momof3_angels

Haha.... just noticed this forum and the requirements to post here... I hit 18 months March 4th, I guess that makes me a vet lol! Current stats: 5'4.5" and between 126-129 pounds depending on the day. Hit my goal at 7 months and was well under my goal by a year. Overall I have been maintaining for a year now.... did have some challenges recently and weight was beginning to creep up... but I managed to quickly ditch those few extra pounds and am back at my happy maintenance weight. I get thrilled every time my husband or daughter comment at how skinny I am. My daughter says she never realized I was really overweight or "fat" until I lost it all. Now when we look at photos from just 2 years ago it is obvious. Now I am a size 4 and i look healthy. I can't go any lower than 124 though... 124 seems to be right where I am on the verge of looking too skinny. Health is great. Sleep apnea is being treated. Heart condition resolved. High cholesterol and tachycardia resolved. The medical consensus is that severe undiagnosed sleep apnea is what triggered my sudden weight gain... and my heart health was what prevented me from losing weight. Now I feel better than ever and feel that as long as I continue to control diet and exercise regularly I will have no problem maintaining. Of course... controlling diet is key. I was never a big calorie consumer.... but I wasn't always eating good foods and then I did drink calories in the form of Pepsi. Most of the time I don't have an issue controlling diet... but when life is excessively stressful... that is when I can get into trouble. That is when I am most likely to not eat right and consuming the wrong foods. I have taken steps to increase access to healthy food at work, which is also important for me. Exercise.... still trying to get back in a regular routine after a horrible few months at work. Doing much better... but still have a ways to go. So... 2020 I had planned to walk the Camino De Santiago (You walk all the way across northern Spain). It was going to be my reward for losing weight and a way to improve my physical fitness. Had to cancel. Then I had to cancel the trip I rescheduled for this summer. Boo! Instead... I am gearing up to do an 8 week hike on either the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail. I will probably do the Appalachian Trail this summer and wait for the PCT. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I really wanted to do the Camino first, because that is more of a spiritual/cultural walk and you don't have to carry your tent/food/extra water. With either of these I will have to carry all of those items. I know I can do it... but it would have been so much better to do the other walk before either of these hikes. My challenge now? Trying to make sure I eat properly on the trail! Just bought a dehydrator and am assembling/dehydrating meals that I can eat so I don't have to rely on crap food available along the way. I need to be able to eat enough calories to sustain me, but not so many that I develop bad habits. Most people load up on carbs... I need to avoid that and only load up on healthy carbs. Anyhow... that's me! New WLS "VET"

In the beginning... I couldn't tell if I was hungry or full. All my signals were mixed up. I had to rely on measuring food and look for other signals. For example... if I was on the verge of getting full I would hiccup one to three times. If I ate too much I needed to burp. If you measure your food like you are supposed to, then watch for those signals and figure out what measurement of food you ate and try to eat a bite or two less next time. The restriction feeling didn't come for a couple months. It really feels like you can't stretch your stomach any bigger.

So very true! I don't know why people are so worried when people are doing things to better their health! Even before WLS... I found things that "worked" better than others. For example, I struggled with major/severe exhaustion because of my then undiagnosed sleep apnea/ insomnia - so I was so tired I went to bed at 8 pm most nights (also was a very early riser). During that time, I found that I couldn't lose weight if I ate after 4 pm. OMG... the HORROR... I wasn't eating for the last 4 hours of my evening?!!! Yet several of my friends stayed up until 10/11 and didn't eat past 6/7pm. So, what is the difference?! I mean, I ate plenty throughout the day... just not at the END of the day. And drinking calories. If I had one bad nutrition habit, that was it. So I would do my best to avoid calorie filled drinks during any weight loss plan I had. And more importantly... I found I could NEVER lose weight and often gained if I drank any alcohol. Even just half a glass of wine. So I would go to a party and do my best not to drink alcohol. My friends were losing it because I didn't want to get drunk with them. They couldn't handle if I didn't drink anything or just had half a glass of wine. I actually had to ditch some friends that I used to love hanging out with because they couldn't handle that I wasn't willing to give in and drink with them every single time we got together. And exercise? Well... I hate most exercise lol. But I love my long walks. People think I am crazy because my go to walk is 6 miles and takes 1 hour and 45 minutes and they just don't get it. But I enjoy it. It is hardly a workout for me, but I feel great afterwards. But somehow it is wrong for me to take my long walks. People are crazy the way they react to others.

Welcome! Hope recovery is progressing smoothly!

This! It is a huge help to look ahead at the menu before picking a restaurant. In the early stages, it was just easiest to find a soup that fit into my stages. I also looked at the side dishes if there weren't any soups that would meet my needs and just got side dishes the first couple months. Or an appetizer. This is of course assuming they had something healthy that met my stage needs. If that doesn't work, have a partner order a meal that you can take a little bit off their plate. Once you are tolerating more foods, request a TOGO box WITH your meal. Take 2/3rds-3/4ths of the meal (depending on how big portions are) and box them up immediately! Anyhow restaurant food is challenging for the first several months, but it gets a whole lot easier over time. Especially once you learn what substations will work for your diet and/or stomach tolerance.

Ah... yes... Catwoman is right! Thats what happens when I am giving advise while being interrupted LOL. I will Edit if it lets me

I concur. Do your research, but in my research I have found that lap bands have the most problems and patients are more likely to need them removed and do a different surgery instead. CLIF NOTES summary of the two most common other gastric surgeries in laymen terms: I think most docs now prefer the gastric sleeve for a majority of their patients (but NOT ALL). Yes, you are removing a large portion of your stomach, but your stomach still functions to do what it needs to do.... it is just a lot smaller. But the stomach is resilient and stretchable so over time it will accommodate more food than it does in the early months. And the rest of your body parts are in tact. It is a simple surgery procedure wise. Still a major abdominal surgery as any other abdominal surgery... but no more complicated than most other frequent abdominal surgeries. Gastric Bypass makes the stomach smaller with staples and rearranges the plumbing a bit. Therefore it changes how your digestive system works. BUT... may be the preferred surgery in SOME cases... such as those with diabetes (not all diabetics do this one, but I see more that do this one). This surgery is a little more complex, but in some cases it is the recommended procedure. Both procedures will get the job done if you work the program as prescribed by your team. Your degree of success is usually dependent on you being willing to put in the hard work that goes with ANY weight loss program... and how you use your new weight loss "tool". Anyhow... there are a lot of great sources of information about these and other WLS procedures. Do some research. Have an idea what you might want to get done and why.... and consult a WL Surgeon. For my surgeon, the first questions he asked are what have I done to try to lose weight before, why do I want surgery, and what procedure I wanted and why. Then he went on to tell me what he thought and made his recommendation. Anyhow.... most WL Surgeons hold free group information sessions where someone from their staff or even the surgeon themselves give a presentation and overview of the procedures and the qualification requirements. I waited a long time to attend because I was so nervous about it... but I now wish I had gone sooner! Also... feel free to attend them through different surgeons offices in your area. I think locally we have 3 groups who do the surgery at 3 different hospitals. I like my team a lot... but I wish I had shopped around first for the doc team. I might have still picked the same guy... but I just went with who my referral was through.... but I am quite certain my insurance covered at least 2/3 teams. Anyhow... do your research and whatever procedure you chose, lap band, sleeve, bypass or other..... we will support you as best as we can!

Funny and true! LMAO

Nothing wrong with venting. And who knows... maybe someone will think before they "speak" next time?

Oh my, you have hit a rough patch! Here's hoping that going forward you have nothing but good health news. It is so hard when things happen that our out of our control. Well.... we are happy to support you as you come out the other side! I suggest you get back to measuring and logging so you can evaluate where you are now and where you should be! Do you still have access to a nutritionist? That would be good too for extra guidance.

Oh... and I was just reminded how much I love a good Quiche! Got two from Costco yesterday.

Well... can't help with being a January surgery buddy... but just know there are lots of us here who are willing to help with what we can! Hang in there! And if things don't improve, please consider perhaps talking with a bariatric mental health professional...

During the beginning of my soft diet I did best with any soft foods that were in stew/soup format. I lived on Ricotta Bake and Chili for a week or two lol. Both were gentle on my stomach (that is.... if you tolerate spice... mine wasn't hot spicy). I also liked broccoli and cheese soup and dishes with shredded chicken/ground beef.

It took me many months, but I can eat lettuce again. Anything you physically can't tolerate... lay off it for a while, but don't be afraid to try again later! I don't remember how long it took to eat lettuce, but I think it was close to a year??? Now I love my lettuce wraps! And I intermittently eat salads too. In fact, I substitute rice with salad quite often at restaurants.

I absolutely concur with this! And I have just been accused of telling others to starve themselves (I haven't) and that I am trying to pick fights with others (I don't). And I truly go out of my way to keep my mouth zipped when I have the urge to say something ugly. Because that doesn't belong on a support board. Because I am here for support and I am here to support others. I think most folks are here for the same reason as me. I would also like to add... before anyone judges others they might need to look at themselves as well. I see a lot of sniping in this thread too that is equally ugly to the comments that @Creekimp13 is talking about. Calling people names behind their back is just as bad as calling them names to their face. And treating someone as having less value is never acceptable. Whether they set their goal way higher or lower than you think it should be. Anyhow @Creekimp13, I think you give a lot of good advise here... people can take it or leave it, right?!

OK.... I am here wondering... what the heck? Who has the NERVE to say these things? Ugh... sorry you experience that!

It would help everyone reply if they know which stage diet you are planning for. Clear Liquid? Full Liquid? Pureed? Soft? Full?

EVERYONE is different. See my post I just added to this thread....

A bit late for the OP...but I will add my two cents anyway I have had the privilege of having 3 members of my immediate family vaccinated (including myself) AND monitoring my staff who have gotten the vaccines... so I have a plethora of experience on this one lol. Husband Dose 1 - Generalized fatigue. Lots of achy joints. Felt like he was "fighting something". Dose 2... those feelings were a bit more pronounced. Me: Dose 1 - Shoulder ache/stiffness. Significant to where I used a heating pad on it all night. Fine the next day. No other side effects. Dose 2 - TIRED. VERY TIRED! For day one. Day 2 fine. Day 3 I had a bad headache for a few hours that improved with Ibuprofen. My son Dose 1 - VERY TIRED! Dose 2 - not done yet. Co-Workers... symptoms vary widely. Some didn't have any symptoms for either dose 1 or 2 or both doses. Some just had the shoulder ache/stiffness. Some had mild symptoms like headache/fatigue. Some had nausea. Some also had a fever, but that was a much smaller population. For most people... the symptoms lasted no more than 24-36 hours. Then you have a smaller number of people who react with more significant symptoms like headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and fever. For some it lasted a day or two... others it lasted 4-6 days (rare... but it did happen). Some had the same reactions to both shots. Some didn't. For some, the first was the worst. For some the 2nd was the worst. For almost everyone though.... almost everyone said they were glad they had the show and they would do it again... even though who were most sick. They would rather have side effects of the vaccine... than the actual COVID. REMEMBER... ALL SYMPTOMS LISTED HERE ARE NORMAL SIDE EFFECTS OF ANY VACCINE. NO ONE had an unexpected bad reaction besides normal side effects. But we have lost 2 employees to the actual virus and many MANY staff have lost loved ones (one poor family lost 3 people within a week to the actual virus - all under 50). BTW... I monitor a staff of around 950 employees. A lot of the information I got first hand. Other information I got through a representative at their work location. And just remember... having side effects is simply proof your body recognizes COVID as something that needs to be fought off. That is a good thing. But remember... not everyone develops symptoms every time they have exposure to illness... so even if you do NOT get any symptoms... doesn't mean your body isn't recognizing that COVID is something that needs to be fought off.

Well, I was very active on this forum and doing VERY well post-operatively until COVID hit and I got really busy trying to help my district reopen our schools safely... then all hell broke loose in my life! LMAO So... this is another long self-accountability post. Post Op: I got down to 124 long before my 1 year anniversary and stayed there for quite a while. I survived the initial COVID lockdown and while others were really struggling with diet and staying on track, I was doing mostly very well. Sure, I had my challenges, but I kept them in check. Overall the lockdown was actually great for me and my family. The bad: I had managed to get my husband to stop hoarding cans of food and other food stockpiles before I had surgery. But with the lockdown and the ongoing threat of having to quarantine for 2 or more weeks if anyone in the household got sick... we ended up with more "disaster/survival" food than ever before. I hate having this much crap in the house. The good.... during lockdown I was doing great cooking healthy meals and sticking to my diet. And walking. A LOT. I got to the point where I was walking 6 miles every day... minimum. I felt GREAT. I didn't get my normal summer vacation though. I worked the entire summer. Even when I took time to drive to visit family... it took 2 days to drive there, I spent 4 days there. Drove back in 2 days. And the entire time I was on zoom meetings and my bosses were calling me for this and for that. So, no recovery time from the school year. And then school resumed. Life was more chaotic than every before. Even when we had kids in full remote. But once students returned to campus? OMG... I have never been so exhausted in my life. See... I am the sole person responsible for keeping my staff/students COVID free and that means a LOT of COVID tracing. I had help..... but I was the expert and the brunt fell on my shoulders. I went from walking 6 miles a day and eating very healthy to being so exhausted that I went home from work and collapsed into my bed... from the moment I went home to the moment I had to get ready for work. And food? I started eating what I can and when I could. I am NOT a breakfast person so I would go to work... get so busy that I didn't have time to eat my healthy snacks throughout the day... and then it would be suddenly 1-3 pm and I am finally eating breakfast (I start my day at 6).... I would scramble to find something to eat and end up with something I shouldn't.... and then in the evening while collapsed in my bed I would graze while watching TV or playing on my computer. Too tired to do anything else. And yes... sometimes that included the horrible canned food that I was so sure I needed out of my house before surgery. That went on for a few months. Still... I survived that. Christmas break should have been "recovery" time... but my son brought a girlfriend home for Christmas. Which meant more stress when I needed a break the most. January came and we returned to work without kids for a couple weeks. Best decision ever. It gave us time to clear the COVID peak. Then we slowly retuned kids back to hybrid (which we had been doing since September). This time? Not so bad. Do we still have COVID cases? Of course. But I am not doing constant contact tracing as I had been for so many months prior. But by now the damage to my new post-op lifestyle diet and activity level has already been done. I am still struggling to get back into a walking/exercise routine. And more importantly I am struggling to eat what I am supposed to, in smaller portions and at correct times. The evening grazing is my biggest problem now. So where do I stand? I was 124 when this started... lowest weight ever (well, since early 20s lol). Then by January I realized my weight had creeped up to 131. Not so bad, right? I mean... it is normal to regain that 10 pounds from your lowest, right? *sigh*. But then yesterday I realized I was 138. Now to be fair... I was boated and today I am back to 134.5.... but I don't EVER want to be more than 135 again if I can help it. I figure yesterday's weight was the warning to get my diet back under control. NOW. What have I done well despite everything? Well... I don't drink my calories. Still doing really well with that. I do struggle with drinking straight water all the time... but I now enjoy vitamin water zero, Gatorade zero, and propel. I do this well. I try to always have a water bottle in my hand or nearby. Its funny because I know my stomach has stretched out a little, but I can still only drink up to 6 sips of water at a time. What's with that? LOL I mean... I can eat more food, but I can't drink more water??? Shouldn't it be the other way around??? LMAO And most of the time I do get my full 64 ounces in. I still get dehydrated easily though... so I really have to be careful to have that water bottle in hand when moving around. I won't even go to the office next to mine without it in hand if I can help it. Work food: Well... that was a huge problem for a while. But when I returned from winter break, I also changed office locations. Where I am now I was able to bring in a mini fridge. That is helping a ton. Before if I brought a lunch bag in and put it in the shared fridge I risked having my food supply thrown out. I have had people actually open my lunch box and throw up perfectly good unopened healthy snacks. So... it was pointless even trying to keep healthy stuff there. Now, I can now buy foods that I am allowed to eat and keep them handy. I also have a small tub with a lid for healthy snacks that do not need to be refrigerated. And it helps that things have calmed down enough that I am at my desk m ore throughout the day. This helps me because I am able to eat the right foods, in the right portions, and at the right intervals. I am also making more of an effort to use the stand portion of my sit stand desk. Before COVID I was standing all the time. After COVID I was too tired to stand and didn't do it much. I am starting to do better with that again. I also found a lunchtime walking buddy. We do get very busy so we don't always get to do it... but we are walking at lunch as much as we can. I now have a pair of sneakers under my desk to make sure I can get out when I can. Still struggling with the evening/weekend hikes. Dealing with my daughter is still making it hard to get back in my routine.... but I am getting there. The big challenge now? The evening and weekend eating! I am on Spring Break right now and I am DETERMINED to get that back on track. So... where am I starting? I have decided I need to do a pouch reset diet first. I know I have stretched my stomach a little more than I should have and I think if I can, I really need to let it shrink back down a little. The longer I wait, the harder it will be to accomplish. I went out of my weight to have the surgery, I should let it do it's thing. So, yesterday morning I finished off the small (normal bariatric portion size) piece of Italian Sausage that i had leftover from the night before... but after that I did clear liquids and I have been on clear liquids for about 24 hours. Since yesterday wasn't truly a full clear liquid day... I am going to repeat clear liquids again today. I have my supply of zero calorie drinks, broth, and sugar free jello on hand. Then I will slowly advanced through the "post op diet" stages. And with that... I know I need to resume measuring portion sizes and recording my meals. ALL of my meals. Honestly... I don't think my portion sizes are what is getting me... it is the frequency of which I was eating in the evenings (especially later at night). That... and I know I am eating more carbs than I should. THAT is what I really need to tackle again. BTW, while I was resorting to occasional canned food during the height of the stress... I cut it back out a while ago because I knew it was harming me. But I still hate seeing all the stuff I shouldn't eat in my house. I seriously worked SO HARD to get my husband to agree to stop hoarding "emergency food". And I really don't think I will be able to get him to stop again. Oh... and my biggest vice before surgery was Pepsi. I LOVE my regular Pepsi. I haven't drank ANY since about 6 weeks before surgery... and that is good. But my daughter still buys it and drinks it around me. Most of the time it isn't a big deal... but when I am stressed it takes all my willpower not to give in. And I swear I will never give in... but it is hard sometimes! I will say... I am VERY proud that I didn't give in between September and December when my stress level was through the roof... I did eat cake though lol... but that was a safer option because I don't crave cake like I did Pepsi. With sweats... I go through periods where I crave them but then can go weeks or months without eating any. Anyhow... don't need anyone to criticize me for doing a pouch reset diet... I have made up my mind and have decided this is how I want to start getting back on track. It will help me lose a couple quick pounds and then my goal is to maintain somewhere around 130. again, I am 134.5 today... so not really doing this for a crash diet. I just want to give my pouch a chance to shrink back just a little. And I know going forward from this... it is essential that I follow a bariatric diet for life. I just got derailed and need to get back on track. By the way... I actually saw my bariatric nurse practitioner two weeks ago... despite everything, she is thrilled with how I am doing. She was happy with where my weight was. She was happy with all my labs. My bilirubin was high... but it has been (I have a benign liver disease). My cholesterol was 101... 100 is the normal high... so I do need to keep an eye on this. I have been off my cholesterol meds for 6 months so I need to make sure to keep it in check. Other than that... everything else was VERY good. She was impressed that even my Vitamin D was really good (lots of people are deficient even without surgery). Anyhow... determined to complete a 10-14 day pouch reset diet then resume a normal bariatric lifestyle diet!

Well... feel free to find and point out where I am causing fights with anyone on this board... You might want to actually get to know someone before judging them and making accusations...

Thanks Jaelzion! And I totally understand... pre-op diet does make a lot of people miserable. It wasn't so bad for me... I didn't love it... but I didn't struggle either. That could have a lot to do with the fact that my nutritionist wanted me to lose minimum weight pre-op. Even then she would give group nutrition classes (in addition to private sessions) and give everyone instructions... then come quietly to me and tell me to do an abbreviated version of what she had everyone else doing. Normally I do allow myself an occasional treat and don't think too much about it. Treats are good in moderation. The only ones I truly avoid ALL the time are sodas... which are my "slippery slope item (plus they are carbonated). And yes... I have definitely have a plan as I transition back. Really at this point.... the only thing I am doing is a soft version of my prescribed diet for life plan. I am just being much more careful about portion sizes and calories. And I am NOT trying to lose weight. I already lost the few pounds I put on and am holding in the 126-129 range which is only barely higher than my lowest post-bariatric weight. And there are so many delicious soft foods to chose from, I don't feel I am missing on anything. Just doing cooked veggies instead of raw veggies. Ground beef instead of steak. And really... whatever works to get that mindset back on track... that is what I am doing!

You look great! The last ones are sometimes the hardest to lose! Just keep doing what you are doing. Track your meals for a bit, if you haven't been doing it regularly. It is a good way to see if you are really still on track with your eating habits. Sometimes we think we are eating better than we really are - and if it turns out you are eating more than you should be you can adjust if needed. If you haven't already, upping your exercise routine might help too. Of course, it may be simply that you are doing everything right but your body isn't ready to drop that last bit of weight. And I wouldn't stress about the number so much... how do you FEEL? Do you feel good at this weight?

LMAO... what fights??? LMAO The only post I have responded negatively on was on my own post... when I initially stated I didn't need criticism replies and got them. I literally stated I don't want criticism and wasn't actually asking for any advise... I was posting to hold myself accountable with the plan I made for myself. But sure... believe I am starting fights if you want LMAO. Perhaps you need to be a bit less sensitive. Which is funny because I commented about your doctor and not about you. Oh well... moving on.

I guess both! LOL. I recently have been able to eat more and push a little beyond what I should be eating without getting any (or limited) signal that I am full and should stop eating. And in the evening I have been able to graze (side effect of also being an essential worker and having no time to eat during the work day) and eating "bigger" meals in the evening that I was grazing until I finished them. I was so busy for so many months that when I did eat, I think I was pushing my stomach without really realizing it until I suddenly realized my portions were bigger and I wasn't stopping at the amounts of food I should be stopping at to continue maintenance. And I wasn't getting that feeling of restriction or the heavy uncomfortable feeling you get when you overeat.,,, except when I was really pushing the limit with portion sizes. Anyhow... I also don't like the feeling of restriction that weighs down your stomach and makes you feel uncomfortable after eating... but I do want the sensations that alerted me to stop before I got to that point. If you know what I mean! As for your measurement comparison.... what are you eating WITH your chicken or fish? And in what form do you eat them? I do find that some foods I can eat less of than others. And some foods I do better with if I mix them with something that isn't such a solid consistency. Example.... eating a full portion of beef would give me difficulty, but eating a little less beef in a stew or a soup I could eat it better without the same icky feeling afterwards. Or a bit less meat and more vegetables. I can eat more chicken than I can beef... but both I do better if I have a little less than a full portion and couple them with something healthy that my stomach tolerates better. Fish I have a hard time with... it is lighter on my stomach and I can get it in without the full/restriction feeling, but depending on how it is cooked I feel really sick afterwards. Also... while I can't really drink water right afterwards... I always need a sip when I am done eating.... I think it might be helping me digests a little better? But I can't have more than 2 sips for at least 20 minutes after I eat... lol