lollyfidy1965

Yay yay yay!!!! Wishing you a speedy recovery from everything!!!

Yes...they do count. PDXMan is right, though...you can never get too much liquids!!

The only thing that raised an eyebrow for me was the amount of calories you're eating daily. I'm 3 months post-op (tomorrow), and am only eating about 600 calories a day (on average...some days 550'ish, some days 650'ish). I'm very careful to keep my carbs below 30 grams/day, in order to maintain ketosis (think Atkins diet)...that helps to burn fat, to make up for the decreased level of carbs. What are you eating daily? How much Protein, carbs, fat, Water, etc? What kinds of foods are you eating? Lots of protein and veggies? Or lots of starchy things (rice, bread, potato, Pasta, corn, etc)? Are you tracking everything you eat, to make sure you don't have calories sneaking in on you? Have you spoken with your nutritionist, to see if they have any suggestions on how to get things kick-started?? Changing up your diet may be a place to start, if more exercise isn't do-able. I wish you the best Laura

Congrats!!!

Week 3 weigh-in update...down to 251.2! A couple of NSV's.....my size 20 jeans (that I bought 3 weeks ago) are now LOOSE!! I had to pack two more blouses in the Goodwill bag...too big to wear out of the house! I've lost a combined 23.5 inches from my neck, chest, waist and hips!! Woot!

Everything that you consume that is "liquid" counts towards your liquid volume for the day...not just Water. So make sure most of your liquids contain Protein. Add unjury unflavored protein powder to every broth, soup, or flavored liquid; use the chicken broth flavored Unjury powder in water, or in canned chicken broth; add Syntrax nectar powder to plain water; drink Protein shakes (chocolate Muscle Milk Lite is my favorite). Get double the bang for every swallow as much as possible, and you'll be more likely to meet both goals. Best of luck! Laura

Oh...and dry roasted soy nuts are another good option. Crunchy, and lower in fat than peanuts.

Hummus with baby carrots for dipping is a favorite of mine. I also snack on Atkins bars (cookies and cream, and mudslide give me a great low-carb, high-protein chocolate fix), or Quest bars (another low-carb, high-protein bar). Half of one of those tides me over, and helps ensure I get enough protein very day.

Just wondering...are there other programs in your area that you could consider? Perhaps another would be more attentive. I wish you the best

Ya'll are a mess...."poop thread" indeed! LOL I can't see hairs that are multi-colored (as in the process of changing)....its like the grey is just fading. Its the weirdest thing! I haven't lost much hair (yet), so I don't think that's what's happening...besides, I didn't have enough brown hair left. LOL

I did experience "head hunger" the first couple of weeks after surgery. Thankfully, that is now a thing of the past. As far as "real" hunger is concerned, I've not felt a twinge of hunger since my surgery. Its the most amazing thing....I often forget to eat, and have to set reminders on my iPhone (seriously!). LOL I'm no longer a slave to food...and its fantastic!!

I think a number of things have been helpful for me... 1. I go to the gym every day. Currently I'm doing an hour of Water aerobics one or two times a day, at least 6 days a week. As soon as my leg heals (muscular injury), I'll be adding back in an hour or two on the treadmill every day. 2. I eat between 550 and 650 calories a day, with rare days over 700. (My capacity is increasing very slowly, and I make a point to not push it.) 3. I make sure to get at least 80 grams of Protein every day. If that means I need to drink Muscle Milk, or eat Gelatein 20, in order to make the number, then I do that. Whatever it takes. 4. I make sure to drink at least 80 ounces of liquid every day. No exceptions....even when I think I can't possibly swallow another drink of water. I drink decaf tea, decaf coffee, flavored water (sugar-free only), plain water, Protein drinks....whatever....I always have something liquid within reach. 5. I keep my carb intake below 30 grams per day. I've been in ketosis for over 4 months now, burning fat to replace the missing carbs. I feel great, can't stand the taste of sweet or starchy things now, and am steadily losing weight. Basically....I'm doing everything my surgeon/nutritionist told me to do. LOL Laura

I used the unflavored Unjury powder. Mixed in anything that has its own flavor, I found it to not alter flavors much at all. I also like the chicken broth flavored Unjury powder...particularly when mixed in canned chicken broth.

It was also helpful to recognize the "head hunger" for what it was. If your not physically hungry, try to work through the psychological "hunger" without giving in to it.

I eat protein or veggies when I'm feeling a little peckish. If you're going to have a "snack", make sure its a healthy one. Fortunately, my ability to eat is still relatively limited (only about 2 ounces at a time), so I'm eating 3 meals and 3 snacks every day, just to get enough calories and protein. So off-schedule "snacking" isn't much of an issue.

Yep....eating slowly is critical to comfort. My nutritionist and surgeon recommend taking at least 30 minutes to eat a meal (2-4 oz of food). Even at 12 weeks post-op, most of the time I end up taking closer to 45, in order to avoid the discomfort associated with eating too much too fast.

To be honest, I don't remember....but I could look it up (I started tracking everything I ate about 2 months before I had surgery). It was probably 3-4 ounces of lean meat (most likely chicken breast), and three non-starchy veggies (1/2 cup of each). I had dramatically changed my eating habits prior to surgery (again, about 2 months before), in order to get things under control beforehand. So much of our food issues are psychological...I wanted to make sure I had those addressed (at least as much as possible) long before a knife touched me....to ensure maximum success afterwards. My post-op experience has been much less painful, I think, as a result. If your "last meal" is going to push you back into bad habits (too much, high fat, high carb, etc), my suggestion would be to skip it. Once you start making better decisions, relative to food, you should reinforce those choices....every time you sit down to eat. (I strongly recommend the book "The End of Overeating"....it'll help you understand why we make the bad choices we make (or, as the case may be, MADE), and how we ended up needing surgery.) Best of luck to you Laura

ROFL!! I hope you weren't disappointed! ;-P

I will be 3 months post-op on Tuesday, and have lost 51 pounds (hopefully 52 pounds by Tuesday!). More significantly than the weight loss, all indications of my being pre-diabetic have disappeared!! I'm thrilled with the results of my surgery!! Laura

My sleeve was swollen completely shut immediately following surgery. Today, 12 weeks post-op, my capacity is still relatively limited (I'm only able to eat about 2 oz of dense Protein at a time), but my surgeon isn't concerned about this...it will just take time for the inflammation to resolve completely. I'm sorry to hear you're still having issues...I hope things sort themselves out for you quickly!! Laura

In addition to wanting to avoid the potential malabsorption issues often associated with gastric bypass, I was hopeful that I would be one of the lucky ones who didn't experience hunger once 85% of my stomach was removed. Fortunately, so far so good on that point...3 months post-op, and I've not felt even a twinge of hunger!!

WooHOO!!!

I don't know....I really liked the silver, and spent a lot of money, for a lot of years, coloring the light brown! LOL We'll see how it ends up!

Odds are, if you're craving meat, you're probably not getting enough Protein. (Our bodies work like that...you CRAVE the things you need.) If you're only eating "solid" foods for protein, you may need to eat more often, in order to ensure you're getting enough. (I typically eat something protein about every 3 hours, give or take.)

My instructions were only liquid, sublingual, "solutab", chewable, crushable or mixable (capsules that can be opened and dumped into something like unsweetened applesauce). This recommendation is for at least a year...for life, if at all possible. "Gummy" anything is off-limits. If you want to understand why, take a gummy bear and let it sit in a glass of Water for a few hours. They swell significantly, and are much more likely to hung up in your sleeve, causing blockages. If you're not sure if your particular meds can be crushed, or dumped out and mixed, ask your pharmacist...they should be able to tell you, and/or offer alternative deliver types. Best of luck Laura