Introversion

Centrum chewables...about $9 for a 3-month supply Flintstones complete (not the gummies)...take 2 per day The best thing is that these can be found over the counter at any Walmart, Target, Walgreens, or supermarket in most cities.

Cheesy tuna casserole Chicken enchiladas Zucchini ranch meatloaf Baked pork chops Rosemary garlic chicken Sardine fritters Mackerel cakes Blackened tilapia Salmon croquets

Although I lost more than 100 pounds with my gastric sleeve, the gastric bypass is the gold standard procedure for the super morbidly obese. Since you have no obstinate metabolic conditions such as diabetes or PCOS, the duodenal switch might not be worth the risk. The BP/DS works well in those with established metabolic disease. Good luck to you.

I think the aforementioned poster is responding to my previous post...the one in which I argue that today's obesity epidemic wasn't caused by less hard work or less physical labor than in past generations. I mentioned that the thinnest people in today's society are the most sedentary workers: attorneys, investment bankers, financial analysts, CEOs, case managers, etc. People who struggle with weight often have physically laborious jobs as lumberjacks, farmworkers, house cleaners, longshoremen, etc. Then again, the Wall Street investment banker isn't having Hamburger Helper cheesy noodle bake for lunch, whereas the house cleaner isn't having a heart of romaine salad with veal for lunch. Diet is 90 percent of the weight loss equation. Exercise is 10 percent.

I set my own goal weight...my starting weight on surgery day was 218 lbs and a 41 BMI. I'm vertically challenged at only 5'1", so I'm short. My original goal weight was 110 lbs and a 20 BMI, but since I was losing so slowly, I readjusted my expectations at 3 months out. My revised goal weight was 130 pounds, which placed me at a BMI of 24.7 (upper limit of normal). I reached 130 pounds at 14 months out and decided to keep going. I entered maintenance at 118 pounds and a BMI of 22. Not only do I like how I look and feel at this weight, but it's been easy to maintain. The moral of the story: you'll need to devote additional effort if you want to get to 135 pounds, but it is possible in spite of what your surgeon says. Good luck to you.

All flavors of Body Fortress I've tried have been disgusting in my opinion... It's more of a weightlifter supplement due to the creatine monohydrate and proprietary blend it contains. Also, it has more calories than other protein powders because it's intended for lifters who hope to bulk up and gain weight.

Congratulations.

Some surgeons will perform bariatric surgery on patients with BMIs greater than 60 and others won't take the risk. It depends on the surgeon in question. If you're willing to do medical tourism, virtually all of the surgeons in Mexico will perform surgery on you without requiring you to lose weight first. 10,000+ Americans travel to Mexico for bariatric surgery each year to avoid the red tape and waiting required by insurance companies and U.S.-based surgeons.

You've got this. Control what you can and think positively. Here are some tips: If you cannot get to the gym, attempt a neighborhood power-walk or jog before or after work or right before bedtime, even if it's only 15 to 20 minutes long. If you aren't doing so already, increase your protein intake to 80+ grams daily. The thermic effect of protein, especially animal-based protein, promotes weight loss. Your weight loss journey is a personal marathon, not a sprint. Your starting weight was similar to mine. It took 17+ months for me to lose 100 lbs, yet I still reached my goal weight. Finally, it's okay to be weak at times and admit we need help. Don't be too hard on yourself. I attended a few counseling sessions when I started feeling down and it worked wonders. Good luck to you.

Even sedentary workers who sat in chairs all day (secretaries, lawyers, office receptionists, court reporters, librarians) were normal-weight and not obese back in the 'good old' days. Our genes and body habitus didn't suddenly go from lean to fat in the span of less than a generation because of the changing nature of our work. In addition, the leanest people in today's society are sedentary workers who sit behind a computer for 8 to 10 hours a day (read: Wall Street investment bankers, attorneys, social workers, administrators, financial analysts, executive secretaries). People with the most weight problems today are those with physical, laborious jobs (read: lumberjacks, construction workers, farm workers, steel workers, machine operators). The difference is that a typical investment banker won't eat Kraft macaroni/cheese for dinner tonight, and a typical machine operator isn't eating herbed arugula greens with lamb chops this evening. Diet is Batman (90%), and physical activity is Robin (10%)...

Are you able to swallow? If so, the Centrum complete vitamins will suffice. My nutritional lab work comes back with perfect results every time. The bariatric vitamins aren't really needed for sleeve patients since we don't have that malabsorptive component. If you can't swallow, the Centrum complete chewables cost about $8 for a 3 month supply. There's also the Flintstone complete vitamins (not the gummies!).

The 65% statistic includes every sleeve gastrectomy patient regardless of whether they lost 100% of their excess body weight (or only 20% of their excess body weight). 65% is the average...it doesn't mean you'll lose 65% of your excess body weight. You may lose more. You may lose less. For instance, those who lost 100 percent of excess weight are pooled with average losers who lost 60 to 70 percent of excess weight, as well as poor responders who lose far less than 50 percent of excess weight. When all has been tabulated, the result is 65% excess weight loss with the sleeve. Said differently, a person like me who reached goal weight and lost nearly 100 percent of my excess body weight is placed in the same statistical pool as the woman who only lost 25 pounds with her sleeve since she self-medicates her undiagnosed depression with red velvet cupcakes and Coca-Cola all day. Yep...there's a hell of a lot of disordered eating in the bariatric surgery population. People whose heads aren't psychologically in the game suffer from poor results and regain.

Welcome! I advise you to obtain a second opinion from a different surgeon. I was sleeved 2.5 years ago and had a hiatal hernia repair performed at the same time on the operating table. I've had no symptoms prior to or ever since the surgery.

You lost 5 pounds in a week after making some dietary adjustments and exercising. I'd say you're on the correct track. When is the last time you lost 5 pounds in a week prior to weight loss surgery? I will guess the answer is "Never." The typical person who hasn't had bariatric surgery loses anywhere from 0.5 to 2 pounds weekly with diet and exercise, so you exceeded that. Keep in mind your progress will be slower than most others because you have PCOS, but keep plugging at it and you'll see continued results. Keep up the awesome work.

To be honest, I've never counted fat grams, calories, or carbs. The only macro I count is protein. I definitely eat plenty of fat. I use real butter, cheese, and full-fat dairy. I eat the fatty 70/30% ground beef. I fry everything in coconut oil. Contrary to popular notions, dietary fat doesn't make people fat. In fact, the modern day obesity epidemic can be traced back to the early 1980s when health authorities started urging Americans to reduce their fat intake and replace fatty foods with "heart healthy" options. Most "heart healthy" options are starchy and processed. Now we have masses of obese people today because people actually followed the advice to stop eating so much fat. Obesity was rare prior to the 1980s when people ate higher proportions of dietary fat.

My only guess is perhaps your doctor might be one of those old-guard clinicians who still believes (falsely) that consuming eggs daily will raise one's cholesterol levels. If your doctor also recommends oatmeal over eggs, it seems as if he may be focusing on heart health, cholesterol, and fiber intake rather than weight loss and maintenance. I regularly eat two scrambled eggs topped with melted cheddar and five turkey sausage links as a post-workout meal. I've been in the maintenance phase 1 year and eggs are a contributing factor. Eggs have the highest possible biological value of any protein-containing food that exists.

Interesting...eggs have the highest biological value of any protein-containing food in existence. They are staples in many peoples' maintenance meal plans due to the satiety they provide. Maybe your doctor is one of those old-guard practitioners who still believes eating eggs on a daily basis will raise a person's cholesterol levels?

You're doing extremely well...it took me 11 months (nearly 1 year) to lose 75 pounds. To the original poster: there is no set rate of monthly weight loss. Some people lose significantly faster than others. Generally, the super morbidly obese (BMI 50+) lose more rapidly. Also, men and younger people are generally faster losers than everyone else.

Wow...thank you for sharing your story. It was thought-provoking and deep. You have overcome multiple hurdles to live the type of life that is worth living. Thumbs up to you...

We don't have pouches.....we've got sleeves, whereas gastric bypass patients have stomach pouches with simple stomas. The 5-day pouch reset was thought up by a quasi-journalist who regained several years after her bypass surgery. It is designed for bypass folks, not sleeved people. You can certainly complete a pouch reset with your sleeve. However, it will be ineffective without a permanent lifestyle change. To bust your stall, start doing the things that resulted in your 90+ pound post-op weight loss. Stop doing the things that have resulted in your current stall/plateau. Good luck to you. You got this.

At 5 months post-op I had lost a whopping 40 pounds... However, my frustration about the slow rate of weight loss dissipated long ago. I took 17+ months to lose 100 pounds and attain my goal weight. So, yes, I was surely a slower loser. Nonetheless, I've been maintaining my loss nicely and that's what matters. In the past, prior to surgery, I would have regained it all plus more. Good luck to you...realistic expectations are helpful in your journey.

Revision patients may lose weight a at a slightly slower rate than those who have virgin first-time sleeves. However, bariatric surgeons don't always inform prospective patients of this potential reality to avoid discouraging them. Slower weight loss often happens to revision patients because they've already experienced the metabolic shock of a previous bariatric surgical procedure. Per the Texas Bariatric Specialists website: http://texasbariatricspecialists.com/failed-weight-loss-surgery-revisions/

The point in surgery is restoring our health with a powerful tool that offers us the chance to keep the weight off. Anybody can lose weight without surgery via diet and exercise, but it's unlikely we'll keep it off for life if we lose it the old fashioned way. People who were/are obese have permanently altered biochemistries compared to our naturally thin counterparts. So once a person has been obese, his/her body fights like a gladiator to defend the higher set point weight if/when weight loss via old-fashioned diet and exercise happens. Have you ever lost a significant amount of weight by cutting back and exercising? I assume the answer is "yes." Were you ever able to keep the weight off? I assume the answer is "no." Correct me if I'm incorrect. Bariatric surgery is the only proven method to drive the body's set point downward. When we have surgery, the body fights to lose enough weight to get to a lower set point due to favorable hormonal alterations. Also, obesity is a time-dependent problem...so the longer a person has been fat, the less likely he/she'll keep weight off after dieting down to a normal body weight. Pretend there's two 40-year-old females. Both are 5'6" and weigh 250 pounds with the same body fat percentage, but one lady has been obese since early adolescence whereas our other woman was normal-weight all her life until gaining weight with back to back pregnancies in her 30s. The one who has had a weight problem since her teens is unlikely to ever keep weight off without surgery. Her body's had nearly 30 years to hormonally adopt obesity as its default state. If/when she enters a weight-reduced state with diet/exercise, her body fights (and succeeds) to return to 300 pounds. Likewise, the woman who has had a weight problem for only a couple of years has a fighting chance of losing and keeping weight off. Her body simply hasn't had sufficient time to adapt to the potent neurohormonal influences of obesity. Diane Carbonell was normal-weight all her life until she gained massive weight (300+ pounds) after several pregnancies. She lost weight the old-fashioned way via diet/exercise and has kept it off since the late 1990s. I suspect her body never had a chance to become acclimated to obesity since she wasn't fat for that long: http://www.dianecarbonell.com/ If you wish, click on the link below to read the thoughts of obesity specialist Dr. Arya Sharma. http://www.drsharma.ca/arguments-for-calling-obesity-a-disease-4-limited-response-to-lifestyle-treatments

You don't know unless you get professionally tested, which is outside the realm of most people. Dr. Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon with a bunch of YouTube videos, explained that people with first degree relatives who underwent weight loss surgery and lost rapidly probably have two copies of the favorable gene.

No magic trick or hack exists to increase the rate of weight loss in the first 3 months, though some folks may certainly disagree. Adopt permanent lifestyle changes and you'll be fine. Bariatric surgeons hesitate to admit this so as to not discourage prospective patients, but genetics run the show regarding speed of weight loss with surgery in the first year. People with two favorable markers on chromosome 15 are rapid losers; these genetically blessed people can eat a dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts daily and still lose weight like a house on fire. People with one favorable marker on chromosome 15 lose at an average to slow rate, and those without any favorable markers on chromosome 15 are non-responders who usually lose less than 30 lbs. In addition, men, the super-morbidly obese (BMI 50+), and males/females under 35 years of age are normally the rapid losers. The usual slower losers are older females, 'lightweights' who've got less than 100 pounds to lose, menopausal/postmenopausal women, racial/ethnic minorities, and those with stubborn metabolic afflictions (PCOS, hypothyroidism, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance).