mylighthouse

If you want to avoid sugar altogether, you could use a sugar substitute. I use Stevia and like the way it tastes in my coffee.

I'm 12 weeks post op. I was the same way, did not have any trouble at all getting all of my Water in plus some since the day after surgery. And it is true, you will feel restriction when you get to soft foods. When I first started them, I could barely get in but a few bites.

Congratulations! Doesn't it feel good to be able and do that? I did the same thing a month ago. We took a load of clothes over to Goodwill and dropped them off. Now I am getting ready to take another load, because I've lost more weight and have some things that are too big for me again. I love it!

On the pureed stage, I liked to do canned chicken mashed up real well with a fork, with either plain yogurt or low fat mayo added to make chicken salad. I also did refried Beans with a bit of light sour cream on top. And I made a recipe for ricotta bake that was awesome. You can find it here at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ She is a former WLS patient with a great success story and she has recipes on her website including ones for the pureed stage.

That's awesome! Congratulations and keep up the hard work!

I bought a box of the Banza chickpea Pasta at Target. I wanted to try it, I haven't had any other pasta since my sleeve surgery. So, made some chicken breasts in my Instant Pot with a diced tomato/green pepper/onion sauce. Had a little of the Banza chickpea pasta with some of the tomato sauce over it. The pasta had a good flavor, you could tell it was made with chickpeas, which I don't consider a bad thing at all. I only had about 1/8 cup of it. Made it for me and my husband, he said he didn't mind trying it instead of traditional pasta. He thought it was good too. He wound up eating the rest of it over the next couple of meals. I didn't want to jack up my carbs. I probably won't buy it again, just because my husband would prefer regular pasta and with the limited amount of the Banza that I would eat, it's not even worth making. Thumbs up for flavor though.

Hi I'm 11 weeks post op. I had quite a bit of pain after my sleeve surgery. Day 4 was the worst and had me thinking, why did I do this? But of course, that passed. In fact, day 5 was better than day 4. I continued to have quite a bit of pain, but I have a larger incisional hernia that is located right under the largest incision from the sleeve surgery. Maybe that had to do with some of my pain. Anyway, I continued to take the liquid pain med for a total of 3 weeks after surgery. At 3 weeks, I was still hurting a little, but not enough for pain med. I had quite a lot of bruising on my tummy around the largest incision and that was really sore. Fortunately, I did not experience any gas pains at all like many have after surgery. So I didn't have to deal with that part of it.

Hi, Mainly just saying hi and letting you know that I am 45 and had the sleeve in November. I am only 11 weeks post op, so I can't say much about the extra skin, except that I have lost quite a bit of weight and my double chin is about gone. I was worried about the skin under my chin, but it's starting to bounce back. Also have quite a bit of skin on my arms, doing hand weights to try and help with that. And using lotions. Anything to try and help. I didn't have any complications with the surgery itself. I am just about at the time where my hair might start falling out. I expect that it will... most people lose some hair. Of course someone further along than me can help you more with your questions. Good luck with your surgery!

I eat an early Breakfast or drink part of a Protein shake if I'm not that hungry. Then I have a late morning snack. Then lunch. Then a late afternoon snack. Then I do dinner and I never get hungry before bed. So 3 meals, 2 Snacks for me.

I didn't have any trouble drinking, but I know that others have. You just need to take tiny sips and sip slowly. For Vitamins, mine were chewable, so I could start taking them right away. I have quite a few meds that I take. I checked with my doctor and nutritionist before my surgery and they said that any pill that was too big to fit through a hole punch would need to be broken in half or into smaller pieces. All of my pills were too big to swallow whole, so I broke a couple in half and broke the really large ones into 3 or 4 pieces. Then I just took a really small sip of Water to get each piece down. It was kind of a pain, but it worked out fine. I did this for about a month, because if I tried any pill that was too large before then, it would kind of get stuck in my throat while I was trying to get it down. After about a month I could swallow most of my pills whole.

Your list looks almost like mine did for the liquid phase. When I was at your stage, I did a lot of cream of celery soup. I used a strainer to get out the chunks of celery. Creamed Soups worked well for me. And to get my Protein, I would add half a scoop of my unjury unflavored Protein powder to it... worked really well for me. Congratulations on your surgery and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Congratulations on getting down to 470 for your surgery date... and congrats on having the surgery, too! My pain was the worst on Day 4 after the sleeve. After that, my pain stuck around for another couple of weeks, but it was way less than the first 4 days after surgery. Also, I didn't have the dreaded gas pains that you will see others talk about on here. So I was thankful for that. I'm at almost 11 weeks post op. My only regret is that I didn't have this surgery sooner! I wish you the best and a speedy recovery.

Hello, Congratulations on your upcoming surgery! It is natural to feel nervous or scared. I wasn't scared or really nervous either... I was just very excited for about an entire week before surgery! Have you tried Premier Protein shakes? I think a lot of people like them. That's what I started drinking on my 2 week pre-op diet and I still have part of a shake a day now at 10 weeks out. They don't taste chalky at all. They come in a few different flavors, my favorite is chocolate. You can get a decent price on them at Walmart and an even better price for a 12-pack of shakes at Sam's Club. They are great because 1 shake has 30 grams of protein. Best wishes on your surgery and a speedy recovery!

Hello Blev I started out at over 300 lbs, I was 300 on the day of surgery. I am 45, so you and I are about the same age. I also had a hysterectomy and gained a lot of weight after that. And I am bipolar and the meds really attributed to even more weight gain. So I just wanted to say "hi" and that I was excited like you are! Congratulations on making the decision to have the sleeve surgery. My only regret is that I didn't do mine sooner!

If you are on a liquid diet then you can't have blended chicken breast. You need to stick to liquids only.

My suggestion would be to increase the Protein to your requirement and use the Protein shakes or unflavored Protein powder to your broth or 0 calorie drinks like Crystal Light, Powerade Zero or decaf iced tea. The protein shakes or unflavored protein powder will give you more calories and the minimum requirement of 60 grams of protein a day is very important.

I am 10 weeks post op. When I was at 6 weeks post, I saw my nutritionist and at that time, I was getting in just under 600 calories a day. She told me that under 600 was too low, and it just so happened that at that time, I hadn't lost any weight in a couple of weeks. She told me to shoot for 650-800 a day at the 6 week mark. She also told me that keeping my calories in that range should help me drop some weight. So, I followed her advice and was able to start losing a little weight again. I think you are good where you are for 5 weeks out. I don't think you're eating too much for where you are. At 10 weeks now, I am getting in just over 900 calories a day.

@@XmeghannstarX I was required to do a 2 week pre op diet with shakes and small portions of chicken or fish and vegetables. No starch, no sugar, no caffeine. So, the only day I was required to do liquids was the day before surgery.

@@sleevinpops There are probably some people who will always need their CPAP. From what I've read and what my doctor told me, after I lose a significant amount of weight, I may no longer need it. I will need to have another sleep study done to determine whether or not I still need to wear my CPAP. That is further down the road for me. I have lost a total of 68 pounds since I started using the CPAP. When the time comes, my doctor will let me know when I need to have another sleep study done. Then we will see what happens.

Are you pre surgery or post? I have been on CPAP therapy for about 8 months. Had my sleeve surgery on 11/14. Before surgery, it took about 4 months before I really started noticing a difference in the way I felt while using the CPAP. I was tired all the time before the CPAP, and that really lasted for a few months after I started using it. I have read where others have said that it takes months of use before you start to feel more rested. After my sleeve surgery I have been a lot more tired. Of course, it was major surgery, so that's expected. I continue to use my CPAP, but I really haven't had more than a handful of days since surgery where I felt good and rested or had much energy. I force myself to keep active and exercise a few days a week, but my body just drags. I think I should notice a difference here soon, since I am 10 weeks post op. I expect that healing from surgery and continued use from the CPAP will eventually lead to more rest and more energy. If you are concerned about it, talk with your doctor or CPAP therapy provider, they can give you some insight. Good luck.

Hello, I take bipolar meds, one of them is an antidepressant. I asked my surgeon about my bipolar meds ahead of time. I was told that if the pills were too large to fit through a hole punch, that they would need to be broken in half or into even smaller pieces. The only day I had to go without my meds was the first night in the hospital. The next day they sent me home, and I took my daytime and night time bipolar meds. The antidepressant wasn't too much bigger than the size of a hole punch, so I was able to break it in half and take the two halves with Water that night. Some of my other pills were quite a bit larger than that and I wound up breaking them into 3 or 4 small pieces. I just took each piece with a small sip of water. It worked out fine. I did that for a few weeks until I could swallow my meds whole. Good luck with your surgery!

Hello I'm 10 weeks post op, I had my surgery on Nov 14th. My surgery went well, no complications. It was a fairly quick procedure, around an hour if I remember. I remember waking up in the recovery room and being in a lot of pain. I must have waited in there for about an hour before they took me up to my hospital room. I remember hurting in the incision areas (one in particular), the one where they pull part of the stomach out. And I also had inner pain from the surgery itself. Of course they gave me morphine for the pain, and that helped out quite a bit. My surgery was at 11 am. Later that day, by afternoon, my pain was under control and I was able to get up and walk some. I never did have the dreaded gas pains that so many people here talk about after surgery. So I was lucky. I didn't sleep a whole lot that night. People kept coming into the room and taking blood or checking on me. I did have to get up and go to the bathroom once in the middle of the night. Also, I only had slight nausea after surgery. I didn't throw up at all. They gave me an anti nausea med and I'm sure that helped. The first day of surgery, I couldn't have any water/ice/liquids. I hear that some people are given liquids or ice chips on the first day. The next day around 10 am (almost 24 hours after surgery), they gave me Water, broth and Jello to see if I could hold it down. I did just fine, I drank the broth and water, but couldn't stand the jello. So, everything looked good and they sent me home within 4 hours. We swang by the pharmacy and got the anti nausea prescription filled, since I was feeling a little nauseous, but not too bad. I took a pill that day. I didn't need the med for nausea after the 3rd day. The worst day of surgery pain for me was day 4, it was very severe and worried me a little. But everything was okay. Day 5 was better for pain, but the pain was still quite considerable. I continued to take my liquid pain med for 3 weeks after surgery, but I am also dealing with a large hernia that is right under the largest incision that they made. So some of my pain was the hernia itself. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery and I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!

Congratulations on your surgery day tomorrow, Amy! I know it's an exciting time for you. I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!

The same as Kate. meats with the food scale. Other things like veggies, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit with the measuring cup.

Hello My highest weight back in June was 334. Pre-op diet I was 312. I had a big double chin! When I looked at a particular picture of myself, I couldn't believe how large my face was and how big my double chin was! Boy did I hate that pic. Now I'm down to 267. My double chin is gone! My face looks so much thinner. I know I have a long way to go, but you can really see the difference. Now I'm left with a little bit of jiggle and skin under the chin. I'm hoping it will go away or lessen as I lose more weight. In the meantime, I smooth facial lotion over my face, chin and neck every night. Maybe that will help some.