Shell Renewed

Hi All, I was missing Mexican and so I did a variation on the tex mex recipes I've seen. It's mostly pureed but a tiny bit thick. The one tiny 'cheat' is I added a sprinkle of tex-mex cheese mix. It's not as much as it seems in the picture, maybe because it hadn't melted down yet. One of my time savers is to precook my ground beef (and my chicken, etc), puree once cooked then freeze. Then I can quickly assemble ready-made meals. I really love using my tiny mason jars as my 4 oz portion control. If I finish what's in it, I'm full. They make great tiny serving dishes in the early days. Since my top priority is to avoid stretching my sleeve, this keeps me honest. Prep time: 2 minutes Serves: 1 Calories: 175 Carbs: 9 Fat: 10 Protein: 14 Sodium: 139 Layer in a 1/2 cup mason jar: 2 oz refried beans (I used Old El Paso) 1 oz of pre-cooked, pureed lean ground beef 1 oz of thin, pureed salsa (I used Old El Paso) A tiny sprinkle of jack or tex mex mix cheese. (I used Kraft) Microwave 1-1.5 minutes Variations: If I had sour cream in the house I may have added a teaspoon of that on top of the salsa, then the cheese. If I had some avocados or guac, I may have put a teaspoon of that. I was able to detemine the nutrition info by plugging in my recipe into Myfitnesspal. It's a great tool for that. Tell me if you try it and if you like it Michelle

I thought I'd start a thread for those of us September sleevers who already are post surgery! I know there were a few others in addition to myself this week. My surgery was the 6th. The first two days was non-stop nausea. The other two ladies that got sleeved by Dr. Michel Gagner that day with me did not suffer from nausea. At least that phase seems to be over for me. The second day was painful. Every movement hurt, but as long as I stayed on top of pain meds it was manageable. I'm off pain meds today (was on them for 3 days including surgery day). I'm not sure if that's typical, but I think it would be very normal if anyone that needs to be on them much longer. I was given a several day supply that I hope might sit unused. I might have gotten lucky on that topic. I am able to sip a bit more clear fluids than I was the first couple of days. No more gurgling, feeling like I'm going to vomit then it turns into a burp instead! I've also been sleeping a lot and that's ok. Looking forward to starting full fluids including Protein next week, then purees! Oh and driving again! How are all the rest of you feeling? Hope everyone is managing in these first few days. I know it will get easier for all of us . I hope we can all support each other through both the good positive updates and the more challenging times. Shell

Even if it didn't feel bad, please don't do it. Your sleeve is inflamed, full of stitches, and healing, so it's important to take your post-op care guidelines seriously to avoid complications. Don't think of it as a diet at this stage...It's a post-surgery recovery prescription.

I'm so sorry to hear that she's not half as good a friend to you as you have been to her. She's a taker in this relationship and is clearly projecting onto you the judgements she secretly holds inside of herself (that her health problems are her fault, etc). You deserve friends that will give as much as they take. Keep missing her and just keep her at arm's length anytime she is less than supportive of you. I hope you find all the support you need here and irl.

I definitely need to increase my water intake. I've been struggling to get in the recommended amount of protein, but my bloodwork came back with no deficiencies at the 4 month mark. I should focus on this more though, and definitely I'm amping up the exercise now. I know it can be discouraging if we compare our weightloss ot others that have lost more at our stage, but I focus instead that it's a journey, not a race, and I'm happy as long as I'm heading in the right direction. Would you have been down 40 lbs today without the surgery? I bet not We'll get to our goals eventually!

Let's revive it! I have been almost stalled since the holidays, but still losing .5 lbs per week on average, so not a total loss. My slowed weighloss coincided with when I stopped measuring and using myfitnesspal. I realised I'm still vulnerable to losing focus when there is a lot going on in my life, which has been the case lately. Yesterday I jumped on my bike for the first time in many weeks, and today I'm starting to use myfitness pal again How are you doing @@Jacqueline52?

I'm 4.5 months post-op and eat salad sometimes. The quantity is small but the digestion is fine. As suggested above, maybe start small.

The pain I experienced was far from blinding or excruciating and I was off pain meds by the time I went home on the third day.

I subscribed to foodcoach.me. She's a nutirtionist that specialises in bariatrics.

I hit onederland in the last few days too. Feels great doesn't it?

Also, you should really understand that you would not be done losing weight at 5 weeks, and not question if the stall will break. I doubt there's anyone that only lost for a month on this surgery. You've made a lifetime decision and should expect to reap lifelong benefits if you do your part. It's not a race

I don't mean this to sound rude, but I'm genuinely surprised that you can be discouraged and frustrated when you've lost over 20 lbs in your first 5 weeks, unless I misread something. You may want to have more realistic expectations, so your emotions don't become negative over what is actually a very positive situation. I bet, like myself, you would not have lost that weight without the surgery. Stalls happen all the time. As long as you are trending downward overall for weight, you're doing just fine!

Great progress!

I have lost a total of 22 pounds since surgery. (Almost 6 weeks ago). I will try upping my Protein and liquid intake. And I'll measure tonight Thank you guys so much Angel Surgery date 10/21/16 t's easy to compare yourself to the ones the lose the fastest but there are so many factors. Would you have lost 22 lbs without the sleeve in less than 6 weeks? No...So be happy and let the stalls happen knowing it's temporary and that you're trending down. I'm in a 2 week stall right now and I'm not letting it get to me. It's not a race. It's a lifelong change

I truly hope you find some better care (a new doctor, etc) and local support. I'm deeply concerned for you. You have a group of people who care here, and you're not alone.

Non scale Victory

I'm 10 weeks out and have been experiencing this for 2-3 weeks now. The only thing I enjoy consuming is coffee. Getting my Water and Protein in is difficult and I rarely come close to my goals.

I suspect the surgeon will decide if it's safe. You should let him know you're sick, as if they need to cancel this last minute it frees up the O.R. for another patient potentially? I hope you recover quickly and get to make this happen on schedule!

@@Travelher I'm not certain about revisions as that is a special case. For the initial vsg, there are many great experienced doctor's but not only is Dr. Gagner experienced, he literally is the one who pioneered the current surgery we all get (keyhole/larcascopic vsg) and there are many medical periodicals and references that attest to it. If it's experience (in addition to competence) that someone wants, it doesn't get any better. Among many online references this is one: If you look up medical procedures you can see he's done a lot of pioneering in the field, though his website's own bio sums it up most succinctly https://cliniquemichelgagner.com/en/clinique-michel-gagner

He was my surgeon and I can't say enough good about him or his staff, the facilities, or my experience as his patient. I will make a longer post about this when I have time later. I highly recommend him!

Not soft, mashed foods, but pureed. I'm wondering when you all started on them. I started on day 8 (yesterday) first just applesauce in addition to my liquids and thinned strained soups.

@@LipstickLady I sort of fall into this category, though I'd say I had a mild addiction to food (a night snacker). Though I was overweight for many years, it crept up super slowly and mostly during times of extreme stress and long hours at work when I'd forget to eat most of the day, then get home order takeout because I was too exhausted to cook, then go to bed with a full stomach. My metabolism has been very sluggish for a few years, then I had an accident and had reduced mobility for almost two years, using a cane. That's all it took for me to really pack on the pounds. The surgery is helping so much because I lose almost no weight at all on a 1200-1500 calorie diet. These first few weeks of my sleeve I'm under 1000 calories (closer to 700) at all times, and it's coming off, more slowly than many here due to my slow metabolism, but I'm happy nonetheless Now that I'm losing, my mobility is better, so I am getting momentum on fitness and help my metabolism. The sleeve will help me maintain even if my metabolism remains sluggish. My little story

You're very fortunate for such rapid loss. I'm in my 10th week post-op and am down 34 lbs I'm still happy with my slower progress as well though. For me it's coming off proportionate overall, though I am down 2 bra sizes and my current one is starting to get loose. Not where I want to lose it