Healthy_life

9 minutes ago, Frustr8 said:

Well Jenn, I have never been average or normal, I have always been Me- Frustr8- but thank you Dr Needleman , I am a surgically refurbished Frustr8 now, diet and health will only improve as time goes by. I have trouble remembering the uniqueness of my journey, none of ours is exactly the same, but each is right for each person. And when my loss slows as Jenn says correctly it will, I hope I will be cool ,calm. and still grateful for this wonderful gift🎁.

Your right...we all are different in this process. I never wanted to be normal or a statistic. We all have the same goal..Healthy.

Everyone looks great! Are you guy's used to the change or does it still take time for your mind to wrap itself around?

2 hours ago, deargh said:

Hi all!

I’m currently coming up to my 4 month post op mark and I’ve been working out pretty much every day but lately I’ve been getting super super super tired. Not being able to finish a full hour workout I’m maxing out at 35 mins. My hair is also falling out like crazy.

I’m up to between 600-800 cals a day. I’m good with liquids getting between 2-3 liters of Water per day. Protein could be better, I’m averaging between 40-70 grams of Protein a day. I know I need to be better but I’m doing the best I can with it ,including supplementing with shakes and focusing on protein rich foods. I’m struggling because of the small quantities I can eat so I’m getting 25g of protein from my shake and the other 20-30g from the small meals.

My losses have been good, averaging about 4lbs a week. I can tolerate most food, it’s just this tiredness is stressing me out! Anyone experience this? Or better yet, know how to stop it?

HW:280
CW:206
GW: 160

Energy and exercise:

You will feel more energy as your calories increase. A full hour of a workout can be broken up into 30 mins twice a day. I know one woman who walked 30 mins twice a day. I'm not sure if I want to add to the advice on complex carbs but here is my two cents. It would depend on how intense your workouts are and if you are carb sensitive.

The Hair loss phase is no fun. I used toppik to fill in the thin spots.

2 hours ago, hope2 said:

I had revision from band to sleeve on August 17. I have lost about 18 pounds which seems pretty good to me. I feel like I am learning to eat all over again. I seem to be doing pretty good with getting my Protein in with the GENEPRO and I struggle a bit with the Water. Last week I began to feel nausea and I realized I was eating too much. If I stick to 3 to 4 ounces I feel fine. My surgeon has advanced my diet as I can tolerate. I can eat salad or, anything really, just not much of it. My cravings are under control and I can have small amounts of sugar, like one Hershey kiss, and it does not seem to throw me into the trenches of hell of increasing my cravings for bad choices. I watch my macros which I have set for 20% carbs, 30% fat and 50% Protein.< span> For the most part I am hitting that or getting close enough. I am trying to establish life long eating habits without having foods that are completely removed from my diet. Eating out is hard because I tend to waste so much food. People say to save it and eat it later however I usually will never get to eating it because I just do not eat very much. I think I am going to have to eat 4 to 6 small meal/snacks a day to get my needs met. I am up to about 5 to 600 calories a day, but I know that is not sufficient, so I try to increase as I can. I know my body is in starvation mode because I have not moved on the scale for about 3 weeks. I am taking my Flintstone multi and a Vitamin D daily and I also have some calcium chews. I do see a nutritionist but have not been able to get in since my surgery. Does this look like I am doing things correctly?

You are around a month out. 500/600 calories is about right. You are still healing and finding how to feel your new sensation of full. In the first months it's a struggle to get your protein and Water goal in. Your best weight loss is in the first three months. Take advantage of it. As you progress your surgery restriction will be less and your food intake/calories will increase. your weight loss will slow down. Stalls happen. Keep working your program the scale will move.

I want you to be prepared - For the majority of sleevers, A year or more out surgery restriction will be noticeably less. This is normal for sleeve surgery. Your sleeve has not stretched. This is why it's so important to change behaviors and eat healthy long term. The work does not end after goal.

You said "I am trying to establish lifelong eating habits without having foods that are completely removed from my diet" not sure what that means. All your food choices are yours to make. The only one that has to be happy with your results is you.

Wishing you the best,

Jenn

6 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

I stock up on Torani SF pumpkin Spice (love it) and the SF Pepperment, also white chocolate at World Market.

Also Netrition (if BP doesn't have it in their store) ships stuff great with very low/no shipping if you order enough. They always wrap stuff well--never had anything broken or damaged. They are my low carb superstore for crap foods.

Oh and Jennie-O turkey tenderloins browned and roasted, and all things roasted veggies. Also salads with pomegranite seeds, toasted pecans/walnuts, bacon/prosciutto, and homemade garlicy Dijon vinaigrette. SOOOO yummy! Oh and smashed cauliflower everything.

I look forward to hiking this fall and to building on my strengthening routines. I also welcome fall clothes/shoes!!!

The salad sounds lovely. Going grocery shopping today!

16 minutes ago, CrankyMagpie said:

350 degrees until soft, or ... ? Do you take off the skin (from either)?

I had never considered combining apples and pumpkin, and I am intrigued!

Thanks for sharing!

I don't peel the apple. I do peel the pumpkin. I like the added whole cranberries.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roast until very soft, and a bit golden brown about 35 to 45 minutes.

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery! You have all of our support. Even from people that don't have the same surgery time frame.

On 9/25/2018 at 1:33 PM, fluffy562 said:

I’m 2 days shy of being 5 weeks post op. I’m constantly hungry, I eat Proteins all meals and I don’t feel restriction. I just mentally stop at 3-4 oz cause I’m not really sure how far I should take it?

The majority of us still feel hunger at times.

Real food stage : 4 oz of Protein and veggies at each meal. I eat as much veggies as I want. I eat four to six small meals a day. I keep them within my calorie and macro goals.

hope you find what works for you.

On 9/23/2018 at 6:57 PM, nicole2592 said:

I’ve heard that it’s difficult to get a referral from your primary. I also heard they require doctor monitored weight loss programs and I’m hoping to save time by avoiding that. Did it take a lot of convincing your doctor on your end?

Most primary Dr's are supportive. You can always shop for a primary Dr that is pro bariatrics. A pre surgery supervised diet may be required by your insurance company or surgeons office. Call them to find out.

My experience:

My Dr was supportive. There is a process and hoops to jump through. It was all worth it. I had a six month weight loss requirement from my insurance company and a psych evaluation. The psych eval was straight forward not difficult to get through.

Seems like an eternity waiting. But honestly, I look back and all of this has been in a timely manner.

Love this time of year.

pumpkin pie Protein shake:

• vanilla protein powder
• canned pumpkin puree
• Pumpkin pie spice

Fall side dish I make for thanksgiving.

• Cube a small sugar pumpkin and an apple
• drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sugar free maple Syrup. sprinkle of cinnamon
• Roast in the oven on a cookie sheet
• place in a bowl. Add whole cranberries if you like

Tip: Stay active over the fall and winter. Don't let the colder weather set you back. Summer bodies are built in the winter. If you don't have a gym membership. Walk a mall and window shop. Find workout videos to do at home. Buy a used bike or treadmill off craigslist or a new one if you can afford it.

Holy hell. 49. I will be 50 in November.

Sleeved four years ago at age 45 still maintaining my weight. I've had the time of my life in my 40's. Still having adventures. Life is short.

46 minutes ago, Cynisca said:

You shouldn't waste time posting here you should call your medical team. Soup is a liquid and if you can't even consume liquids that's odd. And if you are getting dizzy call your medical team.

Amen! None of us are Dr's. Any medical concerns please call your surgeon's office.

29 minutes ago, BelleOfBatonRouge said:

I just got off the phone with my surgical coordinator. It’s really going to happen. I have me pre-op meeting with the nutritionist on Monday, pre-op tests and meeting with my doctor Tuesday, and the 2 week liquid diet starts next Wednesday.

I feel like I just won the lottery. I have so many questions running through my head. I am not worried about the actual surgery, but I know the 2 week liquid diet is going to suck. But I am so ready.

Woohoo! happy dance. Congrats on your date.

All the positives out of surgery will outweigh the sucy parts. Be strong be brave..... you got this!

1 hour ago, Khloe617 said:

I eat like cream of wheat, oatmeal, eggs, fruit, whatever on the list, bite of the meat i could for dinner, but I’m on real food and still seem to eat the same foods out of fear of not knowing really what I can or can not eat but I know I can’t eat like this forever. Plus it’s boring. I’m enjoying salads soooo much 😫 I really just need to figure other ways to get Protein

You can google bariatric friendly recipes. I still get in foods ruts at four years out. This is a long term sustainable way of eating and still is flavorful. I think the fear and questioning if you are doing this right is normal. It gets easier as food becomes habit.

Beef, chicken, seafood, dairy and eggs. Hundreds of options to cook them. I do fajitas no tortilla, Smoked salmon salad, bariatric pizza (my goto) eggplant as lasagna layer instead of noodles. Experiment to find what you like.

Below is my dieticians recipe page for food ideas. Make sure they fit your plan.

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/bariatric-friendly-recipes/

Are you logging your food in a food app?

I use myfitness pal. My food diary is open

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en_US

My username is fit_chickx

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/fit_chickx

6 minutes ago, YeahOkay31 said:

What is, "What are things that are painfully slow?" Bariatric surgery for $400, Alex.

So for the past three weeks I have gone back and forth between stalls and losing like .5 pounds a week. I tried mixing it up--more exercise, less carbs, more carbs, less calories, more calories, more Water, more protein---more hair pulling!!

I was afraid of this. When I lost 112 pounds in my 20s, it was in the 220s I slowed down and got a little crazy--purging, laxatives, fasting (aka starving). Now I am a big grown woman and I can't say I have those urges again but the panic is the same. Why does it need to be like this? Why this reaction? Why can't we all just chill when we stall?

153 pounds. Amazing work. I will take slow with that kind of weight loss. First month 28, second month 15 pounds third month 15 pounds 4th month 11 pounds 5th month 9 pounds. Actually sounds fantastic to me. Weight loss is best in the first months of restriction. As you progress out from surgery it slows down. As you get close to goal you have less body fat to burn......It's seriously slow.

I think the reaction of panic/anxiety is normal for many of us. It is our past experience with weight loss attempts. Yes, I also freaked out over a stall. Even if the weight loss is slow its ok. It's the fact you are losing weight not the speed.

Stalls break. Takes time. I understand the panic and frustration. The thread below may help.

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/

Love seeing all the healthy meal options. Great posts!

On 8/17/2018 at 6:29 AM, FluffyChix said:

You guys crack me up. I can take before pics. But all you'll see after is a clean and happy plate. LOLOL!

Same here! lol

On 7/16/2018 at 7:53 AM, Matt Z said:

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?

I hate judgment of food choices or how people choose to work their program. We are all absolutely human. We stumble then get back with our plans.

We get to choose how strict or lax we work this. At the end of the day, The only one who has to be happy with your results is you.

2 hours ago, Pink nova said:

Hi Beautiful People!

Just wanted to share my milestone with you...I officially lost 100lbs (68lbs since surgery on May 28, 2018)!!! So happy and doing a happy dance right now 😁

Have a great weekend everyone!! ❤️❤️

Major mile stone! congrats on all the work you put into this.

22 hours ago, Khloe617 said:

Hey everyone I’m about 7 weeks out down 31 lbs since about 2 weeks ago. Don’t really weight myself outside of the doctors. Anyways. How many people eat whatever they want and still lost all their weight. My doctors has me on no restrictions as far as my diet. My NUT said it’s about Portion Control and not really the foods you eat. I’m still trying to get my liquids down, my Protein needs to be better but the shakes make me vomit and sugar alcohols give me the runs. Been on real food for about 2 weeks with no problems but I don’t want to mess myself up. They told me stay off this site because listening to others will ruin me but to just listen my body. It knows what it an handle. Still like input however. Do you diet or no ???

Diet or no diet. Interesting question.

If you rely on surgery food restriction for weight loss you will be disappointed in your results. Eating whatever you want in Portion Control will not make your weightloss successful long term.

First stages focus on hitting your Protein goals not calories because your food intake is low

The first months of sleeve surgery is your best stomach restriction. Understand This will change as you progress out from surgery. In the months and years ahead sleevers can eat more food and tolerate most foods. This is why it's important to change behaviors and eat on your dieticians plan.

12 hours ago, carolynjackson said:

I had gastric surgery april 2017. Weighed 290, by march 2018 was down 120 lbs to 170, now the scale creeping up . I've cheated, no point in lying, just wanna get back on track. I'm almost to the 200 's. Every day I try. I'm so disappointed in myself, should i do a pouch reset. Do they even work? I even crave chips and candy worst than i did before. How to believe in myself again!!! I love the new me!!  

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using BariatricPal mobile app

Most of us have had weight gain after goal. Getting back on track can be done. Believe in yourself.

Time to clean out the house of crap food choices. Go grocery shopping for your weight loss phase food plan. For some, a reset gets them back into the weight loss mindset. For others it's too restrictive to go back to liquid soft food stage. You will get the same results going back to bariatric basic food stage. Whole foods that are more satisfying.

Log and weigh your food.

Hydrate

Activity

You have done this before you can do it again. It's finding the old discipline you had at the beginning of your surgery. The food holidays are here. Make a goal to get past them and ring in the new year at a lower weight.

It's not easy to detox and get back to healthy habits. Its work. You will feel crappy for a few weeks. If you are consistent you will see results.

14 hours ago, Medowsweet said:

So, I went in and asked talked to my doctor... I thought she would say I don't qualify (I used to not because I have no health problems except I weigh 311lbs, I needed to be diabetic, but now I qualify just for being very obese)

Lots of hoops to jump through... Many of them in a city 60 miles away. Still... The very first steps are started, she reffered me to a place and I have to get very initial blood work this week...

For some reason I was convinced she would not want me to get the sugury but she was all for it.

Some family doctors are not supportive of bariatrics. If that is the case you can always find another one who is.

Congrats on getting the process started!

57 minutes ago, ZizerZazerZuz said:

Hi. I’m new here. I just started the process to get sleeved, and I have 6 months of protocol I have to follow (per my insurance) before I can get it done. My question at the moment is, have any of you experienced frequent premature ventricular contractions at the time of surgery? I’ve been suffering thousands a day for the last 4 months, and scared about whether it will affect my safety during surgery. So far my doctors are calling my condition begning, but I haven’t asked my cardiologist for their all clear for WLS yet, which I have to have per my bariatric surgeon.

If you are concerned for your health and safety - Ask your bariatric surgeon and your cardiologist.

On 9/16/2018 at 8:50 AM, Oct517 said:

Exactly what the title says... I've researched this surgery up and down. I know it is the right choice for me. I am not concerned about the strict diet afterwards (I have lost over 100 pounds in the past through diet and exercise). I'm just having this really irrational fear of the recovery pain. I just want to know what to expect but of course everyone has a different experience. Especially with a lot of people posting "I have really high pain tolerance but..." lol. I don't even know what kind of pain tolerance I have. Sorry for this whiney fear-induced post.

Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Let fear take over or get treatment to get your health back.

Fear of the unknown is natural. Your experience will be unique to you. No one can tell you what your experience is going to be. Just be prepared for pain. Know that your team is going to take good care of you and manage it with medication.

Is reading people's horror stories helping you? I understand getting both perspectives.

My experience with pain was normal and temporary. I'm over 100 pounds down. To me the pain is worth it.

You may want to contact your insurance company.