Babbs

My thoughts on it..... Absolutes like "always" and "never" are ominous and frankly pretty unrealistic when we are talking the rest of our lives. I personally feel alcohol should be at best minimal during the weight loss phase, and you should at least allow your cut and stapled stomach to heal before imbibing. I think once a person hits their maintenence phase, it can be incorporated occasionally in an otherwise healthy, well balanced diet of lean Proteins, fruits and veggies. If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing 95% of the time, the occasional drink, chocolate, or piece of cake shouldn't be an issue, unless you make it one

@@Pup Ha! I'm far from young! I turned 49 in June.

I have to lose around 130lbs (I think. I'm not sure what the dr will say) I hope I look as good as you do! Did you have any problem with excess skin? I'm mostly worried about my belly and bat wings. I lost 108lbs before, and i really didn't notice my upper arms looking much different, and my legs got very muscular. I HATE my upper arms! Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App I've been exercising regularly since practically day 1 trying to tighten up what I can. Arms are pretty good, legs okay except inner thigh area, but my stomach is a mess and needs surgery, lol. Some things no amount of exercise can fix!

@@char3672 Thanks. I started at 235 with a goal of 150. That took me about a year, (a bit on the slow side) and then lost around 7 more pounds in about 4 months. I've been maintaining within 5 pounds for a year. Hard work, but worth it!

In a heartbeat!

@@Unbridled Awwwww Thanks! I need to take breaks from here periodically, but I always manage to come back, lol.

1. Everyone is different. I've seen some maintain on 1000 calories and some on 1800 calories. It's important as you get further out from surgery that you INCREASE calories in order to achieve a set point so you aren't having to maintain on 800 calories the rest of your life. I personally maintain on 1200. Anymore than that and I gain. 2. Protein is most important early out because you're healing, losing weight and losing muscle, and you have such little space in your tummy, that's really all you have room for. As you advance stages and can naturally eat more as the months how by, you CAN incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet. But protein always should be first, and then if you have room the others. Protein also helps stave off hunger and keeps you satisfied longer, which can be key if you're prone to snacking. 3. The amount of food you can eat in one sitting is totally depending on how far out you are from surgery. In the early weeks, you can sometimes only eat literally 4 bites. As things heal and loosen up, it goes to 4 ounces. At 2 years out, I can eat 3-4 Oz of chicken (dense) 4-5 Oz of beef with a bite or 3 of veggies. I can eat much more seafood (not as dense). As the years go by, you will naturally be able to eat more and more. It's normal and inevitable. I drink right up until I eat, never but a tiny sip with food, and even after 2 years still wait 30 minutes after I eat to drink. You get used to it. I can drink 16 Oz of room temperature Fluid in a matter of minutes now, instead of an hour like early out

You need to see her rack. How easy it is to be generous with someone else's rack. Babbs, front and center! You heard her. Whip it out.

Pssst. I have a secret. I have managed to lose my weight AND maintain it without a dietitian or NUT. I find most of them don't know squat about what a bariatric patient needs. Find healthy, non processed stuff loaded with Protein and nutrients you like and go from there!

It IS hard! On top of it I was on a medically supervised diet per my insurance. Can you imagine?? Trying to quit smoking AND dieting? It's no wonder I didn't kill someone.

I had surgery August 22, 2014 and started vaping in June in order to quit smoking by my surgery. I just tapered down the nicotine in the vape until I was down to 0. Then I lost interest in the vape. Over 2 years smoke free and I'm prouder of that than the weight loss Good Luck!

Two years out here. For about a year, I waited 15 minutes before and a half hour after. Now I drink right up until, still never during and still wait 20-30 minutes after. Pretty much habit now. You get used to it.

Successful vet comes in, gives good advice INCLUDING the suggestion of heeding dietician's advice for best results and wishes her well.: New member shows obvious irritation at said vet, calls her judgemental, says she only wants to hear from dietician, just not HER dietician. She then claims to be non trusting of strangers (yet she is asking a board of strangers) and also states she is kind and considerate to them anyways (when clearly her definition of kind and considerate is questionable). Kids, you can't make this stuff up! Just another day. *Yawn*

@@summerset And now we have come full circle. BEHAVIOR is usually an indication of success or failure with anything, correct? If these programs have a higher chance to help modify the behavior of these folks before WLS, I feel they would have a better chance at success. That being said, I sometimes see behaviors in these forums that are not indicative of success. Hence the whole point of the OP's topic. You get out what you put into this for sure! Oh, and @@summerset, nice chatting with you

Damn, it really is like getting a driver's license! I think quite a few drivers should never have gotten permission to drive a car at all. All jokes aside - there is no way you can tell if someone is going to "mess up" after surgery or not. You'll never know for sure. There are people getting heart surgery and don't stop smoking or start smoking again, there are people who start drinking again after getting a new liver, even though they stopped drinking long enough to be able to get that liver etc. - and how many times before surgery (being on the umpteenth diet - oops, I mean lifestyle change of course) did we think This Is Finally It! This Time It Will Be Different! This Time I Will Succeed! - and yet we didn't. About that "lifestyle change": obviously we all needed surgery to be able to do that change and we all messed up a great deal before surgery when it comes to "lifestyle changes", otherwise we wouldn't have been eligible for surgery in the first place. I didn't say anything about "messing up". Most of us mess up post op. But you can't argue the fact that there are people who weren't prepared for the complete lifestyle change it requires to make this surgery successful? Otherwise you wouldn't see 50% of us fail. If having 90% of your stomach removed isn't motivation enough to get your sh*t together, then I don't know what would be at that point! But wouldn't a comprehensive process with mental health evaluations and then therapy if needed and intensive nutritional and exercise classes be more prudent than the joke of a system they have now where you're basically put through the protocol of an hour psychological exam and an hour meeting with your NUT and then deemed ready for surgery? Wouldn't that help people be BETTER prepared? That really was my point.

It's a pretty simple explanation, actually. You know how we always hear about "so and so had the surgery and gained all their weight back because they weren't ready to change"? Most of those posts are from the so and so's of the world. You know, the ones that give WLS a bad name. Statistically speaking, it's about 50% of us. Until the WLS industry decides to stop cranking out these surgeries in order to make a buck or a million and get more stringent about vetting who is actually ready to handle the complete life change it requires to make it successful, there will continue to be so and so's.

As newly post ops and even before, there's so much focus on getting the surgery to LOSE the weight. And why shouldn't there be? That's the purpose, right? I was a champion loser. I have gained and lost hundreds of pounds in my 49 years of life. Losing was actually very easy for me, because I tend to be an all or nothing type of person. The problem was, when I lost it, I went right back to the crappy habits that got me fat in the first place and put the weight back on, and then some. I'd managed to diet my way up to 235 pounds. I was more middle of the road BMI at 39 when I had surgery. My hope was the surgery would give me the kick in the ass I needed to take my health seriously, and not continue the bad habits that made me obese in the first place. So far at 2 years out and below my goal weight, it's working. Whether your BMI is a 30 or 50, KEEPING the weight you lose off by changing your habits to live a healthier life is the ultimate goal, no? NOT how much you need to lose to do it. If getting WLS helps you do that, more power to you!

I It always does.

@@Uniqbtrfly In my opinion, I need the scale for accountability. Especially in maintenance. My clothes felt no tighter 5 pounds heavier, and if I would have been using how my clothes feel as a guide, my weight could have gone up 7-10 pounds without really realizing it if I don't watch a scale. But that's what works for me. I know other people similar to you who prefer not to use a scale, also. Especially if it becomes an obsession.

@@Jewelgirl04 You do know that having a larger capacity is normal the further out you get, right? And the answer to that is just making sure you're eating healthy, lower calorie foods that are measured out so you don't over eat. If it makes you feel better, I did the 5 pound thing too. I did the EXACT same thing you did....maintained within 2 pounds, then gained about 5 after maintaining for about 7 months. Exact weight range you are, too! I drank more Water, changed up my exercise routine to focus more on lean muscle building instead of cardio, and did do some intermittent fasting to jump start my metabolism again. If I lost it, I lost it. If not, I was chalking it up to normal "bounce" weight that happens to all of us. I wasn't going to stress about it too much, because I was still under my original goal weight! Well it took me 3 months, and I'm 1 pound away from my normal maintenence weight again. The further out we get, the more the re gain likes to hold on. It just takes time. Be patient. And if it doesn't want to come off, maybe that's where your body wants to settle? I was ready to accept that, too

I predict this to be a very calm and thought provoking discussion.

I hadn't quite had surgery yet when this thread was started! You're one of the people that inspired me to be successful. Have I ever thanked you for that? Thank you.

Just know at 23, if you don't get a handle on your weight now, it will only get worse. I was about your size in my 20's after a couple of kids. Joined WW's, lost 50 pounds, gained it back and then some, rinse and repeat until at 47, I had dieted my way to 235 pounds (39 BMI). I was pre diabetic and was on meds for HBP. Almost 2 years later, perfect blood pressure, perfect labs, size 6, running and looking like I'm 39 instead of 49. I do have some GERD, I did lose some hair (has grown back full as ever now), I have completely changed the way I eat to make sure I maintain my 90+ pound loss. Is it a constant struggle to stay on the straight and narrow and make sure I'm exercising and eating right 90% of the time because I know I can eat around the sleeve and gain? Sure. But it's completely worth it. And if you feel you're ready for the commitment, you'll see it's worth it too.

@@madisunshine1 At 10 days post op, you're still healing. When they cut out your stomach, nerves were cut along with it. Because of that, you may not be feeling the "full" signal quite yet. Wait until you heal up a bit more, and you'll begin to feel the restriction. In the mean time, try to measure your food so you don't inadvertently overeat and make yourself miserable.

Dirty *****!!!!That was w h o r e. I heart you.