NickelChip

Had a rough day yesterday with food. I had a little bite of mango at lunch that set my tummy off and caused quite a bit of pain before finally having to vomit. And my right hip is suddenly in pain for no reason. It's excruciating when I climb stairs, or when I have to shift my leg from the accelerator to the brake, as I discovered while driving. Today I'm sticking with a smoothie for lunch and some soup for dinner. I'm so frustrated that everything seems to make me sick. And I've been stalled at 204.4lbs for three days now, which just adds insult to injury. But, I've done very well with increasing my activity level. I've only missed one day of hitting my 10k step goal, and that was a day when I was doing a long drive with little chance to stop and walk. As for being cold, I was freezing yesterday! Spring is taking its time and my hands are always so cold.

I found preop motivation in making some basic dietary changes. Trying new recipes and getting into good habits was a good motivator, and I did that with a friend so we could talk about what was working for us. I also took on some projects to help me prepare, such as cleaning out my pantry, freezer, and fridge. I threw away junk food and stopped buying replacements for that, and tried to cook through the food options on hand that were "okay for now" but not what I would be eating after surgery. I bought some bariatric cookbooks, and I also started implementing the changes recommended in the Pound of Cure book from Dr. Matthew Weiner. And I watched all of his and Dr. John Pilcher's videos on YouTube, plus started watching several gastric bypass vlogs. Plus reading all the posts here to see what other people experienced. It really helped make the time go by, especially as I ended up with a 2-month delay from my original date that was so frustrating.

Basically just keep calm and carry on. But how far out from surgery are you, how much have you lost, and how long has the plateau lasted?

You might try some plain protein powder mixed into soup. I was very happy with 20g Syntrax Nectar unflavored protein in tomato or butternut squash soup as a substitute for protein shakes. The only one I can still stand is the orange flavor of Syntrax Nectar Naturals, which reminds me of orange juice enough that I'm okay drinking it.

I followed a recipe to make soup tonight. It came from a bariatric cookbook so I wasn't really thinking about quantity being an issue. At least not until I was done and went to dish out a serving. This recipe said it made 8 cups of soup. I was able to eat 1/4 cup. At the current rate, that means I will be eating this soup until the sun explodes. Did anyone else struggle with cooking early on? It feels like such a waste of time to make a single, tiny serving, and yet, between difficulties eating reheated/dried out food and being overwhelmed by accidentally making 32 servings of soup, I really wish food would just magically appear on tiny plates in my kitchen.

I was out of town the past two days and had to navigate 4 restaurant meals. I think I did okay! For lunch the first day I ordered the cup of tomato soup and a half dijon chicken salad sandwich. I ate all the chicken but left the bread, and had about 5 bites of soup before handing it off to my daughter to finish. I shared a burrito bowl with chicken for dinner, out of which I took about 4 strips of chicken and dipped it in guacamole and little bit of sour cream, I ate one tortilla chip and it was lovely. For breakfast the next morning, I ordered the oatmeal with fresh fruit and a Greek yogurt. It was enough to feed 100 people (but cost under $10, so a bargain compared to the rest of the menu). I ate maybe 1/3 of the yogurt with 1/2 the fruit and then had a few bites of oatmeal (I mainly ordered it because they didn't have just fruit on the menu). For lunch, I had sashimi and miso soup. I was pleasantly surprised at how moist the chicken was both times. I had some concerns that it would be dry, but it was perfect. Feeling much more confident about my week-long vacation this summer.

My program skipped pureed foods and went directly to soft proteins with the instructions to chew thoroughly. But your best bet for purees is blended soups. You can make a very flavorful soup and puree it, and it will still be tasty (as opposed to pureeing meat, which is gross). Bean soups and butternut squash bisque work well. You might also try a ricotta bake in that stage, which can be made by mixing a cup of ricotta and an egg, spreading this in a greased baking pan, and topping with a non-chunky marinara and some mozzarella and parmesan, and then baking at 350F until the cheese is nice and brown, maybe 30-45 minutes. As for protein drinks, you should plan to be supplementing with those for quite some time, at least several weeks. Some people can get what they need from food really early, but others need at least one protein shake a day for several months. You also might want some plain, unflavored protein powder to add to things like soup or smoothies to increase protein.

I'm almost 8 weeks post-op, so further out than you but still pretty recent. I have had no trouble with liquids. I mean, I can't gulp them down, but I have been able to finish an 8oz protein shake in under 5 minutes without any issues from about a week out. Yogurt and cottage cheese go down easy, too. I try to take about 15 minutes for those just to pace myself. But those burps you are getting now are a sign you are filling up. Pay attention to that and slow down. Stop yourself from consuming more just because there's no pain. I was doing great until I reintroduced solid foods like fish and eggs. All of a sudden, a few bites and I was done. And those little burps turned into something more like stomach spasms if I ate too much or something that didn't agree with me. Things changed a lot the more I healed, actually becoming a bit more difficult. There's more pain now, and more finicky reactions from my body. There's a pretty good chance that how you feel today will not be the same as how you feel next month, and what works now might not work then. Take it slow and give yourself time to learn your new anatomy.

There is a new video from Dr. Weiner on the Pound of Cure YouTube channel just posted today updating his now 10-year-old video on post-op eating. This applies to the first several weeks, up through about 3 months. So if you're at the stage of reintroducing foods and trying to hit water and protein goals and want a little extra guidance or reassurance, (or if you are pre-op and want a great reference for later) give it a watch:

@RonHall908 Isn't the slow weight loss the worst? I had my second mini stall this past week. At least it was 4 days instead of 7 like I had at the three-week mark. I truly did think, based on how quickly I lost weight in the pre-op diet phase, that it would be super quick after surgery. I lost 15.4 lbs in 2 weeks compared to 16.8 pounds in 8 weeks post-op. What the heck?! It's demoralizing at times. I still have 3 weeks until my next appointment with the dietician and 5 weeks until I see the doctor again. I'm really hoping I'm on track. They say the first 3 months is the fastest weight loss, and if that's true for me...it really sucks. The one thing I can handle large quantities of is water, or even something very liquid like a smoothie. 16oz in under 30 minutes is no problem. And I can eat a full 1 cup serving of bean and veg soup. Any kind of meat fills me up fast, though, although tuna salad is probably the one I can eat the most of.

It's really difficult to eat now, between figuring out what I can eat, what I should eat, how much I'll be able to eat... I'm still mostly eating soft foods because of how many times I've been sick. I'm getting 75-80g protein each day, but half of that is coming from unflavored protein supplement and milk. I know it will all go back to normal eventually, or close to normal, but right now eating is such a drag. I really want a personal chef to make my tiny plates of food for me so I don't have to think about it!

It's hard enough to travel healthily in the best of times, but having to navigate meals when your needs are so non-standard right now is really hard. Just going out for the day has been difficult! I can't imagine how challenging it is to be in another country and maybe not have the familiar foods and brands you are most comfortable with.

Oh no! That was my day on Saturday. I went for breakfast with a friend and ordered scrambled eggs. I ate 1 scrambled egg, half a sausage, and a bite of potato. I thought I was okay but we went for a walk after and I started to feel pain. It got worse until I had to duck behind a tree on the walking trail and let it all come up. So painful and miserable. I've found I am doing okay with sliced deli turkey, though, so that gives me something to add to the repertoire. And I made a berry smoothie yesterday that was very nice. Eating is definitely a chore. Are you home from Cairo? I have some travel coming up and know it will be a challenge to plan meals. Any tips would be great!

I did not get a very detailed plan, and my program advances quickly so that in theory you can have no restrictions at 4 weeks. For me, that has been way too fast. I have found the Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner very helpful. Now that my own program says I can have anything, I'm appreciating his stages (which vary from the typical phases you see in most programs).

Okay, my Feb buddies, so how much protein are you able to get strictly from food each day? I find I can manage soft stuff like a smoothie or a yogurt, but when I try incorporate fish or meat, it's very limiting in terms of how much I can eat. I put my lunch on a dessert plate the size of a saucer and still could only eat half. Are you still supplementing a lot with protein shakes or adding powder to your foods? Or do you get most of it from food? And if so, what types?

Welcome! I'm about 7 weeks post-op gastric bypass and no regrets. Good luck on your journey!

It's a slim profile treadmill that can be stored under a bed, or in my case I put it under my sofa. They run under $200 on Amazon. They're not as robust or sturdy as a full scale one, but you can use it when you need it and hide it when you don't, plus you can use it on a low speed at a standing desk. It takes a little getting used to because it's not as wide as a regular treadmill, but it's great if you lack space.

My surgeon told me at my 6 week appointment that I needed to start doing more exercise. This week, I'm happy to say I've gotten out my little walking pad treadmill twice in the evenings and have been walking while watching TV. I've gone from a daily average of about 3k steps to more than 5k this week, and I'll be working toward 10k steps each day for the coming month. I can hardly wait as the weather improves to allow for more outside walking. I'm really hoping the additional activity will give the scale an added nudge in the right direction. Once I can hit 10k most days, I will start looking at ways to add resistance bands to build muscle, but if I'm honest, I have been almost completely sedentary for several years and need to pace myself for it to be sustainable. Today, I am less than 4 lbs away from the lowest weight I've recorded on my app in the past 7 years (which was 203.8 after doing the nutrition program at my old weight loss center). 203 lbs is the next milestone I have my eye on, followed by making it to 199 lbs, and then hitting 185 lbs to officially no longer be obese. I chose my weight goal of 155 lbs somewhat arbitrarily, though it's the lower end of the estimates I saw for how much I could lose on various calculators. But when it feels impossibly far away, it helps to have some smaller goals to focus on. Oh, and it's almost time to swap out my winter clothing for spring stuff, which means I will have a lot of items to take to the donation bin. Many of my long-sleeve tops are swimming on me and several pairs of jeans are hopelessly baggy. Purging my closet will be an awesome feeling!

Haha, me too! I've been out to breakfast twice and both times I had eggs. One time I ordered one egg scrambled with sausage, hold the toast. The other time I went with a friend and she ordered the big breakfast special that had pancakes, eggs, sausage, home fries, and toast. She gave me the eggs and sausage and ate the rest. We both had leftovers from a meal intended for one person! I also went to a NY style deli in CT last week and ordered the smoked whitefish salad appetizer. It was perfect! I ate half at the table and took the rest with me to eat a couple hours later. I was slightly sad to decline the offer of their fresh rye bread, but no way could I eat it.

@BlueParis The eclipse was so incredible. I went with a friend and my two teen daughters. We were all impressed beyond belief by the totality. But it was a very rural area and the small roads couldn't handle the traffic leaving the area all at once so it took 7 hours to drive home instead of 3.5. I counted myself lucky to get chicken nuggets. Stopping for a real meal (the original plan) was out of the question with the crowds. @Noelle74 The stalls are frustrating for sure. I know I could stop weighing myself daily, but at this point I am enjoying having a record since I do it in a smart scale app. I think it'll be worth it being able to look back later and remind myself of how it went. But I'm at 7 weeks post-op today and would love to see the scale shift a bit before the 8 week mark. I'm only down 17lbs since surgery. I've also had some incidents of throwing up. It seems to be when I eat too fast or don't chew enough.

April has been the month of stalls for me. I was stuck at 210.6 for 4 days, dropped to 208.8, and then stayed there for 4 days. Finally inched down to 208.4 yesterday and 208.0 today. Only losing 3 pounds in 10 days when I had been on track to lose closer to 5 is frustrating to say the least! The closer I get to being below 200, the more the universe wants to mess with me, apparently. But on an unrelated note, I drove to see the total eclipse in Vermont on Monday and it was amazing! Thank goodness for stopping to get some Vermont cheddar on the drive because healthy food options were scarce. I actually ended up eating McDonald's chicken nuggets for lunch. I managed to eat two of them, and they were okay, but I have no idea how I used to eat a box of 10 plus fries. Next time I venture out, I'm going to need to pack food for myself.

I hope you have a speedy recovery!

Start by adding more non-starchy veggies to every meal. At least, this is my plan for further down the road. I think the temptation is to increase portions size across the plate when we're hungry, but if you have been getting your 60-80g protein per day already, you don't need more. So keep the meat and starch or carb servings the same as your plan suggests but add a baby spinach salad or more cooked veg to your plate. It will fill you up but not cause your body to increase your set point the way processed food and simple carbs would.

At my surgeon's office, they have one set of guidelines for bypass and another for sleeve. Interestingly, bypass moves out of the liquid phase faster, perhaps because we don't have that long line of staples to worry about? But as far as I can tell, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery sets certain guidelines for programs to be considered Centers of Excellence, which many insurance programs require in order to cover the procedure. But these do not include a lot of specific dietary guidelines. A lot is left open to personal preference by the doctor or practice, although they are required to stay up to date on medical research.

Thankfully I had no problems with the bean soup! It tasted delicious and has been super easy to digest. I love the Instant Pot because the beans went from dry in the bag to tender and completely cooked in about 90 minutes. I hope your stricture and ulcer resolve soon!