BigSue

On a related note: I won't miss being unable to see the clock in my car because I have to raise the steering wheel so high (to make room for my belly) that it blocks my view. I still have a long way to go before I'm not fat (not sure if I'll ever get to that point), but I can now put the steering wheel at a height that doesn't block the clock!

You are far from the only person who had gained weight during quarantine! There was a very intense thread about it on this forum recently (so intense, it had to be shut down). Nobody should judge you for that — it’s a tough time for everyone. Some insurance companies, and maybe some bariatric programs, do have a requirement that you not gain any more weight before the surgery. This may or may not be the case for you, but you might want to check. I bet you can lose 10 pounds, or close to it, before September 10. You said you track everything in MyFitnessPal, and that’s a great start. I lost over 60 pounds in the 5 months before surgery just by doing two things: tracking everything in MyFitnessPal (and staying well under my calorie limit) and intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting really helped me to get out of the habit of snacking. I did 16 hour fasts every day, starting after dinner and ending with lunch the next day. It was hard at first, but not so bad once I got used to it. I could push through the hunger and temptation knowing that I could have an indulgent dinner. I think it was a good workout for my willpower. Look for foods that are filling and tasty but relatively low in calories. Look at the foods you normally eat and figure out which ones are the healthiest. Salads are great, especially if you use light dressing. You can have a big salad with lots of grilled chicken for under 300 calories. Popcorn was another one of my favorites. Not exactly the healthiest snack, but a mini bag of “blast o butter” microwave popcorn Is just 210 calories and really filling (even lower in calories if you pop your own with an air popper, but you have to start somewhere). I LOVE Built Bars (protein bars). Some flavors used to be 110 calories and made a great daily treat (they recently changed and now they’re 130, but still a heck of a lot better than a candy bar).

Welcome! I first looked into weight loss surgery about 15 years ago, but I didn’t get any farther than the initial consultation with the surgeon before my family talked me out of it. This time, I didn’t tell anyone because it was my decision and I didn’t need their input. Sometimes I wish I had done it back then because I feel like I’ve missed out on so much because of my weight, but I also think that I wasn’t ready at the time to make the changes necessary to succeed in long-term weight loss, and I have a much better shot now than I would have had 15 years ago. It looks like you are ready to do this now, too! i hope your endoscopy goes well. Make sure the anesthesiologist knows what happened last time so he or she can take measures to prevent it from happening again.

I didn't do any meal prep before surgery, and I don't think it's really necessary. After surgery, you'll have a very limited diet. Depending on your program, you'll have some period of time that you can only have liquids (which require little to no prep) and then only pureed foods. There are a lot of no/low-prep pureed foods, like applesauce, yogurt, sugar-free pudding, cottage cheese (which is actually available pre-pureed now), mashed cauliflower, and refried beans. Most of it requires no prep other than stirring in some protein powder and maybe throwing it in the food processor. If you really want to do some advance meal prep, maybe make some pureed soup and freeze it in small containers. You are going to be eating very small quantities, so one recipe can make many servings. I made some black bean soup and one recipe came out to 14 portions. Ricotta bake makes 8 portions. Just those two recipes make dinner for 3 weeks. Since that didn't really answer your question, I would suggest you check YouTube. There are several videos on WLS meal prep. I find them very boring because they're mostly just mixing protein powder into food and dividing it into a bunch of containers!

Yeah, 222 is a pretty low starting weight. You can’t expect to lose as quickly as someone who started 100 pounds higher. 10 pounds in a month is pretty good, considering your starting weight. And 1200 calories is quite high for a month out. I’m 6 weeks out and averaging just over 400 calories per day (I’m supposed to increase to 800-1000 now). By the way, if you want your info (surgery date, surgery type, starting weight, current weight) to show up when you post, you can update it by clicking on your username at the top of the screen and then “My surgery” under settings. If you want to share any of that info, it helps for people to see it as context when you post.

I weigh almost everything. It's more precise and I don't have to wash a measuring cup. It's easier to divide things into equal servings that way, e.g., dividing a 150-gram yogurt into three 50-gram servings, or calculate how many servings (or what fraction of a serving) I'm eating for the purposes of food tracking. Some things are difficult to measure accurately by volume, like protein powder. "One scoop" can be very different amounts depending on how tightly you pack it in the scoop.

I bought a big bag of GenePro and I don’t like it. Even though it’s unflavored, it still has a taste, and it’s unpleasant. It’s useful for mixing into purées like refried beans and mashed cauliflower that cover the taste well enough. I mixed it into broth when I was on clear liquids, and I could only add a little bit or it would taste too bad. I never tried it with plain water, but based on how it tasted in broth, I wouldn’t want to. I did see someone on YouTube making a protein shot with it (mixing it into a small amount of water and drinking it quickly), but I don’t think I could stand to drink that. Rather than mixing GenePro into flavored drinks, I would recommend getting clear protein drinks. Protein2O is popular. I bought a case of it and I didn’t like it, but I suspect I might have gotten a bad batch or something because every time I drank it, I got solids (the texture of cooked egg whites) precipitating out in my mouth. Premier Protein makes a ready-to-drink clear protein but I haven’t been able to find it where I shop. There are also some clear protein powders on the market, like Syntrax Nectar. I bought some bone broth, but I didn’t care for it much. I ended up preferring broth made from Better than Bouillon (which I already had in my fridge since I use it for recipes). I was able to mix a little GenePro in it without it having too bad of a taste. One of my favorite protein drinks is protein hot chocolate. I got it in the BariatricPal store and it was really good. I mix it with warm Fairlife milk for a nice protein boost, I bought a big canister of it on Amazon, but that’s not as good as what I got from BariatricPal. I’ve found that warm liquids go down easier than cold, and the hot chocolate is a nice change of pace from cold protein shakes.

I usually use the BariatricPal Portable Protein Mixer, Blender, and Whipper (you can get the same thing on Amazon). I got it as a free gift with my order, and I wouldn’t have bought it otherwise, but it has turned out to be very useful. I use it every day. It still produces some foam, but it makes it very easy to mix powder into liquids without lumps. It’s also easy to clean. During my pre-op diet, when I was drinking a lot of protein shakes, I used a Blender Bottle. These are very inexpensive (certain colors are a few dollars less than others) and they work very well for protein powder. I don’t use them as much anymore because I’m not making full-size 8-ounce shakes these days.

How are you doing now? Have you seen or called a doctor about your shortness of breath?

I am curious about how many grams of carbs people are being told to eat in the post-op diet. I was told to aim for 60-80 grams of protein and 60-80 grams of carbs per day. I'm doing ok with the protein (usually at least 50 grams per day), since that's what was stressed as the most important thing and I bought a lot of high-protein, low-carb foods/drinks, but I have a hard time getting more than about 40 grams of carbs in a day. The nutritionist told me that the point is to stay out of ketosis because it makes you feel crappy, but I feel fine. She did say that 40 grams of carbs per day is probably enough to stay out of ketosis, so I try to get about 40 grams of carbs per day, but I'm wondering if that's really necessary.

I just stayed one night. I went in first thing Thursday morning and was discharged Friday afternoon.

I starting working out 2-3 weeks after surgery, just doing light cardio. I didn't work out much before surgery, so I started slow. Someone here recommended Leslie Sansone Walk at Home videos on YouTube. I started with 15-minute videos and now I'm doing 20-minute videos. I'll probably try some 30-minute videos next week.

I'm 5 weeks out and eating 2 to 3 ounces per meal (3 meals per day). I'm still eating mostly purees, but I have recently started adding 1/2 ounce of shredded canned chicken to some of my meals. My program says I can eat up to 1/2 cup (4 ounces) at a time, but I stick with 2 to 3 ounces unless I'm eating soup (and then I have 4 ounces). I think 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) is lower than most programs for 4 weeks out. I am allowed to have soft veggies, but I am very cautious because I don't want to eat anything that makes me sick. The only veggie I've had so far is mashed cauliflower. I also eat pureed black bean soup that has carrots in it.

Welcome to the post-op side! Mine was the same. It's so weird to me to see people who get purees while still in the hospital! I'm all about taking it slow because I do not want to vomit.

Good luck! I hope your surgery goes well! Keep us posted.

I had gastric bypass, but my surgeon said this cramping feeling is very common early on, especially for VSG patients. I was prescribed hyoscyamine for it but only took it for a few days. I think the protein and fluid goals are unrealistic for the first week or two. I didn't get anywhere close until about a week out. I'm 5 weeks out now and it's still a struggle. My first several days post-op, I constantly felt like I had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner, just from drinking a few ounces of water or protein drink. I don't feel so stuffed or bloated anymore, but I haven't felt any hunger since surgery (which is pretty awesome).

I really like protein hot chocolate. I got some from the BariatricPal store that was really good, and then I got a big canister from Amazon that's ok but not quite as good. I have found that warm stuff goes down a little easier than cold, and the protein hot chocolate tastes like normal hot chocolate -- something I would drink before surgery. It's nice to have something a little different when you get sick of the cold protein shakes.

I had my surgery a week before yours and my weight loss has been slow, too. I only lost 15 pounds the first month, I had my 3-week stall right on schedule, and I'm hoping to get to 20 pounds down by my 6-week follow-up (which is on Thursday). Even though I know that this is a decent weight loss, it is still so frustrating when I see all these people posting who started off at a lower weight than I did and lost twice as much weight in the first month. I guess we just have to be patient. Regarding the shortness of breath, I don't want to raise alarm, but that is one of the primary symptoms of COVID-19. Are you having any other symptoms like fever, cough, loss of taste/smell? Do you have a pulse oximeter at home to monitor your blood oxygen? You can get one on Amazon (or possibly at a pharmacy) and it can help you figure out if you need to get medical attention.

I have a high-stress desk job where I work 10-hour days. My surgeon recommended taking at least two weeks off,, but I went back after one (11 days, to be precise; I had surgery on a Thursday and took that weekend off, plus the next full week, and then went back the Monday after that). I had a follow-up visit with my surgeon six days after surgery, and he cleared me to return to work. I am working from home most days, but I was in the office my first day back. I felt well enough to go back to work a week earlier, but I wouldn't recommend it because it's practically a full-time job just to track your fluids and protein at first. I felt great the day I went back, and by then, I was able to drink more fluids and didn't need to track by the hour, so I just sipped water at my desk all day and had a protein shake for lunch. I will say that I was not as productive as usual the first couple of weeks back just because I was a bit preoccupied with thinking about the surgery, getting protein and fluids, what to tell people if they noticed I wasn't eating any solid food or that I've lost weight (nobody has noticed either so far), etc. But I'm guessing that no matter how much time I had taken off, I still would have been distracted the first couple of weeks back.

I think the protein goals are unrealistic for the first couple of weeks. Based on what I've seen on this forum, I think most people are unable to meet their protein goals in the beginning. It should get easier, so just do the best you can for now and don't worry too much. The most important thing is to get enough fluids so you don't get dehydrated.

I had a few reasons for not telling anyone about my surgery. I didn't tell my family because I first looked into this surgery about 15 years ago, and my mom played a big role in talking me out of it because she thought it was dangerous and that I was going to die or have horrible complications. This time around, I did my own research and made my own decision and didn't want to give my mom or anyone else a chance to talk me out of it. I have three siblings who have always been thin, so I have a feeling they would be judgmental about it. People who have never struggled with their weight don't understand why it's not that easy for everyone to just eat less and exercise more. I didn't tell anyone at work because I have heard negative comments about weight loss surgery from coworkers. Something that has stuck with me for years is a former coworker who complained about his wife's health insurance costs going up because she worked at a small company and two employees had weight loss surgery in one year. This guy was on his wife's health insurance instead of our company's because it used to cost less, and he complained that it was now more expensive than ours because these two ladies were "too lazy to just go on a diet." I have several current coworkers who are really into diet and fitness to the point that they make me uncomfortable, and although I've never heard any comments from them specifically about weight loss surgery, I have a feeling they would be judgmental. Finally, I am a very private person in general and I am careful about what information I share about my life. I wouldn't tell my coworkers if I were having, say, gallbladder surgery or a hysterectomy, either. People might figure it out on their own if I lose enough weight, but I'm not going out of my way to tell anyone about it.

Congratulations! I love seeing success stories like yours. I hope to have one of my own someday, but for now, I have to live vicariously through people like you. 🙂

Congratulations! My surgeon said that people who lose a lot of weight before their surgery tend to be very successful after surgery, so it looks like you are on track. The time between now and your surgery will fly by and it will be surgery day before you know it.

What kinds of things are you eating? When I started the pureed food stage, I was eating 2 ounces at a time, consisting of triple zero yogurt + protein powder, sugar-free pudding + protein powder, pureed refried beans + protein powder, unsweetened applesauce + protein powder, or cottage cheese. I have been eating three "meals" per day plus liquids (protein drinks, sugar-free popsicles, sugar-free Jello, protein soups, etc.) in between. Are you tracking what you eat? I track everything in MyFitnessPal and I average around 400 calories per day. I don't really feel full when I eat, but I don't feel hungry, either (haven't felt hungry since the surgery). I just measure out 2 ounces and eat it, and don't feel much different before and after the meal. I'm 5 weeks out and on the "soft food" stage, but I'm still mostly eating pureed foods and ricotta bake (definitely the best thing I've eaten since surgery and now my go-to dinner; I split the recipe into 8 portions and that's dinner for over a week). I just recently started adding half an ounce of canned chicken to my refried beans and ricotta bake meals.

Welcome! I have chosen not to tell anyone in my life (aside from medical professionals) about my surgery, so it's nice to have somewhere to discuss something that is a big part of my life right now. FYI, in case you don't know how to update your stats, you can click on your username at the top of the screen, then select "My Surgery" under Settings. The info on the "Surgery Information" and "Progress" screens is nice to be able to see when you post (but of course it's all optional and you don't have to enter anything you don't want to share).