shriner37

Think of it this way... in order to lose weight, with or without surgery we need to alter our behaviors and eating habits to consume less food and consume the right kinds of food. We also need to increase physical activity. These are the key factors you would follow with either path. Weight loss surgery is not a quick fix by itself. It provides us with a tool which makes it easier to make those changes and comply with our new habits and behaviors. Restricting intake and possibly absorption (with bypass) help to achieve the weight loss we want, but with either path we have to alter the way we eat and how much we take in. There are studies published in the past couple of years that seem to indicate permanent weight loss is usually only achieved through surgery. According to the studies, almost everyone who loses conventionally gains most or all of their weight back. Conventional dieting doesn't change our metabolic set point. Weight loss surgery does. However, you have to make sure you have the personal commitment to make the eating and behavioral changes necessary, otherwise weight loss surgery is just another expensive path to failure. You have to decide if you are willing to change your eating habits, commit to a healthy nutrition program and increased exercise. If you make that commitment, you will be successful with weight loss surgery.

The skill and success of the surgeon is the most important factor, but the office and support staff are important as well. You will typically meet the surgeon once or twice before the surgery, and then possibly never see him again after the procedure depending on how he structures his office. Most all of your follow up care will be delivered by his staff. Being comfortable with the support staff, including scheduling, billing, post-surgery care staff and nutritionists is very important to the overall success of your procedure. Basically what I'm saying is that if you aren't getting good overall care before the surgery that should be a red flag as to what to expect after the procedure is done.

I'm about 4 months post-op. I ran out of bariatric Vitamins for a period during the holidays and some extensive travel. I noticed during that time despite generally complying with the diet recommendations that my rate of loss slowed to a crawl. I recently got my bariatric vitamins replenished and have been taking them for about a week and have noticed the rate of loss seems to have picked back up. Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm wondering if this is just a coincidence, if I was just in a stall, or if proper Vitamin supplementation really has an impact on the rate of weight loss.

I take Bariatric Advantage. I started with their chewables right after surgery but have now switched to their Ultra Multi Formula with Iron. I also take their calcium chews daily.

@@Dub First, have to make a correction, the Texans are being taken to the woodshed by the Chiefs. Being from KC this is an important distinction! :-) I'm sure the dog poop experience just "piled on" to an already rough afternoon...

We all lose at our own pace. To a large extent our individual rate of loss is tied to our underlying health status, muscle mass, starting weight and base metabolism. I know, for example, that I tend to lose a little slower than others who had surgery around the same time. I also tend to stall easier. This is likely due to a lower basal metabolic rate. For example, at 9 days out I had lost 16 pounds which in comparison would seem to be way worse than your results. However, my loss was just fine for me at that time. If you read through this site one very common thread is to remind us all not to compare our results to others, but just focus on our own journey and goals. It sounds like you are doing great. I'd say keep up the good work!

@@suitechicguy Yep, same thing here. Once all of the entertaining was done I finally got smart and threw out all of the tempting snacks and goodies. I was lucky I didn't gain any weight, but didn't really lose any over the holidays either so I can tell I set myself back a little.

The clinic I went to referred me to Prosper, which is sort of a crowd lending site. You sign up for the service, establish your loan (loan category, how much you need, how long of a term) and then they assign you an interest rate and a loan grade. Investors buy small or large pieces of your loan, and it gets funded. It took several days for mine to fund and when it was done they transferred the money to my checking account. I think the interest rate was around 8.9% or thereabouts, but of course that will vary based on credit. I didn't think that was too bad for an unsecured loan.

I am using MyFitnessPal and it does connect with the Apple Watch. If you Google "Connect Apple Watch to MyFitnessPal" it will bring up an article on how to connect the watch app. I think the MyFitnessPal website and app are about the best tool out there for nutrition tracking. I've tried other sites/apps and MFP seems to have about the best library of foods. Just need to read carefully to make sure you are picking the right item and unit of measure. Before I bought the Apple Watch I already had a FitBit Charge HR. Being off work this past week I've worn both of them just to compare. The FitBit is the better fitness tracker since it was designed solely for that purpose, but of course doesn't have all of the other features of the Apple Watch. I think the graphic views, details and reporting are better with the FitBit app since it is specifically designed for exercise tracking. It also monitors sleep if you want, which you can't do with the Apple Watch since it needs to be charged each night. All of that being said, I'm generally happy with how the Apple Watch works with the MFP app.

@@chickenmommy25 Yes, they are very frustrating. Unfortunately they are part of the process. I'm 3 1/2 months out and have now experienced three of them. Each time I just stayed on my program and the weight loss picked back up when my body was ready. A stall is a good opportunity for us to re-evaluate our routine to make sure we are still doing what we are supposed to. I know this last time I had let a few slider type foods and Snacks slip into my routine. The stall forced me to look at my nutrition and realize that I was not completely following my plan.

Your stomach has been cut apart and stapled together. It takes a couple of months to fully heal. Until it's healed you would be wise to follow the recommendations of your surgeon or nutritionist and only eat what they've cleared you for.

I absolutely agree with you and learned the same thing myself. I've been off work since the 23rd, and we made treats to give out as gifts. We also hosted Christmas Eve so there were lots of goodies around the house. I was able to eat healthy meals but the grazing and snacking basically stopped my weight loss for over a week. I went through the house yesterday and threw away anything that was left that was snack food. I'm sure I'll get back on plan, it was just surprising how easy it was to get off track!

Stalls are a natural and expected part of weight loss. Your body needs to pause to recover periodically as you lose weight. The way it was explained to me (not sure if this is technically correct but it makes sense) is that weight loss empties out the contents of fat cells, but after enough loss the body pauses to break down the cell structures themselves. This is akin to emptying out a warehouse first, then breaking down the shelves. This is why when we aren't losing weight we are losing inches, as the body breaks down fat cells. I'd stick with what you are doing, and follow the program prescribed by your doctor. I've had three significant stalls in 3 1/2 months but all of them have passed.

I would go by the instructions provided by your surgeon. In my case I wasn't allowed to have regular food for 8 weeks after surgery. At three weeks I was just moving from cottage cheese and refried Beans to some soft solid foods.

Everyone is different. I started to feel better about day 4 post surgery, and began improving fairly rapidly after that. I would say my full energy didn't come back for a few weeks though. The good news is when it did I had more energy than I've had in years!

@@FrankiesGirl is absolutely right. From seeing the responses on this site pre-op diets are all over the map, depending on the surgeon. Mine was one week long, three Protein shakes a day and otherwise Clear liquids. I've seen others that were on clear liquids only and some that even allowed solid meals. Some were a week, some were several weeks. Others didn't even have a pre-op diet except for clear liquids the day before. The biggest reason for pre-op diets is to shrink the liver, which is basically a sponge. It's the first place we gain or lose weight, and reducing its size helps the surgeon conduct a more successful and less risky surgery, so most of the pre-op programs are designed to reduce liver size.

This sounds like an example of two very insecure people, who realize they have issues but can't or won't deal with them, and are envious of someone who has done so. You mention that they are both extremely overweight. I assume they've tried, like most all of us, to lose weight over time and haven't been successful. To see someone around them take control of their life and be successful at something they've failed at can create very negative feelings in people who are envious by nature. Your life is your own, and your body is your responsibility. You have to live for yourself first. Their negativity won't help you be successful in building a healthier, happier self. If they can't be supportive this is their issue, not yours. It sounds like your husband is very supportive and knows how toxic his relatives can be. I bet he will truly understand if you choose not to expose yourself to their negativity and abuse.

@@mckwestla I think it is a personal decision and each of us has our own reasons for our selection. For me it was the fact that long term data about the sleeve is showing almost as good total weight loss as the bypass, using a simpler procedure with less risk and less side effects (malabsorption, dumping syndrome, etc.) I also consulted with my surgeon and based on my weight, health and reasons behind my weight gain he agreed that the sleeve was the best option. If you haven't already, a good conversation with your surgeon should help you decide. I would ask about the residual effects of both procedures. For example, the sleeve removes about 75-80% of the stomach, including the fundus which is where ghrelin (hunger hormone) is generated. Thus, sleevers have relatively little actual hunger. The bypass does resect the stomach but leaves the old stomach, including most of the fundus in place. I think it would be worthwhile to know whether the same ghrelin reduction occurs in the bypass. Also, I've heard that the sleeve has, over time, less risk of stretching than the bypass pouch. I don't know this to be the case, just have heard it and it is worth asking about. Hopefully the surgeon you select can help you choose the best procedure for your needs.

I'm struggling to find a schedule for exercise that I can perform on a regular basis. I've tried a number of daily pattern changes but none seem to stick. My day usually starts between 5:30 and 6:00am with a couple cups of coffee and a chance to catch up on the news of the day. 7am is Breakfast then getting ready for the commute to work. Work is very challenging (more mentally than physically) and by the end of the day I'm usually mentally exhausted. That plus evening social commitments from time to time make it challenging to get into a regular exercise routine. I am thinking I need to change my morning routine to add walking and a workout instead of quiet time. I've tried getting up earlier (i.e 5am) but have trouble sustaining that as well. I'd like to hear from those who have been able to build a regular time for exercise into your daily schedule. What worked best for you?

The reason we progress from clear liquids to full liquids to pureed to soft foods isn't really about weight loss, though that is a nice result. It's really about allowing your stomach to heal. It has just been cut in half and stapled back together. Eating solid foods to early can cause a leak or staple line rupture, which can be a very serious and possibly even fatal complication.

I would think your PCP could help with that determination. It would be based on your height, frame size, body composition and general health status. For sure I wouldn't rely on the standard BMI categories, which skew toward the low side and are often create unrealistic targets.

Hi @@shelly7, congratulations on being approved for surgery! Depending on the requirements of your surgeon and insurance you can look forward to some or all of the following: 1. Visit with surgeon. 2. Possibly a pre-op diet for several months prior to surgery (this varies by insurance company). 3. Pre-surgery informational class. 4. Visit with nutritionist or pre-surgery nutrition class. 5. Possibly undergo an EGD. 6. EKG and lab work. 7. Visit with anesthesiologist. While this sounds like a long path, really it is driven by the requirements of insurance. I was a self-pay (no insurance involved) and completed everything listed above in 30 days, since there was no pre-op diet requirement, only a prep week of liquid Protein prior to surgery.

Good point. I actually have a nice television in front of the treadmill and Bowflex so there really isn't any excuse. I'm just trying to figure out a routine that is sustainable.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've decided it will be best to work in the exercise component in the morning, before work. Maybe treadmill or exercise time will accomplish the same goal of getting me ready for the day as coffee and reading the news.

Mine was a combination. My surgeon told me to expect to lose 100 lbs. I told him my ideal would be to lose 110, and he said if I was diligent with diet and exercise I should be able to reach it. Interestingly, though, during the psych eval the psychologist told me not to expect to lose as much as the surgeon said. Since they both operate out of the same practice and see the same patients (and I assume know each other well) I found that interesting. I set my goal at 110 which would be a classic "healthy" weight for me, however realistically I'd be happy with any final weight loss over 90 pounds.