Inner Surfer Girl

There is a huge difference between a clear liquid diet and a liquid diet. Make sure you drink all the Protein shakes you are allowed. Use sugar-free Popsicles, broth, crushed ice, crystal light, Water, Herb tea, etc. to keep you hydrated. You will also want to keep yourself busy. Look for things to do with your hands. Try knitting, coloring, taking walks, etc. Six weeks on liquids is going to ba a challenge, especially pre-op but you can do it.

Clear liquid for six weeks? Wow. I really think this is the first time I have ever heard of anyone having to be on Clear liquids so long. Are you SURE it is clear liquids? What exactly are you allowed? How are you getting your Protein and nutrition?

Congratulations! Lookin' good!

It really depends on your insurance company and your surgeon. I would suggest you talk to your patient coordinator about your concerns. It really depends on your insurance company and your surgeon. I would suggest you talk to your patient coordinator about your concerns.

Don't freak out. The best thing to do early out is just follow your program and stay off the scale. You are healing from surgery. In addition, almost everyone experiences a stall about three weeks after surgery. None of us lose at a constant or steady rate and periodic stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the process. Stay off the scale and Embrace the Stall! http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Best of luck with your surgery. Yes, it will be stressful and confusing for a while. I know that for about a month I didn't put anything in my mouth without first re-reading and consulting the food plan in my manual. It is very possible that the first month or so post-op you may have low energy, and you may experience some emotional turmoil. My biggest mental issue post-op was just a general fogginess and lack of focus. I encourage you to take as much medical leave as you are able. It will enable you to heal, adjust to your new life, rest, and get back to 100% sooner. Your priorities will be staying hydrated, getting in all of your Protein, walking, and resting. A couple of books I recommend you read based on your post: Eat it Up! by Connie Stapleton and The One Life Solution by Henry Cloud. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

What phase is she on? Did her NUT provide a list of recommended foods for this phase? If so, what is on the list? Early out I like ProtiDiet liquid beverage concentrates, premier Protein shakes, GNC lean shake 25, Syntrax nectar, ProtiDiet creamy chicken and tomato basil Soups. If she can have fish then: tuna, salmon, etc.

I agree. Just keep sipping. It probably will take all day for a while. I didn't have a puree stage, but does your food have to be puree? I would think something like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, extra Protein shakes, or even refried Beans would be better than baby food. Definitely talk to your NUT about your options. It will get easier.

What do you mean by that? Just as an example, to paraphrase: "I made a bad food choice for one meal so therefore I constantly screw up." "I didn't run 3 miles today so I am a failure and will never exercise again." "If I can't reach my goal weight by June 23, then I might as well not really even try." "I ONLY lost 23 pounds since surgery." "It's raining so I can't exercise at all." To me, black and white thinking means you turn every choice into one of two extremes, and usually set up the choices so that one leads to "failure" and one leads to "success". "All or nothing" is similar in that we don't recognize incremental improvements or successes. I am sure other's have some ideas on this.

This is awesome and so rewarding. Not knowing your company, but maybe you could serve as an advocate to your company and see if they can change their policy on weight loss surgery. You are a living, breathing example of how much it can benefit them. Congratulations!

This is so awesome! And what a cool experience. You will definitely need to share this with more than social media. Now you can start a brag wall! I rarely post pictures of myself to social media but posted a selfie yesterday. My aunt literally didn't recognize me.

I am going to argue that two years at a steady weight is maintenance and not a stall in my book.

One thing you can do is make sure almost everything you consume has protein. My surgeon allowed all fluids to count toward my 64 oz of Fluid. As mentioned, Premier Protein gives you a lot of protein for a small amount of fluid. My surgeon said there was no physical reason we couldn't drink three premier Protein shakes (total of 90 grams of protein) in a day the day after surgery. Just keep sipping.

Here is one recent thread that might be applicable: http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/361405-GP-says-to-do-Weight-Watchers-instead Still looking for another one that I think might be helpful.

Another thing to be careful is "all or nothing"/"black and white" thinking.

Thank you for sharing. I am not a physician but consider myself literate and pretty well educated, but I too had trouble following much of what he was trying to say (and I have read up on the study/studies? he seems to be relying on). For instance "gaining the weight". Does he mean gaining weight? Gaining some weight? Gaining more weight? I could go on... Another big piece that is missing is how the medical community in general treats obese patients. There is a recent thread on BariatricPal that has some real horror stories. Unfortunately, they seem to be more common than not. I agree that General Practitioners and other MDs need a great deal of education about obesity, weight loss surgery, and post-surgery care, however far after surgery. You are spot on when you note that too many post-op patients are thrown to the wolves post-op when it comes to mental health issues. I will definitely have to think about this to see what additional response I could provide.

Some of our drugstores and Walmarts have drop-in clinics. I know you can check your blood pressure. I never thought of it but they probably have a scale.

My bariatric program had a scale in an alcove for people to drop in and weigh. You might see if there is a Bariatric Center of Excellence near where you are staying that might let you drop in. Also, a lot of gyms and health centers have them. You could even check with your hotel. They may have one or know of one nearby.

Bumping!

Sounds like you are doing great. As other's have suggested, focus on getting in all of your Water and Protein. What is your protein target? Embrace the Stall! http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the process. None of us lose at a constant or steady rate. If you intend on losing a significant amount of weight you will stall periodically. That said, if you are concerned, talk with your NUT. You MAY actually need to eat more to support your increased exercise. Embrace the Stall! http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Congratulations! This is so awesome.

I haven't tried it but don't know why not. Give it a try. The Syntrax Nectars would probably make pretty good slushies.

Stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the process of losing weight. None of us lose at a constant or steady rate. We all stall periodically and almost everyone experiences a stall about three weeks after surgery. Just follow your program. Focus on getting in all of your Protein and fluids. Avoid starches and added sugars. Take your Vitamins and supplements as directed. Exercise when cleared. Stay off the scale of you are going to let it drive you crazy. And, Embrace the Stall! http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

I didn't start eating nuts until I was closer to 6 months out (I think -- how quickly I forget!). Now, I eat pistachios, almonds, and peanuts fairly regularly. I have had cashews a couple of times. I just have to be careful with portion size by either buying individually portioned bags or carefully pre-portioning a larger container.