SpartanMaker

This actually may have been what she was responding to. If you are not eating healthily right now, this would be a bad time to have surgery. People that have WLS, but don't eat well afterward, tend to have worse outcomes. My guess is she wants to get you to a point where you are making healthy choices consistently so you don't have to try to learn this while you're healing and dealing with the other challenges post-surgery.

So far, I did 6 nutritionist visits, a psych visit, multiple rounds of blood work, an EKG, an echocardiogram, a swallow test, an EGD, and needed clearance from 3 other specialists. I'm probably forgetting something at this point. Thursday, I have a pre-anesthesia screening test, have to weigh in, and will have a 1-2 hour long physical/consultation with my surgeon. Friday, I'll have a 3-4 hour long class with one of the nutritionists. I assume this will be to cover the pre-op and post op-diet in detail. It's a lot, but I'm kind of glad there are so many steps. It's given me time to prepare mentally.

You need to talk to your surgery team. I would be very surprised if they allowed you to go through with the surgery. Aside from your own health, varicella is contagious, and especially if you're going to Mexico where vaccination is likely more spotty, you could actually give the virus to someone else. Please do the right thing.

Honestly, where you lose is out of your control and can be different for everyone. Gender plays a big role, but a lot of it is genetic. Hormonal changes as people age can also influence where you gain first and lose last.

Agreed. Remember that WLS does not fix your head. You have to be mentally ready to take advantage of the physiological changes the surgery provides. If you're not ready, the likelihood of ending up right back where you started is pretty high.

I posted these recently in another thread, but here are some recent studies that investigated how safe bariatric surgery is for seniors: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-019-03718-6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550728922001605 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ggi.12527 https://europepmc.org/article/med/30175564 The cliff's notes version is that the surgery is actually safer than staying obese. As others pointed out, complications can happen, but obesity is a lot more likely to kill you than the surgery. To be safe, make sure the bariatric center you are going to is ASMBS accredited and that your surgeon is an ASMBS Fellow. Ask about their experience with senior patients and about mortality risk for you based on any underlying health conditions you have. They can run a risk stratification and explain the specific risks to you.

I'm having my last pre-surgery visit with my bariatric surgery team this week. Because that's how I roll, I have an extensive list questions so far. I'm curious if there are any questions you wish you'd asked your team, but didn't? What surprises did you encounter? What do you wish you'd known ahead of time about the surgical process, your recovery, or your weight loss? Thanks all!

This thread makes me sad. I'm heartbroken for the women in these relationships, but I'm also sad for their men that have lost their way. One of life's great pleasures is to have a partner that supports you, come what may. In addition, I'm sad that some folks here didn't understand the original point of the post and felt the need to express their thoughts in a negative way. To any men reading this: Many women occasionally need to simply express their feelings. That is not an invitation for you to try to "fix" things. When a women truly wants others opinions, they will make it clear enough. I know it's in our nature as guys to want to fix things, including people, but not every situation is a cry for your help. When you try to fix things when it's not been asked for, it can often be interpreted as judgemental and condescending. You are in effect stating that you are smarter or better in some way and if they'd only listen to you, all the world's problems would be eliminated. I hope we can move past this and get back to supporting one another on our journeys.

I'm not quite your age, but still in the "boomer" set. I can't tell you if you should or shouldn't have bariatric surgery, only you can decide that. I did want to point out that if you approach bariatric surgery as something that will "feel like a sacrifice", this may not be for you. Instead, I would suggest you think about the things you are currently sacrificing at your current weight. Are you sacrificing your health? Are you sacrificing activities with family and friends? The only people I've met that regret bariatric surgery are the ones that didn't think of it as a life changing opportunity to fix their relationship with food. If you have the surgery and go right back to eating junk, you may regret having it done because you won't attain your goals. in the event you are wondering if it's safe and effective "at your age", I'll leave you with some studies: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-019-03718-6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550728922001605 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ggi.12527 https://europepmc.org/article/med/30175564

You are WAY, WAY smaller, but you know what I like even more? The big smile on your face now! Great job!

So re-reading my post above, I think my tone came across as a bit harsh. That was not my intention, so I apologize if that's how it's interpreted. What I was trying to convey is that you can drive yourself crazy worrying about stuff like this. What really matters is (aside from your abdominal panniculus), are you are happy with your health and body composition right now? if so, then whether it's fat or skin is meaningless, just like a number on a scale is meaningless. On the other hand, if you're not happy with where you're at right now, then put together a plan to address it. For example, are you good with your overall amount of body fat, your muscle mass, your athletic ability, etc.? In short, focus on the things you can change.

This will be my 15th surgery I think? (Obviously not weight loss surgery, but lots and lots of other body parts have needed repair. 😁) It's super normal to be feeling anxious right now. I was worried about every one, and I'm not a worrier. Heck, I'm worried right now about my bypass and I still have 3 and a half weeks to go!

Going through same stuff. Presurgery stuff on the first and second, followed by the COVID test on the 18th. I have to self isolate from then, through to the surgery on the 20th. My wife is none too happy since the 18th is our anniversary. I'll just have to yell happy anniversary from the other room!

Does it matter? The truth is, it's likely both. Fat doesn't float around in our bodies (if it did, it would all eventually end up in our feet!), instead, it's attached to other things. As the largest organ in our bodies, skin is a great attachment point for fat, especially in the belly region. Here are two other hard truths: One, a certain amount of body fat is healthy. In fact, without essential levels of fat, you would likely die when certain cellular functions stopped. Two, contrary to what some people think, it's impossible to target fat loss in specific areas. Where you store body fat is mostly genetic. My point in all that is to explain that you really don't have much control over whether or not that "saggy tummy" is fat and skin, or just skin. If you're otherwise healthy and happy with your both composition, you can think about plastic surgery to address the issue.

Yep, this sounds to me like a vitamin deficiency, most likely biotin. In other words, this is most likely related to what you're eating, not how you style or treat your hair.

I know, right! Oh wait... Checks profile, hmm, maybe I'll stay out of this one... 🤣 Seriously though, sorry you're dealing with this. We're not all bad, I promise!

Eat lots of salty foods? 😁 I say that only half in jest. Since you just have to maintain a certain overall weight and not actual body fat, water weight will work just fine for you to "maintain".

Great job, HUUUUGE difference! Hope you're feeling better as well?

I'm still pre-surgery, but that sounds a lot like a problem I sometimes have that's attributed to a hiatal hernia. I think you need to call your surgeon. My guess is they'll have to do some imaging, starting with a barium swallow, and maybe an endo.

It might be challenging to find someone from the message boards. The thing is, just like most medical professionals, a therapist needs to be licensed in your state of residence. In other words, you'd have to find a therapist that's licensed in Texas, or they can't legally treat you.

Typically, the purpose of the Psyc visit is not to provide you therapy, it's to assess your readiness to undergo the procedure. Think of it much like any other doctor they might want you to visit to receive clearance prior to surgery. For what it's worth, the reason the insurance carriers require it is because it's considered best practice by the ASMBS. The psychologist or psychiatrist will evaluate several things, such as if they believe you are a suicide risk, if you are capable of mentally understanding the lifestyle change you will be undergoing, if they believe you are in an abusive relationship, if they believe you have any mental disorders that would disqualify you from surgery, etc.

One of the best ways would be to think back and remember if there was a point as an adult that you felt healthy and happy with your weight? If so, that's where I'd start. If not, better to err on the high side. You can always adjust down if you get to your goal and are still not where you want to be. For example, right now, you're lean mass is ~144 pounds. That means any BMI based calculations would be too low. Yes, you'll lose some lean mass as your weight goes down, but not enough that you'd be at a healthy weight in that 104 to 140 range. My gut tells me maybe 175-180 would be a good target for you at this point. Depending on how much lean mass you lose, that would put you in the 25 - 30% range for body fat, a healthy amount for a woman.

If you have not tried "Fairlife Nutrition Plan", esp the chocolate, it's one of the best tasting shakes I've ever had. It's a lot like drinking chocolate milk. I've heard their other flavors are good as well, but I've not tried them yet.

Ah, you must be using a mobile device. I assumed incorrectly you were on a PC. Glad you figured it out!

Below a post, there's a quote button. press that and it will do what you're looking for. Also, if you only want to copy a part of their response, you can edit the part in the quote box.