Lebim

Just curious, maybe some of us are closer to each other than we think? I'm from west palm beach, florida and my surgeon was Paul Wizman - Kaylee Ann ~ Surgerversary: 6/11/12

Man I really hope i dont get banned for asking this but I don't know where else to turn. Prior to surgery I was a regular grass smoker (with a medicinal card) but am curious as to how safe it is after surgery because I know that cigarette smoke is harmful and can cause ulcers. Sometimes I really don't care to eat and it helps me force some Protein in me but I don't want to hurt myself. My surgeon told me he honestly doesn't know if it's as harmful as cigarette smoke but assumes it is. There's nothing on the internet about it either so I've kind of run out of resources :[ - Kaylee Ann ~ Surgerversary: 6/11/12

It definitely sounds like you are suffering from some degree of body dysmorphic disorder. Very common for this surgery, I too thought I needed to lose an additional 20lbs when I was 150lbs at 5'8" and now that I've packed some pounds back on everyone is telling me how I was "too thin" and "looked unhealthy." I think it would be wise to look into seeing a therapist if at all possible and be careful not to deny yourself food because you want to lose more weight. Try to focus on eating healthy, and not so much on losing weight. I know how much loose skin can make weight loss a bummer, it's not fair that you can be at a healthy weight but your skin makes you still feel fat. Perhaps getting into some serious weight training and body toning will not only make your loose skin less of an issue but also keep you preoccupied on your own health rather than how much you dislike how you look? Endorphins are a miracle cure for point of view and disposition. Congratulations on all you've lost and as hard as it may be to believe I bet you look 100x better than you think you do, I sure know when I look at my lowest weight pictures I can't believe how thin I was. You never see it until it's no longer there, unfortunately. Good luck with your journey :]

As far as IMMEDIATELY post-op, the stomach pain. Your entire abdomen is unbelievably sore and something as simple as sitting up is impossible. Otherwise it just sucks having to stay in a hospital for a few days and I don't like needles so the heparin shots every 8hrs and blood work every morning sucked for me personally. All in all it really wasn't that bad though.

Honestly just sticking with the program long term. I lost 125lbs in the first 8 months and looked great but I noticed that I could cheat a bit and not gain any weight and it just got worse and worse until I was in fact seeing the results of my bad eating habits but ignoring it and have gained 50lbs back as of now. Habits are super hard to break, even if it seems easy to overcome them at first. Just try really hard not to sway and if you do, forgive yourself and get back on the horse. It's a lot easier to fix 10lbs gained than 50lbs. I just am so happy I didn't gain it all back.

I've posted this thread in 2 other topics just to vent and hopefully help others not make my mistakes so if you see it more than once I'm sorry, getting this off my chest to more people just makes me feel better. Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you guys out there - it's true, I'm the prime example of all the stuff they warn you about. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So if I can give you guys any advice: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

I don't know if this is old news or not but I found a new portable food that is perfect for us! It's a StarKist tuna packet that I buy at Walmart for $1 a piece and comes in a variety of flavors including hickory smoked, sweet and spicy, lemon pepper and my personal favorite - herb and garlic. They range from 16-19g of Protein and 90-110 calories a packet. They definitely cure hunger pains but won't fill you up to the brim. I love these as a mid-day snack straight out of the bag or accompanying something for lunch. I personally like the herb and garlic the best because it isn't dry and I don't feel the need to add anything to it, unlike the sweet and spicy which is pretty dry and needs mayo which is terribly unhealthy. I tried adding avocado instead but I didn't love it. They're just the best! Hope this helps someone else fill their lunch bag like it helped me :]

Tuna was on my soft food list so I was able to eat it immediately. The garlic & herb is very moist and should go down very easily.

Right there with you. Granted my stresses weren't nearly as tragic as yours [my condolences, really, I can't imagine,] I too fell off the bandwagon and gained weight back over the last year [50lbs] and am now working to get back on track. Good luck! I know you can do it :]

Well I'm 5'8" not 5'6" but I started at 280. My lowest weight was 150lbs which are the pictures I'll share [i'm back up to 196 from getting back into bad habits - beware] Before: After:

Lol I'm 5'8" and was told I wasn't big enough to qualify either. I was around 10lbs too "thin" to have the BMI required for my insurance [cigna] to cover it. I then proceeded to gain 15-20lbs maxing out at 280lbs and was told I then had to lose it to prove I could control my eating. Fun stuff.

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. If my story can prevent one person from making one of my many mistakes I'd be happy.

Everyone fluctuates from day to day because of water or hell maybe you need to poop but can't yet. Do not check your weight every day, it will just lead to disappointment. Just eat what you're supposed to and do your best to stay active and the scale will go down. I know it'll kill you with anticipation but you need to only check once a week.

Honestly even a plain one would be good. They have all kinds of flavors like garlic or red pepper or artichoke... I'd say just grab whatever you like. It's not high in protein or necessarily amazing for you but you would need so little that it wouldn't matter. A tablespoon would probably do the trick. It's a hell of a lot healthier than mayonnaise though.

I had an incision infection too and honestly getting that taken care of was 10x worse than the surgery. I don't know why my surgeon didn't give me antibiotics after surgery... I hear a lot of surgeons do.

Awe man what! They have a ranch one?! They totally don't carry that one where I am. Lame! I did try the hickory smoked for the first time today though and it was like beef jerky and tuna had a baby - at first it was a little weird but by the end of the bag I loved it. It's even healthier than the herb & garlic!

The first time I quit I switched to the e-cigarette N-Joy for a few months before kicking the habit all together. It's the closest thing to a real cigarette that I've tried and you can get them at any drug store or 7/11 and they have a lot less nicotine. Easier than quitting cold turkey. If you live near a Costco they sell a pill literally called "acid reducer" and I think it would help prevent you from getting an ulcer for now - not justifying the smoking but y'know, it might help. Good luck with quitting

I eat what a normal person on a diet eats pretty much. I am 2.5 years out and to give you a full idea today I had 3/4 cup of nonfat greek yogurt mixed with a scoop of chia seeds and a tbs of preserves for breakfast, a homemade wrap consisting of chicken/tomato/onion/spinach/avocado for lunch, an entire pork chop [eaten over a period of an hour or so] and some veggies for dinner, and snacks between meals was a cheese stick, a $1 tuna packet, a hard boiled egg and a protein shake after my work out. I think that's pretty reasonable [i hope?]

I know -exactly- what you're talking about referring to feeling "empty." I still swear that's real hunger but it really isn't is it? :/

I am 2.5 years out and I experience a lot more head hunger than normal hunger but I most definitely get hungry for real. I have to eat something about every 2-3 hours or else I start to get hungry.

Nothing beats the real thing. I'll always vote real veggies over juiced, not only because it's a lot healthier but because they will fill you up a lot more and longer than any liquid will. If you're at or around the weight you want to be then it's okay to indulge once in a while if you really enjoy drinking it [i love the stuff too] but that's just it - it should be a nice treat - not in any way your source of vegetables. It's really not nearly as good for you as advertised. Is it better than soda or another sugary beverage? Hell yes, and that's what you should have if you're craving something bad for you as a healthier alternative - but that's it.

I originally had full intentions of getting the sleeve until I realized my insurance only covered the lapband and bypass, at first I was upset but good lord was it a blessing. If I didn't experience dumping syndrome I wouldn't have been nearly as successful, and I'd probably gain all the weight back. I do my best to not eat garbage but I go into spouts of depression and "I just don't care anymore" stages more often than I like and the dumping keeps me from eating the entire bag of potato chips I desire so much. I cannot imagine having any other surgery honestly. I needed the big guns.

I had my surgery 2 months before my 21st birthday, I am 2.5 years out now at 23 years old. Honestly I was dying for the surgery for a very long time before actually realizing it could be a reality. My older brother had his gastric bypass 5 years prior to me and he did so well and I envied him so much. I've been fat my entire life and bullied relentlessly for it and treated differently than all my friends. I am crippled by fear around needles and I sucked it up and got stuck what felt like a thousand times for all my tests prior to surgery and all the blood tests and heparin shots while in the hospital just for a shot at a normal life I had craved for just short of 21 years. I feared I would die on the table and loathed how many needles would get shoved in my arms and I hated that I had to quit smoking cigarettes but god I wanted it so badly I'd do anything. Maybe that makes me odd, haha. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation for me.

I have bought it from whole foods and GNC. It really is great - though I really cannot taste the difference between the regular and chocolate and since the regular has 1 more gram of protein [5g per 2tbs versus 4g] that's what I go with.