Hi Megan, I'm 12 years post-op and for the last 4 years or so I've had nausea issues and general tummy upset. My Mum suggested trying probiotic yogurt drinks. I started doing them once a day and noticed just a massive improvement in my general gut health. So I'd have to recommend the benefits. I like the quick little live culture yogurt drinks best myself. They were crazy expensive doing one a day from a grocery store, but then I found them at Costco! Hallelujah lol... Dirt cheap ?

Years back, I think WLS was still such a rarity that many family docs or internists shied away from having patients who had had bariatric procedures done.

Now, that's changed.

We moved and I started with a new family practice physician (young, recently trained which I think makes a difference). I took her a printout of recommended post-RNY labs and she was absolutely great. She even did some follow up research on her own regarding one or two of the values.

This is, of course, for general medical care and I'm blessed with good health overall. But I'd trust her opinion in a heartbeat if something requiring a specialist popped up. We aren't quite the "oddity" we used to be!

Hey All,

I have never taken probiotics but I keep hearing about good gut health. Do any of you long time out folks take them, have info as to why we should or shouldn't? Any particular kind you find helpful?

Thanks, I'm 8 years out come September. Lost all my weight (and then some) but gained 55lbs back during some stressful times trying to get pregnant (amongst other stressors) the past few years. I'm not unhappy with my weight gain (maintained current weight for about 3 years). I wasn't looking for probiotics to help with that, just wondered if it was something I should be using for better gut health.

Thanks in advance!

Megan

Our bodies don't decide or figure out anything. They are machines. They react to the conditions at hand.

Our minds do figure things and make decisions. If our minds eat a certain amount and type of food, we'll weigh a certain weight.

My mind made decisions that resulted in my body weighing 475 pounds. My mind, with the help of WLS, got my body down to 182 pounds, for about a hot minute. If my mind was strong enough, it could have forced my body to weigh 150 pounds, or 140.

I don't like when people blame their bodies. Bodies are dumb machines. Incredibly complex, but they don't decide anything. That's all in our heads.

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal again. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!!

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer. I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.