AZhiker

You will never know the answers to all your "what ifs" until you walk through that door. All of us have had those questions, and the journey is different for each of us, but nearly every single person here is glad and grateful to have had surgery. I was literally dying in inches from my obesity and I have my life back now, and I couldn't be happier. Unfortunately, I waited until I was 63 to have surgery and lot of damage was already done, especially to my joints.

I am plant based because of the health benefits. I find it to be very easy, as I am NEVER hungry with so much to eat. For me, it's not about learning what I can't eat, but more about trying to eat all the stuff I should in a day.

If you look at the Whole Food Plant Based forum you will see a ton of resources and cookbooks. Personally, as a bariatric patient I don't have any problem at all adjusting plant based recipes. In fact, I don't think I adjust anything except to avoid gluten. Most whole food plant based (WFPB) recipes rely on legumes, whole grains, and lots of veggies. That fits my bariatric eating plan just fine. I have no problem getting in enough protein. The only limitation I have as a bariatric patient is that my volume restriction is sometimes an issue if I am exercising heavily. On those days, I add some more concentrated items like "Think Thin" bars which are plant based and have enough protein/carb calories to keep me going, but without a lot of volume.

I started at 254 and reached goal of 149 in 7 months. Maintaining at 144-145 and feel great! Bypass surgery was the best decision I ever made.

I was required to attend a hospital class before surgery that explained the whole process from beginning to end. Basically you go to the preop area, get changed into a gown, get an IV, hooked up to monitors, have your vitals taken, and then get rolled into surgery. You may or may not get a little sedation before you roll, or you may get it in the OR. At any rate, you go to sleep with meds through the IV, get intubated, and maintained on gas anesthesia. You wake up afterward in recovery and once you are awake and stable, you will go to your room. There you will continue to wake up a bit more, get some pain med through the IV if you need it, and then start walking! You will be given liquids to drink. (I brought my own protein drink and broth, as I don't do sugar, gluten, artificial colors or sweeteners.) I did not eat the jello or protein goo they brought. Turns out the hospital did actually have gluten free broth, so that was great. I stayed one night and was home the next day. If you use a CPAP, bring your own machine, mask, and power cord, regardless of what they say about using their own machines. My tummy was so sore it was pretty hard to get out of bed and walk at first. They brought me a little firm pillow to brace my tummy with, and that helped 1000%. It was my best friend for about 2 weeks, whenever I rolled over, got out of bed, or stood up. (They actually give these pillow to cardiac surgical patients who use theme to brace against their chests when coughing or moving. The hospital volunteers sew them.) You should ask for one or take something similar - small and firm. Doesn't have to be any bigger than a travel size pillow, but needs to be a lot firmer - like if you took the travel pillow and stuffed into a pillow case half the size. Best wishes! Yes, it will hurt at first, but focus on getting out of bed and walking! I was the first surgery of the morning, so I was the first patient on the floor walking that afternoon. The nurses were very encouraging and proud of me for taking the initiative to get moving. Sip and walk, sip and walk! Keep us posted on your progress.

Ninja.

My surgeon will not do bands and neither of my hospitals will do them now. There were just too many complications and the results were not that great. Many resulted in follow up revision surgery. How much weight do you need to lose?

2 weeks in the soft food stage.

My GERD required bypass. It has been fine. I am happy with the results. BTW - my sleep apnea is now resolved and I don't need Cpap anymore!

That seems very extreme. Beans and legumes are very important sources of protein and one of the easiest soft foods to tolerate at first. The nuts can wait til maintenance as they have a lot of calories and fat. Yogurt and cottage cheese are also really good "first" foods. Why does he think you shouldn't have low fat cottage or yogurt? That makes no sense. Give us more of what your basic post op food plan will look like - week by week, according to your surgeon. Here's what mine looked like: Stage One (weeks 1,2): clear fluids and 2-3 protein shakes per day to meet 60 gm per day. Stage Two (weeks 2-8): soft proteins including cottage cheese, yogurt, bean soup, eggs, soft cheese, ground/pureed meat or poultry, soft fish, tofu, thin sliced deli meat. 2 protein shakes per day and 1 meal. Stage three (2 months - 6 months): New foods. 1 protein shake per day + 2 meals per day. Gradually add veggies and fruit and new proteins.

When people ask me how I lost the weight, I tell them, "This is what I am doing........" and proceed to tell them about my eating and exercise programs. I put it in the present tense. Or I say, "Most people regain all the weight they lose, so why don't we wait a year and you can ask me again, if I am still thin."

I still can't get used to people calling me skinny or tiny. I was pushing a patient on a bed yesterday and he commented, "I feel sorry that a teeny little thing like you has to push me and this bed." REally??????? Who is he talking about??????? So weird.

I agree with throwing a party to celebrate your success, but don't give back money or gift cards. They gave you those gifts in good faith, without expecting anything in return. The thank you notes are actually enough. They are thoughtful and grateful. Giving back part of their gift to you would be a little insulting and not what they intended.

I think they mean 70% of your excess weight. For me that would have been about 70 pounds. But.... I lost over 100 pounds in 7 months, so I basically lost 100% of my excess weight, regardless of what the statistics and the doctor said. I followed my eating plan 100% and focused a lot on exercise. The stats say that those who follow the plan and exercise will lose more and will keep it off more successfully, so there is some responsibility on your part, although there are no guarantees. Even a mere 20 pounds will make a huge difference in your overall health. Your BP, blood sugars, and cholesterol will drop and you will extend your life. WLS is a step of faith in some sense. It is a great tool, and you can do your part, but the overall results are still variable.

I might suggest taking a look at the long term effects of night shift. Just something to consider. Night shifters have higher cancer rates, higher glucose and cholesterol levels, and gain more weight. I have watched my co-workers on night shift gain more and more over the years, and it's not just from the snacking and food. The circadian rhythms are really strong forces in our biology and although short term night shifting might be necessary for a while, long term night shifting is quite detrimental to long term health. Just something for you to consider.

Any more news from chayarg???????????

Please, please, please read "The Obesity Code" by Jason Fung. It will help you understand why you are overweight and why you can't lose it and keep it off. It is not your fault at this point - you are fighting your biology. Yes, yo-yo dieting can really screw things up by lowering your set point, and hijacking the stomach-brain hormones. We do that to ourselves in our desperate attempts to lose weight. Dr. Fung's book will release you from the guilt and help you understand what is really going on. If you COULD have done in on your own, you WOULD have by now. WLS gives you a metabolic "reset" and a jump start.

It IS a lot of food. Most days I cannot even eat all that is on my food list. It is a completely different way of thinking about food. There are a lot more carbs, for sure, which has been the hardest thing for me to get my mind around. But I love it, I have energy to exercise, and I feel very satisfied (physically and emotionally) after a bowl of cooked cereal or granola. The other thing I have discovered is that to lose a pound or two, I eat MORE, not less. This completely derails any feelings of deprivation and subsequent "make - up binge." To drop a few pounds, I decrease the highly dense foods (like nuts, nut butters) and increase the vegetables - like add some extra raw veggies to my daily snack pack,or eat another big salad, or steam up some more greens, or eat an extra apple. Filling up with less caloric dense (higher fiber and higher water content) really does fill the belly. I am NEVER hungry. I really do not need to count calories, either. I do make sure to get at least 60 gm of protein a day.

WLS is an amazing tool to reset your metabolism, tame the hunger hormones, forcibly restrict the volume you eat, and help you feel full with very little food. People lose a lot of weight, quickly. But like the previous poster said, it is only a tool and you must put in the hard work of changing your lifestyle and eating habits. But the surgery helps you do that if you are motivated. Someone can certainly gain every pound back if they do not change their habits and mind set. For me, I AM NEVER GOING BACK! I have a whole new life now and I wouldn't risk it for anything. PS: I didn't tell anyone except my immediate family. I did not even tell my parents. I am just too vulnerable emotionally and I feel like people would be judging me for "taking the easy way out." My medical history is no one else's business.

DO NOT BUY A TIME SHARE!!!!! You'll never get rid of it. The financial advisor we went to for dinner was already my own advisor. He just invited us to the dinner since we had not been yet. Anyway, my protein is very adequate and comes in small packages throughout the day. Here is one day's worth of food and where I get the protein. I think it adds up to about 75 gm of protein. 19 - cooked whole grain cereal with 1/2 c pea protein milk and a small banana. (Cereal made from steel cut oats, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, teff, quinoa, slivered almonds, raisins, unsweetened cranberries, cinnamon.) 6 - homemade soup with beans, legumes, lentils, quinoa 7 - millet/chick pea casserole 1.6 - apple and orange 7.6 - 2 mini fritattas made with potato, mushrooms, brocolli, chick pea flour, pea milk, nutritional yeast 4 - 4 veggie sushi rolls 2 - 1/2 c sweet potato 1 - 2 cups of fresh greens, steamed .8 - 1 c cooked radishes 1 - 1/2 c cooked mushrooms .7 - 1 brazil nut 7 - 1/4 c nuts/seeds 9 - 1/2 c plant based yogurt .5 - 1/2 c fresh berries 4.3 - 1/4 c. homemade granola (various whole grains, almond flour, almonds, seeds) .6 - veggie snack bag (1.5 c of raw celery, cuke, peppers, radishes, carrot, purple cabbage) 4 - 1/2 c Golden Milk (plant milk with chai spices)

YES! Get moving! My doc said 10,000 steps a day to start. I was doing that by day 7 post op. Start walking, walking, walking. You can't do any weights yet, but you can do leg exercises, arm exercises, and climb stairs.

Agree. I avoid tank tops in public, not because of the arms, but because my clavicles and ribs poke out, and I think I look too skinny in those areas.

I was pretty self conscious about my arms right after I lost the weight. But now almost 6 months later, they really aren't that noticeable anymore. I am 64 year old, and didn't think my skin could shrink back up, but most of it has. I really did consider plastics at one point, but given some time, the loose skin tightened up more than I could have imagined.

I had a great experience tonight. My husband and I attended one of those retirement seminars at a fancy restaurant where they give you a free meal if you listen to the spiel. The meal was salad, filet mignon or salmon, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, rolls, carrot cake. I explained that I was vegan and gluten free, hoping to at least get a salad and maybe a baked potato. Well, this place went all out. It was amazing! Besides a nice salad, I got a large plate, LOADED with grilled veggies - without butter or a lot of seasoning. At least half a pound of asparagus, sliced sweet potato, tomato halves, and a good cup of fancy mushrooms/garlic cloves - all grilled to perfection. And more than a cup of fresh berries for dessert. It was so beautiful to look at and so delicious. My tummy was soooooo happy. After meal time disasters in other situations (like a wedding where everything either had butter or cream sauce, and the vegan dish had wheat) with no dairy free dressing for the limp salad - it was so disappointing and made me feel like I could never eat out again and be happy. But tonight was so delightful. I actually felt sorry for all the others - mine was so beautiful. It's so nice to feel energized by food and not "drugged" feeling by the meat and fat. I have been 100% WFPB for several months now and feel great. I am getting 60-70 gm of protein a day, 50-60 gm of fiber, and averaging about 1500 calories. I am maintaining my weight and generally feel overly stuffed most of the time, as the volume of food is a lot. Many days, I cannot even finish all that is on my food plan for the day. One definitely does not go hungry eating this way! If I need to drop a pound or two, I just cut back on nuts/seeds, and increase the veggies. There is never a need to restrict the amount of food - just the type of food.