SnohoGal98296

I have been careful about who I share with - a very good friend let me know that eventually everyone would figure it out since the weight would come off - I am very luck that where I work we are all very supportive of each other, as I began to share, some before and some after, I have received excellent positive support from my co-workers. Outside of my department I haven't talked about it much, but I know I will get questions eventually as I am usually involved with other departments. And my customers - they will notice too - especially since we only see each other about once every two months or so... I have a friend that brags about self-control (She lost about 30 lbs while going through a divorce) and about how she is now a hot cougar, I can't imagine telling her - she would immediately say why can't you do it like I did? I don't have the balls to say "you mean get divorced?"

It seems that to some "normal" equals french fries, fast foods, breads and sweets. Why these trigger/unhealthy foods are considered normal should be the question! When I think of what I consider normal eating habits, I think of the majority of my friends and family who tend to eat pretty darn healthy. It was me who was eating the most indulgent foods at a restaurant, it was me that had the largest pile of food on my plate, it was me who never refused dessert, it was me who everybody always said "made enough for an army" (think dinner parties or potluck scenario). I was the abnormal one. I agree about being careful what we consider "normal", that is why I consider it a "New Normal", I fully intend to follow the Protein first rule, and to stay away from simple carbs, etc. But I do not plan on being on a diet, because that has negative connotations for me. I guess I prefer the term eating healthy, staying away from processed foods ( as soon as I can, all these Protein shakes and SF foods are the epitomy of processed food, :-D), using my sleeve to help me keep portions within my surgeons guidelines and work on my head hunger issues. That will be my New Normal.

I guess that depends on your definition of "normal", I totally respect that you are referring to your previous normal that led to morbid obesity, I view the behaviors that got me to morbid obesity as abnormal. You see, I was on what I will jokingly call the Hobbit Diet: breakfast, 2nd breakfast, eleven's, lunch, supper, dinner, etc. I knew what I was doing - digging my own grave! But I could never stick to eating like what I thought a "normal person" ate, I wished everyday that I could be normal! I found I could lose weight on prescription drugs only, I knew that wasn't sustainable for the rest of my life, this is how I made the leap to surgery... so it could do what the drugs do physically and I can work on my head hunger too. So when I read the post title, I was all for eating "normally" :-D Here is to a new normal for all of us!

June 11th - I was 3 days Clear liquids and currently on full liquids through day 14, currently I am on day 11. Weird thing is that my Center's definition of full liquids includes SF pudding, SF smooth yogurt, plain greek yogurt, all things that seem to belong to Pureed/Smooth Foods for other programs, but classifies refried Beans and mashed potatoes as pureed foods... I am soooo ready to try smooth / soft foods - on Day 14 my program jumps to both pureed/smooth foods and soft foods for two weeks and then regular foods (with caution of course)... What are you eating today?

My Doc told me that being on liquids and full liquids only that a BM every 3 days or so is totally normal, she also said that simply a few days past is not considered constipated, they consider constipated when you have the need/pressure/pain to move your bowels and you strain strain strain to only produce a small hard ball, not "geez, I haven't pooped in 4 days, but I don't even feel like I need to" She did suggest adding benefber to your Protein shakes or liquids to assist in moving that matter through. I did that and when I also had more clear broth (instead of cream) based Soups I was able to yell Eureeka! in less than two days... Just saying.

Smooth/Soft Foods is Day 14 for me, so Wednesday I am so trying refried beans!

I finally got all of the residue off! I sprayed my stomach with an all natural no perfume, body oil several times in one afternoon and then showered and used a facial scrub towel wrapped around one finger to go at the lines without scrubbing my incisions. It worked!

Linda - you are so right! As a former pre-op newbie I loved using BariatricPal as a research source where I knew that I had to take into account the nature of the site and it's participants. I learned to add a bit of salt to some posts that seemed overly negative or overly positive, I tempered that judgement with the post count and mutual respect from other posters. I am still a newbie - only on Day 10 post-op, but I have been on BariatricPal since before it was consolidated, I lurked for quite some time before joining. I do miss the snarky posts that were more than your usual operation related question or diet issues. I always enjoy those - sometimes just a view on life or the changes we experience...I have always found value here - but I do wish that the newbie's and the old timers could get along, so we can have some more original posts again. I recognize the value of keeping a "friendly" site but it seems that the ones who go away are the old timers and we are losing some tribal knowledge with those departures. If those old timers who always penned great posts are lurking now - please come back! Alex please consider reinviting those old timers back, we need that experience and life knowledge!

Staples? Did you have an open procedure? I just had steri-strips and superglue - which itches...

Well, I'll tell ya, I have tried oily and alcohol I am still a mess of sticky blackish residue, whatever my Doc used could pave a freaking road... sigh. ...

Really? I was wondering if that might be possible! I will have message her and tell her how much I appreciate the show!

As a new sleeve I am finding I like their Back to Basics episodes in season 2, but I like their attitudes and recipes for when I hit soft and regular foods.

Since it takes me 4 hours to drink my 11 oz Premier Protein RTDs I figure I am getting maximum absorption! :-D

I just found this great show on YouTube called "7 Bites", it is two gals who have both had the Sleeve (1 a band revision to sleeve the other a straight sleeve) - THe videos are about 10-15mins and cover all kinds of topics! I just watched a videon on the Full liquid phase and they gave out tons of tips and helpful advice - Ima binge watch these gals today!! Just search 7 Bites on YouTube and tell me what you think :-D

Hi Patrick, I am on day 8, days 1 - 3 were pretty tough for me, no complications thank goodness, but tough due to all the meds, sleeping in my lazyboy in the family room because laying flat in the bed was a "Nope!", difficulty getting fluids, etc. It can get to you, but with each walk and every sip it gets better, each day goes by and you feel more human! I drove my self to my 1 week appt, I went grocery shopping on Tuesday! It feels good to get outside and feel the sun (that is saying a lot here in the Pacific Northwest!). Two mantras for you: Walk, walk, walk! Sip, sip, sip! Hope you are feeling better soon!

My plan is to aim for 2 protein shakes a day, but I am advised that water / fluids are my priority. I think Ensure has a low sugar line, look for that, or ask your nut if they have a reason they specify Ensure. There are tons of protein shake options, including making your own...

I am lucky to say that I have the job I believe is my dream job. I too travel the world, well I have been to Europe, Asia, and North America in my 18 years of experience so far. While I would love to visit Africa and work with Lions I must admit that I am at home in a big hangar managing the retrofit of commercial airliners! What I look forward to is air travel without seat belt extenders or possibly rude seat mates who think a fat person is a curse on them, being in Asia without being the gigantic American woman, being able to shop in regular sized stores anywhere - not just Lane Bryant or American department stores, feeling like I can stand on my feet or walk for more than 15-20 minutes without foot/back/leg pain, be able to drive something smaller than an SUV without feeling like I am stuffing myself into a sausage, not being this close to having to order a seat belt extender for my husbands car, I could go on and on.... But all that said - I am totally supportive of anyone who has a dream to change their job/environment after weight loss, lets here those plans!

Yes! My sense of smell has gone through the roof! My husband was teasing me about it because I told him the kitchen sink smelled bad and neither he or our son could smell anything! I am smelling like when I was pregnant with bad morning sickness!

I was June 11th too ( you did mean June?) I too have had some head hunger, I can smell my families food (my husband and my kids are all range from extremely fit to just plain fit), and watching tv with food / restaurant commercials and show scenes where people are eating, it has been pure torture at times! But when I get to the point of do I really want eat that? I am so scared of what the food will do to my tummy that I just grab something from my list. Right now I am on full liquids ( will be until Day 14). I find that three things work, a sugar free popsicle - cause it feels solid and takes "work" to consume ( stop laughing boys!), Greek yogurt (it is dense and even more so if you mix in Protein powder), or a savory soup because it feels like dinner because it is not a sweet drink. It distracts me and I feel full on these things, it helps me make it through the day. In my instructions I am not limited on quantities just types of food and atleast two Protein shakes a day. Also, I track my food on myfitnesspal.com and I am surprised to see that I am between 600-800 calories, that helps to know that I have eaten according to plan, even after an added yogurt or soup that I am still at 800 calories. Going for walks when it gets bad, calling/texting a friend/supporter, and, of course, reading bariatricpal help me too! Step away from the ketchup, talk to your Dr about moving to the next phase early if needed! I think if you put your mind to it you got this!

Makes me think of that old jokey retort "If you're not cheating, you aren't trying hard enough!", so that's it, we are just trying harder!

Thanks for all the great tips, my post op appt is tomorrow so I will definitely ask about the remover:-D, but if I can't stand it I will try the oil or alcohol tonight!

So I am on Day 6, my tummy is covered in tape residue and the majority of the tape is still on my incision sites. I am sticky mess and it itches like heck! I am ok with incision site steristrips not having fallen off yet, but what about the nasty residue everywhere else? You see I am a redhead and they told me several times that redheaded equals bleeder, so they had to over wrap three of my sites that kept bleeding through in recovery. So I have lots of excess tape marks. My arms too as they had a hard time finding a good vein, so they had me taped up both sides, I just want to get rid of this nasty black gross tape residue everywhere, it reminds me a dirty bandaid marks when I was a kid! Just so you know, I have been showering and not scrubbing my belly per the recovery instructions... Any suggestions?

My husband has been doing wings on the smoker, low heat smoke and then finishes with a high heat blast to get them really crispy, they are better than fried if you ask me! We are (maybe I should say "was" for me) wing snobs, so no breading and very little butter in the sauce (not 50/50 like most recipes, maybe 1 tbls to 1/2 cup sauce that is tossed on ~18 wings). They are always a huge hit at parties. I love yogurt Mayo swap mentioned above, do you seed your cucumber coolers?

My instructions say 6 months and then with great moderation because you will be impaired on much less than you were before. Less food to mix with, quicker absorption and all that. On the empty calories aspect, I can appreciate that but I also think that as adults we can decide if it is appropriate to have a cocktail every once once in awhile. But then again, previously I had maybe 1 cocktail every other week or so, sometimes every 2 or 3 weeks, they were not a calorie issue for me. My triggers are all food based.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself. How have your fluid intakes been? Are you following the clear/full liquid stages? Are you walking in increments up to 40 mins a day? Are you a lower start BMI? All of these things can impact your weight loss...