Daisee68

Ok, one more question for you maintainers (or really anyone I suppose) - Do you look at your micronutrients by each meal or over the whole day or maybe even over a week (a la Weight Watchers for example)? I mean I know I need to keep carbs in check and sugars low by food, but for example, are you diligent to make sure each and every meal is less carb than Protein or do you look at the end of the day to just make sure you got less carb than protein for the whole day? I strive for the first but often end up making sure it balances out for the day. And as for my question about the week - for example do you occasionally go over your typical calorie limit one day but just make sure you are under your limit the next day or so to even it out to an average of your total calorie limit? (I know some of you don't track and find this to be laborious. I would like to think I would get there one day, but for now, it is the tracking that keeps me on track so to speak. )

@@Inner Surfer Girl - I thought the skin removal obsession/talk was a bit odd. I hadn't heard that before. It had to be production. I was happy to hear about the Protein as we certainly haven't heard that before either and I was so surprised that Laura clearly didn't know that. Do they really not send these people to therapy or nutritionist? Having said that, I was so happy to see Marla come around in the end. I also thought it was nice that she called Dr. Now and thanked him. (Again, likely at the behest of production, but still it was a nice feel good moment.)

Good luck! Let us know how you are doing when you can!

This sounds wonderful!

@@Beck90 - Did you see this post? http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/367575-dont-shoot-the-messenger-carbonated-drinks/ ? Just thought it was timely and a pretty good explanation - at least as good as I have seen. I know some people (non-WLS) say diet sodas are evil and blame the artificial sweetener; however, the NUTs all approve Protein shakes which contain artificial sweeteners. The difference being (I suppose) that at least Protein drinks do include some nutritional values and diet sodas don't. I am a rule follower yet still want to know "why". So maybe I am a follower of rules that make good sense to me. Not necessarily the best example for a WLS patient (but I wanted to say I know where you are coming from). I will also say that a lot of my thoughts and worries pre-op changed and became non-issues once I was post-op.

Hmmm - that is strange. I too eat carrots without issue. I have not tried celery yet (though I have oddly craved it); however, I am able to eat apples even with the skin which gives some people issues. Are you sure you chewed them well enough? The only reason I ask is that I had a similar experience after eating peanuts at about 3 months out and didn't chew well. Additionally it turned out I had a stricture (scar tissue over the stomach opening) and a very small piece of peanut got stuck. Ugh, it was awful. It took several more days of throwing up everything before we figured it out and then had the balloon dilation to stretch the opening. No issues with peanuts now.

Agree there are so very many. I think my 2 favorites are - 1) the ability to sit on the floor and then able to stand up so easily without getting on all fours and making ridiculous grunting noises getting up and 2) Went to a park recently with the nephews and I got in a swing. I smiled from ear to ear. I have no idea how long it has been since my big ol' bootie was able to actually fit in a swing. It was quite freeing to swing like a little kid again!

Congrats! That is definitely a NSV and one of the best ones in my opinion!!

Well I confess, I drink it occasionally and through a straw! I try to limit it to a few sips per week. My surgeon nor NUT agree (with diet soda or the straw). Having said that, I will say the diet soda is definitely addictive so the more I drink it, the more I find I want to drink it. I probably waited 6 months before I tried. Just because I do drink it doesn't mean I or you should. Oh and I had bypass not sleeve. I was sort of hoping I wouldn't like the taste and/or it would be uncomfortable, but alas, it is not.

Yummy! I make this every summer (leaving out the oil) for pool parties and my family requests it! Can't wait to make it again...

While I had nausea for a long time, I did not experience dizziness or diarrhea. Those 2 things make it sound a little like dumping but it seems odd you would dump from those foods. I think I would probably call your NUT and see if you can get some advice from her. Looks like you are only a couple if weeks post-op? Maybe the symptoms are unrelated to food? What I mean is you could have dizziness from lack of fluids and so little food and the diarrhea is just a side effect for some people. Are you able to tolerate any Protein shakes? The Premier Protein ready to drink shakes are very good. (I thought the Injury was gross both pre and post-op). Especially if you are having diarrhea, please be sure to dri k lots of Fluid so you do not dehydrate and land back in the hospital. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

OK. I'm on the treadmill now. It won't undo what I did but it's better than sitting on the couch pouting about it! Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Great advice and feedback. I am afraid I completely gave in and didn't even bother trying any of these practices today. It is that darn road trip. I had to stop to go to the bathroom and promised myself I wouldn't get anything - but of course I did - even though I had healthier Snacks in the car! I logged it all and have already hit 1400 calories for the day by 4 p.m. and I have a charity event to go to tonight with a fixed menu (not buffet) so not many choices (and had lunch out with a client at a steakhouse where there were limited choices - I got grilled porkchops but they were covered in butter so likely I am actually over my calories because I have to just guess). Sad thing is, I am not even FULL! Of course I'm not - it is crunchy crap that grinds up really small! I have met my Protein goal for the day so I can try to completely avoid dinner, but that is unlikely. And I have no time for exercise as I left the house at 7 a.m. and won't be back home until 10 p.m. (I am actually home now but didn't have time to exercise and shower and get ready all over again.... I guess I could do a slow walk on the treadmill and try not to get sweaty). Anyway, severely disappointed in myself. Oh and not to mention I did this same snacking thing on Mother's Day! I have no self-control which is how this post started in the first place - willpower isn't the way I will do this obviously but I sure wish I could defeat this demon! The good news is, I am not going to wallow in it and continue to make bad choices today. I just have to make good choices for dinner and not just figure "I have already ruined the day - might as well keep going".... Sorry I know this is more rambling. Just disappointed in myself...

Trust me - most have struggled with it pre-op. Once you are post-op, you will see how full (overfull) you get it you do it so it becomes a habit very quickly. I did not do it pre-op but it was easily the first (and easiest) rule post-op.

@@Sajijoma - 105 pounds in 6 months is a slow loser??!! I would hate to meet your NUT. She IS nuts! You are doing amazingly well - especially given you have had stalls. Please ignore her "on paper" goals. That's crap. You are doing great!

I was in a 24 or 26 size dress at my highest. (I had a size 26 dress that I adored and just got rid of begrudgingly. There was a time when it was actually a little tight.) Today (11 months post-op and 16 1/2 months from beginning the whole journey), I bought a size 12 dress. I feel so skinny in it! I can't even believe it fits!

It can really vary depending on insurance and I don't know the UHC requirements but it is roughly generally 3 to 6 months

Geez you should here my stomach today! It has made noise ALL day! Empty, full, thirsty, quenched, etc.... No idea what is going on!

I thought you might be elsewhere. Hope you can find something!

Yes @John1958. Presuming you are in the States, yes those things should generally be available anywhere like Walmart, Target, grocery stores, pharmacy, etc.

You might try Miralax. It is very gentle. Many others drink a tea called Smooth Move tea which contains senna or you can buy SennaLax (senna in pill form). Colace works if you aren't too bad. And I am sorry to tell you this, but it only gets worse after surgery, so if you can find something that works for you now, it may be your best friend for a while! Congrats and good luck on your surgery next week!

Very well said @@Christinamo7 ! Thank you! Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

@@VSGAnn2014 - no she just meant that given we will likely all have extra skin that 27 BMI is a more realistic goal than say 23 or 24 BMI before we have skin removed due to the extra weight the skin adds. She is none too pleased with me talking plastics yet though. She says to wait until I am at least 18 months post-op minimum. I am 11 months now. I intend to wai t until after summer but not likely until December.... At least for the first round. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I was diabetic pre-op. They took away my med in the hospital and I haven't taken it since. Diabetes runs in my family too (grandfather, aunt, mother, cousins, etc.) My highest A1C (pre-op) was 6.8. My last A1C (at 10 months post-op) was 5.7. The lab paperwork says that 5.7 is considered pre-diabetic; however, my endocrinologist told me he considered me in complete remission and I didn't even need to bother taking my blood sugar anymore. Did they do a fasting blood sugar that said you were "pre-diabetic" or an A1C that they felt you were "pre-diabetic"? A1C is a rough average of the last 2 to 3 months. Things like illness can run your blood sugar up, so it is possible you just had an odd time somewhere during that 2 or 3 months. You might wait 2 or 3 months and then ask a dr to run A1C and see where it comes back. Likely nothing to be concerned about but drs are being pushed to recognize "pre-diabetes" more often now rather than waiting until you are officially diabetic so sometimes overly cautious.

Well, for what its worth, that does sound low to me. My NUT told me a good goal for pre-plastics was a 27 BMI. I know there is a lot of controversy regarding BMI, and I really wanted to be in the "normal" BMI range. So I set my weight goal for 173 (I am 5'10") which is 24.9 BMI - just enough to be considered "normal". BUT my ob/gyn told me this week, she thought I was right where I needed to be and figured I had at least 20 pounds of loose skin. I know @JaimeLogical has stated not to expect a lot of real weight loss from plastics (depending on the person of course), so I am not quite sure what to expect weight wise. What I do know is that I broke through 180 this morning (179.6) and I am a little anxious about not being able to stop this train. I really don't want to be too thin (which sounds completely crazy to me given I was over 300 pounds for 20 years!), but I am also now considering more about how I want to look than what the scale says. I have a PS consultation on May 20 and hoping I can get some better insight from him at that time on whether I should slowly start increasing calories to start to stabilize instead of lose. (OK, I feel like I made this about me instead of you - sorry for that! Welcome to ramblings from my head! All this has been rolling around there a lot lately!) Consider figuring out your weight for a 27 BMI and use that for your initial goal. Once you get there, you can reassess if you want to set it for lower. PS - Awesome job on your progress!! AND my behind seems to have slid down the back of my legs too! Quite odd to look at....