Kindle

Hamburger, carrots and broccoli ( well cooked) in soft food stage...4 weeks. Pickles, bacon, Protein bars when I started regular food.....6 weeks out. (Although some Protein Bars that are really gooey could probably be started sooner. I just didn't like any of them) Cucumbers and other Raw veggies, Nuts,seeds,almonds after 3 months. Nuts and seeds are staple Snacks for me now. Grapes and tortillas...didn't add carby stuff until was within 10 pounds of goal...probably 5 months.

Could you ask your surgeon to clarify because doing this surgery standing makes no sense at all. Not to mention my surgery took less than an hour.

Make your own chocolate milk....mix Premier protein chocolate 1/2 and 1/2 with skim milk...loaded with protein and way less sugar. It's one of my favorites.

Mixed nuts are my goto.....eat em everyday. But I also try to have jerky, seasoned pumpkin seeds (good protein AND fiber), roasted soy nuts and protein bars handy.

Excellent story. Thanks for sharing and good luck with school.

My doctor's orders were... Days 1-3 clear fluids Day 4-17 full liquids. (Protein shakes, broth and cream Soups with Protein powder added) Day 18-28 puréed (refried Beans, eggs, puréed soups with unflavored protein powder, puréed tuna, cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt flavored with protein powder or puréed fruit, soft cheeses, guacamole, hummus) Day 29-40 soft foods (all of the above plus really moist chicken, soft fishes, all cheeses, soft cooked veggies like squash, cauliflower and carrots, seafood, all soups, canned corned beef, deviled ham, burger, chili) Day 41+ regular food except nuts, chips, seeds, etc which Were off limits till 3 months out. My restriction was so good I actually had to transition slower than what my doc suggested. And I never got sick of liquids because I had such a huge variety.... Dozens of flavors of Protein Shakes as well as every variety of broth, cream Soup and bisque I could find. I still drink most of these things even 8 months out or I couldnt meet protein goals

HW: 238 SW: 216 CW: 143 GW: 150 TPL: 95 TPG: 88 Down 2 pounds this week. But that was before the super yummy homemade brownie I had this afternoon

Yes, a lot of doctors/hospitals require you pay your deductible up front. And this isn't just for WLS. My work partner had to pay her OOP in full before her hysterectomy. I had to pay my max OOP in full prior to my neck fusion surgery.

Thank! It's amazing what a nice tight butt clench will do!

I take Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Women. And I only take 1/2 the recommended dose because the levels are so good. ( I also take a separate D3 5000iu gel cap and a B12 500 sublingual but only 3 days/week). My Iron and Calcium were high on my 6 month labs so I stopped taking those supplements. Everything else was spot on. Prior to surgery I was taking Source of Life Gold, which comes in chewable, liquid and tablets. But postop everything tasted too sweet to me, including the chewable vitamins, so I switched to Garden of Life because it comes in capsules. But They are both really good.

Just thought I'd share a few views from my saddle yesterday.... the little white speck in the middle is my dog tin cup creek south Leigh canyon on the west side of the Tetons

I googled it and the popular answer seems to be at least 18 months postop and 6 months of a stable weight.

Not sure which. Heard it from a friend that had RNY a year ago and she's looking at plastics. She was told to wait.

Oh yeah, and the OCC nut gave me a goal of 160 so I'm technically 17 pounds below that. My personal goal was 150 so that's what's on my ticker.

I'm kind of in the same boat....I hit goal just a little over 6 months out and started upping my fat and healthy carbs. Switched from skim milk to 1% or 2%, regular cottage cheese instead of no fat, more fruit, whole grain bars (pure ancient grains, Kind whole grain), high Fiber cereals, and snacking on a lot if nuts. I am getting plenty of Protein but only because I drink a 30-40g smoothie everyday. But I'm still losing about 1 pound/week. I eat whenever I'm hungry and don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. I would like to stop losing, but I'm afraid to eat more just for the sake of eating. And I don't want to start up bad habits by eating carby foods. Guess I'm looking for ideas, too. And I just noticed we are both from Idaho and had surgery at OCC. Kinda spooky.

So why are you limiting your calories to such a low level? You are what, 7 weeks out, so you should be at least on soft foods. Just eat balance meals...protein first, plus veggies and healthy carbs, plenty of Water and get in your Vitamins. If you are dizzy and lightheaded you are starving your body or at least depriving your body of something it needs. Oh, and I've never counted calories. I just eat when I'm hungry, make good choices and always get in plenty of Protein and water.

Right after surgery I basically just got up to pee a few times and walked up and down the short hall when I was bored with what was on TV. (I've never been able to sleep after anesthesia, so I usually just dose off and on and watch TV all night). I was discharged about 15 hours after surgery and went back to the hotel with my sister. We walked to Walmart/Starbucks -about 1 mile round trip. Went back to the hotel for a nap, and then went back to Starbucks and walked around Walmart for a while, checking out all the varieties of Tequila and trying to read the Spanish labels. The 2nd day we walked to Starbucks AGAIN (my sister has a bit of a fetish), went to the clinic for a recheck, then went shopping up and down Avenude Revolucion. 3rd day...another mile RT to Starbucks, back to the clinic for final leak test and drain removal, then off to the airport where, of course, I did a lot if walking through security and to the terminal. Once back in snowy Idaho, I walked about a mile/day on the treadmill to help with digestion for a couple weeks and since then I haven't gone out of my way to walk any more than I normally do.

You are doing fabulous! You already know this, but don't compare yourself with others...they are not you. my standard advice for posts like this is...."throw your scale away and you will be a lot happier". But if it makes you feel any better, at 7 weeks out I had lost 17 pounds postop. The difference is I was thrilled with every single pound and never once questioned my success.

That was my fear, too. I saw so many people on here doing Zumba or cross fit or training for 1/2 marathons, etc and I was afraid I wouldn't do those things. And I was right. I have the same motivation to exercise now as I did preop...exactly zero. Simply making smart food choices and having the sleeve for portion control has worked for me. I do have a physical job and active lifestyle, but pretty much the same as before surgery. Obviously, establishing a workout routine is probably the best way to go. But not doing so isn't an automatic "Death sentence" for weight loss success. At the very least, maybe try to find a recreational activity or something that gets you out and moving.

BTW, you look so cool!

Once again, I am going to sing the praises of my family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, clients and FB pals. 99% of their responses to my surgery and weight loss have been "congratulations" "good for you" "you should be proud of yourself" "you are very brave to have surgery, I wish I could do that" "you look great" "what's your surgeon's name".... Exactly 2 people have tried to downplay the surgery and both of them ended up looking like idiots in front of a lot of people with their ignorant comments. Maybe folks in conservative, Small town, USA just have better things to do than hate other people for being successful. I suggest you unfriend the haters and find better quality people to hang out with.

I don't think you can rely on ANY surgery to physically cure your sugar/carb cravings. I have three friends that have all had WLS.....band, bypass and RNY. Every one of them has reverted to eating sugar and crap food. The bander frequents McD's and Taco Bell. She eats lots of ice cream and has gone to great lengths to figure out how to eat around her band so she doesn't slime or regurge as much as she used to. (But she still does) The RNY had a rough recovery, so she didn't fall off her diet plan until almost a year after surgery. She's not doing too badly, but she does eats all kinds of deserts and chips and breads. My bypass friend is the worst....she is 8 years out and her diet staples include coke, mashed potatoes, packaged saltine and crackers, donuts and ice tea with plenty of sugar. I almost never see her eat Protein. She is a huge sugar /carboholic and she eats all of this crap despite dumping and/or vomiting at least a couple times/week. There is a reason these surgeries are not the easy way to lose weight. The physical surgery WILL NOT fix your addictions and cravings. Sure, you might feel too crappy to eat those things for a couple months, but once you are healed, your appetite will return as well as your bad eating habits if you haven't done the mental work, too. And unfortunately, the mental game goes on forever.....

Thanks for taking the time to post on here. You have done so great and it's always good to know there really no "secret" to success. The simple postop plan works the way it's supposed to if we just stick with it. Congrats!

Just had this conversation yesterday. A client asked how I lost so much weight and I told her about my surgery. She thought it was great and commented how nice my skin looked. Her sister had had bypass and was now dealing with lots of loose skin. My work partner jumped in and described how I had such a giggly turkey neck when I was losing so fast but that it had tightened up noticeably over the last couple months. I looked carefully in the mirror when I got home and she's right! And I've heard that a lot of surgeons want WLS patients to wait 2 years before considering plastics because it can take our skin that long to shrink as much as it's going to.

They're both gorgeous! Thanks for sharing. And looks like you've got a decent place to ride, too.