Katie713

Welcome Julie...hey I see you are a shorty like me...I'm barely 5 feet tall, and I know with our body types, being heavy sits differently that with our tall counterparts. You are doing fantastic...42 pounds down already! How are you feeling since you had the surgery?

Oh yeah....I remember those days...a two item with chow mein , perhaps a side of spring rolls... No problem! Thank heaven's those days are OVER!!!!

You go girl !!!

It took me a few days for that gas pressure to be released. Walking helped ALOT. Most of that is from the surgery itself and the pressurized gas used to inflate your abdomen while the procedure takes place. It has a weird way of giving you pain where you would least expect it after surgery, but it does dissapate (the old fashioned way - heh heh)!!

If you don't mind me asking what are your daily totals looking like, as far as calories/protein/carbs and Fluid intake? How much are you consuming at a sitting and are you in the puree/mushy stage? You should be able to eat about 4 ounces and that would give you a good feeling of fullness. If you are eating 2 oz, then you probably ARE hungry. Are you taking a PPI like Prilosec? Sometimes acid in the stomach can make you feel hungry but it's not real hunger. I eat every few hours, but I can't eat much...still...if I am hungry I eat. A snack might be a piece of cheese or nuts...at 3 weeks out, maybe a little cottage cheese with fruit might help. Are you drinking shakes?

Going to Panda Express was one of my favorite place to eat pre-op when I was restricted to 1200 calories. The Kobari beef was 210 calories and steamed veggies 70. I could have the Panda Bowl with the veggies on the bottom and the Kobari beef on top....so good. Post op - I did go at about 8 weeks out and I was only able to eat about 1/2 of a Mandarin chicken side order, but no veggies. I will probably try again to see if I can try one of the Entrees you mentioned and bring the leftovers home for another meal.

allnewme....you are welcome...I know it is hard to figure out "how to do it" - it seems so daunting. Everyone is different of course so getting your fluids and protein like I was able to was great....I do realize some people have issues and cannot drink enough to make their numbers, and my NUT said do the best you can and that hydration is the most important thing. Sometimes swelling after surgery really limits what you can consume...just try your best...

Dar1983....good for you.. I have found just like dieting pre-op for months that it helps to have all your supplies and allowable foods available at home so you don't end up eating something off plan - or not getting your protein or nutrients. I bring my breakfast and lunch almost every day to work too. I am self contained!!

Kat I answered above to Joni - I haven't seen Power Crunch at Walmart. My Rite Aid has a small supply where they have all the protein powders and stuff. I heard Trader Joe's has them, and I know you can purchase a 12-pack from amazon. I may do that to save some money and have them delivered to my door step. Keeping up the protein is so paramount and I am super tired of the shakes, but I do drink one per day anyway since it is hard for me to eat enough protein thru my meals to bring myself up to around 65-70 grams daily.

Shelly - welcome to our 50's group! Tell us a little more about YOU. When are you scheduled to have surgery? Are you on a pre-op diet at this time? You will find some pretty cool folks in this group and we are here to help if you need some advice or to cheer you on!

Joni - One of my other friends from this board recommended them to me. They are fantastic. I have to limit myself to one a day....so I don't go overboard as they are 200 calories! I love all the flavors too...remind me of those wafer cookies from my childhood!! The Atkins bars are good - the daybreak bars are great - sometimes I have a cranberry almond one for breakfast, sooo good and 150 calories and 10 grams of protein and only 2 net carbs. The peanut butter fudge crisp day break bars are also great, peanut butter cup flavor with the same counts as above and 8 grams of fiber. I get them cheap at Walmart....the Power Crunch bars are harder to find, Rite Aid has them in limited supply and I heart Trader Joe's carries them.

Karen...you don't have to "cheat" sweetheart. You can now have some refried Beans with melted cheese and sour cream for your pureed stage which moves right into mushy consistency. Skip the rice as it can expand in your stomach. Enjoy slowly reintroducing solids into your diet. I know the liquid stage was hard...but you ready to move forward. I know Kaiser gives you tons of paperwork and guidelines on what your diet should look like. Use those guidelines to help you move forward. You can have some hot Cereal for Breakfast now - perhaps only 2-4 ounces You can have beans, bean Soups, chili, etc as long as it is smooth/or pureed You can enjoy yogurt and sugar free pudding Believe me you won't be able to eat that much...what you are experiencing is head hunger...and you can move through that .. but you have to go ahead and give it a try!!

Joni has it right. You just have to have your liquids available and at your side at all times and sip, sip, sip. I would drink 1 and 1/2 bottles of Isopure each day and that took care of 60 grams of protein and 30 ounces of clear fluid. My intake was something like this.... Morning - first thing I would take my PPI with a cup of warm tea (8 oz) this would take me about 45 minutes do drink slowly Breakfast - I would put about 2/3 of a bottle of Isopure (orange ice) in a big plastic cup with ice and sip all morning. That would take care of about 16-20 oz of liquid as the ice melts and gives more liquid and 30 grams of protein. I would take my vitamins with this meal. Lunch - 1 cup (8 oz) of either chicken or beef broth sipped with a spoon (4 grams protein) All afternoon - Another 2/3 of a bottle of Isopure in the big cup with ice for 16-20 oz of liquid and 30 grams of protein. Dinner - 1 cup (8 oz) of either chicken or beef broth sipped with a spoon (4 grams protein) Evening - Iced green tea, SF jello With this I was getting over 64 oz of liquid and 68 grams of protein. It quickly changes when you move to full liquids - you are adding things like thinned out cereal and spacing clear liquids with full liquids/protein shakes/creamy soups, etc. It takes work to get everything in so tracking was super important for me to make sure...the same applies at 3 months out. I have to space out liquids because of the timing with solid foods and get all my protein. I can't stand Isopure now...and I am doing one protein shake (Pure protein in frosty chocolate) and 1 protein bar, usually Atkins or Power crunch - as an afternoon snack.

I am 3 months out and have my coffee every morning just like I used to. It doesn't bother my new little stomach at all. I had given up soda a long time ago and so I don't miss it at all. There are two main things that come in to play from my viewpoint. You have to face your feelings about food and examine the role it plays in your life. Alot of us have had very emotional feelings letting our good friend (food) go...or our addictive patterns of overeating. Obviously we all still have to eat and in the beginning there are challenges, but time flew by for me, and before I knew it I was trying different foods to see what and how much I could tolerate and also logging my nutritional info so that I am getting my liquids/proteins/calories under control so that I continue to lose, but maintain my nutritional health. I feel great, better every day. Some foods still give me a little trouble, so I eat what goes down easy. I spend more time with friends and not always going out to eat! If we do go out to eat, I bring home my doggy bag...but I enjoy every little morsel I do eat! Good luck on your journey!

Just have an open mind, you can change your perspective by putting yourself in his shoes because I'm sure most of us have at one time hated being judged by looks alone. Just have some fun, see how it goes.

We are so on the same page. I was doing the same thing for awhile, but eventually, I had to let the biggest stuff go...I went from a 3X or 4X down to an 18 or a XL this year....I am not spending alot of money on new stuff yet, I still have a ways to go but I did buy some summer tops and found some smaller pants and capris I had stashed from my skinnier days...got a pedicure and a haircut, a new handbag...hey I'm a whole new ME!

vhoke....good luck with everything. Walk as soon as they allow you to after surgery, it really helps is you have gas pains. Don't try and push yourself once you get home, allow plenty of time for rest so that you heal, and try your best to stay hydrated and get your protein in. Did you get Isopure, sugar free drinks and broth for your first few days post op?

It's so hard, we get tied to that scale, I mean that's why we did this surgery, right? It took awhile for that scale to move for me and I was reading about everyone else losing tons of weight it seemed....but we all heal differently...and when I stopped worrying, the weight started dropping off... I am a slow loser, but slow and steady and I feel great 3 months out. I can eat all kinds of things in small amounts, and I no longer doubt this was the best thing I ever did for myself. Have faith girl !!

Intellectually you must know that if you aren't eating anything you are not REALLY gaining weight. You've had an injury to a major organ, and when we have injury - our bodies send out plenty of fluid in the healing process, hence swelling and water retention. Once the inflammation subsides, the fluid will be released and you will see that scale moving to the left. I know this is frustrating...but you need more time to recover before you get into normal body rythms. Don't let it get you down!

Thinned out hot cereals were listed on my full liquid diet as long as the consistency is watered down. It really helped me get through the liquids stage, and as I moved to pureed, I just cut down on the water and had the regular version of hot cereal. I made it with water and then thinned it out with non-fat lactaid milk, added some sweet and low and maybe cinnamon...yum!

I am a slow loser and I am actually glad that my body is changing gradually. I feel strong and healthy and I know I look better, everyone tells me that I do as well. I am not fishing for compliments, but they are coming. I take my Vitamins, get my Protein in which really helps with hair loss and muscle tone. I exercise and drink, drink, drink all day long keeping hydrated. I am really happy I went through this...I am lighter on my feet and weigh less than I have in decades!

I'm an L.A. girl - born and raised in So Cal....but I love Arizona...so beautiful. Glad you are doing well since surgery and getting your diabetes under control. I'm sure you will have a much better outcome with your sleeve. The restriction is sooooo great. I feel full easily and it keeps me in check.

Going to open house at my grandson's school and having the first graders comment on how FAT I was. You know how it is, they say it like they see it. Very embarrasing!!!

Thanks for sharing !!

I had the same feeling in the pre-op period when I was required to lost 10% before being approved for surgery. I used to look forward to going home for a nice big meal after work, and I hate to say it, but it's true, parking myself on the sofa for a long night of tv. I always had active weekends, but my regular weekday evenings were so comforting and it felt so good after a great meal. When I would feel stressed out, I always knew eating would make me feel better and it did. I wanted this surgery, and so I had to learn to let the feelings pass if I was going to be successful losing the weight. By letting the feelings pass I mean working through our craving periods, and recognizing that the craving will pass if you just ride it out. Sometimes it only takes minutes, sometimes a bit longer, but you have to harness the power of your own mind to get through it. We can all survive a craving and we can all find other things to engage our lives so that we begin to feel happiness from other pursuits. I'm 3 months out from surgery and I am doing better with my relationship with food. It doesn't have a hold on me the way it did. Eating is sometimes a chore, but there are times it is still delightful. I am much more active now, and sitting on the couch watching tv doesn't seem quite as important as it once did. I often go to the gym after work or go swimming, then have a liesurely, late dinner. I am generally satiated enough that I don't crave a sweet in the evening, but if I do, I always have either a blue bunny sugar free frozen treat (70 cal) or maybe a Weight Watchers frozen treat.