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ARE YOU A BARIATRIC PROFESSIONAL?
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Weight Loss Surgery Graduates Forum

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**willow**’s Posts

Post Date 12/17/07 9:28 am
Topic: RE: are you a bariatric surgery program coordinator?

dont get too excited - I am not offered a job yet, am researching for a poteintial new position being created, dont know if I am qualified, or if it is an administrative no patient contact position I would not want it.

9 years post op and still maintaining!!! 260/134
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bariatric_journey/welcome/ if you send a friend request on FB make a note that you are from OH - thanks http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=586438255&ref=profile

Post Date 12/16/07 6:37 pm
Topic: are you a bariatric surgery program coordinator?

I need to talk to some one in this postion asap for advice and help for a potential new job opportunity I may be offered.

Post Date 11/18/07 9:59 pm
Topic: RE: Should I be offended?

I do not think you should be offended that a Dr. gave you sound medical advice based on his best judgement. A docs job is not to just hand out any drug you ask for but to care for you in an appropriate, medically sound way that is in your best interests.. If diet pills worked there would be no need for gastric bypass. pills dont change out lifestyle for long term success. give an honest assessment of your eating and exercise habits and see if you are working the plan. If you are doing the right things - eating for health, counting your protein and calories and avoiding processed sugars and junk food, then - if I were you - my next step would be to see a gastric bypass dr and make sure your tool is intact and functioning properly, to review your nutritional habits, and exercise habits to see that yo are doing the right things to lose and maintian a healthy weight. there are a lot of myths and mistaken info out there as to what an appropriate diet should look like. If the surgery is intact then If you are a wls patient who is struggling with weight gain my suggestion is to work to learn why this is happening through nutrtional and psychlogical counseling, It is a lot harder than taking a pill, but a lot more effective in the long run. if the surgeon finds something is not intact or functioning properly that will give you a place to start to fix the problem.

Post Date 10/2/07 5:11 am
Topic: RE: Losing the EZ Way?

the only reason I am maintaining is because I have my pouch and for ME not speaking for you or anyone elsr - that does make it a lot easier than with out the pouch. I also have the advantage of malabsorption that non op do not have. as I said I can eat more than in the beginning - but not ever as much as preop or a non op - and that does make it easier as long as I make good choices. with out the RNY I would not have the pouch to make it easier for me to maintain - I would be Just like all the non ops struggling day by day, losing only to regain even more. I would not have ever lost this weight with out the RNY, and would not be where I am with out it - that is why it is easier for me. I feel for the people who cannot have this surgery and must struggle so hard to eat less in a big stomach, and who have to live with hunger every day. that is why it is easier for me too - I can eat the small amounts necessary to keep the weight off and not live in hunger. weigh****chers - months of constnat gnawing hunger with a small weight loss. RNY - no hungetr and dramatic weight loss. the surgery was not easy but it was a lot easier than the lifetime of diets with little loss, the regains of even more - the sense of failure for trying to do something (lose wieght) that my body is geneticaly programmed against. an analogy I could walk 17 miles to work every day - but I dont - I have a tool, my car. I drive it because it is easier. but it is not alway easy owning a car - gas costs, big payments, oil changes, new tires, insurance costs, maybe an accident will happen, but I drive anyways - because it is easier. I could have dieted for the rest of my life - it is too hard for me having gnawing hunger all the time. so I have a tool. my RNY. It is not always easy having an rny, I have to take vitamins, regualr labs, be careful about what I eat, maybe have complications (4 bowel bstructions and a hernia) but I have the rny anyways - because it is easier.

Post Date 9/30/07 6:21 pm
Topic: RE: Losing the EZ Way?

this is going to be controversial - but it was a hell of a lot easier to lose with a pouch than it was with a whole big old stomach. I did the whole gamut of diets and failed and that was a whole lot harder than my surgery. YEARS of failure take a toll. it was a lot easie rthan the months I spent in weigh****chers with minimal loss and constant hunger. I lost more the first week after surgery than I did in 3 months of weigh****chers. he first year the weight fell off and I have not had real complications, so I had it easier than a lot of other people did. the pouch made it possible for me to lose and to develop good habits while I was not struggling with constant hunger. I had no hunger for 6 months and it was not until 9 months that my hunger returned to normal . now about maintainence - I have to work real hard for that. it is not as easy as it was the first year. BUt I still have my pouch and it really does help. Even though I can eat more it will never be as much as it was preop. that does make it easier for me. If I had my old stomach I would not be able to eat the way I do.

Post Date 9/30/07 6:10 pm
Topic: RE: Protien Balls

since I had my rny I have had the McD's yogurt parfeit ONCE and I dumped like a truck. the yogurt has a lot of added sugar. I m not a terribly sensitve dumper either. but, I was horribly sick. If I want something similar I make it myslef with no sugar added yogurt and fresh fruit and Kashi crunch cereal or all bran buds. and tolerate that just fine.

Post Date 9/26/07 9:38 pm
Topic: RE: Bad advice from nut today ???????????????

I would have to mostly agree with the nutritionist. your protein level shpuld depend on your lean body mass. aproximately 1-2 grams per kilo. a kilo is 2.2 pounds, to make it simple devide your weight by 2. for example My current weight is 140 and I am at 23% body fat aproximately (at lest testing) so my lean body weight is about 101 pounds - so devided by 2 makes me aproximately 50 kilos. meaning I need at least 50 grams of protein a day. those who exercise strenuously, lifting weights and trying to build muscle may need more. since I do weight train I aim higher so 2 grams per kilo is 100 grams a day. I am currently recovering from plastics and not allowed to weight lift so I am going lower but not by much asI am trying to heal. some nuts just go by what your ideal body weight would b, and not subtract the fat weight, so that may show a higher level of protein than my calcualtions. I definately believe we need to eat carbs - but appropriate carbs - whole grains, high fiber only. whole wheat breat, whole wheat pita, Kashi cereal, I add bran buds to all sorts of foods to meet my bodies recommended requirement of 25 - 30 grams of protein a day to have healthy intestines, avoid colon cancer, diverticulosis, constipation, etc. fiber can also help lower cholesterol. I also believe in appropriate serving sizes. for example most commercially produced bagels should be considered 4 servings - not the one serving a lot of people count it as. a hamberger bun may be 2-4 servings depending on the size. high fiber foods do satiate longer they take longer for your body to process. dont confuse cheap low quality carbs for heathy ones ie cheap white bread is not approriate - but brownberry whole wheat or natures ovvens whole grain breads are. barrilla plus pasta - not white pasta, brown rice not white rice. here is a web site with proper portions demonstrated. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/portion-control/NU00267&slide=1 in the long run maintianing weight is about balance and portion control and building muscle through exercise.

Post Date 9/26/07 8:31 pm
Topic: 5 years post op my 5th anniversary of my surgery was yesterday and i posted some reflections on my b

my 5th anniversary of my surgery was yesterday and i posted some reflections on my blog - please take a moment to read it. Love & Hugs Val

Post Date 8/24/07 9:14 pm
Topic: RE: Difference between grazing & eating 5-6 small meals?

grazing is uncontrolled,unmeasured, unplanned nibbling. grabbing a bite here and there out of the bag, out of the box, standing in front of the fridge. 5-6 small meals are schedulled, planned, measured, placed on a plate, and eaten at the table with a knife and fork. they are geared towards meetingy our bodies nutrtional needs and getting the appropriate sevrings of each food group that you need for health. I have sample menus on my blog. I dont usually sit down with a big glass of water and a meal, but I dont worry about wetting my cereal or eating soup. I also may take a tiny sip when I am eating something that turns out to be dry or too spicy.

Post Date 8/18/07 8:31 pm
Topic: RE: Do you feel like you're always hungry?

good advice, except for one thing. the place to keep tempting high calorie snack foods is not in your high cupboard. the best place to keep them is at the store and don't even bring them in the house..If they aren't there you cant eat them and the other famly members dont need them either. I know from years of obesity, when I bought treats for the kids I knew in the back of my mind I was the one *****ally wanted it. If they have no other options they may surprise yo by eating a piece of fruit or a cut up veggie.

Post Date 6/27/07 4:20 pm
Topic: RE: Regarding Alli

It is just Xenical wit h a new name. Another thing to put money in the pockets of a drug company while taking advantage of the overweight and promising much and delivering little. "dieters using the Alli program only lost three more pounds over the course of an entire year than people who dieted and exercised without taking the pill. " is anal leakage a fair trade for 3 pounds in a year????????

Post Date 6/27/07 4:10 pm
Topic: RE: timeout/pills/newfastdiets????

I believe you are 100% correct. Fasts and crazy diets made me MO and eating a balanced normal eating plan now will keep me at a good maintainence level. Our bodies are not designed for liquid diets and with the rny having a stoma rather than the valve at the botton of the stomach the liquid protein runs right thru leaving one hungry in a very short time. Then these poor souls think the are failing because they are hungry. they arent failing - the poor advice they have gotten is failing them. HUGS! to you and if you want to keep in touch send me a pm. Val

Post Date 6/6/07 5:54 pm
Topic: RE: Non-Timeout roll call!!

it is definately a work in progress. i have been giving a lot of thought to this and therapy and i know I do not want to live a disfunctional lifestyle. I am far from perfect with this, I am trying really hard to live day by day and just do my best. I worked hard to esablish what is a healthy diet, and what is an appropriate portion size. i know - I dont always practice. I also do not want to live beating myself up if I make a mistake ( easier said than done) Part is working to recognize what is and is not healthy behavior I am working to recognize and feel my emotions, rather than stuffing them down with food or anesthetizing myself with food and that can be painful. It is a work in progress as I said before. I have a long way to go, but I see baby steps coming along. . I strongly suggest the book, "how much does your soul weigh?" by Dorie McCubbrey I saw it in a bookstore and the title hooked me right in - i bought it with out even seeing exactly what it was about.

Post Date 6/6/07 3:22 pm
Topic: RE: Non-Timeout roll call!!

My therapist assured me that a good recovery is very possible. but, for some people the eating disorder becomes the identity, then giving it up becomes very difficult kind of a "who will I be if i am not anorexic, bulemic, a binge eater" etc. I have made some terrific friends thru OH and like you am not quite ready to give it up, but I recognize the grad board is not really the place for me any more. I am exploring other ones, maybe I'll find one where the focus is on enjoying life. I hate to give it up also when i know there are people out there who need support to be healthy. Maybe as I get better I can have something to offer. I stopped reading all accountability posts for a long time, and felt better for it. i dont know why I looked in on them this week. hugs!

Post Date 6/6/07 4:13 am
Topic: RE: Non-Timeout roll call!!

If you ever consider doing a time out from food, talk to your therapist first. I was talking to mine about it and she thinks I need to just get off this board all together - the time out /support scenario is very much like a pro anorexia board ie. one where they see anorexia as a lifestyle, not an illness. She was pretty horrified when I was talking to her about it and how it all makes me feel when I read it.

Post Date 6/6/07 4:08 am
Topic: RE: Non-Timeout roll call!!

AMEN! The crazy stuff is what got me to morbidly obese in the first place - crash diets, lose a little then gain a lot and I'll guess that is what time outs accomplish as well when it is all over and done with. The real key is giving myself a healthy balanced approach to food, Not punishing myself for mistakes by starving myself. I am not all the way there yet, but i am getting better at recognizing the traps that will pull me back in to the habits that lead me to requiring surgery in the first place.

Post Date 5/19/07 8:44 pm
Topic: RE: Experiences with Brachiplasty Requested

my arms were never more sore than if I lifted too many weights. it was not a difficult surgery. I couldn't extend my arms all the way over my head for a few days, I could raise them enough to shampoo myself over the sink and put on my own clothes. I could not reach in the high shelves in the kitchen cabinets or buckle my own seat belt. the shape of my arms is awesome. I do want to say a brachioplasty removes excess skin, but it does not firm the muscles. I have done about a million tricep extensions, bicep curls and shoulder presses to shape my arms up and continue to do them on a regular at least 2 times a week basis. they ugly in the situation. I have scars from my armpit to my elbow. they are the only scars I had that really thickened , and raised and after 2 1/2 years are still pretty visible. I had steroid injections which helped some to flatten them down. they still look wide & darkened. My scars from my RNY. LBL, and thigh lift all lightened and thinned and are barely visible. My ps sewed them beautifully, very fine stitches all under the skin and they started out very thin and thickened and darkened later. I did everything I could find out to minimize them, silicone strips, massage, expensive scar reducing creams etc, and none of it seemed to help much. Overall I am very pleased wihth my arms inspite of the scarring. I wear short sleeves and sleeveless tops and really enjoy the fact that I dont have hanging skin, and that I have nice arms.

Post Date 5/16/07 8:21 pm
Topic: RE: Am I going to have to work this hard?

Your surgery was over a year ago - right? the amount you are losing is just fine. do not cut your calories - eating too little will screw up your metabolism even more. You can increase your metabolism. eating enough is one component. I eat 6 small meals a day. my whole program is on my profiel. Cardio exercise is the second thng to do. You have to be woking hard enough to get your heart rate up into the cardio zone - to calculate that subtract your age from 220. multiply that answer by 75-80% using my age as an example. ie 220 - 46 = 174 X .75 =130 (80% is 139) So in order to get an effective cardio workout I have to get my heart rate to 130-139 and work out at that pace for at least 30 minutes, monitoring my heart rate frequently to make sure I stay in the zone and increase my intensity as needed. talk to your Dr and be sure you are cleared for a cardio workout. it is important to be sure that you are healthy enough for the strenuous activity you need to up your metabolism. the next component to a good metabolism is muscle. weight training. puming iron. yep. a good all around total body work out. www.sparkpeople.com has several workouts and video demos of the exercises. I would also recommend a trainer for a short time to teach you a good routine and make sure your form is correct so you dont injure yourself. maintainence is a lot of work, but thank GOD I have the opportunity to do the work necessary. to have the strength and mobility that I have now and not to be morbidly obese and hardly able to walk a fight of stairs. Thank GOD I have enough energy to do the things I do instead of laying on the couch every night exhausted and unable to live life to the fullest.

Post Date 5/16/07 8:05 pm
Topic: RE: Is "rebound" inevitable?

I think others have said it very well. to me 10% is normal bounceback. I was told to expect it. some people will always beat the averages, they are lucky. the rest of us will be average and have a bounceback. I dont think we should beat ourselves up over something that we do not always have any control over. Some will have significant regains for various reasons from genetics to poor dietary habits or not exercising. That we can control. In the meantime I try to stick to my program and keep up my exercise routine. If I am behaving and I bounceback I can accept that. If I am eating improperly and not exercising i will strive to relate that to my weight gain, and correct those habits. and seek therapy as needed. I think that is all I can control.

Post Date 5/7/07 10:49 pm
Topic: RE: New Grad and lots of grazing, how do I?

I agree that diet soda is maybe a root of the problem, but think ALL diet drinks are a problem whether soda, crystal lite etc - anything with artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are appetite stimulants, whether in drinks or sugar free candy etc. we get used to the sweet taste in our mouth and then crave more of it. I really think a long term solution is to get away from artificially sweetend things. many of them taste even sweeter than the sugar foods and I strongly believe cause us to eat more overall. I CAN ONLY AVOID GRAZING BY KEEPING TOO BUSY TO GRAZE. and planning my meals and my whole days intake ahead of time. If I leave it to last minute I end up eating whatever is around and easy. If I skip meals I am so hungry I will graze or eat anything. Only eat if you put a portion on a plate, sit down at the table. eat slowly and mindfully while really focusing on the flavor of the food an do NOTHING else at the same time. no multi-tasking while eating. take time to enjoy it.

Post Date 5/7/07 10:41 pm
Topic: RE: May 14th, I'll be in NYC presenting on my journey and Q&A

you look beautiful and it is so wonderful and special tha tyou are sharin git with others. the link did not work for me. Is it an OH event or something else you are speaking at? How did the opportunity arise? hope you are feeling well and you pain is improved. I think of you often HUGS

Post Date 5/7/07 10:38 pm
Topic: RE: Identity following WLS

diet mentality = failure lifestyle = long term health

Post Date 5/7/07 10:35 pm
Topic: RE: Identity following WLS

You wrote my story as far as figuring out where my life will go from here. i sense I need changes in my life unrelated to food - and having a hellofa time figuring out what to do , where to go and dont know how it will all end up. idont know if it is a midlife crisis, or the weight loss ot just being tired of the rut I am in. who amI ? where am I and who is that strange woman in the mirror?

Post Date 5/7/07 10:27 pm
Topic: RE: question for the more experienced....

I lost 130 pounds over 15 months. I was not the fastest or biggest loser but it was the right pace for me. one disclaimer to start - I ate a lot less than this in the losing phase and have been doing this since about year 2 anniversary. I was less hungry initially. I have always ate a balanced diet and included complex carbs and fruit from the beginning. I wanted something that was feasable and reasonable to follow long term and living on protein shakes/bars just didn't cut it for ME. neither did excluding entire food groups. Protein shakes leave me hungry and then I want to eat too and then I gain weight. (when I had a subsequent surgery about 2 years post op and a few weeks later got an illeus paralyzed bowel, I was not able to eat for a while - in the hospital on IV's etc. I got too low on my weight and looked really bad - so I drank protein shakes to put on some weight and it worked really well for me) to maintain my weight my general days intake in order of importance to me is 6 oz meat, fish or chicken 3 servings dairy - generally yogurt or cheese serving size - 1 cup no sugar added yogurt , 1 oz slice cheese, 1 cup skim milk 3+ servings of veggies - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw per serving 2 pieces of fruit and 1 of the two is always a banana - and I buy the smallest size pieces of fruit I can find in the bins. 3-4 servings of whole grains - 1/2 cup brown rice, or barrilla plus pasta, 1/2 cup kashi cereal, small whole wheat tortilla, 1 smaller sized slice of whole wheat bread. . I divide it into 5-6 meals a day. I might add I developed my eating plan over a period of time while logging it all on fitday to be aproximately 1500 calories with the calories in a ratio of 40% of my calories from carbs, 30 % protein and 30% fat. I have some meal plans on my profile with my nutritional info and recipes near the bottom of the profile. I was recommended this ratio by a dietician for ME as a person who works out regularly and was at a good weight for ME of 135 at the time. I do not drink my protein. My labs have been excellent - at my 4 year check up The surgeon said they looked better than most "normal" people who had never had a gastric bypass. the only nutritional issue I have had was a period of anemia - related to extremely heavy and long menstrual cycles - and that resolved with in about a month of my periods being stopped by an endometrial ablation. If I start varying from this very much I gain weight. ( I take full responsibility for the Christmas cookies and the 10 pounds I put on from the winter)

Post Date 5/7/07 10:01 pm
Topic: RE: EXERCISE Befire and After WLS.....How much before?

I rarely exercised preop til about 6 weeks prior to surgery. Once I had decided to go for it , and even before I got my insurancce approval, I started at a gym. My intention was to get in the best shape possible for surgery so I could recover faster and have less complications by strengthening my heart and lungs for the surgery and my muscles so i could move myself better with an incision in my belly from my sternum to my belly button. I hired a personal trainer 2 times a week for a month immediately preop. my BMI was 53 and execise was quite difficult, but I found a trainer who worked with my limitaions while challenging me to do more than I thought I could do - and he was right that I could do more than I thought. Of course I had no where to go but up at that point. After, once I was healed - about 8 weeks post op I started back at the gym. My intensity level was low and as I lost and was able I increased my intensity. I could not have possibly done then , at that weight what I do now at my much lower weight. I have exercised regularly taking breaks from the gym after I had subsequent surgeries - hernia repair and plastics, for about 8 weeks after each. I did do walking around my neighbor hood with in days after each surgery though. I did not do much with resistance training until I was down to where I needed to be and had my plastics. that really motivated me to work my muscles more to build them a little so I look more toned. Now I try my best to get to the gym at least 5 days a week. and I am studying to be a trainer myself . Big change, huh! I am not skinny and never will be, I am fairly medium, at 4'11 and 140 pounds ( need to get back to 130-135) and wear an 8-10 and started at a 28-30. I credit exercise for keeping me from regaining a lot of weight. I am currently struggling with 10 pounds I put on over the winter and it is very emotional for me. I do yoga, cardio and weight training. Let me know how you are doing! and good luck! HUGS!