JamieLogical

Your fiance should receive specific guidelines about what to eat when post-op. So let that be your primary guide. Once he/she is past the liquid stages, there are some great recipes here: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Yayayay! Looks like you're crushing it!

As @@Bufflehead said. The Week 3 Stall happens to almost every single person who has WLS. It is completely normal. Sometimes it happens at 2 weeks and sometimes it happens at 4 weeks, but we almost all go through some sort of stall around that time. And also, you will continue to have stalls throughout this process. It's a normal facet of all weight loss, not just those who have surgery. Your body will often put the brakes on and say "hey wait a second" and take a little time to catch up. During those times, it's nice to be able to take measurements, since you will often be losing inches even when you aren't losing pounds. So if the numbers on the scale are likely to drive you crazy, I HIGHLY recommend measuring your arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs, etc. once a month or so.

Proton pump inhibitor. It reduced the creation of stomach acid. Without it I get reflux and heartburn.

I fully understand what "drinking your calories" means. I am very happily maintaining where I am and have no issues getting my 100 grams of protein in per day. For me, bars are preferable to shakes. They keep me fuller longer and if the processing and chemicals in them is doing me any harm, it's not showing up in any of my labs, effecting my workouts, or causing me to gain weight, so I am perfectly happy with them. I'm certainly eating far fewer heavily processed foods than I was pre-op!

I don't see why you'd be limited to 1000 calories if you are exercising regularly. That's a recipe for starvation mode if ever there was one. I doubt coffee has any bearing on your weight loss. I drink 3 cups a day and got to goal and I'm maintaining just fine. I do take a PPI every day though.

Definitely no comparison. on a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is the pain of childbirth, sleeve is like a negative seven.

@@BobbyD I love how EVERYONE seems to know someone who knows someone who failed miserably with WLS or had terrible complications. You never get "oh, I know someone else who had that and they are doing great!". I wonder why that is. In my own, real personal experience, everyone I know who has had WLS has bee very successful. Makes me wonder if the people who have successful WLS are good at hiding it so people never actually know they are success stories. Whereas the people who fail or have complications end up making a big spectacle of it?

I'm still over a "healthy" BMI for my height, but I don't want to drop a single pound. In fact, I'm already 6 pounds below goal and struggling to eat enough calories to stop losing. My body fat percentage is only 21. That is a FAR more important number to me than weight or BMI and it was to my nutritionist as well. She wanted me to get below 25% and here I am at 21%, training for a half marathon! Blew that goal out of the water! Who cares about some arbitrary chart that doesn't take body composition into account or some completely meaningless one dimensional number on a scale?!?!

Everything you are going through right now is 100% normal. Almost every single one of us has these last minute doubts. Remember that the risk of complications with sleeve surgery is EXTREMELY low. Ultimately you will be giving your son a better life. You will be able to do more with him. You will be able to set a better example. And you will live to see him grow into a man, graduate, and start a life of his own. It will be so worth it in the end!!!

It will get easier. The first few days are the worst The first couple weeks are challenging. But in a month or two you will feel like a human again. For your water intake, try getting in one ounce ever 15 minutes that you are awake. Take TINY sips. And try marching in place while sipping. That actually helped me.

Would you hesitate to get knee replacement if you needed it? The mortality rate for WLS is lower than knee replacement.

I take the Vitaleph Bariatric multi-vitamins my surgeon recommended still at 18 months post-op. I have never had any issues swallowing or digesting them and my labs always come back perfect.

What is your daily Protein goal and are you meeting it? Are you getting all your Water in? 800 calories a day seems too low for 7 months out and at your activity level, but I'm very curious about your protein intake.

@@ssflbelle I was told to stop drinking my protein as early as possible too. Mostly because drinking calories is a no-no in general and also the shakes don't keep you full as long as solid food. I switched to protein bars once I was allowed solid foods. You just have to be very careful when choosing protein bars because many can be high in carbs and/or saturated fat. I still rely on protein bars to meet my protein goals at 18 months post-op, mostly for the convenience factor. Ideally I would get my protein through less processed foods, but that's just not feasible in my real life. You have to figure out what works for you and sustainable over time. Many people still drink 1-2 protein shakes a day a couple years out for the same reason. Ultimately, while it's important to adhere to your nutritionist's and surgeon's guidelines in the early stages so you can full heal and develop new healthy habits, you are the one who has to be able to live the rest of your life.

Thanks for that. I read the whole thing and didn't really find a solution to my problem. It basically suggests in the end that you might have to double-up on compression bras, which is what I do. I will definitely try some anti-chafing creams or whatnot moving forward.I hear the tape trick works. I use body glide elsewhere on occasion. Is your bra moisture wicking? That helps. And making sure it fits properly (tight enough) so your nipples don't move against the fabric. I use moving comfort (Juno or rebound racer) or shock absorber run bra. There's no friction because they don't move at all! I have a Moving Comfort Juno bra and I hate it. It's so stiff and bulky. Plus now it's a little too large on me. The compression bras that I'm doubling up on now are moisture wicking, but I think the fact that I'm doubling up means the one on the inside isn't able to wick effectively. I don't FEEL it rubbing at all as I run, but after my long run on Saturday, there was definite nipple chafing on my right breast, so I will need to figure out how to prevent that moving forward. I put Neosporin and gauze on it the rest of the day Saturday and well into Sunday and it feels better now at least. My short run last night only seemed to irritate it a tiny bit, nothing near as bad as Saturday.

What do you mean by "torn something inside by eating wrong"? How far post-op are you? What have you eaten that has you thinking you did serious damage? I think if you had actually managed to tear our stomach open somehow, you'd be in the hospital or dead....

Thanks for that. I read the whole thing and didn't really find a solution to my problem. It basically suggests in the end that you might have to double-up on compression bras, which is what I do. I will definitely try some anti-chafing creams or whatnot moving forward.

I lost 24 pounds from the time I began the process (July 7, 2014) to the time I had my surgery (Sept. 1, 2014). I did it by tracking my food on SparkPeople and exercising daily. I lost about 14 of those pounds just through food tracking and exercise. The last 10 I lost on the two week pre-op liquid diet.

The pre-op is brutal for sure. Post-op is challenging too, but in a very different way. On the pre-op you are having to live your normal life on very few calories and it's exhausting. You have to go to work/school every day, take care of family/kids/house, and you still have 100% of your stomach. Plus you are processing and handling all the stress and anxiety around the surgery itself. Post-op is no picnic either, but it's a very different kind of struggle. No matter how you slice it, the next month or two is going to be ROUGH. You will deal with a lot of discomfort, a lot of fatigue, and a LOT of emotions. Hang in there!

You should work on that. There are much more dire consequences to nutrient deficiencies than just hair loss...

I told my husband, my family (parents/siblings who told aunts), my husband's family (parents/siblings/nieces/nephews), and two coworkers initially. I've since told a few more people and I wouldn't lie if anyone asked, but most people don't ask. I have lost large amounts of weight several times in the past, so I think no one would suspect I did anything different this time around until I managed to maintain for a significant period of time. Personally, I kind of wish more people WOULD ask or I could work it into conversation naturally, because I am so happy with my decision and it has worked out so well for me, I wish I could kind of be a walking billboard for WLS. I think society as a whole would benefit from more people being open and honest about their WLS. There are so many misconceptions.

Either lock up the food, don't keep it in the house, or try to get off the ambien.

Definitely curious for a lot more detail on what you are eating and what your activity level is.

@@ssflbelle Like Ann said, if you are meeting your protein goals, then carbs should fall into place on their own. I was never given a carb or calorie range by my nutritionist. Just a protein goal of 100 grams a day. I found that meeting that goal didn't leave much room for anything else. However, if you are particularly sensitive to carbs, you might have to be more mindful.