Berry78

No, this is not normal! Did the docs do any tests? You need to have some tests run, looking at the inside of your stomach to see what is going on. It could be a stricture, or a problem with your intestines.. all kinds of things can go wrong, and it may not be easy to find the answer, but it is important that your doctors are willing to keep trying to find it.

So glad things are going in the right direction! I think I'd fire that PCP and find another one that gives a dang. (Oh, wait, I DID! I had the same type of devil-could-care PCP, and switched to a MUCH better new one, right before my surgery!). It shouldn't have taken a bariatric surgeon to discover a low thyroid level.

Mine was always curly, but became curlier Not a gigantic difference, just a matter of degree. Craziness what surgery can do...

Peanut butter/nuts/seeds all have good fats and some protein. Olive oil, peanut oil, and butter are my go-to cooking fats. Peanut oil handles higher temperatures. (As soon as oil starts smoking, you're damaging it). I get 70g of protein without a protein bar or shake in sight. Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, nuts, seeds, beans, meat, poultry, fish, eggs. Sample daily menu for you: Breakfast: 2 eggs, 4oz beans (21g protein) Snack: 2oz nuts or seeds (14g protein) Lunch: 4oz meat or fish (28g protein) Snack: 4oz cooked spinach plus 2-4oz cottage cheese (whatever you can fit in) (7g-13g protein) Dinner: 4oz meat or fish (28g protein) Yes, it's a LOT of food! But, you're a big guy, and I suspect your weight is stalling because you're not eating enough. Even if you don't eat this much every day, to have an occasional "splurge day", will help kick start your weight loss. I personally also take in a 4oz piece of fruit each day.. but that's optional, depending on your carb desires. (But I skip the dinner, and only have 1 egg for breakfast).

Trust me, this is the worst of it. I was completely miserable during the first few days of the preop diet. Low sodium v8 really did help me a bunch, ask if you can drink a big glass of that every day. (I didn't have veggies on my preop diet.. just the 3 shakes.. so I cheated with the v8.. SHHHH! Don't tell!).

Assuming you're in the northern hemisphere, the summer weather will dry you out extra quickly. Try to get your fluids up to 100oz and see if you see a difference. (I'm one to talk.. I'm constantly slightly dehydrated too, so am also trying to get my fluids up ).

I'm 4 months out, and can eat 4 ounces of most things, 3oz of solid protein, or 8 ounces of soup at a sitting. From what I read on the board, it seems this is pretty typical (I might eat a smidge more than most, but close enough...). When I go to a restaurant, I can finish a cup of soup.. not broth necessarily.. I mean chili, or bean soup, or whatever. This was possible at about 2-3 months postop. At this point, things feel "normal" to me now. My new normal. There for a while, I was kinda horrified by the portions I saw others eating, but I've gotten used to that now too. I know I won't be eating that much, but it doesn't faze me. Kinda like if I saw someone eating pork rinds (and I don't like pork rinds). Good for them, but it has nothing to do with me. As for the weight staying off? That is completely under your control. The hunger will probably come back within a year, so you will need to use this time to learn new, healthy eating habits, and they'll have to be lifelong. Just like any diet you've ever been on, if you stop paying attention, and just eat what everyone else is eating, the weight will come back. Full feels different for each person. I feel it low in my abdomen, while most feel it more in the chest area. I can eat happily, and then suddenly I'll feel like one more bite is A REALLY BAD IDEA. If it happens while I'm chewing, I go ahead and spit out that mouthful. I haven't really ever been uncomfortable or vomited from overeating since I get such a distinct feeling (touch wood).

I lost 54lbs during the first 3 months postop, including the 2 week preop diet.

Yep, everyone's tastes change (and so far at 4 months postop, mine have stayed changed). I'm surprised milk tastes sour to you. You can try lactaid milk (might be too sweet, but worth a shot).. ok to drink, even if you aren't lactose intolerant. Fairlife milk also tastes different (and of course 2%, skim, and whole will all vary as well). There are a zillion types of tea (especially herbal), hopefully some of those will go down ok. Camomile is usually pretty nice and soothing. Homemade broth might be good, and can get you some protein in as well. (google "bone broth" for recipes.. but put meat in too, as it will add more protein to the broth.) For the next couple months, everything will be an experiment to see what you can tolerate. Tiny changes in type or brand can make a big difference.

This is funny, cuz cheese sits like a brick in my tummy (except cottage cheese). I'll eat it on rare occasions (and it IS getting easier), but on a day to day basis, I don't touch the stuff. Meanwhile I'm eating steak, chicken, pork chops, etc. etc. Some of the meat is really dry too! (I take my time with it, but it goes down just fine). Well... hamburger patties can be dry, and it's fine.. but dry chicken breast is still a no-go. Keep in mind I'm 4 months out. Maybe just serve up the 1oz, and go back for more if you want. 5 weeks is still really early, and 2-3oz is probably just too much... and you likely are overeating when you are faced with the larger amount. I think I pretty much lived off of cottage cheese at 5 weeks out, so 2-3oz made sense. 1oz of tuna salad would have been my limit. (Too bad I didn't write this stuff down, so you're just getting cobwebby memories).

I'm not hearing anything that is making me change my mind. R.E. Preeclampsia.. had it with my first pregnancy, when I became pregnant when I was 169lbs. I did make it full term, but induced when I started dropping protein in my urine. Baby and Mom were fine. My next 3 pregnancies all went fine with no complications, with starting weights at 180lbs, 225lbs, 245lbs. I gained 40lbs with each one, except #2 where I gained 65! Do you see a trend? After each pregnancy, I did drop the pregnancy weight gain each time, but some of that weight always made its way back after weaning, in time for the next pregnancy. I didn't develop gestational diabetes, but 10 years after the last pregnancy, I became prediabetic. What the surgery does is clean up old metabolic issues and gives you a clean slate. (At least, that's the hope.. works for some, but it's not guaranteed). What you do with that clean slate is up to you. After you get surgery, you really have to be on a "diet" the rest of your life. You can always gain weight back, the same as anyone. But, the surgery is a one-time opportunity.. and I'm SOOOOO glad my family was complete before considering going under the knife, so my clean slate can remain that way. Maybe you can talk with your doc about how risky they believe a pregnancy will be (before or after surgery).. a lone voice on the internet shouldn't necessarily sway you one way or the other, but I urge you to get as much information from your own network as possible. Many people here get the surgery so they CAN get pregnant. Without it, they are infertile. For those people, they only have one choice if they want to be parents, and I wholeheartedly support them. For you, it sounds like you have options. And if slow weight loss is discouraging enough to stop your diet attempts... it's a bit concerning to me, since postop it is nothing but dieting. What I would love to see you do, is try one of the diets again (and I can give you one if you like), work on your mind game and nutritional status.. drop a few pounds, and when you're ready, get pregnant, have your baby, and after a couple years get the surgery. Sure, you'll be a few years older, but you'll use those years to learn more about the surgery and practice healthful eating, so when you do get the operation, you'll be completely ready.

I like the idea of Paleo, but have some issues with how some people perceive the diet. For example, cavemen didn't drink milk, but once people started keeping cows, some gradually evolved the ability to continue making lactase into adulthood.. and when food was scarce, those that could subsist on milk didn't starve, so they continued on to pass on those genes. I am a fortunate recipient of those genes, so since I can digest milk, why wouldn't I drink it? Trust me, if cavemen COULD drink milk.. they would have too! Lol. Cavemen had access to a wider variety of foods than we have today. Modern agriculture has narrowed our foodstuffs so far, that we now primarily subsist off of maybe 100 items (and only about 10- 20 of them make up the bulk of our diets).. that the idea of narrowing what we eat even further.. seems like a really bad idea. Having said that, processed, chemical laden foods have no place at my table either. I'll do Paleo+ (I also want my legumes, potatoes, and dairy).

Yes, all of that IS a very good sign. If mine sounds similar, then I don't think it's anything to worry about. Hopefully your surgeon will agree (And if he doesn't, let me know! lol).

Sounds exactly like my experience. I would weigh out 3 oz, then weigh out how much I didn't eat. Say I didn't eat 1oz. The next time I had the same thing, I would just weigh out 2oz, and I usually could then finish it. I only increased from 2 to 2.5oz when I was consistently cleaning up the 2, and started feeling like I could have eaten another bite. In this way, I worked up to 4 oz, but stopped there. I now measure out 4 ounces of most things, whether I could eat more doesn't matter. Sometimes I finish, sometimes I don't. No biggie. Leaving one bite left happens about 30% of the time. Funny story.. ordered a cup of chili at a restaurant, and some wings. Ate 1 wing, and all but one spoonful of chili. Was stuffed! The waitress comes to collect my chili cup, and says.. come on, there's only one more bite! I politely declined. *shakes head* everyone wants people to belong to the clean plate club! (My family finished the wings). I think I was about 3 months out when that happened.

I have mild abdominal muscle discomfort (almost 4 months out). Not from near the incisions, higher around my ribs. Comes on with movement, but I wouldn't ever call it intense. I actually think mine is from the shrinking fatty layer under the muscles is creating this discomfort. About the time the muscles are adjusting to my new shape, I've lost more, so it's a lingering strange sensation that I never had preop. It's good to ask your surgeon, in case there is something unexpected happening, especially if it's more than mild discomfort.

Since you need business attire, it may be worthwhile to check out the clothing subscription websites. You pay so much a month, and can get a couple outfits, then mail them back in to exchange for others. (Old fashioned netflix type thing). What I've been doing is getting two pairs of nice black slacks, and about 3 nice tops (I buy them where they'll just barely fit but still look ok, so they have room for me to shrink into).. and just do laundry constantly. If people wonder why I wear an outfit all the time, I just say it's my favorite. If they press, I'd say,"Hey, you want to take me shopping?" Ok, I admit that's never happened.. and probably because everything I wear is black, so they can't tell one outfit from the next, so they just assume I have a closet full of black clothes. Monochromatic, but it works! Lol. (And if I'm being ornery, I'd say I was in mourning for my parakeet).

Your BMI wouldn't qualify you for surgery under most insurance plans in the US. (In other words, you're not that big! Which is a good thing). Has your doctor said you shouldn't get pregnant at your current weight? I'm a bit taller than you, but had no issues with pregnancies at 250+ pounds. My concern about surgery prior to pregnancy is two-fold. Pregnancy and lactation does require a lot of nutrition, and when you've hindered your absorption through surgery, you'll be doing a double-whammy on your own nutritional status. The baby will get what it needs, but at your expense. (Some nutrients are super hard to replace when depleted, especially those that come from your brain). The second concern (which may or may not hold water in your case), is the fact that surgery gives a ONE TIME opportunity to reset your metabolism and set point.. but by the very nature of pregnancy, you will be gaining weight, and might have as hard a time losing it again as you would have without surgery. What was your problem with the diets you tried? Was it that you didn't lose weight at all, or that you couldn't stick with it and keep it off? (It does make a difference, pointing towards what kind of metabolism you have).

The fruit, if eaten alone, will bottom you out. The protein bars have protein and carbs, so it helps keep things even. (That's the idea of sandwiches.. protein and carbs together). The Native Americans ate Pemmican.. (meat, fat, and fruit, mixed together). Hikers' staple is gorp (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts). The fat and protein in the peanuts offsets the sugar rush of the raisins. Drinkable yogurts could work if they have enough protein. I think you're looking for about a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio, carbs to protein+fat. Not 30:1 I don't know if you are riding hard and fast, or at a moderate pace. If you're breathless, protein and fat won't digest, and you'll be hurting. I assume if there are sandwiches, everyone is taking a little break...

Oh, and that fainting is nothing to play around with. Have you mentioned it to your doc? If you have tried the things on my list, and really aren't getting the nutrition you need, then your doc may have to help you out with IV nutrition. Definitely keep them in the loop.

Ok, so you're two months out, and I presume released to a normal diet. I haven't had but two sips of protein shake postop, but have been meeting my protein goals without a problem. You will be able to too, we'll just get creative. Cheese has very little lactose in it, and depending on the pudding, it might not have much either. So you might be lactose intolerant. You can eat tuna, so that is a great start! A can of tuna has like 25g of protein.. so that gets you almost halfway to goal right there. Can you eat nuts/seeds/peanut butter? A handful of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter has 7ish grams of protein. Can you eat beans? 4oz of black beans (or pintos or kidney) also has about 7g protein. You can't eat the processed egg protein, how about just a cooked egg? Dairy to try would be cottage cheese and yogurt. (Plain greek yogurt has less lactose than regular yogurt). They do make lactaid cottage cheese. Much of this will seem like a science experiment to see what you can handle. Of course chicken, pork, beef, seafood.. are all excellent protein sources. If you can eat 10oz of assorted meat and fish, that would get you to goal, without dairy, eggs, beans, or nuts. 5 meals, 2oz each, until you can eat 4oz at a sitting. Make sure the meat is nice and soft with gravy or the like.

The first thing to do is take stock of what you are doing now. For the next week, don't change anything, just write everything down. (What you eat, how long, and what sort of exercise, types of medications taken). Once you have the list, you can figure out how many calories, protein, carbs, and fats you are getting.. pay attention to the intensity of the exercise.. heart rate, (if you can).. and see if weight gain is a side effect of your medications. With all that information, you'll be able to see where things could be helped, or come back on here, and you'll get some *hopefully* helpful advice.

You'd think she'd get hypoglycemia from candy too though.. (not saying it ISN'T a blood sugar problem, just that it's weird ). Personally I can taste the baking soda in cakes and the like, so then I start thinking maybe there is another ingredient in the second list that you have developed a sensitivity to (my daughter is sensitive to vanilla! Can you imagine?) I was kinda assuming you are dumping.. but maybe taking a blood sugar reading when you feel that way could answer whether it's the reactive hypoglycemia. (The other way to tell, if you don't have a monitor, is to see if you feel better after you eat something).

[Hugs] Of course, talking to someone is always a good idea. In the meantime, turn nutrition and eating into a simple, preplanned, repeatable experience until you can figure some things out. 1. It would be great to find out your BMR so calorie counting can mean something. If you can't get tested, then you have to track everything, creating a lot of work. 2. The more you think about food (through tracking), the more important it is in your head... the more you think about food, the hungrier you will be. 3. Yes, 1 and 2 are at odds with each other. 4. In order to not think about food, you need to have other hobbies. 5. But if you are busy with hobbies, and not thinking about food, then you eat "whatever", and if it's quick and easy, it's usually junk. I have solved all of these issues for me by creating a single, simple, repeatable menu. I plan once a week and go shopping for what I need, then I don't have to think about it for the rest of the week.

I think it would be helpful for us to have a rule of thumb as to how long to expect stalls to last, and when to be concerned. From all the posts, it seems safe to say stalls can last 21 days without concern. Outsidematchesinside experienced a stall at least for a month, but her clothing sizes continued changing during that time. From this nonscientific sample size, I believe it is safe to say.. don't worry unless you go a month without scale or measurement changes. If you do, and you're not at goal, then it's time to change things up.

Thanks, Apple, for answering. I missed the inquiry. I believe keto should be good for hashimoto sufferers. I've read about a possible link to gluten sensitivity, so keto + gluten free make a nice combo to try...