loridee11

I find carbs are slider foods - they break down so small they pass right through. Dense protein, even chewed well seems to sit longer in my stomach.

My "3 week stall" lasted about 3 1/2 weeks. Be patient and follow your plan!

Hi Mark, Congratulations on your upcoming surgery! I used a 32 oz water bottle from day 1, I just took small sips. I was fortunate to have 4 weeks off work after surgery, and what I did is anytime I saw someone drink on TV, or thought about it, I forced myself to take a sip, then after a day or 2, I took 2-3 sips and gradually increased based on what I tolerated. I was getting 64 oz easily within a week. Once I went back to work, I always had my water with me. Anytime I noticed the bottle, saw someone else drinking or thought about it I took a drink. Now, my goal is 96 oz. I try to drink my first 32 by lunch, my second by 4, and the last before bed. Most days that works for me. Good luck! Lori

Hi Cara Mia, I had the band and converted to Bypass in Dec 2019. The "full" feeling will never be the same. I'm actually really glad about that as with my band I had all types of issues. I would get food stuck or throw up on just a small amount when I was filled. Then, I had terrible reflux and had to be unfilled for years, and even then, would wake up choking on acid. With the bypass, I rarely get either hungry or full if I eat according to plan (for me, 3 meals a day). If I'm off plan, I can get full, but only if I eat more than I need. I am able to measure my food and don't need more than about 6 ounces (over a year out) as long as I eat 3-4 Oz solid protein as part of that. If I am eating something carb heavy I can eat a lot more so I try to focus on protein like the program says. Lori

Thanks! I had the virtual consult with a local Dr. this week (Covid). I think I like him. His plan aligns with what I was hoping for (arms, breasts and tummy tuck). He has a surgeon he works with sometimes who he is going to consult with and who will likely help close if i go with him. I've looked him up and he seems really qualified as well. He thinks that alone will take a couple hours off the surgery and keep it safer. If I think I want to move forward he does want to do an in person consult before we lock on anything which I really like. I also really like that he is local so I could recover at home where I have a recliner, adjustable bed, and my dog to snuggle with I will want to hire a nurse to help for a couple days since that is A LOT of surgery and I live alone.

Thanks for sharing. The one I have a consult with this week hasn't asked for pictures although the first one did... Maybe I'll have some queued up and ready in case he asks on the call. If you are willing to share, who did you end up having your surgery with?

For those of you that had virtual consults, especially if you traveled for the actual surgery, how did you gain confidence in your surgeon and their plan? Did they ask to see pictures? See on video? Did they make modifications to the plan once you were in person? I'm nervous about selecting a Dr. that won't actually see me until just before the surgery but I'm not really liking my local surgeons so far. I've had one virtual consult and one in person. The virtual one didn't fill me with confidence. That could have been the surgeon, but I'm curious about others experience. I have another virtual consult next week and maybe that one will be better...

Non Scale Victory

congratulations! You are doing great. I completely understand how hard it is for the brain to catch up with the body. I am still struggling. I think being aware of it is a great first step though.

I went clothes shopping today at a store (with the pandemic haven't done much of that). Not sure if it is the pandemic or my weight loss, but my experience today was SO different then in the past. I had a number of sales people approach me right off the bat. Friendly, offering to help. In the past, I would wander the same store on my own without anyone offering to help. I've seen others post about being treated differently after losing weight and while i'm not positive that's what this was, it's certainly something I'll watch for. The NSV --- I took one of the sales people up on their offer to help and mentioned after losing weight I'm not really sure what size I am. She knew immediately what options to pull and I am in a size 28 jeans! That's a size 8, as in single digits!!! I am also wearing a Small in a number of tops. Holy $(@*. ?

I do a lot of casserole type things. For example, this week I did "Eggroll in a bowl" - it's ground meat (I used turkey), cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, and a little rice wine vinegar. I added a little cooked rice as well. Another favorite is a veggie au gratin: cauliflower, broccoli and leek with greek yogurt, dijon, thyme and cheese. I add in sliced dinner sausage to give it more protein. One more: An easier version of stuffed peppers. Ground chicken, quinoa, onions, tomatos and spices in a cooked bell pepper (or just dice the bell peppers in) and add a little pepper jack cheese.

I've been all over the place. I started at 150 because for some reason I've had 150 stuck in my head for ever. Even in high school when dieting that was my goal. So that was my goal when I first started (it is pretty much mid-range of healthy BMI for my height). Then at my 6 month my Dr said she'd want me at around 185 (still overweight) so I changed it to 172 (top of healthy BMI). Then I moved it to 167 (exactly half my pre-surgery weight) since that was so close to 172. Now that I'm there, I've gone back to 150.... We'll see if I can get there and if I'm happy. That may be a little on the low end for my body type and height....

The first little while after surgery your body is simply recovering from trauma. My weight was up for the first week or so and then I started to lose. I wouldn't worry - just stick to your plan and eventually you'll start to lose!

So, I was getting my hair cut today and was talking to the women cutting my hair (not someone I've seen before). We started talking about how there isn't much to do right now because we are still pretty limited. I mentioned I was out hiking yesterday since being outside is one of the things we can do. She said that must be why I'm so skinny I've NEVER, not once before been called skinny...

Nope. The only time I get stomach pain is when I eat too much sugar or fried food. If I follow plan no issues on my side. Lori

Slightly old picture, and still WIP, but this is about 160 lbs down...

As expected, I had a bit of a bounce back once I started feeling better. I've also decided to officially lower my goal from 167 to 150. Has anyone else noticed how much different 5 or 10 lbs is close to goal compared to early on? Assuming I stick to 150, my BMI will be right in the middle of the "normal" range 21.5. I may get half way there and change my mind depending on how my weight settles. Right now my shoulders, collar bones, etc... are extremely bony - as is my butt. However, my belly and thighs still have jiggle and fat.

Yup! A year out and definitely have tail bone pain. For work I have a gel cushion that has a cut out so my tailbone isn't actually touching it. And I am working on building up some muscle in the hopes it will help (and so aesthetically my butt isn't quite so flat )

I had bypass end of 2019. My first couple appointments (2 week and 6 week) were in person, but the rest have been phone or video. They did have my go in for blood tests at 6 months. My 1 year is coming up and it will be video as well.

I'm just over a year out. I am not a big fan of most meats, so a piece of chicken or turkey and a veggie is just not something I enjoy, so I tend to do a lot of stews or mixes. I generally cook 2 a week then alternate lunch and dinner (I'm single and cooking for one). So my meal plan may look like: Breakfast: Protein coffee: Coffee with protein powder, collagen powder, fiber, a little half and half and sugar free torani Lunch: Ground turkey taco (no tortilla) - ground turkey, beans, onion and taco seasoning. I may add a little greek yogurt and cheese or I may not Dinner: Chicken "pot pie" - Chicken breast and veggies in broth with a little fairlife milk, thyme and dijon cooked into a creamy consistency. No crust. I only recently started snacking, and that may be 2 tbs of popcorn with a 1/2 T of butter and some low calorie flavoring added.

My go to is Spinach, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple juice (just a little, also add water to get the right consistency) and protein powder, collagen powder and fiber supplement.

Just over a year after my surgery I have reached my goal! I am officially half of my starting weight. I do think I'm going to try to lose another 15 lbs, but woohoo! The not so good news, I've been sick for the last 10 days and that's the only reason I am down as much as I am in this two week period (9 lbs), and I fully expect a small bounce back once I feel better, but for now, I want to enjoy this moment as much as I can.

While it is nearly impossible to exercise away a bad diet, just think how easy it is to eat 500 calories and how hard it is to work it off, exercise, including walking, provides a ton of health benefits. From everything I've read, it is also one of the keys to maintaining weight loss as muscle burns more calories than fat. I've been walking really consistently since about a week after surgery. I added in other exercises at about the 9 month mark to continue to build strength, stamina and flexibility but still walk most days because its such a good mental break and the fresh air and sunshine has been great.

2.5 months out I was down a total 75 (including pre-and post surgery) and no one had said anything. At 3 months we moved to work from home due to Covid, which meant video calls. As a result, no one really noticed until about 8 or 9 months out when my face really started to thin out. The few people I see in person notice, but it wasn't until I bought some new clothes that fit that it was obvious how much I've lost...

I am just over a year out and even now I rarely feel physical hunger or get full. I eat 3 meals a day (and sometimes a snack but that's more a head hunger at night thing). I measure out most of my meals and stop at around 6 oz. I can get full if I eat more --- but I generally stop at the 6 oz.