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I really had to look around the site for it, but here it is (hope it's okay I'm posting it--if not, please let me know and I'll take it down). I would urge others to check the site, though, because there are a ton of tasty sounding recipes there!

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Simple chicken salad

I agree that's inappropriate, to say the least, but it was, presumably, one poster. And sure, there are others that will be negative or unnecessarily blunt or whatever. But there is a ton of useful information to be found here; I've found the suggestions about what to drink/eat for each stage helpful, for example. Or the advice to get some Gas-X before the surgery! very useful.

I also found it inspiring to look at the before/after pictures in several threads. I still can't quite picture myself in one of the "after" pictures looking a normal weight . . . it's been a long, long time since that was true.

Best of luck . . . I'm almost at the pureed stage and so sick of Protein Shakes I could scream. Oh, another tip: Protein Water. It's saved my sanity.

I don't know if you have to love your surgeon, but you should definitely trust him or her. I happen to love mine and think he's a genius. He has a great reputation--everyone I talked to praised him highly. Add me to that list--no pain post-op and here I am, two weeks later, and my incisions are barely noticeable.

I did it with great trust in my doctor and pretty calmly, knowing this was what I wanted and had prepared for. As someone noted, the surgery is the easy part--sticking to the plan afterwards is tough. And someone else chimed in that no, maintenance is that's tough.

Basically, the first few weeks after surgery you'll get really, really sick of Protein Drinks. I'm sick of drinking sweet stuff and the highlight of my day is some pureed Soup that isn't sweet.

I'm also quite low on energy still but assume that will improve. Most important, I'm losing weight!!

You can read around the site and see some pictures, but what I've read is that it depends on several factors: how overweight you are to begin with (and your beginning weight is not that high compared with, say, mine!). Your age is a factor. And how much you exercise is a factor.

I'm assuming I'll get the surgery that removes the excess skin from the "apron" at the bottom of the abdomen. I'd probably like a breast lift but will need to win the lottery for that.

I hear you on the Protein shakes--I've been trying to be creative in making sure I get enough each day. I drink protein Water, killing two birds with one stone, as it were. And I also struggle to get enough water in. I have some yogurt--like, half of one a day. I also made some sugar-free pudding and added two scoops of Protein Powder, so that's a little different.

But I totally agree with the advice that you attack your food addiction with the therapist. The surgery won't help in the long run if you can't tame that beast as well.

Best of luck!

I'll second that suggestion: ask your surgeon!

There's also the whole thing with muscle weighing more than fat, so it could be that you're building some muscle with your exercise. I'm not sure I totally understand this but goodness knows I've heard it many times. More to the point, I've also read that you should basically track your weight by month rather than by week once you get going--there will be stalls as well as possible gains followed by a loss.

Good luck . . .

2 hours ago, Berry78 said:

Ok, I just went to find those stats, and found something better! Apparently I had some things backwards!

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/879917

http://riskcalc.org/Metabolic_Surgery_Score/

Thanks--I do love the statistics. The first link didn't work for me because I'm not a member of the site, but the second said that the sleeve was recommended, barring other factors.

I basically think my surgeon is a genius, so I'm good overall with the decision. Time will tell, of course. My major issue at the moment, other than hating Protein Shakes, is lack of energy. But I'm assuming that, too, will improve eventually.

I seem to have had the "wrong" surgery according to much of the advice here . . . I had the sleeve even though I was above 300 pounds and have both diabetes and GERD. I don't think I was misinformed, but perhaps: I was told diabetes disappeared for 84 percent of patients who had the sleeve. I'm about two weeks post-op and I've reduced my daily insulin dose by a half (and I was taking a lot, 120 units a day). My numbers have been very good.

I'm not obsessed with my goal weight--I'd like to be under 200 pounds, I'd like my knee pain to go away, and then, it would be great if my BMI would be normal (so, I would then meet my goal weight). I hope my diabetes disappears. But it's far too soon to tell how any of this will work out--for the moment, I'm good with what's going on. Just want to be consuming Protein other than from shakes, basically . . .

I had a few food "funerals" before my pre-op diet--not binge-ing, just things I knew I wouldn't be eating post-op, like fettucine Alfredo, steak with a baked potato, a hamburger with a bun. I don't regret them now--I did my two weeks' pre-op diet pretty religiously and since the surgery I've been drinking so many freaking Protein Shakes I could scream. But I follow the rules pretty darned closely and I'm seeing progress, so no worries. I will, however, Celebrate when I move to pureed foods (next week) and real food (at the end of the month). I'm just sick of so much of what I consume being sweet. Ugh.

Check to see if they gave you a list--I was given detailed paperwork on post-op diet phases. Probably, however, you can have yogurt and cream Soups and sugar-free pudding. And oh, so many Protein Shakes . . .

It occurs to me that I have yet another way to keep track of what I'm doing, at least for now. I'm diabetic, so I'm testing my blood sugar twice a day. Talk about an *immediate* way to know whether you've eaten correctly . . .

There may be an age as well as a lifestyle aspect to my answer . . . I'm very close to retirement age. I'm told I look about ten years younger than I am, but I don't know if that will continue once my nice wrinkle-less skin isn't supported by fat any longer . . .

I do like attractive clothes--but when I think of tailored things, I think of suits, which have never, ever looked good on me or felt comfortable--not when I was 136 and not when I was 380.

And I hope I have some 100-pound pants--I'm totally broke at the moment. Couldn't afford a pair of used pants from the Salvation Army.

I'm almost two weeks post-op and went grocery (well, Protein Drink, mostly) shopping today. I thought I would keel over in the store. So weak . . . one possibility that occurred to me was that my blood pressure was too low--I've been on meds for high BP for years, but my BP at doctors' visits since this journey started have all been quite low. I'm wondering if I should cut back on my meds and if anyone else has had experience with this that they'd share. Thanks!!

There's a lot of individual difference in taste--one thing I didn't really realize was that I don't like broth. Didn't before surgery, don't after. I want some non-sweet options, but that's not going to be it. I'll use what I have in the crockpot eventually when I get to have real food!!

I'm beginning to hate them, too, but I suppose Premier is the best I've tried. The vanilla is too sweet, and the banana is pretty sweet, too, but I can deal with the chocolate and the strawberries and cream. Barely.

I'm trying to find other ways to deal with this--getting some Protein from yogurt, from high-protein Soup (I'm actually using some Medifast packets a friend gave me--I'm just happy it's not sweet). Last night I made instant pudding with two scoops of protein powder--not terrible. But, you know, sweet. Among my favorite options is Atkins LIFT Protein Drink (and counts toward my Water, so bonus there).

But my desire to get past this stage to things like eggs and cottage cheese is enormous.

I'm not supposed to have coffee for a year post-surgery. Out of all the rules, this is the one I'm pretty sure I'm going to break . . . but it's only a week and a half post-op, and I want coffee now! I'll probably resist, but . . . how long before y'all had regular coffee again?

I'm counting from my highest weight--coincidentally, the weight I was the first time I saw the surgeon--to now. I lost it all--I'm taking credit for it!

2 hours ago, Half-Tum said:

I don't sense any negativity.

Y'all are stupid.





Just kidding, that was sarcasm.

LOL, I know the feeling of having to explain that I was being sarcastic--seems weird to many and completely normal to me.

1 hour ago, LetsDoThis! said:

If it's any consolation- I was lying in bed at like 5pm yesterday feeling overwhelmed with how hungry I was and having a pity party. I keep thinking "make it to the next shake/pudding cup/cup of broth" because otherwise I'll feel so dejected I am pissed off that food has this hold on me & I'm trying to use this time to focus on things that are positive like Bible study and tackling long neglected chores like cabinet organizing. Fun!

In all seriousness, I am so thankful you shared about your night because I feel like I have found someone who understands!!! My husband is TRYING but if he tells me One. More. Time. how he's not hungry AT ALL (he's doing the same preop diet with me in solidarity, his choice, which I know is sweet) I may snap.

I had to go to Walmart today to get cupcakes for my daughter's birthday (dropping them off at school in a bit). The smell of the fresh baked break like to have KILLED ME. carbs are my crack. But we got this! Here's to making it one more day!!


- No idea what I'm doing but I'm here!

"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.