marfar7

I'm 5 yrs out from byoass/11 yrs out from sleeve and at goal. I've been adminning a small WLS board since I inherited it in 2015 - we have a close group of mostly ladies (a couple of gents) and most of our people are fairly far out from surgery but we do have a few newbies. We do 2 Weightloss Challenges a yr and they're pretty fun, We have 3 prizes and they're decent prizes. 6 wks long, % of lbs lost, weekly weigh ins, rules - the whole sha-bang. Lots of support. The last challenge, I was going thru some stuff and I let life get in the way and while it went off without a hitch, as my co-admins are amazing, it wasn't the same as usual. I promised everybody the summer challenge would be GREAT! I started working on it (yes, I have help from my co admins) and I have daily education, Fun Food Facts, I do something where I ask everyone to say something supportive to someone they don't know well, and I try to do small weekly challenges. It hard doing everything online. I do a hydration challenge, a moving challenge (try to park a little further, put in a few more steps in ur day), no fast food for 7 days , no snacking for 7 days, do (however many) crunches (however many) wall push ups, etc. You get the idea. The challenges are getting stale. Thinking about doing a "take ur pic in an outfit on day 1 and on last day and see how it looks" challenge. If you were in an online challenge, what would you appreciate doing? What would be fun? What kind of information would u like to see or know? What kind of support would you like to see or get? If you'd like to get involved, you r more than welcome to join us! It starts July 24 and goes 6 week. I will be posting info on it on the website in the coming weeks but u can certainly do a search on challenges and bring up a TON of them! We're on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/groups/SupportWLS (or look for Recipe For A New Life). We'd love to have you, however you DO need to be 6 weeks out from surgery (for fairness, as you lose a TON of weight early on, not quite fair). But you can certainly come over and support the challengers!

Interested in finding a dr who specializing in doing VSG - DS in the Kingsport, TN area? Doing the research for a family member and will be presenting her with the info and want the most amt of facts possible. Thanx! Marci

CROSS POST Hey all! I'm a 3 timer (I've had all 3 surgeries: lap band, sleeve, and bypass, currently underweight, struggling to keep weight up after losing colon in emergency surgery about 10mths ago but still remember what being overweight was like). My cousin had the VSG about 2 yrs ago at almost 400 lbs and has been semi successful and has lost close to 175lbs but over the past 9 mths or so has plateaued becuz of numerous "reasons" (moving across country marital woes, works stress, you name the stress, heredity,, etc.). She has reached out to me for help, as I admin a FB group for people with wls's + i was fairly successful (before I lost my colon, lol ) as she's desperate for help before it gets out of hand. She's gained 10 lbs in the past 10 mths since moving cross country and doesn't want to continue on. So, for the past month (and yes, even during the holidays), she's kept a strict journal which she always during her active losing phase. She sent me the last few days worth. I was dismayed to see her intake/output. Literally I think she's starving herself. She's taking in 662 calories a day and exercising 280 . This means she's getting in maybe 380 cals a day. And shes' a special needs teacher and a mom of a 6 yr old! OMG! She's drinking a lo cal protein shake for bfast and lunch and eating a super lo cal protein/veg dinner. She's getting in plenty of water and her vits, luckily. I think she's starving. But she said she's tried every variation of every single meal variation out there and she's frustrated she wants to cry. She's been on every "diet" her entire life and this sleeve was her saving grace and the only thing that worked - for a minute. Until the honeymoon was over. It's been about 2 yrs and now the hard work actually starts and I've told her this. Ok, I just got this info from her when I asked her how much protein she was getting: 109 gms a day. MFP shows only 35%. And she downloaded the ACTUAL MFP pie chart to prove to me this WAS the case and OMG! This is TRUE. Since when is MFP encouraging people to get almost 300 gms of protein a day? What protein u don't use, u pee out. Unless u r an unlucky few that r prone to kidney disease and then u get kidney dz! Seems ridiculous. Almost 300 gms!? And now they charge u? I told her she really doesn't need more than 70-80. I need some input on how to help her. Some ,meal/snacking solutions. I dont think she needs to know that she needs to increase her protein as she's already getting an overabundance in that department. Maybe something her dr can do for her? Tests or something? Metabolism tests? Is this done with blood or what? Or can it be done by a RD? HELP! Marci X POSTED

Hey, its been a while since I've been on here. I'm a little different, as I recently had emergency ileostomy (my entire colon removed) surgery in March, in addition to VSG to bypass in 2018 (becuz of severe reflux) and I now have a bag of poop hanging from my belly. In 2009, I weighed in at 260. When I went home from the hospital after my ileostomy in March, I weighed in at a healthy 132 and in June, I weighed in at 99 lbs. They removed my colon and most of my 24 feet of lg intestines making the route to my stomach a lot quicker. So everything goes into me and into my bag within 15 mins and I can't seem to gain weight. The last 8 months since my surgery I've gained and lost the same 7 lbs back and forth. I now weigh 105 and I bounce within the same few lbs. It sucks cuz my reversal surgery (my surgeon plans on reconnecting my small intestine directly to my rectum) but only if I can gain a healthy amount of weight first. But it seems I can't do that. I eat alot more now than I did pre-colon removal. I'm eating alot of pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, avocado toast, even junk food. I even eat a snack when I get up to dump my ostomy bag in the middle of the nite. I still gain 1, lose 2. Gain 2, lose 1. I work with the VA RD (I get most of my medical care thru the VA, however my surgery was thru a civilian hospital cuz it was an emergency and it was the closest the ambulance took me to. It will also be where I have my follow up surgery will be. I see her once a month. She prescribes me a 480 cal meal replacement shake (it's called Kate Farms) but while I sip it it comes out into my bag so it's pointless. I have like 200 shakes in my walk in closet, not doing anything. And they don't taste very good. She wants me to eat something every 2 hrs. Sure. Not possible. I can maybe do every 5 hrs. Anyway, just wanted to let u know there's someone else out there thats struggling with gaining weight also. And I have something to obtain with a gain - my reversal surgery. If I don't gain, I hafta continue with a bag of poop hanging off my stomach. And it's no fun at parties! I wish u the best! If u want a hi calorie meal replacement, look into kate Farms - they have a TON of calories. Not the best tasting, but not the worst. U can doctor them up a bit! The ones that I have have 480 cals. I would give u mine but they r heavy and you'd hafta pay for shipping which would be pricey so it'd probly be cheaper for you to buy them from elsewhere. Otherwise they're yours! If you're local (I live in Dallas, Tx), pick em up! They're yours!) Good luck! Marci