XYZXYZXYZ1955

"Carbs are my crack"--Yes! Exactly and precisely! As I sit here with another freaking protein shake . . . we can't give up the "crack" completely, but it's never going to own me again . . .

Read around this site--the three-week stall is kind of legendary, or at least very, very, very common. Your body kind of needs to pause to catch up every now and then; many people report losing inches during this time, if not pounds on the scale. My doctor advised not even thinking about weight loss--to focus on the big four things: water, protein, vitamins, and exercise. I'm human and I have a really good scale, though, so . . . yes, it's great to see it change nearly every day. I'm sure I'll find the three-week stall frustrating. But just hang on in there--it'll start going down again. Oh--and this won't be your last stall, either, so . . . chin up!

I've seen both sides--I've been reading the site a lot since I joined. There's some justified tough love when someone admits to doing something they know they shouldn't . . . like the person who wanted advice on losing weight pre-op while admitting she loved cocktails and wings. Or--this one practically keeps me up at night--the person who admitted to being so hungry the week after her sleeve surgery that she was sneaking meat and other food in. But there are plenty of people who will give useful information if asked, from what they eat to what they do for exercise or how long the pain lasted. There are opinions, sure . . . some people are more committed to their own point of view than others! Good luck in finding what YOU need here.

Hang in there, it does get easier . . . and I say this less than two weeks out and equally sick of the shakes. But the water thing is a gradual series of steps toward getting more in; I"m still not all the way there, but I do a bit better day by day. I'm so sick of the shakes I'm trying to get protein from other (permitted) ways--yogurt, protein soup, bone broth, protein water (bonus: it's water!). I know we had different surgeries, so some experiences will be different, but I'm sure some RNY'ers will chime in with help. Good luck and hang tough! We can do this.

I kind of know what the OP means, though--the first few weeks suck, no question. I'm so sick of protein shakes I could scream. I want to eat real food--not a lot, no, just something that tastes (and not sweet). But I'm a very, very long way from maintenance, and I'm willing to bet that's true. It always was, wasn't it? We all knew how to lose weight--keeping it off was the mystery. Maybe a little easier given the ability to lose a larger portion of our excess weight, but . . . going to be hard when we can eat pretty much anything again.

Okay, for my pre-op dinners, I had a salad, a protein, and veggies--I was told to steam them, but ugh, so I roasted them--better flavor, no more calories (or only a few from a dash of olive oil). For the protein, I had mostly fish--just bought a bag of frozen flounder and fixed that various ways. It was, frankly, not the best choice, because it's such a flat fish. I would have been happier with tilapia or salmon. I mostly baked the fish with lemon and herbs. Will admit to putting panko on it and sauteeing it once. The veggies should be the nonstarchy ones--green beans or zucchini or spinach. A couple of nights I just had a spinach and cheese omelet. I had chicken a few times, once in a sort of salad with mayo, an apple, some celery, some cranberries, and some walnuts--sort of a take on a Waldorf salad. I had dessert, too, either sugar-free pudding or one of the sugar-free fudgesicles or popsicles. I was having protein shakes for the other two meals, so my total daily calories weren't that high--but I didn't lose a lot on my pre-op diet. Didn't gain, though.

Seashell29's list looks good. My question is whether you've met with a nutritionist? Have you been given some paperwork by your surgeon's office? I don't know how far from surgery you are, but there are usually pretty specific instructions about pre-op diets--many people have to do all liquids; some have protein shakes for breakfast and lunch with a lean dinner. But you should definitely be receiving guidance from your medical team. And I'm pretty sure you know the alcohol and hotwings are not good choices . . .

Interestingly (or not), that's not how I put on weight. I put weight on slowly but steadily for decades after I was in a car accident, but while I was employed in various offices, getting up and showering and dressing and going off to work. For the decade or so that I have been self-employed, my weight remained about the same--too much, but not increasing. As they say, your mileage may vary. I'm changing plenty in this journey--I just don't anticipate changing my style of clothing significantly. I'm anticipating getting rid of clothes I've owned and worn for decades (yeah, style isn't a big issue, either) and getting an entirely new wardrobe. I'm excited about that. I'm just pretty sure it won't be tailored!

I want this so badly I would beg for it! I love lobster but became allergic to it for a couple of decades . . . then found I was over the allergy (weird, but apparently it happens). But didn't have a lobster before surgery!!! So . . . definitely going on the menu soon!

OMG, thank you! Pinned and following--the slow cooker chicken curry looks like something I will be making as soon as I get done with this liquids only phase!

Herbal tea, though I admit I didn't have a lot of it. I couldn't have made it without Crystal Light!

Yes, I had a pain pump in the hospital. I'm not sure if they left it there the entire time I was in or took it away at some point--and, to be fair, I took some of the pain meds when I got home just to make sure I could sleep. Then after a day or two, I was like, why am I taking these? So I stopped.

I only hope to have similar success. It adds up . . . that's amazing for about four months' time. Congrats!

Your mileage may vary, but . . . I expected worse than it was, given that the only pain I experienced was for about ten minutes after I woke up from surgery. They got the pain meds to me, I pushed the button when I remembered it was there, but I had no pain at all. Got out of bed with no problem to use the bathroom, take a walk. Compared with the hysterectomy, when I could not get out of bed by myself for two days, this was a piece of that-stuff-I'm-not-eating-again-for-a-very-long-time. It's possible my surgeon is simply a genius, I guess.

I was thinking of making some pudding since it's on the approved list . . . but I'm wondering about the issue with handling milk. I have protein powder that I mix with milk but I'm wondering if that's what gave me "the runs" after I had it the other day. ??

Each person's experience is different. I've had seven surgeries, I think it is, and this one was different than the previous six! I did wake up in a lot of pain, which lasted for a few minutes until they had the pain meds working. After that: no pain. Seriously, I was not in pain at all in the hospital and not at all since I've come home. I am not taking anything for pain now, not even Tylenol. I know my experience is not typical, but I'm not complaining. My point is that you simply don't know what to expect until it happens. (And it's not like I don't know what pain is--I had an open hysterectomy a couple of years ago. Plenty of pain then.) Good luck!

I think I would call/see the doctor--it doesn't sound like you've injured your stomach but maybe it would be better to have it checked out and know. If they give you pain meds, you can decide whether you want to take them.

My stage 2 doesn't have tuna or clams and I don't think potatoes or ice cream are included at any stage for me! I'm all protein shakes, yogurt, and cream soup at this stage; when I remember I can have a fudgesicle, I run to the freezer for one. But I am going out of my mind with this stuff--I want food! Real food! Yes, I know . . . eventually . . .

I feel fine--had virtually no pain at all other than when I woke up right after the surgery. And I've had no trouble at all with any of the stuff I've been drinking (shakes, water, Crystal Light). I am just sooooo sick of protein shakes!! Cannot wait until food is involved again, no matter how small the portion. I've had some yogurt today . . .

I am just wondering if this is all with the okay of the surgeon and/or nutritionist? I've had no problem tolerating anything so far but I'm scared to do anything that might threaten the sleeve and recovery. But if I could scramble an egg and eat it now, I would. So far I've just had yogurt and creamed soup . . . can't imagine weeks more of just this.

OMG, that sounds like something my mother would have said! Hugs to you during this time! You WILL survive.

I understand that this is what works for you--we just have very different lives. I work at home, so I can wear my nightgown if I feel like it. I can't remember ever feeling comfortable in very tailored clothes, no matter what my weight was. Maybe I'll feel differently when I've reached my goal, but I doubt it very much. I'd just be happy to buy some regular-sized yoga pants, say, And a few pretty dresses with some sex appeal.

Here's my pureed list, for what it's worth: --Plain yogurt (low fat or fat free), Greek yogurt --Pureed fish, turkey or chicken (I know you can't have the latter two) --Pureed or small curd low=fat cottage cheese --Pureed vegetables --Pureed fruit (from the jar or can in natural juice), one serving per day I also have scrambled eggs on my list, but . . . it's not a lot to choose from and I'm wondering why he restricted those things? But you're right--follow the doctor's orders . . ..

Have you had another sleep study to see whether it's improved or gone? And I don't think your goal is unrealistic at all. You go!!

I totally agree with Jacky247 on this: Find another surgeon. You have to have trust in him or her and believe that person has your best interests in mind. Trying to force a surgeon to do what you want is a bad idea. This is a hard enough journey even with positive vibes all around.