kaitlynm

Congratulations!! What are you going to do to celebrate?

I had a hysterectomy 7 years ago. I take the bariatric advantage multi vitamin with iron and my blood work has been fine. The only other thing I take is the calcium chews.

I've always had very large muscular calfs. Now I'm in the misses sizes I find it to be the most difficult part of buying jeans. I had 2 Achilles surgeries on my right leg and ended up in a cast for 6 weeks after each surgery. That calf is actually 2 inches smaller than the left one. Mine are pure muscle so I don't anticipate them getting too much smaller as I lose more weight.

Congratulations!!

The first couple of months your hormones are going crazy from loosing weight and just the traumatic effect of the surgery. I'm sure you many of your feelings will stem from this. I was one of the really lucky ones in that I had no nausea post op and only threw up twice, both times early, and a result of eating too much. I hope you get to this stage soon. Once you can have regular food again it does get much better. I'm almost 6 mos out and so far have had no hair loss. Hopefully I will be able to say that at a year out. Hang in there, it does get better. It is good for everyone to know pre op what the possible complications can be, and be comfortable with their decision to proceed. IMO it is totally worth it. Everyone has to decide for themselves if the complications are worth the risk.

My surgeon says no caffeinated beverages for life. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do like my ice tea. I try to get decaffeinated whenever possible, but that is pretty hard to find at restaurants. I do stay away from sugar however.

I'm about 2/3 of the way to my goal and my friend told me I'm starting to look haggard because I'm loosing too much weight. I would rather people would just say nothing about it.

I make strawberry banana protein frozen yogurt. Target sells frozen strawberries and bananas and I put a cup in with 1/2 c Greek yogurt, 2 scoops protein powder, and a little stevia in a food processor. They are pretty hard when frozen so I put them in individual dishes that I can microwave for a few seconds before eating. It is really good.

Have you tried cream of wheat or items that type of texture. I like syntrax nector protein drinks. They taste like crystal light rather than milk. They are 100% protein with no carbs or fat. I do like them (and all liquids) really cold. I mix them and then keep them in the fridge for a few hours.

I use my fitness pal app to track all of my food intake. It is free and gives you the breakdown of protein, fat, and carbs. I find most foods that I eat already in there. I would never be able to do this without logging everything.

Congratulations! You look wonderful.

I would keep the surgery to yourself and this forum. Everyone has opinions, and many are not scientifically based. Others will be jealous of your weight loss, you just tend to get a lot of strange reactions. I told some people and now I wish I hadn't. Just tell people you are working out and eating lots of protein while restricting calories. No lies there.

I think too that your body has been through so much that it is just exhausted. I would just try to start over with the exercising increasing just a little bit each day. Once your body has recovered fully then I'm sure you will walking back to 15 miles again in no time.

Still kind of sounds like you are low on protein. How many grams per day are you getting? If you are trying to preserve your muscle mass that is really important. Also are you getting in at least 64 oz of water? It sounds like you are getting enough exercise, but you should try to stay at 1500 cal. If you want more food, then you probably need to up your exercise. Maybe just changing the type would help. I'm amazed how quickly my body gets used to my routines.

Just hang in there, this is the worst time during the surgery process. Soon you will have many more food choices and even though they are much healthier than what you were eating, they will give you more satisfaction. Your hormones are kicked into high gear right now because of loosing weight, this will get better in time as well. Trust me you will get hungry again and you will start feeling much better. It takes a good three months to get through a lot of these emotions and it will go quicker than you can imagine.

Depending on how much you crave sweets it might be a blessing. I crave sweets all the time (always have). Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners make you crave more sweets and carbs in the same way sugar does. The headaches may act as a deterrent towards those types of foods and keep you focused on Protein and complex carbs. If you choose to do Protein drinks you may have some issues with prepared ones. Luckily there are plenty of unflavored powders out there so that you can make your own shakes with the xylitol.

I love kidney and black beans. I've been eating them since I was allowed regular foods.

I hate to jinx myself, but I'm almost 6 mos out and haven't lost any hair. I guess it can still happen, but I'm hoping not. I do get all my protein and water in and my multi-vitamin has biotin in it. Hopefully I'm one of the lucky ones and you will be too.

You will do just fine. Hormones are not your friends right now. I had exactly the same thoughts you are having right after surgery. I'm going to lose all my friends because I can't go out to eat, or parties, or happy hour, etc, etc.... Well 6 months out and none of that is true. I haven't found any food that actually makes me sick. I can still go out to eat with friends, I just make much more healthier choices for my meals. No one has abandoned me because I don't drink with them all night. I'm single and am just as active if not more than before the surgery. I now get to wear much nicer clothes and feel much more confident. Hang in there. The next 6 months will go very fast and you will be in a great place. Occasionally I will have a sweet or two and nothing terrible happens. I do really have to watch what I eat, but it is much easier after the WLS.

I love Penzey's as well. One of my favorites is the Chicago steak seasoning which is ironic because I love it on grilled chicken. We have a store in Houston but I'm afraid to go there because I will want to come home with one of everything.

The ice cream is still a work in process. Yesterday's batch was 2 cups half and half, 1 c almond milk, 2 eggs, 3/4 c stevia, 3 scoops unflavored Protein powder, and 1/4 c PB2 chocolate. Still a high fat count because of the half and half. Next I want to lower the half and half and try using Greek yogurt for some of it. I also make frozen yogurt using 2 c frozen fruit, 1/2 c Greek yogurt, stevia, and 2 scoops unflavored Protein Powder. It is really good.

I totally relate @cindyw41. I started doing body pump class this week after a few years off. I can get on and off the bench easily for the chest and triceps tracks now. My NSV, I did 84 push-ups in one of the body pump classes this week. It is just nice to actually be able to do body weight exercises again.

Add me to the peanut butter lovers list. Just reading this is making me want to go get some. I did make some PB2 Protein ice cream this afternoon. I should go see if it is frozen yet.

How much oatmeal are you eating in the morning? I aim for 1000 calories per day, and well over 100 grams of Protein in that 1000 calories. Seems like even your healthy food choices are a bit high on the carb side. What about boiled eggs for breakfast and a Protein Drink for a snack mid am. Try for some sort of meat for lunch like leftover chicken from the night before (hint hint). I know how it is to be tired after work, and the thought of cooking can be overwehlming. I used to make most of my dinners on Sunday night. I would buy everything (meats) on Sunday afternoon and grill it up that night. I would make ground turkey Chilie and that would last for a few days. You can get some pretty good frozen or fresh veggies that you can nuke pretty quickly to go with the protein. You know you have to give up the junk food to move on. So need to lecture you on that. I would really try upping your protein intake at all of your meals and Snacks. Also how much Water are you getting. More water may help with your hunger. Are you getting any exercise? Just trying to work that in a couple of days a week could get you somewhat motivated. I used to go every day at 5 am before work. It was hard getting up for about a month, but then it just became a routine. If you get re-motivated and start following the rules again you should loose weight. Hopefully that would be enough motivation to continue. Did you see your Surgeon for a 6 mos check-up? Maybe s/he can give you some ideas to get back on track as well.

Hope you get to put all of this behind you soon. It is terrible when you are taking drugs for one thing and they cause other problems.