Berry78

Ok here is my new pic.

Ok, y'all, trying to get a sense where the carb wind blows these days...

Thanks for the belly laugh!!! (Oh man, my overactive imagination went to town on that one!) Eek!!!!

@shan0520 How goes it, my surgi-buddy? Haven't seen you on lately! (Have I just been missing all your posts?)

Here's another: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26708682 Maybe this is part of why bariatric surgery can be so effective? If our gut bugs are this important.. and we're busy using antibiotics, C-sections, antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers, pasteurization, refined, fiber deficient, processed, chemical laden... It's no wonder 70% of the US population is overweight!

The thing with bacteria is it grows and wanes based on what it is being fed. So if the actual strains of bacteria present are the same in heavy or light people, and it's just proportionally different based on the diet differences... then a change in diet will make the proportions align, and the microbiota will be the same. But, if heavy people have completely different strains.. then they WOULD need to be recolonized with the right stuff.

Well, if we go by the start of the preop diet, then you are WAY ahead of me.. I'm 8 months and 13 days since I started the preop liquid diet. (I only HAD to do it for 2 weeks, but started 2 weeks early to "get the hang of it"... impatient much?!)

I guess I got hungry in the night, cuz those ribs are GONE!! Woo Hoo! You'll be next to get your baby horse! What's funny, is I used to raise horses. We had 4 foals. So much fun!

Excess acid can feel like hunger. Make sure y'all are taking acid meds.

This is a great article! It would also follow that they could wipe out obese people's microflora and replace with that of normal weight people.... maybe.

Each of us has his/her own journey. This surgery is a BIG DEAL. There are risks and dangers. If someone feels less than 100% ready to take it on, then he/she shouldn't do it. We see enough leaks and other complications pop up on this board often enough to keep the dangers in mind. Imagine feeling pressured to do a surgery, and then you end up with a complication. Then you're sick AND feeling like it's someone else's fault (for pressuring you). We each need to understand and accept the risks for ourselves in order to be at peace through the difficult parts of the journey. This also applies to the postop lows that we all seem to go through. The moments of "what the heck did I do to myself??" Which would be so much worse if it were, "What the heck did those horrible people sign me up for?? They LIED to me! They said it would be so much better, and now look what mess I'm in!" The most important part of this journey is our taking personal responsibility for our health. Diet and lifestyle have to change.. forever. Huge commitment. Up there with having a child. MORE of a commitment than marriage.

Put a call in to your doc to see if they're concerned...

Only a rack of ribs stands between me and that baby horse...

As long as you aren't a teacher on a field trip. Now THAT would be a bad day!

Hopefully they are just giving you space in which to recover. But, if it doesn't turn out to be the case, I feel certain you'll make some new friends with whom your new lifestyle will better mesh. You may find exercise buds, or friends at a bariatric support group. Maybe you'll take up a new hobby.. No matter what, this is your time to work on YOU.

Oh wow! Congrats! Can you share your diet/exercise plan with us? Obviously running.. how did you work up to it?

It's possible.. could just be a texture or taste thing too. I have some issues with cheese, which is similar to avacado.. heavy and all..

The first few months are like walking into a different world. Part if that world is GOALS. 64+oz fluids and 60g or more protein are your first goals. This is part of the transformation that we must undergo postop. Food used to be for fun, habit, an emotional net, socialization, etc. Now it must be used as building blocks for the body. It can be enjoyable, but that isn't the POINT. In order to survive, there are a zillion chemical and physical processes that happen within the body. Every one of those processes requires energy and materials to perform. Our fat can supply the energy, but some of the materials are not stored in the body, that is where food and protein shakes come in. Our goals right after surgery are minimal. Fluids, then protein, then vitamins, then it's the texture progression and experimenting with flavors and textures. No one expects goals to be met 100% of the time. The idea is we TRY to meet them. If you are eating to meet goals, then your eating is coming from the correct place. It is in no way comparable to snacking from boredom (or any other reason). If a typical person has the flu, and doesn't feel like eating, that's fine. They keep up with their fluids and a week later they start eating again. No big deal. Bariatric patients are going for 6 months or a year with a very small stomach and frequently not much appetite. If we go too long without meeting our goals, we get dehydrated and weak, and if it continues, things go downhill from there. Our epiphany is to truly understand what food is for, and our duty is to remember it, forever. Food, goals, food, goals, food, goals.

We need some fats in our diets. Approx: 2oz nuts or seeds have 30g fat 2 tablespoons olive oil 30g fat 1.5oz cheese 14g 1 egg 5g fat 1 teaspoon oil 5g Meat -varies 1 tablespoon butter 11g Hummus has fat. Just toss a bit of olive oil in the pan with cooked veggies, or a little butter on cooked carrots, salad dressing on raw veggies Avacado and nuts and cheese can be used here or there.

"If you're not hungry, don't eat" ?? No... it doesn't work that way. One of the effects of surgery is to take away appetite. When we don't eat, we don't want to.. and because we don't want to, then we don't.. and when we don't, we don't want to... It's a vicious cycle. Without nourishment, you can't heal. Now.. you can drink your nourishment, no one said it must be solid. But it does need to be consumed.

Chicken and steak are tough for 2.5 weeks out (unless blended smooth with broth). Double check your plan on that one. I was eating lots of cottage cheese and yogurt, eggs (cooked very softly), and mashed/moistened beans. Split pea or lentil soup. Oh, and soft white fish.. blended or not.

Most vitamins and minerals we seem to absorb pretty well. The notable exceptions are calcium (we need citrate), and B-12. Iron- sometimes.. that one is usually worse in the bypass. In general, I shoot for at least 100% of everything, and add calcium and B-12. Anything else I let my doc tell me I'm low. Keep in mind potassium and magnesium aren't included in multivitamins, so I analyze my diet to make sure I get enough. People that don't take a good vitamin every day can be low on loads of things. Copper, zinc, manganese, selenium ... etc. etc. I'm always learning new things, so reserve the right to have missed something...

Ohhhh.. ok I got you now! My stomach was probably ginormous too Overeating on a regular basis probably can make the stomach more pliable/hold more. The fundus is the stretchy part, so, much like overused elastic, maybe it can stretch out. I happen to have a hyper-mobility issue.. (double-jointed). I've wondered whether that made my stomach more stretchy than average too.

My interpretation of Waler's concern is the same as my own (earlier). We hear "fasting", and we think "not eating". If you aren't eating, you won't get your nutrients. But, Apple explained that it was still eating the same amount, just concentrated within a specific timeframe. I can't have a problem with that, since meeting daily goals is my mantra. 8 hours is enough time for peeps to get 4 good meals in, which will work for those 6+ months postop. Any reduced consumption days need to wait until 18+ months postop.

Always eat fat with your veggies to absorb the vitamins. It doesn't take up any room.