kaydo

I gurgle constantly after meals. The worst is when someone schedules a 1pm meeting and I have to sit in the conference room, after lunch, with my colleagues, and gurgle my way through a meeting. Awful!

It's so funny that you guys are 2 of my favorite posters, and are dog people as well. After mourning the loss of our 12 year old Sharpei mix last year (sweetest, mellowest dog in the world), we now have another rescue mutt with a lot more energy and who loves nothing more than to be attached to her humans.

Being COLD all the time is my biggest side effect, but it feels like a very fair trade to me. (I'm down nearly 44 lbs since my 12/28 surgery.) I actually had some complications with the surgery itself (very painful splenic infarction and a collapsed lung) but I'm fully recovered now.
I had well-controlled reflux before my sleeve but, knock on wood, it hasn't given me any trouble at all. I take Omeprozole morning and night and I've been fine.
I found the Vitamins annoying at first (especially the big chalky tablets) but, with my surgeon's permission, I switched to a Gummy Multivitamin, jelly Iron supplement, and calcium citrate chews, all of which I find MUCH easier to take.

This is what i looked like. Fat, tired and disgusted. I felt like garbage. I was and taking 5 shots of insulin through the stomach daily and taking 13 pills. i had sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure along with being overweight. I have been on a mission ever since the surgery. See the last picture. thats what i look like now. After working and hitting the gym hard 7 days a week I'm down from 268 to 202 in just 3 months, and now I can finally say. "IM BACK" Today i am not on Any More Medication At All.

I gurgle constantly after meals. The worst is when someone schedules a 1pm meeting and I have to sit in the conference room, after lunch, with my colleagues, and gurgle my way through a meeting. Awful!

It's so funny that you guys are 2 of my favorite posters, and are dog people as well. After mourning the loss of our 12 year old Sharpei mix last year (sweetest, mellowest dog in the world), we now have another rescue mutt with a lot more energy and who loves nothing more than to be attached to her humans.

Super helpful suggestions, @mylighthouse! (Also, well done on 152 pounds lost - YOW!)

Egg salad, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese with almonds, few blueberries thrown in. chicken salad made with greek yogurt or mayo, homemade cheese/parm crisps if you need a crunchy snack. Homemade chili, so many meats/veggie combinations, stir frys. Hummus with cheese crsps. Black bean and feta salad with celery, red pepper and balsamic vinegrette dressing. Nuts, especially almonds (for snacking).
Don't know what your work hours are like, or what your eating schedule is like. I have been on about 6 very small meals a day since the beginning. It has worked really well for me. If you are on that type of eating schedule as well, then plan on taking plenty of appropriate small meals with you. You certainly don't want to be stuck at work without enough good food to get you through the day... it will help you stay on plan.

My go-to lunch lately has been one Joseph's Reduced Carb Flax & Oatbran Whole Wheat pita (60 calories, 6 grams protein) with a tiny bit of mayo, mustard, 1 oz of deli turkey or ham, a half slice of provolone, and half a gala apple. It's about 200 calories, 15 grams of Protein, takes me 30 minutes to eat, and is super filling.
I also like doing chicken sausage and leftover veggies for lunches & dinners. I got completely sick of Soup pre & post-op, so I never eat that any more, but I still love turkey chili (there's a great Instant Pot recipe on TheKitchn.com - I double the ground turkey to make it higher in protein and more hearty).
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-instant-pot-turkey-chili-250983

Sleeved 12/28, down 43.5 lbs total.
Things slowed down around weeks 5-6 (I wasn't exercising, and I also went on vacation) but I've started exercising more and the scale is dropping again now. Yay.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
I had used SparkPeople for years but I like this one better. (It has a built-in scanner, like the Weight Watchers app does, which is super helpful.)

This makes me feel better about my 1000 calories + occasional carbs diet. But it also just makes sense to me overall. I have to listen to my body and eat what it needs. There's no way I'd feel good on 600 calories/day at this point (especially because I finally have energy again and I'm doing 30-40 minutes of cardio/day too). I view how I'm eating now as how I'm going to eat for the rest of my life.

@BostonWLKC, I just noticed your username - are you in the Boston area? I am, and it's interesting that our surgery dates, starting weight, etc., are very similar!
And after all that worrying about my 1000 calories being too much, today is weigh-in day and I'm down 2.8 lbs for the week.

@BostonWLKC, I just noticed your username - are you in the Boston area? I am, and it's interesting that our surgery dates, starting weight, etc., are very similar!
And after all that worrying about my 1000 calories being too much, today is weigh-in day and I'm down 2.8 lbs for the week.

Stop obsessing. Stop extremist thinking. Too much "nutrition nazi" is just as harmful as going crazy and eating everything in sight. Moderation. Moderation. Moderation. Stop looking for the diet that gets you there the quickest and start looking for a Forever Diet that you can live a happy life with. Don't eat food you don't like. Don't do exercise you don't enjoy. DO make the effort to find healthy foods that work in a balanced diet that are delicious. DO make the effort to try and find exercise that you look forward to and enjoy. Do find healthier substitutes for old favorites. Exercise with your bestie, your kiddo, your hubby, your dog, your horse. Stop reaching for perfection. All or Nothing is a recipe for failure. Be happy with every victory. Wake up every day and make the choice to try hard even after a stumble. Love yourself.

I definitely focus on "protein first" at meals and try to make my Snacks high in Protein as well (a slice of turkey rolled with a slice of provolone is one of my favorites, and Cabot makes a 50 calorie sharp cheddar snacking cheese that I LOVE). My typical day is below. (I'd love to see other people post what they eat in a day??)
I've also stopped drinking Premier Protein shakes almost entirely. I had been using them for Breakfast, but now I'm making my own smoothies again, with Protein Powder. One problem I had was I would nurse a Protein Shake all morning, which my nutritionist said was not good because it kept me from drinking Water, and from eating real food. My own smoothies help me get more real food (fruits, veggies) too, which I like much better (and I make sure to finish my 8 oz smoothie in about 20 minutes so I can move on to water).
Water is hard but I find I do better if I spend the money to just buy bottled Vitamin Water Zero. The cost adds up but they taste so much better than plain water or even putting Stur or Crystal Lite in water that I'm more likely to drink them, which makes it worth the cost. (My grocery store, Wegmans, has some of their own brand that are great, and a little cheaper than Vitamin Water.)

I'm almost 8 weeks out. Down 44 lbs, with another 30 to go. I do try to limit carbs but I also feel like I need to live my life and having a few tortilla chips with my 1/2 cup of turkey chili is okay. My parenting motto has always been that if you deny kids every indulgence out of hand (junk food, video games, etc), they'll just want it more, so I guess I'm taking the same approach to my post-op eating - I let myself have a few carbs/treats in moderation, so I don't lose my mind (or binge at some point).

Oh my goodness, that's awful, I'm sorry! I hope you get relief soon.

I apologize to the original poster for going off topic. I see this was your first post.
Veterans usually ignore the negative posts. I'm going to respond once and not acknowledge @Vsglife again. Hope the rest of the board will do the same. Take what is useful and ignore the people that personal attack and are seeking drama and attention.
Most of the people here are supportive.
Wishing you the best,
Jenn

It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even Water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate Hot Drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good.
The Fluid requirement is met by a combination. It is not only the water that you drink each day. But also the water you drink when you take your Vitamins and medicine. It is the milk you drink. It is the fluids content of the Protein Shakes. It is the water component of the Soups you take. It is met by flavored water such as Crystal Light. It is met by sugar free popsicles. It is met by tea and Decaf coffee. It is a combination of all the fluids that you consume during the day.
It is important to get at least 30 minutes of walking each day. But that does not have to be in a gym. If you are walking a lot as a medical student between classes and in your part time job, that can count. You might want to get a pedometer and see how many steps your are walking each day. Also I found going up and down stairs gives more exercise than walking on the flats.

Sleeved 12/28, down 43.5 lbs total.
Things slowed down around weeks 5-6 (I wasn't exercising, and I also went on vacation) but I've started exercising more and the scale is dropping again now. Yay.

Sleeved 12/28, down 43.5 lbs total.
Things slowed down around weeks 5-6 (I wasn't exercising, and I also went on vacation) but I've started exercising more and the scale is dropping again now. Yay.

Sleeved 12/28, down 43.5 lbs total.
Things slowed down around weeks 5-6 (I wasn't exercising, and I also went on vacation) but I've started exercising more and the scale is dropping again now. Yay.

My surgeon nicked a blood vessel to my spleen during the surgery causing this exact pain (splenic infarction) and the pain was so bad I didn't even notice any other pains from the surgery. I was in the hospital for 4 days and getting out of bed to use the bathroom was excrutiating but I did it, and tried to walk the halls a little bit each time as well. It took me almost 2 weeks of round-the-clock Oxycodone to recover from the splenic infarction, at which point my stomach was completely fine. (I'll be 3 weeks post-op tomorrow.)

What a sweet-looking dog!