NancyJerry

I think the smell has to do with Ketosis. That's what I was told. It goes hand in hand with the bad breath and funny feeling and looking tongue!

Wow! It's crazy to think of all of us in this same boat. I am 2 weeks out as of tomorrow and now that I've gone through it and am making sure I take advantage of this gift -the people around me appear much more accepting. We'll see. Today is my first day back at work! Good luck everyone!

This is my diet, too for 2 full weeks post surgery. I get to graduate to soft foods (I call it the gruel stage) on Wednesday of next week. And I will follow that stage for 6 weeks. It takes 4-6 weeks to change a behavior. I'm looking at this time as an opportunity to REALLY think about what is important to put in my mouth. If I get 50-60 grams of protein and 64 ounces of water in me per day, I very rarely feel hungry. Good luck!

EAS!!! This is what I use too! Love them. My husband likes them too! I get mine at Sams Club.

There is such a wealth of good advice here. Good luck with whatever decision you make!

it's amazing how long I can "chew" on a bite of Jello! LOL

I NEVER get over needing my mom when I am in any amount of pain (even a cold), let alone a life altering surgery. How wonderful for you that she spent a week with you. I think it's perfectly natural to have a variety of emotions - even sad ones. We've spent such a large amount of our lives abusing our bodies and now we need to face the fact that we've gone to such drastic measures to repair ourselves! This is a gift. Live, laugh, and mourn. Lots of healing needs to take place not just from our surgical scars. Hold your head up, keep healing and believing!

From the point of 10 days before my surgery and even now 10 days after, my dietician gave a 4 cup/day guideline of milk allowance. I use an excellent, pre-mix Protein drink called EAS - Carb control. I get it at Sams Club by the case for around $30. 17 grams of Carbs and less than 1 sugar. Good luck to you next week!!

I'm a 3/27 sleeved too! Congrats to all of you, well on your way!! I have found that if I get all 64oz of water and 50 oz of protein I am not hungary very often. I find myself more desiring food than hungry for it. Easter should be interesting! Good luk to us all!

Hi! We are neighbors of the surgery world. I had mine one day after you. Sounds like you are off to a good start. I've found tons of great info here but I think the most important was the thread about Ketosis. That is something I wasn't quite prepared for-yuck. Although worth it at the same time. Aviva - you asked about weight loss.....at 10 days post surgery I am down almost 20 pounds! I've been walking about a mile per day and today I'm going for my second bike ride. Moving and exercising slowly (very non-intensive and not weight bearing) has gone a long way toward lifting my spirits! Hang in there! Nancy

Thank you all for your support! :-)

Congratulations, what an inspirational story! No doubt with your determination, you'll reach your goal before you know it!

Hi, my name is Nancy and I think my journey started about 20 years ago. My childhood and teen years were filled with a very appropriately-sized young lady that thought she could eat anything and not gain weight. Well I was wrong! And so wrong because when I did start gaining weight I tried every possible, unhealthy option I could to lose weight. The older I got the wiser my weight loss choices, but by then my body had found a rhythm of dropping 25 and gaining 35. Ugh! A few years ago I started going to my doctor regularly. I had prescription appetite suppressants and I tried hard to get the workouts in, but by this time I had done enough damage to my body and had been carrying excess weight for such an extended period of time, my skeleton rejected everything my head and heart truly wanted to do. Bike riding seemed to be the only thing my body would allow without too much pain, but it wasn't enough. Bariatric surgery used to be a non-option unless you were at least 100 pounds over weight. I never did fall into that category, I usually hovered around 80 pounds overweight. But then this year I found out there are other ways that someone like me can qualify (high cholesterol) and BMI, arthritis, swelling, GERD, etc. (I hit about 4 more categories as well)! So I jumped through the hoops and had my surgery on March 27, 2012!!!! One of the hardest parts of my journey, so far, is being judged. I'm judged by people that think I'm taking the easy way out and should just eat less and exercise more; and I've been judged by people that are significantly heavier than I am questioning why or how I should qualify. The bottom line is I did qualify and I am deserving of this opportunity- this is my gift to myself! So here I am! Eleven days post surgery and feeling like a million bucks! Happy losing Everyone!! I'm looking forward to meeting people and sharing in this journey!