JamieLogical

As long as you are getting all your Protein in, I don't think there's anything wrong with 1000 calories a day.

Wait, if you are getting 1000 calories in and NOT getting your protein, where are the calories coming from?!?!

I also have swelling in my lower back. It's been 10 months, and I'm not sure if its swelling or fat. I think it might be a little of both....but I don't think I had that before surgery. My surgeon said it could just be that the fat just got pulled down. How long did the swelling last? My swelling was a real complication that caused me a LOT of pain and kept me from working full time for about 4 months post-op. I couldn't lay on my back or sit up in a chair for any extended period of time because of the pain. The only comfortable position was lying on my side. Standing or exercising made the swelling much worse. It was due to the damage to my lymphatic system and the fact that there was only that little 4-inch space for Fluid to travel between the upper and lower halves of my body. It was like a bottle-neck and the fluid would just pool there. The worst of it lasted about 9 months. That was about when I was able to start seriously exercising again. And, like I said, I was only working half-days at work for about 4 months.

It is completely normal to stall out or even gain in the second or third week post-op. It's called the "week 3 stall" and if you do a search for it on these forums, you will see HUNDREDS of posts about it. It happens to almost everyone. Stick to your plan. Get your protein and water and do some walking. The scale will start moving in the right direction again soon.

My PCP has been great about my follow-up care. I met with her before I left for Mexico and she went ahead and ordered bloodwork for when I got back. I saw her at 1 month post-op, 2 months, 4 months, and 8 months. All my blood work has come back perfectly ever time. I'm not scheduled to see her again until 1 year post-op. She's been very happy with my weight loss as well.

I am jealous! I wish I had been able to get up to 1000 calories at 7 weeks. I was pushing hard to get 800 at that point, so I could start exercising more intensely. I don't think there's anything WRONG with being at 1000 calories at 7 weeks, I just couldn't manage it at that point. You should feel lucky that you can. It will make your recovery easier and let you get back to a more normal activity level sooner.

I hope your sleeve handles it better than mine. I'm 9 months post-op and can't do raw vegetables at all. The cause me tremendous amounts of pain. Tried a bite of salad at lunch again today and, yep, still a no-go for me. I can do fine with crackers, but don't eat them often, since they are a slider food and high in carbs.

I don't have that requirement with my nutritionist. My Snacks just have to be "high protein", no specifics that it has to be milk protein. I WILL often have a reduced fat cheese stick or greek yogurt as a snack, but I will also just as often have nuts or a meet stick (like a beef stick, but with turkey or leaner meats) for a snack. I know a lot of people also do Jerky as a snack, but I can deal with the texture of jerky.

Yeah, it really depends on the chili. If it's very thick and chunky, then it will fill you up pretty much as well as any solid food with sauce would. If it's more runny or soupy though, then the liquid will help the solids pass through your stomach more quickly, so you just have to be careful. It's basically pretty common sense about what will stay in your stomach for a while and what will just pass right through.

I've had my moments. Especially in the early days/weeks/months post-op. At first I was in pain and so miserable and uncomfortable and wondering if I would ever just feel "normal" again. Then I was really struggling with not being able to turn to food for comfort. I struggled with figuring out what to eat when out at restaurants or parties. There was just a period of adaptation that was rough to get through. I would say that since about the 4 month mark, I haven't had any further regrets. I found my new normal. I'm not having to consciously think about what to eat and when to drink and all of that stuff anymore. It has become second nature now. At nine months post-op, I very rarely have any qualms about my choice to have surgery. Today I went out to lunch with my coworkers to Red Robin. Pre-op, there were several burgers there that I LOVED and gladly overate. When we first sat down to look at the menu today, I had a very brief twinge of sadness that I couldn't get one of those burgers. I mean I *could* but I would only be able to eat like two bites with the bun or maybe half the burger without the bun, so why bother? I ended up getting the Ensilada chicken and it was delicious. So I moved past that moment of "regret" very quickly and went on to have a perfectly lovely lunch.

You might want to thin them out with a little broth in the beginning, but you shouldn't have to puree them.

I was told to try to get in 60 minutes of "brisk walking" per day, but not all at once. Like a few 10-20 minute walks each day. I honestly didn't get in that much in the very early days/weeks, but I tried to work my way up to it as soon as possible.

This is VERY VERY common post-op. Try mixing powdered fiber supplements into your protein shakes.

I think a lot of people lose weight that way, in big chunks and then stall out for a bit, then lose another big chunk. And seriously, complaining about "only" losing 47 pounds in three months will get you smacked around here! I've "only" lost 60 pounds in NINE months!

Eating every 3 hours is pretty much the norm past-sleeve. Since you can't eat very much at once, that means you can't eat enough to tide you over for as long as you used to be able to. The important thing is to stick to only eating at scheduled/planned times and only be eating high Protein Snacks. You do NOT want to fall into the trap of grazing or eating things that won't keep you full as long as possible. At a month out, I was "eating" 5 times a day. I put "eating" in quotation marks there, because I was still doing Protein shakes back then, which were technically drinking. Now I am 9 months out and eat six times a day. I found that I needed to add a snack in between breakfast and lunch once I started working out intensely.

I never once blended anything. The idea of pureed food seemed gross to me, so I just ate the approved soft foods on my list for that phase.

Wow, comparing that first picture to the last picture, you don't even look like the same person! Congrats you your amazing transformation!

I'm a littler surprised you are allowed raw vegetables and whole grains only 7.5 weeks out. I was allowed solids at 6 weeks, but told to hold off longer for both of those things. Keep in mind that protein needs to be your #1 priority. Filling up on lettuce or bread means less room for protein.

@@Licia no caffeine?? I am allowed two cups of caffinated coffee and unlimited sf tea. Good for you girl!! Keep it up! We will get through this !!! I had to quit caffeine for my pre-op diet too. I think they just wanted me to give it up those two weeks earlier so I wouldn't be dealing with caffeine withdrawal while recovering from surgery. I was allowed coffee again at 30 days post-op and trust and believe that I was literally counting down the days!

I put on my yoga pants as soon as I could get out of bed on my own and my hospital gown was the kind that overlaps in a way that it really did fully cover my back.

Yeah, stay clear of anything with carbonation/bubbles. Just like with soda. I did drink one Smirnoff Ice which is mildly carbonated, but I opened it and let it sit for a long time before drinking it. Still... don't recommend any carbonation at all to be on the safe side.

Just walking. It really is a great way to start building up some cardiovascular endurance. Then if you want to add strength training, you can use very light weights or no weights at all. There are a lot of strength training exercises that will just use you own body weight.

I went with the boob job too. Best thing EVER. In my area, breast lift with augmentation runs about $7500, but I went to Mexico and got a tummy tuck and all-over lipo at the same time for a total of about $10500 (including a two week stay in the recovery house there and daily visits from my surgeon!).

You should ask your surgeon or nutritionist about adding berries. That's usually a no-go this early post-op. However, you can definitely make your own shakes using the ingredients you are cleared to have like Protein Powder, low fat milk, greek yogurt, etc. Protein powder comes in lots of different flavors or you can buy the unflavored kind and make your own flavors using sugar-free syrups.

I have a SUPER conservative doctor and she recommends against any medication with potential side effects unless I have real health risks. Since my leg cramps are sporadic and they aren't actually doing any long term harm to me, she doesn't want me taking quinine, which can actually have some pretty serious side effects from what she told me.