Barry W

20lb in two weeks is awesome - congrats! As far as hitting the gym ASAP, I'd suggest waiting until you are properly healed up - a hernia would be a major setback. In the meantime, you can always walk - it's some of the best exercise in any time :-)

My longest stall was probably about 4-5 weeks so far. I actually don't do anything to try to break a stall, just try to be patient and do the right things in terms of diet, exercise and sleep. I read some articles about the contestants on The Biggest Loser that dissuaded me from the idea of eating ever fewer calories or doing ever more exercise to try to force things. Lost about 65lb so far. Wish it went faster, yes, but I already feel and look so much better, I don't mind the journey.

Fruit is extremely healthy, and even the American Diabetes Association recommends it for diabetics. Some people think fruit is a problem because it's (a little) sweet. But the difference is that there isn't much sugar in an apple or a banana (the dose is low), and also the soluble Fiber makes what sugar there is, absorb slowly. You want to get a wide variety of fruits and veggies to get a full spectrum of Vitamins and minerals, and summertime is the ideal time for fresh fruits and veggies!

The thing you want to watch out for is anything that will stress the abdomen (even if it's not an exercise that isolates on the abdomen). I don't use elliptical machines as my knees are pretty bad so not sure about those, but a treadmill can be just walking, and you can raise the incline 5 degrees or so for more difficulty without running....

I work a desk job, and was off two weeks, and then the 3rd week I worked partial days, more like 5-6 hours. I'd say this was just about right. It kept me progressing at a decent pace but I wasn't feeling like hell while being forced to toil...

Meal Replacement shakes, like the ones I mainly used - SlimFast High Protein/Advanced Nutrition badged shakes, come with some extra calories, typically because they add some healthy fats - those are 180 cals each with just 1g of sugar and 20g of Protein. Three of those a day is 540 cals, add a greek yogurt and you're at 660 cals - not so bad.

For me it was 6 weeks and then to work my way into abs/core exercises gently.

There are a number of low sugar protein bars with 20gr protein each - try the ones from Think Thin or Pure Protein, for example.

Really no unexplained nausea for me. I can still get nausea 4+ months out, if I eat too much.

Good: spinach - steamed and served with light butter, or sauteed with olive oil and lots of garlic (my favorite!) Bad: raw baby carrots

I am 4.5 months post-op, and I think I can eat about one and a half cups, or maybe 3/4 of a plate. I suppose it depends on what the surgeon did. BEE - for me, first I will feel a little full, then I will feel a little nauseous. If I really overdo it I can feel pressure/tightness. I try to stop at the first stage, as I don't enjoy feeling sick!

Fantastic, keep up the good work!

For me that was roughly a month out, where I'd say I felt few noticeable effects anymore.

Lowfat cottage cheese and eggs are both pretty healthy... you can also try stuff like chili made with ground chicken or ground turkey - lowfat meat is already ground up in there and you get the healthy beans too... also bean salads with most any bean - black, kidney, edamame, or chickpeas - are very healthy.

The orange flavored Centrum chewables do have iron, that's what I take.

I used the Multivitamin Patches from PatchMD for two months. Then I switched over to the Centrum chewable multivitamin pills with Iron (orange flavor). I also try to get a variety of fruits and veggies in my diet, so I am not just relying on the supplements.

Yikes - I didn't care for the premiere shakes' taste but they didn't make me fell bad. Fortunately there are plenty of options these days, both in Protein shakes and Protein Bars.

I think my last visit with the surgeon's office is a 1 year followup. Of course I get routine bloodwork done with my primary care physician at least once a year anyway, so as far as Vitamin levels, blood lipids, markers for diabetes, liver function, etc, I will get that annually anyway and want to see it. To me data is good - without that you're in the dark.

I went back after two weeks, but I work a desk job. Re lifting, the surgeon advised not to lift anything more than a gallon of milk for 6 weeks. Yes, FMLA leave can be used.

I didn't have any gallstones, if that's what you mean, nor any other gall bladder issues, and haven't had any trouble with heartburn/acid reflux either. I have had some issues pre-surgery with acid reflux, but for me that came while sleeping when I had eaten a lot, and especially if acidic or fatty foods were included, within a couple of hours of bedtime - by and large I learned not to do that after some bad experiences!

If I was just standing or sitting in a recliner or lying on my back, pain was minimal. I did have pronounced pain getting in and out of bed for the first two weeks.... and although I didn't poke my wounds (the scar tissue is very weak), I poked around my belly at maybe 7-10 days and noticed some tenderness coming from inside the belly, near the naval - it's been awhile now, but I think that went away by roughly 3 weeks. If you have questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact your program about them....

You're still only 11 days post-op of course, and we tend to eat very little in the first month or two after surgery, but realistically, 400 calories is still very low - I wouldn't be worried about getting too many at that level. My program left things a little vague in the written guidelines - I guess because every person is different - their age, sex, height, metabolism, etc. What's right for a 30yo 6-foot 3-inch male is very different than for a 60yo 5-foot female.... but it was apparent that (1) they expected your calories to gradually rise over time and (2) In the first couple of months, the expectations seemed to be around 600-800 calories/day. (3) for most patients, for your calories to get up over 1000/day within 3-6 months.

I think that's reasonable as a way to boil down the studying of grocery labels to just 3 figures, so it depends on how much you want to look at - sounds like you don't mind a little more... I try to straight up minimize: - Sugar - Starchy carbs without Fiber (like in white rice, potatoes, Pasta, white bread ...) - Trans fat - Saturated fat And hold down: - sodium I look to maximize: - Vitamins - amounts and variety - Soluble fiber - Insoluble fiber - Protein And get reasonable amounts of: - mono and poly unsaturated fats - Calcium I don't worry about - nonsweet carbs with lots of fiber, especially soluble fiber - oatmeal, Beans, whole grain breads and unsweetened whole grain cereals I wouldn't say I try to minimize calories - still need those, but I am careful with foods dense in calories - the obvious ones being sausage, bacon, full fat dairy and cheese, chocolate, ice cream, etc, but also with healthy fats like nuts - I easily eat too many so seldom buy those. And within these boundaries I still try to get good variety and things I will enjoy of course! I am not a whole foods purist, but I do try to get some fresh fruits and veggies in every day and to eat a variety of them so as to get a full spectrum of minerals, vitamins and beneficial phytochemicals...summer is the best for fresh produce and local produce when I can get it!

I guess everyone is different, but I don't think it's good to try to be too rigid or "optimal" - some days you need a day off exercising and some days you want to eat something that isn't virtuous. But I don't think that excursions from ideal hurt, in fact IMO some flexibility is good for your attitude, I just try to make the lazy days or the sin foods the exceptions to the main behavior of eating healthy and getting some activity.

There are some 50% reduced calorie juices that seem to rely on dilution with Water, they still taste pretty good. And even some 5-calorie juices that are sweetened with eg. nutrasweet. There are also some unsweetened green iced teas out there that are pretty good, from e.g. Trader Joe's and Pure Leaf. And if you don't mind a bit of work, you can steep thin-sliced lemon, lime or orange slices in a pitcher of bulk spring water in the fridge - the fruit taste is light but all natural and you get the citrus oils from the peel in there too - tastes great with the spring water! http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/05/lemon-water-with-fresh-mint.html