Meryline

I love food, and I still love meal prep, because of the convenience during the week. I just go to my freezer or fridge, pick out 2-3 meals that I heat up during the day. I also of course eat breakfast (oats) and cook a fresh warm meal. I do have some staples that I use a lot, but I'm venturing out more and more. And I always try to figure out how to get the most amount of protein into my meal lol

I so want to get back to running. I actually miss it, even though I hate running. I want to compete, do triathlons, half marathons, even 5k again, but my neurosurgeon has said no. I hope it's not a ban for life, but it's a ban for now. For now, I do Nordic walking. I have even done a half marathon Nordic walking competition, and it was so much fun.

Yaaaas, this girl has now lost a 2 month old horse. 8 month and 2 days since starting my pre op diet, and 7.5 months since surgery. I'm only a freaking Chihuahua from goal.

BAROS is Bariatric Analysis and Reporting Outcome System. At my 6 month check up (at 7 months) I got my score, without really knowing what it is. My surgeon was very happy with my score of 7.9. I did some research and and found this form. Has anyone gotten their score?

My main goal for having WLS was not initially weight loss, it was to prevent another back surgery. Yes, the goal of the surgery was WL, but that wasn't the reason for the surgery, if that makes sense. And I managed that. I prevented another back surgery. Along with the weight loss came a stronger and fitter body what has gone hiking all of fall, has been working out without aches and pains, feeling amazing, being able to go into my closet and knot that everything I put on will fit (or be too big), going into a store and seeing something cute, and know that they'll have a big enough size to fit me. (Unless they are sold out, but not because they don't make the item that big). So many amazing things has happened since having this surgery. Just that fact that I can walk 12 flights of stairs without getting winded, that I'll walk up escalators, that hiking up a mountain makes me feel alive, that I can't wait to move my body. It's the best thing I have ever done for myself.

I drink cold tea mostly. Water is too hard on my stomach. It's tea made from tea bags, meant for cold water. No sugar or anything. It's common for people to experience water to be too hard. If water is giving you problems, try something sugar free, water it out, but it will give you a little taste and it might help you get more fluids down.

It's not a joke. Dehydration will land you in the hospital way before starvation will. And no need to take breaks (except to eat and wait 30min) from the sip sip sip, just keep sip sip sip all day. Carry that bottle with you, and before you know it, you'll get it down. I'm 7.5 months out at this point and get about 80-100oz of water most days, and then there is the protein shakes and warm tea, coffee on top of that. You'll be able to take larger sips soon. You drink up until you eat and then wait 30min after you are done, and then you keep drinking.

Here is my tip, granted I'm only 7.5 months out, but I attend a monthly support group with 10 year plus veterans. Stay on top of your supplements. Take your vitamins, get tested every 3 months in the beginning, then every 6, and the vet in my group go about 3 times in 2 years. They still take their vitamins, just as they did in the beginning. You have to stay on top of it. I think it's something people forget over time.

My program has no restrictions on bread, rice or pasta. Bread does not go down well for me, so I avoid it, rice I have only had once, but I have a little bit (10-20g) of pasta now and then. I do however eat oatmeal every day.

Of course you did!!!!

My program was like this Pre op diet - What ever I wanted, as long as I lost 3-5kg Day before surgery - Normal breakfast, puree for the rest of the day Day of surgery - nothing Day 1 post op - clear liquids Day 2 post op - thick liquids/Puree Day 3 post op - Puree/soft food Day 4 post op and until 6 weeks - Normal food with limitations. BUT everything has to be chewed until puree. After 6 weeks - No limitations

This is such a coincident, but NRK (Norwegian television) is showing a program today about poop as medicine. I'll definitely watch it and report back on it. One topic is obesity.

In the beginning, focus on getting your protein in. There will be no room for carbs until later. I'm 7.5 months out and I usually stay under 100g carbs, but I also eat 120g+ of protein at this point. Right after surgery it was low fat and low sugar. Under 15g of fat and 8g of sugar per 100g. That was for the first 6 weeks, after that, everything was fair game.

I woke up with that when I had kidney surgery a few years back. They told me they might, and they ended up doing it while I was under to get a better measuring of my blood pressure. I was a little sore around the puncture area for a week or two, but that was it. They removed it right after I woke up. I had it in my wrist.

If you are able to get your protein goal and get veggies in at 2 weeks out, good for you. Most people have enough just getting their protein and liquids goal in. I wouldn't count those as carbs at this point, unless you are getting several hundred grams.

Shows how different programs are. Seeds of any kind was a no go for 6 weeks because of wound healing and the risk of it getting stuck in the sound inside your stomach. But it's allowed on your list, and you should of course follow your program.

This is what I read.....

@Msdooloo why are you adding carbs at 15 days post op? Focus on your protein. Eat all your protein, and if there are room, maybe eat some veggies, but not carbs. Also, berries with seeds (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc. ) is a no go this early as they can get stuck in the wound. Are they on your allowed list? I find that very strange.

@Berry78 I was suddenly in a rush as my original date was April 18th, but they got an opening before and I was next on the waiting list. I suddenly had 13 days and not 6 weeks to go before my surgery. I had started the day before I got the new date, thinking I had 6 weeks to get really low, but I suddenly only had 13 days lol.

I'm so freaking happy for you. I have a tiny (TINY) hope that I'll get there by Monday. Then it's 8 months since my highest and the start of pre surgery diet.

OMG surgery twin, that is so freaking awesome! Congratulations!!!!

Completely normal. Some people don't drop any weight the first month. Also, you had a great loss pre op, and it's a revision and not a virgin surgery which all factor in when it comes to weight loss. Try and stay off the scale for the next 2-3 weeks.

This might be a totally different topic, but it's poop related...somewhat. I find this really interesting. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31168511 A woman has dramatically gained weight after a stool transplant from her daughter, doctors report. It is a genuine medical procedure to transplant healthy bacteria into a diseased gut, but US doctors think it may have affected her waistline. She quickly gained 36lb (16kg) and is now classed as obese, the case report in Open Forum Infectious Diseases says. A UK expert said the link between gut bugs and obesity was still unclear. A faecal microbiota transplant - also referred to by some as a "transpoosion" - is like an extreme version of a probiotic yogurt. The aim is to introduce good bacteria into the gut and it was officially backed by the UK health service last year. New treatment It is used when people have stubborn Clostridium difficile infection in their bowels. This can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain and cannot always be treated with antibiotics. The 32-year old woman, who has not been indentified, had an infection that could not be treated with even the most powerful antibiotics. Dr Colleen Kelly, from the Medical School at Brown University, said the option of a faecal transplant was discussed and the woman wanted to use a relative - her daughter. The daughter was overweight at the time and was on her way to becoming obese. The procedure did clear the woman's infection. But Dr Kelly told the BBC News website: "She came back about a year later and complained of tremendous weight gain. "She felt like a switch flipped in her body - to this day she continues to have problems." She started with a Body Mass Index of 26. Sixteen months after the procedure she had a BMI of 33 and three years after it, a BMI of 34.5. Caution Previous research has shown that transplanting gut bacteria from obese people into mice led to the animals gaining weight. Dr Kelly said limited conclusions could be drawn from a single patient, but called the case a warning as "there's not a lot on safety evidence out there". Dr Kelly has now changed her practices and "as a result I'm very careful with all our donors don't use obese people". Dr Andreas Karatzas, from Reading University, said: "You have to bear in mind that this person was saved. "If you run the risk of losing a patient, you don't bother about what could happen 20 years later." However, he said the evidence that gut bacteria affected human waistlines was still inconclusive. "There is some evidence in animals, but we have to be careful - it is a different organism. Just because it happens in animals doesn't mean it happens in humans as well."