December Surgery Thread - we rock!

[Road_to_skinny 0]

@@naan

There are LOADS of recipes and ideas on pinterest. Central Market or Trader Joes have some great Soups - butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, Tomato, etc.

Is it difficult to get Water in because you forget or don't like the taste or is it that your tummy feels full? I found these little one ounce collapsible cups that I hooked to my water bottle so I was certain it would never be too much at one time. I drink 1 every 15 minutes. Some suggestions for flavor - boil Water with cinnamon sticks until it is a light brown color then cool down and pour into a cleaned out water or milk jug and stick it in the fridge. This makes it sweet without adding calories, sugar, or artificial sweeteners. It has been my favorite way to drink water for years. Powerade makes a pretty good sugar free zero calorie sports drink. It has electrolytes in it. At least where I live, Racetrack gas stations are having a sale buy a core power shake and get a free Powerade. I like the core power strawberry banana light - 150 calories, 20g Protein, 11 g sugar. It is a bit higher sugar, but it is a fantastic tasting ready made so I use it as a treat or when I am on the run but this way I get free Gatorade.

You can blend Protein powder into greek yogurt and then freeze it in mini ice cube trays for a high Protein low sugar frozen treat or then use them to make cold shakes.

My MIL swears by the chicken apple baby food for the pureed stage, but I couldn't do the baby foods. If you find you want to puree meats for the protein - use sauces like Pasta sauce or low carb BBQ Sauce to vary the flavors.

I tried to schedule out of my food for the day the night before. I would make changes as needed for when my tummy wasn't up to par or when I ended up on the go. I spent Christmas week on puree and full liquid stage - planned around my family time. I made lasagna for Christmas for everyone else, then put a little cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasonings into tomato Soup and pureed it.

I hope some of these help. I have found this thread so useful since I started my whirlwind journey earlier this month. I normally spend months planning out big decisions and food choices and the universe felt differently.

Cheers!

[TexasCurves 6]

Apparently without realizing it, I created two profiles, so road_to_skinny is me. Whoops!

[naan 14]

Thanks

[shiela 0]

Hi Naan, I have not started on Vitamins yet, I think I do that when dr says I can go to purée foods! I am not a great one to ask for receives yet....I am intolerant to dairy and soy, I have challenges with Protein intake. But egg protein is working so far? But can't seem to get much in! About an ounce in a half every 45 min on any fluid! But I an feeling great today so yay!

[shiela 0]

Road to skinny.. Thanks for the ideas..they r great! Can't wait to get to the next stage!

[tfarr 270]

Hi Guys!

I had surgery December 2. My pre-op diet weight 244 my SW 219 CW is 205.

I've been an ole Chunky Monkey since I was a wee lass. Seriously, since about 10.

Issues throughout my whole life with weight. People saying " you have such a beautiful face" gotta love those comments Huh?

I have 2 children 3.5 and 2 yrs old, their dad my fiancé. Maybe this year I'll get around to planning some sort of wedding, I'm the last girl ( as far as grandchildren go) on either side to get married. Huge family, big thing for the families. How to do that on a skimpy budget? Elvis anyone?

[fat2fitva 5]

I had my surgery 12/15, I've lost 17 pounds so far. So...I am not sure if anyone else is having this problem but food tastes good to me for about a minute and then the thought of it makes me nauseous. I made eggs, refried Beans, a little cheese, and salsa on day one and it was delicious. Had it one more time and could hardly stomach it. Couldn't wait to make baked ricotta, was delicious for one serving, now it's completely disguisting to me. Strong smells are getting to me. The idea of pureed meat is a total turn off to me. I am on the soft food diet for another week and a half. Any meal ideas?

[dorathy 2]

Hello my name is Dorathy. My surgery date was dec 3. My surgery actually went really well. My starting weight was 330 lb my surgery weight was 316 and my current weight is 265 so so far so good 50lbs as of today. Today is exactly one month since my surgery. Some issues im having is Water and Protein intake and the amount of food I can eat. I'm in stage two on foods but actually prefer eating Soups because I had a couple cases of dumping syndrome I think it was that. Either way I got sick with what I ate. Is anyone else having issues? I guess I'm just confused as to what I can eat I go back to work tomorrow and I'm not sure what to even take to eat. Some advice would be great!

[naan 14]

I am 16 days post op. I just had poached egg minced with a bit of cream cheese. I feel so sick, I keep walking and walking is it too soon to have poached egg? May be I ate it too fast? It took me 10 min

[dorathy 2]

My dr told me I had to be on Clear Liquids for 21 days. It my be your tummy is just not ready for something that heavy. I would ask your nutritionists or dr. I stuck to clear broth, Jello, crystal light and Water Protein Shakes and sugar free popsicles. I'm a month out now and barely able to eat mushy food. So I resorted back to Soups.

[Mommabird 367]

At 7 days post-op, I was allowed eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, fat free refried pinto or black Beans and shredded low fat cheese. At 14 days post-op, I was allowed to add chicken, turkey, fish and soy products. It amazes me how much the post-op diet varies from practice to practice. I'm not allowed Soups at all. No veggies until 6 weeks post-op, no fruit until 3 months. No beef, pork or starchy carbs for 6 months!

[thickness213 9]

Hello all my name is Robin my sw was 347 my before surgery weight was 341 and my cw is 333.my surgery date was December 30th I'm 4 days post opp . Not really hungry but very tired.

[annebqui 21]

Hello everyone,

My name is Anne. My surgery was on December 16th. I had a gastric bypass and the doc also fixed a hernia he found while he was in there. I had incredible pain in the hospital where the morphine didn't do anything, and they gave me something called liquid tylenol on top of the morphine. That really made a difference. I only stayed in the hospital one day. I had tremendous pain the first two days at home and then things rapidly improved. I was only on pain meds for less than a week.

My biggest issue was that until yesterday I couldn't stand the taste of any liquid except for milk. Water tasted horrible and no amount of flavorings helped. All of a sudden yesterday everything went back to normal and Water tastes ok now. Thanks goodness. The other problem that I'm having is with Constipation. It is a constant battle. Mostly I've spent up until now just kind of out of it while my body adjusted to the low calories.

I started at 250 and am down to 228 today. Like some others have noted, I don't seem to be losing weight in the belly area. Hopefully that will change soon. I've been trying to get out and walk every day. I'm working on building up a little more each day.

I don't really crave any food, with the exception of really wanting something crunchy. I'd love to eat a vegetable that was not mush.

I start work on Monday, and I'm hoping I can make it through a day.

Edited January 4, 2015 by annebqui

[Irishclan 0]

Hi! I had my surgery on December 8, 2014. My starting weight was 258 lbs and at my 2 week visit I was at 241 lbs. On Tuesday I'll weigh myself and see were am at.

I really haven't started to workout yet, no energy yet. Am going to start to walk tomorrow and see how far I can go. Like some I'm finding getting enough liquids is very hard. Worried about going back to work on the 12th and how am I going to get enough liquids in when am always on the go. Thinking about getting a watch with a timer to go off every 15 minutes to remind me to stop and drink.

So far am now lactose intolerant, which I wasn't before. I was a big milk fan. I had a bad reaction to cottage cheese but willing to try yogurt and cheese to see if I can tolerate them. I was told by the Dr. to look for lactaid free yogurt and cheese. Anybody having this issue too?

[annebqui 21]

Hello fellow December Surgery people!

It has been a month since I've had my surgery. How is everyone else feeling?

On the plus side:

• I've lost just shy of 30 lbs in a month. (High of 250, down to 222 now.) I've lost a lot in my face, less in the belly and boobs (I could use some loss there.) I really notice in bed at night that I can breathe more easily.
• I'm having no pain.
• I've mostly gotten the Constipation under control. This was after considerable pain, enemas and more.
• I'm walking every day, though in reading on this forum how much exercise people are getting I feel like a slug. Right now I'm getting about 3/4 of a mile before exhaustion kicks in.
• After 3 weeks, things started tasting a little more normal. Before then, every liquid tasted horrible.
• I don't really have any cravings, for the most part. Though I saw a commercial on tv the other day with a bread roll and wished I could have one. I can even watch the food tv channels, appreciate the food and not desire it. And I don't really feel hungry at all.
• I'm taking my Vitamins every day.
• I went back to work after three weeks, though to be fair I work from home which makes it much easier.

There are still things that I'm struggling with:

• I cannot tolerate Protein shakes. They make me nauseous. So I struggle to get in enough Protein daily. I'm maxing each meal with protein, which means I'm not really getting any veggies and I really miss veggies. I have no idea when I'll be able to get in enough protein.
• I really struggle with any artificial sweeteners, particularly in drinks. Water finally tastes normal, and milk is ok, but I'm awfully bored with them, and feel I'm not getting enough liquid each day.
• I find it hard to not drink while I'm eating. A few times I've done it and then realized that I should not have. I also find the sipping part difficult. It takes so long to get the liquid in!
• I feel tired still every day. Really tired. I'm sure that this is due largely to the struggle of getting in protein and liquid each day.

How are the rest of you doing?