Recidivist

As you may recall, I'm trying to increase my calories now that I'm in maintenance. I ate two large spoonfuls of peanut butter yesterday, which was delicious--but I ended up dumping like never before and felt sick for the rest of the day. I should note that this was organic peanut butter with no sugar added, so I'm guessing it must have been the fat. I have had some success with cheese and crackers, but I'd be interested in other suggestions. What are some examples of healthy carbs?

Congratulations on a very successful first year! Keep it up!

Not getting out of breath when I climb a flight of stairs. 🙂

I've lost three pounds over the past week, which concerns me a bit. I contacted my nutritionist, and she said I should target 1,700 to 1,800 calories, which sounds awfully high. She suggested I do it by increasing healthy carbs. I just hope I can actually eat that much in one day.

He was late 20's or early 30's. He also called me "Sir," but people did that when I reached 40 or so.

We are in Canberra. We lived here from 2014 to 2017 and fell in love with it!

Hi, Canadian--and welcome to the forum as a poster! There is a lot to unpack in your message, but let me start by saying I completely understand the frustration you are feeling. I had thoroughly researched WLS before ever contacting a doctor, so I knew the pros and cons of both sleeve and bypass and fully understood what was involved, both pre- and post-surgery. I also found the nutrition class way too basic, because I already knew everything they covered based on my research. I just viewed it as a box I had to check and suffered through it. Unfortunately, I think you and I are unique as very well-informed patients. I was truly shocked at how many people in my nutrition class were clueless about what to expect from surgery and especially how they need to dramatically alter their eating habits, both before and after. I think the nutritionist needs to begin at a very basic level to ensure that everyone gets the necessary information to make an informed decision. As for your doctor, it seems that he/she wants to be incredibly thorough in addressing all possible medical conditions that could be an issue with your surgery. In addition, there may be professional liability issues that require your doctor to look at every possible issue before approving surgery. I also had a huge battery of tests, including a sleep study, that I didn't consider necessary--but once again, the box needed to be checked so I went along. My surgeon also suggested that I follow up with my primary care physician on my high BP, cholesterol, liver enzymes, etc. (although in a polite and supportive way). However, my doctor was already aware of all of those issues and we were dealing with them, so I saw no need to see him again (although I didn't tell my surgeon that). Your surgeon is probably reiterating portion control and foods to avoid because so many patients need to be reminded constantly. However, there's no excuse for being rude and dismissive. One question: What is your BMI and how much weight are you hoping to lose? Perhaps your surgeon is not sure whether weight loss surgery is appropriate for you. (I was on the cusp, with a BMI of 37, but my surgeon was very supportive of my decision to pursue surgery and never questioned my motivation.) As for the psychologist, he seems completely out of his lane. My understanding is that the psychological assessment is for the sole purpose of ensuring that you understand what is involved in WLS and that you are prepared to commit to a long-term change in your lifestyle. I would simply ignore the rest of what he said. Hopefully you don't have to see him again. So, all of that said: i think it's essential that you feel comfortable with your surgeon and nutritionist. You should be able to discuss your issues with them candidly and trust that you will get an accurate, informative and supportive response. If you are already reluctant to raise certain issues with them because of how they might respond and are worried that they are not providing the information you need, then you might want to consider looking elsewhere (if that is possible). It could mean you can't have surgery as soon as you might like, but I think it would be worth it in the long run. You will have a long relationship with your surgeon, and you need to feel certain that he/she sees you as a person, really listens to your concerns, and fully supports your choices.

So, the movers came this morning to deliver our last items of furniture. (We recently moved from the U.S. to Australia.) One of them asked whether I have grandchildren here! AAGH! I am 60 years old, so I of course know that is physically possible, but I have always looked quite a bit younger than my age. That is no longer the case since surgery, which was proven by the mover's question. But still--his first question is whether I have grandchildren? Why not children?! ☹️

I felt exactly the same way right before surgery and was so emotional that I burst into tears as they brought me back to the ER. And now, seven months later, I could not be happier that I did it!

I don't eat beef any longer. I tried it once at about four months and had a major dumping incident. I generally stick with fish and chicken these days.

Hi, all. All of our stuff finally arrived in Australia from the United States and we are busy unpacking. I found my scale today, which is the same one I used after surgery until the movers came in July. Good news--it's showing 136 pounds, which was the same reading I had been getting on other scales, so I guess it's accurate. Not bad after being on the road for weeks and eating in restaurants, including in Spain (yum!) and Sweden.

To be honest, I think you should just continue with the diet you have been given, unless there is some danger of your surgeon or your insurance refusing your surgery if you don't lose enough weight pre-surgery. Others may disagree, but I think your surgeon and nutritionist should get a true picture of what is going on so they can make diet adjustments if necessary. Also, my surgeon said it didn't really matter how much I lost prior to surgery as long as I did the 2-week liquid diet right before.

For me it was about six days, and as Mikey said, there wasn't much to it because I was on liquids.

Sorry to say this, but I definitely wouldn't have wanted go on holiday three weeks after surgery. I went back to work after three weeks when I still had very little energy and couldn't walk very far without tiring. In addition, there would be the challenge of your diet at that point. I started pureed foods at three weeks, and it would be difficult to find things you can eat (or to carry the foods you need with you). That said, everyone is different and some people are ready to go back to work after one week. If your plans are at all flexible, you might want to wait until sometime in week three to decide whether you are up to it. You should also try to plan a trip with minimal physical activity (including walking)--or at least options for you to rest while others in the family are more active. I wish you the best! Let us know how things go.

I agree with you. I look great in clothes (not so much without them), but the neck is always visible. It really ages me.

I'm a man and don't shave my underarms. However, I have noticed that they are like deep holes after losing weight, and it's challenging to apply anti-perspirant.

Completely agree!

Yep--I had forgotten to mention the turkey neck, as well as the jowls and sagging face, all of which make me look older. When I was fat, everyone thought I was 10 to 15 years younger than I am. Now, the friends who will tell me the truth say that I look my age since losing weight.

Now that I'm at goal weight, I'm obsessing a bit over the saggy skin all over my body (neck, arms, abdomen, thighs, butt--and even low-hanging man-boobs). When I feel a bit depressed about it, I try to think about these things: 1) I now have cheekbones. 2) I now have a jaw line. 3) I no longer worry about people seeing my face from the side because I have no jaw line and my chin seems to be attached directly to my chest. 4) I don't panic when people are taking pictures and try to either get out of shot or try to stand in the most flattering pose possible while sucking in my gut. 5) When boarding a plane, I no longer worry that everyone is thinking, "I hope the fat guy doesn't sit next to me." 6) I can now eat in public without worrying that people are looking at me and thinking, "How disgusting. If he had more self-control he wouldn't be so fat." 7) My pants now stay up on their own and I don't have to tug on them every 15 minutes. (The men will understand this.) 8) I FEEL FANTASTIC!!

I'm absolutely thrilled with my decision. However, you would have gotten a different answer if you had asked me in the first two months after surgery, which was a really rough period. I thought I had made a big mistake.

Please don't hate me for saying this, but I'm seven months post-op and am still never hungry. What I've noticed, however, is that I really miss the social aspect of food, like inviting friends over for dinner or going out to a restaurant with friends. I still do that, but I feel sort of left out watching everyone else order three courses while I have a deviled egg appetizer. Also, when I was alone I would kill time if necessary by grabbing a snack somewhere--usually fast food. Now, if I'm meeting someone and happen to be an hour early, I don't really know what to do with my time!

Be careful about the use of the word "dump" here--it means something very specific (and very unpleasant) to all of us! 🙂

Thanks, Cheese. That is helpful, thanks! Very little bothers me anymore, but the problem is eating enough without feeling stuffed. I love sushi, so perhaps I could do sushi with brown rice!

I would love that--but unfortunately I'm in Australia and don't think I would fly to the U.S. for it. 🙂 I heard once that Wichita, KS is essentially the geographic center of the United States. You could hold an event there and it would be fair to everyone in terms of the distance. Just sayin' !

I had terrible dizziness in the first couple of months, to the point where I would pass out occasionally. My blood pressure very low after surgery (routinely around 70/50), even though I was drinking more than 60 oz. of water per day. My doctor had no idea why it was happening, but my dizziness went away after a couple of months and never returned.