mysparky

Would definitely love to get together- most particularly prior to this upcoming holiday season! I'm in West Hartford as well. Who's in??

Bella - I was also very nervous. What would my recovery be like, would I have a lot of pain, would there be any complications, how would I feel post-op, etc, etc, etc. Truth is, I didn't feel great following my surgery. I was exhausted, definitely had pain from the surgery & the drain and once home, found it a tough to lie down and/or get up! However, I could measure the progress I was making in my recovery each day. Exactly 7 days post-op, I was able to walk a mile, I had completely figured out how to get out of bed without help (!), and I no longer needed pain meds. Congrats on your weight loss pre-surgery. That will help you. The one thing I'd strongly, strongly recommend is that you exercise (i.e. walking) pre-surgery if you aren't doing so already. Despite being 100 lbs overweight, I had adopted exercise into my lifestyle and I'm convinced that's part of the reason why I was able to recover quickly (back at work in 10 days) and why I felt the need to get out there walking as soon as I could. Exercise has been critical to my maintenance and although I am 2 years older than when I had the surgery, I'd have to say that Healthwise, I'm probably 10 years younger!

Hi CarolC! Thanks for the welcome! BTW, I love your signature. I was laughing to myself as I read through your list. Could relate to so much (although I still struggle with finding that pair of boots!!) I liked Dr Nadzam very much. He was so patient with answering my questions, did a great job with my surgery and I just felt so comfortable with him. I haven't been back to the office in about 14 months because at my last visit I was told that I'm a "success" and don't need to return unless I feel that I need to! Dr Nadzam's goal for me was to lose 70% (coincidentally 70 lbs) of my excess weight and I did that in 10 months. When I met with him in August 2011, I told him that my personal goal was to reduce by another 20 lbs. He said that was possible, but I would find it more difficult as my body would probably want to "settle' around that 70 lb loss mark. He was right - it's been a lot harder. What has been the biggest "ah ha" moment for me, however, is that I've been able to maintain my weight since August 2011. How many diets have I been on in the past 30+ years where I gained back my loss in a matter of months?! I did have a rough patch where bad behaviors (eating LOTS of junk and eating too much late at night) crept back in and I gained 6 lbs over the course of about 2 months. I had really bumped up my normal exercise routine and thought that I was "covered", but I was not! I was also careless with allowing myself too many treats. I got back on track, focused on lean Protein, Protein shakes, balanced meals and I was able to drop that excess in about 2.5 weeks. An impossibility pre-surgery. As far as this last 20 lbs goes (and I think that's what I want, but not sure...could be 15, could be 25), I'm taking it very slowly. Began re-focusing my efforts over the weekend and am going to work this 5lbs at a time. Without a doubt, it is now tougher to lose compared to the months immediately following surgery, but it is also easier than pre-surgery. Absolutely ZERO regrets about having this surgery. I've been overweight since I was a kid and for the first time in my life I feel like I have control. Maintenance requires thought, but it is not overwhelming. I still go out for dinner, drink socially, and eat sweets, but my belly reminds me when I'm done. I couldn't be happier! Tell me about your progress so far!!

Also took it very slow at the beginning. Would run for 1 min then walk for 3 mins and continue doing this for 1 mile. Did this 3x/week and gradually increased the running time and decreased walking time: 2nd week ran 90 secs, walked for 2.5 mins, 3rd week ran for 2 mins and walked for 2 mins, etc. Just kept increasing the running time and decreasing walking time, but I really listened to my body because I did not want to injure myself. Took about 10 weeks until I was able to run a mile and once I reached that target, I began the slow increase to 2 miles (1mile running, 1/4 mile walk, 1/4 mile run, 1/4 walk) until I got to 2 miles. As the weight comes off,it gets a lot easier. Put together a good play list, force yourself into a pattern, but watch for injuries and make sure you allow yourself to rest. I never ran 2 days in a row and even now that I can run a 5k without too much trouble, I try to alternate running/biking/rowing to ward off injuries.

Hi everyone from CT! I haven't been on the forum in several months but decided to check in and read a few postings. I'm almost at my 2 year anniversary (10/26) and I remain thrilled with the decision to have this surgery. When I originally made this decision, I had trouble finding people in CT who had it. Now, I see in this thread that there are a few who had the same surgeon (Nadzam) as me. Hope you are all doing well!

Also had my first experience with this as well a few weeks ago. Had been biking 35 miles a few times a week on a flat bike path and my high-protein/low carb Breakfast was just fine for me. About 5 weeks ago, it was time to "up" the effort and I went on a new route that had a few large hills at the beginning of the ride. I was completely depleted within 90 minutes. I was very shaky and my legs had nothing left. Fortunately I had a Cliff gel shot that someone had given me to try stowed away in my bag, and I ate it - all 100 calories/25 g carbs. A friend I was with had some extra fig newtons and I ate them about 30 mins later. My rides have increased in length and duration and I simply cannot manage them with low carbs. I eat 1/2 PB&J sandwich before my ride, eat the other 1/2 about 45 mins into my ride and then continue with a banana, gel shots, etc every 30-45 mins depending upon the ride and how I'm feeling. Definitely a good message to get to those of us that are new to endurance sports. We're so programmed to think that carbs are only evil, but with these types of activities they are absolutely essential.

I'm just starting out mushies and picked up a few "Cottage Doubles" which is cottage cheese w/ a fruit topping (I don't eat the big chunks). Since practically everything I read is all about "no sugar" I'm wondering if I should be avoiding these. Calories: 130 Saturated Fat: 1.5g Total Carb: 17g Sugars: 15g Protein: 11g The above stats are for the strawberry flavor. I ate 1/2 of it for lunch and finished up the other half for dinner. Can anyone provide feedback on that carb/sugar count? My NUT didn't give me any guidelines other than "if you eat anything w/ carbs, make sure it has a good amount of Protein in it." In addition, pretty much all my food suggestions are sugar-free (I'm not diabetic) so I'm not sure if I should be avoiding these. Thanks in advance!

Susanne - My NUT gave me Protein and Fluid goals, but nothing specific in terms of calories. She acknowledged that the calories are quite low and if I was able tolerate it and felt like I needed it, I could drink more of my Protein shake. Many people have trouble getting the protein down in those first few days, but I definitely didn't. Originally I was told to drink 6-8oz protein shake (which would equate to 260-280cals) and I upped that to 10-12oz. That moved my calorie count up to the 400-520 range and protein-wise, I was drinking close to 50gr of protein. Some days I drank less, other days I drank more. I'll tell you, that made a big difference in my energy level. This was key for me because I went back to work 9 days post-op and needed to get through the day. Sounds to me like you could use a bump up!

Just had my first post-op visit and I’m down 10 lbs since surgery, 26 lbs overall. I’m so happy with the way I feel and although this hasn’t been a cake-walk, these 26 lbs have come off easier than the hundreds of other times that I’ve lost weight. My recovery is coming along very well. It's amazing how each day is better than the previous. I can’t get over the fact that at this time last week, I took my dog on a walk and I had to make it a short one. It was a little rough and I was beat after my 15 min walk with her. Last night, I went on a 45 min walk and felt terrific. I don’t really have any “pain” just an awareness of my left side/staple area that really only hurts a little when I sneeze. I’m back at work and just trying to make sure I get between 8-8 ½ hours of sleep each night so that I do not hamper my continued recovery. I got 2 great pieces of news today at my 2 week post-op today: 1) I can move to “mushies” state (yeah!) and 2)I’ve been cleared to return to the gym. I thought I was going to have to wait 4 weeks on this, but Dr said I can resume aerobic activities right away (I do spinning). He said I can also do light weights, but nothing for abs or core for 4 more weeks. Still feeling a little like I need to “pinch” myself because I can’t believe, after thinking about WLS for several years, that I finally did it. However, I was a self-pay and I put it all on a credit card (good points!) and the bill just came so that part of the surgery seems a little too real! And BTW, don’t have a scale at home and still haven’t decided if I’m going to get one. I’m feeling like I’m on cloud nine right now and I’m afraid that if I get a scale, I’ll be on it every morning and my mood for the day will be set by that thing. There is a scale at the gym and I may just continue to use that since it’s not an every day event. We’ll see…. Thanks for listening

My nutritionist has given me a goal of 50grams/day, but that is based upon my height. She said the range is 50-90 and those higher levels would be for men over 6'

I have no advice to add on this as I don't have my goal weight set either, but think that the ideas that have been provided are so helpful. I've just been thinking about an estimated "end goal", but definitely appreciate the idea of setting short terms goals as well - I'm going to get working on that!

I'm still on full liquids as well and have been making homemade soups this week because I am sooooo sick of the artificial sweetners in everything else. I also like the fact that I can just have the soup for dinner, but my family can have the same thing along w/ the addition of a salad and a loaf of multi-grain bread. My first soup was a potato/corn chowder and I completely strained the soup before I ate it. I boil up lots of potatoes, carrots and onions in chicken broth, puree at least 1/2 of the soup to make it thick, then add in some milk and the corn. This time, I also added a little shredded cheese and melted that into the soup. It definitely helped keep me fuller, longer. Last night I made a butternut squash & apple cider soup (from epicurious.com website) and it was really delicious. I had to modify it slightly to reduce the fat content, but the calorie content is relatively low and it's loaded with Vitamin A. No need to strain the soup and it made plenty. I actually just had more of that for a snack and it was good! I haven't added unflavored Protein to either of these soups because I haven't bought any yet, but I am going to do that. I first wanted to make sure I could tolerate the various soups before I went out and bought the unflavored protein.

Chilo - Congrats! Determination, working the "tool", and a positive attitude - it's working for you!!!