The New Kel

MyFittnessPal! Awesome ap. I plug in everything I eat and it lets me know where I stand throughout the day.

Nice yoga pants idea is a good one. It's weird how our bodies loose the fat differently at first. I am a month out and I've lot a lot in my top half, waist, boobs, and tummy. Bottom half has lost less than half of what the top half has lost Therefore I am starting to look like a pear, lol!

@@rolosmom7, I wouldn't worry too much about calories. Focus on Protein first, meet your protein goal daily, and meet your fluids goal daily. My NUT has assured me that those two factors play a much bigger role in fat burning than calorie counting. The full feeling is pretty normal, but I agree with LipstickLady. Don't even eat the bottom half of the bun. Also I found that hamburger and ground meats produce a more full feeling than soft (dark meat) chicken and fish. Try rotisserie chicken dark meat, the thighs are great. Add greek yogurt of a bit of mayo. cheese is another way to get protein in that goes down easy. I get all my protein in starting with a 30g shake in the morning, then the rest of the day I have things such as cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, yogurt, soft chicken, tuna with mayo, fish, soft cooked veggies, and peanut better. Here's a fun and yummy thing I discovered for a high protein snack: 1 or 2 tablespoons natural no sugar added Peanut Butter, next to a tablespoon of sugar free preserves (I love the apricot preserves). Use a small spoon to get a bit of both in each little bite. It takes just like a PBJ sandwich! I also wouldn't worry about a 2 lb gain. Weight can fluctuate quite a bit daily. Keep following the rules and the numbers will start moving again.

It could be, since dumping syndrome affects people differently. For me, I got it after drinking Protein too fast (I was trying to get it over with, I don't like shakes). The symptoms were rapid heart beat, nausea, and diarrhea, and broke out in sweats. No fun.

Silly me, I was taking the Levson they sent me home with once in the morning, thinking it was for nausea. No wonder my Breakfast has never been a problem. I also have some meds they gave me marked specifically for nausea. But those make me fall asleep, lol.

A good book and Netflix

One month post op, I get between 600 and 850 calories a day.

I'm almost 5 weeks post op. I get 65-85 grams a day. One Protein shake-30 grams. Various other high protein soft foods fill in the remaining 35-55 a day.

Looks like I will taking it regularly too.. Anything to make eating less painful!

That is awesome! I bet it feels great to get that scale moving again. I am in the second week of a stall, which began on in week 3. Scale hasn't budged but my clothes are getting looser regardless. Thanks for the uplifting post!

I am one month post op, on "soft foods". I have been having discomfort with everything except for cottage cheese and yogurt. I'm on soft foods and even very soft chicken and fish gives me pain right where the esophagus meets the stomach opening. It is like a lot of pressure and makes eating difficult. It takes about 15-20 minutes until it passes into the stomach and pain subsides. I was fearful I had a structure. I just spoke to my surgeons nurse, who said it sounds exactly like spasms. Therefore she ordered Levson, a tablet I will take 15 minutes before meals. I was actually sent home with some, but thought it was for nausea. I am glad it's not a stricture. I'll start taking this stuff tonight before dinner and see how it goes.

@@PorkChopExpress I just wanted to pop in and say I really like this sentence. I hadn't thought of it that way before now I will be visualizing this. I'm a visual person so in my mind I see the obese mind who used to be in control, and the new, real me now taking over. Thanks for this! OK....carry on

Hi I'm Nia and I'm too a recovering Big Mac addict with extra sauce Sent from my SM-G900T1 using the BariatricPal App Big Mac with extra sauce....yep, that was my thing. I wonder if I will ever truly forget about how indulgent that was, It was like a hit of heroin for an addict.

I'm sorry you are dealing with tricky insurance. I used to work in the insurance field, trying to get authorizations for medical procedures and treatments. It was a real eye opener. I learned that the smaller and more micro-managed insurance groups can basically write in any damn exclusion that want. It's awful and makes you realize that its all about money. Even a denial can be appealed though. And even a denial of the appeal can be appealed again! Sometimes with some insurance groups you have to go through several hoops. Which is unfortunate because all you're trying to do is get healthy, which will ultimately save them $ in the long run. Sigh....insurance stinks. Hang in there and if need be appeal, appeal, appeal!!

@@Didjit, I enjoyed reading your thoughtful post and questions. I can really relate to where you are. Like you, I am in my late 40s, and I have a very similar weight history as yours. I'm only 5'3" but I weighed 240 at my highest, which I think was a BMI of 43. Like you, I have a history of exercising extensively, only to justify eating terribly later. I have a memory being 23 years old, in the USAF, living in a dorm room, lonely, 2200 miles away from family. On my days off, I would run a couple miles, then bike ride several miles, then lift weights. My "reward" was to go to Burger King or Arby's and order huge amounts of food, and stuff myself. So dysfunctional. To give you a bit of insight as to how I have reacted to the sleeve so far: (I am just over a month post op).. I was addicted to food, especially high calorie fast foods. The withdrawal from those foods for about 2-3 weeks post op wasn't easy ( I even had dreams of eating burgers, lol). But, I came to grips with the addiction and looked it in the eye and admitted that I had been choosing a terrible lifestyle. Around week 3 post op those foods lost their hold on me and I no longer want them. My appetite is fair now, and I only get hungry when my body requires fuel. And then, the hunger is satisfied with a couple ounces of good Protein. My new stomach knows that bad foods, carbs, sugars and fillers will make it feel bad, and so that feeling overrides any mental head hungers. That's the beauty of the surgery. You simply don't have room for the bad stuff. At least this is my experience so far. I think you are going to do great. You are already asking the right questions and you are already facing your demons by inquiring and admitting your weaknesses. This is a great big huge part of WLS success, tackling (and admitting) the mental issues we have with our relationship with food. Sounds like you're truly ready, and have the insight be very successful with WLS. Kel

@@Meggiesmom, I think that's probably the greatest benefit so far for me, that the sleeve has physically altered my cravings. I really don't have cravings anymore, for anything. I get hungry, but not at all like I used to. Now I get hungry when my body genuinely needs fuel. And I naturally want to eat body pleasing Proteins and things that make me feel good. I was really worried the first couple weeks post op, craving fast food burgers and crap. Then, at week three, those cravings vanished. It's. a great feeling, very liberating!!!

@@frananp03 said: "We have a choice...it may not be an easy choice but its still a choice. We have an opportunity to change after WLS and we should seize it to make better choices. Not ruin it by continuing with the same bad behavior." Well said. Pretty much sums up this whole discussion. I might just use this as my tagline!!

@@NikkiRT ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ your girl is adorbs!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I love these doggie pics!! My dog is 103 lbs so I waited two weeks before I walked him myself. He's a puller Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I don't like them, and had high hopes for them. I bought 4 flavors to try. The red one was ok but medicine aftertaste. The green apple was awful. The other two flavors are sitting in the back of my fridge untouched, lol! Here's the good news: after experiencing isopure drinks, my premier Protein chocolate shakes suddenly taste better . Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think accountability is key to not only weight loss success but all addictions. As they say, You can make excuses or you can make progress, your choice. Two weeks after surgery I wrote myself a letter admitting my terrible relationship with food. If you don't admit what gets you into bad situations, you are bound to repeat. I think the only way to get rid of demons is to admit they are there, and confront them. When I read here about people who just ate candy or fried food, etc, I think that they have not yet faced the hardest part of this journey.. mental changes. Like Blizair said "Bless their Hearts".

That's messed up. I would have left the restaurant and gone elsewhere. Then I would have yelped them poorly (evil me).

Also agreed - I would never leave a 50 cent tip. Even at buffets or order at the counter places, etc I always leave $1 per person and $1 for the table. Minimum. And that's at places you aren't even expected to tip.My first experience going out to eat post surgery was a week ago, to my favorite little restaurant here in town. I ordered the boiled chicken potstickers and my husband ordered a regular meal and some beer. The waitress was so incredible sweet. She came back to check on us and saw I had only eaten one and a half of the 6 potstickers. And noticed that I had pretty much dissected the things trying to get to the meat inside. the waitress asked me if the potstickers were OK. I said yea they were great (even though my sleeve was not tolerating the seasoning..not her fault). She looked a bit concerned but wasn't nosey or over questioning.When the bill came she smiled and gave us a coupon for 20 percent off, saying that next time she hopes I find something that pleases me more. It was actually a really nice gesture. Unrelated, but I love potstickers. I pull the excess dough off and eat mainly the insides. Yummy. I used to love them, but my new tummy has turned against them!

Hang in there @@Ki.B I know how hard the waiting is and going through the months of procedures. But it will pay off, and you will have your surgery date! My journey to get a date took forever. I went to one surgeon and was on a waiting list to see him for 3 months. THE DAY OF the consult, I showed up, and the receptionist told me my consult was cancelled and the surgeon was taking 4 months off!! And he might not return!! I went home devastated. My husband encouraged me to look up another surgeon and I found Dr Lara, thank God. When I was through with all my nutritionist appointments and all the tests, (about 6 months into my Quest for surgery), Dr Lara called and said I had to have my gallbladder removed FIRST, then wait 6 weeks for Sleeve surgery. I was again deflated. But I went along with it. Finally, I got my date, October 3. It took 9 months to get to surgery date. But as my husband reminded me, 9 months really isn't a big deal considering how long I have been overweight and that I have my whole life ahead of me to enjoy the new me. He was right, and now the 9 months seems more trivial. Hang in there and know that you are really close!! It will happen, stAy positive!