mylighthouse

I didn't have to do the liquid pre-op diet. For 2 weeks before surgery, I did a low carb, low fat diet and was allowed either chicken, eggs, or fish for my proteins. My meat portions were weighed out to 3 ounces. I was allowed a small portion of non-starchy veggies with lunch and dinner. I was also allowed a protein shake a day. The only time I had to do all clear liquids was the day prior to surgery. Everyone's plan is a little different, it just depends on the surgeon.

Hello, I am bipolar and take an antidepressant, an antipsychotic (mania), a mood stabilizer and an anti anxiety med. I only went one night (the night after surgery) without my meds. That was a huge relief. I checked with my surgeon before my surgery and he said that I could break (I had to cut with scissors on some) my pills in half, and that would work just fine... and it sure did.... got them down with no problem, it was just a bunch of halved pills to take and it took me awhile to get them down. Little sip of water with each half of a pill. Then after about 3 weeks, I was able to stop cutting them in half and take the whole pills by themselves.

You need to start getting your protein again to lose weight. Close to 100 grams a day if you can, drink plenty of liquids. Low carbs. Get back to eating healthy. Get back with the program. That should help you lose weight. Sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. I wish you the best.

My goodness! You are doing awesome!! Congratulations and keep up the hard work!

Yep... follow your doctor's instructions.... most importantly get those liquids in and get that protein in. I was one of the fortunate ones who never had gas pains post op and I also was able to get all of my liquids in and protein in from, the very beginning. Be sure to get at least 64 ounces of liquids every day and over 60 grams of protein.... shakes are great for that, but so is unflavored protein powder like Unjury or Isopure... it's great because when you are on your full liquids, you can mix it into your broth or cream soups or even yogurt, if you are allowed all of those things on full liquids. Also, it mixes great into Crystal Light, Powerade Zero, and decaf iced tea. Meeting your liquid and protein goals will help the weight come off. But remember, you just had major surgery, and your body might actually go up in weight in the beginning, or it might be slow to come off at first. Just follow the plan and be patient and you will be on your way to a slimmer healthier you! Congratulations on your surgery and I hope you have a speedy recovery!

I think salmon would be great! Mmmmm... I love salmon! Have fun on your birthday1

That depends on which stage you are on. It sounds like you might be on the pureed stage. If you are, you can order a really soft fish and mash it up with a fork to pureed consistency. Also, you can have mashed sweet potatoes or mashed carrots... just mash till they are mush. You could also do a soup, but it needs to be a strained soup, no chunks on the pureed stage. Otherwise, if you are on soft foods, you can eat mainly fish for your meat and real soft veggies.

Glad you are feeling better now! I hope you let your doc know about the throwing up blood. I have never heard anyone mention that after surgery, but it doesn't sound good. Congratulations on your surgery and I wish you a speedy recovery!

When I was on my full liquids stage, I never tried Cream of Wheat. I agree with the above message... it doesn't have much protein. But then at this stage, you just aren't going to get a lot of protein with anything you consume. The best way to get at least 60 ounces of protein daily at this stage (very important), is to buy yourself some unflavored protein powder such as Unjury or Isopure. It is wonderful, because you can mix it into broths, cream soups and yogurt, which are all items that you should be allowed to consume on your full liquids stage. You can also get your protein through protein shakes. My favorite soup on full liquids was cream of celery (strain all soups to get chunks out). I would add some unflavored protein powder to my soup... again, you really need that protein.

First, 23 pounds in 5 weeks is good. Try not to compare yourself to others and their weight loss success. Everyone is different. Plus, a lot of people will have a stall or stalls, where the go for several days to weeks of not losing weight. It is perfectly normal. That said, you DO need to increase your protein intake. One protein shake a day is no where near enough protein. Protein will help you lose weight. You need to be getting at least 60 ounces of protein a day, so try to drink more or get more protein through food. Or, one really good way to get protein is by using a non-flavored protein powder such as Unjury or Isopure. The powder is awesome because you can add it to foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, etc.... and what I really like is that you can mix it into drinks such as Crystal Light, Powerade Zero and decaf unsweet tea (my favorite). Get that protein up, up, up to see those weight loss results. And drink plenty of fluids as well... over 64 ounces a day. Good luck.

You should definitely not be disappointed. You will read on this website that so many people have stalls... sometimes they last days, sometimes weeks. It has happened to me. When I was 2 weeks post op, I stopped losing weight for 2 weeks. Remember, you just had major surgery... your body needs time to heal and get used to the new changes.... the surgery itself, weight loss, etc. Also, from what I understand, the lower your starting weight, the slower the weight might come off. Do your best to try not to compare yourself to others weight loss. Yours might be slower and there is nothing wrong with that. Keep following your doctor's/nutritionist's plan and you will do just fine. High protein, over 64 ounces of liquids daily and a low carb diet. WIsh you the best. Keep your chin up.

My husband has been so supportive and just wonderful. For the past two years, he has watched me go through 2 open abdominal surgeries and numerous related health issues, including almost a constant abdominal pain from prior surgeries and existing hernias. When I made up my mind to have the sleeve surgery back in August, I was at my highest weight of 334. I told him, that it was really what I wanted to do, not to mention my doctor was urging me to do it. My husband was right there with me, so very supportive of my decision. I started losing weight in preparation for my surgery which was in November. Since August I have lost 94 pounds, down to 240 now. With every little victory, my husband has celebrated with me. He has been super encouraging the whole time. When I went through more than a 2 weeks stall, he told me I was doing great and encouraged me to keep up the good work. He has always told me that I am pretty, even when I didn't feel pretty. Fat or not as fat, he loves me the same. I definitely don't see him feeling insecure or even having thoughts about losing me when I get to that 150 goal weight. It sounds in my writing as if I'm bragging about my husband, and I guess I am. For those out there that may not have the support of their partner, hang in there and be strong. Do it for yourself and be true to yourself. Be encouraged by your success and the good changes you have implemented into your life.

Hello, I've read many posts here about the 2 weeks stall. It happens to MANY of us, and it happened to me too. You are on 8 days? My stall lasted for 2 weeks! I really didn't let it bug me too much because I knew that it was very common and that I would eventually see the scale start to move again. And after 2 weeks, I did get to see it move. I've probably had 3 stalls since, and I'm just about 5 months post op. I am actually in a stall right now after losing quite a bit of weight over the past month. So don't be discouraged, know that it is perfectly normal and keep doing what you are doing. I wish you the best.

Congratulations to everyone above on their upcoming surgeries! I wish you all the best and speedy recoveries!

Had my surgery at 11 am, no liquids or ice chips until the next day (late morning), after they did the leak test.

Are you already on pureed food? If so, I was able to do very well mashed carrots (mash till they are mush), same with any other soft veggie that can be mashed. But about the only veggie I had on pureed were carrots, trying to keep carbs low. I also had very well mashed canned chicken on the pureed stage.... just mashed it with a fork and added a little mayo or yogurt to it, to make it a little like chicken salad. There are also some ricotta bake recipes out there for the pureed stage... the one I tried (and it was great) can be found at theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com. She also has some other recipes for the different stages including pureed. If you are eating cottage cheese on the pureed stage, you don't need to mash it. So my opinion is that you don't really need the blender on the pureed stage, unless you are eating veggies or other foods that can't be mashed to a smooth consistency.

You might want to try some Powerade Zero and decaf iced tea. Either regular flavored decaf tea, or there are lots of different flavored herbal teas that taste good iced. I am sorry that you are having the trouble with your liquids getting stuck. I honestly don't have many suggestions other than to take small, slow sips as often as you can. I was one of the lucky ones who had virtually no trouble getting in over 64 ounces of liquids right out of the gate.

First, congratulations on your surgery. I know it can be hard to get your liquids and protein in. Right now, I wouldn't worry too much about the calories. If you are unable to get protein shakes down, I want to offer you a suggestion. Try an unflavored good protein powder such as Unjury or Isopure and you will be able to mix it in broth, soup, yogurt, etc. Or maybe even better in your case, you can also mix it into drinks such as Crystal Light, Powerade Zero, or my favorite, decaf unsweet iced tea. Maybe a protein powder in one of those drinks will help, as it does not thicken like a regular protein shake. Really concentrate on getting those liquids in, you might want to set goals for yourself every half hour or so... like "I will drink this many ounces every 30 minutes." You certainly don't want to get dehydrated, and it can happen very easily. It happened to me twice and I had to stay at the ER and get IV liquids for half a day. Liquids and protein... very important. Calories at the moment, I wouldn't fret over that. I wish you a speedy recovery!

That is the way my plan was. Full liquids that included strained soups (my favorite was cream of celery) or broth, yogurt and pudding. I basically lived off of sugar free/low carb plain yogurt with a little stevia to sweeten and the cream of celery soup. I also used Unjury unflavored protein powder and mixed it into my soup and yogurt to get that protein up over 60 grams a day. I didn't eat much of the sugar free pudding though, because it's really high in carbs. I did the above for 2 weeks. Then 2 weeks on pureed after that. If you aren't sure about your plan, please check back with your nutritionist to be safe. Congratulations on your surgery.

I would say no to the ham and stick to your diet plan. It's great that you've lost weight in the pre-op phase, but remember, the main reason you are doing the pre-op is so that the size of your liver will be reduced and it will be easier for them to get to your stomach. Following the diet plan they give you helps to do that.

Hello, I don't have Hashimotto's, but I am hypothyroid. I am 5 months post op and have been losing weight fairly steadily. I have only had a few "stalls" along the way. I just had a check up with my thyroid doctor, because I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago and my thyroid levels were high. I had been on 175mcgs of Levothyroxine for over 2 years. When I saw my doctor, he upped my thyroid med dosage to 200mcgs. I have been having dizzy spells and very low energy/lethargy and he said he hoped the change in dosage would help. I was actually surprised that my thyroid was off and required an increase in med.... I had thought it might be the other way around... that I would have to go down on med dosage after losing so much weight. As for me, I don't think my thyroid issues have kept me from losing weight. Sometimes the weight slowly comes off, but sometimes I will lose 4 or 6 pounds in a week. Oh, also. My insurance approved me even with thyroid problems, but I also had some other things that qualified me: incisional hernias and sleep apnea.

I wasn't allowed to have tomato soup because of exactly what you said, it is too acidic. They said it might bother the tummy. My favorite soup for my 2 weeks post-op full liquid phase was cream of celery. I ate that for the entire 2 weeks at lunch and dinner... it takes me a long time to get tired of eating certain foods, I'm weird. You could also do cream of chicken, cream of mushroom. Just remember that if you do any soups with pieces of veggies or other things in them that you need to strain it before you eat it. Congratulations on your surgery!

Did your doctor prescribe an anti-nausea med for you after surgery? Mine did and it really helped me. You might want to call your doctor's office and let them know what's going on, maybe a prescription for an anti-nausea med will help.

Go visit theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com She is a former WLS patient who has done a great job with her website and she has lots of recipes/ideas for the pureed stage including a great ricotta (or cottage cheese) bake that is quick and easy to make.

Congratulations on your weight loss and so happy for you that you are feeling better.... keep up the awesome work, you look great!