Weight loss journey, surgery, and recovery


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18 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

That’s called an arterial line, or an “A-line” for short.  Some surgeries call for placing them, some patients call for placing them.  They are used for tight blood pressure control.  If your blood pressure goes from 130/70 to 129/69, I know it instantaneously.  With a blood pressure cuff going off every 3 minutes, I may not know until it is down to 80/30.  In healthy patients having a routine elective surgery, the cuff is good enough.  I don't typically put A-lines in for bariatric surgeries unless the patient has some heart issues, but I could never fault someone for being “too cautious”.

Luckily for me my blood pressure is normalish 120/80ish last time they measured me but they were worried for me when I got into ICU my pressure was up around 180/90... luckily I had my own nurse to look after me :)

I've got to say the nurses in ICU are absolutely fabulous! The story changed when I got up to the wards.... the ward nurse made the wicked witch of the west look like an angel.... I was actually feeling like I wanted to stay another day but after I got her, I opted to go home asap!

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Hi all, This post is about my weight loss journey and hopefully to encourage anyone considering (with a doctors strong reccomendation) the same journey I'm taking So I have been 'morbidly o

I know I'm bumping a long quiet thread but I wanted to add a status update. My current weight loss is around 70kg. I've steadied out at my current weight but I'm about to take my exercise up a notch w

I give anesthesia for many bariatric surgeries, and I can tell you first hand that the failure rate for the bands is very high, even when it is perfectly placed,  We rarely ever do lap bands anymore.

Sorry, stuck in work mode.  ASC is short for Ambulatory Surgery Center.  Or just Surgery Center.   Surgery done in a facility that is not the hospital where the members stay is under 24 hours.  To cut costs, more and more services are being done in ASC or outpatient centers.  Much cheaper.  All about insurance companies, not the members.  Total Knee/Hip replacemetn (my world) is moving to these places    Probably more of a thing in the US than Australia.

And sigmund, spell check made the wrong word in my other statement. 

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4 hours ago, Monterey said:

Sorry, stuck in work mode.  ASC is short for Ambulatory Surgery Center.  Or just Surgery Center.   Surgery done in a facility that is not the hospital where the members stay is under 24 hours.  To cut costs, more and more services are being done in ASC or outpatient centers.  Much cheaper.  All about insurance companies, not the members.  Total Knee/Hip replacemetn (my world) is moving to these places    Probably more of a thing in the US than Australia.

And sigmund, spell check made the wrong word in my other statement. 

Oh that doesn't sound good to me ?? Most hospitals here have 'day surgery' wards but the operations are still done in the regular operating theaters... they just take you to a recovery room, feed you a sandwich and tea then send you home.

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Weigh-in day tomorrow. I think I had a bad week (some bad food choices, first time in a restaurant since the surgery etc.). Hoping I haven't put anything on. Some inches of the waist would be great. Meanwhile some fat humor...

 

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@mikeyjayjay

Keep it going brother!

I started a weight loss / life style change of my own in March. I’m down about 34 lbs. / 15.5 kilos from my alltime high. I set a long term goal of 84 lbs / 38 kilos by Christmas 2019 (including what I’ve already lost). So about 50 lbs. / 23 kilos more to go. That’s a little over 3 lbs. / 1.4 kilos a month from here on out. Almost everything I have read about losing weight naturally (not surgery) suggests that the slower you lose the weight the better chance to keep it off in the long term. It appears better to change your lifestyle than go on a diet. I’m taking that approach we’ll see what happens. I’ve had a few setbacks but no more than say 4-5 pounds the wrong way. I think that’s a good thing so I get used to not letting a setback derail me.

Anyway, on the journey with you!

 

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3 hours ago, Buck14 said:

@mikeyjayjay

Keep it going brother!

I started a weight loss / life style change of my own in March. I’m down about 34 lbs. / 15.5 kilos from my alltime high. I set a long term goal of 84 lbs / 38 kilos by Christmas 2019 (including what I’ve already lost). So about 50 lbs. / 23 kilos more to go. That’s a little over 3 lbs. / 1.4 kilos a month from here on out. Almost everything I have read about losing weight naturally (not surgery) suggests that the slower you lose the weight the better chance to keep it off in the long term. It appears better to change your lifestyle than go on a diet. I’m taking that approach we’ll see what happens. I’ve had a few setbacks but no more than say 4-5 pounds the wrong way. I think that’s a good thing so I get used to not letting a setback derail me.

Anyway, on the journey with you!

 

Great work Buck. That is awesome amd you’re doing it the right way. Some thoughts on this, and I am not a dietician or doctor. But I’m someone who’s successfully kept off 100 pounds of weight for 17 years. Your two best tools to fight the fat man (as I refer to him) for good are to up your metabolism and to build muscle mass. You hear terms like ketosis (forcing the body to burn fat) and metabolic syndrome or metS (basically having a slow metabolism). But once you get your metabolism cranking and build up muscle mass, it is massively easier to keep weight off while still enjoying a less restrictive diet (though the days of drinking a 2 liter bottle of coke every day like I did are over). Both building up your metabolism and (even moreso) building up muscle mass just take time, patience, and dedication. But once you get there you’re in a way better spot to defend against the return of the fat man. For that reason true body transformation takes time. The other thing I’ll mention is cardio is KEY (breathing hard and sweating are biologically how your body rids itself of fat), but it wasn’t till I started hitting the weights that I would catch myself double taking myself in the mirror. So hit the weights too. 

However, I also think there is something to be said for really striving for small results quickly (for many, Buck you already have the results..so congrats). Not to the point of injuring yourself, but to keep cheating to a minimum and really dedicating yourself to the task at hand. When I was fat I never owned jeans as they felt uncomfortable to me. The feeling of putting on a pair of jeans and going out feeling good (meanwhile I’m still a solid 50 pounds overweight) was priceless motivation. I told myself once I got under 200 lbs (from 270 or so) I was going to celebrate by eating an entire pizza. When I got there I had about as much interest in eating pizza as eating glass. I was on a roll, no way was I letting off the gas. 

So definitely think of weight loss as body transformation, and body transformation takes some time. Months, years, not weeks. But when you first begin your weight loss journey I would encourage people to follow the rules strictly so you maximize results. Nothing motivates like results. Then keeping the weight off is all about having more muscle, a higher metabolic rate, and just being more fit in general. 

Hope this helps! 

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8 hours ago, Buck14 said:

@mikeyjayjay

Keep it going brother!

I started a weight loss / life style change of my own in March. I’m down about 34 lbs. / 15.5 kilos from my alltime high. I set a long term goal of 84 lbs / 38 kilos by Christmas 2019 (including what I’ve already lost). So about 50 lbs. / 23 kilos more to go. That’s a little over 3 lbs. / 1.4 kilos a month from here on out. Almost everything I have read about losing weight naturally (not surgery) suggests that the slower you lose the weight the better chance to keep it off in the long term. It appears better to change your lifestyle than go on a diet. I’m taking that approach we’ll see what happens. I’ve had a few setbacks but no more than say 4-5 pounds the wrong way. I think that’s a good thing so I get used to not letting a setback derail me.

Anyway, on the journey with you!

 

Well done @Buck14 ! You are correct, you need to change your lifestyle otherwise you'll either fail dieting or you'll put the weight back on when you stop!! I hope I lose a lot of my weight by Xmas 19!

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Weigh-in day arrived! I'm a little disappointed, I was hoping for another big number but alas it didn't work out that way.

Loss: 1 kg / 2.2 pounds
Chest: +1 inch
Waist: 0 inch
BMI: -0.3

I did make some poor food choices. I had toast and Vegemite for breakfast a few days this week and I did go out to dinner at a restaurant for the first time. 

My daily food intake is;

2 x weetbix with milk for breakfast
1 x 95g tin of tuna for lunch
1 to 1.5 cups of protein (chicken) with veges for dinner
1 small tub of yogurt as a  snack

I need to find creative ways to cook my chicken and veges though so if anyone has great recipes I'd love to see what they are!

Onwards and upwards or should I say downwards ;)  

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i've lost approx 70lbs, but since christmas 2017. so 1.5 years'ish.

I cut calories to approx 1,000 / day, but didn't stop eating anything...just less of it.

one thing I found to continue my weight loss journey, and keep plateau's to a minimum was to try not to eat after 8pm, and never after 9pm.

I always found with myself, if I went to bed with food in my tummy, it just turned to fat. I started to enjoy the feeling of "hunger" before bed.

My biggest trick to losing weight? Drinking only this liquid, and virtually nothing else (except beer):

21020312_front_a06.png

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size grams (per 355 ml) ;
Calories 0 Cal
Amount Per Serving
% DV
Total Fat 0.0 g 0 %
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
 
Trans. Fat 0.0 g
 
EPA 0.00 mg
 
DHA 0.00 mg
 
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 45 mg 2 %
Amount Per Serving
% DV
Total Carbohydrate 0 g 0 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g
0 %
Sugars 0 g
 
Other Carbohydrate 0.00 g
 
Protein 0.0 g
Potassium 110 mg 3 %

 

I drink a case every couple days.

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Hi,

That does make sense, probably dinner shouldn't be the biggest meal of the day.

Unfortunately I can't drink anything carbonated, it will cause pain, bloating, farting, and burping.... 

I have found several diet cordials that contain virtually nothing, and they help put a bit of flavor into water.

I might jump back into myfitnesspal to keep track of my food intake.

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aye, yes, that makes sense.....the carbonation challenge.

I find for some reason the carbonation helps my digestion, and keeps me "un-bloated".

one thing I've learned is, the human body, while technically the same for every human, is very unique to each individual.

what works for one person doesn't necessary work for an other.

find what works for you...and don't be afraid to change things up....

and plateau's are only bad if they end with an increase. one of my major plateau's (when I was at 225lbs, I was there for almost 6 weeks...I was so upset), at the end I took solstice in that I didn't increase weight...

Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. I look at "flat weight" as weight loss, as any other time in my life those holidays would bring weight gain.

Finally, the best thing to keep me going was stopping sweating all the time. I work in high finance sales, and being sweaty all the time is a tough look when trying to land a big sale!

Cheers, and good luck with your weight loss. I REALLY appreciate you sharing your experience. It shows everyone that it isn't easy, but hard work is never easy!

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Thanks :) I'll keep this thread updated as I go along :)

I can't have carbonated beverages due to my surgery and my 'new' stomach. The carbonation will cause my stomach to inflate and will cause great pain along the site of the staples. Which will probably cause me to throw it all back up.... lovely! ;)

So no more beer or colas for me, ever. I can drink whiskey though ;)

 

 

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see, and I had to stop drinking whiskey, due to liver issues from a lifetime being on anti-seizure medication.

but I decided to take that into my own hands and quit those meds 3 years ago. against doctors orders.

haven't had a seizure since 2006. In 2015 I was starting to doubt the need for meds.

I'm sure that with my weight loss, reduction in blood pressure, reduction in triglycerides in my blood, etc, that my doctor won't have the balls to suggest me going back on the meds.

my life is much healthier now than what I lived from age 16 to age 36. 20 years of hell on seizure meds...one of the primary reasons I feel my weight gain was as bad as it was....or at least that's what I convinced myself :)

remember, every time you weigh yourself, anything but a "weight gain" is a weight loss, including no change in weight.

be proud every time you weigh yourself and you didn't gain.

finally, it sounds like maybe this hasn't happened yet but, you WILL have a time when you weigh yourself, and god forbid, you GAINED weight. It will happen.

How you deal with that will define how you deal with weight loss going forward. Everyone who has lost weight (or at least almost everyone), gained weight throughout their weight loss journey.

Gaining weight is not the end of the world. What you do, after you gain the weight, is.

Good luck man!

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I guess I was hoping for a bit more of a loss early on, but I am lighter than I have been in  many years!!

I'm on some meds that the doctors told me would damage my kidneys by the time I'm 60, my last blood test showed signs of it already so I know about shitty medications :)

I'll just go into a bit of a slump with weight gain but I won't change what I eat... I've spent too much money to go on a chocolate bender and spoil it all lol

I've just got to get some decent recipes .. just eating chicken, fish, and lean mince with veges at the moment!! 

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Well I'm a huge chili fan. In fact I've got about a dozen recipes from chili cook offs in the USA. There is a website around that you can get all the spices they use. I'm due to make a big pot of chili soon... might make it next week!! Here is the link to the guy that sells the spices.. https://www.mildbillsspices.com/

I can vouch they are fantastic... really make a nice chili from them.

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I was set for bariatric surgery...completed the counseling, got insurance approval, etc. I started the pre surgery diet regimen and I decided to give dieting one more chance and bailed on the surgery.

I signed up for a stay at the Duke Weight Management and Fitness Center and it changed my life.

https://www.dukedietandfitness.org

This was a year ago in March. I've lost 60 pounds, 40 more to go. I'm on a low carb diet. I've been able to get off of BP medicine and I feel so much better. My weigh loss slowed down but I'm okay with that. As long as I stay on my diet my health will improve and life will continue to get better. 

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morning Sir.

Remember one thing when weighing yourself.

Always weigh yourself at the same time of the day.

My body is always lighter first thing in the morning. Sometimes I can gain 3 lbs in a day. (not sure if that is normal for everyone, but was/is for me).

So I ensure when I weigh myself it is always first thing in the morning.

If you do it in the evening, make sure it is always in the evening.

But remember, weight loss is only as important as how you feel.

If you feel better, it is because you are "recomposing" your body....and that can make you feel much more alive, and energetic, even without loss that week.

Toughest for me is dealing with things like what is happening in the kitchen right now. Wife (who is tiny, <5' tall and <120lbs), is making bacon and eggs. I'll likely skip breakfast, or have some light cereal, and wait for a real meal at dinner. (brothers birthday, so going to resteraunt).

I'll want to eat "normally" at the resteraunt tonight. So likely very little to eat today until tonight.

Which means lots of that soda water for me today :)

Wife will eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, likely a sandwich for lunch, then eat a full dinner. Never gains weight. :) (so jealous)

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Thanks @Hammer Smokin' :)

I always weigh myself in the morning as soon as I've woken up. I feel great though with the loss I've had. I haven't been this weight for many years! I ignore the kitchen, I just eat my little meal and forget what else is going on... although leading up to dinner the smells do make me hungry :) I found eating out to be very difficult... the restaurant we went to didn't have a diet friendly menu and the smell of the kitchen drove me crazy! 

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