indyjeff

Ditto... I'm having at least one 25-30 gram shake a day, in addition to adding unflavored protein (Genepro and Isopure) to my puree'd food (soups, chili, etc.). My goal is at least 90-100 grams of protein.

I had surgery on a Thursday afternoon at about 2pm, then was discharged from the surgery center at around 5:30pm, after getting in 4 bags of fluids from the IV. I was told I could return home the next morning. My surgeon paid for my hotel. Honestly, I probably should have stayed a full day after surgery to allow the gas to dissipate a bit, because the drive home was miserable.

Awesome job!!!

Awesome! Inspirational!!! Thanks for sharing.

YOU LOOK GREAT! Congratulations!

I also had a 4-week pre-op diet. It wasn't liquids only, but Medifast, Proti, and Fast-Track food that was essentially all powered Soups, shakes, eggs, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, etc. 650-700 calories a day. I think I was lucky to have a variety of food. It was tough the first week, but got easier. I miss it now, being at the end of a one-week clear liquid diet post-op! I agree with others. For me, if I couldn't do the pre-op diet, how was I ever going to summon the mental strength to live life after surgery. It's pretty simple, really. It's a reality check... Also, I looked at it as the START of the journey and "bonus" weight loss (I lost about 23 lbs during the pre-op diet).

I had a 4-week pre-op diet and felt weak during the second week into it, but my body adjusted once into ketosis. I also had diarrhea sometime between the first and second week. Again, this is due to the transition from a carbohydrate heavy diet to a low carb diet. Once in ketosis, this subsides... You'll get through it and do great!

Awesome progress in such a short time! You look great!

Congrats Kristen!!! I go for my 1-week post-op tomorrow. So happy to hear you're doing better!

I was also sleeved on the 20th and have had a growling or rumbling stomach as well, with lots of lots of burping. As others have said, I'm sure it's the gas escaping. Gas-X strips seemed to help me too (or at least didn't hurt). Hang in there, you'll get through it with the rest of us!

I’m starting back to work today, my 4th day post-op. But, I work from a home office, so it’s cheating a little. LOL The worst part for me (so far) was the 2-hour drive home the day after surgery. I vomited a couple of times during the drive and the gas rumbling around in me from the car ride was miserable. After I got home, I was belching a lot and it was a little uncomfortable. Walking around the house and backyard, as well as taking Gas-X strips helped. I REALLY think starting a light weight training program and cardio a month before surgery has helped tremendously with recovery!

Bill, I would, but that's me. I knew I would lose muscle during the recovery period from surgery. I was lifting weights I could complete 10-12 reps of before failure... For me, it was more about reducing rest times and keeping my heart rate in the target zone (for me, 130-145 bpm), even during rest periods. This is hard to do with straight sets, so I do supersets. For instance, my first set was bench press, followed immediately by squats. I try to keep the total set time to about 2 min. This ends up giving me about 30 seconds rest each set. Larger muscle groups, I may end up resting more (1 min.); and with smaller muscle groups (triceps and biceps), I rest less--or more accurately, the total time for each set is less (maybe 1:30 min.).... I do 5 supersets, covering the whole body (3 or 4 sets each), which takes about 30 or 40 minutes total. After that, I did 20-30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill or elliptical. I'm not expert, but here's what I did as a sample for Workout A (I also used a Workout B on alternate days): Chest/Bench Press Squats Bent Rows Hamstring Curls Military Press Calf Raises Tricep Extensions Bicep Curls Crunches Bent Laterals Hope this helps!

Welcome home Kristen! Sorry to hear you had a bit of a rough time post op. I was sleeved on the 20th and had nausea for the first 24 hours. My 2-hour drive home from the hospital was awful. I had to stop to throw-up a few times, and the jostling in the car was MISERABLE! Feeling a little better on my 3rd day post-op, but like you and others, my stomach is starting to growl! Hour by hour; day by day!!!

Hello everyone, I was sleeved on October 20th. I'm starting my 3rd day post-op, and feeling pretty good overall. I had a some nausea in the first 24 hours (especially during the 2 hour drive home from the hospital--miserable). I slept most of the following day and the next, but started feeling better by mid day on Saturday. I'm drinking as much Water and broth as I can get down and hoping to take a walk later today to get the blood flowing again. Good luck to anyone who's still waiting to have their surgery this month. You'll do great!!!

I'm two days behind you (Oct. 20th) You'll be just fine. You're in good hands with your surgical team!!!

I'm actually pre-op... My surgery is this coming Thursday, Oct. 20th. I'll check back in and let you know if I feel it helped with recovery, but I'm positive that any exercise you can do pre-op is only going to benefit you! Good luck! I really cant thank you enough for your experience and thoughts! Have you noticed that you do have less loosely skin? I am sure going into surgery you felt stronger and that probably helped with your recovery time too! Sent from my SCH-I535 using the BariatricPal App

Wow! You look awesome! Congratulations on your success!

I have worked out with weights off and on most of my teenage and adult life. I carry more muscle than many because of this and it skews my BMI significantly. However, I hadn't worked out seriously for at least 6 months before starting my 4-week pre-op diet... Since starting the pre-op diet, I have been doing a full-body superset workout, 3-times per week (M/W/F), with cardio afterwards (1 hr. total time). On my off days, I'm pretty active trying to finish some remodeling projects before surgery, so I keep busy. If I didn't, I would likely do additional cardio on the off days. I think working out with weights and the cardio have definitely helped with my pre-op weight loss and excess "bloat". I would highly recommend starting some form of exercise prior to your surgery. Weights are a great option that may keep you from losing as much muscle tissue during your weight loss. If you keep it up post-surgery, it will tone your body and help fill in portions of your body that used to be fat with lean muscle. This will at the very least, make it feel like you have less excess skin. My two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

That's really awesome!!! Good for you! You did it!

Pork rinds are usually 0-carbs and 0-sugar. I've used them frequently for breading on meat and as a low-carb pizza dough crushed up with eggs in low-carb/keto diets. They are amazingly good as pizza dough. The downside is they can be high in fat and calories.

Congratulations! I'm not looking forward to the gas pain, but it's just part of the process. Wishing you much success on your journey!

Hello everyone, My surgery date is October 20th. I'm about to start the 3rd week of my 4-week pre-op diet, consisting of Medifast/Fast-Track/Proti powdered food and 1 Protein Bar per day (ends up to be about 750 cal. /day).... It's been rough, and I can't say I haven't cheated a few times, but I'm moving forward! I was scheduled to have Lap-Band surgery in 2010, but backed out. Glad I did, honestly. I have been lurking here for the past 2-3 months soaking up as much advice and wisdom as I can by reading and searching the forums. Good luck all!

Hello everyone! First post… Been lurking for almost a year here. I'm getting banded June 14th with D. Curry in Cincinnati. I'm on day two of my pre-op diet (Medifast) and so far so good... BUT, I wonder what day 4 will feel like. :confused: Good luck to all of you who are preceeding me!!!