LisaS73

Almost everyday I have 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese with 3 strawberries sliced in it.
On days where I have a good leftover Protein from dinner the night before I will have that Protein in a garden salad.

@@LipstickLady - If Einstein is right, and you can't solve a problem at the level of where it shows up, maybe you need to change the horizon of focus...
So you can look at a higher plane of thinking, are you
deep down wondering/second guessing your decision to have permanent surgery? are you having problems feeling worthy? are there other issues/pressures in your life that had been covered over by food in the past? I'm not saying this is the case, just some questions to ponder.

Whether you are pre-op, a recent post-op or already well on your way to weight loss, exercise plays a starring role in the speed and longevity of your overall weight management after bariatric surgery.


Even if you are preparing for bariatric surgery, you can start exercising (so long as you are cleared by your doctor) and lose a surprising number of pounds even before your gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy or revision bariatric surgery.
In addition, the better cardiovascular condition you are in before surgery, the fewer complications you’ll face during and after surgery.
Not sure where to start?
Here are instructions I offer to my own weight loss surgery patients here in Freehold, NJ:
Bariatric Preoperative Stage
Patients who start an exercise strategy before surgery have an easier time adjusting to exercising after surgery, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
But, admittedly, exercise is challenging for people who carry a lot of extra weight. For this reason, starting slow is imperative. If you are morbidly obese, talk with your bariatric surgeon about fitness guidelines for your current health situation.
Generally speaking, these are reasonable goals to target:
· Focus on cardiovascular exercise, even if it’s just a walk around the neighborhood for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your health and doctor’s recommendation.
· Start walking for 10 minutes, twice a day and add 5 minutes each day, up to 30 minutes per day.
· Realize that empowerment that fitness gives you over your body and your overall health.
· Appreciate how good you feel after exercising—even for 10 minutes!
Weight Loss Surgery Postoperative Stage
For the first two weeks after surgery, focus on flexibility exercises, deep breathing and getting back into performing normal daily activities.
· At your first post-op visit with your surgeon, he or she will carefully go over your customized exercise plan based upon your health, age and the procedure you had.
· With your doctor’s approval, three weeks after your operation, begin to gradually incorporate low-intensity aerobic exercise (walking or swimming are my preferred choices at this stage).
· If you feel prolonged pain or discomfort, you are doing too much too soon.
· During the first six weeks after surgery, do not lift more than 15 pounds.
One Month and Beyond
Now your goal is to increase range of motion so you can easily take off your shoes and pick things up off the ground and move around more.
· Strength-training (light weights) exercises are rebuilding muscle.
· Work toward 30 minutes of continuous exercise five days per week.
· Avoid abdominal exercises for the first eight to 12 weeks (allow the incision to heal). This also helps to alleviate abdominal hernias near or around the incision.
· Change-up your workouts so your body is constantly challenged (walk around the park today, lift weights at the gym tomorrow and use the elliptical machine)
· Introduce a wider variety of bariatric fitness options: biking, yoga, dancing, aerobics, Pilates, kickboxing.
A year after weight loss surgery, you should be able to perform 45 minutes to an hour of exercise five times a week.
Exercise is Insurance Against Future Weight Gain
A lifelong exercise program is critical to a weight loss surgery patient’s long-term success. If a physically active lifestyle has not been adopted, weight gain will likely result. (Sadly, I have seen this firsthand on more than one occasion).
Exercise is insurance for long-term weight-loss. If you have a slip, an extra 5 to 10 minutes spent working out will ensure that your metabolism stays elevated and this extra effort will burn more calories.
Working out will not, however, save you if you overeat regularly—bariatric surgery or not. By sticking close to your daily calorie requirements most days, drinking plenty of Water and focusing on fitness, you’ll look great, feel even better and be the healthiest person you can be.
And that’s worth just 30 minutes out of your day, isn’t it?
Photo Credit: Woman Exercising by Witthaya Phonsawat -FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My hubby is from orange and has lots of family down there. I go to Beaumont every Tuesday (not today) for my Mary Kay meetings.

West Houston and my surgery is scheduled for Sept. 11th.

VIdor (close to Beaumont)

Planning your eating is an essential skill to have foods you need to be healthy after surgery. But let’s face, some days will fall apart. Unexpected situations come up and you will need an emergency stash of Protein foods.


Non-perishable protein foods are ideal to stock up at work, home, in your purse or backpack or in your car. Keep a clean shaker cup and single serve size of Protein Powder handy. All you need is Water to mix. Keeping a ready to drink Protein Shake handy can be an easier alternative. All you need is to open and sip or find a cup of ice to pour the drink into.
Small cans of tuna or chicken can be open and eaten right out of the can. There are also tuna and chicken salad kits that you can keep stocked at home or work. Softer meat sticks or meat Jerky can be stashed in a desk drawer or locker at work. Brands include Ostrim (available at Owasso Nutrition Plus by Fit for her in Owasso or online) and Kratos High Protein Beef Bars (currently at Reasors).
For meat sticks, find ones that have four grams of fat or less and at least seven grams of protein per ounce. High protein Quest chips make for a crunchy snack that can be stashed. These are currently available at GNC stores. Nuts deliver protein and healthy fat. Make sure you measure out the nuts, because that healthy fat leads to higher calories. One ounce of nuts is about ¼ cup. Measure this into snack size baggies or find the 100-calorie packs of nuts. Eating out of the container can lead to overeating.
Protein Bars are also great ways to get in some protein. Look for protein bars with more protein than carbohydrate like Pure Protein or Premier Protein. If you are driving about town, you can get protein bars and Protein Drinks at convenience stores like Quik Trip and Kum & Go. You can also stop at a grocery store and buy string cheese, light yogurt or an Oscar Meyer P3 snack pack. Keep a stash of plastic spoons in your car for eating yogurt. Time to stock up on emergency proteins!

Thanks so much again ladies! I am going for a walk after lunch. I sat outside this morning with my Decaf tea and yogurt and you were right @@Inner Surfer Girl, the fresh air and sunshine helps. I haven't tried driving anywhere yet since being off the major pain meds and I'm starting to get a little cabin fever so I am just going to get out of the house today, even if just to the park down the road to walk because it's so beautiful. I will not give up or give in!! My good friend and mentor tells me being unhealthy and overweight is hard, getting through this process and getting my life back is hard. Every day you just have to pick your hard!

Although he never set a particular "goal" for me I felt like my first f/u visit on June 2nd that he was disappointed in my weight loss. I was hoping to be in ONEderland today but that didn't happen
I am dreading the scale today - I use to step backwards up onto them before WLS! I am confident enough to step up facing forward, just like I did in June, but I sure hope I don't feel like I didn't lose enough :/
Its bad enough to have personal drama outside the WLS world and to also be worrying about a darn number on a scale!
OK - I have said my piece.
Wish me luck!

Thanks a lot. I hope things get better for all of us.

I know how you feel! The first 10 days were pretty hard for me. The best thing you can do is drink Water (as much as you can), drink your Protein and keep moving. Each day will be a little better than the last. Hang in there!

I'm sorry to hear you have had a difficult time. I was in the same situation. I was in the hospital much longer than I anticipated and the recovery was harder emotionally than I ever imagined and I - like you - felt pretty prepared ahead of time. I wasn't prepared for how difficult it would be emotionally basically going through carb and sugar withdraw along with mourning the loss of my coping mechanism (emotional eating), it was a pretty rough couple of weeks. I'm happy to say though that once you get through those first couple of weeks, as long as you stick with the program, it gets way easier. Your body (and mind) adapt and you start to see amazing results which helps too. :-) Good luck on the rest of your journey!

I have to say the food thing has not been easy but I think I do a good job at avoiding what I can't. I am over 3 months out of surgery and I can say I felt like a crazed PMS lady for 7 weeks! Sorry but hopefully yours does not last as long. I was insane and felt like I was going to lose my mind! My poor husband got the brunt of it! Now I am a super happy and much skinnier person. So hang in there and it will get better!

I've been going thru the same problems of being a crying shrew. I'm 5 days past surgery and having a terrible time getting all the liquids I'm supposed to have. Very tempted to try something solid, but scared I'll hurt my new tummy. Water, shakes, broth...yuck. What I ended up doing was adding 1/4 # ground beef and 1/2 slice cheese to beef broth along with onion powder and some garlic powder. Cooked it all together because that's the way I would normally prepare a cheese burger (minus the broth). Then, I strained it and drank my hamburger broth. Omg, it tasted like real food! Hubby came in the kitchen and ate all the strained hamburger, so we enjoyed the same meal..sorta! My crying ended after that. I think coming off the pain meds might have contributed to the crying jag too. I'm already planning my chicken and broth meal for tomorrow. Then, only another week of thinking up new ways to revise recipes to liquids only. Lol. After this challenging surgery and being so good before it, I refuse to mess it up now. This too shall pass! Good luck to you!

Today was the first time that we sat and started to watch a movie as a family. My hubby made popcorn for the kiddos and himself and it smelled AMAZING! So, I went to Michael's and bought myself 2 adult coloring books and some colored pencils. It was 102 degrees. ....too hot to walk for an extended period of time. But, coloring made me happy. It kept my hands busy and I'll have something pretty to look at once it's finished! Screw that popcorn!

@ imsoglad56: see that's why I want a dehydrator, I can even get exotic meats here in Texas and make my own Jerky, I used to pay up to $15.00 a lb for it sometimes, I'd rather invest in a dehydrator and make my own, my wife got me a professional Hawaiian ice machine on Amazon last year, it paid for itself by the end of last summer, now I substitute "MIO" or Walmart brand Water enhancers, and still get my sno cone fix, thanks for sharing that.......

No, we don't hunt. We buy beef roasts and bison roasts and we have a meat slicer. We slice the meat and use different jerky seasoning packets from Academy and/or Cabela's. We just slice the meat, marinate it, then dehydrate it. Once it's ready, we use our kitchen scale and divide it up into 1 ounce bags. We usually get about 28 ounces of jerky out of 4 to 5 pounds of meat. It works out to just under a dollar per ounce of high quality jerky.

Sounds like you two could use some work with the book "the five love languages". Seems like your love language is "words of affirmation" and he isn't speaking it.

@@dhrguru This made me laugh! Only because I had a incident similar to your the other day. My husband has been supportive too and does comment on my progress when I shamelessly prompt him to. The other day we were watching the news and our local weather lady has lost some weight which he was quick to bring up and say how much better she looks. That was an instant "WTH" moment! I said some snippy comment, shut the TV off and tossed the remote on the other couch. Ha! Without even thinking, I felt kinda dumb afterwards for snapping Like that because I know he didn't even put two and two together. Men are different creatures, they don't think like us. I do whole heartedly believe at times they don't want to give too much praise because they don't want us the get a swollen head and look start looking elsewhere. That wouldn't happen in my case but I can see how it would cross a mans mind. I know he loves me and is proud by the way he acts more than what comes out of that big yapper of his. Men, smh!

Hmmm... the only few things that come to mind are these:
1. he is jealous of your success and doesn't want to bring attention to it. if he's not as healthy or fit he may be jealous that you are taking care of yourself by getting healthy and fit.
2. Fear- some men are scared but either don't realize it or don't want you to know. In some of my support groups women have said that their marriage has struggled b/c their husbands are jealous and fearful their wives will get fit, etc and then want to leave or that the wife will get so much male attention.
Try to sit down w/ him and talk...see what is going through his head and why doesn't he acknowledge your success.
But regardless...congrats to you for doing this for YOU!! Love yourself for all you are doing for you and your family regardless of their 'interest' in the new you

So while my hubby was supportive of me having surgery- he mentions NOTHING about my progress. Not a word, peep, high five, good job, keep it up-- NOTHING. I figure its typical male head in the rear type thing so I use the forums, my sisters and kids as my motivators.
So my 11 year old is obsessed with developing six-pack abs. He's downloaded a few workouts and was doing them last night in front of my husband. I came down and my hubby immediately chimes in "if I had dedication like that I'd be a supermodel by now" (referring to our son).
Ummm-- so he notices and speaks to his dedication, but I'm chopped liver?!?! I'm up in the mornings jogging my still obese body around my neighborhood-- I'm eating 800-1000 calories a day, having NO JUNK (while still ensuring they have their likes & wants available to eat),doing circuit training in the gym and am slave to the alarms on my phone to remind me to take my Vitamins.
But my son's 100# soaking wet body and his now and then effort for abs is what he notices and acknowledges?? Seriously?? Ugh. MEN,

I wake up excited for another day!
I can eat foods I love in small amounts!
I can RUN!
I feeeeeeel beautiful!
People who have known me my entire life have been double-taking looks bc they don't recognize me!
I'm doing my first 10k Saturday!!

I have become very aware and sensitive to people I am close to who still struggle with these issues. My brother and my best friend are both considerably overweight. When I'm out with either one of them I make an effort to ask for a table instead of a booth so they'll be more comfortable. I remember what it was like to not fit in a booth!

I can cross my legs, cross my arms over my boobies, fit in clothes that I haven't worn in over 2 years, dropped a size in undies, walking around without my knees and hips hurting!!

That's right! I use regular towel now lol. I love it. I also always have my leg crossed. And love that can use a regular bathroom. I naturally always walk to handicap first and stop... Laugh... And use regular one.
I love being comfortable in a booth at a Resturant. there's space!
.::SurgeryDate 7/25/12::.