heidikat72

At least you've figured out what was going on and didn't make any rash decisions while in the thick of it! And now you've learned and will be able to hopefully prevent another "hangry" episode - or at least recognize it. You are doing great by the way!

I had a couple episodes of that early out too. Definitely dehydration. 48oz should be a bare minimum. Aim for 64. Get there by adding just a couple ounces to what you have been getting and then tomorrow add a couple more and so on. And yes, ALL your liquids count - Protein shakes, broth, sugar free popsicles etc. It is not a fun experience when you are in it but as soon as you can regularly get in closer to 64oz, those episodes will go away. It does get easier! Hang in there

Fantastic! You are doing great! Keep enjoying all these things the demonstrate the progress you are making

I had trouble too mainly because I'm a side sleeper and sleeping on my back just doesn't happen. So while I was awake all day, I was very groggy and tired. And it has taken a couple months to get over the constantly fatigued feeling - and it really has taken me forcing myself to exercise despite the fatigue to start feeling like I have more energy.

that was me - even over 100lbs down and I couldn't see a change when I looked in the mirror. I knew my clothes fit different and I had a lot less back and knee pain but couldn't VISUALLY see a difference. And I thought no one else did either but turns out most of them thought the change was so obvious they didn't need to comment on it! It actually wasn't until I cut my hair short that I started noticing a change and I could finally tell that my face was much slimmer and my neck.

looks like a very sensible and manageable pre-op plan. you will be so thankful afterwards that you started making changes now. You can do it gradually now so it isn't quite the unbearable shock to your system (head really) and already be in the habit of healthy eating.

fantastic! be proud of all the hard work you have done and let that motivate you to continue!

At my bariatric center's monthly support group meetings we devoted a whole session to this very thing. Fortunately that was the session my friend and main support person attended. What we discussed was rather than making the compliment about looking good/more attractive (because as you pointed out, a lot of us then can't help but think - gee I guess you are saying I really looked awful before), to make the compliment more about accomplishments such as "I can tell you've really been working hard" or "I can see you have so much more energy now" or in my case as my friend points out to me "You are so much more active now. I am so happy to be able to see your journey" But I will say, it is nice to hear something, anything, that says the transformation is noticeable. I was over a hundred lbs down before anyone ever said anything - not even my close friends that knew about the surgery. I commented one day to one of them that it was frustrating to have lost a big chunk of weight and no one notices. She actually said everyone notices but I know I wasn't sure how to phrase it and also, it was so obvious that you had lost a lot that I just assumed you realized too how much your appearance was changing. So there is a fine line between it being a veiled insult and a welcome acknowledgement. And during that emotional initial phase - I know I never know how I'll react to even the most innocent of comments. So kudos to the friends that take the risk and talk to you about your progress.

Is there an activity to do to help "redirect" your brain away from the craving when it hits? I know if I do something with my hands it helps and it's hard to eat if your hands are already occupied

Do you have a nutritionist? One might be able to help with food suggestion regarding the ulcers. And Google, there are bound to be ideas out there. Even search some threads on here.

start by recording your daily intake in a food diary app like my fitness pal. and be honest with it - record every single bite. Do that for a couple of days. Then take a really hard look at it - you'll be surprised at how easy it is to see what things you should cut out. If you drink sugar sweetened beverages - start there. Then start cutting the carbs like Pasta, rice, potatoes. You'll want to start that carb detox process now before surgery. And don't expect to make a drastic change overnight and be able to stick with it. I had to do a 6 month medically supervised period and I gradually cut my calories every couple of weeks until I was already down to about 1300 calories a day when I started the 2 week pre-op liver shrink diet. As you cut calories, gradually increase your activity level. You'll be surprised how much progress you'll make during this time. Any weight you get off, will make the surgery easy and the immediate post op recovery so much easier! Hang in there - you can do this. And it sucks when the people in our life son't support us, but remember you are doing this for you and you are worth it. And you have support here.

I pureed chicken, tuna and salmon with greek yogurt. A fine pureed tuna salad was more appealing than meat and broth blended up. You don't need to completely liquefy it to where you can drink it. Think having it the consistency of greek yogurt. Also, check out the blod "the world according to eggface" - she has an entire post dedicated to the puree phase.

yep very common because of all the fluids pumped into your iv line. Don't worry - it really is just fluid weight and you'll lose. The sooner you meet your daily fluid intake goals, the sooner the retained fluid will leave you.

Congrats! and just remember, you are doing this for YOU and YOU ARE WORTH IT!

I eased into puree with just greek yogurt. Then I would puree tuna or chicken with a little greek yogurt. THis was more appealing to me than pureeing meat with broth. I could handle the idea of a fine texture chicken or tuna salad much better. The flavored pouches of tuna kept it from getting too boring. I also tried it with the flavored pouches of salmon. Do a search for Shelly's ricotta bake also - makes for a nice warm savory change while on purees. Just remember to take it easy - your stomach is very much still healing during this phase and the last thing you want is food bits getting stuck in that staple line. A lot of people also have refried beans with some melted cheese.

Babbs gave the best explanation there is for why it fluctuates. As far as when you should weigh - for your own trending, just pick a time that works best for you and weight about that time and in a similar state of dress every time. For me, I weigh in the morning when I get out of the shower. When I've weighed in the evening, it's always a couple pounds heavier due to water retention throughout the day.

I found the unjury chicken Soup powder to actually be quite good - I think it was a combo of it being warm and savory. I made it chicken bone broth instead of Water to up the Protein content a bit more. and the unjury vanilla and classic chocolate (the chocolate splendor was too sweet for me) made with fairlife skim milk actually went down easier than any other liquid I tried. It also helped me during that time to think of them as my medicine - that way I wasn't looking for it to be tasty, just needed to get it down. And it was my JOB that first two weeks to get liquids and protein in so whether I wanted to or not, I just kept sipping. And it would literally take all day that first week of sipping sipping sipping - as in starting when I got up at 6:30am and not stopping until bedtime at 11:30 - basically I wouldn't go to bed until I had at least met my minimum Fluid requirement

We've all been there. And that's exactly right, you just have to buckle down and get through it. For me, it helped to think of the Protein shakes as my medicine during that time - that way I wasn't looking for them to be tasty, just get it down.

there are unflavored powders. Note that unflavored does NOT mean tasteless - just that it doesn't have vanilla or chocolate or a fruit flavor added. So honestly, I find them to have a very offputting "proteiny" taste and smell. However Protein powders are a matter of personal taste. I tried adding the unjury unflavored to SF Jello but found that as the jello set, the Protein Powder settled out. But there are people who have successfully done it - wish I knew what their trick for success was! If adding to broth - just make sure the broth is below 140 degrees Fahrenheit or the protein with coagulate and be gross. Unjury has a chicken broth flavored protein powder that would count on clears and is quite tasty - just follow the same temperature rule as above.

Special K shakes have a lot of carbs - they have more grams of carbs than protein! My guidelines for a shake were at least 20grams of protein and less than 12 grams of carbs

If you are in enough pain that you can't walk, they probably shouldn't have released you from the hospital. I was up walking a few hours after surgery - not far and very slowly - and yes it was uncomfortable getting to a standing position and sitting back down but as long as you take it easy you need to walk in order to prevent blood clots. I would hold a pillow against my main incision when standing up and sitting down - the gentle pressure helped. Sorry about the carpal tunnel but definitely find things to occupy your brain - reading a book is a good idea. TV is full of food commercials and I imagine like a lot of us - mindless snacking while watching tv was probably a norm.

that is definitely unlike any other plan Ive seen. If you avoid Protein shakes - how are you supposed to get protein during the liquid phase? And how many grams of protein are you supposed to get? And 1500 calories immediately post op?

as for whether a Protein shake is ok two days out - it depends on your plans progression. I was only on Clear liquids while in the hospital, once I was released I went to full liquids - and Protein shakes were part of full liquids. Other plans have people do clears for longer. So stick with what guidelines for progression you were given. I personally make my own shakes - typically using either the unjury powder or Syntrax nectar. A lot of people seem to really like the premier shakes that are ready to drink. when buying Protein Powder or ready to drink protein shakes - make sure they are suitable for weight loss surgery - you don't want things like ensure or protein powders for body builders - they have way too many calories and carbs