JamieLogical

My nutritionist set my goal weight at 165. In order to be a "normal" BMI for my height, I would need to get below 154. I have gotten down to 159 and am fighting hard not to lose any MORE weight. I can already see my ribs. I don't want to be thinner! My body fat percentage is the thing I care about. I'm at 21.4% body fat now which is very lean for my age.

I had fatigue for a good long while post-op. For me it improved when I was onto solid foods and could get in a reasonable amount of calories. Any idea how many calories you are getting in at this point?

I'm not sure if your reflux would be any better with a band than with a sleeve. Really the only way you be sure you won't have reflux issues would be to have RNY. Ultimately the decision has to be yours. For me, it was an easy choice with all of the potential for long-term complications with the band. But there are many people who are happy and successful with the band too.

Wait, am I missing something? You don't actually say what the guy was eating in your post.

Awesome!

It's common to be nervous and anxious with major surgery only a day or two away. What helped me was to focus on small tasks, like the things I needed to do around the house to be prepared for the surgery. I also worked on getting together the supplies I would need for after the surgery. And I put together a calendar to hang in my kitchen with all the dates I would be moving through the food stages post-op and what specifically I could eat at each of those stages. Just whatever I could do to keep my mind busy.

We need more info on your current nutrition and activity level before we can offer any sound advice.

I was told no nail polish or toe nail polish. No mention of acrylic nails though. Definitely check and double-check with your surgeon.

To be fair, the "after" video and photos on that show are only a couple of months post-op. Plastics take a LONG time to fully heal from. If the "after" images were from more like 2 years out, we'd be getting a much more accurate idea of the results. I had extended tummy tuck and breast lift with implants and it was a good 2 years before my scars had faded to where they are now (5 years post-op). Even the swelling lasts a good 4-6 months. So the final results might not be as bad as they seem on the show. But I still just feel like their technique and level of knowledge is terrible.

True Jamie, you're so right, even getting to the bathroom takes longer for me now. Thanks for the advice, you're amazing. I can tell you're very knowledgeable about this journey Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App I was exactly where you are at one point and I had a million questions and concerns of my own. These forums helped keep me sane through the whole process, so I really like to be able to pay-it-forward now that I've "been there, done that".

Exactly the point I was trying to make.... Hypothetically speaking, if a fly was to get WLS, would that still hold true? Hahaha! That gave me a great visual of an obese fly that couldn't even manage to lift itself off the ground.

Oh yeah! B12 is a great point. Make sure you are taking it now. That can help some with the fatigue as well.

Any idea what your daily calorie intake is? How much Protein are you getting?

I would be cautious about counting 15 grams of Genepro as 30 grams of protein. The science is still out on it, so to speak. No independent studies have verified those claims. I would still only count it as 15 grams until there is more evidence available. Getting the benefits of the extra protein won't hurt you if their claims are true. But thinking you are meeting your protein goals and really only getting half as much as you need really could cost you down the line. So my advice would be to still count a serving as 15 grams for the purposes of meeting your daily goal and if you come out ahead, all the better.

You should be fine for a job interview on Monday. The main issue at that point will be fatigue, but you should have enough energy to get ready for the interview, get there, do it, then come home for a nap. Make sure you leave yourself some extra time to get ready, because you'll likely be moving a little more slowly than normal. As for gas pain and discomfort, I would say the worst of that was over for me around day 4 or 5, but still had some through the first week.

I agree with @@Threetimesacharm that compression garments are not something you want to skimp on. They are critical for proper healing long term. You can get away with budget versions of stage 2 or 3 garments (like generic Spanks), but for stage 1, you want to have something heavy and durable that is really going to hold everything together,

Definitely sounds like you should call your surgeon's office. I've known of people who are *still* experiencing nausea at 7 weeks out, but not many who develop it at 7 weeks out.

Thanks Jamie, what do used for the gas? The NP said to get gas x, but my husband just called n said walgreens said they don't carry it anymore. Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App I used GasX strips and they helped a little bit. Another thing that helped me with gas pain was marching in place. Moving around seems to really help. I bought GasX strips at Walmart, but that was pre-op for me, which was like 20 months ago. So I can't promise they still carry them.

These emotions are 100% normal. It is VERY VERY common to experience this sort of "buyer's remorse" in the early days/weeks. There are a couple of things going on here. You are tired, you are uncomfortable, your head hunger is likely making you crazy, and you are rapidly losing fat, which releases stored hormones back into your blood stream. Your energy will improve as you heal and are able to eat more and get more calories in. The pain/discomfort from the surgery should really be easing up by now. You'll eventually get a handle on the head hunger. And once your weight loss slows to a more normal, gradual rate, the hormone flush should let up as well. Just hang in there!

A lot of people don't have a pre-op diet. Every surgeon has their own plan and it's important to make sure you follow YOURS. I agree with the others that say cutting caffeine and carbs now will make it a little easier on you post-op. Going through caffeine withdrawal and entering ketosis at the same time, while dealing with the pain and discomfort post-op would not be much fun.

Definitely follow YOUR surgeon's instructions. All of his/her post-op care is going to be built around the idea that you are following their plan. If there are problems, it will be easier for the to assess what might be wrong if you are doing what THEY tell you to do. I do think that if you are struggling to drink water, you should discuss that with the surgeon, because forcing yourself to try to drink too much too fast can make things worse. It's definitely important to get in your liquids, but there can be real, physical limitations to doing so if you have excess swelling or inflammation. So that's something you should discuss if it's an issue.

Definitely get that stuff out of your house! You don't need a safety net to fall back on. Plus you are going to need the space for all your smaller, more stylish clothes!

A couple of possibilities. First, you could legitimately be hungry. How far out from surgery are you? How long are you going without eating? For me, if I don't eat every 3-4 hours, I definitely get legitimately, physically hungry. Another possibility is head hunger. If the TV your watching include commercials, I will still, to this day, see certain food commercials and thing "I NEED THAT RIGHT NOW". I can usually talk myself out of it pretty quickly when I assess how I'm really feeling, what I've already eaten that day, whether or not I am physically capable of eating whatever it is, etc. Yet another possibility is that you still associate watching TV with snacking. I know that pre-op, I had certain Snacks that I associated with certain shows. I would ALWAYS eat ice cream while watching Survivor, for instance. Or chips & dip while watching Nascar. So I had kind of a trained psychological behavior of eating snacks while watching certain things and that association didn't magically disappear when I had surgery on my stomach. Finally, it could be excess acid mimicking hunger. Most people who experience GERD experience it more in the evening or at night. So even if you don't have acid issues during the day, you might still have it at night. If the "hunger" you are feeling is stomach rumbling/growling, then this is likely the culprit.

Everything you've experienced is normal. The first few days can be rough, especially the gas. Hang in there!

Usually they want you to lose some weight to prove you will be able to stick to the post-op diet. The trick is to not lose so much weight that you no longer meet their BMI requirements.