ziggypbang

I am SO glad you posted this! I had no idea that non-constipating Iron existed. I have been taking my iron every other day and I still feel like throwing a giant party every time I have a successful trip to the bathroom! I was just looking online for both gluconate and fumarate - apparently fumarate is the LEAST constipating, so I'm going to go for that. Still, the chewable form I was only able to find from Celebrate & Bariatric Advantage. Fortunately, I was allowed to quit using chewable Vitamins at my 3 month post-op visit, so I'm going to buy a non-chewable version of the fumarate. Vitacost's price is only $2.99. Wow. GREAT POST - BLESSINGS TO YOU!

Congratulations!!! Doesn't "Oh my God!" feel great!? You deserve the accolades. It will be the first of MANY! These folks don't even realize what great cheerleaders they are being for us! Best wishes!

I'm so sorry for what you are going through! I didn't have your exact experience, but I did have strong aversions to certain Protein shakes after surgery. Everything they gave me in the hospital (green Jello, chicken broth, grape Isopure, lemon Crystal Light) still make me gag just to think of them! Blech! All vanilla and chocolate shakes still make me sick-ish. I used to drink the Atkins Mocha Latte shakes pre-op and thought they were delicious. Now I hate them. At any rate, God willing you will find something soon that sits a little better in your very delicate tummy! I found that the Fuzzy Navel and Pink Grapefruit Flavors of Syntrax nectar tasted OK to me. I also found that, although "broths" weren't great, I could make the packets of the old Lipton Noodle Soup, strain out the noodles, and enjoyed the flavor. Also, the tropical flavors of sugar-free popsicles were a lifesaver. You can't eat them too fast, which helps protect you from that discomfort of taking a big swallow of liquid accidentally. I had to take a lot of anti-nausea medicine and antacids after surgery. I assume you are taking both? I hope more people chime in with ideas for you! Blessings - may each day be better!

Yes, very much like Curves! I used to do Curves a few years back, and I loved it. Planet Fitness just has better hours, and is closer to home & work for me. Also cheaper. But I think PF stole the Curves model on the 30 minute express. It's mostly women that do it, I've noticed. I remember the making good relatinships with the women at Curves, and really being encouraged to succeed. And the music was good there, too! Another idea that I have done sounds a little goofy: marching in place with hand weights. I actually watched all 62 episodes of White Collar (AWESOME SHOW, HOT SMART MEN!) with 2 or 3 pound hand weights, marching like my life depended on it. It's amazing how a simple show that you love makes the time fly.

Not like you'd imagine. I was a bit terrified about the pain I expected, but my concerns were unfounded. The first 36 hours kind of stank - just uncomfortable. I did let them juice me up while in the hospital! But by 36 hours I felt pretty decent. Just a bit weak, really. I barely used any of the pain meds they sent me home with. I did have sharp pain in the one big incision next to my navel, where they removed the excised stomach. It hurt like a big cut would at times, but only a small percentage of the time overall. I will say I walked like a madwoman in the hospital - at least 20 minutes every 2-3 hours, even overnight. I was scared about the gas pains they described, and about the blood clots. But I wonder whether the walking helped with pain control as well? My biggest issue was nausea. Not everyone has it, but I still do 3 1/2 months out. Still, if I had to have this surgery every 6 months to maintain this weight loss, I would do it. I'm not exaggerating. I am that thrilled with the results!!!

Great topic! I have been trying to do as much strength training as I can. I really enjoy the Planet Fitness 30 minute express circuit. It keeps my heart rate up the whole time, and I love seeing myself do more reps & add more weights as my strength improves. In between each of the 10 lifting stations are stepping stations, and I do six different step routines, including arms, which I vary after each lifting station. Then I add some ab stuff when I'm done, then I do some stretching. My goal is to try to create muscles so the saggy skin on my upper arms, belly and upper thighs won't look so goofy! Plus, in this early phase we are losing some muscle mass since the weight is coming off so quickly. I want to maintain my muscle, baby. Who wouldn't want Michelle Obama's arms!? (not a Michelle fan, just an arm fan!) Oh, and welcome to your first of many plateaus! I don't let myself get on the scale every day for that very reason. We know we're doing all the right things, and our body will reward us in time!

Definitely! And I feel like I'm ALWAYS drinking. It's just so hard when you can't drink during those first 90 minutes after each meals and 15 before. This kills a minimum of 6 hours a day, and it takes forever to get those Protein shakes down at times. My PA told me I was OK, since they were able to check my Water levels on one of their fancy machines, which measured in normal range. I might get close to 60 oz. on days I work out, since I drink quite a bit when I'm sweating, but on normal days I'm lucky to hit 48. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm almost 3 1/2 months out, but I can't see getting up to 64 oz before 6 months personally.l My good friend did this surgery 1 year ago and she's still not up to 64.

Keep up the good work! And don't worry about the "eating without drinking" issue. There is NO WAY I could have done this pre-sleeve, and now it's just a habit. I didn't really even follow that rule to the letter until I started on solids, since it wasn't until solid food that I felt "full" after eating. You will definitely have to push liquids & shakes in between meals to stay hydrated, but here's a little trick I use after eating: spray breath spray on your tongue, then apply a very minty lip gloss. I get a shimmer minty gloss from Bath & Body Works. Your mouth will feel fresh and you won't feel the need to wash the food down. Later you can add gum after meals if you like - I accidentally did this from the outset - I somehow skipped over the part of the education where they told me not to. But I'm an optometrist, so I am always close to folks' faces, and my breath was crazy funky for the first few months post-op. Scraping my tongue after brushing helped a bit, but the minty stuff was necessary!

Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your pre-op diet experience. Do you have to do full liquids for quite a while? I didn't, but I know some folks on this site had to do that. I did have an eating plan to follow, but I modified it a bit since my body was so accustomed to carbs. I still ate a bowl of Kashi with skim milk every morning. Those high-Fiber, whole grain carbs really helped prevent the crazy headaches I always get when I suddenly go low-carb. The good news is, the post-op diet is MUCH easier than pre-op! You will do great!

I think this would be a wonderful question for your surgical team, since I would hate to lead you down the wrong path I wasn't allowed lentil or tomato soup initially, but I love them both. I would suggest heating up small portions nice and hot in a tiny bowl. I have some tiny Pyrex dishes I use instead of regular size bowls, and eat with a teaspoon. Savor every bite like you're dining in a fine restaurant. You are wise to me your food flavorful. It's so much better that way! You will feel much more satisfied once you can add whole beans, tofu and veggies. It gets better!

I'm glad you're not feeling sick. Some protein shakes made me nauseous post op. I think if you're drinking comfortably you'll be in great shape during puree stage, since the neither shakes nor purees filled me up. I did have an obsession for laughing cow cheeses for a while, until my tastes changed. Eventually, fish, chicken, beans and tofu were great for filling me up. I really do a lot of stir fries and lentil stews with veggies. I love one pot meals. Lots of leftovers and no thinking involved! If you are craving salt,which was a big issue for me, maybe try some warm broth with beef flavor Better than Bouillon, and add half a scoop of unflavored protein powder. I used Isopure. The flavor reminded me of beef stroganoff, and I felt such relief getting away from all the sweet foods I am also grateful for pink grapefruit flavored Syntrax Nectar, which I still love. It will get better, really!

You are getting advice from some Very Wise Folks here! I'm a recovering binge eater too. I was bulimic for 15 years then 'upgraded' to the binging only. :-) Vsg has been an excellent tool for me so far. My tastes have changed, esp with regard to sweets and chocolate. I actually took a bite of my song's Bosco stick the other night and ended up spitting it back out. Weird, funky, yeast nastiness. It's literally just how I felt when I was pregnant, during my first trimester. I have had a few minor binges, but we're talking a tiny fraction of what it used to be. Not be able to alternate between sweet and savory REALLY puts a damper on things for me. I used to chase pizza with soda or ice cream. Now I cant imagine the stomach discomfort of drinking soda, and ice cream just reminds me of a frozen protein shake! Who needs that? Of course, the head hunger issues have to be dealt with constructively. After all, I just spent 45 years medicating all possible unpleasant emotions with food. Now I do things like getting on Bariatric Pal. I also find that exercise, my increasing strength, huge decrease in physical pain, better sleep, and increasing confidence are fantastic mood boosters. I am so glad I made this radical commitment to my health!

Get rid of your big summer clothes now. There's no way you're going to need the larger size warm-weather stuff. I put all that in the attic before surgery, which was great fun! By six weeks post op you'll be doing another major cleaning, and I kept a donation bin in my closet from that point on. Donated 17 BAGS to salvation army last week. Awesome! I've been haunting thrift shops for tops, sweaters and jackets for several months now. My true shopping cravings have been satiated with shoes, accessories and lingerie. Fun! I'm a doctor and I keep getting compliments on my Goodwill clothes! I just try to hit Goodwill in other communities so I don't accidentally wear my patient's old clothes during their exams!

GREAT JOB! Look at you becoming your own problem-solver! Fatigue is terrible for pushing us towards self-destruction. But you hit the nail on the head when you said that "nothing I ate satisfied me". Which meant you were craving something ELSE - a great night's sleep! Bravo, sister! You did it. Now I'm going to make a nice warm Protein cappucino so I don't steal the bread & butter out of my 4 year old's hands while he eats!

DON'T PANIC! You are frustrated and beating yourself up over ONE DAY!! This journey doesn't happen in a day, or even a week. Look how far you've come. You're not the same person you were pre-surgery. Don't put yourself back in that box. I have decided to take a one or two meal "break" once a week, no more, and not worry about what I eat during that time. Very few people can eat perfectly 100% of the time. I'm not going to eat to the point of discomfort - this sleeve keeps me on course, but I can plan special treats. Two weeks ago Sunday I ate French fries - just a few, with this amazing Belgian sauce. This past Monday I had a Krispy Kreme. And part of a cheeseburger, later for dinner. Yesterday and today I ate beautifully both days, and hit the gym yesterday. It believe this can be okay. Serious bodybuilders actually plan to eat extra calories some days in order to keep their fat-burning and muscle-building in high gear, and not slow down their metabolism. They may be on to something. I don't

Go for it! I drove myself to the gym and walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill 2 days after getting out of the hospital. One week after surgery I was back at work full time, and I am a health care provider who stands up 100% of my day. Other than a bit of soreness when I moved the wrong way, I really felt pretty decent. I told my PA at my 1 week and 1 month post-op visits that my energy levels were perfectly fine. Only after 2 months post-op did I realize my energy levels would only go UP from that point on! Yea!

I think I enjoy food MORE! It's not the boss of me, now, so I can really just eat the things I love and not have to scarf everything in sight just because it's there. I definitely appreciate savory foods more now as opposed to sweet foods, which is new for me. I used to be able to eat a pint of Haagen-Dazs coffee Toffee Crunch in one sitting, after polishing off a Totino's pizza. I think I'd still like to try a little now and then, just in moderation. Haven't tried ice cream since surgery - I have a feeling it would float back up my esophagus at this point! Did try a bit of pizza yesterday and it was as delicous as I remembered.

Hated that stage! Thank heavens it was short! I ate a LOT of Laughing Cow cheese. I bought it in every flavor they make. It just went down easily. (I can't eat Lauging Cow at all anymore!) I also liked scrambled egg with a little cottage cheese. I bought some baby foods for convenience, but they were not appetizing and I gave them to someone with a baby. I did use a lot of baby oatmeal cereal - just added a little milk, cinnamon & truvia. Also a drop of anise flavoring - yum! I never once "pureed" a food - that would have driven me over the edge!

This is a great topic! I have recently switched my diet to eliminate most dairy, other than cottage cheese. I eat a ton of beans, especially lentils. I adapted a recipe from Arabia's Sausage Lentil Soup (ground turkey in place OS sausage, more spinach and tomatoes, less water so its not soupy). I eat it every day. Very filling and great for regularity. I also eat eggs everyday, scrambled with onion, green pepper, smoked ham and black beans. I add salsa Verde and guacamole or fresh avocado when I eat. In all honesty, I cook eggs once every 3 or 4 days and then just eat leftovers the other days! This s basically the same diet I used pre op, but I started to get sloppy in the lot few weeks and slowed down my loss. Cheese became my nemesis, so I had to say good bye for now. I still do 3 protein shakes per day, which continue to enjoy. Atkins Cafe Carmel, anyone? :-)

I only tried the grape, but BLECCCHHHH! I definitely prefer Syntrax Nectar flavors, especially the pink grapefruit and iced tea flavors. I also mix flavors a bit, and add a bit of crystal light at times, like lemon and coconut. They are my go-to protein shakes for daytime. For breakfast I live the Atkins RTF Cafe Caramel! I hear Syntax's Cappuccino is great, but I would have to blend it with milk.

When you realize that the strange feeling you noticed driving over to the gym was your sports bra slipping up over your new, smaller breasts! Hee hee!