InfiniteButterfly

The worst of it pretty much faded the first week. The deepest bruises were mostly gone by 14 days. The swelling was mostly gone at 14 days as well (although my stomach still looked horribly lop-sided, most of the swelling was down)

You may want to call your doctor and check in.

For the first week, I slept on my back with extra pillows to keep me inclined, and another under my knees. I hate back-sleeping. I was quite happy with I could lay on my side without too much trouble at around day 7. I would have tried propping a pillow or rolled blanket under my tummy to side-sleep, but there just wasn't room in the bed (I share with bf, and didn't want to take over the entire bed)

I ate neither on puree stage. I'm on soft foods now, and I had 1 tablespoon of mashed potato one night...but at this point, I barely eat enough to get my protein in so I really try to not eat anything that doesn't have protein.

It's honestly not that bad after the first few days. Just keep your eyes on the goal and remind yourself why you're doing this. Keep yourself busy...that helps distract from food.

Congrats on 100 miles! I agree on how easy it is to get the miles in with just a little effort (for June, I have 30 miles on my step counter and 80 miles for cycling...I started biking splitting between biking and walking recently)

I was sleeved May 15...HW 310 (my first visit to the bariatric office), SW 285, CW 253. Down a total of 57 lbs.

I did the daily scale thing for the first two-three weeks. When I hit my first stall, I stopped weighing daily because I felt myself getting frustrated. So now I weigh once a week (Fridays) and take my measurements at the same time.

Definitely a conflict. I know my bariatric office is going to start selling, but as of now, they don't require that you use the products they carry, it's more a convenience thing for people that don't like shopping online or have trouble finding the right stuff in stores. I would definitely have a problem if I were forced to take a certain brand, because post-surgery, I couldn't tolerate most of the things I enjoyed pre-surgery...most of the shakes were far too sweet.

The insurance/ payment was a big issue. I had first started looking into it when I had great insurance, and when I lost my job and insurance due to some family issues, I didn't have that as a resource, and most if not all the money I had at the time went toward my kids. (my ex had destroyed my credit rating, so I had no credit and no savings. But bonus! I no longer had the ex, so it was worth it) When hubby got a fantastic job with great insurance benefits, I dove in head-first. He knew it was something I'd wanted for a long time, and he supported me every step of the way.

I gave pop up cold turkey pretty close to the beginning of the process. The first few days were tough, but I really wanted to break the pop habit (plus...water's a LOT cheaper in the long run) I couldn't just drink less and wean myself down. It never worked, and I always ended up drinking more and more.

For Snacks or quick meals, I grab a P3 or make my own (I can get strips of low-fat meat at the supermarket salad bar, and I use cheddar cheese curd..just measure out an ounce of each, and put it in a snack-size bag). Most of the Protein bars I've seen have fairly high sugar content, and I'm supposed to avoid them for a while longer. I did find a few varieties of Pure Protein that have sugar alcohol rather than sugar, and no pieces of nuts (no nuts until 4-6 months out), but I can only take a bite or two (generally after a bike ride or hard workout) Tuna pouches are a good, quick food. I made taco salad cups the other night, and they're very portable (I used a recipe from Bariatric Foodie for the salad itself, but instead of a casserole made it in muffin tins. It was basically a bit of taco meat and salsa, with refried Beans and then cheese) String cheese is a go-to snack food.

253.6 At least it's going down, even though it's slowed considerably

I've got another month or two before I'm clear for lettuce. I can easily see myself eating meat wrapped in a leaf of romaine lettuce.

Hmm...I may have to try this. Even though I'm okay to try bread now, I don't want to have anything at this point that doesn't have protein (I barely eat enough to make my protein amounts, so empty carb calories are no good for me). This sounds like a good option.

When I worked in an office, I was lucky enough to have an adjustable desk...I would stand and pace at my position for half my shift. Also..I brought small dumbbells in (I worked the late shift in a call center, and there weren't many supervisors around at night). Desk yoga is wonderful.

Why would you throw away clothes? All my old clothes are boxed up for the local shelter/resale shop. I'm at three boxes now, and soon to be more. I already went shopping in my attic and pulled down a bunch of clothes I haven't fit into in years. All but two or three of the tops fit (and fit well), so I'm looking forward to putting those into the boxes and sending them away.

That's a good question. I hit 6 weeks today, and I'm eating about half what I was last week (as I sit here staring at my half-finished scrambled egg and cheese). I just chalked it up to warmer temperatures...I never want to eat when it's hot out.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Although that would be rude. I've been lucky in not getting any negative comments about my surgery (at least to my face. If someone wants to talk about it behind my back, oh well. They likely weren't a terribly good friend in the first place) Plus...if diet and exercise worked, bariatric surgeons would not be getting much business. It's not like everyone here hasn't tried both for years without success (or without lasting success)

What stage are you on? That will count for a lot in what Proteins you can have. Generally speaking, meat, fish, eggs, cheese, Greek yogurt all have good amounts of Protein. How much protein varies by what type.

A CUP of food? Good grief! I'm almost six weeks out, and I'm lucky to hit a quarter-cup at a meal (although I generally have something small mid-afternoon to hit my protein). My NUT mentioned that according to our plan, we should eat up to a cup of food at between six months to a year out (she also said that's a maximum, not a suggested amount.) Are you hitting your numbers otherwise? Protein and hydration amounts? If you're getting those in, I wouldn't worry about striving to eat more than you're comfortable eating. When in doubt, let your NUT know that that's all you can manage to get in. I can't imagine they would want you to force yourself to eat more.

I've suffered with depression my whole life, but then, I've been overweight my whole life. I don't know that losing weight will cure my depression (I suspect not), but I'm going through therapy post-surgery as well to try and counteract the depression. I know I've only had one or two bad depressive episodes since the surgery (I expected at LEAST that, knowing the hormone surges and ebbs) I certainly hope that I experience less down days and more up days. I think I will, simply because getting out and exercising was always a great way for me to lift myself up out of the dark pit, and now that I have more energy, I have more ability to get up and out, and get some exercise. I don't expect weight loss to be a panacea to cure-all...but weight loss will give me the ability to use other tools to help combat depression.

I started using straws at 5 weeks (yes, I asked both the doctor and NUT first. It was in relation to wearing a Camelback while biking, but the bite-valve tubing is straw-like). Both of them said "try it and see", and sip slowly and mindfully. It didn't bother me, and I started using a straw fairly regularly at home (I have a plastic Starbucks cup with plastic straw that I use for my water). I have a pair of cats, so something with a lid is essential.

I don't know that I'm more obsessive...although I've started using moisturizer daily after my shower and paying more attention to my skin condition. I'm not very far out though, so I haven't lost most of my chubby cheeks yet. I used to love wearing makeup when I was in high school and college...I stopped when it got to the point I hated looking in the mirror long enough to apply it. I look forward to wanting to use a little again. (I have a wide-brimmed hat to wear outside as well, and polarized sunglasses to boot. I need to grab some suntan lotion. I always forget,)

I stopped weighing every day when I hit my first stall at 2 1/2 weeks. I weigh only on Fridays now, but I track all my food and exercise. To me, it's a way to be accountable to myself and responsible for my choices. I KNOW I was always better about eating when I'd track food pre-surgery...but if I had a bad day, I'd stop tracking and pretend it didn't exist. No more pretending. I plan my meals (to a degree...when I'm home, I worry less about it because I always have low-fat lunch meat and cheese sticks if nothing else). I take Snacks wherever I go so I don't resort to bad choices when I'm out and about. I haven't gotten exercise bulimia yet...I tend to exercise first thing in the morning either cycling or walking and make sure I get enough steps in so I don't have to worry about what I eat (at this point, it's not much anyway)