Bluesea71

I was hoping we could do a checkin regarding what a typical day looks like with eating 5 weeks out. Some people have mentioned struggling to find options to eat or growing bored with the same options day after day. My eating is pretty boring. I have elected to stay away from frozen or processed meals. I also don't eat bread, crackers, oatmeal or any simple carbohydrates. I also avoid eating a lot of fruit for the same reason. I wont lie though - the rebel in me wanted to know what a slider food was. I ate 1/2 a bagel with cream cheese a week ago and the thing went right through me! Ive been sticking to Protein foods ever since. My stomach seems to be made of steal. I even had BBQ pulled pork and caesar salad the other night. I notice the restriction and do my best to stop eating to avoid that uncomfortable full feeling. I used to consider myself a foodie. Now I notice that I'm eating just to live instead of the other way around. I'll attach a typical day from my loseit app. Would love to see what others are eating at this point. I average 700-800 calories per day, 70-90 grams of protein and try to keep carbs under 40 if I can. I have been horrible about taking my Vitamins but plan on changing that this week. I'm still nervous about losing my hair. I will be curious to see what happens. I have been getting a minimum of 60 grams of protein in every day since surgery. I have lost on average 3 pounds every week. That doesn't seem to be drastic or excessive. Will my body still perceive it as "drastic" weight loss and make my hair fall out? Time will tell!

I have a goal to start my couch to 5k app when I get to 200 pounds. I started my journey at 226 and am currently at 203. I guess I better start motivating myself to start! It hurt my knees to run when I was heavier and couldn't run for long anyway. I figured its better to walk daily for an hour than run for 20 seconds and risk an injury! There seems to be plenty of people who start earlier. Good luck with whatever you set your heart on!

1) height / weight starting our wls programs: 236 2) weight day of surgery: 226 3) weight five week post op / pounds lost/gained: Current weight: 203.2. I lost 3.2 pounds this week, 32.8 pounds overall. 4) goal weight: 140 5) your biggest success this week: avoiding a stall for another week! I'm carefully monitoring all of my food intake so I have accountability. I refuse to eat anything that doesn't have nutritional value in it. I purchased a new ( smaller) pair of my favorite jeans, only to have them too big for me 3 days later! Several people noticed and commented on my weight loss this week. I don't really notice a change when I look in the mirror, but I guess others are! I'm so close to entering onederland! Maybe next week?!?!?? 6) your biggest struggle this week: no huge struggles. Each day gets a little easier. I still miss my morning coffee, but it just doesn't taste good when I take a sip! Im still not exercising much. I contacted a personal trainer and hope to start boot camp 3 days/week soon.

Trust me, post surgery it's so much easier to implement the behaviors they ask of you pre-surgery. Before surgery, I couldn't master the whole don't drink and eat at the same time if my life depended in it. Now I do it because food fills my tummy and there just isn't room for any liquids! I poured myself 1/2 of coffee yesterday morning and maybe took 3 sips of it. It didn't even taste good and it was Peet's for goodness sake! Wean yourself off now or post surgery you will be adding headaches from caffeine withdrawal to your list if symptoms to deal with. Not fun!

Did you mean to say, "happy dump day"

Congrats on your weight loss! I assume 2014 was a typo? Was your surgery in 2013?

I found these Morning Star chipotle black bean burgers at costco. They are delish! 17 gram of Protein, 190 calories, 7 grams of fat, 22 carb. I heated mine up in a pan, but they can be grilled or baked too. Next time I will add a dollop of sour cream and a wedge of avocado. They crumble up pretty easily, so at 5 weeks post-op, it's the perfect soft food.

I would suggest you post this in the veterans forum. Most people here are newly sleeved or have a date in the future.

They have a kick to them but I wouldn't consider them spicy or hot. As far as what I'm eating 5 weeks out, I seem to have a stomach of steel that tolerates anything. I try to get 650 - 750 calories in a day consisting of 70-90 grams of protein, and as minimal carbs and fat as possible. I avoid bread and most carbs like the plague. I experimented once or twice to prove that they just slide through my pouch and I'm soon hungry again. I haven't had a stall yet... I'm wondering if my consistent high protein levels have anything to do with it?

It happened today - my supervisor at a worksite I do contract work for ran into me in the copy room and asked me if I had lost weight. "I replied, yes! Almost 35 pounds. You're the first person to notice!" I then went on to tell her that I made some pretty drastic lifestyle changes at the beginning of the year - no caffeine, no carbonation, no processed food, no fast food and no bread or pasta of any kind. This is a school site so I won't see them all summer. Boy, will they be surprised when I return in September!

Not that you asked my opinion, but try increasing your daily intake and see if that makes a difference. Somewhere between 600-800 calories at this point. Many people on this board report stalls when their calorie intake is too low. What do you think is preventing you from getting in enough protein? Ugh. People monitoring my weight loss progress is exactly why I only told my parents and Honey. I'm glad I didn't tell anyone. No one knows as wls isn't even on their radar. On the downside, I haven't had many people comment on my almost 30 pound weight loss yet.... Until yesterday. I ran into an old friend who called me "skinny" as she walked up to me! I also benefitted from the honesty and directness of young children yesterday! I walked up to a group of 5 kinder/1st graders yesterday. As I did, one of them stated, "you look tall and skinny. Your legs are long. I really like your hair!" Three more kids agreed with the statement. The last kid stated, "I don't think so." Hahahahaha. Love how honest young kids are!

I drank one small cup of coffee every morning up until the day before surgery. I would gradually wean yourself off of it now if you are an all day coffee drinker. Otherwise you will have caffeine withdrawal headaches to deal with in the liquid stage pre-surgery and post surgery. I have only had a few sips of coffee post surgery (I'm almost 5 weeks out). I used to be (and still am one of those people who couldn't get my morning started without it.). I drag in the mornings but drinking it post-surgery isn't an option for me. My pouch is tiny and the acid in the coffee burns it. It also gave me uncontrollable diarrhea on two occasions that lasted a few hours. The number one long-term complication with sleeve surgery is developing stomach ulcers. Caffeine, most pain medications and other items have been found to contribute to ulcers.

Everyone's experience is unique, but I have to tell you that at 5 weeks out, it's been 100% easier than I thought. Seriously, if I didn't have 5 ugly incision marks on my belly, I would question if I even had the surgery yet! The first 48 hours post-surgery were brutal. By day 3 i felt back to normal. Yes, I have restriction and I love it! I haven't had one single problem I read about on this forum - no gas, no heartburn, no throwing up. My sleeve hasn't rejected anything. I hope you have an equally easy time!

Is your surgeon by chance a vegetarian? This just seems odd. There is such a small amount of protein found in most vegetables. You would have to consume A LOT of vegetables. I mean A LOT to make up the protein levels found in animal protein. And while I haven't done the research on whey and other vegetable based Proteins, I still wonder if they are complete proteins.

There are threads on this board specifically for PCOS you may want to check out. I have PCOS and am 4 weeks out from surgery. My weight loss has been great because I'm eating very little carbs. Recent studies have shown that excess carbs is what leads to insulin resistance and excess belly fat.

Today is officially the 16th! Make sure to take some pictures and record your measurements to document your progress! I last took my measurements on 3/8/14 and overall am down 10.5 inches! I measure my waist, hips, lower bust, upper thigh (at its biggest) and my upper arm. I haven't hit a stall yet, but I feel one coming on as the scale hasn't budged in 5 days. Seeing the inches lost helped motivate me when I was feeling discouraged!

Several have been mentioned above. Have you tried drinking some good old fashion prune juice everyday?

Thought of you as there was a post on BP this morning about unusually heavy periods. Something about estrogen being stored in fat and as your losing fat, the estrogen brings on your period. I'm still waiting to get mine post surgery. I have been getting mine every 29 days like clockwork for years.... Until last month it was 4 or 5 days late and started surgery day. Now it's late again!

I use the Lose It app and the bar scan feature makes it SO easy! I just scan the label of whatever I'm eating and then I can adjust the amount with the scroll bar. So entering a few tablespoons or a 1/4 cup of food is easy! Trust me, the calories add up really quick. It's also nice how it adds up my daily intact of Protein, fat and Carbs.

I had a plastic stitch coming out if two of my incisions. One my doctor could feel but was unable to clip it back. The other surfaced a few weeks later and I could actually see it. I tried to pull it with tweezers (bad idea) and stopped as it would have reopened the wound. I ended up sterilizing some nail clippers and cutting it back. I did a search on BP and read they eventually dissolve. I hope this is the case. These wounds seem a tad more irritated than the others.

Are you tracking your food intake on my fitness pal or Lose it? I think it's so important to get in the habit of recording what you eat. I've noticed how easy it is to rack up the calories since introducing real food. My sleeve hasn't rejected anything, so everything seems to be fair game. In general, I'm staying away from carbs. If it starts the digestion process in my mouth (ie: starts breaking down with saliva) I avoid it like the plague. I have my lose it app set to 800 calories a day. I usually eat 700-750 calories at this point. 70-90 grams of protein and as few carbs as I can. I do notice a difference in WHAT I eat. Its true, if i eat protein, I'm stuffed for hours. Anything else, it quickly moves through my pouch and i could eat again 30 minutes later if i wanted. As challenging as those first few weeks were, I'm now beginning to understand the challenges that lay ahead. Its easy when we couldn't eat the first month. While I will never be able to consume the volume of food I did before WLS, a few high-calorie food choices would stop my weight loss. Tracking my food intake makes me think twice before I put something in my mouth. When my calories are up for the day, I stop eating. I have been just eating three meals per day and maybe one snack midday if I'm hungry. The grazing we did all day long right after surgery isn't a good idea for the long haul.

I'm including a picture to prove a point. Weight is just one thing to judge our results by. All of these women weigh exactly the same. You could be a jiggly 125 pounder or a 145 pounder with strong, lean muscles and definition. I'd rather weigh more and have a rocking hard body. Waist measurement is a HUGE factor when it comes to heart disease. Those of us who carry our weight in our middle are at an increased risk for heart disease. I would say loosing inches is a huge victory! The weight will come off, in the meantime, allow the tape measure to assure you that everything is moving along just as it should!

Just to give you something to compare it to - my ready made premiere protein drink has 30 grams of protein, 1 gram sugar and only 160 calories for 11oz. The slim fast mix already has 180 calories. If you mix milk with it, you're adding in another 100 plus calories in. You could add water, but it may not taste as good.

1) height / weight starting our wls programs: 236 2) weight day of surgery; 226 3) weight four week post op / pounds lost/gained: Current weight; 206.6, lost 3 pounds this week, 29.4 pounds overall 4) goal weight: 140, I 'd like to hit onederland in the next two weeks! 5) your biggest success this week: still getting 60-90 grams of Protein in a day. Maintaining on average 550-800 calories. My ability to take in more liquids is increasing, my UTI infection is finally gone after round 2 of antibiotics! I have more energy this week! 6) your biggest struggle this week: finding clothes that don't make me look like I took a dump in my pants. Everything hangs. We are going through a heat wave (100 degrees here today) so I'm finding summer dresses to be an easy solution!

It would be interesting to hear your doctor's theory behind this. I am carefully monitoring and recording every calorie I consume on the lose it app. I do agree that it's best to stay away from liquid calories in general, but difficult to do in the liquid stage! What I noticed is how easy it would be to create a 400-800 calorie plus protein shake. Add in peanut butter, fruit and other additions and it could easily rack up calories. The ready made premiere protein shake I drink has 160 calories and 30 grams of protein. The Isopure shake I made In the blender with milk the other day ended up being over 500 calories! I ended up pouring it down the sink!