FocusOnMeNow

You will be eating like a "normal" skinny person soon. Just take a few bites of sandwich or salad to tide you over till then. Honestly I thought I would pizza the most, but I don't. I just make it with cauliflower crust now. What I miss the most is salad and it is so fibrous and filling that it's still the hardest thing to eat. So what do I do? I occasionally go to Whole foods salad bar and get the tiniest ever salad. Or go to chopped and get a finely chopped salad that takes me 3-4 days to eat. Be careful with the bread in the sandwich tho. I did have a "mini-croissant" once and I thought I was going to fall asleep. I had not had any carbs in so long I nearly went into a coma;-)

100 g sounds like a lot but it depends on how much you weigh and how active you are. But it's not only protein. It's other nutrients and also just the surgery itself is like a shock to the system that doesn't really show up till 3 months later.

My doctor and nut were actually pretty scary in what they told me to be prepared for pre-op. And then post-op they were a lot more liberal. I think they just wanted to make sure that you were really prepared. Also keep in mind that instructions differ based on issues they have experienced with their own patient population. If you are having gastric sleeve for instance it might depend on if you also have to have a hernia repair etc. I looked up printed and read the sleeve pre and post op guidelines from the Brigham (Harvard) before I went in for my first consult. Nonetheless I did try to follow MY DOCTORS advice because he knew my case and his technique and outcomes better than anyone. So go with what your Dr says:-)

Love the protein bars chucked the protein chips. Good idea but REALLY tasted like cardboard.

Premier protein shakes: at least 18 of every flavor. Pre-op I only liked chocolate, post-op I couldn't phathom anything but vanilla. I'm 7.5 months out and still have a vanilla every morning. Vitamin Water Zero Orange Rise is the bomb. I bought 48 pre-op and I still drink these. If there is a whole foods near you they have "Bone Broth" and "Bone Stock" in both chicken and turkey flavors. They even have 8oz containers of it. And these "bone" broths have 9-14 g of protein for 8oz. You will get sick of sweet shakes so having something salty is a god send. Also Dannon Greek light and Fit Yogurt in Strawberry Cheesecake was also a god send and I was allowed to eat yogurt on my Drs version of "full liquids".

I recommend bacon. No joke. I had a major stall and started adding some very high fat whole foods like nitrate free bacon, avocados, cashews (easy on the cashews). And guess what? The more bacon I eat the more weight I lose. No clue how you can work in a bakery. Sounds like an occupational hazard to me. And I completely agree that if you are working out 5-7 days a week don't have only half a protein bar at a time. Eat the whole thing! And 2-3 bacon slices;-) Ok not all at the same time but in all seriousness you might want to aim for more like 80 g of protein and a serious helping of fat to fuel your workouts.

I think my actual shoe size is the same but as my feet got fatter they stretched my shoes out most of which flip flop now;-)

I am what I am I tell anyone who asks and I own it. Best thing I ever did for myself and I'm so proud. Anyone who isn't can go to heck;-) I meant anyone who's not proud of me not anyone who isn't proud sorry for the typo

Bariatric Advantage are the very best. Start taking them now for your May surgery and start taking an iron and calcium supplement as well but don't take them together because they each block each other's absorption. Might also want to start taking a biotin supplement for your hair and D3 too

Congratulations I just made it there myself earlier this week. We welcome you with open arms:-)

Increase your protein and take 10 mg of biotin daily (that's 10,000 mcg). Low iron is also a major reason for hair loss. Get your levels checked and take an iron supplement 2-3 hours before and after any calcium supplement or dairy. Finally take it easy with the hair dye. I also dye my hair and when the baby fine hairs start to grow back you don't want to disintegrate it with too many chemicals. Look into trying Demi permanent dye instaeD of permanent and/or doing your roots every 8-10 weeks instead of every 6 weeks etc depending on what your usual interval is. And/or think about highlights maybe instead of all I've color. I have tried all of the above and my hair is longer now than it was before surgery. I am about 7.5 months out

I'm 7.5 months post op. I eat about a cup (8oz) of food. Depending on what it is sometimes I cannot eat the whole cup right away. But I am no longer into speed eating. My nut and my dr say I'm right on track. But as above poster mentioned everyone's different and you should consult with your dr Obviously 8oz of soup is quite doable, while 8 oz of chicken is quite impossible;-)

Get rid of that extra baggage. Honestly I threw a lot of stuff out. I would have set it on fire if I could have. Some of the nicer clothes and suits I am donating to "dress for success" or a women's shelter. Get rid of the clothes. Make room in your closet and in your life for new things. Get rid of the old baggage and do not let it hold you back. NEVER GO BACK!!! And if you have trouble letting go of that stuff or letting go of your past find a therapist or support group or OA or all three and set yourself free...like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly...FLY and let go of all the dead weight in your life[emoji4]

So sip liquids every 4-5 minutes instead of every 15

Refried beans, yum yum. Purées vegetables with the skins on. And Quest protein bars have some awesome fiber like 17g I think.

Uh you feel like you're being stabbed because in fact you were stabbed there and yes you have to be VERY Careful getting up sitting down etc and rely on your arm strength rather than your abs to do that for several weeks. Liquid Tylenol helps, do NOT lift ANYTHING. If the pain gets worse instead of a little bit better each day then call your Dr ASAP because it could be a sign that you have pulled your incision or it's getting infected. Otherwise take care of yourself and don't overdo it. You just had major surgery, and yes it is going to take time to heal.

Premier protein vanilla is my go to coffee creamer every morning

Post op I was anything but hungry. I'm 7.5 months out now and if I find myself hungry it's usually because I have had too many carbs earlier in the day.

My doctor said no caffeine for 8 weeks and no alcohol for at least a year. Believe me it was at least 12 weeks before I could even consider coffee. And even then only diluted with quite a bit of vanilla protein shake. Alcohol was also tough. I wouldn't even try it till about 3 months out as well. And even then like 1/2 a glass. 2 glasses of wine and I get pretty lit. Just be careful because it hits you a lot harder than it used to. Lots of bariatric patients develop a cross over addiction to alcohol. It's easy to overdo it because we have lost the main crutch that we used to stuff our feelings with (food). So it's important to try try try to learn "healthier" ways to deal with stress. My ex just moved in with my one of my best "friends" two doors down. And I really tied one on over at a girlfriends. It was a one time incident but I cannot let it become a habit. I'm going to move but in the meantime I have to learn to deal. Also I never ever ever drink alone.

Ok so are you taking liquid Tylenol for all this pain? And if so what's the dose? And are you still not lifting ANYTHING? I was told not to even lift a gallon of milk for the first 8 weeks and I didn't. I only would lift a half gallon at a time and even that was taxing, and I could feel it pulling my incisions. So I mostly had groceries delivered or neighbors help me bring stuff in. Even just washing out my glass blender was a strain because it was so heavy. So if you want to heal do not lift anything. If you still need to take opiates for pain 2 weeks out (you should not need to). Then you need to really have your doctor check your incisions to see if you have ripped any stitches, really need to look for any signs of infection (swelling, redness, etc). And really need to only take pain meds at night for a few days so you can sleep. I did not take a single narcotic since I woke up from sugery. Had iv Tylenol then liquid Tylenol when I was discharged home. Good luck and take care of yourself. You just had major surgery so take it easy.

Agree with the other posters. After all those shakes I craved veggies so I got some divine green juice that was very expensive and only 50 calories. When I saw a hamburger and fries on a fast food commercial it made me nauseous. I love my sleeve. My sleeve was very "picky" in the beginning and would only tolerate very healthy food. Now I can eat just about anything just not too much of it. I'm 7.5 months out and still have not been to a single fast food joint and don't plan to ingest those nasty chemicals again ever. I definitely have picked a French fry or two off of a friends plate at a restaurant tho. And I do eat "paleo" which includes potatoes. I have even had some Amy's organic pizza, but opted last night to make my own with cauliflower crust instead. I drink vitamin water zero every day and accidentally got a sugary one instead. I took one sip and spit it out because it tastes DISGUSTING. Like for real I thought holy crap what's the expiration date on this thing it tastes horrible. Then after I parting the bottle looking for an expiration date I realized my mistake and was like wow. That being said I can tolerate small amounts of dark chocolate now and the occasional treat. Just enjoy this time and your new taste buds. I make nearly everything I eat now from scratch, because that's what my sleeve wants and the sleeve gets what she wants. I take very good care of her and she takes good care of me;-)

Walking really will help. I couldn't sleep on my side for like 6-8 weeks.

And of course most importantly... Call ur doctor and let them know in case it's something else.

Are you still taking pain meds? I believe those can cause itching. If you are 12 days out liquid Tylenol should more than do it for you. Good luck!

@@VSGAnn2014 I did not mean to get off topic. I just meant to consider other changes in your life (besides weight loss surgery). It could be that your friends are really proud of you and trying to be supportive (quite likely), in which case you have a lot more work to do on being comfortable and accepting of yourself and your accomplishments (including weight loss) and comfortable in your own skin. OR it could be that they just aren't really your friends after all (that was obviously the case with that particular "friend" of mine). Either way it does not hurt to meet new people and make new friends.