RNBSN786

I don't know much about Paleo diet but have seen pictures of the foods that are eaten on websites. I had a gastric bypass 4 months back and I don't eat carbs. Meaning I avoid simple carbs. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no cakes/cookies, rarely potato, rarely fruits. I eat ground meats (chicken, turkey and beef), beans, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, soy milk, strong cheese, Greek yogurt, pb2, nuts, protein shakes and if I crave something sweet I will have skinny cow or weight watchers ice cream. I honestly don't miss any of the carbs. I guess we just get used to not having them in our diets. Hope this helps. Also banders will probably have more insights. Good luck!

I am able to shop in some big stores in NYC and before my weight loss I couldn't even go inside the store because the clothes wouldn't even fit me. I shopped at club Monaco and was able to fit into their mediums. I was a size 14/16 and now I can fit into size 8/10 in Ann Taylor and the loft. For shirts I was XL and now I can fit into M/L. Even in the train I don't need a lot of space to sit like I used to before. My handbag and I can sit in the same seat next to each other. Plus people even look at me and smile. But I still feel I am big...my mind is still trying to catch up with my body.

You are welcome and I am happy to help!

I would love to join but I work on Saturdays def next time. Will miss everyone !

I still don't like the gym much but I love to walk and I don't own a car so I walk every where. That's just how it is in the NYC area. I would go to train stops far from my destination just to walk more. I just have to be in the mood to hit the treadmill. But I am addicted to protein shakes, pb2, and Greek yogurt.

In the morning I usually have a Greek yogurt with benefiber or a protein shake. For lunch it's usually mozzarella cheese with tomato, or chicken chili, or chicken meatballs with tomato sauce, and if I am hungry again I will have yogurt or a shake. And then for dinner, chili, shrimp with cocktail sauce or salmon kebabs, or a burger patty with cheese or if I am not much hungry I will make a protein shake with pb2 and a half banana. I do snack time to time but for that I will have nuts or string cheese. If I want something sweet I will have skinny cow or weight watchers ice cream sandwich. I don't eat bread, pasta, rice, potato etc. My daily intake is about 800-900 a day and protein is about 60-80 and I am 4 months out.

You have to also keep in mind that you need to eat enough to lose...do you track your intake? are you meeting your Protein goals? My NUT said to eat between 800-1000 calories a day...400-500 calories a day seem to be very low. So I think its important to increase your calories and also to eat the right stuff (proteins). Good luck!

I live in Jersey City and work in the Manhattan..if you need any help/support please let me know. I understand what you are going through and would be happy to help. When I had my surgery 4 months back, I didnt know anyone in person that had the surgery. You can also email me st1614@nyu.edu. I had a gastric bypass at NYU Langone by Dr. George Fielding. Amazing surgeon and he really cares for his patients.

I am losing a TON of hair and my hair has become very thin. There was a point in my life where my hair was really nice and people would always compliment me on my hair but now, forget about it, it looks terrible. Its brittle and breaks easily. I cant even blow dry it. I am freaking out but its part of having low Iron. My NUT said to have lots of Protein and iron and that will help with the hair lose. I really dont know much about Biotin and dont want to add more things to my body. So I am hoping to just ride it out and do what my nut said...iron and protein.

here check this out http://www.dietaryfiberdigest.com/can-too-much-fiber-cause-constipation/

If you take too much fiber it will bulk up...so have it in moderation. When I was not able to go, I took laxative, colace, senna tea and then it just bulked up and I ended up in the ER. My doc said that it bulk up and I had to take miralax to break it up so it can pass through. You want to have a good balance. At least for now, benefiber, colace and flaxseed oil has worked..of course I drink a lot of Water and have one Protein shake a day.

I think we were told to start 4-6 months out, I cant seem to remember but I did try to eat salad a few times in the last month or so and I am 4 months out...to be honest, I can not tolerate it. It hurts going down and I really dont like the feeling of it. My surgeon/nut say best to eat Proteins and skip the rest. So I just do that...I LOVE salads before surgery but now, I dont enjoy them much cause it hurts going down. They are too rough for my tummy. As far as dressing goes, I use vinaigrettes for my mozzarella cheese and tomatoes for lunch. Creamy ones are too heavy and fattening and sugary. So I stay away from them...

I originally started to take the calcium carbonate from GNC and realized they dont work so I started to take Bariactic Advantage calcium citrate chewy bites and I also find them to be very sweet. I am not a big fan of these chew Vitamins of anything cause they are too sweet and I end up feeling awful every time I have them. But I also dont want to swallow calcium pills cause they are massive. The only ones I swallow are flaxseed oil, gentle Iron and protonix. So at the end of the day at least at my end I have no choice. I use the sublingual b12 from GNC and those I can deal with thank God.

Yes be patient...right now you are healing so heal and follow your doc's advice. Even 4 months out I dont always make it to my goal for Proteins but I make sure I track each and everything I eat on MFP. Let your tummy heal..its a whole new lifestyle and process. So take it slow...even now I still eat my yogurt with small bites and that is also 5.3 oz. Right after surgery your tummy can only hold about 1oz and then slowly you will be able to hold 4-5oz and then later on it will be 8oz max. So take your time to eat and heal..good luck!

You can not compare your results to others...you have to compare yourself to yourself. Everyones' journey is different and everyones' goals are different. Some have a lot to lose and some dont and of course all of us hit stalls. So best advice is to keep going and follow your doc's advice and have goals for yourself. There is no exact number on how many pounds you should lose a week...you can do it. Good luck!

Keep in mind you dont have too much of fiber either like laxatives cause it will bulk up..thats what got me to the ER...

I was constipated a lot early on and I even ended up going to the ER cause I could not go for days. I called my NUT and she said that I should take colace, flaxseed oil every day and also add benefiber to my diet. I have benefiber first thing in the morning with my yogurt and then at night I end up having flaxseed oil 1400mg and I also have gentle Iron 25mg. I dont use colace as much now. Iron also causes constipation so you want to make sure you have the right kind of iron pill and i started to take gentle iron and I have been able to go every day. And of course do not forget to drink A LOT of Water. Good luck!

It all depends...I am not big on adding fruits in my shakes cause for me the Protein shakes are sweet enough. Also what you want to be careful of is the sugar in the fruit. You dont want to add a lot of sugar cause its carbs and that can slow down the weight loss. So my best advice would be to try to stay away from fruit at least early on. I do eat blueberries and cherries time to time. I barely eat apples or oranges (they are hard to digest and I am 4 months out), I do eat bananas once in a while and at times I might add them to my shake to add more flavor. Pineapple, grapes, mango and even bananas are high in sugar. Here are some interesting articles that tell you more about fruits... http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/sugar-wise-how-fruit-stacks http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/making-the-case-for-eating-fruit/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm

You are in your early stages...my NUT said to eat 800-1000 calories a day but most importantly have 60-80 grams of Protein a day and calories will take its own course. 3 weeks post op I barely could eat but was on pureed and soft foods for sometime. Best advice is to follow your surgeon/nut program because it seems like a lot of us have different plans according to our surgeons/nuts. Now I am 4 months post-op and I eat about 800-1000 calories a day and keep a track of every bite I put in mouth and use my fitness pal. That tool has helped me out a lot. Most importantly you have to eat to lose...good luck!

It decreases but doesn't disappear Here is an interesting article to see what a sleeve does: http://www.thinnertimesforum.com/topic/76607-current-overview-of-vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy/ Malabsorption means you can't absorb but being deficient is where things get complicated. And deficiency occurs with all WLS but it's a lot more with RNY. It's not about which one is better but what works best for you. Sleeve has great results but not a lot of data since it's new. You have to go with what works best for you! Make sure you research and get the right data cause that's important to have before making the decision. In my case sleeve was the first choice but my surgeon well known at NYU doc said go for RNY and I wanted to make sure I used my insurance for all cause I knew in the long run I might not have it and didn't want to go through a second surgery or wait it out again. For me this has worked and I am happy.

And I agree with you 100%. They all work but we have to make it work. Thank you for the info!

Removing the stomach does not create malabsorption, rewiring things does. This is what a digestive system does currently with out WLS: Small Intestine/BowelThe mixture of food, liquid, and digestive juice (chyme) that passes out of the stomach, in a regulated controlled manner, enters into the small intestine/bowel. The average total length of the normal small bowel in adults is about 7 meters/22 feet. The small intestine has 3 segments: the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. Each part or section performs an important role in nutrient absorption. Duodenum – The chyme first enters into the duodenum where it is exposed to secretions that aid digestion. The secretions include bile salts, enzymes, and bicarbonate. The bile salts from the liver help digest fats and fat soluble Vitamins (Vitamin A, D, E, and K). Pancreatic enzymes help digest carbohydrates and fats. Bicarbonate from the pancreas neutralizes the acid from the stomach. Jejunum – The chyme is then further transited down into the second or middle part of the small intestine, the jejunum. Mainly in the first half of the jejunum, the majority (about 90%) of nutrient absorption occurs involving Proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Ileum – The ileum is the last section of the small intestine and leads to the large intestine or colon. The ileum mainly absorbs Water, bile salts, and vitamin B12. When you get RNY this is what happens: The malabsorptive element in gastric bypass is achieved by surgically dividing the small intestine in a certain area. Once divided, the lower part of the intestine (jejunum)is pulled up to directly connect to the small pouch or "new" stomach. The other end of this divided intestine is surgically sewn back at a specific point further down the small intestine. The shape of the intestine now somewhat resembles a "Y." As a result, when food is eaten, it enters the "new" stomach, then travels into the jejunum, first "bypassing" the upper part of the intestine. The effect of bypassing the upper portion of the intestine decreases the amount of calories and nutrients that are absorbed into the body. Now for the sleeve this is what happens: In a sleeve gastrectomy, approximately 50 to 85% of the stomach is cut away, leaving a tube-like stomach about the size and shape of a banana. The procedure leaves the complicated sphincters at the top and bottom of the stomach intact. The procedure does not require any implantable devices or re-routing of the intestines.While removal of most of the stomach is the only change to the digestive system, it has far-reaching impact. For one thing, the stomach obviously holds less food and liquid. Please definitely look at the anatomy and physiology of each WLS before jumping to conclusions. Its important to understand what each surgery does and what complications people can have. I do believe each proceedure requires vitamins in the long run because we are not eating as much but with RNY its more due to malabsorption because things have been change a lot internally. Hope this helps! Thanks!

I didn't say you don't take them at all but I did say you don't take them as much as you do when you have RNY. Like you said everyone has to take them but with RNY it's more due to malabsorption while with sleeve and band you are restrictive but can still absorb. Please reread what I wrote! Thnks!

My doc said either one works. However I had gerd, pcos, sleep apnea, high bp, diabetes and he said RNY will solve all the issues. He has seen a lot of success with sleeve but it's a new thing so there isn't a lot of data available to compare. RNY has been around for a long time and has a ton of data out there that shows the success of WLS and it's known to be the golden WLS. and I really didn't want to go through a surgery again so I decided to go with RNY. Best decision I made in my life. Results are phenomenal and I am much happier in my life than I ever was. For RNY there is the restrictive and malabsorption part helps you lose a lot quicker. In sleeve it's restrictive but no malabsorption and you don't have to take vitamins much like you do when you get a RNY. I take the vitamins and happy tanking them. But it's really all up to you.

I tried one the other day and they were good. I got cookies and cream. They are dense which I like. But I am also not much into protein bars. I love my protein shakes though.