Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Blogs

 

Die Hard......

It is to true that old habits die hard. It doesn't seem to matter how long ago you put them away, you thought for good, they will still on occassion rear their ugly head. If we are not on the look out for them, it is very easy to fall prey.   This weekend, the hubs and I hosted my mom's 65 birthday party. I had about 35 people at my house. While it was an awesome night and every one had fun, I realized that I screwed up.   Our menu was hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, sides were: chips, tater salad, cole slaw, baked beans, mac and cheese. I thought ahead enough to know I couldn't do the bread, so that was fine, I bought skinless hot dogs so I could have one with a little slaw on the side. I did good in the fact that I avoid the chips, mac and cheese, and tater salad. I had a small spoon of baked beans.   I was having a great time. I ate slowly- no stuck problems. Then it was dessert time. I had made a homemade apple cobbler and peach cobbler and had purchased a beautiful cake from BJ's. I also had ice cream to go with these. I ate a peice of cake and a spoon of ice cream on the side.   Granted in days past I would have eaten double, maybe triple what I ate that night. But, I still over did it. My band is really loose right now and that makes it really easy to slip up. (My appointment is Thursday- yeah) But, I can't blame my band, it is me, my choice. But, honestly I wasn't even thinking.   We had a ton of cake left and chips and burgers. I sent left overs home with my brothers being that one has 5 kids at home and the other has 3 at home. I did keep one small square of cake for me and my hubs to share- shouldn't have done that.   Yesterday, I woke up with the mother of all migraines. I managed to stay up right long enough to feed the dogs and tell the hubs I was going back to bed. I stayed their till noon. I got up cleaned my house up from the party the night before and the head ache returned, I hit the couch. I hardly moved yesterday. Felt like crap.   This morning I felt better- got up and hit the scale before heading out to work. 191.3- well the weekend certainly showing it's self. 3 lbs up for the lowest. I keep bouncing between 188 and 191 for the past 3 weeks.   I know I can do better, I should do better, I want to do better- but I keep slipping up. At the moment I am like screw it I want this- then I feel aweful. Granted I don't slip to bad, but a slip is a slip and bad either way.   I worry that I will never drop below this weight. Is this where I am destined to stay? Will I self-sabatage myself more? How do I get back on track and stay there?   You may say, well you have to do it, you have to want it. I do want it and I know I have to do it- but it is not easy, WLS is NOT the easy way out.

Kime-lou

Kime-lou

 

Lap Band Rules

With so many things to think about on this lap band journey, I feel like I've forgotten some of the rules that could be leading me to more weight loss. One commenter on my last post brought it to my attention that I need to make sure I get my daily protein amount in ... a rule I forgot about.   And it makes me wonder, what other rules am I neglecting? 1. eat only 1 cup of food 2. eat all of your protein first, then veggies, then carbs 3. don't drink with your meals 4. get in your required XX grams of protein per day 5. take your multi vitamin supplments 6. dont eat within 2 hours of laying down   All of these rules Ive totally disregarded at one point or another, on multiple occasions and with some frequency.   Well for the past 3 days I've met my protein requirement. I got a fill on Thursday and I'm down 3 lbs ... I guess they really do tell us all of this stuff for a reason.

Sunshyne068

Sunshyne068

 

Wanna See My Holes?

Ok, get your minds out of the gutter! This is just to show anyone that cares what the scars from surgery can look like at 8 weeks. The biggest scar is where they pulled the stomach leftovers out during surgery and it's about 2 inches long, the rest could be covered with a dime.   You'd think after 12 years of experience, my doctor could put the scars in a more creative layout! At least he could have tried to make a happy face or something.

joatsaint

joatsaint

 

2 More Days!

Well here it is... My very 1st blog ever! Over the last 10 months I have been obsessed with reading blogs and watching the YouTube videos of other's as they go through their gastric bypass journey's. I have been looking forward to the day when I could make my own video and have my own before and after photos. Finally the day is almost here for me! I am having a gastric bypass on June 5, 2013. I am both excited and scared. The surgery in itself is not what bothers me, I work in surgery and see wonderful outcomes every day... what I am afraid of most is my LOVE for chocolate. I have done very well on my 2 week pre op liquid diet, I have lost 17 lbs, and have been working very hard mentally to keep myself from having one last reese's peanut butter cup! It's funny all of this time I've been thinking I would be fine, because I'm not a BIG eater. What I am finding out though is that I am and have always been overweight because I'm a BAD eater. I had a chocolate addiction. All that I can do at this point is keep marching forward and hope that I am one of those that gets dumping syndrome!

msraza1982

msraza1982

 

Too good to be true?

My last band took a lot of fills to get me into the green zone. 8.5cc in a 10 cc band, and when I was leaking, it got up as high as 10cc.   With my first band, at 6cc, I couldn't even feel my band. And yet here I am now, at 6cc again with a new band, placed by a different dr, and I feel like I'm in the green zone.   Maybe because of my history I keep expecting it to disappear but it's been 4 days since my fill and I still feel like I can't eat more than a couple of poached eggs tops. I actually think it's not swollen or anything anymore, and I'm either at the green zone or close to it.   Also my hunger is almost completely gone, which is also another sign for me.   After 15 months of my band leaking, this feels almost too good to be true.

lellow

lellow

 

Pre-Op Testing

Tomorrow I have my pre-op testing appointment. I am not sure what I will be going through. In the last month, I have had a physical with my physician, an EKG, and blood work. All of the items on my pre surgery checklist have been completed. Well, whatever it is....bring it on! I am so ready for this surgery. I can't believe it is one week away!

NikNakMcCants

NikNakMcCants

 

Strong woman

It's been a while since I have posted.   I frequent the forums, but only read the ones that stand out.   As of today my weight is 239 pounds. That is 72 pounds since I got sleeved. I can definitely feel my strength returning. I can lift, and carry things. I can go up and down the stairs without a problem. I can do an hour of cardio plus weight training and still go on with my daily routine without having to take a nap. I fell great! I think besides the occasional migraine from my neck tension all is well. I think it is time for me to get that much needed massage. I deserve it!   I haven't been as strict with my eating habits as I was in the beginning...I do admit. I definitely still make an effort. Where I lack in effort is preparing my meals and eating every 2-3 hours. I think if I ate every 2-3 hours then my metabolism would speed up. I've upped my carbs to about 100...sometimes 150. It is not necessarily low carb, but I can feel my body needs it when I work out. My workouts are way more productive and I don't feel light headed when I get my calories, protein, and carbs in. I don't really eat bread. I tried it a few times, but I just didn't like how it made me feel and pretty much avoid it now. I love quinoa! It tastes great with some chicken.   As far as my hair loss goes...I chopped my hair off. It was annoying me and now it is much less noticeable. It is still falling out, but not so aggressively as it was before. I am not too attached to my hair so it was no big deal to chop it all off. And it is summer so it is much cooler.   Some nsv's   I don't need a daily nap My feet shrank I can do lots of cardio I don't avoid stairs     Last month I only lost 10 pounds...I went on vacation for 2 weeks and didn't work out or eat right. Hopefully I can lose 15 pounds this month

LifetimeLoser

LifetimeLoser

 

5/3/13 Liquid Diet day

First time to ever blog! Today is clear fluids only and is the only day that I had to do it pre-op. Tomorrow is surgery day! Have to be at the hospital around 2:30pm. I am ready to be healthy not only for myself, but my three kids, husband and body! I can't wait to see what the future holds for me and my beautiful family!     Carla

momofjal

momofjal

 

Yesterday was my One month Bandversary!

Wow I can’t believe yesterday has been one month since I got banded. I am happy to say that I have lost 27 pounds and I feel amazing. I really didn’t have any plans yesterday I just made me some coffee and use Atkins French Vanilla protein shake as creamer and worked out for 15 minutes until I received a phone call from my Bestie Mandy. She stated that she had a surprise for me. Mandy had tickets to the St. Louis Cardinal game! I was a little bit excited until my fears kicked in. So what were my fears? Yesterday I was able it start drinking alcohol but will I be tempted to have a beer or mix drink.
What if I get hungry and Busch Stadium didn’t have 5 week post op friendly food. Unfortunately I did not have time to research their menus and I need a better cell phone.
My least favorite fear was am I ready to do this?
I decided to not shelter myself because I am banded I need to live and learn. Mandy brought her cooler and added 4 bottles of water. At the stadium we found an Asian stir fry place and they had shrimp. I ask the hostess if I can just order a side a shrimp because I am lap band patient but they charge me $10.50 anyway. Mandy didn’t care about the price and paid for it. The cool part about it was they gave me a Large Chinese to go box full of shrimp! We got more than $10.50 worth of shrimp. Mandy stated laughing at me because I got full of 12 pieces of shrimp. She ended up taking the leftover home. It was a great game because the Cardinals won! After the game me and Mandy met up with our friend Jessica. I haven’t seen Jessica since she came over and made me homemade soup for day one of my 2 post op diet. Jessica complimented me on my lap band success and told me that I look amazing. I have to admit I felt pretty good. We went to our first bar and I had a glass of water with lemon. I wanted to have a drink at the second bar we were at. I was thinking shot of grey goose with water and I was going to add a crystal light packet in it or maybe a beer and let it fizz out for a bit before drinking. I had all these scenarios going through my head and I decided to drink at home first to see how it feels before I drink in public. So water was my drink of choice last night and I was okay with that. If felt good going out last night and just having fun. I am so bless to have great friends in my life. Thanks for reading.

LadyDiva618

LadyDiva618

 

Things Iook forward to....

As my surgery approaches, I am thinking more about the future without fat restrictions.   I look forward to......   Sitting in church and being able to cross my legs   Getting into the floor and getting back up without crawling to the couch   Leaving the steering wheel down when I get out of the car   Leaning over and picking something up without cutting off my oxygen supply   shopping in a regular store   Getting on the scale at the doctor and not turning my head   Walking more than a block without panting   Having more energy   Less medication   Getting up in a crowded room and not worrying about being able to squeeze between chairs or people   Cutting my toenails while breathing     How about you, my friends?

judysbabies

judysbabies

 

it's been 3 years

Good morning everyone, 2/16/10 I experienced my life change for the lapband. I lost maybe 1/3 of my weight. part of the problem was I had a knee issue called chondromalacia. basically my knee was off track, I wasn't able to excersice like I wanted to, lack of motivation etc. I thankfully did not gain the weight back. the good news is in 1/13 I went through arthiscopic surgery and they were able to put it back on track. now I've signed up for a membership at my fitness center in my apartment complex. I will start working out slowly. I also bought a big thing of protein shake. I want to lose more weight but more importantly I need to tone up my body. I actually feel pretty good about the way I look but would like just the fat to go away. I intend to start working out and to try to start getting adjustments again. it's hard getting adjustments because of my work schedule.hope everyone is doing well..good luck...xoxox K

KatrinaD

KatrinaD

 

The one week itch

A few days ago my stomach started itching. Then, my legs, back and hips. Last night I looked down at my hips and noticed a rash that spread from my upper legs, up my thighs and onto my back. None on my stomach yet but it's still itching like crazy. I immediately went to the internet and found that docs at times attribute it to the pain meds.   I contacted the on call docs at the hospital where I had my surgery and explained the situation. The doc who helped me said the same thing, take some benadryl and then she suggested taking tylenol or advil for the pain to supplement if I don't want to take my prescription pain meds. I reminded her that as a gastric bypass patient I am not to take ibuprofen at all anymore (this leads to ulcers and the last thing I want is another ulcer in my stomach).   So last night I took my benedryl and passed out. This morning I got up super early and as I was sitting at my desk reading through the news and chatting with a friend when I remembered that I had this same reaction before. Now I never get rashes, mind you, so when I do get them it is a memorable occurrence. The last time I had a rash it started out very weird. I would scratch somewhere and overnight I would develop an itchy, highly-painful rash there. It began to spread wherever I itched until it was all over my body and hurt so much I finally called the doctor. By then then the rash had taken over some large areas of my body and it hurt to even touch the skin. Even my chin and my neck were covered and in pain.   The culprit? The cheap-ass multivitamins I bought at the store (Womens 1 a day) and started taking. The doc thought that I had been into some poison of some sort because the look of my skin screamed poison. He gave me a shot of something and sent me on my way. The rash started to clear up and I stopped taking those stupid vitamins.   Fast forward to a week ago when I started taking these Flintstones vitamins. I bought them because the surgical team insisted that I need the iron. As far as I can tell, unless I have an iron deficiency I won't need the iron. I have been postmenopausal for over 10 years now. I'm going back to use my chewable gummy multivitamins that I first bought for the surgery for now and my appointment with my PCP is on Wednesday. I am already putting together a list of questions that I want to ask. The cool part is that my PCP did her residency at the hospital where I had my surgery done in the bariatric patient ward. So she is very familiar with my individual needs. Additionally, the office that I visit is focused on naturopathic care, augmenting with medical treatment when necessary.   Up to the surgery I was taking the vitamins bought at my Dr's office (Equi Fem). I could buy them anywhere, I just chose to get them at the office for convenience. And boy were they good vitamins. No limit to my energy and they made me feel good all over. I could really tell when I didn't take my vitamins. Problem is, I believe I need a chewable vitamin now, which means I probably won't be able to take my old vitamins. So now I just need to know what to do. Can I take the chewy multivitamins without iron and be fine or is there another option that will give me back the energy that I am missing without taking my old vitamins?   Also on the evolving list of things to discuss with my PCP include when would be the best time to take my cholesterol, insulin, and hormone level tests again. I'm not diabetic, but I am insulin resistant and I'd like to see if there's some progress made on that since last time my labs were ran.

lirri

lirri

 

A new beginning....it's about time!

115 Kgs.... wow...really? Maybe 6 real diet attempts per year..multiply that by let's say....the last 20 years (I'm 37)...that is a lot of FAILED attempts....and what do I have to show for it? 115 kgs....and absolutely NO photos. I actually physically tackle anyone who tries to take a photo. My poor 4 year old and 5 year old already know the golden rule..... NO PHOTOS OF MAMA!!!!!   There are so many reasons why I want/need to lose weight...but..my sons are the biggest reason. Need to make them the happiest kids ever...AND need stay alive to see my grandchildren!!!! Ok, so it would also make me happy to sit comfortably on the airplane and not struggle to do up the seatbelt. It would be nice not to eye the chair before I sit to be sure of its' strength. It would be nice not to hear "fat" in every sentence - even if it's not being said. My reasons are endless.   With my husband's amazing support (he told me he's supporting me, but he doesn't care if I do it or not - he loves me for me), I will be getting "sleeved" on June 16th in Egypt. I am the most excited person ever - so excited, that even though my doctor didn't instruct me to go on the pre-op diet, I'm doing it anyway. Couldn't hurt right? Anything to help the good doc out on the operating table!   I am going to try and blog consistently throughout this process (my first blog EVER!) because I know how important they are - I have spent hours and hours viewing endless blogs and youtube videos. Needed the encouragement....and the not-so-encouraging ones, I learned from.   Wish me luck everyone, and I wish all of you the best of luck as well. No one understands more than we do how much we need this. For those of you who made a success story out of this....you are my idols!   Ma salama.

Aisha902

Aisha902

 

Punk'd by Mothra or How a Butterfly Made Me His Bhatch

Ok, the good news. I graduated from walking indoors to walking outdoors. Now the bad news. Monarch butterflies are bullies!   I've finally gotten enough endurance and stamina to start walking outdoors. I still don't like exercising, but I do like the effects. And I just can't make myself use either my recumbent bike or treadmill - they're just too boring. And besides, the computer is just 10 feet away the whole time, pouting from lack of attention. Did I mention that my Dell is an attention wh*re?   So I have to get outside to walk. I have a state park just a few miles away and there are some nice nature trails that are about 1 mile in length.   I've only been out there with my best friend. That way, if we run into a bear or wolf, I don't have to outrun the critter, I only have to outrun my friend!   But this week, my friend is out of state, visiting his sister in Ohio. So it was questionable if I was going to motivate myself to get out and walk today at the park. But I mustered up the energy and drove out to the park.   So here we go. I got my bright yellow shirt, the $5 forest green cap that I picked up in Alaska (is says, "If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes!") and shades. Oh goodie, I look like a guy cruising the park looking for other guys - that has been known to happen at this park.   Luckily for me the park was almost deserted and even better, no one was on the trails. So I started my normal route. Around the lake, skirt the canal and head back to the car through the flat areas.   There are some ups and down areas that I think help strengthen my legs and ankles, but not so steep as to cause me pain, or worse, hurtle down hill out of control! Going uphill is no problem. I just don't do down's very well. I'm not good at getting down, boogieing down or going down hill.   Anyway, back to my story. I was minding my own business, walking the trail, hugging the shade, and lost in my own thoughts when suddenly a black shape swoops out of the woods. Mere inches from my left arm.   And I did what any manly man would do. I flinched and started windmilling my arms (oops, I meant to say, "used my master karate skills"), to swat away whatever that deadly critter was - to keep it's venomous fangs away from my throat!   A lifetime later (or about 3 seconds in real time), I realized it was just a huge Monarch butterfly fluttering by. He casually fluttered across the trail and back into the woods. But I swear, this was no ordinary butterfly. I think it was a Pimp butterfly, cause he fluttered with a limp and was very colorful, like a pimp, and had an attitude. I swear I heard him say, "Punk ass bit*h!" as he fluttered back into the woods.   I'm sure he told all his butterfly friends about how he - a 1 ounce butterfly - scared a 280 pound man and made him flinch. I guess I'm lucky he didn't give me two punches for flinching or have a smart phone to capture a video of whole thing. Otherwise, I might be on Youtube ring now, going viral.   P.S. The good news is: I managed to walk just over 2 miles AND, as a bonus, got in a killer arm workout. But I fear the psychological scars may never heal.   Keep Pimpin that Sleeve!

joatsaint

joatsaint

 

Back from vacation

Spent a week here http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm. Truly an amazing place and one that I would recommend to anyone visiting this part of our nation. I gave up logging after the first day, tried to make good choices and stay active, but found this little Mexican restaurant and the food was amazing, including something new to me that the owner called "Mexican Coleslaw", I am going to have to work on re-creating his version of it. Got on the scale for the first time in a week and the verdict is, up 5 pounds. Not a big deal, since I know I didn't eat 21K extra calories, I know that the weight is water and will soon go away now that I am back on my regular eating schedule.   A couple of NSV's:   1. Despite the altitude (7-8K), I never ran out of breath on our hikes. 2. One tour through a cliff dwelling required that we crawl out a tunnel with an 18" opening and I doubt that I would have fit 6 months ago.

Terry Poperszky

Terry Poperszky

 

Food for though.

Hey, Everyone want to hear a "Joke"? What the hell is wrong with people. Seems we can't win for loosing. Based on a true story. I was told a "Joke" involving a gastric bypass surgery patient that was successful in loosing weight. Now let me remind people that I myself have also hade gastric bypass and the person telling the joke knew this.....So I hear the crude "Joke" and I have been told I have a great sense of humor a time or too. And can indeed if you will take a "Joke". This "joke was not funny to me in any way shape or form. I will not repeat this so called "joke" but what I will say is this.... Some people are ignorant and hurt full that is just the way it is. Later I imagine the same joke being told about myself they just need to change two names and this crude joke would be told on anyone that has had WLS. And it is sad. The point I am trying to make is this. Be yourself and if you are just a little over weight or morbidly obese like I once was. Make the change for yourself not what other people think or say. Because in the end you can not stop people from being hurtful to one another. . If you think the dirty looks or crude "jokes" about your weight will stop once you are at a "health" weight it will not. Some people will just find other faults to judge others by and be hurtful. That is just the way it goes But what you can do is distance yourself from those people. Has anyone else run into situations like this? If so how did you handle it?

Hard2LoveEasy2Hate

Hard2LoveEasy2Hate

 

3 Days to Go!

I am so ready to get this done!!!! Eight days on this clear liquid diet has got me grumpy! I am staring down people who are eating, and daring anyone to talk about food around me. It doesn't help that I am about to start my monthly probably on the day of surgery. On the positive side I have lost 11 pounds in 8 days of eating nothing. I say nothing because the protein shakes and clear liquids are not food. It is just enough to keep you hydrated and to keep you from dying. Dori has been swimming around my head singing, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!" My other issue is that I live in AZ and it is massive allergy season right now. I have been having a sore throat and was concerned I was getting sick. I tried using Zicam spray and it caused a rash on the roof of my mouth. It turns out the soreness is just from allergies but now have a canker sore and a red roof of my mouth. If they cancel my surgery I will take someone out. I am sorry to be so grumpy but I am so frustrated and just want to get these feelings out so I don't cry. I think post op will be a piece of cake compared to this. Okay done with my rant. Can't wait for Tuesday to come and go. Very confident with my surgeon choice. Happy to be taking this step for me!!!

MandyRN15

MandyRN15

 

Befor and after

If you had asked me Last year i be wearing this size i say no If you asked me if I own a two pice last year this time I say no. If you asked me if i had my navle pice i say no. Well     here it is   Yes i am a size 4/6   Yes; I do own a two piece   Yes I did puce my navel because i could

Lauracat

Lauracat

 

doctor's appointment

So today I went to the dietitian and then the doctor. Went well. The doctor said I have lost 60% of my fat and he wished all his patients lost that much. I was banded July 30th, so it is 10 months ago. He said if I stay at this weight the rest of my life, he will be happy. I want to lose more but don't know how much. I did not have a fill today. I was told I have 1.8 in my band and that was 3 fills. My doctor does slow and it works. I am down 10 pounds since February and he was fine with that. I have bad allergies and so I bought Walgreen's children's liquid and the sugar in it has given me stomach problems. The doctor told me to try swallowing the small pills I have and said the worse thing is I will throw it up. I don't need to see the doctor for 2 months. I feel wonderful about today's visits. :wub: Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Arlene

dylanmiles23

dylanmiles23

 

How massage can help in your weight loss

Every week (thanks to my wonderful husband) I go get a massage. It helps my stress, helps me unwind and believe it or not has helped with water weight loss. So you're thinking it's only water weight, well yes it is only water weight but weight is weight. The first day I ever got a massage, I seriously think I peed a river and that is no lie. The next morning I was 5lbs less. I thought maybe this was just something crazy I was imagining but the next time I got a massage the same thing happened. I started researching about massage and weight loss and asked my massage therapist and doctor the same thing "how does massage help with weight loss"? Metabolism is the furnace that keeps your engine running. After a certain age your metabolism can slow down. This sometimes results in weight gain. Regular massage sessions can boost your metabolic rate–jolting it to burn fat faster and help utilize your food intake turning it to energy rather than fat. If you are young, then massage can maintain your fast moving metabolism before it gets sluggish. This does not mean that you do not have to watch your diet but that a combination of healthy food, daily exercise and a weekly massage can be an excellent recipe for losing weight. So now not only is my massage helping me to feel better but its helping me with my weight loss journey also. I got a membership at massage envy which only cost me 39 a week to get a massage so I am helping myself and it helps me to feel great. Most of my pain is gone and I feel wonderful. You owe it to yourself to be your best and to feel your best. Do what makes you happy. But definitely massage has been a wonderful adventure for me.

cheryl2586

cheryl2586

 

4 days until the BIG one.

I'm down 8.2 lbs on my 11th day of the liquid diet. I'm actually feeling the loss in my clothes, which just makes me more excited and pumped up to have the surgery and get even MORE off. I had my pre-op app. with my gp and she's 'signed off' so there's no stopping me now. I'm understanding that need to chew issue that I read about. But the V8 satiates my need for salt pretty well (I would HOPE 920 mg of sodium would do the trick!)   Right now I'm feeling absurdly narcissistic and completely wrapped up in ME ME ME. I feel a bit badly about this, but I think I'm feeling weirdly about it because I never have thought about ME in the past; it's always been about my husband or kids or parents or students or anybody EXCEPT me. I've neglected myself and it shows in my excessive weight.   I feel differently already and wonder if people can SEE the change in me.

newmeIowa

newmeIowa

PatchAid Vitamin Patches

×