Sharon Walls

I also had a lower start BMI. Was sleeved on 9/16 and have lost 20 lbs so far. Getting in a couple of miles of walking every day. Weight loss pattern on the scale seems to be holding at one weight for 4 days or so, then it goes down another pound; I am good with that. Am in the soft foods phase, and my energy has been better now that I am weaning off the Protein powder and getting in more real foods (tuna, chicken breast, eggs, yogurt). The incision pain is finally starting to subside. Struggling to get in more than 40 oz of fluids a day, but I'll get to 60-64 eventually.

Those usually contain collagen as the primary form of Protein which doesn't have the amino acids we need to process it. In other words, you do not get 42 grams of protein because our bodies cannot absorb it in this form. In general, stay away from these bullet type protein tubes. They are a waste of money. I know Protein Shakes get old but there is a reason we are told to drink them.

My surgeon asks that you not consume alcohol for the first year. I think some of it is that it is high in calories/sugar, and metabolizes differently with a smaller stomach. Also, there is research that is showing an increase in alcohol dependence after gastric surgery (cross addiction and liquids go through really easy :-). Not to say this would happen to you but something to certainly be aware of. I am actually an alcohol and drug counselor and have seen a number of clients recently who never had a problem with alcohol pre- surgery and now find themselves having problems. I know for me, genetics and now sleeved I'm not sure I want to take the chance anymore. So if you decide to have a glass....have one for me :-)

i forgot to mention the Vitamin Biotin. . . . . . . for the hair and skin and nails.

Sleeve for sure. Your digestive system is intact and you do not have the malabsorption and dietary restrictions of RNY. Sleeve has been done for years for treatment of gastric ulcers etc. I look at it this way: I had a 32 ounce stomach that I could fill until it hurt. Now I have a 4 ounce stomach that makes me pay if I over eat (pressure and even worse - throwing up). So even if I overeat and eventually stretch out my 4 ounce stomach, it will never be the old 32 ounce stomach that just let me over stuff myself whenever I wanted. Unless I decide to eat every hours, high carb, high calorie foods, I just can't imagine being physically able to gain back all the weight I've lost.
Does this make sense?

Wow, so today is 6 months since my sleeve surgery, unbelievable! It went really fast, I am down 65 pounds and 4 sizes smaller. My question is: what happens now??? What happens next??? How do I continue to "just be" day in and day out? Year in and year out?
I am still really struggling with how to use my time now that I am not turning to food all day. I guess I use to just graze the days away and do nothing else. (I didn't realize this) Now I really don't know what to do with myself in the hours between my meals and Snacks. It's emotionally uncomfortable a lot of the time. Sometimes I just sit.
I also didn't anticipated this, but I feel that I'm at a disadvantage emotionally and physically having the surgery at my age. I am in my early 50’s so my body isn’t doing what I know it would have done in my 20’s or 30’s, etc. I haven't been able to achieve that excited athletic feeling I used to love. (Will I be able to??)
My life is also settled at this point: My career is established and I’m in a 9 year relationship. I don’t have all those "future" goals to aim towards. All those youthful hopes, dreams and wishes. Life gets tough for me when there isn’t a feeling of striving for the future, aiming to achieve something, working towards a goal. My life is very routine when I am wanting to be free and adventurous. It feels like such a waste to finally have the body and the look but no freedom to enjoy it. I just have to keep dragging my new beautiful self into the same boring office everyday. I'm struggling with this concept. Weight loss surgery should come with a one year sabbatical!!
Even so, I am on this amazing Journey that still feels so completely surreal. I cannot believe I did this and that this is my life and that I have actually been able to lose weight that I've had on me since I was 17.
Life is grand!

Pasta-less lasagna: cooked chicken breast, ricotta cheese, and spaghetti sauce - puree in the blender to the right consistency. Good warm or cold. I used equal parts chicken and ricotta and used the sauce to get to the right texture. Added extra italian seasoning and garlic and some parm cheese, too.
tuna salad: albacore tuna, relish and lowfat mayo blended to the right texture. I used homemade zucchini relish, which is pretty zippy since it has curry powder in it. 1 can of albacore to 3/4 cup of relish was good for me, with just enough mayo to bind it. Blended it down to the texture of dip.
These are my 2 favorite go-to Protein meals for weeks 3-4. Hummus is good too, especially if you need some Fiber.

Pasta-less lasagna: cooked chicken breast, ricotta cheese, and spaghetti sauce - puree in the blender to the right consistency. Good warm or cold. I used equal parts chicken and ricotta and used the sauce to get to the right texture. Added extra italian seasoning and garlic and some parm cheese, too.
tuna salad: albacore tuna, relish and lowfat mayo blended to the right texture. I used homemade zucchini relish, which is pretty zippy since it has curry powder in it. 1 can of albacore to 3/4 cup of relish was good for me, with just enough mayo to bind it. Blended it down to the texture of dip.
These are my 2 favorite go-to Protein meals for weeks 3-4. Hummus is good too, especially if you need some Fiber.

At 21 days I still had that pain. At 32 days it was pretty much all gone. Hang in there - another 2 weeks and you should be through the worst of it.

I was on Clear Liquids for the first day in the hospital, then advanced to full liquids by the time I was discharged. Full liquids for the 1st 3 weeks, then puree for a week, then mush and I am starting to introduce solids. My full liquid go-to items were Jello, diluted pudding with Protein powder mixed in, Protein shakes with greek yogurt blended in, diluted yogurt, cream Soups. I got some of the Gerber multigrain baby Cereal as well - apple/sweet potato - that mixed with milk and some Protein Powder to the right texture was pretty good. My next stage go-to foods have been pasta-less lasagna - cooked chicken breast, ricotta, and a couple of tablespoons of spaghetti sauce zipped down into dip texture in the Ninja blender; tuna salad made with albacore, homemade zucchini relish, and lowfat olive oil mayo - also zipped down into dip texture in the Ninja; cottage cheese, eggs cooked anyway I like (mostly poached and over easy), undiluted yogurt. Hummus is good. My sister just picked the last of the season's squash from her garden, so I'll get to enjoy some of that in the coming days.

I would suggest setting a timer next to you for every 15 minutes. Take a sip of 2 oz.
That will get you 8 Oz per hour and after 8 hours you will have your 64 Oz. Good luck! That's tough for most of us post op.

I was on Clear Liquids for the first day in the hospital, then advanced to full liquids by the time I was discharged. Full liquids for the 1st 3 weeks, then puree for a week, then mush and I am starting to introduce solids. My full liquid go-to items were Jello, diluted pudding with Protein powder mixed in, Protein shakes with greek yogurt blended in, diluted yogurt, cream Soups. I got some of the Gerber multigrain baby Cereal as well - apple/sweet potato - that mixed with milk and some Protein Powder to the right texture was pretty good. My next stage go-to foods have been pasta-less lasagna - cooked chicken breast, ricotta, and a couple of tablespoons of spaghetti sauce zipped down into dip texture in the Ninja blender; tuna salad made with albacore, homemade zucchini relish, and lowfat olive oil mayo - also zipped down into dip texture in the Ninja; cottage cheese, eggs cooked anyway I like (mostly poached and over easy), undiluted yogurt. Hummus is good. My sister just picked the last of the season's squash from her garden, so I'll get to enjoy some of that in the coming days.

At 21 days I still had that pain. At 32 days it was pretty much all gone. Hang in there - another 2 weeks and you should be through the worst of it.

Yes - we raise, show, dabble in obedience, hunt, and course our salukis. Our kennel is Obi-Wan Salukis. The pic is from 30 years ago, when my body was a brick house and I bellydanced a lot.

I thought gremlin was apropos. Don't feed them after midnight!

I went to dogs shows last Thurs/Fri and was a little worried that I was not ready yet for that level of activity at 32 days post op. I did great! Drove 4 hours to get to the show site Wed afternoon with no issues. I showed 3 dogs in 7 classes on Thursday and 2 dogs in 2 classes on Friday. Had plenty of 'legal' food for me to eat in my ice chest, although keeping hydrated was a bit of a challenge. Show hospitality had fritatta for Breakfast, and I was able to eat a small portion with no issues. Legs were sore the next day, but my incision sites stayed nice and pink and I had no pain thru my midsection. I went out to dinner with friends - had a poached egg at IHOP the first night and a cup of tomato/basil Soup at Applebee's the second night. Ordered hot Water as my beverage and used my own tea bags to make my dinner beverage to sip during the dinner conversation. And I was able to wear show clothes that I haven't fit into for 2 years! Go me!

I thought gremlin was apropos. Don't feed them after midnight!

At 21 days I still had that pain. At 32 days it was pretty much all gone. Hang in there - another 2 weeks and you should be through the worst of it.

I thought gremlin was apropos. Don't feed them after midnight!

Just a suggestion for everyone. I found a homemade scar removal cream!
4 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp honey
1 egg white
Preparation:
To prepare this cream all you need to do is add all ingredients to a bowl, mix well, and your homemade scar removal cream is ready for use!
Use:
Apply the cream directly onto your scar and leave it for 15 minutes, then wash it off. Repeat the treatment once a week.
If you use it regularly, your scars will completely heal within several weeks.

Sharon are those salukis in your photo?

I went to dogs shows last Thurs/Fri and was a little worried that I was not ready yet for that level of activity at 32 days post op. I did great! Drove 4 hours to get to the show site Wed afternoon with no issues. I showed 3 dogs in 7 classes on Thursday and 2 dogs in 2 classes on Friday. Had plenty of 'legal' food for me to eat in my ice chest, although keeping hydrated was a bit of a challenge. Show hospitality had fritatta for Breakfast, and I was able to eat a small portion with no issues. Legs were sore the next day, but my incision sites stayed nice and pink and I had no pain thru my midsection. I went out to dinner with friends - had a poached egg at IHOP the first night and a cup of tomato/basil Soup at Applebee's the second night. Ordered hot Water as my beverage and used my own tea bags to make my dinner beverage to sip during the dinner conversation. And I was able to wear show clothes that I haven't fit into for 2 years! Go me!

I went to dogs shows last Thurs/Fri and was a little worried that I was not ready yet for that level of activity at 32 days post op. I did great! Drove 4 hours to get to the show site Wed afternoon with no issues. I showed 3 dogs in 7 classes on Thursday and 2 dogs in 2 classes on Friday. Had plenty of 'legal' food for me to eat in my ice chest, although keeping hydrated was a bit of a challenge. Show hospitality had fritatta for Breakfast, and I was able to eat a small portion with no issues. Legs were sore the next day, but my incision sites stayed nice and pink and I had no pain thru my midsection. I went out to dinner with friends - had a poached egg at IHOP the first night and a cup of tomato/basil Soup at Applebee's the second night. Ordered hot Water as my beverage and used my own tea bags to make my dinner beverage to sip during the dinner conversation. And I was able to wear show clothes that I haven't fit into for 2 years! Go me!

I went to dogs shows last Thurs/Fri and was a little worried that I was not ready yet for that level of activity at 32 days post op. I did great! Drove 4 hours to get to the show site Wed afternoon with no issues. I showed 3 dogs in 7 classes on Thursday and 2 dogs in 2 classes on Friday. Had plenty of 'legal' food for me to eat in my ice chest, although keeping hydrated was a bit of a challenge. Show hospitality had fritatta for Breakfast, and I was able to eat a small portion with no issues. Legs were sore the next day, but my incision sites stayed nice and pink and I had no pain thru my midsection. I went out to dinner with friends - had a poached egg at IHOP the first night and a cup of tomato/basil Soup at Applebee's the second night. Ordered hot Water as my beverage and used my own tea bags to make my dinner beverage to sip during the dinner conversation. And I was able to wear show clothes that I haven't fit into for 2 years! Go me!

I went to dogs shows last Thurs/Fri and was a little worried that I was not ready yet for that level of activity at 32 days post op. I did great! Drove 4 hours to get to the show site Wed afternoon with no issues. I showed 3 dogs in 7 classes on Thursday and 2 dogs in 2 classes on Friday. Had plenty of 'legal' food for me to eat in my ice chest, although keeping hydrated was a bit of a challenge. Show hospitality had fritatta for Breakfast, and I was able to eat a small portion with no issues. Legs were sore the next day, but my incision sites stayed nice and pink and I had no pain thru my midsection. I went out to dinner with friends - had a poached egg at IHOP the first night and a cup of tomato/basil Soup at Applebee's the second night. Ordered hot Water as my beverage and used my own tea bags to make my dinner beverage to sip during the dinner conversation. And I was able to wear show clothes that I haven't fit into for 2 years! Go me!