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Good luck!! I hope you have an easy, breezy surgery! Don't worry about puree stage...refried beans are a life saver! Also, my nutritionist said as long as you chew, chew, chew anything is a puree! LOL So I wouldn't eat steak or anything, but tuna fish and chicken salad made with greek yogurt and mashed well with a fork worked for me. YOU CAN DO THIS!

You have a big job of mentally reframing what is "good" food. I agree with the others that you will be able to have those foods again, in limited portions, but the bigger job is to start training your brain to love the healthy foods and start despising the unhealthy ones. Ice cream and simple carbs are the seducers that got you into trouble in the first place. You have to start thinking about them in term of what they actually do to your long term health. An exercise of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in overcoming addictive behaviors is to make a list of all the benefits of healthy foods (lower cholesterol, lower glucose levels, lower BP, weight loss, anti-oxidants, vitamins, etc) and a list of the bad things unhealthy foods will do (increased weight, BP, glucose, lipids, depression, loss of quality of life, higher rate of heart attack, cancer ,and stroke, decreased longevity, etc.) If you practice this daily, your brain really will start to "re-wire" to seek out a delicious food choice rather than a poor one, and you will have increased endorphin release by making the choice. Healthy choices are part of the lifestyle changes you agree to tackle when you agree to WLS. Don't obsess on the ice cream. You'll have it again, eventually. But use this first year to make the lifestyle changes and rewire your thought patterns so the sweets and treats will never take you down again. PS: Another thought. Before surgery, I cannot count the number of times i would pray, "Please, God, I'll give up anything if You can just help me get this weight off." Then I had surgery and the weight came off. I am dead serious in saying that if I NEVER can have a bite of ice cream or sugar again, it is a sacrifice worth every single day of being a normal weight and having my life back. The fact is that you have to be willing to give up the junk if you want the health. You can't keep flirting with the food that made you fat in the first place. You can't have it both ways. Until you really hardwire the healthy habits and healthy food, don't put yourself in the way of temptation by entertaining thoughts of the junk food.

Hey Guys, I am newly posting but have been reading along since last year. I got sleeved on March 4th, 2020. The day I got the surgery the hospital I was in had 2 covid cases, and then the city shut down. I haven't been to a support group meeting (obviously because covid) but thank you all for your post they have been my support since. I just wanted to check in with anyone else that may have had the surgery in March to see how you are doing? I have been feeling a bit depressed lately. I don't know if it's from the pandemic or the slowing of my progress or a combination of all. I have lost a total of 70 lbs since March but I haven't lost anything for the past 2 months and it's depressing me. I did lose a lot of inches but it has been hard to get workouts in and I am getting concerned about the loose skin. I got the surgery at 243lbs and am currently 172 lbs. I am thinking of going back to a soft foods diet but I barely get 1000 calories in a day. Just looking for some other stories or support/suggestions here. BTW I don't regret a thing and good luck to everyone that is going through the process!

I hope things improve and I'm glad you are able to look on the bright side!! Praying that your kitty makes it home safe and sound!

I really think i had an advantage when it comes to this having been a previous LB patient. Its a whole lot different when you CAN'T eat it vs SHOULDN'T. As the band got tighter, bread, rice, grits, some potatoes, drier meats like port, white chicken, veggies like asparagus, fruit like apples.... just would not go down. If i even tried it would get stuck and have to "uneat" it. So i just stopped. I really thought it would be harder, but after a few times of throwing up... you learn to stay away. Now with the sleeve, it's super easy as i have just gone back to that way pretty much. a few weeks ago i found myself dipping my toe in the deep part of the pool..... realized that it was/is a dangerous place to be. So back to the kiddy pool so to speak. Last night i cooked one of my favorite meals..... smothered chicken (boneless thighs) green beans and rice.... I sooooo badly wanted the rice.... but i stayed away. I found the wanting of these things never go away, but the acting on them can.

Congrats and best wishes on your surgery! During the puréed stage, refried beans with melted cheese were a particular fave of mine.

weird hormone things are pretty common after surgery. Supposedly it's because estrogen is stored in fat, and when you have a rapid weight loss, a bunch of it gets released. Many women experience mood swings and screwed up menstrual cycles the first few months after surgery. But yes - it does stabilize after awhile.

I agree. If you tell yourself "I can never have _______" again, you will probably want it MORE! I went to dinner with my sister, and while I did not let them leave the bread basket (luckily she is also on a diet), I did have two amazing bites of cheesecake...and that was enough! I brought the rest home and told my son "Eat it or throw it away!" so I wouldn't be tempted. I know that I can't keep those things in my house, but if I'm out, then I will indulge (a little!).

Typical for who and there personal circumsances? Hasn't been two weeks yet so I would say 9lb is pretty good. Reset your expectations. First few weeks are a bit skewed...there is surgery weight (as in IV fluids and inflammation), weight loss from pre op diet (and if a lot lost then don't expect to lose a lot in the first few weeks post op), body getting use to the various post op food stages, surgery day weight, gender, incidental activity levels, hydration/dehydration levels. If you are going to stick around, it would be helpful if you filled in your profile, weight, height etc, it gives context to any questions and helps frame responses. It is difficult at this stage to meet goals, a calorie goal is probably even more difficult. Focus on water, protein (very helpful for healing/recovery from surgery as well as helping feel satisfied), volumes etc. What calorie goal has been set for you at this stage of your post op progress?

First and foremost you need to tell him Everything you need and want to, doesn't matter if he wants to hear it or not, you NEED to tell him how you feel, stick with I statements. I feel this way when this. I feel this way when that. Keep them pointed at you, so he doesn't feel attacked and shut down before you can even get started. Do not be afraid to tell him that he's going to end up pushing you away. You said he's overweight too, odds are he's jealous of your progress, how you are (I'm sure) feeling MUCH better, more energy, more attention from others. He's more than likely upset that he feels he's being left behind. But all of that is on him not you. You are not and will never be responsible for anyone other than your own reactions. If he's upset, that's for him to figure out why, is he upset that you are losing weight? If so... that's not your problem or fault or responsibility to fix for him. My wife and I have been married for almost 22 years now. I've known my wife was bi for 23+ years. It wasn't until a good 5 years into our marriage that she finally "saw" it as well. I got fat... almost 400 ish (sitting at 190ish now) I knew that I wasn't providing her the things she needed to feel "complete" or "fulfilled" sexually. I handled the Male side of things ok, but I got a lot of "not now, I don't feel good" etc, I constantly felt like I was being pushed away. When we started opening our relationship up, we talked.... a lot. Who wanted what, why, what were the rules, boundaries, etc. We had long, very embarrassing discussions. But in the end, we both knew where we were and what was needed to keep each of us "happy" together. The idea wasn't to replace, it was to fill in. I could never be a woman, even with things being hidden by fat and having breasts... I'm not woman and never will be, so, in my mind, how can I be mad at her for wanting what I can't provide. So rules in hand we started to go out and meet people, together. I pushed her to go dance and be playful and to have fun. At first she was afraid I would be left out, and I knew I would be. And I was. But she had her time, I got some time too with a few but for the most part, it was all for her. Then I lost the weight. The wife was never really THAT big, she did hit 170-190 ish at one point, but that was because the whole house was eating like crap. I lost weight and so did she. We started working out together. We started getting more attention from others as well. My big issue is that, she reacts to me the way I would react when I was big. I was unhappy with myself, super self conscious, hated myself and lashed out a lot. She was reacting to the old me, not the new me. That spun some new deep convos, one we still work on. We met our current girlfriend back in October. At first she was really into the wife, but also interested in me, but as she was more gay than bi, it was the wife she was found of, but that slowly changed, our GF had some issues with past trauma from other GFs, so I because this shelter, and the roles that my wife and I dealth with for years, reversed. Now she's the one that feels left out or pushed aside, not that she is, just that, that's how she feels. So more and more long awkward open convos and things are so much better. I think the take away is, open up and talk. Drop your most uncomfortable information right in his lap and let him deal with it. Most men were brought up not to express ANY emotion or weakness. I've worked hard to push past that, I know that if I"m upset, I'm allowed to be upset. I cry, I get emotional, I get sad and pissed. I get needy and want to feel loved or want to feel desired. I know that a lot of my control issues come from lack of control and other things from my past, but, the 3 of us talk often. We sit down and discuss things. We have gotten to the point where one of us can request "private time" with the other and no one gets upset about it. It's been very VERY hard. All the body issues I face, control issues I face, jealousy, envy, etc. All gets sorted when talk. Not to say that you'll talk and it'll end up great for the 2 of you, but as some have pointed out above, sometimes we change and no longer fit with our spouse. And there really isn't anything wrong with that. Humans grown, change and evolve. You've made a drastic evolution. Why is he upset? Only he knows for sure. Good luck and congrats on the loss! You look like you feel MUCH better!