AJW

What cruise line?

Day 19 post-op. I'm down .2 pounds after a big stall. Wonder if this means the stall is over? I hope so; tomorrow will tell. Although I'm two days from mushies, I've been eating clear chicken noodle soup with some mushy small bites of veggies and an occasional noodle. Went down fine. That's all I'm doing except for my Medifast oatmeal thinned way down. Monday I can have cottage cheese and other mushy stuff, oh boy!:biggrin2: Energy is slowing returning. I notice a bit more every day. I can walk through a parking lot without it draining me. My incision from the drain finally closed after about 16 days but that's going to leave a big scar.:mad0:. I wish they could have made that hole a little smaller to begin with. Oh well, the nip/tuck can be revise that.:cursing:

What cruise are you taking and when?

/ I'm OK now. It was just pre-hormonal flashing; glad it's gone.....til next month, I guess.

Thanks, Lisa, will do. April

Thanks, guys, I knew I could count on you to tell me something encouraging! Love you!!:biggrin2:

I'm 18 days post-op and still on liquids (full). I lost 12 pounds in 12 days post-op, and then hit a wall. I figured it was a hormonal thing and it would pass and I'd get back on the WL train. Well it should have passed by now, been 6 days, but weight is not budging. I'm getting in my protein, vits, fluids and about 600 cal. a day on liquids. So I have to ask: WHEN does this weight start coming off? I figure the 12 pounds was likely just retained fluids from after surgery, etc. I'm starting to feel I could do this without surgery; what's the answer? I'm not even on mushy foods yet.:biggrin2:

/ Ditto what Mac said. It's due to a lack of fat in the diet; I'm very dry and ichy too.

Yes, kitty, perfectly normal. It too will pass.:lol0:

I'm praying for you and hoping for the best too. Get your rest and don't be afraid to ask for pain meds or whatever meds as you need them. The next 5 days will be iffy, but after that it gets better. It's probably NOT a leak, but doctors always go to the worst case scenario immediately; just keep that in mind.:lol0:

For the last 4 days my weight has not budged. I went up 1.2 pounds on Aug. 23rd and have stayed there until today when I dropped .4 pounds. I chalked this up to a monthly hormonal swing. I don't have periods any more but ovaries are still doing the monthly cha-cha even though I'm menopausal. Go figure! In any case that's what I figure this up/down thing has been about. It's funny you drop water before your period, but afterward it comes out in drips. Whatever. Hopefully I'll see more drops gone by tomorrow. I'm still on full liquids and sticking to my protein shakes - getting very tired of those - and fluids. Have cream soups for dinner and they do fill you up FAST. About 5 minutes of soup and I'm done. I'm on a mission to lose 30 pounds in 30 days (it's quite doable) but so far it's still 12 pounds off in 17 days . Hope I catch up.:cursing:

Let us know how you're doing. I know it was just yesterday. I felt OK the first 2 days as that morphine spinal was still with me. Day 3 was less charming and day 4 was bad. But day 5 was much, much better and it was better going from thereafter. Get your rest. :001_smile:

Are you sick from germs or sick from the surgery's aftermath? I had one really bad day on about day 4 post op; day 5 was a lot better. Apparently your throat is your weak link, sorry to hear it hurts. Rest and all will get better soon.

I don't remember him telling me that (Dr. Aceves) but if he did, I ignored it because before surgery I lost 26 pounds eating the Medifast plan which is 6 meals a day. Granted each little meal is 110 cal. so not much of a meal. This way of eating makes much more sense to me. I think his advice is not to be eating carb-laden snacks between meals or something, IDK. But I'm doing what I know will work for me; everyone will have to find their own method for their body.

You're almost there, just another 2 days, then you'll be one of us. I'm doing good. I figured out that my hormone swing was just a monthly PMS event and nothing more. I dropped 6 pounds in 3 days while it was going on, and then yesterday I went up 1.2 and today up another .6 pounds, so this is A-typical of a menstrual cycle, only since I don't have a uterus it's hard to see it coming sometimes. Since I have ovaries, the little buggers still throw a big party some months and guess this is one of 'em.:lol0:

You asked how everyone was doing on FULL LIQUIDS so I responded. Clear liquids are not full liquids, so I can have cream soups at this point which started on day 11 post-op. Day 1 is the day after surgery or the first day you can sip water.

I take the Essential Nutrients ($59) lasts 1 month, and the SoySational, this is a power you mix into a shake,($39.95) I think this lasts a month, and the Herbal Equilibrium ($24.95) lasts 1 months. I take them 2X a day so that's why they last a month. No, these are not liquid or chewable. You have to crush them if you cannot swallow them whole. Here's the information for the Essential Nutrients: Because rich nutrition is the foundation of hormonal balance Our Essential Nutrients™ provide optimal absorption and bioavailability from the purest ingredients. Three essential formulas are combined into a single convenient pack: Multivitamin/Mineral Essential Fatty Acids Calcium/Magnesium In combination, these formulas work to support a healthy metabolism, hormonal balance, and wellness for women by creating an optimal nutritional base. The benefits of Essential Nutrients The same rich nutritional supplement used at Women to Women’s medical clinic. Doctor-formulated, based on the latest nutritional and medical science for women’s health. When used to supplement a healthy eating plan, provides a complete nutritional foundation to support the body’s endocrine, immune, and other vital systems. Over 30 essential nutrients, including six patented chelated compounds to ensure maximum bioavailability, in conservative dosages. Manufactured in a facility validated by the NSF (The Public Health and Safety Company), to meet or exceed all governmental requirements for good manufacturing practices (the FDA’s GMP’s). Each production batch is laboratory assayed to ensure quality — in the same rigorous procedure used for pharmaceutical drugs. Made from all-natural ingredients with no preservatives, sugar, artificial flavoring, filler, dyes or coloring of any kind. If you would like more information on the clinical basis for using Women to Women Essential Nutrients™, please click here for a list of clinical studies and articles.

I have a protein shake for breakfast, lunch and after dinner and get it all in fine. I'm getting a little sick of shakes, but I don't like a lot of the alternatives. I have soup for dinner. The first day of full liquids I tried clam chowder with the clams and potatoes strained out. It was yummy, but I ate maybe 1/3 of the bowl and was FULL because of the milk in the soup, very filling. Last night I had strained Minestrone soup, whoop, how exciting is that?! Tired of liquids but don't think I could stomach anything mushy just yet anyway. I don't like that overly full feeling I had with the chowder, and it happened after 5 min. and I was done.

Well folks, I'm happy to say that my foul mood has lifted and seems to have normalized. That's the good news. The bad news is I went to weigh myself today and actually gained 1.2 pounds! I'm still in the liquid stage so how can that be?? I didn't do anything different yesterday drinking-wise, so will have to chalk it up to retained fluids. Hate that! It's been a tad bit humid and I always puff up in humidity. Oh well, hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back down again. Remains to be seen.:tongue_smilie:

Happy wife = happy family, cause if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody going to be happy!:smile:

Medifast Official Site | Quick, Easy Clinically Proven Weight Loss You can read all about it. When I could eat all foods, I followed their plan which consists of 5 Medifast meals and one lean/green for dinner. Sample menu: Blueberry oatmeal (I'd get real blueberries and put in this) for breakfast; Medifast bar for mid-morning snack; lunch would be a Medifast shake (I'd add a banana & some womentowomen.com soy Protein to supplement, makes it yummy but you could add whatever protein or no protein, each shake is 11 grm protein; a bar in the late afternoon, and dinner would consist of meat or fish entree plus a veggie. We grill a lot so would grill fish, chicken or meat & grilled zuccini with some Feta cheese on top. Keeping the portion sizes small that's about 800 calories a day. Each Medifast meal has the same number of calories (110), Fiber, low carbs, low sugar, 0 fat. I lost 26 pounds doing this before surgery. I'm still doing it and will continue with the bars and oatmeal when I can have those foods. This worked for me because it's easy, you can take the food with you, it's goof proof, no measuring or counting involved. People lose a lot of weight on Medifast but it's much easier to stay on it with the sleeve surgery. You get full so easy.:smile:

I take the pharmaceutical grade supplements I get from womentowomen.com which are specially geared towards pre and post menopausal women. I realize this will not be most of you, but I find them to be very good. They are the size of horse pills though so I have to grind them up and put 'em in a protein shake right now. I do not think IMHO that children's gummy vits have enough of anything in them that is really suitable to women with all our needs. Most on the shelf vitamins are heat processed and have little nutrient value left in them to do you any good after they sit there for months and months. Just a thought.

How was PV? Was it nice or too hot? Glad you're back and things went well, I'll assume.

Be sure your husband is getting in the 70 gr. of protein a day and all the liquids. That makes a big difference to feeling satiety. If he's eating more carbs than protein, then yeah, he's going to feel hungry in a short time. The answer is protein, protein, protein. Actually eating small 100 cal. meals every 3 hours is better than eating larger meals every 5 hours. Ideally you should be eating 6X a day, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner (lean and green), snack, bed. That way your metabolism will stay fired and you won't get hungry. If he gets hungry despite doing this, have something to drink instead of eating. Fight the carb and sugar cravings by drinking and sticking to 800 cal. a day. That's the way you lose weight.

No, 38 pounds total. I started on Medifast on 5/26/09; I'm 12 pounds down since surgery, or 1 pound a day.