NovaLuna

Not yet. I get full way too easily and my eating habits are something I watch closely since I have to get a minimum of 80g of protein a day. So, that probably will never happen to me lol. Forgetting, I mean.

My doctor recommended the Ricotta Bake for puree and it was delicious. But, again, every doctor is different. I felt I was eating normal again with it lol. Though I also would have pureed tuna and chicken as well. And yogurt (no need for puree for that)

Um, I was on pureed on week 2 and the Ricotta Bake was one of my favorites to eat on my ONE WEEK of pureed. I was on soft foods for two weeks and then general diet. Every doc is different. And I had, literally, no issue with the Ricotta Bake.

First off this is NOT an easy way out! You have to WORK for your surgery to work. And vitamins are for life. You are making a lifetime commitment to better your health and if people don't understand that then tell them to do the damn research, because there is no EASY way out! Sorry, a pet peeve of mine is hearing the uninformed thinking that we took the 'easy' route. It never fails to piss me off... Yes, it IS okay to be scared! It's perfectly normal to feel that way. I probably would have been if I hadn't had brain surgery two and a half years before (which to me, was a bigger deal). And risk is relatively low. At my heaviest I was 389 (though I COULD have been heavier, I just avoided scales like the plague). I finally decided to do something about my weight after my niece was born and I feared that I wouldn't be around to watch her grow up. I had always been scared that I'd fail, much like you are. In a way I did use food to cope because I'd eat junk food when I was upset. I didn't think I'd be able to do well and doubted myself constantly. Because my willpower is sh*t, I decided to pre-diet despite the fact that the only thing they asked was that I not gain weight in my six months of required weigh-ins. I did an elimination thing where I cut out one thing a month so that I could get used to the way I'd be eating. First month I cut my portion sizes by eating smaller amounts with no seconds, second month I cut out soda, third month was rice, fourth month was pasta, fifth month was bread, and six month I cut out beans and potatoes. My goal was to lose 35 pounds before my surgery, but I lost a staggering (at least to me) 64 pounds before my surgery. I amazed myself at my own willpower, which was far stronger than I had thought! Losing that weight on my own helped me gain more confidence in myself that I COULD do this! Is it worth it/ do you regret it? Yes, it's worth it. I felt like I got hit by a bus after the surgery and for a few days I was like, 'Why the hell did I do this again?' but it gets better! It's totally normal to feel like crap after surgery lol. I had my surgery 10 weeks ago today. Do you feel like your life is normal? What IS normal? I've lost over a hundred pounds since I started this process and I feel much better about myself then I did and I don't regret taking this route. I sometimes wonder if I should have gone the gastric bypass route instead since my particular surgery causes some... stomach upset that at times can be troubling because it sometime seemingly comes out of nowhere. But other than that I guess I feel normal... or as 'normal' as I'll probably ever be lol. (I've never defined myself as 'normal') Can you do it with 50/50 support from those around you? The most important part is your own willpower. Not everyone is going to understand the reasons why surgery is the best option. Even I had my doubters, but after I had my surgery they understand a lot more. It took me 8 months to lose 64 pounds and in the 2.5 months since my surgery I've already lost another 44. Meaning I'm likely to lose the same amount in HALF the time with surgery. Sometimes you just need to show them that you were right by showing results. It shuts the doubters up! x'D Do you have to lose weight first? It depends on your insurance actually. Mine didn't have the requirement, but I did it anyway. I have thyroid issues so I didn't have much expectation for a large weight loss, but I was pleasantly surprised with the amount I lost and am very proud of myself. Is the loose skin as bad as people make it out to be? It bugs me, but I'd rather have the loose skin than the fat. I'm trying to work on the loose skin on my upper arms as that's the area that bugs me the most. However, my insurance pays for skin removal after you've maintained for a year so... I'm not so stressed about it. Hair loss? I've only lost slightly more hair then normal. It's really not as bad as I was warned and it's honestly not noticeable. Tips? My only tip is to honestly give it your all. The psych doctor, shockingly, passed me on the first try. She advised me that if I was having trouble though to make an appointment with her. My advice is if you need someone to talk to about the struggle then by all means take advantage of that and speak with the psych doc when you need it. I wish you luck on your journey and in whatever surgery you decide on. It'll be difficult, but it's 100% WORTH it! Set small goals for yourself and don't stress over every little thing. And stalls happen, it's normal.

I'm all over the place lol. I try and only weigh in once a week but sometimes it's twice a week and sometimes it's once every TWO weeks (particularly when I'm in a stall like I have been for the last two weeks... -_-')

My doctor said no to lettuce for three months because it won't sit well in your stomach. Though cooked spinach is apparently okay (I have stomach issues due to my surgery so I've yet to try it, but it's on the approved list). No peas for... six months, I think? I'm eating carrots, green beans, and broccoli, but none of them are raw so I don't know how my stomach would handle them. I'm 9 weeks out btw. The only raw veggies I've eaten are tomato and bell pepper, and I'm fine with those so maybe you'd be fine with the rest as well when you hit your 4 week mark. Though I had to wait until day 31 following my surgery to go to general diet lol. All these doctors are SO different! x'D Oh, and part of my surgery is a sleeved stomach btw.

If I make tea I just sweeten it per glass instead of adding it to the pitcher. One and a half squirts of stevia (I bought the liquid one) and it's the perfect sweetness.

I have EOS (Eosinophilic Esophagitis) which occasionally causes esophageal spasms and I get chest pains from it (also upper abdomenal pain). Be careful when you eat because an esophageal spasm when you eat can lead to choking. If it's really bothering you get your doctor to refer you to a gastroenterologist to help you figure out why it keeps happening. Don't forget to tell them you've had weight loss surgery, especially if they decide to do an upper endoscopy!

It's not Covid 19 because I'm a chronic asthmatic. It'd be in my lungs and my lungs are fine. I was told even before my surgery that I had an increased risk due to the malabsorptive nature of the surgery. I even have someone in my nutrition support group that had the same surgery and suffered chronic issues with his vitamin levels to where not only was he hospitalized, but he ended up eventually having to have his intestines re-connected because of it. That's part of the reason I'm so mad at myself, because I KNOW better!

I heard it's normal. I can't compare my own experience because I STILL have issues, but that's due in part to my specific surgery. I did notice I had issues with sucralose though and try to either limit my intake or cut it out altogether because it causes massive stomach issues.

Except not all good is happening. My mom works in a doctors office, but in the county that I live in the average age is 48. Most people here are older and the doctors offices aren't allowing anyone 65 or older in the offices and I live in the California foothills. People retire here. Meaning there is a large population of 65 and older so there aren't many people going to the doctors offices and a lot of people are being laid off. My mom had 4 patients yesterday. FOUR. She's worried she's going to lose her job because yesterday they laid off 14 people and warned that more layoffs were coming. The only reason I'm not worried about my own job is because it's a Fortune 500 Company and a fourth of our staff took leave because they told us we could if we didn't feel safe. I'm currently considering it, but am waiting to hear back if my doctor will approve leave for me. My sister's fiancee is on leave because he's a cook at a restaurant that decided to temporarily shut its doors until the pandemic dies down a bit. And right now my sister is the only one working because she's working at a fast food place as a shift manager. So while yes, there are some good things going on, there are more bad things imo. At the rate things are going we're likely headed to another recession if not another Great Depression.

1. First of all, don't let their opinions make you falter. Yes, some people DO fail. However, most of the time that can be traced back to them getting back into bad eating habits... i.e fast food, drinking soda again, eating cake, cookies, ice cream, and massive amounts of bread and pasta. And statistically ANY surgery can cause nerve damage not just weight loss surgery. It depends a lot on your own body, how many other prior surgeries you've had, if you have nerve disorders like different types of neuralgia, Fibromyalgia, etc. 2. I read up on statistics when deciding on my surgery and Gastric Bypass has a 0.14% chance of mortality in the operating room (essentially 1 in every 1000 people), 1% in the first 30 days and 6% in five years. However, you have to think about the fact that many of us have been overweight for a very long time and it takes a toll on our bodies which is likely the reason for the 6%. Some people just waited too long to do anything about it. Avoid NSAIDS like the plague though because once you have Gastric Bypass that causes massive bleeding and you'll land yourself in the hospital. No ibuprofen or asprin for you! (though you likely already know this lol) And I TOTALLY understand the facial pain! I have TN (trigeminal neuralgia) and it was misdiagnosed for YEARS which means it didn't get the proper treatment and led to it getting worse and worse until I was in constant pain for MONTHS! I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't talk because of the sheer amount of pain I was in and I would cry myself dry. I was exhausted, in agony, miserable and desperate to find an end to the pain. I would literally go to work and cry while I worked. I had brain surgery in 2017 and it had a similar mortality rate to the GB surgery and had some other rare complications and even some common ones. I was at peace with whatever happened. If I was one of the rare 1 in 1000 that died then it'd be an end to the pain, if I was one of the other 999 people then I had a 95% chance that the surgery would work for me and a 5% chance that it'd do nothing to help me. Even then, I knew it was just a temporary solution since TN has no cure. And it did work. For two years. The pain came back last year, but the surgery is amazing in the fact that it's kept the most debilitating type 1 pain away. I have atypical TN (which is apparently rare) and have had both type 1 and type 2 pain. I had the surgery because the type 1 pain is like being stabbed repeatedly in the face with a scalding hot poker where it twists and twists and twists and then repeats. When I have flares I only suffer from the type 2 pains now and hope that the type 1 never comes back! Also, I haven't had a flare since August! I hope that everything goes well for you in your surgery and I hope they can eventually figure out what's causing your other health issues so that you can get the necessary treatment without those issues getting worse. I wish you the best!

I'm 9 weeks out as of today. For breakfast I usually eat 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or a yogurt. For my first snack of the day I usually have a cheese stick or some diced peach slices in water. For my lunch I usually have deli sliced turkey (3 slices) and one cheese stick divided in three to make roll-ups lol or 2oz of rotisserie chicken with sugar free bbq sauce (my preference is G. Hughes Hickory flavored) and usually a scoop or two of green beans, or I eat left overs from the night before. For my afternoon snack I usually eat a mini bell pepper sliced in half and dipped in 2TBS of salsa or cheese crisps (sometimes dipped in salsa lol). Dinner is kinda all over the place though lol. Last night I had a turkey burger patty with a tablespoon of mustard on top, 1/4 of an avacado, and a slice of tomato. The night before I had a make shift stir fry using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice with chicken, mushrooms, red bellpepper, water crests, carrots, broccoli, onion, etc. with sugar free Teriyaki sauce (again, G. Hughes is my preference). If I have I late night snack (I rarely do) it's usually fruit or a yogurt or cottage cheese, etc. Cauliflower pizza is a good food option too and leaves TONS of left overs! Stuffed bellpepper with cauliflower herb rice is also delicious. And one of my favorite meals so far is a make shift taco salad with seasoned turkey meat, avocado, taco sauce, tomato, and cheese... it's yummy! Hope this helps in some way...

I just buy cauliflower pizza and eat that since I was told to avoid all bread products until a year after my surgery. Sorry I can't be of more help.

I'm not entirely sure how your insurance works, but mine also required a six month weigh in program where you go in every month to be weighed and see a nutritionist and have to have a psyche eval. They didn't actually tell me to lose weight, they just told me not to GAIN weight. Basically maintain. However, I wanted to get into good eating habits so I wouldn't struggle after my surgery. I did a monthly elimination thing where I cut something out every month. Portion size, soda, rice, pasta, bread, beans, potatoes, etc. My BMI was 63 when I started and on the day of my surgery it was 52. My goal was to lose 35 pounds before surgery, which seemed impossible for me, because I've always struggled with my weight, but I ended up losing 64 pounds. I was slightly worried about that because everyone had warned me that my particular insurance was known to deny surgery if you successfully lost weight on your own, but they approved it the first go around, without issue. Maybe because my BMI was still over 50? No idea. As for the psyche eval... I was iffy about it too, mostly because I have other health issues and one of which had made me suicidal before. I never actually attempted, but if my brain surgery hadn't been approved back in 2017 I know for a fact that I most likely wouldn't be here because of the sheer amount of pain I was in every day due to my TN. I was honest with the psyche doc and told her that I'd started having flare ups again and I was terrified that it would get back to how it was before my surgery. I was bluntly honest with her. I didn't actually think she'd pass me, but she did. I think as long as you're willing to ask for help when you need it, and know when you need that help, they give you credit where it's due. My best advice is to simply give it your best shot. I waited until I was 31 to start the process and had my surgery at 32. I WISH I had done this years ago, but other health issues made me prioritize what was more important and my weight just wasn't at the top of my list. Near, but not quite the top. I hope everything works out for you and I wish you the best!

Wow, that's a lot of weight to lose in so small a time. I was 321 on my surgery day and am 283 right now. So since my surgery 8 weeks ago I've lost 38 pounds. Compared to that your weight is just flying of lol. It'll probably slow down soon though so don't worry so much!

I bought a digital scale off Walmart.com. it was like $10 and works great!

Call your surgeon IMMEDIATELY! Personally, it sounds like you have stricture issues, but it could be an ulcer or any number of things! CALL THE DOCTOR!

I'm 32, but have struggled with my weight my whole life and I honestly wish I'd done this ten years ago! I know I've only lost 99 pounds right now, but I already feel sooooo much better than before the weight loss, not only about myself, but physically as well. My BMI was 62 when I started and it's 46 right now (admittedly still high, but hey, I only had surgery 8 weeks ago lol). Just go over your options and go with your gut!

Please don't weigh yourself every day! It's not healthy. It's easy to get depressed and not see your own progress if you weigh yourself every day. Instead, do it once a week. Trust me, it's so much less stressful to do it this way!

Both. As an example: One of my co-workers drinks regular. She was originally 390-ish pounds before gastric bypass and got down to 210. She started drinking regular soda and now she's in the 280's. She's four years out. The other co-worker said she started at 230-ish pounds and her lowest weight was 120-ish pounds. She had gastric bypass. She drinks diet now and is in the 170's. She's nine years out. However, despite the weight re-gain they both seem happy with their current weight so... I guess it's fine.

To each their own. My surgeons office told all of us that after a year we could go back to drinking soda if we want, but it would stretch our new stomach over time. And gaining weight back is a distinct possibility if that happens. Soda was actually the easiest thing for me to give up since when I was diagnosed with EOS that was one of the things that raised my choking issues so I stopped drinking it for two years. Then had only been drinking it again for a few months when I started the weight loss process and I gave it up with no issue. But, not everyone is me and I realize that. If soda makes you happy then good for you. However, keep this in mind. I work with tons of people who have had weight loss surgery and the ones who've put back on weight all have one thing in common.... they drink soda.

Never been a problem for me lol. My surgery causes opposite issue x'D

Every doctors office is different. I was only on liquid diet for 7 days, pureed for the next 7, then soft foods for two weeks, and then general diet (which is where I'm at now 8 weeks out). Her doctor may be more like mine lol

I eat about 1/2 cup each meal as well. I'm almost two months out of my surgery. (my stomach is sleeved btw, it's a part of my surgery)