lauraellen80
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Everything posted by lauraellen80
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Weight loss at 6 months?
lauraellen80 replied to jjyogalove's topic in Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories
This is one of those things that is really hard to make predictions about. Everyone loses at different rates. You can't compare your loss to anyone else--some people drop a lot really quickly, some have a lot of stalls along the way, etc. However, to give some idea of numbers... my surgeon said he likes to see his patients lose about half of the "average" expected weight loss (60% of total excess weight) by six months out. So, I started out with about 100 lbs of excess weight. The surgeon will consider my surgery a "success" if I lose 60% of that, i.e., 60 lbs. So by my six month appointment, he hopes to see about 30 lbs gone. I've actually already lost over 60 lbs at less than 2.5 months out, but I have a feeling that things are going to slow down a lot before too long, so I'm already trying to mentally prepare myself! -
I don't have any words of wisdom, but I'm sure this must be a gut-wrenching thing to deal with...I'm so sorry that you're that you are going through this, @Smye. I agree with @Babbs--going to some counseling by yourself may be helpful as you process the whole situation.
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Help ! I haven't pooped in 7 days!
lauraellen80 replied to jcrob's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Smooth Move Tea works for me -
Really, What is the Straight Skinny Post-Op?
lauraellen80 replied to Sunshine3073's topic in Post-op Diets and Questions
Um, seriously? I looked back through the responses, and only one person responded that they didn't have a food addiction prior to surgery (which, yes, is possible--there are a few people on these boards who had significant weight gain due to a medical issue and couldn't lose on their own). Everyone gave thoughtful, helpful advice to your questions. Here is the relevant part of my own response: I'm not sure what you were expecting us to say--yes, of course many of us were/are food addicts, and because of that, we gave you advice that came from each of our experiences dealing with that aspect post-surgery. -
The more I read these boards, the more I realize that the "all-or-nothing," "black-or-white," "perfection-or-failure" thinking that has plagued me my entire life is much more common than I thought and is especially so among those who struggle with obesity. I guess I've always subconsciously bought into the BS idea that fat=lazy, and so I felt that I had even failed at being a perfectionist! Something I continue to worry about is keeping myself balanced in this new life. When I was a teen, I constantly beat myself up over the fact that I failed at being anorexic... in my mind, that was the goal. What could be more perfect than achieving total control over your eating? (BTW, I was a ballet dancer in a pre-professional company in the era before Misty Copeland and her badass muscles, so this was tacitly encouraged) Yes, now I understand that anorexia is the complete opposite of having control--instead you're being controlled by a disease. But I already see myself getting freaked out when my macros are a few grams off for the day (even though my PA and NUT have said not to get too hung up on keeping track of the numbers), and I struggle with comparing myself unfavorably to others on these boards who never touch anything made with flour ever again (if that's the yardstick of success, I'm already a failure). Yeah... I'm going to be in therapy for awhile!
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Stepped on the scale this morning and am down 60 pounds. I've lost over 25% of my total body weight so far.
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Buying future clothes
lauraellen80 replied to cindyw41's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Hopefully it didn't happen in the middle of the grocery store or something! -
Buying future clothes
lauraellen80 replied to cindyw41's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
So far, I'm been able to mostly "shop" in my own closet. I have a lot of old clothes, some of them rarely or never worn, in sizes ranging from 20W down to 10. I kept all the smaller sizes hoping to fit into them again someday. I've bought a few things on sale at Target to supplement--a couple t-shirts, a pair of jeans. -
Never feel full ...presurgery
lauraellen80 replied to Bloomer723's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Do keep in mind that the reduction in ghrelin is not permanent--your body will eventually figure out other ways to produce it. There are also other hormones that are partially responsible for hunger, and surgeons/researchers still don't know all the factors that come into play with hunger. BUT--the "honeymoon period" of the first year, year-and-a-half when your hunger is greatly reduced or gone completely is the time to set yourself up with good habits and relearn your body's signals. Some people say that their hunger (real hunger, as opposed to "head hunger") has never come back, but you can't count on it. -
Never feel full ...presurgery
lauraellen80 replied to Bloomer723's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I lost 16.4 pounds in the three months between my initial consultation with the surgeon and the start of my pre-op diet. I just tracked everything with the My Fitness Pal app. I still had some "food funerals" but tried to get started on better habits overall. That put me at a BMI of 39.9, but my insurance had already approved the surgery, and I did have some comorbidities. Then I lost another 10 pounds on the 2-week liquid pre-op diet, so my weight on the morning of surgery was 208.4. I feel like losing some beforehand helped kickstart my post-surgery loss, and it wasn't quite as jarring of a change as it would have been if I'd eaten like crazy up until the day I started the pre-op diet. I cut out caffeine (along with all the sugary creamer that I dump in my coffee) during that time, too. I also started regular therapy in the months before surgery to help deal with some of the issues underneath my overeating, and I continue it post-op. -
Never feel full ...presurgery
lauraellen80 replied to Bloomer723's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Oh, yes. This is part of why many of us chose surgery. I was actually just talking about this to my therapist today and mentioned this Louis C.K. bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuO4OZJ5ncY (edited to add: NSFW, language) "I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal isn't over when I'm full. It's over when I hate myself." Start weighing/portioning out your food now, so you start making it a habit. Since surgery, I find I eat very slowly, and I will start to pause longer between bites as I get over halfway through my serving to "check in" with myself. I'm just over two months out, and it's much much much easier to tell when I'm full. Good luck! -
Benefiber didn't work for me--I think it actually made my constipation worse. I second @@Elode's suggestion of Smooth Move Tea. I've been drinking a cup every few days, and it's quite effective.
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Two months out today--down 58.4 pounds so far, 5 inches smaller in my bust, waist, and hip measurements, and feeling ten times healthier!
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Worried about regrets
lauraellen80 replied to AmyNLaynie6's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Yes, I actually worked the weekend, and my surgery was first thing Monday morning. In fact, on Saturday we had a special event at work that I coordinated, involving tastings from a local distillery and fabulous catered food. It was tough, but I made it! Two days of teaching should be doable--just know that you will probably need to go home and take a nap afterwards! -
I've been wondering about this, too. Our scale was my husband's before we got together and is fairly old for a digital scale, so I question how accurate it is and want a new one. But I'm stuck on whether to get one that measures body fat or not.
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Worried about regrets
lauraellen80 replied to AmyNLaynie6's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
@KathyRS--you and I are right around the same stats, as far as starting weight, goal, etc. You're just a couple inches taller. I anticipated being incredibly grouchy and short-tempered during the pre-op diet, but I wasn't that bad. Well, maybe you should ask my husband. I was able to keep myself together at work as far as not losing my cool with people. I did have a couple times where I had to lock myself in the bathroom to have a crying jag and hyperventilate for bit. Post-op, I had trouble concentrating for the first couple of weeks--all my plans to catch up on hand-sewing projects and watch BBC period dramas while I was off work went out the window, and I mainly vegged out watching Friends and Gilmore Girls reruns, because I just couldn't focus on anything substantive. By the end of that first month, though, I was back to normal. That's where it helps to really focus on getting in your fluids and your protein--once you get your intake of both of those to where it should be, along with taking your Vitamins, that foggy-headed feeling will go away. -
Worried about regrets
lauraellen80 replied to AmyNLaynie6's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I was someone who also worried, "What if I have the surgery and just don't lose weight? What if I'm the weirdo that it doesn't work for?" Well, I'm two months out and have lost almost 60 pounds, so that worry was not valid! As for having too much spare time--like others said, you can still enjoy going to restaurants and cooking, you will just do more planning for it and eat less at a time. As you get healthier, you'll also be able to do other things that you couldn't do before--I've been able to start taking walks and working in my garden. The first couple weeks after surgery can be a struggle, but it varies from person to person--and it goes by quickly. My recovery was fairly smooth, and I was able to move pretty easily through the food phases and haven't had trouble with much of anything as far as solid foods. I don't have kids, so I can't speak to that, but as for being grumpy... really, the only time that I've been truly grumpy during this process was during the first week of my pre-op diet, when I was only allowed liquids and limited veggies (plus I had just started my period, it was awful!). Sure, there are times when I'm not losing as fast as I want to, or I have moments of wishing I could sit down with a giant plate of nachos, but overall I am much happier and more pleasant than when I was 235 lbs, in pain and out of breath all the time, sitting out activities because I couldn't physically do them or was embarrassed about how I looked. Good luck to you! -
I realized last night at the Y that I'm now at a point where I feel "normal" fat as opposed to "feel like I have to apologize for taking up space and offending people's eyes" fat. I'm still obese, but I notice that I don't immediately race from the pool to wrap a towel around me to cover myself up now. NSV, I guess?
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You know, it's a weird feeling to NOT be invisible anymore. Men notice me and women now ask me all the time about where I shop, what makeup I wear, where I got my shoes, get my hair done! It's such an odd feeling like having been a ghost before and only now really being a live and a part of society. I know how you feel, it's such a big change so fast, it takes the mind a moment to catch up! I do now feel like I'm a regular person who doesn't stick out like a sore thumb everywhere I go. It's great to be alive and well for the first time in a long time! Congrats to you on how far you have come, keep it up and keep us posted!
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Going to a retirement party for my boss's boss this afternoon. There will probably be cake, and I will be sad.
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When your spouse/significant other is still obese...
lauraellen80 replied to dhrguru's topic in The Lounge
When I started the pre-op process, my husband decided to start doing Herbalife shakes, and he would have his "real food" meal at lunch when we weren't eating together. Partly this was to keep me from having to watch him eat real food while I was on a liquid diet, and partly for his own health. He's lost about 30 pounds so far... I just worry about him being able to keep it up over time. He tends to get very discouraged when his weight loss slows or stalls (we did Weight Watchers together a few years ago). I don't know if he would do the surgery or not--when I was just a couple weeks post-op and we went to the shore with friends, he leaned over to me at dinner one night as I ate my 1/4 cup of refried beans and everyone else was feasting and said, "I'm so proud of you... I don't know how you're doing this, I wouldn't be able to." -
Shot down by my "best" friend
lauraellen80 replied to natnat919's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Like others have said, I don't think that she meant to be hurtful. In general, people kinda suck at being supportive of others. I mean,you hear so many stories of people who get a cancer diagnosis, and their friends all disappear because they feel awkward and don't know how to handle it. Anyway, I wouldn't push her away because of this. She did reach out to you, albeit in a kinda dumb way. She also may be feeling hurt that you didn't feel like you could share it with her (which I totally understand--I have a number of friend that I haven't told yet). So I'd say, move on from this, keep in touch with her, and keep up the good work! -
Really, What is the Straight Skinny Post-Op?
lauraellen80 replied to Sunshine3073's topic in Post-op Diets and Questions
1. It really varies from person to person. I haven't noticed any huge changes in my tastes so far, but I do notice that some sweet things taste too intensely sweet. 2. Again, it varies a lot from person to person. Some people have no hunger for a long time post-op, some people say they feel hungry from day 1. Personally, I do get hungry if I haven't eaten for several hours, but it's satisfied with a small amount of food. I am 2 months out from surgery. 3. True food addiction requires psychological intervention. The surgeon only operates on your stomach, not your brain. The surgery is not going to make that "head hunger"--those thoughts of "OMG, I HAVE TO SCARF DOWN A HUGE GREASY BURGER RIGHT NOW"--go away. At first, you physically won't be able to scarf down a big greasy burger, but eventually, you may, and if you don't starting working on breaking those habits and thought patterns, now, you will be setting yourself up for failure down the road. I started therapy before surgery and am continuing for as along as I need to afterward to keep my head in a good place. Oh, and the first few days of the pre-op diet are the worst... it does get easier. Good luck!- 37 replies
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To eat or not to eat! LOL!
lauraellen80 replied to Nikki Monroe's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
If you like Chobani, you might try their "Simply 100" yogurts. The stats are: 100 calories (duh) 0 grams fat 14 grams carbs w/ 7 of those being sugar 12 grams Protein Ingredients: Nonfat Yogurt (Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Live and Active Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus and L. Casei), Blueberries, Chicory Root Fiber, Water, Evaporated Cane juice, Natural Flavors, Pectin, Locust Bean Gum, Monk Fruit Extract, Stevia Leaf Extract. -
I use Centrum chewables. They work fine for me, and I can get them at Target.
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My Bariatric Information Session was bizarre!
lauraellen80 replied to limichelle34's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
That's insane! I would have wondered if I was on some hidden-camera prank show! My info session wasn't nearly as entertaining... just one woman who got kinda huffy when the surgeon said that during surgery they use muscle-relaxing drugs. "Really, do you have to use them?" "Um, yes, that way your muscles don't contract while we're in there operating." "Oh... well, I guess I can't have this surgery, then!"
