Ellie_Grace

Yes exactly my thought! Although some drs say keep it below 15g and mine gave me no guideline but I keep it under 10. And other dra say less than 5g sugar. Again the frustrating fact that drs can't give out the same information shows that some of this doesn't matter as a whole but rather one each of us has to figure out for our own bodies while eating healthy

Got it thank you!

Well I now have a BMI of only obese and not morbidly obese. At 208.6 I crossed over. It is amazing to see each goal I made for myself start to come true! Onederland is the next one and that's 8.6 pounds away!

Can u send it me as well? Odiemom@ymail.com. Thanks

I had three bites of a tortilla and had my worst dumping yet. Go figure!! As for watermelon my Dr cleared me for all things healthy EXCEPT fit watermelon and a couple other things. Weird but he said it has minimal nutrition compared to the sugar content in it. It is odd how all the doctors are different

Try using myfitnesspal to write it all down including food and exercise plus many of us are on there to help support you!

How much sodium is in pickle juice?

Pre op 261 Day of surgery (6/7/12) 251 Last week 211.8 Today 210.4 Loss this week of 1.4 (although it's more considering I gained over 2 and had to lose those too lol) Total loss 50.6

Not exercising can certainly be a factor in why you are not losing. But so could a lot of things. some you can control and others that you can not. First verify you are getting in enough calories, Water and Protein, other wise you will not lose. Exercise certainly helps, but even with exercise without those three you will stall. Stalls also happen for no real reason other than your body needs to adjust to your new weight etc. Make sure you are measuring your body, for the 3 weeks I was in a stall I saw the inches dropping but not the weight. Whenever I stall I up my protein and within a couple days my weight tends to start dropping. It took that 3 week stall for me to figure that out. I was eating 300-400 calories a day and 50 g of protein. Now I eat 700-800 calories a day and 75g plus of protein a day. Without enough calories and protein your body will eat your muscles not the fat and the weight stalls. Dont forget your Vitamins as well. Be patient with yourself this is a long process (marathon) and not a short race. Follow the rules and you will lose that weight, but follow the rules. Do not become complacent. In the beginning it is harder (10 weeks post op and it is still hard many days) but it gets better. Remember being stationary and eating the wrong foods is what brought us here in the first place. Best of luck! You can do this!!!

I thought you had a stricture, so in that case the things that you vomited previously should not cause it this time (or at the least might not) because what I heard from my friend with the same issue, is that everything made him throw up. He was also told to go back to liquids and move up through the stages (much more quickly though then after surgery) to reintroduce foods to his pouch. Perhaps you might try that and do a stage for a couple days then move up a stage. Liquid, pureed, etc... But soon you should be able to tolrerate a lot more food than when you were dealing with the stircture. Also my friend had to have the stretch done 3 times before he was back to normal and could eat without vomiting. Best of luck!! It will all go up from here, right?

Congrats! How nice to not have to wait too long!

I remember when once I looked at the scale and saw the last two numbers backwards because my mind could wrap around the new numbers I was seeing. What a ride we are on!!

My understanding is that if you have uncontrolled psych issues that they will not do the procedure. How under control and stable has your bi-polar symptoms etc been? (you dont have to answer but I am thinking this is what they will look like, although I do not know your surgeon's requirements) How strong are you swings? Bi-polar, as you know, is very serious and with the possiblity of depression causing suicide mixed with the serious depression many suffer after surgery and the life changes one has to make, it is understandable their concerns. You just might need to advocate strongly for yourself and show documentation of some kind that you have your bi-polar managed and you have a strong support system. Have you a plan for what you do when you cycle etc? A kind of living will that allows others to force you to take meds etc if you really cycle and stop taking meds etc? Maybe do some research (if you have not already) on stuff like that to help relieve your doctors concerns. But honestly you do not know yet what their stance is, so maybe your first step is to just ask them, do not be shy about it and advocate for your answers so you know what you will need to do next. I am no expert in Bi-polar but it is my profession (mental health anyway) and have studied some about this, but you are the expert about yourself so keep that in mind when you speak to your doctor. good luck and keep us posted.

HaHa I so remember that feeling. It is an awesome one and the idea that next year I will need to get a new picture because I will look nothing like my old one is exciting too. It just keeps getting better.

I hit my fifty pound weight loss! Only 65 more pounds to go to hit my 145 goal and 10 pounds until onederland! Surgery was 6/7/12.

No in general you don't lose a pound a day but it can average that for some people. I'm 8 weeks post op and lost 51 pounds. Also higher your starting weight the more you lose faster. Also keep in mind a lot write postop but that does not mean the day after surgery. It can mean 4 weeks, 3 months etc. depending on how far out they are, some people forget to write the date. Plus as someone said the pre op weight could be weeks or months before their surgery. It is not a good idea to get stuck on the idea you will lose a certain number in a certain time period. I did that and it killed me when I did not lose as all those readings I did said I would. Keep in mind our bodies will do what they do but if we follow the rules the weight will come off. Heck last week I gained 3 pounds and had to lose that plus some to have a loss this week to finally hit 50 pounds (which by all my readings I should have been at 2 weeks ago) What a journey we are on- a roller coaster for sure

Surgery 6/7/12 and have lost about 49 pounds so far

Yes I have had many sugar free icees since for awhile I had to have my Water very cold or frozen or u got sick to my stomach!! Yummy yummy but never had Sonic brand I really mined to check them out

Last week 215.2 Today 211.8 List 3.4 this week Surgery (6/7/12) 250 Pre op weight 261 Total weight loss 49.2

I work out pretty much everyday. I do the exercise bike, treadmill, wii fitness, exercise DVDs of a few kinds, circuit training, aerobics, weight training .... Basically whatever catches my fancy. I take off one day a week otherwise I exercise minimum of 30 min a day

Here is a snippet of an article that discusses a bit about the dangers for RNY patients and below it is the link so you can read more if you are interested. The article by Bariatric Times is very informative. ALCOHOL METABOLISM AND TOXICITY In the non-surgical patient, 60 to 90 percent of alcohol that enters the body is metabolized in the liver by the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) pathway. ADH is maximally activated by small amounts of alcohol but activity along the pathway can be reduced by an accumulation of end-products (i.e., NADH, acetaldehyde). Fasting and low calorie intake—such as occurs in the early postoperative period—as well as defects in hepatic mitochondrial function with obesity, per se, may reduce the metabolism of products of the ADH pathway, decreasing hepatic clearance of alcohol.[8-10] Furthermore, activities along the ADH pathway may be impaired by steatosis or fatty liver disease,[11] conditions that are relatively common among individuals with morbid obesity. The gastric bypass patient, therefore, may not only have higher rates of alcohol absorption, but at least in the early postoperative period, possible defects in alcohol clearance as well. Metabolic changes that occur with massive and rapid weight loss may also affect the amount of alcohol cleared by the liver via the microsomal ethanol metabolizing system (P4502E1).[9,10,12] Activities along this pathway are increased in association with obesity[12-14] and are induced both by alcohol intake, free fatty acids and, possibly, ketone bodies.[12] Alcohol metabolism by the microsomal ethanol metabolizing system substantially increases the risk for liver damage, while at the same time making an individual more sensitive to the toxic and cancer-promoting effects of pollutants in the air, industrial solvents (such as those in household cleaners), and certain drugs, including acetaminophen.[9,10,12] Alcohol use may cause hypoglycemia and, through reduction in the supply of glucose to neural tissue, cause possible neuromuscular and cognitive dysfunction, loss of consciousness, or even death.[15,16] To maintain appropriate glucose levels, the body stores sugar in the form of glycogen. Glycogen stores, however, can be depleted in a short period of time with fasting or a diet low in carbohydrates. Furthermore, alcohol reduces the process, glycogenesis, that allows sugar to be stored as glycogen.[15] The bariatric patient, particularly in the rapid weight loss period and if on a carbohydrate-restricted diet, may have low amounts of glycogen. Drinking alcohol could deplete glycogen stores and reduce glucose homeostasis. The body, however, has another mechanism to maintain appropriate glycemic status, gluconeogenesis, the chemical pathway that converts certain components of Protein, lactic acid, and other substances into glucose. Unfortunately, alcohol also reduces the production of glucose by this process.[9,10,15] A decline in blood glucose usually increases the production of glucagon and certain hormones of the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to restore blood glucose levels to normal by stimulating glycogenolysis or gluconeogenesis.[16,17] However, when someone drinks alcohol, the response of these hormones to a fall in blood sugar is blunted. To make matters worse, counterregulatory hormone responses to low blood sugar are also blunted or depressed in postoperative bariatric patients.[18] The bariatric patient when using alcohol may have a higher risk of becoming hypoglycemic than someone who has not had the surgery, particularly in the early postoperative period when calorie intake is substantially reduced and glycogen stores are likely to be low.[19] Since neural tissue requires glucose for fuel, low blood levels could adversely affect neuromuscular and cognitive functions, causing a loss of coordination and balance, slurred speech, poor vision, and confusion.[16,17] These are all conditions that mimic those associated with intoxication. The patient described in the introduction who appeared extremely intoxicated even though she had not consumed a large amount of alcohol may have been hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia could also have possibly accounted for the loss of coordination and balance that some of our surveyed patients claim they experienced hours after drinking alcohol. The use of alcohol after surgery may cause irreversible brain and nerve damage, coma, and possible death by inhibiting the absorption of important Vitamins, including B-complex vitamins, such as thiamin (B1) or Vitamin B12. Alcohol inhibits the absorption of thiamin and other B-complex vitamins, reduces activation of certain vitamins, and stimulates the breakdown of Vitamin A, pyridoxine, and folate.[9,10] These vitamins may already be deficient in bariatric patients because of nutrient restriction, malabsorption, or impartial digestion of foods produced by the respective surgery.20 Alcohol use, then, could compound the negative effects that bariatric surgery has on vitamin/mineral status and increase the risk for associated health problems, including neuropathy, an irreversible loss of various cognitive functions, defects in metabolism, a decrease in the body’s ability to heal, low immunity, and fatigue.[20,21] Alcohol has numerous other toxic effects in the body. Not only does alcohol cause liver disease, but it also negatively affects other tissues.[1,8-12,22] Alcohol’s influence on the heart includes myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, arrythmias, and increased risk for sudden death. Skeletal muscle is particularly susceptible to alcohol toxicity with loss of muscle mass and strength. Alcohol causes inflammation of the intestinal tract, gastritis, pancreatitis, acid reflux disease, and increased risk for gastric and esophageal cancers. Alcohol also causes damage—often irreversible—to neural tissue. Link: http://bariatrictimes.com/2006/10/22/alcohol-and-the-gastric-bypass-patient/ Here is to being as educated as possible about our new bodies.

Be Patient and Forgiving with yourself....oh find a good support buddy who will support you if possible (e.g exercise with you, cheer you on, etc.) besides all of us on here.

Looking beauiful! Have you tried making your shakes with milk and adding some banana and strawberries or other fruit, I could not gag down shakes until someone suggested that and it makes all the difference. You can use Silk or No/low-fat milk. the banana and fruit sure made a difference. next I am trying to add hersheys nio sugar chocolate sryup. Try snacking on Graduates lil Crunchies, they taste like cheetohs and taste pretty dang good for baby Snacks and low carb, sugar and now calorie. That helps for the chip craving for me, Also how about Special K chips that they now have, they taste good, but are a bit higher in calories than the graduates but still are tasty and not bad for you. I also snack on beef sticks (chew chew), they are nice and soft and good Protein, cheese sticks and mini babybel cheese as well since all have protein and are soft and easy on your tummy. I am also now eating beef and turkey Jerky, almonds and other nuts and slices of fruit. I got reprimanded for not eating fruit and veggies enough in my diet, so don't forget those too. Apricots, plums, peaches etc all have worked for me, just slice them and eat what you can. But I have been lucky and have been able to tolerate all fruit, protein and veg so far. But I have been pretty careful but I have had strawberries, avacado, cherries, grapes etc with no problems. hope that helps, I can only share what has worked for me and what my doctor has approved, not sure about your doctor. Besides who knows if I am doing it right, like the rest of us I am just doing the best I can and hoping it is right. LOL