teacupnosaucer

At 7 weeks in our program we are at the point of "try everything and see how it goes". Some people have a hard time with lettuce, others don't. You won't know until you try. If you're really worried, just make sure any new foods you try you are at home and close to a bathroom just in case. If you use "MyFitnessPal" they have a recipe function that allows you to input ingredients and number of servings to help you track what the recipes are for calories and other nutrients. Lots of recipe sites also post their own nutritional info you can refer to as well. Or you could look into buying a bariatric cookbook for yourself, which would give you lots of post-surgery ideas. I hear this one is great! https://www.amazon.ca/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Cookbook-Dummies/dp/0470640189

I'm hardly perfect with my protein, but my general rules for myself are: 1. other than veg to keep me from getting constipated I try not to put anything in my mouth in these early stages that doesn't have at least SOME protein. the more protein-less food I eat, the less room I have for the protein. I also follow the "protein first" rule at meals. I try to look at labels BEFORE I eat because sometimes I eat something thinking it'll definitely pack a punch of protein and it turns out to be not that great. 2. I added unflavoured protein powder to my yogurt and pudding snacks. Not super yummy, but it does help get those numbers up. 3. Instead of water, I made a point of drinking at least one cup of high protein skim milk a day. (Fairlife makes one in the US, here in Canada we have Natrel Lactose Free). 4. Supplement with protein shakes or protein drinks (like Nectar or Protein Water brands). My clinic doesn't want us depending on protein shakes for our nutrition, but in the early stages they're indispensable for getting the protein in. 5. Breakfast smoothies with protein powder, yogurt, AND milk. Starting my day off with one of those (sipped slowly throughout the morning and counted as both breakfast and my morning snack) really sets me up for success for the day. I did chocolate protein powder with plain yogurt and frozen cherries or strawberries or peanut butter, or vanilla protein powder with plain yogurt and whatever frozen fruit sounded good.

I want to make my own protein ice cream and frozen yogurt. after all I got an ice cream maker as a wedding gift almost ten years ago that I NEVER EVER USED lmao. maybe I could finally change that!

there is a proven hormonal component to weight loss. I'm no doctor but from my understanding fat cells store estrogen, and then release that estrogen as you lose fat. (pls someone correct me on this if I'm misrepresenting what happens!) people say that post surgery weight loss can hormonally be a little bit like weeks long PMS as your hormones fluctuate. there's also an uptick in depression and suicide after surgery. of course that may not describe you if it's just weepiness and not darker feelings/thoughts, but it's something watch out for and ask for help with if it gets worse. but don't worry, what you're going through is pretty normal from everything I've read.

Thank you for starting this thread and to the women sharing their pics! I was just thinking about this very question! I started out with 38G breasts and they are already getting pretty floppy (but then they've NEVER been perky, not even when I was a D cup as a teenager). I don't want a reduction because I like my proportions, but getting an augmentation scares me because having anything foreign in my body gives me the heebie jeebies. Having a drain in after my surgery had me clawing up and down the walls with anxiety! I always see women who get a reduction + lift or augmentation + lift so I really appreciate hearing the experiences and seeing pictures from women who are doing "just" the lift.

oh thank you for saying this! I seem to only ever hear of people doing lifts AND implants or lifts AND reductions. just a lift would be what I'd want for myself. gonna wait until I'm well into maintenance before I consider doing it though.

Looks great! Did you get an augmentation, or just a lift? I have a feeling I'm going to want to get my boobs done too.

I agree! comparing ourselves to other people really isn't productive or helpful. not only is it discouraging, but sometimes it leads to self-sabotage, which is really really sad, because these are people who are actually successful by any other metric derailing that success because it's not "enough".

I had a night nurse on my first night post-op who refused to give me pain meds all night because my pain "wasn't that bad" and that I "can't expect to be pain free after having THAT surgery". Unluckily for her, even though that night I was too in pain and tired to do anything about her, the next day my RN mom was there and knew exactly how and to whom to raise hell. She was scheduled to work the next night but someone else was there in her place (I heard the nurses talking about it at the desk). I'm of the opinion that medical staff need to be treated with the utmost respect and patience because they have hard jobs... but that doesn't mean you should let them treat you however they like. you have rights as a patient. and having someone there to advocate for you when you're in a compromising position can really help you get what you need.

it really is a second chance at a new life. take it by the reins and you will succeed and be SO happy.

I was frustrated at the time with all the work I had to do and waiting I had to do and hoops I had to jump through pre-op, but I feel very thankful for them now. Not saying I'm never ever gonna be frustrated by my perceived (lack of) progress but being mentally prepared for the journey has helped a lot so far. I didn't sweat my three week stall at all. I bet it helps for me to have had a five year journey of trying desperately to lose weight and working REALLY hard and only losing minimal amounts of weight even with a lot of concerted effort. Two pounds a week to me feels like a miracle!

this sounds exactly like me when I ate too fast, or a texture I wasn't ready for yet. I would get a terrible chest pain that took a moment then passed. never nauseous or regurgitated anything, it just HURT right in the centre of my chest. here are my suggestions to you: 1. buy yourself a smaller set of silverware and a small plate to help you adjust to eating small bites. I've heard the size of your pinky finger tip. sometimes you just have to trick your brain with an optical illusion to help you relearn what size bites are really right for your stomach. 2. use a timer to time your chewing. Baritastic is an app that has a "chew chew chew" timer built right into it. use the timer and make sure you are chewing that entire time, even if the sensation starts to be kinda gross. you will eventually be able to chew a BIT more normally, but for now you really need to destroy everything that goes into your mouth. 3. PUT YOUR FORK DOWN between bites. do not chew, swallow, put more in the your mouth, because you'll think you're taking your time but you may be eating wayyyyy faster than you perceive yourself to be. (this is especially true of moms or teachers or nurses or anyone who has had a lifetime of needing to eat fast and get onto the next thing ASAP... those habits die hard lol!) take a bite, put your fork down, chew, swallow, sit and breathe... then take another bite. If you are chewing slowly and small bites and still getting that sensation, take a break from the food that causes that sensation and try something else. the first time i got it was from some mashed potatoes. I stopped eating them, had something else, and didn't try them again for another couple weeks (since they're not that great of a food for you anyway). for something like eggs that fits well into your post-op diet, try them the next day or two days later maybe. you can also try cooking the eggs a different way. some people can't do scrambled eggs but can do poached, etc. tuna, if you haven't yet, try mixing it with some kind of sauce, whether that be light mayo or yogurt or vinaigrette or whatever else you like. I had mine with light miracle whip.

It kills me to see people saying "I only lost thirty pounds in a month"! Like, idk about you but before this surgery it took me TWO YEARS of swimming 5 days a week and counting calories to lose even 15 lbs. And even without my various hormonal issues, when's the last time you'd hear of someone on Weight Watchers complaining they "only" lost 30 lbs in a month? It makes me so sad, because people should be happy and ecstatic at their progress and instead they're getting impatient and down on themselves and saying "well my weight loss isn't as fast as I like so I might as well just eat like crap" and sabotaging themselves. I'm happy to be losing weight at the "slow" rate I am, because my body needs all the time it can get to adjust to the changes, especially my skin. Slow and steady is just fine by me. Although I understand someone who is a much higher BMI and more disabled by their weight is probably more anxious than I am to lose because they are ready for that new quality of life and not just the numbers on the scale... but there's still the girls MY size and smaller ho have also been struck by this impatience and skewed perspective. It's sad to see people go through that. I'm glad I had such a comprehensive program with a good psychologist who helped prepare me for the ups and downs of this journey so I didn't drive myself bonkers from unrealistic expectations.

I've lost 22lbs since surgery and am definitely losing boobs. A lot of it is my copious amount of back fat going, but on the front I looked at myself in profile and noticed my boobs DEFINITELY look pretty deflated now (cries). They were never perky in the first place (I had floppy boobs even as a D cup in high school), so this is pretty saddening for me. They still look good in a bra at least, but I now know I need to be saving to have a breast lift at some point. I started in clinic at a 38G and am now wearing a 36DDD bra. I got it second hand and it fits nice but I do want to get properly sized and make sure it's actually RIGHT. Honestly though I've been wearing a lot of sports bras, I have an under armour and nike one, both with molded cups, size 36E and 38DD. I like them because I think they may get a little longer wear than a normal bra because the sizing isn't quite so exact.

Good for you <3<3<3 I have gone out "drinking" with my friends since surgery (I'm 6 weeks out now) and stuck to water, but found that the contact drunk and the atmosphere of the bar meant I still had a great time without the alcohol. I think you'll be surprised

I seriously need to give this stuff a try. I don't normally have ice cream in our house because my husband will eat an entire 2L container in one sitting if it's there, and not only does that cost way too much, but it also puts him in a terrible guilty mood for days... but now that summer is coming up it might be nice to have a pint around just for me. just have to buy a flavour he won't eat lol. do they do peanut butter?

I would totally get right into drinking diet pepsi all the time too. even though I DON'T currently miss it, I know there's no such thing as "just one" for me either. as soon as I had that taste I'd be hooked all over again. sometimes you just have to give things up. (solidarity fistbump)

I'm six weeks out and have really only had one bad food reaction: I went to McDonalds with my kids for breakfast one day and ate just a sausage patty... and OHHHHH my body was not happy with that! It must have been too greasy for me. Honestly though other than that I have had no intolerances. As long as I eat slowly and chew well, everything I eat goes down, stays down, and is tolerated well. There's stuff I choose not to eat though. Carbonated drinks, of course, are an automatic no. Foods I know have triggered binge eating in the past. I still haven't tried alcohol and am not sure when I will. But then, this is what I'd hoped for myself: that I wouldn't be restricted by a bunch of food intolerances and nasty reactions, but instead that I could use my surgery as a tool to even the playing ground for losing weight and otherwise relying on my willpower and knowledge to actively make good choices vs. my digestive system making them for me. More freedom, but more responsibility too.

Eating, drinking, and supplements after surgery are like a full time freakin job. I have Baritastic pinging reminders at me all day long and STILL don't feel like I'm caught up on everything most days.

I could have written this post myself (cries laughing)

I try to eat as much protein as I can, but I still make a point of eating at least some veggies at my meals. Yes if I eat some carrots that means there's slightly less room for another ounce of protein, but I also like to poop without bursting blood vessels soooooo... Protein first is definitely the golden rule to follow, but I try to eat at least half my serving of meat, a couple bites of vegetables, and then back to meat again. My dietician wants me to eat more carbs at my meals but I'm not even thinking of that until I am able to eat full servings of veggies and meat in one sitting.

I started out with a BMI of 40 but lost down to a BMI of 36 pre-surgery due to a combination of work I'd done in the clinic and the liquid diet. Weight loss has been slow but steady so far. I'm down 22ish pounds since my surgery 6 weeks ago. You can't compare yourself to people with more weight to lose, or else you'll go bonkers. You have to get into the mindset that you're not going to lose 60 lbs in two months, and focus on following the plan and creating healthy habits. Thus far, I'm happy I did this. I hope I continue to chip away at my excess weight until I am somewhere at least approaching a normal BMI.

I got an underwire-free lace bralette and then a couple of those stretchy sports bras with minimal support. Not super attractive or supportive, but it was SOMETHING at least. I definitely couldn't wear a normal bra. Jeans were RIGHT OUT. I don't think I was comfy in them until 5 weeks post. I got myself some high quality thicker-fabric high waisted leggings and pretty much lived in those and in skirts. By the time I could fit into jeans again, I'd shrunk out of the ones I owned haha.

I use MyFitnessPal, Baritastic, and Withings (my activity tracker's app). I love the functionality of Baritastic in that it lets me set a protein goal for the day and has other bariatric specific functionality, but I hate that it won't sync with myfitnesspal! I have been using MyFitnessPal for years, have many friends who use it, and really don't want to switch. I want the Baritastic specificity without having to switch over to their food tracking. Very frustrating to me. If I could have a bariatric app with similar functionality to Baritastic (reminders, timers, bariatric specific food and lifestyle goals) that synced with MyFitnessPal, I would be in heaven.

6 months? our guidelines are no carbonation FOREVER. I get it. I was an 8 can a day diet pepsi drinker. I seriously considered not getting this surgery JUST BECAUSE I WOULDN'T GET TO HAVE PEPSI ANYMORE. that's how addicted I was, how absolutely convinced I was that pepsi was ~essential to my quality of life~. it's not. sure the sound of someone popping a can open still makes my mouth water like pavlov's dog, but I honestly don't miss it. I thought I'd have a moment of weakness, or some serious regret/resentment by now, but I really haven't! it's not a part of my life anymore. unsweetened herbal iced tea is just as refreshing, and the benefits of being this lower weight have really changed my (skewed) perspective on things. I realize now how very very unimportant pepsi really is to my life. I have gained so much... my obsession with my pepsi habit starts to seem absolutely positively RIDICULOUS in hindight. like full on "what was I freakin' thinking!?" on par with how I feel now about all my horrible ex boyfriends I was ~so in love with I would die for~ take it from me, don't let soda be your embarrassing ex!