heidikat72

@@goldenbarbie
No need to ask anyone one permission for what you choose to eat. Your an adult. You have the information from your surgeon's office to work your plan. You are the only one that has to be happy with your weight loss outcome.
Yes I'm cleared for all foods! ........all foods or solid foods?
Called my surgeon he said it's fine, but to still focus on the Protein shakes as well. So I'll be having my pb&j shortly
You have asked:
Has anyone had banana pudding about 2 1/2 weeks post opp? My mom made some and I was wondering if a spoonful or two would hurt my sleeve
Hi I'm about 4 weeks out and my stomach is slowly accepting different foods. Is it ok if I have a pb&j sandwich? Will it effect my sleeve?
I'm a bit confuse on why you are asking if its ok -----?? Several times. You seem to already have the answers you're looking for.
.
No need to ask any of us permission on what you should eat. This is between you and your surgeon.

MMMmmmm.... Carbs from the bread, sugar from the jelly, fat from the Peanut Butter. And barely any Protein.

Seems like a perfect option to me!

The things that sucks about "cheating" on the pre-op diet is that you likely kicked your body out of ketosis if you had carbs. Which means you will have to go through all the headaches and fatigue associated with entering ketosis all over again.

It also depends on what kind of job you have. At a desk job where you can be drinking your fluids all day, it is pretty easy to go back at two weeks. If any lifting is involved, you'll be on a lifting restriction for about 6 weeks.
I went back at two weeks and was ok but do wish I had taken an extra week. I was fine pain wise (had been off all pain meds even tylenol for over a week at that point). It just happened that that week was the week I started purees and really had to start separating eating and drinking and get a schedule down for that. First week at work (it was also a new job - but a former employer and boss who knew about my surgery) it was very easy to get distracted with the work and fall behind on getting my fluids in. So in that sense I wish I had waited another week. I was also exhausted at the end of the day. So it was manageable to go back at two weeks, but I would recommend an extra week.

appetizers (if they have a non-breaded, non fried option like shrimp cocktail)
order off the light/low carb menu and plan to have leftovers (ask for a to go box immediately and put most of it in there so not tempted to over eat), and most places will accomodate if you ask them to hold the rice/potato/pasta/bun etc.

Just wanted to follow up - I made this yesterday for my dinners this week! Delicious!
and I made her turkey squash casserole for my lunches - managed to use up the leftover turkey hanging out in my freezer with completely different flavor profiles. Highly recommend both!

appetizers (if they have a non-breaded, non fried option like shrimp cocktail)
order off the light/low carb menu and plan to have leftovers (ask for a to go box immediately and put most of it in there so not tempted to over eat), and most places will accomodate if you ask them to hold the rice/potato/pasta/bun etc.

I think as long as you stay mindful, you should be fine. I've never been on a cruise but I imagine that buffets would have plenty of Protein options and at 3 months out you are on solid food. So as long as you think you can avoid the temptation of the starchy/sugary options, I say getting away and enjoying yourself in the dead of winter sounds great!
I did a week long tour of tennessee in October (4 months post op for me). It was fine. I had some Protein Bars and pouches of tuna with me "just in case" and typically used those for lunch in the middle of the day when I didn't want to hunt for a restaurant in the middle of sightseeing (or in the middle of hiking the Great Smoky Mtns national park one day). Also on a cruise ship, you'll have constant access to Water to drink.
So you might want to pack a couple Protein Bars or single serve pouches of Protein powder in case of emergencies. But really, I think you'll be fine. And you can get lots of walking in on the ship.
Go and enjoy!

I drank Premiere when I had to but never really liked it. All the premade drinks basically tasted like industrial run off to me. I preferred to make my own drinks with Protein Powder and either Carb Master/Fair Life milk or unsweetened vanilla almond or cashew milk.
Some of my favorite Protein powders are Syntrax Nectar (favorite flavors: iced Cappuccino, chocolate truffle), Syntrax Matrix, Chike, Unjury (favorite flavor: chocolate splendor, chicken Soup is also good -- mix with hot water), and Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard. You can buy samples of most of these powders on nashuanutrition.com. The Unjury website is the only place to buy Unjury.
I also like mixing in a couple teaspoons of instant coffee and/or some Torani SF Syrup flavorings to make things more interesting, like a hazelnut mocha or vanilla latte Protein Shake.< /p>

appetizers (if they have a non-breaded, non fried option like shrimp cocktail)
order off the light/low carb menu and plan to have leftovers (ask for a to go box immediately and put most of it in there so not tempted to over eat), and most places will accomodate if you ask them to hold the rice/potato/pasta/bun etc.

You should be past the pain stage by 2 weeks, but fatigue will be a real issue and like @@heidikat72 said, time management can be an issue. As you start advancing through the food stage, keeping track of your food and Water and when to eat and when to drink and when to take your Vitamins can feel like a full-time job in itself!

appetizers (if they have a non-breaded, non fried option like shrimp cocktail)
order off the light/low carb menu and plan to have leftovers (ask for a to go box immediately and put most of it in there so not tempted to over eat), and most places will accomodate if you ask them to hold the rice/potato/pasta/bun etc.

Depends on how far out you are post-op. If you are far enough out to not have anymore food restrictions, then just stick with anything protein-based. I will order burgers and sandwiches without the roll/bread... meat Entrees without the sides.... appetizers... whatever is on the menu where I can get a decent amount of Protein and skip the carbs. That's really all there is to it.

@@50yearoldme Make sure you talk to your PCP about follow-up blood work and call your insurance company to make sure treatment for any complications would be covered.
My PCP was great about the whole thing and scheduled me for visits and blood work at regular intervals post-op. My insurance told me that any visits to the ER, infections, or whatever else WOULD be covered. Fortunately, I had no issues whatsoever and everything went super smoothly for me.

Just wanted to follow up - I made this yesterday for my dinners this week! Delicious!
and I made her turkey squash casserole for my lunches - managed to use up the leftover turkey hanging out in my freezer with completely different flavor profiles. Highly recommend both!

Google "The World According to Eggface" for some bariatric appropriate uses of food on the puree stage. There is a lot you can do with high Protein meats, such as chicken, fish(was my favorite on that stage). Well done veggies mashed up/pureed. Mashed cauliflower tastes good and is healthy too. A lot of people puree black, kidney or pinto Beans and add a bit of sour cream and cheese...another high Protein option.

Once a week. Any more than that would be too emotionally taxing for me.

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts, good and bad, on this thread. It really helps people like me who are in the planning phase of things.
I agree with @@HurricaneU that the weight loss is usually the easier part, but it's the weight maintenance that's difficult. I would see WLS as a tool to help maintain a loss. I do have to admit I would be upset if I lost slowly, though. So I understand why that's so frustrating. I guess that is something I should get prepared for in case it happens to me.
As for people who look "tired" or older after losing a lot of weight... I guess I figure I'm getting this surgery as a way to be fitter and do things I can't do right now. Shovel snow, climb up into the attic, set up/break down during camping, help my friends move, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. So maybe I will look like a tired, saggy old hag afterward but as long as I get strong enough to live the way I want to live physically I will be OK with that.

I enjoy being out with friends. My enjoyment just doesn't involve mass quantities of food now. Yes I eat but I find that I'm more involved in the conversation than I've ever been and I feel like I get so much more out of the time that I've spent.

My regret is not getting it done sooner.

I usually try to avoid replying to these posts about weightloss just a couple days post op being too slow, but I think it's important people get a realistic picture and not just see posts from people with massive weight loss the first week or two. Yes, some people lose a lot the first two weeks, others, like me, don't lose anything the first two weeks.
You are only 12 days out!!! You just had MAJOR surgery and your body is trying to heal - that is the only thing you should be focused on right now - healing. You were also pumped full of IV fluids in the hospital and likely weighed more at discharge than when you went in - it takes a while to clear that excess Fluid.
Please try to avoid comparing weightloss to anyone - it is a recipe for dissappointment. There are a ton of factors that go into the rate at which we lose - gender (typically men lose faster than women), genetics, how much excess weight you have, how long you have been obese, how much you lost leading up to surgery etc etc etc.
So forget about the scale for now, just focus on following your plan - getting your fluids and Protein in, walking etc - the weightloss will come - it will not be linear nor consistent, you will have many stalls along the way (and yes they ARE frustrating, but they end).

I've never counted bites since they are not scientific and vary from person to person.
A better way to tell if you are full early on is burping, hiccups or a running nose.
You don't experience restriction on liquids on Soups, what you are feeling is swelling from surgery, so you should never really feel full.
Have your 2 ounces if you can, or whatever your program recommends, and stop.
There is no way to gauge your capacity early on, you have to measure and work to just meet goals.

Sweat, loose clothes, loose skin, cleavage, braids - the ACLU just went after them for getting all up in black women's hair. Those stupid things have an unbelievable false positive rate. They're basically total crap, so anything they can't figure out - like less than perky breasts - means you get felt up by your not-so-friendly TSA agent. After my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer I had to fly SEA to DFW quite a bit. Thing lit up like a Christmas tree Every. Single. Time. Under the breasts; between the breasts; under the belly; up, down and around the thighs all the way up the crotch.
Ugh. It was just extremely upsetting. God knew I'd had all I could take - the flight home after the funeral, my 13 yr old got random TSA pre-check and I got to join her in the past. You know - where you leave your shoes on and just walk through a metal detector like a real person instead of being treated like a prisoner during lockdown?
So as soon as I got back (and calmed down) my honey and I applied for those newfangled Nexus cards. They come with Pre check, global entry, and the use of the fast lane across the Canadian border. So worth it!
I really hate having to pay to not get groped, but I still recommend getting a card if you travel much and/or set off those giant pieces of security theater.
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

More perplexing is if she's eaten all of that, how is this considered her "first meal"?
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

The issue isn't so much eating food that might be detrimental to your weight loss, but rather eating food that could cause serious and immediate health problems because of a healing stomach. To a certain extent, it is entirely the responsibility of the individual. But beyond that, others who may not have received a proper education as to how and what to eat immediately post op may see something like this, figure it's okay, and then do damage to themselves while thinking they were safe.
So yeah, if someone is determined to eat something they shouldn't, it's on them. But if they are leading others astray, that becomes a different issue. Besides, if you are going to do something stupid, and then post about it on the internet, you should not be surprised when you receive criticism or worse for it.