dhrguru

My first consult was March 2 2015, My surgery was 4/28/15. No I didn't have to do weight management prior to, but of course weight was was encouraged to ensure a successful surgery. I lost 20# preop.

Chestnut hill, Dr Meilahn. No complaints whatsoever about him or the hospital- it was a great experience. If you have any questions let me know

Post op, one year out. Down about 125#.

I live in Philly!

Awesome job!

I'm a year out, my hunger has not returned. I do pay close attention for it, and any time I think there is a twinge of hunger I drink something first and I'm fine. I'm hoping to ride this out as long as humanly possible. Though my hunger hasn't returned, the honeymoon is over And my weight loss slowed dramatically.

It never once crossed my mind to clean out my fridge or cabinets. Personally I'd never waste that kind of money. If it's frozen, I'd just let it be. If it's canned, let it be. No you may not use it for a while, but I imagine you'll be eating most of that stuff in a few months to some degree. I have a family, so what I don't eat others do. Only thing that's sat untouched since my surgery is a box of Cheerios. Canned broth was nasty to me- I bought broth from au Bon pain. Soft foods vary a lot...what you listed what a mix of my "full" liquids and soft foods phases

anything fried for me- creates intestinal upheaval. High fat foods too, I still can't eat bacon.

Pain is subjective. What you feel or can tolerate varies from what I will feel or tolerate. I didn't have any gas pain after my bypass. More so incisional pain.

You should call your insurance and see what the coverage and requirements are for WLS. Insurance calls the shots in this process. Bariatric offices should be familiar, but you should know first hand. You may also be able to view the medical policy online.

I think sometimes it's people fearing that if you continue losing you will weigh less then them.

I've been getting lots of compliments, and it humorous to me to see how they've evolved. They have progressed like this: (The double take-- no words, just looking twice cause something seems different.) You look like you're losing weight. You're slimming down You look great You're getting skinny Your face looks so slim You're getting too skinny Careful, you don't want your face to get too skinny You're withering away! I guess 'skin and bones' is coming next. Doesn't bother me, but listing them out shows how this slowly turns into passive- aggressive 'advice' when others feel enough is enough.

Goal is whatever you want it to be. A lot do go by normal BMI. That was too far fetched for me to imagine. My goal is 175. When I reach it I'll revaluate, but not sure to what. I just want to achieve that then figure the rest from there. I may not want to lose more, and I'd be ok with that

So, how is it that you think removing get 80-90% of your stomach is not " rearranging your insides"? At your height I'm guessing you want to lose about a hundred? RNY would make sense to me. Would you be frigates to taking your supplements?

Main feelings that loomed for me right after surgery was doubt. Doubt I could do it, doubt it would work. Regret was reserved if my doubts proved to be true. Thankfully they haven't. Stick with everything your supposed to be doing and the feelings should turn around.

Great job!

I'm not at goal yet, but I always wanted to shop in Victoria's Secret, got that around Thanksgiving. Gap was another wish, bought one thing there and lost interest. I've browsed in the limited, express and forever 21, just haven't bought anything in there yet. I really want to go to a boutique type store (not a chain) and be able to buy something. Just haven't been to one yet

I'm 11 months out and 114# down. i had an interesting appointment with my surgeon today. He asked what I was doing for activity, and I proudly rattled off my routine. He then asked me what I was doing for relaxation. Blank stare, felt like I was just handed a pop quiz. He stressed the importance of not over doing things and trying to 'conquer the world one pound at a time. ' he cautioned me about push, push, pushing to do more and more; cause life will inevitably throw us a curve ball and we need to be able to balance those curve balls and activity and diet etc. basically the journey can't take over your life, because your life is well, your life. His message was one of sustainability, which I feel I have with how I've handled things. But I did tell him I felt like others often pushed me to do more. He told be don't be persuaded into being the pinnacle of everything. He shard a story of a patient who worked and lost weight, ran a huge marathon and then just stopped.-- then regained. I thought it was great advice worth sharing...

Welcome! Losing that weight now will be a good practice in adjusting to how you'll eat after surgery. Is there a time frame you have to lose it by?

I'm six months out. Last night I was in the market picking up things and I found my self wandering a bit, staring at all the junk I would have once consisdered buying. It was almost like visiting the scene of an accident, where you analyze it trying to figure where things went wrong. I wasn't tempted, just in awe of how much junk I'd have once piled in my cart. I'm healthier, off blood pressure meds and my overactive bladder is a thing if the past. Keep encouraged folks, it's possible and so worth it! I'm certainly not perfect and still have my struggles... But have found far more strength than I thought I had in this journey so far.

Initially my clothes just started fitting as they should have. I should have been in a 26, but owned mostly 24's. I also had 22's and 20's on hand from prior weight loss. I didn't start buying clothes till I was in 20's and definitely 18's. I used thrift stores a lot and bought any size, even if it didn't fit yet. If I bought new, I wouldn't pay more than $20 an item. Each size lasted me about six weeks. I'm currently transitioning into 14's in pants, I'm a large to XL in tops. I'll also need new bras soon., currently 38dd (down from 46dd). I think I'll end up a 36d. (I won't skimp on bras, to important) And also, I'm gradually replacing shoes. Wide widths flop off my feet now, so I need standard, some times I can even go a size smaller than usual.

Early on I felt this fear. Id read so many stories of people dumping On things as simple as ketchup, it made me a bit fearful. I still ate out, just stuck with foods I knew were safe for me. I tried questionable things at home and added them to my diet when I went out when I knew it was ok for me to eat.

Congrats on making goal!!!!!

So tonight I was working on my taxes. (FYI- for those that donate your too big clothes, you need to keep really a detailed record of what you donate, when and get receipts!) I remember right after surgery last spring struggling with the idea of getting rid of my winter clothes since they'd be too big by winter. It was impossible to wrap my head around. Now it's heading to spring again, I looked through my closet and drawers and realized there is not a single item in there from 'before'. Not a shirt, bra or even a panty-- everything is new. (Or like new-- I do thrift stores at times). I was a size 26, and am starting in on 14 now. And again, its hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'll likely have this same 'wardrobe flip' next year this time. I didn't hate myself before, but I love my new shape and fitness in a different way. I've worked for it and appreciate it. My life was pretty complete before all this, but now It's rounded it out in a way I didn't expect.

I don't dump on sugars either. I do know if I eat a lot stuff highly concentrated in sugar my heart will race a bit. It's really subtle, but I notice it. I don't tolerate fats well though... So I figure it a trade off.