Lissa

That's a definite WOO HOO!!! I have several different flavors in the pantry and most of them still don't taste good at 5 months out.

IIRC, I was still on purees at 23 days out. I'd have to go dig out my food journal book to see for sure. On purees I was loving refried Beans, scrambled eggs (soft scrambled), pureed chili and pureed dinty moore beef stew. I also made Egg Face's Ricotta Bake and that was DIVINE! For serving sizes, I could eat about 2-3 oz of food at a sitting if I ate very slowly and really savored every bite. My very first pureed food was refried beans that I bought at Taco Bell. I was totally shocked when three small spoonfuls filled me up completely!

Pureed Potato soup should be okay at this stage, but it doesn't have much protein unless you add some to it. Maybe add a little protein powder to your portion, if you can tolerate that.

Tylenol liquid is what my doc recommends. I wouldn't take ibuprofen unless you call your doc first and ask about it. It might be okay, but better safe than sorry. I took the tylenol liquid for some post-op headaches, but I'm not big on any pain meds, so only did that a couple of times.

LOL, Nicole! Isn't that ironic? I wouldn't tell him about your WLS until things get more serious. For a casual date, all he needs to know is that you have a great personality and beautiful eyes. If things get more involved, then you might need to tell him a bit more. Good luck!!

Sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather!! I have used liquid tylenol the couple of times I've needed medicine. I've seen others post that they can take tylenol capsules, but I haven't tried that yet. If you do take cold meds, though, be sure to drink extra water/liquids to stay hydrated. Hope you feel better soon!

Congrats and good luck!!

I'm at 268, which is just over 80 pounds down from surgery. I feel fantastic and I am dropping pants sizes right now. The scale hasn't moved in a couple of weeks, but I'm still working my plan: water, protein, exercise. It WILL happen.

Gorgeous!! You were beautiful before, but the transformation is amazing!!

If you are just starting purees, 2-3 oz of food is probably going to make you full. If you puree the ground beef in some kind of liquid (tomato sauce maybe?), then it should be okay to eat. I really liked refried beans with some cheese in them during purees. I also pureed some Wendy's chili and some dinty moore beef stew to eat. A few teaspoons was more than enough of any of them.

I've been pretty lucky to have some great people in my life. My friends are awesome and very supportive. I guess that makes up for most of my family being just meh.

Yeah, Dorrie! It definitely was! That other one was that he hugged me after dinner and his arms went all the way around. I had to laugh when he said "Where'd you go!?!"

The salad dressing really helps with eating meat! I ordered some steak yesterday for Breakfast and it was WAY under-cooked when I got it. I brought it home and cooked it for lunch today. With a little vidalia onion dressing, it went down really well. Yummy! Had a funny with DH last evening. We had dinner together and I asked him to order a larger steak than he normally would so I could have a small piece of it. I ate my 2-3 oz of steak and the side order of broccoli that he hates and was completely full. He just sat there amazed that I could eat "so little" and be okay.

Whether it's an ok snack depends on how far post-op you are. Some here seem to eat it with no issues, while others (like me) don't do popcorn much or at all. I've had popcorn twice since surgery without issue. It's just not one of my favorite snacks. Of course, I'm only 5 months out, so I'm still working on getting in all my protein and veggies every day. I'd rather have cheese right now.

I've heard both ways, too. My surgeon told me that it's all but impossible to stretch it back to the size it was before surgery. However, he was careful to add that we CAN beat the sleeve, just like any other WLS. If we eat junk food and sliders, the sleeve will not keep us from doing that. It will just push it on through and we can and will gain weight. Since sweets were one of my problems before surgery, I have to keep an eye on that. I've posted before about avoiding crunchy cheetos. I just don't bring them home, so I'm not tempted to eat them. I can have pretzels or reglular chips here and not think about them, but the cheetos sit in the pantry screaming for me to eat them. So, they get to stay at the store.

You're doing great!! Sometimes it really does help just to write it all down, doesn't it? Good luck!! You are rocking that sleeve!!

good luck!! I'm sure you're so excited for it to finally be here!

I play word games on my phone a lot while I'm eating. Or, I post here. Take a bite, read a post or thread. Take a bite and chew well while writing down my own post. I still eat faster than my surgeon recommends, but I'm doing what I can. If I'm out with friends, I try to time my bites to take 1 bite to every 3 or 4 of theirs. Then I chew slowly and nod my head while listening to their conversation. Bonus, my friends feel that I'm more attentive to them because I'm listening better than I ever did!

Your surgeon didn't give you any guidelines? That stinks. Most of us here follow a modified diet right after surgery that starts us on Clear liquids for 1-2 weeks, then progresses to full liquids for 1-2 weeks, then to soft foods (mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, pureed or very soft meats) for 1-2 weeks before allowing us to move to a normal diet. Because of swelling, most people find they cannot eat more than a couple of ounces immediately post op, although our stomach capacity increases to around 1 cup as the stomach heals. You should definitely call your surgeon for guidelines. I'm not sure which surgery you had, a plication (IIRC) involves folding and stapling the stomach, correct? Most of us have had the majority of our stomach removed. I'm not sure what the differences in post-op diets would be, if any. Good luck!!

That's the way to do it!! I'm so happy for you!!

I agree with the above. It's worth the peace of mind to have it evaluated now rather than waiting.

Oh, Dorrie, LMAO here! Thank goodness my best friend has lost a significant amount of weight before and warned me about this one!! Yes, it's VERY common. I run into walls all the time. My theory is that I used to take up so much more space that it's taking my mind a while to adjust to being so much smaller now. I can literally trip walking across flat ground! I have a spring to my step now that makes me think I can just walk and do anything I want, then gravity and my own messed up balance will make me trip. I laugh at myself a lot because I think I look like a drunk some days.

My psyche evaluation doc said I was depressed, too. She also stated that I WOULD be an alcoholic after surgery. But, she also gave me clearance for it! LOL I actually see a therapist for food and other issues and she says that many obese people are depressed. She's not sure if the obesity causes depression or vice versa, but it's very common apparently. My personal opinion is that most people who seek out WLS would do well to spend time with a therapist. It's definitely enlightening to learn about the reasons behind overeating. I have a tendency to "eat" my problems, which is impossible now, of course. I wouldn't worry about being called back for a second visit. And, if you feel depressed, that IS something I think you should tell the evaluator. Heaven forbid that you have complications after surgery, but I think it requires mental strength to deal with them if they do happen.

I was also told that I could drive as soon as I was off the pain meds. As a matter of fact, I drove myself home the day after surgery. The hospital insisted that I be released to someone, so my nurse friend met me and took me to her house. All I wanted was to be home and in my own bed, so I drove home from there. I'm NOT recommending that to anyone else, but I had been off the pain meds for 24 hours by that point and I had no issues from driving about 30 minutes to get home.

Connie, Are your clothes getting bigger? Is your energy level improving? Are you more able to do things like workouts and walking? If those things are happening, you aren't truly stalled. I've been bouncing on the same few pounds for about a month, but I'm losing pants sizes and I see my body readjusting. Perhaps you should take your measurements and see if those numbers are changing. If you are meeting your daily Fluid and Protein goals and exercising, it's possible that your body is converting fat to muscle, which is AWESOME!!! Don't weigh every day, or even every week. Look for those NSVs and appreciate that your body is working hard with the good things you are giving it. In my opinion, 127 pounds in 9 months is PHENOMENAL!!! You have really rocked that sleeve!! Don't get depressed and don't give up. The best is yet to come!