momohime

The sleeve is a tool.. it doesn't mean you should just try to fill it as full as you can every time you eat. You actually have to put in some work too. Sip, don't gulp. Limit your portions to 4 oz. or less. Why risk stretching out your new stomach this early in?

I have a fitbit zip. It's the smallest and least expensive of all their products. Basically, it's like a pedometer.. you clip it to your bra or jeans or wherever, and it tracks the number of steps you've taken in a day. It translates that into miles per day as well. It gives you an estimate of how many calories you've burned during the day that's based on your height, current weight, and activity tracked for the day. It has a clock, but no timer. And.. the zip has a cute little smiley face that is super happy when you're active and sticks its tongue out at you when you're not (it's supposed to be motivating). The One I believe also tracks sleep, but that means you have to wear it constantly. It has a flower that grows taller the more active you've been throughout the day. There's also a band you can get, but I'm not too familiar with it as I wanted one that clipped to me instead of something I had to wear around my wrist. Each fitbit also includes an online program very similar to Fitday, where you track meals and pretty much whatever else you can possibly think of. You can search for fitbit dashboard to get an idea of what it looks like I bet. It incorporates all the information the fitbit has gathered every day and puts it all out there for you to see. It does this through wifi and works on your computer and/or your phone. There's a graph that shows you what times you were most active.. it tracks your weight, all sorts of stuff. There's also a scale you can get that's kinda pricey that will link in and keep track of your current weight without having to do anything as well. It's all pretty fancy. I really, really like their online program. They have a free version that comes with your fitbit, or you can choose to upgrade for even more fancy stuff if you'd like. In all honesty, for the most part, you can get pretty much the same thing with a cheap pedometer and Fitday or whatever other tracking program you prefer.. That being said, I still really like mine and don't regret the $60 I paid for it. It's super cute, which helps me stick with using it. I love the stupid little smiley face more than I should.. and the tracking is really nice. I plan on getting the scale in the future too.

I had the same problem. I never felt like I had to pee during my hospital stay.. I never really ever even thought about it, so I would have to make it a point to remember to go. When I did, it would take forever for anything to happen.. and then when it finally did, it was soo slow! Oh my god, it literally felt like it took forever.. I'd say at least 10 minutes. By day 2, it was a little better and then day 3 it was back to normal again.

unjury has a chicken Soup flavor. I haven't tried it though, so I can't attest to how good it is or not.

I felt the same way. I was scared something would go wrong.. or that they would do the surgery and find something terrible. Pretty much everything you could worry about, I did. I constantly wondered if it was the right decision.. I felt ashamed that it had even come to the point where this was a decision I had to make. I'd been saying I'd lose the weight since I'd gained it all 6 years ago.. it was something I thought about every day and it made me terribly unhappy. I know how to lose weight. I can be successful short term, but nothing sticks.. As much as I wanted to be a healthy weight and regain my self-confidence, I always fell back into bad habits and gained everything I'd lost back and more. I was tired of that happening. So as scared as I was, I decided to go through with my surgery anyway. I'm a week out and don't regret my decision at all. It's been amazing so far.. Every day before my surgery, I used to focus on food. What would I eat next? Would I be "good" or give in to something I knew I shouldn't have? It was a constant struggle.. Now, food is just.. eh. I don't really have much interest in it. I'm starting to just now feel hungry again, but it's different. I feel like I could just take a couple bites and be satisfied. More than anything, I feel so hopeful and motivated.. I think this could really work! Better yet, I WANT it to work. So I'm going to do everything I can to be successful this time. The sleeve is definitely going to help. I didn't do all this for it not to. Don't be afraid! You'll be a happier, healthier you.. and that's totally worth it.

I've been having headaches too. Not really bad ones.. but enough that they're annoying. That's pretty much why I kept taking my pain meds every 4 hours or so.. I don't have much surgical site pain, but the headaches! I wanted to just ward those off if I could. I think some of it stems from being a diet pepsi fiend before surgery. I love diet pepsi and drank at least 1 or 2, if not 3 or 4, a day. Add the fact that I'm cut off from caffeine to not really eating much, and yeah.. not very fun. Were you a caffeine drinker before surgery? Maybe that's a factor for you as well..

In my diet packet, it says to start a full liquid diet on day 3. So, according to my instructions, I'm allowed Protein shakes, yogurt, creamy Soups, that kinda thing. It says always do a Protein Drink first, at least 2 a day. I've only had one so far and it took me 5 hours to finish it. Now just the thought of drinking one makes me feel kinda sick. The gas-x strips aren't really helping either. That taste is just totally grossing me out.. I haven't even really been into the popsicles or jell-o either, so pretty much all I've had is Water. I think it will be ok, just because I've seen a variety of different pre-op diets posted.. some don't start full liquid stuff till later. I know protein is really important though. Honestly, I think I'm kinda scared of losing my hair.. which is why I feel so compelled to go ahead and push myself to do it. Realistically, I know it will probably take longer than 2 weeks for that to actually become an issue. Walking hasn't really been too bad for me. Course, I say that, but I haven't really started doing anything more than just leisurely walks yet. So far I've just been doing a couple laps around my apartment parking lot. I've also been making excuses to go to Target or the mall a million times to wander around. I have a fitbit which tracks how much I've walked and I've tried so far to get at least 3000 steps in a day. I think once my incision pain gets a little better and I feel more comfortable getting sweaty, I'll start increasing my pace. It's kinda weird, but for me.. the fact that I've spent so little time eating has made me feel pretty restless. The good part about it is, it makes me want to get out and be more active instead of just sitting around and stuffing my face! How's your walking going? Are you having any issues with pain still?

Yeah, I'm really glad I found this site.. it's already been so helpful! I'm doing pretty well.. I feel slightly bad because I've been having trouble getting my Water and Protein shakes in like I should still. I just started having some issues with mild nausea today, which makes just the thought of a Protein shake seem horrible. When I met with my nutritionist and she was telling me how important it was to drink even if I didn't want to, I kinda blew her off.. like, it won't be hard to drink water! I might not be able to eat much, but I can definitely drink things! Well.. I was wrong, she totally knew better than me. Other than that though, I have nothing to complain about! What about you, how have you been?

I didn't really do a special diet either.. I didn't get to go to my final meeting with my surgeon or my meeting with the nutritionist until a few days before my surgery date, so I didn't really think too much about doing anything special before surgery. I was already doing ok making healthier choices with my meals and had lost 20 pounds. It was suggested to me last minute that I stick with the Protein shakes and lean meats, but it wasn't a deal breaker if I didn't. Of course, my surgeon told me not to go out and eat anything really fatty last minute either.. I think the purpose of it is so that your liver will be smaller, which reduces potential complications and makes recovery easier. But I didn't exactly do that.. I didn't eat terribly, but I did go to Red Robin the Saturday before my surgery. While I didn't over eat, I probably did take in more fat than I should have. Still, my surgery went well.. I haven't had any issues so far, although my surgeon did say that my liver was slightly fatty/enlarged. He said this was pretty much to be expected though. So, I wouldn't worry about it too much.. especially if your surgeon isn't requiring you to do a diet. Not all of them do. Just don't go crazy with your meals beforehand.

Sure! My surgery was the same day. What's on your mind?

I've been getting up every 4 hours to take my pain medication, unless I'm sleeping. Funny thing is, the only time I really have had any pain is while I'm actually getting up. My incisions on the right side, especially where my drain was, are a little tender.. but otherwise, no problems. Once I'm up, I do pretty well. I've worn my fitbit since the day of surgery and have managed to get at least 1.5 miles walked in each day. I've done a lot of "shopping" just so I can get out and moving without sweating too much. I haven't done that great on my Water intake though and as a result feel slightly dehydrated. I never realized how much air I swallowed when I drank, but.. yeah, that's definitely a thing now. It's still amazing that I haven't felt hungry or weak or anything like that so far. I'm very thankful that things have gone so smoothly overall.. it definitely makes me excited about the future!

My surgery is scheduled for May 5th too! So hard to believe surgery is finally in less than one week.. it's gonna happen! Time to get healthy and feel awesome. I'm excited too!