IncredibleShrinkingMan

Eat dense, soft proteins, even proteins that are akin to slider foods. You must do this to preserve your muscles and vital organ function. Are you still taking your multivitamin? Those play a huge role in how effectively your macronutrient intake serves you, and you should take them for life.

I don't think it's just for being able to order off the kids' menu. I think it is also a petition (totally at manager's discretion) for a discount in the case of a buffet or other unlimited situation (very bad idea in general, but sometimes you'll be in that spot). They agree to charge you less because you will not be eating anything close to what would make it worthwhile. As I write this, I ask myself..."what the f*** was I thinking spending even one meal of my life at the Olive Garden never ending Pasta bowl?" Oh yeah, my friends dragged me, but I'll never accede to this form of peer pressure again.

That's impressive, people. I was a total car wreck in my first 24 hours and nauseous beyond description. I could never have gone home the first day. Mine was also listed as inpatient, so that didn't come as a disappointment to me. It was a world of difference the next day.

-get through an entire soccer game without needing to sub out -go to business functions and being satisfied with the delicate little portions served instead of dreaming of hoagies later -getting all the way to work without bringing a beach towel to absorb sweat -maybe a 5K, 10K, etc..., and actually run it -going in the pool without a shirt

The good news is that you chewed it. My surgeon's opinion is that as long as you can chew it to puree consistency in your mouth, it's good to go. That said, anything with tiny little particles like strawberries should probably be avoided at this point. I've had similar foods with similar little particles and have not experienced a problem.

It looks like it is time to move on to full liquids, being more than a week out, but double-check your own surgeon's instructions. These tend to be much more satiety-promoting than clear liquids, although you will need to continue to get your water in, and will probably still need your protein shakes to get the required protein, at least until the next stage, which is purees.

I think what you have to remember is that aside from the discomfort, the space those items will expand to fill is absolutely essential for getting your protein intake. Just think...would you rather have empty calories that take up a lot of space and result in you wanting more and more food or quality calories that take up little space, promote satiety, and don't give you any discomfiture whatsoever? Just my two cents. Carbs are just not worth it. Maybe a very special dessert at a special event, because that might actually taste good, but bread, which is not really any better for you than a slice of cake, should be worked around at all times. Every food that contains it has a variant without it that tastes just as good.

That's on the slow side, but it's OK if your sleeve is telling you to sip carefully. The rule of thumb on the first day of water is 1 fl oz every 15 minutes, so a cup every 2 hours (250 mL). You'll probably start to approach this pace very quickly.

I don't think you need to say f-em, and I also don't think you need to worry about bonds being broken. I have had pretty much an even split of support and dissent, and as to the latter, I have simply offered no response. That is the safest thing to do, and I recognize it is not the most satisfying. Progress speaks way louder than words, and I think the proof will be in the pudding for that cohort very soon.

Have you been able to exercise? You may be seeing some water and glycogen build-up. When I get busy at work and don't make the gym or the trails I see the scale sit still for days at a time, but in those same days I have to tighten one belt hole. You are losing fat, and as soon as you do vigorous exercise, you should see the progress realized on the scale.

Are you eating creamed soups? If so, are you eating the strained variety and ones that are made with milk instead of heavy cream? Those can be significant calorie loads, especially if you eat more than the allotted serving size. Since you are doing limited exercise, both water and glycogen stores in your liver could be steadily building. However, there is only a certain capacity and you are probably almost there (glycogen is burned off before fat when you exercise). I believe you are actually losing fat even though the scale isn't going down, and once you figure out an exercise you can do, by the end of a full session or two you should see the "gains" of the last five days realized on the scale.

Weight gain is a trap, and surgery is often the only permanent way out. Set point theory is a really awful thing to think about, especially when it is suggested that set point in the human body can only go up. Asking a morbidly obese person to resist hunger and stay thin after being large is like telling somebody not to breathe. Your body is smarter than your brain, and it will find a way to return to obesity. The brightest, most determined dieter in the world could not truly defeat obesity for life with just diet and exercise. We may have made mistakes to get here, but we are not weak-willed because we couldn't escape without arresting our bodies' ability to defend obesity. For some people, surgery may not even do it. And even then it is not evidence of something wrong with our heads.

If you are still pre-op, get it addressed. You may not cure it, but the surgery will help you muffle it. Without getting help, you are risking the surgery being for naught.

I would take the time to get as physically healthy as possible, including possibly some more weight loss (though you're doing great already). That should clear up your mind to make a more confident decision about the RNY. If you feel you can do it without surgery, then certainly don't go for it. But if you have tried before and are ready to step up the game, don't second guess yourself. If you made the decision while thinking clearly, it is probably a good one, and don't let these passing conditions cast doubt on it.

Tennis and hiking. Why, you ask? Because they stuck with me even when I was over 300 lbs! Everything else I need to slowly become reattached to.

Getting addicted to seeing the scale move. And fitbit taunts and cheers.

Other than the world's worst GERD? The pain medicine administered through the IV. I have never been so nauseated in my life. At least before I could've surrendered and vomited. In the hospital I was just stuck with it.

Welcome to the other side! You did it! Each day will be better than the next now. Be sure to walk...it's the best feeling ever (until we get to run again).

No food? That will not and cannot be true. Perhaps you were put on liquids for two months, but liquids are food and you can nourish yourself, especially once on full liquids. I like to think of this as world-expanding, rather than world-constricting. I am six weeks out and developing good relationships with all kinds of different foods, rather than awful relationships with a select few (which I can't get down anymore anyway). The next few days are the toughest part, but by the end of the first week, everything should settle with you and you'll be on your way.

This is about a lot more than weight loss. This is about curing co-morbidities (or at least improving them), feeling better, and being able to concentrate on things in life other than food 24 hours a day. Honestly, I would do it again even if somebody told me I wasn't going to lose a single pound. I hated my relationship with food prior to surgery, and I always had crippling hunger no matter what I consumed. Those days are over. Incidentally, I have lost a bunch of weight, and just a month after surgery I am more than half way to goal, but I felt healthier and freer as soon as I woke up in the recovery room. I'm not saying that weight loss isn't the main purpose, but for some people, it will become a complete afterthought because of the non-quantifiables associated with getting healthier.

@@JamieLogical that sounds awesome. How far out would you say you were when you were first able to get 100g protein a day?

Welcome to BP @betterlife7. The above post is absolutely correct about GERD. However, RNY has more complications in general and is far more notorious to what we all refer to as "dumping syndrome," which is a feeling of sickness caused by eating something that cannot be digested by the pouch, most commonly sugars. I would say that unless you have a serious problem with sugar and you feel that is primarily responsible for your weight gain, I am a strong advocate for sleeve (although you need to sit down and discuss this intensively at your consultation and also see what your insurance has to say). Eventually, we can eat just about anything we want with impunity, albeit with dramatically reduced portion sizes. Even years out, we will become full just on hors d'oeuvres, but eventually, the ultra-vigilance can stop, because the volume restriction helps us lose and maintain our desired weight. And, perhaps most important to me, the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is produced by the part of your stomach that is removed during a sleeve, no longer causes the unbearable hunger sensations that occur when you lose weight with diet and exercise.

@@JamieLogical it looks like I'm at your surgery weight today. I'm obviously a lot happier to be there than you were when you were there, and I'm not even half way to goal (though getting excited to possibly hit that milestone this weekend). Congratulations on your awesome job.

So, I am 4 weeks out and I still have more pounds lost than days since surgery. I expect this won't be true much longer, and eventually I'll just settle into 3 lbs/wk mode. What I told myself at the beginning is that if (God willing) I ever reach my goal weight, I will not attempt to halt it there. I want to have some reserve weight loss for the very common slight regain that happens in the second year, so that when all is said and done, I am comfortably at my goal weight with no complaints from my body. I think you should view every pound lost, even after goal, as a gift, and not be scared of it. Your doctor will tell you what to do if you overshoot it by too much. That said, if you really don't want to go lower, I would simply increase your lean, high-quality Protein intake so that you can continue to lose fat and simultaneously build some more healthy muscle. This will actually ensure that you don't start to creep back the other way by raising your metabolism. You will likely need to do this anyway since, inevitably, some of what all of us have lost is lean, desirable muscle, even if we followed everything to the T. Best wishes!

A Multivitamin is an absolute must. For the first 30 days you might need something chewable. I am 4 weeks now, and I get nauseated every morning from my One-a-Day, but that is partly because there is no way I can get down food in the morning. You should also be taking B12, D3, and Calcium. These do not give me anywhere near as many problems. Try Isopure whey isolate Protein drinks. It is a clear liquid, and has 40 g of protein, no carbs, and no fat. Ensure and the like makes me absolutely sick (both before and after). I hope that's not what you are drinking.