anaxila

I started back at the gym a week after surgery and get in an hour of cardio 5-6 days per week. BUT - and this is a big BUT - I did not go back to work until the 6 week mark. Thus, my ONLY physical activity was going to the gym, and it did take a lot out of me. I am grateful for having taken so much time off, however, as it allowed me to make the gym habit happen and still build up enough stamina to go back to work. I went back last Monday and was able to do that plus continue at the gym - my biggest fear was that I would stop working out as soon as I went back to work. For me, a huge part of increasing my energy was exceeding my Water and Protein goals. As soon as I could reliably hit my 60g protein goal, they said to try for 70g or 80g. Same with water - as soon as I could get in 64 oz, they said go for 80 oz. And they said I could have a cup of coffee each morning if I can get to 100 oz, so I'm working on that.

Yes, those should be good for you.

I asked about it at my 4 week appt and was told it was OK to stop crushing, except for any big honking horse pills. I am certain that they would not have told me this if I hadn't asked. I'd suggest calling your surgeon's office to clear it first, but you should be OK to stop crushing.

I've tried Mission's Carb Balance, La Banderita's Fat-Free Soft Taco Tortillas, and La Tortilla Factory's Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortillas. I have tolerated all three just fine. I use them to make chicken tacos and turkey wraps. La Tortilla Factory is what my nutritionist recommended, but it was a bit too hard and crunchy for me. As far as choosing one over the other, I look for the best balance between carbs, fat, and Protein. Since they're almost all low in fat and protein, the decision usually goes to whoever has the lowest carbs while still looking soft and yummy.

The new Jawbone Up3 (which comes out in a couple of months), looks to be superior to the new Fitbit Charge HR. I tried both of their last generation of activity monitors and was unhappy with the UP24 and very happy with the Flex. The new Up3 looks like it's fixed everything I didn't like about the Up24 and I was tempted to wait for it and switch over. But two feature stories from Fortune this month indicate that Jawbone may be on the verge of bankruptcy and I decided to play it safe with the Fitbit and their excellent customer support. I've now upgraded to a Fitbit Charge HR and love it.

Having someone around the first night is a good idea. My first night home was really rough - definitely the hardest part of the recovery, by far. I couldn't even get out of bed on my own until the next day. You don't know how much you use your stomach muscles for *everything* until you can't. If your mom can stay with you that night, you should ask her. You'll be able to muddle through if necessary (I did manage to get to the bathroom once on my own when my husband conked out on the couch downstairs and couldn't be raised, but it wasn't fun), but it'd be better to have someone there if you can. Hope this helps!

It should start to fade soon. The first 2-3 days can be really harsh but it will get better pretty quickly. I recall setting my phone's timer to chime after 5 minutes of walking up and down the hallway of my house. For the first couple of days, 5 minutes was pretty taxing. Getting in and out of bed was difficult, and I don't have a recliner or anything else to sleep in. I took pain meds pretty consistently around the clock for the first 4-5 days, and then 1-2 times a day for another week or two. I was even taking a dose here and there up to 4 weeks out. I know there are some folks here who never had much pain, never took anything harder than Tylenol through their recovery, but I was not one of them. I know that everyone says this, but walking baby steps around the house, drinking Water until you think you're going to grow gills and swim away, and getting your Protein through any means necessary, will all make your recovery that much smoother. Good luck, and welcome to your new world!

Any & all are welcome to add me too! abarr.wi@gmail.com. Cheers!

@@wowmelissa, at this point it'd be weird if your mind wasn't going a million miles an hour with a mixture of hopes and fears. I have a bunch of thoughts in response to your post. In no particular order... First, you'll be surprised how easy it is, post-surgery, to look at the food other people are eating and not be at all tempted. Or to just dive in and eat a bite, then move on. As for energy, you will definitely be low on energy for the first couple of weeks as your body is reeling from the shock of surgery. But you will be AMAZED at how much energy you have once the weight starts to come off and your Protein diet starts to work its wonders. Dehyderation belongs firmly in the "preventable" category along with dumping and the others. I had surgery just 6 weeks ago, and was routinely hitting my Water and protein targets - without shakes or powders - in less than a week. The only exception was when I had a headcold for two days and could not get the food in; then I used Protein drinks. Anyway, you have to train yourself to do it, and you'd better find a nice water bottle because that sucker will go with you *everywhere*, but it's achievable like everything else. I was about your size / BMI at 35, pretty active with no health issues. Then it all caught up with me in short order and by the time I was 40 I had developed diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Those are what spurred me to do RNY, and in some ways I wish they'd come earlier so I would have done this surgery sooner. Hope this helps!

Ring guards? ::google google:: Hey, ring guards exist! I had never heard of this product, but just searched amazon on your recommendation. I am a few days from needing to remove my wedding ring or risk losing it (@@Zane's Mom, soooo sorry for your lost ring!), and now I don't have to. Hooray! Thanks for the tip, @@Cupcake!

I travel a lot with work and have a two main survival tips: 1) Pack emergency foodstuffs. Since you're pre-op you could pack some nuts and single-serve Peanut Butter, sugar-free jell-o or pudding, in addition to staples like Protein bars. Since many hotels also have coffee / tea service, you could also pack oatmeal (e.g., Quaker Weight Control is full of protein!) and use the coffee service to heat Water. In a pinch, you can use a coffee cup to fix up the oatmeal, but a disposable bowl is good to have too. Don't forget to bring a spoon. 2) Visit restaurants with large menus. Diners are great for this. Explain that you are on an extremely restricted diet and you only want XYZ. If you can find something on the menu that's close, order that and modify it. Otherwise, pretty much anywhere can bring you 3 oz of plain grilled chicken and steamed vegetables if you ask for it. Most places are very very good for this. Don't forget to leave a big tip in gratitude. Hope this helps!

chicken salad might be risky; depending on how they make it, there could be a lot of sugars and fats. I'd stick to something as plain-jane as possible, where you know there's only so much they can do it mess it up for you. Most restaurants are very helpful if you explain that you are on an extremely restricted diet and only want XYZ. Since diners basically have everything on hand, they in particular will make you pretty much whatever you want. For example, If you just asked them for 3 oz of plain grilled chicken, I know they could do it for you.

I wish I'd weighed myself the first day or two to know for sure, but yes it was something like that. Don't worry, it'll pass!

Just sharing updates about my journey... I had surgery on 1/6 and am still not back to work yet. No traumas, just taking the full 6 weeks recommended by my surgeon. I go back to work on Monday. He strongly encourages 6 weeks not for physical recovery, but for mental recovery / learning how to eat / forming new habits / etc. I'm glad I took his advice, as it's given me the chance to appreciate how much everything is constantly changing in these first weeks. I just get the hang of eating one way, and we change the diet to add more things. My energy is up, then down again. One day something doesn't work, and the next day it does. My behavior doesn't change, but some days I am losing weight and some days I'm not. I developed a chest cold last Saturday that quickly turned into a head cold on Monday that had me in bed until Tuesday. Coming out of this cold, I can suddenly no longer tolerate meat Proteins. chicken, fish, turkey, and even eggs, all of which were my staples until this week, completely turn my stomach and I can't get through the meal. I hope they come back soon, as I'm having a terrible time reaching my Protein goals without them and a girl can only eat so much Greek yogurt. And because I am not exceeding my protein goals like I used to, I'm having a terrible time getting my strength back from being sick. I am in the habit of working out 6 days a week for an hour a day. I have been to the gym exactly once since Sunday, and then I only lasted 45 minutes. And it was a pretty sad workout too; I just didn't have the energy to do even one minute more, even though I barely broke a sweat. So it's been a rough week overall, and not what I'd hoped for my last week before the rat race returns. I'd hoped to ramp up my energy and activity to roll right into the workweek on Monday, but that clearly isn't working out.

I can't speak for your crew, but mine just wants to make sure we learn how to properly eat for the long term, getting our Proteins and nutrition "the old fashioned way" as much as possible. If we replace Big Macs and chocolate Chip Cookies with good nutritious alternatives, we're less likely to slip up with them than if we replace them with shakes and such. That's what they told me, anyway.

Thanks, @esskay77. I haven't used any protein powders before (my surgeon doesn't like them), but I just ordered a canister of unflavored unjury to have on hand in case of emergencies like this.

I was never restricted on exercise, just on weight limit. I can do anything I want, so long as it involves no more than 10 pounds of lifting, pushing, or pulling. However, I will say that two of my incisions are not healing well, and I think it is because I've been so active. It's the two on the outside, and I think they bear the brunt of my twisting around. They are each just finally scabbing over now that I've been too sick (head cold) go to to the gym. I was told that I wouldn't be able to get in the Water for 6 weeks, which they said was because your incisions aren't healed until then and they don't want you soaking off the scabs. That makes sense to me. However, they agreed a few weeks ago to let me get in the water if I cover the incisions 100% in waterproof bandages (such as these). I've been in the water a few times for classes and laps, and it's been good.

Sorry, I don't. But I will hijack your thread and make a similar call for a workout buddy. If anyone out there is a WAC member and wants a workout buddy, let me know!

I haven't lost 50 yet; I'm at 40 today. I was 305 on 12/23 when I started pre-op diet, was 292 at surgery on 1/6, and 265 today. I hit the gym for the first time 7 days after surgery. I was only able to go for 30 minutes that day, but was up to 60 minutes the next day. I work out 6 days a week for 60 minutes. This may dip for a bit when I return to work on Monday, as the exercising takes a lot out of me. But I figure that as long as I'm off work I may as well push it. I love how good it feels already.

Congratulations! I've always thought Dr. Wallace is kind scary (he's soooooo serious and I'm such a goofball), but I've really warmed to him. I think his work in Peru is amazing - he did 28 surgeries in 4 days, plus setting up all sorts of new equipment and working with the locals. I guess that's neither here nor there, but I think he's an excellent surgeon and am very pleased to have had him do my surgery. Do you go to the support group? I have only been once, but it's a good use of my time and I've already made good connections with other patients. Hope to see you there next month!

Sorry, forgot to check in to this board for a while! Yes, I was scheduled and had my surgery on 1/6 at Froedtert with Dr. Wallace. Everything went textbook-perfect and my recovery has been smooth. I weathered my first stall (8 days!) without tearing all of my hair out, and have lost 40 pounds since Christmas. I am still out of work, but going back on Monday. How's everyone else doing?

I looked at the Triple Zero in the store, but it's got 40% more carbs and 50% more calories than Dannon Light & Fit Greek (which I love!!) and comes in fewer flavors. The 20% increase in Protein from 12g to 15g wasn't enough to make me switch, but I am very curious about them.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you weigh more at the end than you did in the beginning they may have an issue. In fact, even aside from what insurance requires, my surgeon will cancel your surgery if a patient gains weight in the pre-op period. But the important thing is to show the effort and at least a little bit of progress throughout the 6-month cycle. I personally showed no movement at all until month 6, when I finally got serious. Good luck!

After not moving (or going in the wrong direction!) for 8 days, I put the scale away on 2/4 and said I was only going to weigh myself once a week. I picked Monday as my weigh-day, and this morning I was down 4.5 pounds since 2/4. Apparently, it's true what they say about "a watched stall never breaks". Or maybe I just made that up, but you get the idea.

I have a huge problem tolerating whey isolates. I have only ever tried Isopure drinks (the ones that look like Gatorade), but they made me so sick I'm afraid to try others. My nutritionist gave me some Protein powders to try, but I don't want to feel sick like that again. My surgeon doesn't have his patients use protein supplements at all, so the only reason I'd use one is in case of emergency that I can't get protein the usual way (i.e., food). I think I'd rather fall short on protein goals for a day than continue experimenting with the whey Proteins.