lizonaplane

I called the surgery center Jan 28, 2021 and had surgery Sep 13, 2021. It felt like it took forever. I got my surgery date exactly six weeks before surgery. For the first six months I was preparing for surgery, I worked on living like I would live after surgery - high protein and low carb diet, lots of walking, etc. I lost 50 lbs. Then I went and threw a number of food funerals as my weight got low enough that I thought I might not qualify for surgery anymore. Then I did the two week pre-op diet. Now I'm 2.5 weeks post-op and I've eaten 310 calories today and I am ready to burst! You'll get there. Try not to gain too much weight - that's just more you'll have to lose afterwards.

For me it took just a few days to get rid of the gas pain in my shoulder, but when I would sip too big a sip, I had similar pain, and I had a lot of passing gas for the first two weeks. At first this hurt.

I think you should search for your questions here, or ask if you don't find answers but... as @Maisey said, our answers are based on what our surgery centers said, and programs differ A LOT, so definitely reach out to your surgery center. Also, yes, the surgery doesn't change your brain, so if you have any emotional/binge eating, start seeing a therapist. Best of luck, and welcom!

How far out are you? I barely ate two T of tuna today! And now I'm hungry again, but we were told not to graze

My problem is I don't know what VOLUME or WEIGHT I'm supposed to be eating. Today I ate until I didn't want anymore and I ended up eating 1.4 oz (by weight) of tuna mixed with light miracle whip. My surgery center didn't provide amounts we should eat, so I have no idea if that's a "normal" amount. Of course, I will need to have a protein shake later in order to get my protein in.

It doesn't say how much to eat in a serving except for starches and fruit/veggies. We aren't allowed starches, and in general my plan is a bit different. Like, how much tuna am I supposed to eat? How much refried beans? How much eggs?

I love to listen to podcasts while I walk. My pace is about 20 min per mile; today was the first day I was actually faster than BEFORE surgery. (2.5 weeks out). I just did a mile though today because I had to get back to pretending to work LOL. I haven't gotten up to 5 miles yet. Two is mostly what I do. I have a lovely path across the street that goes along the river in a loop. I have a treadmill too in case it's too hot or cold or rainy. Congrats on your success so far! It's very impressive. I'm hoping I get over the difficulties I've had being hungry all the time. It doesn't feel like GERD or head hunger, but I guess it could be.

I wish my surgery center told us how much to eat. They said "no one can tell you how much to eat"... so I just ate a tablespoon or two, until I guessed I might be full. I was hungry in a half hour, but drinking helped a bit.

Get some protein shakes, broth soups, and other liquids you're permitted to eat/drink for the first week after surgery because you will not be able to lift much and these are heavy to get at the store. I ate a lot of Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt because it is high protein. I ate the flavors that didn't have "fruit bits" in them (vanilla, toasted coconut vanilla, caramel, boston creme, banana...). I also strained Tom Yum and Hot and Sour soups I bought from restaurants nearby and this was amazing, because I didn't care for canned broth at all (yes, I could have made my own broth, but I need more flavor than broth provides). Start walking at least 10-15 minutes a few times a day, even just a slow pace. I was told it helps with recovery. Maybe buy some water flavor packets (stuff like crystal light, although I personally don't like that brand). Make sure it doesn't have caffeine, as some flavors do. We aren't permitted caffeine 2 weeks before to 4 weeks after surgery. Do all your laundry, cleaning, and dishes before your surgery, as this is hard to do right after surgery, as bending is hard. Get all the prescriptions you need. Taking pills after surgery is harder, but can be done.

I was excited and scared too. It's totally normal. you'll do great! Just follow the instructions of your surgery center.

Your surgery center should provide you with a list of vitamins they like. Mine did. Bariatric vitamins are available over the counter, so no need for a prescription. I ordered mine from Amazon, but you can get them here on Bariatric Pal. I was told to take the chewables for the first month, but they made me gag and got stuck in my teeth (I tried two brands) so I switched to the capsules after the first two weeks.

I felt this when I had too big of a sip/gulp of liquids. It could be really painful.

I found even getting up from bed or walking around my apartment to be quite painful for about 4-5 days. By a week out I was good. I have 4-6 weeks restriction on lifting more than 10 lbs, so lifting a large bag of dog food might be off limits, though there would be no issue if you just had to scoop food out of it. The other thing to consider is whether the dogs will climb/jump/walk on your abdomen. That would probably be excruciating.

Yeah, I have the same problem. I just started solid food yesterday and after both meals (1 T of refried beans and then 2 T of tuna fish) I felt pain in my chest so I stopped but then I was hungry an hour later, but we were told not to graze... so I was just hungry. I am hoping it's just that I was eating too fast so if I slow down I can eat enough to be satiated and not full an hour later.

Congrats on your success! I hope the recovery is smooth.

I was told to use lemon to flavor things since my plan is against fat and sugar. Of course, I hate lemon, so that doesn't help me much. I know some plans don't want you to have citrus for a few months, so that's a question for your dietician.

Weight can bounce up and down, and the three week slow down isn't due to protein levels, based on what I've read, just from your body going "woah! what's going on here?!" That can last 1-3 weeks, from what I've heard. I'm at 2.5 weeks and my weight loss is already slower than it was the first 2 weeks. I've been to a lot of countries (Maybe 33? 35?) and I know that the cheeses available vary a lot, and I don't remember seeing cheese sticks most places, but for me one of the things I like about going to other countries is trying foods we DON'T have in the USA, so maybe I just didn't look! Yesterday was my first day on solid food and I ate a cheese stick, a tablespoon of refried beans with a tiny bit of mozzarella, and a few tablespoons of tuna. We aren't supposed to eat a lot of carbs, so no mashed potatoes.

I don't know if you have cheese sticks per say in Egypt, but mozzarella cheese is pretty easy to eat. I don't know too much about the cheeses available in Egypt but any not too hard, mild cheese should work well. Or beans mashed up are good. I'm so sorry I don't know about the foods available in Egypt, as I've never been there (I want to go!), but do you have tinned/canned fish? Not sardines, but like tuna or something that's mushy? Ground/minced meat is good with some seasonings as long as it's moist, according to my surgery center. Good luck!

Hope it gets better soon!

Not just sugar.... carbs like pasta and rice and corn and bread too!

I wish my tastes had changed after surgery, but they did not. I still can't stand protein powder (it's the texture - I only like pre-mixed shakes) and I still love sweets. I have tried the vegan shakes, but they are very gritty to me. If you have a dairy allergy, those will likely be your only option, as the others (including the two most popular unflavored options - isopure and genepro) are whey isolate. However, if you are just lactose intolerant, you are likely to be able to use the whey protein isolate, as it is lactose free. I like the fairlife nutrition plan shakes the best. Those are lactose and gluten free but NOT DAIRY free. Please note that a LOT of brands made with whey isolate will say "dairy free" but obviously, they are not dairy free (for example, Muscle Milk). Good luck!

Lucky! I still think about food constantly!

I have BCBS but I started the process in January and just had my surgery 2 weeks ago... so, it felt like forever! It wasn't just the insurance hoops, but the surgery center was understaffed and my outside Dr. didn't talk to them, and lots of little things. I would say to prepare, clean out your pantry (if you live alone) so you won't be tempted by things that are not good choices. Also, have food that you can eat after surgery ready to go - protein shakes, yogurt, sugar free jello and ice pops. People always say don't buy too much because your tastes will change, but my tastes didn't change at all really. I loved sweets before, I still love sweets. I was hoping I wouldn't like them any more. But you need to have the food ready to go because you can't carry heavy things like canned soup, protein drinks, etc right after surgery. Have your house clean and your laundry done and your dishes washed because it will be hard to do these things for a few days. Pick up all your prescriptions ahead of time, except for those they give you the day of surgery. Get Miralax and Laxative Suppositories, because the constipation is REAL. Buy a few water bottles (the reusable kind) to keep in the fridge so you can rotate them as they get warm, since you can't guzzle water after surgery, and you may not want warm water. Start tracking your food and water on an app like MyFitnessPal or just pen and paper in a journal.

I've been craving sweets and cheese. Today was my first "solid" food (Two week post-op) and now that I ate a cheese stick and about a T of refried beans, I no longer am craving anything except water. Maybe that will work for you? I mean, in my head if I think about a cheesecake it sounds delicious, but I feel too stuffed to eat anything.

Congrats! Sounds like you're doing great! I'm just two weeks out myself. I just started soft food today and I was meeting my goals - 70 g protein and 80 oz of water - until I started soft food. Now I can't get as much in.