Athenyx

If anyone reads this they'll probably wonder at the totally out of the blue update, but I found a couple of sachets of Kenco Smooth (my usual brand) in my suitcase, tucked way underneath some clothes I haven't worn yet and I totally did a happy dance. I made a cup with half a sachet yesterday and it hasn't upset my stomach at all :-D Yay. Maybe I just needed what my stomach was used to? In that case, America, why don't you have Costa coffee?!

I was sleeved Jan 19th and so far I've lost 38 lbs and everything's going really well. I can eat pretty much anything, it's just all in tiny amounts - I don't measure these amounts because I find it too consuming - I just use my judgement. I only weigh myself once a week, so I don't become obsessed with that, and in terms of exercise, I swim as many lengths as I can every other day if I have access to a pool, otherwise I walk. Yesterday I hiked in the Olympic NP and along the beaches - it was exhausting but made me feel great after. I'm actually traveling at the minute - road tripping the US alone for nearly 12 weeks, and it's been fab. I don't often eat out, but if I do I just pick a healthy meal with high Protein and eat my small portion as 80% protein then a bit of carbs and veg. Sometimes coffee upsets my stomach if it's too strong, but other wise I haven't had any issues. I take my Vitamins twice a day too. As for specific foods, I eat a huge variety. When I Wake up I have a cup of tea (fat free milk and sweetener), then a little later I have Breakfast (scrambled egg with turkey bacon, porridge, low fat sausage and poached egg, low fat Greek yogurt with honey or fruit). lunch is usually some kind of meat - roast turkey or chicken with some cuts of cheese (any kind, but low fat usually) and some romaine lettuce leaves or cherry tomatoes or sliced cumumber and a few low fat crackers. I have a bottle of Water with me, made up as 10% real fruit juice and the rest water. If I'm out and about and don't have time to sit down properly, I take a Protein Bar and a piece of fruit. dinner I have cooked shrimp or chicken, a little wholewheat Pasta or rice or a couple of mini potatoes, sometimes with goats cheese, and some veg - like courgette or spinach. The bread here doesn't taste nice to me, so I avoid it, but sometimes I have a bit of whole meal flatbread instead of crackers. I drink several other cups of tea or coffee through the day - always with fat free milk and no sugar. And a large glass of the juice mixed with water with dinner - or milk, every now and then I drink a big glass of milk. There's literally SO much out there you can eat, so don't feel discouraged. It's all trial and error about what doesn't make you feel that heart burn sensation - you can have bread, just in small amounts, and if something upsets your stomach just leave it to try again in the future. If you eat out with friends, pick something healthy with lots of protein and just eat what you can - usually whoever I'm with picks at my food or finishes it for me because I can't eat it all. Same with finishing my drink - in a way, it's nice to share and I don't feel uncomfortable or embarrassing about it. Embrace your new tummy - work with it and feel proud of the step you've taken to get healthy ???? See the advantages not the disadvantages. Some days your mood can be shit, losing weight this way messes with our hormones, but other days will be great...so hold out for those. Also, you are young, but you've saved yourself years of depression and anxiety, so that makes you pretty brave in my books. I'm 29 and I wish I'd done this at 20 - now my 30s will be my best years instead of my 20s ????

I have fat free milk here (skimmed at home) but I have no problems with drinking glasses of it, or any other dairy - I'm a big cheese lover too. I don't put any sugar in my coffee and I don't get syrup if I get it when I'm out. It's definitely the coffee itself. I managed to find some Nescafé Original in a store today, which is more like the brands I'm used to - at home I have Kenco Smooth but I haven't seen that here anywhere. Tomorrow I'll try the Nescafé but if it upsets my tummy again I'm gonna have to give it up for the foreseeable future. I love coffee - but thankfully, keeping with British tradition , I'm an equal lover of tea so it's not so bad.

You're right @@Christinamo7 these new tummies are funny A part of me is wondering if it's worse at the minute because instant coffee here is not as nice as instant coffee at home...it sort of tastes wheat-y to me, if that makes sense. Ground coffee here is better but I'm rubbish at not making it too strong. I'll just stick with my tea and try to ignore the nice coffee smells all around me - argh!

Woah. How'd that happen?!

I'm eight weeks out @@JamieLogical so definitely at a stage it should be okay I'm talking all different kinds. Decaf and caffeinated. Ground and instant. Store bought and from various coffee places. I don't have it strong either - in the UK we tend to use instant coffee more and I don't use creamer, I use milk (hate coffee creamer) so even though I'm in the US at the minute I mostly have instant coffee with fat free milk from Whole Foods. I also have it pretty milky with no sugar. I'm drinking regular tea every day - English Breakfast Tea - without any problems (thank god!) so it must just be the acidity of the coffee like you suggested @4MRB4PHOTO. Sucks. Maybe I'll take a coffee break and try it again in a few weeks! I'm eight weeks out @@JamieLogical so definitely at a stage it should be okay I'm talking all different kinds. Decaf and caffeinated. Ground and instant. Store bought and from various coffee places. I don't have it strong either - in the UK we tend to use instant coffee more and I don't use creamer, I use milk (hate coffee creamer) so even though I'm in the US at the minute I mostly have instant coffee with fat free milk from Whole Foods. I also have it pretty milky with no sugar. I'm drinking regular tea every day - English Breakfast Tea - without any problems (thank god!) so it must just be the acidity of the coffee like you suggested @4MRB4PHOTO. Sucks. Maybe I'll take a coffee break and try it again in a few weeks!

Hey there! Congrats on taking this big step - it's normal for your emotions to be all over the place at this stage though, so try not to worry. I got a ton of shots while I was in the hospital - most of them bruised, and I had pretty serious bruising around a couple of the incision sites too, the bigger the incision the bigger the bruises - also very normal. They took weeks to disappear but didn't really hurt. I'm 8 weeks post op today and my incisions look great - pinking up nicely I found getting liquids in very hard too - Water made me feel empty and sick. I went for milk - I drank small cups of cold milk as much as I could. And apple juice. Nothing much else appealed to me at the time. So just trust your stomach - if you don't like the sound of drinking something, it makes you feel queasy, then don't drink it. You'll find things you like to drink - whether it be tea, coffee, milk, juice or water. I don't use any Protein powders as I don't like them - I drank milk mostly, and some high protein milkshakes. For pain killers I was given soluble paracetamol and tiny codeine pills and they both worked fine - just remember to take whatever you do regularly and not wait until you're really uncomfortable with the pain. All of this is trial and error - finding what works for you. You'll work it out as you go along, but don't be afraid to ask anyone anything on here - in my experience everyone is really helpful, and even if the advice isn't what you want, it's nice to know you're not alone. Good luck with your weight loss journey!

Nope [emoji4] lol. I'll google it.

Sounds like a great solution. I am see it now, your novel will be a piqueresque tale of a woman, with a vaguely Welsh accent, who discovers herself by weighing herself at roadside attractions, samples exotic truck stop Protein, and meets quirky locals of all sizes as she travels solo across America! Can't wait to read it! Lol. That would be good...except I like writing sci fi. The woman would have to have some sort of special abilities, or else be an alien. That could work - I'm going to Roswell!!

In the end I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought a set of lightweight portable bathroom scales! I have a car for the next ten weeks so I'll just keep them in the boot (trunk ).

Thanks everyone! I'm gonna take all the advice on board and just keep my eyes open for opportunities like you all suggested! I looked on a map and saw there's a Walgreens and another pharmacy near where I planned on going today so I'll stop off there to see if they have any scales. I had a look into clinics local to me and some of them seemed really dodgy so I nixed that Idea for the minute - as a solo female traveller I'm trying to avoid anywhere I might feel too uncomfortable, even if it's in my head! @@Nurse_Lenora Thank you for the travelling advice also I did think about doing a travelling blog, but as I'm trying to get myself into the right headspace to write my novel I thought it would probably distract me! I'm too easily distracted! I am in fact doing Airbnb at the moment, and for a few other of my stays, but unfortunately on this one they don't have any scales that I can see, but it was a good suggestion and I won't take it to heart of the scales fluctuate There's a swimming pool in this apartment complex so when I go down for a swim later today I'll see if there's anything down there - you never know! Also, good call @@Inner Surfer Girl - when I'm staying at hotels along the way I can ask them for advice. I'm definitely not afraid to ask locals for help I'll also keep an eye out for drop in clinics in Walmart etc. Lol @@WLSResources/ClothingExch I'll let you know how it goes if I have to resort to digging around for a set of scales with whoever will let me use them I can't open my mouth without someone commenting on my accent at the minute - someone asked me if I was Welsh yesterday. I really don't sound Welsh but I'll take it. I'm solely around the West coast and (what do you call just inland from the West - the Mid-West? I dunno) this time around. Thank you for the good wishes though

I'm six and a half weeks post op and about to go travelling in the US for three months (I'm from the UK), and first up is my nearly ten hour flight to Seattle from London. I still get pretty uncomfortable sitting in the same position for more than a few hours (say, when driving or as a passenger), it usually feels like someone's kicked my left ribs, so I've bought a lumbar support cushion to help me change my position, and I'll have to get up and take a few little walks around - hopefully without driving whoever is sitting next to me absolutely bonkers. It doesn't happen very often, but I'm paranoid I might get an upset stomach on the flight, and I've already picked my meal (healthy meal option) so I'm seriously hoping this doesn't happen! But I was wondering if anyone had done anything similar and had some tips as to how to make the journey more comfortable/stress free?

Thanks for the advice I had a little scrambled egg and orange juice at the hotel and I'm just on my way to the terminal now - wish me luck!

I don't have the room to pack that stuff [emoji20] But, thankfully, I eat such small portions I'm kind of getting used to knowing what portion size to make my meal (basically, smaller than child size, lol) [emoji1] I'm actually struggling to eat more than two small meals a day at the minute - I had a little porridge and fruit this morning, which was my first breakfast of the week - so I'm getting there!

I'll be hitting walmart for supplies as soon as I get the car That's exactly how I feel! If I waited around for my friends to get themselves together for this kind of trip I'd probably never go - better to go on my own than not go at all, and then I can just do whatever I feel like.

I'm with you there - I've packed some little Tupperware boxes and a mini cooler for on the road [emoji1]

Thank you!! [emoji1][emoji1]

Thank you for the advice I'm visiting a friend when I'm in Arizona too! I'm challenging myself to basically be alone for three months - I've done it before, but that time I used public transport to get everywhere and only drove tiny little bits - now it'll be just me and the open road - eek.

I love that - tuna sandwich minus the bread I'm lucky in that Heathrow has a lot of choices for food, but I don't think I'll eat before I fly, just get a coffee and have my meal on the plane - it's white fish and veg. BA allow you to order your meal in advance, thankfully! I think you can have cheese and crackers as a snack later as well. But you're right - I need to get myself a good water bottle. Protein powders are a no go for me - they taste strange and I can't force myself to drink them. BA is fabulous! It also sounds like you made a great meal choice. What cities are you visiting in the states? I'm flying into Sea Tac, spending a week in Seattle, and then hiring a car for ten weeks and making my way through Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho - then I have a week in Vancouver before flying home it's a pretty huge undertaking, but I've spaced myself out loads, I'm a confident driver and traveller (I spent four months all up and down the East Coast a few years ago), and I've been meaning to do this for...forever! I'm mostly staying in Airbnb places so I have a kitchen and can control my meals, and also either with a pool or near one, so I can get my laps in! Sushi is great - I love sushi. Definitely an option

I love that - tuna sandwich minus the bread I'm lucky in that Heathrow has a lot of choices for food, but I don't think I'll eat before I fly, just get a coffee and have my meal on the plane - it's white fish and veg. BA allow you to order your meal in advance, thankfully! I think you can have cheese and crackers as a snack later as well. But you're right - I need to get myself a good water bottle. Protein powders are a no go for me - they taste strange and I can't force myself to drink them. What Protein Powder brands have you tried? I use the protein works.com and have found their's lovely, but I've others and they were pretty gross. I want to say that you may find Soup or no-carby options in Pret, but they obviously have lots of deliciously tempting carby stuff too. You can get breakfasts and things which would include eggs, Beans, bacon etc (just ask for no bread/potatoes). I don't eat plane food if I can help it, so I try and get something in beforehand where I can. Sent from my SM-G900H using the BariatricPal App I got a few different ones from myprotein.com and my brother has some he uses for his marines training. I can just taste the fakeness of it, don't ask me how, lol. I'm fussy about what I drink so I have to try and find ways around things, but my doctors not actually told me to take extra protein or drink Protein shakes so I've been alright so far - I'm just supposed to have three kids/starter size meals a day - healthy and protein heavy. Yeah, Pret usually have good options - so do Boots, so I might get some fruit or veg Snacks from there before the flight. I've realised I actually have Breakfast included in my airport hotel stay so I'll see if there's anything good there first. I quite like plane meals BA give you nice food in premium economy so I'll definitely have that for my lunch/dinner (that's gonna get confusing!)

Thanks for replying I've already chosen a window seat as I hate aisle seats - I'm tall so something always gets knocked - my elbow, my foot, my knee - depending on how I'm sitting. I was savvy and booked premium economy so I have extra leg room and a bigger seat, though I sit fine in normal seats really. I wasn't sure if it was okay to be taking things like immodium, but if others are and it's fine then i'll get some from the airport - thanks for the heads up! It would be a good idea to talk with your surgeon about your travel plans. He or she might have some suggestions about what meds to take as well as thoughts on preventing blood clots. Definitely plan to get up and walk frequently. I also know that some people who travel long distances wear compression hose or similar. Stay hydrated, too. Planes can really dry you out. Water and tomato juice/V8 are good choices from drink service. My surgeon definitely knows I'm going, he's known I've been set on going travelling since before the surgery because it was part of the reason he told me not to get a band, but he's not told me to do anything special. I think I'll just make sure I get up enough, like you said, every few hours I'll take a walk Hydration is key! But not the tomato juice - I'm picky about drinks (not so much about food) and I can't stand it. I'll probably ask for lots tea...I love tea, and some water and orange juice to mix in with my water I think!

I love that - tuna sandwich minus the bread I'm lucky in that Heathrow has a lot of choices for food, but I don't think I'll eat before I fly, just get a coffee and have my meal on the plane - it's white fish and veg. BA allow you to order your meal in advance, thankfully! I think you can have cheese and crackers as a snack later as well. But you're right - I need to get myself a good water bottle. Protein powders are a no go for me - they taste strange and I can't force myself to drink them.

I am looking forward to not worrying about how much spare room is left on my seatbelt, that's for sure! To be honest, I was one of those people who hated to use airplane toilets and stuck to my seat like glue, but this time I'll make myself get up to go just for the walks Flying has never really made me feel hungry before - the inflight meals should be way more than adequate for me as I'm only just managing three small kids size meals at the moment, but the advice about the protein bars is good, thanks - even if it's just for my road trips afterwards - always better to have a healthy snack on hand than resort to whatever is available at the time!

I've never joined a closed group so I thought it would show up on my profile - I don't mind joining if that's the case then. Though, I can't find a group titled 'Bariatric Surgeries 2016' on there, lol. Do you have to do a liquid diet before surgery? I just had a healthy Protein diet for two weeks pre-op so I wasn't very inconvenienced - it was afterwards that was a bugger, but I mostly stayed at home for those two weeks!