finallyfree101

Take your time reintroducing foods, you will know almost immediately what you can tolerate. I loved this phase and really started to learn to read labels and change my cooking habits. Favorite meal I learned on this forum was crab bisque and the family loved it too. I also felt my energy come back once I weaned back on regular and soft foods and started weighing 2 times a week instead of daily and never noticed a stall.

Take your time reintroducing foods, you will know almost immediately what you can tolerate. I loved this phase and really started to learn to read labels and change my cooking habits. Favorite meal I learned on this forum was crab bisque and the family loved it too. I also felt my energy come back once I weaned back on regular and soft foods and started weighing 2 times a week instead of daily and never noticed a stall.

You should take what you need and leave the rest! for sure, there are a lot of people who need to vent and very few people that have complications. I have not had any complications or issues and I had surgery on July 3rd. No issues for me, I am not saying there are not risks or those individuals didn't follow the rules. Just keep on track and pay attention to your body as you go through phases. I followed the rules my Dr. gave me and researched the risks and new that the risk for me not having it was much higher. Good luck, it's okay to be nervous.

So I know that we are FEW and far between! But I know there must be some other sleevers whose doctors didn't push them to do low carb. Mine bascially said (and I remember this like a movie) that "this is the size of your stomach (curling fingers over and sliding his finger down the knuckles) - you can either put something in it that is 200 calories, or something that is 1200 calories. We can't make that choice for you"
Made perfect sense to me!
At 10 weeks out, I'm happy that I'm 46 pounds down and doing just as good as others who had surgery the same week. Typically I'm around 500 calories, sometimes up to 800. I don't feel like I need to do low carb AND low cal (that restriction provides). For now, it seems to be working very well!
I would love to have a little group here going of those of us who can support eachother without feeling like they are doing things "wrong" because other doctors are making their people do low carb. I'd LOVE to hear from new people and people maintaining and a year out etc. Any part in the journey.

You should take what you need and leave the rest! for sure, there are a lot of people who need to vent and very few people that have complications. I have not had any complications or issues and I had surgery on July 3rd. No issues for me, I am not saying there are not risks or those individuals didn't follow the rules. Just keep on track and pay attention to your body as you go through phases. I followed the rules my Dr. gave me and researched the risks and new that the risk for me not having it was much higher. Good luck, it's okay to be nervous.

You should take what you need and leave the rest! for sure, there are a lot of people who need to vent and very few people that have complications. I have not had any complications or issues and I had surgery on July 3rd. No issues for me, I am not saying there are not risks or those individuals didn't follow the rules. Just keep on track and pay attention to your body as you go through phases. I followed the rules my Dr. gave me and researched the risks and new that the risk for me not having it was much higher. Good luck, it's okay to be nervous.

Interesting topic! I was told it flushes the nutrients out of your system but I think all of the above are true. after eating I go and keep busy for an hour so not to think about it. It is a hard new habit for sure.

I think if you could break it down into mg per meal you would be better off. My Dr. said the chewy bariatric Vitamins are fine but I wasn't supposed to start until week 4. so I take my B-12 in the morning and then my Iron pill on an empty stomach this is about 6: 30 am when I go to work. Then Breakfast at 8 with my first 500 mg calcium citrate chew. I have 3 of those a day with each meal. At the end of the day I take my Multivitamin since this one seems to make me a little nauseas. I hope this helps.

aliess,
I agree with what BitterSweet* and Bobby46 said. Protein is ESSENTIAL for your body to be able to heal from having a good part of your stomach removed. I was on Clear liquids such as broth for a week after surgery. I ended up buying and drinking some Isopure clear Liquid Protein because I felt weak and my body felt like it needed Protein.
Then a week of protein shakes, then a week of "mushies" like cottage cheese, re-fried Beans and moist cooked eggs. When I was eating the cottage cheese, re-fried Beans and moist cooked eggs--I as very vigilant about measuring them so I didn't have too much there to eat.
Good luck and welcome to the "loser's" club!
Kathleen

Interesting topic! I was told it flushes the nutrients out of your system but I think all of the above are true. after eating I go and keep busy for an hour so not to think about it. It is a hard new habit for sure.

you should speak with your surgeon about what his/her complication rate is. each doctor is different, each facility is different, each patient has different risks based on his/her medical status at the time of surgery. you should speak directly and frankly with your doctor and only sign the papers if you feel like the risks of surgery are less than the risks of remaining obese. do not rely on what you read here to make your decision, rely on what your doctor tells you.

I chose not to tell anyone either...I did not want any opinions or comments like " you took the easy way out"... No, I took control of my life with the new technologies that are available to me...I have had a band since 2005 and just converted to a sleeve last week...although feeling a bit battered at this moment, losing weight was the best thing I ever did for ME!

I'm 56 and will never tell my mother ever as long as I live. she is 80 and as mean as they come! She would never get it!

OK Yes I'm 45 years old and I was afraid to tell certain family members. But more importantly did not want to tell my mom because she just was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. She worries about everyone but herself. So today I bit the bullet and told her. She took it well but really had no choice because it's done.

How is everybody doing. I lost around 40 lbs. in onederland. Have reached 198lbs now. Feeling great . Getting trained for a 5k in September , 13 mile bike ride, an a bollywood dance in November . Never been so happy and healthy before.

Hi July Sleevers, It seems like we are all so different, gpippin66 I think it's amazing your Dr. was able to help you! I had mine July 3rd and am doing exceptionally well. walking helps with that pumped in surgery air and mine seems to be dissipating. I only have a little pain and am working through it. My starting weight was 316 lbs when I started this process and as of today I am at 258lbs and cannot believe that sounds so good. I've been on Liquids since memorial day and have 2 weeks to go, I cannot wait to make changes but fear it at the same time. I look forward to your success stories and any suggestions as our diets change. I'm not sure how to puree meat I would love suggestions since it sounds like most people are going to solids sooner than later? I went back to work right away and still feel a little tired but I cannot complain at all, this will have saved my life by staving off disease. Really any suggestions as you move to soft foods and pureed meat would be helpful, I'ma planner.

Hi July Sleevers, It seems like we are all so different, gpippin66 I think it's amazing your Dr. was able to help you! I had mine July 3rd and am doing exceptionally well. walking helps with that pumped in surgery air and mine seems to be dissipating. I only have a little pain and am working through it. My starting weight was 316 lbs when I started this process and as of today I am at 258lbs and cannot believe that sounds so good. I've been on Liquids since memorial day and have 2 weeks to go, I cannot wait to make changes but fear it at the same time. I look forward to your success stories and any suggestions as our diets change. I'm not sure how to puree meat I would love suggestions since it sounds like most people are going to solids sooner than later? I went back to work right away and still feel a little tired but I cannot complain at all, this will have saved my life by staving off disease. Really any suggestions as you move to soft foods and pureed meat would be helpful, I'ma planner.

On July 7, 2014 I had my surgery. Due to a complication with my thyroid levels my original date was pushed out two weeks. I had already been on the pre op diet for two weeks and when I was pushed two more weeks I decided to remain on the diet. See, I had already dropped 22 lbs in two weeks. By the end of the fourth week and one day before surgery I had dropped a total of 48lbs. Now I am 3 weeks post op and after 8 weeks total I went from 405lbs to 332lbs today. A grand total of 73lbs removed from my body. My arthritis is gone, any other joint pain I had is gone, my outlook on life itself has skyrocketed, and my sex drive is back, ( I had to apologize to my wife) lol. I have been struggling to get down my Vitamins, my stomach does not like them anymore for some reason. I will touch back again soon.
Congratulations to everyone who has decided to take the ride.

I'm only in 3 1/2 weeks but have not been this happy in a very long time. I understand your concern about divorce, they say it's like 75% but, if you are truly happy with the one your with and they support your choice the 2 of you will be fine! It would take a heck of a lot for me to even think about leaving my man, he's the most supportive man I've ever met. I hope you make the right decision for you. Good luck!

My top choice was guacamole made with Greek yogurt. Ate it with a spoon.

Refried Beans with cheese
Very soft scrambled eggs with cheese
Hummus (yes, another dip I ate with a spoon)
Mashed potatoes with FF gravy (made with skim milk and sour cream, hardly any nutritional value, but oh so good)

tuna salad mashed to almost a puree
Crab bisque

Another vote for refried Beans here. I like mine with melted cheese and hot salsa.
Another favorite thing to do was puree meat with a tasty sauce and heat it up. Depending on the meat, top with some cheese too. This makes a little casserole type dish. I mostly used the little individual serving size packets or cans of meat because I really couldn't eat enough to get through fresh meat before it went bad. Some favorites:
thai spice tuna with Sriracha sauce
chicken with low carb BBQ Sauce and cheddar cheese
turkey with peanut satay sauce and jack cheese
lemon dill salmon with remoulade
ground beef with horseradish sauce and gruyere cheese
chicken with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese
sweet & spicy tuna with chipotle BBQ sauce
for me anyway, meat pureed with Water or just plain broth/stock was disgusting - like baby food. Bland and blech. But meat pureed with a very flavorful sauce and heated up was really good.

I did some research and honestly you will probably spend a little less on Vitamins once you can tolerate pills again. When you buy the chewable or dissolvable they are a little more, I spent about $90 for my first month supply, with shipping. They are absorbed better than pills. Still worth it because I don't spend money on going out to eat and going for drinks anymore.

Huevos rancheros minus the tortilla...refried Beans, egg, cheese and green chili. Favorite at ANY stage! (Except liquids)
The only problem that I had with Tomato Soup was that it tasted too sweet to me (really!). I puréed it with Italian sausage to cut the sweet.

Surgery is scheduled for August 6th. I still cant believe it.. Im not going to lie, Im having some mixed emotions but I keep checking out this forum, the gastric sleeve support group on Facebook and instagram and continue to read about everyones success stories so I can feel more encouraged. I know this is what I want, I just hope I dont fail at this or god forbid any complications ! Trying to stay strong!

I'm going to have to check that out! thanks. My experience at the mall yesterday was like being in a foreign country and unable to speak the language, seriously. I live in a small town of 6,000 people and when I travel for Dr. appointment I shop! I went automatically to the Woman's section of Macy's good ole' stand by and the clothes were so cute but nothing I liked fit, so I figured it was time to venture to the "regular," sizes and I was sooooo confused! I haven't been in those sections for a very long time. I went to find my size and they were all picked over and very few options, unless I wanted to spend $80.00 for a pair of pants, eeeek! Not to wear for 4 weeks, not going to happen!
More to my point, I took all my clothing that no longer fit, to the local consignment stores and since Friday they have already sold 8 of 75 items. I earn 50% and can buy my clothes there until I'm down to goal. These aren't just thrift store quality they have really nice clothing, Just another option.