BabySpoons

I didn't have chapped lips from the pre-op diet but I did have dry mouth from hell right after surgery. That normally happens from all the anesthesia. Prepare for it. GL to the both of you going forward.

I normally always sleep in the fetal position. At my heaviest I could never lay on my back. The weight around my midsection was suffocating. Now I can comfortably, when I want to

What funnnn! The flirting, groping and picking you up while the others looked on had to be hilarious. Too funny!!

What I don't like is men eyeballing me while they are with their significant other or on a date. I find it highly disrespectful. Lately, while I'm out and about, I have caught women checking me out. Looking to see what their man is looking at. I usually won't even acknowledge him but will smile kindly at the woman. More times than not she returns the smile. It's like a mutual knowing of how f'd up it is. LOL On the other hand, my man enjoys the attention I get. Which is refreshing since I've had some really jealous BFs in the past. In my pre-obesity days. I think he thinks I make him look good. Kinda like arm candy. Hahaa!

I rarely bought brand new clothes while losing post-op. I love thrifting and had a blast as I shopped for smaller and smaller sizes. I sometimes hardly had a chance to wear some of the clothes I bought before I outgrew them. I go through my closet once a month pulling out what I have outgrown and donating. It's slowing down now as I near goal weight. When I was at my largest I could never find anything to fit me locally. I mostly ordered online and even then a lot didn't fit right. 4-5x Funny now that I'm in a smaller size, I'm finding cute plus size stuff. Go figure. But I ain't complaining. Here's a pic of my latest closet clean out. Yeah I wear a lot of black. I'm trying to change that but boy a few of these items were hard to part with. I did find a loved one who wanted a bunch of it so that made it a bit easier to let go.....

Most nutritionists hate hearing that you watch TV while practicing "mindful eating." I get it though.. I always watch TV when eating at home too. It is possible to do both for some but the NUTs don't agree. And you can probably guess how I chose my name for this forum. I literally bought a baby spoon and used it. For a time. It really slows you down as opposed to using a big spoon (pre-op) that allows us to shovel the food in faster. I've known many overweight people who consume a meal so fast they don't even properly taste what they are eating. (finger pointing back at me) Put the spoon down after each bite. Chew the 22 x's. Use a timer if needed. Don't drink with your meals. Taste what you are actually eating. If you tell her you now actually try to pick out the different spices in each recipe. Garlic, chili powder, onion, etc. and do all the rest, you'll pass with flying colors. I would hesitate to bring up the TV watching though. LOL GL

I had to do the liver shrinking diet pre-op for 2 weeks. 2 shakes a day then I ate a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables with 3 ounces of lean chicken or beef season fried in soy sauce for my evening meal. It was delish. I lost weight. High volume, low calorie. I'd enjoy the food while you can. JS

I was too but don't be. Just practice mindful eating. I learned rather quickly after just a few bites how that meal was going to go. I would stop and push the plate away if need be. If you don't, you will pay for it. I had to learn that lesson a few times. I thought because the nutritionist OK'd a food for a particular phase, it would be OK. But it wasn't for me. Certain textures are my problem. Not from eating too much or too fast. YMMV I still struggle with stir fry (semi cooked) and raw vegetables which is sad for me because I love veggies and salads. Also heavy meats like steak and chicken unless it is cooked to the point of falling apart. In a soup cooked soft is best so I lived on stews etc. for quite awhile and still enjoy them. Find the foods within your program that you enjoy and go well with you and your sensitive tummy. In the beginning, I made the mistake of trying everything allowed to me at the different phases but a lot just made me sick. I knew at some point I would enjoy those foods again in the future. Some I may never. But I like to concentrate on the healthy things I can have as opposed to what I can't. GL.. you will do fine. And don't be scared. {{hugs}}

On the flip side.... I have to chuckle at the responses here. Most are from those that openly admitted to hating protein shakes and wanting "real" food. To each his own. Hahaha! I may be in the minority here along with @waterwoman I'm 1 1/2 years out and still drink protein shakes. In fact just last night. I made one that tastes just like a strawberry shake. Way healthier than eating ice cream. I think if you struggle with eating real foods early on like I did and still do on occasion, the shakes are a godsend. When I have a day where food does not agree with me I go to my shake to get my protein in for the day. Forcing food to meet a daily quota is bad if you can't keep it down or you end up making yourself sick. As for total meal replacements? It has it's place in this journey. For a time. Although I have drank my fair share of them, I have always tried the foods suggested for each phase. You will find that some days the food goes well and another not so much. And if not, I will revisit that food later on down the line and drink my shake. It's a long slow process but I've come to a place that most foods are tolerable for me now but I still have those days where my protein drink is my best friend. LOL

Egg Drop was my first take out item post-op but I waited till soft food stage to eat it. My program didn't have a puree phase. I did cheat a bit by using a Vitamix and totally liquifying some soups. But as @Arabesque said, wait until your Bariatric team OKs you for the puree stage then either strain or liquefy. I was also concerned about the amount of fat added to Egg Drop from my local Chinese restaurant but it didn't seem to effect me. It tasted wonderful! You can also make your own using some chicken bouillon or broth and dropping an egg into it. GL and congrats on your surgery!

I can't count the number of times I attempted to work out while morbidly obese and ended up with chaffed thighs and numerous work out pants with holes worn into them. I can walk for miles now without all that. In fact, sometimes I will do my daily walk in a pair of jeans. That was unheard of in the past for me. It's a very good feeling. 😊

OK so I have to ask.... are all of you able to eat pasta noodles with these sauces? Believe me, I have tried and ended up sick as a dog. Pasta and rice sit like a rock in my stomach. Lesson learned. Probably better off. So now if I get a craving for spaghetti, I eat a bowl of sauce with veggies and lean hamburger and throw in just a few noodles. Satisfies my craving. Egg noodles seem easier for me too in soups. Many yummy recipe suggestions here. I have a ton of garden tomatoes I need to use up or freeze soon. Thank you

Honestly, one of the things I didn't miss when I became morbidly obese. There is a big difference between a kind compliment and a lewd suggestive comment. Now that I've lost a lot of my chest size, it's cut down on that BS considerably. Hahahaa!

Firstly...big congratulations on your weight loss success. Amazing results from a recliner. Wowo!!! I didn't have DS and haven't tried Keto post surgery. But I did the diet for a year right before WLS, coupled with intermittent fasting. Despite my efforts I only lost 30 pounds on the average then hit a wall. Eating high fat meats might not be the best for you at this point but everyone is different in how their body responds to food after WLS. Lean meats and veggies is pretty much our food plan now. I am interested to hear what others have to say on this subject because although I have been able to lose weight adding carbs to my diet (at the urging of my nutritionist and to my keto minded horror), I haven't tried any types of "diets" to get the last few pounds off post surgery. Some say I have probably met my goal weight and the excess pounds are lose skin?? But I don't have a lot of excess to be honest, so not sure about that. I am also a big advocate of extended water fasting a couple times a year for cleansing purposes, but have not attempted it post. I was told it might mess up my sped up metabolism tool. I don't want to risk that happening. Also, I don't relish the idea of returning to a diet mentality. And I will admit, I enjoy being able to eat some carbs now where before, I could just look at them and gain weight. LOL Godspeed on your healing process for the bilateral knee surgery. I have a feeling after you are able to get up and move around, you just might lose those last 40 pounds without the Keto, GL

Serious subject but that made me chuckle. 😏

I had the Gastric Bypass but had issues with keeping foods down and carried nausea bags around just in case. My nutritionist became concerned thinking I was developing a blockage perhaps, but for me it was just certain foods and textures that didn't agree with my tummy so I stayed on liquid/soft foods a lot longer than most do. I was fine with it. I learned over time what to eat and what to avoid and tried them again further on down the road. Some things I still struggle to eat like raw veggies, heavy meats and some fibrous fruit like oranges. Loose bowels can become a problem if you get dehydrated. Otherwise I think it's just part of the process. Your body getting rid of what it needs to and detoxing. But if you aren't keeping anything down and dehydrated, contact your doctor. Best of luck to you!

One week out of gastric bypass surgery, I was a bit down. Tired, sore... so decided to watch something to lift my mood on TV. What normally would make me smile, chuckle or laugh wasn't happening. I thought. Oh no! Have I lost my sense of humor already with all of the hormonal changes happening? Shirley not Post whatever makes you happy. I'm sure many here would love to smile with you

I'm having a mammogram this morning. Just preventative stuff. I'm wondering how it will go now that I lost most all my chest size. I smile thinking what that nurse will think when she sees my "deflatedness". << Is that a word??? Hahaha!

SO SOOOO TRUE^^^^ It angers me how well I am treated by others now and how they respond to me. So helpful, etc. Breaks my heart too. Another downside.... I am getting unwanted attention from men again. Approaching me on my walks or while I'm out in public. It kind of scares me. 😱

We should be proud. Even though some ignorant people don't realize how much work goes into losing the weight after WLS. If they even know we had it. At first, I told everyone. I didn't care who knew. But now, like Catwoman, I only share with those I feel can benefit from my experience. The comments were hard for me to take at first too. I even had someone tell me I need to learn to take a compliment. I took that advice and simply say thank you and smile. But if anything negative or passive aggressive is said, all bets are off. LOL

I couldn't imagine it either. I was so used to yo yo dieting. Watching the scale go down only to creep back up despite all my efforts. WLS fixed what was causing that to happen. Trust the process. It will work for you. You will be amazed. Just as I am now. People greet me now with..."Hey skinny." LOL

THIS ^^^^ I never dropped a lot of weight in a short time. I averaged 1-2 pounds a week and as long as the scale was moving in a downward direction I was happy. If I hit a stall, I stayed off the scale to preserve my mental health. LOL I kept telling myself slow and steady wins the race. Distracting myself with moving and thrifting. I found that I breezed through clothes sizes way faster. Which was sooo much fun. Almost 1 1/2 years after Gastric Bypass. I'm still losing pounds and inches. Not sure where I will end up and people are telling me to stop but I'm letting my body dictate that. For now. I walk a couple miles a day. That's it. Today I am 5 pounds from goal weight. And I personally know someone who had WLS GB many moons ago and regained the weight back and more. She's a bad reminder of where I don't want to end up. Enjoy the journey and WL and mentally prepare yourself more so, for the maintenance part when it comes. GL

Pictures.....take lots of pictures. I love Catherine O' Hara!! LMAO

My bariatric nutritionist suggested vodka and SF cranberry juice. It's been my go to when I want a drink. I stay away from sugary or carbonated drinks now. I used to love a frozen Strawberry Margarita and occasionally miss them. But I know there are SF mixers out there. I Just haven't tried one yet. And like everyone else said, it doesn't take much to get buzzed unless you nurse a glass for a loooong time. Have fun on holiday!!

That is a major point I forgot to mention. If I buy a pair of shoes second hand, I make sure they are either new or have little to no wear on them. A worn out pair of shoes no matter the brand won't do anyone any good. Thanks @BlondePatriotInCDA for pointing that out.