The Greater Fool

It's your body, you can count whatever you d*** well please. You are on your own track. No one else has ever been on your track. If your medical team has an idea of "on track" then they are comparing your track to everyone else's tracks. That's their issue, not yours. Comparison sucks the joy from life. Good luck, Tek

About 21 years ago I weighed over 700 pounds when I decided to have surgery at 43. The writing was on the wall: By 50 I would be dead or wishing I was. With surgery I had solid chance at losing enough of my weight to live a more active, healthy, happy, and longer life. Because of my weight and health issues, Doc said I had a 1 in 20 chance of dying on the table. I had a 100% chance of dying in too few years. I didn't even have to think about it. Surgery went fine. I'm told I didn't die. I followed my plan. I worked on my mental health. It took about 3 years to lose just over 500 pounds. I am healthier, happier, and ridiculously more active beyond anything I imagined. Life is still full of ups and downs. Some ups and downs are the same, some are vastly different. The current ups and downs are better. Much better. Good luck, Tek

Hello Christine and congratulations on your retirement. Nice to run into fellow traveler that had the full cut, though my team called it 'open.' For me the full cut / open surgery with accompanying staples were the worst part of the whole process. Once the staples came out I was a happy camper. Since we're in Rants and Raves, I'll dip my toe into rants... I somewhat agree with your frustration with the changes in nutrition and supplements over the years. So much of what we're told more and more is pulled out of thin air, or from studies taken out of context, or study results that are exaggerated beyond reason, or just conflicting information that people just didn't think through. We're bombarded with all this 'new', 'critical' information that is neither new or critical. It's just the same old stuff packed in a way that will get clicks. People are still looking the buy or sell a new magic bullet to solve their weight and other problems they didn't know they had. It's the same old mundane nothing that does not match up to the hype. First world problems. Good luck on your repairs. Tek

When it comes to virtually any human behavior or endeavor there are people that from the very first exposure love it more than life itself and those that believe it is the worst thing in existence and can't grasp the appeal. Many of the former simply can't understand the latter's aversion and vice versa. There are people that take up behaviors or endeavors they hate in order to fit in just as there people that avoid behaviors or endeavors to fit in. And those that do or don't do things to not fit in. We all only have the actual experience of what is going on in our heads. We have no experience of what other people experience in their heads. This is a major stumbling point of being human. If another person seems to love a behavior or experience as much as I do I still can't know their experience. Nor can I experience their hate or disgust. We are each stuck in our own heads. Empathy can only get us so far. Empathy allows us to intellectually understand that people have reasons for doing things just as I have reasons for doing similar or analogous things. Empathy doesn't cause me to experience what another person experiences. So, while I intellectually understand there are different strokes for different folks, I will never experience those different strokes the same as different folks. People are freaks. Well, not me of course. Good luck, Tek

Why don't you like all the foods and drinks I like? I can't see how you don't like something I find so enjoyable. Different strokes for different folks. Good luck, Tek

Enjoy. Tek

I did a lot of walking from a couple weeks after surgery until I was down to about 100 pounds overweight. By then I was walking 6-8 miles 3 days a week, along with non-planned outings. At about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to complete a C25K (Couch to 5K) program that gets you running 5k in 30 minutes in a month. Having completed this, I continued running, increasing distance until I was up to about 90 miles a week. I ultimately ran 5 marathons. Of the two, I enjoyed running more. I did my running first thing in the mornings, when I could contemplate the day and listen to audio books. Very enjoyable stuff. Walking and running burns about the same number of calories per mile. I would recommend doing what you enjoy and can sustain. It's hard to sustain something you dislike. Good luck, Tek

Tell us of your eating and activity programs so that we may give rational advice. For example, how many meals per day? Consisting of? How compliant are you? What activity program do you follow? How often? How are you performing compared to program goals? Additionally, are you tracking your eating and exercise? How consistent are you? Surgery addresses short term over-eating pretty successfully. However, 'grazing,' which is constantly eating smaller amounts over a longer period of time defeat our restriction component pretty effectively. There are actually other similar traps we may fall into without being aware. So, let us know and there are tons of folks that will fall over themselves to help you out. Good luck, Tek

I went with Bypass because the sleeve wasn't an option back when I had surgery. The lab-band was an option and all the sales points for sleeve now were the selling points for lap-band then. The problems with lap-band weren't well known at that time. If the sleeve was available I'm pretty sure I would have still chosen Bypass. Other than being extremely over weight, my core health was pretty solid, but I could see that about to change. I was a binge eater and wanted a surgery that would restrict meal volume which I believe both Bypass and Sleeve would have achieved. I also wanted the additional bit of malabsorption that comes with the bypass. Then comes the possibility of dumping which at the time I had surgery was about a 50/50 chance. I hoped I would get dumping and as it turned out, I dump on both sugars and fats. It took an amazingly few bouts of dumping to keep my eating in alignment with not dumping. So with restricted volume and very limited amounts of sugar and fats, how could I not succeed? Good luck, Tek

There's a reason when I describe my eating plan it is "3 meals of 3-4oz protein, 1oz veggies, or when I am full, whichever comes first." Typically, I probably complete 1 meal of 5 or 6, and a couple bites in 1 meal of 5 or 6, then the others are somewhere between. This is very normal for me, even all these years later. Good luck, Tek

I owned a home scale, but for the first 18 months or so I was too large for it. I did have monthly follow-ups with my surgeon, so I weighed in there. At my follow-ups the topic of my weight / weight loss was never brought up unless I brought it up, since there were more important things to talk about. The things my Doc paid attention to were how I felt physically and mentally, if I was having any issues or concerns, did anything significant change. The things I also paid attention to was how my clothes fit, my stamina, was I happy. Once I could fit on the home scale I almost lived on it for a couple weeks, as the novelty of it was just too much. Then the novelty wore off. Since then I only weigh at medical appointments when they ask me to do it. One does not need a scale to succeed at weight loss. Home scales can be had pretty inexpensively, I see one on Amazon for $16. If it's a matter of dire circumstances I'm sure your Surgeon or PCP or any of your other medical professionals wouldn't mind if you stopped by for a weigh in. Most department stores that sell home scales would allow 'testing' the scale before you buy or don't buy. Good luck, Tek

Definitely. Pre-op back pain was pretty much constant. About once a month, more or less, my back would 'pop' and would be bedridden for days. Post-op after I lost the bulk of my bulk it has not happened again, about 18 years. The chronic pain also reduced dramatically. Good luck, Tek

3 weeks (to get staples & drain removed), monthly for first year, then quarterly for the next 1.5 years, then annually, then I moved out of state. I was a special case because I started at an exceptionally high weight, so Doc wanted to monitor me much more closely than most. Gosh, as the years go by I feel like my experience and my Doc's philosophy of weight loss is very out of touch with folks today. Good luck, Tek

20+ years later, I never tracked a thing related to food. Good luck, Tek

Not really terrifying... I slept through most of it. Good luck, Tek

I try not to reply to these threads before other folks because my experience is nearly two decades past and my personal experience was anything but normal. But here we are. I lost a bit more than 500 pounds so yeah, I had a little extra skin. I had initially planned for abdominoplasty and thigh-plasty whatever it's Latin name was. Others I would then ponder later. I say initially because after the abdominoplasty I hemorrhaged and died briefly when they ripped me open to fix the problem. I was supposed to end up with a virtually invisible scar, but that ship sailed when they had to open me back up. Once I woke again my recovery followed a pretty normal trajectory for the time: 15 pounds of skin removed and lots and lots of pain. Lots and lots of pain wasn't unexpected as everything I read beforehand indicated such would be the case. And yet the reality of it was a bit overwhelming. After about three weeks, as I recall, everything became manageable and life began returning to normal. I'm not sure how much the methods and pain have changed, I'll leave that to others. I honestly can't see how my experience or recovery would have been different from a woman's experience and I certainly didn't ignore anyone's experience in my research. I lived in Las Vegas, NV at the time I had surgery, but there wasn't anyone in town that was able or willing to do my surgery, so I ended up having it done at UCLA Medical Center in Southern California. So, I can't really name surgeon's that might help you. Good luck, Tek

If they cover the procedure, then aren't they compelled to give the reason(s) for denial? I've often seen simple/stupid reasons for denial that were easily overcome. Even if not simple/stupid it gives a clear target to overcome. But a simple 'Denied' seems like a problem in itself. Good luck, Tek

I'm four-square in favor of undergarments. It's just the way I roll. The only time I did compression garments is when I started running after loosing give or take 400 pounds. Can't have all that skin going one way when I want to go another. Otherwise, I didn't bother. Since the Tummy-tuck even less need to bother. Let's see, at goal I still just wear what is comfortable, but with a risqué piece here and there. Comfortable pre-op had far fewer choices for different needs than now. I like now better. Oh, I'm a guy. Pronouns are whatever, you'd be surprised the variety that I hear. Good luck, Tek

It wasn't the RNY that was tough, it was the "open" aspect that was. Open surgery means they made a long incision from my sternum to just above my belly button. It gave the surgeons a clear view of what they were doing. I found out that I was used as a teaching tool, there were 3 extra surgeons looking on. It took them 35 staples to close me up. 35 staples from hell. "Comparison is the thief of joy" is now mine. Sorry folks, you'll be seeing it a lot. Good luck, Tek

I had an open RNY so they idea of laying down flat was laughable... if laughing didn't hurt so much. Once the staples and drain were removed after about 3 weeks I was able to start entertaining the idea of laying flat. I entertained the idea for about another 2 weeks when I finally gave it a go. Another week and I was laying down in just about any position I put my mind to, though I didn't put my mind to it over much. By six weeks I was pretty much able to position myself in just about any way. I was a rather large fellow, so there was more of me putting pressure on tender spots than for the average bear. I didn't see any reason to push myself, it's not like I was in a race or such. Good luck, Tek

Just by way of alternatives: My plan never included protein drinks. I'm one of those folks that gets their protein from "food." Google it if necessary. My plan from day 1 was/is 3 meals per day of 3-4oz protein + 1oz veggies. First 6 weeks it was pureed. Granted, I never completed a meal until about 5 or 6 months post-op, but I did the best I could and my team was happy with that. At any rate, just a different take on the whole protein thing. Good luck, Tek

Since it's so early post-op it sounds like the extraordinarily common '3 week stall' which happens 1-6 weeks post-op. The one sure fire fix is to get off the scale for a while. Good luck, Tek

You've lost 75 pounds. Why do you believe you need a diet product like this? Tek

Get off your scale. Follow your plan. If you follow your plan you will lose weight and you will succeed. You don't need a scale to succeed. But because of a number on a scale you are asking if you should change your plan. This is how scales can screw you up. There is more happening in your body than what you eat. You just had surgery with all sorts of fluids and drugs pumped into you, then you started effectively starving yourself (per plan). You're body will respond in all sorts of weird ways to get back to a normal that it will likely never achieve. It will eventually arrive at a new normal, very soon. Good luck, Tek

"We all have issues, some of which where will power alone can work. Then there are other, more complex issues where will power alone is simply inadequate. My long term obesity is one of these, so I've gotten help where my will power is rewarded with success. Another example would be people not being able to think before they speak. Too bad there is no surgery to help such people, poor dears." Good luck, Tek