catwoman7

I wouldn't go completely back to the beginning, but I *would* go back to eating protein first, then non-starchy vegetables. Then, if you have room, a small serving of fruit or whole grain carbs. Avoid or severely limited "bad" carbs. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before drinking anything. Weight/measure and, most importantly, track your food. You know the drill....just get back to it!

we were told to take the ones you mentioned above & beyond what's in a multi. For one thing, the calcium in multis is calcium carbonate - whereas we're supposed to take calcium citrate. Also, if you've had RNY, you've lost the ability to metabolize regular B12 - you have to get your B12 through a sublingual tablet or an injection.

this isn't all that uncommon. A lot of people get hormone dumps and their systems go haywire for awhile (affects some people's moods, too). Some people have said it's because estrogen is stored in fat, and when you lose weight really fast, all the extra estrogen is released. I don't know if that's true, but it makes sense. It should straighten itself out in a couple of months.

are you on solid foods yet? Dense protein is pretty filling - way more so than stuff like cottage cheese and yogurt.

I lost 57 lbs prior to surgery between my six-month supervised diet and my two-week liquid diet. So on the morning of surgery, I weighed 316 lbs. After that, it took 18 (maybe 20?) months before I hit my lowest weight (138 lbs - I've gained 10 lbs since then - I need to update my profile!)

actually, only about 30% of RNY patients dump.... or at least that's the statistic I see thrown around all the time. I don't know if there's any hard-core medical research behind that number, but I do know that a lot of us have never dumped.

the butt thing is very common. It improves for some people over time, but not for everyone. I kept one of those coccyx pillows on my office chair when I worked (I'm retired now) as well as one on my car seat (the car seats don't bother it as much since they're softer, but if I'm driving long distances, then yes, it does....). I don't know if anyone really knows what causes it. Maybe less padding back there - or maybe you have to learn to sit differently now that you've lost a bunch of weight and aren't well-padded everywhere. But I still deal with it - not all the time like before, but sometimes, yes.

P.S. depending on your gender, 15-20% body fact could too low (definitely too low for female - OK for athletic males). Mine got down to 22% (I'm female), and the Dexascan technician and my PCP both told me to stop - if I kept going, I'd just be eating into my muscle.

I wouldn't increase calories at this point. If anything, 1200-1400 at this juncture is a bit on the high end, although with all the exercise you do, that might be where you need to be. I didn't routinely go over 1000 until I was almost a year out, but then, I'm not as active as you are. things just really slow down a lot at around that point for virtually everyone. I thought many times that I'd stopped losing, but then it would start up again - but slowly. I did manage to continue losing until I was around 18-20 months out, though - probably 40-ish pounds altogether in year 2. So there's still hope!!!

What she (the above poster) said. Plus, smoothies go through you pretty fast. I feel fuller for longer when I eat dense protein.

You look *much* better - and I bet you're a lot healthier, too!!! Although I get what you're saying - I've been at a normal BMI for over two years now, and I still feel fat when the scale's up a few pounds (and sometimes even when it's not).

first, diarrhea is really uncommon (unless you're talking about the DS, which is not a common surgery. The vast majority of us are sleeve or gastric bypass patients). Most of us struggle with the opposite problem - constipation. It's due mostly to the diet (high protein, low carb) and the supplements (iron and calcium), not the surgery per se. So I personally wouldn't worry about that. I'm also a bit of a foodie. You're pretty restricted the first few months after surgery, but I can eat anything now (albeit in smaller portions) except for really high-fat meals. Going into it, though, I wasn't sure how it would turn out for me. I, too, like an above poster, had to make the decision of losing my excess weight vs. eating what I wanted. The older I got and the more my weight started affecting my health, the clearer the decision became.

This - or a similar graphic - was shown at the last info session I went to (I went to three or four so I could check out different surgeons, as they were the main presenters at these sessions). It was this graphic that confirmed to me that this decision was a no-brainer. I got the ball rolling on it the next day.

those feelings are pretty normal. As far as buyer's remorse, I've been participating in the bariatric community for probably six years, and I know (or know of) VERY few people who have regretted it. They all had complications - but complications are pretty rare, as I'm sure you've been told. I'd guess at least 95% of the people who've gone through it are so happy they did.

I had to do 4-5 protein shakes a day plus all the very low (or no) calorie liquids I wanted - which included sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello, both of which I ate with abandon because it was the only thing I could eat for two weeks that somewhat resembled real food. I could also have something like a cup of tomato juice or V8 a day, and/or a cup of chicken broth. That's it. No veggies, nothing. I lost 15 lbs.

I lost c. 50 lbs before surgery, but I knew from past experience that without the surgery, I would have eventually gained it back. It'd happened every time I'd done it before - at least a billion times.

I'd lost about the same amount as you when I was two months out. People lose at all different rates depending on several different factors. If you're sticking to your program, the weight WILL come off, either fast or slow. I was a slow loser from the get-go, but I was very committed to my program and almost never went off during the weight loss phase. I lost all my excess weight - over 200 lbs - so you're definitely not a lost cause!

I agree. People that lose that much during the first month often start at over 300 lbs. That surgeon is clueless.

I think a lot of people's expectations are based on "My 600 lb Life" . Yea, at that starting weight, you're going to drop a crap ton of weight the first month. But for the average WLS patient, who starts off at 200-400 lbs, no.

Keep your pictures - I HATED (and still hate!) my "fat" pictures, but I'm glad I have them. It's a great reminder of where I came from. as for clothes, I gave as many as I could to obese friends, and the rest went to Goodwill.

almost everyone, sleeve or bypass, has their first stall within the first month after surgery. We call it "the three week stall" because it usually happens during week 3, but not always. Mine was weeks 2 and 3. Lost nothing. Then during week 4, I dropped like 6-8 lbs practically overnight. Do a search on the three week stall and you'll find HUNDREDS of posts on it. Just stick to your program and the stall will break. I promise.

I was going to suggest the same thing - just do as much research as you can. They're both good surgeries, and I've known people who've been very successful with both. I chose bypass because I had GERD pre-surgery, and I didn't want to risk it getting worse (sleeve can cause - or increase - GERD in some people, but not all. But I didn't want to take the risk). If it hadn't been for the GERD, I'm not sure which one I would have picked. I'm sure I would have been happy with either.

There could be something to that. I think one of the reasons I'd usually rather reach for the cottage cheese or yogurt is that it's easy on my system. Often things like meat or raw vegetables can be irritating (although I'll sometimes eat raw veggies for that very reason - to stop myself from mindless eating. It's hard to keep eating when your stomach's irritated!!)

Dense protein - like 3 oz of meat - is DEFINITELY more filling, but so often I want something like yogurt or cottage cheese instead. Good foods, yes, but they slide right through you. I really need to try to eat dense proteins every day. It might not be such a struggle to maintain my weight if I did...

most people seem to lose in the 15-25 lb range the first month (of course, you'll always find some who've lost more or less than that), so you're right on target!