1Day1Life4Now

I got the book Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies. I have read it 3 times and I still refer to it for advice. It's awesome. Takes you all the way from pre surgery to surgery and then post surgery with a recipe section. I found it at Barnes and Noble. I read on one of the other posts that "Anatomy of the Spirit" by Caroline Myss was a good book for dealing with the psychological aspects of weight loss after surgery. I intend to buy that one this week. Good luck to you.

I was sleeved on Feb. 10th of this year too. The first couple of weeks the weight was falling off and then I had a stall. This past week I lost 2 pounds so I think I'm losing again. I am sticking to the diet but I am still having problems getting all of my water in. I walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes in the morning, ride the stationary bike for 10 minutes and then do the same again in the afternoon. I can tell things are tightening up a little bit so maybe I'm building a little muscle and it weighs more than the fat??? I hope that is it. I go to the doctor this Thursday for my 6 week check up and I'm afraid the doctor is going to say "that's all you've lost?" I stick to my diet plan and only drink water. I read about the starches that others are eating at this stage and I only eat fish, meat and veggies. No bread or other carbs. My appetite is still here, everything still tastes delicious to me but my sleeve only lets me eat a little bit. I am determined to be successful in this journey but I can't control the speed at which I lose. I guess I'm more like the turtle than the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. Wonderful article.

you are still healing, which means your tummy and area around it is swollen. You are probably retaining fluid which makes you retain a few pounds. Give it a few days and you will notice a big drop. It is way too early to panic. You are going to lose... be patient.

Awww so sorry you are going through this. Go ahead and vent....you have every right and maybe it will make you feel better. Sending you hugs and healing thoughts your way. Hope it won't be too long till you are feeling better and able to eat something.

Congratulations on your weight loss. You look freaking fabulous.

The insurance rep probably knows the policy better than your job HR person.

I too use the crock pot (and have for years). In addition to the ideas listed from the other posters you can cook a roast since it will tear apart completely when done cooking. You will be able to eat that soon. You can cook a whole chicken in it or just chicken pieces. I sometimes pick up a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (already cooked and hot)and then just cook a veggie when I get home. It's a quick supper and its delishhhhh. Just don't eat the skin. I also have the WLS Cookbook for dummies and it's pretty good. There are several other cookbooks for WLS patients and their families. I have seen numerous ones at Barnes and Noble. I fix oatmeal or scrambled eggs for breakfast. The whole family can eat those. Just get you a few go to recipes and it will get easier.

I can relate. A commercial for fish sandwiches at Wendy's was just on television and my husband just turned to me and said. I think I'll go get us some fish sandwiches for supper. You can eat fish now, right? Seriously? He wants me to eat a fried fish sandwich. Totally clueless. I told him to go right ahead. I had my supper taken care of. Geez, these men have the mentality of a 12 year old sometimes. Oh, and I should add that my husband has high BP, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart problems. He's over weight and totally out of shape. WTH?????

Pre and Post surgery I have spent a lot of time on line looking at before and after pictures for inspiration to help me in my Weight Loss journey. This web site has also provided lots of inspiration, help and guidance. Though the posters original comments came across as judgmental I truly believe she meant that she had gone to this meeting/show in hopes of gaining some inspiration from some of the patients that came before her, but she was disappointed in not seeing any super great weight loss stories. She can't help that she was the smallest person in the room. Somebody always has to be the largest, the smallest, the prettiest, the smartest....and so on. I do believe maybe her journey may not be as extensive as some of those other patients but still a difficult journey so she shouldn't be beat up for her comment. It just came out wrong and it is so difficult to truly decipher the meaning in the written word. I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to the conclusion that she was judging everyone for being fat. We all have to glean our inspiration from where ever we can find it.

Great question. I've been wondering this myself. Thanks all for the responses, now I also know where to look.

I am Orthodox and for Holy Communion we are served fresh bread made with yeast as the body and wine as the blood of Christ. I don't normally eat bread but I felt like communion bread would be okay and I was right. I've not had any problem with it. I don't eat sandwiches and I don't have any kind of bread with my meals so I don't think I'll hurt myself by having one piece of communion bread each Sunday. I can eat most anything now but its still in such small amounts so I stick with protein and a veggie.

I did puree chicken to make chicken salad and tuna for my tuna salad. I was "scared" of the consistency since I have issues with textures but surprisingly, both the chicken and tuna were wonderful and did not hurt my sleeve going down. I no longer have to puree my foods but if there is anything really chunky I want to eat I am going to puree it. The taste doesn't change...its just the consistency.

Hannah the banana.

I went back to work after a week off from surgery. It was enough for what I do but I have a pretty sedentary job. I was still a bit tired and would have preferred to work 1/2 days but I didn't want anyone at work to know I had surgery so I stuck with it. If you have a physically demanding job you will need at least 2 weeks off. Good luck everyone.

Glad you are feeling better. I had some pretty rough days for the first four days but by the fifth day I started to feel and see many improvements. I worked the second week so I did not focus on myself so much and somehow I got through it. Starting week 3 I began to really feel good. We forget tell people that but it's such a short period of time we feel bad that it's better and easier to focus on the good part. On to loser land we go.

With self pay the only wait you have is for when the surgeon can schedule your appointment. Good luck to you.

At the hospital they told me to leave them on and let them come off in the shower when they are ready. When I went to the doctor, she pulled them off and told me I should have pulled them off so they wouldn't irritate the skin. So who knows? I think whatever you do can be right or wrong but neither would be life threatening. I did keep putting Neosporin on my incisions and it helped with the itching and they healed very quickly.

My surgery was Feb. 10th. I do have reflux for which I take Prilosec every morning. All 6 of the incisions are all healed, but the two biggest ones have divets in indentions which look rather odd. I'm hoping these go away with time. I go to my Dr. for my 6 week check up on Thursday. I can eat just about anything now except things like steak or sausage. I eat a lot of chicken and fish and a few veggies. Very few carbs. I still drink my protein shakes but not every day. They are good for getting in that extra bit of protein. I drink water all day, a little bit at a time but I still struggle with the 64 ounces. To tell you the truth, the most I've been able to get in is the 48 ounces. I only drink water with SF kool aid drops in it. NO fruit juice or anything else. I hit the 3 week stall but I'm back to losing again. My NSV are that I'm fitting in to smaller close from my other closets that I've not worn in years. People are beginning to notice my weight loss and making comments. I feel better and have more energy. I walk on the tread mill and ride the stationary bike twice per day and I always park at the back of the parking lot when I go shopping. I try to walk as much as I can within reason but I know I'm still healing and I do require a lot of rest. I still can't get use to how little I can eat. My brain still thinks I can and should eat more but my tummy is in control. Thank goodness for that.

Are you taking any type of new medication? Sometimes medications can alter your sense of taste and smell which would definitely change the appeal of foods you once enjoyed. Surgery will probably change your likes and dislikes of food too. I used to be a coke-a=holic and quit them about 4months before surgery. It didn't stop my craving for them though. After surgery...no cravings for coke or anything carbonated. In fact the thought of drinking anything carbonated makes me queasy. It's funny how all this works.

Yep, exactly. I had the same symptoms. I take Protonix/ Prilosec everyday first thing in the morning. It will help with the acid reflux. You might need to do this for 3 or 4 months. As far as the gas, the way to get rid of it is to start moving. You need to walk a couple of miles a day and it will make all the difference in the world. Maybe a mile in the morning and one in the afternoon. Your stomach is still swollen and tender inside so that is why your stomach seems larger than before. It's going to take at least 6 to 8 weeks after surgery for the swelling to be completely gone. Mine is still a tiny bit swollen but doctor says to give another week or two and I won't notice it. It's all a part of the healing process. Just go with the flow and you will be fine.

Sorry, I don't understand why my post showed up in the middle of your post. Doesn't make sense...but it happened. LOL

I think everybody did this before surgery. I don't know why but it's almost like you lose control and have no will power. Fight it as much as you can. That pre diet is so important. It teaches you how to eat and helps with weight loss.

I'm 5 weeks out and still can't do that. I'd be careful about that flavored tea. It may have caffeine and sugar and you definitely don't want that in a new stomach. Be careful what you take in so ... if it doesn't offer nutrition maybe you shouldn't. The rule of the sleeve is "just because you can doesn't mean you should". The fact that you are able to take in a lot of fluid is very ggood. You won't get dehydrated drinking that much.