TheCurvyJones

Yay congrats! I know I really felt accomplished when I hit that #!

Too many as in how many? The whole bag? More than you want to at one sitting? I mean... what kind of feedback are you looking for? Are almonds going to cause you to gain? Probably not. But the salt and fat probably don't help your caloric bottom line. if you're using them for a snack measure them out in baggies and only have the baggie with you. Don't eat out of the bag, it may as well be bottomless. We can't come take it away from you so set yourself up for success and find a way to put them away.

I had SO MUCH ENERGY right after surgery. I was go go go until about 8PM and then I would crash. Next day GO GO GO... until around day 5 and then I didn't get out of bed. I think the adrenaline finally wore off any my body said............wait what? And then it was a few weeks until I was back to normal. Really even now I still get tired pretty easily and when I am DONE for the day I am DONE. I never slept better than I have since surgery!

I did not. My surgeon's guidelines were to concentrate on getting in liquids and work up to the Protein goal over the first few weeks. My first few days out of surgery I was not consuming 60 grams of protein. I wasn't even drinking Protein shakes until week two.

Crackers and bread would be the last things I would be eating at your stage. Protein first is the rule. To me, that stuff fills you up way too fast so you can't get in enough protein and then slides through so you're looking for food again too soon. You also need to determine if you're HUNGRY or if you just want to eat. They are two different things and hungry feels different after surgery. I am rarely actually hungry. I know I need to eat when I have that EMPTY, almost painfully empty feeling, I get lightheaded or I get nauseous. Chili is a good option, though it will take you a few meals to get through a serving, even a small is huge for us. Just know that if it is made of meat or dairy you can pretty much eat it and try to work in a green veggie or some fruit if you can tolerate it, now and then. I would definitely call your doc's office back and reschedule an earlier appointment, but is it your DOC that you need to see, or your Nutritionist or even a nurse? You are doing great so far, stay on the yellow brick road because eventually the sleeve won't be doing the majority of the work and it'll just be you and if you're still depending on a lot of carbs, that willl slow you down.

I didn't hit my initial goal until I was 20 months out. Some people hit goal in a year. MANY people don't. What you DID DO is lose 75lbs and that is awesome! Put your eye back on that prize and rock out that next 50lbs!

Yes exactly, the more you have to lose, the more you lose week by week but also know that EVEN FOR a 300+ lb patient, it slows down until at around 6 months out, you're losing the same amount, week over week, as a person who started out at over 300lbs. If you think about how long it took you to lose 10, 20 or 30 lbs before, and then you see what you've done in so little time, I hope people would be proud of how far they've already come. I saw this posted today on Tumblr and I think it's quite true. No matter how much you think you've lost and what a paltry amount you think it is........you still lost it. And it is GONE. It's nothing but down hill from here!

Oh remember to get TONS of rest, you are still recovering and your body does that best while you sleep. If you need a nap, take one! Need to rest, get it in!

It took about... Hmmm... I dunno, 12 weeks or so??? Before I felt myself again. Your energy will return and you will feel spiffy very soon! Hang in there and congrats on your loss so far!

There is no way you're eating enough to gain. It's just your body adjusting. Hang in there and try to keep your weighing to a specific day of the week, so as not to drive yourself crazy!

I did a LOT of research before my surgery and I knew a lot of people that had had it... and I still had really high expectations for weight loss. I lost 30 lbs in THE FIRST THREE MONTHS. So........22 lbs is doing damn good. Be VERY proud of yourself!

I am 22 months out but not much has changed as far as what I eat. I can't eat early in the morning so my day starts with coffee, then Water, maybe a Protein shake. I have some egg salad around 9 and more water -- I try to get in 33 oz before noon, another 33 before 5 and then whatever else I can shove in before bed time. lunch could be anything from a Protein Shake to a Jimmy John's UNWICH (that's a sandwich, wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun) or a salad (a couple of meals for me). My fave lunch is something called Bi Bim Bap-- it's like a korean stir fry (no rice)- so stir fried meat, fresh veggies and a sesame kinda sauce. I have the sauce on the side. Normally I grab a salad and have the cafe cook me a chicken breast. That can be two meals for me, sometimes I finish it in the afternoon for a snack. You can also pick up pre-cooked chicken breasts or steak strips to warm up and munch on. I like to stick a couple of those in the microwave with a wedge of laughing cow, lite or chipotle cheese. YUM. O. Lately my lunch has been tuna salad with a hardboiled egg diced in. I am not a huge snacker, really. I have nuts, Protein shakes, cheese, hardboiled eggs... I make sure I have plenty of protein rich options in case I get snacky. I might have a cup of coffee around 3:30. I work out around 5:30 or 6. I don't' eat before I work out but I do use an energy booster. dinner is always something light and high in protein. I DO NOT COOK so if I am eating dinner I pick it up from someplace-- grilled chicken from the grocer or KFC, side of green Beans or a side salad works fine. Taco Bell, I grab a burrito and a container of pintos and cheese, then when I get home, dump the burrito into a bowl and mix in some of those beans, sprinkle some cheese on top. That's another couple of meals for me because I still can't eat a lot of food at one time. Hardees/ Carl's Jr/ Wendy's/ Five guys all make a lowcarb burger. ANy sandwich shop will make a sandwich a salad. I try to be done eating by 8, but again if I need something, I have babybel cheese, some cheddar sticks, etc etc etc. For food and recipe ideas, I love The World According to Eggface. I love any dish she makes in a muffin tin... it's the perfect size, yummy and packed with protein. LOTS of options, tons of stuff we can eat. I just can't be bothered to cook and I am not an exciting eater but there is a typical day for me.

Call ahead, explain your predicament and ask the hostess what would be the best plan of action. Does your beau not know you've had surgery and are unable to eat? It would seem the easiest thing would be to change the reservation to a place that has soup, at least. Barring that, hopefully they have a la carte side items so you can order something soft, like mashed potatoes.

I'm sure they're used to it and you shouldn't need a catheter for this surgery. A drain, perhaps but no catheter.. You'll want to speak with your surgeon about any meds you're supposed to take for your menstrual pain during/after surgery. I'd imagine the strong pain killers you'll be on should take care of any pain you get from cramps/gas. Mine started almost immediately after surgery. JOY. But yes, they should be used to it and if you happen to be on cycle when you go in, let them know.

Also, I weighed every single day during my weight loss phase. I was never the type to be swayed by whatever that number was. I need to know the number when I start the day, whether it's what I want to see or not. If you're not the kind of person that can handle seeing that number every day, I'd put that scale in a place where it's inconvenient to get on it all the time. Otherwise you can always plug that number into other stuff you're tracking (like inch loss and clothing size) and use that data to get a more well rounded number. The scale can be a very useful tool in measuring your day to day performance-- I find it to be great feedback on how I did the day before. I think if the scale is consistently showing you numbers you don't like/agree with, the answer is NOT to ignore that data but to dig into why it is displayed that way. Is the scale broken? Are you more dense (muscular) and so you weigh heavier? Or maybe a scale that tells you more info like body fat % and BMI would be more helpful. Are you eating more/eating a ratio that doesn't work for you? (i.e. high fat, low carb works fine for me, but low fat low carb works better) THe most annoying answer to me, EVER, is 'get off the scale'. That doesn't solve my problem.

Always go by the scale you're used to using. Your doc's scale is always going to be different. So is the scale at your best friend's house and the scale in your neighbor's house. Go by YOUR scale. And if you don't trust the number, get a better scale.

It gets them attention. They think they get a prize for doing it without needing any kind of assistance. Get used to hearing it, get used to that comment rolling off your back. If only they knew how hard this was.

Daily is supposed to be the norm but I find a lot of us suffer from constipation. I take Colace probably about once a week and try to increase my Fiber with ruffage like lettuce and broccoli. I just can't eat a ton of it, so I supplement. You don't want to get backed up and you DON'T want to wait until you're in pain to address the problem! A lot of people like flax seed or chia seeds to add fiber to their yogurt and what not. I can't do chia and I've never tried flax.

I am pre-diabetic, so sugar affects me differently. Mostly, I feel like I need a nap after I eat fruit. It feels the same to me as if I ate a cupcake or a snickers bar. HUGE RUSH and then I need to sleep for 3 hours. I don't, though, have an issue with artificial sweetners. You've gotta do what you've gotta do to make it. Overrall, you're doing great. Just clean up your eating a bit and don't stress about what you're not doing. No one is perfect and we all have different abilities and, once you're further along you'll find it much easier to hit those daily milestones. ALSO the weight will keep coming off.

Get it together. The better you do pre-op, the better you'll do post op. As well if your liver has not shrank enough, your surgeon can't perform the surgery. He will close you right back up and send you home to start all over. I'm not trying to scare you, but it IS a reality. There is a pre-op diet for a reason. It's very important that you hop aboard this train and do the hell out of this thing! Start again today and don't stop!

It took about 12 or so weeks before I felt like myself again. Keep up on your Vitamins and Water... I get sluggish when I'm behind on my Iron and B vites! Hang in there and get LOTS of rest. You're still in recovery.

Good luck!

I am 5'3" and all I wanted was to wear a single digit size slacks. Thought I was good at an 8, but wearing a size 6 right now.

I don't like bars because they taste terrible and they don't help me lose. I can maintain on them but I see no loss. I'd cut that shake in half or more. our sleeves can only hold 4-6oz at a time. 6oz would be max capacity. So take that shake and divide it by 2 and maybe increase the amount of Protein you're using. 12 oz in one sitting is too much to take in, no wonder you're full. I'd do 4-6 oz shakes about 2 hours apart. I LOVE fruit but the sugar drives my body crazy so I know nothing about how good it is to have real fruit juice. I know there is a lot of sugar in it though. How soon until you can have solids? It will be much easier when you can eat actual food. PB is a good fat and there is protein in it.