Indymom

You're so close - good luck! I didn't have to do a pre-op diet, just Clear liquids the day before. I gave up caffeine about 3-4 days before surgery and I wasn't a big soda drinker to begin with so that hasn't been tough. You're right about not feeling hungry post-op. I ate a nice dinner two nights before surgery and then virtually nothing the day before. I went into surgery literally with my stomach growling from hunger and woke up feeling NOTHING. Since August 10 I have had to remind myself to eat as there are virtually no feelings of hunger at all. I've smelled foods that made me "want" them but it's in my head, it's one of the best feelings I've ever had! I know that I'm in the honeymoon period and it's going to get harder as I go, but I am using this time to get my mindset where it needs to be relative to food. I know there's another poster on here with pain issues and maybe fibromyalgia? I'm not sure if her symptoms have completely subsided with her weight loss but I believe they've improved significantly. You may also find that once you're able to exercise more efficiently with the weight loss, that may have significant impact on your back pain.

I stalled about 2 weeks out,coincided with my period starting (sorry if TMI!). I stalled for about a week and then noticed some movement on the scale this morning. I should also take the once-a-week scale advice but I haven't so far. There are lots of posts on here about stalls, all the veterans can reassure you that they all hit stalls and their weight did come off. Hang in there!

I'd bring in a big tray of veggies and a pitcher of protein drink and tell 'em that's the new Friday special!

Remember anything liquid is going to flush through quickly so you may never get a feeling of "full" from a yogurt drink or even a protein drink. From what I've read on here, once you start on regular solid foods (like meat) you'll quickly figure out what "full" is.

I don't start purees for a couple weeks but my nutritionist said if I'm using canned chicken or tuna, I don't have to puree the meat, just chew it really good. For regular chicken or turkey she wants me to either puree it or chop the heck out of it and mix with something moist. I plan on just doing chicken and tuna salad, she said I could use dill relish in it. My meal plan allows refried beans in the first month so tonight I'm having 1 oz of refried beans with a dab of shredded cheese, a bit of sour cream and some taco bell mild sauce. It's delicious! I am also having a mini babybel cheese. So this dinner is about 7.5 grams of protein. I'm trying to eat cheese at every meal so I can get at least 20 grams of protein from food - that way I only have to have 2 protein drinks instead of 3!

I think this early out, we are taking in so few calories that fat and carbs don't have a very significant impact. I am getting quite a few carbs but it's because of pureed fruit, milk and some of the protein shakes I'm using. A lot of people have said 30-40 carbs a day is their target (and that's once they are on regular food). I'm probably getting 30+ a day now but in 2 weeks when I can add in meat, I expect to see my carbs drop significantly as I start to get more protein from regular food.

Not sure about pain in the area you're referencing, when I had problems with reflux I had a gross taste in my throat and burning taste in my mouth. My doc wants me on my PPI for the first year after surgery.

Good luck on Monday!

I think I have hit a stall (just started my period so I'm sure there's a correlation) - I'm not freaking out about it, I know it will be temporary. What I'm curious about is what happens after the stall? I mean, will I just resume slow & steady losing (which is OK) or will I see another big drop like I did week one? I'm selfishly hoping it's the latter, but I'll take it any way I can get it.

Nuts are really good source of protein and good fats, so don't beat yourself up too much . . . switch to a lower-salt version and drink that water!

I recovered really well from both my c-section and my VSG, but I agree with the others - the laparascopy of VSG is much easier than the open c-section.

I'm sure you're miserable but trust your surgeon and the nurses. They don't want to release you to go home if there's any possibility of an issue. It's great that you're not showing any signs of a leak but I believe I read somewhere also that slow progression of liquids can be problematic, so let them make sure you're OK. Hang in there!

I didn't have issues with emotional/stress eating prior to surgery . . . I was strictly a volume eater. I've been a little irritable about food, but it's not so much that I miss stuffing my face with piles of food; it's more that I miss variety. I think once I'm through my first couple food stages and back to regular solids, I'll be much less irritable.

Ask your doctor or nutritionist if you can take miralax or something similar. It's flavorless and you'd be able to mix with water or gatorade daily with no problem.

It hasn't bothered me much. I fixed biscuits and gravy for my daughter and husband today (I feed them pretty healthy during the week but B&G is one of their guilty pleasures reserved for weekends). My head really wished I was joining them, but my belly didn't complain at all. I am LOVING my sleeve!

I couldn't do oatmeal either. I'm having some sort of cheese at almost every meal - string cheese, babybel, 2% sliced sharp cheddar, even laughing cow light wedges! I'm getting a little sick of cheese but my sleeve is tolerant of it so it helps with the Protein. I'm also doing applesauce, cottage cheese, yogurt, refried Beans, and smushed peaches. Hang in there, I'm starting week 3 and it's not too bad. I am counting the days to when I can have chicken and tuna salad!!

Congrats! A lot of people have said there's a stall around week 3, so you're probably in the midst of that. Don't worry about it, keep following your plan and you'll start losing again soon!

Good luck to you on your journey! There are tons of great resources and "veterans" on this site, so do a lot of reading.

I'm a huge wimp so I would call my doc's office if I had pain, especially 3 weeks out. It's always better to be overly cautious.

I LOVE my fitbit! I was lucky enough to get it free from work (I'm taking part in a study). I like that it not only tracks your steps but your intensity as well - so I can look on the chart and see what times of the day I was more active, like briskly walking on a hiking trail vs. meandering around costco or the supermarket. I wear mine right in the middle of my bra and it seems to be pretty accurate (I think it might be a little generous on the number of steps but once you are using it consistently you'll know your baseline and can just improve from there, even if the step count is a tad bit higher than it should be). I have been tracking all my food and you can build new foods if they aren't already in their database. They have a big database of restaurants too. I'm working with a fitbit coach due to the study, and she explained that for exercises that won't track well (like biking) you can just take off the fitbit during that time and then manually log that activity on the website. Same thing for swimming since you wouldn't be wearing it in the pool. I can download all my tracking so that when I go to see my nutritionist I can print out my activity log, my food logs, etc. Did I mention that I LOVED my Fitbit??

I took this type of class for a few weeks in a row last year. The pain got better quickly . . . it was an awesome workout! I can't wait to get released by my doc for exercise, I'm itching to get moving!!

Woot! My nutritionist was at support group last night and said I can start pickles week 5, she also suggested skinning them if I have issues with the skins. I can't wait!

That's great!! I am looking forward to having some NSVs too.

Glad to hear others have been able to drink a lot too, I've not had any issues getting my liquids in since day 1. Not too much burping either, but a bit here & there.

Hi hospital buddy! If you live on the north side of Indy BJ's Bariatrics is in the Mohawk shopping center off Rangeline - I went in there and got a bunch of the different single-serving pouches of the Syntrax nectar Protein. I've been doing the roadside lemonade with about 6 oz crystal light lemonade and about 4 oz Water, and pouring over ice. I've blended it with my immersion blender (before adding the ice) and it's tolerable. I can usually choke it down during my 25-minute drive to work. Another thing I bought was Nectar unflavored protein, and I've been doing 2 scoops (20 grams) with sugar-free hot chocolate mix, about 4-6 oz 1% milk and that's pretty OK too. Also, I went to the support group last night and while the yellow sheet for weeks 1-4 say baby food purees (veg and fruit), I confirmed with the nutritionist at the meeting that we can puree our own fruit and veg too, it doesn't have to be jarred baby food. I bought some bananas tonight and I'm going to try to make a protein smoothie with vanilla greek yogurt, banana, milk and maybe some hershey sugar-free syrup. You can have string cheese right now too, I've been eating 2-3 sticks a day and they have 7 grams protein each (if they are the 1-oz sticks).