TakingABreak

Thanks Mattymatt! Means a lot.

Yeah I thought the desire would build and we would be doing "other" things. But I just don't feel sexy. And I think you are right, his opinion means a lot. Maybe i'll mention it to him.

You know, its been weird. He hasn't complimented me ONE TIME! It kinda hurts my feelings to be honest. Maybe this is why I've felt self conscious lately. Also, we haven't had sex in over 9 weeks now. I had to get on new birth control that would be effective after surgery. My OBGYN says that oral birth control is not as effective after RNY. My insurance policy says that they will pay for the surgery 100% if I withstand from pregnancy for a full 12 months. If pregnancy occurs, they back charge the whole surgery amount ($84k was billed) I have to make sure that this round of birth control is working before we can do the deed. (And for the peanut gallery-- we can't do condoms because of an allergy).

Day 1-7 I drank 3 protein shakes with water (no milk, fruit, ect) and I ate 3 oz of lean meat with 3 oz of non starchy vegetables. Day 7-13 I stuck with just the protein shakes. Luckily, you are only on day 3 but you need to get with the program because it only gets harder from here. I cleaned out my fridge and pantry of anything tempting before I started. Just remember, after surgery it will be down right dangerous to break your diet. You want to get the hang of it now before it is life or death.

That's great that you have good benefits. I am blessed as well and my surgery was covered 100% minus a $450 hospital copay. Besides the fact that I've been thinking of this for years, it was a no brainer. I even had travel reimbursement because my insurance company required me to travel to a Blue Distinction Center. But insurance is still difficult to work with, and can be stressful in itself. I dropped off the grid, meaning this forum, for the 6 weeks after surgery and regretted it. There were so many questions I should have asked in this kind of environment instead of using Google. So when you feel up to it, let us know you are doing well and keep us posted on your journey.

I remember how stressed I was in the weeks leading up to surgery. I had a 3.5 hour drive to my surgeons office and hospital where I had surgery. I had to coordinate travel and pet sitters. It felt like right before you go on vacation, but you aren't going on vacation! I felt a big sense of relief when the morning of surgery came and I was getting wheeled back. I had met all the requirements, handled things at work, SURVIVED the pre op diet, and I was finally getting the thing done! One thing I can say, is prepare prepare prepare. You don't want to be stressed afterwards about things. I did as much as possible before. I cleaned and organized. I meal prepped for my purred stage (LOTS of soup in the freezer) and I paid my bills for a month out (I'm a Banker, so I took care of this first LOL). I really made sure that I could focus solely on recovery. Just remember, we are like your family now and you can lean on us!

that is some GREAT advice. I'm excited to buy new clothes and feel sexy fully dressed

Welcome to the group! I was terrified the few days that I would come down with something. The thing of it is, stress can cause an immune deficiency. I'd try to not worry about it until the day comes.

I hope that this something "new" is something wonderful as well!

Thank you, that's very nice to say! I am 9 weeks post op. I feel great about my weight loss! I just don't feel desirable. In my mind there is a difference. I think you are right, as I become more comfortable with my new body, this will change. Thanks again

Honestly, I thought that loosing weight would immediately boost my self confidence and I would feel more sexy and desirable. However, I don't feel this way. In fact, I think it's hurt me a little bit. I'm working out in the gym to tone up my flabbiness but its going to be a work in progress. Can anyone speak to their experiences? Are there highs and lows, or does my mind just need time to catch up to my body?

I try not to focus on the statistics because I also need to loose more than the average to be at a healthy BMI. I've seen some amazing success stories on here and I plan on being one of them. I know you will be too Mattymatt!

I lived on soups. I had already bought a Vitamix and got good use out of it. Vitamix has TONS of recipes on their website that are smooth soups and would work great for the pureed stage. You don't need a Vitamix to make them. I'd just recommend listening to your blender and chopping things smaller if needed. Also, you will need to warm the soup in a pot after blended (Vitamix warms it for you). The butternut squash soup was my favorite. I used GenePro unflavored protein powder and it was delicious. I also suggest using bone broth instead of water to add additional protein and flavor. I recommend checking out their soups, they will make your week so much easier. https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/Recipes/Butternut-Pumpkin-Soup?referer_st=&sc=recipe

One other thing! Drinking enough fluid is an all day event. I take my cup with me everywhere I go. Even in the bathroom while I put on my makeup. There should never be a time you don't have something near by to sip on.

I'm almost 9 weeks post op and water is still a struggle for me. Water by itself makes me severely nauseated. I drink caffeine free herbal tea with stevia. I also get dehydrated a lot and resort to Pedialyte. The best thing I can suggest is to set timers and find something that she can drink well. Some options are caffeine free tea, extremely diluted 100% juice, infused water (lemon, cucumber, ect.), crystal light, or other caloric free mixes.

there is a reason that this surgery works! And that is because of the "punishment part". I'm a firm believer that people are successful because they are fearful of feeling like you did, or because they made a mistake or two and don't ever want to feel that again.

its not hard to panic when you know that logically you couldn't have gained weight. 3 things to remember. It takes 3500 calories to gain a pound. Second, it could be water weight. Your body could be retaining water if you aren't getting enough fluids in per day. Lastly, the last poster is correct you could just need to poop LOL. I know I lost 4 lbs when I finally had my first regular bowel movement after surgery. Perfect example, on Tuesday I weighed 3lbs less than I weighed (same clothes, shoes, ect.) on Wednesday. I'm not stressing that I gained weight, because I didn't. I didn't eat enough calories and I exercised both days. I weigh myself daily, but that's why my NUT doesn't recommend it.

Just make sure that it is calorie and sugar free. My surgeon told me that you can still drink your calories with WLS. Nothing can prevent you from gaining weight from caloric beverages.

Sosewsue61 is right! You can’t increase your activity until you get your fluids up. I’m guilty of this myself and then I have to drink Pedialyte to stay healthy.

Everything seems about right! Have you reached out to your NUT and surgeon? I'd say this is pretty slow loss considering what you are eating. One thing I can say, I stalled after 2 weeks post op, and did not start loosing until I started exercising. I mean, cardio with keeping my heart rate increased for 30mins+ per day. This isn't meant to sound bad, but obviously your physical activity at your job wasn't enough pre surgery, so it may not be enough post surgery. Some vets on here don't believe as much in exercise, but we have almost identical stats and exercise worked for me. I'm 8 weeks post op and down 65lbs. Also, I increased my calories at about 6 weeks post op to around 800-900 calories per day. I track 100% of my food & exercise on MyFitnessPal. I keep my carbs to under 50 grams per day and my protein at around 75 grams. I don't eat any pasta, white bread, processed sugar, processed foods (for the most part, about 95 fresh/5 processed split), caloric drinks, or alcohol. I'd like to see what your stats are after logging you food for one week.

First of all, What surgery did you have? What does a typical day of eating look like for you? Calories, carbs, Protein, Water intake? How much exercise do you get weekly? Minutes, type of exercise? This is in access to your regular day. Your body becomes adjusted to your physical job. Do you eat and drink at the same time? Do you graze? To find the root of your stall, we need more information to help you. Please give us more insight into what your day looks like.

I started with raw veggies like carrots, skinned cucumbers, broccoli, ect. I would stay away from uncooked celery for now. But almonds might be a good thing to try. I am not a nut person, but I could see that being satisfying . I also ate skinned apple slices and that was GREAT. I loved feeling like I was chewing something. But for me, I have to skin everything. Otherwise the skin ends up in a wad left over after I've chewed everything else to liquid. I can no longer eat grapes for this reason. As far as crunch goes, I thought I'd want something more but turns out I couldn't find much that was healthy.

Oh I must have mixed you up with someone else. I did see you posted about the thickening stuff. I will say that the purred stage sucked for me. I bought a fancy NutriBullet and I have a Vitamix. Neither one was helpful when it came to liquefying things that actually tasted or looked good. My suggestion, go out onto Vitamix's website and they have several REALLY good soup recipes. They are all completely smooth and you can mix it up with any blender (with tweaks here and there). The butternut squash is my favorite! I used bone broth for added protein. I lived on soup and protein shakes. It was pretty much like an extra week of full liquids. I did buy GenePro unflavored protein powder. It has the BEST bang for your buck when it comes to protein. It also requires very little powder per serving, which is helpful when mixing with soup and what not. But I mixed that with refried beans and mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes (not every meal, but yes I did eat them).

Are you Pre Op or Post Op. Here's my answer for both: Pre Op- Especially in the Pre Op diet, milk of any kind adds too many carbs in my opinion. My doctor told me that the point of the Pre Op diet is to shrink your liver and to do this, you need to go into Ketosis. Ketosis is best achieved at less than 20 carbs per day. There is approximately 12 carbs in a cup of skim milk. I mixed all my protein shakes with water and PB2 powder in my pre op stages. I lost 27lbs in 2 weeks. It worked for me! Post Op- I use FairLife Milk. It has 13 grams of protein per 1 cup serving. You consume so little Post Op that a little extra calories here and there won't make a difference. However, you want to get the biggest bang for your buck with protein. That's why FairLife Milk is the best option for mixing with protein supplements.