Krestel

I weigh myself on Saturday mornings after I have an hours walk with the dogs. If I weighed myself more often, I start playing mind games which really doesnt help.

16 hours ago, ms.sss said:

With that said, I was drinking sparkling Water at around month 4 (and still do). Told my team, they were not concerned.

I think that drinking sparkling Water actually helped with me getting off my diet coke and sweetener addiction. Now that ive gotten all that out if my system, it's much easier to have more control over my eating. That and my face cleared up nicely.

I drink carbonated Water (no flavoring) with no problems. I dont drink soda pop too often only because it is too sweet now for me, but I have no issues with it as long as I drink it on an otherwise empty stomach. Probably not the best choice though...

When did you all get rid of your old clothes? I feel like I'm a bit of a hoarder who needs mental help to get rid of my men's size3xl clothes when I now wear a men's size medium or a woman's size large. Any of you all have that experience as well?

I only lost about 15 pounds (39 bmi), but I had been working really hard since about 6 months before my surgery, so I think my body was "letting it go" slowly. Even now I only lose about 2-3 lbs every week. Still happy about that though considering Ive lost over 100 lbs in total at about 6 months out from surgery (and 1 year out from trying to get rid of it).

I hear you. The stress and life events are definite triggers for everyone. Im not anywhere near to 4 years out, but I'm trying to reign in my own emotional eating right now due to my own events.

Why not start back on food journaling with a little emotional journaling as well? This was my New Year's Resolution last year and it's been the only resolution that I've ever kept. Notice that I didn't say that I was "dieting", I was just writing down what I ate and thinking a little bit about it. I cant say that Ive been perfect doing this, but at least I look at it once a week to write down my weight and thoughts. Just the writing it down part helped me forgive myself a bit which was the start of getting on track.

Can you walk comfortably? Ive heard recently that walking is better than any other type of exercise. Not to mention exercise helps keep the hunger in check. Maybe Water aerobics and/or swimming is in the cards for you if you can't walk without pain.

Why not use Meal Replacement shakes or bars to be your go to depression foods? At the very least meal replacement shakes are great for when you're on the go or when you would feel guilty for eating other crap. Even more so when you don't trust yourself to choose something good for yourself. I water mine down 50/50 so as not to get that super sweet taste. If you are craving sweets why not try a meal replacement bar instead. (Even a good naval orange can get you over the hump. How did I not know that naval oranges didn't have seeds?!? duh) Getting off the sugar is like getting of a drug, but if you can do it you should. Sugar (and sweetener) sets our blood sugar on a roller coaster ride.

So, that's what Im doing right now. I totally hear you on this. Life has a way of throwing sh*te at us when we really don't need it. Hang in there.

I need some advice from all of you post-op people who are more than 5 months out.

(Oddly enough) I still like my Meal Replacement shakes (especially for Breakfast and fast food alternatives) and usually Water them down in order to cut the sweetness. So im drinking about 24 oz over maybe a 30-60 mins. Is this too much? Could I be causing problems for my pouch without knowing it?

Omg the gas pain is HORRIBLE! It feels like you're being stabbed sometimes. It feels absolutely nothing like gas that we are all familiar with. I had no idea that was coming even though I did lots of reading/research/etc. Thats because the gas in the body cavity itself and not the stomach. It took me about 10 days for all the gas to get out of my system and it was really bad when I was trying to sleep flat for the night. The only thing I could do to make it feel better was to walk for a good half hour and then it started to subside only to flare again in 5 hourse or so.

It also could be the incision spot where it is healing not on the skin but in the fat content etc. I didn't have that problem so I couldn't tell you.

BUT the gas is VERY real. It's even related to shoulder pains since the nerve around the diaphragm can get irritated and the pain travels the nerve up to the shoulder.

Agree...I was so lucky to find this board and it has become my goto place for support, and recently, boy did I need it! For me it's also a sort of journaling. Fluffy is one of the most prolific writers/responder on this website and an inspiration to us all.

5 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

I use a method from Tony Bourdain only instead of adding sour cream, I add Fage Greek Nonfat Yogurt to soft eggs while scrambling them slowly. And I mix it in. That way they cook, but stay super creamy and go down very easily! When the eggs are halfway done, add the yogurt and stir it in, then season it. Yum. Now I want those for breakfast!

Aren't these some of the best food? !? When we get to other stages or just normal, we tend to forget some of the best basic recipes.

I did the link below when I entered the purée stage. It was heaven. I really need to do it again now that I think about it. It was so easy, so much Protein and so tasty. They have some info about eggs on the page, BUT follow your doctor's advice.

https://bariatricbits.com/pureed-classic-egg-salad/

8 hours ago, Superman84 said:

Yay me too; started way up around 44 bmi and I'm now 29 bmi

I so hear all you all. It was such a nice thing to finally get to where the word obese is no longer a part of my health. I just wish my mind would catch up to my body and not see me at 44 BMI. The only thing that tells me that Im at 29 is my sickening large clothes.

I think this is an issue that I will have the rest of my life! I try to tell my husband not to bring that stuff home, but I cant help myself when he does. Once an addict always an addict.

Basically it is when you can eat basically almost anything and it doesn't affect how your pouch feels. Even during my surgery recovery, I had no problems with my stomach (although my damn shoulder from the abdominal gas and not being able to pee in the beginning was a problem). So for me, there is basically nothing that is off the menu for me unless I dump.

This is not something to try directly after surgery though since the nerves connecting the pouch have not reconnected, so it can cause real problems. ALWAYS follow your surgeons advice.

10 hours ago, KarenLR75 said:

I have found that I have VERY little restriction and I'm only..4.5 months out. I also seem to have somewhat of an Iron pouch.

Yeah, me too and Im just a little further out than you. Iron stomachs are not something that's talked about here because it's not a problem. I seem to be able to eat almost anything. The only real problems come up with rather extreme foods like coffee house pastries and super fried fast food. BUT Im happy that it feels that way since it's a real deterrent for me eating them. My big worry is about after the honeymoon phase if my new habits are enough.

I soooo agree with you guys on this. I can get overfull easily (which is my falling back on old habits...and probably a bit of boredom), but it's really hard to find that in-between feeling. I know I need/should to go back to journaling and measuring to get back on track, but creating new habits is easier to do than breaking old ones.

Btw hiccups are soooo a sign of being full. From what I understand, it's the phrenic nerve that gets irritate by the stomach hitting up against it which can cause the hiccups. (Im just someone who had really bad phrenic nerve problems after surgery and was wondering what the damn this is, so Im SOOO NOT a doctor.) So it should mean that we are full. What is really odd is that Ive been laying down chilling in the sofa reading/surfing and I get up, I often have at least one hiccup. Since I often have just one hiccup and it definitely sounds like a hiccup (and not anything really embarrassing), Ive learned to embrace it. Not to mention, it's a nice reminder that my body has changed.

I buy meal replacement bars, just so that I can get some sweets every once in a while. My favorite is Nutrilett's chocolate and sea salt. Keep in mind though that these do have "almost" the same calories as real chocolate bars, but I dont tend to get the sugar high from them.

I was wondering the same question. Did any of you have light clay coloured stool? A while after the surgery, mine started to look like that and Im wondering it that might be a precursor. Any ideas? I want to get out ahead of the problem since I had SUCH a horrid time with recovery after my GBP. (Damn phrenic nerve! Not to mention my bladder not wanting to restart. Gah!)

On 12/1/2019 at 9:33 PM, NYJenn said:

I did for a broken ankle, don’t really know if that’s what you’re looking for

How long did it take you to recover after surgery?

So my big questions is if any of you have any experiences with ankle surgery? I guess the worst case scenario is ankle fusion. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Now that Im getting down to more manageable weight, I want to get even more active than my morning dogs walks. The only problem (even with my walks) is my ankle tendon pain (and maybe a bit of arthritis). I screwed the hell of out my left foot over 20 years ago but since I never really recovered and gained weight afterwards, no doctor really wanted to take me seriously. So now with the weight going down, I finally got an orthopedic surgeon to take me seriously and Im getting help. But I have been so out of the loop on things like this that I have no idea what Im doing. So advice is greatly appreciated.

Meal replacement shakes are still an option even after surgery. Since most of them seem to be soooooo sweet, I typically Water them down.

Not drinking enough Water can really be a problem. I know that I don't drink near as much water post-surgery as I did pre-surgery. (No idea why though. Pre-diabetes? Habit? Filling the stomach with water to avoid feeling empty?) I can really tell especially in the morning when my urine is darker than usual.

In fact, I have to take a water bottle with me for my morning dog walks or I get light headed and feel really off. I like really cold water and tend to put the bottle with just a little water at the bottom in the freezer to give me a nice piece of ice. Then I just pop it out of the freezer and fill it up before I go walking. My high-vis jacket has big pockets, so I just keep it in there to easily get at it while the dogs run around all crazy like.

Another thing I do is drinking a meal replacement shake with extra water for breakfast and have a bariatric Vitamin that takes lemonade-like and makes the water fizzy. I have to watch out for that one though since I love the taste so much that if I want more I can get constipated from all the Iron (which I learned the "hard" way if you know what I mean).

Now that I think about it, these habits really help me to keep hydrated. I never thought about it that way before. Get the water in though. The body has no way of metabolizing fat otherwise. (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322296.php#six-reasons-why-drinking-water-may-help-you-lose-weight)

On 11/16/2019 at 7:25 PM, RussT said:

I just keep eating right and try to get about 30 minutes of exercise in 5 days a week. There wasn't a moment where I stopped losing and started maintaining. It's all about a new way to eat and live my life.

Aha..that is so interesting. Good to hear that it's a natural process when it works. Ive heard all these horror stories about weight gain afterwards. Im still working on my new eating style and trying to get rid of falling back to my old ways.

You look wonderful! But my question to you on the other side of the journey, when did you transition to maintanence and is it difficult to keep?

Thank you for posting this. I soooo hear you! Ive been sitting in very much the same boat. Even though Ive lost somewhere over 100 lbs since January, I still have 50 to go. I look down at my normal size L jogging pants and am happily shocked every time I can see that I definitely have two legs now. Not to mention a colleague (at my new job which only knows me after my journey started) said that I dont look overweight. (I too am rather tall at 6 foot, so I "carry it well", but heavy is heavy.) However, I can still go buy a security monitor in a store and still only see a fat person. Our minds play tricks on us, and we have to get the "adult" in there to win the fight and let the kid "play" enough to let us not get overwhelmed by the journey.