Candygyrl

@@Seastars, Congratulations I think you're doing fabulous! You lost 21 lbs pre op, and 12 lbs within 3 weeks post op when most of us have stalled at weeks 2 and 3. I lost no lbs pre op, 14 lbs week 1 post op and then my body said HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE!!! I stalled at week 2 and 3 with no loss but I didn't freak out. Then I lost like 3 lbs. DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF!!! Slow and steady wins the race. I personally think 1200 is high caloric intake and would not expect to see that much taken in until maybe a year or 2 out on maintenance. Your weight is lower than many of us pre op. Your body is just making it's adjustments. You have a good 9-12 months to really get it in. So give it time. Get your protein in, get your fluids in, get your physical activity in and you will begin to see results in no time. Re-evaluate your caloric intake with your NUT though. You should be more like at or under 800 right about now. Good luck!! and Congrats on your progress so far!!!!

I will be 5 weeks out Friday. I guess I've learned through trial and error not to push it. I'm really not in any rush to get to "regular foods". Everytime I get myself geeked up to eat something, I can't eat very much of it or I have to eat it soooo slowly that it just loses all meaning, or enjoyment so meals have been disappointing to say the least. I'm adjusting to the whole eating to live mantra and I really am ok with that. It's just I'm 4 weeks post op and its going to take me a bit to get the hang of it. I don't do much snacking between meals. I'm sure I will eventually but for now I do not. I'm still working on hitting my fluid and protein goals daily and it is hit or miss. Yesterdays meals went a little like this. 0615-0645 am 10oz water 0830-0930 am 1 premier chocolate blended with 1/2 frozen banana 1030-1130 am 10 oz water 1400-1500 1 premier chocolate blended with 1/2 frozen banana (protein goals met) 1830-1900 1 small jar of beech nut chicken and broth baby food (7g protein) 1930-2045 Gym and 32 oz water (water goals met) 2130-2230 5 mile bike ride and 10 oz water 2300- 3 teaspoons of olgas kitchen white chicken chili. 2330- 8oz water I would have liked to finish my last meal by 8 pm... the bike ride was unexpected so I ate a little chilli once I got home and gave the rest to my husband. Now as you can see I started soft foods on 7/29 but I still incorporate previous stages and will probably do that for a while. I'm in no rush to force my sleeve to tolerate new foods. Yesterday was a good day. Honestly it was the first day I did all 3. I ate regularly. I got all of my protein and water in, I exercised at least 2 hours. So this is my goal each day. I'm already one month post op so I feel most of MY kinks should be ironed out and theres no excuse why I shouldn't have a plan in place to get them all done. Now I may not get them all done everyday but if I can get it done most days of the week I'm cooking with grease!

I'm 1 month post op... I am afraid of bread, pizza,carby foods. I am afraid they will swell up and get stuck in my sleeve and make me extremely uncomfortable for at least 12 hours to remind me of the bad choices I made and I can't be having that. Plus I feel like its a trigger food. BESIDES if I can only have 3 bites of it... why bother.

So honestly, looking back, I wish I had lost some of the extra weight prior to surgery. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but I tend to self sabotage. When I initially started my 6 mos pre op weight mgmt, I think I lost about 25-30 lbs in the first 2 months. I told myself if I keep losing, I won't want to have surgery and if I don't have surgery I will end up right back where I started +7lbs. I was told that I would probably lose 80-100 lbs after surgery and with my goal weight being what it was I didn't want to lose 50lbs before surgery and lose another 80-100lbs after!!! My fear was that post surgery I would have no control over how much weight I lost so if I held onto a little more then what I lost would put me right where I want to be. Also, I felt like there was so much I knew I would have to give up after surgery and I understood that the sleeve was the tool to help me do it. But I didn't want to give up the foods before my surgery and I went into "last supper" mode. I ate things that I knew I'd have to give up after surgery like heavy carbs (my weakness), benihanna rice, alfredo, pancakes, waffles, toaster strudels, fried chicken, dressing, candied yams, Dairy queen blizzards with extra toppings, cheez-its, pizza, French fries. By the time I had surgery, I was ready to turn my life over lol! I felt like I didn't have to give up control and it was on my terms. I don't miss any of those foods. I don't even crave them. That's not to say I won't ever crave them again, or occasionally have them them in slight moderation (although I don't picture it because I see them as trigger foods) but right now I just want to focus my control on eating and doing the right things, I've had enough of eating and doing the wrong things. It may not make sense, maybe even sound like excuses but it was not my intention to loose 40 lbs before surgery. If I had it to do all over I would have tried to lose around 25lbs. I think that it would have put me closer to my goal without going too far under it. Mainly because weight loss is moving slower than I pictured it would. To be honest I'm 1 month post op and have not really started a consistent exercise regimen. I rode my bike a few miles everyday at 2 weeks post op, but then I stopped because it was too hot and I was getting extremely fatigued sleeping for hours afterward. I wear a fitbit and was getting 8-10,000 steps in with just my typical running around so I figured I'd try it again @ 4 weeks because I felt by then, I would have gotten the hang of getting in my Proteins, fluids and Vitamins. I'm at 4 weeks and slowly getting back into it.

Chipotle. I don't see myself spending 12 bucks for a burrito bowl that I could not imagine eating even 3-4 bites of. It's ok I'm not sad or anything, I just miss eating it with warm tortilla chips, extra sour cream and a grapefruit izzy.

Lol @@Vint23 soooo true.

Hoping your libido increases with weight loss. I was able to have sex when i felt comfortable which was about 4-5 days post op. You'll be able to decide which position works best. Libido can be tricky. Even if you feel great your desire may still not be there. Sometimes you just have to take one for the team (i know that sounds bad) and things may just fall into place.

My energy levels were low. My Dr gave me a B1 and B12 shot. After labwork I was told I currently have a severe thiamine (B1) Vitamin deficiency and to start 100mg of thiamine ASAP. Let's just say, I'm feeling much better. That may not be your issue but may be worth having your labs checked and having a B12 injections. Oh I also take gummy B12's.

Congratulations!!! That's amazing. It was one month ago today that I was under the knife literally! it was scheduled for about 930 but my surgeon was running a little behind so we began closer to 1030. I did not lose any weight pre op (purposely). My pre op/surgery weight was 253 current weight 233.4 I'm hoping to be in the 220's by week 6. I will be starting back at the gym so hopefully that will help move things along. Again congratulations! Oh that's right I start soft foods today!

Hey, I Hit 3 weeks Fri 7/22. Not eating anything special. I eat turkey chili, various Soups (seafood chowder, lobster bisque, pumpkin bisque). I drink Protein shakes twice a day, today I had Boston Market turkey and mashed potatoes. I was able to eat 1 1/2 pieces of turkey (focused on that 1st) 1-2 spoonfuls of potatoes. I have been drinking smoothies made with fresh frozen fruit and greek yogurt. I also eat fresh fruit (probably not supposed to) like watermelon slices, bananas, peaches, cherries. I can eat about 5-6 cherries at a time, or 1/2 of a peach (peeled skin). I'll wait until soft foods to try steamed veggies but I try and shake it up a little.

I am a Nurse Case Manager for an insurance company. If I worked on the unit, I'd take the full 4-6 weeks of STD/FMLA just because you can't predict your days/nights. However, I have a office/desk job and was fine to go back after 2 weeks ALTHOUGH I took 3 weeks and will return Monday. Sleeved 7/1.

Sleeved Fri 7/1. Doc approved me for 6 weeks. No complications. Could have Easily gone back to my desk job Mon 7/11 but i took extra 2 weeks because when does one ever get this time back. I rested, spent time with my family, cleaned the house, organized cabinets and drawers, went on early morning bike rides with the hubby. Pure vacation. I go back Mon 7/25.

I'm close to 3 weeks post op. I wore my clothes pretty tight so because I'm pear shaped my waist can get away with alot more than my hips. Lol. I'll be able to wear my clothes for awhile. By the time I drop close to 50 lbs it'll be time to start buying a few pieces here and there. I've been putting away 25-50 bucks a pay for clothes when the time comes. My daughter is a junior 13/14 so I can just share with her until I hit goal weight.

This looks like my post op guide. Lol! All great suggestions. Here's a little of what I've been doing. I made Turkey chili for the family yesterday. Set some aside for myself. Threw it in the blender, threw a little shredded cheese on top. Made a great lunch and dinner for the past 2 days. Good Protein source. (Ground turkey, Beans, cheese) Scrambled eggs w/cheese oatmeal. I use evap milk and a little Splenda for flavor. Fruit smoothies w/greek yogurt. Id like to do a Premier Protein vanilla or strawberrywith a banana blended to give it a little more thickness to make it like a milkshake I also do baby foods 1st and 2nd stage. chicken, turkey Fruit (apples, peaches, banana) Squash, veg medley, Mashed potatoes w/ sour cream Sweet potato pureed of course Just remember most things can be pureed. I have no problem throwing tuna and a little mayo in the blender. Salmon w a little olive oil Protein first!

I'm not sure if it will affect me just yet. I'm 18 days post op. I've been doing about 1 serving of fruit 3-4 medium strawberries (i use a fruit/veg peeler to trim off the skin seeds) 10 blueberries, 3-4 peach slices (no skin) and maybe 1/3 of a banana. I started purees on Fri so recently I've been placing those fruits with a 1/2 cup of triple zero greek yogurt pureed in the nutribullet. It makes about a 6 oz serving and I split it up into 2 servings to have in the morning before my workout and as an afternoon snack. Goes down well. No issues. If I begin gaining, i'll cut it out. For now it's absolutely Devine.

That's true @@LipstickLady and I know it's silly. Really it is. I have indulged in the past with a few of the couples at various times so I guess it just seemed odd that I wasn't drinking and I didnt want to have to explain so I just pretended to drink. We were supposed to hang out until all the alcohol was gone. Every couple had a bottle... next time I'll probably just say no. It's really silly to go through all that.

So I'm 16 days post op. I was out last night with a group of parents. Our 15 and 16 year olds were in baseball tournaments for the past 4 days. Last night coaches bday its our time. Some of the parents went out and bought drinks. No one knows I had the surgery. I poured a 8 oz cup of grey goose and pineapple orange juice. I pretended to sip until someone called me out. I started sneaking and pouring my drink on the ground we were on the hotel patio. Finally i quietly walked over to my hubby and begged him to drink it for me. One of the moms imitated me to a tee and jokingly accused me of telling my husband to take one for the team. I was embarrassed... but didn't take one sip. To each it's own. That's my personal choice NOT to drink at this time. Do you! Just be careful and very mindful that alcohol can be a barrier during weight loss. I'm sure an occasional cocktail at a concert or a night out should be ok take it slow and keep it at a minimum.

No real cravings. I feel like I had tons pre op and I satisfied every single last one of them lol. Anyways I am about 2 weeks (16 days) post op and since being on purees I am experimenting with foods I shouldn't be. I went to Buffalo wild wings and ordered the naked grilled tenders. I ate one. It settled in pretty well no complications. Later we went to Red lobster and I had crab legs. No issues. I don't cook often. So my husband and I enjoy eating out. He bought Snacks for the hotel room (we're out of town) smart pop white cheddar popcorn. Mmmmm so what did I do. Several hours had passed since dinner. I got one of the 8 oz cofee cups and filled it half way. It seemed to do fine but I woke up the next morning feeling as if something was stuck. Could've been the popcorn? Was delicious but very uncomfortable afterwards. I shouldn't have eaten it. I see how it is very important to stay on track with the the plan not only for compliance but to establish discipline and achieve success. I don't think I will be successful at achieving weightloss if I try to get away with eating smart pop popcorn at every opportunity. Had That gone well, I probably would've. I don't even want to try again. Lesson learned for many other foods to come. Time to take full advantage of this golden period help the tool help me.

No nausea for me. Scopalomine patch preop, iv anti emetics pre and post op. I never had to ask. I got a dilaudid pump and Slept like a bug in a rug. However not everyone tolerates anesthesia or narcotics well so it depends on the individual.

@red_lips_and_confidence. I.Love.Your.Weigh-in.Sheets. I also love your vision board! I'm inspired. I want to do one as well. Weigh in sheets for once a week until goal and a vision board full of inspiring quotes, body pics, cute outfits!

I would (if I were to eat a cracker) read the back of the box. First ingredient: Whole wheat. Not enriched. End of story. Hope you've found your cracker by now.

That's amazing! Great job, very inspiring. Same weight as you were pre surgery on day of surgery. Glad to know I could possibly be in the low 2's in 3 months. Are you exercising?

I'm 2 weeks post op today. I can eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of something like Soup. I don't like getting "full" its very uncomfortable So I just don't push it. Today was first day of purees. I had 2-3 bites of my hubbys eggs for Breakfast. I had some tomato basil soup an hour ago. I'm at a hotel so that bowl will likely last me today and tomorrow lunch and dinner. I ate about 10 spoonfuls and drank a few sips of lemon Water. I'm done! I don't feel full but I know that shouldve been enough. I'm not hungry and feel like that should hold me until dinner. I'll just sip on water and Protein shakes in the meanwhile. I wouldn't want to try anything more. I'm just training myself to eat small and the sleeve is doing its job.

It's tough. 2 weeks post op. I have to worry about food more than I did before surgery. Before, I just wouldn't eat all day and just binge on a great meal at dinner. Now, I have to plan. I'll be on purees starting tommorrow. But my first 3 items of each day is Water, premier Protein (30g), and a triple zero greek yogurt. Those are easy to do on the go and I can't have anything else until I do. After that i sip on ice cold water, Popsicles whatever and have my meals in between. Anytime I leave the house for an extended trip- transporting kids, baseball games, movies, i take a protein drink with me. It takes awhile for me to get tired of something. So I'll keep doing that just to get that protein in. You'll get used to it. And your hair will thank you!

This is really inspiring. I can't wait to have 1! (I'm 2 weeks post op) Keep em coming guys!