nearperfectmess

I've got a few NSV's I'm lumping together, because this weekend was full of 'em.
I went to Orlando FL for a whirlwind, two day trip. I was overwhelmed by a few things that happened.
1 - No seat belt extender! Not only did the seat belts buckle on two different airline's flights, but I had room left on the belt!
2 - Disney World - I spent a whole day in the heat and humidity and felt I actually had energy and wasn't a giant ball of sweat (gross, I know, but...y'all know what I mean).
3 - Universal Studios. This was a big one for me. I've heard horror stories of bigger guys/gals not being able to ride 90% of the rides there due to the size of the seats/restraints. I went to go sit in the test seat outside of Harry Potter and the attendant looked at me and said, "Um, sir, you really don't need that. You're more than fine". Not having to use the test seats and riding every single thrill ride? Best. Thrill. Ever. Worth more than I spent on tickets, and then some.

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

I've got a few NSV's I'm lumping together, because this weekend was full of 'em.
I went to Orlando FL for a whirlwind, two day trip. I was overwhelmed by a few things that happened.
1 - No seat belt extender! Not only did the seat belts buckle on two different airline's flights, but I had room left on the belt!
2 - Disney World - I spent a whole day in the heat and humidity and felt I actually had energy and wasn't a giant ball of sweat (gross, I know, but...y'all know what I mean).
3 - Universal Studios. This was a big one for me. I've heard horror stories of bigger guys/gals not being able to ride 90% of the rides there due to the size of the seats/restraints. I went to go sit in the test seat outside of Harry Potter and the attendant looked at me and said, "Um, sir, you really don't need that. You're more than fine". Not having to use the test seats and riding every single thrill ride? Best. Thrill. Ever. Worth more than I spent on tickets, and then some.

I've got a few NSV's I'm lumping together, because this weekend was full of 'em.
I went to Orlando FL for a whirlwind, two day trip. I was overwhelmed by a few things that happened.
1 - No seat belt extender! Not only did the seat belts buckle on two different airline's flights, but I had room left on the belt!
2 - Disney World - I spent a whole day in the heat and humidity and felt I actually had energy and wasn't a giant ball of sweat (gross, I know, but...y'all know what I mean).
3 - Universal Studios. This was a big one for me. I've heard horror stories of bigger guys/gals not being able to ride 90% of the rides there due to the size of the seats/restraints. I went to go sit in the test seat outside of Harry Potter and the attendant looked at me and said, "Um, sir, you really don't need that. You're more than fine". Not having to use the test seats and riding every single thrill ride? Best. Thrill. Ever. Worth more than I spent on tickets, and then some.

I've got a few NSV's I'm lumping together, because this weekend was full of 'em.
I went to Orlando FL for a whirlwind, two day trip. I was overwhelmed by a few things that happened.
1 - No seat belt extender! Not only did the seat belts buckle on two different airline's flights, but I had room left on the belt!
2 - Disney World - I spent a whole day in the heat and humidity and felt I actually had energy and wasn't a giant ball of sweat (gross, I know, but...y'all know what I mean).
3 - Universal Studios. This was a big one for me. I've heard horror stories of bigger guys/gals not being able to ride 90% of the rides there due to the size of the seats/restraints. I went to go sit in the test seat outside of Harry Potter and the attendant looked at me and said, "Um, sir, you really don't need that. You're more than fine". Not having to use the test seats and riding every single thrill ride? Best. Thrill. Ever. Worth more than I spent on tickets, and then some.

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

You can do it! I, too, questioned why I had done it the first few weeks after, but IT GETS BETTER. Trust. I'm 7 weeks out today and starting to feel more normal. The soft/pureed food stages are the hardest, but it's a great time to get creative. I've tried to think of it as an adventure instead of a hindrance.
We've all been through it here. And if you can't get the advice/answers you need on here, contact your surgeon's office to see if they can connect you with someone who can help you through it. You're stronger than sausage!

I second the suggestion of the Premier Protein shakes above. I found I didn't tolerate a lot of the powdered ones well (most of them just had the weirdest taste/aftertaste that I couldn't shake). But I found the vanilla and strawberries and cream flavored Premier Protein Shakes (almost every supermarket I go to has them, but costco has them much cheaper if you have a membership!). They're ready made and 30g of Protein in 11oz to-go containers. Once you get the okay, you can even blend some frozen (or fresh) fruit into them for a change. Worth a try if you haven't already!

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's.
9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant...
...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out.
I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant...
...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out.
I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

Congratulations! That's amazing.
We went to a pool party last weekend and I had a massive amount of panic the morning of - my 2XL swim trunks looked massive and wouldn't even stay up with the ties. For sh**s and giggles I grabbed a pair of my partner's L swim trunks...and they fit - like REALLY well. And no belly hangover! One of my favorite NSVs so far.

Congratulations! That's amazing.
We went to a pool party last weekend and I had a massive amount of panic the morning of - my 2XL swim trunks looked massive and wouldn't even stay up with the ties. For sh**s and giggles I grabbed a pair of my partner's L swim trunks...and they fit - like REALLY well. And no belly hangover! One of my favorite NSVs so far.

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant...
...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out.
I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

I started to get super nervous the days leading into surgery. And this was after being pretty gung-ho through the whole 4 month process. But the day of surgery I was READY. I kept hearing stories of people saying "Oh, it's not that bad, etc", but now that I'm about 6 weeks out (tomorrow!), I can say - it was worth it and I should've told myself to calm down. The first few weeks will be a little rough with transitioning through the food stages, but if I can give any advise - try your best to make sure you have your Protein powders and things like that ready so that it can make the transitions smoother. And I didn't start trying Protein Shakes until AFTER surgery - I bought a lot of bad ones before settling on the ones I like the best. If you can, try some out and see what you like!

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant...
...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out.
I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

Walk. Walk. Walk. You'll probably hear it a lot, but walking was the NUMBER ONE way to relieve the gas advised by my team. They said to not even bother with Gas-X. It doesn't target that kind of gas pain. They actually kept me another day because I hadn't passed gas yet. But once I was really moving around, things...started moving. I wasn't allowed tea or anything besides Gatorade for the first week following surgery. Depending on your surgeon - that may be an option.
Good luck - it'll get better soon!

@@BlueBongo
I'm quite interested in this as well. I'm a fairly new transplant to the Phoenix area and just had surgery in March (RnY). I don't work outside as much as you, but I do worry about Fluid intake living in the desert. But drinking a gallon of Water a day, it sounds like you're above and beyond your required daily goals. Maybe break up your Protein a bit? If you're at the stage where you can have Protein Bars, maybe keep one with you and have that or 1/2 of it while you're working to give you energy through the shift? I find if I go too long without eating while at work, I do sometimes get a little sick/nauseous.
When in doubt, check with your medical team/nutritionist.

That's crazy. I'm just at the chopped/small food stage now and couldn't think of eating a real taco. I did splurge and go to Chipotle to Celebrate a little Cinco de mayo but had meat, Beans and guac. No rice, no lettuce, no sour cream or any of that. And I still have 3/4 of the bowl left. It was a NSV to me. But I made sure to be mindful. I couldn't imagine chowing down on a taco, especially right after surgery.

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant...
...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out.
I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

Everyone kept saying "You won't have any hunger" and I'm like "How is that even possible?!"
Well, I'm 7 weeks out (yesterday) and I haven't felt any real hunger at all. It's the strangest thing. But it's kinda amazing. One less thing to worry about!