Jeannie49

wow - you look great!! how inspiring in such a short amount of time! Congrats!!

wow Jenn - that was so nice of you to do - this board is great. Bamagirl - lots of good advice in this thread -- good luck - you got this!

Celery was always tough for me for some reason even before my surgery but I've always done tuna on cucumbers whenever I've done low carb diets..not sure if you like cucumbers but that works too

I use a lot of ramekins too and other than my scale, they have become most valuable to me . I am a little funny about heating things at work in plastic so I found these super cute Pyrex glass ones with snap lids at the grocery store that I love too. I need to get a few more of those... https://www.pyrexware.com/total-solution-pyrex-glass-food-storage-1-cup-round/1109308.html you've done so great so far -- almost at your goal already - good for you. any easy go-to casserole recipes to share?

My surgeon also has me taking 2 Flintstones with iron every day (also chewable pepcid for awhile). He also has his patients take a calcium pill but long story, I can't take that so i get my calcium in my food. There is also some issue with absorption of B12 in the portion of the stomach that is left after gastric sleeve surgery so he gave me a choice of a B12 breath in type that has to be done every week or a once in a month shot that you give yourself..I had my husband give me the shot and that worked great.

definitely inspiring to lose 80lbs in 4 months-- I can definitely see a difference -- keep up the great work and if possible, try not to be hard on yourself -- you're doing great!

Wow - how inspiring Mike-- you look amazing! congrats on your hard work paying of!

I've had them before I had my sleeve when we would do a low carb diet but not since my surgery . We liked the hot chocolate, chocolate mint and sea salt caramel flavors. I may try them again when it's part of my plan but not yet. I also got a Cuisinart ice cream maker for Christmas as I saw a lot of recipes on pinterest for high protein, low carb ice cream that are all natural with no preservatives so I'll be trying that in the future too.

Have you tried chewing on a sugar free ice pop? it's not quite the same but it helped me when I was on protein drinks only the first two weeks to have something that was just a bit more solid...

You should call your surgeon..I'm not a doctor/nurse but that doesn't sound good.

sure good luck - let us know it goes!

oh that stinks that your surgery has been pushed back so much but hopefully it will fly by for you. I can sympathize as I'm a bit Type-A and not much for patience either lol!

oh yikes- nice that you didn't panic! I really love my surgeon and my NUT - they are both awesome. I have only had one follow up and saw both of them...and my surgeon comes to the support group every month and even stays and answers questions afterward..he's just a lovely caring guy. I wasn't thrilled with the insurance/surgery scheduler but hopefully I won't need to deal with her again lol...let's hope.

I had been recommended by my endocrinologist to the weight loss surgeon as I was gaining and no amount of increasing my thyroid meds was helping my metabolism (was up to T3 2 x a day and T4 once a day) ...so I mentioned to my husband and he knew that I was working hard to lose and going to the gym and really struggling...but he really was worried and wasn't sure I needed it or should get something so permanent. I asked him to go with me to the seminar my surgeon holds every month.. once he heard the statistic that only 1% of people who hit a certain BMI can lose the weight and keep it off, he said whatever you want to do, I support you and that was it...it was really a sobering statistic and hearing how the hormones in the fat cells are just fighting you to put it back on, I knew at that point I was probably not turning back..that was last February and I had my first appt with the surgeon in early June. maybe it would help if you took him to a seminar?

oh interesting...I just posted somewhere that my surgeon has me start with 2 oz meals and then go up until I'm full..and it usually takes me 2.5-3 to feel full and that kind of bums me as I'm thinking others are less hungry...but I do get head hunger at times (seeing foods or thinking about my next meal) and trying to make sure I'm really hungry before eating... it is interesting that some people never feel hungry..I wish I was one of those people...do you think you get head hunger? do you exercise a lot? despite the hunger, are you still happy with your weight loss so far and have you spoken to your surgeon about it?

oh wow you can eat meat already? it's so interesting how each surgeon's plan is so different I'm still on soft/pureed foods and just added in fish this week. I don't get to each chicken until next week which then I'd be 4 weeks out. I can sympathize with the not knowing exactly when I'm full though...I try staying with my 2oz meals but always feel a little hungry so have gone to 2.5 or even 3 if need be..my surgeon says to start there and eat until full only...I just try to wait between bites but without meat, it doesn't take too long to eat what I'm having...

hi buddies - glad to see most people doing well I have to say I'm in a little bit of a slow down just starting my 4th week after surgery but my two friends that were sleeved said it happened to them at 3 weeks and one at 4-5 weeks so I'm being calm about it lol....trying to celebrate the 21 lbs since the surgery instead of thinking it could be more. I have not been able to walk outside here as it's ridiculously freezing...and my gym is at work so I joined my husband's gym locally so I can offset those days when I'm not at work and will be going tomorrow..hopefully that jumpstarts me. anyone else see a slow down at all?

Yes my BMI was much higher than yours and my surgeon didn't require it either. He just said to work on eating much smaller meals and not to worry about wanting a big meal as I wouldn't want it anymore...also said to start getting used to eating very slow but no pre op diet other than the NUT's advice I was following on my diet plan for 6 months...oh and to have your "last meal" or whatever you really wanted to have a few days to a week out, not the night before... good luck to you

My surgeon's guidelines are to wait 30 minutes as well but I'm allowed to drink up until I start eating..I usually do wait 10 minutes or so but I don't wait much longer than that..so far have had no issues...

ah that makes sense Yosy - thank you I'm not doing any shakes now - but may just put some Miralax in the water since I hear it's tasteless.

hi all - great to read how everyone is doing for those with the BM issues, TMI but here goes lol - I did not have to clear everything out before my surgery..and I was doing great and feeling great - sleeved 12/7 and then 2 weeks to the day, had some pain because things were just not coming out easily...not a good day. then the following day, 12/21 was not fun either in that it was sort of the runs but painful again in a different way. Those two days were rougher than the surgery for me..since then, I've been fine but have only gone once normally since then and I'm a little nervous ...I bought some Miralax the other day and also bought some fiber gummies. Have to ask the NUT if it's okay to take those. sorry for anyone grossed out by this post lol! keep up the great work everyone! Ihit 20lbs down today!

that's great to hear like you and KCRN i can get a lot of fluids down too at once...and the surgeon told me I probably had less swelling internally than others...everyone is different. I still can only get a small amount of food but I'm good with that...

hey buddies - good to see everyone's updates and so many doing well Sorry for those struggling - for those with gas pains that were just sleeved, I found day 3 to be a tough one but by day 5 i felt pretty good ..hoping the same for you. It is really interesting to see the difference in surgeon's plans etc..I didn't expect them to vary so much. I was sleeved 12/7 had my 2 week check in yesterday - finally got off my 7-8oz of protein shake only per day. I moved to soft foods and there is a list I can eat. Interestingly, he doesn't give targets for protein or fluid amounts per day - said to stay hydrated and eat when hungry - even if it's 4, 5, 6 times per day...but only eat until satisfied, don't over eat. Eat nutrient dense foods and try for higher protein. He said if he gives targets sometimes people are trying to cram in more food/protein when they aren't hungry. Also everyone exercises different amounts etc. So that's a lot less pressure to me I'm down 17lbs since surgery. for someone with horrible thyroid and parathyroid problems who never sees the scale move, it's a beautiful thing.

wow - that hard work has paid off - so inspiring! you look beautiful! Congrats!

I haven't had the dry mouth since the first night of surgery either. I had bought a Biotene spray which helped and only needed it a few times but it did help...