wildGoose

Big Clothes: Well, the other day I saw a recent picture of myself. I was wearing my size 20 jeans and a size 3x knit shirt (black). That's pretty much been my uniform for years. The only thing was that instead of noticing how much smaller I am, I noticed how bad bad bad my clothes looked. Wearing huge clothes is not a good thing. I am one of those people who went years without looking in a mirror. Recently, I have been changing this, and I am getting more and more comfortable with myself. Now, I am 61, and I have been doing the weight loss dance for a lot of years. As a result, I pretty much have clothes in my closet that will get me down to size 12 or 14. So what am I doing wearing my size 20 jeans? Today, I am in my closets pulling out the old clothes that have not fit me for years. I must confess that it is making me nervous, but I would rather spend the holidays wearing clothes that fit. Happy Holidays everyone.

This is my eight-week anniversary. I am getting better at this. The last time I saw my PA, she asked me to try to eat 4-6 meals a day plus 2 TBSP of oil. It was a hard thing for me to consider because the one thing I ever did "right" was eat just three meals a day. At first, I just added one Protein drink a day, and I had to divide that into two separate meals because I could not drink the whole thing in one sitting. (I can't figure out how my new stomach can tell the difference between a protein drink and Water, but it can. I now have another meal, usually a tablespoon of almond butter (no additives) at night. I'm up to about 500-600 calories a day, still losing weight. I'm still dealing with constipation, but I am doing colace 2x a day, and I am taking flax oil. I've tried Magnesium Citrate, but my new taste buds just can't stand it. I bought myself a steak. This is probably not good for my constipation, but it is good for my head. I can't remember who said she ate the top off a few slices of pizza. That is something I could try, but I would try it at home first. I'm not baking this christmas. Funny, I don't really miss it. Happy Holidays to everyone.

About the sugar thing.... I am not quite 8 weeks out from my surgery. I have not tried sugar; nor have I experience dumping. I think about trying sugar, but I think I am more afraid that I will not have a reaction to sugar than I am afraid that I will DUMP. I could really do a number on myself with thoughts about food I am not eating. I am good with Protein and a few veggies. I have had a half piece of toast (whole wheat) twice. I would rather have protein nourishment than bread. I was using bread for almond butter. To the person who suggested using a spoon, when someone asked about what to eat with their cheese, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As things progress, I can see how easy it would be to fall back into old habits. I want this to wok, and I get it that I have to be the one who makes it work. Making the right choices is my responsibility. I am having a really hard time with constipation. I'm going to start a thread.

my team says 10-12 lbs a month. sounds like you might want to consider weighing 1x a week. also, do you have a good digital scale?

Once I finally decided, it took me a year. On the way, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer, had a hysterectomy, and then had to wait. By the time i made it to the OR for my RNY, I was really ready. I could have let my frustration stop me, but I just kept on going. Every step was a learning. I read everything I could find. I lurked around this site, read blogs and all kinds of statistical research. I had diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypertension, so i had no trouble qualifying. Having WLS is not an instant gratification thing. It is a learning. I still learn every day. Only 50% of the people who start the process actually make it to the ER. Hang in there.

Amy. I think you have it right. You do what your surgery team says. I trust my PA, and I'm about to take a special class they offer called "What to eat after surgery."

I had a hard time with the idea of 3 meals a day. The problem was that I could not get enough Protein if I didn't eat more. Now I try for an extra Protein Drink each day, but I have to split it in half because its just too much to drink it all at once. It took me some time to really learn how to eat so little. I shoot for 500-600 cal a day.

I think that I'm hungry sometimes. I sometimes wish I was hungry, but I'm just not. There are times when I feel depleted, needing nourishment, but that's very different to me.

Me too. My highest weight was 320, but I can rarely say that. I avoided mirrors for maybe 10 years, to the point where I would brush my teeth from the side of the sink! I had uniform clothes choices, so I didn't have to do major shopping. The things that I would do to avoid having to confront how I really looked!!! Oh my. The thing that got me, was when I was diagnosed with MORBID obesity. I spent 7 years making my way to weight loss surgery. I got myself down to 280, and they put me on a pre-surgical liquid diet and lost 25 lbs. I'm about 7 weeks out from my surgery, and I can just kick myself for waiting so long. I'm so grateful that I had the surgery. But I am still dealing with my body image, and how people perceive me. And this is having only lost 50 lbs. Not even half of where I want to be. Thanks too all the people who posted above me. Such a gift.

i take the tablets. i actually take a lot of pills. taking pills is the worst part of my post surgery experience, so I only take tylenol when i must. My post surgical pain was very little. I don't know what that is about.

About six years ago, I spent 6 weeks at a very good fat farm. They fed us about 1000 calories a day. Then, on Friday nights, they would up the calories with a very special meal. It was great fun. All the people would sort of dress up, and we ate by candle light. The idea behind the meal was to show your body that you were not trying to starve it. So now, I try to vary my calories, and what I eat, somewhat. I tend to like the same foods all the time. I like routines. But I am sure that varying what I eat each day is a good weight loss plan for me.

When I was on my pre-surgery liquid diet, I went to two Post Season San Francisco Giants games. I love baseball. The hardest part was being around the food. I took Premier Protein drinks and a bottle of Water. I was in the hospital for game six and seven of the world series. Surgery day was game six, which we lost, I was basically too out of it to watch. Good thing, actually. Game seven, I was still in the hospital. I was able to watch every single moment, but I was in bed. I never could have made it to an actual game of any kind. Since you have many games left this season, I hope you decide to stay home.

SMILEY. Did he give you a ticket?

@@joankrie - yay for you. i'm actually so glad i tried the diet coke. i too, do Water and skim milk. i also have a cup of sleepy time at night.

Oh. One more thing. I used to be totally addicted to Diet Coke. When I went on the liquid diet, I totally stopped with the diet coke. Today I was out doing Christmas errands, and I was very thirsty. So instead of getting a bottle of Water, I got a fountain Diet Coke. I had two sips. It was totally disgusting. My taste buds have really been changing.

I am so grateful for the re-emergence of Bronx. Please all of us remember that if there is is black stuff coming out of our butts, it is about blood. My mom used to say, "if they don't listen to you, have a fit." Boy was she right. The October group is my fave part of BariatricPal, and I thank Beni for starting it. I have been doing well, but very tired. My PA says that is because my body becomes very tired from losing weight very fast. I was losing about 4 lbs a week, which is too fast. In addition I was not getting enough Protein. Now, I am taking more calories/protein in the form of a Premier Protein vanilla drink. It is so funny that I have to break it in to two meals now because of my "new stomach" being so small. When I was on my liquid diet, I would drink them down in less than a minute. From the first time I saw a surgeon about weight loss surgery, it took me seven years to make it to the OR. If you are lurking around here trying to make a decision, please hang in there. From the day I went on the liquid diet, I have lost about 50 lbs. I have many more to go, probably 75, but I already feel like a new person. My biggest question, is why did I wait so long? I guess you can't really change your life like this until you are really ready, I am not baking this holiday season. I am grateful that nobody has asked me to bake. I will find another thing to do for the holidays. Thanks to everyone who posts here. And happy holidays to all of us.

I was told six weeks. That's tomorrow. I'll see what my PA says.

While I was on my Protein drink diet, I told a few people who asked. Some of the responses were downright rude. "Oh, my neighbor had it, she gained it all back." or "Eeeew!" I could go on. Now when people ask I just tell them what I am doing, but not about the surgery. That seems to work. Since I had uterine cancer leading up to the surgery, I don't want people to be worrying about my weight loss, but I don't want to defend the surgery, either.

I thought I was in this group. I was sure I could eat more than ¼ cup. One scrambled egg was not enough. I was sure I could eat two. I could eat a tiny bit more than one. (large egg) It is the same thing with anything else. Tomorrow I will be six weeks out. I don't think you are doing yourself any favors by seeing how much you can eat. A few times I have eaten too much, and it feels horrible.

I almost wish I did have dumping. I feel it would keep me from trying to stretch the rules. I haven't had any sweets, but I find myself craving them. Six weeks out.

sometimes i forget, and gulp. but then my chest hurts a lot. so i slow down, and force myself to drink smaller "sips" and wait while i feel it do down my throat. i wish i could drink faster because sometimes i get distracted and don't get to drink as much as i need to. i worry about that.

my doc has never suggested crushing the pills. i take the small ones whole, and i use a pill splitter to make the largers ones smaller. my worst pill has been potassium, which is huge. i just got liquid potassium. i take about 8 different drugs, plus Vitamins. it takes me a long time to take them. i take one at a time, while i used to take all my pills with one swallow, i now take them very slowly. with sips of Water in between each one. even though i am not crushing them, it is still the hardest part of my day.

are you taking Vitamin D? That should help. If not, there are meds that will help, but you might want to try walking more first. Good luck.

I'm 4 weeks out from my RNY. I find that I can eat only ¼ cup of solid food. I can eat ½ cup of Soup, but there's a lot of liquid involved. My PA wants me to eat 4-6 meals a day so I get enough Protein. I cannot stand how it feels to eat too much, and after three meals, I am physically uncomfortable eating more.

Thank you so much for your response and for sharing your story. I read every word. Your understand of your process is one of the best I've read. Best wishes.