newyorklady20

"Picking a goal weight".
Quite a few people who've "picked a goal weight" will realize sooner or later that one doesn't "pick a goal weight" like one picks the color of a new car.

Man, if I had a dollar for every critic who said this to me on these boards. It's a past time of a certain type of dieter....to send me hate mail and try to shame me for being outspoken.
"You're still overweight! You shouldn't be telling people what to do! How dare you not feel ashamed at that weight!"
Shakin my head over here.
If I wanted to be 140, I could be. Have been. Looked god-awful and felt like I was starving all the time.
If I wanted to be 160, I could be. Have been. I wasn't particularly hungry, got a reasonable number of calories, but thought I looked older.
I like a little more round to my angles. I like less sag, fewer wrinkles. Not real interested in cosmetic surgery. Picked the best option for me.
I like eating 1600 calories a day. I like having space in my diet for a couple pieces of fruit because I think phytonutrients are beneficial and important. I like how i feel eating a high Fiber diet. I like room to be a vegetarian some days. I like flexability. It's how I can face this as a lifelong change. It's how I can make peace with food forever....cause I know this plan is WORKABLE in pretty much all situations. I can eat on my plan during a holiday, a funeral, a birthday party....during a power outage, while recovering from an injury, during extreme emotional stress, on the road, and while dealing with my inlaws. LOL.
I typically weigh 165-170 pounds. I LOVE this weight. It is NOT "the best I could do because I couldn't get to a "healthy weight" ", it is an intentionally chosen set point. It's a choice. This is, I am 100% certain...the MOST healthy weight I can choose for myself.
That whole...Arnold Schwarzenegger's BMI was technically Obese when he won Mr. Universe figures in. BMI is flawed. It doesn't differentiate between light muscle frames and heavy muscle frames, bigger bones, smaller bones. Different ethnicities. Different body styles.
My feet, depending on the manufacturer are size 10 or 11. My shoulders are more broad than most men's my height. My butt, thighs and calves are overdeveloped because I rode huntseat and jumped horses for decades, even when I was quite heavy. My husband says they have a kinda superhero quality now. LOLOLOLOL
So here's the thing....If you feel inclined to send me a snarky note about how I shouldn't say anything....because I'm not American Media model skinny, you might have a problem.
As it happens, I have a good friend who models. He's 5' 10", weighs 157 pounds soaking wet, and they STILL wanted him to use coke for a week and fast...to look more sickly skinny for his last national ad campaign.
Our impression of body image in the media is grossly distorted and unhealthy.
And a lot of folks here....get a grossly distorted and unhealthy obsession with their eating habits, their BMI, the number on the scale, and how it defines them.
Please, please, please remember....health.
Physical health, strength, endurance, good labs, fewer medications.
Emotional health...loving yourself, enjoying your life, feeling challenged and happy.
Mental health...finding balance you can live with for a lifetime.
Love your strong healthy body. Love your good food choices that provide good nutrition to nurture that body. Love the flexability to make it work though the tough spots.
Avoid the fixations, the extremes, the inflexable rules, the disordered eating (and disordered not-eating)
You can trust yourself to get to where you need to be....without punishment.
Love yourself. Love yourself. Love yourself.

Depends on the substitute. The gluten based ones usually have insane amounts of Protein.

Reading all of these posts, I may have to give it a try. I am very leery about eating plant based meats for some reason. Is it more Protein than regular meat? Why do you eat it? Are you vegan, vegetarian, etc.?

I'm sorry you had so much difficulty, but I'm glad you are back at home and feeling good about your decision!

I had my surgery this past Monday and plan to go back next Monday when spring break is over. I am able to function normally but feel weak. I just take it a little slower than usual.

Congrats @Jnfinney! It took about a week and half for it to subside for me. It got better once my gas got better. I'm a stomach sleeper and that part was the worst for me. I still get uncomfortable sometimes sleeping on my tummy.
@newyorklady20 sounds like you will be fine! It might actually be nice to have a reason to leave the house. I definitely slacked on my walking after surgery because I didn't have to leave the house.

I am post-op day 2. This is definitely harder than I was expecting. My abdomen hurts quite a bit, especially when sitting up. I’m hoping this subsided by the end of the week...

Just saw my surgeon this afternoon to sign my consent papers and we spoke about spring break. I asked him again if I get sleeved on March 26th would I be able to return to school on April 5th and he was like "Yes, sure, absolutely." That made me feel so much better!
I'm scared but I have every confidence in his abilities and I'm excited to start my new chapter.
How is everyone else doing lately?

So my surgery was on the 17th of March, first couple of days was rough as far as me I can not tolerate pain at all especially when it comes to my stomach and head. So the second night after surgery ( for those thats about to get it or thinking about please keep in mind EVERYONE BODY IS DIFFERENT EVERYONE PROCEDURE IS DIFFERENT AND EVERYONE PAIN LEVEL IS DIFFERENT) I was in the worst mood ever and the worst pain ever they kept wanted me to walk and drink Water in which I couldn't do either, I thought I had made the worst decision in my life!!!! So once they seen I wasn't doing to well I received meds for pain and nausea and I was OUT! for that night. The next day my nurse came in and said heyyy I have your Cymbalta for you........ ( keep in my somebody got smart along with myself ) and some other meds okay that explains a lot duhhhh I haven't taken my meds in a couple days then all of this yeah I know my fault but I have been dealing with a lot...... make it shorter, once I began to feel more of myself alot things started to come together, but still not able to drink water I don't like this because that's all I drink!!! Is water then I notice I can't swallow my Salvia and when I do thats when I get sick to my stomach...... so a nurse helped me with crystal light (THANK GOD) Me walking the hospital still wasn't feeling it I just wanted to sleep I walked maybe 2 times or 3 times I was just ready to go so I can be around my kids and get to start the healing with them, let me explain....... my kids are my my everything I just lost my husband their father of 19 years my best friend in January all of sudden. So being away from them for too long was not option or my dogs. Once I got home I had one bad night very little pain a little nausea rather than that I feel like myself. My advice for those getting ready for this big step........if this is what you want and need then GO FOR IT!!!! STOP DEBATING pray meditate do whatever it is you do, but don't just not go threw with it because of someone's else's experiences or problems, their problem ain't your problems and theirs problem ain't yours, and do not have the surgery because of the opinions of others do it for self and self worth. IM HAPPY I DID.
Sent from my SM-S515DL using BariatricPal mobile app

Newyorklady our stats are so close! The only difference is I started heavier than you, but on day of surgery I was almost your exact weight and we are the same height. I had a few thoughts of darn, I lost around 60 lbs without it, why do I need this at all? But the reality is that I don’t need help with the initial weight loss, I need help with getting to goal, and staying there. Weight loss gets harder the more you lose, as we all know.

I’m currently 228 a few months after surgery (I’m a slow loser, most likely because of losing so much weight prior to surgery) and the difference between even 280 and here in terms of how I feel, how I look, and lifestyle is huge. For the first time in forever I actually can see that I’m able to lose weight and not be consumed by hunger and feelings of deprivation while I do it.

I am glad I did surgery when I did, because I’m at the right time in my life. But there is a piece of me that knows 6 years ago I was maintaining in the 280s, and if I’d started the process there instead of waiting to yoyo all the way up to 340 I would have saved myself years of grief and misery.

I’ve heard it here before with “I can do it on my own!” If I could have, I would have.

I had a huge hernia cause I fell off a horse who refused a jump... and splatted like the coyote in a road runner cartoon. My diaphragm stomach hole was huge and half of my stomach was living in my chest. Was no fun....felt like I was drowning when I laid down flat....I thought this was because I was too fat. Turns out your lungs don't work as well with your stomach taking up space in your chest. My doctor was like...this is one of the biggest hiatal hernia's I've repaired, you're going to feel so much better!
And wow, was he right! After surgery, I could breathe without propping myself on a million pillows. No more acid relux. Huge improvement. I've often said, just to have the hiatal hernia found and fixed...this surgery was such a positive thing in my life. (beyond the other obvious perks)
As for recovery? I had one of the all time easiest recoveries. Woke up ready to move and spent most of the evening walking the halls in the unit. Never needed pain meds to speak of (I think they insisted I have one pain shot before going to sleep that night). I was never nauseated. Never vomited. I honestly could have done the surgery outpatient if it had been an option...it went so well. No trouble getting all my tiny little medicine cups full of fluids in.
One thing I want to make you aware of...is referred pain from your diaphragm being tugged on when they close the hole up. You very likely will feel this pain in your shoulder! How weird is that? It's just the way the nerves run from your diaphragm....you're likely to feel pain there as a deep horrible ache in your shoulder. I did have this referred pain, and walked around with an ice pack on my shoulder....which I know sounds completely mental....but it made me feel better. The shoulder pain went away after a few days and was never terrible enough to need to medicate. Just kinda of nagging, like pulled muscles.
There is no reason a hiatal hernia should cause any particular complications.
Good luck!

The fact that EVERYONE says "my only regret is not having done it sooner" is what keeps me going most days when I am so afraid and having doubts about going through with it! Thank you for sharing your story!

That’s so wonderful to hear, and I’m so glad that everything has gone well for you! It’s the experience and recovery we all hope for! Thank you!

Try this:

I had both and nope - I have had no pain at all. I didn't even have that dreaded gas pain. I had small cramps that lasted 5 - 10 seconds and then nausea that lasted 10 - 15 seconds but that was it. I honestly questioned if the surgeons did anything - that was until I tried to drink and then it was like - oh yeah they did. Some mild soreness but nothing bad. I had no pain meds once I woke up and have not taken any pain meds at home. I do have a high tolerance for pain so maybe I am masking it? Good luck on your surgery. Hernia repair is very common with this surgery.

I haven’t read all the comments on your post, but I’m going to guess that most of us will say “this is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.” Its normal to question your decision, but do not let your fear hold you back from a life you deserve.

As you said everyone has their own experience, but I will tell you that I had Almost zero bad side effects. Not even gas pain after surgery. I walked 4 laps around the hospital floor as soon as I slept off the anesthesia. I did vomit one or two times within hours of the surgery, may have been a reaction to anesthesia or just my stomach going “WTF!!” But that was it. I am 8 months out and haven’t vomited one time from eating, no stomach problems, insane energy and happiness, confidence, and 106+ lbs gone.

Do the surgery. You deserve it.

I freaked out when I was losing my hair. I was losing clumps of it at a time, and would literally cry in the shower. I even resorted to measuring it. I was losing approx. 3-4 grams every time I washed it (every 4 days). It happened in months 3-6.
Now I am almost 7 months out, and happy to say that I am not losing anymore. I know it will take a while for it grow back, but that is ok as long as I am not losing.
My nutritionist recommended that I start taking Flaxseed Oil 1,000 mg a day, and increase my Protein. It worked! She also told me that none of the commercial products work.

not much you can do about it other than keep on top of your Protein and supplements so it doesn't get any worse than it would otherwise. Mine lasted about three months. Fortunately, I didn't lose enough for others to notice.
here's an article about it:

https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-loss-after-surgery#causes

I had a sleeve, fortunately for me I didn't suffer with any nausea. Thankfully I had a rather boring recovery, no gas pain, no nausea, no acid reflux...I did have some spasms when first drinking Fluid but this didn't last long at long and there was discomfort around the incision sites but no pain as such. Contact dermatitis was probably the worse of any thing I experienced.
Presumably they do with all their patients? And have excellent results with recovery?

Good luck, Jnfinney! My surgery is Tuesday morning and I too am freaking out. I just dont know how I will be able to stand more Protein shake!
Will be praying for you and hoping to hear how things go. Keep us posted.

Our stats are very similar. I'm 4'11 and I'm at my highest weight of 218.
70 extra pounds is a lot to carry around on our small frames. Thinking back to when I was a healthy weight:
I had the energy to be involved socially and participate in activities
I was more present in my relationships and that made me a better wife, mother, and friend
Since the weight gain, I've experienced back and joint pain, and now mobility is starting to be affected. Like you, I also have a few comorbidities. The progression has been predictable. First no symptoms, next from mild to moderate, and lastly severe.
These are a few critical questions I asked myself when deciding to pursue surgery and the answers are what keep me moving forward:
How satisfied are you with your physical health?
How will that satisfaction be affected if other comorbidities develop?
Is there a chance I will lose the ability to remain independent or care for myself if I continue on this path?
As others have said, it's important to ask if the risks of obesity such as high cholesterol, cancers, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder/gallstones outweigh the benefits like freedom from or reduced impact from diseases, a longer life span, improved personal relationships, and better mental health.
Self-reflection is important. Maybe along the way you've forgotten what your motivation is or it's changed. Why did you start this process in the first place? Is what motivated you then still relevant now?
Whatever you decide, please don't punish yourself, it will erode your confidence.

I understand that thought process because I went through it too. I bounced around with the idea of WLS for years and never actively pursued it for a good 10 years or so when the idea of WLS first popped into my head because of the whole permanence factor. For a long time I allowed myself to be uninformed about all it entailed and just dwelled on the permanence and feared possible bad outcomes if I ever did decide to pursue it. I was in my early 20's when I first started to even think about it and I was in the low 300 pound range. I think part of me also didn't want to even try WLS because I'd heard stories about people 'who knew people' who had WLS and who either tried and failed or who lost weight and then gained most or all of it back. I didn't think I'd have the willpower to keep to a strict diet to lose the weight and then learn moderation and self control during that weight loss phase to help me keep off what I did lose, and I feared I'd be one of those failures because of that.
However, a lot of things changed as I got older. My weight ballooned up and as I kept getting closer and closer to 400 pounds I was honestly fearing that every day would be my last. I thought for sure I'd die of a heart attack or a stroke or something. I had so many ER trips due to raised blood pressure, chest pains, etc. Then, in 2016 my TN flared up and I was in a world of constant chronic pain with basically no break. I was so doped up on my meds that I couldn't walk straight and was slurring my words when I talked. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, my whole world was just... pain. This lasted for 10 months. I wanted it to stop so bad that I was willing to end my own life. I didn't, of course. I tried to be strong for my family and went and saw a neurosurgeon who told me that the best option to get rid of the pain was brain surgery as meds were literally doing nothing for me. Surgery is just a temporary fix as TN doesn't actually have a cure. But it worked. I was starting to honestly consider WLS after I recovered from my surgery, but then my sister had a late second trimester miscarriage and the idea of WLS ended up as little more than a thought in the back of my mind. My sister's miscarriage hit her HARD and she fell into a deep depression and blamed herself for the loss of her son. It was months of trying to help her deal with his loss, and then her buying a house and moving, and helping her plan her wedding (I was maid of honor) so time just got away from me. About a week before the anniversary of the loss of her son, my sister learned she was pregnant again. It was the birth of my niece that really did it for me.
The first time I held my niece I was hit with the realization that I may not be around to watch her grow up if something didn't change. I'd done the dieting route and failed every time. Every pound I lost, I'd gain it back. Plus some. I KNEW I couldn't do it on my own, and so I actively started to look into weight loss surgery and to pursue it, because my biggest joy in life has been watching my eldest niece grow up, and the thought of not seeing her little sister grow up broke my heart. I was 32 years old and 389 pounds when my niece was born. That was my highest KNOWN weight (I avoided the scale like the plague. I'm positive at some point I was over 400, but I never saw that number on the scale because I was only weighed when I went to the doctor. And that was usually only when I was sick. And you tend to lose weight when you're sick).
I had my first consult appointment at the end of May in 2019. I did the six month weight loss program for my insurance, but due to overscheduling I ended up not having my surgery until January 23, 2020. I lost 68 pounds during the months leading up to my surgery and was 321 pounds on the day of my surgery. In the 13 months since I've lost an additional 126 pounds and currently weight in at 195 pounds. My biggest regret, like many others, is not doing this sooner. I allowed my fear of failure to stop me from pursuing this sooner. I've found that I'm a lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. Now I don't fear that I'm going to stray because I have accountability and willpower and can pass on all those foods that I used to never pass on. Is it hard? Yes. But, it's 100% worth it when I look at my 11 year old niece, 2 year old niece, and my 5 month old nephew and know I don't have to fear anymore that every day is going to be my last, and that I won't be around to watch them grow up. My family has always been my strength and they are really what have kept me going though everything I've been through in my life. I did this for them just as much as I did it for myself, and I'm grateful every day that I finally made this choice.
In the end, the option of surgery is a very personal choice. It's something that YOU have to decide for yourself because you are the one that has to live your life and live with whatever choice you make. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!

most of us aren't. I think a lot of people's perceptions are based on "My 600 lb Life", but the people on that show are not "average" WLS patients. Most bariatric surgeons wouldn't operate on anyone that large, so they go to specialists in high-risk bariatric surgery, like Dr. Now. I worked with the pre-op classes at my clinic for about three years (before COVID, that is). I would say the majority of patients are about your size. 40-ish BMI. And then there are usually a handful who appear to be in the 300-400 range. And once in a while someone who looks to be over 400 (although of course I'm just guessing...). But I would say the majority (of women, at least) are somewhere in the 200s. I've never seen anyone anywhere near the size of the people on "My 600 lb Life". But I think that's what people think when they think "bariatric patients". I know I did... Yet I was the biggest person in my co-hort when I went through. I was very surprised.
you won't die. Mortality rate is about 0.3% - which means 99.7% of people sail through just fine. My surgeon has been at it for over 20 years and hasn't lost a patient yet! Also, most of us have little to no pain with these surgeries. And they'll always send you home with pain meds, so if you are one of the unfortunate ones who DOES have pain, you'll be able to manage it.

I teach in New York too (I'm guessing by your name). What age group do you teach? If it's high school, you should be OK. Middle school is a beast so you might need extra time...