BigViffer

I can help you here! One thing to remember with nutrition labels and recipes in general is that it is all estimations and assumed uniformity. For example if a turkey, cheddar, and wheat bread sandwich with mayo is 300-ish calories, (20 grams protein, 15 grams fat, 20 grams carbs) Are each bite completely equal? No. But we have to make assumptions to make our life easier. For recipes, I go by total ounces as my servings. Makes it easy to weigh and log in. Easy example, 1/2 cup steel cut oats (4 oz 150 calories) 1 cup milk (8 oz 120 calories), 1 scoop protein powder (1 oz 25 calories) Total ounces 13 ounces = 13 servings. I don't really care that no one is ever going to have 1 serving, it's just the unit of measurement that is easiest to me.

Another thing to remember is bottoming out and rebound to your stable weight. My lowest post op weight was 198. Right now I fluctuate between 215-220. My daily average caloric for the month of May intake was 2000. My highest being 2,700-ish and my lowest being 1,050-ish. Activity and opportunity play a big part in how much I eat. There have been 25 days this year that I broke the 2500 calorie mark. But on those days I averaged 195 grams of protein, so they were most likely corresponding with heavy lifting days. Biggest calorie day was just recently, June 2nd. I treated myself to a baked sweet potato loaded with realy butter & brown sugar. That sucker cost me a ****-ton of calories. And I had a glazed salmon with it. The core meal was "healthy", but the sauce and toppings are what get you. Long post made short, don't let 5lbs worry you too much. That is just a BM away from back to where you were.

That sure as heck sounds like dumping to me. I've experienced dumping several times after getting approved for normal food. Only once or twice did I experience the running to the bathroom. But every single time I had the drooling, slimy feeling. Sometimes there would be a foamy saliva, sometimes excessive sweating, but always a general feeling of awfulness. It is not always diarrhea and stomach cramping. Nor is it limited to the symptoms I described. I've never heard of anyone dumping from chicken breast, but I guess it could happen if it was actually fried or smothered in some sort of sauce. Generally it is caused by a higher fat or sugar content, but simple carbs or vegetable fats (avocado) can cause it. Regardless if you experienced dumping or severe indigestion, it sucked.

I'm over two years out and this is still something I have to deal with. I am at least thinking of what food I need to eat rather than what I want to eat though. I still stick to my weighed portions, but I am making sure that the food meets my macro requirement for the day. I was kind of hoping that it would be second nature to me by now, but it is very much a exercise in planning.

You have a source for this bit of info? I have never heard of this and would like to read more. <edit> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/ found some info. Very interesting and just reinforces a habit we have already. Buying local whenever possible is better. Especially now concerning vegetables.

Oh and regarding the symptoms, yeah baby... thats the good stuff. Those are the ones that give you reason to eat right for life. Nothing like a little Pavlovian conditioning to correct our habits!

There really is no reason to eat grits anymore anyways. Well, besides that they are tasty and a comfort food. Strange that it was grits that did it to you, I was assuming something sweeter or high in fats. Were these plain or cheese grits?

Jesus, your NUT sounds like an idiot. There is no way you can get all of the nutrients your body needs on 500 calories. Man, my NUT was clueless about anything but smoothie recipes but at lesat she wasn't trying to starve people. As for the intermittent fasting, I believe it to be another fad diet. One of the reasons for my surgery was to never do those again. I track my intake and as long as I hit my macros, I'm good. However; If someone find that after 6 months the fasting works for them and they have committed to that being their lifestyle, more power to them all and congrats for finding an eating pattern that works!

Oh no, don't apologize! Experience is a better teacher than just reading about it. I am sure she will now look at foods that may be off plan with a more skeptical eye, and that is a good thing.

Which symptoms did you have? The drooling, foaming, and extreme nausea is what I hated the most. If it was just the running to the restroom repeatedly I could handle it, but ugh... the general feeling of ill... That will teach you to not indulge!

Before you panic, it really depends on a few things. Yes you should still talk to your surgeon, but it could be as simple as an inflamed hemorrhoid from severe constipation and excessive pushing. If it is that, you should consult with your surgeon about a stool softener and maybe a laxative for use in the next couple weeks.

Really sorry I missed this thread when it was newly posted as it is something that think about even still. The good news is that this desire to eat larger volume is something that can fade if we devote some time to honest inflection. Being a guy, people always assume you want the bigger portion of anything. The bigger drink, the larger cut of meat, the huge slice of dessert. Being a big guy amplifies this assumption. "We got a big guy! Give him a double helping!" or "You ready for seconds?" With family, it was always "I made your favorite!" and they would take great satisfaction in us over indulging because it was just so good. Now it has become something expected of us, so we do it every time. That forms the habit. We don't want to hurt their feelings or anything, so we eat huge quantities for so long we no longer recognize what is a normal portion. Add to the fact growing up poor (talking about me here) meant you ate every chance you could because you aren't sure when the next good meal was going to happen. I became good at overeating! Now it was something I was good at, so I did it all the time. Now that I am living comfortably and have learned about proper nutrition and portioning, when I go to a restaurant or holiday cookout, I look at the food and decide on what I want to eat for the next couple days. Then I don't feel bad about not eating all of it. At the family gatherings it works out very well. The hosts always want all the food gone it seems. Making a to-go plate is another way of fitting in with the rest of the gluttony happening when the dinner bell is rung! Doing this kind of planning and repetitive activity of packing to-go containers will eventually become the new habit.

Nevermind the food, where did you find that awesome bowl?! Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.

I find that the key to this forum is to not care about anyone. I don't mean be a d**k to them, but don't emotionally invest yourself in strangers. Most likely you will never meet these people, they will have no substantial impact on your life, and many backgrounds so incredibly different than your own that once you are past the pleasantries you have nothing more to talk about. If you know the answer to a question and it hasn't been answered a hundred times before, answer the question. If you have an opinion but not experience nor knowledge, don't answer the question because you have an opinion on it. For some reason, people always want to come on here and talk about the meanies. Then all of the other sensitive types will rally around this person, for their coming has been heralded and they will drive out the monsters that have taken over the land and spew their poison across the threads. I don't know why people get so emotionally invested in this forum and it's members. If you want to survive this place, share more facts than opinion. Should someone eat a pizza 3 weeks post op? Of course not. They fact that anyone would attempt that is horrifying to me and they need professional intense therapy for their food addiction. And I would say that they were not ready for the surgery and shouldn't have had it. I am to the point where I don't really know why I come here. I used to think it is the hopes that someone will come on here that is similar to me and I'll be able to lend support to them and we will become life long BFF's. Now however, it is more likely a morbid curiosity. Who is going to have the most public failure? Who is going to take the trophy for the most dangerous thing to eat directly post op? Who will be the next to die from drinking? I take no satisfaction in knowing it will happen (and it will happen), it's just a game now of "can I spot who it will be?".

Emphasis mine. This will be the biggest eye opener for many people. Really glad to see you "get it" so easily. Not just related to dating, but in just about every other situation also. The only time that it must be told is in the interest of medical history. I don't go around talking about my vasectomy or shoulder reconstruction because most people just don't care. Unless it affects them directly, it's unimportant. To the OP, I have no advice. I never dated when I was fat. I was already married and we got fat together!

Horrible to hear this is happening to someone who sounds like a great person. Though I do believe you will weather this storm. As an aside, damn woman... you are killing it! You're going to give men whiplash from turning heads!

How? That's simple. You chose to eat the pizza. You chose to eat piece after piece knowing that every bite was a bad idea, yet doing it anyways. Totally lost your journey? I don't even know what that means, but drop the melodrama. Wallowing in useless emotion does no good. You made a mistake. Own it. Make a decision now; will you take the surgery seriously from now on or will you let the desire for simple food rule your life at the expense of your health. The surgery is only a tool. How you choose to use that tool will determine how successful you will be after the honeymoon phase.

Of course it's normal. So are the feelings of regret and lack of satisfaction of eating and/or feelings of satiation. We all go through a phase of "What have I done?". A drastic step of altering your body to assist in losing weight must impact each of us emotionally. We just all deal with it differently. Me personally, it was frustration. Once I was able to focus on something other than food though, it all fell in line. The sensation of fullness will come back once your stomach regains feeling. With the scar tissue, it will take a while. Which is why weighing food is so important. Commit to the lifestyle for 2 years to firmly cement the habits. By that time, you will not miss things from pre-op.

Ugh, with my limited experience with NUT's, they are basically smoothie recipe repositories. The two I had to deal with paid little attention to food allergies, knew nothing of fitness, and always pimped their little supplement store in the lobby. Listen to your surgeon.

Oh they are truly unflavored. But that does not mean they have no flavor. They just didn't add anything to mask the taste of the powder. Big difference. As far as Genepro, it's worthless and has been discussed ad nauseam: https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?&q=genepro&search_in=titles&sortby=relevancy

I have found that I need a plan for the day. I eat high protein most days, but I add in complex carbs on my heavy weight lifting days. About 20-30 minutes prior to the gym. If I am going to be doing yard work, or be busy all day then I will have carbs through the day to keep my blood sugar from dipping. With my activity planned out in advance, it makes the food choices simple. I'm not thinking "What sounds good?", rather "What do I need to get this done?"

Catalog all your medical issues that are related to weight. Then add to that descriptions of any physical pain that is exacerbated by your weight. For someone who lived with constant pain for 20 years, that is pretty much all I need to keep me from even considering fast food or any gas station food. And Gas station fountain drinks with a little debbie brownie was a tradition dating back to when I was a child. Now after 2 years, I only think about it with a shaking head wondering why I ever did it in the first place.

It sounds to me as though you are wanting life to happen to you. You sound pretty young, are you in the career you want? If not, focus on getting the training or education to get it. Were you too embarrassed to go canoeing or white water rafting when you were bigger? Go do it now. Always wanted to join a league of something but was afraid of the attention? Now is the time. Go LARP'ing. Do disc golf. Climb some rocks Don't hold on to the life you had before surgery just because it is what you know and are comfortable with. If you are invisible to your "friends" now, get out in front of some different people and make new friends. Stagnation is where depression dwells.

They are saying their 10g of special protein is equivalent to 30g whey. I believe this says it best about Genepro: Long story short, they are selling lies. Most likely they are selling BCAA's and calling it protein. Do yourself a favor and buy a reputable protein brand. Gold Standard is good brand. There are so many manufacturers that lie on their labels, you almost have to look them up and see how many lawsuits they have against them before you buy! If their process was true, every other maker out there would be following suit because it is such a cutthroat business. The fact that most retail chains refuse to carry it is evidence of the company's reputation. The only reason I reply (yet again) to this type of post is to protect new patients from wasting money on snakeoil. I need to bookmark my reply to this ridiculous garbage product. It comes up so often it's a PITA to search for it. The manufacturers even admit that there is really only 10 grams of protein, but it is magically fast with absorption and is the equivalent to eating 30 grams of protein. It's a whey based product. It is most definitely not 30 grams of bio-available protein. The calories are just not there either. This stuff does not contribute to satiety, meaning you will still be hungry. At best it leaves protein markers in the blood stream, more likely though your body will start to break down your own muscle tissue for the protein that it needs. It does not provide the building blocks the body needs for muscle tissue, nails and hair. So you are most likely will have issues with that. Just stay away from this crap.

@Melissa Lamprey I have found it easier to go to the MyFitnessPal website to make changes to my settings. And I mean on a desktop or laptop, not your mobile browser. There you can edit the percentages to lean towards more protein. As long as the total % equals 100, you can make the macros however you want.