csmccord Member

Always willing to help! I love seeing new people take control and start the steps to gaining their life back!

Just a disclaimer, I'm 20 months post RNY and can eat just about anything now. I just choose not to eat bread, rice or pasta as a general rule. I haven't touched rice or pasta at all since surgery. I'll have a sandwich maybe, maybe once a week, and pizza crust about once a month or so. Why don't I miss these, because I…

Mine did, however my wife and I paid through our teeth for health insurance that year. We both knew we wanted the RNY surgery, so when open enrollment for 2012 came around we shopped the insurance options that we had available, and enrolled in the higher level plan that covered bariatric surgery. For both of us, with all…

Quite honestly, the most encouragement that I get is from myself. It doesn't take me long to realize how far I've come in the last 20 months. I had RNY surgery early in Sept, 2012. Since that point, I've told myself that I'm a fat guy trapped in a skinny man's body. When I first started my journey, the medical staff told…

Yeah, the calcium being high doesn't seem like it would be much of a concern. I do remember a conversation with my doctor about calcium at some point though. He mentioned that the calcium blood level is not a good indicator of bone strength. He mentioned that calcium levels could be high to calcium actually leaching out of…

Yes, eating a varied diet and varying your exercise are important. I forgot to mention that during my gym time, I participate in a group fitness session twice a week. We do something different for each workout session, then about every 4th week or so, it's cardio only. Over-training is a bad thing and can lead to…

I think everything is afraid of that. The thing about the sleeve and the bypass is that they force you to change your lifestyle temporarily. With the sleeve you'll be on nothing but liquids for probably 2 weeks pre-op, then 3 weeks or so post op. You are forced to reset your diet. For the first two weeks, you'll get full…

It is true and can happen, however us RNY'ers are a bit different. Don't forget that you also have had a mal-absorptive surgery. So you don't get all the calories processed that you put in your body. There have not been any studies done to prove how much we lose, but it is something to keep in mind. If you are tracking…

Regardless of what surgery we picked, we will all have stalls. I had a 6 month stall starting about 6 months post-op. However, I had lost the majority of my weight and wasn't really concerned about it. However, from these forums, and various other websites, as well as my surgical team all say the same thing. Eat protein,…

Great job! Just as a warning, you are getting to the harder part now. After six months I had lost about 130 without really putting any work into. In the last year I've lost 16. You are getting to the phase where you can start eating more, and maybe start dropping the protein supplements if you want. Just be warned you will…

While I didn't have to lose anything pre-op, I might suggest doing much of what you'll need to do post surgery. Mainly, make sure you are getting plenty of fiber and protein. Both of these types of food help to fill you up and keep you full longer. Even after surgery you'll still need to track your food. I eat about 1900…

20 month post RNY (bypass) here. From my experience I think the most important think is to think long term. Ignore the recovery requirements on the various surgeries as they only last a few months at most. After the first 3 or 6 months are basically back to normal. Think long term. This is a decision that you cannot undue…

I have my diary open to all, however I typically only post on WLS related groups, and my friends are either family or WLS patients. I've never had to explain anything to them on this site. You know, it's the internet. You don't have to explain anything to anybody on here. You never have to respond. If you don't know them…

It varies based on surgeon's requirements, but liquid diets before and after are typically required. I had an RNY and had a 2 week pre-op liquid diet. Yes, it sucked, however my surgery depended on it. If I didn't follow it, I might of had full open surgery (think 12 inch incision) or worse, not be able to have it. The…

I'm available for help as well! I'm on here just about everyday, however I've been bad about logging recently. Trying to get back into, I've gained a pound in the last few weeks, so it's time to crack down again. Too many Easter treats! I had RNY back in Sept 2012, but like Risskie said, most don't forget the process.…

I had the RNY, however the recovery process is much the same. Can you tell us what problems you are having with it? Does just a little bit of it make you full? Does it upset your stomach? Does it just make you gag? Flavoring it is an easy way to get around the taste. Mio, Crystal lite, and now even powerade and dasani all…

My surgical team explained that the liquid diet was for two reasons. 1. To keep my system clear and make sure I had nothing in my upper GI. 2. To help lose some weight and shrink the size of the liver. My doctor made me think this was the most important thing. If the liver was too large, it would get in the way and mean I…

I personally had the RNY, however I had the options going with the band, VSG or RNY. I didn't even consider the band at all. I didn't want to continually have to go in for fills, or reductions. I didn't like the idea of a device sitting in my abdomen for years. What I've seen and heard through these forums about the bands…

Pizza is my trigger food as well, or rather used to be. My wife and I rarely do take-out pizza anymore. If we do, we'll get thin crust from Papa Johns. Usually our cheat meal. Other times, we'll make it at home. What we do is crisp up a tortilla in the oven for a few minutes. Then we'll put our favorite toppings on them,…

Ah, the good old Optifast diet! I had two weeks of that. 3 suggestions. 1. Don't eat the tomato soup. It's tastes awful. Get double the amount of the chicken. I always had my soup for lunch. 2. Put a bit of bullion or soup base in the chicken soup. Really helps it. It's not bad on it's own, but is much more enjoyable with…

I honestly didn't getting into weight training until about 12 months after surgery, however I had wish I'd done it sooner. Building muscle is important for a few reasons. 1 - It helps boost your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more energy you need to simply be awake and functional, thus the more calories you burn…

You might want to check this site out. I had the RNY, so I can necessarily give you ideas as I'm not sure if you have specific foods that you need to stay away from. http://lapbandgalsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-ten-list-of-food-idea-recipe.html

Here in the US with my surgical group, I had to do a 6 month supervised nutrition course before they would even submit to insurance. During that time I also had a sleep study done (discovered I had apnea), I got my blood pressure under control, I had many blood tests to ensure correct levels, I had a session with a…

So, I know it's not what you want to hear, and probably won't be well received considering what group we are in, however I have to say that portion control is the only way to do it. I'm not saying that getting a fill on the band wouldn't help, however it should necessarily be your crutch. Ideally it should be used as a…

I'm 19 months post op (today actually!) and had the RNY as well. I started at 340 and have my ultimate goal set as 180. I'm at 193 right now. So getting close! So yes, you are right that there are many people that see this as the easy way out, and it's not. There is a lot of work that goes into the pre/post surgery, not…

I think we've all felt or heard this before. I used to hate going to doctors because I was told I needed to lose weight. I had hypertension and the doctor refused to put me on medication and instead told me to lose weight. There are many doctors who refuse to see obese/overweight patients. It's just sad how much…

I guess that is the benefit of both my wife and I having the RNY about 6 weeks apart. We have a three year old, so she rarely eats what we eat anyway. My wife and I eat the same foods had have placed the same restrictions on ourselves. I attribute much of my success to the fact that we both live the same lifestyle now.

After a few months my surgeon dropped the no liquids before part. Now my 30/30 is just 30 minutes to finish a meal, and no liquids for 30 minutes after. It's honestly just become habit now. I was like you, at the beginning, I said no bread, rice or pasta. I'll admit we do potatoes some now. I have bread once a week or so.…

I had the RNY surgery 19 months ago, but at the stage you're at, everything is much the same regardless of surgery type. Stalls are very common, you'll more than likely have another one eventually. Mango is basically spot on. I didn't start tracking until about 12 months post-op. I was never given a calorie count to…

Sounds like you are doing good and right on track! I think about 4 days post-op is really where I was able to drop the pain meds out as well. I didn't ever feel hungry until about 6 months post-op. I would eat on a schedule, so you writing things down and getting on a schedule is good thing. Honestly, I think routine is…