Diana_in_Philly

I went back to work after a week (I am a desk jockey). Join a gym. Spend time there walking on the treadmill. Don't just sit at home. Once you are off pain meds, generally, you are cleared to drive. I had surgery Tuesday, came home Wednesday. Slept Thursday. Did half a day's work from home Friday. Went into the office on a slightly reduced scheduled on Monday. Went and did the grocery shopping on Saturday for my family but used some help at the store to load the car and get the stuff in side at home (made hubby and kids do that) due to 10 pound lifting restriction. I just went on with life.

Join a gym and work with a personal trainer. This is the best advice I can give you because you need to have someone help you through this process who understands body and movement. I started working with my trainer before surgery and continued after. Do cardio, work with weights - both of which will help you develop lean muscle mass. In some cases, the only way fat is going to go away is via plastics (I know that for a fact). That being said - find something you enjoy and do it often. My workout week looks something like this now (2+ years out) Monday - fence 2.5 hours Tuesday - crossfit class/lifting Wednesday - fence 2.5 hours Thursday - cross fit class/lifting Friday - Pilates 1 hour plus agility training Saturday - cross fit class Sunday - compete at fencing or do core and arms work. I try to fit in a yoga class every week or two. I work out a minimum of 1-2 hours per day. I make the time for me. I have become a nationally ranked athlete in my sport - a sport I took up after surgery. The key is to get moving and keep moving. I see my trainer 2x monthly to tune up my routine and keep it fresh so I don't get bored.

So I had my surgery at 55. I was 260 ish pounds at surgery. My high was over 300 and I'm 5'3". I was wearing a 24. I wear a 6 now. I'm a nationally ranked fencer in my age group and I didn't start fencing until I started to lose weight. (Been fencing 18 months, currently ranked no. 24 among women 50-59 and no. 30 among women over 40). I've lost about 150 pounds. I look hot. I haven't had plastics - if I did, I'd probably be a size 4. I deadlift 235 pounds and squat 225. I vomited when I got e coli from a salad and was sick for four days. I eat pretty much what I want now - so long as I stay under about 1500 calories a day. Do what you need to do. I only regret not doing this sooner.

Do you have access to a pool? Water walking should be almost painless due to the buoyancy of the human body. When I was at my heaviest (300 pounds) water was my friend. FWIW - I'm 2 years out. I can deadlift and squat 235 and weigh about 150 right now. I fence competitively and am nationally ranked - all of which happened post surg You can do this. Bravo for getting a head start.

Could be a bit of dehydration - you are just a bit more than a month from surgery and if you worked up a sweat you could have dehydrated yourself a bit. When I started moving more after surgery at the gym or in a class, I started drinking Powerade Zero or something similar with electrolytes. Sometimes it just happens, but try upping your fluid intake during class.

@Healthy_life - I've been messing around with this for about 6-8 months. I Olympic lift to support my fencing (headed to a national competition tomorrow). I found a sports RD who has worked with WLS patients. The key for me as not been so much the protein but increasing the carbs. I generally average in my diet about 110g protein a day. I have been trying to get 115g carbs in as well. I eat about 1500 calories a day. My training schedule looks like this M: fencing 2.5 hours T: Crossfit/Olympic Lifting 1 hour W: repeat Monday Thursday - Repeat Tuesday Friday - Reformer based Pilates 1 hour Saturday - repeat Tuesday Sunday - if not competing for 3-4 hours, agility, arms, core and lifting When I fence, I burn about 1100 calories, but my resting metabolic rate is really slow. (As in 1100 to maintain weight if I do not exercise). My average day foodwise - looks like this: B- Protein shake with handful of frozen fruit made with Fairlife Skim Milk 37g P 15g carbs Snack - Skyr Icelandic Provisions yogurt with 2-3 tablespoons of granola 15 g P 10g carbs Lunch - Pesto chicken salad (4 ounces chicken plus 1 tablespoon pesto) 20gP Slice of Rye bread 15g Carbs Snack - Kind bar with protein - 12gP 22g Carbs Dinner - Protein 4-5 ounces, 1/2 a baked potato or rice, salad Snack - Popcorn sometimes or some other light carb to finish my carbs I have to work at it. Yes, its' a lot of food. Often, if I get lazy, I throw a scoop of Ucann Superstarch into my shakes - that's good for 20g carbs. Often I'll add a shake during the day. I try to have a snack within 30 minutes of completing a workout that contains protein and carbs - often a Kind bar with protein or other energy bar that is higher than carbs. The issue for me as been increasing muscle and killing the fat. Your body needs the carbs. I suggest you try to find a sports RD in your area to work with. It was the best money I've spent other than my personal trainers/coaches.

I'm 2+ years out. I've lost 95% of my excess weight. I have not had plastics - which would account for that last 5%. I eat a high protein, low carb diet and exercise 7 days a week. I eat roughly 1500 calories a day. I exercise at least 1 hour each day. A typical day is: Morning - coffee - black, greek yogurt (Skyr Icelandic provisions), 2 tablespoons of granola Mid morning - protein shake (1 cup fairlife skim milk, 1 scoop protein, handful frozen fruit in blender) Lunch - 3-5 ounces of chicken/turkey/beef, 2 cups of green salad mix, 1 tablespoon balsamic dressing mid afternoon - 2-3 ounces cheddar or other hard cheese Dinner - 3-5 ounces meat, salad or green veg and 1/4 c of a starch. I have had to increase my carbs to about 110 g daily due to my exercise load. I fence (en garde) 6-8 hours a week, do Cross Fit 3 hours a week and pilates and strength training another 1-3 hours a week. I eat about 110 g protein daily. I eat protein first. I drink close to a gallon of water a day. If I want a glass of wine or a cocktail, I have one. At my high point, I was over 300. I now sit around 152 with 29% bodyfat. I can deadlift 250 pounds and squat 235. I'm nationally ranked as a fencer in my age group. How well you do it up to you and your commitment to it. I've gone from a size 24 to a size 6.

Check with your surgical team. I was cleared for full exercise at 2 weeks post-op, including doing reformer Pilates which is all core all the time. My restriction the first 2 weeks was not to lift more than 10 pounds, after that, so long as it didn't hurt, I could do it. I was back in the gym on a recumbent bike within a week of surgery. I was lifting weights after week 2. I haven't done OT (I do other stuff) but have friends who absolutely love it - in part because there is a system to the class and you are moved from one thing to the next over the course of the hour.

High weight - roughly 300. First appointment weight 271. Current weight 152. 2.5 years out. My BMI is technically 27 (overweight) but I look ridiculous any thinner, I'm post menopausal and my body fat is under 30%. My group has declared me a rock star. I am nationally ranked as a fencer in my age group. I plan my meals. I have just had to start to increase carbs from 60g daily to 100g daily because I tend to burn about 1000 cal a day with exercise and I do weight lifting to support my fencing - I was cannibalizing muscle due to not enough carbs. But its whole grain. Still few sugars. Almost no white flour. Pasta once every few months. Protein first. All The Time. A protein related snack in the morning and afternoon. 3-5 ounces of protein at each meal. Healthy green veg. About a gallon of water/unsweetened beverages a day. I treat myself occasionally. I eat about 1200 -1500 calories a day - 110g protein 100g carb. I still log everything in My Fitness Pal. If I don't exercise, I'm very careful about what I eat. I haven't had plastics and that would likely get rid of about 10 pounds of fat I'm carrying in the middle and excess boobage. But I'm not ready to do that yet.

Use the oats dry - like flour. You can also use ricotta cheese in place of cottage cheese.

5'3". The 2015 photo is at about 300 pounds. The 2018 photo is at 157 last month. I'm still all boob. I'm at about 30% body fat. I haven't had plastics yet. I fence competitively and am nationally ranked in my age group.

Electrolytes/sodium and water can help. I have had this problem even before surgery. (If I'm really angry, my BP is 110/70.) So drinking a lot of water helps but there has to be something to help your system retain it - either electrolytes or salt, otherwise you are just flushing everything from your system. Generation Ucann makes a zero calorie electrolyte power you can mix with water - both the berry and lemon/lime flavors are tasty.

OMG - too funny. I need to remember this. But, seriously, I told very few people and those who I told I knew would be supportive (my husband, my two teen daughters and my best friend). All work knew was that I was "having a procedure" by phrasing it that way, they assumed something "female" and no one asked questions. As far as I'm concerned, my medical procedures aren't anyone else's business anyway. Would you tell them if you were going for a pap smear? I dealt with the dietary restrictions by explaining I was working with some doctors and had been put on a restrictive diet for a medical condition. Period. No one asked anything beyond that.

I know that Hyatt Place and Homewood Suites will go out and purchase groceries for you during the day and stock your fridge if you give them a list - no extra charge other than what the groceries cost at the store which they put right on your bill. You could have yogurts and milk and fruit delivered for smoothies (carry your own protein powder), chicken breast and salad stuff. I try to do that when I'm traveling.

Go back to the basics - protein first. 60/60 - 60g protein, 60 ounces water. Exercise. Track every bite. If you need to add snacks to get to the numbers, do it. I eat about 110g protein a day and drink about a gallon of water a day. Some days I'm not hungry either, but eat your protein.

Check your measurements. Sometimes, the body shape changes when the scale doesn't. Trust me. I'm 2 years out and its still changing, even though I bounce back and forth between 152 and 162.

Can you comfortably consume 4oz after cooking (by weight, not volume) of dense, dry protein (not talking chili here folks--talkin' grilled chicken breast, grilled hamburger/steaks, pork chops, dense white fish, fatty salmon, etc)--after your surgery? (I'm talking following the rules of protein first, no eating/drinking before/after etc, no combining with "meat lubes" like sauces/gravies/ketchup/mayoMax Max six ounces - regularly. However, I work out like a maniac (e.g. 1000-1500 calories burned per workout) If you can, when were you able to eat this amount--how many months out did you notice you routinely have this capacity? Probably a year after surgery - not sure - I'm 2+years out now. How far out from surgery are you now? See above Do you feel restriction after the 4oz? - Sometimes. Depends on what I've done that day and how long its been since my last meal. I often have a shake before a workout and then a meal after, so maybe. But today I had lunch around 3, did Cross Fit for an hour and came home and ate 5.5 ounces of pork chop and 1/4 cup of rice. How much "other food component(s)" do you eat following your meat (by weight, not volume)? (i.e. Low glycemic/non-starchy veggies, salad, berries/fruit, starchy veg, beans/legumes, grains, processed carby food) So- I still eat my meat first. Then I eat other components. I've started eating other carby stuff because I'm trying to replace fat with muscle and haven't been eating enough carbs to fuel my insane workouts (I work out on average 1.5-2 hours a day, six days a week.) Tonight's class was 1,1100 calories burned. I'm working with a sports dietician who knows bariatrics to get my numbers right. I eat about 115 grams of protein a day and about 100 grams of carbs. I have to have carbs at every meal and some carb 30 minutes before a workout and protein 30 minutes after. (even if it's a protein milk/water/shake). It's working - my body fat numbers are down

When I'm eating meals, it's there. I'm 2 years out. Now if I graze and pick at stuff all day, no I don't feel it. And certainly I can eat more now than right after surgery. But tonight I had a pork chop and rice for dinner. I could eat 1/4 cup of rice and about 4.5 ounces of pork chop. (Mind you, I cooked after doing crossfit and burning about 1,000 calories). So, I still feel it and I'm grateful for it. It keeps me on the straight and narrow.

So - I've had 2 kids by c-section. Multiple knee arthroscopies, open abdominal surgery to remove an ovary, removal of half my thyroid and one tattoo. This was nothing. I used pain meds in the hospital day of and day after surgery. Took one does after getting home day after surgery and used Tylenol after that. The gas is the bigger problem. I understand the fear. I'm 2 years out and only regret I didn't do this sooner.

I order appetizer sizes of things. Started doing that about 4 weeks post op when I could eat a larger variety of foods.

We did our classes pre-op, but our phases were about 2 weeks. Discharged on full liquids (yogurt, protein drinks, cream soups, etc.) Two weeks later, puree. Two weeks after that soft, two weeks after that full diet. (I was never so happy to see a scrambled egg as I was in week five.) Do the people who do the nutrition classes work with your bariatric team? My nutrition classes were taught by RDs who were in my surgeon's office so the program was continuous. In fact, they went through the stages with us during a 4 hour pre-op special class right after we got our surgery date talking about the pre-op and post-op diets.

2 years out and still buying smaller bras. Just bought a 34DDD today, down from a 42I (eye) in August 2016 before surgery. Now, it's about my body shape changing from working out more than straight weight loss. Keep the girls happy.

My only regret is not doing this sooner. Looking back at photos, I was more than 300 pounds in 2015 and am 152 today - I've lost a whole person. As for the wait, use the time to get your head in the right space. If you do have a food addiction, find a therapist and start the hard work, because the surgery is only a tool. You will get to a point where you will be able to eat the crap again, but you will have to make the choice not to eat the crap (e.g. fast food, chips, etc.) As others have said - skin will depend on so many things - age, starting weight, where you carry your fat. Mine is livable for now, so long as I'm dressed. As for what will people think - you control your narrative. You don't have to tell anyone you had surgery. It's up to you and there are entire threads here on the pros and cons of that decision. (I made the decision to not discuss my surgery with anyone other than my medical team, my husband and two daughter and two best friends). Beyond that, I tell everyone the same thing. I have changed my lifestyle. I eat 90-115 grams of protein a day, drink about a gallon or more of water a day, don't eat white flour or added sugars, rarely eat carbs, I work out 6 days a week. When people hear that (every last bit of which is true) they never even begin to think that surgery was part of the equation. I didn't even tell my office - I just said I have to have a procedure and will be out from day x to day z. That decision is yours. Take your time to decide what you want to do.

I have a few friends who love it. You have a heart rate monitor and during each of the circuits you have a goal and "compete" with the displayed heart rates of everyone else to get in to the right zone. However, like the poster immediately above, I'm a member of a LIfetime Fitness and absolutely love it. I have access to personal training, classes, yoga, Pilates, spin, crossfit style classes, zumba - you name it. Do the trial week on them. If you like it, great. If the first session makes your skin crawl because there are too many people, walk away. You have to find what works for you.

So - before a workout you need to have some kind of carb. I'm 2 years out and trying to up muscle mass and lose body fat. I add a scoop of Generation Ucan superstarch to my pre-workout shake. And I make sure I have protein within 30 minutes of completing my workout - even if its just protein powder with water. Doing this, in the last two weeks, has taken my muscle mass up 1.8 pounds and decreased my body fat by 2 percent.