JamieLogical

I had the same experience pre-op. I could eat MASSIVE amounts of food in one sitting. Like an entire large pizza by myself. Then pint of Ben & Jerry's right after. Now the idea makes me laugh! I'm 19 months post-op and I can eat ONE slice of pizza and the toppings (cheese and meat) off of one or two more slices at best. Definitely no ice cream after! And even when I try to eat ice cream on it's own I'd be impressed to get down half a pint! And definitely eating crap makes you want to work out less. It weighs you down instead of fueling your body. I find that the more I work out, the BETTER I want to eat and the better I eat, the more I want to work out. So it's a nice little cycle to get into. Edit: Oh and that one piece of pizza I can eat now is from a thin crust medium pizza, not a thick crust large!

An app like SparkPeople or MyFitnessPal will let you enter in the foods you eat and display all of the macro nutrients in them. From there it's just simple math: Total Carbs - Dietary Fiber = Net Carbs

Weighing daily can definitely mess with your head if you can't handle the minor weight fluctuations or if you are expecting to see a loss every time you get on the scale. For people who are immediately post-op, I would STRONGLY advise not weighing daily. I did weigh daily or almost daily while I was losing, but I only documented my weight on Monday morning and on my monthly surgiversaries. I took all the other weigh-ins with a grain of salt and didn't invest my emotions into them. Now that I am in maintenance, I weigh daily just to make sure my weight doesn't start creeping back up on me without me realizing it!

I wasn't a revision, but my surgeon suggested two weeks off post-op for my sleeve. I have a desk job. For me, the pain wasn't an issue beyond the first few days. My main issue was the fatigue. I was very very tired and drained feeling until I was able to eat more substantial foods and get more calories in. I have read posts from people who went back one week post-op and posts from people who went back four weeks post-op, but two weeks seems to be the norm.

You should ask if your surgeon is okay with you going by "net carbs" instead of just total carbs. Net carbs subtract out dietary fiber from the carb total. So if something has 5 carbs, but 2 grams of dietary fiber, the net carbs would only be 3. A lot of the carbs in vegetables come from dietary fiber, so the net carbs should still be fairly low, depending on the type of veggie.

Thank you for this post! I am sorry you have had to endure all of this, but it is awesome that you shared it. Hopefully it can spare others the same pain you are experiencing now.

GasX strips have helped some people as well. The good news is, you are almost out of the woods anyway. The gas pain doesn't usually last more than 4 or 5 days.

It's not possible for you to drink too much Water. Water moves through your sleeve almost instantaneously. It's not possible for it to "fill up" up your sleeve and cause any pressure to your suture line. The restriction that most people have post-op with water is just due to swelling. You won't have any restriction at all with liquids once you are healed. If sipping does cause you pain or make you nauseous, then obviously you want to take it slowly. But if you are able to drink with no discomfort, then drink away! It's incredibly important to stay hydrated and it will make your recovery that much smoother. You want to aim for a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day. My nutritionist said to try for 1 ounce every 15 minutes while awake in those early days post-op. But, of course, the sooner you can comfortably drink more, the better!

If you get sleeved, it will be a LONG time before you can eat two Quest bars in a sitting! I remember trying to eat my first post-op Protein Bar once I was cleared for solid foods. It took me 55 minutes to eat one bar and I finally had to give up! Of course, it gets easier to eat as you heal up and recover. So I would say around 2 months post-op, I could eat a protein bar in under 10 minutes, but even now, 19 months post-op, one is PLENTY at a time. As for eggs, it's similar. Most people are allowed eggs in their "soft food" stage post-op. My first day on soft foods I tried to eat my first scrambled egg and 45 minutes later, I was lying on the floor in pain from how full I felt with egg still left on my plate. I had to reheat it 3-4 times over those 45 minutes too! That got much easier eventually as well and now I can eat an egg with some cheese melted in and a link or two of breakfast sausage in one sitting and feel contently, but not overly full.

I don't think it would be nearly effective pre-sleeve as it is post-sleeve. When you have 100% of your stomach, you would have to eat A LOT of protein to physically fill it. Post-sleeve you can only eat maybe 3-4 oz. of dense protein at a time once you are fully healed and your stomach will be physically full and stay that was for a long while. Edit: A full-sized adult stomach can expand to hold 32 ounces! With sleeve 75-90% of your stomach is removed, including the fundus, which is the part that stretches when you eat.

I agree with the others. With only being a month out from surgery, it is likely the hormones being released back into your blood stream from your fat stores. A little further out from surgery, If you experience this, you might be "hangry". About 6 months out for me, I started turning into a mega-bi*** if I went more than 3-4 hours without eating. I didn't feel physically hungry, but I would start really snapping at people. The people around me often noticed it before I did. I was a total Snickers commercial. But instead of eating Snickers, I would eat a cheese stick or a turkey stick or something and immediately get back to normal. My husband and I went on vacation with my parents around that time and the problem with vacation is that you are out of your routine and not eating on a normal schedule. So my mom finally took to carrying around turkey sticks and little packets of peanuts in her purse, which she would force me to eat at the first signs of "hangriness".

@@Smye Definitely sounds like an adventure! It also sounds like you are approaching it with the right amount of skepticism and humor.

@@michom88 I was able to get more water in once my swelling went down around 2 weeks post-op. It was probably a couple of months before I could take multiple successive gulps of water. I don't really remember when I turned that corner. Now I drink water completely normally, but I find I do better when the water is ICE COLD. Warmer water tends to sit heavier in my stomach, if that makes any sense. PS: You might want to try diluting your juice with water. My nutritionist told me to do 50/50 water/juice in the beginning and to ween myself off of the juice entirely as quickly as possible, because ultimately you don't want to be drinking your calories.

@@FreeTheSkinny66 I called my insurance company to make sure that if anything went terribly wrong once I was back in the US (infection or leak or whatever) I would be able to go to the ER and they said yes. As for concerns about the level of care I'd receive in Mexico, I wasn't worried at all. I had actually been to Mexico for plastic surgery before and knew that excellent care was offered there. I also did a LOT of research into my surgeons and the surgical centers they practiced out of ahead of time (for both my plastics and my sleeve). I also discussed it extensively with my PCP ahead of time and arranged for her to handle my follow-up blood work and such (all of which was covered by my insurance).

I lived for Shelly's Baked Ricotta during my puree phase. It was like eating real food! She also has several other good recipes on this page: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

My insurance wouldn't cover my WLS at all. I didn't have a documented 5 year history of a BMI over 40, because I had naively attempted to lose weight on my own a few years earlier, dropped 90 pound, and had JUST crept back up over a 40 BMI when I began pursuing surgery. I felt like they were punishing me for at least having TRIED to lose weight without surgery. My options were self-pay or to stay fat another 4-5 years to qualify. I decided to self-pay in Mexico and it worked out great! I didn't have to jump through all the hoops. I was able to schedule the surgery on my own time-line. I got to have a world renowned surgeon instead of whatever local surgeon was in network. You might consider that route if it's looking like your insurance isn't going to work for you. My specific surgeon was out of the price range you said you could afford right now, but you could either save up a little or consider other surgeons. I know BariatricPal is now affiliated with several surgeons in Mexico and offer decent pricing to BariatricPal members.

You will likely lose more quickly with bypass than with sleeve. But there is no limit to how much you can lose with either, as long as you use the tool correctly and follow the plan.

Really need to know if/when you had surgery to offer any advice.

My question is, how long does it restrict how much you can eat? Is it 30 minutes? An hour? Getting under 400 pounds will get me close to a BMI of 50 and then my insurance will require me to pay for weight watchers which I know will be a farce. I think around 380 is when I start to hit 50 BMI. As I said, the restriction is very dependent on WHAT you eat. Post-sleeve Protein will fill your sleeve longer than slider foods. If you eat slider foods, you can continue eating or eat again right away, because they pass into your intestines quickly. If you eat dense protein, it takes a long time for your stomach to break down and pass into your intestines, so you feel fuller longer. After I eat a high protein "meal" post-sleeve, it's usually a good 45 minutes before I can even drink Water I feel so full still.

That's why I'm waiting until the local running season is pretty much over before having the surgery. I know I won't be doing any half marathons for a while post-op! I would much rather take it slow and ensure that I heal fully. I don't want to feel any kind of pressure to get back to running in order to train for an upcoming race or anything. If I have the surgery in September, I probably wouldn't be looking to do my first race until April... maybe start seriously training for that in January... so that would give me a good three full months before I would feel like I really NEEDED to get back to running. How long did you take off of work? My surgeon said three weeks, but I'm planning on four.

Yeah, that was a big factor for me. I am training for a half marathon and the chest strap was causing me chafing on my long runs, so I wanted something that measured heart rate through the wrist, but I was worried about the accuracy. In my research I found out that FitBit had been working hard on this optical heart rate technology. But I was still pretty skeptical. I was surprised to see how close they actually were when I started working out wearing both the FitBit and the chest strap. I think the FitBit is more affected by movement, but I figured out that if I wore it tight and higher on my arm, it was pretty much dead on. If I wore it a little looser and down by my wrist bone, it was less accurate. There does seem to be an issue still with it on my long runs, once I have fluids pooling in my extremities after an hour plus of running. I was doing a 9 mile run/walk last weekend and towards the end I noticed that during my run intervals, my heart rate wasn't going as high as normal and during my walk intervals my heart rate wasn't going as low as normal. Usually I peak in the 160s and get down into like the 140s once I'm well into a run. But for the last few intervals of my 9 mile, the heart rate reading was staying in the 150s. The higher 150s for the run part and the lower 150s for the walk, but that didn't seem right. Unfortunately, I wasn't wearing my chest strap HRM at that point to compare, because the whole idea of getting the Blaze was to not have to wear my chest strap on my long runs anymore. Still, in general, I have found the heart rate function and the calorie burn calculation to be pretty accurate and I am going to keep using it. If there is a small window of time, late into my long runs once a week, where it isn't perfect, I can overlook that.

@@Eshadowgirl Definitely post back here and let us know how it goes with your surgeon today.

@@Bufflehead Protein bars can definitely be a part of your successful post-op life as long as you choose low carb options. For some people they are a "trigger" food and cause cravings for sweets or people abuse them by eating too many thinking they are fine to eat in excess because they are so high in protein. But if you are rational and smart about it, there is no reason you can't incorporate them into your daily routine post-op. I have one for breakfast every day and often have them as snacks.I prefer them to shakes, because they make me feel fuller longer. They haven't caused me any issues at all. They are just one more option for me to get my 16-20 grams of protein in per "feeding".

Whether or not you stay "full feeling" with the sleeve, depends a lot on what you eat. If you eat high Protein meals and Snacks, they will make you feel fuller longer. If you eat "slider" foods, like chips, ice cream, Cookies, cake, or anything that is easily digested, it will pass through your stomach more quickly and you won't feel full. Imagine anything that is liquidy or anything that would start dissolving on its own in a glass of Water. Those are the sorts of foods that you can eat a lot of without feeling full. How many calories you can/will eat depend on a lot of factors. Immediately post-op, you will only be able to eat maybe 450 calories a day, because you you be subsisting primarily on Protein shakes. Once you are able to move onto more solid foods, you will likely be able to get your calories up over 1000 in the first 3-4 months. As you increase your activity level, you are going to want to try to get your calories up higher. During most of my weight loss months I was doing cardio 5 days a week and eating about 1200-1400 calories a day. Now I am in maintenance and training for a half marathon. I have to eat about 2300 calories a day to not lose weight. But that's because I am burning a lot of calories with my half marathon training. On a "rest" day, I only need about 1900 calories.

For the first couple of days I had my Blaze, I would actually count my steps in my head as I went for a 15 minute walk and then compare my count with the count on the Blaze and they were pretty close. Not exact, but close enough for me. Does it really matter if I get 10,000 steps in a day or 9,980? Not really. I'm not using it as a $200 pedometer anyway. I was more interested in the heart rate monitor functionality and the daily calorie burn calculation. After all, two days a week I bike for cardio and it doesn't count 13.2 miles as even one single step. And when I run a step while running counts the same as a step while walking, despite expending more energy. So a step count is NOT an accurate gauge of my activity level.