MyGastricSleeveLife

when I was on full liquids and pureeds, I had oatmeal or cream of wheat a lot. At that point, my doctor said not to really worry about the carbs. Actually, he still says not to really worry about carbs & just to get my protein and fluids and overall calories in. My doc and my trainer at the gym both said if I stopped losing, I might have to increase my carbs. During my full liquid/pureed stage, I usually got 100 carbs or more a day. Now that I'm 12 weeks out, I normally get between 5 - 40 g of carbs per day, but I sometimes go higher if I have oatmeal - but that doesn't bug me since I know it's still good for me & I eat a lot less of it than I used to before surgery! Everyone is very different. I've heard of people staying under 40 g, but I've also heard of people who do 100 g or even some that do 150 g, depending on their activity level & their bodies. I try to focus more on my protein, fluids, & overall calories and don't pay too much attention to the carbs, but I am normally below 40 g now at 12 weeks out. However, being only 4 weeks out, depending on your food progression, I don't think it really matters a whole lot at this point. My food progression was slow and cream of wheat was a staple food for me for a long time!

It really depends on the person. We're all so different & lose at different rates. Generally, those who have more to lose overall lose faster, but that's not always true. I've seen people lose anywhere from 10 - 30+ pounds the first 1-3 months or so & then most slow down to 8-15 lbs per month. Personally, my stats are in my signature. I lost 18 lbs my first month (not including my pre-op diet) and 13 lbs my second month. I still have another week and a half before my 3-month mark. I've had weeks where I've lost 4-6 lbs & other weeks where I've lost 1 lb. I've even had a few weeks where I've gone up a pound (which is more Water or something else & not real FAT gain, but still frustrating). Overall, my "average" is 3-3.5 lbs depending on if I include my 2-week pre-op loss in the calculation too or not. I would also encourage you to take your measurements every week or every month. I've been surprised sometimes when the scale hasn't moved much that the inches have moved a bunch! I'm 12 weeks out from surgery today & down 38 lbs from surgery (50.6 lbs in 14 weeks with pre-op) & down 32.5 inches throughout my body. I posted pictures & measurements on my blog if you want to check it out (listed in my signature). There are good weeks and bad weeks and things do slow down as you progress to different kinds of food and see what you can tolerate and everything. However, focus on the overall progress and on your non-scale victories (like how you feel and clothes fitting differently and change in energy and such) because those will help you through the times when you're frustrated with the actual numbers!

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-12-weight-pictures-and-measurements.html

It depends on your doctor, but yes, for most pudding and yogurt (without fruit in it) are considered part of the full liquid phase.

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/08/emotional-junk.html

I take Miralax every other day to keep things moving & I'm 10 weeks out & haven't had any issues so far. Fiber supplements can work too sometimes, but they can also bulk things up for some people & make things worse. Sometimes I have forgotten the Miralax for a few days, but now that I'm on more solid foods, I have been able to decrease the Miralax some & still be okay. I still make sure I take it if I feel even the slightest bit of buildup though. If I haven't taken it in a while, sometimes it takes a day to work, but I still haven't had any major issues as long as I take it.

Wow! Thanks Lissa!! I've been using MFP for a long time & never knew there was a "strength training" thing in the Cardio section! I just wore my BodyMedia armband to find out what I burned & then added it in MFP as "walking" and updated the calories accordingly. Now I can actually enter it as strength training!! I know I wasn't the original poster, but thanks a ton!!

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/week-10-progress.html

It depends on your doctor. Mine said I could swim at 2-3 weeks when my incisions weren't scabby anymore, but said to wait for anything else other than walking until 4-6 weeks out. I started going to the gym & doing weights at 5 weeks with a trainer & he just took it easy with core exercises for a while because he didn't want to hurt those muscles.

I'll be 10 weeks out on Monday & I track EVERYTHING on MyFitnessPal & haven't missed a day since my pre-op diet started 12 weeks ago. It helps me to keep tracking because I can see what I eat & make sure I get enough protein & fluid in each day. I like seeing how different things influence my body & tracking helps.

NSAIDs, especially ibuprofen, can cause bleeding issues & stomach ulcers if used on a regular basis for an extended period of time. Some surgeons do not have a rule against them, but mine does so I have it on my bracelet. I specifically asked my surgeon about it & he said there are some that aren't as harsh as ibuprofen that could be prescribed if needed, but he still suggested not using any NSAIDs if they could be avoided. If you click the link I posted above on my other post that is from my blog, I have some good articles I shared in that post that explain the reasoning behind some of the guidelines. Again, every doctor is different & some see no need for a bracelet, but it gives me peace of mind to wear it!

I'm a big advocate for medic alert bracelets. I ordered one that had "Gastric Sleeve VSG, No Blind NG Tubes, No NSAIDs" on it, but then I had a friend tell me about how they witnessed an accident where the lady's purse was thrown away from her & they couldn't find contact info, so then I bought another one that had contact info on it. I wrote about it on my blog, which also notes some other good articles about it that explains what the things mean too - http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/importance-of-medical-alert-id-bracelet.html - I love my new Road ID one & wear it all the time! Even if the emergency response people wouldn't insert an NG tube, an ID bracelet helps in the hospital too. I pray I will never have to really need it, but I love the peace of mind I have wearing it just in case it is ever needed.

Everyone is different, but I haven't had a problem with it after surgery. I just don't keep my water bottle or anything near me to drink when I'm eating. It is harder if we go out to eat, but again I just don't keep a drink near me & then I don't have to worry about it.

Every surgeon is different. Mine says 800-1000 calories for the whole "losing phase" but when I was on puréeds I was at more like 600-800. It will usually take time to work up to the 800+ calories.