DLCoggin

DL, these earthy, self sustaining friends of mine grow everything...peanuts, popcorn, every type of bean known to man (and some Beans are beautiful in a jar), and of course, they grow your usual garden items. The kernel corn they gifted was delicious. I still pop it in the microwave in a brown paper lunch bag and it worked great...any kernels that don't pop, can be added to the next bag and popped again. I understand about missing the butter...but I just add a few squirts of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and a dash of Parmesan (or garlic powder). The coolest thing about the garden grown popcorn is that they grew a blue variety...and it popped slightly blue! Tasted the same but was aesthetically interesting. Way cool. Sorry you miss the popcorn...hoping it's a small, tolerable sacrafice for such an amazing chance at maintaining a healthy life! I am definitely going to try your popcorn recipe! I'm not sure if the dumping was from the butter (fat) or the popcorn (carbs). I suspect it's the carbs but your recipe makes it worth the test to find out. If it works great. If it doesn't it's still an insignificant price to pay. Thank you, thank you!

I am not a marathon runner but was shocked all the same when I read this article in Discovery News. We can probably expect to see considerable research (and a lot of heated debate) focused on validating these findings. http://news.discovery.com/human/health/how-you-can-be-fit-but-not-healthy-140328.htm#mkcpgn=emnws1

Amazon has a good selection of decaf teas, both bags and k-cups. That would allow you to add Splenda to sweeten. Tea (and coffee) are great drinks and healthy as well!

Certainly is a reminder that running marathons does not negate the need to eat healthy as well isn't it? What I found surprising is the theory that long distance running may result in arterial damage - "...one theory is that the extra twisting and pumping motions induced by repetitive exertion might put too much wear and tear on the arteries, leading to a type of scarring called fibrosis." Or the other theory mentioned in the article - "It's also possible that over-exercised hearts suffer from chronic stress and the need to constantly repair damage induced by excessive free-radical production." Even more surprising - "One long-term study of 54,000 Americans, published last year, found the lowest rates of death among people who ran 5 to 20 miles a week. People who ran more than 25 to 30 weekly miles, on the other hand, lived no longer than people who were inactive." Too much of a good thing?

Wow - I definitely second the garlic bread. Didn't think of that one! Surgeon told me no popcorn for life but...tried it a couple of times at the movies and yea, with butter. Dumped both times. I might/probably be able to get away with it with no butter but as much as I love (loved) popcorn, it just ain't the same without butter. I really can't complain. The list of things that I can't tolerate is quite short and added all together are still a miniscule price to pay. I don't think I've ever know anyone who grows their own popcorn. How cool is that?! You guys have a great day!!

Welcome to the best bariatric forum there is and a huge congratulations on your success! Don't you love it when a plan comes together?!

Popcorn!

Doctors usually don't recommend the sleeve for patients that have a history of acid reflux. There are posts on the forum by folks who are having a sleeve to bypass revision because of acid reflux. But...from reading your post, it seems that the reflux you have experienced is attributed to the band as opposed to a previous history of reflux from other causes. If that is the case, reflux may not be a consideration in your sleeve vs. bypass decision. I had a history of reflux prior to surgery. I can tell you that since I had the bypass (two and a half years ago) I have not had a single instance of reflux. There are exceptions to every rule but it is rare for a bypass patient to experience reflux. BMI is a poor measure of body fat for folks who are very muscular. But obviously your doctor believes that you are a good candidate for sleeve or bypass. Again, there are always exceptions to every rule but statistically speaking, it is highly unlikely that you will not lose considerably more than 30 pounds following either surgery. About 50% of excess body weight is often cited as an average. And losing considerably more than that is common. I started at 285 with a BMI of 35. This morning I'm 153 with a BMI of 22.9. Both surgeries are safe and effective. Bypass is more invasive and has a slightly higher complication rate. Sleeve is less invasive and has a slightly lower average weight loss. Bypass is a little more effective at resolving type 2 diabetes but results in some degree of malabsorption increasing the importance of Vitamin supplements for life. Both surgeries can result in dumping syndrome but it is more common following bypass than it is with sleeve. Hospital stays and recovery times are a little shorter for sleeve vs. bypass. If for some reason the sleeve fails, revision to bypass is usually an option. Revisions following bypass are pretty rare. I can't answer your other questions but I'm sure other folks will weigh in based on their experience. This is a great place with tons of very knowledgeable people. Welcome to the forum!

I reckon that it's easy enough to test - stop the shakes for a week or two and see if the nausea subsides. If it does, we have the answer. If not, probably a good idea to call the Big Kahuna (surgeon) and get his/her thoughts. There is absolutely no question that getting all of your nutrients, including Protein, is always best from eating real food. The problem for us wls folks is that can be a real challenge given the greatly reduced amount we can eat. Please keep us posted on your progress!

I'm right there with you Kookichu - can't wait for those high protein, low fat, low calorie pork rinds!!

Welcome Maynard! Handsome fella and a poster child for healthy eating and exercise!!

Gman I just have to tell you - your analogies are nothing short of brilliant. I so enjoy reading your posts on any subject. We are fortunate to have you as a member!

I do exactly the same thing Cowgirl! Once you get to the maintenance stage of your journey, the scale becomes an invaluable tool for managing your weight. I started weighing every day once I got to maintenance. Weight is a little high, reduce the calories a little. Weight is a little low, increase the calories a little. I've done both many times. That has allowed me to hold my weight within a five pound "window" for over a year and a half. Works like a charm!

When you are in the rapid weight loss stage of your journey, say the first twelve to eighteen months following surgery, daily weighing can, for some, be quite self defeating. Even devastating. We have to look no further than this forum for examples. Again and again we see "I'm doing everything right and I gained two pounds!" or "I'm so discouraged" or "I'm so afraid this will all be for nothing" or "I'm so afraid this will be just another failure" or "I just want to cry" or "What am I doing wrong?" or, or, or... Your goal is physical change but your challenge is mental discipline. Trust the process and the weight will take care of itself. Instead of giving so much power to a number on the scale, perhaps it makes more sense to focus that energy on following your plan. Every day that you follow your plan is a great day. Every day that you do everything right is a huge success. One that is much more important, much more profound, and has much greater long term significance than any number on the scale. Every day is a day to Celebrate. You are living the Prime Directive - lifestyle changes. Every day they get just a little easier. Every day they become more and more of who you are. Which is, always has been, and always will be, so much more than a number on the scale. It's never too early to start lovin' the new you!

Pertinent, spot on, should be required reading for every person even considering bariatric surgery! Great post!

At over seven months out, it would seem unlikely that Protein is the source of your symptoms. Lactose intolerance would likely have surfaced long before now. How long have you been experiencing the nausea?

I suspect that this is a much more common occurrence than many folks realize. With some slight variations the same thing happened to me. I can't honestly say that I was hurt or offended, but I did notice the absence of acknowledging what was happening with my weight. I thought then and continue to believe now that people are just not confident in broaching the subject. As other members have pointed out, weight is such a sensitive issue. The last thing that any friend would ever want to do is hurt your feelings and possibly harm the relationship. Now add to the mix that you did not tell your friend about this life-changing decision. There is little doubt that she has noticed your weight loss. And with all of the publicity that WLS is getting these days, there is little doubt that the idea you may have had WLS has at least crossed her mind. But you made the decision not to tell her. Many make the same decision and it's perfectly understandable. But it's also perfectly understandable that she is not confident in initiating a discussion about such a sensitive subject that you chose not to confide in her about. I don't think anger or even hurt feelings are necessarily justified here. On your part or your friend's part. For Pete's sake, just sit down with her and share your excitement and either apologize for not telling her or at least help her understand why you didn't. And then get on with being friends and planning that wedding!

You're certainly welcome Carol and thank you for letting us know what the experts said! About two-thirds of folks who experience dumping have early stage dumping. The remaining one third (including you and I) have late stage dumping. Certainly not life-threatening but very uncomfortable to say the least. I actually proved the passing out in extreme cases part after a stupid indulgence in eggnog with a shot of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum. Lol. That's another story but take it from me, it can lead to an unscheduled meeting with the floor. Thanks again for sharing and you guys have a great day!

A great reminder to us all. Very well said.

My surgeon set a protein goal of 100g per day and I have rarely missed it in over two years. But I drink a shake (35g of protein) every day for breakfast. If you can meet your goal, real food is always the best source of nutrients including protein. But I'm not sure that I could eat enough protein to consistently hit 100g a day.

arussnfl - you're certainly welcome. I log everything I eat in in MFP which requires some kind of measurement (serving, ounces, count, etc.) in order to calculate calorie and nutritional info. I then use the calories and nutritional info for managing my weight. For example, my calorie goal is 1610 calories (keep in mind that I'm at the maintenance stage of my journey and have been for about a year and a half). That is a "daily" goal in MFP but it's much more powerful, realistic and sustainable to treat that number as an AVERAGE. It is self-defeating to expect to meet any specific calorie goal every day for the rest of your life. That's not only unrealistic and unsustainable, but who the heck would want to? Life is supposed to be fun. There are always going to be special occasions and most of them involve food. When you treat your calorie goals as an average, you know that there will be days when you exceed your goal. They are the exception rather than the rule but I have had 2500 calorie days and I've had 1200 calorie days. For days when I'm over, I just make a mental note to reduce my goal by 100-200 calories for a day or two and I'm right back on track with my average. And vice versa for days when I'm under. coachchic - carbs definitely matter! I have MFP configured with a 40%/30%/30% goal - 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from fat and 30% from Protein. Since I eat very little in the way of simple carbs (e.g. white bread, white rice, white potatoes, etc.), I very seldom hit the 40% carb average. I just checked my weekly totals in MFP back to the beginning of the year and have not been above 36% for carbs in that period of time. On the other hand I usually exceed the fat goal with the average being somewhere around 35% for the same period of time. The upper portion of the intestine that is bypassed after the surgery (the duodenum) is primarily responsible for fat absorption. I don't worry too much about fat because of the resulting malabsorption. Protein is very consistent (goal set by my surgeon is 100g per day which I rarely fail to achieve) and I hit the 30% average with very few exceptions. With a little math it's easy to convert these numbers into grams and calories. My daily calorie goal is 1610. So I'm shooting for 644 calories of carbs, and 483 calories of fat and protein. Carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram, fat 9 calories per gram. So my 40%/30%/30% translates into 161 grams of carbs, 54 grams of fat and 121 grams of protein daily. But again, keep in mind that I'm in the maintenance stage. There is nothing magical about the 40/30/30 goal that I use other than it works for me. One of the reasons that I am such a strong advocate of maintaining a food log is that doing so allows you to determine YOUR goals for YOUR body and YOUR lifestyle. Doctors and nutritionists make recommendations for calories but the best even they can do is an educated guess. There are simply too many variables from one person to the next. Using a food log, you can experiment a little and find the exact numbers that give you the results you are looking for. Very powerful tool. For what it's worth, 500 calories a day at six months out seems pretty low to me. You might want to consider upping your calorie goal by 100-200 calories a day. Try it for a week or two and see how your weight responds. You may find that your weight loss will increase with a little higher calorie intake. If not, increase it another 100-200 and see what happens. You can easily adjust it up or down until you find YOUR number. I lost 130 lbs in fourteen months averaging just under 1300 calories a day. My weight stabilized at 155 (Lol - and my surgeon ordered me not to lose any more) and has not been below 151 or above 156 since December of 2012. I gradually increased my calorie goal until I found MY AVERAGE goal - 1610 calories. Logging works. You guys have a great day!

I'm not aware of any way to know that you are stretching your pouch but I think the problem occurs less frequently than most think. The key to ensuring that you don't stretch your pouch is portion control. As you can see from the responses of other members, it's a very good idea to weigh, measure or count everything that you eat. Eventually you get pretty good at guesstimating most things but it's so easy to weigh, measure or count that I still do it. I like the confidence of not thinking but knowing that I'm eating three ounces, four ounces, whatever. It also is a big help in ensuring that the calorie counts I enter into MFP are as accurate as I can make them!

I don't know anything about food poisoning so I can't comment on that but I know a little something about dumping. Early stage dumping usually occurs 15 to 30 minutes after eating. Severe diarrhea is one of the common symptoms. Sugar will absorb Water like a sponge. When you eat something with too much sugar and it passes (dumps) rapidly from the pouch into the small intestine, the sugar will absorb water from the bloodstream through the wall of the small intestine - severe diarrhea. Late stage dumping usually occurs 1 to 3 hours after eating but can occur as late as 24 hours after eating. Late stage dumping is strongly associated with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and symptoms include weakness, sweating, shakiness and rapid heartbeat. In severe cases it can even result in passing out. Your experience really doesn't fit either scenario. If it was early stage dumping the symptoms would almost certainly have occurred much earlier than 10 hours. And late stage dumping is usually not associated with diarrhea. Of course there are always exceptions to every rule and nowhere is that more true than in medicine. I would be very interested in reading what your doctor thinks about the possible cause or causes.

I weigh, measure or count (depending on the food) just about every day. I bought a digital scale from Amazon (about $25 as I recall) that will weigh in metric or Imperial and keep it on the kitchen counter so it's handy. Portion size is tough to answer since it depends mostly on calories. For example almost all nuts are extremely nutritious but portion sizes have to be small since they're high in calories (serving sizes for nuts are often stated in number of nuts so I just count). On the other hand I make a tuna salad with low fat Miracle Whip and weigh a four oz. serving. Ditto for chicken, fish or turkey. I usually don't bother to weigh veggies since they're so low in calories to begin with. I make most portion size decisions based on a combination of "serving size" and calories.

A very good question and this was MFP's answer two days ago: "The conversion ability that you are asking about is definitely something we realize would be of great value to our users, and is in the works. That being said, we do not have an accurate time frame of when this tool will be available. We would love to have you as a part of our community and many of our users have had success either using a conversion app or, like myself, using Google to have it converted for us. I agree it would save time and effort to have it built into the app." In the mean time, nutritional data for MFP's database is entered by users. There is usually more than one entry for a particular search and sometimes entries are based on different units of measure. A poor alternative to simply building in the conversion code but it is sometimes an option. I often use Wallflower's suggestion in the absence of the built-in conversion capability. MFP says it coming but developers are usually working with very long "wish lists" and there's no way to know when the enhancement will be incorporated.