kaitlynm

I also live in the Woodlands. I'm a little over 5 mos post op. Have you had your surgery yet?

I didn't have a support person either. I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital so I practically ran from the room to my friends car. I had someone take me to the hospital and they stayed through the surgery to talk to the Doc, and then someone pick me up and bring me home. I went for a short walk the following day. I also drove the next day. My Doc said I could drive as long as I wasn't taking the pain meds. Luckily I didn't need it. Can't say that will work for everyone, and I'm pretty independent and have a high pain tolerance. Just my story.

Wow! What a transformation. Great Job!

Congratulations!

Also your employer decides on the plans which may or may not include bariatric surgery.

I hope you are ok. I passed out in early January because I was still on BP meds and with my exercise and weight loss my BP was really low. 80 / 40. I face planted into my bathroom floor and ended up breaking my nose. They say travertine is a soft tile, but believe me it is not that soft. I do know how you feel when you only require the small BP cuff now at the Docs office. I also like how I fit on the massage table now without having to tuck my hands under my body to keep my arms on the table. Sometimes it is the little things that keep us motivated.

Does your surgeon do this? I would think that since it is related to your sleeve that he would do it. Similar to how they fill and unfollow bands.

Honestly, you are going to have to clean up your eating regardless of whether you have the surgery or not. Surgery just helps you eat less, not better. You have to do that on your own and if you can't the WLS won't work. With only 60 lbs to lose I would try it on your own and save the money for college funds. Sounds like you will need it. If that doesn't work then maybe consider the surgery. With the surgery you still get hungry, and you still have cravings for junk food. Even healthy food like nuts can be a pitfall because of all the calories. Try tracking what you eat in my fitness pal for a week or so to see how many calories you are getting. I have the sleeve and it has been a great tool, but I have to work hard at eating right and exercising every day. I'm trying to lose 150 pounds and I'm down 90 at this point. I work out 2-3 hours every day and eat 1000 calories per day. I have to get at least 100 g of Protein in and then only complex carbs and some fat. You may try the diet first to see if you think you can commit to it.

Congratulations on being approved. My family also wasn't too keen on me getting the surgery, but that is because they don't know enough about it. It is pretty safe and compared to the statistics of being obese and the comorbidities that go with it. You are much better with the odds of getting the surgery, than staying where you are or gaining additional pounds. The older you get the easier it is to gain and the harder it is to lose.

For the hospital, definitely bring Chapstick and stock up on it because you will need it all the time. Same with lotion for dry skin. I also bought way too much canned fruit, Soups, and broth for the early stages. Just loaded up a big tub of it to give away. Get rid of all junk food before your surgery. If it is not in the house you will not be tempted to eat it. My surgery was right before Halloween and I had to buy candy for the kids. Turned out I didn't have any and that candy kept calling to me until I threw it out. My recovery was really easy with almost no pain. So I can't think of anything special that you need for that. Emotionally, you need to prepare that this is not a diet, it is a lifelong journey. You will never be able to eat like you once did, and it can be a struggle every day. Be sure to have hobbies or other things to fill your time. I'm the most hungry when I'm bored. It is head hunger, but is hard to get rid of. Start exercising NOW! Just walking if you don't currently exercise, but get moving. It will help you recover quicker from surgery and it will be a habit by the time you are pre op. Good Luck! I'm sure you will do fine.

I went to the Doc thinking I would have the RNY, but he kind of talked me into the sleeve. I do think you have to be more disciplined with the sleeve because I haven't found any food that I can't eat yet. His main concern was that I could have issues with the malabsorption related to my B-12 deficiency. He told me that at 2 years out the results were about the same for RNY and the sleeve. With RNY you loose faster in the beginning. I'm happy with my sleeve so far. 5 mos post op. I also liked the idea that I would not have to worry about dumping if I wanted a special sugar treat every once in awhile.

Congratulations! I'm right there with you in that I have lost 90 pounds since starting this journey. I still have 55 to go, but hope to be there close to my one year anniversary. I'm 5 months post op, but I lost 18 pounds before the surgery. Can't wait to hit that 100 lb mark. It is also nice to hit these milestones in summer when you can show off more skin. [emoji160][emoji160]

You guys both look great in shorts. I've always worn shorts because my legs were thin, just not my tummy. I've been out looking for new shorts in my size and it is fun trying them on and looking in the mirror. I wish I could say the same about bathing suits but with a flat butt they don't look so good. I don't think all the squats in the world could ever give me a normal butt. Rock those shorts this summer, I'm sure you will get lots of compliments.

Restarting exercise after injuries is always hard. For me it was that I wanted to do too much too soon. I never really had injuries until I started exercising heavily about 6 years ago. I've had a torn calf, torn hamstring, and two Achilles surgeries. Those are killers because you are in a cast for 6 weeks and then a boot for 6 weeks. Sure enough as soon as I got the boot (I could drive then) I would be back at the gym overdoing it. Take it easy to start, and start small. Don't push it too quickly or you will reinsure yourself. Good luck with your new routine. Just stick with it and it will become a breeze to exercise again.

I did that yesterday and had deep marks in my arms for a couple of hours. I guess I'm lucky it didn't cut off my circulation. [emoji6]. I just keep pushing it back up. Still 100% better than the charge.

First of all throw away all the crappy junk food in your house away. You can't eat what isn't there. Do not replace it ever! It takes a good month to get back in the habit of doing what you are supposed to, so get started today. You made it half way, think how amazing you will look when you reach goal. Sure it will be hard, but you can do it!

@jamielogical. I upgraded my charge HR for a blaze last week. My charge HR fell apart so they gave me a refund and I got the blaze. It is much more accurate than the charge. My only complaint is that I have a hard time keeping it above my wrist one when I'm sweating. It keeps wanting to slide down. I love how I can see my heart rate so much easier now as well.

Welcome to the club and good luck on your journey. I started out at 286, and was 268 on the day of surgery. I'm now down to 197 after just over 5 months. Still need to loose about 55 more pounds. I too wish I had done this sooner. I'm 52 and have been overweight since my freshman year in college. I put on the freshman 50 instead of the 15. I'm sure this will be great for you and your family. You should get plenty of exercising chasing after 4 kids.

Like everyone else is saying here it is all about finding something that you like to do so that you will keep it up. It is much easier when you have lost weight to get moving. I'm down 90 pounds and it is so much easier now. I love to do a class called body combat at my gym. (You can also subscribe to their streaming classes if you want to do them at home). It is by Les Mills. You just kick and punch the air for 50 minutes of high intensity cardio. I love it because it lets you take out some frustration on an imaginary opponent. If someone is driving you crazy, you just picture that person and beat the snot out of them. The time flies for me in that class. Start with just walking. You will be surprised how quickly you can advance your speed and distance.

I finally made it to Onderland after 5 months and loosing 87 pounds. Fifty five more ponds to go, but this is a big milestone for me. [emoji3]

My fitness pal is working on my iPad, but not my phone as of this morning. Last night I upgraded my phone to the new software. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

I'm eating about 1000 calories per day which according to the bariatric coordinator is where I should be with my exercise level. She runs the support group I belong to and works closely with the Dr. My Doc recommends 800 calories per day if you are exercising for an hour 5 days a week. She said I should go to 1000 to cover the extra hour. Honestly I don't burn that many calories during the weight class so I don't think I need to increase for that. I know about the 3500 calories equaling a pound but that has never been the case for me. I have thyroid issues , previous battles with anorexia, and PCOS so that goes out the window. I wish it worked for me, I think I would weigh under 100 if it was true. My resting heartbeat is around 48 - 50 for the day, so I think my metabolism is just shot. It took me over a week to loose the 3 pound gain, so I don't think it is water retention. Just so frustrating.

I'm not loosing inches either. I get over 100g of protein a day and get at least 80 oz of water per day. I work out 2 hours every day and now have started adding a third hour of weights on three days a week. I do HIIT type work on the treadmill running for one minute and walking for 4 minutes for 65 minutes daily and then do a combat class for an hour. I have tried increasing my calories and that is not working either. I'm not building muscle yet so I know that is not the issue. I tried increasing my calories for one day by 500 and I ended up gaining 2 pounds. My Doc's NUT is terrible so I'm not to anxious to go see her. Just really frustrating. I still have 60 pounds to loose to reach my personal goal.

I'm in the same boat right now. Just a little over 5 months out and I am completely stuck. I've only lost 3 pounds in the past 5 weeks. I know I'm doing everything right so it is really frustrating. I'm not supposed to see my surgeon until 9 mos out, but I think I may go see him at 6 months if things don't change. I'm not going to hit my 6 month goal he set at this rate, so I think it is justified. It is really depressing me. I'm at a weight that I have not been able to get past for the past 30 years. I'm going to be really disappointed if this surgery was for nothing and I'm still where I always have been able to get on my own.

You will feel better soon. Takes a couple of days, and you will be tired. The one incision where they remove the stomach is the one that usually gives you pain, but it will be gone soon too. I'm sure they will have you up and walking today. Do you get to leave the hospital today? Here in the US you only stay one night, or maybe not at all. But that is our wonderful insurance companies driving that.