JamieLogical

Obviously the amount you can eat immediately post op is MUCH less than it will be once you are fully healed. You still won't be able to eat anything like a "normal" portion though. You will adapt. I eat out all the time. I occasionally get the worried looks from the servers and asking if I didn't like my food when leaving half of it on the plate, but if I really wanted to avoid that, I could ask for a to-go box and put the extra food in there at the beginning of the meal, which I have done before. Now I really just don't care what people think. If a server is worried, I just reassure him/her that everything was great. I'm 19 months post-op and I can eat maybe 3/4 of a cup of chili.... 1/2 to 3/4 of a hamburger or chicken sandwich without the bun.... 3-4 chicken tenders with the breading peeled off... a whole shrimp appetizer... a scrambled egg with some cheese melted in and 2 Breakfast sausage links... most of the fajita skillet (meat, peppers, onions) they bring you without the tortillas and toppings... the cheese and toppings off of 3 slices of pizza... Those are some examples of the things I might eat when I eat out now.

I know, right? It's like having open heart surgery and trying to run a marathon the next day. Or having a liver transplant and then stopping for a bottle of whiskey on the way home.

My program wanted me to try to lose 10%, but a minimum of 5%.

I don't think their way of determining frame size is very accurate. I considers me "small framed" just because I can get my fingers around my wrist? By their measurements, I am overweight by almost 14 pounds, meanwhile I can literally count my ribs through my skin now....

I will have to measure my calves today when I go home for lunch. I stopped tracking my measurements when I got to goal and started just maintaining, but I am training for a half marathon now, so I am sure that's had SOME effect on my calf size. The first time I took my measurements at one week pre-op, I weighed 239.2 and my calves measured 19.5 inches. The last time I took my measurements was 13 months post-op. I weighed 163 and my calves measured 16.75 inches. I now weigh 159 and run more than 20 miles a week, so it will be interesting to see where I am now. I'm wearing my wide calf boots as I type this and they are still fitting pretty snug.

So happy to hear all went well. As others have said: sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk. I hope you don't have any trouble getting a ride home at this point. Maybe now that the surgery is over and there is no going back, your mom and grandpa will choose to focus on the future instead of continuing to give you a hard time.

Are you on a PPI? People often mistake the rumbling stomach associated with excess acid with "hunger". Could also be head hunger. My head hunger was OUT OF CONTROL in my first couple of weeks post-op. Are you getting all your Water and Protein in? As for the feeling tired, that is 100% normal. You are recovering from major surgery and probably only getting about 400 calories a day, if that. Of course you are going to be tired! For me, my fatigue took a turn for the better once I was on more solid foods and could get more calories in. Also, make sure you are getting your protein and taking your B12.

My calves are still huge. I wear size 10 jeans. I am 6 pounds below goal and still have to wear wide-calf boots. Oh well.... there are worse things in life. Talk about #firstworldproblems!

But eating the wrong things early on post-op isn't "cheating" like cheating on a diet. It can cause SERIOUS risk to your health like leaks and abscesses. I can certainly understand the desire to eat comfort foods. I was crying my eyes out every day post-op from the head hunger. I didn't get to almost 300 pounds without being a comfort eater. But when eating off plan can literally kill me, not years down the road from obesity, but like land me in the hospital THAT DAY, it's a pretty strong deterrent.

I had sleeve 19 months ago and have only thrown up one time. So it's definitely NOT normal to be throwing up every day. As for regrets, even without throwing up, I had a period of "buyer's remorse" as most people do. The early weeks are rough, but it does get better and better.

If you are only eating 700 calories a day, I don't thin 5:2 will help. 5:2 is a method of calorie reduction. Cutting back to 500 calories a day twice a week isn't going to make much of a dent.

How is that even physically possible?

My program never required me to stop drinking before eating, just for 20-30 minutes after. I don't count GU as "eating" since it's such a small amount and not solid. I tried gummies instead of the gel, but found it hard to chew and get them down while running. The GU is a really gross texture... like swallowing toothpaste, but I can get the whole thing down in about 2 swallows. My strategy for long runs is to eat a piece of whole grain toast with 2 whole tablespoons of peanut butter on it about 30-40 minutes before, so I can comfortable be drinking again to start my run. I drink G2 most of the run, but plain water to wash down the GU, which I eat at every third mile. I have a protein bar as soon as my run is over while I ice my knees. Then I try to eat pretty normally the rest of that day, but maybe fit in an extra snack after dinner.

PS: I have to eat probably 7-10 times a day now to eat back my calories from my half marathon training. I am averaging a burn of about 2400 calories a day and struggling to get up over 2000 calories a day. It's like a full time job eating enough.

I'm training for a half marathon right now and trust and believe that GU is EXACTLY what you need on long runs. I have one every 3 miles on my long runs. It metabolizes VERY fast, which is what you will need to keep going. You don't want anything that is challenging or slow to digest. You want an instant jolt of calories and caffeine. I experimented with several other options in the beginning and the GU energy gels definitely worked best for me. The texture is disgusting, but there are a lot of different flavors. I finally settled on Jet Blackberry and Tastefully Nude as the flavors I could tolerate.

The tiny wings really sell it!

If you go this route, be sure to let me know! I'd love to cash in on some of those photos!

Congrats! That's really soon!

I can definitely sympathize with the fear of regain. It's been so hard for me to increase my calories intentionally, because I still have such an irrational fear of gaining weight. With your activity level, I'm inclined to think your calorie intake is too low. But I can see how you might be terrified to try to up it a little and see what happens.

At least you have us!

@@SarahSleeve You adapt. It is a lot of change, that is for sure. But we, as humans, are incredibly adaptable. You live from one day to the next and small changes add up over time. I can completely understand that you are worried about losing who you are. It's something to be mindful of for sure. But it doesn't have to happen. There was another thread very recently about whether or not weight loss changed people. And the overwhelming majority of people who posted said they felt more confidence and were more active, but the core of who they are had not changed.

Maybe the OP is a troll?

Weight and BMI are ultimately pretty meaningless numbers. There are SO MANY more important numbers. BP, A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, body fat percentage. THOSE are the numbers you should be focusing on for health and longevity!

I started my bariatric multi-Vitamin and probiotic pre-op. Didn't do the Calcium and B12 until I was post-op.

@@Momcat What's your activity level like? 1200 calories a day sounds low to me, but I'm in maintenance and training for a half marathon, so my perspective is pretty skewed. How much more weight are you hoping to lose? 164 for our height isn't that bad, depending on your body composition. The goal weight my nutritionist set for me was 165. Any idea what your body fat percentage is?