AZhiker

Just keep your water with you! Continual tiny sips. Since you were already on a good exercise program, this should be a breeze for you! Way to go! So good to have some lifestyle changes already in place before surgery! That being said, don't push yourself! Listen to your body. If it is hurting or you are really tired, please stop. This is all about healing. Even though I was walking right away, I still developed a blood clot in my leg. Go figure, huh? But I got on the Xarelto and kept on walking. You can't control how your body reacts with nausea, pain, or even a blood clot, but exercise is definitely something YOU control and track. I found it to be very empowering and motivating. Maybe I am just lucky, but 5 months out and I have never stalled. Weight loss has slowed, but is still consistant, and I would like to think the exercise has a lot to do with that. Best wishes for your surgery!!!!! Please keep us posted.

I started walking the day of surgery and kept increasing steps until I got to 10,000/day, which is what my surgeon recommended. I was up to 10,000 by the end of week one, according to my record I keep. Best thing ever - to get right into the exercise. I also added wall pushups a little later. Then stairs - 10 flights/day by end of week 3. Then added some light weights for upper body.

I Losing weight is not the real issue - we have all gotten real good at that. I bet I've lost well over 1,000 pounds......BUT...... like you said - it all comes back. This yo-yo stuff over the years will completely mess up your metabolism and the neuro/communication links between your stomach and brain. i believe the damage becomes irreversible at some point and WLS becomes the only option left. I also believed I should give it yet another chance "on my own" until my PCP talked some sense into me, "If you could have done it on your own, you would have by now." She was so right. WLS is certainly not easy and the weight loss will not be maintained without a complete lifestyle/eating makeover, but WLS gives us a tool and buys us time to get the changes in place so we can finally be successful at this. I've read so many articles about the physiology of obesity, and it is complex issue with genetic, hormonal, environmental, childhood trauma, and even gut biome components. Losing weight is only one part of the equation - the smallest one, I think. The body puts all its resources together to regain, which has little to do with will power. It is a physiological response to set points that get lower and lower the more times we diet and put ourselves into caloric deficits. A really good book on the topic is "The Obesity Code" by Jason Fung. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to have WLS (which hijacks the weigh gain roller coaster) and finally get my body and life back into a healthy balance.

Great book! A new door opening and a new life on the other side! Best wishes!

You look so young! You are experiencing the down side of surgery right now. But what you don't realize is that you are avoiding the downside of a life of obesity 30-40 more years down the road. Once you can't walk because of early arthritis brought on by decades of obesity, and you develop sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, fatty liver, and asthma, and start having joint replacements at an early age, you will wish (like many of us older folks) that you had done it much sooner. If I could have avoided 50 years of obesity and all the related health issues, I would certainly have done so. I am so sorry I waited until my life was literally slipping away from me. I regret all the lost years and all the things I would have loved to have done if only I had been thinner and without the pain of arthritis. You are going to have a full, active life, able to do anything you want! That is a wonderful gift to give yourself! PS: Add in the polycystic ovary disease, infertility problems, and for me, an early hysterectomy due to endometrial hyperplasia secondary to obesity!

I can definitely tell you that the hunger hormones are greatly if not totally reduced in bypass.

One of my beloved mules is very sick and it doesn't look like she will pull through. We have been through so much together and she is pretty close to an equine soul mate. We are doing more tests on Monday. Anyway, in a fit of sadness, I ate a hunk of cheese, 2 spoons of peanut butter and a rice cake. Basically I downed 500 calories of emotional eating that made me nauseous and queasy, so it didn't even help! Made me feel worse. I guess it was a good thing, because it showed me that emotional eating is just not the answer any more. In the past, it would give a few minutes of reprieve, but I didn't even get that today, so no more. I think I will take a walk when it cools down a bit. I gave Tess a cool bath this afternoon, and brushed her. She loved it and it made me feel better to make her feel a little better, but then so sad to see her so sick. For anyone curious, her bone marrow is completely suppressed. (Anemia, extremely low platelets, weight loss, depression, edema, fever, enlarged lymph nodes.) The differential diagnosis is 1) over whelming infection (she is on 2 antibiotics now, but not responding), 2) cancer, or 3) equine infectious anemia (like horse AIDS. No cure, and animal must be euthanized. We are testing for this on Monday, If positive, my son's mule is also at risk.) Thoughts and prayers greatly appreciated.

Do this for you. He needs to support you, but to be honest, a lot of family members will never "get it." My husband watched the videos and I explained a lot. He even went to a support group with me. And then..... forgot everything. All he knows is that I had surgery and he supports me. ..... and he cannot bring tortilla chips into the house. That's it. That's why a forum like this is so valuable. We have all been through it and are the best support for each other. It might be unrealistic to expect him to understand this on the same level as you.

Normal reactions. Thin out the liquids and swallow even tinier sips. I could only swallow a teaspoon of water at a time at that point. If it hurts, you are advancing too quickly, no matter what the post-op "plan" says. Healing of all those tissues takes months.

if you were further along, I would suggest lots of veggie bits like celery and green peppers cut into small pieces that you have to chew for a long time.

So far have gone from 42DD to 38B. Definitely droopier, but I sure don't have the pulling on my shoulders and back anymore.

Whoa, girl!!!! This is the time to practice coping skills - not indulgence! Indulgence is what got us where we were before surgery. We gotta leave it behind and embrace a new way of thinking, living , and eating. You have been given some good suggestions to practice now.

Hormone fluctuations also affect water retention. So you have water stored in muscles, your gut, and in fatty tissue, all affected my so many variables. I totally agree that progress can be measured by inches and exercise goals, besides the scale.

It's going to take good 6-8 weeks for all those injured tissues to heal, for swelling to go down, and for normal functioning to start. The little external incisions are nothing compared to what went on inside with the muscle, stomach, and intestines (for RNY.) Progress comes in little steps - sometimes 2 steps forward, 1 step back. You have to be patient with the process. I felt I "turned a corner" at each monthly milestone. The biggest one was a 4 months when it seemed like I could increase volume a bit more. This is where I think starting an exercise program really helps in the early weeks. It gives you goals, achievement, and a sense of control. You have no control over how your body decides to heal, how much you can eat one day and not the next, when the pain will hit, etc. It can make one feel helpless, vulnerable, and and even hopeless. Exercise gives you a powerful tool the YOU control! Start with walking. Get a step tracker. I never realized how motivating that little friend can be til I got one. Do wall pushups. Those are two easy ways to start and it's easy to see progress.

Kind of like child birth. You hardly remember the the pain once you start experiencing the reward of a new life!

I think a lot has to do with fluid and glucose levels in the muscles. As you deplete glycogen from the liver, the glycogen from the muscle tissue goes next, along with water. Then the fat starts breaking down as the final energy reserve. As we eat a bit differently each week, our glycogen levels will also fluctuate. Say you eat more carbs (starches and fruit) one week. You are going to replenish the glycogen in the muscles and the water will go with it. The next week you eat a bit differently - maybe a bit more on the keto side, and the water is going to leave. I always have slower loss with more initial exercise as well, but this is not fat gain - it is fluid and maybe even a little extra muscle mass that weighs more than fat. So stick to the plan and stay away from sugar. It all levels out. For the longest time, my pattern was 5 pounds one week and 3 pounds the next. Now it is slowing down, but that was my predictable pattern for about 2 months.

That's about right. I'm 4 1/2 months out and can still only eat 2-3 of solid protein foods. Greek yoghurt with protein powder mixed in is my go-to slider. I can handle the meat if it is in soup, so I do that regularly as well. I mix protein powder into the soup, also. Calf liver is the easiest actual meat for me - it is soft and goes down easily, as well as providing a lot of iron. I buy it in very thin, 4 oz frozen slices from Spouts. I cut it in half so I have a 2 oz piece. I let it drain on paper towels after thawing. Then coat it very thinly with seasoned gluten free flour. Then into a hot skillet with some olive oil and onions.

None of the providers on my insurance list (BCBS) did bariatric psych evals, so I had to pay $200 for the one recommended by my surgeon. Just had to bite the bullet and get it done.

I switched to decaf before surgery and then lost my taste for it completely after surgery. I used to drink about 4 cups a day. I guess I am afraid of the acid and any irritation it might cause. I had a Barretts polyp removed prior to surgery - a pre cancerous growth related to acid reflux, so I try to avoid anything that will increase acid.

Have you been on iron up to this point? Are you taking your multi with iron? It looks like you are definitely on the low end of normal, but as you are a year out and able to start eating more meat and maybe adding something like a little liver once in a while, you will probably be OK with your current regimen. If it was me, I would keep taking my multi with iron and start adding more red meat/liver. Personally, I would not want to deal with constipation or GI irritation from iron tabs. Another thing to think about is getting an "iron fish." Google it. It is a little iron fish that you drop into your soup pot and adds elemental iron. Kind of like cooking in cast iron. Elemental iron is not well absorbed - not nearly as well as the iron in animal protein, but it sure can't hurt and might boost you up a bit.

Never, so far. I am avoiding anything with sugar. I made two birthday cakes this week. I feel so good after turning down the cake and ice cream. The short term sweet taste is not worth the risk of dumping - not when I hear how awful it is from everyone else's experiences.

Because of acid reflux, bypass was the best option for me. Reflux is now gone. The sleeve can cause increased reflux, so that might be the deciding factor for you. With bypass, the stomach is still inside, but detached from it's ability to send hunger signals. The ghrenlin hormone is inactivated, so you do not have the hunger signals - at least for the first year average, but this can vary from individual to individual. From what I understand, dumping is mostly triggered by sugar or high carb content. It made me commit to never eating sugar again - aversion therapy, I guess. This can actually be a good thing for your overall, lifetime eating pattern. Just the fear of dumping is strong motivation for me to avoid any desserts or sweetened beverages. I have never experienced dumping and hope I never do.

My surgeon wants his patients to work up to 10,000 steps a day, but it is not a requirement - but a way to boost the process and start building a healthy life style. I also have chronic foot pain, knee pain, hip pain. It really worried me that I would not be able to use NSAIDS after surgery. (I was on Aleve twice a day.) I already had 1 knee replacement which was still hurting and my other knee was becoming really painful. Now for the good news. I still have some foot pain because of a bunion that needs some attention. But all knee and hip pain is gone! I have not taken an NSAID at all and not even Tylenol. Weight loss does wonders for the joints! The other thing is that although I cut out wheat (gluten) several years ago, I did not cut out sugar until before surgery. I think this is also a huge factor. Sugar (and wheat) are highly inflammatory. I found that my joints will hurt the next day if I have any sugar at all. (My brother found the same to be true.) I can exercise all I like now - long hikes of 4-5 hours are fine, whereas before I couldn't walk 20 minutes. Weight loss really does make a huge difference. You will find that as the weight comes off, you will have a lot more energy and will be able to be more active. Taking sugar out of the equation can also be a big factor. Gluten also makes my joints swell and hurt, which I discovered years ago and am gluten free ever since. So don't lose hope. A "New You" is right around the corner.

FMLA (family medical leave act) is a federal law. You can get up to 12 weeks off in a year for medical leave and have the security that your job cannot be given away to someone else. You have to have been employed at the company for a year to qualify. I don't know if some businesses are exempt, but it is definitely worth checking out. Do you have an HR department? If not, call FMLA and get some info. Your doctor signs the paper stating that you are required to be off work from date to date, due to medical necessity. There is no requirement to say what the condition actually is. It can be a mental health issue, as well. I never told my employer what my issue was. I agree that it is no one's business except your own. Good luck.

Thank you! I’ll definitely be investing in a new pillow for Support now. The volunteers at my hospital make these firm pillows for post surgery patients - to encourage coughing and deep breathing. You might ask if your hospital has some, as well.