Search the Community

First of all, congrats!!! My surgery is in 2 days, so I can't speak from experience--yet--but I think that I would focus on making exercise a lifelong habit (finding out which physical activities I enjoy the most and discovering new ones) because I think that regular exercise is a key component to maintaining the weight loss. I also know that when I exercise regularly I tend to eat healthier because for whatever reasons my body craves healthier foods. Plus, there's the added benefit that your body will look even nicer when it's toned. Besides the fitness stuff, I would want to find the right balance in my diet to maintain my weight loss and beyond that, just enjoy life!

So I was sleeved on June 24th and I am very happy with where I am at and the progress am now 102 lbs from my highest weight which was 2 weeks before surgery and now 85 lbs since surgery Today I went to the gym and did 4 miles in 52 minutes on the treadmill feel more energy and so much better I do travel a lot so getting all my Protein in on the road is at times a challenge, but I am still learning and doing better and as I said all along, I was not going to go crazy on this strict food plan - i wanted to be realistic and practical, smart and yet not deny those things that i like but thanks to the tool really control my portions. so, I do eat a halloween size pack of Peanut M&Ms every now and then - so yes all 6-7 of them little candies - the old days it would been a whole pack I have had a bratwurst (no bun) at a football game I have had pizza ( mostly just the toppings and very little of the crust and its a thin crust) - if i have 2 slices of toppings that is a lot - compared to used to eating a WHOLE pie I do have the Skinny Cow 100 cal fudgesicle most nights when at home sometimes for Breakfast I have 2 slices of Cracker Barrel Cheeses (individually packaged so very nice) with a 100 cal Pack of Goldfish (nut said crackers were good to help with nausue on occasion from Chewable Multi-Vitamens and my biggest bad thing - I will drink diet soda - i get the small can 7 1/2 oz and drink slowly - used to drink 6-10 full 12 oz cans a day I do drink through a straw in public and yes at a restaurant i get soda and small sips when eating, but i have never emptied a glass So i am not perfect, but I am doing well and making progress, i could see how i could go backwards, but the portion controls is huge and I am eating so so so much better and working out so so so much more Used to wear a size 50-52 w pants and now i am doing 44-46 shirts were a 5XL and now 3Xls are almost to big Goodwill got 4 huge bags of clothes!!

I take Celebrex for arthritis, my wife had severe bouts of FM when we met, we got it under control for a long time, now that she has gained weight and not lost very much I notice more frequent flare ups but with rest and meds it's still manageable, I think there is a definite correlation between weight, activity and FM, she recently got a part time job and has lost some weight and the flare ups are subsiding, but still takes meds.....

I have fibromyalgia, and take Cymbalta for help with symptom relief. It helps but I certainly still have my share of ups and downs. I'm curious to know if any of my fellow fibro-sleevers have experienced changes/decreases in their pain levels since being sleeved? I'm pre-op, and really hoping my symptoms will decrease as my weight goes down! Thanks in advance ☺️

This is my understanding based on research and observation/logic. Different goals and constraints influence dietary guidelines. Before surgery: lose weight with a large stomach (need to fill it up with bulk--veggies, whole grains, etc in addition to protein). No problem staying hydrated and is a good time to ween off of caffeine, sugar, etc. Immediately before surgery: shrink liver (low carb, high Protein but still need nutrition for surgery so Meal Replacement shakes). Still need a lot of Water. Surgery: clear liquids (clear out digestive tract) and then nothing. Post surgery: very small and traumatized body and digestive tract (need water and protein with very limited room and capacity to take it in. Healing: see post surgery plus need to worry about texture to facilitate healing Ongoing: smaller stomach (although larger than immediately post surgery) so limited room to get nutrition so focus on water, protein Sorry for the short notes (I'm on my phone).

congrats!!! The worst is over!!! can't wait to see that weight fall off!

By Elizabeth Goodman Artis (Shape Magazine) We dissect the science of fat to help you pick the smartest strategies for losing it. Fat is the ultimate three-letter word, especially the kind that you spend so much time watching your diet and hitting the gym to keep at bay (or at least to keep off your butt). But beyond making you look less-than-svelte, fat can have significant physical and emotional implications. We talked to Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., a nutritional biochemist and author of The Secret of Vigor: How to Overcome Burnout, Restore Biochemical Balance, and Reclaim Your Natural Energy, to find out a few essential facts that might surprise you. 1. Fat Comes in Different Colors More specifically, there are different types of fat that have different hues and functions, according to Talbott: white, brown, and beige. The white fat is what most people think of as fat—pale and useless. Useless in that it has a low metabolic rate so it doesn’t help you burn any calories the way muscle does, and it’s the predominant type of fat in the human body, encompassing more than 90 percent of it. In other words, it’s a storage unit for extra calories. Brown fat is darker in color due to a rich blood supply and can actually burn calories rather than storing them—but only if you’re a rat (or other mammal); certain critters can activate brown fat to burn calories and generate heat to keep them warm in winter. Humans, sadly, have so little brown fat that it won’t help you burn calories or keep you warm. The third type of fat, beige fat, is in between white and brown in terms of its calorie-burning ability, which is actually very exciting. Why? Because researchers are looking into ways to shift white fat cells into more metabolically active beige ones via diet and exercise or supplements. In fact, there is preliminary evidence that certain hormones which are activated by exercise may convert white fat cells into beige ones, as well as some evidence that certain foods such as brown seaweed, licorice root, and hot peppers may have the ability to do this as well. 2. The Fat On Your Butt is Healthier than the Fat on Your Belly It’s probably safe to say that no woman favors the fat on one body part over another, but it’s actually safer health-wise to be more of a pear than an apple, Talbott says. Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, is much more responsive to the stress hormone cortisol compared to the fat on your thighs or butt, so when stress hits hard (and you don’t find a healthy way to handle it), any extra calories consumed are more likely to end up around your middle. Belly fat is also much more inflammatory than fat located elsewhere in the body and can create its own inflammatory chemicals (as a tumor would). These chemicals travel to the brain and make you hungry and tired, so you’re more likely to overeat or eat junk food and not exercise, thus creating a vicious cycle and perpetuating the storage of more belly fat. The good news is that anything that helps you reduce inflammation helps reduce those signals to the brain. Talbott recommends fish oil (for the Omega 3’s) and Probiotics, which you can take in pill form or get by eating yogurt with active cultures. 3. First You Burn Calories, Second You Burn Fat The term “fat-burning” is thrown around willy-nilly in fitness circles, but as an expression of weight loss, it’s indirect. Before you “burn” fat, you burn calories, whether those calories come from stored carbohydrates (glycogen and blood sugar) or from stored body fat. The more calories you burn during each workout, the bigger deficit you will create and the more fat you will lose. You can also create a calorie deficit by eating less. The trick, though, is time, since it’s hard for most people to put in the time needed to burn enough calories to make a weight-loss dent. Talbott (and many other experts) advocates high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to burn as many calories as possible in as short amount of time as possible. This method, which alternates between hard/easy efforts, can burn double the calories in the same amount of time spent exercising in a steady state. 4. Fat Affects Your Mood Certainly there is no easier way to ruin your day than seeing you’ve gone up a few numbers on the scale, but having excess fat—especially around your belly—activates that inflammation/cortisol cycle, which studies show may be a factor in serious mood disorders like bipolar disorder. If you’re stuck in a stress/eat/gain/stress cycle, however, you’re likely to experience at least a perpetually low mood, even if you don’t have an actual clinical condition. To help break the cycle, try eating a square of dark chocolate, suggests Talbott; there is just enough sugar to satisfy a stress-induced craving, but the healthy flavonoids help calm inflammation that leads to more stress. Low-fat dairy products like yogurt can have a similar effect—the combination of Calcium and magnesium can help calm the stress response. 5. Even Skinny People Can Have Cellulite The dreaded c-word is caused by fat trapped under the skin (known as subcutaneous fat). The overlying skin "dimples" are created by connective tissues that tie the skin to the underlying muscle, with fat trapped in between like a sandwich. You don’t need a lot of fat to cause a dimpling effect, so you can be in great shape and have low body fat but still have a little pocket of dimpled fat, for example, on your butt or the backs of your thighs. Building muscle while losing fat (and the fat loss part is key—you have to have it to lose) can help minimize the appearance of cellulite; cellulite-specific creams and lotions can also help minimize the look of dimpled skin (though they can’t do anything about the trapped fat beneath).

Lupe, What other methods of losing weight have you tried? I think most of us....well, let me speak for myself, have tried just about everything. When I went for my consultation and the doctor went through a list of weight loss mehods, there were only 2 of them that I did not try, NutriSystems and Optifast. I'm actually one of the lucky ones who were on Phen/Fen amd didn't get hurt. People like me are the ones who have this surgery. If you are planning to self pay, I guess you don't have to prove that you tried just about everything. But if you are planning on doing it through insurance your BMI must be a certain number to qualify and you have to prove you've tried to diet in the past usually through a doctor.

Kicking this back up, because I would like to hear about this too. I think a lot of it has to to do with nature -- what your skin resiliency is, and then how fast we lose weight, how much we have to lose, how much muscle we build, all comes into it, doesn't it? I'm expecting a lot of hanging skin, unfortunately

Hello all, I'm 7 days post surgery...I'm so happy I'm feeling better but nobody told me that I would have terrible shoulder pain from the gas inserted into my stomach during surgery would be so painful. It was more painful than childbirth..LOL my shoulder still aches but the pain is manageable because I'm active and walked daily. I slept on my back for 5 days straight because turning on my sides just hard so bad and I could fill my port moving. I really did not drink or eat much Soup for the first 5 days because of my shoulder pain. After the 6 day, I decided to eat kid cup of sugar free ice cream and had no problems. I also made some devil eggs on Sunday and was able to eat two devil eggs minus the relish with no problems . Well its Monday, 11/10/14 and I had my first post surgery appt. with my doctor. I jump on the scale with my shoes off:) I was so surprised that I lost 18 lbs. I'm so happy:) my doctor told me that when he placed my band he added 4cc of Fluid. I was shocked because I thought I would not get my first fill for several weeks? maybe that's why I did not want to drink much and felt content? I don't know. My doctor told me that he would not add any more fluid into my band if I continue to lose weight. I'm scheduled to go back for my 2nd doctor appt. on 12/08/14 I'm nervous because I plan on exercising and limiting my calories intake to 1200 or less but I really don't feel any restrictions? Any thoughts? Thanks Cindy

I am very sorry I haven't been in to chat and visit with everyone. Unfortunately the lapband and weight loss has been the furthest from my mind as of late. My most favorite aunt has been suffering for a long time with cancer, they recently told her there was nothing more they could do for her, that she had 10 days to 10 weeks, go home drink martinis and enjoy the rest of your life. She did. And she left us Wednesday. I have been an emotional roller coaster since. I want to feel good about this. Finally she isnt suffering, there is no pain in eating and drinking, no pain in her body. But we (her entire extended family) were just not ready to let her go. I started the first day with Cookies, but soon started feeling like I needed to DO something. So I drained all 5000 gallons of my pool and leveled the ground beneth it properly, in the 102 degree (heat index) heat. The more the sweat poured off me the better I felt. Unfortunatly this hasnt made a dent in my weight but right now I just dont care. As long as I am moving and working I am ok. If I stop and be still I loose it. If I am alone, I loose it. And she would be very upset with me for that. So I work my butt off so I don't think about it. This has been my life lately. I will be back soon, I just need some time to get over this. All my best!

Congrats on your success. Lossing the weight is one thing, maintaining is another. Love to hear your secrets regarding maintaining. I'm getting close to goal and I've never been successful at keeping it off. Thanks for sharing.

i went to my doctors appointment today.. i was banded on april 21 and i had to pay.. my doc told me today that he has a lawyer that will fight my insurance company.. he said he will pay for the lawyer and if he gets me my money back then i can reimburse him....does this sound strange to anyone.. i love my doc he is a great man and i can believe he would do this but i am still a little sceptical...i guess i have nothing to lose(except weight LOL) any comments????

I have Aetna as well and at my first appointment with my nutritionist, she told me that I could not gain even one pound during my six month approval process.

You've probably lost more than that...I don't know if you weighed yourself the day of surgery and then the day after surgery, but I did and found out that I gained 9 pounds just from the gas they pumped in me for the surgery.

Why Lap Band vs. RNY?:tt1: I have until January to decide and my surgeon said he would perform either one. I need to lose about 85 lbs. I am second guessing my lap band decision. It seems like the weight comes off so much easier with RNY. My issue with head hunger is also a concern for me. Thanks for your input Dawn

well the vitamin levels arent back yet and i will discuss all of it with the surgeon next week. in the meantime I am increasing my protein by 10mg a day to 85mg. I did research and the recomended amount in some of the bariatric literature is 1 to 1.5 mg per kg of normal weight. That is a lot! for an 85 kg man that is 85- 127 gms a day!

I had my daughter 8 weeks ago and I'm finding the weight lose really slow did anyone else feel the same way

@@jocelyndavisss There's no doubt about it, I sympathize that it is going to be a struggle. People in their late teens to early 20's generally eat lots of things that at this point you can't or shouldn't, and they eat it in quantities that you probably never will again (or hopefully not). I know this is easier said than done, but you are going to have to learn to eat differently than the people around you. You will probably not be able to avoid the situations where people are eating things you shouldn't. At three weeks post surgery (and in the pureed stage), you are pretty limited in going to restaurants. Even Soups need to be regarded carefully, since they often have things (like chips or clams or potatoes, etc.) that you shouldn't have at this point. Later, when in the regular foods stage, going out to restaurants will be easier. As @@dhrguru said, analyze the menu at places you go out to and see if there are alternatives that work for you, or share a plate with someone else (since the amount you will be able to eat will be so small). You will always have to be careful of fried foods, Desserts, carb heavy stuff (like mac-n-cheese, Pasta, pizza crust, hamburgers, etc.), and so on. Protein will be king, and you will want to eat it first before anything else, followed by fruits and vegetables, and finally if room left carbs. Yeah, I know, totally different from what your friends are eating, and probably makes you feel upset, left out, deprived. I get it. Unfortunately, with the path you have chosen (which is a great path, and a wonderful decision for your health and for how you will feel I am sure) you will eat differently from them. But maybe you can also be an inspiration to some of them to eat more healthy too! Just focus on how good you will feel when you can wear fashionable clothes, do outdoor activities with friends, and not worry about people judging you because of your weight. And congratulations on your weight loss so far. That's excellent! I'm sure you are proud of yourself, and you should be! Good luck, and my positive thoughts go out to you. You can do it!

James it is very unrealistic to make assumptions as the "sleeve is slower and RNY is quick". We all lose weight at different speeds regardless of the surgery. For you it was "natural" to stop losing weight; it may not be for all. Just wanted to point out that there is no one right way for us all. Each of us have our own weight loss journey that can be so unique to us.

I was told to lose between 40-50 pounds before surgery. Every surgeon is different, and as you can see I did not make it to that. When I saw him my last visit, he said just keep trying 'harder'. I have another month, and I am not stressing over it honestly, his partner who will be assisting him said i am doing fantastic on my weight loss so far. Go figure!!

Can't lose weight even though I'm trying hard as I can and still not losing. What are some things that you done to lose weight before surgery? Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App

I've been filled before, lost some weight, then lost restriction. Because of various factors (moving across the country, not having a doctor pn the east coast yet, not having a job and therefore living on a tight budget, and then the worst--my dad dying), weight loss hasn't been as much of a priority the past six months as it could have been. So I have been at a plateau for 6 months. Finally, I'm going in next week to get a fill. For some reaosn I feel so nervous though! I guess I'm worried that the doctor will do it too tight, or not tight enough, then I'll have to get adjusted right away again (and pay $ again). I couldn't find any doctor in my area to do the fill under fluoroscopy for a reasonable price, so I'm doing it without fluoro. Anyone else ever felt scared about getting a fill? I guess I'm just nervous about what to expect after a "blind" fill.

Hi everyone, I'm scheduled for my surgery this Wednesday, March 11th. The surgery is going to be done by Dr. Scott Robbins, at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, AL. I'm currently six feet tall and as of this past Friday, I weighted 358 pounds. I want to do whatever it takes to better my chances for enjoying life by adjusting my lifestyle and methods to loose weight from this tool. I'm really looking forward to a new way of life and to aleviate some of the pains in my back and knees, that I'm pretty sure that extra weight in aggrevating. I'm also excited about the possibilities of lowering my blood sugar and maybe elimination the shots of insulin, and some other medications.

**Some bandsters seek a too-tight band, thinking it will help them lose weight quickly since they are limited to liquids. But that thinking may backfire because Bandsters Cannot Live On Liquids Forever. What happens when your band is too tight? You get Soft Calorie Syndrome. To avoid the pain which happens when you try to eat solid foods, you rely on foods that will slide through a too-tight band, just 'cause you are hungry. But Soft Calorie Syndrome and the foods that compose it will never provoke satiety. So you end up eating way too much, and perhaps even gaining weight. Ice cream, milkshakes, even soup and yogurts---all soft calories which don't promote a feeling of fullness.** i totally AGREE with this.......glad you feel better parr