mysparky

Also had my first experience with this as well a few weeks ago. Had been biking 35 miles a few times a week on a flat bike path and my high-protein/low carb Breakfast was just fine for me. About 5 weeks ago, it was time to "up" the effort and I went on a new route that had a few large hills at the beginning of the ride. I was completely depleted within 90 minutes. I was very shaky and my legs had nothing left. Fortunately I had a Cliff gel shot that someone had given me to try stowed away in my bag, and I ate it - all 100 calories/25 g carbs. A friend I was with had some extra fig newtons and I ate them about 30 mins later. My rides have increased in length and duration and I simply cannot manage them with low carbs. I eat 1/2 PB&J sandwich before my ride, eat the other 1/2 about 45 mins into my ride and then continue with a banana, gel shots, etc every 30-45 mins depending upon the ride and how I'm feeling. Definitely a good message to get to those of us that are new to endurance sports. We're so programmed to think that carbs are only evil, but with these types of activities they are absolutely essential.

I'm just starting out mushies and picked up a few "Cottage Doubles" which is cottage cheese w/ a fruit topping (I don't eat the big chunks). Since practically everything I read is all about "no sugar" I'm wondering if I should be avoiding these. Calories: 130 Saturated Fat: 1.5g Total Carb: 17g Sugars: 15g Protein: 11g The above stats are for the strawberry flavor. I ate 1/2 of it for lunch and finished up the other half for dinner. Can anyone provide feedback on that carb/sugar count? My NUT didn't give me any guidelines other than "if you eat anything w/ carbs, make sure it has a good amount of Protein in it." In addition, pretty much all my food suggestions are sugar-free (I'm not diabetic) so I'm not sure if I should be avoiding these. Thanks in advance!

Susanne - My NUT gave me Protein and Fluid goals, but nothing specific in terms of calories. She acknowledged that the calories are quite low and if I was able tolerate it and felt like I needed it, I could drink more of my Protein shake. Many people have trouble getting the protein down in those first few days, but I definitely didn't. Originally I was told to drink 6-8oz protein shake (which would equate to 260-280cals) and I upped that to 10-12oz. That moved my calorie count up to the 400-520 range and protein-wise, I was drinking close to 50gr of protein. Some days I drank less, other days I drank more. I'll tell you, that made a big difference in my energy level. This was key for me because I went back to work 9 days post-op and needed to get through the day. Sounds to me like you could use a bump up!

Just had my first post-op visit and I’m down 10 lbs since surgery, 26 lbs overall. I’m so happy with the way I feel and although this hasn’t been a cake-walk, these 26 lbs have come off easier than the hundreds of other times that I’ve lost weight. My recovery is coming along very well. It's amazing how each day is better than the previous. I can’t get over the fact that at this time last week, I took my dog on a walk and I had to make it a short one. It was a little rough and I was beat after my 15 min walk with her. Last night, I went on a 45 min walk and felt terrific. I don’t really have any “pain” just an awareness of my left side/staple area that really only hurts a little when I sneeze. I’m back at work and just trying to make sure I get between 8-8 ½ hours of sleep each night so that I do not hamper my continued recovery. I got 2 great pieces of news today at my 2 week post-op today: 1) I can move to “mushies” state (yeah!) and 2)I’ve been cleared to return to the gym. I thought I was going to have to wait 4 weeks on this, but Dr said I can resume aerobic activities right away (I do spinning). He said I can also do light weights, but nothing for abs or core for 4 more weeks. Still feeling a little like I need to “pinch” myself because I can’t believe, after thinking about WLS for several years, that I finally did it. However, I was a self-pay and I put it all on a credit card (good points!) and the bill just came so that part of the surgery seems a little too real! And BTW, don’t have a scale at home and still haven’t decided if I’m going to get one. I’m feeling like I’m on cloud nine right now and I’m afraid that if I get a scale, I’ll be on it every morning and my mood for the day will be set by that thing. There is a scale at the gym and I may just continue to use that since it’s not an every day event. We’ll see…. Thanks for listening

My nutritionist has given me a goal of 50grams/day, but that is based upon my height. She said the range is 50-90 and those higher levels would be for men over 6'

I have no advice to add on this as I don't have my goal weight set either, but think that the ideas that have been provided are so helpful. I've just been thinking about an estimated "end goal", but definitely appreciate the idea of setting short terms goals as well - I'm going to get working on that!

I'm still on full liquids as well and have been making homemade soups this week because I am sooooo sick of the artificial sweetners in everything else. I also like the fact that I can just have the soup for dinner, but my family can have the same thing along w/ the addition of a salad and a loaf of multi-grain bread. My first soup was a potato/corn chowder and I completely strained the soup before I ate it. I boil up lots of potatoes, carrots and onions in chicken broth, puree at least 1/2 of the soup to make it thick, then add in some milk and the corn. This time, I also added a little shredded cheese and melted that into the soup. It definitely helped keep me fuller, longer. Last night I made a butternut squash & apple cider soup (from epicurious.com website) and it was really delicious. I had to modify it slightly to reduce the fat content, but the calorie content is relatively low and it's loaded with Vitamin A. No need to strain the soup and it made plenty. I actually just had more of that for a snack and it was good! I haven't added unflavored Protein to either of these soups because I haven't bought any yet, but I am going to do that. I first wanted to make sure I could tolerate the various soups before I went out and bought the unflavored protein.

Chilo - Congrats! Determination, working the "tool", and a positive attitude - it's working for you!!!

Great post and happy to hear that your recovery continues to go so well! I also think you're taking the right attitude w/ the scale. It sometimes just doesn't know when to behave!!

I took 6 days off, worked from home for the next 2 days, and I'm back in the office today. Feeling a bit tired, but it's Friday and I only have a few more hours to go. It would have been harder to return to the office today if it was a Monday and I had to do this for 5 days in a row. I'll be ready for that next week (2 weeks post-op), but not today. I've had a pretty easy recovery and I've really tried to take care of myself - have been diligent about getting in fluids, walking a reasonable amount, and getting rest. I went to bed early last night and packed up my lunch last night as well. I made sure to give myself extra time to get ready this morning and I'm wearing a pair of pants that are a little loose around my belly (actually, it's a pair of jeans that fit perfectly 2 weeks ago, but are now loose!) I think this is such an individual thing, though, and it depends so much on your recovery. A week ago, I could have NEVER imagined that I'd be back in the office. Was still very sore, was taking pain meds every 4 hours, and wasn't driving. Fortunately, I have truly felt markedly better each day so I was ready to go today. I'll be in bed by 9:00 tonight, though! Aren't I just a fun Friday night date?!

So I'm 10 days post-op and feeling good. Getting in the liquids, walking, and I'm back at work. My abdomen, however, is still looking pretty ugly! Besides the expected bruising, the left part of my abdomen is just shaped weird. It's like I have a "hump". I think this is still swelling, but it's odd. Nothing I'm worried about and I will discuss this w/ Dr at my post-op appointment next week, but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

I think this is standard for this surgery. My instructions were to drink a bottle of magnesium citrate (OTC at any pharmacy) between 4-5pm the day before surgery. They also told me to drink only liquids after I had the magnesium citrate (i.e. no solid food for dinner). This is one effective laxative!

So true, so true! I remember a similar feeling when I was finally moved to stage 2 and got to sip chicken broth (I'm not on mushies yet). Congrats on being at this new stage and having a positive experience!!

So glad to have found this post. Earlier today I felt my usual "signs" of getting my period (my right leg cramps - same area, always the day of getting my period) and I thought that was unusual, but just noticed that I got my period. Say what? I'm 14 days early and feeling ripped off!!!

I'm so sorry that all of you are going through this! Can't imagine the anxiety prior to every meal, and then the pain of vomiting afterwards. I hope that you find a lot of other options through this board. I had surgery on 10/26 and I'm still on full-liquids. One of my options is egg-drop Soup and yesterday I made it twice because I needed a break from artificial sweetners (the taste just gets stuck on my tongue and I can't stand it!) I was nervous because I thought "but, scrambled eggs aren't until I'm on mushies - Stage IV", but the way the egg is cooked in this soup makes it like silky strands that just dissolve, rather than pieces of egg. I had it twice yesterday, took it really slow, and had no issues. I appreciated the ease of making it, the convenience of having everything on hand (chicken broth and eggs) and the fact that an egg has 6grams of Protein (while I'm also getting in the Fluid of the soup). While it's not an amazing amount, like the Protein shakes, it is something. I also want to mention that when I just can't take my protein shake, I have a carnation instant breakfast(no sugar added). I was given this on my last day in the hospital when I was moved to stage 3 liquids. In terms of protein, it's only 13grams, but it's much thinner than my protein shake and it just seems "milder". Again, not the best source of protein, but perhaps an option (and at $3.99 for a box, it's not much of an investment either). I wish you all the best of luck!!!