SuzeMuze

It was at first, but like so many of the changes we make with WLS, once you get past that "hump", you really don't miss it that much anymore. I have a really hard time tolerating any food that's remotely dry, so with the moister consistency of my food nowadays, I find that I don't need to drink that much around mealtimes. The only time I (sort of) break that rule is if I'm eating out somewhere with people other than my family & I'm getting that familiar feeling that something's too dry- I'll take a sip of Water right after a bite to keep me from feeling sick. I normally drink over 100 oz. of Fluid a day, so not drinking during meals is actually a nice break for me.

I still get that feeling, and I'm a little over 3 months out. I used to get it much more frequently when I was newly-post op, and from what I've read about it, it (for me anyway) seems to symbolize an irritation of the stoma- the little entry point from into what's left of your stomach. It's much smaller now, and when I ate/drank too fast or took too big of a bite/swallow, I'd get that knot like feeling right under my breastbone. What's even worse, is it would make me want to throw up so badly just to get rid of the feeling (sorry if it's TMI here) but I simply couldn't- of all things, getting on the treadmill and walking briskly was the only thing that helped. Now that I'm a bit further post-op, I've gotten pretty good at gauging what's going to give me that feeling- nearly all breads and meats- boo! Hopefully for you it stays as a symptom of your healing body & goes away

If you're unsure of how to apply the makeup, I don't think the brand or level of investment you make will help much- kind of like thinking if you buy expensive art supplies it will end up making you an awesome painter I'd suggest going into a place like Sephora, Bare Minerals (my brand) or Merle Norman and asking them for a makeover- unless you don't mind people watching you, then you could sit in the middle of a JCPenney for the same thing, but as a former teacher myself, the thought of doing that in a place where my students could saunter by would be a living nightmare. I'm sure those folks would be very patient with allowing you to ask questions and even practice on yourself while they were there. Let them know your level of expertise, what you do for a living, and how much time you're willing to spend on your makeup each morning, and I bet you'll get set up in no time!

I know exactly where you're coming from! I'd feel like I was somehow "failing" even with having a single piece of sugar-free candy & would beat myself up until one day I really sat down to reflect why I was feeling this way instead of celebrating the weight I was losing. I reminded myself that I'm human...I'm going to make mistakes, I'm going to give in sometimes, and that's ok. Truth be told, while those of us that have had WLS have made and will always make drastic changes to our eating habits, I didn't sign up to quit living. So what if I splurge on a handful of sugar free Hershey's chips every now and then? (I don't do it often because sugar free stuff can be loaded with carbs which are still evil & will slow down weight loss- don't be fooled into thinking sugar-free = guilt-free ) Anyhow, I'm not going to blow rose petals at anyone here, I still get my days where I wonder if I'd be any lighter if I were more militant about what I eat, but y'know what? I'm doing a pretty darned good job! And...I'm happy, which is most important, isn't it? I say Celebrate the decision you made and each pound lost! Go get a Pandora bracelet & get yourself a bead for every goal you make- 5 lbs. 10 lbs. dress size, whatever! By the time you're done, your wrist will be so heavy it'll be a great reminder of how far you've come! (Plus if you're like me, you'd rather have the permanency of shiny things than the temporary satisfaction of candy or whatnot anyway).

45 next month- and will be 6 months post GBP

I received a Fitbit Flex for Christmas and really enjoy it- seeing those green smiley faces are the best motivation for me! I only have one "complaint", and it's about the wristband. I've already had to replace it after only a couple of months using it. Now, I NEVER take it off unless it's to charge it, so perhaps those things don't really stand up to showering, doing dishes or the other stuff I do with mine on, but I will say that the customer service department was very nice, and once they were able to verify my registration, they send me a brand new band free of charge within the week.

I found a "recipe" that just calls for taking Protein powder & adding enough milk or Water to turn it into batter consistency & making pancakes out of it. I'm a little suspicious to try it, but I might give it a shot.

I had that happen too, but much earlier on after surgery. It was loud enough that people could hear it! I also thought that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to put up with it, but thankfully it stopped after a few weeks. Hope it does for you too

All depends on what your NUT wants you to "watch" post op. Cereal's "empty carbs" for me. Trying to stay between 30-50gm a day, and cereal would make up over half of that. It's not worth it to me, so I don't eat it.

Since I'm not going to be a part of the "Beer and Wings" crowd this year, I'm looking for suggestions/recipes for things suitable for us to have. Fun stuff- stuff that makes you think you're being bad when you're not Anyone?

I've been playing with trying to make low carb breads and such by using almond flour/coconut flour/etc...and I just want to toss it out there that while these flours might be lower in carb & have a relative level of Protein because they're nut-based, they are VERY high calorie, and VERY high in fat content. It's all a matter of what you're supposed to be "watching" I guess, but I'm not very willing to make that trade, either :/

I posted this somewhere else, but my surgeon recommended that once the incisions have healed that using a cotton pad with a bit of baby oil rubbed gently would do the trick, which it did. As with most things, I guess a call to your doc would be in order to see what they would suggest.

I was diagnosed type II about a year and a half before my RnY. I took my last set of pills the night before surgery- my sugar started dropping immediately after the procedure, and since about 3 days out from surgery, my sugar hasn't gone above 100. I don't take a single medication anymore other than Vitamins.

All 3 of them are a big NO for me...I guess it all depends on what your NUT wants your daily carb count to be. One serving of any of those would be more than all the carbs I'm "allowed" in a day. Which stinks, cause I love all 3.

Yep.. you can never have too big of a support group

I'm 3 months post-op myself and still get the vast majority of my Protein from shakes, as I cant' tolerate meat (and don't like it much anyhow) and the other protein foods are ones I just don't like... like eggs, cottage cheese, milk. My NUT says your body can't tell the difference/doesn't care where the protein comes from, as long as it's there, so I guess it's shakes for me for the foreseeable future. Plus, I'm to stay between 30-50 grams of carb a day, which can make eating especially trying most of the time. What a typical day for me is, shake for Breakfast, shake for lunch, and a "reward" of a dinner that has my 30 carbs to it. We'll see how long that lasts ;P I've been doing a lot of experimenting with cooking with Protein powder & things like almond meal & coconut flour to try and recreate the "carby" foods I loved so much w/o sacrificing nutrition. Most of it's pretty good!

This topic is discussed a lot in different places on this site. Whether or not you'll need skin surgery depends on a lot of things, in my opinion. Your age, how much and how quickly you lose weight, and your own body image come into play as to whether or not you'll "need" skin surgery.

I grew up in SouthCentral PA...went to college near Pittsburgh...does that count?

I've got the FitBit flex too & it's been one of the best motivators for me- I find myself getting upset if all my trackers aren't green by evening time

Hi Darkfeary! I'm in Frederick!

One thing I needed to keep reminding myself is that the folks who were in charge of "preparing" my food in the hospital probably weren't bariatric specialists, nor were they aware of what the restrictions really were. Hospitals aren't places where gourmet custom food gets served (at least none that I've ever been to)- if the diet says "Broth and juice", whoever's in charge of preparing the meals are going to put a standard serving size of broth and a juice carton on the tray. It was up to me to use the 1 oz. shotglasses the nurse gave me to regulate how much I tried to eat for myself.

Am I allowed to "ditto" what everyone else said? I do agree, though. And I understand how the surgical team could seem invading at times- but that's what they're there for. They're the professionals and truly have your best interests at heart. It is hard to wrap your head around the life-long changes you have to commit to if you decide to have bariatric surgery- I'm 3 months out and I still grapple with food choices vs. wants vs. head-hunger, etc. But that same surgical team that can seem so invasive are the best ones to help you stay on track. If you aren't 100% sure you're ready for a complete (but awesome once you get used to it, imo) life change, bariatric surgery won't be the tool it's meant to be for you.

That's awesome! When I tried NutriSystem years ago (among the many epic diet fails), they had something similar- a chain where you attached a pretty bead for every pound you lost. You then had a beautiful necklace to wear that got prettier with each pound closer to your goal you got. I should do something like that on my own, come to think of it

I'd be interested in starting a Skype group, if anyone else out there is

Though all turned out ok in the end, I had issues with UHC. Evidently from the time I started my WLS journey till I was sent for approval, they had changed my particular policy group to require the 6 months of supervised weight loss attempts. All fine and good for me, since I had it anyway, but the best explanation that could be communicated was to the effect that the policy change went into effect, but the proverbial "no one" had put it in the patient or doctor's manuals yet (?) My advice to anyone because of this is to be very very sure of what your insurance requires, and periodically check for updates by calling them. I asked 4 times throughout this process to make sure I was doing everything correctly, and was assured up till less than a month before my surgery that all was fine, when boom! It could have really fouled things up.