AZhiker

You can also add kale, beet greens, and any other dark leafies. When I had my winter garden in (My surgery was in Feb so winter garden was going strong), I added arugula, broccoli leaves, turnip greens, mustard and collard greens, chard, and anything else I could pick and throw in. I felt sooooo good once I started getting some real phyto-nutrients from the greens. Not being able to eat veggies for those first weeks was awful!

just an idea, but you might try some exercise goals. Get a step tracker and start working up to 10,000 steps a day - gradually. Exercise releases happy mood endorphins, gives you a sense of accomplishment, empowerment, and control, builds lean muscle, and revs up the metabolism. It helps you sleep better, gives you time alone to think (if you walk), and helps with motivation in general. I found it to be extremely beneficial in my early weeks. Add some wall pushups. Each week you can up the steps, pushups, add some light weights, flights of stairs, etc. Exercise is a wonderful antidote for depression. It doesn't have to be a lot - just something. Then even if the scale doesn't change, you know you are still making progress toward goals and good health. Just something to consider.

I love my green smoothies - milk (cow or soy to get the protein), a scoop of protein powder, a handful of spinich (you can use the frozen spinich as well as fresh), some berries (strawberry/blueberry - the blackberry seeds bothered me at first), 1/4 banana, 2 Tb plain Greek yoghurt. I also add a couple tablespoons of prickly pear juice (very high in anti oxidents, low in calories, adds sweetness. I harvest and freeze myself, so it is a freeby.) This has about 200 calories and 30-40 gm protein, depending on the powder you use. It is a meal, and goes dowm so easily. It was a good way for me to get some leafy greens at first, as a salad was just too rough.

I wish I could tell you the amazing sense of "normal" I now have when I see that I am NOT the biggest person in the room and that I look average. I can wear medium size scrubs now - not tight 2XX. It is a real mind trip - I don't recognize my own body........but it FEELS GOOD! I don't judge anyone for their weight or how they look, but it just blows me away that I can walk through a store or go to a family gathering and I don't feel eyes following me. I look at old pictures and can't believe I looked so big - always trying to hide behind someone else in a family photo. I don't stand out - I just blend in and that feels great. It makes me realize how dysfunctional and paranoid my thinking was, and I am now discovering how to just "BE ME" and be Ok with that. A huge weight has been lifted in more ways than one! Go for it, girl friend!

I had a DVT after surgery, with no prior history. With your background, I am sure you will be on Lovenox or some other blood thinner after surgery. That is definitely a risk you must consider, but you already know that, so preventative measures can be taken. Immobility is horrible. Once you get some weight off and are feeling better, you will be moving more and more. That will help so much in preventing future DVT/PE issues, which I am sure you know are continual risks for you if you stay how you are.

You are still healing. Listen to your body. Some days you will be able to eat more than on other days. Some days solids will just not work and you will stick to your shakes. Some foods will work one day and not another. So strange, but like ms.sss said, if you feel good, have energy, losing inches, then do what works for you. I know at that point I absolutely could not have even considered 1000 cal/day. About 3 months out, I just started to feel a need for more calories. I was exercising a lot, and my body was saying that it needed more. At that point, I was able to tolerate more intake, but not before. What you don't want to do is to forcing food down, advancing too quickly (even if your prescribed plan says so), and getting into issues with food getting "stuck." That is painful and irritating to the healing tissues.

It wasn't ME talking about donuts! I was quietly doing my job and sipping a protein shake hidden behind my computer!

There's nothing like being trapped in a procedure room with a surgeon, anethesiologist and tech all talking about donuts!

And since surgery, do you notice how much people TALK about food !?!?!?!?! Where to get the best donuts or pizza, what to order for lunch, favorite eateries, food channels, cooking shows, etc, etc, etc. It never stops! Out society is obsessed with food!

I am 4 months out and up to about 800 cal/day. I was eating about 500/day when I was a month out like you. My weight loss never stalled. I think consistent exercise helps.

Use a very firm, small pillow to support your tummy when you get out of bed, walk, cough, ride in car. My pillow buddy even went to the grocery store with me! (Hubby driving and pushing the cart, of course.) First week is rough. Second week is about getting your stamina back. I was back to work after 2 weeks. But you gotta sip, sip, sip those fluids!

You are getting surgery for all the right reasons - you see your quality of life shrinking and you don't want to go any further down that road. Let me tell you what "further down the road" looks like. I got my surgery (bypass) at age 63. I already have had one total knee replacement and the other one was getting so bad I had pain and limped with every step. My ortho said he really didn't want to operate again unless I lost weight. I had a hysterectomy at age 37 due to precancerous hyperplasia related to my weight. My GERD and asthma were horrible - the asthma in the last 2 years was the worse it had ever been (asthma can be related to GERD.) I developed sleep apnea (extreme with over 60 apneic episodes per hour.) I couldn't hike any more. I was too heavy to ride my mule. Climbing a flight of stairs was getting hard (my house has stairs.) I couldn't get off the floor by myself. I couldn't keep up with my grand kids. Gardening was losing it's pleasure for me. I had always been very active, and my increasing immobility resulted in depression and further immobility. I got fungal infections under my breasts and pannis every summer. I developed fatty liver disease which can lead to cirrhosis and cancer. My lipid profile was not great, my sugars were creeping up, as was my blood pressure. I dodged the diabetes bullet - barely. All the things I enjoyed in life were slipping away - quickly. Younger people don't always realize what 40 or 50 decades of obesity does to the body (and soul)! I was a wreck and now I feel like I have a whole new life ahead of me. I can ride, hike, climb stairs, and get off the floor, My knees DO NOT HURT!!!!! My sleep apnea is nearly resolved and no more GERD or asthma. I feel 20 years younger!!!!!! I was scared to death before surgery - thought about walking out when I was lying there on the pre-op bed, crying my eyes out from anxiety. But.... I walked through that door and discovered a whole new world waiting for me on the other side. I did have some complications, but it was soooooo worth it. Do not let your fear prevent you from getting your life back. Don't wait until you are 63 and have more issues than you have now, Your future is not pretty if you continue down the obesity road. Like my PCP told me, "If you could have done it on your own, you would have by now. Let this tool help you."

Once you stop the sugar, it will take a few days for the cravings to pass. Once they do, it will be much easier. But never go back. Even just one sugary bite can trigger all the cravings to start again. It has to do with the brain chemistry and pleasure receptors. It also has to do with insulin spikes that drop the blood sugar and make you want more. Just let it go and be done with it. Once I stopped sugar and caffeine, my energy levels soared! I am even keeled throughout the whole day with no afternoon slump. When 3:00 rolls around, my co-workers are starting to reach for coffee and energy drinks. I used to do the same, but just don't need it anymore.

As soon as I knew I was having surgery. I cut out all sugar, soda, and caffeine. I did not want to go through withdrawal of any addictive substances after surgery, and it was a great decision! Soda was hard. Caffeine was not so bad - just switched gradually to decaf and then lost my taste for coffee after surgery. Sugar was hard. Cutting this stuff out was good for the pre-op weight loss and boosted my confidence. It was good to have fought these battles ahead of time.

I am 63 years old and 50 years of obesity had taken a terrible toll on my quality of life. I dodged the diabetes and hypertension bullets, but I developed sleep apnea, had 1 knee replacement with the other knee very painful with shrinking cartilage. I couldn't hike, get on/off the floor with my grand kids, and was becoming more and more immobile. I could only see my life going downhill very quickly. I was on NSAIDS daily for the joint pain. Yes, I could lose weight - I have probably lost over 1,000 pounds all told, but always gained it back with more and more destruction of my metabolism. I also thought, "Maybe I should just try again to lose it on my own." My doctor brought me to my senses, "If you could have done it by now, you would have." So true. So I decided to have the surgery as a tool to help me finally overcome this obstacle in my life. Since surgery, I have not needed an NSAID at all! No joint pain! I can hike, play with the kids, go up/down stairs, and am much more active. I got a new job that is very, very active - I could not have done this job 6 months ago, I am not depressed - in fact many days I feel almost euphoric. I feel 10 years younger - maybe even 20 years younger! My sleep apnea is resolving, and I truly feel that I have been given a second chance at life. At my age, this is the last chance I get - I'm not going to blow it. This surgery has been an amazing gift to my health, self esteem, and my future. I now have new goals - to ride the 100+ mile El Tour de Tucson bike race, to hike the entire 830 mile Arizona Trail, and to never be on meds for diabetes, blood pressure, or cholesterol. And now I know I can do it! The quality of life is sooooooo worth it.

Yes, you can get the surgery for lower cost outside the US. But if there are complications (like what happened to my friend who got her bypass in Mexico) you are left without support and can end up costing way more. My friend got an infection and ended up in ICU and needing more surgery. She was basically sent home after surgery and left to fend for herself. I am sure not all cases end like this, but it seems like taking more of a risk than necessary. JMHO.

Day 2 post op.

Same here. Once the surgery was approved, it was a "go" even though there was weight loss on the pre-op diet. My insurance (BCBS) did not monitor after the approval.

I wont tell you to eat the chunks, but egg drop soup was one of the early foods that I could tolerate and was sooooo yummy.

Make your bedtime snack a protein one, which should regulate your insulin better through the night. Worse thing is to eat carbs at night - insulin spikes and sugar drops, resulting in hypoglycemia and hunger.

The curvy look sure is nice, but not that corsett!

So today I am making a fancy birthday cake and I couldn't believe that I actually stuck a finger full of frosting in my mouth! Old habits die hard! I immediately spit it out and washed out my mouth. Good grief! Scared me to death - the thought of dumping!

#1 priority is to get your fluid in. #2 is protein. We Arizona gals MUST get those fluids in every single day. It is too hard to catch up once we get even a little dehydrated. Try taking smaller sips more frequently. Water down the protein shakes if you think they feel too thick or too concentrated. Just because the schedule says you have to eat such and such by a certain week doesn't mean it will work for you perfectly. You have to listen to your body. Some weeks you have to back off certain foods a bit and then try again later. But water, water, water is the biggest priority. Sometmes when my appetite is just not there, I try some soup - like Progresso lentil or split pea. I can add protein powder to it, and the soft, more fluid texture seems to settle better.

4 months out and never had it and never want it. I am committed to absolutely no sugar, juice or concentrated carbs for the rest of my life.

My husband has always been the cold one and I have always been too hot. Before surgery I had to set the thermostat to 68 in order to sleep. You wouldn't believe the arguments in the car over the air conditioning! Now I am happy with thermostat at 78 and HE is the one turning the air on in the car! I carry a sweater with me everywhere, as I never know when I will start feeling chilly. There is a reason arctic seals have a lot of blubber! Once we lose our "insulation" the world is a different place.