Caltania

Day 5 gratitude: I'm grateful for my refrigerator, which allows me to keep all manner of healthy products around without spoiling (usually, as long as I eat it in time! 😉) Day 5 and I'm still going strong in the challenge. I did have a bag of chips today because of a bit of confusing planning today, but I did limit it to a single serving bag and paired it with a protein (beef jerky, yum!) so I feel like I'm still doing fine. It was much better than the alternative of raiding the goody table! 😄 Hope you all are doing well - I'm really enjoying reading the responses here!

OK, I'm a few days behind, but I've been sticking to the challenge! And, I'm pleased to report it's been actively helpful - it's stopped me from taking Halloween candy from the treat table and stopping for frozen custard. I'm grateful for that, that's for sure! Day 2 gratitude: I'm grateful for my smartphone for allowing me to keep my life organized in such a way that I feel empowered to continue to lose the weight. Day 3 gratitude: I'm grateful for lettuce, oddly enough. I refused to eat it most of my life because I had a fear of trying new foods. Now, while I don't love it, I can eat it pretty easily, and appreciate both how it fills me up and the way my body craves it (even when my head doesn't!) Day 4 gratitude: I'm grateful for a sad memory, actually. When I was little, I told my mom I wanted to lose 25 pounds on Jenny Craig, and she said, "But you only weigh 40!" This memory actually helps remind me that my weight issues have been around for my whole life and were shaped by influences beyond my control (and beyond my family's control, too). It helps me more easily forgive myself. Tea time question: I'm thankfully not experiencing that from anyone I know. My friends and family have all been wonderfully supportive, even the friends I know who have had WLS surgeries that were not long term successes for them. As other posters have said, I do sometimes have those "I told you so" moments in my head, but I am generally very good at tuning out that voice these days and forgiving myself.

First off - hello, fellow Wisconsinite! *waves* OK, on to the real advice :-) I can't really speak to long-term success yet, since I'm only about 5 months out from my surgery, but some of the best advice I've gotten came from a friend who had gastric bypass and gained it all back... he said that he tried too hard to be perfect, and that's what got him. It's taught me to embrace my imperfection and look at each day, sometimes each moment, as a clean slate. Just because I sneak some fun size candies from the dish at work doesn't mean this is who I am now. It means I made that choice once, and the next meals I have I can choose to be healthier. Self-forgiveness has been an incredible tool for me. I'll also say that the gastric bypass has been an <i>amazing</i> tool for me. I literally can't fit in very much, and I experience just enough distress from eating certain things that it generally dissuades me from wanting to have them. As someone who also loves sweets and sugar, I find most of the time I pass on them now just because more than a couple of bites can make me feel miserable. Anyway, sorry this is so long, but I hope some of this helps!

Wow, what a difference indeed! You're doing a great job!

I think this is a decision for each family to make together with their care teams, rather than a blanket yes/no allowance. I do think there are instances where a child could successfully benefit from the surgery, and others where it would definitely not be a good idea, but I would imagine the majority of medical teams would be able to work with the families to make the determinations on a case by case basis. I don't know these people or their stories, so I feel it is not my place to pass judgment on their decisions. From a personal standpoint, I wish I'd had the option of WLS when I was younger, at least as a teenager. Whether I would have pushed for it or not, it would have been good to have a care team that was knowledgeable enough and concerned enough to have the conversation in the first place, and the conversation alone may have been enough to help me begin to understand the severity of my issues. Also I feel that the gender reassignment comparison is a red herring - they are very different issues, and the only reliable commonality is whether a decision is made to perform surgery on someone under 18.

Day 1! 1. Avoid impulse foods and stick to the pre-planned foods I have with me each day (so far so good, despite our treat table being LOADED with goodies today...) 2. Gastric bypass, ~5 months post-op, still losing 3. CW 245.4, BMI 39.6 4. Today's question: What are you most grateful for today? Today I'm feeling grateful for a lot of things, but since I'm in the midwestern US, I'm going to have to say I'm especially grateful for warm sweaters and blankets, because it's been COLD this week! Brrrrr.

I'm hoping I can manage this! I really need the extra motivation this time of year in particular... 1. My personal goal is to generally avoid impulse foods and stick to the pre-planned foods I have with me each day. 2. Gastric bypass, ~5 months post-op, still losing 3. CW 245.6, BMI 39.6 (just crossed out of morbid obesity - so proud of myself!) 4. I realize the challenge doesn't start until tomorrow, so for today I'll just say I'm grateful for this challenge! 😄

Thank you to all of you who have posted before & after pictures on here! As I work my way through a plateau, it is extremely motivational to come here and see the success you all have had. I'm very grateful to each of you for sharing something so personal!

Hi everyone!! Seeing this thread pop up in my e-mail today reminded me that it's been ages since I've posted here, so I thought I'd share an update! I'm 4.5 months out from my RNY surgery now, and life feels pretty normal again, although my pouch and I are still getting to know each other. For the past two months or so, I've had the feeling that I can fit more food than I should be able to at this point, but my nutritionist told me as long as I'm not taking more than 20 minutes to eat and am honoring my body's fullness signals, I'm doing what I'm supposed to. I know I haven't been perfect about everything - and have also been assured that that happens. The important thing is to keep brushing myself off and continuing to do right by myself as often as I can. As a recovering perfectionist, I need to remind myself that I'd rather be good at this than perfect - after all, trying to be perfect and failing at it is what caused me to give up so many times before! I'm trying hard to not focus too much on the numbers (especially since I'm currently plateaued at one of my body's preferred set weights), but I'm pleased with my progress, and I know the weight will continue to come down eventually. I try to continue to measure my success in every other way I can though. I took a flight last week and didn't need a seatbelt extender (!!) I learned that I've lost more weight so far than my sister's large dog weighs. I enjoy looking at my "before" and "after" pictures to remind myself of how far I've come. Instead of beating myself up for my bumps in the road, I'm choosing to embrace the successes I've had and to look forward to having my pouch be a lifelong tool I can work with 🙂 I hope all of you have recovered well from your procedures, and I wish you all continued success on your journeys!

Hi Bessy, The best advice my team gave me for this sort of thing is that, when I'm having a craving for something sweet, that I can have a small portion of it, so long as I'm enjoying it with a meal. Sometimes I find that having one fun size candy from the dish at work with my otherwise healthy meal helps me satiate the craving. The other advice they gave me (that also works for me) is to avoid grazing, so to have something to eat every 3-4 hours. If I feel an urge to eat and it hasn't been 3 hours yet, I can be fairly certain it's head hunger now, and I can try to head off whatever other instinct may be causing me to eat. Hope this helps! It's a tough time of year to be trying to stick to a healthy lifestyle, that's for sure... but I have confidence in you 🙂

I can second the feeling hungry but not eating much... and when I do eat too much, I know it right away. At this point I'm on soft foods, and I'm honestly able to eat most anything at this point... just much less of it. I still have the worry that I'm somehow going to stretch out my pouch too quickly or too much, but I would guess that's a common fear/worry! I'm so glad to hear you're doing well though lovely, hang in there!

Glad to hear you're doing well, apart from the jello legs! 😄 My program is making me wait until 6 weeks post-op before I can do any strength training, but at the 6 week mark, I'll be marching myself in to PF to get a membership again so I can use their machines. I'm determined to get in a good strength training regimen as soon as I can! The shakes are also definitely the only way I can get in all the protein I need to, though I'm getting better at it... some cheeses are sitting surprisingly well with me, so I've been starting to nibble on those more here and there. It's been a relief to finally start to eat a couple of more normal foods again!

You may also want to ask some of these questions of your surgeon and/or care team before your surgery. Hopefully they have spent some time preparing you before you head into this surgery? Any one experience here will very likely not be indicative of what your experience will be. I think we've all had vastly different journeys, even though we started out on similar paths. For instance, my recovery has been smooth, and has excelled when I've followed the instructions my team gave me (the only issues I've had were when I deviated from them). What's going on with our poor lovely BWBW is an exception and not the rule. I was able to do stairs shortly after surgery, though I did have to take my time. I have had a hard time fitting in everything I've needed to - I've really had to work at it, but it eventually all gets in. It just takes all day 😊

Yesterday, my surgeon made me promise (multiple times) to weigh myself only once per week at most. She said that plateaus are inevitable, and that weighing myself too often will cause me to get discouraged when there is no reason to. A high percentage of excess weight will come off over the course of the next year, but it won't come off overnight. I have a friend who didn't lose weight for the first several weeks after bypass (and she eventually did lose a bunch of it). It helps me to remember that this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Weight can plateau for any number of reasons, many of which are entirely out of my control. I just need to focus on the finish line, as hard as that can be. Just hang in there... *hugs*

Good luck - you've got this! We're all rooting for you!! 🤗

I can relate - I had to back off a while as well to deal with my preparation, recovery, and healing. You do what you need to do - the group will be here! Also, good luck with your surgery - you've got this!! 🤗

So, almost right away after mentioning that I hadn't vomited once... yeah, I think I got ahead of myself. I've thrown up several times now ☹️ I can pretty much account for every instance (consuming too much, etc.), but it's still not pleasant. I have my 2 week follow ups on Wednesday, so I figure I'll mention it, in case there's concern of stricture or anything, but I think it's just me getting a little bit cocky about what I can fit in my new pouch 😝

I'm glad your doc isn't worried, and that things are looking up a little! Keep us posted on how you're doing, and my fingers are crossed for you!

I haven't thrown up once either (though I have felt pretty nauseous enough times!) I've even been pushing myself a bit too hard and having things I shouldn't quite be having yet... *blush* I also feel like I can consume more than I should be able to, but on the other hand, I have that same feeling of fullness from just a few ounces, so I think we're both doing ok... fingers crossed!

I'm feeling pretty good overall, mostly just still pretty beat, and tired of feeling super full all the time 😜 I'll be really glad when my pouch has just a tiny bit more room in it, lol! How are you enjoying being home? 😊

Been reading along on stuff, thought I'd offer my personal experience on my milestones. I had RNY on 6/11. Urinating: I almost got a catheter put in because I couldn't go, but finally by the morning of day 2 I was at least pushing out enough to be out of the danger zone. I'd say it was 3-4 days before things felt normal down there though. Passing gas: day 2 was when this finally started, at least a little. BM: day 5. My first was a miserable experience because I hadn't been taking enough stool softener, but once I corrected, things have been much better! Tastes post-op: sugar and sweet things sort of terrify me on a subconscious level, and not just because I fear dumping syndrome. Sweet things also don't taste nearly as good to me now. I can't have much for flavor syrups in my shakes anymore. Most else hasn't changed yet, at least for what I've tried. Incidentally, I'm constantly terrified I'm stretching out my pouch too fast, but on the other hand, I know it can't stay 1 ounce forever, so I just have to get used to constantly feeling full for a while! ☺

So I got home on Wednesday evening (and surgery was Tuesday). All things considered I'm doing very well. I'm still pretty sore, but I'm able to walk around the house and a bit outside. I'm just having a hard time getting my fluids in, but today I came very close, and even got in most of my vitamins! I am on a liquid diet until the 26th, then after that appt I can start in on pureed foods... which is good, because I currently have about zero interest in solid foods! Thank you guys all for the support, I've been thinking about you!

Somehow I got a full night's sleep, I don't know how! I'm very thoroughly cleansed from the special soap, and leaving for the hospital in a few minutes. 3 hours from now I'll be in for my procedure...! It's beyond surreal!

Hi lovelies! Sorry I've been absent - I've had a lot to do to get things ready! But my day is almost here... my RNY is tomorrow at 1pm. Making the switch over to clear liquids only soon... this is starting to feel so very real now. But I feel ready for it. And I'm extremely grateful that my clinic has prepared me so well for this day! I have still been reading everyone's journeys on here in my absence - I hope those of you who are struggling post-op have a speedy recovery! We've all got this! 🤗 Go June Bunch, go!

My clinic recommends Flintstones, but along with the battery of other vitamins I'll be taking for life (calcium, iron, etc). I could try to research an all in one for all my vitamins, but I'd rather have more control over making sure I meet my vitamin goals. I'm a bit too controlling, lol