Hi there. I haven't signed in for a long time, but I have browsed the site often over the past few years. Hopefully, you won't mind me venting a little.
I transitioned in 2010 and have been very happy with how everything has gone so far. HRT has been excellent, family and friends are supportive, and most people I interact with these days don't even know I'm trans. But I've known all along that I wanted SRS as soon as I could afford it. After careful discussion with my wife, we decided that we could finally afford for me to get srs this year. I had all my paperwork ready to go and sent everything off to Montreal. When I received my surgery date with Dr. Brassard I was told that I would need to be at a maximum weight of 220lbs which meant I needed to lose 75lbs in 10 months. Pretty realistic, at least I thought so. I knew I was officially overweight, but I play alot of sports and have no other health issues. After losing 30 lbs during the last 6 months, I have found that I have gained back 15lbs. so with 104 days left before surgery I have to lose 60lbs. I'm really starting to panic now. There is no way I am letting the surgery get postponed, I don't want to wait another single day than I have to.
I can't believe I didn't stick to my weight loss plan this summer. I am so mad at myself right now. I figure if I get back to my healthy diet and ramp up the exercise I should able to get back on track. My only hope is that the clinic will give me a break if I am slightly over 220lbs, but in excellent health otherwise. ???
Welcome to Susan's Jenn
here are a list of important things to know about the forum.
- Site Terms of Service and rules to live by (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,2.0.html)
- Standard Terms and Definitions (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,54369.0.html)
- Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar/post links and photos) (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,114.0.html.)
- Age and the Forum (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,62197.msg405545.html#msg405545)
- Reputation rules (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,18960.0.html)
I am a Brassard girl and did have 15-20lbs over that :-(.
I had no issue and was worried.
Not to say it will be ok but I would check with the staff.
Extra weight holds many risks and can make aftercare harder.
Glad you joined our family.
I live in Montreal and if you need anything or wish a visit let me know. I have a few in coming weeks and months I will be visiting.
Izzy
Wow, it really sucks that they were so strict with you - I was told the doctor *preferred* that I lose some weight, but for what it's worth, I showed up at about 230 lbs and had no problems whatsoever. (That is, nobody made a peep about my weight once I was actually there.) I did get a letter from my GP stating I was in excellent health for surgery, and indeed, I was extremely fit and strong and recovered beautifully; weight is not the best indicator of actual *health.* I did not have to use that letter, but it provided me serious peace of mind, so I'd recommend you consider something similar just in case.
So my experience is that for someone who's under the literal weight limit of the surgical table, weight should not be a major issue. You could even contact them again and ask if they really, truly will cancel surgery unless you can hit the arbitrary number. My impression was that the surgeons didn't care that much, but the woman doing emails for them isn't always the best at English, and sometimes what sounds like an absolute ultimatum is more of a "we'd like/suggest this, but it's OK if you don't manage it." (For example, she made it sound like 1 day late on the deadline to pay was a dealbreaker, and then I heard from other people there that they'd had delays in banking, mail, etc. and no problems!)
Hi Izzy, thanks for the welcome and the info regarding the forums.
I have emailed the clinic staff to let them know that I may be over the weight limit in November. I told them that I would still work very hard towards meeting the goal, but I asked them if surgery would still be possible if I got a clean bill of health from my family doctor. I do understand the need for patients to be at a healthy weight and I wouldn't want to put myself at risk. I just have to put my head down and start burning some extra calories asap.
Thanks for the offer of coming to visit. I may take you up on that.
Thanks Jenna Marie,
Your post made me feel a whole lot better. I'm still going to work my guts out so that I am in the best possible condition before surgery!!!!
I knew venting here would lead to some great support. :D
Hey just a tip to help you lose weight and keep it lost: avoid meat, dairy, oil and processed foods. Eat whole plant foods instead: fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. This will give you the best results and no need to calory restrict. If you're hungry or tired it probably means you need to eat more. Good luck!
Quote from: Jenna Marie on August 13, 2014, 03:12:10 PMI was told the doctor *preferred* that I lose some weight, but for what it's worth, I showed up at about 230 lbs and had no problems whatsoever.
So my experience is that for someone who's under the literal weight limit of the surgical table, weight should not be a major issue.
The weight limit of a surgical table is not in any way an indicator of how much weight is safe/unsafe for patients undergoing surgery.
And technically they are BMI restrictions. BMI restrictions are in place for surgery due to possible problems with the airway, venous access, anatomical landmarks, healing.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on August 18, 2014, 04:49:42 PMavoid meat, dairy, oil and processed foods. Eat whole plant foods instead: fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. This will give you the best results and no need to calory restrict. If you're hungry or tired it probably means you need to eat more. Good luck!
This is false. Meat, dairy, oils, all have nutritious properties. Avoiding them will only make it harder for your body to lose weight. There's no better way to lose weight than caloric deficiency and exercise.
There are no nutrients in animals that you can't get from whole plant foods in abundance. This is an example of a cronometer feed of food I ate in a given day and their nutritional value. Plants have fiber. Plants have water. Plants have vitamins and minerals.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1476046455981934&set=pcb.1476046619315251&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1476046462648600&set=pcb.1476046619315251&type=1&theater
Can you show me one nutrient for which I am missing the RDA?
Animal foods contain lots of saturated fat and promote TOR growth enzyme activity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwJASNFy9XQ
Eating a plant based diet allows you to eat low fat and high carbs and as much as you want so you have lots of energy, and you don't initiate the 4 hour insulin resistance caused by eating fat 3 times a day. In many experiments, healthy students who were fed fat foods would temporarily gain lots of insulin resistance for several hours. Do that 3 times a day, and you have the beginnings of diabetes.
Furthermore, you remove all sources of dietary cholesterol if you remove meat and dairy from your diet and get all the cholesterol you need manufactured by your body.
Low carb diets can work short term, but because you always need calories to work your brain and your body, starving yourself cannot work long term. That's why high carb whole plant foods diet low in fat (unless it's whole raw almonds and nuts) is the method that works long term... and you can see how the low carb vs high carb gurus look if you're confused by their arguments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95fpzu38r44
Source about why nuts don't make people fat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRxMhqdmb2Y
So basically, eating whole plant foods to your heart's content while avoiding meat, dairy, oil and processed foods gives the best health and most sustainable weight loss.
How has caloric restriction worked for you so far? Try a whole foods plant based diet... Eat as many whole fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains as you want. Live in abundance, just of the right foods.
By the way, it's totally possible to get fat and sick on a vegan diet. I've been vegan for 2 years and when I started taking hormones 7 months ago, I started gaining weight and the weight wasn't distributing in a feminine pattern. This was probably due to hormonal change coupled with processed foods. But now that I am eating less processed foods (I got my junk food down to one moderate meal a week) I am losing the weight again and the fat is distributing in more of an hourglass shape i.e. my waist circumference is going down enough to get a nice curve.
That's why I am refering specifically to a whole plant foods based diet, not a vegan diet. Eating mock meat and cheese is almost as unhealthy as eating actual meat and cheese because of the high amounts of satured fats and trans fats in processed foods devoid of the complete natural nutrient packages from which they were created.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on August 18, 2014, 04:49:42 PM
Hey just a tip to help you lose weight and keep it lost: avoid meat, dairy, oil and processed foods. Eat whole plant foods instead: fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. This will give you the best results and no need to calory restrict. If you're hungry or tired it probably means you need to eat more. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice Ruth. My wife is a vegetarian, so I wanted to change my eating habits so that we could eat similar dishes. We went with some meal plans from the Happy Herbivore and I am loving all the plant based recipes. It's also been great spending time cooking together instead of just throwing processed food in the microwave or oven to cook. We can't seem to go full vegan, but we do keep our dairy consumption to a minimum. I've already lost 25lbs just by making this change to my eating, so I am hopeful that with an increased exercise routine I'll do even better.
Hi Jenn,
I am very interested in this discussion, as i am facing the same issue. I have a surgery date with Dr. Brassard in early January, and I was told he wanted me to get my weight down to 200 pounds. I am currently about 240. While i am working very hard on my diet and exercising to get my weight down, I have been wondering what would happen if I can't reach 200. If he told you the "cutoff" was 220, that I guess it's good news for me. In any case, I would hope that your (our) weight wouldn't be enough to require postponing surgery if your health is fine in all other regards.
I wish you the best, and hope you enjoy exploring the joys of eating a plant-based diet! A good resource, btw, is Forks over Knives, which is video / book/ cookbook all about the benefits of eating plant-based -- it might be worth checking out!
MayaF
Quote from: Jenn_nb on August 13, 2014, 03:17:38 PM
Hi Izzy, thanks for the welcome and the info regarding the forums.
I have emailed the clinic staff to let them know that I may be over the weight limit in November. I told them that I would still work very hard towards meeting the goal, but I asked them if surgery would still be possible if I got a clean bill of health from my family doctor. I do understand the need for patients to be at a healthy weight and I wouldn't want to put myself at risk. I just have to put my head down and start burning some extra calories asap.
Thanks for the offer of coming to visit. I may take you up on that.
Hi MayaF, I have been confirmed for surgery (as long as I continue my current weight loss routine). I had to send current pics to the staff so they have a better idea of my height/weight ratio. I have been given a target weight and I feel confident that I will reach it in plenty of time for surgery. I agree with you that the important thing is to be in overall good health.
Btw I am loving the plant based meal plans. Can't see me going back to my former ways ever again.
Good luck with your diet and exercise plan. When the end goal is as important as ours is, there is no lack of motivation! LOL