Room for a Twinkie or Two

I will have my first surgiversary on 03/22/08.  To date, I've lost nearly 135 pounds, went from a size 52" waist to a slim 36" waist; my shirt size went from XXXL to Large/Tall and about every three or four weeks, I order more new clothes in a smaller size and have been doing this for the past two and a half months. I went to LAPSF for my surgery and had the vertical gastrectomy.  I wish my doctor would have asked me and got my signed consent to agree to a one and one-half ounce pouch.  I'd read both his pre-op and post-op manuals and remembered seeing that he would leave me either a three or four ounce pouch.  Had this been emergency surgery, I could understand his unilateral decision to take away (permanently remove) more of my stomach than I wanted.  If I had to do it again and someone asked me, I'd tell them to find a better, more caring and dedicated doctor who looked upon you as a person instead of a statistic. In going from morbidly obese to almost at my weight loss goal, there has been a shift in my center of gravity and where before, I might have had to lean forward to get something, when I lean forward, I keep on going or else I find myself losing my balance a lot.  Other than that, I'm ecstatic!  I haven't looked this good since Junior High School nearly 40 years ago. I also encountered kidney stones which I was never told about.  I had planned on taking off 150 pounds in 12-14 months; my doctor pushed for more rapid weight loss and I lost the first 120 pounds in five months.  I was constantly feeling sick and nauseous all the time, I exercised and became fatigued very easily and finally I couldn't exercise because my body was eating my muscle. I took control of my diet away from my doctor and altered it drastically.  Instead of being limited to 800 calories per day (come on, I'm 6'5"), I bumped it up to 1500 calories the first few weeks I got out of the hospital where I was suffering from malnutrition.  It was hard, believe it or not, to go from a mere 800 calories per day to 1500, but I slowly let it creep up to close to 2,000 calories a day.  And you know what?  I kept losing weight. At 1800-2000 calories per day, you have a wider range of food choices, just as long as your stomach will tolerate it.  I eat a lot of seafood and try to stay away from both my doctor and beef, because I have a hard time with both of them.  I lose one, maybe two pounds a week.  I consume between 120 and 150 gm protein a day, more than half of it from real food and not the supplements.  I try to keep the ratio of proteins to carbs about equal and to make my fat consumption about 1/3 less than my protein intake.  The foods I thought I cast aside forever now appear on my plate, albeit in greatly reduced portions... and only after I eat the protein first.  Usually, I take three to five bites and I'm full.  It satisfies both my curiosity and tastebuds. I have found that I had to eat some of the bad tasting protein supplements from Bariatric Advantage, but what I found was that they take great literary license in calling their crap "tasty."  I tried a lot of different brands, but as a captive audience, we have to take what's available.   Is it ethical for bariatric surgeons to sell bariatric products from their office?  Isn't there a conflict of interest? The main point I'm trying to make is that after you have lost the weight where you feel good about yourself and the point you're at, at least with a Vertical Gastrectomy, you're limited to what can be ingested and that alone enables you to eat more of the foods to which you were accustomed before having surgery.  I used to love ice cream and chocolate cake.  The fat content in the ice cream makes me feel ill and the chocolate cake is usually too rich... and I can only eat a little anyway before I get full! I have recorded every meal since I was post-op.  I am into my second volume, but am not as studious about doing it as intensely as I did my first seven or eight months.  My surgeon had good hands and a bad bedside manner.  He did a great job surgically, but that's all the good I have to say about him.   While he may have performed over 1600 of bariatric surgeries, he's not God, he's not the best doctor and he has the worst bedside manner.  He was but one tool in the arsenal for major weight loss.   I will listen to him, argue with him when I think he's wrong or grossly going off in the wrong direction and I will also tell him where to go, if necessary.  If he had been as judicious in seeing to his patients' needs post-op as much as he is pre-op, I might even recommend him, but I can't and I won't. If you second doubts about WLS, listen to what your body's telling you.  Unless you are 100 percent sure that surgery is the only way, there are more practicing surgeons in the art of bariatric surgery than those who consider themselves above and beyond all others.  Wait and interview more surgeons and discuss what they think is the best for you and your lifestyle.  You're going to have to change your life, that's for sure, but ... perhaps there's room for a twinkie or two, every now and then.

Wow  - congrats on your success!  You are doing awesome!    Sorry to hear about your troubles with your surgeon - but glad to hear you worked your problems out on your own.  Sometimes you know your body best and need to listen to it. by the way, your name....  is that what I think it is?????  :)

Hey Jinkers, I just Googled it and it's Irish/Gaelic for "kiss my a$$"...lol

If you are Irish, then you know what my screen name stands for.  For those unlucky enough NOT to be Iri****ell them it's an ancient Irish greeting.  Thanks for the comments.  After you've burned (literally) off enough fat, trust what your body is telling you, not necessarily what the doctor says.  If you start to feel nauseous all the time, something is wrong and you need to see someone about it before your body starts eating its own muscle tissue.

Hey - I was always told there are only 2 kinds of people in this world.  Those that are Irish and those that wish they were.  :) Love the ancient greeting thing!   Too funny! Have you been to Ireland?  I have once - and wish I could go back again and again!  So beautiful! Sláinte!

Katt Oh yeah!!  That is the first gaelic phrase I learned!   There is even an Irish band named the Pogues - and one of their albums is titled Pogue Mahone  (more common spelling) to pronounce it both Os are long -  and the g is like in hog.   so, now you can tell someone off without them understanding :)

They were originally called the Pogue Ma' Hones until some BBC researcher found out what it meant, then they changed it to the Pogues.

My parents saw them years ago performing at an Irish festival.  Bought one of their cds.  Pretty good, I must say.

Cool!! I am trying to learn Gaelic but it's a hard language.

Sad part Katt is it is hardly spoken in Ireland.  I went a few years ago and not once did I hear anyone speaking Gaelic.  :(   there was one area that we went to that is supposed to be a Gaelic area but we didnt hear any.   all english.   but we had fun anyway!! the 2nd time my parents were going my dad got one of those tapes to learn Gaelic.  they were listening to the tape one night and it starts with (not sure on spelling here) "stocky salaha"   which was dirty socks.   Mom says   well thats all I think I will need for our trip....   she says she kept trying to find a way to use that in Ireland but never found the right moment! Have you been??? by the way Pogh, sorry for hijacking your post....