thinndskies

Congrats, Molly. You look great.

I agree with Truckerchic about the issues that caused you to gain weight in the first place being the ones we still have to battle. I am not physically hungry very often but my head hunger is crazy. I am working on it and have an appointment to see a counselor next Tuesday. I have had sleep apnea for years and unfortunately it didn't go away with my 115 lb weight loss. As a matter of fact, I had a new sleep study in May of this year because I was feeling sleepy driving to work. I discovered I could lower the pressure on my CPAP significantly, but that I had Restless Leg Syndrome which was making me wake several times during the night. I began taking Ropinerole. The Ropinerole helped with the RLS and I began to sleep better but I think it is messing with my Anxiety disorder that I treat with Lexapro. I have periods of high anxiety, irratability and impulsivity. The impulsivity is making it hard to ignore my head hunger. I figured all this out in the past two weeks by reading the side effects of Ropinerole. Since the Sleep Doctor doesn't want to touch the mental health side effects, and feels the Ropinole has solved the RLS and sleep issue, I am waitiing on an appointment with the pychiatrist for med review. That will happen in the next two weeks. The appointments are not fast to schedule. In the mean time I haven't gained much weight, two to three pounds, because I walk every day. Gotta get this fixed FAST. Sorry for the side trip, but whatever food issues you had before don't go away when you have bariatric surgery. At first the extreme weight loss from small amounts of food do their job, then when the weight loss evens out and you can eat 3/4 cup at each meal, you have to work on the head issues. If you commit to exercise it can boost your mood and give you some reprieve as you work on the bad habits that resurface. I have hope I will resolve all this. Good luck to all of you as you face your issues also.

So happy you offered to be a mentor. The amount of weight you have lost is what I will need to lose to reach my goal. I had RNY October 15, 2013. I lost 115 lbs by 5/1/14 and then stablized. I had binge eating disorder before surgery and spent 7 months in therapy for it. My issue is I need to exercise more and return to eating the way that helped me to lose weight so I can drop the other 65 pounds. I am fighting head games. First, I told myself I was very pleased with the weight I had lost and needed a break from the relentless calorie restriction. I have to eat around 1,000 calories per day to lose weight now. Then, I craved more and more carbs. Now, in the past three weeks, I am starting to binge eat by eating something too often, not a lot all at one time. I am in trouble. I don't want to return to my binge eating therapist because she never was a good fit for me. Too soft. I need some hard love. I'm thinking of seeking out an addiction therapist. What I would like from you is to know what you eat during a regular day. Thanks.

Good for you Mommashari. I have always hated the "don't drink with meals" mandate. It is easier to get your food down with a drink. I am committing myself to increased exercise as of today. I already had that talk with myself. Just riding my recumbent bike 1/2 hour 4 days per week isn't enough. But, of course, the fitness person at the surgeon's office said I'd need to do 1 hour of exercise at least 4 days per week. Stay strong.

In response to "is anyone struggling?": I have lost 117lbs and gone from 340 to 223 since the beginning of my 2 week diet before weight loss surgery (RNY) October 15, 2013. I am extremely happy with the health I am now enjoying. No back pain, a lot less knee pain, no high blood pressure, no more pre-diabetes, no high cholesterol. My struggle is the same one I've always had. I crave carbs and just a taste sets the cravings off. I wish I had adverse reactions to all carbs, and I can't eat rice and Pasta because they slide down. I also can't eat soft bread or sandwiches. BUT, that still leaves crunchy pita chips, English muffins, crackers. I try to limit them and when I eat too many all weight loss stops. I took a weight loss break May through July. My goal was to maintain my weight, which I did, and now I want to lose 23 lbs before I take another weight boss break. I found that taking the break gave me a chance to explore my feelings about my new size and fully enjoy my accomplishments. This might sound counterproductive to some of you, but it worked for me. To accomplish my new weight loss goal, I have chosen to eat a whey Protein smoothie for Breakfast and dinner and to eat a salad with just a little protein for lunch. Morning snack is greek Chobani 100 calorie yogurt with about 1/8 cup Great Grains ceral, afternoon snack is an apple and Peanut Butter and evening snack is watermelon or cherries. I'm trying to stay around 1,000 calories a day. I'll let you know how that works out in two weeks. I don't plan to eat this way until I lose the 23 lbs, but I'm thinking of doing 2 weeks on it and 2 weeks off it with high protein, low carb, under 1,200 calories per day

Thanks Alex for bringing this to our attention. I did it!

Enjoy the coasters. I'm sure walking around the park will be much easier. Congrats on your NSV.

I live in Clover SC and work in Charlotte NC. I had surgery October 15, 2014. I've lost 115 lbs to date and I'm buckling down again right now to lose the 65 lbs I need to lose to get to 160, my goal. You've lost what I hope to lose by the end. Congrats. I feel so much better than before the surgery and can walk without pain, fit in any seat and not have to search so hard for clothes. I am so glad I did it. Thanks for sharing.

You look great! I don't think your weight stats listed to the left of your post are up-to-date so I have some questions. How much weight did you lose and how much do you weigh now? You're from North Carolina. What city or town? I'm from outside of Charlotte.

Just stumbled on a great site to help with emotional eating. It even has a section just for bariatric surgery: http://amihungry.com/get-started/ Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I knew some of the info from the Binge Eating Disorder Therapy I underwent the year prior to my Oct 15, 2013 bariatric surgery. Other ideas were knew to me. Like, if you like doodling or playing with legos, keep a supply of legos or colored pencils or markers in your office and at home so you can build or draw for about 10 minutes when you are bored and thinking about eating. Sometimes, just diverting your attention for 10 minutes can make the desire to eat our of boredom go away.

Autumn pumpkin, Glad you have supportive people to help you through the hard times. You do look great. Such high cheekbones in your face. It is a nice thing when you suprisingly fit into a regular size. I felt that in February when I could wear a regular extra large sweater. Not a 1X, but just normal extra large.

I usually have the following sometime during every week: Wendy's Chilli Wendy's 1/2 Apple Pecan chicken salad (higher in calories than some things, but good taste and source of protein) KFC Grilled Chicken Breast and green beans--No bread Hot & Sour Soup from Chinese restaurant--good amount of Protein 3 turkey meatballs in spaghetti sauce (no Pasta, buy pre-cooked and warm up in store bought sauce) I eat the following every day for snacks: P3 (Oscar Meyer prepackaged turkey or ham, almonds or peanuts, cheddar or co-jack cheese) only 160 calories, 13 protein grams, 3 grams carbs) Chobani Greek Yogurt, Simply 100 (12 grams protein, 15 gram carbs) sugar free popsicles

Congrats Autumn Pumpkin and Devil w/Blue Dress to reaching Onderland!

Carol, This all sounds like me before October 14, 2013. I can sympathize. Now I am 6 months out from RNY surgery and have none of these problems. You can be that person too! Just wait.

Just had my 6 month checkup and the doctor is pleased but I don't have the results from my blood work yet. My surgery was 10/15/13 and I've lost 105 lbs. My percentage of weight lost is 58%. I weighed 340 at surgery and now weigh 235. I still need to lose 75 lbs to make my goal weight of 160. Great things that have happened since surgery: --No longer take meds for blood pressure, it's now 120/60 (had it checked by person physician in February) --No longer need C-PAP machine for sleep Apnea --Back doesn't hurt at all! I was using the rascal carts at the grocery store, Target and Walmart because I couldn't shop without pain --Went down on meds for --Clinical Depression and I am happy most days now --Cholesterol is 123 and my good cholesterol is where it should be (had it checked by person physician in February) --No longer pre-diabetic (had it checked by person physician in February) --I now exercise daily --I hardly have any cellulite because I eat so healthy: low fat, high Protein, low carbs --I have lots of energy and can walk very fast for long periods of time --I constantly get compliments on my weight loss and I have to admit I look very different Life is good! I am very happy with my decision to have RNY. I'll let you know how labs turn out. I think they'll be good because I take my Vitamins, Iron, calcium and D every day and get at least 70, but often 90 - 110 grams of protein daily.

My 6 month checkup with blood work is tomorrow morning. Surgery was 10/15//13. Am I supposed to fast or eat like breakfast like normal. My appointment is at 8:45 am. I don't remember anyone telling me to fast.

I have my 6 month checkup and blood test tomorrow morning. I don't remember anyone telling me not to eat before arriving like they do when you are told to fast prior to blood tests during a physical. Did you eat breakfast prior to your 6 month blood workup?

I think the regular unjury flavors are too sweet. I use one scoop vanilla and one scoop unflavored to make a protein smoothie for breakfast every day. If I don't do this, the icky sweetness turns my stomach. I use the two scoops of protein powder, 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup lite soy milk and blend it in blender until it's a smoothie/slushie consistency. I eat it with a spoon.

I was worried about the two week liquid diet, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My doctor allowed salads with almost no calorie dressings and that helped with the urge to chew something. Most people on this site will tell you that after day 4, it becomes much easier. I was very pleased to lose 18 pounds during this phase prior to surgery. I didn't like the super sweet taste of the Protein shakes so I put instant decaffeinated coffee crystals in my morning shake. The flavor was pretty good. The protein hot chocolate and chicken broth is also not bad. sugar free popscicles are nice for something fruity. I don't remember how much the EGD was, but it is a lot less than a sleep study. It's sort of necessary since the doctor needs to see if you have any issues that would hinder surgery. Good luck.

Does your surgeon's office have a support group for those who've had surgery? Better yet, is there a psychologist associated with your surgeon's office? You need to reach out for some professional support--fast! It is very dangerous to throw up in the first few weeks after surgery. You are healing and eating things not on your plan can cause damage. It is hard to follow your plan when those around you can eat whatever they want to. Ask your family member to ONLY eat in the kitchen or dining room. Then stay out of the kitchen or dining room except to make your food. It's your house and your health is at stake. You shouldn't have to hide in your bedroom just so they can eat all over the house. You are probably having head hunger, not actual hunger. Your stomach is too small to truly be hungry yet. And the nerves that signal when you are full or hungry don't work until 4 - 6 months out from surgery. You MUST stick to your doctor's plan. It is easiest to lose the weight now through 6 months from surgery. After that, the weight loss will most likely slow down and the real work begins. This is your golden time to lose. Ideally you probably should have chosen another time to have surgery since I'm sure it is very stressful with all the families in your house right now, but this is the time you have. Be strong and ask for your family's support. Let us know how you are doing.

I work in Charlotte and live in Clover, SC. Had my RNY 10/15/13. I've lost 105 lbs since 10/1/13, the beginning of my 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. My surgeon is Dr. Keith Gersin with Carolina's Weight Management in Charlotte, part of the CMC hospital network. I haven't had any medical issues since surgery and I am so happy I did this. Good luck to you, Tina and Kimberly.

I've lost 102 lbs since 10/15/13, but I've hit a road block since 2/1/14. Carb cravings something fierce! I've been rotating through the same 3 lbs for the past few weeks. I know I should eat less carbs, but it's hard. My one indulgence most days is a whole grain English muffin with cream cheese. I'm eating about 3/4 cup of food at meals and staying around 1200 calories.I always get more than 70 grams of Protein and drink at least 64 oz. of fluids a day. How many calories are you guys eating? Oh, and I'm exercising at least 4 days a week and doing strength training 1 - 2 days a week. Any suggestions on what I should be doing differently from your experience? I have 80 more lbs to lose.

Baconville, So glad to read your story. You started out at a weight about like mine. Congratulations on your success! I had RNY 10/15/13 and have lost 102 lbs since 10/1/13 when I began my 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. I need to lose about 80 more pounds to reach my goal of 160 lbs. I am 5'8" so that is a healthy goal. Losing weight was easy until about 2/1/14. I am having carb cravings and I'm trying to see just how many carbs I can eat per day and not gain--AND continue to lose. Well, I haven't gained, but my weight loss has slowed. I am exercising and doing strength building. Do you have carb cravings or are you one of the lucky ones who escaped this? What did you eat 6 months out from surgery? What kind and amount of food? How calories per day and how many grams protein, carbs, fat?

Looks like fun. If only I was good at dancing. Thanks for sharing.