JanetteH

Yes - that's happened to me - the reactions are weird. So I haven't told many people! My husband and kids were great and very encouraging. Most other people who knew I had surgery didn't need to know why - so I just said "I had to have some plumbing realigned, and I'm doing well". This is true and also explains why I'm not eating much : ) Haven't even told my mother and brother - they'll just think I've lost weight when I see them in September.

Hi Jodie I had the same problem at first - I even wished I had never had the surgery it was so bad at times. But, honesty, it does get better! Just keep reminding yourself of that. I think it's part of our food addiction - obsessing with food even though we can't eat much any more, dreaming about eating all the wrong things. I like Amy's idea - find something else to fill the time - take up knitting, get a library card and start reading like crazy, watch old movies etc. Better yet add some exercise - go for a walk etc. : ) Good luck - just remember it does get better. I'm 12 weeks out now and I'm into a routine of eating healthy food. I have bad days - but it's so much better - I'm losing weight and my Diabetes has resolved. Think positive!

Hi Deanna It's set for 1200 calories a day - did that based on my height, weight and goal of 2 lbs a week. Haven't found a way to set it lower or increase my weight loss goal. Do you know the trick? Janette

Hi dreaming big. First of all I agree with the other responses - fluids and protein should be a high priority - both you and Clare might benefit from having at least one protein shake a day - both fluid and protein all at once : ) - at least until you can tolerate more solid protein. I really miss drinking with meals too - but I carry a water bottle with me all the time so I can sip in the car etc etc. Secondly - sorry to find out now that you're leaving Upstate New York. I live near Rochester, where are you? Hang in there - things will get better as your digestive tract settles down. Glad you're going to see your doc soon. I have had no problems in the last 2 weeks (I'm 3 months out now). Sometimes I wish I had more problems - eating is too darn easy for me now.

Kimr - thanks for the great idea! We're having a few friends over for Memorial Day and wondered what to serve - it's going to be Chicken Satay with peanut sauce : ) Claire - so glad the flights went well and that you're having a wonderful time! Deanna - say "hi" to Glasgow for me. That's where I'm originally from although I live in Upstate New York now. I'll keep my fingers crossed for good weather - as Claire says it can be so unpredictable. I'm 3 months post-op today and it happened! I've stalled - reached a plateau. Thanks to all of you, I know it's common and will pass soon. Just got to keep positive. MyFitnessPal keeps sending me messages that I'm not eating enough - so my body has probably gone into "starvation mode". Hope it gives up soon : )

I have bipolar disorder, and it's been under control for quite a few months now. However, I have been stalled out on my weightless for a couple of weeks and it's really starting to get to me. My dietician told me it was probably because of how hard I exercise, but for me, I should see results. When I go running everyday and workout really hard, my body should be cooperating. I just feel like I have done so much, and am seeing so little in return. Wow, Marathongirl - you've lost so much weight in a very short time! I had my surgery Feb 24th and I've "only" lost 50 lbs so far - but I'm delighted - I have never consistently lost 3-4 lbs per week before. I too am in a stall - still eating correctly (protein first, veg or fruit next, carbs rarely), the correct amount (no more than ¾ - 1 cup) etc etc but I've been stuck for 10 days now. I know from reading these threads that it is a common (maybe universal) problem, so I'm just resigned to it. I exercise about 20-30 minutes a day (walking or swimming) so not as much as you. I use My Fitness Pal to record everything and it keeps sending me messages that I'm not eating enough - so I think my body has gone into "starvation mode" - like Snow Daisy said - saving all the calories it can get. Think positive - maybe your expectations are too high - I was told it would take about a year to lose 130 lbs. Good luck and keep in touch - this too shall pass : )

I disagree with Cupcake and Marathon girl - sorry : ) The effects of surgery are different for all of us - I had crazy, almost painful hunger pangs for the first 2 weeks - and it definitely was NOT head hunger. My doc told me that although they know the physiological effects on the body, they still don't know the effects of WLS on the brain and everyone is different. My brain thought I was starving although some people are not hungry at all. I'm afraid I just had to tolerate it until it went away - I wished I had not had the surgery because of it! Hang in there BariatricCeliac - it does get better. For me, the difference started after around 2 weeks and by one month, the hunger had pretty much gone away. I'm 12 weeks out now and hunger is no longer a problem - just the head hunger or cravings we all get now and then : )

I had the same symptom - excruciatingly hungry all the time. Never felt full even after a "meal". I know it's awful but hang in there - it eventually goes away. I was a little better when I got onto pureed food but it really went away now I eat "soft" food - don't know if its the food or just time passed. My surgeon said they'd never heard of that (not true - lots of people on this site have had that symptom - and it's not "head hunger") Another doctor admitted the surgery is "new" and although they know what happens physically, they are still charting the effects on the brain. Mine had to learn that I really wasn't hungry. Sorry you're experiencing this but it will go away over time.

My nutritionist recommended "Eating Well after Weight loss Surgery" by Patt Levine & Michele Bontempo-Saray. I really like it - recipes are tasty and show exactly what you should eat for each procedure (RNY, Sleeve etc) and for each week post-op.

Hi SweetCryss, Congratulations and welcome to the "losers bench". Most of us on this thread had gastric bypass, so I don't know about eating Mexican food after a sleeve. You might want to ask the May sleeve group on this site at: http://www.bariatricpal.com/groups/400-may-2014-sleevers/ Good luck Janette

Yes I had this happen to me once - it was after having chicken early in my "soft food" stage. I think I did not chew it enough and a piece got stuck. I threw up several times during the night and if I drank Water, I "overflowed" and threw it up again. It's very scary and unpleasant - I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Everything resolved on its own so I hope that's what's happening with you. After I threw up during the night, I managed to get back to sleep. I still felt nauseous and very uncomfortable the next day and only drank water - but this time small sips stayed down. By evening I tried a little scrambled egg and found the blockage had moved. I was afraid I'd have to go the hospital if it didn't move. Good luck - let us know if everything is OK.

Anyone losing their hair yet? Mine is falling out like crazy! :'( I was warned that hair loss is common - my doctor told be it happens around 3 months out and is caused by low Protein. That's one reason why we "eat the protein first" : )

Hi everyone, Congrats Claire! Keep up the good work. I too was having diarrhea once or twice a week - unpleasant but not as bad as the opposite which hit me a couple of days ago. I'm so constipated it's ridiculous! Gastric pain too. Presumably it's being caused by the iron supplement - I was put on Ferricon 10 days after surgery (9 weeks ago). Since I've never had an iron deficiency problem before, I only took one per day (two a day was prescribed). I've stopped taking it totally, but feel no better 3 days later so I resorted to taking a stool softener. Have any of you had this problem? Are any/all of you on an iron supplement? I'd like to switch to Floradix - a non-constipating liquid I was prescribed before knee surgery. But I checked out the levels and it's one tenth of the elemental iron compared to Ferricon. Any input?

I had surgery in February - I'm about 10 weeks out now. I was put on a "graduated" eating plan, 10 days of liquids only, 1 month of pureed food and now I'm getting to the end of a month of soft food (eggs, poached chicken, fish etc). Then I'll begin to add other foods one at a time to see if I tolerate them. I was told I should only be eating ½ cup food at each meal but recently I've been able to handle close to 1 cup soft food at a time (e.g. ½ cup fish, ¼ cup mashed potato, ¼ cup veggie). I have only thrown up twice (once when I didn't chew long enough and a bit of chicken got stuck, and once when I tried pureed pork although I'm not meant to eat any red meat yet!) I'm losing weight pretty steadily so I recommend you go back to soft foods and eat no more than 1 cup (yes I measure). I believe that's the maximum amount recommended so we don't "stretch out "our pouch. Beware of fat and sugar. Good luck!

Congratulations ReaRhaes! Hopefully you've now had the surgery - wishing you an uneventful recovery. You definitely want someone to pick you up from the hospital - no driving while on pain medication! Also you'll need to be careful with your incisions. Hope you can find a good friend or family member to drive. I'm now 8 weeks out and doing well. Spent Easter with my son and daughter-in-law in Baltimore. First time going out to eat - we went out 3 times. Went to their favorite sushi restaurant - not allowed rice yet so I ordered sashimi - ordered 3 slices of salmon and 3 white tuna - yummy! Also now know I can eat a little KFC grilled chicken; or a small piece of a burger (meat only). Not allowed raw veggies yet but have had apple slices. Can't wait to have a salad - who thought I'd miss my fruit and veggies so much!

Think positively - that's still an average of 4lbs every week! That's the same as me - I "only" lost 26 lbs in the first 6 weeks. But I've never lost 4 lbs/week consistently in my whole life! On my doctor's advice, I only chart what I weigh at my appointments. That way I'm less aware of stalls.

Can anyone hive me some more ideas on what I can eat over the soft mushy food phase? Hi Nick, I'm surprised you're eating mushy food so early but here's the list I was given at 6 weeks - everything to be the consistency of apple sauce - about ¼ cup - eat the Protein first: scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, chicken pureed with fat-free gravy, tuna with low-fat mayo, pureed canned vegetables and Beans (no fresh or frozen), apple sauce, thin mashed potatoes or sweet potato, oatmeal, cream of wheat, fat-free sugar-free yoghurt, sugar-free pudding (with 1% milk). Hope this helps.

Congratulations ReaRae - 2 weeks and 2 days but who's counting? : ) I'm so jealous of your trip to Italy, Claire - I love Italy! Hope the trip isn't spoiled by unpleasant symptoms. I've had some "urgent calls" but luckily there was always a bathroom available. Going out for the first time (involving food) tonight - wanted to hear a talk on China - but it involves paying for a catered buffet of lasagna, salad and dessert - none of which I can eat yet! Guess I'll eat before I go and try not to watch everyone else enjoying the buffet. Made myself chocolate pudding for a treat when I get home. Wish me luck! Janette

I totally empathize with you, Danika. I too hate watching other people eat what I can't. Today's my birthday and my husband can't take me out for dinner - I'm only 6 weeks out and just started "soft food" yesterday. I have actually turned down most invitations involving food. I tell myself it will be worth it in the end - hang in there.

Hi everyone Just had my 6 week appointment with the nutritionist - I've lost 26 lbs so I'm happy. All my labs looked good so I'm also healthy. Still get tired easily - can't wait to have more energy. Got cleared to swim so that should help. Also moved on to the "soft food diet" - no more pureed food thank goodness. Love reading how everyone else is doing.

I had the same issue - craving what my husband was eating, wanting to revert to buying "snacks" when food shopping. I was on "liquids only" for the first 10 days post-surgery (that was the worst time for hunger and cravings), and then allowed pureed food - will be on that for another week (4 weeks total). One thing that has helped me is cooking things for my family that I can eat pureed (not everything works well) e.g spaghetti sauce made with ground turkey, mushrooms and a little tomato sauce. I'm not prone to sweet cravings but sugar-free pudding is very satisfying. Hope this helps - hang in there.

I really like Met-Rx Protein Plus (I have chocolate) - available online, at the Vitamin Store and Trader Joe's. Also my doc recommended adding 1 scoop of unflavored whey protein to either a can of 98% fat-free Cream of chicken Soup (made with milk - 2 servings) or to plain oatmeal (also made with milk instead of water). Both make for a change in taste and texture from all Protein shakes - I like both. Haven't tried the "milk in milk" idea - but it might work.

Hi Heidi! I had my surgery Feb 24th and can sympathize with you. So I've taken my doc's advice not to weigh myself more than once a week. Ups and downs can be discouraging. My scale and his office scale are pounds apart - so I'm waiting to see what I weigh there in another 2 weeks. I'm only tracking what their very accurate scale says. Our bodies use up huge numbers of calories at first when we're healing plus I wasn't able to drink much so I expect I "gained" Water weight when I got my liquids up to 8 cups/day. Hang in there - we've added a new tool to our repertoire and we'll succeed in the long run.

I bought a cook book recommended by my nutritionist - "Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery". All the recipes "blend" well and are really tasty. The recipes also tell you how much you can eat at each stage.