blizair09

How many calories do you take in per day? Carbs? Protein? Water? Do you track everything you eat and drink? What do you do for exercise?

I have a little Polder Digital Pocket Portion Scale that I use when I am away from home. At home, I have a larger food scale (Aws).

Yep

Like @Joann454 said, when I do eat out (a rarity really), I rely on nutritional information from the restaurant's website. If the restaurant doesn't provide that kind of information, I don't eat there. I have a food scale that I take with me when I am going to eat out so that I can make sure my tracking is accurate. As far as tracking on a daily basis is concerned, it just becomes routine. I have been doing it since March 21, 2016, and it is just a part of me now. I am "old school" in that I keep track in a word document that lists food, calories, carbs, and protein. I don't depend on apps, but I do get information as needed from MFP. (But, to tell you the truth, I eat the same things every day, so, at this point, I do a lot of cutting and pasting.) As far as recipes that you cook at home, you just have to track each ingredient as you measure it to come to the sum total for the recipe. Then log the macros based on the total amount of the recipe that you eat in one meal. This is time consuming, but worth all of the effort. Good luck.

It will get better as you move on from liquids and introduce more foods. That being said, fatigue was a serious issue for me for a solid 8 weeks post-op. I took a 6 week medical leave from work. I took a get-under-the-covers nap every afternoon of those 6 weeks, and when I did go back, I struggled for another 2 weeks in the afternoons. After those 2 months, it got better and better. Now, I have tons of energy.

Of course you can get back on track, but you have to decide that losing weight, getting healthy, and being active is more important to you than food and drink. It is as simple as that. Good luck. You can turn this around if you put in the hard work.

I have couple of questions: 1. Why did you wait until 4 months to introduce foods again? Did your doctor tell you to do this? My plan was among the most conservative I have ever seen, and I was done with liquids after 3 weeks. 2. What is it that makes you have this regret? Is it about being able to eat whatever you want? Is about the quantity of food? When you define "normal," is it being able to eat as you did before? I agree that the mental part of this journey is the most significant part and that many, many WLS patients are ill-equipped to deal with it. But at some point, you have to decide that food is just food and that if you want to be healthy, you should embrace the tool that the sleeve provides to you.

I stirred it in at room temperature and then put it in the microwave. But even then, I could only get it so warm before it would clump up. This made it do-able at least. (And I always kept in mind that the liquid stage wouldn't be forever...)

Once I was approved, we scheduled the surgery the next day. There was about a month in between scheduling the surgery and it actually happening, but they scheduled me in the first available slot. Like @OutsideMatchInside said, I'd call them and pester them until they lock in a date for you. These practices want the revenue, so I am surprised that they are not all over it anyway...

Thanks. And this has been the best thread (for me) in ages. It is really nice to talk about something relevant to where I am in this journey as opposed to 99% of what is on here each day. I really do respect the hard work you have put in to your journey and your opinion about mine.

I really do love it; that's why I keep it around. It is the only "sweet" thing that I have in my diet, so it fills that hole for me. (I was never a huge sweets person anyway, but I did like something sweet every now and then.) I have noticed the restriction is a little less now than before. I switched to a jumbo egg in the morning from a large egg about a month ago. (I still can't eat 2 large eggs, but the 1 large egg meal was starting to not be enough.) I could probably do 4 ounces of chicken if I left out the ParmCrisps, but, like the cottage cheese, I like them, so I leave them in for now. If I am ever forced back into an office-everyday situation, I'm sure I'd have to reorganize a bit, but I don't really see that happening. My company has really embraced remote working, so I don't see that happening any time soon...

I keep a consumption log in a word doc every day. I did have to set alarms in the beginning, but now I just know what is the next time to eat or drink and do it as needed. (But I have been eating this way for nearly 9 months now. And I couldn't do it without writing down the times.) This is a log from an average day: 10:27am: Scrambled Egg/Chicken (22.5 g of protein) 10:35am: Dry Period 11:05am: Drink Period (32 oz water) 11:50am: Dry Period 12:20pm: Cottage Cheese (13 g of protein) 12:28pm: Dry Period 12:58pm: Drink Period (32 oz water) 1:25pm: Dry Period 2:24pm: Chicken/String Cheese/ParmCrisps (31 g of protein) 2:33pm: Dry Period 3:03pm: Drink Period (16 oz water) 3:40pm: Dry Period 4:20pm: Salmon/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (26 g of protein) 4:27pm: Dry Period 5:08pm: Drink Period (16 oz PowerAde Zero Fruit Punch) 5:19pm: Dry Period 6:18pm: Chicken/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (27 g of protein) 6:24pm: Dry Period 7:47pm: Hamburger/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (22.5 g of protein) 7:55pm: Dry Period 8:25pm: Drink Period (8 oz PowerAde Zero Fruit Punch/8 oz water) 8:41pm: Dry Period 9:20pm: Chicken/String Cheese/ParmCrisps (31 g of protein) 9:30pm: Dry Period 10:45pm: Cottage Cheese (13 g of protein) 10:53pm: Dry Period 11:23pm: Drink Period (8 oz PowerAde Zero Fruit Punch/8 oz water) Like I said, this kind of specificity fits my personality. I realize that everyone couldn't (or wouldn't) do this. But it has helped me in my journey tremendously.

When I find myself busy, sometimes I'll only eat 6 or 7 times, but it is 8 times 90% of the time. But on those days, I just end up with less calories. I don't trust myself to up portion sizes right now. Maybe in time that will happen. I'm getting closer and closer to goal, so I am going to have to chart out a maintenance plan anyway. (Which scares me in a lot of ways. As crazy as it sounds, I have been on this journey for nearly 15 months, and the prospect of hitting my goal and having to think about maintaining rather than losing is intimidating...)

I work remotely, so that helps. But even when I travel for work (which is frequent), I pretty much adhere to the same schedule (except that I may substitute a Protein Shake for 1 meal). It takes a lot of planning, but after a while, it just becomes routine.

This is really a key to why I have chosen this route for eating each day. I have a huge food and carb addiction, and just because I have lost over 200 pounds doesn't mean that addiction is cured. Yes, I think about food all the time. This surgery and this journey isn't going to change that for me. By eating in this regularity, I have established a routine that I can embrace long term that helps to battle these issues each day. (And it helps that I am a mathematician, a former teacher, a type A personality, and incredibly anal...)

I work remotely, so that helps. But even when I travel for work (which is frequent), I pretty much adhere to the same schedule (except that I may substitute a protein shake for 1 meal). It takes a lot of planning, but after a while, it just becomes routine.

Google "three week stall." This happens to everyone. The best advice is to follow your plan, meet your protein and water goals each day, walk when you can, and stay off of the scale for a while. Your body is desperately trying to heal, and weight loss just isn't the top priority right now.

When I first started reading this thread, I was completely in the pro-surgery camp for your daughter. I decided not to comment right away, and now I am coming back and reading all the posts, and I'm a bit on the fence. First, just because she has been "cleared" for surgery doesn't mean she is psychologically ready for it. I have found that the WLS world is often more of a business than it is a true health endeavor sometimes. The reason I say that is twofold: First, you said that she got the idea for the sleeve from a person over the holidays after she abandoned a healthy eating and exercise plan. Second, you said that she gained over 50 pounds to qualify for the surgery. Now, I have heard some people on these boards having to gain a small amount of weight because their BMI was on the cusp of qualification, but she gained 25% of her body weight. That's a lot. Have you (or the doctor or anyone) had a serious conversation with her about what her life post-op will be like and the level of commitment regarding eating, drinking, and exercise that she will have to maintain for the rest of her life to be successful? Every day on these boards, I hear people talk about getting back to a "normal way of eating." (A lot of people like to think that post-sleeve they can eat "whatever they want" but in smaller amounts. I think that is an incredibly flawed viewpoint.) So many people look at the surgery as some magic pill that will miraculously make them drop all of their excess weight in a matter of months, and then they can eat "whatever they want" but in smaller amounts and live happily ever after. That is a fairy tale. The key is changing your relationship with food, eating within defined parameters each and every day, and exercising regularly. (No different from folks who don't have WLS, but the sleeve provides assistance that many find invaluable.) So, my question for you is -- is she ready for this commitment and new way of life? The answer to that question should guide how to counsel your daughter. Good luck.

My advice is to get started now. I, too have BCBS (Anthem of Louisiana), and had to do the six month diet program. I decided from the very beginning that I was ready to make a change and I followed through. I lost 99 pounds during that six months (from 397 to 298 on surgery day). I used that time to re-define my relationship with food, conquer my food demons, and set myself on a course to have long-term success post-op. I have lost an additional 104 pounds since my surgery last September 28, and every day, I add 99 pounds to my current weight and think to myself if I hadn't done all of that pre-op work, I would weigh xxx pounds today. Also, all of the frustrations of post-op life (stalls, discomfort, food stages, etc.) were so much easier to deal with having already taken off half of the weight before the surgery. The pre-op diet program was the best thing that ever happened to me. Too many people act as though the sleeve is some magic pill that will do all the work for them. That is a fallacy. In my journey, the sleeve is merely a supporting player. I am the star and I wouldn't be here without that six month experience. Good luck!

How many calories do you take in per day? Carbs? Protein? How much water do you take in each day? Are you tracking everything you eat and drink? What do you do for exercise?

Google "three week stall." My advice is to stick to your plan, meet your protein and water goals, walk as much as you can, and stay off of the scale for at least a month. Your body is trying desperately to heal, and weight loss isn't the top priority right now. Good luck!

I didn't have one, either.

The liquid parts of the journey (pre- and post-op) are among the worst of it, in my opinion. That being said, long-term success is built on consistently making good choices regarding food and drink. And aside from the weight loss, and more importantly, your surgeon has you on a plan to protect your life and allow your stomach to heal. Hang in there. As you can add other types of food, it gets better. But the tough choices every single day will never go away. It has to be a completely new way of life if you want to be successful. Good luck!

Yes. I was sleeved on September 28, 2016.

Great suggestion! Removing food as a centerpiece of social interactions has been a key to my success pre- and post-op.