DLCoggin

Just emailed!

I'm certainly not well informed on bands (and haven't put much effort into getting better informed). But it does seem like there are a lot of complications and something of a trend of doctors moving away from lap-band surgery. On the other hand I'm sure there are many success stories out there as well. It is hard to understand how someone could be so addicted to sodas (i.e. sugar) that they would go through the whole bariatric surgery experience and then abandon their hopes and dreams in favor of soft drinks. Peel an onion and you find lots of layers.

Was doing some research today and thought of this thread when I ran across a study by the National Institutes of Health. Two very important quotes from the study - "Subjects who engaged in self-monitoring were less likely to regain any weight following bariatric surgery." "Postoperative self-monitoring behaviors are strongly associated with freedom from regain. These data suggest that weight regain can be anticipated, in part, during the preoperative evaluation and potentially reduced with self-monitoring strategies after RYGB." Self-monitoring = food logs. Just one more reason to add to a long and impressive list of benefits from maintaining a food log. Quick, easy, available to almost anyone and most (including MFP which I believe is the best) are free. And in spite of that, the vast majority of us do not log our food. Why? You can view the summary (short) of the study at - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19554382

Working with two folks who failed with RNY might be a great opportunity for you to learn from their experience - if you're comfortable asking and if they're comfortable discussing it. Contributing factors could be medical, psychological or lifestyle. Or any combination of the three. I suppose most of us have heard stories of failed surgeries. I've never had an opportunity to discuss it with anyone but would certainly welcome the potential learning experience.

I'll second that!

Get in the habit of maintaining a food log. Learn how to do it correctly (easy) and use the results correctly (just slightly more difficult) and it will enable you to manage your weight with a remarkable degree of precision. And it works exactly the same regardless of where you're at in your journey - pre-op, post-op, rapid weight loss, maintenance. Food logs are an extremely powerful tool that are unfortunately, widely underutilized. Monitoring, accountability, control, confidence - food logs give you all of that and more. And your log is exactly that - yours. With just a little experimenting, you can fine tune your log to your specific lifestyle, your specific metabolism, your specific goals. You can change your carb, fat, Protein or calorie goals ANY time. And see the results of your changes week by week. And most apps won't cost you a penny. My Fitness Pal is excellent and highly recommended mostly because it has an extremely large food database which makes logging meals much easier. But there are any number of apps available and all do pretty much the same thing. You're gonna love the new you!!

You're doing just fine. It's not easy when everything is so new. Try to relax and let your body find its own way in its own time. Trust the process. Now is a very good time to get in the habit of measuring what you're eating and drinking. And I'm the food log fanatic so of course I strongly recommend that you start logging everything that goes in your mouth. Done properly and used correctly, logs are an enormously powerful tool. Study after study have proven that folks who log their food lose more weight and are more successful at keeping it off long term. You're going to love the new you!!

Your pouch has stress sensors that when it's healed will signal the brain when you're full. But they are temporarily dulled by the surgery so even though your pouch might be full, the signals are not being sent to the brain. That's why doctors often focus more on volume as opposed to calories immediately following surgery. Recommendations of two to four ounces, four to five times a day are pretty common. Probably a good idea to call your doctor or nutritionist and get their recommendation.

Not one of the four doctors in my surgeon's group any longer do lap band. I was never interested in the lapband so I never asked why. But their decision not to do it at all would seem to make a pretty strong statement.

Beyond any shadow of a doubt, hands down, absolutely positively the single most powerful tool you can possibly have in your arsenal, regardless of where you're at in your journey - pre-op, rapid weight loss, maintenance, and yes - getting back on track following weight gain. Nuff said.

Could not agree more with music about never hesitating to ask questions. Surgeons have big egos (and that's a good thing!) but few would fail to recognize your questions not as a sign of disrespect, but a need for reassurance. That just makes you human, not disrespectful. Until very recently it was believed that most of the undisputed benefits from gastric bypass were "mechanical" in nature. Dramatically smaller stomach > eat less > fewer calories > malabsorption > lose weight. There is new and compelling evidence that what actually happens is considerably more complex and much more amazing than previously believed. The surgery produces physiological changes in the body that go far beyond mechanics. Changes in things like the reduced production of the hunger producing hormone ghrelin, almost immediate changes in gut bacteria from those typically found in obese individuals to those found in folks who have had a healthy weight their entire lives, key changes in genetic markers that are reversed from "obese" to "normal", and within the last 90 days one of the most surprising (and promising) changes of all - the small intestine, formerly believed to be a "passive" organ, undergoes a pronounced change that results in the intestine itself utilizing a whopping 64% of blood glucose. Further studies are in the works but that appears to explain why gastric bypass is so successful in treating or preventing type 2 diabetes. Medicine sometimes changes quickly. It has been suggested that in light of these new discoveries, more and more bariatric surgeons are modifying the surgeries they perform to "reduce" the amount of malabsorption. New findings suggest that it is not as big a factor in the success of gastric bypass as once believed. I'm most certainly not a doctor. But my impression is that your trust in your surgeon is well founded, he is on top of his game, and you are indeed in very good hands. You're gonna love the new you!

Congratulations on the surgery Ms. Lisa - glad to hear everything went well. Just wanted to add my two cents to what others have said - the first week to ten days post-op sucks but it gets better soon (not soon enough when you're going through it but soon all the same). Eating very little immediately following surgery is pretty much SOP and not likely to have any adverse effects. Do the best you can with protein and water and you're gonna love the new you before you know it!!

I would be concerned as well. Excited, motivated, committed, determined - all healthy. Obsessed is not. Good time to talk to your doctor - that's what they're there for. You can be certain that yours will not be the first time they've heard the problem and there is undoubtedly steps that will help you get back on track.

One of the best posts ever!! How sweet it is!!!

Totally agree. Your stomach (now your pouch) has stretch sensors that signal the brain when you're full. Following surgery and possibly for several weeks, those sensors are ineffective during the initial healing process. But keep in mind that you don't want to drink too much too quickly just like you don't want to eat too much too quickly - both can stretch the pouch. You may want to consider treating the protein shakes as a "meal" - no drinking for 30 minutes before and after. Also keep in mind that that even after everything is working normally, it is well documented that it can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes for the "full" signals to reach your brain. One of the reasons that it's a good idea to take 20 to 30 minutes for each meal. You're gonna love the new you!!

I have used 40%/30%/30%, protein/fat/carbs since my surgery and up to the present. I check the percentages daily to give me an idea of anything I need to increase or decrease the following day. I also check it weekly which I think is the more important information. Seems like you never hit it right on the button but I'm usually pretty close. Last weeks numbers for example were 37%/35%/28%. My starting weight was 285 and my weight stabilized thirteen months later at 155. It's been steady at 155 plus or minus a couple of pounds for the last eight months. I have MFP configured with a daily calorie goal of 1620. I've had 2000 calorie days and 1000 calorie days and both are fine as long as I maintain the 1620 average. I don't know if you're familiar with set-points but at 1000 calories a day, I suspect that the reason you haven't started losing yet is because your body is doing everything it can to maintain your current weight. Set-points usually have a range of about 10% of body weight. So at 157, the range of your set-points would be about 15 pounds. You may be at the lower end of the current set-point that you are in. Which is a long-winded way of saying that your body is defending the set-point. It's trying to maintain your current weight by reducing metabolism and heart rate, increasing hunger, and using a complex set of hormones and chemicals - all working to maintain your current weight. Your body's negative response to weight loss (and reducing the existing set-point) is quite strong, to weight gain (and increasing the current set-point) comparatively weak. Set-points are the underlying basis for what is often referred to as your body going into "famine" or "starvation" mode. So the key is to be patient. There is absolutely no doubt that maintaining a daily calorie intake of 1000 calories will, over time, result in weight loss. You might jump start your weight loss by increasing your calorie intake to say 1200 for a few days. Or you can just stay the course with the 1000 calories knowing that sooner or later, you will start losing weight. The good news is that once you start losing, it will likely drop fairly quickly until you reach the next set point which should be pretty close to your goal. The bad news is that you will need to maintain that goal weight for about six months in order to establish the new, lower set point. Hope this helps and please keep us posted on your progress!!

Consider starting a food log. My Fitness Pal is excellent but there are a number of apps and all essentially do the same thing. I like MFP because it has a very large food database and a bar code scanner which greatly simplifies entry. Enter your settings for height, current weight, goal weight and the amount of weight you want to lose each weight. One pound a week loss would probably be a good starting point. MFP will calculate a daily calorie goal based on your settings. Now maintain your log for a week and see what happens. If you fail to lose a pound, configure MFP to lose a pound and a half. What you are doing is manipulating the app to reduce the calorie goal until you find the number that works for you. Now maintain your log for a week and see what happens. If you lose a pound, that calorie goal is your number. It's very important to remember that your calorie goal is an AVERAGE. No one is going to hit X number of calories every single day and who would want to? Boring, unrealistic and not sustainable. There will be days when you exceed your goal and it's important to enjoy those days. All you have to do is reduce your calorie goal by 100 to 200 calories for a day or so and you're right back to your AVERAGE. Food logs are the most powerful tool that you can have in your arsenal. They give you confidence, control and accountability like no other option I'm aware of. You'll be back at 137 before you know it and if you continue logging, you'll stay there!!

I have a theory that the ten pound "bounce back" is the result of pushing our bodies below the weight they want to be at. When you can't "push" it any further, you gradually start increasing your calorie intake to a maintenance level. And your body responds by leveling out at the weight it wanted to be in the first place! Lol. I'm unaware of any science to support my theory. But I intentionally did not set a weight goal, opting instead to just follow the protocol until my weight stabilized. In my case that was about nine months ago and at 155 lbs. I've been within two or three pounds of that weight ever since. No bounce back. Could just be coincidence but it's a lot more fun thinking I proved my theory!

Well, it's not very scientific but if you ask me - some days you're just plain hungry! Happens to me two or three times a month. Never have been able to identify any particular pattern. It just...happens. For whatever reason, my body is telling me it's hungry. So I feed it. Healthy food. Hunger goes away. Life is good. I'm loving the new me!!

You are experiencing your first stall at nine months out? That in and of itself is pretty amazing. Almost unheard of. You might want to consider the possibility that this isn't a "stall". It could be your body telling you that it's where it wants to be. What's your BMI and height to weight ratio? I'd recommend that you just keep doing exactly what you're doing for two or three weeks and see what happens. If you start losing again, great. If not, you might want to start thinking "maintenance" as opposed to "losing". Stalls can last longer than three weeks but at this point in your journey, you may have reached your destination. At least as far as your body is concerned and it always pays to listen to what it's telling you. Huge congratulations!

Got it. And that makes sense. So, whatever weight goal your doctor gives you, subtract six pounds (assuming that's the difference you see between your scale and theirs) and that's your home scale goal. No more "surprises"!

I think everyone shares your pain - sorta. My doctor's scale is consistently six pounds over my early am weight at home. But when you think about it - so what? It's not the number that counts, it's the direction it's moving in and how far it's moving that counts. Heck, I don't even take my shoes off! Why bother? As long as you either NEVER take your shoes off, or you ALWAYS take your shoes off, the scale (home or doctor's office) will reflect the CHANGE in your weight from the last time you weighed. My log shows that I've lost 130 lbs. My doctor's chart shows that I've lost 130 lbs. The fact that my log shows that I weigh 155 and her chart shows that I weigh 161 - totally irrelevant! You're gonna love the new you!!

468 pages (according to Amazon)!! Amazing!! Can't wait for my copy to arrive!!

You are definitely in the right place! You will find tons of great folks here who are more than willing to answer your questions based on our personal experiences. The most difficult part of post-op life? Many folks who suffer from obesity are food addicts. There are a number of similarities (and differences) with addiction to other things such as alcohol or drugs. Some experience a type of "withdrawal" from their former eating habits. The big difference being that it seldom manifests with physical symptoms such as a drug addict would experience. It is usually more of a mental challenge - often described as losing a best friend and often resulting in depression. The good news is that it is usually short-lived. Watching the pounds melt away usually puts you in a pretty great state of mind! Maintaining your goal weight - I believe that maintenance should be practically seamless from what you were doing during the rapid weight loss stage. The only change should be a gradual, nice and easy increase in your calorie intake until you determine what your daily calorie number is to maintain your goal weight. Your surgeon and his/her team will likely drill into you that the surgery is a tool. Far and away the most important part of the process, what I call the Prime Directive - lifestyle changes. And you develop those changes during the first year following the surgery. The really cool part is the surgery makes those formerly impossible changes, possible. Finally, start maintaining a food log. And never stop. Do a search here on the forum for the thread "A Little Too Skinny". You might find it interesting. Gym rat - I lost 130 lbs in thirteen months and did not visit a gym a single time. I chose instead to walk. At least four times a week (often more), 20 minutes each time to begin with and slowly building up to two and half to three miles and 45 to 60 minutes each time. But that was my choice. What's important is that you get active and stay active. There are many, many options for doing that. I'm sure some of the folks here will chime in with their choices. Whatever you do, find something that you ENJOY. If you hate your choice, it's not sustainable. Keep trying as many things as you need to until you find something you enjoy. Remember that staying active is not synonymous with working yourself to exhaustion. That's not sustainable and more importantly, it's not necessary. You're gonna love the new you!!

I had a couple of surgeries (appendix and gall bladder) prior to my bypass and this one scared the crap out of me. But...I had done so much research, learned so much from this forum, asked so many questions, that I knew, believed, right down to my soul, that as long as I did exactly what the surgeon and her team told me to do, it would change my life. And that's exactly what happened. Anxiety, fear, whatever you want to call it, is a perfectly normal and healthy reaction to the prospect of surgery. Courage is not about never being afraid. Courage is about doing what you believe, what you know, is the right thing to do in spite of your fear. To this day I laugh at myself and all of the worrying I did pre-op only to find that the actual surgery was nothing like my over active imagination conjured up. I was up and walking two hours after surgery. Pain was minimal. And I was so excited to have it behind me and the future was so full of promise. I was on my way. You're gonna love the new you!