LumpySpacePrincess

I don't buy "diet foods", but where there is a lower calorie or fat version of a real food (think milk, sour cream, cheese, meat) I will opt for the lower calorie/fat version. 100% of the food I eat is "real" food. I don't drink Protein shakes anymore, I don't do the bars like some do, I don't eat sugar-free candy or the diet junk foods out there. I think this is the important distinction: your nutritionist is asking you to eat lower calorie and fat varieties of real foods; this is not the same as the artificial diet food Snacks and junk that we associate with the low-fat craze. I will add that there are sometimes where I'll opt for a higher calorie/fat version of a food if the calorie drop is small between regular and reduced cal/fat. For instance, the difference in calories/fat between skim milk and 2% is only 15 calories for the amount I consume on a daily basis (1/2 cup), so I opt for the 2% because I like the taste. For something like yogurt that I eat larger amounts of, I opt for the fat free plain. For meats, I eat darker meat chicken because it is easier on my sleeve, but I take the skin off most of the time. Hope this helps!

You are seeing a psychiatrist, but do they also do talk therapy with you? I know many don't, so I thought I'd ask. If not, I'd certainly try to find a good therapist. I actually talked to my therapist yesterday about the same issue, i.e. being more judgemental toward other large people. It make me realize I'm not actually judging them, I'm seeing myself in them and judging how I used to be. Also, you are only two months out from surgery and I know my emotional roller coaster didn't stop until about month 5. Its totally normal to be super touchy. And yes, I did pick a fight with someone on FB once, but he deserved it since he was trying to sell something to WLS patients that he claimed would eliminate 50+ pounds of excess skin.

It is very common for anxiety to go up the first month or so after surgery since there are a lot of hormonal changes taking place. It helped me to remind myself of this fact when I would have an attack.

I'm 8 months out and rice hurts sometimes. The problem is, it has the tendency to expand in your stomach and fill you up before you get your Protein in. On the soft foods, 100% of your intake should be lean protein of some sort.

Two Flintstone's chewables per day, two chewable calcium (CVS brand usually), and one Bio-Tech Vitamin D 50,000 IU per week. I also take Biotin twice per day.

I suggest a lot of elastic waist skirts that won't look baggy as they start to get bigger on you. That said, I agree with others that it took me a long time to go down sizes. Even now, I'm 176 and still wearing somewhere between a 14 and 16 because of my loose skin. It took me 75 pounds to get to an 18 from a 28, and I didn't need to seriously start buying new clothes until I'd lost more than 100 pounds. My experience is that we are actually a lot bigger than we think we are in terms of clothes, but we're so used to squeezing into sizes that are too small that our current clothes will still fit fine for quite awhile. Where we were spilling out of them before, after awhile they will fit the way they were meant to.

I know for me, it lowers my inhibitions about eating so I'll eat things I normally wouldn't. It also causes a blood sugar spike and subsequent crash that will keep us heading for the kitchen.

I was the same way early out. Might help to count the bites you take for different foods and see if there is a pattern of when the pain starts, then just eat one or two bites less than that. Its very common and it will pass!

What do you eat in a typical day? Sometimes its just a matter of lowering your calories by 100-200 per day that can make a big difference.

I take ibuprofen, but only three tabs once a month during my period. For joint pain, it sounds like you'd need to take it more often, and you'd run a higher risk of developing an ulcer. You might ask your surgeon what else you can take, because there are other alternatives out there. Tylenol never did anything for me, so I totally understand how you'd want to take ibuprofen!

Fat is not an emotion, so one cannot "feel fat." You need to look deeper and find out what is really going on emotionally that is making you feel that way. Maybe as you near your goal, the sensation of being in a smaller body is unsettling after years of being overweight? If you are having a physical sensation, try pinpointing what it really is. Are you sensing that you're bloated? If so, is something new in your diet that could be causing it? If you have loose skin and it is affecting the way your clothes look, does that evoke emotions or other physical sensations? A little time for self reflection will probably help you start to work this out.

Try Avenue's solid seamless briefs. They are spandex so they stay on really well. Even the ones I have that are a few sizes too big stay put when I need them to.

Awesome!!! Love your avatar, btw.

I would have this surgery every year for the rest of my life if I needed to. I still enjoy great food, just my concept of what great food is has changed. Sure I can't eat as much as others, so I go slowly and really take in the taste, texture, and aroma of my food instead of just cramming it down. I am actually much more satisfied after a meal now than I was when I could eat ten times as much. Your relationship with food will change, and for some that is a hard thing to cope with. This is why I whole heartedly recommend therapy before and after your surgery. You are going to mourn the loss of food to some extent, and its so vital you learn to put new coping strategies in place so when the food cannot be your comfort, you have other things to turn to.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I try drinking when I'm eating a meal post-op, it HURTS!

Protein shots are not great for you, and they taste disgusting. My two favorites were the EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control shakes (I got mine at Target) or Chocolite from netrition.com. Neither of them are too sweet, at least not to me. The other option is to buy an unflavored Protein powder, like Isopure, that you can mix with pretty much anything like tea, Soup, put it in jell-o or puddings, etc. I do not recommend the flavor of a lot of the 'protein waters' floating around. They're also pretty sweet. If you don't want something too sweet, try mixing the unflavored protein powder with diet cranberry juice or some other low sugar juice, milk, or pretty much anything else.

I was told the opposite. Meals should not take longer than 20 minutes, because your sleeve will empty in about 24 minutes. If you're taking an hour to eat, you could reasonably eat three times as much as you should because you are waiting for your food to pass through your sleeve. You'll almost certainly overeat this way.

It took months for my therapist to drill intuitive eating into my head. Then when I had surgery, I had to forget all about it. It seems like we're eating so much because we're so much more aware of what we're eating than we were before. I remember going to my therapist so frustrated in the second month because I felt like I was bingeing, even though I wasn't. We're told to eat all these mini meals even if we're not hungry, but that just doesn't work for some of us. I'm 8 months out, and I usually have the same thing every day: scrambled egg whites with veggies and feta cheese for breakfast, rarely do I have lunch and if I do its a non-fat plain Greek yogurt, and then for dinner I'll make up a batch of something on Sunday and eat it every dinner for a week. If I'm low in Protein for the day, I'll add in a yogurt at night. So it does get better over time. Here's the beauty of it: if you feel you're eating too much, just don't snack as much. When I stopped snacking, I was able to get back to my intuitive eating and listening to my body. I think this is doubly important now that our bodies are sending us vastly different signals about what it needs, and in order for it to send those signals for you to recognize and analyze, you need to let it get to those points.

I've seen the judgement in other places, people saying they can't understand why someone would get this surgery if they are under 200. The thing is, people who are under 200 or close it it can struggle just as much with weight loss as those of us who started out super morbidly obese. The mechanism of losing weight doesn't get easier just because you're smaller! You know what's best for your body, others probably don't. You know yourself better than anyone on the planet, and I'm sure you made the right decision for you. We don't let other medical issues like cancer or diabetes spiral out of control before we take care of them, so why should you do that with your weight? I say good on you for taking control of your life before you end up like me: super morbidly obese and miserable. I wish I had done this surgery in my 20's when I was still close to 200!!

First picture was me at my highest weight last summer of 315 pounds. Second is me two weeks before surgery at 288 pounds. Last is me today at 184!! Best decision of my life. I'm starting to look like a normal person!! The pants are size 16 which I bought two weeks ago and suddenly they're just falling off me so I had to hold them up in the back. (Ignore the messy livingroom...my son had a sleepover).

Thank you for the kind words, everyone! It really means a lot!

Thank you so much!! Your comment really made me smile!!

If you are looking for a therapist, try Psychology Today's therapist listings. You can select what specialty you want (for food issues, I highly suggest finding someone with a PhD who specializes in eating disorders) and can put in your insurance and find someone in your area. That's how I found my therapist, and I could not have been in any way successful with my surgery without her guidance. Peaceful thoughts sent to you. I hope you find someone who can help.

Your emotions and worries on this are completely valid and totally normal, so don't think you're being unreasonable. One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who have had surgery about their significant others is that they don't feel supported if their spouse eats "junk" in front of them, or gets snippy about wanting to eat healthier. I don't think this is an issue for you; it sounds like you are more than willing to eat the way he does, which is good. My biggest pieces of advice: do the diet with him, even if its just during the meals you eat together. Go to the gym with him if he'll let you. Ask him to go on walks with you. In short, get involved in his process so he doesn't feel isolated. Second: ignore the emotional outbursts and don't take them personally. Our hormones and emotions get so out of whack the first few months after surgery and sometimes when we hurt others its really unintentional and we know its not right. It is totally OK to take a few moments for yourself when he gets emotional like that so you can gather your thoughts together. Know that he probably doesn't mean any of it to hurt you. Last: take care of yourself in non-food ways during the days you are taking care of him. Take a hot bath, go for a walk, indulge in a manicure if you're into that. Make sure you get enough rest so you can be there for him when he needs. If all else fails, see a counselor together if he's willing. I'm hoping your relationship will be like mine and actually get stronger after the surgery.

Double your Prilosec and it should calm down.