katvondemon

My dietician stressed to me that protein was the most important. So for my “meals” most of the time I only eat my protein source (chicken, fish, etc.) with no side so I can eat more of it. I add veggies and fruit more as snacks throughout the day as I’m able. Certain fruits are harder for me. Bananas (even though I usually only finish half) and grapes seem to work the best. My dietician also told me that to break your plate into 3 categories, protein, veggie and carb or starch and eat in that order. My protein size she recommended 3-4 ounces. I can tell you even now once I finish that much protein (and that’s IF I can finish it all) I’m full. I may have a spoonful of mashed potatoes just because I want a taste, but that’s about it. It’s way too much food for me still. By 8 weeks post op they wanted me at 60 grams of protein a day without relying on shakes. That was a really daunting number that I still struggle with. Even if I eat nothing but protein each day some days I don’t hit that. I do still add in shakes on workout days but not as part of my normal diet. So I see the 60 grams a day as a goal I’m working up towards instead of something I must hit every day. I can’t physically eat more than my stomach comfortably can handle. But I can choose items higher in protein when deciding what to eat. Tuna packets are small enough (3 ounces) and have a lot of protein (12-15 grams). I prefer the deli style tuna salad one by Starkist. I take that to work for my lunch most nights. I can eat the entire packet if I don’t eat anything else with it. Exercise was hard in the beginning. I started off just walking a couple times a week. I was eating so little that just carrying laundry upstairs made me light headed and fatigued. That has gotten better though and I’m slowly increasing the intensity of my workouts. So just take it slow, eat protein first and just listen to your body. Everyone is different on what we can handle when.

Hey everyone, surgery was 10/24 and I’m down from 215 to 167. The last 4 weekly weigh ins the scale has bounced between 168-171 so I may be in a stall. I was in one after the first 4 weeks for almost 6 weeks. It’s annoying but I’m happy with my progress as I’m officially the smallest I have been in 20 years with all my yo yo dieting. I also know that I may be getting closer to my new size my body wants to be so the weight loss may stop. I’ve been trying to focus more on working out now. Before my surgery I lifted weights regularly. I know I’ve lost a lot of muscle these last couple months and I feel much weaker. So I’m trying to get back into that. Clothing wise I’m down from a size 18 to a 10. I haven’t really had to buy new clothes yet as I kept clothes from all my previous lose and regain episodes. I also wear uniforms to work every day which are provided so being that it’s winter my non-work clothes is mostly hoodies and sweat pants anyway 😁 Food wise it’s hit or miss. I have started to feel hunger signals again but my portions are still pretty small. My doctor never told me to track my food intake which I’m grateful for because I don’t want to feel like I’m on a diet. But I would rough guess my intake to be about 1000 calories a day. I still try to prioritize protein first which doesn’t leave much room for anything else. But I do try to snack on fruit or veggies throughout the day to get my nutrients in. Sugar free sweets and cookies have helped with any sweet tooth cravings I get. I have ate plenty of things with sugar at this point as I really don’t restrict anything, but I do try to limit it to just occasionally. I also struggle with feeling like I have to clean my plate, even when I start to feel full. So I try to start with a small amount to begin with. Then wait a couple minutes before deciding if I want more, and usually I don’t. I still eat really fast so pausing for a few minutes helps my stomach to catch up. I’ve been out to eat several times. Usually I just split a meal with my wife and it works out great. She’s not going to eat the entire dish and I only need a few bites. The weirdest part with food for me is that my tastes have changed. Foods I used to enjoy don’t sit well or taste as good. I used to drink black coffee every day, now it hurts my stomach so I’ve just quit it. I thought the lack of caffeine would be an issue but it really hasn’t been. I do occasionally drink instant sugar free cappuccino but not daily. Also hot wings used to be a favorite of mine and now they taste off. Same thing with a lot of spicy food actually. So while I wouldn’t say I restrict food, at least for weight loss purposes, I’m trying to learn how different things make me feel and structure my eating like that. Just like with overeating I tell myself while something might sound appealing, is it worth me feeling kinda crappy for the next 30-45 minutes? That helps to think of it like that. I have definitely overdone portions and regretted it. Hence why I try to start smaller to begin with. It’s hard when you have one bite left not to just eat it, but that one bite will cost you and it’s just not worth the discomfort for me. All in all I would say I’m feeling good and I’m happy. I’m starting to see myself as smaller for the first time. I’ll catch my reflection in a window or something and be like damn, is that how skinny I am? It’s a crazy feeling I’ve never felt before. I knew I was getting smaller because my clothes sizes were going down. But I’m just now really seeing it. I have more work to do, more so in the gym now than the scale, but I’m feeling accomplished and motivated.

I just finally broke my stall this week. Mine started week 2 and lasted 19 days. I don’t track overall calories but I started tracking protein and fluids. Turns out I wasn’t getting as much as I thought I was. I aim for 64 ounces of fluids (most of which is water) and 60 grams of protein. I also started moving more. My doctor wants me to work up to 150 minutes of movement a week. For now I’m just walking 20-30 minutes a day. Eventually I’ll add in strength training. I also switched to weighing in weekly so it was less of a focus for me. Finally this Monday the scale dropped from 192 to 189 (the last couple of weeks it kept shifting between 192-191) so I’m hoping the stall has passed. It’s hard not to stress about a number but I have also been noticing other changes. My clothes fit better and my confidence is going up. So I try to focus more on that then the number. Every doctor is different. I’m allowed 3 meals and 2 high protein snacks a day. Usually I don’t even eat all that. But perhaps reconsider what you’re snacking on at night. If it’s not nutritious pick a different snack. Or spend that time moving instead of snacking. This surgery is all about creating better habits. I was a terrible bored snacker and would binge eat constantly. I would eat something while already thinking about what I was going to have next. I work night shift so when I’m home I’m still up late and my family is asleep so there would be no witnesses to my episodes. Now I try and fill the time with something else. I walk on my treadmill, play video games, read a book, etc. It helps take my mind off wanting to snack because I recognize that I’m not hungry, I’m bored. Good luck. It will break soon I promise. In the meantime focus on what you can control.

Had my surgery on 10/24. The first week and a half I was steady losing a pound or two a day. For the last 10 days however my weight has gone up and down by the same 1-2 pounds so I guess I’ve hit the dreaded stall that people experience around the 2-3 week mark. I’m down 13 pounds since my surgery date and 24 pounds since starting the pre op diet. I have noticed my pants have gotten baggier and my face is thinner. I started at 215 pounds with a BMI of 34 so I expected my results to be slower since I was on the “lower” size for this surgery. It’s crazy how everyone’s diets are different with each doctor. As of this week I’m allowed most foods with the exception of beef, pork, rice, Pasta, bread, raw vegetables and nuts. I am mostly eating small amounts of chicken, tuna, eggs, refried Beans, cottage cheese and some fruits. My doctor has told me to prioritize Protein and aim for 60 grams a day. I have to drink 1-2 Protein Shakes to accomplish this as my portions are not big enough to get that from food yet. I was also told no straws which is also seems to vary by doctor. I feel like I’m doing ok mostly. I have been struggling mostly with just getting my fluids in. I am supposed to drink 64 ounces a day of which 20 is plain Water. Because I can only take sips and not drink 30 minutes before or after I eat it can be challenging. It takes me a couple hours usually to drink one cup of water. So that’s my biggest hurdle right now. I’m trying to be better with it and track. Any tips? Otherwise I’m looking forward to breaking through this plateau and seeing more progress. Hopefully in the coming weeks the scale will move again. I’m trying not to obsess over it but 20+ years of yo-yo dieting has given a lot of power to that damn thing 😡

Hello everyone. I’m new here and wanted to introduce myself. I found this forum a few days ago and have enjoyed reading the posts. I am a 40 year old female and had my surgery on 10/24. My starting weight when I first started the pre op liquid diet was 215. I was 204 the day of my surgery. I’m just a bit over the 3 week mark and I’m down to 191. The past week or so the scale hasn’t moved much. I was a bit confused at first since I know I’m not consuming more than 5-600 calories a day but then I started reading about the stalls in the week 2-3 range and realized it’s normal as my body needs time to heal and get my water level back up. So I’m trying not to stress over the scale. It’s crazy because in my diet days I would have been thrilled at a 13 pound loss in 3 weeks, but after surgery I’m like “is that all?!” But I’m trusting the process. I also know that I’m starting out at a lower BMI then most people that have this surgery so I’m probably not going to have these massive losses. The surgery itself was pretty smooth. I work nights so I got off work at 5am, took a quick shower and went to the hospital at 6:30am to start the procedure. Needless to say after surgery I slept for most the day lol. I was a bit sore and nauseous when I woke up but they were good about giving me meds. By the second day I didn’t have as much pain but the nausea was still there. The most annoying part was I had to pee every hour thanks to all the fluids they pumped through my IV. So I constantly had to call for a nurse to unhook me and help me up and into the bathroom. The only other hard part was my vision. No one warned me that a side effect of the nausea patch they put behind my ear effects your vision. It kind of freaked me out because I couldn’t read my cell phone screen at all. It was just a big blur. I finally asked the nurse and she explained the issue. Before I left the hospital I asked them to remove the patch. It took another 2 days before my vision was fully restored. So that was a challenge. Not only could I not read my phone but I couldn’t read the prescription bottles either. Had to rely on my family to tell me which pills were which and when to take them. Otherwise the experience wasn’t terrible. Otherwise I’m feeling pretty good. The weird gurgling every time I eat is a bit annoying. It doesn’t hurt exactly but it’s still not comfortable. At first I thought maybe I was eating too fast, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. I’ve learned through this forum that it’s pretty common. What else….. oh vitamins! The chewable ones were gross so I switched to the chewy ones. They’re not terrible but not great either. I’m looking forward to when I can just switch to capsule vitamins. I have officially dropped a pants size so that’s nice. I have a range of clothes from size 16-10 from all my yo yo dieting phases so I at least have options while I’m losing. Today I’m in the 14s and packed up my 16s to donate. If I get smaller than the 10s I’ll be planning a shopping trip. I really enjoy this forum. The only people that know I had the surgery was my wife and my best friend. I didn’t tell the rest of my family or coworkers. So having a safe place to talk about my experience and compare stories has been nice.

I had my surgery on a Monday and was back at work Sunday. I am a police officer, but I’m a supervisor so I *mostly* stay in the office unless something requires my attention out the field. I was a little nervous about returning so quickly especially putting my duty belt on over my stomach but I had no issues at all. I’m very active and don’t “sit still and rest” very well. The first couple of days after surgery I was a bit sore and nauseous but by the end of the week I felt fine. Returning to work early helped me get back on track. I was going a bit stir crazy at home after the first couple of days

A little late to this thread but I had my sleeve on 10/24 so I am just past the 3 week mark. The pre op diet sucked. The first couple of days wasn’t so bad as I drank a lot of water, broth, jello and protein shakes. However 48 hours before surgery I was told to stop the protein shakes. I immediately started feeling weak and had headaches from the lack of nutrition. It was the longest 2 days ever. After the surgery it was weird. I had some pain and nausea the first day or two but that went away thankfully. The weird part is I don’t really get hungry or thirsty. I’m eating soft foods now and can’t have more than a couple bites before I feel the fullness pressure. But I could absolutely not eat and be fine. I want to eat because I miss food, but physically I’m not getting signals that I need to eat. I’m also struggling with fluids because I can’t drink more than a small sip at a time so it takes a long to drink a single glass of water. Overall I’m doing well. I haven’t lost as much weight as I thought I would in the first few weeks but I’m not worried. I know my body is going through all the trauma of surgery and lack of calories that it’s got to work itself out. My clothes are fitting better though so I know something is happening.