Djmohr

It was an interesting article. I guess now it is wait and see. I am guessing that maintenance after removal would be the biggest issue. They would have to resolve that before they can call it successful.

I am still in the weight loss process and doing well but I had to reach out. Have you tried resetting your pouch? From what I understand there is something called the pouch test, you can google it. It is basically like starting over/fresh. It will help you get back on track very quickly. If I am ever in your situation it is the first thing I would try. Good luck and keep us posted.

It was very sad to hear this news yesterday. I did not realize he was 83, so it did come as a shock to me and my husband. He was such an iconic personality and he will be missed. Live long and prosper!

You are not crazy, everyone goes through a mourning process. It is probably the food that you are really mourning. The surgery will help you deal with that as it helps you really not care so much about food. You go from living to eat to eating to live. I still enjoy eating but now my body craves things that are good for me and my new weight loss tool helps me control how much I eat. In my head I sometimes mourn Pasta (a trigger food for me), bread and sweets. When that happens I will have one forkful to satisfy that craving. Here is the thing, those foods either don't taste as good or leave a heavy feeling in my new tummy. Therefore I really stay away and honestly I no longer mourn them. Now, I crave Protein rich healthy food. I absolutely hate any fast food (yeah me). It tastes terrible and does not satisfy you anyway. I know a lot of this is in ones head so if you can train your head hunger to appreciate the healthier things in life, you don't even miss it. My nutritionist loves the fact that if I really do have a craving that I satisfy it after I have all my protein, vegies and fruit. That way I am full and can only tolerate a bite. If u use the rules of the food plan, you won't get into trouble. You will just develop better habits.

It really is the only way to get all your protein in. I still eat 3 meals and two snacks. My meal portion size is between 1/2 cup and 3/4 depending on what I am eating.

Sorry, I had a $6000 max out of pocket with 80/20 when I had my RNY completed in September. The only thing I can say is it is worth every penny to get healthy. I suppose the good news was, it took so many appointments to get me to the surgery that by the time I had it, my max out of pocket was met. That way it hit me in much more manageable way. Ugh! This year I took out new insurance where everything is covered 100 percent after I meet a 3600 deductible which covers both my hubby and I. I take an injection every 8 weeks for psoriatic arthritis. The shot costs 10,000! I figured after I get my first shot in March our deductible will be met And everything will be covered 100 percent for rest of year. No company's on anything.

Isn't it a great motivator to see progress happening?! Congratulations you are well on your way. I was the same weight as you when I started, of course it does start to come off a bit slower after that first initial month but seeing progress every week toward my goal keeps me motivated. For me it was about getting healthy at first and in just 5 short months all my co morbidities are gone and kidney function is normal. I was stage 3 kidney disease when I began the process and headed for a very bad place. Now everything is normal! Of course now I love the fact that I can shop at almost very store! I bought my first pair of Lucky jeans this week in a size 14! I always wanted a pair of Lucky jeans! I was wearing 24/26 when I started this! I still have 65lbs to go. I cannot even think about what that would mean for me in sizes! You keep pushing forward, it is a very exciting time for us! Good luck and keep us posted!

Congratulations on your progress! I am glad to hear you are feeling better and I am guessing your hubby is pretty excited about your health as well.

Dont be afraid of being annoying. It is so easy to get lost in the shuffle at both the doctors offices and insurance companies. It happened to me at my doctors office. The nurse who processes the paperwork went on vacation for 3 weeks and left my completed file somewhere before submitting it. Unfortunately I was not calling to check and 3 weeks went by with no answer. When I called the surgeons office I that nurse had just returned and apologized to me for the delay. I think I cried for 2 hours because now I had another wait for the insurance company. I had already been waiting for 9 months! The good news is, my insurance company took less than 24 hours to approve me and I was well on my way. Stay on it!

Hi there! These are all great questions that we all think about all the time. The good news is you are young so your skin is definitely more elastic than those of us that are older. I am 51. Also, where you carry your weight makes a difference, if you have had children and if you exercise. , for me there are areas where I will need some plastic surgery to help with the skin issue. The best thing you can do for yourself is exercise regularly, drink plenty of Water and use lotion on your body. You won't know until after you lose the weight whether or not all of your skin will bounce back and where your problem areas are. The good news is you will be healthier and your body will absolutely look better than it does as a obese person. You can decide after what you want to repair if anything.

I know it is a scary time but I promise you will make it through. I am Italian and my favorite dish was any type of Pasta. It is one thing that I have stayed away from entirely because I know I would have no problem eating it and it is a trigger food for me. I can also eat bread, rice, and sweets if I really wanted them. The funny thing is those items no longer satisfy me. I have worked really hard to stay focused on good Proteins vegetables and fruit. Because I eat those things regularly, they are what I crave. Thank heavens! I have simply found that the other stuff like bread, rice and sweets simply don't stay with you long enough to keep you full and you end up grazing. Some of my favorite recipes: chicken cacciatore: chicken breast, green peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions. Saute in a pan with a little olive oil. Brown the chicken first and then add the vegetables. Add your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. It is delicious and very satisfying. I use my vacumn sealer to then portion out the leftovers and I freeze them. You can pop them into some boiling Water for a quick lunch. Chicken souvlaki - very easy recipe and my family loves it too. Marinate the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, crushed fresh garlic, fresh rosemary chopped, salt and pepper. Marinate for at least an hour, longer is better. Skewer and grill with zucchini and mushrooms. Or you can leave the chicken breast whole. It is delicious! You can even buy some tzatiki sauce to dip your chicken in. My family likes that extra flavor.

You will do great. Just take it one day at a time. It is surprisingly hard to get all the liquids and Protein in the first few weeks but I promise you it will happen. At this point you have to do what you can, the most important thing is to stay hydrated. Sip sip sip.....then comes protein and lots of walking. It will work out and you will be amazed with the results. Good luck!

For me it lasted more than 3 weeks. Then I lost another 10lbs over 3 weeks and hit another stall. The good news is my next couple of stalls only lasted about a week each. It is frustrating!

Congratulations on your fabulous progress! I can so relate to your experience. Even though I still have about 65lbs to go and have lost 80, I look so much different and I actually enjoy taking pics now. I went on a cruise to Puerto Rico, one month before my surgery. Those pics made me cry. I just came off a cruise to Hawaii and I look great. The difference just a couple of months makes!

That protein is very important for healing. Even if you can get an once or two down it is very important along with water. The banana might make it very heavy. I had a similiar experience and found that the milk in my protein shakes was causing a very heavy feeling. After speaking with my surgeons office they suggested I move to lactose free milk and change proteins. I moved to Premier protein and was told to milk it down. Half and half for the first couple weeks. Chocolate is the best flavor for me and this worked like a charm. To this day, that is about the only protein shake I like. You can get them at Costco or SAMs in large cases or I have even seen them at Walgreens in smaller quantities.

A warm heating pad and gas x helped me through this period. I was also diabetic and that first 2 weeks was only allowed clear sugar free liquids, broth and Popsicles. Also, I could water down apple juice which did give me some carbs. The reality is I made it through but the most important thing is to stay hydrated and keep walking. It will make that bloated feeling go away.

I have lost half a size on some shoes but most importantly the width has changed drastically so every pair of shoes I had no longer fit. I have been doing a lot of shoe shopping. Still wondering if I will lose more size.

Believe it or not it is normal and it will happen frequently enough to make you a little crazy. The body is pretty interesting when it comes to weight loss. If it thinks it is starving it will go into starvation mode and hang onto stored fat. For me the longest was about 3 weeks before things started moving again. Then you lose another Ten pounds and it all starts happening again. I have learned that you can almost move past it a bit quicker if you change your routine a little bit. Try exercising with a different routine, on different days with different times. The body does not like routine. Even food matters, the best luck I have had is by increasing Protein and Water. The good news is, you will get past it but you must stick to the plan and keep moving forward.

For me snacking is all about nuts. You get the crunch, salt, Protein and they fill you up for a long while. After talking with my nutritionist yesterday she was happy that I have made nuts, cheese or beef Jerky my snack choices. More importantly she wanted to make sure I was realizing that I was hungry before choosing a snack. I don't always do this so now I am really tring hard to pay attention to my hunger to make sure it is real.

@@jessb418, I am really glad you asked this question. I am just at the 5 month mark. I have lost 80lbs and would like to lose another 65 to reach my goal. It is actually a goal I never thought possible and honestly was not striving for. My original goal was to improve my health and I have done more than I ever could have imagined. No more diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. I found out this week that my stage 3 kidney disease has improved to the point where my kidneys are functioning at a normal level. My sleep apnea has resolved. I thought after all this, that asking to continue to lose to get to my goal which is to no longer be overweight at all was just plain greedy. I am working hard and will continue to do so because I now have new goals in mind for me. I am unstoppable!

Hang in there. I feel so bad when I hear stories like this. Hopefully your doctors office will help push this through for you. Don't let yourself get down, we all know what tends to happen when we are depressed. I wish you all the best and will say a little prayer for you.

Cabbage is very hard on the tummy. I would stay away at least until you are out of pureed and onlto soft foods and then I would make sure it is pretty mushy.

I also though it strange that you can eat a whole cup of good at once at your point post op.. The most I seem to be able to get in is maybe 2/3 of a cup and I am 5 months post op. Although some people are different so u may want to ask your doctor about that. I agree the most important thing is to get your Protein and liquid in. You may have irritated your tummy last week when you threw up. It just might need a little time to heal.

@@Sunshine_Gal, I was cleared to eat anything my tummy would tolerate at 3 months. I believe the first thing I tried was a very small amount of almonds. I think I ate about 9 the first few times. Later I found that I tolerate cashews, pistachios and pecans better. Now I love them all. I will only snack on a 1/4 cup if that or a piece of beef jerkey or an ounce of cheese.

Thanks so much for sharing your story. Stories like this are so inspirational! I have passed the halfway point but still have around 65 lbs to go. Everyday is such a treat! Today my hubby and I were in the mall going to the Apple Store, we walked past a Lucky brand jeans store. ( I have shopping at Lanr Bryant for many years - size 24/26). Anyway, I have always wanted a pair of Lucky brand jeans but the largest size you can get at their stores is a 14. They can order a 16 but that is the biggest. Today my husband said, honey your jeans are sagging why don't you go in and try a pair. I know I could fit into a 16 but of course they did not have them, so the young lady said why don't you try the 14's to see if you like the cut. I was so shocked to try on the 14 and they fit! I have not been in a size like that since I was in my 20s! Well today I went home with two pairs that I bought from Lucky, not lane Bryant! Woot woot! By the way, I love to shop now.