Creekimp13

MIZ, I have to ask...as a nurse practitioner, do you advise all bariatric patients to drink vodka and taquila SIX WEEKS after surgery...or just the ones who like it? One or two drinks a day is great, right?

If you think saying....nurses must stay within the outlined scope of their practice is "derogatory and disrespectful" you have more issues than any comment here can address. Which, actually, you've already proven. Wishing you luck, MIZ....I have a feeling you're gonna need it. Be well.

Crossover addiction is real. Work with your therapist and take it seriously. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317555.php

Could you please post a link to any post in which I made derogatory remarks about nurses? Given that it doesn't exist, I'm quite curious!

Did you mean "grammar" by any chance?

I referred to human beings as members of the taxonomic family Hominidae...The Great Apes. Because...well...THEY FACTUALLY ARE:) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominidae I was talking about my own diet and why I've chosen it. The rest of the great apes eat a very small amount of animal protein, they get the vast majority of their protein from plant based sources and the vast majority of their natural diet is fruit and vegetation. We're kinda of built to run on carbs. If you look at the populations of the world who enjoy the most longevity, Japanese diet and Mediterranean diet...are correlated with the longest lifespans, the lowest instance of heart disease and cancer....and are very similar to the diets of other great apes. Lots of plant protein and plant fats, lots of fiber, lots of fruit, fermentation. Carnivorous mammals don't live very long. For instance...a tiger will live about 15 years and an ape will live about 40. Here's a great ape and a tiger. The ape is....me... in Africa, in 1995. The tiger is, well...a Bengal tiger:) This was years ago when I was a young stupid researcher:) Now, I'm an old stupid researcher. LOL

Flat out Light... is high protein, high fiber, low cal. They don't taste too bad:) I like to wrap up some turkey bacon, avocado, tomato and lettuce in them. High protein can be helpful for getting your protein in. High fiber helps you poo...and helps grow a good gut microbiome They're whole wheat...which is metabolized slower than white flour and doesn't cause hunger spikes. Better glycemic index:)

oh man...a kiddo, too. What a horribly difficult position to be in. Best wishes to you, George. I hope your therapist helps you to understand you don't deserve to be treated like that. And your kiddo doesn't need to observe you being treated that way, either. You can't save the world, George. But you can save yourself and be a good Dad who won't let a toxic stew become a child's definition of normal. Wishing you brighter days and a healthier future.

Mental health...if your batschit-ness is sabotaging your weight loss, nothings gonna fix that until your batschit is addressed. Some forms of nuttiness have very little impact on weight, though. But yeah, being mentally well...is a good first step. Emotional stability....if you don't work on this and you're an emotional eater, you're going to sabotage your best efforts. Or develop a cross over addiction. Or destroy your relationship. Or find some other destructive outlet other than eating. This is a good one to get on top of Will to succeed.....Have heard it said that "Wanting to stay married" is 90% of staying married. I think a similar thing can be said about most goals, even weight loss. If you wake up everyday and WANT it...even if you've screwed up multiple times and are utterly imperfect...you'll still get there because you won't give up until you do. That will to accomplish something is a pretty strong force. Supportive Home Environment....I can see how you'd rank this one low if you live alone, and higher if you live with person with poor eating habits. Having somewhere to nuture your new habits where you can in peace...is very important. This is also true of remaining emotionally healthy...which can also figure in strongly. Diet...undeniable important what you eat. Whatever your strategy is...having a strategy and being accountable to that strategy is going to pay off on the scale. Exercise....this one is hugely more important to me than other people, I think. It helps in so many ways for me. It bolsters my emotional stability and will to succeed. It complements my diet by adding more flexibility. It gives me a serotonin boost and pours gas on my metabolism fire. it boosts my supportive home environment cause going for walks and swims together sets a stage for talking and nurturing relationships. Having fun together...is important. It's one of my most valued tools. Skill of surgeon.....incredibly important for safety of procedure and good follow up. But ultimately, not a major factor in over all success (unless you pick someone awful who ends up doing an inferior procedure). Luck....more important than we want to admit. Some folks have an easy time doing well after weight loss surgery, for some it's very very difficult. Genetics, personal physiology and anatomy... are luck. And they're a very big piece of the equation. Our socioeconomic standing, our intelligence, mental health....how we process the decisions we make....are largely predetermined by forces we don't control.

My opinion....you need to leave your abusive relationship and find someone healthy to build a healthy relationship with. There is nothing wrong with how you look. You look like a fit healthy guy next door. Just an normal decent looking guy.

I am loving the variety of responses and the reasons why people rank them. And the important stuff I forgot. How interesting! No right or wrong answers here....just kinda cool to get a look inside other people's thought processes.

Good catch, Tealeal. Health improvement motivation is big one for me...not wanting to take meds forever, have health issues, desire for longevity, mobility, athleticism.

I'd agree:)

It gets better.

How much does luck figure in? The fact that my body responded beautifully to this surgery and that I can eat the diet I prefer and lose weight...is not lost on me. How much was strategy, and how much was luck? I'm not saying I don't work extremely hard. But there's a curve in all results. How much of it is pure luck of the draw that I ended up on this side of the curve? Which factor is more important to long term success? Diet, exercise, supportive home environment, work ethic, emotional stability, skill of surgeon, mental health? it's an interesting little puzzle....and the people who make the noise are very rarely representative of the whole. Self reported information has a huge bias.

This is perhaps the most valuable (and perhaps only..lol) insight that this thread produced. This is something I think about a lot in reference to my experience at BariatricPal.

Insomnia is super common after surgery. Lot of posts about it:) It eventually goes away.

It gets better:)

Three important things to live: Airway clear, Breathing, Circulation. Breathing is pretty important. Seek professional help if you can't breathe. Side thought... Sometimes acid can cause people to feel discomfort or stress in their chest. Can't hurt to try an antacid and see if it helps. Sleeves do slip...if you develop a hiatal hernia and your stomach starts living in your chest with your lungs...that's a problem and might make breathing kinda weird. Wild theories aside...the best thing to do is to tell your surgeon and get some damned tests done. Best wishes!

Not quite sure how....but I read that "shortness of breasts" That is something I am decidedly NOT suffering. My boobs look more like sweat socks dangling with tennis balls in the toes.

theresahyatt19....wishing you wonderfully negative results ASAP. I know the waiting is brutal....but you've gotta be safe! Best wishes:)

Thanks Summerset:) It's all good. I LOVE my body:) Could not be happier with my results and wouldn't pick a lighter goal if you paid me (the rudeness and ignorance of others be damned). My doctor's goal weight for me was 172-178 per my body fat analysis. I've already undershot that by a few pounds. My skin is recovering pretty well in most areas, My muscle mass is AWESOME and I look strong and healthy. I not only look pretty damned good...I feel beautiful and like I could climb a mountain. Come to think of it...I sorta have:)

It is a serious enough issue that if any of my tests were coming back positive for H. Pylori...I would take the meds and continue to test until results came back consistently negative. Even if it would delay my surgery to do so. You really don't want H. Pylori after your surgery. Leaks can be life threatening and you don't want to be a feeding tube for months. Out of curiosity, why did they decide to test you twice if the first test was negative? If I were you, I would insist on an endoscopic biopsy to be tested for H. Pylori. (In fact, I did this, because it is the most accurate way to detect it definitively)

If your doctor prescribed medication, your test was positive for H. Pylori. It's very important that you get this infection cleared up before surgery because it can cause ulcers at the incision ....which can cause life threatening leaks. Why are you calling it "a false positive"? Is there any reason to believe your test was inaccurate?

170 pounds = about 77kg. 77kg x .65g = about 50g per day So...WHO is saying the median protein requirement is a little lower than American nutritionists who put it about about 61g per day. (for a 170 pound healthy person) This is pretty negligible to me. I'd probably err on the +10g side the Americans go with because our breakdown of foods has been altered (by our surgeries) and I like to err on the side of safety. My personal feeling is to follow my doc and dietitian's advice on this and shoot for 60g. Seems reasonable and not significantly different than what WHO recommends for people with intact stomachs around the globe:)