JamieLogical

Your best bet would be to do a version of the more strict pre-op liquid diet. Mine was:
3 Protein shakes a day, no more than 150 calories each 1 green salad with sugar-free dressing or vinegar unlimited sugar-free Jello and popsicles

From a medical standpoint, there is definitely such a thing as "too skinny". A BMI of under 18.5 is considered "underweight" and puts your health at risk.
Some people also fear they may LOOK "too skinny" depending on their body type and weight distribution. But that's a much more subjective issue. For me, I feel uncomfortably skinny when I am under 160 pounds. I like having some curves and some muscle. Others are content to get much lower. It's an individual decision.

It really will get better day-by-day. In two weeks you will look back and not believe how much better you are doing. In the moment it feels like eternity, but it really does go quite quickly.

The first few days are rough, but it does get easier every single day. You won't need the nurses to help you by day 3 or 4. Make sure you get up and walk as much as you can. Even when you REALLY don't want to. It will help a ton with the gas pain and prevent blood clots. Plus it will just generally make you feel a little better and more energetic.

I highly recommend you take some time to do your research of surgeons in Mexico if you decide to go that route. There are some excellent surgeons and facilities there, but just like in the US, there are also some hacks. My surgeon and facility was excellent, but more on the pricey side for Mexico. BariatricPal actually partners with a couple of surgeons in Mexico as well. The do the vetting and due diligence for you and offer competitive pricing. You can find out more about in the forum I linked you earlier.

The first few days are rough, but it does get easier every single day. You won't need the nurses to help you by day 3 or 4. Make sure you get up and walk as much as you can. Even when you REALLY don't want to. It will help a ton with the gas pain and prevent blood clots. Plus it will just generally make you feel a little better and more energetic.

From a medical standpoint, there is definitely such a thing as "too skinny". A BMI of under 18.5 is considered "underweight" and puts your health at risk.
Some people also fear they may LOOK "too skinny" depending on their body type and weight distribution. But that's a much more subjective issue. For me, I feel uncomfortably skinny when I am under 160 pounds. I like having some curves and some muscle. Others are content to get much lower. It's an individual decision.

From a medical standpoint, there is definitely such a thing as "too skinny". A BMI of under 18.5 is considered "underweight" and puts your health at risk.
Some people also fear they may LOOK "too skinny" depending on their body type and weight distribution. But that's a much more subjective issue. For me, I feel uncomfortably skinny when I am under 160 pounds. I like having some curves and some muscle. Others are content to get much lower. It's an individual decision.

Huge congrats! The feeling of accomplishment I got when I completed my first half marathon... can't even put it into words! I want to cry for you just thinking about how great that felt! Can you believe how far we've come?

It is VERY important that in these early weeks you weigh/measure your food and eat on a schedule. You cannot rely on "full" or "hungry" signals from your stomach, because there was a lot of damage to your nerves with the surgery. Your surgeon or nutritionist should have instructed you on how much to eat at one time. For me, in the puree stage, it was two ounces.

It is VERY important that in these early weeks you weigh/measure your food and eat on a schedule. You cannot rely on "full" or "hungry" signals from your stomach, because there was a lot of damage to your nerves with the surgery. Your surgeon or nutritionist should have instructed you on how much to eat at one time. For me, in the puree stage, it was two ounces.

Yep, they hurt like hell. But you have to tough it out. Marching in place while sipping helped a little bit. Definitely don't want to end up back in the hospital for dehydration!

I did everything "right" through my post-op food stages. I followed my post-op nutrition plan like it was my Bible. I did my 60 total minutes of "brisk walking" per day. I got my Water and Protein in. Hit 100 grams of Protein daily before I was even back on solid foods. As soon as I was cleared for more intense exercise, I started Couch to 5k and strength training. I met my goal weight right at my one year mark and have been maintaining for almost 16 months.
I definitely don't do everything "right" anymore, but I do it well enough to maintain! Once you are in maintenance, it's about making good choices like 80-90% of the time.

Um, at a month out your nutritionist already wants you at 4-5 ounces of food at one meal!??! That's nuts! I was at 2 oz. a meal for ages. I am well over 2 years post-op now and I would say 5-6 ounces is my absolute max, depending on the density of what I'm eating.
You should be able to meat your Protein goal even if you can only do 2 oz. at a time. Especially if you can handle your Protein shakes and Greek yogurt. I would say about a month out my day looked something like this:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Morning Snack: string cheese
Lunch: leftovers from a previous dinner or a scrambled egg w/ cheese
Afternoon Snack: Greek yogurt
Dinner: 2oz. of some recipe (like Shelly's baked ricotta, some sort of tuna salad, pulled chicken in sauce, etc.)
Late Snack: Protein Shake
That right there is 90 grams of Protein a day, assuming my Protein Shakes had 20 grams each and my lunch and dinner had about 15 grams.

PS: Your shirt made me a little teary.

Huge congrats! The feeling of accomplishment I got when I completed my first half marathon... can't even put it into words! I want to cry for you just thinking about how great that felt! Can you believe how far we've come?

@@TaureanMe Can you tell us more about when your weight loss stopped? What your eating and exercise are like? Are you gaining weight or just not losing anymore?

It's only bad if you don't have a clear sense of whether or not you are meeting your daily Protein goal.

Just posted this in another thread this morning:
It's important to remind yourself that you made the decision to have surgery when you were in a logical/rational state of mind. Last-minute jitters are common, but they are emotional and irrational. Don't let them deter you from following through on a decision that you made after a LONG period of research and reflection.

Here's what my soft food diet looked like:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Morning Snack: String cheese
Lunch: scrambled egg or shredded meat (pulled chicken or tuna salad)
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt
Dinner: same concept as lunch
Evening Snack: Protein Shake
In the very early stages I couldn't fit in the morning and afternoon Snacks, but I worked my way up to them.

No. I didn't even read your whole post, but I can say "no" with 100% confidence. It is not possible to drink too much or too fast. liquid passes straight through your sleeve in a matter of seconds. It will not "stretch" your sleeve or hurt you in any way.
The only dangers from drinking are drinking WHILE eating or drinking immediately after eating. If you aren't feeling any restriction with liquids in the days immediately post-op, you should count your blessings! It just means you have less swelling than us unlucky ones who struggle to get our fluids in those first few days.

Complications since my surgery have been few and far between. I'm now almost 22 months post-op. I am in the process of divorcing my husband and have begun some casual dating. It's already been interesting navigating dating. I hadn't "dated" in probably close to 15 years... I am no longer in my 20's (I'm 37)... I am now much thinner and more attractive than I ever was in my previous dating periods... and I have my surgery preventing me from your normal kinds of dinner dates.
So last night I was on a date. I hadn't told my date about my surgery, he just knows I eat Protein first and don't eat much at one time. So we were scheduled to go play Lasertron (fancy laser tag) and we wanted to grab some dinner ahead of time. We went to a restaurant he recommended, which I'd never been to before. I had half a burger without the bun and a few tatter tots. Not really any more than I typically eat at a "large" meal these days. But I must have eaten too fast or not chewed well enough or something, because I was feeling uncomfortably full after. It's a feeling I rarely encounter, as I am an "old pro" at this whole sleeve thing now, right?
We went to Lasertron. I was still feeling full, but not too bad. I was able to run around and shoot children with the best of them! It was a ton of fun, but I did get very hot and sweaty. Afterward I bought some G2 from the little cafe there to re-hydrate and two sips in I was on the edge of throwing up. There was just no room in there for it to even get down my esophagus. I rushed to the bathroom where I experienced foamies for just the second time since my sleeve. Having experienced this once before (at Thanksgiving), I knew that it meant something was "stuck" and I was going to continue to be miserable until I actually vomited and dislodged whatever was stuck. Unfortunately, my attempts at vomiting just brought up the G2 and lots of mucus.
So after the second round of attempted vomiting, I had to tell my date I was not feeling well and needed to go home. Of course, "home" was his house, because we'd only brought my car to dinner and Lasertron. At his house I proceeded to nearly vomit a bunch more times. He sat with me on the bathroom floor. Then he got me a bucket so I could lie down on the couch. FINALLY I actually threw up and felt a million times better. But completely humiliated by the whole thing. He was amazingly great about the whole thing. Even gave me a brand new toothbrush to use after the whole ordeal. I guess I have to marry this guy now, right? For being so great through that. And he still wants to keep dating me!
I still didn't tell him about my surgery though.....

Here's what my soft food diet looked like:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Morning Snack: String cheese
Lunch: scrambled egg or shredded meat (pulled chicken or tuna salad)
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt
Dinner: same concept as lunch
Evening Snack: Protein Shake
In the very early stages I couldn't fit in the morning and afternoon Snacks, but I worked my way up to them.

During my weight loss phase I ate 1400-1500 calories a day, hit my Protein goal of 100 grams every day, ran three days a week, biked two days a week, and did strength training 5-6 days a week. I think, like you have observed from other posts, I was successful because I actually kept my calories pretty high. I never had the damage to my metabolism that a lot of WLS patients have by creating too large a calorie deficit in their weight loss phase.
My only advice for someone in your position now would be to get as much protein as possible and add in some strength training. Muscle burns more calories, so if you can build some up, it should boost your metabolism a bit. But it won't be fast. Don't expect quick results. You have to do it and stick with it and have faith it will pay off in the end.

You will still be able to eat in social settings. Once you are through the post-op food stages and all healed up, you will be able to eat anything. Just in smaller quantities. The main requirement will simply be Protein. Every party/function/dinner/gathering I have been to post-op has had SOME sort of protein choice available. I've been to Holiday parties, Super Bowl parties, cookouts, happy hours.... I have managed to find something to eat at every single one of those.