Double_Me

Fantastic progress! Love your shoes in the last picture too!!

Agreed on not getting anything in bulk. I had a very kind friend who gifted me a care package of herbal teas and 3 kinds of broth before my operation. I ended up disliking all of the broth and surviving off of a quart of homemade chicken stock I had in the freezer. If I were to go through it again, I would make 1 pot of chicken stock, buy 1 six-pack of sugar free jello, and make sure I had protein shakes on hand. No need to make it complex. I'll also say this. Immediately post-op I was spending a lot of time fussing about what I'd eat in the puree phase and making recipes, which was fun... until I realized my puree phase was only a week long before soft foods. I ended up having to throw lots of my meals away as I just couldn't finish them before they began to go off. So just keep that in mind, plan your purchases for however long you will be in a given diet phase, and for however long it takes for you to get sick of eating the same thing over and over again. Good luck on your surgery!

I average 500-600 calories/day at almost 7 weeks out largely following my surgeon's diet plan- I tend to avoid grain-based carbs where the diet plan includes toast/crackers, and allow myself to cook with low amounts of healthy fats rather than pam only. I'm losing at a little below average pace (15 lbs first month, on track for 10 lbs 2nd month), but that could be due to a number of factors... relatively low starting weight as I'm only 4'11", some struggles with exercise which I'm working to remedy.

Ooh soy paper is a good idea. I've never had it before- is it kind of like tofu skin? I've made this recipe in the past for wontons, and they come to about 30 calories each... most of which is in the wrapper. I'll have to check out the soy paper! https://soupeduprecipes.com/wontons-in-chili-oil/

I'm grateful that my snoring has subsided so much that my fiance and I can sleep comfortably in the same bed again. And I'm sure he's grateful too!

Wontons are one of those foods I still have cravings for, this looks delicious 🤩

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Today I went riding with a new pair of bike shorts with plenty of padding. They helped, but I think what made the biggest difference was going riding in the afternoon instead of first thing in the morning- It was like night and day! I was able to complete the track I normally take without breaking a sweat, whereas before I was struggling to pedal up my driveway. I'm going to go for another ride in the morning and see if I experience the same fatigue. Has this happened to anyone else, where exercise 1st thing in the morning wears you out quickly?

This is all very useful information... I'm on my last few bottles of premier protein, and I've been having some issues finding them palatable and looking for alternatives. Just ordered the unjury sample pack!

@summerset no hand pain, fortunately. I have a pair of padded bike shorts arriving in the mail tomorrow with thicker padding, but their quality is not amazing... I didn't want to splurge on them as I'm still losing weight and unsure how long they'll fit. I did get the saddle adjusted when I purchased the bike. I'm short, so they had to move it forward and cut the seatpost down. I'll see how I do with the new shorts, hopefully that'll be all I need... If not, I'll go back to the shop and see if they have any suggestions. Crossing my fingers that the shorts will be enough! I think part of why I get tired is that it's uncomfortable to pedal while sitting, so I end up standing up to pedal and wearing myself out. That, and I just need to keep getting out there and continue training 😅.

Resurrecting this thread, I recently purchased a gravel bike and have been struggling cycling for extended periods of time. The seat is a killer on my bum and I become exhausted very quickly, sometimes after only a couple of minutes of riding up a slight incline. I'm aware I'm out of shape, but I didn't think it would be this hard! I've been getting out there 1-2 times/day trying to improve, does anyone have any tips that helped them?

All of you look fabulous... This is one my favorite threads to come to when I'm feeling down, everybody is enjoying life 😊

I've been doing well, like @613cnn I've been losing a little slowly. My high weight was 245 lbs, surgery weight on 7/27 was 215 lbs, and I'm currently hovering around 198 lbs. I weigh often and found I tend to alternate between losing for 3-4 days and stalling for 3-4 days. It might be a result of me measuring at night with clothes on, instead of in the morning... but part of me likes the idea that my 'real' weight is a couple lbs under what I see on the scale 😏. I also started out at a lower weight so I imagine that factors in. My weight for the past month... I've been mercifully able to tolerate most foods I've tried. Ground pork shaped into a meatball has been the worst so far. Turkey, cheese, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced steak, ground beef, fish, potato... all have been fine. I average 45-70g protein and 500-700 cals per day. I have yet to attempt any desserts or fried foods, but the cravings are starting to come back. Focusing now on not snacking in the evening!

Congratulations!! 100 lbs down is absolutely fantastic!

Congratulations! Such a great inspiration, pre-op weight loss of nearly 80 lbs is fantastic!

Lunch today... hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, and a little grilled corn salad with chili, lime, and feta. So happy to be eating mostly regular food again!

I just posted these to another thread, but here are some recipes I used for pureed (that are so good I'd eat em during soft too!) Blend 1c low-fat ricotta, 1-2 T caramelized onions, and some finely chopped rosemary using a hand blender for a great whipped ricotta dip. Pressure cooked some cannelini Beans and blended with a touch of olive oil, lemon juice and zest for a white bean dip. Scrape vanilla bean seeds & add pod to low-fat milk and steep over low heat. Remove pod, combine with sugar-free cheesecake pudding and a little bit of almond extract. Tasted like an amaretto cheesecake! For soft foods most of my favorites were fish, but there were a couple of tasty meat recipes as well. Combine 1T low-cal cream cheese with either some minced shallot/capers or some everything bagel seasoning and serve with some smoked salmon. Poached fish in a milk broth flavored with leek, shallot, saffron. MD-style crabcakes (toss meat in a metal bowl first and listen for any clinking to pick out shells) with very little filler. These were especially great since you can portion into 2-oz mini crabcakes and freeze, then pull them out to broil as needed. https://leitesculinaria.com/44197/recipes-beef-chili.html This recipe was delicious. It's a ground beef chili that has a very soft consistency designed for topping hot dogs or hamburgers. Has some kick but loaded with flavor. Of course, chicken salad and tuna salad. Chopped up a whole rotisserie chicken and made a couple different types of salads- pesto and curry chicken salad. Hope you find some inspiration from these ideas!!

Good luck!! Surgery will be over before you know it! And 40 lbs before surgery is fantastic!!

So long as you're not in any pain I don't think there's any immediate worry. But the primary reason for the slow introduction of solid foods is to ensure that nothing interferes with your stomach's healing. Each time you deviate from your surgeon's recommendations is taking a risk that could jeopardize your recovery. I'm only one month out and fortunately haven't had any issues, but I did try a pistachio too early on for my stomach... I was sick for hours. Afterwards I've been following my doctor's instructions to the letter and have been doing well. The post-op diet is bland and boring, but it's manageable and will get much more interesting in the coming weeks. I couldn't handle pureed meat, so I spent some time working on some high-protein recipes to keep me going until then: Blend 1c low-fat ricotta, 1-2 T caramelized onions, and some finely chopped rosemary using a hand blender for a great whipped ricotta dip. Pressure cooked some cannelini beans and blended with a touch of olive oil, lemon juice and zest for a white bean dip. Straight up refried beans from my local tex-mex place. 1 side portion lasted several meals. Not really a recipe... Scrape vanilla bean seeds & add pod to low-fat milk and steep over low heat. Remove pod, combine with sugar-free cheesecake pudding and a little bit of almond extract. Tasted like an amaretto cheesecake! This was my entire diet along with cottage cheese and shakes. In fact, this was way too much- I could only finish a couple of these before my soft foods stage. Best of luck 🤗

I used to date a man similar to your ex in my late teens-early 20s while I was at college. Over the course of that relationship I gained around 50 lbs, and ultimately he cheated on me and ghosted me shortly afterwards. I was a source of cash for him to buy weed and allegedly he only stuck it out for so long because he enjoyed leering at my roommates. This was similar to other relationships of mine at the time- I had no self-esteem, 'dated' people I met online, and eventually they got sick of me one way or another and simply stopped talking to me. All of this played into my lack of self-worth and lack of any effort in taking care of myself. I ended up dropping out of school and shutting myself off to the world for over a year. That was over a decade ago, I've been in therapy to address this only recently and I wish I'd done it sooner. Therapy, having an accomplished career, and being in a relationship with one of the few truly good people I've met has helped me regain some confidence in myself. I see having the surgery as a sign that I'm ready to care about myself so I can be a better example and caretaker of my future children. However I can already see the differences in how I'm treated, especially by my parents. They've historically blamed my obesity exclusively on my own laziness and lack of self-control... but I grew up with untreated depression and ADHD in a home without a real advocate for me, and I harbor a little resentment because of that. They never bothered to get to know me as an individual as my poor physical condition seemed to be their entire concern. Now, I receive calls weekly, they are interested in my life, inquisitive, telling me about their days... this is very foreign to me, and has been the toughest aspect to get used to so far.

I only had trouble drinking water within the first 24 hours after surgery. If its any later than that you should give your surgeon a call to check out whats wrong, you should not be throwing up water!

I chose RnY due to some previous reflux issues and because I had a relatively high starting bmi. One month out, happy with my decision so far!

My heart goes out to you, you WILL be able to find the strength to say no to these cravings. I found that in my pre-op phase practicing mindful eating helped answer questions about why I was craving specific foods, and helped me to figure out what I was actually craving. Most of the time it turned out I was just thirsty, and not hungry at all...

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since I had my bypass surgery. Over this period of time I've lost about 15 lbs, including a 10-day stall in the middle where I lost nothing a week after surgery. This corresponds to the 3-week stall, as I started shedding pounds at the beginning of my pre-op diet which was two weeks long. Glad that it's over- I've been steadily losing since then. Here's some stats: I've found that I still struggle to tolerate eating more than 2 oz of food at a time, so introducing vegetables back into my diet has been limited as I'm full up on my proteins. I average anywhere from 550-650 calories/day, which has usually included three 100-150 cal meals and a protein shake. Protein is about 55-70 grams/day. Go-tos have been ricotta or cottage cheese with salt & pepper, sliced ham/sliced prosciutto, smoked salmon with a little bit of lite cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning. Getting used to tossing those 1 or 2 bites of food left on my plate was hard at first, but became much easier after I stopped throwing it in the trash and switched to scraping it into my dogs bowl. Feels like I'm not letting good food go to waste! Mentally, I've had some tough days, but now I don't even think about eating to distract myself. Recently I've been unable to prepare a meal for myself without trepidation and discomfort. My stomach physically gurgles and turns as if I'm already going to experience rejection... has anyone else felt this? Its the worst when I'm heating up something hot... smelling food that used to appetize me causes this reaction. Usually as I begin to eat this feeling passes, but there is always some anxiety at the beginning. The most crazy thing about this is my mind still loves good food and cooking and I think about meals often, only to find that I'm repulsed by the idea of eating them. I've spoken to my therapist and hopefully we can find strategies to help, but so far this has been my primary source of concern post-op. I've been reading all of your posts and the comfort that they bring me as we go through this journey together is invaluable. Hoping for the best for everyone

I live near Philly, was that Marrakesh off of South st? And... soup dumplings... from dim sum garden, maybe? Such good food in this city, soup dumpling used to be one my my desert island foods!

I've been doing something similar, just mooshing tuna or ground beef as much as possible with a fork and then chewing the tiny bites until it's completely pureed. Earlier this week I did a riff of this chili recipe: https://leitesculinaria.com/44197/recipes-beef-chili.html Which was very moist and mostly ground beef and beans. Very easy on my stomach and not too spicy since I only added 2 chipotle chilis. Served with lite sour cream and a little cheese 'sauce' made with 1/2 oz lite evaporated milk heated up in the microwave, stirred with 1/4 oz shredded cheddar tossed with a pinch of cornstarch. It got the fiance seal of approval. Today I tried eating sushi for the first time after surgery. I got a salmon avocado roll, but ended up poking out the salmon and just eating that with a little soy sauce since the rice was too much for me. I should have just got sashimi! I've been having some issues finishing off my protein drinks. I struggle getting 1 in per day, spaced out with my drinking. I'm supposed to be drinking 2... does anyone have any suggestions? I'm drinking premier protein chocolate, which was a favorite of mine prior to surgery.