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kbsleeved

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Posts posted by kbsleeved


  1. My two biggest NSVs recently were fitting into a regular-sized hotel robe and being able to go to the store and buy a new shirt (size large!) when I spilled coffee all over the one I wore to work. Pre-op I would have been totally stuck unless I was lucky enough that one of the stores near my office had something that could fit a 3X.


  2. 12 hours ago, Sunshine Princess said:

    I mean perhaps some of you, yourself included, need to understand that words have multiple meanings and not just your very basic and negative understanding, there is a difference between things being "ick" (which is a very immature word to use...grow up and use our adult words) and the whole lot of you just being miserable. The bariatric community, which again, you are a part of, has a reputation for being mean, cliquey and unwelcoming. This is why I stayed off this site for six months. Just saying.

    Grow up. Any of you who posted things about terminology, like the number of you who cannot understand what a tool is, really need to go back to grade school for comprehension.

    I'm over people being mean, and miserable behind a keyboard because they can. Some of you really need to start facing consequences for your negativity.

    Step on a lego and have the day you deserve.

    xoxo.

    For the record, "gives you the ick" is a popular thought/discussion prompt currently, but you may not be familiar with it if you're not a frequent user of tiktok and tumblr, as I am. It's fine to not be familiar with something, it's not fine to imply that other people are somehow deficient or immature for using a slang term you're not familiar with.

    It's also entirely possible to be fully aware of and familiar with the meaning of a common word or phrase like "surgery is a tool" or "pouch" and still feel a level of frustration, annoyance, or other negative association with it because of its frequent use within a sub-group to the point of cliche, meaninglessness, or because of how it's frequently employed as a conversation stopper or thought-terminating cliche. Again, it doesn't mean the person who doesn't like the word is stupid or lacks reading comprehension. People don't dislike the word "moist" because they don't understand it means damp.

    I hope you have a good day, despite your insistence on implying a bunch of strangers engaging in a light-hearted discussion about memes within their cultural subgroup are stupid because they don't agree with you.


  3. 1 hour ago, NP_WIP said:

    Hello, how are the November people doing?

    I have been doing good, did not see much weight loss last week since I was on vacation and did eat carbs and had a margarita, but did not gain. I started to walk 30 to 1 hr 5 times a week and will start strength training soon just not the stomach portion since sometimes I do have some small numbness there still.

    Don't be surprised if your weight stalls when you start strength training. I started at the beginning of the year 3x/week and my weight stalled for a little more than two weeks but it finally started dropping again a few days ago once my body adjusted.


  4. 2 hours ago, smc124 said:

    I definitely get a lot of ick seeing diet culture words and phrases slung around on these message boards as well as sentiments I recognize from folks with eating disorders. Things in the same vein/tone as to “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels…etc” Having had a severe ED in the past and otherwise socialize in diet culture for most of my life I can’t help but cringe in seeing people would have made the choice to grow healthy through weight loss surgery choice to clinging to some of the most problematic diet culture undertones.

    I also get major ick seeing people put down their past selves and bodies. I think it’s amazing to feel and confident in your own skin, but there are so many factors that contribute to weight gain and so many ways fat people are misunderstood, treated unfairly and undermined in our society - something most of us have personally experienced to some degree, I hate to see people acting in ways that contribute negative societal construct.

    Yesssssssss thank you! I didn't do this so I could spend the rest of my life still tied up in diet culture bs and I definitely didn't do this to hate a very real and very important part of who I am and what my life is.

    There are a couple of doctors on yt who have really great/helpful videos for the most part but when you get to their videos about eating it goes completely off the rails. I saw one the other day recommending intermittent fasting to wls patients! How are you a doctor literally recommending disordered eating habits to patients trusting you to give them evidence-based information about how to eat!


  5. On 1/7/2023 at 6:46 PM, ms.sss said:

    "journey"

    "3 week stall"

    "only x lbs" (in a dismissive way in referring to lbs lost)

    and, similar to @Tomo, i have a pet peeve about the ANGST folks unnecessarily put upon themselves when comparing their own results to others without CONTEXT.

    Yes, Sally may drop 30 lbs the first month because she started off at 350 lbs, vs Jane who lost "only" 10 and started off at 200. And yes, Joe, who is also 350 lbs lost 50 lbs, but he is like 8 inches shorter than Sally and is a dude. and there is brenda who lost 5 lbs cuz she has a medical condition and hasn't yet learned how to adjust her lifestyle around it.

    we all have the same goal: to lose weight. in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter sh*t if i lost faster/slower more/less than some random stranger on the internet.

    *rant over*

    I see so much "I only lost x in y time, is that okay????" in tiktok comments and it's so exhausting. Sure you "only" lost 20 lbs in 3 months... how much would you have lost if you didn't have the surgery??


  6. So, what things about the bari world/community give you the ick? No idea why, but for me it's the word "pouch" and the concept of having a pouch inside of me -- I'm sure there are good psychological reasons for why most bari professionals use that term post-op, but for me I will always call it my stomach and I feel so much better when other people do too.


  7. Water hasn't really bothered me since a few weeks post op -- I can take a few big sips at a time (even through a straw) and can finish off 40 oz in an hour or so if I'm concentrating on it or working out, though it usually takes me a whole day to drink 80 oz just because I space it out. But I'm the same as you -- one egg and I feel fuller than anything, it's weird!

    Also echoing @kcuster83, the drinking while eating rule isn't because doing it will give you foamies or dumping, it's because it'll push the food out of your stomach too quickly and will contribute to you feeling hungry again faster than if you let the food sit long enough to make you feel satisfied. Think of your stomach as a funnel now, it doesn't have the capacity to store a lot of volume so if you put liquid on top of the food you already have in there, it will push the food right through to make room.

    Every program is different, but I will note mine specified drinking BEFORE eating isn't a problem.


  8. I was feeling frustrated with myself for "overindulging" on NYE and then gave myself a reality check - "overindulging" meant I ate 5 bites of pizza, 1.5 shrimp, a couple of chips with guacamole, and a piece of tart... over the course of five and a half hours. I'm working on reframing my hang-ups about food and had to remind myself that pre-op I probably would have had at least two full slices of pizza, shrimp, charcuterie, tons of chips, and multiple types of Desserts, and that it's OKAY to have a little bit more than usual on a holiday/special occasion, and that it's not going to mean completely torpedoing my progress.


  9. Another vote in favor of a new doctor. He seems like the type who's going to default to "lose weight" as the answer to anything and you don't want to find yourself six months into fighting him to get him to take some seriously while he's insisting you just need to lose weight to fix your compound fracture.

    If you've never seen this video, I found it to be a really great explanation for why the best weight for a bariatric patient will almost never be the "ideal" weight according to the BMI chart:


  10. I was wearing a size 26 jeans before my surgery but even my size 24 were so loose I had to roll them to keep them on lately. Yesterday I decided to buy a pair of size 20, thinking even if they didn't fit now, they'll fit in a few weeks. Got home and tried them on, they fit with no problem! I haven't been a size 20 in 15 years, I'm absolutely floored.

    I also went to the ballet with my family yesterday and not only did I wear a dress from my engagement photoshoot I haven't worn since 2015, but I actually had room instead of being crammed into the tiny theater seats!


  11. 39 minutes ago, ashleydashley said:

    I was told to expect to lose 125 lb roughly from the surgery... Pre-op I lost 40 so that's about 165 lb of loss... I think I can lose more than that being that since the pre-op diet in June to now after having surgery October 6th I have lost a turtle of 92 lb.. My goal weight is 180 to 199... Why 199 you say? I want to be part of wOnederland as my mom had calls it who have bariatric surgery 13 years ago... I haven't waited under 200 lb since I was 19... I'm 36 and I'm ready to roll!!!! I also decided that I didn't want to be super duper skinny because that doesn't look good with my frame. So I am completely happy with 180 to 199

    I'm very similar -- also 36, also haven't weighed under 200 since college. Would love to get there!


  12. 29 minutes ago, kukuiokalani said:

    my strangest non-scale victory so far is.. i can feel my bones! xD it feels weird but like i feel my shoulders and hip and knees when i’m laying down cuz all the fat padding i was used to is going away. :)

    SAME. I keep shocking myself feeling bones where I can't remember feeling them before -- yesterday I was adjusting my bra before my workout and I was floored to feel my ribs under my bust! Plus my collarbone, jaw, hips... they're all still well-padded but they're making themselves known!


  13. On 11/23/2022 at 5:40 AM, LMorales said:

    Hello, I have a consultation for VSG surgery but I am nervous about how serious this procedure is and some lifestyle changes that will come with this.

    Weird things concern me more than the surgery itself like not being able to drink Water with my food. That sounds extremely hard to me. I love Water, especially when I eat. Would I be able to just take a tiny sip of water with meals?

    Taking Vitamins daily for life also bothers me but I am coming to terms with this.

    My last fear is the fear of regain. I struggle with restrictions with food and fear I will over eat or turn back to my old ways that got me to the 280 lbs ( 5ft 8 in) that I am today. My husband loves to eat late and eat fast food. Eating food together is how we enjoy ourselves and I fear I won't have support when I change my eating habits.

    I guess I need some encouragement from you guys.

    Thanks.

    Sent from my SM-N970U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

    The best thing you can do now, as @kcuster83 said, is practice the habits that make you nervous and see if you can integrate them into your lifestyle, because they're non-negotiable post-op. My program doesn't have a restriction on drinking before meals but says no liquids until 30 minutes after meals, which annoyed me at first but now I hardly think about. I set a 30 minute timer on my watch when I'm done eating and I usually forget about it until it goes off.

    Wait until you have your consult to find out what your program's guidelines are, particularly around Vitamins. They probably won't be as onerous as you're imagining -- I take a multi with Iron + nexium in the morning, then 3 calcium chews at intervals throughout the day, and by 6 PM I'm done and I don't have to think about it again until the next morning. Reminders on your phone or smart watch if you have one help a lot. I also recommend getting a pill divider that has a separate case for each day of the week -- mine has a morning/mid-day/afternoon/evening compartment for each case, Sunday-Saturday. In the morning I just take out that day's case, stick it in my purse, and then I have it with me all day for when my reminder goes off. I know some people will also keep spare vitamins and Calcium at work in case they forget.

    ETA: This is the pill organizer I use, it's quite small. There are even smaller options if you don't care about having them divided up by time of day, like this one or this one.


  14. 6 hours ago, losinglosinglosing said:

    I'm currently in maintenance and trying to accustom myself to what that means in terms of diet.

    Yesterday was wonky. I ate all good stuff but too much of it. Nothing ridiculous, maybe 300 calories over maintenance, but I know it can be a slippery slope. I think the culprit was too many slider foods... Soup, yogurt, Protein Shake, etc. I stayed hungry even when I kept eating.

    I am concerned, however, that my cravings felt "out of control," like they did pre-op. How do you deal with cravings when you have them? Do you have any techniques?

    Trying to stave off a craving by eating something else is probably just going to lead to you eating something else AND the thing you're craving. Could you try plating a small portion of what you're craving along with something else more nutritionally dense and something with Protein? So for instance, a piece of chocolate, some apple, and some Peanut Butter? That way you're getting the thing that sounds good, you're getting Fiber, and you're getting protein, so you're full after you finish what's on your plate. This could also work with slider foods, just substitute chocolate with pretzels, chips, etc.


  15. I'm a fan of the FA movement and I prefer it over "body positivity" because I feel like the latter is too often co-opted by straight-size people and take the focus away from prioritizing the people who are actually being marginalized because of their bodies, i.e. fat and disabled people.

    However, if I'm putting in a vote it's for the real focus being on body NEUTRALITY, because that's what is really needed -- deconstruction of personal and social attitudes that assign moral value to body size, which then leads to social, employment, and medical discrimination. Part of this is deconstructing the attitude that fat automatically equates to unhealthy.

    If anyone else is interested in exploring more of this idea, I highly recommend the podcast Maintenance Phase, which does deep dives into diet and wellness culture and most importantly, talks about all the ways that statistics have been misinterpreted and twisted to spread and reinforce myths about fat bodies.


  16. That's super frustrating and disheartening, I'm sorry. Hopefully your friend was speaking from a place of caring about you and being genuinely worried and so was reacting from her gut without thinking instead of prioritizing being curious and supportive. Do you think when you've had some time to process and let the hurt fade a bit, you could go back to her and tell her how her reaction made you feel and try and tell her more about your thought process and how you came to this decision?


  17. I bought an Apple Watch before surgery because I wanted to track my walks and apparently it comes with three free months of Apple Fitness+. Tried it for the first time tonight, did a 10 minute absolute beginner's HIIT workout and 10 minute absolute beginner's Functional Strength. I definitely preferred the HIIT, my shoulders felt super tight and "crunchy" which made me feel like I was doing the strength wrong, but it was the first time I did any working out post-op apart from walks outside or on the treadmill and they both went well! Definitely going to keep up with the 10 minute HIIT and then when I feel comfortable with it, try the 20 minute one on the playlist.


  18. 3 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

    haha not me. i lost a grand total of 400g (<1 lb) after plastics.

    BUT the visual difference was quite dramatic (for me, at least).

    That's really surprising to me! Maybe just visually it looks like more is removed than actually is, and it's more about placement, etc.

    I saw someone on tiktok yesterday who had a removal after 400+ lbs weight loss and her surgeon said he removed 47 lbs of tissue but she also had Lipo done on her stomach and flanks at the same time so I assume the weight included fat.


  19. 1 hour ago, Sleeve_Me_Alone said:

    My loss has definitely slowed. I'm 15 months out now, and noticed it really throttle back around 9 months but it still hasn't completely stopped. I reached "goal" a week ago - having lost 115lbs; I suspect the loss will stop completely here soon, which I'm fine with.

    Its important to remember that success isn't measured by whether or not your hit your "goal" weight, but rather by how much of your excess weight you're able to lose and maintain. So for example, based on BMI if you have 120lbs to lose to get to a "healthy" weight, then you can expect to lose AROUND 78lbs (65%) of that excess weight. (We all know BMI is an awful measure, but its the current standard). That varies from 60-80% from person to person, and you should expect some amount of regain in the years immediately following. Most surgeons consider LONG TERM success to be a loss of 50% of your excess weight after 5 years.

    So, all that to say, you are right where you need to be. Keep to your plan, and give it time. Goal weights are helpful, but they aren't the end-all-be-all measure of success. You're already a success!

    My PA said the average patient loses 25% of their body weight, but I suppose the difference there is total body weight versus "excess" body weight.


  20. 1 minute ago, kcuster83 said:

    I choose mine based on how I looked and felt the last time I was close to it. My lowest adult weight was 260lbs so I modified it to 225 for my goal weight based on that. My surgeon and Dietician agreed it was a great goal weight for me (I am 6ft tall with a broad frame) and a good expectation.

    I will be completely satisfied to be 225 (ish) if I never lost another lb.

    BUT, I did lower my goal from there to 210 lbs because that would be a pound less than half of what I was when I started and I thought it would be quite an accomplishment to know I lost over have of my body! Would be super cool but I would completely fine never hitting it.

    Then, I have a 3rd goal of 199 and that is ONLY to be able to know and say I weighed less than 200lbs as an adult. HAHA Personally, I think it would be too thin for my preference but I want to see it and then be ok gaining like 10-20 lbs back to be where I would prefer.

    I am actually pretty content in the 250s right now other than all skin so if I stopped losing now, I would be "ok" with it but prefer to loose another 25-50 lbs.

    You've already made such incredible progress!

    re: loose skin, I've always wondered if the people who have surgery to remove excess skin wake up to find themselves 10 lbs lighter post-op.


  21. 12 minutes ago, summerseeker said:

    I didn't/ don't have a goal weight because I have been crushed by not achieving it in the past. Also I don't know how far this surgery will take me. The hospital dietician said I could loose 65% of my excess weight and I have already smashed that, her words. Loosing 100lbs was my first goal and I got there easy. I personally would like to get under the 200lbs barrier even if its only a pound. Not being in the obese category would be nice too......

    How did your dietician/doctor define excess weight?

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