Lhollingsworth

What do you do when you get the urge to snack? I'm terrible about eating when I'm not hungry. What are your tips and tricks? I'm pre-surgery and I need to get this under control before december.

I'm so glad that I'm not alone in this scenario haha! Honestly I haven't contributed to the forums in at least a year but after the my last week of a reset liquid-diet I guess I have been feeling nostalgic. I'm two years out (Dec 2014 anniversary) and this was the first time since my surgery that I have seen the scales go up. I gained about 10lbs from Halloween - New Years primarily due to wine and sweets at holiday parties. I guess that is bound to happen when you have three Thanksgivings to go to over the course of two weeks!! So I went to a protein shake, fresh fruit, fresh veggies diet for 10 days and now I'm reintroducing fresh whole foods back into my diet. It feels good to be back on track and down 5lbs!

Maine ?

I'm 9-10 months out from my sleeve. I've lost 90 lbs and I just had my gallbladder out this weekend. I've read a lot about people gaining weight after having their gallbladder removed and I'm nervous. I know many sleeve patience have their gallbladder removed later on as it is a side effect of rapid weight loss. What has been your experience? Has it caused your weight loss to slow or caused you to gain weight?

Also! I forgot to ask - does your NUT or surgeon have you on an anti acid? Extra acid can mimic that burning hungry feeling. I experienced that and it was confusing!

Everyone's sleeve is different based on their own anatomy and the surgeon'a bougie choice. You are still pretty new to your sleeve and it could still be that you have swelling/lack of feeling. If this is the case I would follow the guidelines that your NUT gave you for portion sizes so that you do not inadvertently hurt your newly healing sleeve. Also, have you stopping drinking a full 30 minutes before and after the meal? This truly does make a difference and is one way to "eat around your sleeve" or "cheat" because the Water creates a flushing effect of the food in your sleeve. What phase are you in for foods? Soft foods will not give you that "full" feeling as quickly as denser Proteins will. The full effect will also last longer with denser proteins as your body takes a longer time to digest them. Lastly you want to make sure that the full feeling that you are searching for is not the "over full" feeling that many of us were used to before surgery. Hang in there! It will take time to adjust to your new sleeve!

I was on full liquids two weeks before and two weeks after. Your stomach is still healing! I know it sucks but you can do it.

Where in Maine?

I also do not get up to pee in the middle of the night anymore.

Yes!

I just made salmon burgers. Add an egg, 1/2 cup of quick oats, some salt pepper and garlic. Form into 2 oz patties and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes.

My surgeon doesn't order this and I went to a top tier center of excellence.

So now that I am down 40+ lbs my body is starting to miss that extra padding when I sleep. I have started to wake up around 2-3 am every night with aching pain in my hips and legs. I switch to the other side and then repeat 30 min later. I think I need to invest in an extra mattress pad or something ( considering my mattress is in excellent condition and only a couple years old). I am just wondering if any one else is or has been experiencing this? I have a similar issue with sitting for too long. Did it get better? What did you do?

I thought I was hungry all the time between weeks 2-4. This is when I was finally off of my liquid diet and could eat soft foods. Honestly I think it was partially all of the options for food that had opened up lol. This seemed to just dissipate over week 4. Now I have to remind myself to eat. It will get better! I had similar doubts at the stage you are at.

Ok so while I was being prepped for my operation I had two nurses prepping me. One was a tall brunet and the other was a blonde ( I say this as a reference point). So they were floating about doing their thing and a male employee popped into the room and said something to the brunet. It was clearly in a teasing manner and I heard him say something about "it being legal." Cut to two minutes later and the brunet is back at my bed and she starts talking to me about what the guy said to her. She said " I probably shouldn't say this but... He teases me and tells me that I will never get a guy because I'm too picky, or to talkative or whatever. So early this week he suggested that I just dare women. Well I told him no that is so nasty!" As if on cue my surgeon walks into the room and to my bed and says "Lydia will your partner be joining us today?" That nurses face could have rivaled tomatoes. She was clearly flustered and didn't know what to do. Ten minutes later she composed herself and came over to apologize. She then continued to tell me about her gay friends and how she didn't mean it like that. I finally stopped her and said "Of course it is nasty to you - you are straight. Just like I would imagine being with a man would probably be gross to me." It was the only humane thing to do. I don't think she meant it with malice but I do think that she should have heeded her own advice and not said anything. I think it was a learning experience for her. Would you have done anything differently? I mean had I not been preparing to go into surgery I think I would have been more assertive and had more to say. I co chair the GSDA with another teacher so I try allow for "teachable moments" and work toward tolerance. I just don't know if it taught her something or if I let her off the hook. Sent from my iPad

The first few hours were rough but from there on out it was smooth sailing. I walked 1.5 miles the day of surgery ( lots and lots of laps). The next day I took a shower and changed into my own sweats and that was amazing. I felt great. I just couldn't sleep very well in the hospital. I was released the next morning and that was the last time I took any pain meds. I've felt great ever since. I took it easy the week after and got lots of R&R and I am headed out for my 2 week follow up this morning. Back to work tomorrow! I haven't had much trouble getting liquids or Protein. I haven't had any nausea issues. I haven't been in pain. I feel happy with my decision and lucky with my recovery.

Today's weight: 249 Challenge weight: 219 I would love to see 30 lbs go

Hey TJ we must have been sleeved at about the same time. I was on the 21st of dec. I have my post op today and I'm hoping to get moved to soft foods! where are you in your program?

I agree with the heating pad. It really helped when the gas moved between my shoulders.

At what week did you start exercising? Also, did you phase in your exercise? What did your timeline look like?

Congrats!

It is very important to keep the blood in your legs moving that early after surgery to prevent a pulmonary embolism. Some walking and light stretching might help loosen them up and feel better.

Welcome MzFree-Spirited! Where are you on your WLS journey?

Coastal Maine

I did a 3 week high protein liquid diet pre op. Did your NUT specify protein requirements?