Fluffnomore

I'm 6 weeks out and just went back to my CrossFit gym. I was cleared for all exercise except CF at 4 weeks, so I waited the extra two weeks required by my doctor. I'm getting back into it slowly…we started with the rowing machine and some baseline stuff (squats and sit-ups) to see how my core responded. All was clear, so the next day I did some rowing, light kettle ball swings and ring rows (body weight pull-ups from the ground.) I will continue in this fashion, with the goal to keep a steady pace and finish, until I am back where I was in October prior to surgery. I suspect it will take another 4-6 weeks of work to get back there, and I expect to go about 2-3 times a week to start.

There's nothing in the world like this, and it's really hard to understand unless you've been there. Sending positive thoughts your way, my dear.

At 6 weeks out now and able to start transitioning most foods back into my diet, the interesting thing to me is that not being able/allowed to eat stuff was really a helpful crutch for me. Now is when the real work starts! I was at a party just last night and I had to survey the offerings really thoroughly before I made my choices. In the middle of this I had the flash: wow, if I can eat a lamb meatball, I am sure I can eat a cracker…it won't hurt anything if I let it "melt" in my mouth. And I had to smack myself upside the head (figuratively!) and say, "No. It will hurt you. It will hurt your progress. Protein only." (Thank goodness this was a "paleo" focused party. Lots of protein choices.) Like Arts says though, because I haven't had simple carbs, I don't really crave them, so I don't have that uphill/downhill battle to fight. The last 6 weeks have been good training for portion size, counting, and all of the framework kind of habits. But when the choices are arrayed before you in all their dazzling glory? That's when the s*&t gets real. For me, anyway.

I also tried salmon for the first time this weekend (at 6 weeks) and took small pieces with a bit of guacamole on the fork. Made it softer/moister.

I drove the day after I got home from the hospital. Also worked (from home and the hospital) pretty immediately. Take it slow and listen to your body.

Work. It.

I see MTHFR and think something else entirely. But that's interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if I have that too; we have strong family issues with thyroid malfunction. I probably have attention issues even more because a) I have ADHD too and I have very erratic jobs…there are about 5 million things to do and I have to constantly switch gears for it.

I've thought about it a bit. He is probably not going to want to haunt the boards until he knows he has approval. If he doesn't get approved he doesn't want to read about it. He has said as much. Maybe too, this is one place I feel I can share my feelings (he doesn't really want to hear about it) so I haven't made it open to him. Although again, he knows that I am on the web site and it's not a secret. It's a good thought.

I can't breathe.

This is what I was thinking as well. Fluff...unfortunately this is not my area of expertise. I was the sneaky eater. The searcher of food. Stopping in secret to buy food and eat it...then destroy the evidence so my wife didn't find out. He's probably doing that now I hate to say. The more my wife tried to stop these behaviors in me, the more secretive I became. When I think back on those days...the best thing my wife could have done (and did do) was to model good behavior, but put as little pressure as possible on me. The more pressure, the more I'd eat. Also...whatever professional help he's getting, I would focus your efforts on that. Make sure he's going. Hell go with him if you can. Make it a team effort. Joint therapy. That way he won't feel like it's just him losing the struggle. Together, he might feed (sorry for the pun) off your success. Actually, it's just your experience that I am looking for. I can admit right off the bat that I don't know what makes him tick. It's helpful to know that I can't physically do anything to help other than my own thing. And it's good to know that pressure makes it worse. I will say, being on the "receiving" end of this in terms of what is in the house vs what is not, it is sometimes quite hard not to get angry with food that I was planning to make for dinner, or make the kids' lunches with…just being gone. Which leads me to hiding stuff, which I do not like either. Anyway, I truly appreciate all the thoughtful responses and will work on getting him to therapy more regularly. Going with him too, what the heck! I am sure that our dynamic has led to both of us being obese, even though we get along well with most things.

I had reflux prior and had a hiatal hernia repair too. For the first week after surgery I didn't have much of an issue and didn't take my medication. Now, I sometimes get a little bit. The answer was to go back on my PPI (I take Dexilant), and since I've done that I haven't had any issues. I was hoping to be off it completely; maybe when I've lost a little more weight I can experiment with it again.

I haven't told a lot of people. Sometimes someone will notice that I'm not eating much (or the way I used to) and I just say that I'm not sure my stomach can take it today. (No one wants to know more.) For the work, get lots of rest this weekend. I am fortunate that I work at home (thank goodness for the internet!) but even though I've put in plenty of full days it sure feels different when you can sit on your couch with your laptop than upright in an office setting all day. When I had a different surgery a few years back and was commuting downtown, I swear I fell asleep at 8:00 every night for a month.

For kb swings, I am just using the 15 pound right now. I made it through 3 sets of 21 with that yesterday and don't feel too sore. A little, but not bad. I was prepared to grab a 5 or 10 pound weight if it got too tough yesterday but the two coaches were paying attention so they would have stopped me if my form had fallen apart. They're good about that. But I don't expect I'll be up to something like Filthy Fifty for another 5-6 weeks or so, even with all of those mods.

You could alternate your breakfasts some days with something like Cream of Wheat. How about a bariatric hot chocolate instead of a full meal? You could also try a few tablespoons of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes or similar. I also wouldn't be afraid of fat. Cream Soups have more calories and they also are satisfying. Once I realized that I really wasn't getting in too much fat, I started to occasionally add cream to my coffee or hot chocolate (not a lot, but it really helps the mouth feel.) I'd also try things like guacamole. I ordered salmon last night at dinner and it came with guacamole and mashed potatoes. I have three more meals in my fridge.

Pfft, it was seriously, seriously modified and I set a snail's pace. But either way…it can only get better. I'm so glad there are others in the cult who understand. They're doing Filthy today and I am staying far, far away. I'll see them at the holiday party tonight.

The way I look at this is that I'm 45 and I'm not supposed to look 25. If my pudginess hid a couple of years, meh. We'll get used to it. I'm just busy wandering around looking for things to cut with my cheekbones.

WonderSlim from DietDirect.com I'm sure you can also make your own with SF pudding and Protein powder, but I prefer the convenience of this. They also sell the bariatric hot cocoa. Bariwise, I think.

I can concentrate, but I am also preoccupied with WLS, this web site, etc. Today I'm running around trying to organize files from the last 2 months because I feel like this has been such a drain on my attention. And to your point, yes, I think when we lose the sedative effect of food and have to concentrate on fueling up more frequently we might be more prone to distraction. That and I keep thinking of things to do (and have more energy to do them.) So I often find myself inexplicably starting a project right now rather planning and waiting. Which means that there are more undone projects sitting around. I don't know. I'd like to continue this discussion but I see something shiny over there.

I'm hungry some days too. And when I am I try to have just a little something more, which is probably why I am hitting 800-900 calories a lot of days. It seems to be working just fine for my weight loss. When I am feeling peckish I try to have something like a bariatric pudding, which is pretty helpful in that it has a decent amount of Protein, is about 80-100 calories, and is also more fun to eat than other things (feels like a treat.)

I feel like I could eat more than 800 most days, although sticking to what I should be eating it is hard to go much over that right now (6 weeks out.) And that is 4-5 small meals or Snacks. I have set my mynetdiary for 900 calories and I've only gone over that once. I agree that you should plan for 800 and see how it goes.

I had surgery on a Thursday and was perfectly able to work Monday. However, I work from home so I was more or less on my couch answering emails and phone calls. A commute might have been harder, but I was certainly even capable of that within a few days to a week. I was also relatively healthy to begin with and had been working out for about 2 months prior to surgery. I really think that helped a lot. Good luck!

I can't believe it's already December, but as I was sitting here making my mental list of to-dos for the next few weeks I realized that I need to address the issue of how I'm going to adjust the food. I guess Thanksgiving came and went and wasn't a big deal because it wasn't on my turf. But for example, my kids look forward to the sour cream coffee cake every year (and I usually make about 10 and give them as gifts.) We are on our own this Christmas because we just saw my family, so I know that they will expect a "feast." And while I'm not a big Christmas cookie person, they are just the age that they will want to make them. So far I have found the parties fairly easy to handle, but this has me a bit stumped. How have you adjusted your holiday plans if they used to be around food? Nothing like a sleeve to point out how much of our socializing and traditions are about food...

So sorry to hear of your trouble, Fiddleman.

I worry about that very much. But unlike me, he has a therapist that he is in the process of working through some of this with. I always worry that he thinks it's just as simple as getting the surgery, and this is one area that my success thus far causes me great guilt. I know I make it look easy, and for the most part it has gone smoothly but I also don't complain much even when it's hard. Ugh. This is going way off the topic, and I apologize. I really do want to know how to support him.

Arts, thanks again for sage advice. I know that…unfortunately my "getting" to have the surgery and his having to appeal is taking a toll. I know that on some level this can't be my problem, but it's hard to unravel and remember that in the moment. He calls me multiple times a day to find out if I've heard any news from the doctor's office or insurance company (and I call them every other day.) And he will not take any kind of advice (not that I am inclined to give it at this point.) His reaction right now, to my leaving food on the plate, to my weight loss, to my going to exercise is "I wish I could do this with you, it's not fair, you're leaving me behind, you're smoking me, how can I compete" when for me it's not about competition. I would like to think that if I saw him a couple of months ahead of me that I might try to adopt some of the behavior. But shoot, how do I know that I would? I got to this point without having a bingeing issue but my habits weren't great either. Patience, patience, patience…