foxgirl74

Ok, so this might seem like a totally crazy and strange question to be asking, and I apologize if this question was already asked and I missed it, but I was wondering if anyone has taken diet or weight loss pills after having weight loss surgery? I know it seems weird considering that the surgery would seem to eliminate that need so I am guessing no one would feel like they would have to spend money on weight loss aids, but I am just wondering about it. Prior to weight loss I had tried several types such as Hydroxycut, Lipo 6 Black and Alli. I was told by my surgeon to be very careful with my caffeine intake because it increases stomach acid, but I have not had really any issues with the small amounts of caffeine I have continued to take. Anyway, seems kind of strange and maybe these pills would be a huge waste of money (not that I plan on using them, I am just very curious) so if any of you have used these pills after surgery I would love to hear about the results or info given to you about them from your surgeons. Thank you!

So I have not really been one this site much over the last few months, but it was the place that got me started on this fantastic journey so a progress report is in order! One year ago today I have VSG. I would do it again in a heartbeat and recommend it for soooo many people out there with this struggle. It has not been the easiest thing ever, and I still have battles with overeating, food addictions, and lack of self control, but I have overall made changes that have literally turned my life into complete awesomeness. Seriously. I started with my consultation weighing 246 pounds, and today I weighed in at 145.5 pounds. Yep, 100 pounds in one year, which was a major goal for me and I was able to do it! I still have 20 pounds to go, but I am steadily still loosing small amounts of weights each month and I will get there. I cannot stress the impact if learning to love exercising enough. I joined a gym and found a way to not only keep me there, but now I am in a position to help others on their path by having become a cardio kickboxing instructor. If you told me a year ago this is where I would be today I would not have believed you or have trusted that VSG would work, or that I would have been able to retrain my brain to this extent. There is no replacement for a healthy body and mind, which has helped to literally make me a healthier soul. I love this community and cannot thank you guys enough for all the support over the last year, and hope you are all doing great with your own journeys and am here for anyone who needs help, advice, or just a listening ear! Now it's reward time, a long awaited treat, off to get my new tattoo!!

I feel selfish being fat. Let me explain. This consumes me. It has consumed my life for a long time. I think about it all the time. Maybe even more so now because I am on this incredible journey with finally an awesome opportunity to lose weight. And that is something I have obsessed for .....for a very long time. Now, I feel like I have to focus even more to ensure I don't fail. I feel so self-consumed. So selfish. I am a stress eater. Well, I used to be. I would eat, no binge like crazy when stressed. I was stressed often. Unfortunately, weight loss surgery did not cut out 85% of my stress. I am watching my mother in law die from stomach and colon cancer. She was forced to be readmitted to the hospital tonight because she refuses to eat. Here I am with an eating issue, and here she is on the opposite end of it, but needing food if she wants to survive. So, first I feel selfish to go through this, while she and my husband and his family are dealing with something so much harder. So it stresses me out. And I want to eat. Tonight I did what any weight loss person could do. I binged....on some chocolate milk. In reality, I only had about 7 or 8 oz, but it was 2% and was, like I said, chocolate. Luckily I did good all day with my carb and calorie intake so I did not go over 800 calories for the day, but the point was I did not have the control over it in this time of intense stress. I feel so sad to see my family go through this, and so selfish to still be focusing on something so...I don't want to say not serious, but in comparison...it seems like it. I feel selfish that I needed this surgery. That I needed the help. That I needed this me time. Right in the middle of all this. I just don't want to put my kids through anything that I can help later in life. It just hurts too bad too see the family like this....I guess I am just justifying my feelings of selfishness by thinking it will prevent any pain in the future. Who knows....

Alright, time to come clean! The two days at the hospital were really great, I was released early and I felt so good. I have not been on any pain medication since the day after surgery. The last few days have been very hard for me for some reason. It really blindsided me and I really don't know why because I really want this and did everything within my power to make sure I got it. So, I sat down and did some deep thinking about it and I figured out I think it's a major control issue with me. It's no longer me in control, it's my stomach, my body. When I would diet before surgery I still had control over what I decided to put in, even if that meant cheating on my diet. Obviously I didn't have as much control as I convinced my mind that I did, otherwise, my diets would have worked, but now the control is 100% beyond me. Sure I could try and eat something, but I know the physical aspects would hurt very bad, not just be a cheat on the diet. It really got to me the last few days. I have been hungry, and have not been able to get in hardly any protein. Maybe 20 grams a day, very little calories, and the results have been very hard for me to adjust to. I have been so tired, gotten blurry vision occasionally, and felt so run down and I saw my house falling apart a little so it was getting to me mentally. The water intake has been at about 30oz a day, if I'm lucky! Another major reason I was frustrated. All this piled up on me and I felt so betrayed!! By my own body, and my own mind. I felt like I worked so hard to get this for me and now all I wanted was a freaking egg or 1/2 cup of real soup to eat. But now it's reckoning time! Time for the complaining to stop, the whining, the longing, the wanting, it all needs to end! I have done this, I wanted this, I am healing great and losing pounds every day and there is no going back! My sister has been staying with us because my husband works a lot of hours and I have needed help with my littles ones, and I saw her this morning and realized all over again one of the reasons why I did this. I know all the medical reasons and health reasons, but for now I am going to remind myself of the physical appearance reasons as well. I have so many clothes I have bought over the years that at one time I fit in, or thought I would fit in shortly if I could just diet a little more.Well, obviously that did not go as planned so I have loaned so many out to my sisters over the years who have fit in them just fine. So I looked at my sister this morning wearing one of my favorite shirts that I am still about 55 pounds away from fitting into and It just clicked! Why the hell am I still whining about my intake? About being hungry? About how hard this is or how tired I am?? This is just one more piece of the diet I should be on anyway right now, and I am thankful for it! I am going to follow the plan my surgeon gave me, and lose the weight, and deal with the head and food issues, and get back MY life! MY clothes, MY health, and MY ability to take care of MY kids and MY house! I am anxious to get back to exercise, I have been walking, but I really wish I had a treadmill. I have an elliptical, but I am being careful as I know I need to heal all the way before I start anything harder. I know I will get to a place of loving this sleeve rather then just accepting it. Once I see some more physical results and transition into a little bit healthier phase of fuel for my body I except that love and bond to the sleeve to start, Anyway, I rambled on long enough, but I needed to get this out. I know I have read about others struggling a bit with their sleeve and other issues, so I know it will get better for us all!

jhope, thank you so much for the kind words and comment!! I have to admit I am having blast being much thinner, and healthier, but mostly I have been on Sparkpeople.com (foxrider) I find it hard to blog in both places, but I do try and get on here when I can!

Good post! I am going to challenge myself to do full body weights( with a program called Group Power my gym runs) at least twice a week. I am ready to take my fitness to a whole new level and do many 5k's this year, but toning is essential for fat burn and my cardio is no longer cutting it. I just became a kick boxing instructor(Group Kick) at my gym, and teach a class two days a week, and I had been doing kick boxing between 3-5 days a week, but I am ready to change it up. Two days kick, two days weights, and one to two days cardio endurance training or another fun exercise with my family!

Sounds like you are right on track. The first post was actually some really good insight, because your body is freaking out and thinking(correctly) that it is in starvation mode and needs to protect itself. This will change because, well, physics -You are burning more then you are consuming. As far as carbs go, a good beginning number is to stay under 40 carbs per day. And if that is yielding no results, stay under 30. I found switching out my cheese with low fat cottage cheese was great because you get all the same Protein, but way less calories, and honestly, more mass. This becomes more important later when you can fit more. Drinking Water right now is the biggest thing you can do to jump start your weight, along with exercising, so your surgeon can freak out and get mad all he wants, but his job is to provide the tool to help you lose weight, and if it's not working because of simple common sense of your body reaction to the weight loss so far, then he is more concerned about his personal stats and numbers versus helping you be healthier. Either way, the scale does move. It's seemingly just as slow and painstakingly as it was doing diets prior to WLS, but trust me, take it a day at a time and make the best choices you can and you'll get there before you know it!!

I got into a cardio kickboxing class at my gym. I went the first time never expecting to go back (a friend talked me into it) and now, less than 3 months later, I am doing my video taping to become a kick boxing instructor because I love it so much. It never feels like I "have" to go work out, but I always get in a great fun work out that flies by in 60 minutes. It has cardio and conditioning so I am not missing out by not walking/jogging or by not lifting weights. I cannot express how much I love it and I feel it really motivated me and kept me going in this weight loss process. I jog on the treadmill, and do a spin class and lift weights every now and again, but seriously, I do the carido kickboxing 3-5 times a week and am going to teach my own class starting in January. Far cry from the morbidly obese girl posting on here 9 months ago!!

Awesome!!! I just signed up for Rage Mud Run for April 7th, which is pretty much a Tough Mudder for people not quite ready to do that many miles But I plan on doing the Tough Mudder in 2013. Make sure you post the pictures after your epic adventure!!

I had a c-section with my son and recovery wise that was WAY worse then having VSG surgery. The only difference, for me, was the major grogginess coming out of the anesthesia. That drove me crazy, especially since I was told to get up and walk as soon as possible, so I was mentally wanting to, but could barely keep my eyes open. Once that wore off I was literally good to go. Hardly any pain, just took the bare minimum pain meds for a little ease and was then up and walking, bending carefully and moving pretty good. The c-section had me needing help for weeks, I was self sufficient the next day with this surgery. Oh, and I had 5 incisions, with glue, no drains. I did have a small, travel size pillow, for getting in and out of bed, just so I would not pull the internal stitches and damage anything, but just use common sense and I'm sure you'll do great, best of luck!!

I live in a pretty small city so only one of our grocery stores carries them - Fry's But I know there is a huge selection at Whole Foods Markets and I am pretty sure Trader Joe's might even have them. Any whole foods type place should carry them, or in the organic/healthy section at your largest grocery store.

Oh yes, the Morning Star Grillers Prime are excellent, in my opinion, but haven't tried too much of their other products.