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 🤷🏼‍♀️

The concern for them was that the food addiction would be lost and that the addiction would then move on to something else (alcohol). i was questioned about my alcohol use when I did the psych evaluation. But I didn’t really drink prior to surgery and I can’t drink at all after surgery (the alcohol of a heavily juiced mimosa… with very little alcohol in it…. Can get me buzzed ).. The interview was really interesting, she tried to trio me up a few times. Her:“when was your last drink?” Me: “two years ago? I don’t really know it’s been that long” (she was disbelieving that I hadn’t touched alcohol in years which sent up red flags for her). so then she asked me things about holidays and what kind of get togethers we have and if food it an integral part of the celebration…. Which led into what drinks are available …. (I told her honestly that my family does buffet off to the side where everyone grabs their own food, we eat wherever during these celebrations but mainly just socialize. Soda Drinks are available and alcoholic drinks are available but I usually just stick with water, coffee, or tea). i passed the evaluation so I guess she didn’t find anything seriously wrong with my answers. But if you try and lie about it other questions may be asked where your evasiveness about drinking may come to light. So it’s best just to be honest.

I had this post surgery. It was from drops in blood pressure. I was taken off the 1/2 pill of blood pressure med I was on and that more or less solved the problem of it happening regularly. it does still happen though. I’ve gotten to the point where I know the signs (my vision starts to get dark spots) so I sit down and take a moment. I get it worse if I am not drinking enough.

I am just over a year out: the way I eat now? I go out… I eat whatever the family eats except in smaller portions and I avoid some stuff. i still don’t really do pasta. It just doesn’t sit well. I don’t do rice. If there is bread I am very picky and will avoid it altogether if it’s not amazing bread. I mostly still just eat protein, veggies, and fruits. My families social gathering all consist of buffet style massive amounts of food, but I only take one plate and keep portions small. I do find myself when going out that I am done before everyone else and still have a ton of food on my plate. In those situations I just ask for a box to go and sit and chat instead. I’ve also taken to ordering food with my 5 year old. My 5 year old has a very adult pallet and will often want adult food not kid food (steak and lobster?!). So with this in mind I look at the menu and order something i share with him. Even when I get my own food at home he asks if I’m full so he can share (after he finishes his). so I have a variety of strategies I use. I also still go for protein first to meet my protein goal and will often skip food that is low in that category (like soups and stuff. I only eat those when I’m sick now And I usually only do it at home so I can put protein powder in it if I have to). Calorie wise…. My nutritionist still isn’t thrilled. I still struggle to get in her 1700 calorie mark, but I am better in the sense where I can now get in 1400 calories MOST days (of good clean food without a ton of fillers) . I still don’t feel hunger at all over a year out (I’ve felt it maybe once or twice but that was when my schedule was off and I went WAY TOO LONG without remembering to eat) …. But if I can stick to a schedule it helps me stay consistent and get those calories in.

I got all those comments today and my dad pulled me aside and told me that “enough is enough and I need to STOP losing weight because now (according to him) I look skeletal and unhealthy” . Attaching a pic because I am not “skeletal” 🙄

I’m not that old (I’m 39) but when I went to Starbucks the other day the guy at the counter greeted me by name. I was taken aback a bit but just took my coffee and smiled… but I’m so blah at 6 am that I’m just not focused enough to notice details like that. i got to work and one of my students noticed there was a heart and a phone number on my Starbucks cup. 😱 i teach fifth grade so you can imagine how crazy the girls went over the information that the Starbucks guy has a crush on their teacher 🤦🏼‍♀️. it is odd when you’ve gone your whole life with men never looking at you like that 🤷🏼‍♀️

I had a tendency to stall for long periods then drop a ton quickly…. Then stall for forever and a day again… rinse and repeat. Overall it was agonizingly slow food wise now: Breakfast: a slice of toast with peanut butter or avocado. If peanut butter I will add 1/4 of a banana (sliced) lunch: P3 peanut cluster pack and a chobani yogurt. dinner: chicken/shrimp/ rarely pork or beef (pork for some reason my stomach can’t handle very easily. That was the first food that gave me foamies and it sits like a rock in my stomach 🤷🏼‍♀️) for snacks I tend to have nuts or cheese or yogurt. im boring with food. I tend to do what works and that’s it. I don’t like to think about food and honestly I am never really “hungry”. I think I’ve only been hungry once since surgery and it was one of those things where I was working on a home improvement project and lost track of time/forgot to eat and missed eating for almost the whole day. So I really don’t even classify my hunger as coming back yet since it was only the one time. I just got Invisalign so I am not really wanted to snack much either lol. My calories were in the 1000 range up until a few weeks ago and my nutritionist freaked out because she said I should be 1700. I had a meeting with a different nutritionist and she said I could push myself to 1400-1500. So that’s what I did and I started losing again. Their reasoning was that they didn’t want my metabolism and body to adjust to 1000 calories because that wasn’t sustainable long term. typically people say that you have a bounce back from your lowest weight. My family is a tad concerned I lost “too much”. I do have lots of loose skin 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t like it so I tend to hide behind clothes. as far as osteoarthritis… with that amount of weight loss I actually hardly feel any pain and can walk around like it’s nothing. I can’t run (high impact) or jump (also high impact) but easier exercise is fine. I’m currently taking it easy because I played basketball/handball with my students and stressed my knee out by doing all the things I shouldn’t have been doing 😅 I tend to walk A LOT. I have a big campus and I walk back and forth all day, I have a standing desk with no chair so it encourages me to walk/rotate the room. My arthritis was so advanced it looked like an X-ray from someone who is in their late 80’s and they were talking knee replacement surgery. I was in a wheelchair. They wouldn’t do the surgery Because of my weight and my age (too young). By doing the weight loss surgery I have put off that need for a knee replacement indefinitely.

I also went through Kaiser and I have almost the same stats as you. i started at 330 pounds. i had surgery around 297 pounds. (I’m 6 2” for reference) i am 39 years old with severe osteoarthritis in my knees and ankles. I weighed in this morning at 169 pounds (I am on my period though and I tend to retain water so I am probably closer to 165) . I get about 1400 to 1500 calories a day in now. My one year surgiversary was on March 24th. So I am just over a year out, but my numbers looked very similar to yours. they are happy with my loss, I am now in a BMI range of 21 or so… i was at 185 for a LONG TIME then just recently started loosing again because they upped my calories. So now I am down to my lowest I have been since junior high. It’s really trippy when I look back on photos of me as a child and see that I weigh more then. Or the fact that I can wear my sons T shirts (he’s 11). I only weigh 65 more pounds than he does 😱

I was the same weight for MONTHS (185pounds)… at about a year out I figured “okay, this is it. I’m stable and maintaining now”. Recently they have me increasing my calories (I’ve managed to get up to 1500 calories a day which has been a difficult transition because I tend to eat foods that are lower in calories ) and then I dropped a Lot of pounds very quickly. I am now 174 (I hadn’t weighed myself in a while because I always hovered around 185) . My nutritionist about had a fit and wants me to do more regular check ins now. (Insert eye roll here). I just got Invisalign too so my tendency to snack (which is how I upped my calories) is now nonexistent because getting these Invisalign trays off are like wrestling a rabid animal 😅 anyways…. I know a lot of people have broken stalls by temporarily increasing their caloric intake. 🤷🏼‍♀️ You could increase your calories and see if that jump starts weight loss again

What are you all eating one plus year out and how many calories are you consuming. i had my year evaluation (I went from 330 pounds to 180 pounds) and she was pleased with my progress (apparently I surpassed the others in my group with excess weight lost which is a great feeling!) however she seemed a bit upset over the quantities of food I am eating. she said I should be getting 1,700 calories a day. I just don’t see how that’s possible! My restriction is still very much a thing and I just can’t eat that much. I compromised by telling her I would eat breakfast (I usually just have a nonfat coffee and that fills me up), she told me to introduce that back in and track my calories. So… I did. you guys I am only getting 1,000 calories in a day! And that was WITH breakfast. I have found that I am finally getting hungry on occasion (I haven’t felt hunger for a year now ) and my volume has increased slightly, but nowhere near enough to fit in 1700 calories! My protein count is fine. I got 80 grams of protein today (I have some lingering medical issues so my protein count has to be lower than the norm). I don’t eat junk. This is kind of an average day: scrambled egg, coffee, P3 pack, yogurt (no sugar Greek yogurt), chicken/fish with some veggies (but I usually can’t eat more than a bite or two of veggies) and I might have a few nuts or half a cheese stick for snacks. It will only become more difficult because I am getting Invisalign and my desire to snack is going to be zero because I don’t want to brush my teeth a zillion times a day. i need good ideas on getting my calories up!

I do like blue cheese… I think I’m going to add that with some salad stuff. Foie gras… yeah not so much lol 😅 we tend to eat really light… chicken, shrimp, fish, Turkey, veggies. Fresh fruits (but only a bit, lol usually take a bite and my youngest son takes the rest) … I don’t typically do starches anymore (no potatoes, no rice, no breads). I can do beans but not a lot. the stuff we eat tends to be lower in calories so in order to get what she wanted in? my thought process was eat twice as much… which I can’t do because o already eat till I get my cue that I’m full. So I was panicked a bit. adding in healthy fats, healthy snacks will help get the calories up to where they should be. Thanks for the support !