mylighthouse

No, there is not a certain amount of pounds that you should be losing.... everyone is different, some people lose slowly, while others lose more quickly. I lost rather quickly the first 2 weeks, then I really slowed down. I am 8 weeks post op, and during the last 6 weeks, there have been weeks where I have only lost a pound or two. I even had one week where I lost nothing. Just make sure you are getting plenty of liquids and Protein.

That is correct. One tablet twice daily. I take that exact same Vitamin.

I use unjury unflavored Protein Powder. I buy it from their website. Besides mixing it in things like yogurt, Soups, refried Beans, etc, you can mix it in drinks like Crystal Light, Powerade Zero and decaf iced tea.

I think the first thing I had on the pureed diet was scrambled eggs for Breakfast. Then later that day I REALLY wanted to try nonfat refried Beans, so I did. I even put a couple teaspoons of Daisy light sour cream on them. They were really good! I believe I also had cottage cheese on the same day. It was okay. Not too keen on plain cottage cheese.

When I was on soft foods, I did some canned mashed chicken and whipped it up with a little lowfat mayo to make chicken salad. Ate that quite a bit during the pureed and soft food stage. You really need to get that Protein in, so the suggestion of doing the mashed potatoes with unflavored protein powder was good. You could also do sweet potatoes or lowfat or nonfat refried Beans. And you can add the protein powder to those too. Just remember to try to get some protein through chicken or another kind of fish if the salmon isn't working out for you. Maybe tuna or tilapia. Protein is way important and you don't want to get too many carbs, or it might stifle your weight loss.

I am 8 weeks post op as well. I also am getting the loud, grumbling tummy noises too... I just started noticing it about a week ago, which is also around the time that I finally started feeling hunger for the first time since surgery.

Hello Susie I'm doing ok. Dealing with some pain that just came on yesterday (after no pain the past few weeks), so keeping an eye on it and might need to call my doctor. I've lost 29 pounds since my surgery date of 11-14. Slow weight loss the past few weeks, but that's ok with me. So glad I had the surgery! How are you doing and when was your surgery?

Yes, I agree that every program is different. It's best to check with your nutritionist. My nutritionist said to wait 4-6 weeks until after surgery. I was such a big coffee drinker before surgery, but since post-op hadn't had any caffeine until last week when I had some coffee. It was a real treat. I love the flavor of coffee, so until my 7th week post-op, I have been drinking decaf. I am still drinking my decaf every morning and just making the caffeinated coffee an every few days or so treat.

My big incision was really bad the first week, then it got a little better the next 2 weeks. Until finally, by the 3rd or 4th week, it was feeling quite a lot better. I think the incision along with the bruising around it made it so painful.

I second the Premier Protein shakes... chocolate is my favorite. I tried Bariatric Advantage Protein shake in vanilla once, and it was too sweet for me. I buy the Premier Protein shakes at Walmart, but you can also get them at my local Sam's Club, and they are a little cheaper than at Walmart.

I was told by my nutritionist and also a person here that I needed to get my calories above 600 a day in order to lose weight. I lost weight the first 2 weeks and my calories were definitely under 500 a day. But then after that, I started stalling at least every other week until I could get my calories above 600 a day. I started adding more Protein to my diet... I was not very hungry either. So when I did eat things like yogurt, cottage cheese or Soup, I would add unflavored Protein powder to them to boost my calories a bit. I also drank the Premier Protein shakes in between meals to get in some more calories. Doing those things got my calories up into the 600's while I was on my pureed and soft food stages. Then I started dropping weight again. Now that I am 8 weeks post surgery, I am finally finding that I am getting hungry and I am able to replace the shakes I had for Snacks with other foods like string cheese, cottage cheese with fruit and yogurt. Got my calories up to 800 a day now and I am still losing weight.

Sorry that you are in so much pain. I was in a lot of pain with my surgery too, and it did radiate to my back like yours. My worst days for pain were on day 3 and day 4, although I continued to deal with pain to a lesser degree in my 2nd and 3rd week after surgery. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't really have to deal with gas pain. My pain was at the incision sites and also on the inside. I had one incision that had a lot of bruising around it and that really hurt bad, but I have a big hernia right under it too, so that was part of the pain. I remember thinking that I wished I hadn't had the surgery, I was hurting so bad on the 4th day. BUT.... that was the only time I thought that. The next day, the pain was nowhere near as bad. And as I started to lose weight, I never have regretted having the surgery. The pain won't last forever. Some people have more pain than others. You will make it through and it will get better. The pain will lessen. Hang in there!

Awesome job!! You're doing super.... keep it up and happy birthday too!

Amazing.... 200 pounds! Way to go! You are looking good! Keep up the awesome work!

Wow, 80 pounds in 3 months... you're doing awesome! Congratulations! I remember when I waved bye-bye to 300 pounds.... it felt so good! Keep up the fantastic work!

Make sure that you are eating Breakfast, lunch and dinner and then your Snacks inbetween meals... so that you are getting in 5-6 meals a day. As you are one week out, you are probably on the full liquid diet phase (not sure-everyone is different). If you are on full liquids, just drink some Protein shake or eat a snack of healthy low-sugar yogurt without fruit in it. The protein will help fill you up better than anything else will. Also make sure you get plenty of liquids.

You need to get that Protein in right away. I imagine the protein will help with both the dizziness and the nausea. Try getting it in however you can, whether through Protein shakes, unflavored Protein powder mixed in drinks or Soups or yogurt. And just start sipping that Water or other liquid... decaf tea, crystal light, Powerade zero to name a few. Little sips and then stop a couple of minutes and come back for more. You may not feel like drinking right now because of the nausea and dizziness, but I really think the lack of protein is causing it.

After surgery, when on the full liquid stage... protein shakes and broth will count towards your 64 ounces of liquids too.

Nonfat refried Beans with a little bit of light sour cream. Yum!

No, I didn't feel that way at all. I guess I was one of the lucky ones who never had trouble drinking water or getting the Protein shakes and other liquids in. I was pretty much able to get my 64 ounces of liquids the day after surgery. Just keep taking little sips. If you get full, stop and try again a few minutes later. It is really important to get that water and other liquids in so you don't get dehydrated. My doctor and nutritionist and the nurses all said that the liquids were #1 and protein is #2. The protein is very important too, and at 11 days post op, you need to be getting at least 60 grams a day by now. Also, remember that your protein shakes, broth, Soups, all count as liquids and go towards your goal of 64 ounces of liquids a day that you need. Hope it gets easier for you.

If you are on a pre op diet plan of FULL liquids, then you can have tomato soup. Pre op diet plans differ from person to person. I was never on a liquid diet plan, with the exception of the day before surgery. If you don't know whether or not you can have tomato soup on your plan, it is best to check with your nutritionist or doctor and find out for sure before you have the tomato soup.

What's "normal" varies from person to person. Twenty pounds in 11 days is very quick weight loss... congratulations. I am over 7 weeks post op and I have lost 27 pounds since surgery day. Some people lose quicker than others... everyone is different.

Awesome! Yes, you can see the weight loss from the pictures. Way to go and keep it up!

I did. Mine lasted a whole week, then the next week I lost 5 pounds. Then the following week, I stalled again. It has been that way pretty much since the 2nd week.... one week I will stall, the next I will lose. I am 7 weeks post op now.

Hello everyone I am just coming into my 7th week post op, and I can say that I am REALLY hungry for the first time since surgery. I am noticing that after a couple hours of eating Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I am truly hungry for a snack. Whereas before, I only ate to get those calories in. I think this will really help up my calories from about 600 a day to over 700 a day, which might actually boost my metabolism a bit. During the past 7 weeks, there have been 3 weeks in which I didn't lose any weight at all. I know that happens to everyone, but I also think that the scale stopped in part due to such a low calorie intake. So far, my go to Snacks in between meals have been plain nonfat greek yogurt with fresh blueberries, string cheese, and cottage cheese with pineapple tidbits. I am coming off of the Protein shakes a little bit and actually getting in real food, which I think is good and where I need to be at this point. I would like to ask others what are some of their favorite snacks? Please share! Thanks!