Creekimp13

About a week. Once I had their "Approved" letter in my hand I felt so much better.

Love, love, love my Fitbit. Best "exercise equipment" I've ever bought. I set a step goal, work on it every day until it's easy, and then increase it. That's it. The difference is HUGE. it gives me a little vibration to let me know I've been sitting on my butt too long...reminds me to get up and walk. it keeps track of how I'm sleeping. I started out getting 6000 steps a day. Now, I do 16,000 per day. Just a little increase at a time. It keeps track of how much of your activity is fat burning, how much is cardio, and how much is peek (cardio+).....you can just pick up the pace, or walk up hill. It keeps track of the number of stair cases you do. I try to do ten a day. With my Fitbit, I can measure the calories I'm burning each day and make sure I'm eating appropriately. If I want to eat a little more, I get a couple more thousand steps in. If I'm feeling lazy, I watch my calories more. I like that it's quantifiable. I hate the guessing in dieting. I want to know that what I'm doing will eventually get the results I want.

They gave me a couple of blood thinner shots in the hospital, but no meds to go home on.

I would be thrilled with 9 pounds a month. You didn't gain all your weight in a few months...you won't lose it that fast either. Your body consumes an insane number of calories healing itself immediately following a major surgery, plus you had several days of not eating at all in there. You've done the heavy lifting of healing at this point, and you're starting to eat again. You can only lose the number of pounds your body is consuming in calories. According to Mayo Clinic...A 250 lb. female who is moderately active burns about 2,050 calories per day. Assuming you're eating about 1000 calories a day....the best you can hope for is about 2 pounds per week with moderate activity. If you want to up this number...you have to up your calorie burn....which means more exercise every day. The other way to up the number, is to eat fewer calories....which is a trap, because while you will lose a little more weight, you'll end up resetting your metabolism to a starvation conservation level that makes weight loss more difficult...and regain more likely. If you want to lose more....exercise more. But 9 pounds a month....is phenomenal progress. Be happy you're doing so well!

I plan on eating an egg mcmuffin again when i'm able. Ok, half an egg mcmuffin. I doubt I'll be able to do much better than that. I LOVE me an egg McMuffin. 290 calories.....16 grams of protein. So, half would be.... 145 calories and 8 grams of protein and 15 carbs. Not too bad for a treat I love once in a while. With a big ole decaf coffee...that could be a really good breakfast on the go. Also...at KFC...eating a breast without the skin isn't that bad. But yeah...ya gotta pitch the tasty crunchy stuff 130 calories.... 29 whopping grams of protein...2grams of fat I'm not a big skin eater. I've tried this and I like it. The skin was never my love affair. That said.....Beware the cole slaw....sugar city! I love it, but will not order it.

Congrats and best wishes for a safe effective outcome! You've got this:)

Maybe the Mexico doctor isn't worried about you getting a perforated ulcer from smoking because he won't be the one who cleans up that hellish mess? You'll get admitted to an American emergency room and there will be zero consequences to him...so why worry? Just sayin... Please do some research on smoking and healing...you're playing a very dangerous game. Most people feel rough during the liquid diet. A few feel great. If you're used to eating carbs, soda, etc...it'll be rougher on you. You think you're prepared. I did, too. Thinking and doing...can be two very different things. I had the best possible super easy surgery and recovery....and the process was still a hell of a lot harder than I was ever prepared for. Best thing to do to prevent clots is to get up and walk as soon as you can after surgery. Walk every hour. You won't do a lot of sleeping after your surgery. You'll need to sip, suck on a tube to clear your lungs, sip, sip, sip, walk. Over and over and over. it'll be your whole day. The more you can walk, the easier it'll be on you, and the less risk for clots. You will likely get anticoagulant shots. But smoking...in particular, RECENT smoking....is pretty much the recipe for a clot. (not saying you will get one...but you're upping your odds by not having quit months ago) Stop cold turkey tomorrow. See if you can.

My doctor won't do surgery on anyone with a history of smoking unless they pass a nicotine blood test proving they're 8 weeks free of nicotine. If you're having surgery Jan.9th...you're really pushing the envelope. You need to stop smoking immediately, particularly if you are worried about blood clots. My doctor won't operate on anyone who isn't ready to quit smoking for life. A huge percentage of down the road emergency perforated ulcers...are smokers who burn holes in their new stomachs. There are plenty of risks associated with smoking after gastric bypass surgery. Smokers are at a much higher risk of gastric pouch ulcers which can cause significant pain in the upper abdomen. Smoking can also cause bleeding ulcers and perforated ulcers which can be life-threatening. Read what these doctors have to say about it...you might want to reschedule. https://www.realself.com/question/smoking-gastric-bypass-surgery I hope you're getting presurgical diagnostics done before surgery. Someone with a history of smoking should have a chest x-ray, an EKG, an upper GI and bloodwork at the bare minimum....just for safety's sake. Tackling BOTH of your vices....overeating AND smoking at the same time might be too much to handle. This isn't an impulse buy...you are forever changing your anatomy.

It isn't just a matter of.....This doctor won't do what you want so find one who will. That's not it. It's a matter of....your doctor isn't keeping up with emerging developments in healthcare. She is rejecting a therapy that is supported by empirical evidence...based on her own subjective prejudices. That is NOT science, it doesn't support her commitment to continuing education (something that is essential for healthcare!), and that is enough to make me doubt her competence in other areas of healthcare as well.

Sleeve folks usually lose weight 12-18 months. You're down 40 in 5.5 months....that's like...7 pounds a month! That's not bad at all! Ok...say you slow down for the next five month and lose about five pounds a month....that's 25 more pounds. Then...say you slow down to about three pounds a month for the following five months......that's 15 more. That's 40 pounds....which is the balance of what you need to get to your goal weight! Have patience, you're doing great, and you're well on your way:) By next year Halloween, you'll be at your goal. Takes time and persistence. You didn't gain it all in a couple months. Will take a while...but you will get there:)

#1....getting enough fluids! Biggest reason for emergency room visits post surgery = dehydration. Get your fluids in. #2....protein goal. This protects your heart and muscles from wasting. This is enough to worry about for the first week. Second week...start working on getting more calories in each day. #3....stay active. Get up and walk a couple of times every hour:)

I think they got me an air fryer. LOL. And tall boots. Love my nutri-bullet smoothy maker, and love my cordless teapot. Love my Fitbit. Maybe a gift certificate to a gym? Or you know...a gift that has absolutely nothing at all to do with fitness or weight loss...and is just something they'd like.

My doctor forbids the use of Advil and other NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs)...Advil is ibuprofen.... it can damage your new stomach. That said....he also said that if you ever needed to use it...sparingly and rarely...you could protect your new stomach by eating an antacid like Tums with it. But he prefers we stay away from these meds completely. Tylenol is safer and doesn't irritate your stomach as much.

Avacado on pumpernickel toast, with lowfat swiss melted on top and some tiny diced tomato

Tomato soup with a few croutons....each with a little bit of brie cheese spread

Mashed potatoes, soft rotisserie chicken chopped up tiny, and canned soft green beans.

Lookin good, girlie! Nice lines!

Just get a pill crusher, and sprinkle the powder on a spoon full of sugar free Cool Whip. Down the hatch! Easy peasy. PS...you shouldn't do this with extended release kinda pills...ask the doc about those:)

I did lots of research. I got a bunch of Premier Protein, bottle water, broth, Jello and sugar free Popsicles.... But I think I did that the week before my presurgical diet. I also bought sugar free Cool Whip...to take crushed pills with when necessary. Got a pill crusher for mashing my clacium rock pills. Prepared to starve. The Pre-op diet was tough for me. I got thinning hair shampoo as a preventative. I found some cool lounge pants for the hospital. I kept exercising and stayed on my diet. Oh yeah...and I estimated the amount of weight I expected I might lose every month and figured out what my weight would be each month for the next year. LOL.

Had my gallbladder out 15 years ago. I had a dull ache that went through to my back...and I started losing weight because everything made me feel nauseated. After a while the only thing I was eating was cottage cheese...cause it didn't make me feel miserable. I, too, didn't want to have mine out. I asked the doc "what's the worst that can happen?". He said...well, you could completely obstruct your bile duct, get jaudice, get an infection or pancreatitis...which can be...ya know...fatal. Plus, you're miserable, and it will likely get worse. And I was like....Crap. Ok, we can take it out. Went in for outpatient surgery at 7am....was home on the couch eating a Subway sandwich at 1pm. Not everyone recovers this quick, but it was a super easy surgery for me. And within a few days I could eat normal things again. Done laprascopically as an outpatient....wasn't bad at all.

I was freaking starving. Not like...stomach rumbling....but like my head hurt and I felt woozily, low blood sugar, just exhausted and needing fuel. I'm two weeks out, eating a bunch of terrific soft foods...getting about 1000 calories a day. I feel fantastic...like my old self with even more energy. No nausea, everything is going down well. You're in the hard spot. The sun is on the horizon. You've just got to hold out a little longer and drink your protein for a bit longer. Let that tummy heal. You've been through too much to risk it on something naughty. Won't be long now! PS...if you get so desperate you want to cheat....at the very least, pick something from the whole liquids menu....the next step. Don't skip too far ahead and don't go crazy and eat a chicken strip. A little yogurt or some thinned down cream of wheat. Don't go nuts. And it's best to hold on and do things by the book. You can do this!

Awesome progress! Good work!

Keep walking, an extra hundred steps here and there adds up. Make your protein goals to protect your heart and your muscles from wasting. Try to get those healthy calories in. The closer you can come to eating a normal calorie budget with some good activity, the better your metabolic reset will be. I've had great luck with oat meal and cream of wheat with almond milk. Whipped greek yogurt is another favorite that goes down super easy. You're doing great! keep working:) I believe in you.

I take two Flinstone's chewables 500 IU Calcium with D twice a day B12 and BComplex Daily I've got a heavy duty pill crusher, it makes powder out of the calcium pills. I just sprinkle the powder on a spoon full of yogurt or oatmeal or whatever....down the hatch. Easy peasy.

My mom actually lost some weight after hers. She's probably in the minority...but hey, it can happen! She's a heavier lady.