Chris R

Mashed potatoes are on my stage 3 (after full liquids) diet and are good mixed with plain greek yogurt (tastes like sour cream, but has a nice bit of protein!) Also, I know you don't like cottage cheese, but if you mix 1/4 c cottage cheese with an egg and a little cold water and beat it up and scramble it, it's very tasty (seasoned to you liking) and really doesn't taste anything like cottage cheese.

Hey, Kate NH - I'm assuming that means you're from NH! So am I! Where are you in your journey?

Awesome!!! 25 more lbs before I hit 100 lost since I started the program May 5, 2013, got sleeved February 12, 2013. Can't wait until I get there and further!

I know they say that you shouldn't get pregnant for something like 2 years after weight loss surgery, because it's harder to get the nutrition that both you and the baby need. At age 46 and overweight, your pregnancy would be high-risk to begin with, I would think the nutrition issues might make it even more difficult. At 5'8", I had my first child at age 30, and weighed 295 when I got pregnant. I developed gestational diabetes, but didn't have any other complications and carried 1 week past due date. I gained about 36 lbs with the pregnancy. My son was healthy and 8 lbs 12 oz. I had my second child at 37, after I had been diagnosed with type II diabetes. I weighed over 350 lbs when I got pregnant with her. They immediately put me on insulin, which I had to take 4 times a day, to keep my blood sugar under control during the pregnancy. I actually lost weight during the pregnancy. I had no difficulties until 3 1/2 weeks before the due date, when my amniotic Fluid suddenly dropped, so they decided to go ahead and deliver. Two attempts at induction failed, so I had a C-section, but my daughter was perfectly healthy and 6 lbs 9 oz. I would have a serious talk with both your OB-GYN and your Gastroenterologist about this. I don't think I'd want to take both things on at once, and waiting to try for children at this point could mean too late.

I'm on that stage (but I love cottage cheese, fortunately - it's a great Protein source!). Mashed potatoes were also on my list, as well as pureed poultry or fish (I haven't tried the purees, though, because frankly, eating pureed chicken or fish sounds revolting to me!) I found that the regular fruit-flavored yogurts had a lot of sugar, so I've tried mixing some of my flavored Protein powder with plain, fat-free Greek yogurt (Chobani) which was OK - I tried 1 scoop to a cup of yogurt, but that was a bit strong. Next time I'll try half as much protein powder. I'm guessing that, since they say "fat-free puddings" that the low fat option might be better for Soups, but I suppose it depends just how fatty they are. Pureed cooked non-stringy vegetables were also on my list - they said 'baby-food or baby-food consistency'. Also somewhat revolting, but less so to me than the pureed meats. For the most part, if it's a soft food, I chew it until it's mush, then swallow - seems just as good as pureeing it to me, and I haven't had any problems with it. Hope this helps!

Everyone is different. I'm almost 3 weeks out, averaging about 1000 calories a day, and losing steadily. Are you getting plenty of water in? Watching sodium intake? Retaining water for some reason? Or maybe your body just needs time to readjust? If it continues, talk to your nutritionist, but don't let it discourage you!

Of COURSE you weigh after a poop! I just wish I could take off my glasses too - but then I wouldn't be able to read the scale!

I'm guessing caffeine is the biggest culprit. Caffeine withdrawl is known for causing major headaches.

Just eat small bites, slowly, and stop when you feel satisfied - BEFORE you feel full. I've found that I can eat less of the soft foods than the liquids, and the more 'solid' the food, the less of it I can eat before feeling it's time to stop. I haven't had any problem with sliming, etc. yet, and hope to avoid it! I'm a teacher, and only have 22 minutes for lunch, so I've been eating in my room at my desk even before thinking about surgery - there's just no time to go down to the lunchroom and be able to digest! I've been taking an 8 oz protein shake (in an insulated cup I can shake it up in) and a cup of cottage cheese for my lunch. I eat the cottage cheese during the lunch time, and sip on my shake afterwards while teaching.

I also had very loose stools before starting the soft foods stage, but not as frequent as you are describing. Just be careful about dehydration!

My surgeon said that the liver is the first place that your body puts on weight, so I would presume that just about anyone who is overweight has a fatty liver. He said that makes the liver hard, and therefore more difficult to work behind for the surgeon. But he said it is also the first place your body burns the fat from, so the 2-week pre-surgery diet was to burn off that fat and give me the "liver of a skinny person" and make his work easier.

That sounds contrary to what my surgeon told me, but it sounds like there are a lot of different eating plans out there. My surgeon said to eat until you feel satisfied (NOT full) and then stop. He said do NOT wait a short while until you feel like you can eat more and then finish it, but if 2 or 3 hours later you feel hungry, eat again. He said "let your pouch be your guide." I'm not on meat yet - but I do find that the more 'solid' the food, the less of it I am able to eat. Are you using any Protein supplements? I don't really love the shakes, but I have been doing 1 a day. The cottage cheese has a good bit of protein. I don't know what kind of yogurt you are eating, but the Greek yogurt (I like Chobani) has more protein than regular yogurt.

My soft foods stage (3) didn't include cheese except for cottage cheese. I hope I get cheese on stage 4!

I wasn't on liquids only for the 2 weeks pre-op, just limited to 1000 calories a day. I had to be on clear liquids the day before the surgery. But I did lose a lot in those 2 weeks on such limited calories.

What kind of protein shake powders are you using? I'm using the Syntrax nectars (my preferred flavors are chocolate truffle and double stuffed, but they have a lot of other flavors.) They can be mixed with 1 - 2 c of milk or water, have 23 g of protein per scoop, and do not make it thick (from your description, it sounds like yours is pasty?). I use 1 c of milk with the two flavors I prefer, which ups the protein to 31 g per serving.

My BMI was 68 when I started the program last May. At my first post-surgical check-in it was 59.8, and I think you can see my current BMI on my ticker below. Feeling GREAT about myself! Even better news - my fiancee and I went to the town office and got our marriage license on Thursday, and today we went and told the jeweler what to engrave in our wedding rings and paid for them. We're planning to go to a JP and make it official on March 15

I'm Chris. I'm 50 years old. I had my vertical sleeve gastrectomy last Tuesday, February 12, on my 50th birthday - my present to myself lol! Here's my story. I've been overweight all my life, and have dieted 'successfully' several times, losing up to 83 pounds at a time. But each time, I'd eventually fall off the wagon and gain back everything I lost, and then some. I never even considered surgery for a moment - after all, I knew I was able to diet successfully, I just had to find a way to stick to it. I have two children, both of whom are also overweight. When I realized last Spring that my 18-year-old son now outweighed me (I was 450 lbs!) I knew something had to change. He was thinking about surgery, and although I did't relish the idea of his body being irreversibly altered at such a young age, I also didn't want him to suffer through the physical, psychological, and emotional pain that I have had to live through. We talked, and decided that we would look into the surgical option together. We went to Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH - about an hour from where we live. Their Obesity Treatment Center is rated as a Bariatric Center of Excellence. They have a very comprehensive program. You are required to attend an informational session and two support group sessions, a lifestyle changes class (6 monday evenings or two Saturday mornings), two visits with an exercise physiologist, two with a dietitian (one to advise on the pre-surgery weight loss, and one to go over the 2-week pre-surgery liver-shrinking diet, the 1-day pre-surgery clear liquid diet, and the first two phases of the post-surgery diet), and and lose 8% of your body weight before you can schedule your surgery. They do lap band, sleeve, or roux en y bypass. After surgery they do several follow-ups, including two more visits with a dietitian to educate you on the post-surgery diet phases and one more with the exercise physiologist, as well as follow-ups with the surgeon, and they follow you up annually for the rest of your life. We started early last May. I had a lot more success with the 8% weight loss that my son. He's still got about 12 lbs to go. I lost 57 lbs before my surgery over 9 months. I think it's harder for a teenager to make the kind of changes in diet - but he's working toward it slowly. He hopes to be ready for surgery by the beginning of the summer, after he finishes his freshman year of college. I used myfitnesspal.com to help me with the pre-surgery weight loss. I can't get him to record what he eats, and I think it would really help him. I don't think he actually realizes how much he eats, especially when he stays up late at night gaming. As for me, so far, so good! My surgery went smoothly. My incisions are healing nicely - just a very uncomfortable pulling sensation on the largest incision when I walk for very long, which my surgeon said will magically disappear as soon as the internal sutures fully dissolve. I'm still on phase 2 - full liquids. I've been eating a lot of cream Soups, but I'm really craving something I can actually CHEW! I get to start phase 3 on Monday - soft solids, including cottage cheese, tofu, mashed potatoes, pureed poultry, fish, and veggies. Just give me some FLAVOR and TEXTURE! I haven't had any problems with sliming or vomiting. My surgeon told me let my sleeve be my guide - just eat until I feel satisfied - and don't drag out a meal by eating until you're full, then waiting a while for that feeling to subside and eat more. He said if you feel hungry a couple hours after a meal, then eat again. I've been eating about 800 calories a day since I've been on the full liquids. Usually one to two Protein Shakes made with milk, one greek yogurt, and some cream Soup made with milk for lunch and/or dinner, I use myfitnesspal.com to record what I eat - it tracks not only calories, but Protein, carbs, fat, Vitamins - very handy. I gained about 10 lbs in Fluid from being on the IVs while I was in the hospital after my surgery - I've lost all that, plus 3.2 more lbs since then, 10 days post-op. Just 230 more lbs to go! LOL!

I think I'd just count all the fat and calories. Maybe get turkey pepperoni to reduce the fat and calories.

I am exactly 2 1/2 weeks out now. Except for my largest incision still feeling like the internal sutures are pulling and stinging when I move around too much, I'm feeling good. I'm on soft foods, not having any trouble getting liquids down, and eating 1/2 - 1 c of soft food ( i.e. cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, hummus) depending on how thick it is. Eating a total of 800 - 1000 calories a day and 70-90 g of protein.

Careful with those sips! They didn't allow me anything by mouth until after they checked for leaks with the barium swallow test and it came back leak free.

Have you spoken to your surgeon and/or nutritionist about it? I'm 116 days post op, not having that kind of problem- but I do notice that when I eat soft foods (ad opposed to liquids) I have to take smaller bites, chew it until mushy, and eat slower or I feel over full and start burping a lot. I can't eat the same quantity of soft food before feeling full either.?

I'm 5'8". I started the program at my top weight of 450 on May 5, 2012. I wore 5x - 6x pants and tops. They required an 8% of total weight loss (36 lbs) prior to scheduling surgery. I hit that by November, but decided to wait to have surgery to align with my winter break in February, since we had travel plans for Christmas. Prior to surgery on Feb 12 I was 389 and wearing 38W jeans and my 5x tops were comfortable to loose. Now, 15 days post op, I am 376 and wearing 36W jeans. (Smaller clothes are things I'd grown out of on my way up- need to go digging through the bins in my closet soon! No point spending $ on in-between sizes if I have things I can wear without them falling off!)

I pureed myself some fresh guacamole for dinner tonight- Mmmmm! Too bad I can't have tortilla chips with it LOL

As someone who has taught online courses where the only form of communication is via posting on forums and e-mail, I know that it can be very easy for people to misinterpret the intended tone of what one wishes to express. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep a couple of things in mind when using forums: 1) Try to be very aware of how others might interpret the tone of what you are posting, and 2) Remember when you're reading and responding to posts that you don't have the physical cues like facial expression and tone of voice to clue you in on the full intent of what people really mean to express. If think we all should try to use kid gloves when posting, but try to be like a duck' (let it roll off your back) when reading them, and just try to give each other the benefit of the doubt. *Hugs all around!*