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So you’re in your third week which generally is purée. Can you give us an idea of what you’ve been eating. Yes, some take longer to heal & therefore need to move through the stages more slowly so move back a stage for a few days. Like the purée you’ve eaten is still too thick for you yet. Try thinning them with water, stock, milk, etc. Some allowed foods can still be too heavy for our tummy yet & you may experience discomfort though I wouldn’t say pain as you’ve described. And yes, eating too quickly can cause again discomfort. You can even have the foamies if something is too heavy, coarse or you eat to quickly but you’ve haven’t experienced that. I’d still check with your surgeon or go to a hospital because you really shouldn’t be experiencing pain as strong as you’ve indicated.

All the above posters have shared many useful activities I have enjoyed that work. My latest has been to get a rowing machine from Amazon. There’s many kinds and price points. I picked a magnetic one so I’m quiet. I started dancing around with more upper body movements in my house during lockdowns. My son called it “flopping around “ but it worked and was a good starting point. I just did one or two songs every hour, short bursts.

Absolutely this. Knowledge is power. Scan the menu, make your best selection and then only eat what you want or need to when it arrives.

That has to be the way forward. What are the chances elsewhere in the world whilst big food companies are making billions in profit as populations become obese though? I have a horrible feeling that Australia might end up taking the lowest common denominator path unless there's a strong will not to.

I worked out of town all week, so every meal was at a restaurant. Even the sandwich place we went to, I just told them to keep the fries, and only give me veggies and the meat, no bread. I got strange looks, and it was discounted at all, but it works. I also had a birria taco, and just scraped out the meat/cheese, and left the tortilla. Grilled chicken at the steak place. Luckily I talked them out of a burger joint But if we would have gone, i would have got the burger, just no bun etc. I was still able to keep my calories under 1K per day!

I say any kind of water exercise and also riding the exercise bike. My brother has severe knee and hip issues and wears 1 1/2 pound ankle weights all day. He doesn't specifically go on walks with them, just wears them throughout the day and not only has he lost some weight with them, he's also built up a little bit of leg muscle and his joints are slowly getting stronger. He said it doesn't take a lot of weight to do the trick, just a smaller amount of weight over a longer amount of time. He said his joints don't hurt at the end of the day, but his legs are tired and feel like they got a decent work out.

I also suggest checking out you tube - exercises for those with mobility issues. I don’t have knee issues but I have lower back problems. I do my stretches & use my resistance bands sitting or lying on the ground. (I have an inch thick foam mat to protect my bony back 😉.) Also you didn’t have to do 20 - 30 odd minute sessions. I do 4 sessions of about 5 minutes (6 days a week). And I sometimes do some extra random stretches - like calf stretches when cooking or prepping a meal. You may find these short bursts less stressful on your knees.

I, too, take water fitness classes. Anything in the water is easy on the joints.

I have bad knees, no cartilage in either, which I have been told will need to be replaced in the years to come. I see you don't have a pool close by that is not cheap but I do aqua aerobics once a week and feel the benefit of it so if you could even afford a class once a week it might do you the world of good. I am lucky that my hospital run the class so I just have to pay about €100 by way of membership for the year and the classes are 50 weeks of the year. I also have an exercise bike that I go would go slowly on for about 20 minutes three times a week. Now that I have lost more weight and the weather is improving I find I can do short walks of about 20 minutes/1.5km. My knees do ache afterwards at night but not as bad as before when I was heavier so I feel it is worth it, put a bit of gel on them and it helps me sleep easier. I now also do the Svelte 'One and Done' exercise program, just the beginner level, three days a week. There are some exercises I can't do as they require knee movements I can't do but from what I have seen so far there is always an alternative exercise shown if movement is not possible. You could always check out their YouTube site as they have plenty of exercises that you don't have to pay for. Even though my weight loss has slowed down I can see where I am still losing cm's.

Oh, I use scissors to open them 😁 & either pour the contents into other containers or use those clip seals (love my IKEA ones). Some of those zip seals are impossible to open - those teeny tiny tabs you’re supposed to pull to reveal the zip. I had a skin graft on my dominant hand thumb & have reduced sensitivity which makes it harder to grip & yank. My seed mix comes in the worst one & second is the bag of my washing powder pods.