The Greater Fool

Get rid of your scale. It doesn't help with weight loss. Worse, it messes with your mind and causes you not to trust your plan. You will hear an unbidden voice in your head suggesting you change things up just to get the scale to move. I guess I was lucky because I was too large to fit on a home scale. I had no choice about weighing at home. Talk about trusting your plan, I had no choice. Then I discovered I never saw a stall. Not a single one, so I was never tempted to change things to please the scale. I didn't vex about a number on a scale. The scale had no power to make me happy or sad. The whole thing was an education and wonderfully freeing. Trust your plan, not your scale. Good luck, Tek

My surgeon had no blanket restrictions on any medication. Many of us take medications every day that have pretty severe side effects, but we make the choice that the definite benefits out weigh the possible negative side effects. We mitigate the possible side effects where we can and we monitor carefully for problems. This is as true for OTC drugs as it is for prescription drugs. My personal situation makes Tylenol a general "do not take" while NSAIDs are OK for the situations for which I need them. I have other meds that are more effective against most pain, but likewise have larger possible side issues. Again, mitigate and monitor are the order of the day. Don't take your medical advice from strangers on the internet. You're medical team is the place to get informed information that takes into account your personal situation. Good luck, Tek

What I've noticed is the effects and experience are all accelerated. I feel the effects quicker and it hits a bit harder. The buzz also fades sooner. If I drink enough to get a hangover, that too happens and passes quicker. I don't drink much since surgery. Basically, very special occasions and vacations. I don't drink socially mostly because I don't do much of anything socially. I recommend that new post-ops, if they intend to drink, to do so at home first so that they can find out how they will respond. Transfer addiction is not rare. If you're going to drink, put it off until post-surgery life is routine, that you've developed coping mechanisms to replace the role food may have played. Good luck, Tek

I never did protein drinks. 3 meals with 3oz protein is about 60g protein. This was my plan from day 1, though the first 6 weeks were pureed and I rarely managed the whole thing. Good luck, Tek

Easy justification: You got to spend quality time with your BFF. Cheap at twice the price. Good luck, Tek

I have had potato chips made of honest to god potatoes. Perhaps a couple annually, but still. Good luck, Tek

I had my TT at UCLA, I forget the Doctor's name, it was too many years ago. So really, I'm not much help for your actual query. But, why I'm really here is to let people know that plastic surgery isn't always cosmetic. If you can document things like rashes, infections, and back pain with failed interventions, it becomes a medical condition rather than a cosmetic one. It becomes 'reconstructive surgery' which insurance often pays for. My TT didn't cost me a penny. Good luck, Tek

To be honest, "solid food" is pretty useless. Chocolate bars are "solid food." Your medical team should really define your plan. My plan was 3 meals of 3oz protein and 1oz non-starch veggies, no starches, no snacks, and no protein drinks. Planning meals around that was pretty easy: A chunk of meat and a bit of veggies. For me, well prepared food with subtle or not so subtle spices or sauces were perfect. Almost by definition, each meal is more or less "balanced." Everything was based on my preferred flavor profiles. Big flavor sated every craving I might have encountered. As I write this, I am munching on yellow curry chicken. Mongolian BBQ is another favorite I go for at the slightest provocation. Thai is another flavor I go hard for. Early on, chicken and steak were hit and miss, and as leftovers they were miss or worse. Once I got to solid foods, I portioned my meals as 3oz protein, 1oz veggie. I often prepared meals in advanced. I rarely managed eating the whole package, but it was there in the rare case I did. Leftovers were discarded. Sauces really make the meal. I'm sure you, like I, have favorite flavors. It takes an amazingly small measure of even the most caloric flavor to make your dish delicious. Personally, I like spicy (such as Thai) , or creamy (such as alfredo), sweet (such as BBQ), or no sauce at all like prime rib, ribeye, grilled chicken. What do you like? Do it right and you are golden. Good luck, Tek

Like @catwoman7, probably about 2 years post-op after I hit goal. Generally only on vacations or special occasions, which is about the only time I'm willing to stray from plan a little. To be fair, drinking is not something I do much socially mostly because I don't do much socializing. Be cautious of addiction transfer. Good luck, Tek

I had open Gastric Bypass, mostly because I had 500+ excess pounds at the time. It does give the Docs a good view of the field, easier to get into difficult places. Even then, for me, they had some problems getting everywhere they wanted to. It does make the early recovery a bit more painful. Quite a bit more. I had about 30 staples from just below my sternum to about my waist, along with a drain. It's less fun than it sounds. While the first 3 weeks were horrible, once the staples got removed (ouch), things improved quickly. Even so, I never regretted my choice for an instant. It was the second best decision my life, my spouse being the best. Good luck, Tek

Really, this is something you should ask your medical team. It seems every surgeon has their own plan and, generally, that is what you should follow. Once you know your plan, you can get help figuring out what to eat within it. Good luck, Tek

Early post-op SF popsicles were life savers to me. I had problems eating (puree) and drinking, but SF popsicles were flavorful and went down with no issue. Later, after things settled down, they were nice snacks. Good luck, Tek

Thank you for expressing your unpopular opinion. Really, without contrary opinions this place would be horribly boring. It challenges us to reexamine what we believe and how we express ourselves. I can see how some people could view every one of the "problems" here as good things and therefore humble bragging. A problem is what you make of it. A "good problem" is life giving you lemons and choosing to make lemonade. Good luck, Tek

There are comparable ones you can pull from the interwebs. It's pure nonsense in my opinion. Why should my choice to eat less, and let's face it this is exactly what surgery is, be a restaurant's problem? When we ate less with a normal diet, was that a reason to get a discount? The other point is restaurants are unlikely to accept the card. It's something they are not a party to creating. Personally, the thought of making my surgery an issue in a restaurant with strangers is something I would ever do. Again, it's my business. I know not everyone agrees with me. It's OK, it's why Baskin's makes 31 flavors. But I believe we just need to work out following our plan without making it other peoples' problem. Somewhat like a recovering alcoholic not forcing everyone around them not to drink. Besides, early on leftovers can be wonderous things. The right full price appetizer can cover days of meals. The right meal even longer. Here I am 20+ years later and it's a long time since I bothered with leftovers. It's easier just to eat what my plan says and leave the rest. It's been this way since before I hit goal. Good luck, Tek

I, too, became a clothes horse; In crowds people used to just get out of my way, parting like the Red Sea, but now I have to just live with being part of the crowd; I used to be too large to ride the rides, now I have to ride the rides with my grandkids no matter how much I didn't want to; Good luck, Tek

I'll pass on the Multi Vita question. I will say my surgeon wanted us getting our nutrition from food. If blood work revealed deficiencies, then use supplements to address those. Calcium and Iron were those he suggested prophylactically since they were common issues; On the medic alert: No, not everyone get's one. I would say those that do get them are in the minority. My surgeon didn't feel they were necessary, and on my own research I amazingly came to the same conclusion as my surgeon. Imagine that! Common medic alert items: NG Stomach tube: There are standard practices for NG stomach tubes none of which require gastric bypass folks to warn anyone. First, NG stomach tubes are used for feeding which would not be done when you are unconscious in an emergency, once it would come to this point they will know your history or be able to see if it would be an issue; Even if this weren't the case, folks are trained to stop NG tube insertion when the slightest resistance is encountered, so the only time it would be an issue is when someone is doing it wrong already, so warning them not to do it wrong won't help; No NSAIDS: Folks won't be forcing NSAIDs on us when we are unconscious; If we are encountering a cardiac situation they may want to do a low dose aspirin, to which you want to say yes to avert heart issues. Low dose for cardiac care won't harm our tummies, I take saving my heart over saving my tummy any day of the week; Many folks take low dose aspirin daily; Dumping on Sugars: Again, they're not in the habit of forcing sugars on us if we are unconscious; Also, if in the extremely unlikely event that forcing sugar on us would be lifesaving, I'll take non-life threatening dumping over dying any day. Heck, I'll be asleep so dumping won't be a big deal. BTW, I dump and I'm still not scared; On a more philosophical level for me, I didn't want this surgery to rule my life. I was building a new normal here and I don't need special labelling to establish my new normal. Again, this is a me thing and is meaningless to the rest of the world which is why I'm not labeling myself for the rest of the world. Such medic alert bracelet's are an invitation for people to ask why, and I don't want to explain why to anyone. Hope this helps, Good luck, Tek

One reason I challenged myself to the C25K was after carrying 500+ extra pounds for a lot of years my knees weren't going to hold up for long. I never intended to do much more than just accomplish the goal (by running 5k 4 times a week for a month) and move on. But I came to really enjoy what I got out of it and next thing I knew I was binge running. It was surprising my knees held up for as long as they did and I may have pushed it a bit far. My knees and other medical issues conspired to end my running right after marathon #5 which was 18 years ago. Good luck, Tek

When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5k just to prove I could. I did a program similar to Couch to 5 K (C25K). It took about a month. I discovered I enjoyed running. I could use to time to put the day in order and ponder life's challenges. I started adding distance, then worked at improving time. At some point I decided on running a marathon, so got a book (Idiot's guide to Marathons) and followed the program there. The more I ran the more I enjoyed it. I lived in Las Vegas at the time and decided I would run in the Valley of Fire Marathon which was out in the desert near Lake Mead. A couple months before the marathon I had a business trip to Long Beach and as it happened the Long Beach Marathon was that weekend. I decided I would sign up and use it as a training run. I didn't really intend to finish, but as it turned out I did. It was wonderful. So my second marathon was Valley of Fire, which was up and down a hill. Very challenging. My third marathon was Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach. 4th was San Francisco Marathon where I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. This was a tough one for me. I tripped at about 1/4 mile from the start, landed hard on my chin. I new there was an aid station about mile 4 on the other side of the bridge, so I said I'd get to there and call it a day. By time I got there I didn't feel bad at all, the bleeding stopped and the aches were subsiding, so I continued knowing I could cut to the half marathon if necessary. The half marathon cut off was about mile 11, and I was doing well so I just stuck with it. At about mile 13 was the first sustained uphill where I finally needed to take some deep breaths and realized I couldn't. I trudged as well as I could to the end, where they diverted me to the hospital tent then the hospital. Turned out I had a broken rib and required stitches in my chin. My 5th and last (as it turned out) was Long Beach Marathon, a year after my first. I was way past goal at this point, and couldn't eat enough to stop losing weight. For the year of marathons I ran about 90 miles a week, went through a pair of shoes every 6 weeks. I'm prouder of my marathons than I am of losing 500+ pounds. To your questions: I never worried about fuel during a run that was less that 15 miles. Over 15 I did a "goo" every 5 miles. Hydration is where I focused. That and breathing. I had to be careful as most "fuel" is heavy on sugar and I dump on sugar. I did dump a few times until I learned my tolerances of different products. I did yogurt before and after. Building stamina is what the C25K and other programs are about. Keep a running log & journal so you can see your improvement, which is extremely motivational. Be patient. Good luck, Tek

I have found that most drugs for which I feel an effect don't last as long as the label says. Generally the effect lasts about 4-5 hours where the expectation is 8 hours. I've done time-released medications and supplements, some work fine (or at least well enough), others not so much. Out of an abundance of caution, me and my medical team tend to take more pills of smaller doses more often. I spread them out through the day or in the case of 'as needed' medications, I am able to take them 'as needed' more often. Alcohol, also being a drug for which I feel an affect, works much the same as other drugs. I feel the effect quicker, it fades quicker, and on the extremely rare occasions when I achieve a hang over it starts and ends much quicker, such that by early morning it's run it's course. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tek

If you are often doing anything aerobic such as walking, running, sex, sports, and/or any number of other things, ones' heart learns to pump more blood so it doesn't need to beat as often. When I was binge running, my resting pulse went to 38-40. Generally this won't cause dizziness because the heart is just more efficient and can do the same job with fewer beats. If you are taking blood pressure or some other meds they may cause dizziness. Especially during the weight loss phase, meds were dosed for a larger body. Losing weight effectively makes some meds stronger. Get your Doc to (re)evaluate your meds and supplements. I had to have BP meds reduced 2 times before they ultimately got rid of them. I would say it's also a wise choice to see a doctor, even a heart doctor. Whenever I've been normal sized, even as a child, I've had Orthostatic hypotension (dizziness when standing). It was never bad nor really any concern until about 7 years after my WLS while at work, I jumped up very quickly and took a bit of a nap. Since it was in front of the CEO, he insisted I have it seen to immediately. So I got a nice ride in an ambulance and after some poking and prodding, a nice, cozy room. I had several tests, and apparently scored well since I won a brand new pacemaker! I never win anything, so it was pretty cool. Good luck, Tek

The scale not moving doesn't mean, well anything. It certainly doesn't necessarily mean you are doing anything wrong. Stalls happen. If you are following your plan then you are doing what you need to do. Just keep doing it. Get off the scale, your don't need it. Look at how it's affecting you. Your scale has you wanting to make changes just to get it moving again. Just do your plan. Get off the scale. I guess I was lucky that I was too large to fit on a home scale. I was only able to weigh at my monthly follow-ups. As a result, I never saw a stall. I had no scale to lie to me on a daily or hourly basis. I never questioned what I was doing because a number on a scale didn't move, or moved the wrong way. I just trudged along following my plan. My feedback was how I felt. Eventually I was able to fit on a home scale and for about two weeks I went crazy. It was a new experience. After a couple weeks the novelty wore off and I stopped weighing at home. My plan was doing the job, so I just kept doing it. Good luck, Tek

The biggest thing you have going for you is your age. You still have young elastic skin. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations on your success. Keep up the good work. Enjoy what you've accomplished. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations on your success. Good luck, Tek