Baconville

In what I have seen, once they give you a surgery date you are good to go UNLESS you do something dumb. This is the time to hold it together, stick to you weight loss pre op plan, don't smoke. I have heard of people being pulled because the urine test on the morning of surgery came back positive. I have also seen surgery cancelled because people show up on the day of surgery having gained weight, which means they were not following the pre op diet. Follow your doctor's recommendations as carefully as you can, you will on the losers bench before you know it! Carol

I am 9 months post op RNY and use baby spoons and forks at nearly every meal. I also use dessert plates and small plastic bowls. One thing that was most helpful are Diamond Daily Mini Cups. They are 2 ounce plastic cups with a lid. They are the perfect size for those first meals. They come in a bag of 50 and they were about 3.00 at Target. I still use one every day for the flax seed that I add to my Greek Yogurt. Best of luck to all of you!! It's one crazy ride!! Carol

I am just over 9 months post-op. My RNY was on June 25, 2013. I began losing weight one year ago this week when I found MyFitnessPal.com. In that time I have lost just over 180 pounds. I would love to pay forward all the support I received on this site. If you have any questions or just need to vent (and you will!!), please let me know. I certainly don't have all the answers, but I am happy to share what I have learned over the past year. Carol

Hi! I am an RNY patient, so a little different, but this is a great group. My surgery was June 25, 2013. I am just over 9 months and have lost 180 pounds. I try to vary my workouts a lot and belong to the YMCA so that helps a lot. Here is what my week is like, Sunday: treadmill or elliptical; Monday: Zumba; Tuesday: walk; Wednesday: walk; Thursday: Zumba; Friday: Body Pump; and Saturday: Turbo Kick. I actually normally walk at least 5000 steps every day. I have a Fit Bit that helps me track this. Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday are my high aerobics days and I try to make sure I get over 10,000 steps on those days. Eating wise, I also track everything on MyFitnessPal.com. I normally eat between 700 - 800 calories each day. Weight loss does seem to be slowing, but I believe that I am still losing. I have reached the goal I set for myself when I began this journey. Recently I have decided to lose another 20 pounds which will put my BMI in the normal range. I drink a lot of water (100 ounces per day) and believe that is why I don't struggle quite as much with feeling hungry. I get about 85 grams of protein each day. Most importantly I feel fantastic, so it makes EVERYTHING else worth it! Hope this was helpful! Carol

So very happy for you! Keep following your dreams, you have no idea how far you will go!

BEAUTIFUL!!

Hey Mel, For all of us, we have been at this for months and the scale has slowed way down. We aren't getting the compliments like we were a few months ago (or at least I'm not). We still have more we want to lose, but we keep hearing 'you look great' which I think plays with our heads and eats away at motivation. I think a big chunck of us are with you! I have a bit less than 20 pounds to go. I look in the mirror and think, I could just stop now. On the up side, the weather is improving (even in Minnesota!) Last night hubby and I were able to take a nice long walk - OUTSIDE!. Soon the farmers markets will open with locally gown produce and other products. In order to switch things up a bit I am looking at making two more changes. One, I am going to research more organically, locally gown food choices. Two, with my Fit Bit I am going to focus on really hitting the goals. Even if the scale quits moving I think making these changes can only improve my health. At least I will feel like I am doing something positive! Keep moving! Keep on keeping on!! Carol

Yes, I was allowed 1/4 cup of thin mashed potatoes, but only with Protein powder added to them. This was only for week two on pureed. Once I transitioned to soft food, then I the rule was three Tablespoons of protein and one Tablespoon of a fruit, vegetable or starch. At nine months I am just approaching 1/4 cup of a fruit, vegetable or starch.

The first few weeks I used a lot of unjury unflavored Protein powder in nearly everything I ate to add protein to it. I added a 1/2 scoop to Greek Yogurt, mashed potatoes, and Soup. It does get easier. Although I still rely on one Protein shake every day to meet my protein goal. Fortunately, my pouch likes protein shakes! Beleive me, it is all worth it in the end!

WOW!! Great pic! You look fantastic! Making a photo like that is on my list of things to do.

To get around the drinking thing, I always ask for a glass of water. Nobody ever notices that you don't drink it. At least I have yet to have somebody notice...

This is absolutely normal and your clinic should have warned you. You were loaded up with IV fluids. It will take several days to a week for all of that Fluid to work through your system. When it does, you will see the scale move BIG TIME! Congrats on making this step. You will love the new you!

I am a June, 2013 RNY patient, so I have been doing this for a few months now. I use MyFitnessPal.com religiously. I have mine set so 40% come from protein, 30% from fat an 30% carbs. It has been working for me. Good luck! Carol

Hi Monica, I don't compensate by eating more when I work out. I still stick to my plan and get about 85 g of protein in a day and I keep my calories between 700 and 800 a day, actual food, not minus exercise. I have had a couple days when my activity level has been unusually high, if that happens I will have an 80 calorie Greek Yogurt, but I really try to avoid that. Good luck! Carol

First, Congratulations on what you have done!! You look fantastic!! Every body is different, but increasing exercise intensity and duration has made the biggest difference in keeping the scale moving for me. Challenge yourself. Maybe add a mile or 15 minutes to your walk/jog. The weight loss yoga might be enough to tip the scales. But it will take persistence. Don't expect results immediately. Give the increased activity a good week. Increase your water as well. This has worked for me, but as I said we are all different. Good luck! Work hard and keep us posted!!

Congratulations on getting the workouts in! I love Zumba too! You may not see the scale move right away, but it will move! Don't forget to drink extra Water when you work out. KEEP AT IT! Regarding falling back into old habits, I would tell you that failing to plan is planning to fail. Look at your day and make a plan so you know what you will be eating and when you will be eating it. Plan when you will be drinking and how much. I find that I get in the most trouble is when I don't plan or when my plan doesn't work out. Hopefully you are working with a good NUT that has given you your clinic's plan. Stick to the lan and you will see success! YOU CAN DO THIS!

Oh do I get the knee pain!!! When I started this journey that is what kept me down! As you loose the knee pain gets better. I was shocked how much I could do with NO PAIN! For every pound you loose you are taking five pounds of pressure off your knees. Going down stairs was an exercise in pain management. I still stop at the top of the stairway and grab the rail to begin a slow walk down, only to realize that I can run down them with no pain. AMAZING! I found a recumbant elyptical trainer at the YMCA that I used A LOT at the beginning. Since I was sitting, it didn't bother my knees. I used that for nearly the first 100 pounds lost!

Good Morning Junies! Well, I have reached my pre-surgery weight goal! When I began this journey my goal was to reach 150 pounds. My surgeon said that he thought I would 'bottom out' at about 180. This week I have hit 150! I have been increasing my activity and exercise so I have decided to keep going. I am only 5'2", so at 150 by BMI is still in the 'overweight' category. I am going to see if I can get to 130, which will put me at a normal BMI. If I make it, it will also mean that I will have lost 200 pounds. Here's to new goals! Carol

CONGRATULATIONS!!! WOOP WOOP!!! Do something nice for yourself to acknowledge all the hard work. I went for a mani/pedi at a nice spa. The last 25 will be off soon.

I would appreciate it if you would forward that list to me as well. Baconville@q.com. By the way, I learn something new every time I read one of your posts. Thank you so much for being willing to share your knowledge and experiences with us newbies! Carol

DL 's advice could not be better. He mentioned exercise, but I would like to stress it's importance in the process. I started at 331 pounds and at that weight could barely move. As I lost I began to increase my exercise and was congratulating myself that I was going for walks now several times a week, this, of course, was better than no exercise at all. I received a Fit Bit for my birthday in February. A Fit Bit tracks your activity. I was very surprised to find out that many days I was barely getting 5000 steps in, let alone the recommended 10,000. It made me challenge myself to increase my activity level. And the weight is really coming off again! Ask yourself, if your activity has stalled or plataued. Ratcheting that up will probably break your stall, IF YOU STAY AT IT. One time will not do the job. Another thing that has helped me is upping my Water intake. Make sure you are always getting around 80 ounces a day, more is better. Success does not happen by itself. This takes dedication and hard work. DL WAS also correct about it all being worth it on the other side. You have the tools, make the most of them!

My Protein bars help with this. They are very chocolatey. I also occasionally allow myself a treat. Tonight, for example, I had 10 plain M & M candies. But I did track it. I think having to acknowledge that I ate it helps me REALLY think about exactly what I am doing and keeps me from making an emotional eating decision. I have also started allowing myself a small, planned treat when I have met my workout goals two days in a row. I suggest that you find a strategy that works for you so you can have the treat occasionally, when you have planned for it. This will prevent you from feeling deprived and bingeing. Depriving ourselves doesn't work long term. I think part of the journey is learning how to incorporate small amounts of the foods we love into our diet in a healthy way.

I think that is a terrific idea and a very healthy way to deal with a very big psychological blow. Reaching out for help I am sure was out of your comfort zone. A year ago, mine was to reach for a bowl of ice cream. I give you a world of credit for recognizing that you were struggling and finding a healthy way to deal with it. On this journey we are all going to face challenges like loss and injuries. It is how we deal with them that will determine if we achieve long term success or not. You just stacked the deck in favor of long term success. Your Mom would be proud! Carol

I have the ring guard. I had it put on by a jeweler which I would recommend because I have read too many stories about how the kind you can but at Walmart don't work well. I am waiting until I an a year post op. I am nine months now. I am hoping that by waiting I will only need to have it done once. I paid $15 for the ring guard and it has been working great.

I can't give advice on going from a band to RNY, but I can tell you about RNY. I had mine on 6/25/2013. I had a laproscopic procedure. I had what I would term a very easy recovery. I was back to work in three weeks, and could have gone back sooner. I was only in the hospital overnight. It has been hugely successful for me. At my first consultation I weighed 331 pounds, I am only 5'2". I currently weigh 151 pounds, and am still losing weight. To get here I follow my eating plan very closely and I exercise every day, some days twice in a day. It is NOT EASY. But the work has been so worth it! I have my life back! Regarding excess skin, I am struggling with that. My arms are especially bad. I do not know what, if anything I will do in the future. For now I am concentrating on how great I feel, the energy I have and how I no longer have knee pain or back pain. That alone is worth the skin issue!