ShoppGirl

Just keep in mind that with food that you can’t just consume the foods high in vitamin A and absorb it all. You need to research how much fat you need with it (healthy fat of course) but it will need to be a balanced meal to absorb it all.

I don’t see the mermaid graphic. Is it because I’m lazy and use the phone? That’s why I forget people’s surgeries too cause I can’t see it unless I got to profiles each time. I really need to just get on the computer. I do know that you have to do that to update some stuff. Probably where that graphic is.

Yea well I’m not going to say that exercise is as fun as your favorite pasttime to start. It took motivation on my part to get started. Even at a smaller BMI than you I started by just going to the end of my street and worked my way up, But seeing the progress of being able to do it without being out of breath or my knees hurting as bad as I went further and further motivated me to do even more. Exercise is never going to be fun for most people. Although at this point I am doing different group classes and I like the ladies that I get to do it with so it’s about as fun as it can be. The surgery will help with losing weight and that makes it a bit easier to get around. You may also find you have a bit more energy. You will start with just getting around the house better, but if you try to do a bit more as your body can do it safely, you will see that it’s up to you at a certain point. . Everyone starts in a different place, if you are pretty much couch bound, talk to your doctor about a physical therapist to help you get started. I actually asked if they could have one help me just to do some of these exercises safely so I didn’t hurt my knees or my neck, but they said they are not trainers. They will help if your doctor thinks you really need it, though. If you just need motivation, Hopefully whoever you have as your support system will cheer you on if that’s all you need. I know that my husband sees how hard I am trying with my food choices and even the exercise that I do at home so he is doing everything he can to help with it if I have a late class for aerobics and he makes dinner or he got me some headphones so that I could listen to music while I’m walking. My friend helped me to get started by talking to me on the phone and she was walking at her house while I was walking around mine. Also, if you have local support group, i have been going to that and it really helps. But I don’t want to overwhelm you thinking about doing exercise that sounds unattainable right now. I was only trying to let you know that his surgery is life-changing and give you something to look forward to. You don’t have to think about all of that right now just focus on small goals Just being able to get around the house better will be a really good start. Some people choose not to ever really exercise. And of course that’s your choice too. Losing weight will still make you healthier, even without exercise.

Well because it’s more common with SADI, they make special vitamins that are higher in those 4 vitamins for people who had those surgeries. It sounds like if you are only low in the one they will probably just address that one specifically but of course I’m not sure. Maybe search foods high in vitamin A and try to incorporate them while you contact your team.

It is funny how we just need to hear things from someone else sometimes (things that we already know). $78 USD is steep Counseling sessions here are pricey too without insurance. With insurance they can vary drastically in price. A friend told me that she gets like 12 sessions a year with a counselor for free as part of her benefits which is pretty great. I’m not sure if that’s through her insurance or something separate her employer just pays for, but most people pay a copay for Mental Health. They also have self help type workbooks that you can do that may help. Someone on here recommended a couple for food addiction a while ago. I wish I could remember what they were. I wonder if you do a thread asking for suggestions for self help ideas if anyone has any ideas. If not, maybe ask your team for suggestions. That or just go for the first appointment and see if they can give you suggestions or just give you lots or homework so you can do sessions less often. Or maybe you could even do some online support groups. That Dr Matthew Weiner has nutritional support on his website pound of cure weight loss .com i think it is. He may have other support groups meetings. Maybe tell your team you would be interested in in person support group meetings or see if they know any other patients that may want to be introduced so you can support one another. Can’t hurt to ask.

I had the SADI and ADEK are all fat soluble vitamins that people with the SADI and DS tend to malabsorb more than other surgeries. You need to eat these vitamins with fat for them to be absorbed best to get them from food. I am actually surprised you are just getting your vitamin panel at 7 months out. I would definitely not wait to get this issue addressed if it’s very low because there are a lot of scary things a deficiency can cause including blindness. Not to be an alarmist but I would call your team right away about this issue and see what you need to do. I’m not sure if they have infusions available but that would certainly be something I would ask about.

I have been having issues with my phone that I have literally spent like 20 hours on the phone (mostly on hold waiting for a representative) over the last 3 weeks trying to straighten it out and now they did a ticket and someone is supposed to call me in 5-7 days but he basically implied they did all they can do. I have tried anything and everything I can think of. Gone into the store, then another location, new phone, new carrier and back to the old carrier with the old phone. Nothing is working. BUT, even though I am stressed out to the max I have stayed on plan in terms of diet and kept up with my activity. In the past this entire last three weeks I would have given myself a number of cheat days because “i needed it with all that was going on” but Nope. This time I am not turning to food. In fact I am walking more and doing more YOGA to try and calm myself down which surprisingly helps more than food. Huge win for me!’

It’s not particularly common but it does happen. I actually “eat” every three hours. Something small And I have seen others on here who eat every two hours but they are much further out from surgery than you and me. Also, this is something small and it’s all protein high protein food so if you log all of the calories and macros you can eat more often but still stay on plan. Maybe run this by your team. My nutritionist that I talked to you before my surgery did not think it was a good idea but the nurse practitioner said it was actually fine so long as I wasn’t eating more portion wise than I was supposed to while everything healed. I think the problem with it would be in the future as portions grow a bit if you’re eating five meals a day then you are eating five bits more instead of three bits that adds up faster. as long as you know that you’re able to control the portions and the quality of the food that you’re consuming your team may be on board. In the meantime, check in with yourself to make sure that it’s not what we call head hunger. Are you tired, lonely angry or bored or anything like that when you’re feeling hungry? If so, then talk to your team about that and maybe try journaling to get your feelings out or an alternative behavior such as working on a puzzle or craft or something like that. If that’s not it, there was a lady on here years ago that struggled with hunger that never went away, and she tried everything to get to the bottom of it. In terms of it being head hunger, and it didn’t seem to be she finally said that one thing that helped was warm liquid such as soup, broth, or tea or warm coffee. Another thing is there is not a whole lot of protein in one egg. I know your pouch is small and you can’t consume a lot food wise at this point, so maybe you need to supplement that protein with a little bit of a protein shake in between. I actually have what I call proffee for breakfast for that very reason. I am able to consume an entire protein shake over time with added chilled coffee and that keeps me full until lunch. Of course, don’t go against your teams plan without discussing these ideas with them, but hopefully something here helps. You have to remember that they give you a cookie cutter plan when you start out. But you are very individual and it’s possible that what they gave you just doesn’t work for you so make an appointment to talk to them sooner or email through your patient portal and tell them what’s going on. My suggestion would be to log what you’re eating and your activity and show them so they can have a better idea of what’s going on. I used a Fitness watch that is connected to an app on my phone for my activity and the Baritastic food app, which is free on the phone, but there are others as well. Also, pay attention to your mood or feelings because a lot of of us are emotional eaters. I know that I turned into food a lot of times out of just boredom. But also stress and anxiety. Basically, I realize this by sitting there with my hungry feelings for a few minutes and thinking about what had happened that day and whether it was particularly stressful or how I was feeling about it. If you really take inventory and it doesn’t coincide with emotions, though it is possible for the hunger to come back sooner, it has happened again just very uncommon. It will be easier to explain to your team if you have done a feelings inventory and tried a journal or really thought about if you were, I can’t remember there’s an acronym, but I think it’s stressed, lonely bored or tired. Something like that. After reading the comment above, it reminded me when I was early out. I did not eat food, solid food that often I had shakes in between. Also, yes, it is possible that it’s stomach acid too so ask about a PPI if you aren’t on that already. And please don’t just adjust anything without talking to your team because I don’t even know what surgery you had and everybody’s situation is different but you could run those ideas by them.

Well that one meal was nothing. You don’t have to wait untill Thursday to get reassurance on that one. Remember, I have done this and failed and I promise you it took ALOT more poor choices to gain it back. A big part of my issue was mental though. I believe I mentioned that before. Have you been able to find someone to talk to that can just be a sounding board through all of this. It may help.

There was this older lady in my craft group, and I told them that I had surgery because I figured it was more people to make me feel accountable. This is a revision surgery for me and the last time I didn’t tell people like that and it didn’t work out so well so I’m trying a different approach. Anyways, she is about 80 years old and she said to me she just wanted to tell me how happy she is for me because since my surgery, I have really blossomed. She said that I i have a healthy glow about me and I’ve really come out of my shell in terms of confidence and it shows. I think that was probably the nicest compliment I’ve ever had in terms of my weight loss. I just appreciated that it wasn’t about superficial things. Maybe there’s hope for all these superficial people that when they get a little older, they will view things in terms of stuff that actually matters.

Found a healthy recipe for Spring Rolls that are good. They are not super high in protein (around 5g each) but I just make certain to have a really high protein breakfast and lunch on days I’m going to have them. Anyways it’s from a bariatric site so I guess they think we don’t need the peanut sauce. I searched so many sites for a recipe for the sauce and somehow I didn’t even save the link but it’s so easy I can remember. It’s just equal parts soy sauce and peanut butter. I used the nut butter that is literally just fresh ground peanuts from the grocery and it is so good. If you don’t like salty you may want to use reduced sodium soy sauce but I actually like it and a little goes further with the saltier taste. I just mix up one tbsp of SS and one tbsp PB and that’s enough for two servings which is four spring rolls. Of course you can always just double or triple that if you like more. Here is the spring roll recipe if anyone is interested. https://www.bariatricfusion.com/blogs/recipes/bariatric-recipes-chicken-and-veggie-spring-rolls I mix up a batch of the veggies in a bowl and cut the chicken and measure. Then I portion enough of each for two rolls into each little baggy and I wait to roll them before I intend to eat (adding the avocado at the end) They were okay the next day but they stuck to the container so they fell apart trying to pick them up and then the second day the wraps were hard. Some days I just eat the filling with the peanut sauce. Honestly it’s almost as good without the rice paper. Today is the second time I have made them and I didn’t use any fancy cutting tools this time. I just cut them small with a knife and it was just fine. That site has some other good recipes for us as well. Enjoy 😊

I am the same way with things, but honestly if they say don’t worry, try really hard not to. Our brains sometimes just make things into something that they are not. How many times have you worried for days over something that turned out to be not a big deal at all. I know I have done that my fair share of times. The 30th will be here soon enough.

I decided I want to try my hand at marinara sauce so that I can control the ingredients. I like the Raos sauce from a jar which list, basil, garlic, and onion. Their roasted garlic or the sautéed onion ones I love. I have found quite a few recipes that are so significantly different that I don’t know where to begin. The one I was leaning towards is from a low carb site just because it is literally tomatoes and spices. It’s even a no cook recipe. but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to have a whole lot for a flavor either. the other one I found has you simmer with an onion in the tomatoes for a couple of hours, but then throw the onion away. I think I would prefer to use that onion somehow but I don’t know if I should just sauté it ahead and then add it or chop it up before I put it in there and it will cook while it’s simmering or what. Does anyone have a Healthy-ish marinara recipe that is relatively easy for someone fairly new to cooking from scratch?

Yea. I wish I could’ve dropped 50 on my own. I tried many times. Well, I did lose it many times. I just always gained it back 😢 The higher the BMI the faster you usually lose in the beginning after surgery, though. Everyone slows down eventually (the closer you get to a “normal” BMI). But 50 pounds was almost 20% of my body weight so that was quite a bit of difference off of my knees. Made a pretty big difference in what I am able to do physically. I hope you will see that you are able to do a little more quite quickly after you are recovered. From there you just have to take advantage of it and work your way up until you can soon do all the things that you enjoy doing.

Ooh I'm so thrilled for you. The single anastomosis (one connection instead of two) also makes your surgery considerably safer since there is only one place for a leak instead of two. That is the reason the SADI is safer than the Duodenal Switch and since the weight loss is considered comparable they are doing it more often. My guess is that’s the same thing with the mini gastric bypass. Keep on doing what you’re doing. You are doing so great.

Your team should have an after hours number for urgent issues. If you call it may be an option for the on call surgeon if they didn’t give you a direct number. If you can’t even drink water and it’s keeping you from work that sounds urgent to me. How long since you have kept down any liquids? Were you able to keep down liquids at first and now you can’t? I assume they wouldn’t have released you from hospital if you weren’t drinking fluids. How far out from surgery are you. I don’t see any information on your profile.

Someone told me that even if we do what’s right 95% of the time we will be fine. You only had one meal that was off plan put it in the back of your mind and get right back on track. You are doing so good. It’s possible that your body was just craving something because you needed to eat a little bit more to fuel your exercise that you’ve been increasing. That was one of the questions you plan to ask next week, right?

Absolutely. I have lost 50 and I can already tell a difference in my knees when um walking and with my energy. You will do just fine.

Yeah, smaller goals is definitely better for us mentally. And paying attention to how you feel instead of what the number is on the scale. I mean, I am still only halfway to the goal that I would like to reach but I am feeling so much better. I put a lot less stock in what the scale says these days. Plus, like you said, you can always adjust and set another attainable goal once you reach your first one. They will have you up and walking the same day as your surgery and encourage you to keep doing so. I started wearing my fitness watch again, which surprisingly was able to update after a lot of years being in the drawer and it’s really fun to be able to watch how many steps you take, calories burned and how everything is improving every day. I got an alert a couple of weeks ago that my resting heart rate has gone down like 7 bpm which probably isn’t a lot, but it’s headed in the right direction for sure.

That’s awesome!! Maybe you can take them to a consignment shop and get credit towards some new things.

I just made my marinara and I had to add a good amount of salt to make it taste like what I am used to but I hope to slowly cut that back as well. It is really good. Thanks you everyone for the tips!! I am going to enjoy my homemade (then frozen) turkey meatballs tonight with sautéed peppers, onions and my fresh marinara even more knowing that I know exactly what went into it.

Just be careful to not just change to all electrolyte drinks. I thought I was doing good because I found one that had protein and electrolytes in it. Post surgery and I went to see my nurse practitioner because it was causing muscle cramps and she said too much of that electrolyte can deplete your magnesium, which causes cramps and eventually other things too. I’m sure that a few won’t see that, but I was drinking them all day because I thought I was doing the right thing getting in more hydration and my protein.

I am guilty of that. Not buying them at the same time but things that I ordered on Amazon like athletic pants or this one style of the top that I like because it doesn’t show sweat as bad.when I was always sweating. Well, I just go on there and order the same exact thing in the smaller size.. it does make it a great deal easier because you already know that you like the cut and style.. Then again with each size we drop opens more opportunity in terms of what cuts are available so maybe I won’t do that as much. Maybe every other size at least we should try things on. I do try a lot of things on from the thrift store to find new cuts though. Usually they are cheap enough that I’ll just bring them home and wash them then if I don’t like them, I will just donate them back to next time. There have been times when I have found something that I really love and even though it’s new to me, someone else had it for a long time so it’s no longer available except for a ridiculous price may be on eBay or one of the newer clothing sites.

I couldn’t see anything on your mirror but your mentioning it reminded me. I did a very similar pic in my mirror to show a friend some shorts to ask if she thought they were too short and I couldn’t figure it out because the shorts and my top were black and looked like they had lint on them (a lot of lint). I kept looking down and there was nothing but when I looked into the mirror I would see it again. Well I finally figured out that it was my mirror that hadn’t been cleaned since the day before my surgery because I was a model patient and didn’t do anything like that requiring bending for. 6 whole weeks. I was like OMG that’s my mirror!! Now i’m not Suzy sparkle by any means but it’s never been so bad I thought I was covered in lint. 😆

Well I’m early out yet so I’m sure the hunger will be back soon enough. If only it could stay gone forever!!. Yea the chomps does make minis too but they don’t come in the pepperoni flavor and that’s my favorite so I just do half and save the other half for later (I literally have a box of ziplocks in my car for that purpose). It’s 12g protein and 80 calories though so I do half of that with either a baby bell light or a Sargento mozzarella stick which is another 5g protein for 45 or 50 calories. 85 or 90 calories for 11g of tasty protein on the go is pretty good in my book. I will have to try the mini archer beef ones for something different.