Search the Community

I think you should consider listening to your provider. If you are trying to change your relationship with food, try to follow through with the steps/plans you create to do this. It is probably very hard but I hope you are successful.

Well done on getting to this point 👏👏👏 Just keep reminding yourself that it’s a teeny-tiny blip of a way of eating that will be over before the end of the year, and that you will be eating different foods and textures while getting in to smaller sized (no cute puppies or kittens) clothing and shocking yourself at the continual changes and healthier feelings. Cheering you on!

How are your iron levels? Are they low? If they’re low, then you may need a supplement but if they’re okay, you don’t need anything. My iron levels were great & still are so I never took any iron after my surgery. Many people, women especially of all ages, experience anemia and it seems there are many more cases now days than years ago. For some its lifestyle and dietary choices, for others there can be medical reasons behind it. If you are anaemic, ensure your doctor rules out any medical cause first. If there isn’t any medical reason, check your dietary intake. Ensure you’re eating a lot of iron rich red meats, green leafy vegetables, etc. Avoid caffeine when consuming food especially iron rich foods. Caffeine reduces your body’s ability to absorb iron by 60+%. Also your body doesn’t absorb iron from fortified foods (like breads, cereals, oat milks & other milk alternatives., etc.) as well either. Iron supplements can cause constipation. Don’t take your iron supplements with calcium or iron with zinc. Your body can’t absorb these in combination so take say the calcium and zinc in the morning and your iron at night. Remember too, excess iron isn’t good for you so avoid taking iron supplements if you don’t need them. Haemochromatosis can damage your liver, heart, pancreas & joints. Symptoms can include lethargy, weight loss, mood swings, depression, brain fog, irregular or no periods & joint pain. Interestingly, many of these symptoms are the same as with anaemia.

Oh this is VERY interesting thank you for sharing @GreenTealael! I have loads of friends on these drugs who tell me that along with losing interest in food they lose interest in alcohol. And this is in Ireland, where alcohol is THE social lubricant. Does not compute. Many people even on strict diets will include a 'beer allowance', LOL. Seems there might be a place for these drugs in managing alcohol dependence post physical WLS. Watch this space?

It just dawned on me that my first day of soft foods falls on Labor Day and I usually have snow crab legs since they always have them on sale for the holidays. I usually have other stuff with them that I can’t have now but I contemplating having them. Some people do develop allergies though and shellfish is certainly a common allergy so I’m a little scared. Part of me wants to go and get a scratch test to see if I’m allergic to anything now- although I’m not sure if that’s for foods and stuff anyways or just contact stuff. I had a little regular milk the other day and that went fine but peanuts and seafood scare me as well. I suppose I can just take a bite and then wait an hour. My husband will be home with me so I should be fine.

@draikaina8503 - It sounds like the struggle has been super real for you, and I hate to hear that you've had such a tough time. I didn't have a drainage tube because of the type of surgery I had (as far as I know, unless it was only used DURING the surgery itself). The staples are a pain; and bending or stretching too much causing pain is 100% something I empathize with you in regards to. I was really nervous about showering with them in as well, but honestly the warm water from the shower set to a gentle pressure did feel really nice. I also used the special soap they gave me when I washed my staple area lightly with a washcloth. I was afraid of using a loofah thinking it might snag or something. I also feel where you (and others) are coming from on the fluids and dry mouth - I still find myself super relieved when I can finally have a drink 30 mins after a 'meal'. I will say that as long as I keep my intake moist (super soupy purees or broths) that it isn't TOO bad - and I definitely have to watch how many ounces I intake for my meals. I eat slowly, but when the food tastes good and I'm eyeballing my protein goal it's HARD not to want to try to 'finish' my serving. I learned my lesson with my oatmeal this morning, though. It sat more heavily on/in my stomach after I ate than I expected and I struggled to have a few burps that relieved the weight and pressure I felt in my chest. Your mention of letting ice chips dissolve in your mouth helped me today - the cold really did slow my intake and provide relief. I hope you're starting to feel better now! I created a sort of 'routine' for my mornings that I think is working pretty well, though. I try to only have a sip of water when I first wake up and them immediately prepare my breakfast. With purees that are thick to the consistency of yogurt there's a trick where you basically just swallow your meds a couple at a time (if they are small) with a spoonful of yogurt/cottage cheese/medium thick puree. That's what I do to get down my morning meds, and as long as I don't overeat I go to have a brief warm shower afterward. The movements of me showering and standing help get my body to produce a burp or two, and putting my arms over my head when I wash my hair (yes, still some pulling especially on the left side so I have to go easy with THAT arm) does expand my torso and help my food settle. This also take sup some of the time gap I have to leave after eating before I can drink. Usually by the time I'm done with my shower, done drying, and have caught my breath it's almost time for me to be able to sip fluids again. @Pepper_No_Salt I'm still shocked that they sent you home from the hospital on the same day. Whew. I'm glad to see you're been feeling better each day, Moving on to strained soups was a biggie for me and I certainly can appreciate that having been one of your first planned stops! I did the same thing after I got my staples out. Today I am going to try to return to some broth for lunch and wish I had gotten more cans of chicken noodle when I went to the store. Maybe I'll try to season some of the 'cream of' soups I've got sitting around. My first try with them wasn't good, but then again they were room temperature then. Hopefully they taste better next time around! @ShoppGirl @Onemealplan @Greekmom4 @AndreaJD- Thank you all for the recipes and information! I tried my oatmeal yesterday with the whey protein powder a friend had given me and honestly - it was gritty, and I was disappointed. This morning I used part of a vanilla ensure and I used a potato peeler to slice off the exterior of three strawberries I mixed in with it and it was 100x better. I actually ate about 5oz of it super slowly and regretted that as it either expanded or wouldn't quite settle. I wasn't sick, but I was very uncomfortable for a while and had to shower and move around, then stand and take a couple of sips of cold water to initiate a couple of burps that provided some relief. Once I started to feel better I realized that the icy cold beverage helped me, and so I went ahead and had a sugar free popsicle. I took my time with it and found that the cold spreading across the inside of my chest felt very good and now I'm feeling much better. Has anyone had good luck finding an unflavored protein powder that doesn't feel gritty when mixed? Just curious - and if someone already answered this I'm sorry; trying to get caught up but not sit for too long! @CrazyDog&CatLady - Good luck to you on your revision and thank you for sending us all positive vibes for preparation and healing! Also, welcome to the thread! @ShoppGirl - I second what you said a thousand percent about using ALL the coping strategies you can to get through this. I'm having to completely re-learn my body, and in fact learning things about myself I never realized or understood before. The feeling of 'full' does echo my feelings of 'anxiety' and I've found that I'm extra sensitive due to that in the hour after I have a meal. I've also found that just like with the walking to get the gas worked out I also need to walk around a little bit after my meal to get my food to sit properly. Additionally, I'm learning the importance of remaining UPRIGHT until my stomach has settled past a meal. It's not even 'going to sleep too soon after eating, it's being at too little of an incline. I've woken up two nights in a row with heartburn in the wee hours that I can only attribute to drinking something maybe too fast before going to bed, or sipping at an incline rather than sitting up completely to deal with my dry mouth during the night. I do space my calcium out to later in the day and have been taking my multi w/Iron and ADEK about an hour after my breakfast. That seems to so far be working to stave off any nausea I would get from taking them on an empty stomach. Thank you for explaining about the B12 injections and congratulations on overcoming your anxiety giving them to yourself! Sorry if I missed anyone - I've hit my cap for sitting for the moment. Best wishes to all and encouragement to those who have surgery in the coming days! If I recall we have two having surgery tomorrow, yes? Another set of 8/21 surgery buddies? I'll try to recap and review later!

I can identify with the feelings you are having when trying to get food down... also being so tired! Some of my favorite pureed foods have been an egg scrambled with Ricotta cheese, cream of wheat made with veggie broth, and vanilla yogurt (zero) with some peanut butter powder mixed in it. I'm allowed to have hummus and have liked that occasionally. I hate that blocked feeling... I'm actually scared of it at this point. I'm trying to find a way to avoid it but haven't been successful yet. I can only eat a 1/4 cup of food at a time max. Have you tried using baby spoons? I've found that it helps me take small bites and eat slower.

Sorry to hear about Covid and all the calls back and forth, not fun at any time but especially when feeling unwell. Do what your body feels it needs this week with regards to rest and food, the healthy plan you have been following will hopefully help you come out of this better than you might have if you had caught Covid a few months ago. Take care.

As always @ms.sss Thank you for the compliment and turning my focus to food (porn) 🤣

I'm 22 years post op and still can't finish a plate. My food gets cold too. But I knew that restriction would be apart of my life before I had surgery. Are you prioritizing protein and getting your vitamins in at least? I've battled with malnutrition a lot.

How is everyone doing over the weekends when schedules are more flexible and chaotic? I was pretty proud of myself today, my hubby asked me late last night if I wanted to go car shopping today and I didn’t really have anything to pack in terms of food but figured we may get stuck there if he found one he liked and we decided to get it so I threw a couple of shakes in the cooler for lunch and dinner. Luckily we didn’t get stuck, although we may next weekend because he has narrowed it down to one car now, but I was proud of myself because in the past when I didn’t think ahead for stuff like that I would end up starving and eating out of the vending machine and/or fast food when we finally got out of there. I think I will always keep shakes on hand for situations like that (just toss one into the cooler when I go shopping with a friend or whatever). Or protein bars but I’m not sure if they make me feel as full as a shake does.

A small amount of cooked vegetables, chewed thoroughly and eaten once by accident will not cause a leak. Some programs even allow cooked vegetables in the soft foods stage.

Not wish but glad that I did. I stopped caffeine about a month or so before surgery, I tracked all my food so I got in the habit, I went for walks to build up stamina, only 3x a week until surgery, I had different kind of protein shakes, one of each kind that tickled my fancy so after surgery I had options. Some I liked and got more, some I had one drink then gave to my hubs. I would wait for the liquid diet until they tell you to start because it sucks! I only had to do 1day and I complained the entire day LOL, some people do a food funeral where they eat all the foods they want since that will be on hold for a bit. I actually deep cleaned my house the week before surgery (I am super Type A LOL) but made me feel good that I didn't have to worry about house keeping for a minute. I do wish I would cleaned out my pantry better, I had junk food in my house and even though I didn't give into temptation, it was there. Also my mindset with food. I'm 6months post op and it still messes with me, like wanting to eat huge burrito because I'm upset but knowing I physically cant. Its like breaking up with someone. @SleeveToBypass2023 said it really well, breaking in a very toxic relationship, you know its not good for you but you still go back. If you can mentally prepare yourself for it. Its a mindf*%^ .

I know exactly what you mean when you get something that taste good you don’t wanna stop What I did after my sleeve when I went out was to ask for a to go box right away and put some of it away so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat more than I should. then I later learned another tip on here that if you’re out and you’re going somewhere else afterwards and you want to put your leftovers in a cooler it’s kinda hard with the big Styrofoam containers so bring your own little Tupperware like one of those flat sandwich ones and it holds just as much food without taking up a lot of room so you can fit it in a small cooler. I actually found some on Amazon that have like four or six sections depending on which ones you get that work really well too because I don’t like my food to get mixed and they seal pretty well so they’re fine if they tip over in the cooler with other things in there. I always carry a cooler with me because I’m too cheap to buy drinks when I’m out so it’s really easy to just bring along the container if I know I’m having lunch. Those little containers worked great to make adult lunchables too. They have bigger ones that have more sections and a couple different brands but those are the ones that I end up using most often to bring snacks or bring home food. Even if you needed to use two of them, it still fits better on a cooler they are called Bentgo boxes they are also exactly 1/2 cup for each section so it makes it easy to log your snacks when you’re packing them https://a.co/d/4BdZLlI

For comparison, because I know your other option is a revision to bypass, I am 5 months post RNY and I can already easily eat a cup and a half of some foods, such as soups, salads, or yogurt and berries. I can often eat 3-4 oz of meat, or a full can of tuna, plus veggies along with it. My brother, who is about 15 years post-sleeve, can finish a regular plate of food in a sitting (by which I mean a reasonable serving of something like chicken, veg, and starch, not what they give you in a restaurant that has 1800 calories and is enough for 3 people). SADI will probably change your metabolism in a more powerful way than bypass because that is what the research shows it does. But since you've already had a sleeve, it's possible that neither revision will have the full effect on you that it would someone who is getting a surgery for the first time. And whichever option you choose, I do think in the long term, it's less about whether you can eat a certain volume of food and more about what food you choose to eat. Basically all bariatric surgeries typically result in having more capacity the further out you get, so it's what you do with that capacity that makes the difference in success over time. I can tell you that my brother has regained about half the weight he initially lost not because of how much food he can eat but because of how much beer he drinks every day (he admits as much). And if I regain weight in the future, I already know it will not be because I am eating 6 oz of chicken and 2 cups of steamed broccoli in a sitting. It will be because I haven't managed to curb my sweets cravings (and yes, I can still eat plenty of sugar and fat without getting sick) and too often give into the convenience of processed foods and simple carbs. Those are my weaknesses, so that's what I'm trying to work on now while the effects of the surgery are still fresh. But no surgery can fix it for me, unfortunately. Basically, any revision you choose at this stage will give you a new and more powerful tool to work with. No surgery will address the underlying destructive habits that lead to weight regain.

JennyBeez you wrote; " grieve the convenience of high fat/sugar/calorie foods. The ability to go anywhere with friends or family for a meal and not have to worry about 'will I be able to find something I can eat?' and cruising the menu online first." Hi, I'm blonde patriot living in CDA, and I have a problem. I'm a social eater..." This is the hardest for me. I am already sick of doing the menu scans beforehand. It quickly made me realize that 99.9% of the food at restaurants is a no go due to being fried, made with sugar or extremely high in carbs and calories! Plus, if you're like I am, I detest cooking and eating out is what my husband, friends and family do - we enjoy, excuse me I use to and they still do enjoy food and the experience. It took all the joy out of get togethers for me. Plus most food I can eat tastes bland now. Now before anyone says "but you can still enjoy being with friends and family foods just a small part of that" <rolls eyes> they don't understand - it wasn't and isn't a small part of it. When we used to go out it was to eat, we'd share our choices, talk about the differences between this and that choice here and at other restaurants etc. It was one of the main reasons we got together! We had certain restaurants for celebrating birthdays, promotions, good semester grades and holidays etc. We had certain dishes - our favorites depending on what our activities for the day were. Now, I spend the first 15 mins examining the menu picking each thing apart ..does it have fat, too many calories, carbs, protein or hidden sugars will it even taste decent? Is it 300 calories or preferably less? After that I look longingly at others choices I actually want. Then comes the dreaded lets get an after dinner drink or coffee with dessert. So I get to watch that too from the sidelines. Even my husbands and my retirement has changed, we had a list of the places in the U.S. that were known for specialties such as a lobster rolls in Maine, black beans and rice in New Orleans, Philly cheese steaks in Philly, New York pizza etc., for our first year of retirement we were going to rent an RV and travel..visit those places based on our food choices and eat their specialties, they were our destinations. Then, after the first year my husband wanted to "belly up" to the shrimp and lobster bars on cruises for "days on end." Now all this has changed and I'm now resentful at myself and society. Myself because well becoming obese and society for being judgmental and valuing youth, beauty and being thin over the value of a persons worth inside! Yes, I'm thinner and healthier and most likely will live longer (no guarantees)... but...to be honest I don't want to take a walk instead of going to a restaurant as one person said and as my dietician suggests. They're NOT the same thing, one does not equal the other! No friend who wants to go out and about with the girls to shop and eat wants to substitute a walk instead. I DO know its my "new reality" and I do what I must, I'm just not happy about it. It feels as if a part of the joy has been removed, sucked out of life along with a portion of my stomach. Yes...I do try and find other things.. .but yeah well. Everything involved food, go to the beach pack a lunch (not two separate lunches one I can eat and the rest for everyone else), go shopping, go to the theater with dinner beforehand, go to the movies, go dancing - nope no alcohol or anything with calories oh joy - water!!!. Lol no one ever said hey girls lets do a girls day...and hit the gym where we can all sweat together, grunt and watch others pop veins struggling to lift a weight bar for fun! Even my poor husband has had to change, he used to be excited to bring some new food home he found at a new restaurant or even at the grocery store he'd want to share with me...nope not anymore. He just eats it before he gets home to save me and him the having to turn it down. So yes, I mourn not only the food, but the convenience, fun and get togethers. I have even noticed my friends don't call much anymore to "do" lunches because they'd always ask "where CAN you eat now"? The choices were limited or I'd have to ask the server for considerations..making it more work than fun. 300 calories or less is extremely hard to do at restaurants and my friends didn't want to put me through it anymore. So yes, I mourn. Sorry for the long whine/rant but Jenny geez brought it all up again for me.

Hi, @Justarwaxx! I'll be only 2 days ahead of you, so we'll be going through this together. I'm nervous and excited, too. Looking forward to being all recovered and starting my new, active lifestyle. Looking forward to not constantly thinking about what I can wear to try to disguise my weight and what people are thinking. I will miss food as a coping and comfort mechanism, but my husband and I are slowly learning how to cook healthy, unprocessed meals. I'm looking at it as an adventure of discovery - what new foods, spices, and ways to prepare them can I discover? I know the next couple weeks will be rough, and the next 3 months will be a marathon slog. I'm ready to tough it out - eyes on the prize!

Hi people! I just got done with my surgery like 4 days ago. I got a gastric sleeve done. I’m pretty excited to finally have some food after 2 weeks of this liquid diet. I’ll be able to have some yogurt in 2 days.

I hope the nausea gets better quickly. Maybe it’s a specific food? Could you get more Zolfran? I didn’t take time off either and regretted it. Maybe you can still do FMLA if needed. I still get exhausted by 2pm and just need a nap. Congratulations on the weight loss!! Feel better ❤️‍🩹 soon.

Seriously, this honestly sounds like my house - 2 deliveries today, 1 tomorrow, 2 Thursday. Not all weight loss related though, trying to get stuff bought now for the dreaded “C” word in December 😬 Just look at it as you’re not buying as much food so it should all balance out eventually…sort of…maybe 😉

5 shakes per day? Never! I think max I ever had was 2 or maybe 3 in a day. I drink premier protein, so 30g protein each. I think at 5 a day (so 150g protein) is even more protein than most body builders need. I’m 5 years out now. Still drink 1/day for breakfast and am able to hit my 90g daily protein goal easily with food.

My first day of soft foods is Labor Day and since they usually have snow crabs on sale I was thinking that would be a tasty choice for my first soft food. I just want to steer clear of the garlic butter. I tried googling for lighter ideas to dip it in but didn’t have any luck. I was thinking I could make it with I can’t believe it’s not butter light but I used to have a recipe. I’m pretty sure it had sautéed onions and it used broth. It wasn’t bad, I wish I had saved it. Anyways, anyone have a recipe like this or another idea of what to dip crab in? The more I search I think it may have been intended as a lobster or scampi sauce. I found one that may work but if anyone has one that they know is good I would really appreciate it.

I think it’s because they think you’ll be so absorbed in what you’re watching you’ll just shovel the food in. It’s the reverse for me & get totally distracted from my eating by what I’m watching. 10 minutes can easily pass between bites. But if it doesn’t work for you best to avoid tv watching. I’m like @ms.sss in that I too can eat more or eat more quickly when eating with others. I have to very consciously be aware of putting my cutlery down & sitting back between bites and giving my full attention to those around me.

Great ideas. Just keep in mind if you wear readers you will for sure need them for that diamond painting. Even still my eyes were bugging out after a while. Them things are tiny. I had that for another surgery and I did it through the recovery but ended up giving the book to my neice after that. And Netflix is really great because there are not any food commercials. They do have food on the shows but at least it’s not like a sizzling burger that they are tryin to make your mouth water in order to sell you one. Puzzles are another thing I’ve heard some people say they did during their recovery. And of course journaling. Lots of emotions to write about.

Pea soup, re-pureed to a smoother consistency with a dash of parmesan cheese. I loved putting fat free refried beans or ricotta cheese into anything I could, but I think I pretty much lived off of cottage cheese. I think I ate it every day, and just stirred in different seasonings (dill with garlic, chili powder, curry powder, rotisserie chicken powder. I even tried dill pickle popcorn seasoning!) Depending on your program, you might also be able to have certain crackers already -- my team told me saltines or melba toast were good in small doses at this point, eaten slowly and with something wet -- ie. melba toast dipped in hummus.