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My doctor said the important things were Water, Protein, Vitamins, and exercise. I'm supposed to go for 60-80 grams of protein and 64 ounces of water (that's still tough for me). I haven't been given calorie guidelines, but I track what I eat and drink with MyFitnessPal, which gives me that information. I'm still under 600 calories a day, so it's not surprising that I'm losing. Given the restrictions we have now on how much we can consume, I don't think you could go over on the calories without consuming things you know are bad!

5 hours ago, TammyA said:

My doctor said the same thing. I signed up the the mail order nasal spray and it was over $600 a month. My insurance only covers brand name meds at 50% and there is no generic alternative. It was going to cost me over $300 a month out of pocket. My doctor said he isn't familiar with the patch, but agreed to let me try it for 6 months. He said if my labs come back fine I can continue with it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I can't afford the spray.

I ordered a 6 month supply of the patch through this website and it was $100...I'll check out Amazon and the other websites too!

Even if you've had trouble swallowing pills initially, by several months out you should be able to handle them. No need to go broke for specialty vitamins--just get a bottle of pills. Speaking personally, I've been using the pills since day one. Maybe a little tough the first week or so, but now I just take them all . . .

I tried four ounces of the ricotta bake and it was too much; I also tried two eggs with some cheese and that was definitely too much (I was really just trying to up the protein). I can do four ounces of Soup or something liquid, but a lot of foods that's too much. I can do one egg scrambled with some cheese . .. that works for me.

At this point I wouldn't worry that much as long as you are eating the right foods--you almost can't eat too much. As a check, if you're tracking your foods, you'll see your calorie counts--not the first thing to measure, but something to tell you if you've gone over what's normal for you. I think I've only gone over 500 calories a day once or twice at this point . . .

You've got it here. Good luck!

Different people have different experiences. I had almost no pain and no trouble getting things down. Sick to death of Protein Shakes at this point--and sweet things generally. Real food at the end of the week; can't wait. But have lost weight and it's still coming off and I'm not hungry at all.

The first couple of weeks post-op aren't much fun, but believe everyone who says it does get better.

5 hours ago, dreamingsmall said:

I'm confused. This box is empty for me and no message inside.

Sorry--I accidentally posted the same message three times. If there's a way to delete a post, I don't know what it is. The only thing I could do was "edit" it by removing the long response in the extra posts. My apologies.

I'm pretty much sick of Protein Shakes, although I suppose Premier chocolate is less heinous than many of them. Too sweet . . . I prefer Atkins Lift Protein Water (20 g per bottle), as it also counts as water. It comes in citrus flavors. And I'm currently out *sob* of it.

5 hours ago, 46w4kds said:

5 hours ago, 46w4kds said:

4 hours ago, 46w4kds said:

My doctor isn't having me count calories. My surgery was august 29th
And at my week appt he said just make sure I get my Protein. I'm confused

Sent from my SM-G928T using BariatricPal mobile app

My doctor told me not to even worry about how much I lost at this point, just to focus on Water, Protein, Vitamins, and exercise. It makes sense (alhtough of course I'm weighing myself!): I use MyFitnessPal to keep track of what I eat and drink, and at this stage, there's almost no way to get too many calories unless you eat or drink totally wrong things. It's useful that MyFitnessPal tells me the calorie count, as I'm sure I'll be much more aware of that down the line, but as it is I spent the first couple of weeks getting maybe 350 to 450 a day and now that I'm on pureed it's more like 600 or so--in any case, far less than even normal eating would give me.

Anyway, don't worry about your calories now! That's another thing for the future . . .

On 9/17/2017 at 7:13 PM, Véronique said:

I have the opposite problem, the physical sensations of hunger are gone for me. I have to be very intentional about eating so that I get the proper amount of Protein in.

This is exactly where I am. I don't care whether I eat or not except that I know I have to get those Protein numbers in and I'm trying really hard to avoid Protein Shakes as much as possible--certainly no more than one per day. But last night I put 4 ounces of ricotta bake on the plate and couldn't eat it all.

Atkins Lift Protein Drink . . . 20 g of Protein per bottle, counts as Water, not nearly as disgusting as Protein Shakes.

I still like eggs, thank goodness. A lot of stuff I've tried I'm not crazy about--canned chicken pureed and made into a salad was disgusting to me. I'm okay with the ricotta bake, but can't eat a lot of it. Like yogurt or cottage cheese.

Still early days here . . .

Your mileage may vary, but the only pain I had was the first ten minutes or so after waking up. The rest of the time I was fine in the hospital and the worst part was getting woken up every hour or two all night. Much happier at home the next day. The first couple of weeks after the surgery aren't a lot of fun, but I've reached the point where my energy is coming back and my biggest issues are getting enough Protein and Water in. But feeling pretty well overall.

6 minutes ago, JohnnyCakes said:

in case you can’t read, this is the GUYS ROOM forum.

be respectful and GTFO.

Wow. I tend to look at the right side of the page's list of recent topics and click on subjects to read the posts. Most of the time I don't even notice which forum it's in. I can read just fine, thanks, I have a MA in English Literature. I thought I was being respectful: But you sure weren't.

42 minutes ago, happyhappyjoyjoy said:

I have so many, but the final straw that literally made me schedule an appointment was when my Job hired a new executive over my department after firing my boss and she asked me to stay after her introductory team meeting. I distinctly remember feeling my heart sink because I just knew it was going to be bad. She told me people had made complaints that they could see my stomach underneath my shirt and that I needed to buy longer shirts. I have had my feelings hurt a lot in my life being overweight, but this was one of my worst moments. I remember holding back tears and trying to make it seem like I wasn't upset, but I literally could've walked out of her office that day and quit. It happened on a friday and I spent all weekend doing research and on Monday morning I called a Doctor and made an appointment for consultation.

This reminds me of one place I worked, a branch office with the main office in NYC. The landlord of the building sent a bill to the accounting department in NYC for the toilet seat, which the landlord claimed was broken because of the larger women in our office. Several overweight women worked there, but I was the largest. I don't think I broke the toilet seat there ever (the repair guys used to stand on it to repair something above it in the bathroom--a vent, maybe, or the light?) but how do you defend against something like that? Humiliating.

That wasn't my final straw at all, but the humiliation--I feel you pain. Sorry you had that experience.

On 1/3/2017 at 7:59 PM, Night said:

So I'm currently 2 weeks post-op. For my surgeon, this is the mushy/soft/pureed stage (yup, altogether). At this point, it's suggested meals are 1/2 cup or 4 oz of food. And the plan is to have one Protein shake in the morning, 2 of the half cups meals and another Protein Shake sometimes throughout the day. Where the heck do I fit all this?

I can never ever eat a full half cup of food and just now I ate 2.5oz of salmon and while my stomach tolerated it very well (no upset at all), I overestimated capacity and that was just too much food.

So, two questions - how can I possibly manage to get in my Protein goals if I can only get down 20g in food and another 25g in a shake? (I can't do two - I never finish; I barely finish one)... Protein goal is 60-80g daily. I feel like there's just not enough room - which is, of course, part of the point of wls. I just feel like I'm failing in not being able to meet this goal. So I'm just looking for some guidance - how do y'all do it?

My second question is what sorts of cues does your body give you that it's full? The 'I'm full' feeling is very different for me after wls and I'm jsut trying to figure out exactly when I'm full vs nope too much.

I'm having similar problems--I've just eaten 5 ounces of the ricotta bake and I really had to force myself--I feel stuffed. And I'm still short of the protein goals for the day--had eggs and cheese for Breakfast and yogurt for lunch.

About the only thing I can see at this point is to drink the protein Water (but I only have one bottle left, alas). That at least helps with the water goals as well as protein without filling me up. (I drink Atkins Lift; 20 grams of protein per bottle).

I'm sure this is temporary and eventually I'll be able to eat enough. But it's tough now.

11 hours ago, brightfaith said:

For me, it is all about mobility. I want to walk...and walk...and walk...and walk some more. I would love to travel to Yosemite National Park and hike in to see the waterfalls. I want to take a trip to Italy (made much more affordable if I don't need to purchase a second plane seat for myself) and walk all over Venice and florence. I want to enjoy a day out with family and friends and be able to keep up with everyone. I was thinking of creating something like a vision board with the places I want to travel and start a travel savings account.

I would also love to treat myself to adult swimming lessons. I love exercising in the Water, but I never really learned to swim. I do Water walking and jogging and aerobics now. What I am realizing as I type this is that there is actually no reason I couldn't take lessons now...I just feel very uncoordinated and would get out of breath easily. Would be great to have a little more energy and stamina.

Brightfaith, one possibility would be to use Pinterest to save pictures of all the places and things you'd like to visit. Very inspirational! i was in Italy about ten years ago and walking around florence nearly killed me--but I saw it. Another hike that wore me out was going through the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel--people are led through a LOT of rooms on the way there (up and down stairs, too). I would be completely unable to do those walks now--knee pain too bad, never mind not enough stamina. But I'm hoping that will change and I'll travel again, too. Plenty of the world yet to see.

I didn't know that; I use my laptop and I agree with the OP, it is much more useful to see people's stats. But it's an individual choice--I just take post a lot more seriously if the person seems to be an active user of the site rather than posting a plea for advice as their first or second post with no info provided.

Mountaingal, thank you. My loss has slowed a bit, though I'm still in the first month post-op. I also just noticed which forum I'm in--I had the sleeve, so that may make a difference, too, as well as my rather high initial weight. We're all different and lose at different rates, but the truth is that if we each follow the guidelines we're given, we'll lose weight. This part can be tough, but the long-range goal of keeping the weight off and changing our habits forever--now, that's a challenge!

Good luck, all.

Congrats on your loss!

If you're asking what I think you're asking, there are threads on the subject--does it actually get bigger or does it just appear bigger when the stuff around it has shrunk? At any rate, almost everyone seems to report a better sex life post weight loss--more energy, more flexibility, more interest from partners . . .

And if that's not what you were asking, my apologies!

As hard as it is, focus on finding filling low-calorie choices--salad (not too much dressing), roasted vegetables, Protein (not that low calorie, but filling). It's a short-term problem, really--your goal is to get to the surgery. Because believe me, after the surgery, everything changes. My biggest problem now is eating enough to meet the protein goals. I had an egg and a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese for breakfast--it felt like a huge meal.

I know this won't last, but it sure is a great way to lose weight for now and the retraining of my choices should definitely stick after months of this. You can get there too--each part of the journey is hard in its own way, but post-op, your chances are good that hunger won't be an issue then.

Good luck!

I second the shopping dream--I'd like to buy clothes that aren't plus-sized, it's been decades since I've done that. Something sexy and stylish and not black!

Definitely would mention this to your doctor. I'm wondering if you have had any issues with your blood sugar? Or, as Waler suggests, it may well be acid reflux--are you on meds for that?

Good luck figuring this out.

Do you test your blood sugar or are you basing your assumptions about blood sugar dropping on how you feel? I guess I'm basically asking because if you feel your blood sugar is low, that's fairly significant, but if you know your readings, you can take steps before you get to that point.

I think my number one hint would be to try a variety of Protein Shakes to see what you like--knowing that your tastes may chance post-op. And find other options for getting your Protein besides the shakes, because you almost certainly will get very tired of them. I have used protein Water, yogurt, and some high-protein Soup to help with this; now that I can, I also have cottage cheese and some pureed things. But I still needed a shake today to make the goal--I'll be so happy when I can do that without them!

Best of luck!

I'm three weeks post-op and get fewer than 500 a day--more like 350 to 450 a day. The MyFitnessPal site tells me every day I'm not eating enough!