NeonRaven8919

Today, I'm officially under 200lbs! only by half a lb but I'm counting it! I did a little weight conversion and had to remeasure due to disbelief!
After gaining and losing the same kilo for the last three weeks, I'm so happy!

Today, I'm officially under 200lbs! only by half a lb but I'm counting it! I did a little weight conversion and had to remeasure due to disbelief!
After gaining and losing the same kilo for the last three weeks, I'm so happy!

Today, I'm officially under 200lbs! only by half a lb but I'm counting it! I did a little weight conversion and had to remeasure due to disbelief!
After gaining and losing the same kilo for the last three weeks, I'm so happy!

Today, I'm officially under 200lbs! only by half a lb but I'm counting it! I did a little weight conversion and had to remeasure due to disbelief!
After gaining and losing the same kilo for the last three weeks, I'm so happy!

It's valid to feel scared about this new experience and really good that you can express your fears to other people.
My first thought as I'm reading this, though, is that your size is thoroughly unremarkable. It may not be where you want to it be, and you're doing great taking control of that and changing your life through having gastric bypass. But at your height and weight, surrounded by adults as you will be in college (and not middle school bullies), your weight simply isn't going to be a thing people notice about you all that much. I had my surgery when I was just slightly under where you are now, and I honestly had a friend (who is average weight/skinny) express total shock at my choice because she thought I was "only a little overweight" (while I thought I looked like a Macy's Thanksgiving parade balloon on two legs).
Other people do not see us the way we see ourselves.
In your mind, you seem to see yourself as worthy of being judged poorly and disliked for your appearance. I would ask, is this how you look at other people? Do you only befriend skinny people? Do you think fat people are terrible? Because if you do, that's a serious personality flaw that I would be way more concerned about fixing than my weight. And if you don't...neither do most people. Also, if they do? See my point about it being a serious personality flaw. Don't give that kind of person power over you. Your existence, exactly the way you are at any point in time, is not the problem. A person who is judging you for existing is demonstrating that their opinion is not worth considering.
Most people don't notice weight first, unless maybe when someone is truly remarkable in size. Most people remember a person's confidence, humor, and overall disposition. They might remember a beautiful smile or a charming laugh, or maybe how you wore your hair or a colorful scarf. They want to be friends because they feel a connection to your personality, not because you have the "correct" size tag in your jeans. Again, if this is not the case, ask yourself why this is someone you want to concern yourself with.
The person you want to be is not just a "skinny" person. At least, I really hope not. I would encourage you to make a list of 10 qualities right now that you want people around you to see and remember about you, and none of them can be about your weight or similar societal measure of physical attractiveness. Focus on that list. Do you want people to see you as smart? Kind? Funny? You can be all of those things today. You probably are all those things right now, if you let yourself believe that it's true. You don't have to lose a single ounce to make that happen. Do you want to be someone who takes care of your health? You're already doing it. Who eats right? Who exercises? You're that person now.
Focus on the things you have control over. You don't get to choose your weight. None of us do. But you can make food and activity choices every day that promote a lower weight. You can't make a specific person or group like you. But you can be the kind of person many people will like.
I wish you the very best of luck. I really wish I had known 30 years ago how absolutely, perfectly fine I was without changing anything, and how little other people's judgement actually mattered. It would have made so many things so much easier.

Thank you, hearing someone else's words definitely made a world of difference in my mind. I'm my harshest critic and that's the biggest challenge. I'm thinking of writing 1 thing I like about myself and posting a sticky note on the bathroom mirror every morning to improve my self-confidence and self-worth. One step at a time ❤️ Thank you again for taking some of your time to reply and share your thoughts I truly appreciate it!

Well I kind of did the poof and now I am skinny. Its not really what I thought it would be or now want
During the Covid lock down, house arrest in the Uk, I had the surgery. I told no one and then when the country opened again, I did the big reveal. I was / am a stranger in the small town that I have lived in for 55 years. My husband has a strange mistress and a gets congratulated and a back pat while I, the ' mistress' get ignored. When he puts them correct, the shock is too much for them to believe. One man said to him ' You must be so proud now ' ffs.
I am used to it but hate it at the same time. I liked the popular me.
If you are gradually loosing weight then those around you at college will not realise until you get near your goal and start to look too thin to them

I feel so very sad for LA right now, the poor souls who lost their lives, all those homes distroyed, 1000s of peoples lives distroyed, just so shocking!
As someone from Australia I can empathise, we get savage bushfires most summers, but I don't think we have had one so badly affect an urban/suburban area as these have!
My heart goes out to those affected.
😢

Well my bariatric surgeon is a general surgeon so when the oncologist asked if I had a surgeon I said yes so she called him and he also installed my chemo port two days later (thank god). Well my body “spit a stitch” which is not uncommon but the Oncology PA said it could cause infection and obviously that is my lifeline right now and requiring another surgery would delay my treatment so I wanted it looked at by the surgeon office.
I seen the surgical PA. He took it out and it’s fine but it also gave me a chance to talk to him about my fitness and nutrition. He said that I am so dedicated and I have been doing so great that he is not worried about me. He said I shouldn’t be trying to run at a huge deficit right now though because the cancer actually burns carbs and so does the chemo so my body may need them right now. He said it’s more important to fuel my body to keep up being active since active people are proven to have better outcomes. I have to admit that I’ve been pretty fortunate so far with the side effects of the chemo at least 🤷‍♀️ .

Anyways, I told him that since that low Fiber aka high carb diet I have been craving sugar a lot. I told him I am trying to satisfy it with veggies and fruits but I’m not 100%. He said that great try to have my sugar wrapped in fiber and not plastic. He said that he has no doubt that once this is behind me that they can get me back on track.
i told him that my next phase requires really high steroids to be infused weekly and the oncologist said most people gain but they are able to lose it. I said she must not have had a patient like me. I asked if I’m having a real hard time since I will be past the honeymoon period if we could use like Wegovy to get me back on track and he said that’s an option. I told him that I think I may only need it for like a month to detox from these carbs because they really are like a drug to me and I feel like I need like 30 day rehab and then I can do it. He said that they will not abandon me and we will figure out whatever it takes to get me to my goal after I beat this. That made me feel really hopeful that I will still be able to pick this back up. I was worried that I would have to gain a lot back before anyone would give me Wegovy if I need it, but it sounds like it could be an option sooner (I’m guessing I will have to pay OOP but hopefully only for a few doses to get to the regular dose).

Yes! Cycling is awesome. One of my true joys with my weight loss, being able to get out on a bike. I road bike, mountain bike, and have a gravel bike in the process of being built :)

281 lbs vs 175 lbs 🖤

I cancelled my gym membership in the month I had my surgery since I wasn't going to be able to exercise for 6 weeks after the surgery and I would be away for another 4 weeks and Christmas was coming up and didn't want to waste the money (month to month membership). I need to get back into the gym, but I've not been in months so I'm going back to complete novice stage. But I have been cycling so that's at least something. I want to make going to the gym a habit again.
I haven't renewed my membership yet because it will be too crowded with all they "new year, new me" types who use the gym in January for two weeks and then never again.

I recommend cycling! Mostly because I'm obsessed and I want to share my obsession, but also it's a method of transportation/form of exercise/easy to get into if you are out of practice. You could also cycle at the gym.
Also, I really love doing pilates and yoga. You can do it in your own home, you just need a mat and a youtube video.

I cancelled my gym membership in the month I had my surgery since I wasn't going to be able to exercise for 6 weeks after the surgery and I would be away for another 4 weeks and Christmas was coming up and didn't want to waste the money (month to month membership). I need to get back into the gym, but I've not been in months so I'm going back to complete novice stage. But I have been cycling so that's at least something. I want to make going to the gym a habit again.
I haven't renewed my membership yet because it will be too crowded with all they "new year, new me" types who use the gym in January for two weeks and then never again.

I recommend cycling! Mostly because I'm obsessed and I want to share my obsession, but also it's a method of transportation/form of exercise/easy to get into if you are out of practice. You could also cycle at the gym.
Also, I really love doing pilates and yoga. You can do it in your own home, you just need a mat and a youtube video.

I started with just walking. My friends all live a descent ways away so we made phone dates in the beginning to get me going. It worked perfectly. I still felt accountable to them even though they were walking around their own neighborhoods. I also stuck close to my own house for a while. I did as many laps around the block as I could but I didn’t go far away just in case I would start hurting or something it would be a short distance back at any point. After I gained a bit of confidence, I checked out the community center and they have fitness classes there for cheap. There is no contract and you can try out as many different classes as you want. I like cardio and yoga and still do the yoga now (plan to get back to cardio as soon as my health permits). There are also videos online but for me, having the group of women that are starting to be more like friends is pretty helpful in keeping it fun. As others have said, though the best exercise is one that you don’t hate. And you may not love it from day one but you should get a pretty good idea of whether you hate it pretty quickly. 🤣 Try a pretty good variety and you will find something you enjoy I’m sure while getting some good exercise along the way.

Probably not a popular opinion here I suppose, but I'm not a fan of ankle weights for otherwise healthy individuals. I wanted to share my thoughts since I've seen these recommended a couple of times.
There are some really niche areas where these may be beneficial (rehab for specific populations), but in general there is little scientific evidence that they do anything beneficial. Plus there is some evidence that they may actually cause more harm than good by changing your normal walking gait. Some of that is dependent on just how heavy the ankle weights are, but I don't want to go that deep here.
It sort of make sense that you have to work harder when using them, but studies have shown that for the most part, people walk slower when wearing them, thus negating any potential effect. Now if you are walking on a treadmill and walk the same speed you'd otherwise use, then maybe they burn slightly more calories, but slightly is the operative word here. You could just as easily walk a few more minutes and get the exact same calorie burn. Since they do also potentially increase your risk of injury due to the altered gait, I just don't really recommend them.
Now if you have some and you love them, more power to you. Feel free to keep doing what you're doing if it's working for you. I just wanted folks to know my thoughts on these. People should decide for themselves if they want to consider using them.
Oh, and please don't say they help "tone" your muscles. I'm sure I'm opening another can of worms here, but there is no such thing as "toning" your muscles. Frankly that's a huge pet peeve of mine. Toning your muscles is a total and complete myth that was invented as a marketing term to try to get women to strength train that were afraid of becoming "bulky".

Take Away, grilled spicy chicken, no rice, no Beans, no corn chips, salad and a spoon of guac. Yummy

I’m the same. Acetaminophen do nothing for me either. My surgeon said it would be okay to take NSAIDs with my sleeve (at about 2years) if I took half a dose & didn’t take them regularly. Think it’s likely more important to eat something g before & after taking them though to protect t your tummy a little more than the average person.
Like @SpartanMaker I wonder if it was too high a dose of the codeine too @Bypass2Freedom. Panadeine Forte (Australian) is a combined over the counter med but the dose is 500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine.

PS: Codeine messes with my head. I get very irrationally emotional and spacy, Drove through a red light (thankfully no one else on the road) and then sobbed uncontrollably curled up on the floor in my kitchen (very Meryl in The Hours). Was my first & only time taking it. Doctor advised to always say I’m allergic to it because of that reaction.

I went with the sleeve because my surgeon recommended this based on my age and general health (35, no comorbidities, no history of GERD) I went on the NHS here in the UK so as it was covered by public funds, I only got the choice of sleeve or bypass. I was also hesitant to choose the bypass because my mother had it, had insufficient weight loss and because her operation went wrong and the had to fix something years ago, they couldn't fix a bowel perforation that she had which she died of. So because of her history with that, I wasn't sure that I wanted to go that route. If my surgeon had recommended bypass, I would have chosen that.

We can probably all remember the nerves. It’s a journey for sure but you will be a few months out and in a new groove before you know it and well on your way to a healthier version of yourself. Take measurements and pictures now and along the way and maybe even write a letter now to your future self to read when the weight loss slows down to give you the motivation to keep it up. Answer the questions of what is your reason for doing this and what your wishes are for your future self. The mental is just as important as the physical in this so journaling and logging your progress using something other than the scale can be really helpful.

on january 10 it will be 1 year since my surgery
i have lost 148 lbs but i sitll have 54 more to (my goal weight is 180)

i signed up for a gym in late december and i want to start it soon but i need a good workout plan. what would you suggest to someone a year off from surgery?

I'm going to preface this by saying I am not a doctor and definitely in no position to give healthcare advice, but the most recent studies seem to indicate that very occasional ibuprofen use after a bypass does not significantly increase your risk of ulcers. Not all doctors are up on the research and some just don't want to change their advice on the off chance a patient has an issue, but some doctors will outright say that if you take an ibuprofen or two for a really bad headache or that one time you have an unusual pain, it's fine. You just don't want to exceed maybe once in a week or a few times in a month.
The study I read looked at outcomes for thousands of bypass and sleeve patients in Denmark who had been prescribed daily NSAIDs for less than 30 days or more than 30 days, and then looked at how many developed ulcers. Only the bypass patients who took them for more than 30 days had an incidence rate higher than the general population.

@ShoppGirl It is so frustrating isn't it - I think pain has been so unfortunately normalised for women in terms of childbirth, periods etc, that we are just expected to be able to handle it and get on with it.
They only usually recommend paracetamol and I am not kidding, it does nothing for the pain you are actually in during the fitting of the IUD! I don't understand why it isn't better medicated.
That is genuinely it though - you have hit the nail on the head - birth will always be the comparison! And what about those of us who have never given birth? The IUD fitting is worse because of that, and yet we are still told to get on with it essentially.
So infuriating and belittling!
My bf tried telling me that it is only temporary and it won't be that bad...I was just like...do you have to take any form of contraception? Most men I have encountered whine and moan about having to use a condom which is painless, let alone even having to consider more painful contraceptive alternatives!

I'm finally back on to cycling after my operation! I'm so excited! I can also go faster for longer since I'm almost 6olbs down!