JamieLogical

I liked EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control shakes because they tasted just like SlimFast to me and I actually LIKED SlimFast.

The 4th day is usually the turning point. After 2-3 days your body enters ketosis which has all the physical symptoms you mentioned... fatigue, headache, hanger.... but then once the switch is complete, it gets a *little* easier. Still not easy though... it pretty much sucks the full two weeks.

Wow, that's pretty shocking. She was always one of the people BL trotted out as a "success" and had doing speaking engagements and revisiting the ranch to talk to new contestants and pushing their products... It really does prove how the odds are stacked against people who lose weight through diet and exercise. Even with the money rolling in and much more tangible intensives to keep the weight off than most of us have, she wasn't able to do it. A lot of what she talks about with the "shame" of regain makes me think she'd feel a lot of shame "resorting" to surgery as well, but it sounds to me like it might be the best option for her.

Don't panic. This surgery is incredibly safe as far as surgeries go. And if you don't wake up from it, you'll never know, so what's to worry about there?

I used Now Sports unflavored whey isolate.

I wasn't allowed popcorn until 3 months post-op because of the kernels and shells.

Nope. Some surgeons use them and some don't.

When you say you are "hungry" can you describe exactly what you are feeling? If it's stomach noise and rumbling, that could be acid. Are you on a PPI? If it's that you see a food commercial on TV or smell something cooking and that makes you want that specific thing, that's head hunger.

Awesome!

So awesome! Congratulations!

@@Watch.Me.Lose.It I think the thing that took me a while to get my head around is that WLS isn't like losing weight in the past. It is not a "diet". You will never be "done" with it. Your sleeve is forever. So how long it takes you to lose the weight is completely meaningless in the long term. Once you are at goal and maintaining with the help of your sleeve, you aren't going to be looking back and thinking "if only I'd reached goal one month faster!" As long as you get there eventually, how long it took you will be so unimportant once you are there.

@@rkmom0506 Congrats on your date! It's good you are researching ahead of time, because like @@Bufflehead said, a lot of people come on here for the first time a day or two after surgery asking all the same questions. But PLEASE do not hesitate to ask questions if you have them. I researched for hours a day every day for a couple of months pre-op and I still ended up with questions. Plus sometimes, you just want to commiserate or get some reassurance.

Everything will go great! Be sure to post back here once you're on the losers' bench!

It's tough, but it's temporary. You just have to hang in there. Move as much as possible. March in place instead of sitting on the couch. It really will help. But you likely won't have to deal with it for much more than another couple days. It usually only lasts 4-5 days.

I wasn't in a lot of *pain*, but certainly discomfort. The worst of the pain for me was gas pain and that lasted about 4 days. I didn't have any pain around my incisions, but some people do. I also had discomfort in the center of my chest (esophagus constricting) every time I took a sip of anything. Even the teeniest tiniest sip. That lasted about two weeks. You will be given guidelines about food. Typically people start off on Clear Liquids (broth, Jello, popsicles) for the first couple days, then "full liquids" (Protein shakes, strained cream Soups, drinkable yogurt, milk) for a bit, then purees (blended foods, refried Beans, cottage cheese), then soft foods (tuna salad, scrambled eggs, soft cheeses), then solid foods (pretty much anything so long as it's not crispy or crunchy), and then finally crispy/crunchy foods. The length of the phases and what is included in them will be completely dependent upon your surgeon's program. Every post-op plan is different. It's very important to follow YOUR surgeon's plan. You will read/see/hear people with very different plans from yours, but only your surgeon will be working with YOU directly. Immediately post-op your primary objectives will be getting your Water in to avoid dehydration. Getting your protein in to aid in healing and give you some energy. Taking your meds and Vitamins. And getting up and walking a little every hour or two to avoid blood clots and to help with the gas pain.

I had the pain in the center of my chest with every sip as well. It was my esophagus constricting. It lasted about two weeks until the swelling went down. Just hang in there. The first few days are ROUGH, but it's all only temporary.

I said I was 5'7" for years but finally admitted I'm only 5'6".

Congratulations on your success so far. You've made it through the worst of it. These next few months will be about adapting and figuring out how to make this tool work for you. Sounds like you have a great support system, so it shouldn't be too hard!

That looks like a massive amount of tuna and boiled egg. Are you weighing your portions? But congrats on moving to soft foods! I was so psyched when I was allowed to do that!!!

Congratulations!

Congrats!!

It's so true! I was a "slow loser". I "only" lost 14 pounds my first month and "only" 8 pounds my second month and got to where I was "only" losing 2 pounds a month. You know where all those only's got me? Below goal! Where I've happily been maintaining the past 8 months!

Definitely the more "liquid" something is, the less it will fill you up. That's why my nutritionist didn't want me eating Soups or other liquid-based foods once I was on to solids. Like @@Babbs I am 20 months post-op and I definitely still notice a big difference in fullness depending on the type of meat and how it's prepared. Grilled chicken breast? 3 oz. and I am done! Pulled chicken in BBQ sauce, I can manage more like 5 oz.

It's pretty common for weight loss to stall out around 3 weeks post-op. Do a search on these forums for "Week 3 Stall"... I'd say a good 90% of us go through it. Your body just needs a minute to figure out what the heck is going on. Between the pre-op diet, the surgery itself, and the post-op diet, it's been through a LOT of stress and changes over the last several weeks. Just give it a second. It sounds like you are doing everything right. So just keep doing what you are doing, focus on forming new healthy habits, meeting your water and protein goals, taking your vitamins, moving as much as possible and put the scale away for a couple of weeks.