Miss Mac

My guidebook says to avoid caffein and carbonation. Liquor in moderation is allowed after 3 months. There is a warning about those metabolic changes and sugar content of mixed drinks.

I have been a daily weigher since day one. When I had my 18 month follow-up last week, I took my food diary with me. The doctor noticed that I was recording my weight every day and putting a smiley face or a frowny face next to the numbers. She told me that I was attaching too much emotional importance to the numbers and oredered me to have my boyfriend hide the scale from me and only bring it out once a month until my two year appointment in December. Oh, man...talk about withdrawal! I want to gravitate to that bare space every day and step on the invisible scale. It has taken me all week to adjust to no morning weigh-in.

Nope. Don't worry. It largely depends on the condition of your liver. I had to do a 10 day liquid diet. There have indeed been a few folks here who just had to do low carb. It is entirely up to your own team. Good luck with your surgery.

I lost 22 pounds pre-op, and then gained 12 of them back with the IV fluids in the hospital. It took me two weeks to lose that and then I hit the dreaded third week stall. It was not until the second month that I really started to lose weight, about he time some people have lost sixty pounds already. I am only hoping that the slower weight loss will help me to not be so baggy when I reach goal. I am doing my part with exercise, strength training and ab work.

On a visit to my primary doctor, my weight was up again, in spite of my best efforts. I asked him if he thought I might be a good candidate for a lap band. He referred me to the bariatric clinic at Loyola University Medical Center. When I went through the required on-line lesson, I found out about the sleeve. So, when I had my first discussion with the surgeon, we talked about the sleeve and got me started on my journey.

I had powdered protein tomato soup packets from Bariatric Choice (www.bariatricchoice.com)

It took me three days to get to where I could overcome the urge to eat my own fingers. After that, I was ok with it. The liquid diet is a right of passage, so stay determined. Many, many folks have gone before you and lived to tell about it. Just think of the stories you will be able to tell a year from now when nobody recognizes you.

Happy Dance! I know that took a lot of determination and hard work.

Why are you in the gym at seven days post-op? I am concerned that you may hurt yourself. Maybe you could look at a YouTube video of your type of operation to remind yourself how your insides have been brutalized. My orders were to lift no more than five pounds for one month. At six weeks, I got the all-clear for exercise and stength training as tolerated. Please be careful. i would never want a bariatric brother or sister to bust a gussett in the gym. I am so glad you are recovering well, and would not want you to undo the doctor's hard work. It's OK to take your time healing; proceed with caution, if you must, but would you at least call your team and ask them to remind you what their particular guidelines are on the matter? Good luck on yur journey to the new you.

The last time I had bad diarrhea and vomiting, I passed out twice, hitting my head on the tub twice. I ended up in the ER for a CT scan and fluids. You are not that far out from surgery to be brave and stoic about this. If you are alone, I would get to the ER now if you are not dizzy. If you are dizzy and alone, call 911 for an ambulance to get you there. If a driver is in the house, have them get you there now. Being tough is not worth double concussion.

I am the not-normal one in this respect. Although my recovery has gone flawlessly, I am still on my blood pressure meds at 18 months. Even though my nutritional values, thyroid, and blood count numbers were sweet, my cholesterol was still sky high. My primary said until my cholesterol backs off, I have to take the meds. I was at the bariatric clinic last week for my 18 month check-up, and they took blood for the lab. I got the report back on Monday. All of my numbers are good, and cholesterol is now in the perfectly mid-line normal range. The bariatric physician had forewarned me that because I am post-stroke, I may never drop the BP meds unless numbers dip low. Oh, well.

My lowest amount at any point past soft foods was 600 calories.

There were a lot of guidelines for my sleeve that I thought would be challenging to maintain, but I worried for nothing. I am 18 months out now and don't miss straws at all. One reason is that I am not going through drive-throughs every day getting big giant flimsy cups of soda.

That was my normal at that stage.

Week 2 - purees weeks 3,4 - soft week 4 1/2 started regular food as tolerated

To me it tastes like black licorice - that thing whuch I hate. I have the chocolate flavor on hand now and put it in sugar free hot cocoa with extra vanilla and sweetener. Not as bad but I can still taste it.

I try not to be hungry when I go the grocery, and I do shop the perimeter of the store where the fresh meat and produce are. I am in a suburb of the big city and have five major supermarkets to choose from. In every one of them, you enter in through the bakery to get to anything else. You know it's a deliberate trap. I just have to put my mental horse blinders on and get through there as quickly as possible.

It's exactly like Bufflehead said. I can't emphasize enough how important portion control is. I have been guilty of scooping up a serving spoon heaped with Peanut Butter and logging it as 1 TBS peanut butter. When I actually measured it, it was about 6 Tbs of peanut butter. Get a little kitchen scale at the dollar store and use it. Logging is useless if you have lost all portion control and are not honest with yourself. My dad was a scientist and he was always saying things like "You cannot control that which you do not measure." I just had an 18 month follow-up this past Thursday, and the doctor and nutritionist reminded me to eat 80-100 grams of Protein now that I am further out, and still eat my protein first - all of it - before I eat anything else on my plate. I was also told that I was putting way too much fruit in my protein shakes and to cut total fruit all day to one 1/2 cup serving until I reach goal. Then when I am in maintenance, I can add some back. Also, my Water is up to 100 ounces a day, and I had to cut out artificial sweeteners. So, all I have left of sweeteners is Monk Fruit sweetener which is ridiculously high priced, even at Walmart. This whole journey has been a "give and take" about finding balance - looking for that perfect combination of diet, exercise, work, play, and sleep that will benefit me the most. It's a very elusive little monkey for sure!

You posted at 2:34 a.m. That means you were up thinking when you ought to be sleeping! This website has a fairly direct explanation. http://www.yourbariatricsurgeryguide.com/gastric-bypass-recovery/ This is from here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/info/after-surgery/after_weight_loss_surgery.html There is a sidebar menu on the right. One of the categories is Diet Progression. Helpful info, direct and to the point. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery. Support of family and friends is a gift from God.

I am not exactly in your position, but at 5'4" and 235 pounds, I had 100 pounds to lose. I am a slow loser and will hit my 18 month mark on the 23rd, so I am almost to goal. Having that extra 100 pounds was like wearing a two month old colt for a belt. When I lost the first 30 pounds, I was already feeling benefits from the surgery. I could walk easier and stand up straighter. At fifty pounds down, my bed was starting to feel bigger and exercise seemed like something to do rather than something to avoid. Now that I am almost there, my insides feel better; I actually feel healthier. If you wanted to lose 150 pounds, that would be a colt and twin toddlers! If you wanted to lose 175 pounds, that would be a colt and a full-grown Irish Setter! If you wanted to lose 185 pounds, that would be a colt, a bale of hay and a medium sized microwave! Whatever amount of weight you lose, you will be ahead of the game and healthier for it. Just think - if you can lose 150 pounds, the you will be a 200 pound person who wants to lose 35 pounds. If you can lose 150, what's another 35 over time? Hitting 200 doesn't mean that you have to stay that way forever. Anyway, losing 150 pounds, plus floppity skin removal (panniculectomy) and a tummy tuck will put you close to your goal. Congratulations that you have decided to take this step early on. I lived my whole adult life hidden inside another person's miserable body, and it took a stroke to get my attention. Think of your sleeve as a gift instead of a burden. Your quality of life will be so much better for you. Hugs from Miss Mac in Chicago. And contrary to what Christen Cavaleri (actress and wife of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler) says, Chicago is a great place to live.

I had to use extra effort for few days. I think the anesthetic and pain meds put my bladder down for a nap.

Boy, doctors are so different! Mine had me on two stool softeners a day. Pain meds and anethestic slowed me down for a while. After I started soft foods I was constipated one time.....and it will never happen again. It was like passing a watermelon through a straw. I bought a lot of Smooth Move Tea in all four flavors. It works, but they all taste like licorice to me. Now I just take Miralax in a morning beverage and all is right with the world the next morning.

That's called "creative writing". I only needed two years of documentation, but I had been seeing my primary doctor every three months, so I got a copy of my records for two years and highlighted my weight at every visit, and my doctor's comments and instructions for diet and exercise. I had also written a letter with other diet attempts as a adult and also mentioned family medical history regarding obesity and premature death relating to obesity caused conditions. I closed out with how my own obesity related conditions were detrimental to my health and were diminishing my quality of life.

All of that and some jingle in your pocket, too! Congratulations.

To make sugar-free pudding, you still need milk, which does have needed Protein, but also some calories of its own. I have tried making it with almond milk and just don't get acceptable results. I have not tried soy milk or Water.