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Sugar free Jello. Clear broth. Green Tea. Distractions. Watch movies you love. Have crazy sex. Take a hot bath. Do something you enjoy. I had a terrible time of it, too. I HATE how I feel in ketosis. I feel unhinged and horrible, brain fog, hangry, desperate, dizzy, miserable. Pre-op diet was really tough for me, but I did it. A day at a freaking time. An hour. A minute, sometimes. You can do this. It won't last forever.

I'm three years out and LOVE bread of all kinds. Naan is a favorite. Love sourdough and pumpernickle, health nut and multigrain too. But I've gotta say, it's still tough to eat a lot of it, even now....and that's probably for the best in my case cause historically, bread was something I'd go to town on and overindulge. I can eat bread almost like a normal person now...meaning...a reasonable single or half serving of it, instead of a double or triple serving like I used to. Balance is a good thing! You're still in early days. And yep, you're gonna have moments of frustration and missing your old eating habits, missing the way certain things tasted/felt. Old favorites won't work anymore and it's a weird feeling....for me there was a little bit of food grief...as disturbing as that is to say, I did feel genuinely sad about my changing relationships with food. But then, I found new healthy favorites, new ways of cooking, got used to new portion sizes, new expectations. New body, better health It does get a lot better in time. Promise.

Curious what changes (if any) folks made to their diet while waiting for their surgery date? I'm trying to make some changes now so adjusting to a new lifestyle won't be quite as dramatic after surgery. I want to set myself up for success as much as possible. So far I have done the following: - cut way back on my coffee (only one cup caffeinated every other day) - water intake up to 100 ounces a day - tracking my food and limiting carbs to less than 120g a day - trying to teach myself to eat 5 times a day instead of 3 (this has been a big change because I had finally gotten used to only eating 3 times a day...my new program wants folks eating 5 times a day so something is eaten every 3-4 hours) - focusing on protein first - cut fast food down to 2 times a week - cut out alcohol - adding in walks, though not consistently yet Any thing else I can do to help prepare myself more for this new lifestyle?

Oddly what has helped me the most is stretching over a stability ball. I think that all of my muscles in my stomach tightened from me trying to protect it and keep still during early recovery but I started to just lay on my stability ball for a few moments in the morning and it also helped!

I can have 2-3 Premier Protein shakes a day and clear liquids. I’ve mixed flavors of the shakes for variety (ex. chocolate and caramel). I’ve also blended it with ice so I could eat it with a spoon like ice cream.

It will get better, for me it was day 3. I really just got to the point that Ididn't care if I ate or not. SF Popsicles are only 15 cals and are such a treat!

I started eating Joseph's Whole Wheat Pita bread at 6 months out. That is when my docs said it was safe to eat. I only eat 1/2 of a 1/2. That is all my belly can take. I am still eating small amounts of food. I am Middle Eastern also, and we had bread at every meal.

That’s wonderful! You are a person who recovers pretty quick and that’s great!! I was too and was very thankful for that. Congrats and welcome to the club!!

In the first pic, I’m the one on the right side of the photo. I was already a mother of 4 wonderful kids, but I was miserable & very unhappy with my weight. I was insecure and embarrassed at how far I had met myself go. So, I started doing 5k runs to help myself lose weight. Being active was never a problem. I was disciplined enough to get out on a track, do step aerobics, or walk/run some bleachers. However, it was my relationship with food that was the problem. When I started my journey to get the sleeve, my surgeon said something that stayed with me: “The sleeve will guarantee weight loss in your first year out, but YOU have to utilize that time to CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE in order to maintain that weight loss.” Folks...that is EXACTLY what I did. I changed my eating habits. The sleeve forced my hand with QUANTITY, but I learned about QUALITY nutrition for my body. I completely changed my dietary habits! I got rid of all my trigger foods (and believe me that most of them are sliders!) and filled my fridge & pantry with lean meats, veggies, fresh fruits, complex carbs. And as the weight came off, I started lifting weights (heavy weights) to totally recomp my figure. And as the years went by and my stomach stretched and the quantity of food I was able to consume increased, I learned to time my meals and seek out fulfilling recipes that were also satisfying. Foods like: zucchini noodles with chicken & Alfredo sauce; zucchini noodles with spaghetti sauce & turkey meat; turkey patties topped with gravy & mushrooms and a side of green beans; turkey chili topped with cheese and a small bag of Fritos; pancakes/waffles made from oats, banana, eggs, olive oil, cinnamon(add I add protein powder as an option, and a sugar free seasoning call Honey Butter & Cinnamon by Icon); I use sugar free syrups (like Walden Farms) and marinades (like G. Hughes); seasonings that are low in sodium & sugar free (Icon). Folks! Life changing!!! I’m so much happier! I feel strong, confident, and in control! I’m in a better place mentally, and because of that, I’m a much better parent to my kids!