JamieLogical

Right after my surgery, I was supposed to be doing 60 minutes a day of "brisk walking" for two months before ramping up to any more intensive cardio or strength training. I stuck with that for about a month and a half and then hurt my hip, so I stopped altogether. Then vacation came... then the Holidays... then the flu... and I just had a whole bunch of excuses about not exercising. Well, I got my butt in gear a few weeks ago and started trying to work out again. I just started with 45 minutes of brisk walking. However, I very quickly realized that I was getting super tired from the increased activity. Not like cardiovascularly tired from the workout, I mean sleepy tired all the time. Plus, I started feeling actual hunger for the first time since my surgery. I was getting hungry during the time between Breakfast and lunch. I figured I simply must not be eating enough calories to afford to be spending 400+ on exercise every day. I decided to add a morning snack to my eating schedule and cut my cardio down to 25 minutes a day and add in strength training instead. So now, I'm doing 25 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of ST instead of 45 minutes of pure cardio. This seems to be working. I'm not as tired as I was and I'm losing weight at a happy pace. However, looking down the line, I really would like to get back into more intense cardio, specifically running. I've done Couch to 5k a couple of times over the years when I've been in "weight loss" mode and ran in several 5k races. I would like to be able to run in races again starting this spring/summer, which means I should be starting C25k again soon in order to make it through the 9 week program before racing season starts. The problem is, my 25 minutes of cardio per day isn't really going to cut it if I want to start training for racing again and I really don't know how to get enough calories in to sustain that level of activity. For those of you who run or work out intensely, what do you do to get enough calories? What is your energy level like?

@@CowgirlJane I'm holding my own with the exercise routine I'd been doing. I added a TINY bit of running, but I want to ramp up very slowly, so I don't how things will go if/when I increase my intensity. So far, so good, though. I don't feel quite as run down as I was feeling before.

What are you doing about protein? You mentioned a lot of veggies and fruit as snacks and you mentioned that you are juicing. Doesn't seem like it would leave much room for protein in your diet.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but you're just now getting to the window of time when you might start seeing some hair loss. It usually starts 3-5 months post op. It was pretty much right at the 3 month mark for me when it started, but some people don't see it start for a while longer.

I started losing hair around month 3 and now that I'm just over 5 months out, it's already started coming back. The loss was never noticeable to others, maybe in part because I cut off all my hair at month 2, but I noticed a LOT of hair all over my bathroom floor, in the shower drain, and all over my hands when washing my hair or putting in hair gel. Now my little baby hairs that are coming in are about 3/4 of an inch long and look a little raggedy along my hair line and sticking up all over (like fly aways), but it really has not been all that bad. I plan to grow my hair long again and I doubt it will be an issue anymore a couple of months from now.

@@Jrs_lovely1 Did you have braces? I often have dreams about losing my teeth as well and I was told that it is common for people who have had braces to have those sorts of dreams.

Sorry for my somewhat shocked reaction. I think the problem is that people read stories of others losing 40+ pounds the first month and think that's the rule, not the exception. But in reality, the more time I've spent on these forums, the more I've realized that MOST of us lose weight at a much more modest pace. And while I know how eager you probably are to get the weight off ASAP, the truth is that you didn't put the weight on overnight, so you aren't going to lose it overnight. There are actually a LOT of advantages to losing more slowly. It takes less of a toll on your body and skin. It means not having to replace your clothing as often. And it means not getting constant questions from friends and coworkers about how you lost weight so fast. I have had fairly "slow" weight loss since my surgery. I'm a little over 5 months out and "only" down 43 pounds since surgery. But I have come to appreciate my slower loss. This isn't a race. Unlike the diets of our past, we will never be "done" with this. So there really is no need to get to goal immediately. The lessons we learn and the habits we form during this weight loss period will only serve to help us maintain in the long term.

You think you should have lost more than 17 pounds in 2 weeks?!?! I only lost 14 pounds my first MONTH.

@@hkdontplay I think you will be thrilled with the outcome. I had the same surgeries you are planning, tummy tuck with muscle repair and breast lift with implants. I unfortunately had some complications after my surgery. I had some necrosis around my right nipple, which sound horrible, but it really was NOT a big deal, and 3.5 years later, I hardly remember it. The more major complication I had was Fluid pooling in my lower back that made standing and sitting painful for months. I was only comfortable lying on my side. I had to miss much more work than I anticipated, working half days for a long time. I had my surgery on August 2, 2011 and it wasn't until mid January, 2012 that I was able to sit in a chair all day. That being said, even with all that trouble, I would do it all over again. I LOVE my flat stomach. It held up through my weight regain and it is holding up now that I'm losing again post-sleeve. I am so thrilled with my decision to have had the surgery and I am grateful that I will finally be able to reap the full benefits of it now that I am sleeved and finally going to be able to maintain a lower weight. I wish you the best of luck. I hope you don't experience any complications, but even if you do, think long-term. You will get through whatever fate throws your way and a few years from now, any issues will be a distant memory and you will still be enjoying the benefits of your surgery!

You should only be worried about counting protein and Water at this point. There is no way you are eating "too many" calories only a month out from surgery. But not getting enough water and protein can really slow things down. Don't be discouraged. I too am a "slow loser", but I have found many advantages in that over the past several months. The weight IS coming off and, while I'm not going to make my goal weight in 6 months or less like some people, I will make it eventually. In the mean time, I'm not having to spend a fortune on clothes or having to explain to everyone in my life how I'm losing weight so fast, so that's been nice. I've also had more time for my skin to adjust to the weight loss and to mentally adjust as well.

While there are potential for complications with any surgery, WLS is one of the safest surgeries around. The mortality rate is lower than knee replacement.

It really depends on WHAT you are eating. There's a big difference between a cup of cottage cheese and a cup of chicken. I'm 5 months post op and my typical day is: Breakfast: Protein Bar Morning Shack: Reduced Fat String Cheese Lunch: 2-3 ounces of meat (usually leftovers from a previous dinner) Afternoon Snack: Light Greek Yogurt with a little granola on top Dinner: 3-4 ounces of meat (whatever the protein is from what my husband cooks for dinner) Evening Snack: Protein Bar dinner is usually my "biggest" meal in terms of quantity. Depending on what we are having I can usually get close to 4 ounces.

Welcome! Sounds like you are a ways off from being able to start the process, but it's good that you are looking into it already. It will give you plenty of time to do research, ask questions, and learn everything you can. Are you planning to breast feed once the baby is born? If so, I would hold off on the actual surgery until after you are done with that, but you could start the pre-op approval process and consult with surgeons during that time. Once you actually schedule surgery and start the pre-op diet, breastfeeding would probably be unsafe, since you will likely not be getting sufficient vitamins and nutrients for a while.

Depending on the specifics of your pre-op plan, you should probably just not even try to eat with your family. Have your shakes on your schedule. Remember, you are going to have a lot of restrictions on your diet post-op, so it's best to get used to this now. Eventually you'll be able to eat solids again and can enjoy some of the foods you make for your family (I always just have the protein from whatever dinner we're having), but that will be a long way off. It will definitely be a challenge if you are still having to cook for them every day. See if you can get your husband to help or so as the previous poster suggested and try to come up with easier meals that require less interaction on your part.

Carbs will go through much easier than proteins (except for breads and things that expand in the stomach). Protein tends to be much more dense, and therefor it stays in your stomach longer and makes you feel fuller. I am sure that's why the mac & cheese didn't cause much restriction, but the turkey chili did. You should definitely stick to the more protein dense foods, ESPECIALLY so soon after surgery.

Welcome! I hope the rest of your paperwork and pre-op requirements go smoothly and you get your date soon so you can join us on the losers' bench!

My husband and I were just talking about this the other day. Valentine's Day is pretty meaningless to both of us. I think it's a chance for couples who maybe take each other for granted or don't spend enough quality time together to to remind each other that they love each other. But my husband and I spend tons of time together, are very appreciative of one another, and express our love every day. So we don't really need Valentine's Day.

Been there, done that! Apple is very filling, that's one of the reasons doctors say stuff like "if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not really hungry" or "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." I actually LOVE apples and when the end of October rolled around, I was desperate to go apple picking and have some fresh-picked Empire apples. I could only manage two slices at two months post-op and I would feel very full after that. I can't imagine if I'd tried adding Peanut Butter or Protein powder, since both of those are pretty filling too! Hang in there. Lie down (that usually helps me when I feel overfull) and just tough it out for about 45 minutes and it will eventually go away.

That sounds kind of fun.

Strained soups were my best friend during the liquid stages. They can be really flavorful, even without all the solid bits in them. Though I will say that it felt kind of wasteful to just throw away all the solids from my soups.

I was allowed chicken long before I was allowed steak. But only ground/shredded chicken until I was on solids, which was 40 days post-op. I was allowed cooked, soft vegetables at 28 days post-op.

I know I'm not getting enough calories and it's definitely limiting my ability to work out. I've tried coming up with ways of adding in more calories. I added a morning snack (cheese stick) and I added some granola to my afternoon greek yogurt (the last thing I eat before I workout after work) and that seems to be enough to allow me to exercise some, but I really want to be able to increase my cardio intensity. I think I will just have to wait until I am able to physically ingest more food!

I'm 5'6 and I have some before photos and progress photos in my gallery. My highest weight was 270, but the pre-surgery photos I was at 240, since I had lost some weight on my own before the pre-op diet and even more during the pre-op diet. The progress photos were at 5 months post-op and I was down to 197. Still a long way to go until my goal.

My insurance would only cover WLS if I had a BMI of 40 or more for 5 years. Well, I had worked VERY hard to lose weight on my own in 2010/2011 and lost 90 pounds. But, of course, I eventually put 80 of those pounds back on. I then didn't qualify for WLS from my insurance, because I had been well under the 40 BMI requirement during and after my weight loss. I felt like I was being punished for having at least TRIED to lose the weight on my own. If I wanted to qualify through my insurance, I would have had to stay fat for at least another 2-3 years. I said "screw that" and self-paid in Mexico. So glad I did that! Now I will be slim and healthy long before I ever could have been if I'd had to wait on my insurance.

Why are you taking a chewable in the first place? If you are a couple of weeks out now, you should have no trouble swallowing pills. I've been swallowing all my vitamins/supplements in pill form since 7 days post op. Did your surgeon say you need to take a chewable for some reason?