karenb4729

I'm always amazed at the difference between Doctors. My Doc required liquieds for 2 weeks after surgery, 6 weeks pureed, 6 weeks soft, and finally add in regular food at 4 months. I know in my first month I was probably at 300 to maybe 400 calories. Even now at 8 months out my max is 800 calories and 1/2 of that is burned in my daily exercise. I would avoid those protein bars as they can be high in carbs and instead focus on protein in food and shakes. For me, protein bars would be a huge trigger because they are too much like a candy bar.

I never lost my hunger although it was less than it was before. Make sure you are taking any mediation for Acid Reflux and drinking water as both of those can mimic hunger. I find I have days of feeling famished and days when I have to remind myself to eat.

The other protein drink I love is the Bariwise hot chocolate. They make all different flavors and it's great. Its what I usually have for breakfast.

I used Whey Islolate by Cytosport. It comes in a Tropical, Watermelon and one other flavor. If you have GNC or Vitamind Shoppe both those stores carry it. It has 32 grams and zero carbs. Its a little sweet but it worked well for a clear protein drink and was not nearly as nasty as Isopure. I still use it now after a workout.

I came very close to talking myself out of the surgery! In fact, I started my "surgery" journey with the hope of having to do a 6 month diet but my insurance didn't require it so I took 6 months myself to try to lose the weight on my own but didn't get very far. I cried the day I got my surgery date and I'm not sure they were tears of happiness but more like tears of fears. The day of the surgery I was hooked up to the IVs and I started crying and aplogizing to my husband for having to resort to such drastic measures to lose weight. When my surgeon came in he asked me how I was feeling and I told him scared and nervous, he wanted to cancel the surgery until I felt more comfortable and that's when I realized that I was more scared not to go through with it. While I had a complication in surgery it was nothing compared to what I have gained now that I'm 8 months out and only 14 lbs from goal.

This is normal.,, wish I knew why but I don't. I lost 21 lbs in my first month and only 3 lbs in month 2. The good news is after month 2 my weight loss picked back up and I lost 11 lbs the following month. I'm now 8 months out and only 14 lbs left to hit goal and a normal BMI. You will also get there - just focus on drinking your water, at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces, and 80 grams of protein a day. Keep your carbs under 40 (I keep mine under 20) and keep your calories to 600 - 800 per day. Before you know it you will reach your goal!

The 200lb mark was the hardest one for me to get through. From 204 to 199 took well over a month and was done in very small increments - once I got there then it started coming off again faster. I found that I seem to stall out every 20lbs or so. I hated getting on the scale and seeing the .2, 4, .6 loss and the .8 increase up and down, yo-yo stuff.... keep doing what you are doing and it will happen!

I would run it past your surgeon and if they give the ok then go for it. Infertility is tougher to deal with than obesity and I think the main reason weight loss surgeons want you to wait is so that you can get the most out of your weight loss. I have never heard of any instances of birth defects caused by VSG or even RNY, as long as your are taking your Vitamins and getting proper nutrition. I know when I pregnant with my 2nd child very closely after my 1st I stayed on a low calorie diet, 1000 per day the entire pregancy so I wouldn't gain any additional weight. She came out perfectly healthy and is turning 31 yrs old this year! Good luck! I truly wish you the best of luck!

I have kept the surgery to myself too. My husband knows as do 2 of much children (my other lives out of state). I am so glad to have kept this secret in part because I have had to work hard to get the weight off. Many people misunderstand weight loss surgery and think the only reason for your success is the surgery. But, I am the one maintaining the diet of 600 - 800 calories per day, I am the one at the gym 6 days a week working out for an hour, I am the one making this surgery work and I don't want to have that hard worked dismissed because I had surgery so my stomach is smaller.

I didn't have a band but I do know that my surgeon does revision surgery. Dr Cheblis - his office just moved to Overlake.

My Doctor uses a 40F and I have very good restriction and at almost 8 months out am only 15 lbs away from goal and a normal BMI. I think bougie size has less to do wtih success than what you actually put in your mouth.

I'm 7 months out and haven't lost any hair. The only vitamin I take is my multi vitamin and my B12. My protein intake is 80 grams minimum as required by my Doctor. I didn't really start hitting that number until my 3rd or 4th week out.

You are amazing and such an inspiration!

I don't do any running on the treadmill because my knees can't take it. I can get my heart rate up without it. I started out doing 3 mph and no incline and gradually increased the incline over time. Now my standard on the treadmill is 50 minutes, 3.5 mph and 10% incline. Oh, I'm 7 months out. I tend to do more elliptical. When I was first out it was summer so I did what I called "natural" walking but once the weather got colder I joined the gym. Also, get some good music going, its amazing how you can push through if you have music with a good beat. My standard is Ella Fitzgerald... i'm into old jazz!

I can relate too! My best feeling is when I walk past a window and now see a reflection of someone who is a bit overweight but certainly not obese!!

You may want to talk to a person who deals with eating disorders. Its great to have people tell you to stop but when it comes down to it you are dealing with a disorder that may be hard to stop. I'm in the same boat, but my issues seems to be around not eating enough. Each day I'm watching as I try to end the day with 0 calories. I do stay focused on getting in 80 grams of protein but then I have to work out and expend at least the same amount of calories I took in. Yea, not good. I am scheduled to talk to someone about this because I don't think it's healthy but I do think it may be more common than we think. After all obesity is an eating disorder that we have dealt with and I bet its not all that unusual to go to the other side of the spectrum.

I'm another June person. If left alone I could probably eat a cup full of food in one sitting. However, since I want to get to my goal weight I still limit myself to 600 - 800 calories a day, low carb and only 3oz max serving per meal. I eat 6 times a day spacing everything about 2 hrs apart and this keeps the hunger at bay. My protein is lean meat like chicken or fish, actually I eat lots and lots of fish. I still focus on protein first and then veggies. I don't do bread, rice, pasta or anything starchy. I also have bad reflux which I did before surgery and use both prilosec and pepcid. Check with your DR.

I took it, it did nothing for me.

I kept my surgery a "secret" too because I have also heard my co-workers opinions on weight loss surgery. I'm glad too because I have worked hard to get off my weight going to the gym daily and consuming less than 800 calories a day - this is my work and sweat and I really don't want the surgery to get all the credit because people have the misconception that it's the surgery doing the work. Anyway - those first couple of months back I tried to just eat at my desk or use my lunch hour to go for a walk so that people weren't observing how little I was eating.

I thought I was immune to the 3 week stall.... kept on losing until I hit my 2nd month and then stalled out for almost the entire month and lost only 3 lbs. The good news is that you just keep on your path and hopefully you will get to the finish line in the end. I'm down 105 lbs and have 25lbs to get to goal. 1 year ago I needed to lose 130 lbs. My mind now focuses on the 25 lbs because it sounds so much more doable and sounds like what a "normal" person needs to lose. Even with all the stalls, the frustration of losing slowly, the feeling like everyone else loses faster than me.... I wouldn't change a thing!

I understand how you feel!! I was just notified on Monday that my job was being eliminated and the first thing I thought about was grabbing something to eat. Instead, I headed to the gym. If you are going up and down the same 3 lbs the past 6 months then you have found your maintenance calorie range so now you just have to either decrease the calories or increase your exercise. You can do this!!!

Thanks for the info!! I can't drink plain water either and I live by MIO. My favorite flavor is Mango Peach and I end up buying it online at Amazon because I can't find it here in the stores.

I seem to stall for a bit after every 20 lbs dropped. I lose pretty slowly, 1 to 1 1/2lbs a week but after every 20 lbs lost I will go for about two weeks where there is nothing lost and then it's back to the 1 to 1/2 lbs. This week however out of nowhere I dropped 3 lbs. My main focus is on exercise now. I'm 29 lbs away from goal and I know that it gets harder the closer you are and you have to work really hard to get those last lbs off. I'm 7 months out.

I love Chicken Tikka - I just had it yesterday for lunch. We have an Indian restaurant near my work and on their appetizer menu they have fish tikka kebobs and chicken Tikka (without the masala sauce) and served with a cilantro chutney. Its perfect because it's 3 pieces and they are 1 oz a piece. Its such a perfect lunch with lots of flavor!

Yea, that's from my Surgeon. It was part of our surgery book.