Miriam

I find that warm liquids go down much more easily than cold. Chicken broth, clear onion soup, tea, and even hot cocoa (I'm barely getting in any calories anyway so the little bit of extra calories and sugar from the hot cocoa doesn't concern me). I actually drink almost no plain water whatsoever - my sleeve definitely doesn't like cold water (at least not yet) and other temperatures don't appeal to me right now either.

Amazing! My beginning weight is pretty similar to what yours was, and I'm only an inch shorter than you, so your achievement is especially inspiring for me. Of course, being less than 3 weeks out, I still have a LONG way to go, but at least I know that there's a chance I can get there. Congrats and good luck with all your health issues!

Thanks for posting this - really fascinating! I'm definitely low on energy with the amount of calories I'm eating and would like to increase, but of course am not going to overeat my sleeve (when I do that accidentally, I just throw it all up anyway, so couldn't even if I wanted to). In the meantime, I figure that I'll do whatever light exercise I can and enjoy the weight loss as it comes.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one - I was beginning to get a little worried that this wasn't normal! Big sigh of relief here.

Wow - I'm in my third week post-op and can't even imagine eating 1,200 calories a day - at the moment I'm not managing more than around 400 calories which I know is too little, but just can't do more. Are you actually managing to eat a whole egg per meal?

I know just how you feel - I think it's very normal to mourn because hey, we're all here because of love of food, and suddenly we can't indulge that love any more. I'm in my 3rd week post-op and have up days and down days - some days the sight of food does nothing for me, other days I really, really, really want to eat all the good food that everyone else is having. But I'm going to keep battling the head hunger - good luck to you doing the same!

I absolutely adore Callanetics (and no, that's not a mispelling) - it's lovely to do (really!) and it takes off inches like no other exercise I've ever tried. I haven't done it yet post-op (I'm in my third week and my body's not yet ready for it, but I look forward to starting it again soon.)

Not a mom but I'm still pretty weak and tired in my 3rd week post-op. After a few hours of office work, I'm just exhausted. Obviously (as you can see from the varied responses), every person responds to the surgery differently. But if I were you, I would arrange for some full-time help for at least the first week after surgery, if not longer.

The main reason she gave me was that she didn't want patients to get too used to liquids and get into the habit of not eating real food. I tried to explain to her that I'm already eating soft foods with great enjoyment and have no intention of going back to liquids - I like food too much for that! I just want it as a supplement so I can get it more protein. And believe me that I'm not getting in anywhere near enough calories at this point, so that's certainly not an issue. Unfortunately, she was more interested in her own agenda than in listening to me... I'm not the type to just ignore directions but in this case, I think it's justified. Anyway, thanks very much for your input - much appreciated!

Thanks very much - my question was not so much as whether it's counted as a liquid as to whether I can't drink before and after a protein shake (like food) or whether I can just drink shakes whenever I want. Thanks again for the replies!

I'm close to three weeks post-op and just got back from my first post-op meeting with my nutritionist. She is adamantly against Protein shakes because she feels that it encourages people to stay in the liquid stage rather than begin eating regularly, even though I told her that I'm eating soft foods and enjoying them and have no intention of going back to liquids - rather, I just want to supplement so I get in enough protein. Anyway, I've decided to ignore her on this issue because I really am concerned about the protein, not to mention that I'm getting in very few calories from eating (she commented that I had a much higher than normal weight loss for someone my weight). So the question I wanted to ask her and will ask you guys instead is: If I add some crushed fruit to my Protein shake so it's slightly thicker but definitely still a liquid, would I consider that a liquid or a food? I'm not enjoying the whole liquid / food separation, but am trying to stick to it as best as I can. Thanks very much for your help!

I had plenty of regrets while still in the hospital - no surprise as I was weak, in pain, and absolutely HATE hospitals - but thanks to this board knew that that was quite normal so kept telling myself that the feeling would pass soon (which it has, despite the other issues that have since cropped up - all normal issues but still issues that have to be dealt with). My roommate, who had undergone gastric bypass, was in worse shape than me and so clearly regretting it so I was able to reassure her as well that it was a normal part of the process. Just tell yourself that you're undergoing the worst part of the whole surgery now, that it WILL get better, and just focus on yourself and your health.

I lost about 20 lbs. in the first week, and 5.5 the second. (Ideally, I'd like to lose around 115 lbs., although I have no idea if I'll make it that far.) Now in my third week post-op, so no idea what will happen next...

Wow, 1/4 cup of food at a time? I'd love to know if you actually manage to do that. I've also just started my 3rd week post-op, and I can barely eat 1 tablespoon at a time (and sometimes not even that much). My surgeon's office recommended starting off with 1-2 tablespoons at a time, 5-6 times a day (this is for 2nd week post-op when I started mushy foods) but I just can't do it. The most I can do is 4 times a day, and as I said, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Any more and I get the most awful feeling which usually lets up only when I throw up... not pleasant. I must admit that as much as I prepared myself for this surgery and read up about it, I didn't realize I'd be eating THIS little. I've always been a really, really high-volume eater so this is the weirdest experience for me.