meggiep

HOORAY for my RV sleeve sistuh!!!! Sounds like you are on the road to normal life! Wow! Coincidentally- yesterday was my four weeks too ;-P Though I am not on soft foods I pureed two ounces of costco rotisserie chicken salad yesterday and (after pulling out the celery) ate it in total rapture! I was a little worried as I know chicken can be a problem but not only did it becoe the new"best thing I ever ate " but it went down beautifully! It is 14 grams of Protein for two ounces too- and zero carbs! It felt good to add another food since I fell into a rut last week eating the same things for five days straight because I knew I would tolerate it and it added up right. I want to avoid doing that and keep trying new things. Next up? A veggie, and a fruit. I actually am wanting to have a higher calorie day for mixing it up since I seem to end up between 580-660 calories day after day and I don't want to fall into starvation mode. I did lose four pounds last week and this week has been a bit frustrating- for three days straight I have lost 0.2 pounds! Well- I wont really complain since if I lose .2 a day for ten days that will still be two pounds so I guess as long as it goes down! This also makes me thing upping the calories for a day or two might help but it is HARD to do! I wait 2-3 hours between "meals" and then with waiting after to drink...well fitting in an extra something is not that easy! I am really proud that I am exercising twice most days- 45 minutes of walking and an hour of Water aerobics. That also can have caused the slowdown again if I am making muscles. I need to remember it is a journey, not a race! Now where is Michelle? We need to hear about her one month!

That is really good to know. I will ask my GP about that and get checked again. I certainly don't want that interfering with my weight loss!

I am so sorry someone small and mean hurt you in this way and congratulations on battling through! My journey was similar- every step of the way I hit another roadblock and had to battle and battle. Each one had the potential of delaying my a month or more- even up to the week before when I had a cold on Tuesday, six days before my surgery date, and they wanted to cancel because of the inconvenience of waiting until closer to the date to see if I got well- I had to battle one last time to have them see ME- the person and not the inconvenience, the person who had battled and battled to get this surgery. And I did get it- on May 9th. And I will keep you in my prayers as you wait to hear about the appeal. Something tells me you will prevail as you are a strong fighter! Good luck!

I actually think you would be better served by doing it separately. I really needed my husband when I got home- he made my Protein drinks and would appear in the morning with my first drink of the day, a 32 ounce bottle of Water and 16 ounce bottle of Propel on ice, and a cup of 12 oz of tea. He was my angel and unless someone would actually be with you all day I can't see you both being in recovery at the same time. UNLESS you are both in great shape other than your weight and can somehow know neither of you will have a hard time of it. I was very very tired and low energy, especially the first week when my carbs were way too low. I could not have been doing much. For example, I am not allowed to lift more than 5 pounds so even picking laptop up is something I could not do, not to mention our 20 pound dog! No matter what your mind knows going in to it, your body is taken by surprise. There is no way of knowing how you will respond to it but you need to remember this is MAJOR surgery- stomach surgery, If it helps, I have a vlog (link in my sig) and if you look at all my videos and start with the one on surgery day and then the first week or two after you might get a sense of how it can be. I know some people have zero problems and are bouncing around immediately- but some people do not have that experience. I think each of you should have your chance to have the other one help you- though as I said if your family members can be there to care for you then go for it! I would wait 3-4 weeks in between if not. Ladies first? ;-P

Steven the honeymoon period is the entire maximized weight loss period- usually 6 months to sometimes as long as 9 months- and it is recommended that you try to follow all the principles (Protein, low carbs, fluids, Vitamins (you and I both apparently have trouble with this! ;-P) and exercise ) during this period to take full advantage of this easier to lose time before it becomes harder to lose. You have lost a LOT in the first month- but I doubt you will lose that much this month- that is unlikely. Your body may pull in and you may have a "stall" though if you read the article about the chemistry of stalls I think I have posted about five different place, including my week 9 post op video, it makes sense as your body needs to build another glycogen store and it pulls Water in to help. But listen, if you have read about some of the people who have lost , say, 10 pounds total in three months- well I wouldn't complain about worrying you will lose another 35! For real? Tell me when you have a real problem! ;-P xoxo

Yipes! Ok- all the questions- do you count carbs? I have come to see that is really important in maximizing weight loss. Do you get your Protein, Water, and exercise? I know we get about 6-9 months of maximum weight loss period and I would love to help you identify what might be going wrong. I mean, your stomach is tiny!!!!! I have been a slow loser all my life. My sisters remember me dieting years and years ago eating 2 yogurts a day and not losing anything- even gaining. However, I have taken this drastic step and I am bound and determined to make it work. I am going to count carbs if it kills me ;-P I have been both walking 45 minutes to an hour a day AND water walking at night. I almost feel like I have a second job doing my nutrition, water, etc. I was wanting to find another way besides having such low carbs because lets face it- it is hard! But I have been doing a lot of reading, starting with the article that has been posted here quite a few times about the chemistry of stalls, and also researching ketosis and the chemistry of weightloss with low carbs. So I hate to always harp on that but I have really come to believe that doing so is the way. The other thing is that odd thing about making sure your calories are not too low so that you don't start conserving everything for survival! Oh it is all so frustrating and I do not want to imply anything as you may be doing all this but my heart just goes out to you and I hug you cyber hug because you must be very frustrated!

I thought caffeine would be the hardest but it kind of naturally happened while I was on my pre-op diet. I think the hardest thing has been not drinking a sip or 2 while I eat and for 30 minutes after. I do it, but I don't like it! The hardest habit to acquire is my Vitamins. I am terrible about it! For one thing I am not crazy about the ones I purchased- liked them before surgery and now the taste of the chewable makes me a little ill. I think I will go for some gummies after I use these up. I haven't even started my calcium! I have chewables that are like tootsie rolls and I can't have them yet and have been apathetic about getting any others. I am SUCH a complier but so bad about this! Shame meggie, shame!

I love fatsecret.com as well- I use it on computer, phone, and iPad! I also use sparkpeople to compute the nutritional value of recipes.

Oh I so agree! First of all HOORAY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!! I also sympathize about your husband - I don;t know what I would do if my husband was morbidly obese and would not accompany me on this journey. I think you two might need some counseling about this because there is no way you should have to watch him eat himself to an early death. This whole thing of thinking WLS is the easy way out just burns me! This month has been extremely difficult for me and I will be working really hard to lose the weight, regardless of how big my stomach is.

Congrats on the weight loss and so sorry about the asparagus debacle! Onederland is ONEDERFUL!!!!

Do you exercise? That is another important component to keep your metabolism humming.

This is where the different plans we are all given get a bit frustrating! I am not allowed more than 1T of applesauce out of my 4T at each meal because it is lumped int with potato etc. as pure carb. All fruit is handled that way, though I get a little more leeway with vegetables I am supposed to have at least 2T Protein at every meal and if I choose to add another food- either 2T pureed vegies or 1T veg and 1T pureed fruit. Since I think you get 6T (that is a fantasy for me!!!) I think you should be able to get the calories to boost your fat burning. I truly think your body is in starvation mode! I have been reading a lot about glycogen, and about ketosis and I am really starting to understand the optimum approach to this. I want YOU to have great results! Meanwhile I feel like I have another fulltime job keeping track of fluids, protein, and carbs. ARGHHHHHH!!!!!

I agree- there is no way I could get my 80 grams right now with purees and no drinks. I am pleased to use only one drink- my morning "bomb" ;-P with decaf and milk and ice. Sometimes I augment with an unjury chicken Soup in the afternoon. However since 1-4 -Many gets five meals a day I think getting more than 500 calories should be possible. I pureed two ounces of costco rotisserie chicken salad today for 12 grams protein and 120 calories. She is able to eat 3 ounces- so I think it should be possible to get up to 200 calories per meal if you are motivated to do it. I myself am trying to bump up a bit today because I have had too many 500-600 days in a row so I need to surprise the old bod! I always appreciate your wisdom Irene- coming from being a long way out it is a treasure to us just starting out! xoxo

For some reason I thought you said the 500 was prescribed- totally got that wrong! Actually I am not that lucky- a 1/4 cup (2 ounces) is my absolute max! I do drink a Protein drink every morning though to get the protein up- no way could I at this point get it from my food. I am running about 600 calories with the 1/4 cups and the Protein Drink so every other day or so I add a sugar free pudding cup to bring up my calories and to bring up my carbs from 10! I am loathe to go into starvation mode. I also do two exercise sessions on five days a week- walking an hour in the afternoon, and Water walk for an hour in the evening. I am so motivated to put my "slow loser" days behind me! I have lost 16 pounds since my surgery 4 weeks ago, and 18 on my pre-op before. I already had an 8 day span with no loss. I am constantly scared I will be going in to another one. One thing to do is stay with full fat things like cheese, mayo, etc. With our limited calories we are unlikely to get too much fat and we need fat for this metabolism system to work. Also- when you say packaged food- do you mean packaged prepared food? Could it be high in sodium that makes you keep fluids in? I would also definitely get Protein drinks until you can get your protein from food because the combo of lower protein than recommended and such low calories can lead to you burning muscle instead of fat. I wish we didn't have to spend so much freaking time thinking about all this. For example, I am so behind on my water today just because I forgot for a while. Sigh. I keep posting because Mama Meggie sees a problem and wants so to solve it! Hope I am not annoying you.

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It is a little soon to tell (yep we are now two meggies with (soon) sleeves, husbands named Michael, AND hypothyroidism!) but I lost 18 pounds on my two week liquid diet, and have lost 16 in the four weeks since surgery. I am thrilled with it as I too have always lost weight very slowly in the past- but I think I never really got how important the carb factor was and have stuck to that firmly since day one of my pre-op. I think that as long as we keep our levels good we will be ok- jmo. (ps you aren't by any chance left handed? now that might almost be eerie...)

I just thought of something- do you exercise? That is supposed to be key. I have been walking like a madwoman every day since I finally got some energy back at week 2, and last week added an hour of water walking five days a week as well.

Did you take your measurements at the start ? I didn't and I wish I did. I have never been a measurement person and so scoffed at the idea...and now I know for the times like yours I would love to have that to fall back on and reassure myself. I still am somewhat flummoxed by the fact that you have lost 47 pounds and can't see it! I have only lost 35 and my clothes are all so loose- looser than I would expect at this weight and that I ascribe to the magic of low carb and high Protein. Are you sure you aren't just suffering from that weird body dysmorphia we seem to get while losing so much weight? Tell us more about how it has been going... I don't know but here is a giant hug anyway!

Hey Kara! Seems like I can't help but give you support everywhere ;-P You should also chck out a thread I started in Post Op (which is where you belong now!) comparing people who do pre-op diets and those who do not. I don't want you to be upset if you lose a bit slowly at first, or hit a semi stall sooner- For example, I lost 18 pounds on my two week pre-op, so then lost 12 my first two weeks after and NOTHING for a week starting at two weeks, rather than the oft mentioned three weeks. However, I started losing again this week- am close to 5 pounds lost this week. Just remember everyone is different and everyone is normal! I have great faith you will be a stellar sleeve girl because you faithfully follow the diets you elect to do. This diet will be different- because it is the last one, the one that will work like no other, and the one that leaves you with a tool to keep it off. Are you drinking your Protein drinks yet? xoxo

OH YUMMMMMMMMM!!!! I think I get that after next week....I see my dietician Thursday and will get more of an idea what happens when. I am practically in heaven even thinking about your dinner.

I was thinking about something Crosswind said recently wondering if the pre-op diet, the two weeks of liquids or something similar has an affect on your post-op weight loss. I guess it stands to reason it would- to lose a large amount pre-op could send you in to your stall sooner, etc. SO I thought it would be fun to talk about our stats- if we did a pre-op, what it was, and what our first month or so looked like. I will start- I did two weeks of liquids pre-op . I lost 18 pounds on that. Post-op I lost 12 pounds in the first two weeks- then on day 15 I hit my first stall of 8 days . This week I have lost 3 pounds, breaking the stall. It seems likely my rapid weight loss in those two weeks pre-op may have brought that stall on sooner... Certainly I am not complaining, I still am now at 33 pounds lost and hopefully that stall was it for at least a few weeks. How about you? Pre-op or not? How bout post-op?

Oh now I am craving them! Oh well....sometimes I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in two or three weeks! I guess the only thing I would caution is if you do decided to count carbs bread and crackers will add to that without adding much else! As well as sometimes triggering carb craving- like the mental one I am having right now for crispy flatbread without even having it ! Love right back at you!

OK now I really am jealous- will spring ever come to us here in No CA? Cold and rainy all weekend- it is JUNE! Jeez! We have had a few warm days in the last three months, truly, It is awful. Wow- everything is so different with our plans! I don't thin I am allowed to even consider 1/2 cup until my capacty stretches. I will have to reveiew everything, In any case I know it wont fit in there because I reach my limit every single time with 1/4. I think my doctor likes using a small bougie but right now it seems kind of mean! xoxo

Are you sure it is hunger and not just longing? ;-P I certainly have that- when I see food on TV or smell cooking. But my hunger is gone. Sometimes excess acid can feel like hunger- are you taking an acid inhibitor of any kind? With my 2 week pre-op and three weeks of post-op liquids I can certainly sympathize ! When I finally got to have mushies on Monday my first scrambled egg tasted like manna from heaven! I tell myself this is a short time in a long life and is worth it to let your stomach heal properly!

BTW Michelle- huge hugs! I am totally emotional - my husband calls it "on edge". You are not alone! The article I posted about stalls is really enlightening about the chemistry of weight loss, period- and I also read about ketosis online last night and it rally made sense. I had eight days at the same weight from day 13 to day 22. It was ghastly! Now this week I am almost at 5 pounds lost- so the article really makes sense to me. I also put the link on one of my vids- I think it was vid #9. xoxo