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bonnie51

Gastric Bypass Patients
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  1. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to catwoman7 in Help   
    if you're still seeing your bariatric team, I'd start there. Or if not, is it possible to see them again?
    Otherwise, if you're not still tracking your food intake, start there. Track for a couple of weeks to figure out what your average calorie intake is now. Then try cutting back by 100 calories or so for another couple of weeks. If that doesn't do the trick, cut back by another 100 calories. Rinse and repeat. Eventually you'll find the level where you'll start losing weight.
    also, start doing some of things we did that first year after surgery (NOT all the way back to shakes and purees - I mean how we ate after the first couple of months - focusing mostly on Protein and non-starchy vegetables. Then if you have room, maybe a small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb).
    if you're having trouble with hunger while cutting back, add in more vegetables - I try to eat vegetables with every meal when I'm trying to lose (I don't always with Breakfast, but I DO blend a cup of fresh spinach or kale in with my morning Protein Shake to make up for it). I also always keep raw veggies (with a dip made from plain Greek yogurt and ranch dressing mix), sugar free popsicles, and sugar free Jello around, too. Healthy fats like avocado and Peanut Butter or a handful of nuts can also help with the hunger - but just have a small portion of those since they're pretty high in calories.
    good luck with this. I know it's tough - I'm battling a 10-lb COVID gain right now and I know it isn't easy, but people do it... At least you're catching it at 40 lbs while it's still do-able
    oh btw - I know a lot of people who've regained who've had success with Weight Watchers, Keto, and/or intermittent fasting - so those might be options for you, too...
  2. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to David_L in December 2020 Surgery Updates   
    I'm right behind you!! I can't believe it's already been 6 months since we did this. Had you asked me a couple years ago if I could ever feel this good, I would call you a liar. I recall very clearly how much it hurt just to get out of bed. I also recall having to be hospitalized twice after the procedure and wondering if I made a mistake. Those "bumps" are all part of the process. I hope to come back to this forum and keep in touch with folks even a year from now to share our success stories.
  3. Like
    bonnie51 got a reaction from SummerTimeGirl in December 2020 Surgery Updates   
    You look fabulous. Keep it up! I had a sleeve to RNY for severe GERD. I am happy to say the reflux is 100% improved. I started at 206 and am at 175. My goal would be 165 since I am 70 years old and can't get too gaunt.
    I have had only one episode of vomitting and that was my fault. I can eat anything and do. I keep my portions in check and don't overindulge. I do enjoy an adult beverage couple times a week. Overall I am very pleased with my progress.
    I do need to get my #ss in gear and start getting more exercise. Seems like spring had finally hit Iowa so getting out more. Bought new walking shoes and going to get going any day now.
    Thank you for starting this thread and I hope we hear from others.
    Bonnie

  4. Like
    bonnie51 got a reaction from SummerTimeGirl in December 2020 Surgery Updates   
    You look fabulous. Keep it up! I had a sleeve to RNY for severe GERD. I am happy to say the reflux is 100% improved. I started at 206 and am at 175. My goal would be 165 since I am 70 years old and can't get too gaunt.
    I have had only one episode of vomitting and that was my fault. I can eat anything and do. I keep my portions in check and don't overindulge. I do enjoy an adult beverage couple times a week. Overall I am very pleased with my progress.
    I do need to get my #ss in gear and start getting more exercise. Seems like spring had finally hit Iowa so getting out more. Bought new walking shoes and going to get going any day now.
    Thank you for starting this thread and I hope we hear from others.
    Bonnie

  5. Like
    bonnie51 got a reaction from SummerTimeGirl in December 2020 Surgery Updates   
    You look fabulous. Keep it up! I had a sleeve to RNY for severe GERD. I am happy to say the reflux is 100% improved. I started at 206 and am at 175. My goal would be 165 since I am 70 years old and can't get too gaunt.
    I have had only one episode of vomitting and that was my fault. I can eat anything and do. I keep my portions in check and don't overindulge. I do enjoy an adult beverage couple times a week. Overall I am very pleased with my progress.
    I do need to get my #ss in gear and start getting more exercise. Seems like spring had finally hit Iowa so getting out more. Bought new walking shoes and going to get going any day now.
    Thank you for starting this thread and I hope we hear from others.
    Bonnie

  6. Like
    bonnie51 got a reaction from SummerTimeGirl in December 2020 Surgery Updates   
    You look fabulous. Keep it up! I had a sleeve to RNY for severe GERD. I am happy to say the reflux is 100% improved. I started at 206 and am at 175. My goal would be 165 since I am 70 years old and can't get too gaunt.
    I have had only one episode of vomitting and that was my fault. I can eat anything and do. I keep my portions in check and don't overindulge. I do enjoy an adult beverage couple times a week. Overall I am very pleased with my progress.
    I do need to get my #ss in gear and start getting more exercise. Seems like spring had finally hit Iowa so getting out more. Bought new walking shoes and going to get going any day now.
    Thank you for starting this thread and I hope we hear from others.
    Bonnie

  7. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to lizonaplane in What's the deal with "Straws vs No Straws"   
    I think you'll find that for almost any issue there are a variety of recommendations across surgery centers and even surgeons. It drives me nuts, because I work in clinical research and we have to ensure that everyone at every site follows exactly the same protocol to make sure things are consistent, here the surgeons just do whatever each one thinks is best and there doesn't seem to be a consensus. My mom works as a consultant in the field and she says this is how it is in surgery; things just aren't standardized.
    I would talk to your surgeon or nutritionist about your concerns about using straws, ask why they feel it's important not to use a straw. I think some surgeons feel that you swallow more air that way, which can be uncomfortable. There are Water bottles that have openings that are similar to straws but a bit bigger; maybe that would be a good compromise? If all else fails, remember that it's your body and you get to decide what you want to do with it.
  8. Thanks
    bonnie51 reacted to Creekimp13 in Please Eat   
    This is why I took such care to start with....follow your doctor, not crazy people on the internet....and ended with....Totally ok if you think I'm nuts/wrong/whatever. Take what you like and leave the rest. And also why I posted in "rant".
    Sillykitty, you make an excellent point. And I think at the end of the day, maybe I've just outgrown this board and my commentary is doing more harm than good. People DO need to do their own process.
  9. Thanks
    bonnie51 reacted to Creekimp13 in Please Eat   
    First off, let me say that you should always listen to your doctor and nutritionist...rather than crazy people on the internet, myself included.
    But here's my rant today. And for what it's worth....this is just MY feelings on this nonsense. I'm no expert.

    Ya'll need to eat. Not overeat. But also NOT UNDER-EAT. Eat healthy food you enjoy.
    I know how it happens. Your weight loss gets sluggish and stuck and you think OMG, this isn't working, I'm Failing at this! You start to panic.
    And what does a lifelong self-destructive dieter DO when they start to panic? They go exteme.
    They go...ok, my doctor said it was ok to eat this much.....so I'm gonna try to eat HALF of that to speed up my weight loss!
    I'm going to work harder than anyone! I'm going to eat less! I'm going to force this weight off of my body...because this is my last chance and I'm freaking out and I can't fail at this, so I NEED to do better and cut back!
    Only, here's the thing. You don't need to cut back. You need to stay the course, nourish your healing body, have good energy to boost your metabolism and lose weight sensibly.
    Why do people do VLCDs? (very low calorie diets....1000 or less calories a day)....they do them because they show results in a hurry.
    And there is nothing people like better than a lower number on the scale...regardless of how they're achieving it. Or how harmfully they are achieving it.
    When you eat less than 1000 calories a day, did you know you lose more muscle than fat...even if you are eating tons of protien grams?
    When you lose muscle, you slow your metabolism, endanger your organs that have muscle (heart anyone?), and decrease your bone density. None of this is a good idea.
    And when you're eating starvation level calories, your body tries like hell to keep you from dying....by, you guessed it, slowing your metabolism even further.
    And the carb thing...can we talk about that a minute? You DO want to avoid carbs that are metabolized to sugar really fast, like sugary foods and refined white flour items because they can cause your pancrease to over-react and send too much insulin and you'll end up with rebound hunger....but other carbs, particularly ones that have good Fiber content to slow the sugar can also have good protien content...and they don't do the rebound hunger thing. They give you great available energy.
    Why do we lose so much weight so rapidly when we do Keto? We don't really....but the first five pounds is so quick and shocking that it MUST work! (except you're not losing fat, you're losing the Water that your liver stores extra glucose in.....and you've stripped your liver of its emergency reserve of energy. And yeah...you can make the sugar you need from other things through gluconeogenesis....but it takes amino acids that your body is typically harvesting from your muscles.) Don't do that thing where you lose the five pounds eating keto....then eat a few carbs and go OMG, look at the weight I've gained!....and go keto again and lose the same five pounds of water. It's an illusion. (Not saying keto people can't lose weight...they do lose weight fast...but they also have about five pounds in lost water from glucose storage, no emergency stores, and their bodies may be consuming their muscles)
    Food for thought (literally!) Guess what organ runs exclusively on sugar? Pure glucose. Your brain. Your brain burns over 300 calories of glucose every day. At just 2% of our body weight....our brains burn about 20% of the calories we use each day! The CPU needs fuel.

    Lots of people lose weight rapidly with Very Low Calorie Diets after bariatric surgery. They have these amazing results that other people notice and are in awe of. They lose to goal eating very little and feel very accomplished about their self discipline and their amazing fast results.
    And then guess what happens?
    At goal...they are still people who have never learned how to eat sustainably for life. All they know is starvation and self deprivation. And starvation doesn't work long term.
    Please learn to eat sustainable amounts of calories. Do it early so you don't fudge your metabolism into starvation level calorie requirements.
    One of the best ways to have a robust metabolism...is to do exercise every day. It doesn't have to be the gym or something you find tedious. Do things you enjoy....but keep moving.
    It's hard to build your robust metabolism.....when you're too tired to do anything but go to work and go to bed...because you're starving yourself.
    Please eat. Don't overeat. But eat. Learn to eat right, not starve. Starving is not the cure and in many cases sets the stage for significant regain.
    Do it right, even it it's slower than other people. Do it sustainably. Learn to coexist with food, not avoid it. (easier said than done)
    Don't get discouraged by small losses. Just keep losing to goal with small sensible tweeks. You don't have to suffer extremes to have success.
    Learning to control your diet moderately...is the best skill to have when facing a lifetime of sustaining a significant weight loss.

    This end my rant.
    Totally ok if you think I'm nuts/wrong/whatever. Take what you like and leave the rest.
    Peace and best wishes to everyone on this crazy road.


  10. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to GreenTealael in The stomach left behind...   
    Don’t fret!
    After RNY, the remnant stomach is usually left in its original place. The abdominal cavity is packed pretty tightly so nothing is just floating - unlike VSG where a some space is made by removal of part of the stomach. (Reenactment of my original VSG below )

  11. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to Creekimp13 in Why did you pick such a high goal weight? Your BMI is STILL overweight!   
    Man, if I had a dollar for every critic who said this to me on these boards. It's a past time of a certain type of dieter....to send me hate mail and try to shame me for being outspoken.
    "You're still overweight! You shouldn't be telling people what to do! How dare you not feel ashamed at that weight!"
    Shakin my head over here.
    If I wanted to be 140, I could be. Have been. Looked god-awful and felt like I was starving all the time.
    If I wanted to be 160, I could be. Have been. I wasn't particularly hungry, got a reasonable number of calories, but thought I looked older.
    I like a little more round to my angles. I like less sag, fewer wrinkles. Not real interested in cosmetic surgery. Picked the best option for me.
    I like eating 1600 calories a day. I like having space in my diet for a couple pieces of fruit because I think phytonutrients are beneficial and important. I like how i feel eating a high Fiber diet. I like room to be a vegetarian some days. I like flexability. It's how I can face this as a lifelong change. It's how I can make peace with food forever....cause I know this plan is WORKABLE in pretty much all situations. I can eat on my plan during a holiday, a funeral, a birthday party....during a power outage, while recovering from an injury, during extreme emotional stress, on the road, and while dealing with my inlaws. LOL.
    I typically weigh 165-170 pounds. I LOVE this weight. It is NOT "the best I could do because I couldn't get to a "healthy weight" ", it is an intentionally chosen set point. It's a choice. This is, I am 100% certain...the MOST healthy weight I can choose for myself.
    That whole...Arnold Schwarzenegger's BMI was technically Obese when he won Mr. Universe figures in. BMI is flawed. It doesn't differentiate between light muscle frames and heavy muscle frames, bigger bones, smaller bones. Different ethnicities. Different body styles.
    My feet, depending on the manufacturer are size 10 or 11. My shoulders are more broad than most men's my height. My butt, thighs and calves are overdeveloped because I rode huntseat and jumped horses for decades, even when I was quite heavy. My husband says they have a kinda superhero quality now. LOLOLOLOL
    So here's the thing....If you feel inclined to send me a snarky note about how I shouldn't say anything....because I'm not American Media model skinny, you might have a problem.
    As it happens, I have a good friend who models. He's 5' 10", weighs 157 pounds soaking wet, and they STILL wanted him to use coke for a week and fast...to look more sickly skinny for his last national ad campaign.
    Our impression of body image in the media is grossly distorted and unhealthy.
    And a lot of folks here....get a grossly distorted and unhealthy obsession with their eating habits, their BMI, the number on the scale, and how it defines them.
    Please, please, please remember....health.
    Physical health, strength, endurance, good labs, fewer medications.
    Emotional health...loving yourself, enjoying your life, feeling challenged and happy.
    Mental health...finding balance you can live with for a lifetime.
    Love your strong healthy body. Love your good food choices that provide good nutrition to nurture that body. Love the flexability to make it work though the tough spots.
    Avoid the fixations, the extremes, the inflexable rules, the disordered eating (and disordered not-eating)
    You can trust yourself to get to where you need to be....without punishment.
    Love yourself. Love yourself. Love yourself.



  12. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to Barb Being Barb in WLS Veteran is back and looking for support   
    Hi! 

It’s been YEARS since I was on this forum! I was very active from 2014-2016. Loved the support, hated the drama. 

I had VSG in 2014 and although I was a bit on the slower side losing because I was considered a “lightweight” (ha) at my surgery weight of 235, I was very successful. My low weight was 142 for about 15 minutes, but after a little bounce weight of 10-12 pounds or so, I maintained there for several years and was even running! Me—running at almost 50 years old! I was a WLS success! 

**Record screeching noise** not so fast.....

2018: On my Quest to stay active by finding new and fun activities, I decided to get on roller skates again at 51 years old. Let’s just say that didn’t turn out so well, and an almost debilitating neck injury happened. + 15 pounds. 

2019: Strange, I’ve got blood in my pee? Lab work shows no UTI. Bladder cancer?? WTF? That’s an old man’s disease! 
+ 10 pounds 

2020: Do I even have to say it?? Oh, but I *did* manage to break my ankle in October walking my dog and was in a boot for 2 months. Also, I got Covid in December. + 10 pounds 

I’m not using life happening as excuses at all. I was fully unprepared to deal with my weight maintenance *when* life happened. It just goes to show how woefully unprepared I was with my emotional eating when the chips (along with my poor broken body) were down. I can only hope my experience can be a lesson to all either thinking about WLS, or are happily in the honeymoon phase of WLS and maintenance. 

With a little pharmaceutical help from my Primary, I’m working on going back to basics and concentrate on healthier Protein and Fiber rich options to try to lose at least 25 pounds. It can be done. I’ve seen it. 

Wish me luck! ❤️
  13. Congrats!
    bonnie51 reacted to ms.sss in Alcohol during maintenance??   
    yeah, I had actually quit smoking for over 10 years until a trip to Europe in 2019 and started again there. Everyone we met smoked, so I was all, fine. I'll take that cigarette you keep offering me. And here we are 1.5 years later, like I never even stopped. But yeah, I should really quit one day....
  14. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to ms.sss in Alcohol during maintenance??   
    Thanks, I often wonder about that...though if I had an addiction, its probably already been transferred. To drinking, smoking, cooking, shopping, exercising, screen time, spreadsheet making, vacation planning, pouring over the forums of BariatricPal. All activities one person or other have commented I do too much of. *shrugs*
    P.S. oh, and forgot to include: counting calories and weighing myself every morning.
  15. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to ms.sss in Alcohol during maintenance??   
    There are a few controversial topics that get some strong (and not-so-strong) opinions/responses on this forum. Alcohol consumption is one of them.
    With that said, I am a maintainer and a regular drinker.
    Aside: I have mixed feelings about saying this even as I type this, as I don't want to inadvertently influence someone to drink if they are of the type who may spiral. I often drop hints about my drinking habits in more light-hearted threads (i.e., the food thread or the clothes thread), but in threads specifically asking about alcohol by those in the early stages, I have pause. But, we are all adults here and can make our own choices, so here goes:
    Prior to WLS, I didn't drink regularly, but if/when I did, I drank ALOT. Think sloppy drunk. It was always at parties or nights out, and never at home (if we hosted parties, I'd drink, but not get drunk cuz I mean, I had hosting responsibilities after all, LOL).
    During weight loss phase, I must have drank maybe 5-6 times the entire time. And it was very little, less than 1/4 of a single serving, if that. The first time I drank after surgery was 3 weeks post op. I had 2 sips of red wine at a party, and it was weird...I remember feeling the liquid in my stomach and the warmth of it travel through my intestines and I got surprisingly tipsy for so little that I drank. The second time I had a drink was 3-4 sips of a soju-sake concoction around 1-2 months post op and I had the most horrible dumping experience soon after. Like laying on the bathroom floor horrible. It was the sugar in it. The handful of times I drank after that (during weight loss phase) I stuck to gin/vodka sodas & dry red wine. I was definitely affected with just a few sips, and the effects wore off pretty quickly.
    Now, lets talk maintenance. Freed from having to stay under a self-imposed calorie limit, I drank more. I drank more often than I did pre-op, but less overall, even including my occasional pre-op benders. I no longer only got to sloppy level when I drank, but to just a good buzz. And again, only when I was out and about. I'd say I had maybe 1-3 drinks a week. I still got buzzed relatively quickly (less than one full drink), and the effects did not last long (less than an hour). There were maybe 4-5 times I got pretty trashed during this time (i'm guessing on like 5-6 drinks), all while on some vacation or other, and once at a wedding.
    Then came lockdown in March last year. I was about 1.5 years out when Covid reared its ugly head, and just under a year into maintenance. My drinking increased exponentially over a couple months. These days, I drink at least one drink a day (usually two, occasionally much more, on those nights we have an extended dinner seating time, or when it was patio season last summer).
    Now according to the literature I have read, based on volume alone, I am an alcoholic. Go figure. Am I concerned? Honestly nowadays, not really. I did contemplate it in the beginning, especially cuz Mr would keep bringing up how my drinking has increased (in a joking way mostly...but he should talk, he drinks every day too. Almost always has...his drinking also increased with Covid. Granted, he has more mass than I do and has the metabolism of a hummingbird).
    It's been almost a year of this daily drinking now, and while I believe I could benefit from cutting down, I don't see it as an issue at the moment in terms of any decrease in quality of life or my own safety or the safety of those around me (but I suppose this is what anyone who drinks would say). We'll see.
    Back in the summer we agreed that each person in the house can call a "dry day" at any point and everyone must abide to no drinking that day. Though to date, no one has called it. That probably speaks to the mentality we got going on here, lol. I did a couple "dry weeks" on my own accord months ago, just to prove to Mr. & myself I didn't have a problem...these weeks went by uneventfully, but I'm not sure if it really proved anything.
    Very long story short, while I'm not advocating nor discouraging drinking either way to anyone, as with anything else in life, the hope is that you can be self-aware enough to know what YOUR acceptable limits are and try to stay within them.
    Sorry this was so long.
    Good Luck ❤️
    P.S. In case you were wondering, I have pretty much maintained my weight (115 lbs +/- 5lbs) this entire time. Last year I reached my acceptable upper limit (120 lbs for more than 3-4 days in a row) twice and then switched gears to get back to 115. First time took me 3-4 weeks, second time took me 3-4 months (granted, I didn't try very hard). Today I am actually 6 lbs under my "normal", BUT I'm in transition at the moment as I've had zero exercise for about a month due to injury and i'm trying to offset that with a reduction in calories...and yeah, I haven't found the right level yet...so this is temporary, as far as I'm concerned. BUT I'm still drinking, lol, am just having less dessert 😜
    P.P.S. I also smoke. But that's a whole other topic...
  16. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to mswillis5 in Is your partner normal weight or heavy? How does this affect you?   
    Before surgery, I was the one who caused my wife to have bad eating habits. I would always bring home donuts or ice cream or junk food. I have vastly improved with bringing junk foods home since my wife and I both had surgery and are definitely working on making much better food choices. I used to eat ice cream almost daily before surgery and it has very little appeal now after surgery.
    Editing to include my 11 year old daughter.
    My daughter is larger for her "defined" age based size. She was in the 94th percentile for height and 75th for weight at her annual check-up last month. Since we started not buying as much junk food, she has thinned out a bit and even her grandmother noticed that she was losing a bit of weight. She is also growing taller and is almost 5ft tall already, so that could explain a bit of this as well. We are not putting her on a diet but she is eating what we eat. Since we are eating healthier and don't have that much junk food in the house, I feel that this is going to improve her life for the better as well.
  17. Like
    bonnie51 reacted to Creekimp13 in Today's Rant: Bariatric Surgery Lies   
    Myth One: I’m going to FINALLY be a NORMAL weight!
    A few people get there, but most don’t.
    In general, the success of weight-loss surgery is sometimes defined as achieving a 50 percent or more loss of excess body weight and maintaining that level for at least five years.
    So…let’s say you’re a 5’5” woman whose normal weight should be around 150….and you weigh 250 pounds. If you have bariatric surgery and get down to 200 pounds and maintain that for five years…you’re a success.
    According to a University of Michigan study of bariatric patients over seven years:
    Normal weight (BMI less than 25) was achieved by 2.3–6.8% of patients.
    47% of patients achieved a BMI less than 30.
    And this of course, means about half of people who do bariatric surgery never make it to a BMI under 30.
    And I know this sounds REALLY FATALISTIC…but in all honesty, ANY weight you lose is so good for your health. Even 10% weight reduction is associated with tremendous health benefits. The surgery IS an invaluable tool. I don't mean to diminish that.
    I'm just saying... Bariatric patients get sold on this idea that weight loss surgery is salvation, that everyone gets skinny and healthy and that you never have a bad relationship with food again. There is this false idea that everyone is transformed and lives happily ever after, that food will never again be a challenge and that you can't end up right back where you started....which, very realistically, you can. And many people do:(
    There is this unspoken idea that you'd have to be a serious screw-up to gain weight after bariatric surgery. Guess who gains weight eventually after surgery? Almost everyone. You still have to pay attention. You still have to log your food and watch the scale and keep track of your triggers and not escape into denial. You still have to work on your mental problems with food. Fixing your stomach doesn't fix your head. The first year, you're all honeymoon dreamy and nothing is a temptation. The second year, the third year, the fifth year....things get a little tougher.
    Am I trying to talk folks out of it? Absolutely not. This surgery is an amazing tool. But that's all it is. The whole equation of solving the problem is a lot bigger and more compex.
    For what it's worth...my two cents...
    Work hard, be consistent, be patient. The best outcomes are achieved by folks who keep at it, who are unphased by losing slowly, who create livable realistic changes in their eating habits that are permanent.
    Avoid extremes. Extremes don't last. Extreme low calories, extreme exercise, extreme food choice limits, extreme structure...backfires. Life demands moderation and flexability. Don't punish yourself. Gently modify your life with workable new goals that you can stick with. Make livable changes that endure. And when you screw up (everyone will) pick yourself, dust yourself off, and get back to work. Don't waste energy on guilt or anger at self. Just get back to work. Modify. Adjust. Livable permanent change is your goal.

  18. Downvote
    bonnie51 reacted to cheryl2586 in Will I ever be able to indulge?   
    What ever you decide to eat after WLS is totally up to you, however why waste time and money if you continue to eat like you do now. Isnt that why we all were over weight to begin with. If you want to eat whatever you want then I would say dont have the surgery. Your whole goal is to learn how to eat healthy and eat smaller portions of healthy food then you will get where you want. If you dont then you wont lose one ounce.

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