Losebig

Definitely a high class problem! in the past I've been at my goal weight after a 100 lb weight loss and it probably took a year to get used to my new self. Now I'm down just over 40 lbs and I still do a double take when I look in the mirror. It's easy to forget how much you've changed so quickly. Enjoy it while you can and remind yourself that you're doing something really good for yourself. I like to think about how much weight I've lost in terms of 1 lb sticks of butter (similar density to fat). Imagine a stack as big as the number of pounds you lost - you were carrying that around every single day!

Sounds like your plan moves to soft foods really quickly. Many wait weeks or months. That is part of why you need to eat so slow. You'll always want to eat slow, but it'll improve a bit as things heal. Every day will get a little better. If you try a food and it just doesn't work, don't worry and try it again in a week or two. The same goes for healing. It'll get a little better every day, just take it easy. Move around to your comfort level and know that it'll almost certainly feel much better in a week or two. While the incisions are small it's still a major surgery and they muck around a lot in your abdomen, so it's going to hurt for a while.

Great to hear!

I think when reading on here you probably see more of the problems because people are posting for advice or support VS just to say they feel good. Seems like there are plenty that do very well and that given the statistics most people do fine and a portion have a rough week or two, but very rarely is there a serious issue. When I decided I did notice that even folks who had serious issues all were glad they did it, which made the decision easier. It's natural to be nervous, but hang in there and remember why you're doing it. I had a rough first week, but am glad I did it and feel like a new person! For Reflux are you getting a hiatal hernia repair as well? I had occasional reflux prior, but in talking with the surgeon he said repairing the hiatal hernia would make me at even less risk of reflux post surgery than pre surgery and he was right!

I’ve had success with softer meats or meats that are more moist. I still can’t do chicken breast. Some good soft meats include ground meats (don’t cook them until they’re dry, or mix them with something moist like ground turkey with taco seasoning and some sour cream works well). Hot dogs (you can get low fat variety), shredded tuna or chicken salad or ham. The key for me has been to mince it so its in tiny pieces, moisten it and make sure to chew tiny bites at least 25 times apiece. I also limit the volume.

It varies by insurance company, but usually an appeal or additional documentation goes more quickly. There is nothing to lose by trying and you get started a month earlier if it works, which is great!

Tannins in coffee and tea can cause irritation, they ask us to wait a month in my program

They gave you very mild meds. It’s good you didn’t have significant pain. Sometimes the meds can give you a bad time. Vicodin for example gives me a terrible headache, which was ironic because I took it after a scalp surgery! At my hospital they used dilodid and oxycodin in the hospital. They sent me home with Oxycodin, but it doesn’t really effect me, so after a complication they did dilaudid in pill form, which worked well. I needed pain pills off and on for the first 10 days or so... but as mentioned had a complication that caused some pain. Note to your DR if any of the meds cause issues and they can put it in your chart so you don’t get that med again. Nothing worse than meds that make it worse.

Water with lemon in it is pretty good. I use True Lemon, not sure if it’s available in Norway or not. Generally plans usually allow anything that’s non caffeinated, non carbonated and sugar free. On my plan they don’t want you to have regular tea or coffee because the tannins can cause irritation to the stomach (herbal tea is ok). If doing protein shakes you can also water them down and get protein and fluids at the same time.

MA folks represent!

Wohoo! Awesome you got a pic of your new century. Great work!

Is it constant or just when standing / moving? If you have blood pressure meds they may need adjusting. Even without meds I was a bit dizzy at first and still am if standing quickly. For general dizziness motion sickness meds will help like the patch or meclazine (sp?)

Glad to hear it continues to go so well. Stick to the diet plan progression and you should have an easy time!

Congrats!

I'm only suppossed to be counting protein as well, but also count calories because it's easy enough and I'm curious. I get about 1,000 in a day at 5 weeks out.

Sorry for such a horrible ordeal. I hope both of you heal quickly and are leak free. That's truly scary and I can't imagine what it must have been like.

Looks like you're allergic to the adhesive, I get that too after too much time. Benadryl (oral) helps and if you have a regular allergy pill try that. A warm compress will make it itch like crazy for a bit, but if you do that then remove it once the intense itch passes it'll feel MUCH better for a while. Really hot water works better, but I wouldn't suggest that on the incision. Any kind of anti histamine cream will help too. Hang in there, it's insanely itchy!

It'''s fairly normal only 4 days out. I had sporadic incision pain for weeks, though after the first week didn't need pain killers. If you need more talk to the DR, though in many cases you go from regular use to not needing them almost overnight so you might be ok.

Miralax daily and if needed Colace or another softener. Be careful with stimulant laxatives, you don't want to use them too long. The first few weeks miralax in my Powerade daily saved my life!

Sorry to hear that. Did your DR have any ideas? I've been sleeping better the last few days, mostly due to exercise I think. Going to see what my DR suggests this week. Nothing worse than not being able to sleep.

I used to have no trouble sleeping, I'd be in bed early and if I got up in the middle of the night I'd go back to sleep. Since WLS I'm having trouble falling asleep and trouble staying asleep - despite being VERY tired. I'm guessing its hormones from the rapid weight loss or similar, but wondering if other folks saw anything similar? I have 2 young kids, so lack of sleep when I can get it wreaks havoc because there is no time to catch up

I'm doing well on the above, though there's very little variety. Honestly I'd love to just eat chicken, that's mostly what I ate pre surgery, but for whatever reason post surgery chick breast is a no go so far. I think I do better with chicken or turkey sausage because it's a little bit more moist and soft. The hot dogs are 97% fat free, nitrate free, so minimal fat and calories, but good protein. We're allowed non starchy vegetables and 1 serving max of fruit a day. They want us to focus on lean protein for the most part, so I've mostly stayed away from beef or fatty meats. Cheese is low fat and I try to have only 1 or 2 servings a day (Carbs). I do track calories and am averaging around 1,100 calories per day (range 900 - 1200). Weight's coming off well and I'm meeting with the nutritionist later this week so we will see what she thinks. I'm sure she will want more vegetables, though it's been tough to find the room and still hit protein goals.

It's still early. I would try and just sip l day long to make sure to hit the fluid goal. For me watering down the premier shakes worked well, I would double them with plain water and sip that all day long. If you have a nutritionist they often have a series of things to try in the unlikely event that tastes change, our packet had a page on it.

You guys are doing great! I was 2 weeks out before I could get anywhere near 2L!

Macros? Assuming you are talking about protein. I can eat about 3.5 - 4 oz of dense protein at a time. So typically breakfast is 1/2c eggwhites, a turkey sausage cut up and .5oz mozzarella. Lunch is 3.5oz of lean meat (shredded chicken, ground turkey, etc) and dinner is the same as lunch. I typically have a snack at 3 that is also protein (string cheese, yogurt or similar). After dinner I have another snack, usually 2 low fat hot dogs cut up small, ham or turkey sausage and then if time permits I may have one more snack before bed, usually string cheese and cottage cheese or similar.... So really not time or room for many carbs. I don't like the artificial stuff in shakes so avoid them if I can.