miiasan

Congrats and good luck!

@@hildalila I do not drink Protein shakes anymore - am 11 months out from surgery. It is hard to find a Protein shake that both doesn't have whey in it and that tastes good. I tried quite a few...In the end, I stayed with Premier Protein and got myself off as quickly as I could once I started being able to eat other foods. I remember that once I could eat pureed foods, I ate a lot of Beans, pureed chicken with broth, and drank FairLife Milk. Fairlife has more protein than regular milk - less sugar - tastes great (I am also lactose intolerant). Now, I eat Protein Bars once in a while - I love the ones with whey, but they do not love me. I recently found No Cow protein bars made with pea and brown rice protein. They are not as yummy, but I tolerate them really well. My favorite is the raspberry truffle. Hang in there! When you can eat other foods, be creative - Some people drink protein Water - but since I have not tried it, I don't know if it has whey protein in it. As I said, there are alternatives - brown rice and pea Protein Shakes. It wouldn't hurt to try them - you might like them. Again...hang in there - this relying on protein shakes doesn't have to last forever!

I had a white coating on my tongue and my sense of smell was really bad. Although it started before surgery when I was on the liquid diet, it really got bad after surgery. For me, it was the whey Protein. Once I was able to get off those shakes and eat other foods, everything went back to normal. I still cannot tolerate whey protein; if I eat a Protein Bar with whey in it two days in a row, the same thing starts happening again. In the meantime, (until I could wean myself off the shakes) I rinsed out my mouth with biotine several times a day. It helped. It wouldn't hurt to have your doctor check it out just in case it is thrush - mine was not. Good luck!!

I think 'goal weight' depends on a lot of factors. Before surgery, I set my goal weight at 150. I am 5' 6" tall, 60 yrs old, and at my thinnest (when I was 21) I was 130. When I got to around 165, my surgeon told me not to go below 159 as he said that 'for a woman my age...' 159 would be perfect. I told him that I was not going to go through all of this and not reach what is considered to be a healthy BMI - so I compromised with him to 155. Having said all of that, though, I can see that if I get too much thinner I will begin to look gaunt. Therefore I strive to keep my weight between 155 and 159. That works well for me. I think I was at my goal weight around 7 months after surgery and have now been in maintenance for four months. As some other posters have said, your body will find the weight that is best for you. The important thing is that you are healthy - look good and feel good about what you have accomplished. Numbers are good for guidelines, but I think that being tied to an unrealistic number can be harmful. Good luck on your journey...

I regained most of my energy (I am 60) around week 6. My full energy did not come back until a couple months later. This was even though I followed my surgeon's and NUT's plan to a T and got exercise every day. My surgeon told me that some people's body just takes a little longer to 'wake up' after anesthesia. Anyway, my energy did eventually come back and at about a year out, I am able to exercise 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day without wearing out. If you are concerned, you can always call your office and ask; I am sure they would be glad to hear from you - or bring it up at your 6 week check up (that is what I did). Take care of yourself and good luck in your journey!!

The crushed ice is a good idea so that you can get some fluids in, but you should call your surgeon's office and let them know that you are suffering from nausea. Although everything might be okay, it is best to have them check you out - or at least give you guidelines as to when to go see them. Your number one priority right now is to keep from getting dehydrated. Sometimes that in itself can cause nausea. I had a lot of problems drinking Water after surgery and drank Powerade zero for awhile. I tolerated it better and it has electrolytes in it. I think G2 is another like powerade zero. Anyway, get a call in to your surgeon's office. I hope everything resolves itself soon.

You might have become lactose intolerant; I, and many other folks do....I drink Fair Life milk - it is lactose free and has less sugar and more Protein than regular milk. You can find it at practically any grocer now. It is more expensive than milk - but tastes great! I do not tolerate fat well at all - one bite of a fatty piece of meat, for instance, will make me so sick I cannot eat for hours. I also have a short list of foods that I can no longer tolerate (such as eggs). I try them out every few months to see if my body likes them any better - lol - but the short list of foods that I cannot tolerate is a small price to pay. I generally do not drink anything to sweeten my Water, but when I do have found that I like some better than others; you might just want to try different things. Your sense of taste has probably changed. You are still not far out from the surgery. Remember to try new things slowly so that you are gentle on your stomach. Good Luck!!

Since shakes and I don't get along, I weaned myself off them as early as I could. I prefer to eat my nutrition - although I do occasionally drink a low sodium V-8 to boost my veggie intake and carry a protein bar with me to eat if I find myself in a situation that there are no healthy alternatives.

I started with walking the track and Water aerobics. You are right - just getting to the gym can be the hardest thing and it is easy to talk myself out of it. I force myself to go because 1) I know it is good for me and 2)I always feel so wonderful after exercising!! You might want to get an exercising partner. You don't necessarily have to do all the same things at the gym, but meeting there and doing some things together can increase both of your accountability. I have been exercising at the gym for over a year and a half. I can tell you that I can just as easily convince myself to stay home today as I could when I first started. At first, I merely kept my weight loss goal and the need to get fit constantly before me. When I got to goal, I needed to find other motivation. That is when I started meeting a friend at the gym. As I said earlier - I really feel great after exercising!! Tired, but great! Find something that motivates you.... the rewards are awesome!

Oh, the soreness around the shoulders is from the air they pumped in you to do the surgery. Just keep walking - it will work its way out and one day you will suddenly realize that it is gone...

Hi. I was pretty much like that after surgery - not ever feeling full after my 'sips'. Right around the 2 week mark after my surgery I suddenly felt my 'full' feeling for the first time. It hasn't left to this day. I think sometimes it just takes a while for our stomachs to 'wake up'. That is probably what is happening to you. In the meantime, just be sure to follow your doctor's instructions so you don't unintentionally do harm to your new stomach. Congrats on having the surgery and good luck on your journey!

I used a charge HR for a year and a half while losing weight. It was great - with 3 exceptions. The first was that it was not always accurate. I found that when I practiced the organ or piano it added 'steps' even though I was sitting pretty still. I think it must take into account arm movement. The second problem I had was that I had to recharge it every 3 days and often forgot to put it back on the next morning before I left the house. The third was that although the HR part of it was great overall - I saw my heart rate drop significantly over the months as I got healthier - it, too, was sometimes not completely accurate. One example of this was when I was walking. If my arms were swinging at my sides my heart rate was a lot lower than if I walked with my arms bent and at heart level.. I am talking about sometimes a variance of 30 points. I had the first generation of the charge HR. Quite possibly those problems have been fixed on the newer generations. Having said all that, though, the charge HR was invaluable to get me moving and to help keep me accountable throughout my weight loss. I now have the fitbit zip - which I keep clipped to my waistband. It is far more accurate. Instead of using only the fitbit app, I have linked it to myfitnesspal.com because the calories in / out are more realistic for where I am and it seems to work much better for me now that I am maintaining my weight.

Stalls are pretty normal and you have progressed pretty far before having one. Stalls give our bodies a chance to catch up with our weight loss. I bet you are still losing inches.... Don't worry about the stall. As long as your are keeping to your plan, it will eventually break. Along the way I had plenty of stalls - some as long as 5 weeks! I still got to my goal in less than 8 months and am now in maintenance. I don't know if you have seen your nutritionist in a while, but my last stall was broken by simply adding more calories. I was only eating 800 and my NUT bumped that up to 1200 and gave me ways to get there eating in a healthy way. Now, I am slowly working my way up to 1600 calories - which should keep me at my current weight. Anyway, don't sweat the stall - you have come a long way towards your goal. Let your body catch up and be patient; it will happen. Good Luck!!

What you did WAS a great accomplishment and I am sorry that your friend did not react more appropriately in the way your accomplishment deserved. No one can approach or understand your accomplishment more than you, though. Forget about her reaction and plan a reward for yourself. Be lavish - you deserve it.

my weight loss went slow and steady - about 10 lbs a month. I usually lost the 10 lbs then had a huge stall. Everyone is different, so don't stress. The important thing is to follow your guidelines and it will happen. You will get to your goal. Also remember that a lot of times when the scale is not moving that you are losing inches. My point is - everyone loses at a different rate. I think that as long as we are eating our protein, drinking our fluids and exercising - we just need to let our bodies do their thing. It WILL happen. Good luck!

Hope all is well. Let us know how you are doing.

Good luck to all of you from someone who was in a group like this last October! It was invaluable to me to have a lot of us going through the same things at the same time. 10 months later and I am at goal - this will become your stories, too. Again, best wishes to each and every one of you. Just keep your eye on the goal; it is well worth it!

Oh, realized that I am much farther out than you are - so I can drink a lot faster - but I started this routine pretty early out - and eat 5 times a day, so it is possible. It just takes a lot of planning for the day. Also, my NUT had me move to 800 calories around month 4, 1000 at month 6 and 1200 at month 8 - that is where I am at now. She wants me to move to 1600 calories for maintenance - which for me will start soon.

you need to get in at least 64 oz water a day. I have some of the same problems with drinking throughout the day that you do, so I make sure I start the day with 32 oz. of fluids (early, early morning) and then try for 20 oz. in the afternoon and 16 oz or so in the evening. It is not a perfect system by any means, but getting the 32 oz. in first thing in the morning really helps me from getting behind for the day. Nothing worse than getting home late in the day and realize that I have had only 20 oz fluids lol. Fluids are key to both body function and weight loss.

yes, what she said...I went through MANY stalls; in fact, I usually would only lose 10 lbs at a stretch before having a long stall. Don't worry about the stalls. I think some of our bodies just need more adjustment time along the way. It is hard not to want to compare your weight loss with others who had surgery around the same time, but each person's body is different. The best I can do is assure you that if you follow the plan - get plenty of fluids, protein and slowly work up the amount of exercise you can accomplish - that you will have awesome results. Hang in there and good luck!

Congrats on your journey thus far. Be sure to do everything the doctor and nutritionist tell you and all will go well. You know the drill - sip, sip, sip those fluids and protein - and walk as much as you can. You are on your way to breat things! great - lol - early morning

get some gatorade G2 or Powerade zero to help keep your electrolytes balance and be sure to get 60 ounces of fluids in per day - that is vital - all the time from here on out - but especially at the beginning when so many changes are going on. I drank powerade zero through the first month because my stomach had a hard time with accepting plain water. Eventually that got better....it all does - so hang in there - take care of yourself - each day will get easier.

great - and it will only get better from here - don't overdo it the first two weeks - allow your body to heal - follow your doctor's instructions on exercise, etc. Walk, walk, walk - sip, sip, sip

I hear you - one of the things I do now is make sure I am really busy in the evening. That is the most dangerous time to want to snack and I find if I am working on a project - especially one that occupies my hands - the evening passes by quickly and I manage to get through it without grazing. I have an evening snack - but it is well planned and fits into my plan

yes, I was on a 1200 cal diet in the months before surgery - lost 30 lbs. Eat protein first - practice the 60 grams per day - then eat veggies - then only complex / healthy carbs - the weight should come off and it will be good practice for after the surgery. I was also able to exercise about 90 min a day before surgery - and that helped tremendously - both before surgery and after - The great thing about your weight loss before surgery is that you are being given a tool with the surgery and won't gain the weight back