jajmj

Hello!
My surgeon had me starting me on Protein shakes (I use whey protein) and I blend it with a cup of milk and 4 or 5 ice cubes. I had to do this 2x a day but now down to one. They have some yummy flavors like strawberry and Peanut Butter cup! I use body fortress!! Did your doctor mention anything about a Protein supplement? And by that I mean the powder to make shakes?

I got married last weekend and we were there for four days with friends and family (almost none of whom know about my surgery). I took a small "desk" blender with me and I had Protein Drinks at least once a day. Other than that I tried to eat my Protein first. I did drink wine throughout the weekend *carefully*. Did I snack? Yes. Did I have a small piece of my wedding cake? Yes. Was I perfect during my four days? No way. But I was careful and I did pay attention :-) have a wonderful time!
-MM

Your wt loss of 25 lbs in 6 wks is great! Don't be discouraged, this is something to be excited about! I have read that wt loss is never as rapid as it is with the first gastric surgery. So this may be what you are experiencing. Talk with your program and get their take on this. Continue to watch your diet, exercise, and drink your Water. Discuss this with your nutritionist who can guide you through this transition; and you will be fine. Yes, this does work :-) . Best wishes on your journey.

DSMCasey it's not the calories in the Greek yogurt but the fruit is what they don't want. Could get stuck. Make sene?

Monday weigh in day! I'm sooo happy to say my scale is on the move again!
HW: 315
SW: 300 (5/27)
CW: 279.9
Tomorrow is 4 weeks out and I'm down 20 lbs SINCE surgery! I went to torrid last week and for a swim suit on clearance- no biggie really but they were having a BOGO on clearance so I grabbed a pair of jeans a size smaller- thinking these will fit me one day. Out of curiosity I put them on ya home and they fit perfect! Yeah sure I has noticed some room in my old clothing but I didn't realize I was down a size already!
Hope everyone is doing well.
Do we have anymore that want to join our PRIVATE group on Facebook? there are about ten of us there and the support is really nice!

The one word I kept reading is DIET. There is something I once heard that I can't forget. The T in diet stands for TEMPORARY. Don't consider yourself on a diet. It's a change in your life. I always told myself that if I was ever given the gift of this surgery I WOULD NEVER GO BACK!! It's got such a psychological aspect to it. All the people that are supporting me - I refuse to let them down. If that means redefining what I consider my "NORMAL" foods to eat - then I guess that's how it's going to be. I am a pretty strong headed person so I have that going for me as well. I would just hate to see us all go through this then fall off.

I just got my Peanut Butter cook ie Protein in today- it's AMAZING! Sooo delish! I highly recommend it. I didn't find it in a small size but now I am really happy I have the big size. I can see using this stuff a lot.

I have seen a lot of people get frustrated here saying everyone is different and there is too much advice and opinions on Bariatric Pal. I think it really must be overwhelming to some people. The same goes with the surgeons and the NUTS, conflicting advice about food, calories and Protein. I wanted to give a gentle reminder especially to newbies that when you post a topic you will get lots of opinions, and thank goodness for the help! You read, absorb, and plan your life based on what you think will work best for you. There are some great educated recommendations here, and then, like me, personal advice on how we have muddled through. Without this forum who would we ask? I would be sooooooooo lost, even 7 months post op! Good luck and happy summer everyone!

I use my fitness pal daily and record everything. That is one of the things that research says helps the most in having a successful long term outcome.
Also if I think I'm not losing enough or fast enough I can show it to my NUT and get some advice on what changes, if any, I should make

Wow 37lbs is amazing! Just stay nice and hydrated! Congrats!

Skim mozzarella string cheese. I usually have a bottle of frozen Water in a baggie so throw my string cheese in there to keep it cool.

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!

The one thing that strikes me about this post is the title. 'When can we start eating normally?"
Normally. That's the key word for me. And it's up to all us to re-define what normal is for us. If the new normal closely resembles pre-op, but in smaller portions, then I think that's cause for concern. I'm in @@LipstickLady 's camp where I don't justify my choices. But I don't rationalize it either. I've wasted way too many years rationalizing myself up to almost 400lbs.
Simply put, we need to change more than just the size of our tummys.
Please be well…

I totally agree. KIND OF. My first year I was on plan, on target, on task. I intended to get 100% of the results I could during the "honeymoon" phase. Now that I am just a few pounds from goal and 13 months out, I feel as if I can relax a bit and experiment. My year of good habits has gotten rid of my desire to eat bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes and pizza most of the time, as well as a lot of processed foods and fast food. In fact, many things I loved before are quite repulsive to me now. I never thought that would be my reality, but it is. I am not sure I would be able to say that if I continued to nibble on those things all along, though.
I have gone from a tight 20 to a loose 6/8. I have no freaking intention of ever being larger than an 8 again. If that means I have to be diligent, so be it. I can tell you that my life is SO MUCH better, SO MUCH BETTER, even with my self imposed food restrictions. Before I was always on a failing diet, sweaty, fat, frustrated, uncomfortable, pissy when I needed clothes, pissier when I had to do something that involved heat and people and movement because I was self conscious about my size.
Now I can do ANYTHING physically, I can fit into clothes at any store, I fit into teeny spaces, I get stuck in the corner spot as restaurants because I am the smallest one, when I am hot and sweaty, I am not at all self conscious about it, I can eat in public without being embarrassed... If all that means I have to be diligent about my food choices 99% of the time, so be it. Totally worth it.

You don't have to justify your choices to anyone, nor do you need to explain. Your choices are exactly that. YOUR CHOICES. If they work for you, great!! If they don't, it's up to you to evaluate and adjust if you choose to.
Personally, I chose not to indulge because my decision to have WLS was a hard thought out, serious decision. I did not want to risk the health of my new sleeve OR my weight loss ability. No bite of food is worth more than getting to a healthy size. I feel great all day every day because of my weight loss. A bite or three of food lasts what?? A few moments?

If you eat what you used to, you will possibly maintain some weight loss, but you may very well not head off the co morbidities you either have or would have possibly ended up suffering from. Generally, from what I have observed "just less" of the same foods usually does not work. I think, among other things, it has to do with the fact that most poor choices are also slider foods, and you will eat more than you realize.
I have some concern for you, it sounds to an extent that perhaps you did not listen to what was told to you ahead of time, and treated this like another radical weight loss option, when in fact you have made a change that is NOT a cure. THIS WILL NOT cure you. It is a tool - an amazing god-sent tool in my opinion, but just a tool. You have to work at it every day, work at it until the new habits are old habits, and work at it still.
Make another appointment with a WLS specific nut, stick around here, too. Even when you can eat crap, don't. Good luck.

Didn't your doctor give you an eating plan? Pre-surgical nutrition counseling?
Your sleeve will help you with Portion Control but only YOU can decide what to fill it with. Creating new habits is vital to your long term success, so if you can indulge weekly and be happy, more power to you.
You are very new out. I wouldn't recommend indulging yet, but what you choose to eat is on you. No guilt needed.

Don't buy your Vitamins in bulk before surgery! I did this without knowing how hard it would be to swallow pills post op. I've had to experiment with several types of chewable Multi Vitamins and Calcium that didn't make me sick post-op. Also, buy some small containers and freezer bags for food storage, since you won't be able to eat but a few ounces at a time post op. Oh, and follow your surgeon/NUT's instructions to the letter! I'm convinced that's why I had zero complications (except for occasional constipation) once I returned home from the hospital.
Good luck!!

Never ever trust a fart. Never. Seriously. Never

Pre-op. Don't stock up on anything. You should be out and about by day 2 or 3 and able to buy what you like. What you like now will change.

Post-op. Eat really freaking slow and never trust a fart.

Cut out fast food all together now and start on fewer grams of sugar.
Have your favorite last meal at least one month in advance and enjoy the hell out of it. Say good bye to that food and plan on never eating it again.
Don't over purchase any one food or liquid item (you are going to get sick of things very quickly). Test out at least 25 different sources of Protein you intend to incorporate into each stage. You should have a wide variety of options. You want to know how these items will effect your body before you go into surgery. You may experience some allergies you weren't previously aware of.
Buy a food scale and measuring cups. Get some liquid containers and start getting used to carrying around plenty of Water.
Practice eating slowly and drinking liquid 30 minutes before and after.
Don't weigh yourself more than once a week.
Have support at home from someone. Doesn't have to be a spouse but that helps.

I set a goal of 10,000 steps a day Monday - Friday and so far, so good after 2 weeks.

2nd work trip since surgery not to bad finding things to eat when going out to dinner. Get strange looks though when I don't drink during dinner. Need to start logging in fitness pal to track fluids Protein etc. feeling goo tho.

Have been same weight 3 days so figure I have to keep tricking my body. Other than Vitamins, eating almost nothing except Protein and a bit of low-cal dairy.
Clearly, my body believes this is Armageddon and is rallying to save me. Yesterday I took a long bike ride and today I swam for the first time since surgery. Eventually, it will be reflected in my weight but I can tell I've lost inches.
I told my husband it would be ironic is I did lose a bunch of weight and then, some day, need that fat in some post-disaster situation...

Day of surgery - 5/28 - 280
Current - 267