zanneg

Just about 2 weeks from my one year surgery date and I hit my goal.....I feel awesome.....

I had my gastric bypass on September 8, 2014. HW was 279. I'm 5' 7.5" tall. My current weight is 151 lbs. I look great and feel fantastic. This is the best decision I've ever made. It has changed my entire life.

I'm 5 weeks out from rny. My band came out in 2011. This week I'm noticing more energy and an overall sense of well being
I was sick for the whole year I had the band. Even my worst moments since bypass (like feeling super hot and nauseated sometimes after I eat) are nothing compared to the misery of the band. I have absolutely no regrets at this short time postop. I am in a bit of a stall at 30 lbs. down and no loss for a week, but am motivated to up my Protein and exercise and persevere. Best of luck to all of you who are making this change to improve you lives and health!

Hello,
I am feeling a little blue I have shared with some family and friends my decision to have gastric bypass. All I hear is your going the easy way out, your being lazy why don't you just get off your butt and excercise and eat well. My surgery date is 01/29/15 and start my Liver shrinking diet on 01/15/15.

I feel like a broken record complaining. So, here goes. I had RNY on 12/18/14. I have only lost 13.2 pounds in three weeks. I get either right close to 60 grams of Protein a day or a little over it. My calories is 400-600. Generally in the low 500s a day for calories.

I am sad and frustrated. I see others (I know we aren't suppose to compare...but it is so hard not to) who have lost 25-30 pounds or more in the same time frame.

Right now I am 5 ft 4 and 212 even....

Is this normal? What am I doing wrong? I am freezing and irritable most of the time.

I don't recommend the vomiting strategy. I did it, but then my stomach got all messed up with ulcers, internal bleeding, and a broken gastric ring that was dangerous. Twenty years later and with 90 regained pounds on me, I was finally diagnosed correctly and rushed in for a revisional bariatric surgery. The only thing they could do was a gastric bypass because my stomach was a mess. Do not put yourself through all that. Stop the vomiting. Eat less and you won't feel overstuffed and uncomfortable. I've been in your shoes. I wish I had known more back then.
Now, I'm a year and a half post gastric bypass surgery and I eat very small meals about 6 to 8 times a day. You have to spread the food out and drink liquids in between meals, not along with them.

I'm sorry you're struggling through such a tough period. I can tell you're from the NY/NJ/PA area because you mentioned Wawa. Wawa actually has some great choices that will help you stay on track. They always have fresh fruit in the stores. You can get a sub sandwich but ask them to leave the bun off and put it in one of the little bowls instead. They also sometimes have hot roast beef or hot turkey bowls that are in a nice rich sauce that definitely qualifies as comfort food. You can usually find Vitamin Water Zero there for a nice change of pace from just bottled Water. And you can always pick up almonds in the little single serving (or for me, two serving) packs.
When I'm driving long distances like that, I try to stop at a rest stop at least half way through and find a bench and do a lot of all-over body stretches... I do a modified downward-dog putting my hands on the picnic table and bending over (hard to describe). Do arm stretches and leg stretches... really helps you loosen up from the tension of driving.
As far as non-food treats go -- check to see if there is a massage therapy school in your area... they have really low-cost massages sometimes. Or beauty schools and get some new hairdo or coloring. A friend goes to a local school like that and her hair always looks fabulous and it's very inexpensive. You might also see if there are some family caregiver support groups at your local hospitals. It might help you to hear that you aren't alone in the struggle.
Best wishes!

The important thing is you're making positive changes. Surgery doesn't stop us from being normal people who make bad decisions. Things happen, life happens. Props to you for sharing your story and good luck!

I've posted this thread in 2 other topics just to vent and hopefully help others not make my mistakes so if you see it more than once I'm sorry, getting this off my chest to more people just makes me feel better.
Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things.
1. You can gain the weight back
2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery
3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile
4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op
My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too.
My story is just a warning for all you guys out there - it's true, I'm the prime example of all the stuff they warn you about.
Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost.
For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous.
My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain.
Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls.
Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so.
I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, Bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale.< /p>
I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself.
But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though.
So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want.
I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it.
If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps.
So if I can give you guys any advice:
1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example.
2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op.
3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try
4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit.
And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again.
Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did.
Here's to hoping I can look like this again

I cannot wait to start hearing that question lol. I guess its easy when you dont hear it , to like it. I guess the polite answer would be, " When my body finds the weight it wants to be at." The snarky answer would be "When you stop asking," and the rude answer would be " When you mind your own business." , But you done great so far from what I see, so maybe its a Water on a ducks back type of thing?
Keep up the great work!

"When are you going to stop losing weight?"
I don't know, when are you going to stop asking?
"You're getting too skinny!"
If you're implying I have an eating disorder, I don't.
I'm SO happy with my progress, being healthy and smaller feels amazing, but I'm getting frustrated with the constant questions and comments about how I look now. I understand that I've never been skinny therefore its almost foreign to others how I look now, but sometimes I cant handle it. Why is it easier to make these comments now that I'm thinner but NO ONE ever asked me if I planned to lose a few pounds when I was morbidly obese. I can see now why a lot of thin people can have so many body image issues.
I'm happy slipping on my size 8 jeans. I'll take these over a cheeseburger from McDonalds ANY DAY!

So, I had a lap band that had to be removed and later had RNY. The first time, I told people that I'd had weight loss surgery. The majority of people reacted positively. A few of my overweight friends acted like I had taken the easy way out. Lol, trust me the misery of that lap band was no easy anything!
Of course, when the band came out I couldn't maintain the weight-loss. I hated having everyone know I had had WLS and had gotten fat again anyway. So, with the RNY, I have opted to respond to questions about how I'm losing weight with "I'm trying not to eat anything that tastes really good" and a laugh. People who have known me for a long time have seen me yoyo many times and so if they comment that I'm losing weight I just say, "yeah, this time" and we commiserate about how hard it is to keep it off.
Telling people is a personal preference, really. But, the second time around, I'm keeping it private

You look awesome! And look at that cute flat stomach you have, girl! I wanna be like you when I have surgery (:

Okay I don't know if anyone remembers me (probably not) but I had gastric bypass surgery January 18, 2013 my SW was 294 and as of today I'm 182...112 pounds down!!! Annnnnnnd I'm 6 weeks pregnant yay! Here are some before and after pics....oh and do I have any regrets? Absolutely not, this surgery was the best thing that ever happened to me

It has been 4 months to the date since my surgery. While at the gym this morning I weighed myself - 95 lbs. lost since surgery! I feel so much better It would have been really great to hit the 100 lb. mark at 4 months but who's complaining. The support I get from family and friends, and especially here has been awesome. Here's to the next 4 months!!!

I agree baby steps, buy something 1 or 2 sizes smaller. Agree with Johnathon Blue!

I wouldn't purchase anything that small at first. Remember baby steps. I would pick something a size or two under what you are currently wearing. You want the results to be something you can reach in a month or two. That way you notice the difference faster. Then you reach that goal have a party. Wear the clothes until they fall apart and buy another size or two smaller. Make those little jumps and you will small victories throughout and you will be at that size 8 in no time!

Annie,
I have a hockey jersey that is a 2xl. It was pictured on my profile if you want to see it. I have not fit into it since my freshman year of high school almost 16 years ago. I was so happy I think I almost haven't stopped wearing it lol. I highly recommend having goal clothes. There will be days when you just aren't feeling it, you will feel bloated and gross. Those are the days you try on your goal clothes and see how much better they fit. Then Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate!!!

Since I had no GERD or reflux issues, my surgeon left the decision entirely up to me. After several weeks of research on both surgeries, I decided on the RNY, and I have no regrets.
A few of my reasons for choosing RNY: first, there is long term data behind the RNY, but not enough on the sleeve. Second, the RNY holds you more accountable, meaning that the consequences for cheating are more severe (dumping, etc.). Third, an acquaintance had the sleeve and after about a year started gaining weight because she was able to eat more (especially more of the wrong foods) without those consequences I mentioned. It was a big struggle for her to regain control and lose the weight she gained.
If I had it to do all over again, I would still choose the RNY. Good luck to you!

I had gastric bypass 4 months ago and would chose it again in a heartbeat. I had GERD, so RNY was my first choice. By the way, the malabsorption created is, along with the restriction of the stomach pouch, what helps you to lose weight. I don't think of malabsorption as a bad thing. I take my Vitamins religiously and get my Protein and fluids in. The way I see it, if I follow the plan, I will get the results I want. So far, so good.

I am a band to bypass revision and my only regret is that I didn't do the RNY first. I am loving my new tool and the progress I'm making!

I'm now 7 months out. 83 pounds since surgery which puts me at the number the surgeon told me I could realistically expect to lose. My BMI was exactly 40 on surgery day. I'd be good stopping here. I've increased my calories to 1200 and I'm drinking extra calories to try to slow it down. I put on a pair of pants I've been toting around for 30 years. I wore them in college from 1985-1987. They fit, but very differently than before. My ass is now flat, and my tummy is bigger. They are completely ugly so I would never wear them, but at least I could.

I am 6 1/2 months out. Down 130.
88 pounds since surgery date. Weight has came off steady. I lose in chucks then body plays catch up.. I started at 347HW. SW 305 current weight of last week 217. The inches are amazing. I have went from a size 28/30 to a 14/16. 3-4x to a large/xlarge depending on clothing.
I think my losses could be even more if I could find more time to exercise..

Words cannot describe what the last year of my life has been like, nor could I have fathomed just how drastically different my life would be. I knew things would be different, but nothing like this. I knew I would be healthy, but not this healthy. One year ago today at the exact time I am typing this, I was being wheeled back into an operating room for a surgery that would change my life forever.
TODAY IS MY SURGIVERSARY!!!
Today is the one year anniversary of the day I decided to take the leap, place a bet on me, and take my life back. My only regret in the last year is that I hadn't done it sooner. So what is different in 365 days?
1. My blood preassure went from 150/110 to 119/77. I'm no longer hypertensive!
2. I went from pre-diabetic with a blood sugar or 110 to free and clear with a blood sugar of 82. Perfect!
3. I went from 513 lbs. to 308 lbs. ABSOLUTLEY INCREDIBLE!!!
All this in just a short year. On top of that I have gone from a sedentary mass who would eat Cookies all day and could barely make it up a flight of stairs to:
1. 1.Biking 28 miles for the Twisted Pretzel Ride in Germantown, Ohio
2. Swimming 3/4 of a mile in 16:52 and finishing 6th in my age group for the Great Ohio River Swim in Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Getting ready to run my first 5K!
4. Finishing my first semester of college with a 4.0. I am set to finish my Bachelors degree in a year!
The sky is the limit and so much more is planned. This last year has been absolutely amazing. Words cannot even describe the changes and how I currently feel. I used to finish up my first night shift of the week and be crawling into my front door crying in the morning. Now I finish seven nights in a row while still holding a part time job; still having energy for a 3 hour workout in the end.
Words cannot express that gratitude that I have for those that have joined me on my journey thus far. I know many of them begged, pleaded, threatened, and cried about my weight and I am hoping that today they are all singing a different tune. The best thing someone said to me was, "I feel like I have my best friend back!"
I know this last year has been amazing, but now is no time to slack off. I still have a ton to accomplish as you all know. I hope everyone out there will continue to show the amazing love and support that they have as I continue on in this journey. It is because of you, that I am able to push through on those days when I am just not feeling it.
THANK YOU ALL and HAPPY SURGIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!!!!

I M doing better. Got some nectar and it is wonderful. Used the 5 day pouch test. It always gets me back on track. Back down to 150 now. I don't think I would make a good mentor. I traded one set of issues for new ones.