Bufflehead

How much did you lose during the pre op diet phase (if you had one)? I was "pre op" for almost a year and lost about 60 lbs during that year, up until the two weeks prior to surgery. During the two weeks prior to surgery, I lost 14 lbs. How much did you lose in the 1st month, 2nd month, 3rd month excetra? I really didn't keep that close track during weight loss phase, but probably roughly 20 lbs in the first month, then 8 - 10 lbs per month thereafter. What is your goal weight? How did you decide number? The weight I like to stay at is right around 139. I picked that number because my "normal range" BMI maxes out at 145, and I want to stay within normal BMI every time I weigh in at the doctor's office, including with my clothes on, having my period, and bounced up a couple of pounds. The reason for that is not so much that I personally am obsessed with a "normal" BMI or think it is particularly meaningful, but if I stay within the normal range, I stay OUT of my health insurance's "health coaching" program which means I don't have to endure monthly phone calls with a 25 year old recent college grad with a degree in community health education (or whatever) who wants to lecture me about my diet and exercise. So normal BMI makes my life much happier! Did you work with a partner? How is that working out? I'm not sure what you mean by that but I think the answer is no.

Call your surgeon? If things are getting worse rather than better, check in with your medical team.

--Got a digital kitchen scale and started weighing all my portions --Tracked my intake on MyFitnessPal --Stopped drinking with meals and for 30 minutes after. --Moderate exercise almost every day (walking, Leslie Sansone DVD's). Good luck!

Somehow it does, yes. A lot of people find they lose the taste for certain old favorites, and/or start liking things they never liked before. I don't think anyone knows how or why! I know that pre-op, I hated eggs my entire life -- just smelling them made me feel sick to my stomach. Now I have an egg almost every day (dinner) and look forward to it tremendously! I would choose eggs over ice cream for the rest of my life if I had to pick.

Don't be ashamed because your husband's co-worker is a lying, ignorant asshole. He's the one who needs to be ashamed, not you. You have a medical problem, he has a probably incurable character and personality defect.

It really varies a lot from program to program. When I was on full liquids (the first four weeks after surgery) I was definitely ordered to count calories and get no more than 650 per day. When I moved on to purees, it was 800 calories per day. For most people liquids aren't going to make you feel full, so that isn't a good measure for when to stop. In fact, it really isn't ever a good measure. IMO you should make it your plan *for the rest of your life* to eat until you feel satisfied, not full. Satisfied = not really hungry anymore Full = physically stuffed to capacity But on liquids, and especially with your nerves all traumatized from surgery, looking for any sort of physical sensation from your stomach is probably not going to be helpful. Focus on getting all the liquid and protein that you need. Get in touch with your surgeon's office to see if you are supposed to be counting calories or carbs. Good luck!

Costwise your best bet is typically going to be the protein powders found at places like Target, Walmart, and Kroger -- brands like Body Fortress and Pure Protein. These brands get good reviews for taste as well. You may also want to check what your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe has on sale. Buying powder and mixing with your liquid of choice (I like unsweetened vanilla cashew milk) is always going to be cheaper than buying pre-made. This is all assuming you are talking protein supplements and not some other part of a liquid diet. If you mean broth and things like that, I find Trader Joe's has good broths for reasonable prices, but also just whatever you find at your grocery store should be just fine. Good luck!

My surgeon had me swallowing anything that would fit through a standard size wedding ring starting within a couple hours of surgery. I had no problems. Claritin pills are tiny, they shouldn't be an issue, but check with your surgeon to be sure.

I use myfitnesspal. They have an app but I tend to use the website much more. I'll often know in advance what I am going to eat each day, so I just pre-log it in the morning before I head to work.

Syntrax Nectar has a lot of fruit-type flavors that are more on the tart side, like lemonade, fuzzy navel, cherry, grapefruit, and lemon tea. They also have a cappuccino flavor that you can add instant coffee to if you like a stronger coffee flavor. Unjury makes a chicken broth flavor that a lot of people like (I do), and I think it is Celebrate that makes a tomato soup flavor -- I haven't tried that but it gets good reviews. I'm also a fan of the Chike iced coffee flavor, it's my favorite.

You don't have to lie, just say "I'm sorry, it's really personal." If it's someone you don't even have to be that polite with, respond "I'm sorry, did you just ask me what kind of surgery I'm having?" in a mildly disbelieving tone. It's an incredibly rude question to ask and people need to learn that not everything other people do is their business. You are doing them a kindness by reminding them of their manners if you refuse to answer the question. By lying, you are reinforcing their bad behavior plus opening up the possibility that they will figure it out (chances are they will) and come to see you as a liar, which is probably not the way you want people in your life to think of you.

I was adding sriracha to chicken broth a couple days after surgery. No problems at all.

Syntrax Nectar Vanilla Bean Torte for me

extra long charger cord/extension cord for your phone lip balm soft cotton leisure bra that fastens in the front, no wires (if you are someone who feels better with some support while up and walking) change of underwear make sure whoever picks you up from the hospital brings a pillow that you can place between the seat belt and your abdomen wear loose fitting comfy clothes to the hospital so that you can wear the same clothes home That's about it . . . the hospital supplies everything else you need. Don't over pack!

tbh you are lucky you aren't up 10 lbs after surgery, that's more normal just from all the IV fluids and water retention due to the trauma of surgery. Seriously, I'm not just being flip or something. Stay off the scale for a few weeks, and don't weigh more than every couple of weeks in the first few months after surgery or you will drive yourself nuts. Brace yourself because the odds are good you will hit some stalls despite doing everything right -- that's just the sad and frustrating way things work!

In my program, it isn't considered pureed until you throw it in the food processor and puree it. And of course neither rice nor seaweed would be allowed. The fish part would be allowed on the soft foods stage, not pureed. Again though, no rice, no seaweed. As Jess mentioned, check with your own team and ask them to send you a copy of your post-op eating plan if they haven't.

My surgeon says no, just because if you accidentally swallowed it, it can be tough on your system (it won't "get lodged in your staple line" though -- gastric sleeve staples are done in a double line and sewn over). But it really doesn't matter what my surgeon says . . . what does yours say? Rules vary a lot, so probably best to check in with your own. Good luck!

My surgeon does the leak test during surgery -- he says that when studies looked at whether post-op leak tests were effective, they were shown to be close to worthless . . . way too many false negatives and false positives. He only does them if you have clinical signs of a leak (fever, pain, etc.). But the leak tests done during surgery are supposed to be very effective, plus the surgeon can just fix his or her work right then. My surgeon has all patients stay a minimum of two nights.

Milk of magnesia

My surgeon told me that the hernia repair took about 30 minutes extra, and he's known for being really meticulous in the OR, he's not a chop shop type of doctor. So it really should not add much time, although if it were especially large and complicated it might take more. Good luck!

@ I am three years post-op on a normal diet and I can tell you I could not eat that much meat (or poultry or fish). My total meal is typically 85 grams of meat plus maybe 45 grams or so green veggies. If eating only meat/chicken/fish without veggies, I have never eaten more than about 120 grams and frankly that was a mistake, I was uncomfortable after that. If I am feeling low on veggies I will space my meal out -- eat 85 grams of green veggies, wait at least an hour, then eat 85 grams of meat or fish. But that is rare.

@ Do you mean how many grams of meat or fish is good for a meal? 150 grams is a lot more than I would eat if trying to lose weight. In fact, I doubt I could eat 150 grams of meat even if I wanted to. When I am trying to lose weight, my typical meal looks like: 85 grams of meat/fish/eggs OR 55 grams of meat/fish/eggs plus 30 grams of green veggies

@@Asm0108 I wasn't allowed fruits and veggies for a pretty significant amount of time after surgery, so my fiber early on came from things like beans and lentils as well as fiber powder and Oikos Triple Zero yogurt. Since you have issues with diverticulitis, you may want to discuss your specific needs with your bariatric team so you can come up with a good plan to deal with it.

@@Autumn Fury it depends on your plan and your food stage. If you are on liquids, yes, you should strain out eggs and anything else. If you aren't positive, definitely check in with your bariatric team or dietitian for guidance.

Many people have better luck with warm or hot liquids than cold, so if you haven't, you might want to try some warm broth, low-calorie hot cocoa, or tea (decaf if necessary). You don't need water specifically to avoid dehydration, you just need some kind of fluid. If you are still struggling, get in touch with your medical team and ask them for advice and guidance. You or your insurance company paid them a lot of money, and one of the things you are entitled to is post-op help. Good luck!