FrankyG

Another forum I inhabit is a frugal living board, and everyone that does glasses/contacts swears by Zenni Optical. http://www.zennioptical.com/ I think they have a way to tell how to fit glasses on there and they have a decent return policy too. I plan on using them next year myself (we just got very expensive but not very satisfactory glasses from America's Best about two years ago, so I'd been researching glasses places as my vision has definitely changed AGAIN... sigh).

So sorry you're feeling bad. It gets better every single day. Keep sipping fluids and get up and walk at least a few minutes every hour that you're awake and you'll start feeling better soon. And if you're in pain, do take your meds ASAP and don't try to tough it out. And if it's because things are hard to get down, try sugar free popsicles or cold drinks alternating with warm broth. Sometimes alternating cold and warm helps with the swelling.

I'm not an old timer, but I'm closing in on 1.5 years and still working towards my goal. Weight doesn't come off as easy now, but it is still coming off. It's harder, but I know what I'm doing now and it involves working a bit harder and being mindful of what I eat. I think this is how regular people lose weight? So for me, WLS was the big push to change my life completely. I committed to having a life-altering and permanent surgery to combat my inability to control portions and used that time to relearn how to eat healthy. I have lost 112 pounds so far and I'm sure I'll make it to goal before my 2 year anniversary. I got in touch with the reasons why I overate/ate the wrong foods. I worked on my mental blocks, cravings and portion control issues. I focused on finding enjoyable activities that didn't feel like work so I would keep at it instead of forcing myself to exercise. I learned to cook foods that were healthy and tasty for myself and my husband so he now enjoys eating healthy with me (and he has lost 75 pounds just from joining me on my food/exercise changes - without even having surgery!) I know what to do if the weight starts creeping up. I know what foods to stay away from, and I know how I feel if I don't exercise and keep active. I won't go back to what I was, and I won't make excuses about it if I do gain - I'll just watch what I'm eating and my activity levels and adjust where there is a problem. There is no failure unless you give up and I don't plan to ever give up. I am not the person I was 1.5 year ago. I will never be that person again. I am happier, healthier and more honest with myself and I have a great future with my husband because I chose to follow this path instead of accepting my fate to be the fat, unhealthy person I was and likely dying at an early age because I couldn't get a handle any of it. The ones that regain are the ones that don't take those lessons to heart. They don't use the time they have to throw out all their awful eating habits, learn how to eat healthy, exercise and deal with the mental issues that caused them to use food as comfort/reward/whatever. They gave up on themselves basically and treated WLS as a cure-all instead of as a tool they had to learn to use and put in the hard work to use it correctly. We all have a short period of time where the weight will come off without hard work, but that is temporary and weight will creep back on if you don't make all those changes. If you're not willing to put in the work, then you may very likely regain.

I was allowed to drink anything that was low/no calorie and specifically was told it was okay to have diet soda.

You should be fine as long as you're not doing other nicotine - vaping or patches/gum. That give you a quit date of around 2 months out from your surgery. Nicotine metabolizes into cotinine. Nicotine can be detected in your saliva, urine and breath (moisture molecules) for up to 3 days after quitting; cotinine can be detected in blood/urine for up to 3-4 weeks. If they do a hair strand test, that can detect back months. But most tests are going to be either blood or urine. And yes, vaping or nicotine patches/gum will count. Quitting months out from surgery mean much better blood flow, vascular health, healing is faster, and less chance of developing blood clots and lung conditions.

And also so you don't wash foods through your pouch too fast, thereby allowing you eat more than you should.

So I eat these ALL THE TIME NOW. Like I will never eat plain eggs again. Four ingredients (not counting salt or pepper to taste): 1 egg 1 pat butter 1/2 tablespoon of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (smooth blended sauce) 1/2-1 full tablespoon of plain greek yogurt (I have the zero fat version, but the full fat would be fine too if you want the extra fat) Heat small frying pan with butter until bubbly (I ususally do a medium high heat for this phase to get the pan hot and melt the butter before adding egg). While pan is heating, crack egg into bowl, add ingredients and then scramble up until the mixture is combined well. Turn heat down to medium low heat (lower is better to achieve a creamy/custardy texture to the egg), add egg to pan and stir constantly until egg is almost done. Remove from heat while still looking a bit "wet" as the egg continues to cook for a few seconds due to residual heat, and this prevents the egg from getting hard and overcooked. Plate, add salt and pepper to taste. I use chipotle chilies in adobo sauce but the kind where they've blended it all up so it's a sauce with no chunks (you can buy the cans with the peppers still whole and just blend them yourself but this way is less to clean up). Adding dairy (greek yogurt) is a chef secret to get creamy fluffy eggs - any dairy will help, but especially sour cream or greek yogurt and the yogurt adds more protein! Cooking the egg on low heat, constant stirring and removing the egg from heat right before it is considered "done" results in a better egg too. This results in a very creamy textured scrambled egg that has a lovely smoky slightly spicy flavor and works beautifully with sausage, bacon or ham. If you're unfamiliar with how chipotles taste, you might want to add less to start with (but if you like spicy without a hard burn, this is good stuff - add more if you want more spicy).

Fat stores hormones. As you lose weight, those hormones get flushed back into your system and result in crazy mood shifts and can affect your cycles as well. food cravings have always been a part of getting your period and are definitely triggered by hormones, so expect to deal with that sort of thing as long as you have cycles - it's the same as head hunger really, so great practice. But this hormone dump is also one of the reasons they tell you to be very careful with birth control during all of this - because the hormones can increase your fertility and you can get pregnant accidentally even if you had issues in the past. If you have lost a significant amount of weight, that means your body's hormone production has changed as well. It might be much more normal than ever before (if you had issues) or it could take a year or two to stabilize and cause changes from how you used to be. Do get in to see your OB/GYN if you are having any issues that are concerning.

I hope you'll post back if you like them. I wanted to find some add ins for my egg because usually I just put a bunch of sharp cheddar or pepper jack (and some green onion) and cheese is high in both calories and fat. While still tasty, I'd like to have other options.

Measure your food and don't rely on feelings of fullness. You actually should not be eating to the point of feeling full from now on; you should eat until you're no longer hungry which means stopping before you feel full. But it may be months until you can figure out what hunger and fullness even feel like, which is why you should definitely not be relying on those feelings for some time!

I think the goal your doctor gave you was him/her being really lazy and not looking and listening to you. They just took the low end of the normal BMI from your height and that was it. Mine did similar - he told me I should weigh 140 for my height; I laughed at him. I told him I was normal sized in high school and didn't weigh in that low (wore a size 10-12). My goal weight is on the high side but I am already looking pretty decent and don't really want to go down to wear a size 6 or anything - I just want to be able to feel good and not shop in the plus sized sections any more and so far, that goal has been achieved, so the rest is just gravy. 22 BMI is LOW. I think your revised goal weight is much better and you'll look amazing and feel wonderful if you can get even in that neighborhood. And you've done a mindblowingly awesome job so far!

Had a really late night, so just fixed Breakfast for lunch: Chipotle eggs (egg scrambled with a half tablespoon of greek yogurt for body and extra Protein and half tablespoon of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce...yuuuuuum), and two small slices of uncured hickory smoked bacon (also yum).

Double post oops!

I really love what your therapist said. We all have to come to terms with our dependence and addictions and it is going to be an uphill fight all the way I'm sure (I'm right there with you). It is wonderful that you've done so well and are still fighting.

I've said this several times on this forum so apologies to those that have to read it again. My doctor told me that anyone eating absolute crap will lose weight in the first year or so. They can't eat as much, so just through the restriction alone, they'll lose weight. Even eating fast food, pizza, fried, cake Cookies... the weight will drop. The problem is, their bodies and metabolism will eventually adjust to the amount of food they eat, and the fact that most of the stuff they are eating is nutrient deficient and loaded with sodium, fat, carbs and sugar means that they are starving their bodies of Vitamins, Protein. And once the body adjusts, the weight will start creeping back on. And they will blame the sleeve for "failing" when it is really because they were expecting to do none of the work themselves and didn't make any changes or effort to get healthy. What works for me is to think of WLS (weight loss surgery) as one leg of a three legged stool: 1. WLS provides portion control/hunger reduction. WLS helps with reducing portions pretty much instantly and for the rest of your life, and removing (temporarily) the gnawing hunger and overwhelming cravings. 2. Relearn how to eat. With reduced portions and the ability to make better food choices due to the overwhelming hunger/cravings being controlled, you finally are able to start relearning HOW AND WHAT TO EAT. You can make smarter and healthier food choices and retrain your brain and body to eat high protein, lower carb and moderate fat - meaning healthy Proteins, veggies and complex carbs become your new way of eating. It's not a diet; it's a lifestyle change and throwing out everything you used to do and addressing your relationship with food. You can also use this time to figure out better ways to deal with issues you used to medicate with food - using it as comfort, reward, whatever. You must deal with all that baggage during the honeymoon phase so it doesn't sabotage you later down the road. 3. Ramp up activity levels. Once you've gotten the hang of eating healthy and reduced portions, exercise is the third leg to master. You feel better and start getting your energy back once you're on solids. The weight you've lost over the first few months means your body is feeling less pain and are able to move easier, so you can start finding ways to get more active. Again, this is not "forcing yourself to exercise." This is about finding ways to enjoy yourself while also being active - go for a walk with a friend, take up a sport, swim, ride a bike, play catch with the kids... find things you enjoy doing that also involve you getting up and moving and you'll never dread getting your exercise in because it is FUN. While WLS is an absolutely amazing tool, it isn't a cure all. You can't expect to balance on one leg and not fall over eventually. Without all three legs, you'll fail. Simple as that.

Yup. It can also progress into what is called "dumping" which is where the vomiting part comes in. Foamies is the really thick foam/saliva part, but it can sit so heavy on your stomach and having it in your mouth and all... it can turn into a gagging thing pretty easy and you'll want to get it out just because it feels kind of gross. Dumping is where your body overreacts to the sugar/fat of what you just ate and makes you hot, shaky and sick feeling, which is normally just vomiting but can cause diarrhea too. Which is why eating things high sugar or fat in the early months is pretty much taking on the risk of getting foamies and/or dumping besides derailing your progress. Not worth it (trust me on this). But it will help keep you honest if you do experience either of them after that. Gotta look for that silver lining, right?

I track both, but I count net carbs. I have to work hard to keep my fiber numbers up with mostly protein as my main dish.

I did have foamies and threw up once in the early days. It was when I tried to eat something bad. I tried regular ice cream about a month out, and the sugar/fat content made me really sick - I was having shaking, sweats and felt awful until I did throw up, but it passed rather quickly. And I never ate it again. I have no idea if my experience with vomiting is normal after bariatric surgery, but it didn't hurt, and it felt very different to me from what it was like before surgery; there was no heaving or strain involved - food just came right back up.

There are probably a couple hundred posts saying the same thing as you on this forum. You are hitting the first of many stalls. Weight loss is not steady. You have lost a great amount in "only" 3 weeks.Honestly, when was the last time you heard anyone lose 16 pounds in three weeks that hadn't had surgery? And even those posting greater/faster losses, they will also hit stalls eventually. Some folks lose fast, some slow, some lots in the beginning... Read this: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/

During the weight loss phase, do try wearing a supportive bra as much as possible. I even have a couple of sleep bras because I don't want the weight of my breasts pulling at the skin when I toss and turn. I have no idea if it really has helped, but it appears so; I have some very slight wrinkly skin when I lean over a certain way, but otherwise, the breasticle area has held up well (but I haven't lost hardly anything in the actual cup sizing, just the band size).

You're hitting your first stall - totally normal and will happen many more times over the next months/year. I'm still shocked at how no doctor tells folks about this. Read this: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/

I think the general consensus is about 6 weeks out from surgery if you're going to develop any. But that would also be if you weren't walking and staying active. So make sure you're walking around the house through the day and once you get back to work, walk around at least a few minutes every hour or so. As long as you're getting up and moving throughout the day, you are at a significantly smaller risk of getting them.

I eased into real foods by eating yogurt (carbmaster line from kroger), drinking high Protein milk (Fairlife or Mootopia) and baked fish. Oh and cheese and refried Beans. I tried eating scrambled egg and threw it up until about 4 months out. I'd suggest you just eat ONE teaspoon of something that sounds and tastes good (while still being on your list of okay foods of course), wait about 10 minutes, then try another spoonful. Only do this for one meal a day until you can work up to a few ounces for that meal. Then start adding spoonfuls to other meals. Your stomach hasn't had to deal with solid food for a while now, so you need to baby it. Take it ridiculously slow.

There are tons of threads about this... Fat stores hormones. As you lose weight, all those hormones are flushed back into your system. SO you will feel crazy, weepy, angry, happy - sometimes in rapid progression - for months after surgery. Just remind yourself that it likely is hormones if you are feeling super down or angry and take some time/step back before doing anything crazy. And warn close family members that you might be like this for a while.