kcadoret

Good on you! You're stronger than I

Thank you for writing what you did @@armywife79, it has really resonated with me, as has all the posts on this thread. Pre surgery I struggled with physical hunger but post surgery I'm struggling much more mentally. We can do this folks! We're strong

That sounds like a most fun way to celebrate @@rhodywoman!! Congratulations on the milestone and enjoy this and your future new experiences

Hi @@pingram11 Yes I had rny done on March 26th and beside the one time I forgot and gulped Water I've felt nothing from my new guts! I've tried a few things I shouldn't have (including a crouton and bite of pizza) and have had no ill effects, I've been able to eat 1/2 cup of food at a time. I was really looking forward to the added tool of dumping syndrome to regulate what and how much I ate, but with the way things are going I don't think I'll be experiencing that It's a catch 22 I suppose!

I've been finding the head hunger the hardest part of post op recovery. I am two weeks out and nothing I have eaten yet had given me any trouble, but it's also given me a false sense of security. Last night my head hunger was maddening so I had 2 tbsp of Cheerios in milk. It was so good, I wanted so badly to gorge myself on a regular bowl like I use to. And don't get me started on the temptress that is shwarmas....

I'd also like to know if there are any solutions, mine's going gang busters..... I think @@Mrs.RRn put it perfectly it's irregular/ADD/BiPolar

I hear ya @@This New Kim! My period won't quit! I've been on bcp for 12 years and for the first time ever got it a week early while doing my pre op liquid diet. I got it again a week later (a few days post op) and it's going on two weeks! Not entirely ecstatic about this hormone/period side effect of rapid weight loss

I love this style of video

Thanks for the tip Inner Surfer Girl! That looks delicious, if not a bit expensive...

Personally I need 100-120 grams a day so I have my protein set at 40% My only fustration with the app is that it is not easier to see see my protein count throughout the day. Id like the option to replace the calorie count with protein. #firstworldproblems lol

It varies widely between individuals due to a number of factors including genetics, sun exposure, age, skin elasticity, toning regime.... Someone of the same age, height and weight may have very different results in terms of excess skin.

I hope the rest of your family is as supportive as this one @tintin. From my experience everyone that I told about the surgery was supportive, but reading about some people's experiences on here I realize it isn't always so positive. I hope you have a wonderful Easter even with the Optifast at your side

I've been eating Greek yogurt and cottage cheese for two days. Today I tried a scrambled egg after some debate (my list of allowable food says scrambled eggs, and does not mention needing to purée them further). I took small bites and chewed carefully, so far so good! As you mentioned @@Djmohr pureeing things like meat and even vegetables sounds like a no win situation. Reading the details of my diet it sounds like once I'm able to eat 1/2 cup of food for each of my 5 'meals' I can move onto adding soft foods 1-2 tbsp at at time! I don't want to rush anything but at the time time I'm only eating 3 foods so I don't see this purée stage lasting longer than this weekend.

The liquid diet before surgery is (to me) the hardest part! If you make it through this you can handle this surgery. All of us who have gone through the process of deciding on and being accepted for the surgery know that this is what we want/need and can make it through the liquid diet. Personally my 3 week long optifast diet was the hardest ongoing thing I've ever done, but one week out from surgery the challenges are different but (to me) more manageable. Have faith in the strength you have and drink water like there's no tomorrow You can do this!!

For what ever reason I'm nervous to add protein powder to my yogurt. It's one of the few things I'm eating right now and I don't want to go off it!

I think so! I work with babies and we use a food processor to process food for those that can't eat solids. I think the key is the purée stage is that nothing is big enough to get stuck. If your machine processed foods into pieces smaller than a grain of rice and you are chewing well it should be fine! My list for this stage includes cottage cheese and that has small pieces that I breakdown before swallowing.

I'm a week out (March 26) and found that this constant sipping to get in my fluids makes me feel like a fish! And if I should take a nap... There goes 2 hours of protein drink or water sipping time and it dramatically cuts down on my ability to meet my goals. We should have t-shirts with Dory the fish on it saying 'just keep sipping'

No I continued it.

@@anewme15 how are you doing? That's really exciting to hear @@Tintin ! Keep up the great work! I'm a week post op and don't think I could be doing any better. I'm going for 10 minute walks throughout the day and am off all pain meds. Yogurt and cottage cheese have never before brought so much joy into my life, hooray for starting food again!

Working towards them is what counts!

I've never heard of a protein limit so low! I need to get 120 grams a day because of my height. The nurse just told me that post op it's basically impossible to get too much liquid so not to worry about how much you're consuming at a time. The main concern is not becoming dehydrated.

I have creamed soups on my list of allowables too with the only mention being to make it with skim milk so I think it's ok!

I can't imagine only drinking 1 oz every 15 minutes at this point! As I was discharged the Dr said I could do 100ml an hour and slowly increase that. A friend who had the surgery and is a Dr told me that at this stage the swelling causes fluids to rush right through us, and that if you still have a lot of gas it can make it hard to drink more than an ounce at a time. Right now I'm able to drink about 259ml in a sitting, now I'm scared that that's too much! Eep I'm going to ask at my one week follow up tomorrow. I don't want to stretch anything!

I know exactly what you mean Skc72! I wish I could stomach beans but just looking at them makes me want to gag and that makes these incision hurt like nobody's business!

I'm nervous about the puréed stage. I have huge issues with texture and while I had hoped it may resolve its self somewhat over the month of liquid only it doesn't seem to have made much difference. I fear I'll be living off yogurts and cottage cheese for protein before I progress to the soft food stage. Good luck to us!