Matt Z

I'm the same height, my overall heaviest was 370 back in 2010, But I'm a bit younger, I'll be 40 in March. I was banded in 2011, lost 70ish then struggled to lose anything else and I ended up in the gain / lose cycle, stuck around 300-310. I was revised to the bypass March 21st of this year and I'm down another 70 lbs or so. I'm down to 240ish right now. The amount of extra skin isn't too bad, I wear khaki's and a polo to work daily and the extra stomach skin is really well hidden. I went from a tight size 50 pant, worn below my gut line to a comfortably loose 40 worn at my actual waist line. Compression gear works great, I use it for the gym so I can run without too much jiggling and bouncing. I don't bother to wear it all day long since most of the extra skin is easy to hide. With Compression gear, don't spend too much on stuff at first, I made that mistake and now I've got "compression" gear that's too big to compress anything. You want to buy compression clothes 1 size smaller than your current size.

No surgery guarantees to remove hunger sensations. Your Doctors/nutritionists should have told you that. Yes some folks are lucky enough to never feel hunger again... but those folks are generally the exception.

What's your nutritionist say about it? Where you cleared for all foods yet? If so, then go for it. For me, at the 2 month mark I was given the go ahead to "try whatever I wanted and if I didn't have an issue with it, I could eat it".

Try upping your protein intake (and calories) a few hundred, to around 1000... there are studies that show that if your intake is too low you could end up not losing anything because your body enters a starvation mode, it doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen. One of the ways to break out of that "starvation mode" is to increase your intake a bit.

I was a band to bypass revision as well. Best thing I've ever done! Recovery was pretty damn easy for me as well, not sure if it was because of all the tricks I learned post op with the band or what but it was very easy to heal the bypass. How long you stay is going to depend on the doctor, hospital and your insurance. I was in for 3 days 2 nights including the day of surgery.

You can absolutely mix and match your protein powders... I do that all the time for various reasons. Most pre-ops folks have issues with the lack of sugars / taste of fake sweeteners. Post op you might find that much different. I've enjoyed Muscle Milk's products as well as Isopure and Gold Standard. Right now I've got Synthia-6, 2 things of Isopure and 1 Gold Standard Casein (slow acting protein used for overnight muscle support).

Found this site, has a huge listing of wraps, clicking on the types brings you to a nutritional panel as well as a "how much would it take to burn this off" section! https://www.nutritionix.com/grocery/category/bread/wraps/1054

Fiber one sells wraps that are a whole 80 calories a wrap. They are decently sized and taste great. I think the idea is to look for low fat, low carb, low calorie options. The lower you can get all those numbers, the better.

That's considered a stall. Plateau's are generally when you are close to your lower limits and you get stuck there pretty much forever, so let's hope this isn't a plateau. Are you tracking body fat % as well? Are you working out? Bodybuilding/weight lifting? What's your daily intake vs burn look like? Are you tracking intake? Hows your water? Something VERY important to factor is your BMR. Basal Metabolic Rate, the amount of calories you burn in a day just by being alive, think in a coma, alive but not moving, that's your BMR. BMR drops as you get older and it drops as you lose weight. https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr If I assume you are 6 foot, starting weight of 408, starting age of say 35 would put your BMR at 3285 calories per day. Dropping that 408 to 330, with the same height and age, drops that BMR to 2799 calories per day. That's just shy of 500 calories less burn per day now. So, you can see, as we get older and thinner, it keeps getting harder to maintain the same speed of weight loss. We need to either increase our exercise or decrease our caloric intake, or both. Hope that helps some.

Those Snapea crisps... sadly aren't what they appear to be. Don't get me wrong... I loved the crap out of them... but when I saw what they really were... I haven't bought them since.

I had the band for over 6 years, didn't have any major issues, I got stuck a lot, leafy greens hurt to eat, stalled out with the weight loss really hard. It just wasn't working. The Barium swallow and fluoroscope didn't show any issues, but when my surgeon went to take the band out, it was 100% completely encapsulated in scar tissue. It took them 3+ hours to get it out when it normally takes less than an hour. I'm glad I was revised to the bypass, who knows what would have happened if I left that band in there.

It's important to remember that liquids and certain foods (sliders) will pass right through your sleeve. Liquids, if you consume at the same rate or slower than your sleeve/pouch/stomach empties, you'll *never* feel any restriction at all, if you consume faster than your sleeve/pouch/stomach empties then you'll feel it. Now Meat shouldn't do that because of the texture, it should "hang around" more and you'll notice it. Once you start getting into the soft solids you'll start to notice it more, you might get some with puree's as well if you make them a tad on the dry side. Don't worry, everything sounds 100% normal thus far.

Congrats and here's to an quick surgery and a smooth recovery!

I've noticed that some family members aren't super happy about being fatter than I am now... Given I've pretty much *ALWAYS* been the fat one. No-one's resorted to forcing food and what not on me... sorry that your family is doing that to you, but glad to see you've got a handle on it! Go you!

I watched so many surgeries before each of mine... I was quite fascinated by the staple tool they use!

If you are talking about the compress garments specifically for your stomach, I believe the best source with the most options is Amazon.

From 370 in 2011... to 240 (today) Photos taken around 243-5lbs. Wish I went with the bypass way back in 2011... wasting 7 years with the band was such a mistake!

I've never heard of someone with an instinctual "stop" for water consumption... Start as soon as you get up, and keep a bottle with you at ALL times, including next to you while you are sleeping. And just keep drinking. It's easy to get up to some serious numbers this way. I can hit over 150 oz of water just by keeping my bottle full and with me at all times.

I had the band installed in 2011. I did ok with it, had lots of little problems, and in the long run I lost 70ish and that was it. I had the band removed and revised to the bypass on the 21st of March of this year. Down 69.1 lbs since starting my pre-op diet. I'm the lowest weight I've been in like 18 years. I honestly wish I went with the bypass instead of the band back in 2011. Very happy with the bypass thus far.

Being afraid is 100% natural. But the sleeve's mortality rate for "on the table" issues is amazingly low. In fact, ALL of the WLS now have super low "on the table" mortality rates. The numbers you might be looking at or hearing are usually skewed by old numbers, the surgeries have all advanced quite a lot even in the past 10 years. As far as getting "too fat"... we all understand. It's not 100% your fault either and you shouldn't shoulder all the blame. It's a battlefield out there, horrible easy to access foods are all over. Advertising bombards our subconscious mind at every turn. Let the past be the past. Stop dwelling on it and start moving forwards. The road ahead is going to need your undivided attention. You can't change the past, but you can control your future. So leave the past where it belongs, behind you. Now you get to start working on where you are going now. Congrats on deciding to take back control of your life. The path laid out ahead of you is tough, and is going to require major changes to so much of your typical daily routine. It's going to get emotional. It's going to get stressful, it's going to be painful, it's going to be very hard. But. It's very worth it! Remember, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for, be ready, post-op is an amazing journey!

As a band to bypass patient, I'm very happy with my RNY. The DS is sorta like a sleeve and then an intestinal reroute similar to the bypass. Acid Reflux issues like those that get the sleeve are common with the DS as well, but is not a side effect with the bypass. Something to ponder over as well. http://obesityreporter.com/duodenal-switch/complications/ Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD - This medical condition is caused when acid in the stomach backs up into the esophagus, which can cause discomfort and a burning sensation known as heartburn. Many patients will experience these GERD symptoms before surgery and many will occur following surgery as well because of the rerouting technique used.

Most are pretty loose and free with their water tracking. Plenty of people count any liquid as "water". But yes, any water with a flavoring added is still water. I don't count any diuretics personally since they result in more water loss than they provide. Nor do I personally count milk or protein shakes for my water intake. But that's just me.

Just wanted to let you know that Muscle milk isn't lactose free. As per their website. http://www.musclemilk.com/learn/ DO MUSCLE MILK® PRODUCTS CONTAIN MILK OR DAIRY? The term “dairy” on a food product, pertains to foods such as milk, cream, half and half, yogurt, ice cream, and custards. Since dairy is a regulated term, to qualify as a dairy product you need to contain fluid “milk” or certain “dairy” ingredients conforming to the federal standard of identity for “milk“ or “dairy”. Key Points: MUSCLE MILK® Ready to Drink Protein Shakes are derived from milk (calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, milk protein isolate, milk protein concentrate and/or whey protein concentrate, depending on product.) Since these ingredients are more refined than milk, (reduced lactose, cholesterol and fat content), it is not the same thing as milk. So technically speaking, MUSCLE MILK® Protein Shakes are ‘non-dairy’ and are labeled on the bottle as such. An example of another ‘non-dairy’ product derived from milk ingredients is non-dairy creamers. MUSCLE MILK® Ready to Drink Protein Shakes do contain milk proteins and therefore should not be consumed by persons with milk allergies. MUSCLE MILK® Smoothie Yogurt Protein Shakes do contain milk in the form of Greek-style yogurt and added whey protein concentrate. MUSCLE MILK® Protein Powders, similar to Ready to Drink Shakes do contain proteins derived from milk, but in a powdered form. It's important to note that Whey is made from Milk, and not all Whey protein is the same. Whey Isolate has a greatly reduced lactose content and that's what makes it easier for those with lactose issues to tolerate, but no Whey is 100% lactose free, since it's derived from Milk.

Congrats! Those are some amazing results! And don't forget, you'll be losing upwards 10-20 additional lbs or so with that tuck from the skin removal!

Congrats! With the light headedness, I assume you've had your blood pressure checked... I get light headed when I stand too quickly, seems that having a lower blood pressure (still normal) and a much lower resting heart rate (got mind down to around 60 bpm from 100+) means that standing up too quickly can result in a temporary bout of lightheadedness.