Edge13

Hi, I wanted to make a suggestion for those looking for a good way to exercise post-surgery. For those thinking of starting a jogging regimen but hate the thought of actually running, I strongly recommend a program called c25k, which is short for Couch to 5K. The idea is that by following this program, you go from sitting on your couch doing nothing to running a full 5K (3.1 miles) in 9 weeks.
I've always hated running but doing something like a 5K was always on my bucket list, so I decided to give it a try. I've tried the c25k program in the past (years ago) with some decent results, but never stuck with it.
So now that I've lost some decent weight post-surgery I wanted to try to kickstart my metabolism again and get some good exercise so I decided to try the program again. And it was a success! I followed the program, ran three times a week using my c25k app, and made it to the end. After I finished I ran three 5Ks a week for a few weeks until I ran in an organized 5K event where I placed 18th out of 63, and 2nd place for my gender/age group!
Now, for someone who always hated running, I can't believe I'm doing this, but a few weeks ago I started the b210k program (Bridge to 10K), which is a six week program that gets you from running a 5K to running a 10K (6.2 miles). Today was day 1 of week 3, and I ran 3 intervals of 1.8 miles each with .1 mile walking in between, for a total running of 5.4 miles.
If you've ever thought of trying to start jogging but didn't have a plan or thought it was impossible, give this a shot, you won't regret it. It starts off really easy and gradually builds up.
There are a ton of free and paid apps you can use. I personally use Rundouble which has a free version, and you can pay to unlock additional programs. I've also heard very good things about an app called Nike Running Club, which is also free. I've also tried Zombies Run 5K which is pretty neat.
Best of luck to whoever gives this a shot, hope you'll post your progress here!
Bonus pictures of me and my daughter after the 5K (she ran the kids fun run and took 2nd place):

Diabetes. Saw how that story ended a few times. Didn't want to live it. Day after surgery they told me to stop all diabetes medication. Been good since. No heartburn, and no CPAP, are great bonuses.

I'm 13 months out, and still can't do white meat chicken, or pork too good. Processed meat is just fine.
eggs were tricky. Early on after liquid diet, they made me sick, unless I scrambled them a certain way. Now they're staple, and in one day I may have them scrambled, omelette, and boiled, at different times.

Diabetes. Saw how that story ended a few times. Didn't want to live it. Day after surgery they told me to stop all diabetes medication. Been good since. No heartburn, and no CPAP, are great bonuses.

I tried both Ozempic and Saxenda (both GLP-1 agonists), pre-op and they do work for some, but at least for me, neither was the miracle drug some claim them to be. The idea is they curb hunger, but hunger is not why I was obese, so overall these had little impact on me. They are also quite expensive (~$1,200 a month sans insurance coverage), so depending on your budget it may be cost prohibitive.
As I understand it, this class of drugs have also become trendy among the wealthy that don't really need them, but can afford the monthly cost to help them stay slim. As a result, there are significant shortages right now.

Just over 3 weeks in and I have dropped 2 pant sizes!

I still have a double+ chin, but I can flex my neck and see tendons now.
I watched a video where a bariatric doctor said that not having fat around your neck/upper chest is a good proxy for loss of visceral fat, so I'm stoked. I keep flexing my neck in the mirror whenever I'm alone with one!

Those apps are the devils work. Delete the apps, unsubscribe from the emails, remove the phone numbers from your contact lists & toss the letterbox drops. Can’t stop all the bombardment but at least you can reduce it & remove some of the easy access to it all.
I found ads on tv & social media the worst it because they made me feel ill to look at any sort of high fat, high sugar, fast food, etc. food. Still does. God bless steaming, recording & downloading programs so you can avoid ads. Funnily I can happily watch cooking & baking programs probably because they rarely Celebrate excess.
The other thing I do is to make sure I have a selection of left over meals in my freezer. So on a night I may have been tempted to get takeaway or home delivery, I choose something out of my freezer. I can have a nutritious meal in 5 or so minutes. (Love my microwave.) No delivery service can beat that.

This gave me the chuckles. So I don't try and analyze every pound, I only count in Emma's. Emma was a 12 pound rat terrier that everyone liked. I'm down just over 6 Emma's. Sobering indeed!

I deleted all of those apps from my phone after surgery. Every single one. Now, almost a year out, I've got one of them back, because it's for coffee. Good observation. I tell people about this all the time.

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.

Yes Aug 5th 2021 I weighed 321 I now weigh 165 wear size 9 and other than loose skin, I look fantastic

I finally hit 50 pounds lost today!!!! It's exactly 3 months since my surgery and I'm down 1 clothing size, 1 ring size, and 50 pounds!!!! It seems like my body likes to do a 2-3 week stall every month and a half or so, so it's been slow going. But it FINALLY happened today. WooHoo!!!!!

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 guess I am one of the weird ones. I love all the cooking game shows liked Chopped and anything with Guy Fieri (Pre and Post Op). It doesn't trigger me, I get some kind of perverse pleasure in watching other people enjoy the food LOL

I was able to sit at a student desk! Last year(my surgery was June 7th)I literally had to wedge myself into the desks and push myself out... today I sat in one and had room to lean back. I mean it was actually not uncomfortable. Total 180 from end of school last year. Quite tickled!

I deleted all of those apps from my phone after surgery. Every single one. Now, almost a year out, I've got one of them back, because it's for coffee. Good observation. I tell people about this all the time.

I deleted all of those apps from my phone after surgery. Every single one. Now, almost a year out, I've got one of them back, because it's for coffee. Good observation. I tell people about this all the time.

Almost a year out, and I still can't eat white meat chicken. At all. Or turkey. It will not go down. eggs were weird... initially they were ok, then they weren't, and now they're good again. Hopefully they stay good, because it's an easy, versatile Protein. Rice... two spoons, ok. Two spoons and one grain, 🤢.

🤷🏾‍♂️

I’m learning to identify hidden triggers pre-op… one of which is my damn phone! How many fast food pizza and restaurant/delivery apps do I have?! 27. This also applies to my email. I just got an email from Taco Bell at 7 am for something and it got me to thinking how hungry I am ( actual stomach hunger) and pondered stopping in my way to work ( something I never do!) so there it is.

So my 1st surgery attempt didn't go well. They opened me up and had to stop the surgery because my liver was too large. (July 11th) I started my liver shrinking diet earlier than expected. I am so excited I lost 28lbs instead of just 15lbs. Since my last surgery date. Keep pushing who ever is struggling you can do this.
Sent from my LM-G900 using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a ring stuck on my finger for over a year that I couldn’t get off no more how hard I tried. I had an MRI a few months after surgery and the nurse told me to take my ring off and I told her that I couldn’t. I tried anyway and it came right off.
My fingers shrunk!!! 🤣😅😂

I was told to cut my blood pressure meds in half because my blood pressure has dropped too low. WOOHOO! I am half of a pill away from being off ALL meds!

Shopping online for a ladder and NOT looking at the maximum weight with dread. They're all 100kg and up! I could carry three very large cats up those things and STILL be cruisin'! I could haul a child up some of them!
I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU ANYMORE WEIGHT-LIMITS! COME AT ME! 💪

Took my kids to theme parks on vacation and there was never a single concern that I wouldn’t fit on the rides. They had to have a person step off the ride due to his weight and I felt so bad for him. Wondering if you’ll be able to get the bar down is such a horrible feeling.

We were just riding the kiddie rides because my children are young but it was amazing that I was able to take them there and not spend any mental energy on worrying about fitting. Also it was hot but I wasn’t a sweaty mess, nor did I lose energy halfway through the day! And the pictures of us on vacation are nice family photos without me trying to hide behind walls or people.