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4/13 - Was not able to really eat anything. All I wanted was water. I was no hungry and had to force myself to drink some protein shakes. I was not stomaching my pureed chicken and beans. Eggs was not staying down neither. Overall, it was not a good day. My vitamins were making me sick, just chewing them. I would spit them out. I ended up only being able to drink 1 protein shake (30G) and drinking almost 70 oz of water. It was like all my body wanted was water. I started drinking it at 8am and did not stop until 11:30pm. 

4/14 - It got better. Was not able to stomach soft or pureed foods. However, I was able to drink 3 protein shakes (90g). I got in 64 oz of water on the mark. 

4/15 - Tried to eat some grilled chicken from Chipotle, just the chicken and black beans that I smashed up (It was my Granny's B-Day and she always wanted to go). I chewed just a little and ran to the bathroom and dumped. It was immediate. I was really confused because I thought grilled chicken was okay to eat. 

4/16 - I had some some egg whites with low fat cheese, just tuna and a protein shake. I was able to get in 56 oz of protein. I was really nervous, trying to eat. I still feel the restriction and when I reach my limit, I start burping which is my sign to stop eating. I have not tried any other foods yet. I am waiting until my NUT Appt to see what foods I can add. 

Day 6 of this diet is actually going really good. I am depending mainly on Protein Shakes today. I will however order a garden salad later since I can have leafy greens in my diet. I may just need fiber to kick this bowel issue I have been having. 

Also, I should have never had carnation milk. Idk what I was thinking. 

Today is the ending of day 4 on my liquid (greens) diet. I decided yesterday to visit my granny and little cousins since I was in Manhattan. Did not prepare to stay the night. I did not have any protein shakes. I ended up getting some cucumbers which are allowed on my diet and eating those. I had a 2 sugar free Popsicles, 1 can of carnation milk (fat free) with some tea. I finally found a pharmacy that had the premier protein shakes. The only issue is, between yesterday and today, my protein intact is low. I am feeling obnoxiously happy and I am not sure if I am delusional or what. 

Yesterday, I only had 350 calories of food with a Protein intact of 18g. Today is much better with 390 calories but a protein intact of 40g. I am hoping that I have not truly starved myself.

Tomorrow, my goal is to catch up on my protein. I am thinking that the 3 shakes, and two cups of broth can put me back on track. I weigh in tomorrow as well. Maybe I will see some pounds dropped (fingers crossed). 

Post OP- Day 12

So since my pre op meeting (June 5th) I am down 40 lbs. I have lost 14 lbs since my surgery June 28th. I saw my nutritionist this morning and she said I have to work to get in more protein. I have been getting better. They found during my surgery I had a hiatal hernia, which my doctor repaired. Sometimes I gasp for air as I have not been breathing for minutes. But I have been doing breathing treatments and it is much better. Yesterday I did over half a mile on the treadmill in under 14 min. That felt good, it felt good to sweat. I am so ready to get to the gym and hit the ground running. I know I have such a long road ahead of me but I am excited for the journey. For the first time I cooked dinner for my family last night and it felt soooo good. I had been removing myself from situations involving food.  My husband and son went to Mcdonalds and I just sat in the car and waited. I would get angry and I did not like that. Cooking for them gave me pleasure and I wasn't tempted at all surprisingly. I just tasted some sauce I made to make sure the flavors were on point and boom shacka lacka! Since my surgery I have lost a loved one and gained a niece, it has been such an emotional time for me but I know that God has a bigger plan for me. <3

Having a breakthrough with my supervised diet.

Calorie counting mindset = 2200 calories a day, what can I eat that will keep me under this number? Get to suppertime, oh no, I only have 300 calories left, what can I possibly eat?

Nutrition mindset = What can I eat that has the most protein and fiber? Get to suppertime, wow, I am still only at 1000 calories for the day and have not even had much hunger. What do I get to eat for supper?

It's really amazing. I lost almost 80 lbs with the calorie counting mindset so yes, it does work, but ultimately I couldn't sustain it and I was hungry and frustrated a lot. Feeling much better since I made that simple switch to hunting for high protein foods.

Happy Thursday! Nothing much to update on, I'm just writing to keep up the habit. I've been plugging away at food/protein/water goals. Going grocery shopping tomorrow, so next week I'll be (slowly) introducing new foods to my sleeve. I still feel a good amount of fatigue which currently is my biggest frustration. There are people who reported feeling their energy come back by now, and while I have had a steady increase, I still get fatigued pretty quickly. Fingers crossed that I'll turn a corner soon!

I have hit the dreaded stall. I had surgery on May 26th, so this is a little disheartening. Trying to remind myself that this is a part of the process. It's still frustrating though. (-_-) I have been bouncing been 1.5 lbs for the past week and a half. Just have to focus on getting my water and protein in and ignore the stall. Maybe I should just hide the scale?

5/20 - Ate the eggplant ricotta bake. I had that foamy feeling in my mouth and the rumbles. I guest eggplant does not sit well in my tummy. Went to the Taco placed and got a naked chicken burrito. I tried their new kind of chicken (FYI The guy failed to inform me that it was chipotle spicy chicken. Oh it tasted delicious. 5 minutes later I was puking up foam. I ended up spending my lunch break laid on the floor in the back of the office curled up in the fetal position. So spicy food does not love me anymore .

5/21 - Did not have any meal prep because the eggplant would not sit well in my tummy. The left over Halal chicken that I had, I spilled pulling it out of the my lunch box (Damn Portion8 container lol) I ended up getting a chicken Salad from the Turkish place downstairs. It was an interesting taste. It was sweet. Felt very disappointed after I weighed in. I only lost 4 oz for that week. I had worked out really hard. I did however notice that my stomach is getting smaller. I might have just lost inches and gained muscle. Lost 8.8 lbs during my second month post-op. Current 220.6 lbs

5/22 - Wanted to get a Protein Drink from Vitamin Shoppe. Ended up getting some Atkins Granola bars. DO NOT BUT THEM. They are delicious, high in protein but have 17g of carbs in one bar but they advertised it at NET Carbs 3g. SNEAKY SNEAKY. I ate two of them and then realized it. They also are 210 calories each. It works because I will be full off of one for 2+ hours however 420 calories on just two bars is a lot. Now I have to be really mindful of what I am reading. When I see low carbs I have to check to see if it says NET (they do some type of convoluted math to get to that low number). Went to the gym before work and the trainer really kicked my butt. I am sore but loving it. Today, we focused on Cardio. Tomorrow he said will be weight lifting. Wish me luck!!! Oh dinner and lunch consist of grilled chicken breast and a dipping sauce that I made (1/4 cup fire roasted tomato sauce and 1/2 tsp of ricotta). Watermelon on the side for snacks. 

Had my surgery on May 2 and finally into the Puree stage - which I'm told I will be on for 4 weeks. I was back working half days as a clinic nurse the monday after surgery... so you could say the recovery was pretty painless other than that dang internal stitch! Getting my protein in was such a challenge for the first 2 weeks - and getting enough fluids in is STILL hard. Taking my vitamins religiously. Weight dropped super quickly in the first two weeks and now has settled at about the same weight for about 4 days. Maybe my first stall?

5/9 - It was a decent day. I cannot complain. I decided to focus on liquids. Just protein shakes and water. I felt like I needed more water than anything else. Saw the gym at the new building, it is amazing. Personal trainer and all. I will be signing up once I am back from vacation, I will be able to do a lot of workout stuff. 

5 days post opp  had issue with swollen fingers but I had chicken Brest that was high sodium.  Sleep just okay last night but every night is better pain is tolerable now. I only take pain medication at bedtime  but I'm still not able to get recommended protein in. Not sure how to do that if 3 meals are 1 to 2 oz a day   If anyone knows of a puréed food that has 20 grams of protein in 2 oz pass it along.  

Hope all is well with everyone ! 

I have 10 days until my 1 year. I still have 15 pounds I need to lose to get to my goal weight. I will be disappointed if I don't lose at least 5 more pounds before my anniversary so I decided to put myself on the same liquid diet that I did before surgery: 11 days focused on protein shakes. If I reach the 150s, I will be delighted. I know once the weight comes off, I can keep it off because I am good at maintaining. I actually think it would be good to put myself on this diet 1x a year every year to remind myself of the difficult time I had before surgery. I will be sad to miss out on a few nice dinners I would have otherwise consumed like the wedding I am going to on Saturday and the birthday party on Friday. Or the Wings game tomorrow. Or the potluck at church yesterday... But, you know what's better than free food? 150s.

I get to my gym this morning to find a note plastered on the door that they’ll be closed temporarily (like a few months) due to construction needing to be done. Okay, that’s fine. But why didn’t they inform their members in advance? Sigh... Anyway, I have the option to drive clear across town to three other locations, but not sure I want to. Would you drive or suck it up and try and workout at home? 

I am 4weeks post surgery and now on soft diet.  How many calories per day?  I had fixed my myfitnesspal app to do 1200 calories with 75% protein, 15% fat and 10% carbs.  Is this correct?  I'm curious, what are some of you doing?

Thanks.  

Made a smoothie! Cacao powder, peanut butter, frozen banana, large scope of protein powder with cacao nibs and crushed almonds! 

Well, I had my last diet visit yesterday and also met with my surgeon and signed the gastric bypass consent form! Time to wait for insurance approval, purchase vitamins and protein shakes/broths, and start getting prepared. I will likely be having surgery some time between February 5 and 16. Due to having surgery in a different city and staying with family for recovery, the only week I would be able to do in January would be the 15th-19th and that would require getting approved within the next 2 weeks, which isn't likely. So.... early February! Between 7 to 8 weeks from now. How did this happen so fast?! 

I'm going to hit my stall now. I can tell, because 1) almost everybody stalls when they start moving on to real foods, in addition to the liquids, and 2) I'm at 302 pounds, lol, and the scale knows I want to see the 2 in the first digit.

I'm fine. It's not going to freak me out or really even upset me. Honestly, I could stand the reconfiguration of inches that always comes with a stall, for me.

I'm posting here in between bites of refried beans, which (knock on wood) seem to be going pretty well for me, so far. I'm so happy. Between ricotta (with a little sauce and a little seasoning) and refried beans (with a very small amount of low-fat cheese melted in), I can live without chewable foods for a pretty long time. (I'm also eating yogurt and ricotta cheese.) I do want to upgrade to the ricotta bake, because it has better protein and might cut down the number of protein shakes I need in a day. It's probably a bit more firm than ricotta alone, so I held off at first, but I think it's time, don't you? Plus, my spouse can put it over pasta and enjoy it with me.

I'm eating 2.5 ounces of ricotta in a serving and maybe that much in beans? (this is my first attempt, but that's how much I served myself) I can eat 4 ounces of Greek yogurt in half an hour, which feels like a lot before the 2 week anniversary of my surgery. But I still haven't really figured out my body's "full" signal. I felt a little sick and stopped eating, one time, which made me think I'd overdone it. Other times, I just take tiny bites, sometimes a few minutes apart, for half an hour. And then I refrigerate or throw out what's left, because that was the guidance the nutritionists gave me. But other people talk about a sore shoulder or something as their signal, and I haven't found that yet.

I guess it'll come with time and practice.

My surgery was Wednesday, and already, on Sunday, I'm feeling mostly human. I count myself very lucky!

I have been taking the nausea pills I was prescribed ("as needed" is what the bottle says) every morning, and I think that has helped me get closer and closer to my fluid goals. A pill is only good for 8 hours, though, so it isn't doing anything for me in the evenings, when I am still drinking fluids. Maybe I'll try to go without it tomorrow and see if I can.

Anyway, I'll hit 64 ounces for the first time today, my third full day home. I'm on track for 56 grams of protein, 57 if I go for Jello instead of popsicles, which obviously I'm going to do, now that I've said that.

With more distance, I'm able to report on something I've kind of glossed over in my other statuses ... I had some really rocky time while I was in the hospital. There were at least two hours in recovery where nobody checked on me, and my IV stopped--I felt very sick and dehydrated when they finally fixed it. (I was stuck in recovery through a shift change, and they wouldn't let my spouse back with me for something like 4 hours, because people's assigned rooms weren't ready yet, and not letting spouses join inpatient people in recovery is policy. That was terrible. My spouse complained to the nursing supervisors when he found out how I'd been (not) treated, and he never does that!)

Once I was in my room and had a working IV again, everything progressed OK. They didn't let me walk as quickly as I'd expected; I woke up the first time around 4pm, was in my room by 8pm, and didn't get to walk until around noon the next day, with the exception of trips to the in-room bathroom. The pain meds wrecked me almost as much as I expected (I feel like they added to queasiness, but I can't be sure; they definitely forced me to sleep, instead of really taking care of the pain, though, as I'd thought they might ... happily, the pain has been pretty manageable without them).

Home has been better. I've been pacing the main floor of the house roughly every hour. Once it cools off this evening, Spouse and I are going for a walk part of the way around the block, to see how that goes. (80+ degrees in October, ugh.) I feel a little lightheaded sometimes when I'm walking around, and I'm not sure what that's about. It felt enough like a sugar low, yesterday, that I dropped a single sugar cube into my tea (which my plan allows). That did seem to help. I haven't had to do it again today, happily.

Looking forward from here, I'm not forcing myself to go to class (3 hours, a half hour drive away) tomorrow or Tuesday night. The professor was nice, saying "you're the sort of person who would try, even if you feel bad and even though you're ahead on the material, so I am telling you to stay home." I feel like, if I keep on recovering at this pace, going to class the following week should be no problem for me, plus I should be able to work that Thursday and/or Friday. (I might ease in and try just Friday. Nothing I do at work is time-sensitive. I have a very unimportant job.)

I know from reading these forums, though, not to get too overconfident. So I'm still taking it pretty easy and focusing all of my energy on healing.

On day 3 of the pre-op liquid diet. As predicted, those days of low-carb beforehand probably made this all easier. I was foggy yesterday, but it could have been any number of things (the rain, chronic illness, low calories, or no caffeine). The hunger has been there, but not totally unmanageable (I say, having eaten 8 servings of sugar-free jello in three days, because that's on my "unlimited" list and it fills in nicely around the shakes). Maybe it's because I've been sleeping so much this week, though--I'm not awake long enough to be hungry 😂

I gave in and had one bag of caffeinated tea today. Don't look at me like that--my surgeon allows up to 16 ounces of coffee or tea per day, at all points during our program. I was only cutting it out because I don't much want headaches when I'm healing from surgery. I do, however, find that I need a little bit of caffeine to do my homework. Maybe not every week, but this week we're doing ... complicated things you all don't care about.

Cutting down from the amount of coffee I was having to one bag of tea is still something I'm proud of. And the headaches I get when I skip it are manageable enough that I'm not stressed about this one thing, post-op, anymore. (I maybe can't concentrate like I'd like to, but I can read and go on walks!)

Anyway, three days (almost) down, three more to go, then one of only clear liquids (jello, broth, and protein water), and then the big day! ... And then probably several more weeks of liquids only, but I'm not focusing on that right now. 😁

Hi Everyone,

I'm in my 3rd week post-op and have had a very rough time.  I am still on clear liquids as protein shakes and protein drinks make me hurl!!! I've also had a pretty bad case of the foamies.  I'm finding myself with terrible food envy.  Folks bringing their lunch to their desks is driving me insane.  However, today is the first day I feel like I will get all of my fluids in.  That's a plus.  And 30 pounds gone since pre-op is also a bonus.  

I ate like a normal person yesterday!!!

I was at an all-day training where they provided breakfast and lunch. Since I didn't know what they would be serving, I packed my little cooler with a protein bar, yogurt and a fruit cup. I didn't need it, woohoo! One of the breakfast options was a yogurt parfait and at the lunch buffet they had (in addition to a bunch of stuff I couldn't eat) salmon patties, a squash medley, and orzo. They had fruit cups for the afternoon snack! I was so excited to eat what other people ate! I admit, I did eat some sweets, too. But overall, what a good day!

Correction on my surgery date: it is September 6th, not 4th. I'm currently doing the 4-week pre-op diet, limited to less than 800 calories with greater than 90g protein. I've got this!

This weekend I found it difficult to write/journal anything with my dear soon to be 2 year old running around and keeping me busy. I have quite a few shakes to write about since Friday.

Friday's continuation of lunch was the Syntrax Nectar Crystal Sky. I'd give this a 4. Reminded me of Kool-aid. Not too shabby and kept me full. 

For dinner Friday I had my left overs of baked chicken, sauteed spinach with olive oil and garlic and steamed broccoli, potatoes and cauliflower. 

For my pm snack, I had the Syntrax Nectar Wild Grape. I blended it with PB2. I should have just had it plain.  I think it would have tasted so much better. In my head  I figured it would have tasted like a pb and jam sandwich. Because of my experiment, I gave it a 2 and 1/2. LOL.

Saturday morning I tried the Syntrax Nectar Cappuccino latte with pb2. Not bad. Some of these Syntrax latte's have that sweet after taste even though they say they are aspartame free. I have no idea what it is but I'm not a fan. The PB2 or banana kind of takes that away.

Hubs took me to see a movie and my n-laws watched our son. I didn't think ahead so I grabbed a smoothie at the Jamba Juice to stay hydrated. I could have totally snuck in my own shake or drank water but I was tending to my son's needs ahead of mine. I need to learn to make more time for myself. I do have anxiety and this kicks in right before we leave to go out whether it's the family or just me and my hubs. My mother-n-law and father- n law are great with my son but sometimes they don't listen to instructions I give them and thus causes the anxiety to come out. Ugh. Anyway, back to it....

So this Jamba Juice I had ordered was the PB Banana Protein and MAN did it have ALOT OF SUGAR IN IT. I should have made my own but I'm only human right....Yes, It was tasty but a medium size with 34g of protein, okay......58g carbs, 23g fat and ....eekk....49g of sugar .

Not, the best choice. Again, I'm only human but I need to really research my nutrition info. before just looking up and seeing "oh protein, that's what I need, I'll take that, please" on the big board of what looks good.

For dinner, I had a hoagie bowl from my local Wawa which was grilled chicken (all 3 stripes of it ) REALLY?!  packed with veggies and some honey mustard dressing. 

Breakfast Sunday morning was Syntrax Nectar Strawberry Mousse. I swapped out water with almond milk and added 1/2 a banana. That was a 5 for sure! Very tasty!

Lunch I tried the Syntrax Nectar Caribbean Cooler with almond milk and 1 banana. Tasted just like a daiquiri. So good. One of my favorites so far! 5!!!!

Dinner I made turkey chili. Very good! High protein and so good!

Breakfast this morning, I tried the Syntrax Nectar Vanilla Latte with 1 banana and almond milk. Bit of an after taste again. I need to find out what the hell that is. Again, all of these protein shakes are aspartame free yet, I have this horrible sugary, "sweet-n-lowy" kind of after taste. I give this one a 3.  

Continuing the taste test of the Syntrax Nectar line, I tried the Fuzzy Navel yesterday for lunch. On the scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a solid 4! When blended with too much ice, it becomes too frothy but still pretty good nonetheless. Last night I ate my meal of baked chicken, spinach and garlic sauteed in olive oil (drool) and a side of a steamed bag of broccoli, potatoes and cauliflower. It was all very yummy! I had plenty left over from me and my husband so I will have that tonight for dinner when he goes to work his part time job and I will be home alone with my son. 

This morning, I had the Syntrax Nectar Chocolate Truffle. It was meh, standard chocolate protein shake but not the grit. I'd give it a 3.5. I finished it at work and was immediately hungry so I made another about 1.5 hours later, my (snack). I tried the Syntrax Nectar Lemon Tea. I was so hesitant but to my surprise it was very tasty, just like crystal light. I give this one a 5! Very pleased. 

If anyone is interested I've created a meal plan that have been inspired by other plans and changed to my personal preferences. It's 7 meals 2 hours apart with 10oz of water in between each. 

Calories: 1,400
Protein: 141 grams
Carbs: 128 grams
Fiber: 34 grams
Sugars: 26 grams
Fat: 39 grams 

8:00am MEAL #1: ! scrambled egg with 3 oz chicken and 1 thin slice of cheese

8:50am: drink 10 oz with 1 t of fiber powder

10:00am: MEAL #2: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 T Peanut butter powder, medium apple

10:50am: drink 10 oz water

12:00pm: MEAL #3: 3 0z hamburger steak (93% fat free), 1.5 oz green beans, and 3 parm crisps

12:50pm: drink 10 oz water

2:00pm: MEAL#4: 4 oz salmon, 1.5 oz green beans

2:50pm: drink 10 oz of water with 1 t of fiber powder

5:00pm: MEAL #5: 3oz chicken, 1 string cheese, and 1 serving of pretzel chips

5:50pm: drink 10 oz water

7:00pm: MEAL #6: 1/2 cup cottage cheese with t of sugar free strawberry preserves

7:50pm: drink 10 oz of water 

9:00pm: MEAL #7: 3.5 oc chicken and 1.5 oz green beans

9:50pm: drink 10oz of water with 1 t of fiber powder