GradyCat

These dumbbells were delivered to me yesterday that I had ordered on Wal-Mart.com. I wasn't expecting them until tomorrow. I'm looking forward to incorporating these into my fitness routine. I do 90 minutes a day of cardio. But sometimes at home in the afternoon I do more cardio and I've been using soup cans to add resistance. Now I have 3 lb, 5 lb and 8 lb weights to use. I found some great arm toning 10-minute workouts on YouTube. Naturally I can do some heavier lifting and use the strength training machines at the gym, but these small light dumbbells are just for home incidental use when I have a few extra minutes and some extra energy to enhance my gym workout. While I would actually like to add some arm muscle, I guess I'd be happy to just tone what I already have.

Welcome to our bariatric community. Take a tour around the forums and you'll find many helpful threads and answers to a lot of the questions you might have. We share our experiences here and learn a lot from one another. Wow, you two did it together, huh? That's pretty neat.

I guess I got lucky, my coordinator was very responsive both by phone and email. Each surgeon in the practice had his/her own coordinator, so one person wasn't doing the entire office.

I see this a lot on here with GERD after sleeve. It hasn't happened to me . . . yet. I'm wondering why that's a known issue, what causes it? I had GERD pre-WLS and now I don't have it since losing weight. Can I be nosy? If the revision is to correct GERD caused by VSG, does it cost you anything/does insurance cover it?

This is very thorough and helpful information for those considering this procedure.

That doesn't sound like a reasonable request or something that's within your control in that time-frame.

Except for a couple of days with the stomach flu and 2 snow days I've been to the gym every single day since November 22nd. Even when I couldn't make it to the gym, I've worked out at home by grabbing some soup cans, marching and tapping around the house, dancing, just moving doing anything I could, squats, etc. I don't do lunges!!!! 😀 So starting January 1st I noticed I was hitting 10,000 steps per day between working out at the gym for an hour and then again for 20-30 minutes at home later in the day. I've done 18 days in a row exceeding 10,000 steps. My new goal has been to get the whole 10k steps in while at the gym, which is a little harder because it takes 90 minutes to get them all in. So this morning I made it to 8,000 steps at the gym and now I need to get 20 more minutes / 2000 more steps in at home. I get 90 minutes of cardio in every day before lunch one way or another. I also did 15 minutes of strength training/weight machines this morning, but they didn't really register me any steps. I'm thinking about adding some weight lifting to my daily routine or maybe every other day starting in February. How much cardio do you do each week? What's everybody else been doing this New Year?

I returned to the gym on November 22nd and have only missed a couple of days since then/going 7 days a week. I'm doing 60-90 minutes of cardio at the gym, plus every other day I'm doing strength training on the weight lifting machines and lifting small light dumbbells at home. I should have taken measurements when I started working out two months ago but I didn't. Now the scale isn't moving down, but it could be my new fitness routine and muscle gain. How long should it take before I can start seeing some muscle definition in my arms and/or tell that the weightlifting is working? Is it too late for me to measure now and into the future to track changes? I'd like to see some arm definition by May if possible.

I've been doing really good, 90 minutes a day of cardio, since Jan 1st but decided that I needed to incorporate some weight lifting and strength training into my daily routine. My gym membership is free under Silver Sneakers, so I don't pay for it and they have trainers that you can pay. I've never used a trainer before, but I decided to give it a try. It's $30 for a 30-minute session if you sign up for 12 sessions, so I did. The first session was free to get to know the trainer, see if you got along, describe your goals, set a plan, etc. I've done 3 workouts with her so far and it's WONDERFUL! Not only does she show me how to properly use the dumbbells, barbells, and cable machines, but she encourages and supports me and directs me what to do. She mixes it up so I'm not doing the same muscle group all the time or get bored with the same routine. I don't know how long I can afford it but I like it for at least these 12 sessions. I'm doing them 3x/week. Maybe I can do 1x/week for the next month and then after that just incorporate everything I've learned and do the exercises myself. Have you ever used a personal trainer? How'd you like that?

You're worrying too much. You're highly unlikely to get dumping syndrome, it's very uncommon. It's nearly impossible to stretch your stomach. 6 TBSP of food is not too much. Eat small tiny little meals multiple times per day and get your water in. You'll be fine.

I'm sorry to hear that your recovery isn't going as optimally as hoped. Get some sugar-free popsicles to get some more liquid in and they'll stay down. Maybe try some jello. It's not incision pain, is it? Just pain from throwing up so much? Please take care. We care about you and I'll be praying for your emotions and recovery.

Your blood pressure will vary on time of day, level of exertion, stress, and other factors. Are they extreme swings or just minor differences?

PROTEIN SHAKES: GNC Premade Lean Swiss Chocolate 25 g protein CRACKERS: Good Things in sea salt or plain salt PROTEIN BARS: Think! Cupcake Creme bars WATER ENHANCER: Kroger Peach Tea powdered mix CHIPS: Quest Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips POPCORN: Skinny Pop sea salt COOKIES: Kodiak Bites chocolate graham cookies

It's highly unlikely that you've stretched your pouch. You can get back to basics and the weight will come off again. I know because I've done it. I gained 25 pounds in 2020/2021 and just lost it. It's never too late.

The only person who can decide your goal weight is you. Others can suggest a reasonable or practical number, but it's ultimately up to you.

The key here is to return to taking care of YOU. You need to take care of yourself as much as you are a caregiver. There is no such thing as the point of no return, so you can certainly lose that 25-30 pounds back and be healthier. What do you think is causing your nausea? It could be nerves if you're overwhelmed and stressed. Consider getting back to basics like you did right after you sleeved, focusing on protein and water intake and tracking everything you eat. I have faith in you.

Don't forget that sugar-free popsicles count as liquid. As does Gatorade and jello. Good luck on your surgery. Let us know how it goes.

Where I had mine done, you attended a group "seminar" where one of the practice's surgeons talked about the different WLS options, how they worked, etc. and they answered any questions you had, then you left with a huge thick packet of information and application for WLS. After you turned in the application packet, you scheduled your initial visit with the surgeon where you talked about the specific WLS you wanted, asked questions, they got your history and vitals then turned you over to an office person to talk about the process of insurance approval, specialist's approvals if applicable, primary care doctor approval, psych visit, and nutritionist visit.

Most everybody gets the infamous Week 3 Stall. You're lucky it waited until Week 10. It might last a month or longer, so don't lose hope and just keep doing what you're doing and this too shall pass, I promise.

My guess would have been COVID but you've tested negative for that. Hmmm. Migraine? I get nauseous and dizzy and headache with migraine.

That's why these forums exist, so members can share experiences and ask questions. As regards your mental issues with food and night eating, have you considered talking with the therapist at the surgeon's office about this? Stick to the plan. It'll work for you. Don't worry about the numbers on the scale. Just focus on getting in the water, getting in the protein, limiting your food portions.

Good luck with your revision surgery. Let us know how it goes.

Vitamins can make you nauseous. Are you taking them with food? All at once? In the morning? Try taking them at night before you go to bed and/or spreading them out throughout the day. My stomach rumbles and gurgles all the time but it's just a minor annoyance that I have learned to accept.

Been there, done that. YES you can reset your pouch by going back to basics in terms of food portions, tracking, protein, water, and exercise. YES it can be done. I just lost 25 pounds since October after gaining weight during COVID. Don't be like me, though, because I skipped an appt with my surgeon and nutritionist because I was embarrassed about the weight gain and didn't want them to see me. I should have gone anyway. That's what they're there for, to help and guide us. So please go to your upcoming appt and just accept any advice they give.

Here's an update. I started on Weight Watchers Personal Points (WW) on December 20th. I lost 5 pounds in the first 3 weeks, which was slow but acceptable and I understood that I wouldn't bet a huge initial loss because I had already just lost 25 pounds on another eating plan. Then for the last 2-3 weeks I've been in a stall. I had forgotten all about stalls. Turns out that between adding 90 minutes of cardio every day since Jan 1st and only eating my Daily WW Points (25 points, about 1000 calories) I wasn't eating enough. Once I started adding in the extra allowed Weekly points the scale started moving again. So at this point I'm still happy with the WW program and think it's do-able and going to work for me. Slow and steady wins the race. I'd like to lose 20 pounds but I'm not setting a goal date for that. I'll get there when I get there and reward myself along the way for my consistency in food tracking, water intake, and exercise.