MrsPinedo

Hi everyone, checking in to see how it’s going!

I’m just about 5 weeks out. I lost 27 lbs in the first 3 weeks … and haven’t lost any weight in the 2 weeks since. I wish I had taken Tek’s advice not to weight myself 😩

Speaking of Fairlife, has anyone tried their bottled ‘nutrition’ drinks? 30g Protein, and they taste exactly like chocolate milk, I mean EXACTLY. Zero aftertaste. Sooo frickin delicious. I’m ordering online to try the other flavors. Premier Protein is ok for me, but the Fairlife ones absolutely taste like a cheat.

My costco has them in boxes in the Protein Shake area next to PP, they don’t come refrigerated.

Looking for feedback on an idea. I was thinking of making a veggie Soup in my instant pot, then blending it so it’s more liquid-phase compliant.

I’m so tired of Protein Shakes and broth, I could scream, and I don’t love canned soup. My only big concern is the tomatoes - my program says no tomatoes/tomato products for the first 3 months because they have too much acid.

Anyone done something similar, or have any recipes?

Thanks @caybot it’s nice to hear someone understands. I’m a big food lover, too, cook almost everything from scratch. My kids and husband are all used to it, so I don’t think I planned well enough for them to do things differently.

And yeah, food has been my lifelong friend. More than anyone/anything else. I know brighter days are ahead, but it’s tough to have to walk away after cooking a delicious meal. That’s my only coping mechanism so far, and it’s not great. Leaving my 5 year old and 2 year old twins at the table with my husband isn’t a great long term solution!

Day 5 post-op over here. Getting a lot better every day, still a lot of pain around one of my incisions, which is causing some back pain too.

Why is the food part already hard, guys?? 😫 Why am I sad when my family eats without me, sad thinking about all the stuff I’ll never have again, wishing I could go back to being fat and eat whatever I want.

I’m a mom of 3, all 5 & under, so I’m the chef at least twice a day, sometimes 3x a day. I have cooked at least 4 meals since surgery. It’s hard every time. Why? It’s just scrambled eggs? Why is it so tough.

I’m not even hungry, I don’t think? I just miss eating. And I miss not hurting.

Hey everyone, I’m finally post-op. Surgery was Wed 7/27, everything was textbook.

I have to admit, I’m in a lot more pain than I thought I’d be experiencing. Got rid of the gas okay by day 2, because I walked around a lot and did a lot of deep coughing. I haven’t taken any pain meds, only Tylenol the whole time. And I haven’t drunk anything but Water.

I’m on the evening of day 2, and my abdomen still hurts a lot. Definitely the big incision on the right side, but also my lower back and side. I feel like I have a stitch in my side almost all the time.

Also on day 2, I vomited, I think after the last dose of Zofran wore off. A wave of nausea just came over me really hard, and I threw up. No water, just mucus type stuff? Gross, sorry. It was too late to talk to the surgeon bc it happened after 5pm. I felt better, and haven’t thrown up since. From what I’ve read, it’s pretty common in VSG patients, especially women and those who have severe motion sickness (which I do). Hoping it’s gone away for good.

For those who are post-op, how long did you stay in the hospital? My pre-op class isn’t til tomorrow, but I’m curious.

On 7/11/2022 at 12:32 PM, KevinS62 said:

I may be the only guy in this thread. My surgery date is July 14, so only three days from now.

That's ok, we'll still allow you in

Good luck on Thursday, let us know how it goes!

46 minutes ago, Rosiep37 said:

Post op July 8th, a little bit of pain still, this was my first surgery ever but I do not regret it and am very happy

I had my gallbladder taken out laparoscopically, and I swear the most painful part was getting rid of all the gas they used to create space for the instruments during surgery.

Any of our July people post-op yet? How's it going so far??

47 minutes ago, DJackson1973 said:

VSG tomorrow @9am. I’m excited and nervous.

Yikes, it's happening!!!!

It's gonna go great, you totally got this!

On 7/8/2022 at 6:26 AM, KimA-GA said:

I am over 40 with over a 60 BMI… I under the struggle and hope to have surgery in October. I am working on my food issues which got me here. It’s tough but worth it!

Best of luck to you! The struggle is so very real.

On 7/7/2022 at 6:09 AM, The Greater Fool said:

1. Stay off the scale. It's a tool of the devil to destroy your spirit and mess with your mind. Your plan will work without getting on a scale;

2. Stay on plan. Be a plan nazi. Follow the (hopefully rational) rules all the time. Make your rules your new normal where following your plan is as normal as breathing. In my opinion, this shouldn't be another crash diet, it should be learning a new way to eat for life; I had WLS to never be on a crash diet again and here I am having never been on a crash diet again;

3. Don't do what you can't sustain. For me, I know I couldn't sustain going to a gym, so I didn't do it. Of course, running is one of those things I wouldn't have thought I could sustain, but after I lost a few hundred pounds I challenged myself to complete the couch to 5K program. I enjoyed it so much it turned into binge running. So...

4. Be open to trying new things, but don't be a slave to them; I never thought I would get into binge running, but for me it was like meditating. I would listen to audio books and just let my mind go with the story. It set the tone for the day; Unfortunately, carrying 1/4 ton extra pounds around for a lot of years takes it's tolls on the knees;

5. Stay off the scale; Honest, read the posts here, easily half of them are people fussing about the scale; I only weighed at monthly Follow-ups and I never saw a stall. It helped that I was too large for a home scale. Eventually I could weigh at home and for a couple weeks I weighed at home! A few times a day, just because I could. Then I stopped. Even now I don't weigh at home, but only at annual physicals;

6. The first weeks may be painful and difficult in ways you haven't imagined. Or you may sail through without any issues at all. Or something between. Be resolved that you will not worry about them until they occur then deal with them knowing that this too shall pass. Just get through it with your natural style and grace;

Good luck,

Tek

This is all beyond helpful, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time.

It's really helping me get my mind right even in the pre-op phase of this journey.

On 7/7/2022 at 4:11 AM, kcuster83 said:

I am 38 and started with a BMI of 57! Three and a half months post op my BMI is now 43!

I am not far enough out to talk about long term success but as far as I am concerned (and my team), right now I am killin' it!

I had an easy recovery and easily slipped through each phase and into my new normal life. I wish I did it 10 years ago. My surgery was extensive, basically 3 surgeries in 1. (Bypass, Hernia repair and esophagus repair and "trimming" due to damage from the years of GERD.... Took about 5 hours.

I know everyone is different, but I also know positive stories help when people have the jitters.

I was/am pretty healthy. My only medical issues were high blood pressure and severe GERD. So I didn't have a lot of risk with surgery other than the normal risks that just come with any surgery.

My surgery was extensive, basically 3 surgeries in 1.

 PS: Bypass seems to have cured my GERD!

You got this! Relax and enjoy the ride, it is so rewarding when you see your efforts paying off!

100 in 3 months is unbelievable - way to make the most of the tool you've been given!! Super inspiring!

2 hours ago, The Greater Fool said:

I was 45 when I had Gastric Bypass. I weighed about 1/4 ton over what I should. I lost all my excess weight and then some.

My proudest achievements are that I've run 5 marathons. I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge, with a broken rib but that's a story of it's own.

I've gone horseback riding on vacation which was a dream of my spouse's. I've kayaked on vacation also. All things I never even dreamt of doing.

My dreams pre-op were more basic: Bathing in a bathtub. With my spouse. Rolling over in bed without the 3 step roll. Not breaking chairs.

Going from 6x to no x's. I'm able to buy clothes off the shelf. From not flying to flying in coach. To having to choose restaurants that had strong chairs, to sitting anywhere including booths, chairs, folding chairs.

At this point it's hard to remember everything. I would have thought this impossible and would think anyone saying this was simply boasting, but here I am.

Don't get me wrong, there have been downsides... They don't come to mind, but they've been there

Good luck,

Tek

I don’t think a marathon is in the cards for me, but wow, it’s amazing that you did!!

any tips for a noob who’s about to start this journey?

Anyone who is over 40 and has a BMI over 50? Looking for someone in similar circumstances to me, so I can get an idea of what to expect in terms of weight loss.

Even better if you have a success story!! Starting to feel real nervous over here, surgery date is approaching so fast ...

On 7/5/2022 at 2:40 PM, daynuhlicious said:

It is going relatively well. I made it through the 4th only because the family didn't really have some big cookout. Probably because of me, which I am thankful for.

Day 6 of 14 now. So I do 4 Protein Shakes a day. For the first 12 days I can have unlimited non-starchy vegetables, 1 serving of fruit, and 1tbsp (I think) of fats (butter for veggies or half an avocado.

I have been sticking to just the Protein shakes as much as possible though and only use the veggies etc when I feel like I'm gonna die. As if the morning of Day 5 I was down 6 lbs.

Edit: Also helps that the hubs is doing it with me as much as he can. He works in a lumberyard so the heat and manual labor he needs his energy, but if he can, he will just drink Protein Shakes so I'm not alone. And if he does cheat I don't know about it, so I don't want to as well

Good for you, sticking to it!! So hard, especially without the positive feedback of quick weight loss post-surgery.

I agree that having a partner eat outside the home is super important. When I was doing a liquid-only diet (kinda like Optifast but a different brand through my Dr office), I was shocked how some friends and boyfriends would intentionally sabotage me by eating around me when they didn't absolutely have to. If you're starving, fine, I get it; but if it's just boredom eating or whatever, take it elsewhere!

Just now, Sheila22 said:

Today did not go well. When I got to the hospital to sign in. I was told that my surgery was canceled, because I tested positive for covid on Saturday. I know have to reschedule my surgery.

Sent from my SM-G998U using BariatricPal mobile app

Oh no!! I hope you're feeling ok, and that they get you rescheduled soon.

Maybe they have some kind of scheduling flexibility in place for instances like this? You cannot possibly be the only one. Crossing my fingers for you!

On 7/1/2022 at 12:02 PM, daynuhlicious said:

So my surgery was originally July 6th, but it got moved to the 14th. I am on Day 2 of the pre op diet. Pray for me. 😂

How's the diet going? Did you make it through the 4th ok?

What's on your diet plan?

Not gonna lie to y’all … I’m reading about and looking at waaaayyyyyy too much plastic surgery content. Like my brain has skipped over all the VSG work/effort/difficulty. I need to rein it back in and concentrate on the next step, instead of 10 steps down the road!

Hi everyone! Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Posting because I have an actual surgery date: July 27. Looking forward to this being my new Independence Day!

Hoping to find others who are on a similar timeline.