LittleBill

I don't know why you think I would think that!

Besides shakes, I eat lots of tuna, chicken or turkey. Lean pork is a good choice too. eggs are great, and now that I am on solid food, I will eat one or two Quest Protein bars a day. I also like ground beef, but there is a calorie penalty not everyone is willing to pay. I just made some killer chili that has 25 grams of protein in a half cup serving, but it also has 275 calories. The good news is, virtually all of the carbs are from Beans, which means I am getting some good Fiber too.

I was always warm, even when I was thinner in high school and college. Post-op, I thought something had gone hideously wrong, because all of a sudden I was freezing. Mrs LittleBill said it was like living in an alternate universe with me being cold all the time. They laughed at the Bariatric Center, and told me it was normal, and that eventually I would warm up again. I have noticed that since I have increased my activity my resistance to the cold is going back up. While it has been cold here already weatherwise, we are not in the throes of winter yet. We live in a 200 year old stone farmhouse. It is not cozy in the wintertime. We burn enough oil that we might as well light money on fire, and we could not burn wood this year because I was not able to chop it with my restrictions.

Thank you. And that's a pretty good story of your own! I like to write. It is something of a hobby for me, so I suspect you'll see more to come.

It certainly is a necessary component for keeping muscle. If you don't hit your Protein goals, you start consuming muscle mass to fuel your body. I do not want to turn into some stick figure with no muscles left. So, lots of protein and lots of physical exertion. If I stay flabby, well I am getting old, and it only matters to me and the Mrs. And she loves me anyway.

Did you talk to the doc about what you are eating? That could make all the difference right there. I know when I went from liquids to soft food, I was still doing a few shakes a day. That got me to my Protein goals, but they don't stick with a person like real food does. Moving away from them to more solid forms of protein helped me out quite a bit. Your situation may be completely different, but your doctor or nutritionist should have some good answers for you.

I do a lot of heavy lifting for my business, but I am supplementing that with weights at the gym. Hopefully that will take care of arms and chest issues for me. I don't know what I will do about my Dunlap's Disease (my belly done lapped over my belt) but I am hoping a regimen of sit ups will help. I start every morning by doing at least one. And as has already been mentioned, I am not one buying into the low low fat stuff. I am concentrating on low carbs, lots of Protein, and hang the fat.

Half caf makes it easier to step down to all decaf, which is what some docs want. I was completely off caffeine at the time of my surgery, but got back on it as soon as I could. My blood pressure when from normal pre-op to low post-op, so I need all the help I can get. But going cold turkey to decaf is going to let you in for some headaches and grumpiness.

This afternoon Mrs. LittleBill and I hauled ourselves off to the grocery store to procure victuals for the coming days. Sunday afternoons are always an adventure. The store is stuffed with high energy professionals, harried mothers herding small children, and a few geezers thrown in to make it all interesting. We like to forego the list. It helps with exercise. "Oh, we forgot this" adds to the step count since "this" is always at the other end of the store. It only ceases to be amusing when "this" is not discovered until we are home in the driveway, and I am sent back to find it. Dodging the other customers sort of makes the event into a cross between Mad Max and The Running Man. Today was particularly interesting as there was a small skinny woman there who seemed to think that this was the perfect opportunity to get her power walking in while pushing a grocery cart that weighed approximately three times what she did. I got the impression that she paid no attention to the teacher when she took physics in high school. She did a great job getting her cart up to speed, but look out for those turns! Probably the best part of the trip was watching the little girl who was about three years old take off her boots and proceed to run around loose and barefoot. Her horrified mother enlisted her older sister to help run her down, but she was like a greased pig when they tried to hold her down and get her boots back on. Since I have been promoted to Grandpa, I can stand back and laugh quietly. Both of the girls saw me watching. The barefoot one had a positively demonic grin on her face. When her older sister saw me smiling, she let loose with a giggle of her own. We survived the adventure though, and returned home with some new foods to try out that are low fat or at least low carb.

The changes you need to make in your life are going to be the same, surgery or not. So make the changes, and let the surgery go for a while. If you see good results, there is a good chance you won't need it. If you don't see any results - particularly if you can't stick with the dietary changes - surgery won't help you. ETA: I haven't had any unexpected changes. Everything was spelled out pretty clearly from the start.

There are plenty of graphics out there that aren't graphic. Yeah, people should do their own research, and ask lots of questions, but the reality is a lot of people won't. It sounds very noble to say that the doctor should refuse to operate on those who are not informed, but doctors are people just like the rest of us, and this is a for profit operation on a couple of levels. If the doc does his thing and you get fat again, it isn't his problem, and he has been paid. It all goes back to the old saying - "You can lead a horse to Water..."

This is not an unusual phenomenon. Between lack of nuance in the written word and the natural bias everyone has, it is not hard to misconstrue a post. When you add in personal agendas, PWD disorder (posting while drinking) and a host of other issues, there are often more inaccurate responses than accurate ones in some cases. I do not say that is the case here, because it might be my own bias making assumptions. But it is an observable phenomenon on any Internet forum.

I've not been here a month yet, and I have seen people whining about everything that can be whined about. Some of the complaints I have read have been justified. I have no trouble at all feeling for the people who experienced serious complications from the surgery, for example. Conversely, I have no time for the "I can't eat what I want on Day 5" crowd. Complaining is human nature. For example, you are complaining about people complaining. I am not blaming you, just pointing that out. How much credence we give those complaints lies with us, not with them. We can choose to ignore the trivial and attend to those who have valid issues. We cannot force the world to conform to our wishes. That is the path to fanaticism and depression. We can, however, adapt to what is around us, and chose those things which we allow to affect us. As for skin loose or otherwise, I just keep repeating to myself - I don't look good naked anymore.

My wife volunteered to stay, but I told her she needed to take care of the dog. Well, that and be rested so she could break me out as soon as possible. I was in for less than 24 hours.

I never thought of that! That's a great idea!

I actually go without eating. Seriously, it isn't that bad. A friend of mine came over today so I could teach him a procedure involving some tools he is interested in buying. He offered to take me out for Breakfast. I said "Sure, but remember, I can't eat a whole lot". He had forgotten, but it was no issue. We went to one of our favorite diners in the area, and where I am fairly well known by many of the staff. We were taken care of by one of my favorite waitresses. As she has done for a very long time, she filled coffee cups, and brought along a glass of orange juice for me as well, as soon as she saw me coming. Although I had already explained to her that I could not eat and drink at the same time, she had forgotten. It was no problem, and she did not give me any grief. We had a very nice breakfast. All this is to say that life goes on. There will be changes, and you will have to explain things to at least some of the people around you. How much you want to share and with whom is up to you. You are not required to tell everyone everything, but it is not a bad thing to tell some people some things. They need to make adjustments too, especially those who interact with you on a regular basis. Some folks may disagree with this, and that's fine. We're all different. I just happen to think it makes life a little easier, and so far it has. People have been very supportive and understanding for the most part.

Okay, I made a mistake. I used 8 oz of cream cheese, not a pound. For some reason, I am not allowed to edit my OP. I wonder what's up with that?

Thank you. It was pretty darn good, although I might ease up on the Sweet Baby Ray's just a tinch next time. Up until my surgery, I had been used to quaffing huge draughts of liquid while eating hot food. I can't do that anymore, so the burn stays with me longer. It isn't even that hot, but it is persistent.

Okay, I was going to make my "Ring of Fire" chili, but Mrs. LittleBill wanted to use up the turkey(s) we made for Thanksgiving. We smoked one and roasted one in the oven, so we had lots left over, even with sending a bunch home with other family members. The credit for this recipe goes to @@agirlhasnofluff, who posted it in another thread just a few days ago. We started out with one pound of shredded turkey, mixed white and dark meat, mixed smoked and roasted. I added one cup of Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce, one pound of cream cheese, and one package of powdered Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. The calorie count per ounce is 45, with 2.8 grams of Protein per ounce. I won't be winning any awards for presentation from Pinterest or the food Channel, but it is more about how it tastes, not how it looks. And it tastes great!

If you are following your plan, then nothing has gone wrong. Weight loss is not linear, and it is easy enough to stall or even show a gain of a pound or two, depending on whether or not you retaining Water, or even if you haven't pooped for a day or two. This is a long term commitment, not a race, and we all have to look at it that way. I get discouraged if I get on the scale too often. Last week I lost a whole pound over a period of eight days. Then from Sunday to Wednesday, I lost four pounds. And I don't have to deal with the same issues that women have. I just have to live with them.

I am not that far post op yet, but I started out a lot heavier than you are. I am planning to get down to where you are now and then a little more. Deviating from your diet for one day will not hurt you. When you deviate for one day, six days in a row, it will. The shrink at my program tells everyone to stick to an 80/20 diet - 80% good stuff and 20% treats and not so good stuff. I am having no trouble keeping it at 90/10 right now, and plan to keep it that way at least. I lost 67 lbs pre-op. The last 15 were on the two week pre-op diet, and the snotty resident who observed and helped out in the OR said, "Well, your liver could have been smaller". Right. I could have been smaller too, and then I wouldn't have needed this! Everything went fine for me, and recovery has been very easy, if somewhat tedious. Hopefully you will have the same experience.

I was 481 when I started in June of this year. On B-Day (bariatric operation day), Oct 11, I was 414. Today as I sit here typing, I am 372. All has gone very well for me.

Old is all in perspective. You would probably consider me a kid at 58, while I am a geezer to others. I am almost two months post op and doing very well. I am down over 100 lbs since I started the program in June.

That stinks! I hope they get to the bottom of it (so to speak) and you are back on track soon.