Hello.
My name is Terri, 41 year young female from Ohio. I had the gastric bypass on December 3rd, 2007. To date I've lost 35 pounds.
Any advice anyone would like to share would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to talking to you.
Terri

Hi, Terri!
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Congratulations on your 35 lbs. My surgery was 10/23/07. I'm also from Ohio...southwest, north of Cincinnati. What area are you from? There's quite a bunch of us from the State.

The only advice I would give is to follow the four rules and stay away from sugar & white carbs.

Hi! I am from the Columbus area.
I have been doing great about following the rules so far. I am actually scared to death to eat any sugar and quit eating the white carbs a long time ago.
I have been trying really hard to add some fish to my diet, but am having a hard time doing so. I was not raised eating seafood and absolutely hate the smell. Any suggestions?

Welcome to the neighborhood.... I am from Ohio (Dayton area) also my surgry was 7/23/07 -- I am sure any questions you have this neighborhood has the answers and support you will need...

Marta

Terri,

Welcome to our Neighborhood!

As for the seafood, I use alot of fresh lemon juice.
This works well in masking the odor and tastes great.
I eat seafood alot! Also, FRESH seafood doesn't
smell much at all.

Terri,
I'm not sure if not being able to get past the smell of fish can be overcome. My daughter (who happens to live in Canal Winchester, by the way) has never liked fish because of the smell. I love it, but haven't had too much because my teen & DH can't stand it. I do try to have some shrimp sometimes; the protein count in shrimp is awesome!
Congrats on your attitude about sugar. My feeling is that, if I never try it I won't know if it would make me dump (I would be so tempted if I knew it didn't) so I don't plan to ever try it. I know I have to watch my fats because they definitely make me dump. I'm trying to stay at 30% or below. So far it's working.

I think we need an Ohio convention with Kaye as our keynote speaker. There are a bunch of us from Ohio.

Hello Terri & WELCOME to the Neighborhood!

Great to have you here and congrats on your ARRIVAL and the great weight loss so far. We are glad to have you here!

Hi Terri,

Another Ohio welcome here!! If you have a Costco, they sell bags of indidually wrapped frozen salmon that is delicious. It does not have a fishy smell. You can bake it in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes with just salt & pepper. You can also squeeze lemon over it !

Salmon is also delicious on a cedar plank that you can buy at many stores, soak in water, and put salmon on plank and on the grill - if our Ohio deep freeze ever leaves.

Come to think of it Yyou might want to try a smaller piece of salmon from a regualr grocery store before buying a bag of several pieces. Anyway - enjoy

My other advice. Drink the water and take your supplements. It is critical!!

Wishing you continued success!!
Rosalie

Hi All,
I'm newer than new - I'm computer literate, but I've never "chatted" or "blogged" online before (I'm not comfortable talking to strangers), and I haven't even had my surgery yet - 02/25/08! I don't even know if this message is going to show up anywhere when I hit "send" - actually, I don't see a "send" button so I could have a problem....
Anyway, I'm a blank slate. Anyone with any advice (or encouragement) would be welcomed. I'm Canadian but I live in a border town and I'm having my surgery in Michigan.

to the n'hood Terri!

My best advice to you would be to follow all the rules...ALWAYS DRINK YOUR WATER, ALWAYS TAKE YOUR VITAMINS (this is crucial), ALWAYS EAT PROTEIN FIRST and JOURNAL your daily meals...and weigh at least 1x per week...EVEN IF YOU ARE SCARED TO DO SO! (You may never have issues with the scale but if you ever did, they could come up again once you have lost a lot of your excess weight and you get "comfortable"...so just face those darn things and get it over with! lol!). Also, come here for support and go to a local support group if it is at all possible.

Blessings on your journey! And congrats on your 35lb loss!!!! That is so great!

Hi Terri and welcome to the neighborhood! You are doing very well so far. Just follow the rules and you will have a great journey. Shrimp is a great seafood to eat. It is packed with protein and seems to sit well in our pouches. No fishy odor either!

Apes, welcome to you as well. Don't worry, by the time you have your surgery, you will be an old 'pro' navigating the site!

to the neighborhood


Terri and Apes13

you have come to a great place you will receive lots of hugs, support, encouragement and knowledge take each day one step at a time remember that this is a lifestyle change one of the best things that you could have chosen to do for yourself drinking plenty of H2O and eat lots of protein and remember to exercise you will do great....hugs

Thanks for the wonderful advice everyone. I am going to try shrimp this weekend.
I have been doing great with getting my fluids in and am actually surprised at the fact that I actually want water now. I could never stand it before. My big concern right now are the vitamins. I am so confused. Could someone please help with that? I am doing the daily multi vitamin and the calcium but that is it...what else do I need????
Thanks again for the warm welcome. It is so nice to know that ther are people I can talk to. I attend a monthly support group, but it just isn't enough. I need this. The people I work with are great, but they just don't understand like everyone here does.

welcome to the hood!!!!

Apes: Welcome to the neighborhood. Congratulations on having a date for your WLS. Tell us more about yourself & which surgery you are having. Read as much as you have time for. The more you know before surgery, the better you will be prepared.

Terri: I'd say you should add some iron, especially if you are still having periods. Don't take the iron w/ the calcium. I think there are a lot of posts about vitamins; just search them out. Some of them have a link to Bama's blog. She has written a lot of good stuff about vitamins. Biotin is a good one to get started on, too, because it may be helpful in reducing hair loss. I'm also on B50 & Zinc per doctor's orders.

It boggles my mind just how little some of the surgeons are instructing their WLS patients in the things that are vitally important. I am thankful everyday for my wonderful Dr. M!!!

Let's see... I have several things I always tell people:

* Take your measurements - when the scales don't move, the tape measure always does

* Take pictures frequently - this acts as a photo journal to chart your journey. You might need to look at the most recent picture next to your "before" picture to gain encouragement

* Get your protein - drink shakes if you need to - 60-80 g minimum per day

* Log your intake of fluids & food to make sure you GET your protein (Fitday.com, TheDailyPlate.com are good)

* Avoid sugars

*Watch taking in "sugar free" products as often they are deceiving. They do not help lose weight. They contain just as many calories, fat, carbs as regular products. The reason we eat them is so we don't "dump" but people are surprised to learn they can make us GAIN weight due to carbs

* Don't snack or graze. If you need to, get protein products such as Kay's protein chips or cheese, etc.


* If you are hungry, ask yourself, "Is this HEAD hunger of am I really feeling hunger pain?" Being so early out, its mostly head hunger. If so, do some thought stopping processes... talk yourself through it... People think this is crazy but it works... "I don't need an ice cream cone. I don't want an ice cream cone.... I can't have an ice cream cone. I'm not hungry. I will not get an ice cream cone." Just as an example. To say it out loud helps even more. Although, you might appear a little strange to onlookers.

Mel,
Everything you said was great advice. You should copyright this. LOL
I just wanted to add to the statement about "sugar free". Some people do dump from SF products. I have dumped from the amount of sugar alcohol, and I know some of the other neighbors have also.

Welcome Neighbor!!

You are doing great.

Hi BeJean and everyone in the hood,
My name is April, I'm 39 - I'll be 40 in May. I've got my open RNY surgery scheduled for February 25th with Dr. Hendrick at Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, MI. I'm a super private person and I hardly ever talk about myself, I haven't even told anyone about my surgery except my parents and my best friend. Well, actually, I did tell my aunt and then she secretly told my mother that "she doesn't think I'm big enough for WLS". For some strange reason, I was annoyed by that. My BMI is 45 and I'm 255lbs. Of course, this reaction makes me not want to tell anyone else. I feel uncomfortable talking about myself, but I'm hoping to attend a support group at the Henry Ford and I guess I'll have to talk then. At least those people won't judge - I hope.
I'm learning so much by reading all of the previous posts. Most of it is beyond my experience level, but I'm trying to take note of things so that when and if I experience them, I'll remember your words. I'm not scared about the surgery, but I am apprehensive about the pureed food stage. We had stew yesterday and I tried to puree some (and freeze it), but it seems like you can NEVER get all the lumps out. I'm thinking that store bought baby food might be a more realistic approach. Maybe I'm getting way ahead of myself here. I'm thinking that I want to be prepared, but that's quite a ways away. I'm also in the process of eating all my groceries that I will not be able to eat after surgery. So my meals are sometimes really weird. Fruit cocktail with popcorn, chocolate covered raisins with potato chips, you know - wierd.
The support team at HF seems to be first rate and always available. Has anyone had surgery there? I haven't been to the "Kitchen" yet, but I'm excited to find out what I CAN eat. I have a feeling I'll be pleasantly surprised. Wow, this is the most I've "talked" in ages - thanks guys!
April

Welcome Terri!!

We are happy you have chosen to be a part of our amazing neighborhood!! You remind me SO much of another redheaded Teri I know! lol.. I even had to do a DOUBLE TAKE!! lol...

Congrats on your recent surgery and LOST POUNDS!! Keep up the good work and remember to give us a SHOUT OUT if you need any HELP!

Julie S. Aka Sunshine
4 years post op and STILL GOING STRONG!!!! YEAH BABY!!!

Oh yeah AND WLLCOME APRIL too!! WE are glad YOUR HERE!!!

Hi Terri! Vitamins...don't even get me going on this, as I take too many. Read one book, add a few...read five books and you've got a muffin tin full of 'em!

Basics: good multi-vitamin; extra iron in the form of ferrous gluconate (I take 28mg extra); extra folic acid; 1200mg of calcium citrate with vitamin D. This is the bare minimum that my WLS center advised. Take your calcium three times a day with at least two hours in between. Take your iron with some vitamin C at least two hours from your calcium.

Hope this helps!

Hi Terri,

I'm Evon, I had the surgery 4 years ago, the same time Al Roker had his. I lost 140 pounds and flex 15 - 20 pounds. It finally stayed on. I'm going to do the 5 day spring back pouch test. Hang in there. It really changed my life.

Did you have any weigh gain....I lost 140 but regain 15-20 pounds. Have you tried the 5 day pouch test.

Welcome Terri and April,

Terri, I'm 3 months post op and the advice you received is right on and will serve you well! You're doing a great job!!

April, You can decide to use babyfood. Be sure to season it with salt and pepper or you will hate it. I found I could tolerate most kinds of meat pureed and oddly ham was the one that "felt" the best. I found I got very tired of cold stuff. My solution was to put pureed meats in a small warmed bowl and added a little chicken broth to keep it moist - yes even the ham. Most docs will tell you you can use fat free gravy to moisten your meats and after weeks of the liquid diet they will taste pretty good. Heinz sells jars of it.

Keeping food warm was a big issue for me. I found that covering my bowl with a paper plate kept it warm and I still do that.

Finally another thing that served me well has been to by a small digital timer from the kitchen gadget department of Walmart or grocery stores. I literally still allow 2 min. between bites and have not gotten sick. I added 2 more timers so I have one in every place I sit. Since meals take so long I get bored and want to have something else to do. Having the timer keeps me eating without eating too fast!!

Good luck with your surgery on the 25th! Remember to sip,sip, sip as they say. And healing is speeded up if you take walks around your hospital floor. Also is a cure for sleeplessness while in the hospital. Hopefully you will have someone spend the night with you and they can walk with you even at 3 am!!

That "getting bored" at the table is something that I have been concerned about. I just can't imagine what I'm going to do between bites of food. I can't even drink a glass of water. I guess I'll just have to get in the habit of leaving a book or magazine on the table. I'm a huge puzzle person, so maybe if I have a puzzle book on the table, I'll pick up up a pencil (and put down my fork). Actually, I'm feeling more encouraged already. The timer sound like a good idea too. I should get one now, and make a point of noticing exactly how fast I really am shovelling food into my face. I'll probably be disgusted.

Thanks for the baby food tips. Ham is my fave meat, so I'll give that a try. I haven't even tried it yet, and I so know what you mean about the texture. Oh well, it's only for a little while, right. Heck, I drank breast milk before (not recently), so how bad can it be??

Tomorrow, since I have absolutely NO interest in football, I'm going to grace my gym with my presence. No one there will remember me, as it's been so long since they've seen me. But, I have been paying them faithfully every month, so that's something. Thanks for the tips, and have a great weekend (what's left of it)

April

Thanks everyone. And Mel I especially needed your post this morning. Got on the scales and no weight loss, I was in tears. So I just had my DH help me with some measurements. Going to take some pictures later too.
Thanks again everyone. You guys are the greatest.