Leaderboard

I saw my doctor every 3 mon for the first year, every 6 mon for the last 2 years and now I just had my 3 yr visit ( Oct anniversary) and he changed me to every year. I will keep up with those visits because that is what keeps you on the books as a "current" patient. If there are ever any issues it's easier to get an appointment when you are current. Also, since I do attend the support group, it keeps me in the loop for what changes may have been made. Also, they do keep statistics and I want to be counted in the "successful" group!

Another way, they’re all different. I was every three months for the first two years, then went to 4 months because everything was consistently so good. But I’m back to 3 months because since my gall was removed 4 months ago I’m not absorbing protein well. Sad face. I have blood tests before every appointment but sometimes my GP asks for another in between. She’ll probably send me for one when I see her in a fortnight to check how I’m going with my protein absorption after being on Creon for about 6 weeks. I’m happy they’re so thorough & want to make sure I’m as healthy as I can be.

Its hard to believe it’s been 6 months since I “went under the knife”. What a 6 months it has been. From nervousness to excitement, from regret to happiness. The emotions have been all over the board. It definitely hasn’t been easy and it’s really only just began. I wanted to share a little of my journey thus far for folks that are considering the surgery, just had the surgery or anybody else that can relate or possibly get/stay motivated. Like most, the beginning was very difficult. I did a ton of research before the surgery. I thought I was prepared. But as the old adage goes, “you don’t know until you do it”. I struggled with drinking enough water/fluids, not getting enough protein, feelings of despair as I could only eat a tiny amount of food, total regret of having the surgery and wanting to call up Doc Brown to see if I could borrow the Delorean to go back in time. But around the 6 week mark, it seemed that everyday my attitude got a little better. I started to walk a little bit to clear my mind. I started just walking around the block. It’s about all I could do and I was a little paranoid of doing too much (silly in hindsight). I tried to really stay focused on sticking to the plan and just taking each day as it was and not look into the future. I started incorporating fish into my diet and nuts and I started walking around the block twice. I just kept telling myself that things will get easier. And before too long, they did. Fast forward to today and I’ve lost 164 lbs. I’ve lost 33% of my highest body weight. My BMI has gone from 58.3 to 38.9. I’m now walking 5 miles at a time, about 5 days a week. I eat mostly fish, salads, veggies and nuts. I actually eat carbs and some stuff that they probably don’t want me to but it’s limited and I’m burning so many calories exercising that I can handle some extra calories and not worry about it. I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve consistently lost weight every single week except in week 3 (seems like this is the week everybody tends to stall). I’ve learned to give myself a little credit instead of giving it all to the surgery. The procedure definitely deserves most all of the credit but I wouldn’t be where I’m at now had I not stuck to the plan, pushed myself to stay mentally strong and built a routine of exercise. Giving myself that little bit of credit has helped me in so many ways. I’m still about 80 lbs from my goal. I have a long way to go to get to that goal and of course even longer for a lifetime commitment to being healthy. I know whoever reads this has heard the line “if I can do it, anybody can”. I hate to use that but it’s so true. I used to lack motivation to get out of my Laz-E-Boy to even walk around the block. To put down the soda, stop eating a large pizza by myself, fries, Chinese food, burgers,wings, you name it. I found something inside me that clicked to get curious about the surgery. Then to actually go thru with it. Then to implement and execute the plan to improve my life. I wish I could say that I’m 110% confident that I’ll never gain weight again. That I’ll never binge eat again or go off the rails. I’m confident right now that I’m fully committed to a new lifestyle. I’m only 6 months in. I’m still not even that hungry. I can still only eat a little bit. At some point, those things will change. But I know that I never want to go back to what I was. I haven’t changed as a person in the last 6 months. But my attitude, goals and purpose has. For that I’m grateful. I wish all who reads this much success in your journey. Know that it will be different from mine and all others that you come across. There will be many similarities but your journey is your own just as mine is for me. If I can do it, anybody can. 👊🏼✌🏼

Our support group went to Zoom. I'm glad they did the support group that way but it does lead to the usual Zoom problems. ("Hannah, you're on mute." "Hannah, you're not on mute." "Sorry, you froze..." "CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME?!")

I do dump. I started at over 700, when I got down to 310 (my goal was 210), I started a program similar to Couch to 5K. I accomplished that and just kept going. Eventually I thought a marathon would be an interesting goal and I targeted the Valley of Fire marathon (outside Las Vegas). I ran 5 marathons in a year starting about 3 years post-op, during which I was running 70 to 90+ miles a week. I usually ran in the mornings before work, though there were periods where I did "2 a days". Right when I woke up I mixed up an ice-tea / Gatorade mix that wasn't terrible and drank it down. It woke me up and got me moving but I don't think it made much of a difference during my runs. During the runs I just did water. After runs I also did a regular yogurt for recovery. I tried the little squeeze packs and found they were ok on normal days (10-13 miles), but they would cause me to dump on longer runs, so abandoned them and anything else. Again, I didn't perceive any difference with the squeeze thing. My normal plan was 3 meals per day of 3oz protein, 1oz veggies. Because of the running I hit and shot way past a normal BMI. Eventually I was up to 5 meals per day plus a protein drink. The protein drink was instead of a 6th meal as I already felt I was eating all day. It slowed my weight loss. I hated (HATED!) eating so much, what a turn. Good luck, Tek

Hi! I am in my 2nd pre op diet stage right now. My surgery (roux ny gastric bypass) is next Wednesday. Right now I can have 4 protein shakes a day plus broth, sf jello and sf popcicles. What has got me through is being creative with flavors. I have chocolate, vanilla and strawberry whey protein isolate and I use sf pudding mix and/or sf syrups to add flavor. My favorite combination is strawberry with 1Tbsp sf cheesecake pudding mix, it is bomb! Sent from my moto g play (2021) using BariatricPal mobile app

Unjury sells a chicken broth-flavored protein powder that a lot of people like. I used to drink it a lot when I was first out of surgery because I, too, had an aversion to sweet tastes for the first month or so after surgery.

Just deleted all of my food delivery/ordering apps and unsubscribed from several restaurant emails. I start my pre-op diet next week- unsure what that will look like until I meet with my dietician on Monday, but I want to be prepared for success. Let's go!

Congratulations on your decision to choose you.

Just logged into my insurance and found out I'm approved! Yes!!!!!!