sue9999’s Posts
Yesterday (got my dates mixed up) was my 2 year surgiversary. How different life is today from what it was when I went in for my RNY procedure. I've lost over 100 pounds, can walk all I want, wear the same clothes as I did a year ago, go to more social functions (Superbowl party Sunday!) I no longer feel self-conscious that I am the largest person in the room. I shop at any clothing store I care to and don't look for the "women's" sizes. I sign up for 5K walks (at 68 and having broken my back the year before my surgery, I don't run anywhere) and am doing a 10K walk this year. I sometimes worry over my food choices and struggle with the difference between healthy and perfect. My head knows there is no such thing as perfect eating but my gut says otherwise. So I remind myself of the gains I have made and what my doctors say about my health.
I had this surgery b/c of health issues. I tried IF fasting 48 hours 3 times a week. I even did a 7 day fast. No sugar or flour. Counting the calories in between. After losing about 30 pounds and no changes in my health issues, I had RNY 2/8/2021. I lost 108 pounds from my highest weight, down 73 down from my surgery day.
At the time of surgery, I had stage 3-4 NASH by biopsy, which equated to a high level 4 by fibroscan. In December, my liver disease had dropped down to a low level 3 and my doctor is hopeful it will be down to a level 2. She is so excited by my results that she has recommended WLS to a few of her patients.
My fasting blood sugars are below 100, and they no longer do an A1c on me as the last one was 4.9.
My lung capacity, asthma and reactive airway disease are no longer problematic. I haven't done a breathing treatment since about 3 months post surgery.
Normal BMI.
I still need a cpap but have switched to a oral device. My pressures were low enough.
I'm feeling much better physically and also better emotionally (as long as I manage my emotions/feelings). I went into the surgery not to lose weight but to improve my health. I got both!
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Hi Aussie: I had a very easy experience myself (2 years out today!!), but the emotions were surprising to me. I had no real buyers remorse b/c I made the decision to have WLS b/c of significant health issues that could not really be addressed by other means. That being said, I was flooded with emotions, especially as time went on. Food is what we have used to ease our emotions or to enhance them (celebrations, right!). Anyway, I worked with a counselor until just this past month and that helped a lot. Taking away my "drug of choice" (food, especially starchy carbs) took away my ability to stuff my feelings. It's like an alcoholic or addict when you taken away their substance of choice and their feelings come up. So I cried, panicked, got anxious, fearful, and even joyous. It was a roller coaster. So now I journal, do deep sigh breathing, exercise most days, share my fears, spend time with friends, try new hobbies and enjoy my happy times. It's all part of the wonderful thing we call life. Good luck to you, and welcome!
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I'll post how it goes. When I zip tie them to the post, it will be at the back so they don't even show! It's like magic, lol!
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Forgot to mention the parmesan cheese I add. You can add or not, but sometimes I add a couple of TBL of grated parmesan.
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That's awfully expensive dog food, IMHO. So maybe she was bragging a bit that she has so much money she can spend it on her dogs and can give them yummy ground turkey. My dog loves the boiled chicken and rice I give him when he has tummy miseries, and I'm sure he'd trade places with that woman's dogs.
Ground turkey costs about $3 more/lb where I live. I use ground turkey for several dishes - lower fat and fewer calories. And since I eat so much less, I can afford it, lol! Keep on enjoying your ground turkey. I know I'm going to.
The recipe I posted for the QOTD might be good with ground turkey. The first time I made it, hub had thawed some hamburger for his dinner so I used some for my hot dish and loved it. So far I haven't tried it with ground turkey but I suspect it would be pretty good.
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Good morning: I keep telling myself I will post everyday and then I don't. There are people who are working that post daily and I'm retired!! How much easier can it be?? Well, making that commitment to self again!
Have a bit planned today. Got hub to help me buy 3 8' 2x2s so I can start my project for hanging Christmas lights easily on the posts on our front porch. Nailing equally spaced hooks to each one will take me a while so I figured I get a start on it now. Then come October (we put stuff up while it is still warm enough and then light it the day after Thanksgiving), we just have to zip tie the timber to each post. Presto, wrap the lights around the post, catching the wire in the hooks and the lights will stay in place for the season. And no nails in my lovely posts!
Exercise today was the treadmill as it is way too hot to be outside (just ask the dog...).
QOTD: I like to make eggplant casserole (diced eggplant, onion, peppers if you like, my favorite low-carb pasta sauce, ground beef, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper to taste). I also make the occasional meatball and have it with low-carb pasta sauce and zoodles. I use ground turkey for chili.
B: 2 egg omelet, 1/2 oz cheese.
L: Garden salad with shrimp.
S: Fairlife protein shake, 2 tbl nuts.
D: Left over pork roast, kohlrabi strips (my garden is beginning to pay off).
Have a great day everyone.
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Those lab values indicate a microcytic anemia, which can happen with low iron. There are other potential causes but post bariatric surgery says the most likely cause is low iron. When do you see/talk to your primary care provider? They will lay out their plan to address this.
Do you take an iron supplement? My husband, even before his roux en y, had low hgb issues due to age (he was 68 at the time of his surgery) and has to take a specific kind of iron that people who have had bariatric surgery absorb the best. He had been continuing to supplement with the type he took before surgery and he quickly had low hgb which reversed once he was taking the correct form (Fe Fumerate, I believe).
Good luck to you.
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After returning from a 2 week vacation at a friend's home out of state, I came home weighing half a pound less than when I left. Felt pleased about that. THEN...I went on to gain 5 pounds. This is my first weight gain (I'm 17 months out) and was shocked and distressed to the core. After feeling panicked, like I failed (and all 100+ pound regain was inevitable) and stressing majorly, I called my dietician. She said calm down. Yes, people regain weight for a variety of reasons and she was very glad I called her right away rather than waiting until I had gained another 20. She said go back to your low carb high protein diet, make sure I am logging everything I eat and also to keep in touch. Today I had a session with my Disordered Eating Counselor and she was very helpful, too. It turns out that this is an old pattern for me. I go on vacation and don't gain weight and then come home to put on pounds. In the past, that meant adding 20 pounds. She helped me see some things that are behind this pattern (I've been seeing her since about 4 months prior to my roux-en-y) and we are looking at some strategies to use in the future - which is a good thing b/c I am going on a 12 day vacation late September into October.
She also talked about my self-esteem being tied to the number on the scale. Which I guess is my next big issue to be dealing with. I grew up very skinny (I went through periods where my mother only let me eat once every 2 to 3 days) and she ridiculed me for being skinny and had names she called me, etc. When we moved into a town (I had been a country kid), then I had other avenues to get food and my weight normalized and she then called me fat (I was in the 120s in high school) and ridiculed me that way. My grandmother was obsessed with my weight then, too, and kept telling me I should lose "a good 20 pounds". No wonder I worry constantly about what others think or are judging me by my weight.
Has anyone else had to find new ways of thinking about themselves after they lost their weight? Was it difficult to change those inner messages to something more neutral? I'm not into "body positivity" but rather "body neutrality" which fits me much better at my age. I'm grateful everyday for all that my body provides me and helps me accomplish. I'd love to not even think about weight issues when I see someone. I've always been on my way up or down with my weight throughout my life so staying at one weight feels foreign (and yet so good). My hope is that at 67, I can stop worrying that others are judging me as being too fat or that I haven't lost enough weight, etc.
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Yikes! I'd rather see a snack that a bear or mountain lion!! Ahaha, isn't autocorrect grand! That was supposed to be "snake", lol.
Good luck on graduations, classes, trips and so on. I couldn't keep track of it all but Spring is such a lovely time for all these celebrations.
I've been getting my vegetable garden planted, helping my newly planted foundation shrubs and perennials through transplantation shock (saved them all so far) and getting the flowers into my hanging planters. A pair of house finches nested in one of them within a couple days but have now abandoned the eggs (too much activity or human smells?). It is so nice to have a yard again, especially since I didn't have to lift a finger. It's coming in nicely after a couple of good rains.
QOTD: The Breakdown by Arianne Richmonde (light detective mystery) and also Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food (Revised Edition) by Jan Chozen Bays. I'm finding that book helpful now being that I am over a year out from my surgery. Cementing things I learned preop and opening up understanding of how my mind works here in the long run.
Meal Plan:
B: I had leftover pizza topping plus 1/4 cp grapefruit
L: I had 3.5 oz mix of left over baked chicken breast and left over baked ham with 1/2 oz cheese,
S: Beef short ribs, small salad.
Sn: 1/2 cp milk, 2 tbl nuts.
E: I'm training now for a 10K (September), though I will do some 5ks when I can. I am partially blind and driving is now an issue so I can only participate if Hub isn't working on the day of. But he will be off for the big one. BTW I walk these, not run. I broke T5 a couple years ago and running is now a no go but I can walk them fine. So Exercise today includes walking for 60 minutes.
Have a great day everyone.
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This is such a difficult time, for sure. The city I moved from had irregularities in voting, including when they went through the early ballots. The clerk sent out two different times to the observers, one time (the correct time) to one party's observers and then sent a much later time (by about 8 hours) to the other party. When someone caught this, she suspended counting for 15 minutes and then restarted without notifying those affected by the incorrect time and so on. this went on throughout the day. The mayor was also under review for accepting private funds to place ballot boxes around the town which is against the law in our state (or at least that count).
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This has become a somewhat complicated issue. My career was in Forensic Toxicology. Drug screen positives are "presumptive" only and must be confirmed by an alternate test form - usually by GC-Mass Spec (GC/MS). The confirmation testing will rule out Delta-8 unless it had been specifically requested to be tested for and a positive THC screen from delta-8 would then be negative on confirmation testing. So unless your state or employer specifically has all positive THC results tested for delta-8, the confirmation test would be negative. With preemployment testing or other testing with legal consequences, it is required that a confirmation test be done before it ever goes to the Medical Review Officer (MRO). Unless delta-8 is illegal in your state, even if a specimen were tested and confirmed for it (if it isn't illegal, then I can't imagine why it would even be included), the result cannot be used to refuse a person employment. But, in fact, the MRO would never see any positive delta-8-THC result in legal states since there is no legal consequence to take any delta-8 product. However, if you manufacture, then you are breaking the law at the federal level. States are slowly looking at these products and some have outlawed delta-8 products.
From NCDI: While delta-8 products have not been classified as illegal at the federal level, the actual manufacture of delta-8 probably violates federal law.
From Quest Diagnostics: Thus, a presumptive test for a person who has used a delta-8 product (which may be legal in the state where he or she resides) may give a false positive for delta-9-THC. The two metabolites also have the same molecular weight and very similar chemical properties, meaning delta-8-THCA can interfere with detection of delta-9-THCA, leading to a false negative on definitive testing.
I hope that clarifies my previous comments.
Sue
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Today will be rather low-key around here. We are heading out to "the trail" to see if it is dry enough to walk on with Zeus (140 lb Pyrenees) aka Boss Dog among other things. We're cooking out for supper. Last night was a neighborhood gathering and someone smoked a pork something. It was very good.
QOTD: I prefer at home and walk/hike quite a bit. My bariatric program offers online chair yoga now online, 20 minute sessions, and I'm trying that out. My feet prefer chair when it comes to Yoga (surgeries on both feet in the past). I'm also trying to find online videos to use for stretching or light calisthenics. Last weeks' bari support focused on building exercise in which has been an issue for me. I'd rather walk or garden than do regimented exercise. The group leader said that exercise was imperative for maintaining weight loss and it finally sunk in. If I'm going to keep this weight off, I need to put together a liveable program.
Meal Plan:
B: I had some leftover omelet and 1/4 cup summer fruit salad (a lot left over from the picnic so I'll be eating this for a while.
L: Not sure. May stop at a place offering a free meal to veterans. If we do, I'll have a naked burger and a side salad. Otherwise, if I'm eating at home, it'll be tuna and pickles.
D: Burger, onion, pickle and summer salad.
Thanks to all your family members who have or are serving in the military!
Sue
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Love your grandma! The two times I flew, I concentrated on keeping the plane in the air. It worked!
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Lots of plans for lots of people it seems! I'd love to see Scotland. My sis said we are related to the Spencers (Princess Diana). She was into genealogy but who knows. But Scotland has always called my name. Why have I never flown there???
QOTD: FLYING!!!! Lol. I've flown twice and until they let me pilot the plane at the height I'm comfortable with, it's either drive or take the train. Since there are no trains to Scotland from the US, I live it vicariously through pics and travel logs. Also spiders (have I got some stories), regaining the weight and lastly being abandoned (though I love my alone time).
Meal Plan:
B I had half of a leftover cheeseburger (no bun) and grapefruit sections.
L Salad and a protein shake
S Oatmeal and sausage.
SN Hot cocoa sounds good. 
It's our "last" 
cold day going from 50s today to 90 on Monday.
Have a great weekend all! Sue
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I especially love the bird on bare branches. I used that as a theme in my living room and that pic would look great framed on my wall. Have a great weekend! Sue
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Kitty is too funny! I'm a dog person but need a cat fix every now and then. One friend has always had cats which made it easy, but she moved to Nevada (I'm in Wisconsin). So late April I got on a train (should do biggest fear QOTD one these days!), and went to Nevada and had 2 weeks of kitty fix. Her current kitty Charlie is a lover and I had plenty of kitty cuddles by the time I left.
QOTD: It's hard to pick a favorite. My grandma flower gardened (we lived in same house, separate living quarters until I was 10 as dad and grandpa farmed together). Anyway, her flowers were gorgeous and I learned the names of them but she would never let me into her garden to help. Grandpa veggie gardened and he gave me my own row to plant so I have always had a nice veg garden. Fortunately a friend has a flower gardening green thumb and has helped me over the years to cultivate my own flowers. Favorite?? For scent it would be lilacs and old-fashioned roses. For looks, I love daisy, black-eyed Susan's and purple cone flower planted all together.
Today I'm beginning training for a 10K (walk) this fall. I'll also walk some 5ks over the summer.
Meal plan:
B 1 egg/1 egg white omelet, 1/2 Oz cheese, 2 TBL grapefruit.
L Chicken breast with 2 TBL sauce and mozza cheese
S Baked chicken thigh, salad, sf pudding
SN Coffee with half and half
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Thank you Melody. I will thank him for you.
I'm so sorry about your uncle. My hub did the same for 8 horrible years. He was fortunate that after his 2nd time in treatment, he got it and has been sober since 1982. The silver lining side to what happened to the soldiers from that time is that today's soldiers are looked at as heroes and there are support programs, counseling, etc., when they return from duty. That was a direct result of what happened back in the 60s and 70s.
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I just can't comment on the school shooting. Too overwhelming.
QOTD: Hub is a Viet Nam era vet meaning he served in a war support position one country over from Vietnam Nam. I'm so glad the Honor Flights for Viet Nam vets are now taking place again b/c these vets were never welcomed home. My husband started college and was spit on at school. His liberal profs thought it appropriate and encouraged this as "freedom of speech". He literally forbade me to tell anyone he served. But about 5 years ago someone thanked him for his service when he went to Golden Corral for their free meals for veterans. Soon after, he began thanking other veterans for their service and then began saying yes when asked if he served. He's finally letting go of his fear of being ridiculed for having served where/when he did.
Hub is working Fri and Sat but Sunday we are "hiking" hopefully a couple miles followed by a picnic lunch. Sunday we'll go to the cemetery for the ceremony and then to to a cookout. Hub broke all 3 bones in his ankle a couple years ago and has had 2 surgeries. Now that his weight is coming down, he's starting to walk a bit further (thank God)!!
Menu
B: Fairlife Protein Shake
L. Had a retirees luncheon this noon. One chicken thigh, mixed veg, dab of mashed potato.
D. Salmon, salad with Caesar dressing, 2 strawberries.
Sn. Brazil nuts (3).
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Love the kitty!
QOTD: I don't eat tacos - ever! The spices of most "Mexican" food just don't agree with me. Hoped that might be something that changed after WLS but nope, still can't eat it.
TSS: 15 months (can't believe it).
I've been trying to work through some of my disordered eating issues and my ED counselor has been talking about foods not being good or bad and suggested trying out some new foods and eating situations. Goes along with my Bari dietician who says no food is off limits in her opinion. I'm a chemist and love rules. Give me the rules that never change and I can do it. So this has felt wishy washy for me for the last few weeks. Very stressful and food thoughts back in full force. Someone recommended "Mindful Eating" which I've been reading hoping something will click for me. Yesterday went to a movie and decided to have some popcorn (they have small, complimentary bags on certain days). Watching movie and eating popcorn slow but not particularly mindfully. Suddenly all this info fell into place. 
The issue isn't the food, it's the decisions about food that I make that are important. Sounds so simple but was a major V8 moment. So I've been stressing as my food amounts have changed (at 15 months, I still expected that half a cup should be enough) and the variety of foods I can tolerate expanded. I was so focused on food like I used to do that the head/heart hunger were overwhelming me. All I need do is plan the food, eat/enjoy the food and then outside of meals, focus on my life. I was even starting to isolate again. But now I get it!
Menu:
B: Coffee with half and half (before) egg omelet, cheese, grapefruit sections
L: Chicken Caesar salad
S: Chicken parmesan (homemade unbreaded), asparagus
Sn: If needed, 1/2 cup milk, 2 TBL peanuts
Exercise: Walking.
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Most drug testing for THC is the delta-9 metabolite and not delta-8 so your gummy wouldn't be picked up in a routine drug screen.
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Thanks Wombat. The idea that even thin/"normal" people also want to turn to food at times. I guess they aren't large b/c of how often it happens or the types of food they turn to. Unfortunately, I turned to starchy carbs and sugar. 
Can't say why. The poster before yours (no name) mentioned stress and I have been feeling a lot of stress recently but haven't been acknowledging it to myself. I came back recently from a 2 week vacation visiting a friend a few states away (thus far away from the stress inducer) and my head and heart hunger were in abeyance. Time to find what will work in helping me cope with it. I like your use of eating something that I don't care that much for. I do have one optional snack midafternoon and substituting almonds or brazil nuts for peanuts would fit the bill.
Thanks to everyone *****sponded to me. You've given me some new ways to look at myself and ideas/options to try and to use.
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Congrats!! That is an amazing accomplishment and some good advice. I love when long term WLS's post whether they are successful or are sharing their struggles b/c there is always something to learn or relearn from you all. Do you know for sure that you dump b/c you tried it out or just assume that you do? I dumped a couple of times early on (even though I hadn't eaten sugar but I had all the symptoms of early dumping) and I made the decision that I will assume I dump no matter how far out it is. That is an experience I absolutely never want to experience again. Also, I decided a couple of months ago to stock up my freezer which is looking more and more like a really, really good decision. Bought bulk and divided everything into appropriate sizes, labeled and put in my chest freezer. Now I'm working on my vegetable garden. 
I'm 15 months out. Wishes of continued success to you!!
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That book sounds familiar, and I think someone mentioned it at one of the bariatric support groups. I see Amazon has a Kindle version (I'm visually impaired and Kindle is adjustable to maximize my vision. It says there is a link to a 75 minute video with eating exercises led by the author. Did you try those perhaps?
In our preop 8-week Life Skills class, mindful eating was covered but as time goes on, I'm realizing that virtually everything about success after bariatric surgery is about being mindful.
Thanks for the suggestion. Last night was very challenging and I literally sat on my hands for an hour. Too dark for me to walk and hub was sleeping on the lower level due to his work schedule so my craft project was out. So I sat on my hands reminding myself no one has ever died from white knuckles, lol. My hub goes to NA and will say "This, too, shall pass". I can't wait!
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Wow, I haven't thought about it that way. At 15 months, I wasn't anticipating the end to the honeymoon and was hoping I'd be in the group with an extended one.
Like everyone, I'm scared to death of regaining the weight and have felt as if this is the beginning of the end. I've never maintained weight loss for more than a handful of months at best when I lost weight "traditionally". With the return of full-force cravings (head and/or heart hunger), I've been fatalistically thinking of this as the inevitable end to my success.
I do continue to track my food and exercise and also attend my programs bariatric support groups. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the groups are virtual only and it is hard to get to know new people (for me) on virtual meetings. So I guess it is time for me to find what helps me feel both supported and social at the same time. Isolating myself is a huge trigger for overeating and weight gain even when the isolation is enforced like with Covid rather than a personal choice.
I'll look into the WW book. Knowledge is key to recovery! Thanks.
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