BigSue

Thank you so much for replying! I was especially interested in your thoughts because you have posted a lot about this subject. It's too bad not all bariatric centers provide this kind of resources. So, if I'm understanding what you're saying, it seems like you think I should try to find another therapist -- one who has experience treating WLS patients or at least disordered eating? I actually really liked the guy who did my pre-surgery psych eval and I've been thinking about going to him. It seems like it might be awkward, but I got the sense that he knew a lot about WLS and the issues relating to it. I had a session with my current therapist today and I wrote up a list of issues that I wanted to address, and I think that helped... But I don't want to keep wasting time and money with someone who is not going to be able to help me with what I need to work on.

There's a WLS YouTuber (My Level 10 Life) who swears by Better Help (she's actually paid to promote them, but she swears that she gets asked to promote a lot of things and only promotes things she really believes in), but I'm skeptical of it and I'm almost certain my insurance wouldn't cover any of that. I can try asking my surgery center for a recommendation. I didn't ask them because I wanted to get someone in-network for my insurance, but at this point, I think I'd rather pay out of pocket for something that actually helps. I have a high deductible that I haven't met yet, so I'm paying out of pocket right now, anyway. Maybe I could ask the therapist who did my pre-surgery eval for a recommendation. I've actually thought about going to him because I liked him and I could tell he knows a lot about WLS, but it seems weird (and maybe a conflict of interest) to see the person who did my eval. I agree about not liking homework! That's another thing that annoyed me about the first one -- he was big on homework, and it was all really generic, nothing that he came up with specifically to help me. I had told him that my biggest struggle was that I felt like my surgery and weight loss is taking over my life and I have no time or energy left for anything else, and then he comes up with some busy work for me to do.

Thank you so much for your helpful reply! I also had a psych eval for surgery approval and I actually really liked the therapist. I could tell he knew a lot about weight loss surgery. I think he said that he offers post-surgery counseling, but it seems like it would be awkward and maybe a conflict of interest. But I've been thinking about going to him if I give up on the current one. I realize that there will be a lot of talking about feelings and stuff with any therapist, but what's frustrating to me is that neither of these therapists seems to make any effort to relate any of my feelings to food/eating, even though I explicitly said these are the issues I want to address. But maybe if I can articulate this better to the therapist, she will understand what I'm looking for.

I usually wear tight leggings for my cardio workout and later change into loose-fitting joggers before I take a walk in my neighborhood. Yesterday, I was feeling lazy about changing my pants and I realized: I can probably wear leggings in public without anyone saying, "Ew, she should NOT be wearing that," or "Nobody needs to see THAT."* I might be able to pass for just another basic b****! * To be clear, I don't think anyone should say that no matter what someone's weight, but I've heard people say it and it always stopped me from wearing leggings in public.

Did your surgeon give you any guidance on this? Most surgeons encourage plenty of walking and a mile should be fine if you're up to it.

First of all... YOU LOST 90 POUNDS! That's amazing! Anybody would consider that a fantastic accomplishment, so celebrate that! Secondly, you don't show your starting weight or current weight on your stats, but if you started with a lower BMI -- say, around 40 -- you're not going to lose as quickly as someone with a really high BMI (I started with a BMI over 60!). And the closer you get to a normal BMI, the more your weight loss will slow down. Finally, there are a lot of factors that can affect your rate of weight loss, some of which are completely beyond your control, so just because you're not losing as quickly as you'd like doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong or need to change anything, or that you won't get there eventually. I initially felt like I was losing slowly because I was comparing myself to other people, but looking back, I'm amazed by how much weight I lost in less than a year. We're all in a hurry to lose that weight, but once you get to your goal, it doesn't really matter how long it took to get there. Plus, some people say that losing slowly results in less loose skin, so it could actually be a benefit.

Does she like tea? If so, you could do the same thing with trying a new tea every week. P.S. That is such a cool idea. I only have one niece and she's far from me so I rarely get to see her in person. She's just a baby now, but I'm going to keep this in mind for when she gets older because I would love to do something to stay connected with her.

I LOVE the BariatricPal Belgian Chocolate Caramel and French Vanilla Caramel. They taste like candy!

Your weight is basically meaningless for the first few weeks. You just went through a major surgery and your body is catching up with the changes! It is virtually impossible to gain actual body weight right after surgery (weight fluctuations of a few pounds are very normal and usually just related to water retention), so right now, you need to focus on healing and getting enough water and protein. You might even want to stay off the scale for a while so you don't stress out about it needlessly. A lot of people just weigh in once per week so they don't see those fluctuations. You're doing great -- just stick with your program and you'll keep losing.

I highly recommend Leslie Sansone videos on YouTube for cardio. There are tons of free videos available and they're great. I do these every day. There's something for everyone, from beginners to advanced, and the videos vary in length from about 10 minutes to 50 minutes (I often do two or three shorter ones back-to-back just to mix it up). I use resistance bands for strength training. You can get a decent set for about $50 and there are free videos on YouTube for that, too.

Looks like you're doing great! It's a stall -- happens to almost everyone, often more than once along the way. It's just your body catching up with the changes. If you stick with your program, you will keep losing weight. There's a lot of superstition around stalls and how to break them (different people will tell you to increase calories or carbs or protein or exercise, and others will tell you to decrease calories or carbs or protein or exercise, or do a pouch reset diet, etc., etc.) but the truth is that all you can do is stick with your program and wait it out. That's why everybody has a different trick to break the stall -- it would have happened no matter what they did, so if they changed something, they think that was what broke the stall. Just be patient and keep up the good work.

Rao’s is the best but if you want something cheaper, Newman’s Own marinara is very good and has no added sugar.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but there are things you can do as a customer to make things go more smoothly. Yes, it's her job to serve you, but it looks like you might have overwhelmed her by giving her so much information about your situation. She just wanted to take your order, and probably wasn't prepared to hear your whole story about your COVID anxiety, your surgery, your medical restrictions, etc.. It's not really fair to put that responsibility on the server. It's probably standard protocol for them to bring water to people who don't order a beverage, and assuming you didn't get charged for it (which you typically don't, even if you ask for water), did it hurt anything to have an extra glass of water sitting on the table? It's good to be assertive about what you need, but you don't need to go out of your way to make additional demands.

Have you moved the scale recently? Having it on an uneven surface can cause bad readings. Also, try changing the batteries -- some scales show erratic readings when the batteries are low.

Yes, most of those are well-known problem foods for WLS patients. My program says no rice, pasta, bread, or tortillas for at least the first year. Rice is hard to eat because it absorbs water and swells up in the stomach, which is uncomfortable when you have such a small stomach. Many WLS patients say that pasta sits in the stomach like a rock, and bread can form a lump that is hard to digest.

I lost about 70 pounds in the 5 months before my surgery.

No, I haven't tried those... ANy particular flavors you recommend?

My current obsessions are chia pudding and homemade sugar-free gummy bears. I love making different flavors of chia pudding; my favorites are chocolate raspberry (tastes like brownie batter!) and pumpkin spice. I never knew how easy it is to make homemade gummy bears -- just some gelatin and flavoring (either 2 packs unflavored gelatin + 1 single-serve sugar-free drink mix, or one unflavored gelatin + 1 flavored gelatin; I've also made them with real lemon juice and lime juice). I bought some gummy bear molds on Amazon, and voila: sugar-free gummy bears that don't cause diarrhea. I also recently discovered Skinny Girl salad dressings. They're fat-free, sugar-free, and 10-15 calories for 2 tbsp. I've tried balsamic vinaigrette, roasted garlic vinaigrette, poppyseed, buttermilk ranch, and honey dijon, and I love them all.

My surgeon didn't give a timeframe for different meats, but I've only eaten ground beef once since surgery, in chili, about 6 months out, with no problems. I normally substitute ground turkey for ground beef (just because I've heard that a lot of WLS patients tolerate ground turkey better). I've also had pork (pork loin, carnitas, and pork chili verde, all cooked in the Instant Pot) with no problems. I ate a smoked pork rib around 3.5 months out and a bite got stuck on the way down -- not pleasant, but I had some leftovers that I took off the bone shredded, and covered with sugar-free BBQ sauce and that was fine. The key with most meats is to make sure they're moist. I mostly cook meat in my Instant Pot, shredded, with a sauce. It is easy to digest that way. I can eat grilled chicken now as long as I cut it in small pieces and chew it well.

LOL, I don't know of any laws against it... I put some of my light dressing in a little 2-ounce container and stashed it in my purse. When I got my salad, I discreetly took out my dressing and poured it on my salad. No one was the wiser.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten at restaurants since my surgery, but the few times I have, I've gotten salads, and one time at a Mexican restaurant, I got a tostada (which is basically a salad on a tortilla, and since the tortilla is at the bottom, no one can tell you're not eating it). You just have to be careful about salads because of the dressing. I ask for the dressing on the side and bring my own light dressing. A lot of restaurants also have meals like grilled chicken breast with a choice of sides, and you can get a side of veggies. I like to get salads because I can eat a more "normal" portion of salad, but not a whole giant chicken breast.

You need to follow your surgeon's instructions for post-op diet. Did you surgeon give you instructions for your diet progression?

There are many different artificial sweeteners, and some of them can have side effects. I looked at the ingredients in the Pure Protein bars, and they are sweetened with maltitol, which is notorious for causing digestive discomfort. You may be able to eat protein bars that use different sweeteners without those digestive side effects. Here's a video with some good info on different types of artificial sweeteners: And here's a good article summarizing the different types of artificial sweeteners: https://www.sweetashoney.co/the-best-keto-friendly-sweeteners/ My personal favorite protein bars are Built Bars (which are sweetened with erythritol). I think they taste better than candy bars!

Congratulations!

Congratulations! 150 pounds -- that's awesome.