qianmij

Before n after

Especially if you grew up in the 70's you were always told, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" and "Don't skip breakfast" and I think even Schoolhouse Rock had one about "Breakfast: Break the Fast."
But is that really true? Do we really need 3 meals a day? What if we only ate when we were actually hungry? Maybe 1 or 2 meals a day? Dr. Robert Cewes says that we don't need Breakfast because our livers release stuff in the morning (Dawn Effect) - the stored sugar while we were inactive - your liver releases it all in the morning to get you up and moving and energized. He says if you're not hungry in the morning, don't just eat just because you think you're supposed to.
There's a lot of theory that the food manufacturers back in the day paid heavily for advertising to convince us of certain "health facts" that really weren't health facts but opportunities to sell their sugary breakfast cereals, processed foods, etc.
So I think we sometimes need to reexamine the science and medicine against what we have always heard or think we know from 40 years ago.
https://youtu.be/Qleee_1yYHQ

Here's before and after  

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For myself: routine
im a teacher so my routine is pretty much set. I have never really been a foodie and I am fine eating the same thing every day….so….I have the same thing for lunch every day (P3 pack and a Greek yogurt). By eating the same stuff every day I am sure to get in my allotted Protein (I’m actually at a lower level of protein than the normal Bariatric patient because of my kidneys).

i have my set recipes that I make for dinner but the air fryer is my friend and I usually just eat two chicken wings, some cheese, and some fruit or veggies. If it’s not chicken wings I make sure my plate is well balanced and small.

exercise: I am terrible and don’t really do this. I don’t because I am on my feet all day long walking and get 10k steps easy, then also come home and take the dog for a walk. And once a week on my “lazy” days I take my kids to the harbor and we walk a couple miles there too. So again, walking is my routine. It’s what I do every day and I don’t need it think about it anymore.

Water: I have one of those Water bottles with times on it. I drink one bottle before lunch. One bottle after lunch. That is 64 ozs of water. As long as I keep to my routine of finishing the bottle it works.

all these things have evolved over time. It didn’t start out like that and I had to push myself to remember stuff and found myself frazzled with all the stuff to do.

BUT: I’m on less medications now than I was before and I take them first thing in the AM. Calcium chewy bite I eat after school because it’s a time between meals.

If you stay consistent it will eventually become a routine and second nature.

(I am about 10 months out from surgery and down to 185pounds. My highest was 330 pounds)

You definitely need to get with your NUT and SX. This is something they can help you gain control of. My first step would be to purge your home/car/office of ALL unhealthy food. Throw them out. You can't eat what you don't have/buy....

One month.

November 5th in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve been waiting for a while to get approved. Then, once I was approved, Iwas told that hospitals weren’t scheduling surgeries because they needed COVID beds. So I got it in my head that the surgery wouldn’t be until next year. Then they called. And now it’s in a few weeks! Ack! I’m excited and nervous.

I’d argue it’s not even motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what gets you to your goals. Doing what you need to do even when you don’t feel like it.

To be honest, I never went back to "exercise." All I've really done since surgery is walk, and I didn't even do much of that for about a month after surgery due to extreme fatigue. I now try to walk every day, but that's it--no cardio or weight training--and I've done very well in terms of weight loss. Diet is by far the most important component of weight loss, not exercise.

I am in agreement with Splenderella. Just to demonstrate that alcohol temperance or abstention must a life-long objective: I had my initial RNY 30 years ago and still cannot drink more than 1 or 2 cocktails or glasses of wine before becoming inebriated. As a result I drink very rarely and stop at one drink.
Addiction transference is a real thing for WLS patients. Some become alcoholics after surgery, perhaps because alcohol is a substitute for food addiction, a different coping mechanism. Be cautious with alcohol after surgery and keep track of your drinking behavior. Be honest with your surgeon and dietitian about your alcohol intake.
Have your first drink at home in a safe environment. Avoid alcohol for as long as you can, for at least six months post-surgery. Alcohol dehydrates you, so be sure to drink extra Water. Stay away from all sweet drinks, which can make you dump. Alcoholic drinks are empty calories, which should be reason enough to abstain. Alcohol hits your bloodstream much faster after surgery so it will affect you much harder. Never drink and drive. The way alcohol affects you after surgery will definitely impair your ability to drive.

It's been 2008 since I had a very successful surgery. Seriously, I swam in SF Sharkfest from Alcatraz to SF 2 yrs in a row. As I've gotten older, I have learned a few things I'd like to pass on to those who might not know this. Someone who has had bariatric surgery can only drink 5 oz of alcohol (wine/beer) and then they are legally drunk (trust me, you look act like you have had way too many drinks--slurred speech, staggering, falling down) and if you were to blow into a breathalyzer, you would get a reading indicating you are inebriated. Although I hadn't had anything to drink in about 30 yrs, during a few social dinners at our house, I had a small glass of wine and then my husband wanted to know just how much I had had to drink. When I say, "Not even one glass of wine," I was in such bad shape that he didn't believe me. He was furious and told me I wasn't to have any more drinks for the night. This also happened at my son's who was just livid with me and told me to go to a spare bedroom for the rest of the night. And, truly, I felt super drunk.

At some point, I did some research and learned that because of how small my stomach pouch is and the way liquids are absorbed, I really shouldn't even have a sip of alcohol.

Just thought I'd pass that on.
Also, I originally lost 137 lbs to get to my goal weight. I maintained it for several years because I was working out regularly. A few yrs ago I started to put some weight back on, mostly because I wasn't exercising as much, I was alone ALL the time because of Covid because my husband was in contact with Covid infected people at the hospital he worked at 5 shifts a week for 1 yr and 9 months until his last day was Nov. 1. My diet wasn't as healthy and we were sleeping in different bedrooms on separate floors because he was so afraid he would test positive and give it to me. All last year, from July through May 29th when I had left hip replacement, I swam in a local lake for 1 hr each session...2x-4x a week with Water getting down to 40 degrees. That kept me sane.

Both of us have had our Covid vaccination shots and booster shots and I'm back in swimming in the cold water.

If you have gained weight during the pandemic, just go through every day thankful and get back on the post-surgery diet your doctor put you on. (Currently, mine is 1200 cal, unless I burn over 900 swimming and only then do I get to add on 300).

Even though I was afraid I had "stretched" my stomach pouch (I'll be 68 yrs old in a few weeks), I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy a month ago and the gastroenterologist said everything looks perfect.

It has been 4yrs since my (initial) WLS.
Within that time I made great new friends, found love, had a revision, lost a parent, witnessed a pandemic from one of it’s epicenters, had plastics, had new additions to my extended family, relocated, had one child graduate from high school and more.
Almost none of these things were weight related but somehow everything else in my life seemed easier to focus on without worrying about weight.
My weight has been stable since I hit goal a few years ago with only minor fluctuations.
I’m proud to say I will always identify as a WLS patient. I thought I wouldn’t feel like one years out but I find I am consciously honoring this lifestyle in the majority of my choices.
I’m grateful we have this forum and I’m especially grateful to everyone in the WLS community that make it a positive and supportive environment to thrive in.

My life is about change I am 39 years of age life was falling apart because how I made myself feel. I just got gastro sleeve done only been home not full week it hard . First check up is nov 10,2021. I must say don't want look at weight scale at all. So just going give it update after month. Stay humble. Follow what need be done  
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I considered wls for many, many years, but never seriously. When I was a new RN in 1997, it was fairly new and I saw people die from it, so I was always scared of it. I also never had insurance that concerned it, so I knew I'd have to pay out of pocket, and I was overall healthy, so I figured I could do it on my own. I had my son in 2010, and that's when I really started to gain a lot of weight. I had done WW before I got pregnant and had lost 45. I was down to 263. After he was born, the weight started piling on. I was sick all the time and got diagnosed with asthma. I was in pain all the time. My liver enzymes increased slowly year by year, until 2020 when my doctor decided I needed to see a liver specialist. That same January, I had my gallbladder removed and that surgeon offered to biopsy my liver and it showed Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis, with hepatic fibrosis. As a nurse I had seen people die of liver failure and it is awful. This scared me to death. That surgeon recommended wls, and he was one of the only doctors who had ever acted compassionate and non-judgmental about my weight. He told me I had very little chance of losing it and keeping it off on my own. I took his advice and made an appt. That day with a bariatric surgeon. I saw him in March and he recommend gastric bypass. I started getting the required testing and had just had my EGD when the hospital decided to let a bunch of staff go due to COVID. That surgeon was one of them. I decided to go to a different hospital and surgeon and this one recommended Loop DS. I had not heard of it, but he said I was a perfect candidate with a BMI of 69.9 and since I was paying for it myself, as it was a newer procedure that insurance didn't usually cover. I researched it and decided to go with it.
My high weight was 393 pounds. I am 5'3". I was 368.8 on the day of my surgery, July 23, 2020. As of today I am 226.4. I never thought I'd be even close to this weight again. I am hoping to lose at least 200 pounds total. I am getting close.
I was close to borderline diabetic, had just been diagnosed with hypertension, and had liver disease. I could barely get around or keep up with my active 10 year old son. My hypertension is gone, my blood glucose is normal, and my liver enzymes are now normal, so I have reversed my fatty liver disease. I turn 50 on August 2nd and this will be the best birthday ever! I am so happy I had this surgery!
I can't get my befores to post right now but I'll put them here once I do. Here is me today.  
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Since I am now halfway between my heavy weight and my goal weight, I thought I'd show myself. I lost 26 lbs. on my own, then 9 lbs. on the pre-op diet, and 41 lbs. so far since surgery (five weeks ago). I only "see" the changes when I look at before-and-after pictures. I'm starting to see what I'll look like further along and I ain't mad about it.

76 lbs. down, 76 to go.

You should be amazingly proud of yourself! (And only care about the opinions of those who truly matter to you!) You have made the BEST choices for YOUR life - not others. If they are uncomfortable with your choices, if they want to make snide remarks because they’re unable to deal with their own insecurities - forget those comments and place no weight or value on them. You cannot control what people do or say, and you don’t have the time or energy for it. Your time and energy is better spent towards carving the life you want. Your journey is inspirational and you owe no one an explanation.

So, I am nearly 15 years (yes years) postop. I started at 315 and plummeted to 142 within 10 months of surgery. I was super happy but I was also sick. I didn't have energy, I looked sick...but I was SKINNY! For the first time in my adult life, I wore a SMALL! I loved and hated it at the same time. Then I was told to gain weight because due to all the excess skin, I was really underweight and it was NOT healthy for me.
Well, long story short...I can eat pretty much anything and not dump. Then my portions started growing and my snacking came back. I gained, I lost, I gained, I lost...you all know how that goes. I got back up to 230 and was miserable again. I started doing VERY well earlier this year and lost nearly 25 pounds of regain, then COVID-19 struck and has me working from home. This led right back to horrible habits and not as much movement (I didn't even have to walk to my car!).
The company I work for has wonderful programs to help get motion and nutrition back on track. Well, that is if you are able bodied (I have bad knees and am just trying to keep replacements at bay as long as I can) and can eat like a normal person. The PT and nutritionist had me doing things that just didn't work for me...not once but TWICE. I told them over and over I couldn't exercise on my knees nor could I eat the portions they were assigning to me.
Frustrated, I started researching revisions. I found one I was seriously contemplating, regardless of insurance coverage (I was THAT desperate). I was on the verge of calling my GP for a referral when I thought, "What about going back to basics"?
So, about two weeks ago, I found some sites (this is one of them!) with bariatric specific meal plans, food, Vitamins, gadgets, etc. I took the plunge and ordered Protein powders, protein Snacks, Meal Replacements and changed my Vitamin routine to the 1 A Day on here. I bought shaker bottles for my shakes, 15 minute increment Water bottles to make me drink my water (if you knew me, you would know I HATE water), and I also cleared two shelves in my pantry for JUST ME.
It's now been just over a week and I am down 4 pounds. I have so much more energy that my husband was like "who are you and where is my wife"! I have already noticed a difference in some of my clothes - no more dancing routine putting on my yoga pants!
It's not easy, but I have to remember where I was and where I want to be once again!
Sorry this was so long but I started typing and couldn't stop!

Clothing? Oh no, not for at-home weigh ins. Same and time of the week, yes, but the only thing I am wearing is a smile. 🤪

Height: 5’ 4.75”
Pre-surgery: 256
Surgery day: 241
6-mo weight: 162

I hit a one-month stall in month 5. I increased calories and saw weight start to drop again. I hope that helps!

Height: 5’ 4.75”
Pre-surgery: 256
Surgery day: 241
6-mo weight: 162

I hit a one-month stall in month 5. I increased calories and saw weight start to drop again. I hope that helps!

My responses are pretty similar to everyone else. When asked how much I usually say "a lot" or "more than I weigh." If they insist on a number I just say "more than 100 lbs." When they ask how I say "a lot of hard work" or "complete lifestyle change." When they ask about diet, it's "high Protein, low carb, small portions." And for those people that insist, "one donut isn't going to hurt you," I say, "no thank you, I broke my sugar addiction and I'm never going back there...I know what it does to me!"

Height 5'6.5"
HW 325 (2/11/2020)
SW 311 (3/9/2020 RNY)
CW 148 ( I have lost 177 pounds thus far)
GW 136 (bariatric surgeon's ideal weight goal is 136....but my goal was 150...and I'm still losing without trying).
Sorry for all of the pics. Just wanted to share.
Pics are from Today, 9/24/2021, yesterday, 2 weeks ago (9/10 the bathroom selfie. Lol. Took my soon to be 18 y.o. to their 1st concert and its my 18 month surgeryversary pic) and then collage is of me night b4 surgery (3/8/2020, at 12 months 3/9/2021, and 8/9/2021).
Plastic Surgery for abdominal skin removal scheduled for October 2021, pending earlier date if there's a cancelation!

I don’t yet have an after photo because I had my surgery this past Tuesday (September 21st), but I will share my very uncomfortable before photos just so I can really keep up with myself. I’m not proud of these photos, but I am proud of myself for getting through that surgery and being on the other side now!

I’m a bit over 9 months PO
Gastric sleeve, HW 345 SW 325 CW 218

I am so excited to be at this point. Some times it feel like it took forever to get here, other times I feel like it flew! I am on day 4 of my liquid diet, and I am finally starting to feel more like myself. Day 1 and 2 I was so weak, tired, sore, headache... but most of that has subsided thankfully. Down 8.8 pounds so far since Monday! Anyone else schedule for bypass on the 20th? Looking to surround myself with a support system. Thank for reading, and good luck to you all!