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Thank you all so much!!! I'm definitely taking note of all of this. I've gone shopping and added more fats and a little higher carbs to my diet. I'm at around 1300 calories per day on average, but I'm working on upping the fats and carbs a bit. I'm also looking to keep my protein at around 100g per day if it's at all possible. Not sure about increasing the sugar and salt intake too much. I HAVE had to start using a little bit of Himalayan salt because my bp has been running super low since my hysterectomy (it's been 3 months and it stays around 97/50, sometimes a little lower) and we're trying to get it to come up. Last time I went to the doctor for my 12 week post op appt it was 88/51, so not having a lot of luck there just yet. I don't like the taste of salt anymore, so adding it to nearly everything is tough, but I'm working on it. Thanks again for all of the suggestions!!! OH, and the potatoes are going to be tried tonight. I'm hoping the carbs won't make me sick. And I can't do any kind of cow's milk at all because I'm severely lactose intolerant, so I use almond milk and non dairy cheese and nutritional yeast. Should I be looking at muscle building exercises, and if so, which ones do you recommend? Maybe I should try to bulk up just a little......

I ate cottage cheese, avocado spread, hummus, protein pudding, protein yogurt, and even 3 or 4 teaspoon fulls of split pea soup (my husband had to eat the rest because it was REALLY filling). I also ate some tuna (but VERY sparingly), oatmeal (again, very sparingly and only 2 or 3 teaspoon fulls...my daughter ate the rest of the bowl because it was really filling), sauteed squash (used extra virgin olive oil and it was soft and soooo good), 1 scrambled egg (only had about 2 small bites and then hubby added the rest to his eggs and finished it). I was just so happy to be able to eat stuff, but I was absolutely NOT ready for how little I could actually eat lol

I put mine as the weight on the day I went to my first surgical consult, which was also my highest recorded weight. With the diet and lifestyle changes I made as part of the program, I lost about 13 lbs in the 6 months between then and the start of my pre-op diet. I lost another 13 lbs in those 2 weeks of liquid diet before surgery. But I want credit for all the weight I lost! Interestingly, Dr. Weiner recently said on a podcast that the weight lost on a pre-op diet definitely is credited to the surgery in his opinion. The reasoning was that if you go on a liquid diet, lose 13 lbs, and then try to keep that weight off without having surgery just by eating right, you are going to regain most or all of it in a matter of weeks. The fact that we lose that weight and then keep losing more weight instead of gaining is thanks to the metabolic changes of the surgery. He also told me in a live Q&A support group a while back to use my weight from before the pre-op diet as my starting weight if I wanted to plug it into a prediction calculator. I raised the concern of being a bit behind the prediction based on one of those calculators and he asked me what my weight was before the liquid diet. When we used that number instead of my surgery day weight, it tracked much better (and is still looking very accurate at 9 months out). He said if I had always been 225 lbs (my day of surgery weight) that would be one thing, but in reality, my "true" weight was somewhere between 238 and 251 in terms of what my metabolism was trying to overcome with the surgery. I feel like that's one of those big questions a lot of us have in the beginning and nobody really gives an answer on the calculator sites.

So I'm about the same size that I was in high school. I weighed 160 my senior year when I was going into the military. I weigh 176 now. I've had kids, so I don't expect to get to my high school weight. REALLY hope I don't lose another 16 pounds!!! But I'm in a size large now (XL is getting a bit big now) and I haven't even had my skin surgeries yet. I have to be able to maintain my weight for a year before I can have it, and so far I haven't been able to stop losing to be able to be in maintenance. Hopefully my body levels out soon... I know about the 2-3 year rebound weight gain, and I'm actually looking forward to it lol My final goal was 190, so even if I gain 10 pounds, that still puts me below goal. I'd like to maybe get to 185-187 and maintain so I can have my skin surgery (I may drop another 3-5 pounds after that, but more importantly, I'll likely go down a size because of how much skin I have that will be removed).

You are doing amazingly, and I love hearing about your week & journey in general! Really sorry to hear about your partner's comments - they definitely don't realise how upsetting they can be. Though that is no excuse, and emotional intelligence can go a long way! I hope you are okay ❤️

You poor thing doing this without much guidance from your team. First of all, DO NOT let anyone give you advise who is not a medical professional or someone who had your surgery. Who knows what they are comparing it to. For one thing most people thing all the surgeries are a Bypass and they are all the same, and second who knows how far out this person was. On top of that, liquids pretty much go right through once the swelling goes down. One month post sleeve i Was practical bacK to drinking my normal one gallon of fluids which is twice what they recommend as a goal!! This time it’s really not a good comparison since they didn’t operate on my stomach but I am up to 3/4 cup of food per meal. My book says 1/2-3/4 cup. All I know is that I feel fantastic. I am losing at a steady pace and exercising too which I never did before. I know it’s hard not to compare but honestly we should take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt because your doctor is the only one who knows all about you and your circumstances as well as your surgery. Make sure that your nutritionist has worked with bariatric patients before or you will most likely be wasting your time though. Did you call and ask your team if they can get you in sooner?? Corrected to add actually I just realized you did not have a sleeve or bypass either. Honestly you need to get advise from someone who had your surgery. We can cheer you on and relate to many parts of all of this but I know I for one am not very familiar with your surgery at all.

*raises hand* i do! not as often as back in the day, but yes, i'll use one if my guess-timating powers are off, AND if have access to one, AND i,m not feeling lazy. all conditions must be true lol. works out to maybe 3-4 times a week i'll use one. but i don't use measuring cups or spoons anymore...i'm pretty good at visualizing volume, ha!

i was told never, but i started drinking it again anyway (i.e., perrier) around 2-3 months post op and never stopped. im almost 6 yrs post now and i drink all the bubbles, not just perrier.

@LisaCaryl How's your knee? Did you see a doc at the clinic? Re wardrobe, I had a clear out and gave a lot of things to my cleaning lady and have just been going down to my cellar to get old clothes out. I have bought a few new dresses, but I but far too many clothes anyway... I'm a french size 38/40 now and hope to be a 36 by the end of the summer which will allow me to fit into most of my old clothes .... but unfortunately not my fave dress which is a 34.... that still seems like pipe dream right now. My posture is getting better and I have less pain in my legs which is nice. 2 days until I'm back home and can weight myself to see if I've broken my stall.

Week One: Clear Liquids & Protein Shakes Week Two: Full Liquids Weeks Three & Four: Soft Foods Weeks Five & Six: Modified Regular Diet (soft regular foods & soft carbs, if you choose to eat them) Week Seven: Soft fruits w/o skin, ground meat, and moist chicken/turkey Week Eight: Raw & Crunchy fruits/veggies with skin, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit Week 12: Dense meat (like steak), and caffeine and alcohol (if you choose to partake)

@pinkneymm@aol.com Another AOL account? Great, have you had it for a long time? I’ve always had mine. Anyway I’m on my 2nd week of pre op diet and having a hard time with it because I don’t know why?? I’ve lost a lb a day so far and my esophageal hernia started really acting up and it hurts to swallow anything. But other than that it’s great to already be losing weight. I can even fit into some clothes that I couldn’t before. My surgery is 10/21…really looking forward to it! Yours is not too far away! Yay!!! Best to you!

I'm honestly not sure. Pureed stage is stage 3 for me, but I'm not allowed anything with firm shells until stage 5. Stage 5 is also when I can get canned fruits and things like that too. 9 incisions sounds like a lot, but I know you had a different surgery than I did. I had 5 incisions plus an additional one for the drain. 19 staples. They took the staples out yesterday and then put steristrips on then. But by the end of the day, the steristrips were gone. I don't know if it's just how they were placed or what, but they did not stay long at all. I just ate my first meal of scrambled egg whites. Here's hoping!

You are another source of inspiration to me and I feel that we are very much similar (stats and progress and the love for food lolz) from what I gather through your replies and posts. I do not weigh daily and I do not track. I did track for 3 weeks a month or so ago and saw that I sit at around 800 calories a day (around 4.5 months post op) and now at over 6 months post op I still eat the same amount give or take. Even at my fittest and slimmest I never tracked or counted my calories and I don't think I will be doing that in my future if I am able to maintain my weight (with a little deviation that is). I also hate the weighing scale as it gives me so much anxiety (my heart starts thumping in my chest every time I step on it, I know I should talk to a therapist but I digress). What helps is that I exercise a lot and love working out since forever and it is sacred to me. I was traveling the past week and decided to have a little fun (to celebrate reaching the lowest weight I ever have) and allowed myself to eat normally (what the kids and the hubby were having) and that included burgers, bread, dessert (dumping is no joke, yikes!) and all things I didn't allow myself to eat. The portions were tiny mind you (thanks restriction). I decided to step on the scale once I was back and saw that I had lost 200 grams lol. I guess I should make friends with my scale and say hi multiple times a week instead of one. How do you keep tracking your calories without getting bored?

This week, my doctor has restricted my diet even further (from 1200 calories to 800) to make sure that the liver really shrinks so he said Slimfast Shakes and Weight Watchers soups because it's pre-made whereas the shakes I've been making it might be harder to get the right measurements when I'm cutting calories from what I've been doing for the past 10 weeks. I guess it makes sense. Honestly, those slim fast shakes are the worst. The only one that tastes Ok (and not in that British deprecating way where we say "it's alright" when me mean it's pretty good) is the chocolate one. The rest? How do Strawberry, banana or cookies and cream shakes end up with an almost chicken-y aftertaste? How is this possible? Is this some kind of pact with Satan? Long digression, I know. But it made me dream of food last night. Which I have never done before. I dreamed all my family had gone to all the fast food places and I couldn't eat any but I ended up having a bowl of porridge from KFCs Breakfast menu? Talk about head hunger vs actual hunger!

I had several stalls - but they all eventually broke and I kept going until I hit goal (actually, about 10 lbs under) 20 months later. When I tried to lose weight on my own, I'd lose at most about 50 lbs before I'd hit a brick wall and my weight would eventually start heading back up. WLS was the only thing that allowed me to break through those brick walls and lose all of my excess weight (100% of it - although I've gained about 20 lbs of it back over the years). I think it's just a coincidence that you're having a stall at your former "brick wall". Just keep plugging away at it. It does get harder the closer you get to goal, though. Those last 20 or 30 lbs were a bear to get off (and It could be that my new, post op "set point" IS where I am now - but this is way, way lower than any pre-WLS set points).

Not sure if you the same but for me when I eat carbs I crave carbs. If you are like that don’t do any food funerals immediately before your pro op. It will only make it that much harder. If you have to do food funerals then just do them a week earlier and eat lower carb the week before your pre op diet. It made it tolerable for me when I did my sleeve.

For me, it was important to get past the snacking hurdle pretty much cold turkey. My willpower is great after two to three weeks of a new routine -- but before that every minute is torturous. I think all my scheduled 'snacks' for the first month post-op were all like "half a protein shake" and "half a protein bar" lol. Now I'm finally able to snack healthily or with 'planned indulgences' (most of which I still try to make as healthy as possible, because I backslide too easily / get addicted to things very quickly). Last week I found a healthy quinoa puff (with no added oils / ingredients) at my local bulk food store, and toasting them up in a pan with some curry powder has become my new evening indulgence -- sometimes with a few peanuts or edamame thrown in. Ridiculously satisfying without throwing me off track. I've also found some baby snacks that are crazy-clean when it comes to fats/carbs/sugars, and they taste super plain but that's where my own seasonings come in. Baby Gourmet Cheesy Broccoli Puffies are made with quinoa and lentils, and one bag will last me for 3-5 snacks so I don't mind the price so much.

Hello everyone! I discovered this forum a couple of weeks ago and have found it really helpful (so thank you!) but this is my first time posting. I’m scheduled to have a gastric bypass on September 12, and I’m really anxious and somewhat doubtful. I’m half way through my 2 week pre-op diet (2 shakes, 2 snacks, 1 meal, no carbs); I started 2 days late but still, I haven’t lost a thing. Anyone else experience this? what if it’s the same after the surgery? What if my body’s just broken from gaining and losing so many times? a little context: I’m female, 39 years old, and weigh 266.4 lbs. it’s the biggest I’ve ever been. I have three children, but after my second son passed away at birth in 2020, I was put on antidepressants which I take religiously. Early this year I was also diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds, and the loss of appetite and focus cut my food intake in half— still did not lose any weight.

I'm about 4 weeks post op so I don't have a lot of smaller clothes. I'm trying to go as long as I can without buy new clothes because I don't know what size I will settle at. But I really like these jeans because they are skinny cargo jeans. I might just buy these in 2 different sizes just in case. I also find leggings not being tight annoying. My problem has always been that I'm too short for standard leggings so I would need a size 22 leggings but they would be too long. Now they are baggy and too long. But I've always been able to wear legging a size smaller than jeans or trousers because of the stretch.

So I am trying to navigate everything with new boobs haha. They are bigger than I thought they would be which is not a bad thing. I am 5 days post op and will be getting my drains out Tuesday. Hopefully. I had an appointment yesterday and he said I’m more swollen than he would like me to be, which being sedentary is so damn hard for me, but I am trying! Anywho I go back to work on Wednesday and I am wondering what you all wore to work? Im not sure if I need to go buy more button ups? Or can I put tshirts on. I have no issues lifting my arms above my head but it’s a no no for a few weeks. I’m in a casual office setting. Usually nice tops and jeans. Also I knowwwww I shouldn’t have stepped on the scale but it’s 10lb up and now im unhealthily nit picking my body. I put on jeans and they were so damn tight. Someone tell me it’s not fat weight 😂

I don't know where my other post went - I swore I typed one up earlier. Oh well - Here we go again! So, I'm at 3 weeks out exactly today from my SADI (Sleeve + Intestinal shortening) surgery and I'm definitely starting to feel less pulling and pinching with movements. I'm beginning week two of my puree diet, and I feel like it's going pretty well. During the Protein shake / liquid post diet for two weeks I did deal with constipation. It's still leveling out, but as I eat more 'regular' food (Even as a puree) that seems to be lifting a bit. I did still take some milk of magnesia yesterday out of caution because I hadn't 'gone' in two days, and didn't want to worry about it worsening. I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a timer. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed (same with the ground beef in my ricotta bake). Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each. I want to respond more to folks - @Pepper_No_Salt I hate that you're dealing with so much nausea! I absolutely second talking to your care team about that. There are some nausea pills that dissolve under the tongue and work more quickly for me than the Zofran, they'd probably be willing to call you in some. Things that made me feel queasy were taking meds or vitamins before my meal had hit bottom, drinking too quickly, not walking around after I ate, and taking calcium and my multivitamin with iron too close to my Calcium. Not sure if any of that helps - I am also taking Prilosec for heartburn in the mornings and they had me add Magnesium Citrate at bedtime to help with constipation. Sometimes when I'm due to pass gas or have a bowel movement working its way through my system I'd start to feel a little icky and not really nauseous but more anxiety / feelings of fullness. I found that for whatever reason putting an ice pack on my chest or low back helped. I hope you find some relief! Oh, I also found that as soon as my thirty minutes post-meal is up it helps me to sip on REALLY cold water or Gatorade zero, especially if I do it while standing and moving around a little bit. I equate it to the need to get the burps out after eating, just like I had to do post-surgery. @ShoppGirl - Thanks for all of your support and input. I continue to read your posts and while I'm low energy on responding right now I hope the details of my recipe for the unstuffed cabbage bake is helpful! @draikaina8503 - Congratulations on your walk! I still wear out quickly even at three weeks out, but I knew the first month or two would be a slog and do feel my energy is rebounding. @Onemealplan - Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your vacation! I second what you said to @ShoppGirl about trying the crab, and hope the meals you do get to taste on vacation treat you well. I think her advice to just explain you're recovery from stomach surgery should more than reassure any staff concerned about your small portions. @AndreaJD I'm so glad your sister has been supportive! My 'chosen' brother and best friend has likewise done the same. He's been on a Keto journey for about two years with great results and I worried at first that he would think I was taking the 'easy way out' and now that he's heard more he's been great in reassuring me that he does NOT think that is the case at all, and in fact believes I chose a great option for myself that moves things along quicker but certainly with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I also completely agree with you on the 'mind hunger' vs 'body hunger'. I'm lucky that I do feel a bit of pressure in my chest that I now identify as a feeling of 'fullness' as opposed to anxiety and I'm less worried about my protein goals now that I have the Genepro protein powder. I love that it isn't gritty when I mix it in with things as long as I mix it with something room temperature FIRST. That's on the instructions, actually, as is the fact that for your macros to count it as like 30-ish grams of protein per scoop rather than the 'weight' listed in Nutrition facts of 11g/scoop. Just wanted to make sur eI mentioned that! Oh - in regards to weighing - I get on the scale every day or so to kind of 'reinforce' what I'm doing, but remember that sometimes you see more from your measuring tape at the waist, hips, etc than the scale will show. Also head's up, a lot of folks plateau for a handful of days around week three and it will happen on and off moving forward, so don't be discouraged by that! @RRenaeL23 - I hope these recipes and suggestions for your puree diet work well! I'm still finding myself comfortable eating no more than about 3-4 oz at a meal, and certainly am following the no drinking 30 mins before/after meals. It's absolutely easier for me to do if I make sure my meal is on the moist side, even if it means adding a little extra water. It's better to add protein powder (Can't speak highly enough of the unflavored Genepro) to hit your protein goal than to overeat to make it, that's for sure! I'm always eager for my 30 minutes to be up so I can sip on icy cold water or Gatorade Zero. @Meme Campbell - Best of luck to you on your surgery tomorrow! Don't hesitate to ask for ice packs and pain relief and take advantage of the pain relief to get some walking in, especially the first couple of days. The pain lessons as you walk because it works the gas out. I also strongly suggest sipping your shakes / water / propel sitting as upright as is possible and not laying back until about ten minutes has passed or you've burped a few times! Keep us updated! Most of us in this thread have already had our surgeries but if you read through the first 3-7 pages you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you don't already feel prepared. It's a bit of a process but the pain WILL start to lessen in the coming weeks! Don't be surprised when you get tired super quickly and be gentle on your body. Across the board surgeons seem to agree that your #1 priority fresh out of surgery will be walking as tolerated, focusing on your hydration, and getting as much protein as you comfortably can. Don't let yourself go more than three days without a bowel movement - Milk of Magnesia works wonders for that. I let myself go 5 days post surgery and that was a somewhat painful and unpleasant process to reverse. Colace makes your bowel movements 'smoother' but is NOT a laxative. If you deal with heartburn talk to your team - they put me on Prilosec for now. We're rooting for you! Sorry for anyone I missed; not sure what happened to my other post. Wishing you all the best in surgeries and recoveries!

I had this long stall as well. Just keep doing the plan and just broke through with a 2lb loss.

it's very common to have a 10-20 lb regain in year 3. It's not inevitable, but it's very common. And no, one day of bad eating when you're in maintenance is not going to affect your weight - I'm sure most of us long-timers have those days once in awhile. But if you go back to your old eating habits, you WILL gain a bunch of weight back (and maybe close to all of it). The trick is to be able to recover quickly from a bad day and get back to your regular plan ASAP (like...the next day). This is a lifetime battle (made easier by WLS, but still...a battle).

Since I started my weight loss journey 2 years ago with my first surgery, he decided to change his eating and exercising habits. I lost 200 pounds in 2 years, he lost 66 pounds in 2 years. We're both absolutely thrilled My A1c went from 7.9 to 5.0, no more more high bp or diabetes or high cholesterol (mine went from 249 to 170). His A1c went from 12.8 (yes you read that right) to 5.9, no more high bp, and his cholesterol went from 266 to 194. I went from a size 30/5x to a size 14/XL. He went from a size 52 waist to 42. And from a size 3x shirt to XL. And we go on 3+ mile walks together twice a week and he works out for an hour to an hour and a half twice a week with me (I work out above and beyond that). He's changed about 80% of his eating habits. He's more confident and happier, as am I . It certainly helps when you have a supportive spouse that wants to better themselves because they see you doing well and get inspired. That's what he told me

So glad you had a wonderful holiday and was able to deal with the heat and get loads of walking in, with weight loss too! How are your cats with you, now that you’re home? My older cat, George, used to sulk massively when we’d been away. He would sit on the end of the bed with his back to us, letting us know of his displeasure! I would take a day before he would consent to be stroked and then he would gradually forgive us. I hope your dose of Covid isn't too bad? There’s a lot of it about apparently and it’s hitting people differently. My son had migraines with his, but the 3 month old baby and his 4 year old sister both sailed through it! You just can’t tell, unfortunately. Loving the new profile pic - your cheekbones are looking sharp!