Splenda

1. What was the best part of surgery for you? The best part is also the hardest to explain. The best way I can put it is that pre-surgery, I had a demon in my stomach. This demon demanded rich foods and thought that if one of something tasted good, then four of something would taste amazing (this made the demon a liar, but I had to obey these lies). The surgery removed the demon. I no longer feel controlled by cravings. 2. What was the worst part of surgery for you? The 48 hours prior to the surgery were miserable. I could only have water, Gatorades and black coffee. Then I had to take strong laxatives prior to the surgery, so I was defecating so much that my body was expelling food I hadn't even eaten yet. And I couldn't go to sleep because any flatulence had the potential to be ... explosive. So it's 1 am, I am starving, dehydrated, sitting on the john and I need to be at the hospital at 5:30. 3. Did you have any complications (minor or major) during or after your surgery? Nothing major. I greatly underestimated how sore my stomach would be and how long it would take for the soreness to go away. I am a stomach sleeper and it was three months before I felt comfortable sleeping on my stomach. 4. How has adjusting to your new life been for you? I love the new life. I am able to exercise (bike, jog, lift weights) like I never have, I have great energy. I can shop at pretty much any clothing store. It has allowed me to become a better version of myself. 5. How long did it take you to feel comfortable eating food? It was probably 8 months to a year before I felt like I could try any food and not have to worry about my stomach having trouble. 6. Is there anything you can’t eat anymore that you used to enjoy? Can't eat, as in, I physically cannot handle it? Nothing. But there are plenty of things that I used to love that I am uninterested in. Like I have no desire to eat a donut. Just seems like pure sugar to me. 7. What was your recovery like? Any vomiting or dumping syndrome? I did not have dumping syndrome (although some sugar alcohols hit my stomach hard). I did have some vomiting, but it was either due to eating too fast or eating a food that my stomach wasn't ready to handle yet (I had some stewed beef at like the 90 day mark and I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was. 8. How long did it take you to feel semi-normal after surgery? I would say 90-120 days before I felt physically normal (could sleep on my stomach, could handle most foods) 9. Did you experience higher energy level post surgery? In the immediate aftermath of the surgery, no. This was my first (and so far, only) major surgery and I really underestimated how much it would sap my energy. I was walking gingerly for a while. But once I fully recovered, I have had way more energy. 10. Did surgery affect your mental health? Yes, in mostly good ways. The pre-surgery success-failure cycle of yo-yo dieting impacted my psyche way more than I realized. So this state of long-term success helped greatly (and success, both great and small, is an excellent anti-depressant). Will it cure your depression? Absolutely not. To the extent that you think your problems in life are caused by your size ("I'm single because I'm overweight" or "My weight is why they won't give the promotion" or "my weight is why my mother is passive-aggressive toward me"), the surgery will not make those problems go away. I'm very lucky and very blessed to live an amazing life and the weight-loss has only further revealed what an amazing and blessed life I have. 11. Do you regret it? Would you recommend it? I do not regret it. I make it a personal policy not to outright recommend it to anyone because everyone has their own journey. For many years, I saw bariatric surgery as a last resort, a kind of "pull in case of emergency" lever. I realized that I was 40+ yrs old with a wife and children and no diet had ever worked for me and I was only fooling myself if I thought the next one would do the trick. I had to either pull the lever or make peace with being morbidly obese for the rest of my life. I pulled the lever and I would pull it again without hesitation.

I also drink multiple coffees per day, but I include a 30g protein shake in each one (it serves both as a creamer and as a sugar, so I just add it to dark roast black coffee). My biggest piece of advice is to create a workable routine that hits all of your goals. There is nothing wrong with having a protein shake+coffee for breakfast (I do it every morning). I have two of them before noon, which gets me to 60g protein before lunch. I take my vitamins with the morning coffee. If you need to move your vitamins and supplements next to your coffee maker to remember to take them each morning, do that. As much as possible, try to put your protein/water/vitamins/supplements on autopilot.

When you look at calculators for post-surgery weight loss (I used this one -- https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-timeline-calculator/), they are giving you a median view of what you can reasonably expect. Of course there are outliers (I'm one -- I am about 25 pounds lighter than what the calculator says I should be), but it is designed to give you reasonable expectations. I also struggle with what number to use for how much I have lost. From my absolute highest recorded weight: 285 pounds From right before my pre-surgery diet began: 270 pounds From the morning of my surgery: 240 pounds

I always tell people that the two weeks before surgery were much more difficult for me than anything that came after the surgery. It is a terrible period and you really do have to power through it. As far as the constipation, take fiber capsules (preferably psyllium husk) with a probiotic. Its also a good habit to get into post-surgery, as soon as you can handle it. It will keep you regular and help with digestion. Try a different brand of shakes and see it works better for you. I always preferred the Premier Protein shakes over the Equate ones. Drink an insane amount of liquid during this time. Always be chugging some kind of liquid, just to try to keep your stomach relatively full. Eat sugar free popsicles by the box.

https://www.oroweat.com/breads/favorites/keto (Living in Texas, I discovered HEB Higher Harvest low carb bread and use that now)

I don’t remember exactly (I am 2+ yrs out), but I would say around month 2 or 3. I still find that cold coffee is easier on my stomach. I use the 30g vanilla protein shakes as my creamer. My breakfast for over a year has been coffee with a protein shake (either vanilla or caramel).

My initial goal weight was "what is the highest weight I could end up at where I would still feel like the surgery was a success?" For me, that was 275. Once I hit that, I kept going and have maintained at around 220 lbs.

1. 43, M, 6'0" 2. Net loss: 0 (weight fluctuated wildly) 3. 460 4. 430 5. 381 6. 331 7. 258

One thing that I found helped me was taking probiotics (either a supplement or Greek yogurt) at the same time as my fiber. The fiber acts as "food" for the probiotics and it overall helps digestion and helps to keep things moving.

I am not a good singer, much less a trained one. But I can attest that 8 days after surgery, I was still wearing baggy yoga pants 24/7 and using a cane to go from sitting to standing (and vice versa) because of the soreness of my abdominal muscles. I cannot even begin to imagine engaging in a public singing performance. I would very much cancel.

I started having UTI problems a few months after my surgery. Started buying D-Mannose at Walmart and taking it daily. Haven't had problems since -- highly recommend.

How far post-op are you? What restrictions do you still have from your surgeon? I am pretty disciplined about avoiding carbs during my day to day life, but I do make an exception for Thanksgiving. I will have turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But instead of creating a heaping plate (and then going back for more), I'll have a plate that looks like it will feed a 4-year old.

I use powdered collagen every day with no dangers. I think it does help with skin elasticity -- I did it more as a preventive measure to avoid losing hair or having brittle nails. My go-to breakfast is: 8 oz of black cold brew 1 scoop of collagen 1 scoop of unflavored whey protein powder 2-3 squirts of skinny syrup Blend all of that together, then pour in a 12 oz premade vanilla protein shake

Everyone's mileage may vary, but I found this calculator turned out to be pretty accurate for me: https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-timeline-calculator/ On the morning of my surgery, I was 460. This calculator put me at 372 at the 3 month mark. I was 381. It had me at 325 at the six month mark. I was 331. It had me at 267 at the year mark. I am at 261.

On August 2, 2021, I had my final pre-surgery appointment. Weighed 473 lbs, wore 6xl shirts, and size 64 waist dress pants. On August 2, 2022, I weighed 265 pounds. I have fantastic blood pressure (119/67 at my last appt), I have a resting heart rate of 54, I wear xl/2xl shirts and my pants size is 42/44ish. The surgery was the best decision I ever made.