Barry W

There is a lot of variety, and while there may be some differences in knowledge, I think most of the variation is explained more by differences in philosophy: Don't want the patient to be injured by what they consume Don't want the patient to be ill or in pain or discomfort due to what they consume Want the patient to lose a lot of weight, and ideally quickly Want the patient to be able to control their own appetite and eating - something they likely have faced challenges in the past ....and I think some doctors are just more conservative than others in setting the parameters for what should go in and at what schedule...

Yep, I barrrrely fit in the seatbelt last year, and the seat itself was pretty snug too - flying later this year should be more comfortable physically as well as pridefully

I don't make a habit of it, but I had some air popped popcorn at 4 weeks out, no issues.

When it gets warmer... Riding my bike again Paddling a surfski I plan to get

I don't think you really need to count calories every day, but, I think it's a good idea, maybe one week a month, to count calories over 3-4 days to get an idea of what you are doing, and to keep up with any gradual shifts that could be occurring in your diet. To me it's not the only figure you need to care about, but since this is primarily about weight loss, if I had to pick only one this is it...

The pain I felt, felt like I swallowed a handful of wasps that kept stinging my tummy from the inside - not quite like getting stabbed, but not fun It was most noticeable getting in and out of bed, or coughing and sneezing... the second week was better than the first, and the third week I was not "normal", but I was not worried about it any more either...

I have no idea how much I get in, but I agree that if you just follow the Protein and Water mantra, you're not getting fiber. I eat on a rotating basis: - various fruits - various cooked veggies - whole grain high protein bread - low sugar oatmeal ... and am soon to sprinkle in the edamame, chickpea, and black bean salads here and there for lunch as I used in my pre-op diet... like this one from Cedars http://www.cedarsfoods.com/products/mediterranean-salads/all-natural/aegean-edamame-salad-8-oz/

I don't think the idea of dieting should be quickly discounted, some people do succeed. But for people that are 100+ pounds overweight, the percentage of people who succeed is small, I have read. I do know that in my own experience, I am very knowledgeable about nutrition, and I tried multiple times and was successful for awhile, but each time I later fell back into bad habits in time (usually due to stress, being a stress eater), and overall, I was getting heavier, not lighter. Now at 56, with my 60s looming ahead, I felt like I couldn't afford to fail any more and had to acknowledge that I wasn't getting it done on my own. I needed to step things up to succeed, and I *needed* to succeed.

Hi there, I went with Dr Jones recently at Beth Israel and used BCBS of New England (their HMO) insurance. I think each surgical team does things a little differently, but happy to help where I can.

I don't have enough experience to know what falls within the range of "normal" experience. It didn't hurt me to walk at 2 & 1/2 weeks though. Do you have any fever? Is your belly *really* tender to the touch if you gently press around with a fingertip (away from incisions)?

I agree - there is actually quite a lot to take in about what you will need to do and what you can expect, both in terms of problems in the early going, what do do to minimize them, and what to expect in terms of progression... and then there are the significant lifestyle changes that you need to incorporate in diet and exercise. This is definitely a big deal, it's not automatic and it's not easy. Not saying it's not all worth it in the end, far from that, but you need to educate yourself and to develop new habits, and that takes time.

I am about the same height as you, 5ft11-6ft-ish. As a younger man I was a fitness buff and my best weight was actually 165-175lb in terms of combined movement, endurance and strength. I can see why you are happy at 175 and it's not actually "skinny", just slimmer than the average American adult. If you do some strength training, you can have pretty big muscles at that weight too - I used to have a 17.5in bicep at 175lb. I am not 26 anymore, am 56 now and about halfway to my weightloss goals @ 244lb. I plan to try to get down at least to 195lb and/or a waist size of 36 and then to reassess. If it's possible, I may look to get down to 175lb again too. I am a scientist in the pharma industry and read the research literature a lot, and I can tell you that purely from a health perspective - living a long active life and avoiding or at least postponing chronic diseases, avoiding injury and debilitating joint conditions, it's hard to exercise too much or to be too thin, My long term goal outside of weightloss that I've been working on is to do a triathlon this year. I've picked one in my hometown to do on Aug 20th. The way I see it is those extra 5-10 pounds is just more wear and tear on the joints in the run. Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App Awesome, you sound like a very motivated individual too - it is inspiring :-) I agree - if you are walking or running, extra weight just increases the forces on feet, ankles, knees and hips, and if you take a fall, you're just going to hit that much harder. One thing that I have seen re exercise, is that some people need to shift from running to something smoother, like cycling or swimming as they get older. But if all is well, more power to you :-) I have a nice bike I bought when I was too big to really ride it that's been sitting in the shed - plan to get on it when the weather gets into the 70s here, and am thinking about buying a surfski and wetsuit for fitness paddling in the coastal river here - am getting excited again!

I am about the same height as you, 5ft11-6ft-ish. As a younger man I was a fitness buff and my best weight was actually 165-175lb in terms of combined movement, endurance and strength. I can see why you are happy at 175 and it's not actually "skinny", just slimmer than the average American adult. If you do some strength training, you can have pretty big muscles at that weight too - I used to have a 17.5in bicep at 175lb. I am not 26 anymore, am 56 now and about halfway to my weightloss goals @ 244lb. I plan to try to get down at least to 195lb and/or a waist size of 36 and then to reassess. If it's possible, I may look to get down to 175lb again too. I am a scientist in the pharma industry and read the research literature a lot, and I can tell you that purely from a health perspective - living a long active life and avoiding or at least postponing chronic diseases, avoiding injury and debilitating joint conditions, it's hard to exercise too much or to be too thin,

Is suppose everyone's experience is different. For me, the pain had improved after the first week, but it took two weeks before I was comfortably getting in and out of bed - that was the only time when I really had significant discomfort. It wasn't just the wounds - the sutures are fine and strong and kind of cut at the tissue I think. I learned how to use the headboard and swing my legs over the side of the bed to avoid too much tension on the abdomen getting out, and I basically came to sit on the bed and drop my head onto the pillow to avoid too much tension on the abdomen getting in. I didn't use my script for the pain medication at home, but if you're having significant pain issues, I would take advantage of that help. Is there any friend or family in the area that can come over on Monday to help out if you're not feeling well? Maybe you could even look into a home health aid to pay a visit?

The surgeon sounds experienced - if you have done something 150x, you have seen most of what one can see in terms of different types of challenges I imagine. Is any other info provided? Regarding the amount of support needed from the PCP, I agree with @@Rainy Days - during my research/decision phase, I went to my PCP a couple of times to discuss what I was learning and thinking around what became my decision - wanted to "keep him in the loop". If you go forward, you need the PCP to be supportive (if it's the right thing to do) and provide a referral, but once the intake process starts, the surgeon's team has been handling most everything for me, and I have had scheduled followup visits with the nutritionist and surgeon. The scheduled followup hasn't been extensive, but it has been enough, and if I was having issues, I could of course get more of that.

Yep, my nutritionist told me that if I was getting too full too easily, to avoid drinking while eating, in order to leave more space for food.

I eat low sugar/high fiber/whole grain cereals like Cheerios, All-Bran flakes, Post Shredded Wheat and Bran and combine those with hormone-free Hood Simply Smart fat-free milk, which is ultra-filtered to remove some of the Water and thereby has improved Protein and Calcium content. Sometimes sprinkle wild blueberries, banana slices or strawberry slices on top. Has been okay for me.

Great work! You da woman!

I think constipation at a week or more can become dangerous. I would call your surgeon's office today.

Welcome home. There is a lot to deal with the first week, but nothing you can't handle. Don't avoid liquids, as dehydration is a common problem - just sip the Water a little at a time and keep at it. You'll feel better if you stay hydrated. The hardest thing for me to get used to is how little I can consume at one time, and that includes liquids.

I didn't use the heavy pain medication script they gave me to take home. When getting in and out of bed, I was quite uncomfortable for the first two weeks, especially the first week. Other than that, I was basically okay, and I live alone. I went back to work the third week (desk job), and I worked shortened days.

Some fiberful soft foods - prune juice with pulp, applesauce, peaches in juice or extra light syrup, low sugar bran flakes with fat-free milk, Quaker instant oatmeal - "lower sugar" or "high fiber" varieties - the latter is also lower sugar. You can also add nice wild blueberries (from freezer section @ grocer) to either the bran flakes or oatmeal - they are a superfood and have Fiber too.

I would listen to your body - if you are nauseous or uncomfortable after eating, it's likely too much. If everything feels fine, it's probably okay. Another boundary you can think about if you like is counting calories for a few days to verify those are not excessive.

Hi giggles - I started walking outside at 1 week postop, two blocks every other day at first... then I added length gradually up to 1 mile and transitioned to 6 days per week walking. At 4 weeks, I started in at the gym - I ride the bike for 16 minutes to burn some calories, get my heart pumping, and build endurance in the legs. Then I do some exercises on the weight machines that don't stress the abdomen - all sitting, that work the arms, chest and shoulders, and at 5 weeks added lower back. I don't use heavy weights that I could only do 6-10 reps with as most weightlifters would do - want to avoid injury since I am out of shape and have holes in my belly muscles to boot. Instead I choose weights that allow me to do 15-18 reps for all machines - this way the max forces on the body are reduced and the likelihood of injuries and setbacks are reduced. P.S. When I added the gym, that is 3 days a week and I now don't walk on those days. Plan to gently introduce abdomen exercise at 6 weeks, per my surgical team.

I started drinking coffee at 2 weeks out, but 1 cup a day instead of my previous 6+ cups per day. Now 5 weeks out I am up to 2 cups per day, but will try to hold it there. Coffee gets to be counterproductive when you drink too much of it. And for me, I use Splenda and Land o' Lakes non-fat creamer with it.