AZhiker

Yes, beans are one of the healthiest things you can eat. Once you get to the soft food stage, you can use refried beans, thinned with broth. Delicious and well tolerated by most.

You can add protein powder to anything, so have it on hand, in the original packaging. You can buy single portion, samples of protein powder, as well. This may be helpful when travelling with "white powder" through airports. Take some protein drinks in your checked luggage, as well. Soups are a wonderful option, especially in the early stages. You have to eat so slowly after surgery, so most people won't even notice your small portions, like a bowl of soup. It's not like you are going to gulp it down and then sit there watching everyone else eat. I actually do more meal planning and cooking now than I did before surgery! I love trying out new recipes and new ingredients. A couple weeks after my surgery, I cooked a full Mexican buffet meal for a family gathering. Everyone was so busy with their own plates that they did not even notice me sipping my bowl of broth. And it was amazing to me to see how much food everyone else was eating! You will do fine. It's all about prep, and when travelling, have your "emergency rations" with you. PS: I am using the once a day, BariatrilPal multi vitamins with iron. I take one of those with a B-12 with m first meal, and then my Calcium citrate and D3 with my last meal. This keeps it very simple and easy. All my labs are fine.

I think you have to really explore within yourself what caused you to fail. Yes, you had a lot of stress in your life. But why did you turn back to eating? This is what you need to work out, because RNY is not a magic bullet, either. The same thing can happen again. There is no guarantee that your life post RNY will be any less stressful. IMHO, I think you should go back to square one, as a previous poster suggested. Work through the issues. See that you can start losing weight again. THEN consider a revision. Look up your insurance company's position on line. Some will pay for a revision if a first surgery failed. Others won't. so you have to look it up. Print it out so you can study it very carefully. If you decide to go ahead, consult with another surgeon and show him how you have learned and grown from the past experience, that you have built a good support network, and are strongly motivated to succeed.

You have to find other sources of pleasure. Just make sure they are healthy ones. There seems to be a point where people become a bit impulsive after WLS. Maybe it has to do with more energy, feelings of empowerment, feeling more comfortable in social settings, gaining control back, I don't know. Some go on shopping binges, some start bad habits like gambling or drinking, or even using drugs. I have felt this, too. I really have to watch my shopping, and I have never been a shopper - never. I try to exercise, even if it is only a 10 minute walk, when I feel stressed, anxious, or upset. That's all it takes to get my brain in a better place. I have also read more books this year than every before - mostly on health, diet, exercise, and lifestyle. You will still have the emotions - you just have to redirect the behavior so that you aren't trying to eat yourself to a better place. We all know how well that works!

Here re the guidelines for females that were given by my surgeon: 60" tall (5 feet) - 50-60 gm per day 65" tall (5 ft 5 in) - 60-65 gm per day 70" tall (5 ft 8 in) - 65-70 gm per day Of course you are still going to keep losing weight! You haven't even completely healed from the surgery yet! You will most likely lose most of your weight in the first 6 months. Just hang in there. Keep your liquids up, get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, and start building an exercise program that you enjoy.

I was not aware that a revision from sleeve to bypass was open and not laproscopic.

I am coming up on my first year post op date, and have completed a sprint triathlon and a 52 mile bike race. Am currently training for my second tri and a rim-to-rim (in one day - 24 miles) Grand Canyon hike. I am also going to try a 100 mile bike race at the end of year. I am also whole food plant based and I am loving it. I have so much energy and I NEVER get sore, even after long workouts. (I am not allowed to run, as I've had a knee replacement and my ortho wants it to last as long as possible, so distance biking and hiking are my sports of choice.) Anyway, I am totally sold now on plant based, whole food eating. No processed foods of any kind allowed. I just made up a batch of granola for the week, and will be having some lentil/potato/tempeh stuffed peppers for dinner, with sweet potato and fresh broccoli from my organic garden. So yummy!!!!! It is so good to hear from other WLS patients who are doing endurance sports as part of their new lives!

What you are experiencing is something called "Self Licensing." It's where you justify misbehavior after being "good." People do it all the time. We really know how to do it with food, for sure. "I deserve it," "Just a bite won't hurt." "I've been good all week (or day) so I deserve a treat." We sabotage our forward progress with this self defeating mind set. Some of it might be based in fear - a fear of success or a fear of change. Anyway, it goes hand in hand with the "What the heck" mindset, which says, "Well I've already blown it today, so I might as well eat the whole thing. I can start fresh tomorrow." I don't know exactly how to "cure" these negative mindsets, but I do know that recognizing them and naming them is very helpful. If you find yourself starting to self license, take a second to identify and name what you are doing. Naming the behavior tends to objectify it and take it out of the emotional response realm and put it more into the thinking/rationale realm. Also see if you can identify the "What the heck" mindset. Again, naming it helps me a lot. Once you know that it is actually a known human behavior that has a name, I think it is easier to deal with it. The key is to get back on track immediately. Don't blow the whole day just because of one bite. Get out and take a walk!!! I am glad you are dealing with this now, because believe me, you will deal with it after surgery, as well. Yes, the early days are easier when you have no appetite, but learning some tools to handle this kind of thing now will help you so much down the road when the appetite returns, the restriction is less, and you have no limitations as to what kind of food you eat. Turn this challenge into a learning experience and it really can be a good thing!

I was up to 500 cal/day at 2 months.

"How not to Die" Cookbook/ Michael Greger, MD. Whole food plant based.

chicken broth, beef broth, turkey broth, vegetable broth, bone broth. Yes, like chicken stock.

It really is important for you to stick to the preop diet plan. Try cutting your shakes with water so they go further and fill you up more. Drink more broth. When you have the Vegemite craving, tell yourself, "I can't have that now, but I will have it later." And you will - once you get to that stage post op. Pre-op can be hard, but this time truly will pass. You just have to hang in there. Get rid of anything in the house that is going to tempt you - like the Vegemite.

I know what you mean. I compare myself to people at work who wear the same size scrubs, and it always surprises me when I see that I am actually the same size. Even 100 pounds over weight, I never "saw" myself as obese. Now that I am normal, I "see" myself as heavier. PS: BeSmaller, try making up some whole grain cooked cereal that I described a couple of posts ago. Sweeten with some cooked in raisins and banana. Add some cinnamon. I make a pot of this and have about half a cup every day with milk. It fills, digests slowly, adds really healthy carbs/calories, good source of fiber and even protein. It is way better than crackers or cereal bars. Sweet potato is also a good healthy carb. I also make a pot of lentil/bean soup, with lots of veggies that I eat before meals. I just freeze it in small portions. Again, lots of fiber, protein, healthy carbs, digests slowly, and helps stave off overeating the main meal.

All normal. find a small, firm pillow to press over your tummy when you stand, walk, or roll out of bed. It was my best buddy for at least 2 weeks. If you lie down on your side, you can also use it to prop up your tummy so it doesn't flop down and cause more stretching. The little incisions on the outside are NOTHING compared to what went on inside. Healing will take at least a couple of months. The pain will gradually get better, but what you are experiencing now is completely normal and expected.

You will have some slips. There are simply times when temptation and opportunity, combined with hunger/stress are too much. But the key is to learn from the experience. If you can look back and really examine what happened, it can help you set up a plan for the next time. For example, I have learned to ALWAYS carry a protein shake with me, just in case I get stuck somewhere late, or am feeling overwhelming hunger that is going to cause me to dive into some kind of food I will regret later. Another example - When I first started riding longer distances on my bike, I would finish feeling very thirsty and craving salt. This led to a couple of drive through french fry attacks, which made me sick both times. But I learned that it was salt I was craving, so found some electrolyte replacement to use during my rides, and it has never happened since. There are all kinds of little behavioral hacks you can initiate to keep you from slipping up, but the key is to learn, learn, learn, and then devise a plan. Recently I read that a bad habit cannot be broken without a replacement good behavior. You can't just leave a void. An example of that might be to take a little short walk instead of eating, when feeling emotional stress or frustration. This really works for me. Instead of stewing over something and eating for emotional comfort, I get outside and just walk for 10 minutes. That's all it takes. I was the "perfect" WLS patient for 6 months! Never cheated. But as maintenance approached, anxiety increased. New foods needed to be added to keep from losing weight. I slipped up quite a few times, but I have learned from every experience and I feel I am much stronger now for it. I've learned so many techniques and have a lot more "food resilience" now. I am in more control and make better choices when confronted with temptation. I never would have learned these things without the mistakes. Failure is an opportunity to learn and improve - not to beat yourself up.

Where do I start???? I got my knee replacement when I was only in my 50's because I couldn't walk bone-on-bone anymore. My other knee was in the same shape shortly after and another replacement was in the making. There was virtually no joint space left. My mobility was severely limited. I couldn't stand for prolonged periods and just walking 1/4 mile was nearly impossible. 100+ pounds gone - TA DA! NO MORE PAIN!!!!!!! My un-operated knee has NO PAIN!!!! Xrays show that the joint space has greatly expanded with all the weight off. I am now training for my 2nd triathlon, and completed a 52 mile bicycle race in November. I am also training now toward a rim-to-rim (in one day - 24 miles) Grand Canyon hike - the bucket list item of all bucket lists! As part of that, I am hiking segments of the 830 mile Arizona Trail. I hope to complete all the segments in the next year. So did taking off 113 pounds make a difference in my pain? WHAT PAIN????? My knees don't hurt, my back doesn't hurt, my feet don't hurt. I am getting a little flair up of some bursitis in one hip, but that is because of training, not extra weight. I have my life back! I only wish I had done it sooner!

You can also try some tricks like: Front loading your daily calories - eat the most early in the day, have a lighter supper, and nothing after 6 pm. Add more raw veggies - celery, peppers, jicama, radishes, some carrot slices, cauliflower, broccoli - I make up bags of these colorful little friends and eat a pound every day. Eat a salad or soup before each meal. Preloading with less caloric, healthy filler food cuts down on overall calories. Drink 2 cups of cold water half an hour before eating. Intermittent Fasting (IF) - eat your calories in a pre-timed window each day ( 6, 8, or 10 hours). Exercise. Exercise does not cause much actual weight loss, but it can increase your metabolism and build lean muscle mass which has a much higher metabolic rate than fat. Exercising during a fasting state (before breakfast) is even more effective for fat burning, as the muscle glycogen is already used up, which forces the body into fat burning mode. Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Change up your meals. Maybe you need more variety. Really take a hard look at what you are eating - is each bite nutritionally dense? Can you switch out some foods for some legumes, a few nuts, more veggies? Look at your dairy, especially cheese. If you are eating basically the same thing every day, it is obviously not working for you. Are you getting at least 64 oz of water each day? Stop snacking. Each time you eat, you get an insulin burst which drives calories into fat storage, rather than fat burning. Just some ideas to try. Each one of these tips is backed by evidence based research.

I think the new confidence is somewhat threatening to others who used to see themselves perhaps as superior. Weight shaming is very real - not only to the overweight person, but also in the minds of those who see themselves as better people than fat people. Take away the fat person, and what do they have left?

If it's any consolation, gastric bypass surgery has been around for a long time, with a lot of success. You will always find someone with a complication - to either surgery, actually. If reflux and the possibility of Barretts/cancer is an issue, please don't be afraid to take the GB plunge. There are advantages and disadvantages to both surgeries. The sleeve is not a "minor" surgery, nor is it without risk or complications. If you choose to go ahead with GB, you need to reframe your thinking to a positive mindset, focusing on all the advantages GB will give you, most importantly the decreased risk of esophageal cancer.

Sheribear, as for the carbs...... I find that whole grain carbs don't hurt me at all. I make up a cooked cereal consisting of steel cut oats, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, amaranth and teff, slivered almonds, ground flax seed, raisins, and cinnamon. I cook up a pot of this and have some everyday as a desert! It is naturally sweet and yummy, and a nice tummy filler. I warm it up and eat with a plant based "milk." I also am using a lot more legumes - whole beans, lentils, chick peas, etc. - adding to salads and as side dishes. Also adding sweet potato to meals. The calories from these whole foods absorb slowly, provide great nutrition including protein, and feed the gut biome. I have also discovered that carbs in whole grain and legume pastas break down much more slowly than bread products. I have started using some pastas and also find them to be satisfying and not at all harmful to the weight maintenance goals.

I developed Barretts esophagitis from my reflux, including a lovely precancerous Barrett's polyp. Gastric bypass was my only option for WLS. Guess what?!?!?!?! My Barrett's is now gone! No more reflux, no more polyps, and my esophagus is normal. So glad I had the bypass surgery.

Yes, but I just used water - not the Gatorade. Miralax does not taste bad - it's more of a nothing taste. Nothing like mag citrate which is horrible. I did not have any problem with it.

This is the time to let go of behaviors and foods that will be even more difficult in recovery. The best thing I ever did preop was to get rid of sugar, caffeine, processed food, and soda. I did not have to go through sugar and caffeine withdrawal while I was healing. Recovery is hard enough without sugar cravings and caffeine headaches.

I totally understand. I find myself thinking less and less about identifying as a WLS patient and more about fitness and nutritional goals. WLS was an incredible tool for me. It gave me my life back and I forever grateful and blessed. Now as I explore new food options and work toward more endurance events, I am having to think outside the WLS boxes and use additional tools to meet new goals. It is a wonderful, new world, and I am excited to venture out as far as I can.

Like you, SheriBear, I am focused on whole foods, as nutritionally dense as possible. No junk, nothing artificial or processed. Since going plant based, I am eating way more than I ever thought possible, and much more carbohydrates in the form of whole cooked grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit. It has been a real challenge to overcome the "low carb" mindset, now that I am maintaining. I feel absolutely fantastic, have more energy than I ever thought possible, absolutely no soreness after workouts, and still slowly losing weight - about a pound a month. I could lose a total of 10 pounds more, but absolutely no more than that. I am fine the way I am in the low 140s. I get plenty of protein, even with very little supplementation with protein powder now. I log all my food, but do not count calories any more. I still practice 16: 8 IF. I have become a fan of Dr. Michael Gregor, author of "How Not to DIe," and "How Not to Diet." The books are summaries of tens of thousands of studies about weight loss and longevity - and all the information is evidence based. There are lots of small tweaks that can be made - like timing of exercise, timing of eating, cognitive behavioral changes, etc, that are based on science. Anyway, one of the huge take-aways I am trying to wrap my mind around is that portion limitation usually fails in the long run, but if you eat the right foods, you can eat as much as you want and still lose weight. This is more successful than any form of deprivation. (Now I am talking from a maintenance perspective - not fresh post op patients.) I have been testing it on myself, and I can honestly say that I cannot eat all that I usually outline for the day. I feel stuffed all the time, yet still lose weight. I am shocked each morning when I weigh and the scale continues to edge downward. It is counter intuitive to all my previous experiences with dieting or even the prevailing information that is out there. This year has been absolutely amazing. I love how I look, how I feel, and how much of my life has been regained. I honestly think I feel better than I did 20 years ago! Wooo Hooooo!