chiquitatummy

you look amazing and I bet you feel great! thanks for sharing and giving inspiration to those of us looking forward to being in weight maintenance stage someday.

So many great comments in this thread! It's giving me life this week with the scale going back and forth between the same half pound. I have three new weird/fun NSVs: Laying flat on my back is sooooooo much more comfortable without extra padding on my butt pushing my lower back into a deep curve and my boobs flopping into my neck to choke me. It's a whole new world of physical comfort! I keep accidentally off-balancing myself because of my body mechanic habit related to really needing to put some force into swinging my leg up when I was 50 pounds heavier. This morning I nearly ended up on the shower floor because I put waaaay too much force into lifting my foot up onto my shaving ledge. I can balance and walk on my toes or my heels. I discovered this playing with my niece earlier this week.

I am loving all the responses in this thread, it's inspiring! Over the last few weeks I've logged a few more NSVs: I can feel my hipbone - hello old friend! My wedding ring is getting loose. My tighter fitting shoes are feeling loose. And my new favorite NSV: I can walk up the hill near my house without dropping into 1st gear or needing to stop for a break! 😍

This got me in the feels, actually made me tear up feeling happy for you. Congratulations on this, you have obviously been doing the internal self love and acceptance part of this journey. That is a solid NSV!

This is so real! For a long time I have lived with these versions of "it fits" in my wardrobe It fits, like I can go out in public fits! It fits, like I can go out in public fits but only if I wear a layer over it or it goes under a long tunic It fits, but only for wearing around the house where no one can see my bulging rolls/gut/boobs/butt It fits, if I can manage to lose 5 pounds. It ...f**k its not even close to fitting.

My programs approuch to eating phases is: clear liquid = until hospital discharge (1 day for me) full liquids = 4 weeks (greek yogurt counts) Pureed = 3 weeks soft food = 2 weeks I've followed this strictly and have had no issues. It was scary to transition stages, but I took it easy and everything went well. The worst I had was a couple of instances of discomfort from eating something that sat a little heavier in my tummy (like chilli) too quickly. I learned to go slower with these foods and, even when it was the same volume as other foods, to expect that I'd need to eat it in two sittings. I'm in the soft foods stage now, during liquid and pureed stages the options were limited which did get old. Full liquid stage all I ate was protein shakes, greek yogurt, protein cocoa, and strained bariatric protein soups. Here is what I lived on, in addition to supplemental protein shakes, during the pureed stage: Refried beans with a little Valentina sauce and a small amount of melted cheese My version of ricotta bake (made with cottage cheese, I don't like ricotta) Tuna salad (For some reason, the idea of pureeing tuna didn't turn me off, but any other meat did so I never branched out. Tuna sat suprisingly well in my tummy. Also, I made this with pureed cottage cheese instead of mayo, more protein, and my tummy hasn't liked mayo yet) "Tuna melt bake" just ricotta bake with tuna added. (I like tuna melts and this was one of my favorite things to eat.) Pureed homemade chilli (also a favorite, but I had to be careful since it sat heavier in my tummy) Soft baked yam mixed into yogurt with PB2 added (tastes better than it sounds) Poached egg or soft scrambled egg (the poached eggs were especially easy on my tummy) Just plain cottage cheese or cottage cheese with 1-2 slices of pureed peach or a little mashed banana (sat great in my tummy) Egg salad (again, made with pureed cottage cheese - I don't know what I would have done without cottage cheese! 😂) Mashed banana with PB2 (l liked this the least, only ate it a few times)

Congrats! What a good feeling.

Yeeessss! Saving money, having choices and options in clothing? What is not to love about that?

Oh yeah! Can't wait to say buh-bye to chafing.

🙋‍♀️ ditto! Also, um how shall I put this...feeling confident that I can comfortably reach the "in-between" crotch spot to give it a good wash.

I can't wait to experience this NSV!

Oh man, I'm so sorry that anxiety is sitting with you right now - it stinks. I too have heard that mood swings can be part of the early stage post-surgery for a variety of reasons, including hormonal fluctuation, sleep disturbance, or loss of food as a comfort and coping tool. During my pre-surgery phase, I got more aware of how I have used food to manage and numb anxiety. Post-surgery, as my hunger/food desire has started to return I've had some unpleasant reminders of this old habit. I also really and truly get having fear around moving from one food stage to the next. with each food stage "graduation" I have been so afraid of what might happen. Go figure that by following my program I have been fine. Like catwomen said complications are rare, and even rarer if you're following the recommendations of a reputable program. Not to go into advice mode too much, and knowing our experiences might be different (maybe you are having panic attacks rather than generalized anxiety?), I will say that I have found therapy to be a big help. With my therapist I know I can unload my anxious build-up. saying my fears out loud to someone else helps me put them in perspective. Therapy also gives me a non-food outlet that instead of numbing helps me identify what might be contributing to anxiousness and give it less power by helping me to put it in perspective. Not all therapists are skilled, so it can take some shopping around, but might be worth it.

That shirt sure is looking baggy and your face is so much slimmer! Congrats on your progress, you look great!

Glad to hear you are on the mend and able to get food in without issues. I had VSG on 2/23, so far I've lost 45 pounds. I recently moved to soft foods which seems like the wild west of foods to me since there is so many more options. So far I had my first stall this month which has messed with my head a bit, but I'm hanging in there trusting that sticking strictly to my program will keep the weight loss coming. I'm getting antsy to get some new clothes (and will need new bras soon - the girls are going!) but want to wait until I lose another 15 pounds or so.

Wah-hoo!!!!! Congratulations!

I can relate! It's hard to understand my body's cues right now and everything happening in my belly area feels so weird. For the first month after surgery, I didn't feel hungry and didn't have desire for food. I am now starting to have hunger feelings again, but it also feels different (wanting specific foods) so it also feels like cravings/head hunger. It's confusing and I'm struggling a bit with feeling hunger/food desire and fear that I will slide down a slippery slope and ruin my surgery. I'm also in the soft food phase so I'm eating a greater variety, which is nice but also feels scary like I could accidentally reintroduce a food that I can't control myself with. This is compounded by the fact that I'm at the point of weight loss where, with every pre-surgery weight loss attempt, I stopped losing weight, got frustrated and quit dieting, and gained everything back plus some. It's a triggering time for me. I guess this is what everyone means when they say the surgery is a tool that you have to work with rather than just rely on.

Our plans may not be the same, but added sugar is a no-no on my plan, fruit is ok for me but only in small quantities right now. I'm almost at the end of my 3 weeks on pureed foods. This is what I've been living on: refried beans with a little cheese and Valentina sauce egg salad, replacing mayo with cottage cheese (more protein plus my tummy doesn't like mayo right now) soft poached eggs or soft scrambled eggs tuna salad (I don't mind pureed tuna) also made with cottage cheese protein shakes (I still need them to meet protein goals most days) Homemade chili, blended up (it's good!) with greek yogurt as sour cream My version of ricotta bake with made with cottage cheese instead ( I don't like ricotta) "tuna melt bake". This is just ricotta bake with mashed tuna added. I like tuna melts and it was a change of pace mashed banana with Pb2 (not my favorite, but still ok) Baked yam mixed into greek yogurt with PB2 added (tastes better than it sounds) plain cottage cheese

This made me laugh so hard...Just this morning I was complaining that my fat girl butt is going faster than my fat girl gut - NOT how I would plan this if I could! 🤣

I did the same thing! In the first week drinking while standing was so much easier. I kept my glass on the dining room table, would do laps around the table, and then take a sip when I passed my glass. it got to be a fun game. Fun get's weird when you are holed up at home post-surgery. 😂 Sounds like recovery is going well for you, here's to good results on the scale!

Same here. My Apnea was mild and developed after I got over 230. I'm under 230 and happily my husband says he hasn't heard me snore in weeks. My machine is gathering dust, hopefully I'll be down enough to redo my sleep study in a couple months and make it official that I am apnea free.

My program is: 1 day of clear liquids (while in the hospital) 4 weeks of full liquids (with greek yogurt counted as a full liquid - thank god) 3 weeks pureed diet 2 weeks soft foods

I've only told 2 people - my husband and a coworker who was scheduled for surgery the same week as me. As far as everyone else...The few that have asked I say I'm working with a nutritionist to address my health. It's the truth, minus the parts that I've decided are my business.

Hi! 👋 Best of luck on your journey!

Cool tip! I'm going to have to check my Marshalls. I did shell out for 1 1/2 cup souper cube tray and I love it. It is perfect for portioning and freezing precooked meals. Right now I have homemade refried beans in my tray.

Congrats! Sending you good wishes! It looks like you are well stocked.