sweetie716

Yeah, I eat cheese most mornings. I do get the reduced fat since my surgeon suggests no more than 10 g of fat or sugar at a sitting. The reduced fat lets me have 2 1-oz cheese sticks for 10 g of Protein and like 7-8 g of fat, no carbs. I don't eat diet food, I eat meat and cheese and nuts mainly, along with a Protein shake a day and the occasional Protein Bar. The one 'diet' food i would have trouble getting rid of is the mio (kind of like crystal light). I drink about 1/2 plain Water and 1/2 flavored with mio. I don't like the idea of artificial sweeteners, but it makes it easier in to get in all that water if I have some variety.

You might be surprised by how quick it actually goes. I had a 6 month requirement and really used the time to change my eating habits and start practicing for post op (not drinking 30 min before/after meals, small bites, thorough chewing, etc.) and between that and all the other appointments like the sleep study, egd, psych appt, and all the other stuff, it came pretty quick. I lost 27 during the 6 months, then another 23 during the 4 week preop diet. I weighed exactly 50 pounds less than my highest weight on my day of surgery. At first I was disappointed to hear that I'd have to wait so long for surgery, but once I got into those nutrition appointments I was so glad I had the time to prepare and get ready for post-op living.

I'm sorry it was rough. I think I'd count it as a victory that they had suits available that fit me though. I bought one online at lands end last year, (it was a very cute suit) because in stores they would have had VERY limited, if any, options for a 3x suit. Yay for shopping normal stores- the end of shopping in plus sizes is on the horizon but not here yet for me.

It happened to me when I had knee surgery in high school. The just gave me a pad type thing to wear between my legs while I was in surgery. I was fine with using the bathroom and cleaning up after myself following the sleeve surgery, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Best of luck to you

How did you choose a goal weight? I have been going back and forth. During high school I was in the 160-175 range, but a normal bmi would be 150 and below for me. My surgeon set the 60% of excess weight goal, but I definitely want to do more than that... Any pointers? I don't want to be too wishy washy with myself and do less than I should, but I also don't want to set an unattainable goal. How did you handle your goals? Right now I have my surgeon's goal (207), a personal goal (175) and then a couple of stretch goals (160, 145). I feel like I need to set some kind of goal for personal accountability, but I really don't want to feel like a failure if I don't make it... How did you end up deciding on goals? were they Fluid or set?

I think it's just one of those things that get a bit better each day. I was lucky with a very smooth recovery, but I still had to find inventive positions to sleep comfortably and would get tired after a day of shopping and stuff. It's just a gradual transition back to normalcy. I'd say by the end of the second week I was fine sleeping normally again. Hope you start feeling better soon!

Are you still tracking what you eat? If you have those kinds of records you may be able to see trends or notice things you can change/ tweak to make things go better for you. Are you still eating Protein before anything else? You've done an awesome job so far. Let us know what you ended up doing when it starts coming off again.

I'm down 51 since surgery on Dec. 11th. I am exercising every day about 30-45 minutes and tracking everything I eat in MFP and taking my Vitamins. My 3 week stall lasted 10-11 days and I stalled last week for 6 days. I'll be 3 months out on Wednesday. I think I may be seeing a little extra hair in the brush after showers, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I have been having dreams about clumps coming out. I've been hitting protein/fluid goals since day 3 post-op.

Good article. Thanks for sharing!

I told my family and my husband's family. Mom/dad, my sisters, his aunt and grandma on his mom's side, but not aunts/uncles or other grandparents. I live out of state so it may be different if we lived near everyone. At work I haven't told anybody who has not asked me directly if I've had surgery (I was rather shocked by one of the people that asked me, because I would not consider her close at all). I don't feel like I'm lying, its just not something I feel I need to talk about with people who are outside my circle. It may be obvious to people, and I'll tell them what I'm doing (eating better/more Protein, and exercising every day), but I don't volunteer information about my procedure unless directly asked. I hope that you find your happy medium Edited to add: I was SUPER nervous about people noticing at work because I didn't want people to look at me/my body in a "comparison" sort of way to my old self, and I REALLY didn't want people to be looking at my food portions/choices. I've dieted and regained a million times, so I just wanted it to be my private little journey. However, people do notice the changes in me and I get lots of compliments, but I feel a little better about it than I thought I would. I am still nervous though since I have a long way to go and then there is the whole maintenance phase, too.

Hey everybody, for the past couple weeks I've been having slight headaches. They're so minor that most of the time I can ignore them and put them totally out of my mind, but they have been coming back again and again, all times of the day. I had a cold the week before last so I thought maybe it was related to sinuses, but I've been better for a while now, but the headaches are still there. Has anyone else had this? I have a doctor's appointment this Friday, so I'll definitely ask there, but I wanted to see if this is a common thing. Oh, I'll be 3 months out on the 11th. I get my 64 oz of fluids and my 60 grams of Protein a day, and I take my Vitamins (a bariatric multi w/ Iron, a Calcium chew, a b-complex, and a Biotin chew). I doubt it's dehydration. My bp has been very good at all my checkups. Any ideas on what this might be?

I normally fall between 600-800. I averaged about 710 this past week.

I am usually somewhere between 600-800. With the food you mention with the shakes, Quest bar, and scrambled eggs/muffin that would put you at right about 810, so where are the other 390 calories coming from? Edited to add: My doctor hasn't given me a calorie range or target, just Protein and Fluid goals. I have my 3 month appt in just over a week, so I'll see what he says then.

Hey fellow December sleevers! I got sleeved 12/11. I'd lost exactly 50 pounds preop, and I'm down 44 since surgery, HW 331, SW 281, CW 237. I've pretty much hit my Protein and Fluid goals since about 3 days out. I exercise everyday. I haven't had issues with any particular foods (just had steak for the first time yesterday!). I measure/weigh my food close to 95% of the time if it's not pre-packaged like cheese sticks or a protein shake. Biggest struggles have been recurring constipation and making time to sit and drink my Water.

When was your surgery? I can't say that I ever regretted, but I know it was hard going through 2 weeks of full liquids because the shakes got repetitive and gross after a while. Are there specific things that are making you feel this way, like pain or other issues with eating/drinking? I hope you start feeling better soon!!

Will they let you do a home sleep study due to your circumstances?

I haven't yet, but only 2.5 mths postop. I've also been very careful to measure/weigh most of my food so that I don't cram myself.

http://www.food.com/recipe/salami-roll-ups-appetizers-293460

Totally normal. It really sucks to be in a stall because you start second-guessing everything, but just keep doing what you know you need to do and eventually the scale will get moving again

Be careful with what you choose to put in your new little tummy! Stick with the plan and drink your shakes. When it's time, add in the mushy stuff like refried Beans and yogurt, don't go straight to sugar and starches (lemonade & fries). Your body needs things that will be very nourishing and give you the things you need because you don't have a lot of space to work with. Please be careful.

I'm between 2 and 3 months out, and the only thing that's really different for me is that I make it a priority to exercise every morning and I have a general plan of what I'm going to eat each day. I have to get things ready/packed for work or any other times I'm not going to be home. I do have to watch the clock sometimes to make sure I'm eating on a rough schedule of about 3-4 hours between meals and to make sure I stop drinking half and hour before meals and wait half an hour after meals. Hope this helps!

They asked me how much Protein, Fluid, and exercise I was getting. Most of my incisions were glued, but I did have staples out of one site. They took my vitals, asked if I had any trouble pooping, and just kind of went through the things that people probably most commonly have trouble with post-op. They also helped me with what I needed out of my post-op Vitamin regimen so I could get all that stuff while I was there. I was expecting bloodwork, but they didn't run anything. They asked if I had any questions, said everything looked good and that was about it. I hope your appointment goes great!

I'd say skip the bread. Regular bread is on my doctor's avoid list for a long time because it gets sticky and can swell up in your sleeve. They say whole grain toast is ok if necessary because it takes a lot of the moisture out. I'd probably just eat the meat and leave the rest behind.

It's kinda weird, but my nose will start to run before I get the actual feeling...