Shevhan

This is the reason there are so many destroyed relationships after WLS (marriages, friends and the like). I've had the misfortune of watching my youngest son's marriage fall apart (they have 3 young children) because his wife decided to jump on the holier than thou vegan wagon. She now spends her time condemning others for their food choices and expecting everyone to accommodate her food choices anytime she's around and might need to eat. Too many people start treating food like religion after they find something that worked for them. I'm sorry, but if I know it's an evangelist at my front door, I'm not answering it. I don't want to debate my beliefs with anybody. That's why a lot of the support group admin's on Facebook will pull out the ban hammer when people start preaching absolute (and potentially argumentative) opinions for a healthy lifestyle. They're considered trolls and get booted. I'm not saying that anyone should get booted here but save the judgmental rhetoric for your own circle. I think pretty much everyone on here has from time to time had to deal with judgmental people and their advice on the "healthiest way to eat" and just want to find what works best for them by filtering through lots of other people's experiences.

Oh man, the struggle is real.
I used the Smooth Move tea. It's best to take it the night before, pray to your deity of choice and try again in the morning.
I will never ever again laugh at anyone who complains about constipation. I really had no clue how bad it could be.
Pushing is bad for you so I would sit there and "crown" for a long time, then I would make the mistake of pinching and that log beast would quickly retract back in like an unlocked tape measure!
After two days of the same, I actually started rocking and bouncing on the toilet until I finally gave birth and nearly wept in relief and triumph.
When I finally emerged from the bathroom, my dad was wearing headphones...

Here are the official ASMBS 2017 Estimate of Bariatric Surgery Numbers by State.

Great article! This especially:
I might have to needlepoint a sampler!

Chin up, head high, squared shoulders, straighten back
Walk like a warrior

Oooooohhhh!!! I love this game! What if you get to 140 lbs! What if you feel better than you ever have in your life! What if you look in the mirror and love what you see!! What if you finally try something crazy like sky diving or scuba diving or cave diving???? What if you never ever have diabetes, or hypertension or high cholesterol. Or!!! If you have some of those....What if they go away? Crazy!
BIG BIG HUGS!
It's super hard to curb the anxiety prior to surgery and after surgery you'll have all new anxieties! Yay! My own surgeon told me I could stop choking myself while he made his final preparations before I went to sleep. Apparently my hands were around my neck I was so scared. In reality I was so terrified I could hardly breathe! You'll probably be scared too. Everyone will tell you not to be including yourself. But hey, it is scary, right? You're taking a risk, but it's such a wonderful risk to take with such wonderful potential for a better life ahead. I say it's okay to be scared and to worry. You're going to lose some shut eye from time to time. Do everything you can to understand what worries you, try to focus on what excites you, and then be okay about being worried.

This reminds me of going to Canada and seeing all the "A fed bear is a dead bear" signs. Well, I never saw a single bear, but the mosquitos nearly ate me alive! ? Where were all the 'Beware the mosquito" signs?
Similarly, the surgery seems like the painful part, but it's not really. The sign should read "Beware the wind and constipation!" And even that wears off after a bit. ☺
Keep your chin up. After a bit of a struggle, you'll give birth to a beautiful baby new you - totally worth it!

Today makes one year since my Gastric Sleeve. I lost 60 lbs and made my goal weight. I've learned a lot about myself and my eating habits. I also realize that each day has to be taken one day at a time as far as food is concerned. One bad day doesn't ruin all of the next days as one successful day doesn't guarantee future success. My WLS has been a great tool for rapidly loosing the weight and giving me that weigh loss success. The hard part started when I reached goal and that is to maintain the weight loss and continue to be healthy. One year ago I was a type 2 diabetic, had high BP, gout, Gerd and was in a continual downward spiral as far as health was concerned. Today my diabetes is in remission, BP normal, gout and Gerd both gone. Also gone are all the medications I needed to take daily in order to keep these diseases under control.
I know now that I am a compulsive eater. The WLS didn't cure me of that. Through therapy and Over Eaters Anonymous (OA), I'm working on it daily. Each day, I try my best to keep to my meal plan which was devised by my nutritionist, surgeon and Internist. Each day away from surgery I can feel my restriction loosen and I can't rely on it solely to keep my weight off. I do have restriction and it is very helpful but I can see that I can eat more. I have to work hard at not eating more and thus getting back into my old eating habits.
The WLS has helped out tremendously but now it's up to me to build on the successes. I know that I can slip up and get back to where I was before WLS. With the help of my therapist and OA I think I have a fighting chance. Time will tell but at least I know that I have a problem and I'm trying my best to meet it head on. I wish each of you continued weight loss success and good health and most of all if you think you need help don't be ashamed or afraid to get it.

Thank you everyone! It sucks that I lost a ton of hair but screw it, ya know?! I'm feeling good & felt like it was the best move for me!

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm really digging it!

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Long story short, I shaved my head due to MASSIVE hair loss after bypass. I was losing clumps of hair every day and had a very obvious bald spot. I bought a hair topper wig to cover it with but it only helped for 2 weeks before it no longer covered the growing baldness. So I said screw it.... and shaved my entire head!
I feel empowered. It's something I've always wanted to do.
I'm also 248lbs currently! My starting weight was 340lbs. Worth the hair loss
Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery.
Understanding Slider Foods
The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause a dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value.
For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein.

The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable.

Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the “Protein First” rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery.

Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the “Four Rules” the most important of which is “Protein First.” That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first.
Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.


Feature courtesy of BariatricPal.com

Here is my before shot and after shot. My one year mark is this Friday, March 7th. I have lost over 100 pounds. I was a size 22, now I'm down to a size 2,3. I feel great. I work out almost every day and I thank God every day for this surgery.

I got impatient,I couldn't wait to do my 1 year picture so I am posting my 11 month progress picture.