AGreenEyedWolf

I am 6 months VSG post op and I will not lie - I have very little if any restriction. I avoid bread, cakes, cookies, rice, pasta - all that kind of stuff - and I simply cannot eat ground beef - for whatever reason, maybe it's the texture, I throw up if I eat it so I just avoid it entirely - and the only thing I drink now is water and hot tea - but - I can eat pretty much whatever else I want at this point and I have no issues eating or drinking at all. I have been up and down from 175 to 173 and back since May 12th (about 2 months) and I have started to feel worried that I may never lose the rest of the weight I want to lose (my goal is at least another 25-30 pounds). I don't know if I am struggling with this stall because I need to eat more (I eat probably 800-1000 calories a day) or because I need to burn less calories (I do a 10 minute workout once a day on my total gym here at home and walk at least 5 miles a day also). I don't see my bariatric doctor again until August 22nd, but That is still quite a ways away and I am starting to worry. How long does a person have to be stuck in a stall before they have to do something about it and if I was to try anything to get out of the stall, what should I try?

Still going back and forth from 171 to 173... it has now been 2 months of this... I see my surgeon and NUT in 19 days. I am going to change some things up again over the next few days. We will just have to see how it goes. Kind of frustrating to be about 20 pounds from my goal and feel I am unable to go any further :-(

I tried changing what I was eating rather than the amount of calories I was eating... I am allowed grains (via crackers) - so I gave up the crackers I and dropped to 171.6 in 2 days... however, 2 days later I was back at 173.2 so obviously I am still doing something wrong. I drink 101.4 ounces of water a day, plus 1 cup of hot tea with Splenda - I do the 10 minute workout and then I (usually) walk 3 miles (some days I skip the walk if I don't have time in the morning or if I know I will be getting lots of steps in without it later in the day) followed by enough steps the rest of the day to have walked a total of 5 to 8 miles - and I have done other exercise as well this week - roller skating... swimming... (it's summer and I have out of town family here so we have been doing all kinds of stuff). I think I am not getting enough protein, so I am going to increase my protein and decrease my veggies for the rest of the week (I would give up my blackberries - but my NUT and my doc encourage me to use them as my go-to snack because they tend to keep me "regular").

I will be 8 weeks post-op tomorrow. I have been released to exercise every other day and to eat a full, regular diet. I work out every other day on a Total Gym and I walk 5 miles a day. I am still very careful not to eat certain things... I avoid soft, doughy breads... so I don't eat sandwiches or wraps or burgers, etc... I also don't eat ground beef, nuts, popcorn, chips, stringy fruits or veggies, raw fruits or veggies, salads, corn, or anything breaded/battered or fried etc. What I do eat is almost entirely: toasted bread with Peanut Butter, scrambled eggs, cooked onions, bell peppers, & mushrooms, with grilled chicken or steak, oven roasted pork loin on occasion, and sometimes mashed potatoes or cooked green Beans. I also eat wheat crackers, soft, spreadable cheeses, yogurt, sugar free popsicles, and sometimes I try to stave off my hunger with Protein shakes. I drink Water, Gatorade, and Vitamin water and occasionally lifewater... but NEVER soda or anything like that. Yes, I said HUNGER... real, honest to goodness hunger AND head hunger AND cravings hunger... because I have almost NO restriction unless I eat too much too fast. If I take my time I feel like I can eat almost anything I want to in whatever quantity I want - or so I assume, I don't push the issue of force it or over eat on purpose... BUT it feels like I could if I wanted to and that worries me because sometimes I have "hollow days" - days where NOTHING I eat makes me feel full or satisfied and I am CRAVING something I can neither name nor define. These days there is nothing I can do to make myself stop stalking into the kitchen every 10 minutes looking to graze. I try to make the choices I make during these hollow days something that isn't bad for me - sugar free popsicles... fruit... that sort of thing... but sometimes I am giving in to 5 or 6 club crackers... half a dark chocolate candy bar... ice cream... and it's almost impossible to stop, no matter how much I realize I shouldn't be doing it. I have been stuck at this same weight for 2 weeks - gaining and losing the same pound over and over again by ounces every day. Today I FINALLY got past that number and went one pound down... but I had a hollow day today and I fear the scale tomorrow morning already :-( Is it just me or does anyone else have this issue already? I hear people say a couple of YEARS out from surgery this happens and they need to do a "reset" and try to get back on track but I am only 2 months out... this shouldn't be happening to me, should it??

I am drinking only water now - I stopped drinking anything else but my morning cup of tea - and I drink four to six 16.9 ounce bottles of water a day. I eat my protein first at lunch and dinner - I seldom eat breakfast, that is just me... I start my day with a cup of hot tea sweetened with Splenda and a splash of milk at about 7 am but then eat a snack - usually blackberries - around 10 am... lunch around 12:30-1:00 is usually grilled chicken by itself or grilled chicken with cheese on wheat thins. Dinner is at 4:30-5:00 and I either eat whatever my family is eating (example: small amount of pork roast, a few green beans and a couple of tiny potatoes - the ones that are smaller than the size of a ping pong ball) or more grilled chicken (by itself). Evening snack is usually more blackberries... (my doctor approves that I eat about a half cup of them 2 to 3 times a day as my snack)... and I usually have a sugar free Popsicle once or twice a day, depending on my craving level. My doctor also approves of my walking 5 to 8 miles a day, doing 10 squats 3 to 4 times a day and using my total gym to do 6 different exercises once a day every other day. He is happy I am losing 1 to 1.5 pounds a week on average, but I guess I feel I should be losing more because I have been stalled at 175 (ish) for 3 weeks now.

My plan allows you to go to a regular diet of anything you feel comfortable eating and can tolerate at 8 weeks post surgery... but I think most people simply CAN'T eat most things that soon - for whatever reason, I have little if any restriction and have a really hard time feeling full for very long, no matter what I eat... even if I eat nothing but protein (baked chicken for instance), and drink nothing but water... I still spend the whole day feeling "hollow" - essentially, I end up feeling hungry ALL the time.. I have noticed that if I am away from home and busy I do not feel hungry or notice the "hollow" feeling - it only seems to happen when I am at home. I do my best to stay out of the house and active, but I am disabled, have little money, and all my friends live in other states or at least an hour away... so I really have no one to spend time with, either... and what little work I do is from home on my computer, so staying out of the house and busy is not always easy. I need to get back into counseling, but I am struggling to pay my $35 per visit co-pay because my husband has cerebral atrophy and his out of pocket medical costs are easily $500-$700 a month (about a third of our monthly income) :-( The struggle is real, I can tell you that. I am trying hard to get back on my pre-op diet (protein shakes every 3 hours all day and otherwise one sensible meal of mainly protein and water, water, water) so I can sort of "reset" my brain again... but it's a slow process. This is my progress so far - my starting weight in December 2016 was 220... I had my surgery on 01/25/2017 and weighed 210 when I checked into the hospital... DATE WEIGHT BMI TOTAL WEIGHT LOST 01/27/2017 208 35.7 12 02/03/2017 198 34 22 02/10/2017 194 33.3 26 02/17/2017 193 33.1 27 02/24/2017 192 33 28 03/03/2017 190 32.6 30 03/10/2017 189 32.4 31 03/17/2017 188 32.3 32 03/24/2017 186 31.9 34 03/31/2017 184 31.6 36 04/07/2017 181 31.1 39 04/14/2017 179.2 30.7 40.8 04/21/2017 178.8 30.7 41.2 04/28/2017 178 30.6 42 05/05/2017 177.4 30.4 42.6

I have pretty much NO restriction at all unless I eat too fast which results in me eating too much. As long as I take my time and remember to chew thoroughly and eat at a slower pace, I think I have realized that I can actually eat quite a bit at a time already and that worries me because it means when I have a "hollow day" I go from snack to snack to snack and have a hard time getting in more protein than carbs. My snacks are usually things like blackberries - about a quarter to half a cup at a time, sometimes 3 to 4 times a day or a sugar free popsicle once in awhile. I almost never eat breakfast, because I am never hungry int he morning, but I always start the day with a cup of hot tea. In fact, as long as I stay away from home and stay busy, I don't feel hungry much at all during the day. If I stay home and have nothing to do, though - that is when I start to feel "hollow" and have trouble NOT eating... lunch and dinner is almost always the same: about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese all run through my chopper and sort of stir fried in a touch of olive oil with seasonings... but once in awhile I eat whatever the family is having like a baked piece of flounder or a piece of boneless skinless chicken and whatever veggies are with it. I do avoid things like burgers, hotdogs, pasta, rice, white breads, cakes, cookies, donuts, etc and anything fried. But I have a hard time saying no to things like dark chocolate and ice cream and I have spreadable Swiss cheese on wheat thins as a snack in the evening at least 3 or 4 nights a week.

I use Samsung Health to track my exercise, steps and food. So I am keeping track of everything, trust me. I'm ingesting more carbs than protein once in awhile which I'm sure contributes to the feeling ... and I am burning way more calories than I take in because most days I take in between 450 and 650 calories... but I walk a minimum of 5 miles a day, work my arms while I walk, and work out my legs and mid section every other day.

I had a favorite Vassarette bra for many years - they stopped making them... I freaked out... then Curvation made one just like them - I was thrilled... then they stopped making those, too and I have been suffering with inferior crap ever since - I am also a firm support, not stretchy support, underwire, keep them separate type... I still long for them to bring back my favorites because I am also on disability with very little income and I cannot pay $20 - $60 for a bra... I am lucky if I can spare $10 - $15 and all the options at Wal-Mart now SUCK :-(

I tried to stick to straight Splenda or other sugar substitutes after surgery... but I love fruit, and while I don't eat certain types of fruit (no apples or peaches or pears unless they are skinless... no pineapple because it is too stringy, etc) I do have strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and occasionally grapes. And yes - I have "slipped" a couple times - I don't eat cookies or cakes or muffins anymore EVER no matter WHAT... but I have eaten about an eighth of a cup of low fat, sugar free ice cream twice... and I ate about 5 teaspoons of regular pudding once (I can't stand the taste of sugar free pudding and really was craving something sweet - my son's snack drawer was too close for comfort LOL). It's not just sweets, either... I do my best to stay away from the temptation - but I am not going to deny the other people in my home the things they want just because I can't have those things - there are many nights I make stir fried meat and veggies for me - but then also make burgers and fries or meatloaf and mashed potatoes or chicken tenders and rice - or something like that - for my husband and son. My husband tries to tell me to make something we can ALL eat together - but most of the stuff they like I am trying to avoid... I can't eat a sandwich or fish sticks or pizza... and the stuff I make for myself might not be what they want (since I eat the exact same meal sometimes 3 times a day for a week or more without changing it at all). And I try not to put myself in a position to be tempted - I try not to bring too many chips, pretzels, popcorn, candy, sweets, etc into the house - but if my husband wants Doritos, he is an adult and I can't tell him no - I just stay away from it so I am not tempted. Yesterday, we went to my son's friend's birthday party - everyone around me enjoyed pizza, cake and ice cream. I normally excuse myself from the room but this time I sat there and watched everyone else enjoy the food - all I ate was the cheese off of one slice and my husband ate the crust for me since I can't eat that. I realized I can be around it and not be too tempted - that I was strong enough to say no - which was good to know.

My husband is constantly after me to try a bite of this or that or a sip of his drink... I always tell him no because I'm avoiding the carbs he is always offering and the soda... today he insisted I try a sip of his Baja Blast (Mountain Dew) so I sipped the tiniest sip you ever saw - barely enough to taste it really, and I was sorry within seconds. The carbonation felt terrible when it got to my stomach, and it was SOOOO sweet (I was a regular Dew addict - like that is ALL you EVER saw me drink for YEARS with the exception of an occasional glass of sweet tea)... I gave up all sodas back in December and MAN that stuff was like sickly sweet and syrupy and the carbonation was very uncomfortable for several seconds... I won;t give in again... I told him as much moments later lol

Navigating, like I said - I feel almost no restriction at all anymore. To me, everyone else having so much issue getting anything down is the shocker - because I can eat anything and be just fine. Today for breakfast all I had was hot teat with a splash of milk and Splenda... for lunch it was about a quarter cup of grilled strips of chicken and steak with diced bell peppers, onions and mushrooms plus 5 blueberries, 4 blackberries, 6 grapes and a strawberry. Then dinner was about and eighth of a cup of steak (I couldn't eat much of it - the cheap cuts we can afford are often too tough or chewy) plus more blueberries, grapes, strawberries and blackberries. Then an hour later I had a sugar free popsicle. I had the same fruits as a snack in the evening, then about an eighth of a cup of the lunch mixture (minus the fruits) just now because I felt so hungry. I don't often drink Gatorade and when I do it is the zero calorie G2... but I know what you mean about the carbs... it seems like over half my daily intake is carbs most days - but a lot of that is from fruits and veggies and while I know my protein intake needs to be pretty high, my nutritionist wants me eating a well rounded diet that includes fruits, vegetables and grains - it's like, how am I supposed to get all that in when everyone says I should only be eating like a quarter to half a cup of food at a time 3 to 6 times a day? If I am supposed to eat only that amount all those times a day and keep it mostly meat, when will I get in my fruits, veggies, grains, etc? I don't know why I stopped feeling much restriction, but the empty calories from the carbs are probably why I sometimes feel so very hungry. I guess I need to go back to eating only at 730, 1030, 130, 430, and 730 again and make it so I eat something at 3 of those times and drink a protein shake at the other 2 times... maybe if I am back to a couple protein shakes a day I can see if I can get back on track. I guess I got spoiled because until the last 2 weeks, I was losing weight the whole time no matter what stage of my diet I was in, and I thought, well I am just eating less at a time so if I am still losing weight by eating less at a time without much worry about WHAT I was eating, that I was doing okay. Apparently not :-P

I was sleeved January 25th, 2016. I am down 35 pounds since my journey started last November (24.3 pounds down since surgery). For the last week or so I have had pain in my right hip... I can't tell if the pain is really up in the joint or if it is more to the front of my thigh/in my pubic area... all I know is it HURTS... it hurts if I sit my "normal way" on a hard surface (I often tuck my right leg up and under my left leg when I sit) and it hurts when I walk (though if I walk a lot it sort of calms down some and isn't so bad for awhile). I have arthritis in other joints, and I am wondering if (as the fat goes away) I am losing the "cushioning" that held all my parts together; and that is revealing pain from damage done to my body while I was overweight. I probably need to see my doctor, but my next post-surgical appointment is on the 14th and they simply can;t see me until then. I may need to go to an orthopedist, but in the meantime - has anyone else experienced this or something similar? I don't think bariatric patients are supposed to take Ibuprofen - which has ALWAYS been my go-to for ANY kind of pain - is it not allowed? Should I try Tylenol? Is that even likely to help me with this kind of pain as well as Ibuprofen would?

Thanks for the kudos! I am in this group - every day since surgery I have made a meal for my husband and son and then had something else to eat myself. I'll be glad when I can go back to a full diet in 2 weeks so I can make healthy meals all 3 of us can enjoy together once in awhile! :-)

I eat a lot of grilled chicken stir-fried with mushrooms or other veggies :-) I hate cottage cheese too :-P

Carrie1122 I don't drink coffee, but I do enjoy hot tea... with Splenda now instead of sugar - and the only fast food place I still go to when friends or family want to stop while I am out with them is Chick-Fil-A because they have soup :-)

I started my research a long time ago... but did not find the bariatric doctor "for me" until November 2016. I am 5'4" and I weighed 220 pounds. I was a pack a day smoker and was addicted to carbs, sugar and Mt. Dew - and I was scared that if I didn't make some changes, I was going to die. In December, just before Christmas, I ended up in the hospital because scar tissue from a surgery 16 years ago had adhered to my intestines. I was in the hospital 2 days and when I got out I thought - why start smoking again? I am 2 days smoke free! I still "wanted" to be doing it though, so I switched to vaping. I also was on Clear liquids for 4 days... so I thought, why go back to soda and sugary drinks? I just never had another soda since. Then, I had my surgery on January 25th... and was in the hospital for 3 days (2 nights)... I never even thought about my ecig until I got home and unpacked my bags... so I thought, why start again when I am already 3 days vape free? And of course I had been on a pre-op liver shrinking diet for almost 2 weeks before surgery, and part of that had me ingesting something every 3 hours from 730 am - 730 pm daily... so I thought, why not try to keep doing that? I sipped Water constantly but I made sure every 3 hours from 730 - 730 I was ingesting something other than water - clear liquids, full liquids, soft foods... whatever part of my journey I was on I integrated into the every 3 hours process. Right now, I am 2 weeks from a full, regular diet and I am still on soft foods - but every 3 hours I ingest something and I am not hungry in between and feel great! I quit sodas, I quit smoking, I quit vaping and I have lost 34 pounds so far. It hasn't been super easy - but it has absolutely been worth it!!

I was also diagnosed with B. E. D. - I am not a therapist, but I'd be happy to be a friend :-)

I was sleeved January 25th... from that evening on, I walked as much as I could every chance I got... and then I would rest and when I felt rested I'd get up and walk again. Now, I am 3 weeks post surgery and I walk a minimum of 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) a day. I'm not yet cleared for any other exercise yet, so I feel like I should walk as much as I can since it is the only exercise I can have for now!

Yes definitely getting fluids in. No discomfort - just a bit worried anyway I guess... I got used to going every other day until I started purees. Note: I did have a small BM last night after I made this post :-)

My VSG was 01/25/2017. I have been in the puree stage since last Wednesday (and will be in it till next week Wednesday). I have had a BM at least once or twice every other day since a couple days post op... but like I said, I started purees on Wednesday of last week... and haven't had a BM since Friday evening. I already take a stool softener every day... I don't know if I should (A) call my doctor ( try something like Miralax or © try a mild suppository like Dulcolax. It's not painful... I'm not having any belly pain at all... and I probably wouldn't have worried about it or even realized it had been a few days if I hadn't struggled with dinner tonight (for the first time, I experienced serious restriction... like, it felt like the few bites of food I ate got "stuck" just past my throat and it took about 30 minutes and 2 burps that produced some of my recently swallowed dinner... that was when I started to think about my bowel habits and realized how long it has been). Anyone else experiencing this or have any advice? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal mobile app

Thanks for posting the chart... that's very helpful :-) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal mobile app

I do soft scrambled eggs, but I can only eat about half an egg so I usually share with my son. I like to puree grilled chicken chunks with some shredded cheese, a bit of fat free sour cream and some mild salsa... tastes like a chicken soft taco without the tortilla :-) I make some and it takes me 2 or 3 days to eat it at 2 to 3 ounces a meal for lunch and dinner. I also puree grilled chicken chunks and shredded cheese with a little light ranch dressing and some BBQ sauce... reminds me of Wendy's BBQ ranch salad without the salad part lol Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

16 days post op. 29 pounds down since starting the pre-op diet (15 since surgery). Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I am 2 weeks post surgery today... I got up this morning and put on a shirt... and for the first time in years, I did not have to then pull, tug, and stretch it until it was comfortable enough to wear... it went on and I was like, whoa... this fits as is!! I've had to pull and stretch my shirts for so long... to put on a shirt and not have to do that felt amazing!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App