CantBelieve_IdidIit!

Hi Parris, I did have pain the first hours after surgery that required morphine pump however, I would say it was Not anything like my c-sections (3) It was more like aching and abit of stinging pain the next few days. Try to stay calm & I hope you bounce right back with very little pain! x

At two weeks out my NUT was not worried about me getting in all my Protein. I was lucky if I got in 20-30 grams a day at two weeks. It's more important to keep up your Fluid intake and get in protein when you can. As you get farther out, you'll be able to add more and more protein in, especially with foods. I think it took me almost two months before I was getting in 60 grams of protein. Now, at three months out, I'm getting in 60-80 grams a day because you can eat more things heavier in protein like chicken, tuna, meats, cheeses, yogurt, etc. I also throw in a Quest or Simple Truth Protein Bar occasionally if I feel like I'm a little low on protein - especially if I am going to be working out later as I need the energy. While most Protein Bars also have higher carbs, they are okay in moderation especially if you are going to be active.

I have put the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury strawberry sorbet flavor in my Crystal Light. It is a good way to get in the Protein. However, it is a flavor you may tire of. My lesson learned: Do not stock up on any Protein products.
Another option might be to get the Cytosport 100% Whey (I get the big bag at costco, chocolate or vanilla, ~$50/bag). 27 grams per scoop and it dissolves perfectly in coffee in a shaker cup (if you are allowed coffee). That is my first drink of the day, every day. I haven't tired of it yet, and it has been months since I started drinking it. No sugar or milk, just coffee and Cytosport, and it tastes very good!

I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to give up hot & sour Soup. I hope my sleeve will cooperate!

As far as being able to move and pain I wasn’t too bad my gall bladder op was far worse I feel.
I had my op last on the list so I got on ward at like 9pm-ish still a little groggy I was out of the bed standing by it and told them to move my bed by the window told my mum to take my pjs out I wanted to get dressed in my clothes then i wanted to pee the nurse tried to help me and get me to use one of the pans I was all NO! so she tried to hold me and walk with me but she was too slow and I just shuffled off by myself with my iv stand and come back by myself instead of calling her to get me lol
I watched how they hooked up the leg pressure things so when I wanted out of the bed I just turned it off and unhooked myself and hooked it back up when I got back in lol
The next day my nurse took me for a walk off the ward and down the corridor and back again I did that twice a day.
But I had bad cotton mouth and was on iv Fluid so I went to the bathroom a lot to either brush my teeth or use the bathroom and I get bored really easily so I would just stroll about.
I napped a lot but I sleep really poorly in hospital (always too hot and noisy for me) and the lady opposite me was a moaner who wouldn’t use her pain pump and did odd things in the middle of the ***ht that would wake me up.
Once home I did a lot more sleeping but moving was far easier than the gall bladder op I feel.
I think as long as you listen to your body and rest when its tired or your in pain then its ok to be moving around it helps blood flow lung function and you to feel “normal” and better than to just lay there.

Have you had the boils before? How big are they? (like size of quarter?) Do they hurt? Do they drain any Fluid? If you answered yes, it "could" be MRSA. You might want to check with your doctor. They can give you antibiotics to treat them and possibly give you nasal ointment to prevent colonization. I'm not saying that's what it is, but you don't want to take any chances. You should let your doctor know about them. BTW, MRSA boils during a flare up can make you feel like you have the flu or drain your energy. I think having any kind of painful boil or something like that would affect anyone's mood. I hope you feel better soon!!!

I weighed 257 before pre-op diet. After pre-op diet weight was 245. Post- op day #4 245. I was happiest 5 years ago at 130, however I'm aiming for a goal around 125. Main goal: keep my curves :-)

What PDXman said and:
I didn't feel restriction until I got on solid foods. I also had an easy time of it, but I will get sick if I eat too much dense food, too fast. I don't like that full feeling so I eat very slowly.
I can eat anything. I just don't anymore. I get about 70-80 grams of Protein and less that 45 grams of carbs and 30 of fat. I don't eat processed foods or sugar or much of any grains except multi-grain flour and quinoa occasionally. I get most of my carbs from fruits and veggies. i learned ways to make pizza and ice cream using Protein powders and sugar free syrups. I even made SF lemon shortbread the other day.
On days I hike and bike I get to have a Peanut Butter sandwich on good bread because I need the carbs. Boy, this is a treat! Otherwise it's lean protein, nuts, seeds, nonfat greek yogurt, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, cheese, fruits and vegetables.
The other day I had sirloin and huge scallops with broccoli and protein ice cream. I'm on a mission to tell people that you don't have to deny yourself anything. I stay away from junk food and fast food because I can make better food myself. Today I'm going to marinate some wings in Tapatillo and bake them until crispy. Who needs Micky Dees?
I've never had it so good. Since we eat such small portions, buying quality is easier on the wallet, but I'm still cheap so I only buy on sale meat and get creative with it. My lunches are a mix of fresh and leftovers.
I have it a bit easy and can see how one can eat around the sleeve. We have to be extra careful. When we use it right; it works!

I have some bad news for you ...
The sleeve is not going to keep you out of the Burger King drive through ... or McDonalds ... or Dairy Queen.
I know this is going to come across as harsh, but that is not my intention. I'm just a tell it like it is guy, so, I hope you can see that.
The sleeve is not a magic bullet to keep you from eating bad foods. It is ONLY a tool to help you eat less. I am a year out and I can eat anything, and do, in small portions. It is EXACTLY what my expectations were. The sleeve is not gastric bypass where dumping syndrome occurs with too much sugar. It is a restrictive procedure. The quality of the food is determined by you.
Early out, most people have swelling and sensitivity which gives them the impression their sleeve rejects foods, but this passes with time and the responsibility to make good food choices lies solely on the person. You are most likely a person whose swelling reduces quicker than most. This means you are going to have to transition into the mode of responsible eating a little sooner than most.
Sorry ... honeymoon is over. Time to get to work on making the best food choices for your body.

I also had the same worries you had at only 1-2 months out. I did not feel the "full" feeling until I was on real food at about the 3 month time frame. It took a while for the ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating peptide and hormone that is produced in the cells lining the stomach and pancreas) to flush out of my system. I don't have any negative responses to food -- I seem to be able to eat anything. However, I am 5 months out, averaging a slow but steady weightloss of 10+ lbs a month. Because of my pre-op weightloss, I am almost at the 100 lb loss mark and feel great. I am constantly surprised at how full I am after only a few bites of food. It WAS NOT like this in the beginning. I am happily pleased that my body craves nutrient-rich foods vs. the comfort foods I so enjoyed before this journey. Give yourself and your body time to adjust to this process. 3-1/2 weeks out is still VERY early int he process so please don't get discouraged. In a few months you will look back and see how far you have come and how in tune with your body that you are. You have had a wonderful weightloss thus far -- CONGRATULATIONS! Enjoy it.

I do believe that after you reach a certain point you will be able to eat anything you want to, but in small portions. It will be up to you to determine what is good for you and what will set you back. It would be great if your sleeve would automatically reject anything that isn't good for you, but that's not how it works. Most of us still have cravings for pizza, burgers, fried chicken, etc, but we have to make the choice to avoid them as much as possible and use them only for "reward" days. I had a Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream cone when I got to 50 lbs lost and again at 75. Does this mean I've fallen off the wagon? I don't think so, and I'm not going to if I allow myself a sin food once in awhile. Don't stress because you crave these things, but make a concious effort to control it.

We have done the baked chicken strips - dip it in milk, or egg white or basically anything wet and somewhat sticky and then roll in breadcrumbs, corn flakes, anything crunchy, add a touch of parmasean cheese, or onion Soup mix, some salt or pepper to taste, whatever you like. We then put them on a wire rack, so they are not sitting on the pan, so the bottom doesn't get soggy. Turn occasionally and enjoy.
The same as real fried chicken - NO; better than eating one more piece of grilled chicken - HECK YES.

Someone at my husbands job approached him about having the surgery himself and what it did for him. At the time my hubby was a bit irked by this, but he had never heard of the sleeve before. Long story short, my hubby and I both had sleeves because of him.

I know just what you mean, and I admit the same thoughts go thru my head. But, I try to remind myself that not everyone who's obese is miserable, or even necessarily unhealthy. And I don't know anything about their life, what other challenges they may be in the process of conquering, or even if they're already on the journey, having lost 100 pounds to get where they're at now! And, for many people with insurance, myself included, there can be a complete exclusion for weight loss surgery. My insurance wouldn't have paid even if I'd been 600 pounds with a slew of co-morbidities. I'm very fortunate that self-pay was within my means.
I think all we can do is be as honest as we're comfortable with about our surgery, and be open to discussing it with others. I kind of like the idea of a bumper sticker - Weight Loss Surgery saved my life - ask me about it! (not sure how my husband would feel driving my car though!)
I'm also convinced this journey isn't easy, and you have to be ready and committed to the process. It is possible to fail at this, not to lose as much weight as hoped, or to regain a substantial amount. There's no way to help someone else be ready to make the necessary changes.
Really, I wish I'd learned years ago the things I've learned since surgery about nutrition - that alone would have helped me enormously, and perhaps I could have avoided surgery entirely. Blessings on those who are brave enough to be so publicly involved in the WLS community, spreading the word to those who may just not know it's an option!

Catracksit is very scary seeing all these young overweight kids, turn into "overweight" adults
kids use to play at the playground- run around, now they use those electronic games, or sit by the tv. then they continue this process as they get older.
as they say the only reservations i make are those to go out to dinner
What is this world coming to, as "they" say?
i remember when some lovely women would (on tv for ex) say how they are happy, and no problem with being over weight, in essence - leave me alone i'm fine. of course she has all those health problems that are never mentiond either
fast foods definitely don't help - i'm sure theres a statistic on that too.
food,food, food and then some more food, its all over the place - gigantic portions too
not only is it sad to see these overweight people, but its sad to realize i used to be one of them
on the bright side, i'm much healthier now - feel better, and can sit on any bench i want without a problem
to all newbies and others - all your hard work will pay off gradually, as it did for me - i still have more to lose, but as all of us we will get there
ps hope i'm not offending anyone - it takes time, but we'll all lose weight at different paces
good luck to all of us
kathy

I wish I could wear a T-shirt that said somethinig like "I used to be so big I missed out on life..."
I wonder if it would get people to ask? If they were interested I would be happy to share my journey and I am only 1/2 way to goal. But I am 100% of the way torwards being happy.

I have wanted to suggest this path to a friend of mine. I know she is struggling, but I don't think she is open to surgery, or perhaps insurance will not cover it. I just keep it to myself. If she ever asked, I would love to tell her about my experience, but I like her too much to risk any alienation.
When I see strangers, it doesn't cross my mind so much, because I don't know their circumstances. It does make me grateful for my own progress though.

I'm going to be brutally honest here. I was in traffic court yesterday and there were these two very large women. One had a cane and the other a walker. They were in their 30s-40s. They had to sit down in the seats and they could only manage to turn sideways and somewhat sit on the edge of the seats. One young man in his 20s didn't even really fit through the gate to go see the commissioner.
I was considering my life and how it has changed dramatically in only 6 months. This past week I reached the summit of a 10,000 ft. peak.. Seven months ago, you couldn't get me to walk down the street. I was even starting to avoid friend's parties.
I wasn't rude and didn't stare, but I started looking at these people who have so much life ahead of them. Out in line 1 out of 10 people were probably morbidly or super morbidly obese.
I thanked God for my blessings and just went to work.
Man, I want to tell everyone about this. Eggface is going to be on Ricki Lake, but we need more info out there.

ok, so, I had some boneless skinless breast tenderloins that, in the past, would be fried in oil or butter. I had a hankering for that and after a few days of thought, this is what I came up with. The main reason to avoid 'fried' foods is because the oil/grease/butter that we cook it in is full of calories and fat, right?
Well, i have been using parkay butter spray for all of my butter needs, it has 0 calories, 0 fat and only 5mg sodium. So I thought to myself, why not? I unscrewed the sprayer, and poured just enough to cover the bottom of my skillet, heated it and fried up the tenders. It tasted awesome.
Any thoughts? Is this a great idea, or is this a good intention and I'm not seeing the downside? Honest question here. My sleeve treated it like anything else I've eaten. What are your thoughts?
P.S. This is not a 'gateway' thing, nor a slippery slope. Had I not thought of this, I would have just gotten over my hankering, and had an Emilybites cupcake, so, no worries, just haven't talked to my nut yet, so I thought I'd ask here.
Thanks guys, much love.

My husband is the greatest! He really has been supportive of me on this journey. He takes great care of me. I love him so much. He is an English teacher and makes these little videos for lessons and decided to make one for me on my surgiversary.. its actually the 8th but he gave it to me a few days early because my surgeons appt was today. He also went with me to my Dr.! He took the pics there! Great man, he is.

I want to Celebrate and shout from the rooftops! I made my surgeons goal on my appt day! I didnt even know he had a goal for me and he turns to me and says, "Congratulations, you made goal!" I said what??? I made up an arbitrary goal of 135 because i remember weighing that in college. I had no idea what my goal was supposed to be... He said "see, your ideal weight is 138 and I weighed in at exactly 138! Wow.. I thought I had missed it by three pounds but it was so refreshing to say that I finally made A goal. I always fall short but not this time! My wonderful hubby made a great slideshow of the whole process, starting from our Brazil vacation spring of 2011 to now. Its been quite a ride!!!!! Woohooo... I cant believe I made my surgeons goal in exactly one year!!!!! Wooop! enjoy the show..
http://animoto.com/play/a5Pa3Hpgm8GSDxDYkhPFuA?utm_content=main_link

I always like seeing progress photos so here are some of mine. I had surgery on 4/20/12 and have lost 85 lbs. A few of those were pre-op.
I eat 600-700 calories a day that I track on MFP/min of 60 protein/min 64 oz water/max 25 carbs.
I have totally got this! My only regret is that I didn't pick out a more attractive "progress photo" outfit.

Ty, as others on this board have inspired me...kept me focused,...so thank-you to everyone on here! everyone is truly amazing and beautiful!

Here are a few of my journey pictures.....
    

I was just saying to myself that I was struggling getting all of my Protein in too - meats are gross - yogurts nasty - cheese, well, I burnt myself out the first few days of my 3 rd week! So I am right there with you! Everything does not taste good or right but I too have heard it will be like that for several months and then back to normal! I am drinking "total lean " Swiss chocolate from GNC (they're online if there isn't one close to u) - they're lactose free too! They run about $ 9.99 for 4 pre made drinks and they're good! I drink 2 of those and there is 25 g of protein per container! 170 calories! But I will add finding buddies to help along with ideas is great too! Myfitnesspal is a great way to hold yourself accountable along with getting ideas from food journals ! So just a few ideas but it will get better for us I know ! U can find me on fitness pal - SNKEMS333 ! Good luck!