Day 3 - Calling all Vets - more questions for you all

Hi everyone. I decided to ask people on the RNY menu thread on Monday if they had a question for an OH Vet (Veteran) here what would they ask? I got great feedback and have 16 great questions that some of our regular posters wanted to ask the Vets here.

Here on OH if you are 5 yrs post op you are considered a "Vet." So everyone who is 5 yrs post op or more are welcome to chime in (RNYers, VSGers, DSers etc). I will ask two questions per day per post, today is Day 3. I hope that all the Vets out there will help us by giving us your experience, insight, knowledge & expertise to all of the pre ops, newbies, anyone post op who is struggling, anyone who is a lurker but does not post and for any Vet out there who may have had regain and is fuzzy about the "rules" and needs help.

**Note** I will resume these Vet questions on Monday.

Thanks in advance to all the awesome Vets!

When you reply to make it easy please just say "Response to Q1" or "Response to Q2" hope that works! Can you also include in your response how many years post you are, thanks

Question #1 (Q1):

Do you agree with the "be a machine" and lose your excess weight quickly and get to goal as fast as you can? Or do you believe in "slow & steady" is better?

Question #2 (Q2):

What (in your opinion) is the most important rule to follow to be successful in maintenance? If you have one thing you would tell people NOT to do what is it?

Lets talk!

I need to write book...The title will be "WLS - DO NOT DO WHAT I DID"

Q1: As I have said before, I jacked around, for 9 YEARS, before reaching goal...wasted precious years, that I will never get back...If I had it to do over, I would be a machine

Q2: DO NOT SKIP WEIGHING. Ignoring that scale will NOT mean you are NOT gaining weight. Putting it off doesn't make it go away. Don't be an ostrich, like I was. Catch that 7 pounds, before it turns into 70...

Question #1 (Q1):

Do you agree with the "be a machine" and lose your excess weight quickly and get to goal as fast as you can? Or do you believe in "slow & steady" is better?

I have a Type A personality - and I get bored easily..so if something does not work fast enough for me - I may drop it... I rather take drastic measures and lose my wight fast (relatively) that work on losing 0.5 -1 lbs every week. My goal was to lose 100-110 lbs. For me I wanted to get to goal quickly. Putting restrictions for limited time, getting used to new way of eating. But - still eating enough to provide my body with enough nutrition as I was losing weight. I got very close to my goal by the end of January 2009. app less than 8.5 months post op, but 9.5 months if I count the 4 weeks pre-op diet.

Question #2 (Q2):

What (in your opinion) is the most important rule to follow to be successful in maintenance? If you have one thing you would tell people NOT to do what is it?

just one? sure. Don't drink alcohol. Not only it has empty calories, but it also can stimulate appetite, affect the full / hungry body signals. It can negatively affect blood sugar levels, triggering hypoglycemia or RH. Also it can be very damaging to our liver. Last but not least -it can cause addiction transfer or become the coping mechanism for stress.

I did not drink any alcohol until I was at my goal weight and I was still losing. After I started drinking alcohol I also started to have more dumping episodes, and more issues with RH (reactive hypoglycemia).

Question 1

Be a machine. I had 100 lbs to lose, lost 120lbs in 5 months. WLS Fatigue, physical and psychological, is real and I can't imagine why anyone would not want to just get on with it or fanny about, never reaching goal.

Question 2

Weigh every day, don't let a few pounds become 20. Surgery weightless is the only time it's easy to lose weight. Regain is a ***** to lose!

Kim, my new goal for the day is to work "fanny about" into some conversations! British english is so much more fun than american english.

Many years ago, I used to work in an unemployment office and to pass the time, we used to have a word or phrase of the day, completely out of the context of unemployment, that we had to work into telephone conversations or client interviews. It was the most fun ever.

I hope "don't fanny about" comes in useful or not!

Double post

Q1 be a machine. Trust me it will never be as easy to lose weight as it is immediately post op.Q2 don't ever think you have this and stop weighing yourself or the food amounts you eat.. Not weighing either self or food leads to unexpected surprises. I had no regain til almost 6 years post op. I was eating out with others lots and portions were out of control. When I finally got brave and honest and stepped on a scale I was up15 pounds. I have lost 10 of those by tracking every bite that goes in my mouth for over 4 months. It is doable but very hard work that requires diligence and consistancy even when the numbers are not moving fast enough.

Hi Daisy and friends,

So many great questions! I am 5 years and 3 months post RNY, and struggling with 25 lbs of regain, so this is my personal recommendation!

Question 1 (be a machine, or meander): I vote BE A MACHINE! Look, as Gina said above, the only opportunity to lose weight is not in the first year. But it is the EASIEST then. Your restriction is high, your motivation is high, the compliments are flowing in, the daily small joys are plentiful (I can fit a normal towel around me! I have collarbones! I can easily fit in a booth! I can cross my legs) so just get 'er done. I was a seriously dedicated machine in that first year and two weeks shy of my one year surgiversary, I had gone from 351 (day of surgery) to 160 (my own personal goal). Your motivation will never be higher.

Question 2 (successful maintenance). Hmm, well if I look at years 2 and 3 where I was successful at maintaining my weight, I would say "weigh your food, log your food, and weigh yourself with regularity". At least, that is what worked for me. Year 4 is when I got lax, started eating "normal" food with my BF and his kids, and stopped being mindful about it. And here I am, needing to lose 25 lbs...

Question 1

The "honey moon" period is only so long. I was a machine and took advantage of that time to get all of my weight off. I lost all of my weight in 11 months. And, if I had to do it all over again, I would still be a machine especially knowing all that I know now 15 years later. Hard to believe my surgery was that long ago.

Question 2

Do not ignore the scale. Don't go overboard with it and become obsessed with it, but you have to weigh regularly to keep things in check. Being in denial never gets you anywhere but where you don't want to be. I weigh every morning because that's what works for me. I need to see the number to know whether I am ok weight wise or if I need to reign it in and lose a few pounds. It's always easier to lose a few pounds right when it shows up than to let it get to 10 or 20 and then have to get that back off. It will never come back off as easily as it did the first go round.