TakingABreak

Are you avoiding straws? Added air flow can be a cause. Also, are you mixing your own protein shakes? I always had to let mine settle before drinking because there were a lot of air bubbles. I still feel that way from time to time. As far as the sweating goes, I remember being very warm in the hospital. It might be your body's natural reaction to healing. I didn't start developing the notorious "cold intolerance" until just recently.

Great ideas! Everything looks awesome.

Surgical complications and infections post op are legitimate fears. However, can be significantly reduced with the right diet, wound care, and doctor follow up. I'd express these concerns with your surgeon before the big day. Let him know that you've not healed properly in the past, and maybe he will take extra precautions.

I recently bought some products from Gardein. I was hooked from the first bite. I've tried the fish (FAVORITE), chick'n strips, and the meatballs. Yum yum yum. I'm not a vegetarian, but I was looking for a good way to incorporate some soy protein. And it ended up being delicious. According to their website "gardein is a wholesome range of tasty plant-based foods with a meaty texture. It’s made from soy, wheat and pea proteins, vegetables and ancient grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut®). gardein is easy to digest and free of cholesterol, trans and saturated fats. The majority of gardein foods are a good source of fiber and low fat too. gardein is also animal and dairy free." I bought this from Hyvee, but I've seen it at Walmart as well. Their website has a store locator. And LOTS of recipes.

Hi Kathy, I haven't used any of the sauce that comes with the package. I wont either, probably too much added sugar and sodium. In the flat bread, I just added low fat ranch as the base to my flat bread pizza, but I didn't use the teriyaki sauce that came in the bag.

@istytehcrawk join the party!

A few ruin it for the rest of us. Oh well, it makes sense that you can't delete or edit after 2 hours. It holds you accountable to not say something that you may not like the next day.

Let me address some of these. 1. Nausea - I had nausea for the first 6 weeks off and on, but no vomiting. I took a prescription nausea dissolvable pill and it did wonders. I kept them in my purse at all times. There is a rule of thumb I live by, still to this day, 4 months post op. I never try anything I haven't had post op, unless I am at home. If you have a reaction, at least you will be in the privacy of your own bathroom. 2. Diarrhea- Again, careful not to eat anything you haven't tried out in public. Get yourself on a good fiber regimen. You shouldn't have regular diarrhea after the food transition is over with. If anything, you may be constipated. I have finally gotten to where I have a small bowel movement every morning. But for awhile, it was every 3 days. 3. Farts- Well, this is where my advice isn't going to be helpful. I still struggle with bad gas issues. I don't have uncontrollable farts by any means, but I am extremely gassy. I have to leave work and walk outside to expel gas most days. Every once in awhile I feel gas festering and I have to deal with it promptly. One thing that you can do to prevent gas is not to use a straw, and don't chew gum. 4. Wrinkles/Saggy Skin- Honestly, this has a lot to do with genetics, age, gender, starting weight, and skin type. I started using Bio Oil and I love the way it has helped the overall health of my skin. A lot of vets recommend it as well. 5. Hunger- I think you are overthinking it. Hunger will return. Mine did very early on. But you will be able to choose protein rich snacks to fill you up quickly. So even if you are hungry, it will only take a few bites (of the right thing, of course) to feel satisfied. Head hunger is a different story, and I think that just takes time to retrain your brain. Hope this helps. But overall, don't let these fears stop you. These are legitimate fears, but all things that you are worried about happen infrequently, if at all. Not to mention, the benefits of this surgery will CRUSH the drawbacks.

Do you think there will ever be the option to delete a post within a thread? Or the creator of the thread being able to delete the whole thing?

So good, her descriptions are so spot on. I felt like someone was telling my story. Loved this!

If I eat too fast, I usually feel like I've got a lump or something sitting too heavy on my stomach. I did that with some protein pasta last night. I had 3 bites and then I couldn't eat any more. I felt horrible.

I just realized how old this post originally was. Did you have your surgery? One of my cardinal, and top 10 tips: 9. I personally wouldn't share with people, unless you know they will be 100% supportive. It is nerve wracking already and you need nothing but positivity. Plus its a lot of pressure from people who know you've had WLS, versus people who think you are on the weight loss track. People think that the weight is going to melt off after surgery, and sometimes it doesn't. You don't want the extra judgment.

This surgery requires a lot of focus and determination. I'm guessing that you have both if you have 5 children, most of which are teenagers. You are probably used to giving everything you have to their needs. But after surgery, you have to add yourself to the list of people. You have to make conscious effort to make good decisions everyday. This includes, shopping, meal planning, meal prepping, exercising. Unfortunately, you can't just eat less and miraculously loose weight. So my suggestion is to make sure you mentally prepare yourself that YOU MATTER and you will have to focus on yourself at times. If your husband has to take the brunt of it for the first few months, then so be it. It would be awesome to hire someone to help out, but not everyone can afford that. Just remember you are doing this for your family, as much as yourself. They will benefit from the new you. It's not selfish to take time for your health.

When you get to regular foods, try Gardein brand of soy and pea protein foods. It's meatless, meat. I've been enjoying that brand a lot myself.

Thank you for the info! Very helpful. I'm just trying to minimize the excess skin on my upper arms and thighs.

First pic was at my highest weight of 345lbs, and the second is 3 months post op at 87lbs (roughly).

I say I was eating approximately 1/4-1/2 cup at 6 weeks post op. It depended on what it was. Obviously protein rich foods filled me up quicker than others. I agree with James, and you should discuss this with your doctor.

What about for toning purposes?

Wow! I'm not DS, but I couldn't help but pop in and comment. This is A LOT. do you feel restriction anymore, I noticed your surgery was 2005. Do you exercise a lot to warrant all the calories? Have you noticed any gain?

We should keep this thread going! I like the idea of being able to support each other and see if there are any trends, ect. Thanks Frust for putting it together!

I was 332 when I started the preop diet. I’m 4 mons post op, and I’ve lost over 90lbs. The challenges are that it takes awhile for you to really see a difference. I was nearly 80lbs before I started getting compliments. My stomach is holding on for dear life. My legs, arms, and chest went right away.

Oh, well you are OK while on the injections. My doctor said they do 10 days of them because they expect you to be inactive the first week or so. I am 4 months post op, my surgery was 1/19.

I don't mean to freak you out, but yes walking is very important. Are you still on the injections?

I lost 24 lbs in the pre op diet (if I recall correctly) and I had a stall after the first week of surgery that lasted almost a week. Basically, I had the 3 week stall early. Our bodies are trying to process the trauma, compounded with eating substantially less than it's used to. I wouldn't worry about your loss as being slow. You are on the lower weight side, and people with lower BMIs tend to loose slower. But not to worry, they average the same loss in the end. Remember is not about how fast you run the race, but rather that you cross the finish line!

I got mine 7 days after and it was horrible as well. I was expecting it to be bad though, I hadn't had one in almost a year prior to that.