Tony B - NJ

I am almost 3 months post op and I still take in around 4 -6 ounces of food most meals. Sometimes a little more depending on what it is. I eat until I feel full

The taste is that you are in ketosis. You are eating low fat and low carb so your body goes into Ketosis and you get that weird taste in your mouth. during Ketosis you burn fat like crazy so keep the carbs low and let it happen. Make sure you are getting your protein and taking your vitamins. It will get better as you get on a normal diet but enjoy the rapid weight loss now.

Once you get the surgery, you may find that you are not interested in eating a lot of different foods. Your restriction is going to limit you anyway, so for me, I just ended up not really bothered by the smell of cooking. Once you start losing the weight and get the desire to keep it going, you will be even more uninterested in those things. Things that I could not walk by without grabbing a piece have no power over me any longer.

I have a hard time with chicken breast because it is so dry. I do pretty well with Chicken Salad though. I mix the chicken, onions, celery etc with a teaspoon of mayo and the rest greek yogurt to get the consistency I like. It goes down much easier than just chicken. I have very good luck with all kinds of fish. I don't eat sugary things at all any longer, just have no desire to have anything sweet. The only thing I miss is BREAD. I just cannot eat it, it just makes the center of my chest hurt and makes me want to vomit. I love bread but it is not worth the trouble.

LOL....I guess it would be equally inappropriate to ask for pictures? LOL

I retired from the Navy almost 19 years ago and yesterday I was able to fit into my Dress White and Dress Blue uniforms. A year ago I would not even been able to get them over my shoulders, never mind buttoned up.

I have to agree with all the posts on this. I could not imagine going down to 800-900 calories per day either. I actually struggle getting more than that in on a daily basis. Yes, if I went crazy and ate fatty foods and fast foods I could, but with healthy food choices, it is very difficult. I eat a lot of fish which is very low in fat and calories and high in protein, particularly tuna and cod. You will not have a problem staying satisfied.

When at your stage I was having only 1 protein shake in the morning with an egg that I could not finish. For lunch I had tuna or chopped chicken with a little Mayo and yogurt mixed in to keep wet. I barely got in 3 ounces. Dinner very similar. Force water all day between meals. I am 2 and 1/2 months out and I am still 800-900 calories and feel satisfied.

Could potentially be DVT. CALL YOUR Doctor right away! Not something to mess with.

That is a good question that I do not think many people if any can answer. The simple answer would be to estimate your current rate of weight loss and make a close guess as to what you expect to weigh at that point, knowing of course the rate of loss will slow as you get further out from surgery. Chances are you are going to need some alterations as you get closer because you cannot guess that precisely, so if anything, err on the side of caution. You can always make it smaller but pretty tough to add material if you do not lose as fast as you may expect. I know for one, I am changing sizes very rapidly. I am down 60 pounds and 3 pants sizes and 2 shirt sizes in the past 6 weeks. Even if I do not lose a lot of weight, the pants are getting looser because I am redistributing inches somehow. It is a tough call for you. Good luck

I get gas and burp like a mad man after every meal. I am about the same time after surgery. I would definitely get in contact with my surgeon if I could not release gas in my stomach.

I agree with Sarah, I cannot stomach the chewable vitamins. I have tried several brands and the after taste drives me absolutely insane. I changed to a Bariatric Advantage Solo with Iron. It is a capsule and goes down quite easily. It tasted horrible as any vitamin but it is down the hatch in seconds instead of lingering in my mouth for a while.

Really pretty standard to have some discomfort this close to the surgery. The important thing is to get water in as much as possible by sipping slowly and near constantly. Every day will get better and by the second week the improvement will be very drastic. Hang in there, it gets much better.

With a BMI of 36, I think you could probably do it on your own....atleast give it a shot. That BMI is probably too high for your insurance to cover the surgery anyway so unless you are a self pay, it may be tough getting approved. Why not try the 800-1000 calorie diet along with increased exercise and see it it works.

There are probably 20 different kinds you can get at the supermarket. Among those are Premeir, Muscle Milk, Boost, Fairlife etc, etc.

In a semi related and semi non scale victory....I am going on vacation this week so I have been packing. I usually try to get as much in my checked luggage as possible, right up to my 50 pounds allowed. I stuffed my bag full and tried to weight in on the scale but could not get it balanced enough. I decided to step on the scale, weight myself then pick up the bag and weigh again to be able to get the bags weight. I was incredibly awe struck when I realized that the combined weight of the bag and me were much less than the weight of just me 2 months ago! Yes, scale, but not really in the traditional sense so I call it a non scale victory.

Slow loss is really relative to a lot of factors like your starting BMI which for you is not that high. I would say just to make sure you are on the right track, evaluate your calorie intake, protein intake, increase water intake and make sure you are walking atleast 45 minutes a day, even if it is in several different walks. Keep the carbs down because that will slow the weight down. I have not had a piece of bread in two months and I really don't miss it too much even though I was a bread-a-holic.

You have to understand that they are giving your worst case scenarios because some people simply do not motivate themselves and stick to the program. You have the potential to lose a lot more depending on YOU. If you follow the program to the T, exercise more than you ever have, count your calories and eat the right foods, you can lose a LOT more. If they say you can lose 200 pounds and you do not follow the guidelines, then you are angry at them. There is a touch of reality here that you have to understand. The extent of the weight loss depends more on YOU and YOUR actions to use the tool they created for you and use it properly. Remember, your surgery is a tool and you have to do other things to make the tool work more efficiently for you. If you do not properly use the tool you will not get the most out of it. They are just trying to keep your expectations realistic.

Not really much to be nervous about. I was surprised how quickly I felt better and how little pain I felt. Just do what they ask you to do, get up and walk ASAP and walk often just as soon as you can stand up. You are making the right decision!!!

Obviously you should be talking to your medical team. Most of us were not on a completely liquid pre op diet and were able to have some lean protein one meal a day. It sounds like you are not getting nearly enough calories.

I am going on vacation in a week and am really worried about that too. I know I will be able to get exercise but the food choices worry me a little eating out of restaurants and keeping hydrated for fear of not being a bathroom available when needed.

When I was in the Navy, on Submarines, I was stuck in a Control Room for 6 hours at a time. The bladder can handle long periods without going to the restroom but you have to train it to do so. There are plenty of articles online that discuss ways to extend the time you can go between bathroom breaks to train your bladder not to get such an urgency. That is really something you should try to do and it will make your life easier. I am sure there are also some meds you can get to help with bladder urgency.

It is normal to be thinking like you are. I think most of us do the same thing. It looks like you lost most of the easy weight before surgery. Many of us lose a bunch in the preop diet and the rest of the easy stuff in the first month post op then it slows down considerably. After my 3 week stall which lasted 2.5 weeks I am back to losing about 4 or 5 pounds a week. I anticipate that slowing down considerably as I pass 2 months post op. I obsess over weight from day to day and I know I shouldn't be looking at it every day but I do anyway. I find if I UNDER EAT then my body holds on to the weight a little more, like I am going into starvation preservation internally. I upped my calorie intake from 750-800 to 850-900 and it seems like the weight is coming off again. I tinker with things when I slow down to see if I can get it going again. The nutritionist is good about giving ideas on what to try.

You should space out your calcium and Multivitamins because calcium will inhibit the absorption of iron. I think 2 hours between is recommended. As far as the pills being too big, I got rid of those big calcium horse pills and now take the Bariatric Pal Calcium Chews which are great tasting. For the Multivitamin I take the Bariatric Advantage Solo Capsule that slides right down. I tried the chewables but they are awful tasting.

The possibility of tearing staples at this stage is pretty low. According to what my Surgeon said and what I have read through all my research, the staples will leak, if they are going to leak in the first 7-10 days after surgery. He sent me in for a barium Xray to watch the radioactive fluid go down my throat, into my stomach and ensure none was leaking out of the staples. After this point, you are pretty much in good shape. The tissue is growing over the staples and will seal itself. The first week or so is going to be challenging as you get into more solid foods. The key is definately slow, slow, slow. and as you get into regular food that requires chewing, chew 20-30 times, put your fork down and wait a minute or so between swallowing and starting the process again. If you go too fast it will feel like it is getting stuck in your espophagus. It should take at least 30 minutes to eat your food when you start eating solid foods. Take your time. You will know if you ate too fast because it will feel like something is stuck in your throat and will hurt. Vomiting can happen at this point. It is not pleasant....but slow down and it will not happen.