dsdesigna

I am just over 12 weeks out and I haven't attempted to add any kind of vegetables to my diet. In general if it's not Protein or fat and extremely low carb then I don't eat it. I did accidentally have a little lettuce in a bite of a taco and my stomach rebelled but not enough to vomit.

You are not eating enough for your body to allow weight loss if that is a good indication of what you have been eating. You should be eating at least 6 small meals per day with a minimum of 90gms of protein each day and plenty of fat to keep all that protein moving along. Why are you eating oatmeal? That has so many carbs that your new DS doesn't need. If you are looking for the Fiber add nuts, including Peanut Butter which is high in protein and good fat. Hydration is just as important as anything else. I had stalled out for about 2 weeks when at the end of it ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration. When I got my Water intake upto at least 64oz per day then the weight started to melt off. As far as slow weight loss, I'm averaging 0.66 lbs/day. The range is 1/5 to 1 lb per day. Do the math, I bet you are right in those guidelines, if not then try the above suggestions. If you are exercising much, you'll need to up your water level and protein.

For DSers when we are trying to achieve goal weight it comes down to going back to basics, eliminating Carbs from your diet as much as possible especially simple carbs like sugars, breads, Cookies, anything white really... and increasing Protein and Fat. 100GMS of protein minimum and I've stopped counting Fat Grams and just add fat to everything. Also make sure you are still getting enough hydration, eliminate anything dehydrating such as diet sodas, coffee, and alcohol to name a few. Also make sure you are eating enough calories to allow your body to not be in starvation mode. myfitnesspal is a great APP to use, and you don't have to use it forever, but you have to be honest about portion sizes and tracking everything. If you are a big exerciser you may be building up muscle which weighs more than fat. That's all I've got!

IMO I don't think this dress is flattering on you at all. You are adorable. A sweetheart neckline or just a lower neck line would be more flattering. I think the length looks great though.

I had some about 5 weeks out and was fine. Start small and remember it is empty Carbs.

Try fish... baked with sauce or even tuna with plenty of mayo, canned salmon is high in protein, I made salmon cakes but they might be too firm.

Clexane (enoxaparin) is an anti clotting medication and the needle is very thin, you inject it into the fat on your belly because it has the least amount of nerves and you are unlikely to inject it into a vein. It will cause a small purplish bruise like spot for each injection but they will fade and disappear eventually. It's important to use the Clexane (enoxaparin) to prevent blood clots.

To prevent drinking with meals don't fill a glass with liquid and set it next to your plate while eating. Keep the liquids away. You may have to set a timer when you finish eating to help you get used to the timing between eating and when you can drink again.

You have had an average weight loss of 0.54/day... you have 98lbs til your goal... If you maintain your current average, you'll hit your goal in just over 6 months. June 1st is 10 months away. Cheers

Our PF is clean, well lit, they have plenty of machines and the staff are friendly. I guess you can't speak for all of them but this goes for any business if you are getting bad customer service I would report it to the manager first then write a nice email to corporate. The sports bras aren't even allowed at PF. If those girls worked there then they should be fired!

George (of the jungle) cause he has a loud voice! And resembles an animal.

If you wanted to blend in some Peanut Butter with a Protein shake that would be ok, but to eat it alone might cause some issues especially since you aren't supposed to drink while eating... who can eat peanut butter without milk?? Try PB2, it's powdered peanut butter and mixes easier with the shakes

The ONLY thing that relieves gas pain is Walking. When you wake up you will think the nurses are crazy for wanting you to walk, but do it. Do it often. Do it every time you wake up. Also if the gas pain is bad for goodness sake DO NOT LAY FLAT. Sit up in a chair. Don't be afraid to vomit, as you will probably feel nauseated, it's just air. The faster you get the air out the better you will feel. Don't take a bunch of stuff with you to the hospital cause you aren't gonna need it. A change of clothes to go home in, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a brush/comb... that's about it. I took a book, and crosswords... didn't touch any of it. I even had games on my phone and people waiting for me to post about my status on FB and had no desire to do anything. When family/friends visit, ask them to walk with you. It helps, you can talk to them and they can encourage you. Oh and one last piece of advice... WALK!

I can't believe people still drink Aspartame. All independent studies show terrible neurological damage and health problems. The only thing the FDA required when it was approved (although initially it wasn't) was that it did not cause tooth decay. Nevermind that it can cause migraines, cause neurological symptoms that mimic MS, contributes to obesity... etc. Just craziness. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones, I can taste artificial sweetners and so far they are all taste like chemicals... even Stevia tastes like dirt to me. I can tolerate Sucralose but even that is starting to cause my tummy trouble. Since surgery my favorite drink is ice cold Water, specifically Dasani is a favorite.

The reason for the various stages is to allow your new tummy and more importantly staple line to heal. Moving through stages too quickly or before that line has had proper time to heal you can risk leakage, and even stretching of staples which can lead to ulcers. There's a post op plan for a reason, it's not to deprive you, it's to prevent complications. The number on reason for WLS complications is patients not following post op instructions. I'm not saying you've messed anything up, but I'd get back on track with the instructions you have been given. Again to allow everything to heal.

Watch out for Beans they are packed with carbs and can stall weight loss. Actually all carbs. Try using MyFitnessPal to track your food intake, it has a bar code reader so you can have a more accurate picture of processed foods in your diet. I started out just guessing and found out that I wasn't eating nearly enough.

It's important to take this time, which will move quickly but only feels slow, to learn new coping skills and consider what your life might be like thin. Life will forever change, some things will be much better but there will be others that are not so great. Mostly there will be tons of change and that takes some getting used to.

Are you on solid foods now? You may need to go back on soft foods, like soft scrambled eggs with lots of butter...

I'm 4 weeks post op and walk. That's all. Just walk. It feels great and on a tread mill I'm 1.5m/hr so people look at me strange cause I'm walking slow. Any faster than that and my incisions start to remind me that I had surgery.

Are you sipping? At the beginning this takes some time to get used to, you have to take very small sips. I'm talking just wetting your tongue before swallowing, drinking from a medicine cup helped me at first, and even that was split into three sips. But keep track of it, cause that could be a sign something isn't quite right.

I am 4 weeks post op, for 3 of those weeks I was off work. And being one of those people that live paycheck to paycheck never seeming to be able to save anything I've found myself basically out of cash. This wouldn't be such a big deal if I weren't still dealing with learning how to eat again, and my body's slow progression in handling less food and losing weight. All of these things lead me to having a panic attack Friday morning, heart beating what felt like out of my chest and of course I'm a weepy mess. I also had a dear friend and mentor pass away, but I think I've mentioned that in previous entries, it's an on going thing. My surgeon's office, Barker Bariatric, has been very helpful. They gave me many protein samples, although none of them have wowed me to be honest. But they are to help make sure that I can at least make it through to the 22nd when I get my first paycheck. The emotional stress of this whole process cannot be overstated. If you have a tendency or even diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or any mood disorders you will need to keep in close contact with your mental health provider. I never felt like hurting myself, but certainly the guilt of putting myself in this situation was and continues to be overwhelming. When you have your psychiatrist consultations be honest with them about who and how you are. MO people are fantastic at pushing things under the rug, and down playing the severity of situations. Perhaps you will be denied surgery, but consider that you being alive with extra weight on might be better than you going down a dark road of depression and possible suicide. Counseling might be a great way to getting help as well. I have a huge support network of family, friends, and other WLS patients who have been vital to my survival through this initial phase. I pray you find the same, Face Book has several WLS support groups, of course there are some here, your own town should have a face to face support group. Even if you don't feel like you have supportive family and current friends the WLS community is full of helpful people and you'll find a few that can help. If you are a paycheck to paycheck kind of person like me, expect that at the end of your leave of absence at work that you will probably be hurting for money, and might just freak out if your cupboards start to get bare and you run out of milk to mix with your protein shakes.

Obese people get treated differently than those that are of more normal weight. I'm considering anger management classes to deal with it since I really don't want some innocent guy to feel the wrath. Knowing that they wouldn't have even given me the time of day as a fat woman just irks me. But we live in a superficial society. I have to admit I'm superficial too though. I would never treat someone poorly because of their size but certainly other aspects of their appearance might make me avoid interaction. And the cold hard truth is there are men out there that did find me attractive even at my heaviest but I didn't like myself or couldn't believe they were being sincere... or I thought they were crazy for finding me attractive. Whatever the reason I still a newbie when it comes to weight loss surgery and I know I'll have issues with looks, but I also have to take responsibility, rightly so, and be proud that I've worked very hard to get people to give me a chance. And I look forward to my outside matching my insides.

I try to maximize the Protein/Fat that I'm eating. You'll feel more satisfied with more fat in your diet. And since you are barely absorbing it I say load it up. It will help everything move through your new system. The worse thing that will happen is your stool will be a little oily. But I didn't find that to be terrible.

I was on Lovenox post op and my multi Vitamin has Vit K. I had no issues.

It depends on which surgery you had. Bread and Lettuce are going to be hard on your new tummy and staple lines if you have Gastric Bypass (RnY), Sleeve (VSG), or Duodenal Switch (DS), also Bread is full of carbs that you don't need right now and lettuce has no nutritional value. Lap Band as well but it works different, so you'll have to check with your surgeon. You can exercise when your body can tolerate it. Start with walking and build up. It's gonna be a tough road. I found my incisions to be the best indicator for when my exercise was too much.. Stick with soft foods as long as you can. Introduce more solid foods slowly and remember to chew them really well before swallowing. Remember Protein first.