TimeToHealRich2016

Losing weight upper body but not lower parts?

Oct 12, 2016

Hope this is not a silly question.  I've lost 90 pounds in 7 months but tape measure shows most of it is high on body, not the lower belly under my belt and the rear end.  I exercise a lot with legs so I would have thought that body parts away from the stomach would have also lost some fat.  Do others notice this phenomenon.  Someone told me that it is because gravity pulls the fat down.  Any ideas?  Any way to target these spots when exercising?  Thanks...

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Vitamins expensive...any ideas?

Oct 05, 2016

Starting on vitamins now that my PatchMD study is finishing.  Any ideas on cost savings?  The Optisource at Walgreens and Amazon is $28 per month.  Hoping to buy less money than $336 per year if possible.  Thanks!

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Day 12-24 Started soft food stage

Aug 04, 2016

Overall: Wow, thanking God and my support team for giving me a great 3 weeks post-op. Think I’m down 35 lbs so far since surgery. Almost 70 including 4 months pre-op program since I was high risk. And feeling very good….physically and mentally. Drinking easily although achieving the protein goal of 70g is still tight each day. Nibbling on Costco Signature protein bar today to make it. REAL tired of sweet protein shakes.

Medical: Getting ready for a Day 30 appointment with my PCP to review further reductions in the few medications I am still taking. But no sign of diabetes after stopping all meds and insulin on Day 1. Great! And blood pressure is perfect too. Not bad for just 3+weeks.

Nutrition: Started soft foods on Day 21. Good to be eating a scrambled egg, cottage cheese, fat-free Greek Yogurt. Supplementing these with Unjury Protein soups bought on-line. Treats are sugar-free popsicles and Carl’s Jr. (just kidding, I really want NO junk food).

Exercising: Every day calisthenics for 1 hour in bedroom, pool aqua aerobics minimum 90 minutes with music and some walking. Average 2 hours landscaping in yard (I feel like Marlon Brando in the Godfather).

Goal: Stay patient with soft food phase. I feel myself wanting more (appetite more than hunger) and staring at some stuff in kitchen that I should not have for a while, even in small portions. Must exercise control. I can do it!

2 comments

Less emphasis on weight lost

Jul 22, 2016

Thinking out loud…I have only been reading posts for a couple of months and only 11 days post-op, but I realize that I need ways to track my progress in returning to HEALTH following a major life change like this. I guess the medical profession tracks quantitative measures like WEIGHT and BMI which are easy to collect. My vitamin study people trach the BODY MEASUREMENTS (shoulders, chest, waist etc.).

I think for some more important quantitative indicators, WALKING DISTANCE and MINUTES EXERCISING would be far better to track so that I can focus on moving about. And, even more difficult, is the tracking of OVERALL CONDITION, HELPFULNESS TO OTHERS and . That could be a key to happiness when people ask “how are you doing?”.

Please send me any other metrics, whether quantitative or qualitative.

With so much weight to lose, I want to only be aware of my decreasing measure in WEIGHT TO REACH GOAL which is looking forward and forgetting where I came from.  Just thinking....

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Day 9-11 – Dehydration, low protein, minor setbacks

Jul 22, 2016

DEHYDRATION: Minor (I hope) setback for a few days. Got somewhat dehydrated, a few days of diarrhea, headache during the night. Some discomfort when urinating. But ebounding now with an over-the-counter Imodium prescribed by my Dr. Kept hydration up for last 18 hours and feeling better.

PROTEIN: Kinda sick of the SlimFast shakes, 3.5 per day, so tried an Isopure from local GNC as a supplement to make sure I was getting enough protein in place of a SlimFast.

SPIRIT: Improving as I was getting cocky since it was quite easy for 8 days before these issues cropped up. So hope that body and head get back to normal today!

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Day 9 - I hit a wall today...Kaboom!

Jul 20, 2016

Geez...got kinda cocky that things were going so well. And then ...KABOOM...

Had my follow up with Dr. Oliak and amazingly down 17 since VSG last Monday.  All in all, until 9 AM this morning I was riding high.

But late yesterday I had trouble getting to protein shake #3 so only had 40g and I think hydration was low too. 

By mid-day, had a nasty headache, left knee pain, and a return of neuropathy in my feet.  All in all, red flags.

Thinkling that my day trip out to Dr. office, going with my wife to Veggie Grill where she ate small and I only had hibiscus tea, and then outside with the warm SoCal day may have stretched me out.

So here I am, up at midnight, trying to catch up on protein shake and fluids and hoping this reverses what has otherwise been a pleasant ride thru the first week plus.

All suggestions are welcomed and hoping this passes so I can get some sleep.

Ah well, people did tell me there will be good and bad days...so I acan;t complain

Rich

(wonder if this ObesitHelp byline will now show my tracking bar?

1 comment

Day 7 - Sunday - Hooray!

Jul 17, 2016

Having no problems or issues.  Looking forward to meeting with Dr. Oliak on Day 9 and checking progress all around.  Drinking easily; no burps or gas or any resistance.  Stricking with 2 20g protein shakes per day on way to 3 or 3.5 as Dr. Oliak mentioned during the liquid diet phase.  Wondering if I will stay on liquid diet for 14 days as planned or less.  Seem to be overachieving which is OK.  Having no problem drinking 64 or more oz. of liquids.  No hunger desire. 

re: intake nutrition: 2 protein shakes, coffee, broth, V8 (adding salt and pepper since tast of low-sodium is lousyt), Diet Snapple or Crystal Light iced tea, sugar free popsicle, sugar free jello

re: medication:  Spotted today that I was NOT taking the metformin 2Xday 1000mg as I thought I was.  Got confused last week when I filled my weekly layout with daily meds.  So I resumed a 1000mg this morning and will take another tonight.  Watch your meds more carefully!

re: stretching: doing 1 hour beforfe getting out of bed each morning with stretches in bed:  leg lifets, twists, yoga moves, neck, situp slightly, feet rotations, a little bicycling.  All to loosen up and stay real loose.

re: muscles: lifting a 10 pound weight with one hand on each side of small barbell while in chair for some upper body arm, chest and shoulder strengthening.  Reading about how important some muscle toning is during the rapid weight loss to avoid muscle deterioration during catabolic state I am in.

re: walking: mostly around the house.  I find my shortness of breath still happening with rollator outdoors but feel real good inside house with stability and standing more straight up.  Planning on increasing more outdoor walking and going slower for longer than 3 minutes and not letting shprtnes of breath rise.  More building endurance even at a slower speed.

Vitals: Rock solid fasting blood sugar at 125, BP 115/76, pulse 63, temp AOK.

3 comments

Day 4-6 ....All Progress

Jul 16, 2016

Wow I can sure say that with each day...things are getting better and better.  Day 4 was the day I checked out fo the hospital and came home.  Litlle tired, tough to drink the 4 oz per hour and only got down 1 SlimFast 20g protein shake.  Had a headache and thought the throat soreness was either coming back or I caught a cold on my last day in hospital.  But after a late afternoon nap, headache went away.  Slept like a baby that night.  No pain....LUCKY....just took one sip of Tylenol Liquid just in case.

Day 5 began good and got better as it wnet along.  Had water and sip sip sip sip...got tired of sipping and called my sister who had had a gastric bypass 5 years ago.  She said she had sipped a long time after hers.  BUT all of a sudden mid-day I pushed beyond a sip into about 1/2 teaspoon and ...voila...no problem.  Was able to get to 5-6 oz in an hour of anythng clear...water, Dietr Snapple, etc.  SlimFast was still too thick for much per swallow.  Only had 1 SlimFast and then Helen gave me the best treat of the week....a sugar-free popsicle.  GREAT.  Walked outside with rollator.  Did very well and felt real good.  No sorenes in the largest incision where the stomach was removed.  All incisions look great; no bruising.  Dr. Oliak is a master carpenter for sure!

Day 6 Friday was even better.  Woke up and did 1 hour stretching in bed that limbered up in all muscles and bones then did another hour standing and supporting on the dresser in the bedroom.  After 2 hours, really felt like sitting and watching nesw for a while.  But whole body felt as good as it had been last week when I was aqua aerobics in the pool for a few hours.  Looking forward to getting back in a pool maybe next week but this was so good today.  Had plenty of liquids; probably 64 oz today....coffee, broth, can of V* (sucked cause it was low sodium; gonna add some pepper or salt to make it more enjotable, 2 SlimFasts working up to may target 3.5 per day, also had a sugar free lime jello, 1 popsicle and some iced tea.  Funny some bloggers had said they had to have room temp but I can have cold or hot and no problem.

Oh yeah, not to be too graphic, but had a movement for first time in 6 days and AOK overall....just for those who wondered.

So heading into 2nd week with a great feeling and a very positive attitude.  No pain...no pain meds...just two meds for slightly high blod pressure.  Blood sugar is staedy and good at 125.

Now looking to walk more and start some Wii Fit Plus video work in living room to get some more aerobics going. 

1 comment

Day 1-3 after VSG was done

Jul 14, 2016

Wow...home in my own bed...and VERY satisfied with the 3-days since Monday morning early surgery.  Dr. Oliak and his team were totally successful and the staff at the Placentia-Linda Hosp;ital got me through a difficuly first day, mostly not sleeping for 48 hours.  Physically very very healthy today.

Monday as they always say was he toughest day with frequent nurse visits for checks (blood pressure, blood sugar, deliver medications, sometimes visits from respiratory and patient care people.  Wish they could coordinate into fewer times but I know that is impossible for them.  And the silly IV machines are CONSTANTLY alarming in all rooms and mine too with air-in-the-line and IV running out.  They should notify the nurse and nurse assistant directly if there is a machine problem.  Instead, the patient has to ring up help and often machine beeps incessantly for 10 minutes or more until someone comes.  Suggest also, if I were to do this again, I would ask if I can shut off the alarm knowing that the nurse will be coming.  Needs a better way.  Lots of noise.  I guess I know know when they say "you don;t sleep in the hiospital".  On first night also had a roomate who got checked into 2nd bed in back from 11 PM to 4 AM....hastle.  If you can, grab the bed furthest form the door in a two-patient room or spring for private room as an option.

On Day 2 in hiospital, again no sleep but started on fluids...2 oz. water in one hour, then 4 oz. water but only got down 3.  Then some broth and some sugar free jellp to finish the day's intake.  Lots of walkiung was good.  Funny, BP is good but naturally after a wlak it goes up and I think they overreact and order some BP meds when it gets over a threshold.  I always see it come down after 3 minutes of rest after a walk.  Felt positive that I was on right track so asked Dr. Oliak if I could leave tonight and rest at home.  For other reasons, he preferred me to stay for the 2nd night and then go home.

Day 3 got discharged at 10 AM afdter waking at 6 AM....wow got about 7 hours total sleep from 6 PM Day 2 to 6 AM Day 3.  Difficult to take in a SlimFast 11 oz. and 64 oz of liquids total on this first day out of hospital.  Managed protein 10 oz and about 32 oz fluids total....water, Diet-Snapple, some brith, sugar-free pospsicle was a real treat.  Helen doing FANTASTIC helping me around too.  Lots of leg stretches in chaor and in bed.  Overall good first day at home and only having headache and sore throat I think because of lack of sleep and dryness.

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About Me
CA
Location
45.7
BMI
VSG
Surgery
07/11/2016
Surgery Date
Apr 27, 2016
Member Since

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