Weight Loss Surgery - New to 3 Fat Chicks and Had Gastric Bypass

I just found the site and I am thrilled that there is a WLS thread. I had my gastric bypass on 4/24/06 and I'm down 45 pounds so far. I, like many others, had tried other conventional weight loss groups and I did okay. I lost 100 pounds with Weight Watchers, but I eventually gained it back. I'm 33 years old and my family has a history of diabetes, obesity, arthritis, high blood pressure and a host of other illnesses. I didn't want to continue gaining weight and end up home bound and unable to walk because of obesity and disease. So I decided to have the surgery. I'm glad I did it but still worry about whether I am going to lose all the weight that I want to lose. I worry about whether I am eating too much; exercising too little or if can do this for the long haul. I have attended OVereaters Anonymous, but I don't know if it's for me yet. I know that I have to get the emotional reasons why I eat under control if I want to maintain the loss long term. I feel healthier and that makes me so happy but at the same time I'm scared.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now.

Jeanette:angel:

Welcome to 3FC, Jeanette! And way to go on those 45 pounds!:) I just had surgery on June 12th and I'm a LOT older than you but I also lost 100 pounds via WW a couple of years ago and gained every pound back when I quit smoking! :( Toting all that extra weight around a second time has virtually destroyed my knees and I was almost to the point where I couldn't walk anymore.

I am feeling better every day after surgery, although I'm a little worried since I feel my appetite returning AND I feel sure my surgeon will progress me to soft foods in a couple of days.

The ladies here seem like a wonderful group and will have much wisdom to help you along the way!:)

Welcome Jeanette. I had RNY WLS about 4 months ago. If it hadn't been for the ladies on this board, I would have been a nervous wreck before the surgery. These friends are truly a blessing for me.

it's nice to meet you, jeanette! and we're glad you found our little corner.

Welcome :welcome:

Hi Jeanette! :wave: I'm new around here too. I had WLS in Dec03 and I lost 110 pounds. I have since been maintaining a hundred pound loss. I guess my body didn't like 160. It seems my body is happier between 170 and 175. Best wishes to you on your journey. :)

Hey Jeanette, welcome to the boards! We're about the same age. It is a huge decision to make to do WLS, but you are on your way! This is a great place to express yourself, whether you vent or dance for joy.

Pam Welcome to you too. It is nice to have more people joining us.

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement. I worry about hunger and eating too much. I'm constantly afraid that I'm eating too much and not exercising enough and it has only been 2 months!!I worry that I went through something so radical and the weight wont come off. I try to focus on what I have lost and not on what I need to lose, but its hard. And because I have lost weight before, I know that the hardest part is maintanence and not losing it. If I'm stressing now, I can't imagine how I am going to feel in a year or two.

Jeanette

I had my surgery in Aug. 2004 and I worried about the same things you are worrying about now. After a while you realize that all the worrying in the world is not going to help - but action and knowledge are the keys to losing the rest of the weight. You only have a 2 year 'honeymoon' period so you should take that time to learn as much as you can about dieting and good, nutritious foods and how they affect your weight loss. You should think about using the website fitday (http://www.fitday.com) because I think it will just be another tool in your arsenal - just as the surgery is. I'm sure that they will also have post-op classes available - and you really should take advantage of them. The weight-loss surgery can not work by itself - it really isn't a quick fix at all. But as time goes by, you'll realize that.

Best of luck! Kitty

kitty - what kind of dog is that? she looks a lot like magnolia louise [my dog - a rottweiler/lab mix, although some people think she's a rott/doberman]

very very cute.

Pam Welcome to you too. It is nice to have more people joining us.


Not to hijack Jeanette's thread but thanks for the welcome Loodie. :D

kitty - what kind of dog is that? she looks a lot like magnolia louise [my dog - a rottweiler/lab mix, although some people think she's a rott/doberman]

very very cute.

Thanks jiffypop - he was a doberman, although not registered. Smartest dog that ever owned me!

With Magnolia having dobe in her, I'm sure she's very very smart.

Hi Jeanette.. I know it's a late welcome, but I haven't had the time to log on lately.. I can totally feel you, I have had my surgery a month before you, and although at first I was happy because I felt that this is finally IT! After all the ups and downs.. But lately, I've come to the realization that this is in no way a gurantee that I would lose weight and keep it off unless I really work at it, and this thought freaked me out a bit.. But still, it is much easier than before, and as Kitty recommended, fitday really helps..

Good luck on your journey :)

Thanks for the posts! I keep hearing about the honeymoon period but I'm stressed out! I keep hearing my surgeons voice in my head saying that gastric bypass is a tool and not a fix all. I think about that every single day, especially when I make food choices. I'm trying to make healthy ones now so that when I can eat a "normal" meal, I'll choose what's best for my body. I'm making exercise a regular part of my life so that the weight will come off and stay off. I weigh myself every single day and there have been weeks where I have lost nothing. It just motivates me to work harder at working out and eating healthy. I hope that these changes will stick with me for the rest of my life. Gastric Bypass surgery is not a fix all, it is a tool. It's my new Mantra.

Jeanette

Hi Jeanette - it sounds as if you are doing all the right things. Since you weigh every day (believe me, that will get old in about 6 months!) I hope you are recording it. I did, using weight commander and I love returning to the times when I thought "okay, this is it, I'm not going to lose any more weight!" after about 6 months post-op and seeing how far I've come. It really is quite an achievement and it will be hard not to be smug about it (if you're not careful you could drive friends and family crazy on the subject, like I did!). The major thing is not to cross over the line from being concerned and detailed about dieting and losing weight to obsessive compulsive and stressed about it. Take one day at a time, congratulate yourself on your achievements and enjoy life.

Kitty,
I hear what you are saying. Everyone I know wants to talk about the surgery all the time and it drives me nuts. I have other things going on in my life, but people just want to talk about the surgery, what I eat, how I eat, how much I've lost, etc. It has only been 9 weeks, but I feel like I've been doing this forever! I worry about my pouch constantly and I wonder if I have stretched it out too much. But then I come back to reality and realize that I am losing the weight, so I'm then able to relax. I've always been an anxious person so it's just a normal part of my stressing personality. I just want to be the best person that I can be and I feel like I'm finally on my way to achieving that goal. The only part of my life that I was unhappy with was my weight and I feel like I'm finally going to be able to get that under some control.

PS: Thanks for the fitday.com info. I opened my account and am keeping my food journal through the site.

Jeanette

Kitty, I also wanted to say thank you for the tip on fitday.com. I started a food journal there yesterday, and I think this will really help. I was really surpised at how much fat I was taking in. It was about a third of my daily intake! And my protein intake was not as much as I thought it was. This will certainly be another great tool in our weight loss journey.

I had WLS June 13. My biggest trouble is not eating enough. I try, but I'm at the stage right now where I hate food. If I could eat pizza and mac n cheese all the time I'd be ok, they are the few things that don't make me barf. I worry about eating junk like that, but I'm taking one day (and pound) at a time.

Wow.. pizza and burgers are the 2 things I loved but couldn't keep down after the surgery! I was like you right after my surgery, taking as little as 400 calories per day.. I still can't take more than 800 calories/day and I had my WLS in March. I think that as long as you're taking your vitamins and drinking enough water you should be fine.. Why don't you discuss this with your doctor?

D.

Poodlegirl,
I haven't had pizza or mac n cheese. I have been trying to eat what my doctor recommends, but it is difficult sometimes. I find that smoothies made with fruit and plain yogurt are filling and easy on the pouch. I also make my protein shakes with banana, skim milk and 1 tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. It disguises the taste of the protein and tastes like a sweet treat! I know that it is difficult now, but it will get better. Soon you'll be thinking that you are eating too much! That's where I'm at right now. I feel like I can eat so much. I am still losing and it has only been 2 1/2 months, but I'm still scared that I am eating too much. It's hard because I can see how it can turn into an eating disorder. I just try to make the best choices, but I worry about volume.

Anyway, best of luck on your journey.

Jeanette

Kitty, I also wanted to say thank you for the tip on fitday.com.

invisigoth - you are certainly welcome!

BTW, have you all heard of the cottage cheese test? You can read about it here...cottage cheese test (http://www.pfamos.org/Test.htm). I had heard about it ages ago, but it may help to determine if you are stretching your pouch out.

In a nutshell, here is the gist of the test...

It is meant to be a standardized, reproducible measurement of the physical size of the stomach pouch in a person who has undergone a gastric bypass procedure.

It is suggested that the Cottage Cheese Test be performed at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and yearly thereafter.

Purchase a container of small curd low-fat cottage cheese. Begin the test with a full container, and perform the test in the morning before eating anything else (this will be your breakfast on that day).

Eat until comfortably satisfied, but complete meal within 5 minutes or less. The idea is to fill the pouch before there is much time for food to flow out of it. Note that the small soft curds do not require much chewing.

Stop eating when comfortable, but not stuffed

After eating your "fill" of cottage cheese, you will be left with a partially eaten container that has empty space where cottage cheese used to be. Starting with a measured amount of water (8 ounces, for example), pour water into the container of cottage cheese until the water is level with the original top level of the cottage cheese. Measure accurately.

Voila! - the amount of water poured into the container is the functional size of the pouch.

If this is your first time doing the test - DON'T PANIC. You are likely to find that the "cottage cheese" size of your pouch is way bigger than your surgeon told you he/she made it at the time of surgery.

I've yet to try it but I'm honestly not a great fan of cottage cheese.

Hope this helps!

Kitty

I am old to 3FC but new to the WLS forum . I am having my surgery (RNY) on 10-19-06 , unless there is a cancellation . I'm hoping I will be able to have it sooner . I went to weight watchers for years , but couldn't maintain my weight loss .