SleeveToBypass2023

I'm only 19 days post op, but my dietician said 2-3 ounces per meal. But my dietician (who, admittedly, is trash) said to follow the guideline for my eating plan unless my stomach can handle it, then I can slowly move to the next stage. So I thought, since I can handle everything else, I would try some solid food, just to see if I can tolerate it. I truly didn't think I could, so I was stunned when I was able to eat 2 legs (skinless) with no problem at all.

Yep. I called again and they said they consider soft and mushy the same and pureed/chunky the same. But they also told me to go at the pace my stomach will allow, and at 18 days post op, I can eat literally anything except normal solid foods. Mushy foods, typical soft foods, pureed foods, chunky foods, all of it. Haven't tried any solids yet because I'm not brave enough, but my stomach tolerates all the rest of it fine. Cold, warm, hot, doesn't matter. And I have zero restriction now. None whatsoever. When I try a new food, I get it the first time I eat it. After that, it's gone. I still do my best to eat the smaller portions, and even though my surgeon said to eat a small meal every 3 hours 5x a day, I lowered it to 4 small meals and am going to work on lowering it again to 3 meals per day because I honestly am eating when I'm not hungry when I follow the surgeon's rule. And it seems like that's counter-productive to eat when you aren't hungry. Oh, I get hunger pains, and I can tell the difference between real hunger and head hunger (and fighting head hunger is HARD lol). I never lost the hunger hormone. So I feel like if I eat when I feel real hunger versus every 3 hours when I'm not hungry, that should work out better, right?

So I'm eating mushy foods now, and I was going over everything that was given to me, and I have NOTHING about amounts of food I can eat. No suggestions for meals, no amounts to eat, nothing. When I called my dietician on Friday, I got an email back that said "Since you had a sleeve, you can pretty much eat what you want, just in smaller amounts. Just try a lot of foods and see what you like and what your body can tolerate. And make sure you have 60-80g of protein per day, and make sure you have a very low amount of carbs, or you'll undo all of your progress." WHAT am I supposed to do with that??? I already know that!!! I need to know how often do I eat the mushy food? Is that when every 3 hours starts? How much food should I have at each meal? 2oz, 3oz, what? Do I eat actual meals every 3 hours or do I do 3 meals and 2 snacks? I'm so irritated right now. And I'm so afraid I'll eat too much and mess this all up. I had restriction when I first started mushy food, but now I can eat a to-go cup of applesauce in 1 sitting, or 2 tablespoons of hummus in 1 sitting. Is this bad?

You know, I actually like your schedule. I might do something similar. My schedule changes everyday and I think that's part of the problem, too. I need to set alarms for the same times everyday so my body can get used to it.

I decided to check today just to see if I really am in a stall and yep, sure am. I gained another pound, definitely stopped losing, haven't changed anything in my routine. But thanks to this forum, I'm not letting it get to me. NOW I'm not weighing myself for another week, starting tomorrow (since I weighed myself today). I'll just keep on keepin on and hope it doesn't last more than a week or 2 lol If it lasted a whole month, I would probably have a bit of a freak out.

It's not that it's only lasted 2 or 3 days, it's just starting.

Well given that I was consistently losing 2-4 pounds a day and for 3 days I wasn't losing at all and ended up gaining, it seems like it's the beginning of a stall. I'm not going to be weighing myself much now that it's started.

I will I'm actually trying to look on the bright side of it. If my body needs a break, I must be doing something right then. Even if the stall has nothing to do with that, I'm gonna let my brain think it so I feel better about not losing right now lol Yes, I play mind games with myself LOL

I saw that I hadn't lost anything in 2 days, and then on day 3 I gained a pound and said "yep, it's a stall. Time to stay off the scale for a while".

Had my surgery Tuesday May 3rd. Top pic is pre-op, 2nd pic is post op (see a difference in mood there? lol), 3rd pic are my incisions (the largest one is the one that hurts the most), last pic is of my arm after a few blood thinner shots (and yes, it is painful).

I'm 2 weeks post op, and I can ride the exercise bike on resistance level 9 (out of 15) and I can walk on the treadmill at speed level 3.5 (out of 5) for 20 minutes each. But I'm impatient because I see so many others doing all kinds of awesome workouts and lifting weights and doing all kinds of things I've only dreamed of being able to do. But I'm still restricted from lifting anything and I can't run just yet (still too heavy, and again, was told not to try before 6 weeks post op). And I have to be honest, I'm so impatient!!! I'm already off 4 meds and stable and I just want to build muscle and strengthen my core and lose even more weight lol I know, I know....I have to take my time and let my body fully heal and follow my surgeon's advice. I know, and I will. But have any of you felt this way? Like before you were totally cleared at 6 weeks? Were you impatient and excited and chomping at the bit to get started seeing what your new body can really do??

Ok I had dinner an hour ago (took almost an hour to eat lol) and I gave myself some variety. I had 1 tbsp of hummus (my favorite), 1/2 tbsp of avocado spread, and 1/2 tbsp of no fat refried Beans. And I'm drinking Iced black tea lemonade. OMG. Can I just tell you how amazing my dinner was? I have timers set to eat every 3 hours, but I'm wondering...is it every 3 hours, or 3 hours after your last meal? Because I can't imagine eating again in 2 hours. I'm still very very comfortably not hungry.

Ok, so I thought I was eating soooo much each meal because I can eat about 2 tbsp each time (maybe 2 1/2 depending on what it is). So I decided to look it up. How many ounces are in 1 tbsp. It's 1/2 an ounce, ya'll LOL I'm seeing people eating like 2-4 ounces each time they eat and I thought I was doing horrible because of 2 tbsp each time I eat. Now, I'm also on kind of a combination of mushy/chunky mushy food right now, so definitely not solids yet. But somehow I still had it in my head I was eating way too much. And I called my surgeon's office and they said I'm to eat every 3 hours 5x a day UNTIL I hit solids at 6 weeks. Then I go to 3 meals a day and a very small snack or 2 IF needed. So that explains why I need to eat every 3 hours right now.

Ok, so I thought I was eating soooo much each meal because I can eat about 2 tbsp each time (maybe 2 1/2 depending on what it is). So I decided to look it up. How many ounces are in 1 tbsp. It's 1/2 an ounce, ya'll LOL I'm seeing people eating like 2-4 ounces each time they eat and I thought I was doing horrible because of 2 tbsp each time I eat. Now, I'm also on kind of a combination of mushy/chunky mushy food right now, so definitely not solids yet. But somehow I still had it in my head I was eating way too much. And I called my surgeon's office and they said I'm to eat every 3 hours 5x a day UNTIL I hit solids at 6 weeks. Then I go to 3 meals a day and a very small snack or 2 IF needed. So that explains why I need to eat every 3 hours right now.

OMG I feel this in my soul!!!!! That's why I only told my mom (and of course my husband and kids) and they were all very supportive. And still are. Once I hit 2 weeks post op, I told others. And I detailed the pain, the appointments, the dietary restrictions, the exercise requirements, the "testing new food to see what you like or what hurts to eat", etc... I basically did a word vomit on them and they were like "oh wow, I had no idea it was so painful and involved!" Well, duh. Of course you didn't. You're a size 6 and can eat anything you want and not gain weight lol If you aren't me, and if you haven't walked in my shoes, then of course you wouldn't know. That's why I just educated you AFTER the fact, because I don't need unsolicited advice or platitudes or negativity. I said what I said, I did what I did, and now it is what it is.

Did you call your surgeon's office? If so, what did they say?

Yeah, my surgeon's office said every 3 hours, 5 times a day. It might be 3 meals and 2 snacks, not sure. They didn't specify that. They just said every 3 hours 5 times a day.

I never thought about a trainer!!! I will definitely look into that once I hit 6 weeks and I'm off all exercise restrictions. For now I'll just keep walking and doing the bike and maybe add those 1 pound wrist weights and 3 pound ankle weights from Walmart or Target while walking.

I was actually thinking about getting those 1 pound wrist weights and 3 pound ankle weights from Walmart or Target and using those when I walk. I'm not allowed to lift any weights or run until after I hit 6 weeks, but I'm wondering if wearing those would be ok just for walking. I definitely am not looking to do any damage by jumping the gun on what my surgeon said is ok, but I want to keep making progress and get in the healthiest shape I can.

I love The HU!!!! Wolf Totem is my favorite song by them.

I listen to: Stronger by Kanye West Super Bass by Nicki Minaj Single Ladies by Beyonce Work B*tch by Britney Spears Disturbia by Rihanna Hey Ya by Outkast Till I Collapse by Eminem Lose Yourself by Eminem Sail by AWOL Nation There's several others, but these are always the ones I start with

I chose the sleeve specifically because I didn't want the possibility (no matter how small) of malabsorption or any of the complications that can happen with bypass. I also have meds that I cannot take in liquid form and cannot crush or break open, so bypass definitely was out for me. Sleeve only required 1 night in the hospital, and since I didn't have any gerd issues, it just felt like the right choice. If you already have gerd or bad reflux, sleeve likely isn't the way to go. The sleeve is known for making that much worse, whereas the bypass is known to get rid of it.

No don't push yourself. You'll end up hurting yourself. Do you have access to an exercise bike? That might be something you could try. I'm not a doctor or a dietician, but I would guess it's a combination of lack of protein, lack of calories, and lack of exercise. Maybe you could try yoga at home? Or even chair exercises. They have those, too. Check online. But I would definitely work on the protein and calories, then try maybe chair exercises. I don't know how helpful I'm being right now, but I hope I came up with something that helps. I know you can do it!!!!

If you don't like the commercial protein shakes, can you just use the flavorless protein powder in homemade smoothies or other flavored waters? If you look up some smoothie recipes, you might be able to find ways to add calories to your diet (while staying in compliance) and still get the protein from the powder. Are you walking and exercising?

I'm sorry I'm thinking the lack of protein and calories is where the issues are. Can you set an alarm to eat? Do you still have protein shakes and waters?