TakingABreak

When you get to the point where you can swallow pills again, you may want to consider a capsule vs a chewable. I take ProCare Health 1x per day tablet with iron. With chewables, you have to take multiple times per day. Whereas, I take this at night, only one capsule. Its just like prenatal vitamins, where they recommend to take at night, if it causes nausea. I take my calcium/vitamin d tabs in the AM.

@BajanSleeve ^^^^this is exactly your problem. Do you have a diet plan that you were given by a NUT? Because almost all of those foods are excluded from my allowed foods. - Toast with avocado, at 5 weeks I was not allowed even whole wheat bread until 6 weeks. Even now, 5 months post op, I have only whole wheat bread sparingly. -2 cups of soup is too much. Soup is a slider food, but you shouldn't eat 2 cups, just because you can. Measure out what you should be eating, which is approx. 1/2 cup at your stage. -A pack of popped chips. Why would you even? Chips is a no-no. -A protein bar. I don't eat these because they typically have way to many carbs (hence why they are a slider food) and typically too much sugar. -A fiber one bar. Again, bars are not good.... and this one doesn't even have enough protein to make it worth it. -Short bread biscuits. You know that this isn't a good choice. I don't need to say anything further. - dark chocolate. Slippery slope, slippery slope. Why not just stay away from tempting foods? I didn't eat my favorites, not because I couldn't, but because it was easier thinking "I can't, what if I get sick?" than trying it and seeing that I could, and keep going. - Mac And Cheese. There is no nutritional value for you in this. Pasta is a slider food, a bad carb, and not necessary for your nutrition at this point. I think if you tried eating lean protein in every meal, you wouldn't struggle with "hunger" as much. I also think you have a lot of head hunger. Therapy would be ideal, but try and focus that "hunger" into an activity. Or, you can always say to yourself, I can eat something when I've drank a full 16oz of water. Chances are you won't be hungry by the time you drink that water.

Baritastic app has a timer for chewing. I used it for 2 weeks, and never had to again. Muscle has memory, and you just get used to eating slower after it becomes a habit.

I think you are probably OK with 800 calories, but keep in mind that you don't want that to trend too far forward. I eat 1200 calories on a regular diet, and things really start to add up when you get to soft foods. We are both short people, and if we were regular weight, probably wouldn't need as many calories as someone taller. I can't tell if you are male or female, but gender makes a difference as well. Just caution that you don't increase too much from there. I know mine went from 400-500 to 800 in soft food stage. It was amazing how quickly it happened and without effort. It wasn't like I was eating more, just that the foods contained more calories.

FIRST LET ME SAY, SORRY! I am deliberately posting in the Guys room. I know, I know. But this thread DIED... so I don't feel that bad. I just have to say.... if it wasn't "guys room only" it may not have died, and the OP may have gotten a smoregous-board (yes, i can't spell that word) of knowledge from everyone Just have to remember, there are a lot more women than men in this community. If it's gender specific or embarrassing, sure, use the gender rooms. But, honestly, if it's not... why? Women can offer lunch ideas too.

Normal takes on a new meaning. You will be back to most regular foods by 6 weeks. And I think that most people just assume I eat less now, because not everyone knows about my WLS. I'm fully satisfied at the end of each meal, having eaten less than before. It does get easier when your diet options open up. Just remember to take things slow at first, and try new foods at home.

I was aloud to reintroduce alcohol at 3 months postop. I had vodka and SF Red Bull for my first drink. Some people would ridicule me for having carbonated beverage, but it doesn't bother me at all. But, on the same note, I didn't pick something with a lot of calories... I'd be afraid that Irish Coffees would go down too good, if you catch my drift. Things that we too heavily enjoy, seem to be a slippery slope.

I think food addiction is a thing for sure. I haven't been diagnosed with that, but I believe its a real thing. I've said this time and time again that this is 80% head, and only 20% body. You have to fight the urge, change your ways, and cope in different ways. I suffer from PTSD from childhood sexual abuse, and I think eating helped me cope with that. When I had my psych eval the doctor asked me if putting on weight, was it like a security blanket for me? Did I think that I'd be fearful of a reoccurrence (of my trauma) if I was thinner? I answered, no, but I didn't know the full scope of how being "thin" would feel like. I have been heavier my whole life. Even in high school I was athletic, but heavy. So who knows, as I get smaller, will I feel more vulnerable? My point is, that a lot of people cope with stress, trauma, anxiety, ect. with eating. I think this might as well be a food addiction. It's just like how alcoholics reach for the bottle. We use it in the moment to cope. Its a temporary fix, and doesn't solve the problem. I used to be this way as well, but I hit my rock bottom. I literally felt disgusted by my actions and knew that I was heading towards an early grave. I no longer rolled my eyes when people expressed concern for my health, because I knew they were right. I was fearful. I think therapy is a great idea, and I always recommend to establish with someone prior to surgery. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone would benefit from talking it out with professional from time-to-time. Ultimately, I hope that you get help, and have this surgery. Your life will change forever.

If it makes you feel better, I've never had a fart that I couldn't trust. Not everyone goes through this, but it's good to be leery! I do, however, have very bad gas.

I haven't had this problem, but I think having a back up at work or in the car isn't a bad idea. Remember, things do finally settle down and normalize. I'm 5 months post op and I poop every morning/every other morning like clock work. And I was previously someone who could have pooped 3-4x per day before. I always had diarrhea and upset stomach. It was from all my horrendous eating. I recommend a healthy fiber regimen, so long as you aren't currently constipated.

I drank FairLife Milk at your stage. It has more protein than regular milk. A list that comes to mind is: 1. Protein shakes or protein water 2. Strained cream soups 3. Kiefer 4. Broth 5. Diluted 100% juice 6. Skim milk

Yes that is my interpretation. I could be wrong but yes. I don’t know exactly how you earn a negative reputation, but I have seen it with other posters. If “likes” gives you a positive, I feel like “confused” is a negative. I personally feel like the connotation is negative, especially if the comment is clear and easily readable.

Maybe their intention was that it was confusing for a doctor's office to have not provided diet instructions? As you said, without a comment, it is hard to know what someone is thinking. That’s why I put it out there that it can affect the reputation tracking. I do believe it’s got a negative connotation within the app. It’s frustrating because I’ve gotten this reaction from this person quite a bit and I don’t know if she means it to be confused by my response or the thread in general. I just put it out there that it could have a negative meaning. Again, I don’t want to cause drama, but bring light to how it comes across.

It was a completely reasonable question and I think everyone who reads the OPs post will ask the same thing in their minds. It doesn’t mean that if their doctor did or didn’t give them instructions, that their question is less valid. I don’t think you were offensive in the slightest. I will leave it at this, and say that this person had done this to my posts over and over, and I just think it’s curious. How confused could you be by everything I say. Anyway, I’ll end it there.

I’m sorry, completely off topic but someone selected the “confused” emoticon and I’m not sure why? Your question was clear and reasonable. Instead of calling her out, I’ll just say think twice before you do that. It’s condescending to do this on posts that don’t warrant it and it affects your “reputation” tracked within the community.

My skin was super super dry as well, but I use Bio Oil and I seriously cannot say enough about how it’s helped. It’s changed my skin for the better and I won’t use another product.

I would explain to her that its not exactly about losing the weight, its about keeping it off for life. Now, while this is only a tool, it can be very effective to keep weight off long term. One of my top ten tips is to surround yourself with people who are positive and supportive about this experience. It's about 80% mental and 20% body. Therefore, its hard to have someone in your ear who isn't going to support you. Not to say that she won't eventually. I would take her to all your consultations, bariatric classes, NUT appointments, ect. Maybe it just needs to grow on her. She probably thinks that WLS is for the extreme cases, but I find that the majority of people who have surgery have a lower BMI like you. Ultimately, at the end of the day, I would have done this with or without the support of my husband. This is for your health, and your life long happiness. She will come around, and see that you made the right decision.

Matt is right, hold off on doing any tattooing or anything permanent to your eyebrows. This is a temporary loss, not permanent. Just wait and see. Plus, there is ALOT that you can do with makeup now-a-days. YouTube some eyebrow makeup tutorials, you'd be amazed.

Oh I cheated with some chicken, tuna and cucumber in the beginning, and I felt so guilty that I buckled down and punished myself. My program was shakes and allowed additives like fruit, oatmeal, peanut butter, skim milk, ect. I literally mixed the powder with plain water for the last week of my pre op diet. No doubt I was in ketosis and I ended up loosing 27lbs in that 2 weeks, 20lbs of which was the last week.

I only wait the 30 minute after rule. I don't bother waiting before. I'm pretty sure that's what my program taught, either way, that's what I've been doing since surgery. I never waited for shakes either or any liquids.

I need to build a good playlist! I started a thread awhile back but I don’t recall anyone giving me any specific songs to try.

Central IL

Good for you! looking great! Congrats.

Not a whole lot to go on here. There are a lot of people here that take lots of time to give thoughtful answers to your questions or advice to your problems, but you've got to give us more than this to go on.

@sillykitty PREACH! lol 100%