Fiddleman

Try the unsweetened tea at McDonald's. I find it a good drink if you sweeten it with splenda. Recently I have been flavoring my water with MIO strawberry, grape, blueberry, etc. After surgery I could not stand tap water any longer. Before surgery, I drank tap water all the time in large quantities.

It took me about 3 weeks before I could sleep on my stomach. Even now I mostly sleep on back or side.

Pre-op, I was dealing with elevated liver enzymes and pre-diabetic. Based on some labs I had yesterday, all blood levels are normal including the panel for checking the liver enzymes. It must be the clean diet I have been on for 3 months.

Try not to push yourself too much too early. Unfortunately, I think I did the opposite of this at 3 weeks out. I was feeling so good about my recovery and I was in the middle of the 1st stall. I decided to go on a steep hike that hiking books rate as moderately hard. It had a part that was 2000 feet in 1.2 miles. The whole hike was 9 miles up and down. There were literally stairs most of the climb. Everyone was struggling, even the regulars. I thought I came prepared and brought 2 Water bottles and powder for two Protein shakes. I ran out of water and Protein shake at the top (4.5 miles one way). I was already thinking about trouble as we headed down the steep trail. Still a mile from the car, my body was screaming out in dehydration and complete lack of carbs. It was so bad I did not think I would finish alive and if I did finish by some miracle I was going to drop at the ER when we return to civilization. I kept thing about where a helicopter would land if I went unconscious. It was that bad. Keep in mind that while this may sound like hyperbole, it was not. I consider myself an expert hiker and have climbed many peaks and have gone on many long treks in my life. Fortunately we had some warm water in the car so I made it home. The temperature was 85F that day. It took me most of the following week before I recovered back to pre-hike state of feeling. My point is to listen to your doctor and wait until the right time. Give yourself time to recover and build up the necessary strength and endurance before you decide to "go big."

Sorry about the typo above. I mean 235 lb not 135 lb. I am down from 335 from july 2nd.

I have been mostly walking 1-2 miles a day. There are a couple hills and i tty and walk brisk the whole time. It is a good exercise because it is low impact and i can just pick up the pace to max 4.5 mph to get a pretty good workout. I do sweat on this type of walk believe it or not. I try and leverage techniques from two good books I have read called "chai for running" to minimize injury and " walking for fitness" to get the sweat rolling. I enjoy walking because it lets me enjoy the company of my dog, the fresh air, the great views and the nice sunsets. One question I have is about running. What is the right bmi or weight ratio to be at to prevent injury. I used to run when I last lost a bunch of weight ( a little less than I am now at 135 lb) and got into running 4 hours, sometimes up to 20 miles. I could also ran 22 min 5 k on the treadmill. It was just fun for myself and I never competed or anything like that. I found it pretty relaxing to get in the rhythm of running and found pleasure in long runs. The problem is the I would do this too often ( every day) and either got injured or got so tired I would feel extreme tiredness by mid morning if I ran a few hours in the early morning. This time around I don't want to get injured. I also have to be concerned about the impact such exercise will have on 600-800 calories a day. I don't want my body to go into shock and drop dead! LOL! Any advise on long distance running as a bariatric patient would be helpful.

Sounds like drinking radiation. I don't remember having to drink this stuff, but do vaguely remember the doctor saying they checked for leaks while I was out. You know, like putting a tire under water to check for air bubbles.

Chicken tikka is also really yummy.

I get hiccups if i am close to danger zone of pain. Otherwise, I sometimes sigh or feel satisfied with food eaten so far. Lately, my listening has improved and I don't overeat an extra bite any longer that leads to slime attacks or throwing up. Being about 3 months out I definitely can eat more, but don't due to new habits.

Do you take an anti-depressant? I am still taking prescription from before surgery and it helped my mood alot. I did not really have the mood swings that some have discussed on the forums. There is no stigma about taking them; everyone does in today's society where economies are crashing and food prices are skyrocketing. Just jeep in mind that moat take at least 6 weeks to start making a difference in how you feel. Be careful about substitution addictions where you replace good emotions from food with something else.

Pass as gas as possible. Seriously walk, walk and walk some more. Walking really helps to get rid of the painful gas you are dealing with now. It usually gets better for folks after week 2 and then gone by week 4. Not to dash your hopes, but i found gas substantially increases after switching to solid food. I don't even try and be discrete about it any longer when at home, even the dog is jealous of my ability to fill the room. Sorry, I am in a weird mood where everything seems funny. Must be because it is Friday.

I tend to think it is the protein shake with water i have before going to bed. Also, my exercise is pretty minimal at this stage as to not stress my body out too much with it already trying to figure if it is starving on the low carbs i consume. I also take a lot of vitamin c daily to help with vitamin absorption. My calories are between 600 and 800. I have noticed i can eat more now, but don't. I eat about 100 calories worth of protein every 3 hours, with the exception of breakfast where there is about 200 in shake because of light soy. I drink as much as i can during the day, usually 100+ oz. I try and sleep enough, but sometimes fail at this because of work. Overall i try and keep stress at a minimum in order to create an optimal env for body to relax and efficiently burn calories. I may be hypothesizing on some of this, but it appears to be working for me. Oh, and i do hit stalls and on some days i will lose 3 or 4 lbs. I just go with the flow and not stress over what is happening or not happening on this journey.

I gave current lost 98 lbs. My 3 month post op appointment is October 11th( OK, technically a few days past the 3 month mark because surgery was July 2 nd). I will probably lose about 5-10 lbs by then. I don't really exercise, but i do eat very cleanly and am strict about following "the plan" outlined by NUT and doctor.

In addition to face, stomach, arms, chest and feet, i have also noticed inner thighs are practically gone, making it easy to drop things through the legs. May be TMI, but my existing underwear has turned into a tent because my behind has flattened and waist and upper leg area has shrunk so much (in just 3 months). My twin brother is currently 10 lbs less than me, but i already look much smaller then him, he is considered overweight, but pretty normal for a guy that is almost 40.

I just got the celebrate with iron in the mail today. The bottle says to take 3 daily, but does this mean 1 with each meal? Also, when should i take my calcium chews? I hears that iron and calcium cancel each other out, so typically i take the chews an hour after a meal or an hour after taking multivitamin. Should i continue doing this? Yay, i get to throw the BA tablets into the deepest darkest pit i can find and best of all, no more throwing up from the multivitamin.

I noticed weight loss in face, followed by feet, followed by stomach, followed by arms and so. It is during stalls when your body composition changes the most. The size usually does not drop uniformly everywhere, so it was interesting to experience.

@chimera, thanks for the tip. I ordered the iron kind from amazon. With overnight shipping, still less than buying direct. I am already taking capsules and about 3 months out, so should be ok to take these. Looking forward to reliefs from my daily rejection of the B A multivitamin.

Thanks for the scientific response. It is good that there is a real reason. Still, the product seems flawed if this is true and they are designed for people how have had stomach surgery. Need them to do some R&D to make these chewables better for people like us. Thanks for the tip on vitafusion. I already take their fiber gummies and would have no problem taking their gummy multivitamins.

I was sleeved 7-2 and have noticed my hair is not thick like it used to be. I have not noticed it coming out, so it must be thinning when i am not watching. LOL. I am not stressing about it too much because every post on this topic says things will return to normal after a while.

Follow the doctors orders about phased eating plans and vitamins. You could really get sick if not getting the correct amount of nutrients or eating the wrong foods too early. It would be good for you to discuss with NUT. Good luck.

About the posts abover concerning a "stuck" scale, try eating a high quality extended release shake at bed or up to an hour before bed. I try and do this daily, but sometimes forget or last meal was too close to bedtime. The extended release protein will help with hunger during the night ( if you have it), keep your body from going into the fasting/ starvation mode and also may increase your daily protein just enough to move the scale. I find that when i do not do this, the scale will stall or be a very slow mover. It really makes a difference. Good luck.

I have been eating 100-150 (3 oz) of some protein every 3 hours since switching to solids. It has been working well with 90 lb down from July 2nd. Recently, I have noticed that after an hour ( usually after the lunch meal), i am hungry a little. I have to remind myself i just ate an hour ago and can eat in 2 hours. It usually passes after this little pep talk. However, I also make sure I get something to drink if i have not started yet after eating. Good luck.

It sounds like you just ended a stall.

I have seen this happen over and over again in the forums. Maybe it would be better to get the blood drawn by the PCP where the results come within a few days.

My story is the same with regards to the huge chewable bariatric advantage multivitamins. They were fine preop, but i always throw up when taking these post op. In fact, it happened to me again today. I am now on a quest to find a gummy version that is easier on my stomach based upon some good posts in this forum. Never take these! I don't see how these can be on the market. Furthermore, i don't see how surgery doctors can endorse these unless there is some kind of snuggly relationship between bariatric advantage and the doctor. Not that this is wrong, but the product causes so many to get sick. Class action lawsuit anyone? Seriously....