*Lexie*

What a great idea! I do have to say that this site has helped me get through my obsessive/compulsive first month post op. I'm thankful to @@BeagleLover who is always supportive of my posts. @@LipstickLady has just the right dose of sarcasm that makes me laugh a lot. And thanks to @@bobbyswife for starting this thread. I"m sure I've missed a bunch of people but I have a short memory.

I had the stomach flu one year at Christmas and couldn't even be in the same room as the food. I believe in everyone's right to privacy but sometimes not saying anything can cause more problems. A simple, "I'm not feeling well" may suffice.

Very interesting discussion. I am going to try to get my calories to 900-1000 for a few weeks and see how that impacts my weight loss. This will also help me have the energy for more intense workouts. And I'm going to Zumba tonight so I will need my energy to look ridiculous. I have been tracking my carbs and trying to keep them low. I don't eat any bread or rice and have had Pasta only once or twice and I have the high Protein pasta in a very small portion size. Something else that I need to remember in my frustration around losing so slowly is that I haven't gained. Before surgery, my weight was like a yo-yo. I'd lose 4lbs and gain 3. Now, if the scale doesn't move down, it just stays the same. There's some comfort in that.

Someone posted this recipe for a pizza crust made out of ground chicken breast. I tried it today and it was really good. I was able to make 4 crusts and with toppings was only able to eat 1/2 of a pizza. Very filling and lots of Protein. I froze a few for future use. I definitely recommend trying this, it was very easy to make. http://sassysouthernyankee.com/2014/02/chicken-pizza-crust/

I am interested in feedback from more experienced people. I am 2 months out and I've lost about 22lbs. I stalled at week 2 for a few weeks and then my weight loss has been at a crawl ever since and i was around 600-800 calories. I have found that if I cut my calories to the 500 range that I start losing pretty good again. But if I go back up to 700-800, it just stops. So naturally I'm afraid to increase my calories anymore. But staying at 500 is difficult.

@ Those are some cute puppies! They just want to help you with your diet. My dogs are my biggest supporters. They always want to eat my extra food so I don't eat too much and they always want to help me exercise by accompanying me on walks.

@@bobbyswife I was able to eat half of a 4" pizza. I made 4 mini crusts with this recipe and froze the others. It was very filling. The amount I was able to eat was much smaller than a normal piece of pizza. But I can see how that could have been interpreted from my original post. LOL

It's not that we can't drink when we eat, it's that we shouldn't. It makes the food flush out of our stomachs faster and that's sooner we'll be hungry again. I was drinking with my food and my weight loss was at a crawl and my doctor's office reminded me to stop drinking with my meals and I have noticed a difference. This video really convinced me too.

@@christina1979 I feel the exact same way. I have lost the weight in the past and I steadily lost 3 - 4 pounds when keeping my calories low and exercising. I didn't pay any attention to Water intake or Protein grams and I steadily lost for 3 months or so. I've tried the same thing and I lost 2 pounds in a month. I recently went back to a liquid diet for a few days and then cut my carbs and calories down to around 500 and I've started losing again. Just hoping it stays that way.

I love that it's not just us girls that are motivated by clothing. I have a gorgeous Calvin Klein coat that I bought a few years ago when I was a size 8 (before I gained it all back) and I'm really looking forward to wearing it again.

I quit smoking two years ago and I had tried many methods and medications. The one that finally worked for me was the patch. It was still really hard and some days I still want one (or five) but I know it's a slippery slope and I'll just end up a smoker again. My doctor's office tested for nicotine twice through the process (three times if you tested positive the first time) and wouldn't do the surgery until you were "clean". I agree that it's really difficult, the most difficult thing I've done. I know for me, I wouldn't want to be dealing with cigarette cravings while recovering from surgery and dealing with my food demons. That's a dangerous mix. If you're able to give them up before surgery, you'll be much less cranky.

This won't work unless you are at home but I have issues with evening snacking. I've started doing my nails every few days as a distraction. It's hard to stick your hand in a bag of chips with wet nails. It's been helping me so far and my nails look great.

@@James Marusek I really enjoyed reading your article. Thank you for sharing.

I'm at 6 weeks and I've lost around the same amount as you. My weight loss dropped off dramatically as soon as I started solid food. Even though I was eating 600-800 calories, I wasn't losing. I just went back to the liquid diet and am starting over. I think I did get into the habit of grazing and eating too many carbs because they go down easier. So even though my calories were low, I wasn't eating the right things. I was probably only getting 50g of Protein per day. It's early but it seems like going back to liquids is working for me.

I'm right at 6 weeks too. Are you depressed in general or depressed because of lack of weight loss, etc? I have been a little down because I'm not losing at the rate that I expected. I just went back to the liquid diet in hopes to change that. I'm a little depressed that I was eating 700-800 calories and not losing weight. My body must be really efficient...

All this fear and anticipation is worse than recovery will be. At least that's the way I felt. Once surgery was over, I felt like I made it past the hard part. P.S. I'm still afraid surgery won't work and I'll be a big failure. Unfortunately they don't cut out irrational fears when they cut out our stomachs...

I hit that 3 week stall at like a week and a half. It lasted a full 3 weeks and since then, I have been losing very slowly. Same as you with calories and Protein. I've been working out 4-5 days a week as well. I have a follow up appt today and am taking my food journal in to my dietitian to see if she has any ideas.

I agree that you want to be conservative. I set all sorts of goals and then after 2 weeks, my weight loss stopped and when it started again, it's been very slow. I have been so discouraged and part of the reason for that is that I had such high goals/expectations of what sort of weight loss I'd have.

I am trying this next week. I'll let you know how it turns out. Looks delicious. I also found another recipe for pizza crust that I was going to try down the road that would be higher Protein. It's just self rising flour and greek yogurt. Supposed to make great crust but I can't eat anything resembling bread right now or I'll get sick.

I had a hernia repair during surgery and he said I would be more sore than just having the sleeve but I only stayed one night in the hospital and was off of pain meds within 5 days. I don't have anything to compare it to but I felt my recovery was average. And, I haven't had reflux or one bit of heartburn since surgery. Freedom!

I've been a little disappointed in my slow weight loss and have thought a time or two that maybe I should have done more research on the bypass before making my decision. I wouldn't say I regret it, I plan to make it work but I probably could use some more food aversions. Bread makes me feel horrible and I sure have no temptation to eat it. with the bypass, I'd probably have more foods that I couldn't tolerate and it would help keep me on track.

@@MisforMimi That's so unfortunate. I'm lucky to not have to deal with that. I know here other hospitals have support groups from their bariatric program and I could technically go to any. It would stink to have to go to another hospital but maybe that's where everyone else went that left your hospital meeting. Also might not hurt to give some private feedback to the doctor's office about how you feel about the support group not feeling very supportive.

Right now I'm accepting support from anyplace I can get it. I have been attending support group session and have one coming up this Monday. Our surgeon also offers a post op advanced skills class that continues the education after surgery about eating right and emotional eating, etc. I'm going to those every two weeks. And of course, I also count on the experts on this site to fill in the gaps. I've even read the Emotional Eating First Aid (I think that's what it's called) to get some extra information. I sort of feel like I'm in AA and need the constant support to keep my mind in the right place. And it has been working. I am doing what I need to do and there's less of me to lug to these meetings each time I go.

I have managed to find meals at a handful of restaurants. At Chick-fil-a, I get a kids meal with the grilled nuggets (70 calories for 4) and the applesauce. This might sound crazy, but it's delicious! Last weekend we went to Red Lobster and asked for them not to bring any bread to the table. The waitress said that she'd never had that request before. I can believe it because I love that bread. But it makes me sick and it's empty calories. My husband ordered an add on of the crab legs to his meal and I ate that. It was so good! I also had a little salad.

I had bad reflux and constant heartburn prior to surgery. I went with the sleeve and as it turned out, I had a hiatal hernia that was repaired in the same surgery. Since surgery, not even the tiniest of heartburn or reflux. Of course, it could be due to the hernia repair so keep that in mind. I'm just glad I don't have any of that discomfort any longer.