Orinskye

Water: super important and some people had success with alarms (I did not- I found them irritating) I used a water bottle with times on the side. You had to finish that much water by that time on the side of the bottle and you get 64 ounces in. You can get them on Amazon. Look for motivational water bottle or something. I drink way more than that now though …. Now that it’s a habit. i found it difficult at first because of masking. I wasn’t allowed to take my mask off while teaching/inside so I had to step outside the classroom every time I wanted a drink. I compensated this one by making my OWN water bottle (it was a cup with straw) and wrote times on the side just like my other one. Because it had a straw I could slip it under my mask and take a sip without having to go out of the room. gummy vitamins: I used chewable ones at first but they tasted awful and stained my teeth. I switched to just basic pills. I was told no gummies during the classes. (that said: I used to have the occasional gummy bear at the movies…. Stolen from my kids 😂….. but I can’t do that anymore because my body goes crazy when I have sugar/carbs). The other one they recommend was calcium citrate chews. I don’t take these. By taking these it was too much calcium (found by bloodwork) so it’s one less thing I have to take.

Hi there, I am in so cal and went through Kaiser. I went to the South Bay facility. they definitely make you jump through hoops with all their pre qualifications (like classes, psych eval, etc). But it was so worth it. It was done as an outpatient procedure because it was in the midst of Covid, I had the gastric sleeve done because I was worried about vitamin deficiency issues. i am now about a year and a half out from surgery. My friend/mom was really my support because my family/husband thought it was unnecessary (drs told me it would save my life). My friends husband went through it so he was a good sounding board, but This forum is awesome for any questions you might have and I honestly went here first. i am pretty tall at over 6 feet but my highest weight was 330 lbs and now I am at 155-160 pounds. I am currently looking into trying to get skin removal surgery. In case you are interested in that down the road: apparently they make you take classes for that as well. complications I had: I had a slight issue with my blood pressure being too low post surgery and was taken off my meds which fixed the problem. Kaiser was very responsive to the concern and the surgical team was great about conferring with my other specialists (I have many) because they are all part of the same Kaiser system. if you have any questions feel free to reach out! good luck!

I walked around the fair today…. All day…. And I wasn’t miserable 😂 (it was like 94 degrees out too!)

I stalled a lot, I would increase my intake and then I would start loosing again. I seem to be kind of “odd” though. At a year and a half my hunger hasn’t come back, volume wise I am on the really low end as far as intake capability (this is the concern for my nutritionist… one scrambled egg white and one bite of a Turkey sausage patty and I am DONE) , and I still can’t tolerate certain foods. I’ve kinda wondered it the surgeon took out more stomach than he was supposed to 😅 (Foods I can’t tolerate: pork, bread, rice, and noodles. These foods all make me feel terrible) I also can’t tolerate anything fried or anything heavy in sugar (being honest these should be avoided anyways lol) . Most of that restricted food is carbs…. The pork is interesting though because pork loin is a lean meat, but it makes me super sick.

I peeked at your surgery date on your profile and it said you had your surgery in May of 2022. Every plan is different and if you are comfortable with your nutritionist ? Follow their advice. I am the opposite of you (my hunger hormone never came back- I am a year and a half from surgery). I do the same thing with “I don’t want to gain weight back” so I monitor my weight by stepping on the scale once a week. I found that if I did it multiple times a week I would start to obsess so I only do it once a week. calorie tracking is another good tool. My nutritionist is constantly on my back to track my calories (I am kind of terrible at it….. 😅 it’s okay when I have my set schedule during the school year but during summer my schedule is less defined and my meals end up sparse or nonexistent just because I’m not hungry)

Lol- I live in southern ca. while it isn’t humid… it is definitely hot and the skin folds do get sweaty. I was thinking I was fine…. Until summer hit. Now I am looking into skin removal. 😅 I am a little worried they won’t do it though. I would like a tummy tuck, arm lift and breast lift because those are the areas where I get rashes/pain, but I am at 155 pounds now and I am worried they will look at my weight ….. guesstimate the weight of loose skin to be removed….. then refuse to do it because it could push me into the underweight category bmi for my height 😬. I’m trying to get in asap before we loose insurance again. 😑 fingers crossed at least some will be covered since I have a history of skin issues

I’ve noticed my drs office is also way more than my home scale but then my other dr has a scale that weighs me in less than my home scale. 🤷🏼‍♀️ since my home scale is between the two I just stick with my home scale.

I had an extended period of time off. I healed really fast BUT I had a little issue with passing out which they had to figure out. Once they took me off my medication I was fine and I went back after a month off. if I didn’t have that issue? One of two weeks would have been sufficient

I love it when you show this photo. In this case a picture really is worth a thousand words. ❤️

I totally wish I had done it sooner. My dr first asked me if I was interested 6 years before I said “let’s do this”. I wish I had done it then. You know what they say about hindsight. Lol the hunger hormone is a funny thing. I have often wondered if the dr cut too much out because mine hasn’t come back yet (I’m 15 months post op) . I have to stick to a strict schedule to remind myself to eat (fine when I’m teaching, but during the summer that has gone out the window) . I haven’t read anything other than ‘they cut the portion of the stomach out related to the hunger hormone’. Does anyone know why it comes back sooner for some people rather than others? Or never goes away at all?

I’m looking into skin removal now… I’m 15 months out from surgery and went from 330 pounds to 158 pounds. My loose skin isn’t as bad as some I’ve seen, but it’s still uncomfortable. i thought I could live with it but then summer hit with temps above 80 degrees and me constantly wet from the pool or the beach lol. 🤷🏼‍♀️ My insurance has very strict criteria for covering skin removal and I don’t know if I will qualify. I sent the doc some pics and now I am just waiting for a referral or a “no you won’t be covered”. If it is covered I was thinking about getting it done over Christmas break, but if it’s not I will have to save up and possibly do it next Christmas break (I’m a teacher and don’t want to take time off or do it during the summer).

The skinny vanilla latte taste ALMOST the same as a full sugar latte to me (it is slightly less sweet than the real thing). A few times I have been “tricked” into a full sugar one when someone else orders for me and I couldnt tell at first. I only found out when I started to feel like crap. I don’t dump….. but I do feel sick to my stomach if I have too much sugar. i have since obviously learned to check the label, a few times Starbucks has screwed up and legit put the wrong one…. But I have it often enough to where I now know the difference. 🤷🏼‍♀️ the egg white bites are my favorites to order. I don’t really like the other ones there. Kale and mushroom was okay…. But the bacon one was bleh. That might have to do with my aversion to pork since surgery though (I don’t know why, but Pork is a nono for me. I’ve tried pork loin several times and I get about two bites in before it wants to come back up and bacon is hardly any better). That said…..i fully admit: I tried the new coconut lime bar and it was amazing. Definitely not something to eat by yourself (I shared it with my kids and mom, we each had one bite) . The calorie count and nutritional facts are terrible for such a tiny thing though 😬 My diet might be looser than yours though….I am in the “maintenance” phase of my journey. I am fifteen months post op and now down to 158 pounds.

I order a skinny vanilla latte (that has non fat milk and sugar free vanilla syrup) I like their egg white bites and I will get those if I need a protein boost. If I have my kids with me I might get the sausage cheddar sandwhich…. Take one bite… then give the rest to the kids 😂 my kids are my helpers. If I’m alone I never want to get food because it’s a waste… but if I have my kids with me it’s a game changer. (this applies to going out to dinner as well: I won’t go out if it’s just me, but usually I will order what my five year old wants and just split it with him. And before you all cringe and say “enjoy your chicken strips”- my five year old has good taste…. He asks for steal and lobster 🤣)

I saw a recipe on tik tok today and it showed how to make a pizza crust out of canned chicken, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Has anyone actually tried it?

I have had to deal with this in a professional level. Interviewing for teachers is brutal and while my resume outshines anyone else’s? I was never chosen when I was over 300 pounds. sadly this type of discrimination is completely legal and can’t be proved. I am now going to be interviewing in the next year for positions again (and at a normal weight). I am curious how things will turn out now that I’m thin. (I’ve even had principals straight up tell me they would never hire me because I was disgusting to parents… and I was always professionally dressed. Just obese) I kind of give guys the side eye now if they ask for my number. I’ve had it happen a few times now and I always cringe on the inside because I knows it is because of how I look now 🤷🏼‍♀️