InfiniteButterfly

I started with walking, and as soon as I was cleared, cycling and yoga. I also have dumbbells that I lift 3x/week. The walking/cycling is at least an hour daily 6x/week. The other day, while I'm not inactive, I spend on yardwork or other housework that doesn't add a lot of steps, but is still a lot of activity. I plan on upping my yoga with DDP 3x/week, and possibly adding Zumba in the fall.

At two months, the doctor wants me to have most of my protein from food rather than shakes (I sometimes do a morning shake, because food doesn't always agree with me for breakfast). Are you meeting your protein goals via food? If not, then the shakes aren't a bad way to boost your numbers. If you are, then don't worry about the shakes (and if you're having a shake, it should replace a meal, not be in addition to a meal, according to my doctor. But your doctor may have different diet plans, so check with him if you're worried)

No problems keeping it in, although I do tend to get nauseous quite a bit (still working on pacing myself and chewing thoroughly). I have trouble wanting to eat though. Sometimes it's like I'm forcing myself to eat because I know I have to rather than because I'm hungry or getting signals that I need to eat. I hope your sickness eases off. Maybe call the doctor if you're having trouble keeping things down?

I could eat very little on puree stage...maybe 1/8 cup of food? I tended to have three meals (now that I'm on soft foods, I have three meals and generally an afternoon snack of some kind. Sometimes a mid-morning one as well if I've done a lot of exercise) When I say 'snack', it's maybe a cheese stick or a quarter of a Protein bar (I find I eat less at meals when I have a snack, so my calories stay fairly consistant...600-700 calories at this point) My NUT said that eating smaller meals and building in snack allowances (or having essentially 5-6 small meals/day) was perfectly valid. Listen to your body and eat when you feel you need to. I don't feel hungry, per se, but I do tend to get light-headed or nauseous when I need to put something in my tummy. Eat what you can, and eat when you need to. Don't judge what your sleeve can hold by what other peoples' can.

I wish I would have found this forum a little sooner pre-op. I think it would have made things a little easier seeing others in every stage of the journey. I came here half-way through my pre-op diet, and reading and responding to topics on here has made the entire process easier because the level of support is phenomenal. I underestimated how much peer support helps (I've suffered severe anxiety for years, so online support is immensely helpful when it's sometimes too much to step foot outside the house for the local support group.

I wish I could swap to a vegetarian diet, but I'm soy intolerant, and it just seems like a helluva lot of work if you can't eat soy (I know there are other ways to get Protein as a vegetarian, but my NUT said it would be really difficult to get the recommended protein) That said...I eat little meat, because very little meat agrees with me. Fish, eggs, cheese and refried Beans are my friends. Sometimes chicken. But no beef or pork. I guess I would be a pescatarian (pity I really don't like fish, but my stomach tolerates it, so I eat it)

I'm late to the party, but I want in! Starting weight: 249 Goal weight: 230

Have a happy fourth!

249 Not as low as I wanted, but I'm not displeased. It's still going the right direction

I had my date before I was approved. My doctor works at a couple different hospitals, so I got my date as soon as he started working for the bariatric practice I go to. My approval was through a few weeks after I got my date.

I would double-check with the doctor. Small bites and chewing thoroughly? Even on soft foods, those are the two things that cause pain and discomfort with me.

I have a Fitbit Zip (so it doesn't track sleep, only activity), and I love it. It's nice having a constant reminder of how many steps I've taken during the day so I know if I need to bump up my activity or slow it down a little. And it connects with MFP (where I track my calories) It may not be the most accurate device out there, but it comes pretty close. I've measured it against other pedometers, and they're within a hundred steps or so of each other (and I know from a mapping program the distance I'm walking, so I know it's fairly accurate as far as that goes) My battery lasted almost six months, which is nice, and it's easy to change out.

I do drink a slight amount during my meal: I have a couple swallowable Vitamins that I can't take on an empty stomach, so I take them at the end of the meal with a tiny sip of Water (just enough to get the pill down) That keeps me going for the half hour until I can start drinking again. I have the same struggle with not drinking while eating. It seems that's the only time I really want to drink As far as other soft foods...refried Beans? They are my life-saver when I'm so sick of eggs I can't stand it. I just started back on tuna...I couldn't tolerate it for a while although I loved it pre-surgery. I've been trying a lot of different fish (our grocery store has been going insane with the sales), and I've had Mahi Mahi and lobster without issue (the lobster I had to pretty much mash with my fork) It makes me wish for more huge seafood sales :/ Salmon I can do in limited quantities: I bought some salmon burgers which are incredibly good, and as the meat is already flaked, it's wonderful so long as it's not overcooked. Unfortunately, most meats haven't sat terribly well with me, other than the seafoods, so eggs and refried beans are a large part of my post-surgery diet. I do tend to eat a lot of thinly sliced lunch meat with cheese as well. Wrap a slice of low-fat deli ham around a cheese stick (I usually split mine down the middle and wrap each half with half-a-slice of deli ham or turkey)

I was once in denial too.... Keep right up with the condescending attitude. You are judging people you know nothing about based on your own history and story.

I'm in agreement with the nay-sayers. Even at my heaviest, I was walking 6-10k steps daily. I rarely if ever ate fast food. I worked pretty damn hard to try and lose weight with little result. It's a pity that condescension and abrasive manner really turned people off from what could be a worthwhile challenge for the month. (I already walk and/or bike at least 30 minutes a day...usually closer to 90, and I don't intend to stop any time soon)

I know my NUT didn't have a problem with infused water, and in fact gave me a list of several tasty fruit/veggie combinations that she liked. (heavy on cucumber and mint)

I can't say I had numbness...I had deep muscle cramps in both thighs for the first week or so...but I'd been getting shots in both thighs to prevent blood clots. Numbness...maybe nerve related? Do you sleep in one position a lot?

I made my decision after speaking with my doctor and weighing the options. I opted VSG because it seemed safer, and the malabsorption was a concern, because I saw what a friend went through when she was having trouble getting the Vitamins she needed (she was getting shots and Iron infusions, etc.)

I get a little burp. It's a definite signal, because one bite post-burp, and I regret it mightily for the next hour or so.

I take Citracal currently...I'm far enough out that a swallowable Vitamin is okay, but I still take the 'petite' ones (which aren't terribly petite). Chewable calcium citrate seems really expensive (all the money I'm saving by not eating I'm spending in Vitamins =P Worth it though!) I did take Caltrate for a bit...mostly because I was in the store and couldn't remember which type of calcium I needed. My NUT was unhappy to say the least that I was taking the incorrect form. Unfortunately, a majority of the chewable calcium I managed to find in the stores around here was all carbonate. I was very glad to go to a swallowable pill. My doctor and NUT frown upon gummies.

The not drinking with meals was the hardest one for me. It's still difficult sometimes, especially with the amount of sodium in some foods. I really, REALLY want a drink. I drink only Water, and on occasion Gatorade G-2. The coffee, I had right up until the day before surgery. I cut back to a single cup, but I couldn't give that up (plus, I used it to help control my migraines. Which, oddly enough, I have had next to no caffeine post-surgery, and no migraines either. Touch wood) The chewing was hard at first, and I still find I have some trouble with it, since I'm eating soft foods and most of it really doesn't need 20-30 chews to be complete mush. But I still do it because I don't want to fall back into bad habits of wolfing food down (especially since it freaking HURTS to eat too fast). But I do tend to read or play a video game while eating. Why? Because it helps me slow down at this point. If I put my fork down and read a paragraph or two, it helps me space out my eating a little better. YMMV. As others have mentioned, the more prep you do pre-surgery, the easier it is post-surgery.

I was at day 5 before my first BM post-surgery. I had just gotten the approval from my surgeon to take Colase to help things along when it suddenly became unnecessary. If you're worried, check with your doctor and they can tell you what, if anything, to take to kickstart your bowels.

I actually look forward to losing a size or two on my feet. I have shoes that I bought a year or two ago that were borderline tight when I bought them (silly me spending that much on shoes thinking they would stretch or break in. They didn't). I'll be happy if I can just fit into them comfortably (they're both hiking shoes. I haven't bought heels or flats in YEARS because I just didn't dress nicely enough to warrant it. My Vibrams are the only expensive shoes I own) I'm looking forward to buying cute shoes (and cute outfits to go with them)

Yes. My breath is horrible, and I get the worst tastes (sadly, that generally happens about half an hour after brushing my teeth...I get the worst taste in my mouth). I drink loads of water and pray for it to go away.

The pros outweighed the cons. Yes, I thought about dying under anesthesia, or complications post-surgery. And as I'm prone to anxiety attacks, those worries tended to be amplified an uncomfortable amount. But my quality of life was diminishing as my body started breaking down (my knees and hips ached unbearably when I walked, I couldn't make it up the stairs without pausing for breath half-way up, so on and so forth). Nothing was going to get better without taking a drastic step, as it was to the point where I could no longer sustain enough exercise to make a difference (I did yoga daily, but I was rapidly losing flexibility there as well). The risk was acceptable in my eyes, because the alternatives were far, far worse to me.