PennyinAL

I haven't lost anywhere near that much but I was so happy to fit into my 1x clothes then into some 1x and XL clothes at the mall yesterday and even bought a sexy lingerie outfit that husb. loved. I keep finding things in closets and drawers that now fit that did not before (many new with tags) and I've got about the equivalent of 3 or 4 large closets of clothes I'm trying to figure out how to start selling to hopefully recoup some of my money back to buy a new wardrobe. I almost sent them in to an online consignment store but read bad reviews and changed my mind. It's a shame we couldn't have regional clothes swaps for bariatric pals! I've heard of women who do this in larger cities where they gather and bring in 10-30 pieces of nice, gently used clothes and swap pieces with others. I may look up the specifics and see if I can get something together if I can't find a way to sell.

I took blood thinners for almost a year post heart stents and they never seemed to make me feel cold, I have also been hot natured my entire life. About 10 years ago, I started having MAJOR heat issues. They kept saying it wasn't a thyroid issue bc I was "low normal" not actually low. After years of being miserable and making everyone around me freeze all the time, I finally got a gyn to give me thyroid meds and voila! it helped. It was almost a miracle. I'd been on HRT for a long time, tried every menopause solution I could try from natural crap that did absolutely nothing but make the folks who sell it a bunch of money to prescription hormone pills. Yes, I was menopausal but that wasn't the main issue. It was the thyroid. Now, after this surgery, they said my thyroid was too high and that my hormones would reset themselves. I quit taking the Levothyroxine med, 3 weeks post-op my thyroid had dropped to a below normal low. Started back with meds. I also developed a rash on my throat around my thyroid area, Nephrologist said he didn't know what it is so I'm going to a regular md tomorrow at a walk in type clinic since I don't actually have a regular physician, I've been seeing a NP when I have to be seen for the last several months bc it is really hard to find an actual doctor who has openings! I'm really, really fatigued again and have been back on meds 10+ days I guess it is now. I mean EXHAUSTED. I've actually been getting much more exercise than normal but can barely walk across room smh. Call your surgeons office and ask if they need to check your blood. I called mine about the thyroid issue, they told me to see whomever I see for my thyroid normally. I'm kind of like "Why am I bothering to follow up with surgeon's office if they're going to tell me to go elsewhere when there is a problem?" bc they want me in his office every 3 months and quarterly blood work as well. Seems a waste to pay a specialist co-pay and for additional labs if they don't actually deal with any problems that arise. I know people on here apparently have a ton of variations in the type and amount of care they can expect from their surgical staff, some have WHOLE TEAMS and some of us get the girl who answers the phone who works part time....no consistency in care so you definitely have to be prepared to be your own advocate and researcher and a host of other things. Call Dr, see what they say, if you don't like or aren't satisfied with the response, call your primary care dr if you have one, if not go to the walk in clinic or an ER. Our local ER is just plain scary so if I don't get a satisfactory response on mine tomorrow I'm probably going to drive to an ER in Huntsville, AL, about 45 miles away bc it is just plain scary that we seem to have gotten all the folks who got the D's in coursework. Some may be nice but I am not getting a warm, fuzzy feeling....

Not sure what you mean by gross ingredients? I mostly went with broths and some cream soups in the 3rd week of clear liquids, I'd mix one can broth to one can cream soup. My fourth week sent me into soft foods which was mostly eggs, ground sausage or beef and some fish. Week 5 I moved into chicken. Chicken being so very dry it seems harder to digest than anything else, ground beef was so much easier. I can't much do the protein shakes, the only way I've been able to choke them down is to literally put in a blender with some extra protein powder & yogurt and ice and make a smoothie/milkshake thing and top with keto whipped cream. I use it more as a dessert bc I can't drink all that sweet stuff in the early morning. Not much of a breakfast person but since this surgery I wake up famished but I guess 3-4 oz only takes so long to digest and if I eat at 7-9 pm by the time I get up at 9-10 am it has been a long time. I got the Walgreen's extra protein shakes, small town, limited choices around here.

Yeah, I haven't much been going to restaurants...we live in a rural area and only have 2 restaurants in our little town, both close at 2 pm, well there is a Mexican restaurant but I'm not much of a fan of Mexican food in general. I have a well stocked pantry, freezers and kitchen and actually enjoy cooking (this butt didn't get this big by itself) and Lord help me, I enjoy eating way too much. That said, I'm 33 days post op and it was awesome to find a "snack" I CAN HAVE...well I think I can have it? My list is so vague...I'll try to share this pic of my instructions. It says "Protein, Protein, Protein" suggests ground turkey....and I'm like with WHAT? As you all moved into your 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th weeks, What do you eat? I had a LOT of Cod this week, made an Alfredo shrimp/crab sauce to serve over it and some canned turnips on the side. I have Chicken thighs, breasts, wings, 3 kinds of Fish, Ground Beef & Turkey & Turkey burgers, Cooked red beans, 15 beans & Lima & Cream Peas and can't figure out a darn thing to make for dinner because I don't know how to pair or prepare it....I am seriously thinking of Buffalo Wings or thighs with sauce? Fortunately, I lost another pound (all that damned fish, lol) but maybe just because nothing seems to taste right or I don't have a taste for anything...rambling here, but does anyone else have that feeling? Like nothing is suiting you or you just don't feel like bothering for the whopping 3 or 4 oz you're going to be able to eat out of the pan after you do all that work? And What Veggies are acceptable at this point? Last night I had boneless ckn breast over a salad mix with a little dressing, green onions, bacon bits...and when I'm eating hubby asks if I can eat that. I had only considered the chicken, hadn't thought of if salad is allowed? I remembered someone saying they eat salads all the time but they are like an old timer. I have several containers of fresh mushrooms I was going to prep, some for now and freeze for later but then started wondering IF I can have??? Turkey burger with no bread sounds sucky... I'm not sure if food is "not allowed" bc of the calories/fat intake or if food isn't allowed bc of a possible adverse reaction with the bypass. Like if I make a turkey burger and eat a slice of whole wheat, is that OK? What about serving something with a sauce along side something like Quinoa? SMH...done with my rant, please share your rants and tell me I am NOT alone with all these things running around in my little A.D.D. brain

Wow that’s amazing! I’m down 30lbs today after a minor setback with my thyroid basically stopping working for about 10 days of the last 31, had my surgery 8/1. I’m glad it appears to be getting better and after being stalled for several days I finally dropped those last few to get to the 30 lbs I also found Quest protein chips and cookies and some other protein products today and am curious about what everyone is thinking about these items???

that is wonderful news, welcome!

No acne, but a pimple which is odd at my age (56) and then I broke out in a rash at my thyroid area, asked my nephrologist about it and he said it isn't my thyroid so now I have no idea WTH it is??? I have had my surgeon say and a surgeon I am following on Youtube, Dr. John Pilcher out of San Antonio, Tx, say repeatedly about how the bariatric surgery somehow resets your hormones so I'd say it is probably "normal" to have hormonal changes affecting your body like a teen in puberty. I normally have very clear skin and it is usually in great shape for my age but it has been very dry since surgery (but I had also discontinued my thyroid meds at the time of surgery and have since re-started) and I feel like I look like my skin has aged 5 years since! IF this doesn't improve and the red blotch doesn't go away by next week I'm going to see a regular md and then a dermatologist bc I hate the look of it. Another weird thing to consider: We are all probably eating more fats/meats than before surgery? Broths and cream soups can have high fat contents, eggs, cheeses, etc. especially if it wasn't your "usual" diet. I rarely ate eggs/breakfast foods but have been waking very hungry and it is one of the few soft foods so I've gone through nearly 3 dozen eggs these last 31 days! I don't think I've ever eaten so many eggs. Ditto with Chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. /for the pimple I just wiped it with alcohol, used my metal face pimple clearer thingy to scrape/pop it off and reapplied alcohol and it was dried up and gone the next morn. p

Hi Peggy Anne, I just couldn’t do puréed meats or much of anything puréed, thankfully it was my 4th week and I survived on the eggs then cream soups and ground sausage. having meatballs with a brown gravy and mash potatoes for dinner. I’m happy to say that it was my first full day away from home for dr appointments and I left at 9 and got back at 9 pm and I had breakfast was 1/2 small Wendy’s chili lunch Popeyes 1 chicken strip with red beans no rice small Early snack dinner Jacks chicken finger and a small mash w gravy Having a very light dinner so it was fairly easy and happy no problem with the chicken. about to see where my calorie count is at I’m happily retired for six years now. what kinds of crafts? I like to do some crafts I see on YouTube videos and am threatening to turn one of the spare rooms that I have a bunch of craft items in into my craft room but haven’t had time since we bought this house in February. wishing you great success with your show!!!

Peggy Anne, I feel your pain. I'm supposed to move from pureed to more soft foods this week. I have stalled in my weight loss but I also have a thyroid issue now apparently. My dr did a blood check last week and my t4free is low but I quit my Levothyroxine at the time of the surgery bc they told me the thyroid was too high at that point...smh. For the last week I've been so tired I can barely walk, and then I developed a rash on the thyroid area of my neck and other thyroid symptoms so I started the meds back a couple of days ago but they still haven't helped. I called the nurse at my surgeon's office to ask if they had seen my results (i got them the next day) and she said basically she could make me an appointment but that really isn't their issue? I guess she wanted me to see my primary care dr but since I don't actually HAVE A REGULAR DR I told her I'm seeing my nephrologist tomorrow and I'd see if he could tell me what to do. I'm kind of like Why am I following up with the surgeon at all bc apparently if there is an issue, he won't handle it so I'm going to get labs done and sent to him to tell me to see a regular dr.???? About your meatballs....I had 1/4 lb of ground beef I cooked w./brown gravy and put over some mashed potatoes that stayed down so I took out a 1 lb pack of 12 frozen, pre-made meatballs last night that I thought I'd cook down in some spaghetti sauce. Didn't consider adding cheese but I thought I'd cook meatballs in the air fryer and then drain well and add to some store bought sauce. I am missing vegetables, carbs too like rice, breads, potatoes, etc. but the veg is almost a craving since I haven't had anything green in 30 days. I'm maybe eating 2-3 times a day, I also tried a piece of baked tilapia with butter and seasonings that stayed down well with no issues. It seems anything without a sauce or gravy causes issues, nothing too dry. Other than that I seem to be progressing along in the healing up process. Now if I can just get the strength back and walk across the room ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ:)

Arabesque the roasted fava/chick peas as a snack? I’m guessing the peanut paste is peanut butter? And what is Labneh? I’ll admit I’m not the most adventurous or knowledgeable about foods and I’m very unfamiliar with foods abroad bc even when I travel I’m reluctant to eat a lot of things

You don’t have to be gender specific to contribute at all, quite frankly most of my gay friends always had much better fashion sense than my straight ones. You certainly don’t have to be skinny 😍 because I certainly have a long way to go before I am in any danger of anyone calling my fat arse “skinny” but I am certainly willing to admit it is a goal of mine to be called a skinny “b—-h by some of my friends🤣 And again, I’m not opposed to giving things away, BUT, as I mentioned I am retired and on a budget that doesn’t allow me to just buy clothes the way I used to before I had to quit working. I would love to recoup some of the money that I have invested in the literal hundreds of articles of clothing and dozens of pairs of shoes that are already too big, I don’t think that makes me a bad person, what I can’t sell or trade off I’ll be happy to donate! so please Tek do share your thoughts, insights, humor, feelings and ideas as I certainly hope you feel 🙏 welcome pennyinAL

While I'm a bargain shopper, I have a lot of really nice clothes, maybe not top designers, but from places like Macy's, Dillards, Kohls, Belk, Torrid, Venus, etc. Most are current and all are in excellent condition bc I've always taken great care of my clothes, hung everything to dry and such. I also know that to buy them again would be something I could NOT afford. I've realized I will have to do much less volume and be more creative about pairings and figuring out what flatters. I'm fortunate that I'm tall-ish (5'9") so a lot of my dresses and my cardigans can be worn for a long time before they're falling off I think. I wouldn't mind donating things but I'm also practical in my realization that much of this was bought when I was working and now that I'm retired, I don't have the disposable income I once had. I'm 56 so I've got a few years before I'm sitting on the sofa in sweatpants but not sure how to sell what I have and get back a little cash to re-buy some new duds. That idea sounds cool with reusing the fabrics but I don't see it being a viable day-to-day business bc it probably wouldn't be practical and while I can't speak for everyone, most of the things I've bought as my fat self were never sentimental or something I'd want to save, I can't wait to be in a size 8 or 10 and hope to never have to buy another piece of clothing with an X in the size! I want to shop at cute places in the non-plus section for Chico's, Boston Proper and Venus and have someone tell me how thin I am Vain I know but a girl's gotta dream p What part of Tn you in? I'm in Crossville, AL, about 45 min from TN/GA/AL junctions on I-59, just south of Ft. Payne myself. aL

Hi Arabesque ir is definitely very different from location to location because you’re from another country and the food references are for items that I have not even heard of :). As I mentioned in another post the difference from dr to dr can be HUGE as to the amount of care you receive, the amount of post surgery guidance and what is expected of patients. Some patients have very detailed instructions and menus while some of us get very little information. I have noticed that some people are convinced that carbs are no longer allowed, some are fine with them. My dr doesn’t seem to have a problem with them although they want you to get your protein in then veg and then if room allow carbs. I think that carbs, while not ideal, aren’t the devil. I also believe that if you’re eating a total of less than 4 oz per meal (my dr literally gives you a 4 oz measure cup and says this is what you do for all meals, the cup is imprinted with the words “measure for success”) that as long as you stick to food instead of junk you will probably be fine. Yes, make sure you get the protein but most foods aren’t that calorie dense. I found a TikTok person who is a bariatric patient who has videos specifically for snacks for low carb keto diet. I think we all have to do our research and find what works for our bodies and lifestyles.

While you may be on a surgical pre-op diet(some do some don’t apparently) if I had it to do over I’d have eaten my popcorn and potato chips and a whole dominos pizza a few days before 🤪js