East Bay Bariatric Support Group

Recent Posts

(deactivated member)
on 5/18/09 11:37 pm
Topic: Got my surgery date
I am so excited I will be having surgery in 2 weeks on the 1st.  I found out and it seems like the days have just flown by.  I am trying to get prepared, I have all my vitamins, gas ex, stool softener, protein powder, sugar free Popsicles, cream of wheat-what else should I have on hand? I missed the last group my dad broke his shoulder on the Saturday before mother's day and I was helping out.  It seems like everything happens at once.

Were most of you alone after surgery, did you need someone there with you the first few days?  My mom was going to come up but now with my dad she is not able.  My husband may be home but not sure yet, he may be starting a new job the day after my surgery.  I am so amazed at how fast it is happening, it seems like just yesterday I made the call to my doctor for the referral.
Kimberlee M.
on 4/30/09 9:20 am - Alameda, CA
Topic: Any news on the fate of San Leandro Hospital?
Hi Gang,

I write to ask you to keep the group updated when you hear any news about whether or not the San Leandro Hospital will close on June 30, 2009.  If this happens and we do not secure a new meeting spot, our June meeting could be our last in-person meeting for a while. 

Please keep your eyes and ears open.  Write to your Alameda County Supervisor asking him/her to keep the hospital open.  Let Sutter Health know you want the facility to remain open.

Thanks,
Kimberlee  
Veronnie
on 4/13/09 3:08 am - Castro Valley, CA
Topic: RE: Volumetrics and your bigger pouch - a way things change as you get further out.
No Problem. Sharing is why we are here. I am back down to 206 now. i can't wait for the back on track class to begin.

H: 6'2; HW: 440; WLS: 411; Dr. Goal: 220; LW: 206; CW: 283; RNY: 10/15/07; Panni: 6/12/09; Blind Loop: 8/19/19

Kimberlee M.
on 4/12/09 1:00 pm - Alameda, CA
Topic: RE: Volumetrics and your bigger pouch - a way things change as you get further out.
Thank you so much for sharing this information.  I'm sure it will helps many members, especially those that hit the point of "oh my God, I can eat more!"  It's scary and like Pam wrote, if only our surgeons would have educated us on this.  My Program Director said "it would be virtually impossible to gain the weight back."  Unfortunately, many have, whether it be 10 pounds or 100+, they/we were told it wouldn't come back and now many are struggling feeling like failures...but don't get me started. =)

Thanks again for sharing.

Kimberlee
Kimberlee MacVicar, Support Group Leader
www.eastbaybariatric.org, OH Group: East Bay Bariatric
Want OH Mag at a discount? Use Promo Code "MacVicar11" for $4 off.

MacMadame
on 4/12/09 4:56 am - Northern, CA
Topic: Goals!
I'm very goal oriented. So I have a big list of goals related to my WLS. Next Sunday I will have made all the short-term ones I had early out. Yeah! But I've added new ones.   Here's my current list:  
  • (completed)Get off my BP meds
  • (completed)Get rid of my plantar fasciitis once and for all
  • (completed)Get rid of my GERD
  • (completed)Go swimming with my daughter and stop making excuses every time she asks because I don't want to deal with appearing in a bathing suit in public
  • (completed)Be at least a size 10, maybe smaller, and to shop in regular stores and not just the fat old lady department at Macys
  • (completed)Get down to 175
  • (completed)No longer be clinically obese
  • (completed)Get down to 155
  • (completed)Have a normal BMI
  • Get down to 125 (possible goal weight?)
  • Be in a true size 6
  • Have a body fat percentage in the 18 - 22% range
  • Get my resting pulse rate into the low 50s
  • (completed)Walk 10,000 steps a day at least 4 days a week
  • (completed)Complete a 5K
  • Complete a Sprint Triathlon
  • Complete a Sprint Triathlon in under 2:30
  • Complete a Century Ride
  • Complete a 10K
  • Be able to run a marathon
  • Complete an Ironman or at least a HIM
  • Give my inner "skinny *****" the body she deserves.
  • Live into my 90s as one of those cantakerous little old ladies with 10x as much energy as the youngsters I run circles around (so far so good)   Okay, that's mine. Now you post yours!
  • HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
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    Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights

    Veronnie
    on 3/31/09 1:28 am - Castro Valley, CA
    Topic: Volumetrics and your bigger pouch - a way things change as you get further out.

    I found this on the RnY forum message board. I thought it would be helpful. It is re-posted here for your information. Jupiter6 was the originator, these are her words, not mine.
    ------

    Volumetrics-- this is a difference in how we eat further out than we do as fresh post-ops.

    New post ops are advised to eat very small portions of protein dense foods, and relatively low fat and carbohydrates, in an attempt to burn your fat storage as fuel. If you don't put much food in, your body will burn the fat off that backside-- and that's what we want, right?

    As you get further out your pouch gets bigger-- but don't panic! It SHOULD! The reason is that as you deplete your stores, your body needs to glom its nutrition from your daily intake, so you need a place to put that-- thus the bigger pouch.

    Because the pouch gets larger, you will be less sated on the same amounts of  food. Initially it's kind of scary or shocking-- "Did I break it? Will I eat forever?" Your restriction isn't what it once was with your two ounce baby pouch, nor should it be.

    The way you eat has to change as well. A quarter cup three times a day will not leave you sated or provide what fuel you need to run the body-- remember, you're running out of reserves.

    You may find that you do well to eat several small meals a day. The advantage of this is that you can keep fairly consistent levels of blood sugar, so there's no big energy depletion-- which might cause you to binge or snack.

    Instead of eating just protein, you are able to add a little more carbohydrate-- in most cases, you're moving more, so you need it-- and if you're moving more, you are feeding your muscle through work and not just supplementation, so life doesn't have to be protein protein protein all the time.

    That's when volumetrics come into play. You've probably seen the Jenny Craig ads where there's a choice between some small super-fatty meal, vs. a large salad with protein, etc....the idea is that for similar nutrition, you get to "eat more." Now our pouches still don't allow for a smorgasbord, but feeling sated really is a key way to keep from snacking and grazing. Our pleasure centers really just like to be "full".

    This is where foods like lettuce and shirataki noodles come in really handy. While they aren't pasta, they're a hearty and filling companion to high protein foods, and very low in calories and carbohydrates. I get my 4 oz or so of meat, toss in 4 oz of noodles and a little sauce, and it's very satisfying without stretching the works or destroying my nutritional values. At 20 months post op, an 8-12 ounce meal is not atypical-- and in my case, it's necessary to maintain a healthy diet.

    Volumetric eating--- food for thought!

    -----:(Pam commented on Jupiter's post and I thought it would help also):-----
    Great post!  I'm about 17 months out and a typical meal for me is around 8oz and sometimes 12oz depending on the food density (slider vs. dense). 

    This is just our body's way of compensating for the surgery ... just like it's normal for the intestines to grow longer, stronger, denser villi to grab more calories from the food we eat... so too does it grow the pouch to accomodate a larger volume of food. This is just the natural progression of the surgery and I wish surgeons would educate their patients about it from the beginning.

    ----------
    OK this is me again, Veronnie. I am almost 18 months post. I went off track, my fault, during the holidays and winter months pretty bad. I went from my lowest of 204 up to 223. Just a few weeks ago I got back on track and started journaling and eating the way I should. After reading these post above from Jupiter and Pam, I realized this is what I have been doing wrong, not eating volumetrically. I am slowly getting back down, I am 212 now. I'm gonna try this and see what happens.

    H: 6'2; HW: 440; WLS: 411; Dr. Goal: 220; LW: 206; CW: 283; RNY: 10/15/07; Panni: 6/12/09; Blind Loop: 8/19/19

    MacMadame
    on 3/29/09 3:05 am - Northern, CA
    Topic: RE: What are your most useful bariatric websites?
    http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com
    http://www.meltingmama.net/
    http://www.lapbandtalk.com/

    HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
    Visit my blog at Fatty Fights Back      Become a Fan on Facebook!
    Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights

    Veronnie
    on 3/26/09 6:56 am - Castro Valley, CA
    Topic: RE: What are your most useful bariatric websites?
    OMG there are so many. I mainly go here, Obesity Help.

    H: 6'2; HW: 440; WLS: 411; Dr. Goal: 220; LW: 206; CW: 283; RNY: 10/15/07; Panni: 6/12/09; Blind Loop: 8/19/19

    Veronnie
    on 3/26/09 6:55 am - Castro Valley, CA
    Topic: Question of the Week: Newbies, Pre-Ops chime in!

    This was posted by someone else and re-posted here by me. I feel this is an important topic for all to talk about, especially pre-ops and newbies:

    The fantasy that you'll be thin after WLS and the world will suddenly embrace you is just that-- a fantasy. I am not sure why it seems so many people think it would be any other way--- the people in your life chose to be there when you were fat, right?

    Your obesity may be serving other people a purpose:
     
    + It may make them feel superior to you in some way.
    + It may make you less sexually threatening or "safe."
    + It may be they find your fat appealing-- many do.
    + It may mean that your partner is insecure and feels safer that you will stay around with a body type that fewer people prefer
    + They may like having you as an eating partner
    + They may simply not like change
    + Your obesity may be giving them permission to stay overweight as well and they're not ready to make a change
    + They may fear surgery could kill or injure you
    + You may just weird them out because you don't look like *you*

    So when you're making your decision, know that.

    Can you live with the fact that you may lose some friends? Be alienated by co-workers? Lose a partner or spouse? Lose your identity or your sexuality?

    These are very real things that can happen, yes, even to you, because you really cannot know where their heads are. You can only control your lil' portion of the cabbage patch. If the answer's "I know these things can happen, but this is something I have to do to save myself", you're golden. It won't make those difficult relationships any better-- or your struggles less intense, but at least you will know where you really stand and what your motives really are.

    H: 6'2; HW: 440; WLS: 411; Dr. Goal: 220; LW: 206; CW: 283; RNY: 10/15/07; Panni: 6/12/09; Blind Loop: 8/19/19

    MacMadame
    on 3/23/09 1:22 pm - Northern, CA
    Topic: RE: Weekly Question: Do you feel FAKE THIN?
    Oop, this Sat. I came home from my tri workout and passed out for 3 hours! LOL

    HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
    Visit my blog at Fatty Fights Back      Become a Fan on Facebook!
    Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights

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