck I look like ...

Yesterday was my birthday and my "nutrition" for the day included a Protein Shake in the morning.....and then alcohol. No food. Because I'm really smart. (not)

I tried forced malabsorption and payed the price... Was on the toilet for hours...
I ate cake, pie, pastry for my birthday week and justified it by having salad and naked burgers as the other meals
I can't stand plain Water even though I push for everyone else to drink it
My children are vegan by their fathers' request but I gave them chicken because I was eating some and they were more than happy to have it

Great idea, Matt!

I had TWO glasses of wine last night when hubby & I went out for our birthdays/anniversary. I had a designated driver and I don't feel guilty in the least. Part of me wishes I had gotten sick though, so that I wouldn't be tempted to do it again Additionally, I had the wine with my meal!

I figured it would be nice to have a section where we could just confess to some of the potentially dumb things we've done, pre or post op. Just so others can see we are all human. I want this to be kept as civil as possible, where people can own up to things without anyone else chiming in with anything negative, we all know what we did wasn't "right" but I'm sure we ALL have done something we shouldn't have.

I'll start.

I cheated on my pre-op diet a few times. I also like to find loop holes and exploit the crap out of them. I drank beer for a week+ on my pre-op, because it didn't say I couldn't. I only stopped after I was forced to, because my wife asked my surgeon and of course they said "no"... boo. I also ate a whole slice of French meat Pie at my Dad's 60th birthday luncheon.

I cheated on my post-op diet/puree stage a bit too. I ate rice cakes and Protein chips or other veggie chips. Not a lot, but it happened. I "pureed" a steak and cheese sandwich once. I ate a few fried ravioli on my puree stage as well.

This past weekend, I had a beer. My wife and I took my parents out to dinner at a local casino, it's Restaurant week, so we found a good looking location and went out to eat, part of the deal was that you got a draft beer with your meal. So, I had a shipyard summer ale with my grilled chicken parm sandwich (only ended up eating 3 bites of the chicken and none of the bread).

I did all that thus far and nothing bad happened.
I understand the changes are to ensure we stick to our diets, but understanding that we are all human and WILL either slip up or just stray from our diets on purpose like I did. It's good to see that, it's possible to still live and be able to enjoy a few things we "shouldn't" without any negatives happening.

So, what's your WLS confession?

Gaining muscle will cause you to retain Water for a little while. You have to tear the muscle fibers just a little to build new muscles, and the healing process requires retained water. So some of the "stall" isn't, really--you're losing fat, and you're gaining muscle and probably retaining a little Fluid.
The "muscle is heavier" thing is a motivating thing to tell ourselves, but it just means that a pound of muscle is smaller/denser than a pound of fat--they still both weigh a pound and look the same on the scale.
Instead, I remind myself that pound of muscle is healthier than a pound of fat. Also, every gain in muscle is a gain in basal metabolic rate, which will help with losing fat/maintaining a healthier weight in the long run.
Are you using measuring tape? Because if you aren't losing pounds--especially if you're building up your exercising habit--I strongly suspect you're losing inches.
Approximately 70 pounds in 5 months is nothing to sneeze at. It's a major accomplishment, congratulations!

And then the September🌻🌿🌻 Surgeries will be up to bat, ⚾myself included. And Time📆 has a way of Marching on, let's wave ✋as we go by and move over to Summer 2018 Post-Surgery!

Hi @ttjmom. It’s a long story. Sleeve has been awesome for many, just not for me. If you care to read it, here you go...
3rd Bariatric Surgery:
I realize that most people will probably gloss over this topic...because for most 1 surgery works and is enough and if you fall into this category, please know how fortunate you are. This is not my story
I am 5'8. In 2007 I was 273lb's and miserable! I got a Band. Following 13 fills and unfills the best I lost was 60lb's, I never achieved restriction, and unfilled to have 2 kids. All weight returned. In an unrelated accident my port flipped, and in 2015 at 265lb's I was revised to a Gastric Sleeve (Also had my gallbladder taken out, a Haital hernia repaired and the band removed). I lost 60lb's in the first 4 months and then...stopped loosing. At 205lb's I would have been happy with my results, but then, I felt no restriction and started to regain! Fast forward almost 3 years to today...I have developed GERD pretty bad and I've regained most of what I lost back!
My stomach feels hungry every hour or two, I could always eat WAY more than my sleeved friends, and once I got myself full, it would not take long for the deep primal hunger to return. I have no relief from hunger. Especially at night, I'm ravenous! I became a grazer! I felt that the Ghrelin was back with an Army to fight me! A 80% international traveling job plus unlimited access to food in the best restaurants around the globe did not help. I have felt dejected, humiliated, like a failure, angry, frustrated and the list goes on for miles, if you are still reading, you probably know how I feel. And indeed, It's not just about how I look...it's about how I feel. Horrible!! My weight is pressing, intrusive and pervasive. There is no time that I am not aware of it. I have sleep Apnea, I can't keep up with my 6 and 7 year old's and the simple things in life are hard again. Completely demoralizing... After almost 3 years, I finally said "Enough" and went back to a new Surgeon. An Endoscopy revealed it has not all been my fault. My Sleeve was cut too big to begin with! My new surgeon reveled he knows the work of the previous surgeon who apparently was not very skilled at the time and making sleeves too big to be successful. A Bougie 42 was was too big to begin with but in my case, even that was very loosely cut. To top it off, my Sleeve was mis-shapen to begin with as well, setting me up for failure and I have a Stricture in the middle, causing me to have an Hourglass shape. Top fills up, stretches, bottom is hungry, then food goes to the bottom and is still there, top is hungry, in short...a hot mess!
Miraculously given the Haital Hernia, GERD, Stricture and botched initial surgery, my insurance (that does not cover Bariatrics) has approved a revision to Bypass on Aug 22nd. I've been combing the internet for Sleeve to RNY revision but such information is not as readily available as 1st timers. I am so nervous...so frightened to go through with this. Scared of Anesthesia, scared how I would do, scared of the 3 week post op liquid only phase. Scared that I will fail again, that this will not work. Some Surgeons (like the Pound of Cure guy say you can only expect to loose 10 - 25lbs on a Sleeve to RNY revision, woa?? ) But I have to try...I want to live a full and vibrant life and not just exist like an Amoeba! This is truly Project last chance. My husband is supportive, but my friends, judgmental and not supportive. and if ever I needed some advice, encouragement, support etc...it's now...
Nervous but cautiously hopeful, and very much in need of your support...
Ellie

And you know what makes this pre-op liquid diet extra fun? A 5 day visit from your mother in law!

I didn't tell a soul either. I do not want to be sized up every time I see someone, or have my food constantly monitored. I feel like it was a personal choice and it's my business and I kept it to myself.

Congrats to you. Take it slow, slow small sips and you will get the fluids down. Like @NewBodySoon says get your walking in and make sure to rest. You got this!

Congrats to you. Take it slow, slow small sips and you will get the fluids down. Like @NewBodySoon says get your walking in and make sure to rest. You got this!