Bufflehead

Try pumping your legs like you are riding a bicycle and scissoring your legs over each other for 30 seconds before you stand up. You may want to have your doctor check you out for orthostatic hypotension.

React as if they are acting appropriately. Keep repeating it until they get the point. "I appreciate that you are willing to take an interest in my health. Your support means a lot to me." Eventually they will get the idea that you are not interested in debating with them, that they are, in fact, acting like unsupportive jerks; and that their continued hurtful comments and questions are not going to get them the result or debate that they want. And they'll either shut up or decide that they really *should* be supportive.

Way too many carbs (15) and calories (200) for my plan. They do have the "Lean Dessert" BSN line which is somewhat better in numbers and lots of people like them. However, I tried them and didn't like them.

The horrible taste in your mouth might be ketosis, especially if you are eating low carb.

I weighed for the first time four weeks after surgery, then not again until 8 weeks, then not again until 12 weeks. So if I was having any stalls during that time, I was completely unaware of them or how long they might be lasting. My unasked-for advice is to stay off the scale for the next 2-3 weeks before you drive yourself nuts

No but I can tell you that vomiting bile is on the list of symptoms that my surgeon's office gave me under a heading that said something like "contact us immediately if this happens." I know it can be due to relatively minor things like indigestion or dehydration (are you getting all your liquids in?) but based on the information from my team, I would be seeking medical advice if it happened to me.

Not until my 4 week post op appointment. I did have a 2 week post op appointment as well but my team doesn't weigh people at that one as they feel that weight at 2 weeks out is meaningless and apt to make people either unfairly depressed (if they are still retaining fluid from surgery) or overly optimistic about how easy it is going to be to lose weight, if they happen to drop a lot of weight quickly, right before they are bound to hit the three week stall!

@@bellabill I haven't tried it but I looked at the numbers and the sugars and carbs are way too high for my program. I wouldn't touch it myself.

@@brittanykins I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I know how hard it is because I lost more than half my hair prior to surgery as well, just due to bad genetics. It really can cause a lot of stress and unhappiness to look in the mirror and see your scalp showing through and things like that. Here are some tips I picked up along the way to hide thinning hair: --get your hair cut shorter --use a side part and get your hair cut in layers --use a headband to push your hair back and cover the thin spots --use products such as Toppik and Nanogen to cover the thin spots (they really do work!) --if you have lost so much hair that even Toppik and Nanogen can't completely hide the hair loss, you may want to think about more serious solutions like wigs and toppers. There aren't many people who are excited about that sort of thing -- it seems really drastic, and like something we associate with people who are either deathly ill or very elderly. Not that there is anything wrong with being sick or old, but when you are otherwise young and healthy it's just not something you imagined doing! I ended up getting a topper which was a hard step for me to take but now that I have it, I absolutely love it and feel so much better about myself. But if you haven't experimented with haircuts and cosmetic products like Nanogen that's where I would start. Good luck!

@@JenVsg2014 I used a food processor but that's the general idea, yes. Puree the meat and sauce together, put the puree in a little ramekin, top with shredded cheese, and then heat in the microwave.

I'm not a medical professional so I can't really offer an opinion, but I will say that if that were happening to me, I would be asking my doctor for guidance or reassurance. I know a fair amount of people do have diarrhea for a few weeks after surgery (I didn't), but "constant" and "green" would be enough to get me on the phone with my doctor. Good luck!

I made all sorts of combos of any meat I wanted plus a sauce that went well with it and pureed it. Then I put it in a little ramekin, put some shredded cheese on top, and heated it up in the microwave. There really isn't any limit to what you can do with your basic building blocks, it just depends on what you like. I used the little flavored pouches of tuna when I did tuna for more variety as well. Some of my favorites were: --chicken with marinara sauce & mozzarella cheese --turkey with peanut satay sauce & jack cheese --lemon dill salmon with remoulade --shrimp with garlic butter and pecorino cheese --hickory smoked tuna with chipotle bbq sauce --ground beef with spicy Indian ketchup and cheddar cheese You get the idea. Just think of what meats appeal to you and take some time to stroll the condiments, sauces, and international food aisles of your supermarket and come up with some combinations that you will like.

With respect to the weight, I would say stay off the scale for now or only weigh yourself once every week or two. Everyone's weight naturally fluctuates a few pounds in either direction. It could be you are retaining water, need to poop (sorry but it's true), or just had a minor fluctuation for a day. Don't worry about it unless it becomes a long term trend. You really can't stretch your stomach with liquids, they go right through the pyloric valve. Sounds like your swelling and bruising is going down and you are healing well, thus able to drink more. I think you hinted at what you probably know is right -- time to just relax and adjust. As long as you are carefully following your surgeon's plan, I certainly see no need to worry!

Kill them with kindness: "aww, it's so nice of you to take an interest in my health! Thank you!" repeat until they shut up with the stupid comments.

Our plan called for us to eat no more than 3 tablespoons of food at each meal at that stage, and it worked well for me. I didn't get overfull. I would say if you are getting hungry again between meals, have a protein shake if allowed, or have some calorie-free liquid like you are already doing. Hunger isn't fun but it also isn't an emergency -- you can get through it. It's more important to take care of your new stomach than it is to avoid hunger IMO

Hmm, I looked up the Simply Protein chips and honestly I don't think 11 grams of carbs per serving is very low carb. I think it's better to not substitute one slider snack type food for an old favorite, i.e., protein chips instead of potato chips. I would focus on eating high protein foods that will engage your restriction, such as meat, fish, and eggs.

People didn't notice for me until I had lost 70-80 lbs, and I started lower than you, so that's a greater percentage of body weight lost. One thing I definitely noticed -- the better your clothes fit, the more people notice your weight loss and compliment you. So if your pants are "hanging off" you, then people are a lot less likely to notice! Big, drapey clothes just make you look bigger than you are. All that said -- I really do believe it's best to try not to care what other people notice and what they say. Many times people aren't comfortable commenting on someone else's body for any variety of reasons as well.

Are you tracking what you eat? I find it incredibly helpful to track everything on MyFitnessPal. I had several weeks of struggling with bad food choices and decided to get super strict with everything. The first couple of days are hard but worth it! Here is the plan I set for myself: Get all food that is not on my plan out of the house Get in a minimum of 100 grams of protein and 72 ounces of fluid every day Maximum of 40 carbs and 1000 calories every day -- but I will bump this up to 60 carbs and 1200 calories if I get in at least 45 minutes of exercise Just say no to: grains, refined sugar, dairy (except grass fed butter and whey protein powder), fruit (except avocado), starchy veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, peas), beans & legumes. So basically I am eating meat, fish, eggs, tree nuts, green veggies, avocados, black coffee, and healthy fats such as olive oil and grass fed butter -- oh and some condiments here and there like mustard! Weigh or measure all food and track on myfitnesspal.com Weigh myself every day This is tough, especially at first. But I owe myself some love, and sometimes tough love is what is needed. After the first day or so I lost my cravings for things like crackers and cookies, and I am losing weight quickly again, so it is working for me. Good luck to you!

Keep walking. When you are sitting, use a rocking chair or glider and rock. Cross your arms in front of your tummy and lean forward and back as you rock back and forth to get even more motion involved. Gas-X is probably a waste of your time -- Gas-X is for intestinal gas, not CO2 trapped in your body cavity. You might want to try using a heating pad on your neck, shoulders, chest, and/or tummy depending on which areas are most painful. Sip on warm liquids. Don't be a hero about pain -- take your painkillers if you are not! You just had major surgery. Give yourself permission to feel crappy and out of sorts for a while. Rest and nap as much as you need. But keep pushing on the sipping and walking. Good luck!

@@naan it should tell you on the packaging how many grams are in a scoop, so you can weigh your protein instead of measure it by volume if the scoop really is missing. But usually there is a scoop, it's just at the bottom of the tub and you have to dig down for it.

You can get special high protein soups, hot chocolate, and cappuccino. They are sold at Nashua Nutrition under the brand name HealthSmart, and at some other online stores with different names. They are specially formulated so that you can blend them with hot liquid. The liquid can't be actually boiling but it can be pretty much right below boiling and the protein will not clump. http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-drinks/ http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-soups/

You really can't trust your stomach to be telling you the truth right now. It's still recovering from the trauma of surgery. You had nerves severed and it's not able to communicate to the brain properly. Are you allowed to eat smushy food? If not, you need to stop. If you are, just make sure you are weighing or measuring everything carefully and not exceeding your allotted limits. For the hunger -- are you taking a PPI? Often acid mimics hunger. If you are taking a PPI, you may want to discuss a larger dose or a stronger PPI with your surgeon. It could also be head hunger -- head hunger is telling you to eat a specific thing (pudding, jello, etc.) whereas true hunger directs you to eat anything you can even if it isn't something you ordinarily like very much. If it is true hunger -- you may just have to white knuckle through it. As they say, hunger is unpleasant but it isn't an emergency. The most important thing is to follow your post-surgery eating plan faithfully. It is great that you are healing well! Good luck going forward.

@@mochax the HealthSmart brand of hot soups, hot chocolate, and cappuccino can take hot liquids -- not actually boiling, but anything below boiling and they mix fine without clumping. http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-soups/ http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-drinks/ It's been a while since I have used their soups, but I have their hot chocolate or cappuccino almost every day. My standard process - mix 4 oz. water + 4 oz. low carb skim milk heat in big ceramic mug in microwave, 90 seconds transfer liquid to blender beaker, mix with protein powder + other flavorings such as instant coffee granules or Torani SF syrup (I use my stick blender) pour back into ceramic mug which is still hot from the microwave and helps keep my drink warm!

Yeah definitely use a blender of some sort. I find immersion blenders work best. Virtually all protein will clump if you mix it with hot liquid - you need to use a food thermometer to make sure it is under 130 degrees if mixing with hot/warm liquid. Good luck!

What are you using to mix it -- blender bottle, stick blender, etc.? And what are you mixing it with -- hot water, cold milk? Often the issue is with the process rather than the powder itself. I have used Chike, Unjury, Syntrax Nectar, Syntrax Matrix, Jay Robb, Designer Whey, HealthSmart, and some other brands and have had no problems as long as I keep the temperature and equipment right.