James Marusek

Good luck on your upcoming surgery and let us know if we can be of any help.

Congratulations.

It was around the 2nd or 3rd month. Mixing food groups together gave the food more flavor. So I found pleasure in eating Soups and chilis.

After surgery your meal volume will be incredibly small and as a result if you did not consume Protein shakes, your body will suffer because of a lack of protein. Your muscles will begin to deteriorate and shrink. The two important qualities of a Protein shake it that it contains a minimal amount of sugar and that you can tolerate the taste. I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) powder. It is 210 calories, 25 grams protein, 2 grams sugar. Also after surgery, your taste buds will change. So even though you might find it acceptable now, be prepared to experiment with other brands if you need to. In order to keep the cost low, once I locked onto a type of protein shake that I found acceptable, I ordered it by 26.5 ounce plastic containers over the internet.

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. Your daily Protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein you obtain from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars) combined with the protein from meals. But after surgery, the volume of food is so small that you have to rely on supplements. If you concentrate on consuming high protein meals, you can began to reduce your requirements on protein supplements as your meal volume increases. Over the first 1 1/2 years, I went from 3 protein shakes per day, down to 2, down to 1 and then down to none (once I reached 1 cup per meal). I relied on softer foods (chili and soups). I made my own and fortified them with around twice the protein found in canned Soups and chilis. At the end of the following article, I have included a few recipes. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

For years I was obese and felt good about myself. But as I aged I picked up several conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea. And these conditions would probably hasten my journey to the grave. So I took appropriate action. Mortality studies show that the individuals that fell into the normal BMI category lived the longest. If you were overweight, your life was shortened. But also if you were underweight, your life was shortened. If you stepped back 100 years in time, the ideal weight was a little on the heavy side. Think "Mae West". There was a practical reason for this. If you suffered a serious illness or accident, your body relied on your stored fat to help you survive until your body had a chance to recover. Today medicine has advanced and so has antibiotics, so your chances of surviving a major illness or accident has significantly improved. Some individuals have focused so much on maintaining a low weight that they developed anorexia/bulimia. BAD CONDITIONS. So there is a downside to too much focus on being attractive as judged by ideal magazine cover images.

I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) after RNY surgery. I thought the chocolate would be good but after surgery, I lost the taste for this flavor. After a month I began blending in half a banana into my Protein shakes and that improved the flavor.

It sounds like exercise is not a problem, not at 15 miles per day. Not too sure I can give you answers, so I will give you some thoughts. Prior to RNY surgery, I experienced profuse sweating. That condition has gone into remission after surgery. So even though you are experiencing 110 degree heat, your body might be better prepared to deal with the heat. Since you are drinking a gallon a day of Water, I suspect that dehydration may not be an issue. Before surgery, I didn't mind cold weather. Generally when it was 40 degrees outside, it was comfortable to drive around town with my windows down. But after surgery as I lost the fat, I also lost the insulation that the fat provided me. Now I am sensitive to the cold. Your body needs Protein. Without it, your muscle mass will deminish and this will affect your health. So protein is more important than meals. So I would recommend that you use Protein Bars when you reach that stage where they are acceptable post-op. I found Quest to be a good brand. There was one individual in our Bariatric Support Group meeting that went to the extreme with exercise after his surgery. He was in his 60's. He entered a bicycle competition and rode his bike from one end to the other end of the state of Indiana across. When he crossed the finish link, he had drained all the energy from his body and he collapsed. A small amount of food revived him and he was O.K. I experienced heat stroke one time when I was younger. As you approach this condition there are several warning signs that you should immediately react to. Your will notice that your body completely stop sweating. Your cheeks will feel hollow and have a warm glow.

It is common to get nervous prior to surgery. I went through so much work in order to get qualified for the RNY surgery, that I just put blinders on. As a result I had nerves of steel.

I am not sure how many months post-op you are. I found that softer foods went down easier and had better flavor. Softer foods are chili and Soups. I included a couple recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

You will have to ask them.

Congratulations.

It might be that it pre-existed prior to surgery and hidden by the fat. As you lost the fat, it became obviously visible.

This article describes my experience with RNY gastric bypass surgery. I am 3 years post-op. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf I basically told everyone about my surgery, even strangers on the street. In general their reaction fell into two categories. They were either curious or supportive. I think the reason why many do not tell others is because of their past battles with dieting. They tell others about their diet and receive praise. They lose weight and receive praise. They eventually stop dieting, gain the weight back and fell GUILT. I found RNY surgery to be different. After surgery I completely lost my appetite. I did not find it difficult to lose weight when hunger is not constantly, continually gnawing at my bones. Is there anything I would do differently? No, I am happy with my decision.

I think it was around 6 month post-op

This is my experience with the "Maintenance" phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

You're welcome.

Congratulations.

I hated giving myself the Lovenox injections. But it was only for a few days. I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago. Two days after surgery, I left the hospital with my diabetes in remission. It has remained there ever since. My high blood pressure also went into remission about 2 weeks after surgery. So that was 4 different medicines, I no longer needed. I also no longer have severe acid reflux (GERD) nor sleep apnea. It is interesting how quickly these conditions can be cured.

Congratulations.

I had RNY surgery 3 years ago. This article describes my experience. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Although dumping is a TERRIBLE experience to go through, it is fairly easy to prevent. There are warning signs that let you know that you are close (such as sneezing) and you need to stop eating when the warning signs occur. After RNY gastric bypass surgery, you will need to take Vitamins for the rest of your life. But after several months, it becomes somewhat routine. For me the extra vitamins are offset by the fact that I no longer have to take blood pressure and diabetes medicine.

http://acsh.org/news/2016/05/03/maintaining-biggest-loser-success-is-harder-than-attaining-it/ Many, if not most of us at some point in the recent past, have tuned into NBC’s reality show, “The Biggest Loser,” which depicts the struggles and victories of extremely obese individuals to lose weight. While there have been many victories over the course of the show, with people losing massive amounts of weight, followup studies have demonstrated that much of this weight is often regained. For example, as discussed in the New York Times, the man who lost the most weight — 239 pounds in seven months — has put about 100 pounds back on in the six years since that accomplishment. The good-news part of this somewhat depressing scenario is that by studying such individuals scientists are learning more about the physiology of weight loss and obesity — information that may be helpful for future weight losers. A major insight was that after weight loss, the contestants’ metabolic rates slowed. But what was new was that after a six-year period the rates did not normalize, but stayed low — and in some cases decreased even further. What this means is that the reduced obese can’t eat the number of calories that a person of the same size who had not lost weight can eat. In the case of the biggest loser above, to keep his new body weight constant he would have to reduce his calorie intake to 800 calories less than a non-loser of the same size. It’s as though the reduced person is fighting his or her own biology; so far there are no proven ways to change that. However, research is ongoing to find something that can interfere with this situation. For example, the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat cells, signals the body that it has had enough to eat. When a person loses fat, though, leptin levels fall, and he or she becomes hungry. In fact, once the participants had lost their weight, they produced hardly any leptin at all. It might be possible for a drug to mimic the action of leptin so that the person doesn’t feel ravenous all the time. While the results of the followup study were not encouraging for those with a lot of weight to lose, they don’t necessarily apply to those with more moderate weight-loss goals. Yes, the metabolism might well slow somewhat, but it’s unlikely that losing 10 pounds would slow it as much as losing 100. Obviously, the most reasonable way to deal with the issue is to avoid obesity in the first place, and thus to keep metabolism on an even keel.

I had RNY 3 years ago. Before surgery I took four prescription drugs to control my diabetes and high blood pressure. Within 2 weeks after surgery, I stopped taking all these medications because I no longer needed them. So the cost of my Vitamins is essentially offset by the cost of not having to take these prescription medicines. talks of infusions, hematologists, tons of supplements and, horrible smelling bms that peels paint off the walls. Not sure what you mean by infusions? ​ Hematologist - After surgery about once per year I have full blood work done. It's a pain but the results fine tweak my Vitamin requirements. When I dropped back on my Calcium tablets, my blood work caught that change. It also uncovered the fact that I was low on Iron. Tons of supplements - I took supplements before surgery. Now I just take a few more. Horrible smelling BMs (bowel movements). - after surgery I had to deal with bouts of diarrhea and constipation and learn ways to correct that. Also my breath and body odor has changed somewhat for the worse.

This short article describes my experiences after RNY gastric bypass surgery. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf