music1618

I started a new job 1 week post op and I am still there now. It has been a great change and it has opened me up to other opportunities. Congrats

I am 14 months next week and I would say that our pouches mature and grow just as we have during this journey. I have had months where it seemed like I could eat anything and everything, and months like you are describing. Not sure what causes it and I know I was not much help. I just wanted you to know you were not alone.

I use my iPhone 99% of the time. When you enter in your food you are given the choices to change your serving size and amount. That is how you change your amount you ate. I added two pictures for you. Hope that helps!

I was in the gym working on toning as soon as doc would let me. Which was 2 months for me I have toned my arms nicely in my opinion. I lost a lot of muscle in my legs - so still working on regaining that muscle. Stomach is my worst area right now. Think I will need surgical intervention there.

I remember the first time I heard a comment about fat people after my surgery. I was around people who knew I had the surgery and someone made a comment that a girl was in the bathroom and you know it takes bigger people longer to use the restroom. I was shocked that I heard this. Since then I find it very interesting to eat people talk about fat people, because when they do I speak up. I may look skinny now but you have no idea what that person if feeling. I have never hidden my surgery from anyone. I was proud that I took a stand for my health. I did not care what people thought and if they had questions I answered them. Usually I get the response oh I know someone who had the surgery and they gained their weight back. 95% of those people were Lapband patients and I educate them on the differences. You sound young from your post and I would urge you to seek help. You are a beautiful strong woman. Look what you have accomplished - you took a stand for your health and you have won. Take time for yourself. You will never truly love anyone until you truly love yourself. I would also talk with the brother and take that stand when they bad mouth him. You will feel great when you do. If boyfriend has a problem with that then you should have a problem with him. Good luck

The only thing I would change is your stress level over what a little machine tells you every morning. Stalls happen, and when they do you typically loose inches. I dropped pants sizes during my stalls. The more you stress the sorest it is on you. I am sure you are doing everything just fine. 83 pounds in 5 months is awesome!!!! Measure your success by something other than a number. Write down a goal list and start crossing off the goals you have already reached. I would measure my weight loss by how much of my feet I could see in the shower. I knew I need surgery when I could no longer clean personal areas in the shower and when my feet disappeared as I looked starlight down in the shower. So Now I look down and can see my ankles. I don't care what the scale says. In fact people don't believe me when I tell them. Muscle weighs more than fat and I am working on building muscle. Keep your chin up and stop stressing!

I need some plastic surgery more for my own self body image than anything else. I worked really hard on my arms in the gym and do not have extra skin there. My area is my tummy and boobs. My boobs look like saggy water balloons. They went from a size 42F and now they are a 34 Dd only because of the extra skin. The only one that sees these areas that need work are myself and hubby. I continue to work out, but nothing can tack my girls back in place except a surgeon.

I have said it many times that I love my new life and the new me. Seems to sum up everything.

Well overall I felt like I had another bad week, but looking at my numbers I did ok I guess. Looking at last week I did much better. protein - took in 708 and was 28 under my goal. Fat - took in 369 under by 100 Potassium - 2000 over goal - I need to really watch this - I did decrease it from last week. Calories - 425 over and my average for the week was a little over. I start a rheumatoid arthritis flare up this week and for that reason I did not exercise at all. I had to increase my prednisone to help reduce the flare and i am always worried it will increase my hunger. i have 2 weeks left of a night shift and will be able to get back into a better rhythm for my workouts once I go back to days. I am counting down the days as I am tired of nights. Hopefully my eating habits will be a little better as well. And finally soccer season starts next week so I will be burning my calories up and hopefully dropping my weight down.

Welcome to the post op group. Trust me what you are feeling is 100% normal. I make the comparison that our brains are two year old children and during this process it will throw many temper tantrums. Oh lord will it pull out all the tricks to get you to give in to its cravings. Be honest with yourself - you will give in at some point - we all give in. Mine tricked me Into eggs 1 weeks post op. it kept telling me how great I was doing and the surgeons rules were for everyone else - I was better than that and could handle eggs. Well I finally gave in and my stomach thoughtfully protested the eggs. I would like to say I learned my lesson but the brain sure is a powerful organ. About a week after eggs I tried ham lunch meat. Yep tummy protested that as well. Since then I have tuned into several tricks my brain pulls and have learned to say no a little better. Ps the next trick your brain will pull is that you will stall with your weigh loss. It is temporary, but new post ops usually freak out a little. Again it is your brain throwing a temper tantrum. Good luck with your two year old!

Are you going on a cruise or flying in?

It took me about 9-10 months to reach goal. My personal goal was 150. I am 140 now and actually shooting for 135 now because I need to bench press 56% of my body weight to get into the police academy and I would rather bench 75 rather than 80.

One thing to really keep in mind is that you will be able to eat anything you want later down the road in your post op journey. So don't think to your self I have to eat this now because I will never have it again. It's just not true. With that in mind it should help you stay a little focussed. As far as not drinking soda it is a tough beast to get rid of. Try tea again as it has caffeine in it, but not the fizz. I enjoy lime in my water from time to time as well. The last thing I will mention is about our brains. It always helped me to think of my brain during this journey as a two year old. Two year olds want what they want and throw fits when they don't get it. Your brain will throw many many temper tantrums during this journey. Sometimes it is ok to give into that two year old, but most of the time it just makes the next fit a lot worse. Once you have the surgery your brain goes a little off the deep end. It just does not know what to do, and try's all it's old tricks. Good thing me stomach is now in control and when you give into your brain your stomach has the final say so. My example to this process is of eggs I ate 1 week post op. my brain had me convinced that I was doing great and my surgeon does not know what he is talking about - you can eat eggs no problem. So I finally gave in and my stomach threw them up for 30 minutes. If you start with baby steps of retracting your brain now it will pay off in the long road. Remember it is just as crafty as a two year old and will pull out all its old tricks to get you to eat what it wants, but if you learn to recognize its tricks now you will be very successful!!!

Well I can say I am an expert on this subject. I have had diarrhea ever since my rny 14 months ago. I have tried everything to get it to stop. The over the counter meds work sometimes but not all the time. I finally went to a GI doc and things are starting to look up for me. He did a colonoscopy and endoscopy on me. Everything was normal from his vantage point. He put me on some medication which slows down the gut and therefore makes me regular. It is my miracle drug right now. After reading some articles about the subject I have cut fruit out if my diet for the most part. It has a sugar in it called sorbitol which can cause diarrhea for rny patients. I love fruit and before I read that I was eating it 2-3 times a day. Sorbitol is now also appearing in other foods as a sugar substitute. I stay away from most milk products. I use lactose free milk for my protein shakes. Bottom line you have to learn about your body and what are its triggers for diarrhea. There is medication out there to help you if it is chronic like mine is.

Don't be ashamed of what you are doing. Those feelings create self doubt and other issues. Instead lets figure out what to do to help you. Eating that many calories is not always a bad thing. It is the food choices that are bad. eggs have a high calorie count, but also very high in Protein. If you are eating what your doctor is expecting you to eat don't worry about the calories. Many of don't log our food to track our calories. I log my food to track my protein intake. Now the flip side of that is if you are not making good food choice and stopping at the fast food places or you are eating candy food and chips and junk food. Hope this help Since u are already logging your food lets take it that one step further. Log your emotions you are feeling and why you think you need the food right now.

I was fine, but my hubby was a nervous wreak. He told me he stayed up all night watching me sleep and then the morning of the surgery he was so nervous he threw up. My parents came to the hospital not for me, but ti keep him calm. I finally had to tell him to pull it together his nerves were making me nervous. You will do just fine!!!

I had the same issues post op and for about 6 months I really struggled to get in my protein. 95% of the time I did not. Finally something just clicked and I found something that worked for me. I only have to drink 4 oz so for me it is one big gulp. I stand over my sink in the am and drink it real quick and then go brush my teeth. I have found other ways to get in my protein that I do not have to worry about taste. Double pasteurized egg whites are the easiest way to do that. You add them to any drink and you never know it is there. Sometimes we have to be creative in order to get in our protein.

I have only felt comfortable drinking when someone else was driving. It hits me so fast and I was too scared to hurt someone if I choose to drive.

It has been so grumpy today. It has been months since I have had nausea and today it seems whatever I eat my pouch has things to say about it. Just needed to vent some place where people can relate - thanks

Just take your time and it will get used to solids. Just cut your bites very small and chew chew and then chew again. Let that bite settle and then go for the next bite

Well ask this question of yourself. Are you willing to have your surgery postponed so that you can have a few last meals? That is the bottom line for this, and it is something that only you can answer. Please though keep in mind you will be able to eventually eat everything again, but much smaller portions. Remember that this journey will challenge you in so many ways and maybe this is your first big challenge. You will have this challenge many times during your journey. I was convinced a week post op that I could advance myself and eat eggs. I threw them up violently. The important thing to remember is that you learn from your mistakes.