vikingbeast

I had surgery July 2017 and I’m almost 5 years out. Highest weight 228lbs Current Weight fluctuates between 148-150lbs. 80lb weight loss maintained. Here’s my before and after

I broke my stall this morning! Down 1.8 lbs since yesterday and down 1.6 since my last lowest weight, so I think the stall might actually be over. 😁
I am trying so hard to exercise but yesterday doing steps my knee started hurting, plus my hip is still hurting from the treadmill, and my arm is still hurting from the trainer I met with. I was going to swim, but then I realized that might be hard with my arm messed up... Last night I walked all over my apartment following @ShoppGirl's suggestion. It was nice. I was on the phone with my parents but still managed to get my calorie goal for the day (according to my Apple Watch).

If you have GERD now, then you should opt for a gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y, always abbreviated RNY here). It's literally the solution for GERD and sometimes when vertical gastric sleeve (VSG) patients get GERD post-op, they revise the surgery to RNY.
So let me ask you this: what's worse for your health? Having to monitor your blood levels of Vitamins and supplement, or being obese and developing comorbidities?
You'll find a LOT of people think that surgery is somehow a way of "cheating". Don't listen to those idiots, who've never looked into it.

Right there with you, my surgery sister. I had a three-week stall and it made me insane. Then this week—WHOOOOOOSH. Three pounds practically overnight. Now, obviously there's something going on in there. I have a theory that the Epsom salt bath I took after a physically intense day reduced some inflammation, but who knows.

Been a while since I checked in. A friend of mine said, "You know, if you do a French tuck*, you can show off those belt buckles of yours. You're slim enough now."
I am not convinced this is the style for me (feels like I wasn't paying attention after pulling my pants up and accidentally buttoned them around my shirt), but damn if it didn't feel nice to actually be able to do it. So here I am, another almost 40 lbs. down, 39 to go. Three quarters of the way to goal.

* French tuck - you tuck in the front but not the back. I know no French people who do this, but maybe it's named after Tan France instead of France France.

I also use the ProCare with 45mg Iron. But I have to have it after there's something in my stomach or I get dizzy. I also take D3/K2, B12 (liquid), calcium citrate, and a few other things, but none of them are officially "bariatric" and yet my labs are fantastic.

Yeah, that's straight up insane. Literally all of our plans right after surgery talk about 60-80g of Protein a day. I would seriously question your doctor's competence to guide you through this.

It's normal not to be able to fart (you're constipated!) and it will go away. As GradyCat said, walk. Walk a ton. It will go away. The first few days post-op are the hardest.

Right there with you, my surgery sister. I had a three-week stall and it made me insane. Then this week—WHOOOOOOSH. Three pounds practically overnight. Now, obviously there's something going on in there. I have a theory that the Epsom salt bath I took after a physically intense day reduced some inflammation, but who knows.

Mach Dich doch keine Sorgen!! You're not going to stretch your pouch out like that. It's okay. As said above, it is just food.
My surgeon was full of piss and vinegar about my eating too much (1600 kcal / 6700 KJ per day)... but I just stop when I feel full, and I have more energy. And you know what? Occasionally I will eat something junky. Usually if I have a craving for something that lasts a couple of days. And after a couple of slow bites of it, the craving is gone.
And I am still losing weight hand over fist.

Been a while since I checked in. A friend of mine said, "You know, if you do a French tuck*, you can show off those belt buckles of yours. You're slim enough now."
I am not convinced this is the style for me (feels like I wasn't paying attention after pulling my pants up and accidentally buttoned them around my shirt), but damn if it didn't feel nice to actually be able to do it. So here I am, another almost 40 lbs. down, 39 to go. Three quarters of the way to goal.

* French tuck - you tuck in the front but not the back. I know no French people who do this, but maybe it's named after Tan France instead of France France.

Go in person and make her sit with you until it's all done. Or speak to the office manager and explain what is going on. If nothing else, make them print your records for you and go find a different surgeon without such a terrible front office staff.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

Neither my surgeon nor my PCP ever mentioned BMI when working with me to set a goal weight. I will never be a "healthy" BMI because that, for me, would be 184 lbs. and I have almost 200 lbs. of lean body mass. So I picked a number based on body fat. For a man, below 25% is average, below 20% is good, and 15% is fit (as in flat stomach, at least for people who don't have a ton of excess skin). So I took my pre-surgery muscle mass, subtracted 10% since I knew I'd lose muscle mass as I lost fat, then added back in 20% body fat, and came up with my goal.

Every three months I get a DXA scan because as I work out and lift weights, my muscle IS coming back, so I adjust my goal. Next scan is in March.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

I had the same experience recently. I went to try on clothing and tried on an XL and it was too big. I am now in a large from a 2X and it is very motivating! Now I am motivated to get into a medium for the first time in over 30 years.

I had a NSV yesterday. I had set aside 5 pair of pants for "when I get down to that size again" and I've been working hard and have lost 25 pounds since October, so I thought I'd try them on. They fit! Now they go back on hangers into the closet rotation! Yay!

I had a small NSV today. I put on a size large t-shirt and it actually fit! This is surprising to me as I am a slow loser and thought it would take longer for this to happen! I've had other victories but this one stuck me as the shirt I tried on has been in my closet for years....and I can finally fit into it!! I can't wait until I shrink into the rest of my clothes!
Many best wishes and small NSV's to you all!

Neither my surgeon nor my PCP ever mentioned BMI when working with me to set a goal weight. I will never be a "healthy" BMI because that, for me, would be 184 lbs. and I have almost 200 lbs. of lean body mass. So I picked a number based on body fat. For a man, below 25% is average, below 20% is good, and 15% is fit (as in flat stomach, at least for people who don't have a ton of excess skin). So I took my pre-surgery muscle mass, subtracted 10% since I knew I'd lose muscle mass as I lost fat, then added back in 20% body fat, and came up with my goal.

Every three months I get a DXA scan because as I work out and lift weights, my muscle IS coming back, so I adjust my goal. Next scan is in March.

Tummy Tuck (included muscle repair no lipo) on 1/19/22
I am 2 weeks PO tomorrow

The good:
I felt the pain was less than I imagined. I felt sore (and still do slightly) of course but it was far less than I anticipated.
The horrible pouch, AKA Joey, is GONE! What a relief! Good riddance to Joey!
At my appointment yesterday I was told I am healing VERY fast and ahead of the curve. They said I look more like 4+ weeks. Everything looks good!
I’m pleased already with my results even with the above the suture line swelling mid line.

The bad:
Constipation experience 2-3 days post op (I’ve blocked it out). I won’t get graphic but dear lord this was not good! The pain of this while being sore and stitched up was horrible! Yes, I took all the stuff yo prevent this. However, each time I get surgery this happens to me! I’d rather give birth!
The drains…. I knew I would hate them and I did. One drain leaked from the site for 7 days. Once that was removed it helped a lot. The second drain (non leaker) was just removed yesterday so I am feeling like a human!
Indigestion and gas have been an issue. It is quite unpleasant to be bloated with when you are stitched up.

Advice:
You need a person to help the first few days for sure. Changing dressings, emptying drains initially would have been impossible for me if I didn’t have my husband. Don’t try this alone!
Get a recliner. We already had an electric one so it helped me a lot. I sleep in it and don’t think I could possibly sleep anywhere else as I am NOT normally a back sleeper. The recliner helps adjust your position so you can find the sweet spot where you don’t hurt.
Drink lots of fluids and eat foods that do not create gas.
Be kind to yourself. If you are like me, you have wanted this surgery for a long time. Don’t try to do too much so that you cause a complication.
Have a firm pillow at hand so you can press on your tummy when trying to get up in the beginning or sneezing/coughing (ugh).

I hope this helps someone. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thanks for the reminder! It's time to schedule my next DEXA scan!

Oh, right! I need one next month too. It's actually really motivating to see the muscle number go up (after the initial drop, lol)... it also moves me closer to my goal weight which is based on body fat percentage... raising the floor rather than lowering the ceiling, IYKWIM.

If you have GERD now, then you should opt for a gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y, always abbreviated RNY here). It's literally the solution for GERD and sometimes when vertical gastric sleeve (VSG) patients get GERD post-op, they revise the surgery to RNY.
So let me ask you this: what's worse for your health? Having to monitor your blood levels of Vitamins and supplement, or being obese and developing comorbidities?
You'll find a LOT of people think that surgery is somehow a way of "cheating". Don't listen to those idiots, who've never looked into it.

I had a two-day athletic seminar this weekend with a bunch of people I've never met. We were asked to tell our story, so I told my story about struggling with weight loss, getting WLS, and trying to maintain strength through the weight loss. Afterwards a few of the participants said, "I would never have guessed you were heavy before. You could never tell now."
Like a (refreshing) splash of cold Water because I of course remember myself as the fat kid.