Year number two....

Hello everyone. Your Donna Mae visited the September 2004 board and asked if anyone would mind visiting here & sharing their experiences of year number two with you guys. I'm not very active on my surgery date board, but am on the Indiana one. In the past year, I've met many of these people and am pround to call them 'friends'. A little about myself. I'm Sherri. I started off at 344 lbs (5'6"). I had my RNY by lap on 9/17/04. That first year was hard on me physically. Between November 04 and April 05, I had 6 strictures..the last 2, I perforated when they dilated me back open...which landed me in the hospital each time. So..in April 05, I had a revision. I continued to close up until they injected steroids in the stoma to stop the growth of scar tissue closing me up. Total, I've had 15 endo's..the last being 02/06. In September 05, I had to have another lap to have two internal hernias (aka..kinky bowel syndrome) and scar tissue blockage taken care of. On my 1 yr anniversary, I weighed 207...137 lbs down. On my 18 Month anniversaty, I weighed 183...161 lbs down. Today...17 days shy of 2 yrs, I weigh 170...174 lbs down. That may seem like a HUGE slow down but it's not when you look at it mathmatically. My end goal is 140 lbs..but the last 20, ps will be taking care of...so..my actual goal is 160 lbs...or a 184 lb loss from my starting weight. At 1 yr, I lost 137 lbs: (137/184) x 100=74.5% of excess weight lost!! At 18 months, I had lost an additional 24 lbs and was at that time 47 lbs over my goal of 160: (24/47)x100=51.1% of excess weight lost from 12-18 months post op. At 2 years (well, close enough), I've lost 13 more pounds and at the 18 month mark was still 23 lbs over my goal: (13/23)x100=56.5% of excess lost! I only have 10 lbs to go. Yes, it seems like it is taking forever to come off...but when I see posts of people who are still losing rapidly and are flying past their goal into the last of anorexic, I'm happy. What do I recommend to you all...? Well, the first thing I suggest is that you contact your nuts and ask them what your intake should be for where you are. I'm not taking about 1/2 cup of meat, 2 oz of veggies, and so on. I'm talking about what calorie range...how many g of fat, how many g of carbs, how many g of protein. For me, it was: 1200-1400 calories MT 100 g of carbs LT 30 g fat 65-85 g protein MT 30 g fiber (yeah Fiber One!..The plain one, NOT the clusters) I also walked 5-15 miles a day. About 6 months ago though I injured my foot and was told to knock off the walking...so I worked out at the gym at work 3-5 days a week...an hour each day. Then my foot got worse and I was told not to even walk to the gym. I started physical therapy...where the other foot was also injured. For the past 2 months, I haven't done any exercise at all. 3 weeks ago, I had surgery on my right foot. 3 more weeks, I'll be able to walk on it some. Then in Nov, I have surgery on the other foot with another 6 weeks on no walking. Water....I drink about double the minimum requirement of 64 oz. Water gets boring but weight-wise, it works better for me than flavored water. Who knows why, it just does. Protein....I drink at least 1 protein shake a day. My personal choice is Achiev One. It is also the ONLY caffiene I drink. Carbs...I'm hypoglycemic so I don't/can't eat potatoes, pasta, rice, corn. I limit my bread intake. I hope all of this helps. It's been quite a ride but I've gone from a size 26 to a 10 and wouldn't trade a thing! Please let me know if I can help any of you in any way on this 2nd year... Sherri

Sherri, Thank you so much for coming and sharing. I can't believe how much you've been through. My surgery was on 9/27 and I am down 114, I have stalled with the last 20 or so pounds to go, like so many here. Your caloric intake and fact that you still have a protein drink is very important. So many of us are asking what everyone else is eating and doing it is good to see what someone who is successful a year ahead of us is up to. Thanks and stop by any time donna

Sherri...thank you so much!!! This is so informative and helps so much. I sure do appreciate you taking time out of your day to post this. Carmen

Hi Sherri, thank you so much for posting this! You're a mathematician right!! You're so percise with the numbers. I appreciate that. I could hardly wait to see if you said anything about all the complications that you had if you woould do it again, and not surprisingly you wouldl I appreciated the info about the breakdown of nutrients. I haven't gotten that, just the 1 cup business. I'll pursue it. Thanks again, Sherri. Oh, and if yu have a minute could you just give us a day's menu so we can see what types of things you're eating. And also, it was good to see that even at two years you are losing! Congratulations to you!! You've done awesome! Stop by anytime. love donna

Donna, Typically for breakfast, I have 1/2 c fat free cottage cheese with 1/4 c Del Monte Carb Clever peaches, and fresh fruit. occationally, I'll have low-cal a pancake or waffle w/ sf syrup or an egg & toast. For lunch, it's either left-overs, or a sandwich with salad &/or fruit. Dinner...I love seafood, grilled, baked, or sauteed meats (low fat, no skin) and any veggies but corn, peas, or potatoes (including yams). And definately a salad! No fried meats. Since I'm hypoglycemic, I've experimented with veggies. Rutabaga's can be sliced like french fries, sprayed with PAM, baked, and ate with ketup...much like fries. Instead of using spaghetti, I use spaghetti squash. I don't give up flavor...I find a healthy way to achieve it. I use as much fat-free foods as I can. That's about the only way to keep your fat content under 30 grams. I use low cal bread (Wonder Light, 40 cal/slice). I use low carb stuff when available (like my morning peaches). I KNOW I get a sweet tooth so I keep sf popcycles, ice cream, and hard candies in the house. I don't keep anything in the house that I can't have except my hubby's chocolate chip cookies. We drink decaf coffee & tea. I just started drinking an occational sf root beer. Root beer is decaf. I think the best thing one can do is convert anyone in your household over to eating healthy only items. It makes it alot easier on yourself...and is better for them. I forgot to include in my original post is that it's important to know where you are with what you are eating. Once you learn what your nutritional intake should be, track it. There are two really good programs out there. Fitday.com is very versitle. SparkPeople.com is also terrific. Check them both out! And be sure you are honest. If you ate that last two bites of mashed potatoes, account for it. Happy losing! Sherri