Overwhelmed

[MrsYoungblood 15]

Hi! My surgery is suppose to be in Sept/Oct. I'm trying so hard to get on track & eat the way I'm being told to & just doing everything to prepare but I feel like I'm failing. I'm low income so my husband & I looked up the Vitamins for after...let's just say my husband almost fell over. He's a little over dramatic. I can't afford a gym but am having no luck getting a regular amount of exercise. I wanna cry. My family is supportive but don't fully get it. My husband is a twig that doesn't have to exercise or eat right so he really doesn't get it. My best friend is a month behind me in the program but she's started the program a ton of times. She acts like its nothing. I do NOT want to lose a bunch of weight & then gain it back or ruin my body by not taking the vitamins & not eating right. My 9 yr old daughter is the only one that even tries to understand.

[Arianna0228 25]

My surgeon explained to me tha tthe Vitamins are a non negotiable, especially with the bypass, since your body will not be absorbing everything that it used to. On the other side though too... shop around for the vitamins. I found some on Amazon that were a fraction of the cost of the ones they were telling me to get that had the fancy brand name. So just do some shopping. Also as far as exercise goes, make small changes. If you go to a store, instead of driving around looking for the closest parking spot (i was bad about this) park further away and walk in. Simple things like that make your exercise add up.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Arianna0228

[MrsYoungblood 15]

I know the Vitamins are a must but I was told it didn't have to be the ones specifically for bariatric patients. They gave us a list & we can make up our own cocktail to get everything on the list. Soooo I've been trying to figure that out.

[Faithoftheheart 42]

Do you have a YMCA in your area? I am on a fixed income as well and went to the Y and filled out a form for reduced membership all YMCA have it. You fill out the form and submit a copy of your income verification and then you receive a letter stating what your monthly fee is. Mine came to $11 a month for a family of 3 its worth a shot.

[foodfighter78 258]

A tale a regular women Multivitamin, and they are about $13.00 for 300. At costco. Thats 1 a day. My doctor said it's fine to take a women multivitamin

[foodfighter78 258]

About work out you can always try to walk or run around your neighborhood

[Brian88ss 59]

Mrs. Youngblood,

I just had my surgery June 15th. I'm still in the hospital should be discharged today. I really feel for you about your support from your family. It has been my experience that bariatric surgery is hard enough to get your head wrapped around the the changes you'll be making in your life. Not trying to discourage you but this will a lifelong change and I say there are three kinds of people, there are the people that have never had a problem with their weight, then you have the people who haven't admitted they have a problem with their weight, last but not least people like us that have admitted and are making changes to break the cycle of failed attempts at weight loss. I personally have had the opportunity to attend over 12 different support groups and have gathered the needed information to successfully change my life forever. Statistics state that people that attend support groups will generally do better than one's who don't. Having a local support groups that I was able attend has given me the advantage to what kinds of hurdles I will need to face to become successful. Not everyone's story will be the same but you can use all the information you can soak up from support groups to your advantage. My wife had a sleeve and she has managed to loose 115lbs, I personally lost 30lbs on the pre surgical diet. The point of the pre surgical diet is to change the way you eat and give you a chance to practice logging your calorie, nutrients, and also to shrink your liver, to make the procedure go smoother for the surgeon and in return you'll benefit from it because you'll have a real good idea of what you'll need to do. I have also experienced that if something is difficult to do it is usually we'll worth the effort you put into it in the end. Once I look back at something I've done I usually think to myself that wasn't as big of a challenge as it looked to be coming at it head on. Best of luck you are among friends here.

[The Candidate 3,215]

There are other options than a gym membership that you might want to consider too. I was able to buy 2nd (sometimes 3rd) hand work out equipment (treadmill, elliptical) on Craig's List very cheaply. Just had to arrange for pick up. Sometimes you can even find ads where they're giving them away for free.

I got a quality set of exercise bands off of eBay for about $15. As far as weight training you can even use stuff around the house, like plastic milk cartons filled with Water or larger food tins. You can check out the thrift stores as well for stuff like an exercise ball or workout tapes. Thrift stores are full of prime gold just waiting to be mined!

Before getting my exercise equipment though, I used to make laps around my car in the garage with my headphones on, if the weather was off, or my work/home schedule was tight. I also use my lunch time at work to walk as well.

Sometimes you've just got to get creative. Best of luck to you!

[MrsYoungblood 15]

Mrs. Youngblood,

I just had my surgery June 15th. I'm still in the hospital should be discharged today. I really feel for you about your support from your family. It has been my experience that bariatric surgery is hard enough to get your head wrapped around the the changes you'll be making in your life. Not trying to discourage you but this will a lifelong change and I say there are three kinds of people, there are the people that have never had a problem with their weight, then you have the people who haven't admitted they have a problem with their weight, last but not least people like us that have admitted and are making changes to break the cycle of failed attempts at weight loss. I personally have had the opportunity to attend over 12 different support groups and have gathered the needed information to successfully change my life forever. Statistics state that people that attend support groups will generally do better than one's who don't. Having a local support groups that I was able attend has given me the advantage to what kinds of hurdles I will need to face to become successful. Not everyone's story will be the same but you can use all the information you can soak up from support groups to your advantage. My wife had a sleeve and she has managed to loose 115lbs, I personally lost 30lbs on the pre surgical diet. The point of the pre surgical diet is to change the way you eat and give you a chance to practice logging your calorie, nutrients, and also to shrink your liver, to make the procedure go smoother for the surgeon and in return you'll benefit from it because you'll have a real good idea of what you'll need to do. I have also experienced that if something is difficult to do it is usually we'll worth the effort you put into it in the end. Once I look back at something I've done I usually think to myself that wasn't as big of a challenge as it looked to be coming at it head on. Best of luck you are among friends here.

I don't think I myself have completely wrapped my head around all this. I have been to the local support group just sucks that its once a month so if I miss it well then I miss it. However I did sign up for a group that meets every week...Mood & food. It sounded like they were talking about me so I figured it'd be helpful. I don't start till September though. My husband tries to understand what's going on in my head but it does no good. My best friend is in the same program as me & looks at me like I'm crazy when I start rambling. I have bipolar & anxiety so they're not completely off there.

Ooh I just had my 3rd class & I'm down 6 lbs.

[MrsYoungblood 15]

There are other options than a gym membership that you might want to consider too. I was able to buy 2nd (sometimes 3rd) hand work out equipment (treadmill, elliptical) on Craig's List very cheaply. Just had to arrange for pick up. Sometimes you can even find ads where they're giving them away for free.

I got a quality set of exercise bands off of eBay for about $15. As far as weight training you can even use stuff around the house, like plastic milk cartons filled with Water or larger food tins. You can check out the thrift stores as well for stuff like an exercise ball or workout tapes. Thrift stores are full of prime gold just waiting to be mined!

Before getting my exercise equipment though, I used to make laps around my car in the garage with my headphones on, if the weather was off, or my work/home schedule was tight. I also use my lunch time at work to walk as well.

Sometimes you've just got to get creative. Best of luck to you!

I have been looking on craigslist. I pout because a month before I even though gastric bypass was an option I gave away my elliptical because my PCP told me to stop using it due to knee pain. I could kick myself for that. I have kids & the gyms around here that have childcare are $30-40 a month just for the membership. They also close around lunch time till 4pm. I'm trying to be creative.

[The Candidate 3,215]

Congrats on the weight loss! I have the knee issues as well, so I know it's tough on the elliptical. I'm actually using the treadmill most pre op with plans of tackling the elliptical post op, after I've lost some weight and the pain eases off. Believe me I too have had many "why did I get rid of that" moments myself. Would that we had the gift of second sight! ????

Sounds like you are well on your way to success. Wanting it is definitely the most important ingredient of all and it sounds like you definitely do!