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I decided when I started this journey that I was going to take before photos and progress photos. Here is one month into my new life! I started my pre-op diet 30 days ago, surgery was September 13th. I’m 5’4” and started at 242, I’m now 218. My biggest piece of advice (especially if you struggle to see your own progress in the mirror) is TAKE THE PICTURES.

Hi lizonaplane Your valued input is greatly appreciated I think my downfall is total lack of exercise and not taking my vitamins Thnxs once again

^^^^ this

If you feel like this is an issue for you, it's best to talk with a therapist who specializes in bariatric issues. See if your surgery center can recommend someone. Good luck!

I’ve been lucky that not a lot of people have asked but there is no reason you can’t just say your seeing a nutritionists and meal planning/ cutting portion sizes and calories, protein first, etc and just leave out the surgery part.

I'm in the same boat. My surgeon, when I brought this up, sort of smirked a little bit and said, "I will tell you what. Go and scramble an egg. See how much you can eat." Three bites later I was DONE. Like, maybe a third of a scrambled egg. This, from a guy who would easily knock down 6 or 8 if I was in training for a competition. So strange, yet so strangely comforting. He also was completely nonplussed that I was consuming 600-800 calories. Quoting verbatim: "You were probably eating 5,000 before, so the difference between 400-500 and 600-800 is negligible for you. When you lose more weight the calories will be more important. Right now, eat protein." The hunger is a lot better two weeks out than it was the first few days.

I do dump. I started at over 700, when I got down to 310 (my goal was 210), I started a program similar to Couch to 5K. I accomplished that and just kept going. Eventually I thought a marathon would be an interesting goal and I targeted the Valley of Fire marathon (outside Las Vegas). I ran 5 marathons in a year starting about 3 years post-op, during which I was running 70 to 90+ miles a week. I usually ran in the mornings before work, though there were periods where I did "2 a days". Right when I woke up I mixed up an ice-tea / Gatorade mix that wasn't terrible and drank it down. It woke me up and got me moving but I don't think it made much of a difference during my runs. During the runs I just did water. After runs I also did a regular yogurt for recovery. I tried the little squeeze packs and found they were ok on normal days (10-13 miles), but they would cause me to dump on longer runs, so abandoned them and anything else. Again, I didn't perceive any difference with the squeeze thing. My normal plan was 3 meals per day of 3oz protein, 1oz veggies. Because of the running I hit and shot way past a normal BMI. Eventually I was up to 5 meals per day plus a protein drink. The protein drink was instead of a 6th meal as I already felt I was eating all day. It slowed my weight loss. I hated (HATED!) eating so much, what a turn. Good luck, Tek

I saw my doctor every 3 mon for the first year, every 6 mon for the last 2 years and now I just had my 3 yr visit ( Oct anniversary) and he changed me to every year. I will keep up with those visits because that is what keeps you on the books as a "current" patient. If there are ever any issues it's easier to get an appointment when you are current. Also, since I do attend the support group, it keeps me in the loop for what changes may have been made. Also, they do keep statistics and I want to be counted in the "successful" group!

This was a bad stage for me as well. My nutritionist said that I didn’t have to actually purée meats, but just chop into very very small pieces. This was a lifesaver for me and I ate a lot of crock pot shredded chicken chopped small with fat free gravy and mashed potatoes, ground turkey, the infamous ricotta bake, and refried beans with thin salsa and cheese. I also did canned tuna and chicken, but that didn’t go down as well despite using light mayo. I also made chicken soup from scratch and just made sure the veggies were very well cooked/ mushy and I would mash each serving. Be sure that you chew very well and take your time in between bites and you should be fine with the minced/chopped vs pureed.

I think you need to reset your expectations. You've done MUCH better than most of us. It sounds like you're very successful! stalls are a common "feature" of weight loss. When you hit one, just stay the course and stay off the scale for a few days. As long as you're following your program, they'll eventually break and you'll be on your way again. We've all been there....