360lyMe

My book is almost exactly the same an very helpful.

Here's the caveat...no matter how kindly and supportively we present a suggestion, the person who originally sought the 'advice' often replies in a testy manner that, "I didn't ask about that! I asked if a Taco Bell burrito supreme is okay to eat in the soft food phase. Only supportive responses, please!"
Regardless of how helpful and supportive a reply is, many people have the ulterior motive of only fishing around for validation of their poor decisions. And of course, when they start regaining weight a few years from now, the blame and anger will be displaced onto some entity other than themselves (e.g., "the sleeve failed me").

I agree that there is no reason to be hateful to people. That being said, A LOT of the time, people aren't being hateful; the poster reacts badly to good information and advice. Example -- a man that posts on here and has had great success over a long period of time (he's a beast if you look at his pictures) gave some relevant, honest feedback that wasn't hateful or even the slightest bit rude a few weeks back. The OP reacted terribly, and the thread turned into another internet war even though nothing out-of-the-way was said.
Many people on here want the following kind of response: "Oh [insert polite, "southern" noun signifying concern], everything will be alright. Listen to your body. Just get back on the horse. Bless you." And some of the things being posted are alarming, dangerous, and destructive on top of just generally being counterproductive to losing weight and improving one's health. (Look at some of the posts that get the most "likes." Many of them are just like my example.)
It is almost criminal that some doctors will operate on people that are so insanely unprepared for surgery or post-op life. But this whole enterprise is a business, and these forums are evidence of that every day.

^ What Blizair09 said. ^
If you went through a permanent life and body altering operation to get healthy, why not listen to good advice (when delivered non-offensively)? It really does no justice to anyone to be coddled. Surgery was the easy part. Looking at yourself and your habits is where the hard work has to start to be successful.

I totally concur.
However, human nature is not always logical or rational. Numerous people are dishonest with themselves and (unfortunately) lying to oneself is a barrier to true self-improvement.
A person must first acknowledge (s)he has a problem if it's ever to be solved. But instead of admitting to having a problem, some people would rather surround themselves with cheerleaders and "yes-people" who offer false reassurances and delude them into thinking everything's alright.
Honest introspection is a difficult, but necessary aspect of personal growth and self-improvement. Some folks lack the desire for introspection because it often unearths some painful truths.
And, yes, the truth can hurt. Nonetheless, lying to oneself is more harmful in the long run.

I'll be 3 months post op in 6/1. For me, everything tastes different. I only drink Water. Occasionally, I'll put a drop or two of crystal light in it, but it's usually too sweet. I used to enjoy Cookies and other sweets, but usually can't stand the smell of anything sweet now. I don't know if it's a permanent change, but don't like the foods that I used to enjoy anymore.

Unfortunately, when we ask for free advice and suggestions on weight loss surgery forums, nearly 100 percent of the time the respondents are not going to be 'experts' with fancy doctoral degrees. The advice is free, after all.
If people who want advice and suggestions really need an educated professional, there's the option of paying the big bucks for consulting with one.
Alas, we get what we pay for. If the snarky advice is free, an individual can log off.
Speaking of signing off, many people lie to themselves. They seek only those opinions and comments that will validate their worldview or a terrible decision they're wanting to make, often under the guise of "looking for support" or "needing advice."
In other words, many folks are really seeking Yes-people, cheerleaders, "supportive" Pollyanna types and others who tell them exactly what they want to hear, nothing more. Tough love and blunt advice that opposes the person's worldview or poor decision is discounted as rude.
Sometimes candor and tough love are what the doctor ordered.

If you have a plan from your Dr, obviously you should follow that plan.
If you don't have a plan from your Dr, hopefully this helps.
I went to a Center of Excellence. I have a 66 page book outlining what to eat, what supplements to take, and what medicines to never take. It outlines how to order at restaurants and what to get. In addition to this extensive booklet I was provided a lot of other pamphlets and handouts on what to do and what not to do. In addition I was give a bariatric plate (never used it tossed it recently), measure cups, measuring spoons, Water bottles (I never used any of it and tossed it all, but still I had it).
If you are in the process of choosing a program, and they don't offer this kind of support, I strongly urge you to keep looking. This is a huge investment of time and money, even if you are covered by insurance (my surgery was covered 100%), it should be supported by the program and staff with a glut of information. There should be no guessing about what and how to eat.

I don't see any copyright on this so I am going to share it. A lot of this I didn't eat personally beacuse I was a diabetic and most of this has too many carbs for a diabetic and even pre-op I controlled my diabetes by controlling my carbs.
Still this is what my program offered as a post-op diet. Hopefully it can help someone that has no diet to follow.
First Shopping lists.

I'm still amazing that people treat the post-op diet like any other diet. It is a Dr prescribed diet to limit complications.
Telling someone that is risking their life and healthy to seek therapy isn't a bad idea. They are already obviously desperate and reaching out for help if they are posting on the internet.
Just because someone suggests you seek therapy, doesn't mean you have to, but a lot of people are not even aware OA exists and it can help a lot of people. Hell just reading the OA book can be helpful.
People still treat WLS post-op like it is just any other diet and it isn't. If someone had heart surgery you wouldn't tell them to ignore Dr orders.

True.. can not let food rule my life as it once did as that didn't work.

Thank you

Yes, I was thinking a Psyc was next step, I currently don't have one... as sitting down and consuming so much in one sitting after working so hard has to have psychological aspects to it...

How? That's simple. You chose to eat the pizza. You chose to eat piece after piece knowing that every bite was a bad idea, yet doing it anyways.
Totally lost your journey? I don't even know what that means, but drop the melodrama. Wallowing in useless emotion does no good. You made a mistake. Own it. Make a decision now; will you take the surgery seriously from now on or will you let the desire for simple food rule your life at the expense of your health.
The surgery is only a tool. How you choose to use that tool will determine how successful you will be after the honeymoon phase.

Ok, so it happened. Whether anyone else did this really doesn't matter, because you need to focus on you.
Do you have a psychologist that is part of your journey? You need to get control of this immediately, or the surgery was for nothing. Your head needs to be in the right place, and you need help getting it there.

My period is on SO HEAVY! I have never had a period this heavy in my life. Heard it's common though.

I take Bariatric Advantage Chewy multi and Calcium twice a day. They taste great. Initially, they made me nauseous if I took them on an empty stomach, but I was fine after a few days.

For the first few weeks after surgery my doc and nutritionist told me it's not about calories it's about Protein. I needed to hit at least 60 grams of protein a day. I think I started focusing on calories around the 6 month mark and even then they told me worry more about reaching that protein because it helps you heal and gives you energy. I put Protein Powder into my yogurts and pudding to give it a different flavor and to make sure I was hitting that goal

Just walk. That is the only way you are going to get relief from the gas pain. It isn't normal gas, it is the gas they use to raise your organs to make surgery easier. Just walk.

I suggest YouTube search folks who are 1-10 years post op and you will see that it's a huge difference in the amount you can eat 10dpo. I'm 7 weeks & hqvw no appetite. I make sure I take my Gummy multi & Biotin though haha. My biggest concerns have been about long term studies & possible complications

Honestly you are over thinking something that happens for a very limited amount of time. The amount of time that you can just eat protein is probably 6 months, maybe 12, and that is going to vary day by day. People focus too much energy on the time immediately post-op and never think long term. I think that is why so many people regain and start regaining so fast post-op. They assume post-op portions and restriction are the restriction for life and that just isn't true.
Planning a post-op life around using protein powders and supplements is probably not going to work. The main reason being, after you are stuck on those for weeks you won't want to see another one, ever or for a long time. I used to have a Protein Shake for Breakfast for years before surgery. I liked them. Now I will just go hungry before I have a protein shake. If I never see another one again in life, I'm good with it.
You can't really accurately plan a post-op life when you are pre-op because surgery changes your life and your attitude towards food. You can't imagine it pre-op and no one can really accurately explain it to you. I'm trying but you have to experience it.
Also with a normal size stomach, you can't imagine what having a small stomach is like. So unless you are an insane food addict. Eating 2-3 ounces of protein is going to take a lot of energy and you won't even be interested in eating anything else plus you will be stuffed.
What I started doing to have veggies was have them as a mid afternoon snack. So I had an afternoon salad. which I LOVED, because I could eat a large volume of baby spinach.
Most green veggies at a certain point are going to be come a slider so you won't even want to eat them protein. I hate when I go out and get a chicken Cesar salad because they don't come with much chicken anyway and it gets pushed through my stomach with salad greens.
As far as Vitamins, I don't get why people are so anti-vitamins. I have taken a Multivitamin my entire life. They are just a part of general good health. Most people are Vitamin deficient even with a balanced diet just because of how our food is grown and processed. It is basically impossible to eat enough food to meet your vitamin requirements, even with a regular size stomach.

Mostly that applies to people with low pain tolerance, a lot of swelling and old age. The people with problems complain the most so they get to set the narrative.
I never had an issue getting my fluids in. I had very little pain (stopped taking pain meds with 36 hours).
I had to be able to eat and drink to be released from the hospital.
You will not feel full on liquids. They go right through your stomach.
This is an important thing to remember down the road, that end immediately post op liquids are no filling, so avoid drinking liquid calories.
Also your nerves are disconnected so you can't really feel full even if you are. Be grateful you can nourish yourself without issues and focus on recovering.

The trick is to realize that liquid has no mass really, nothing for your stomach to digest. Wait till your stomach as to work at something. don't rush it, and don't worry. Your stomach really is 85% gone.

Because it's liquid you won't feel much restriction. I really didn't either. And I had the head hunger to boot. Mentally, one week post op was when I felt the worst emotionally and you sound just like I did a couple short weeks ago. Make sure you're getting your Protein with your Soups and drink as much Water as you comfortably can.
I was shocked when I moved on to purees a couple weeks ago and I actually got that "full" feeling. Give your body time, you've just been through a LOT!

You're releasing gas. It's normal. You should get 64 onces total.

I agree! comparing ourselves to other people really isn't productive or helpful. not only is it discouraging, but sometimes it leads to self-sabotage, which is really really sad, because these are people who are actually successful by any other metric derailing that success because it's not "enough".