Jobber

I was sleeved about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I'm a week into the pureed stage. I have a lot of times what I think is hunger, but it's the dreaded head hunger. My stomach will ache like it's hunger, but I'm sure it's still healing or dealing with the changes I'm giving it.

I'm learning to be very careful because even this early on, I'm still finding "slider" foods that are not filling me up. Just yesterday I pureed a can of New England clam chowder and ate the whole 2 cups of it. Since the potatoes and clams are not on my diet yet I felt it necessary to Ninja them up. Instead of the normal 100 calories or so that I'm getting with most pureed meat and veggies, I just got 400 in one sitting since I didn't get full. Other sliders for me have been yogurt, popsicles, and Protein Shakes.

I'm doing good with the purees, though, since I spent a lot of my first week running veggies, fruits and lean meats through the ninja and then used a food saver and froze them all flat. Works well and very healthy. Just have to be careful with other stuff, I'm finding.

Good luck to you

27 minutes ago, Frustr8 said:

Oh Jobber, the memory you brought back. Shortly after being diagnosed with DM#2, Late Lamented invested in a biggish bag of Haribo sugar free Bears, when I told him " Honey, you really don't need THOSE!" I was informed it was His Sweet Tooth and he would handle it as he saw fit. Well both my Grandfather here in Central Ohio and his from the Netherlands had the same basic saying " Them who don't listen, got to feel!" So in went the hand, it came out out full of those critters and into his gaping maw. 45 minutes later the tsunami hit! PraiseGod I was not in his pathway or I would have had Size 15 footprints all the over my poor self! And it went well on and on until he produced enough fertilizer to send to the nearest floral garden. Oh and moan and curse and turn the very air blue! He was the saddest 330 pound man even seen! One of the few Dutch phrases my aunt's in law taught me, told him Oppa said and of course I had to translate because he didn't bother with the language except for a few muttered curses he picked up when his own Daddy said when building their house and hit a thumb or two.
Best result: next thing I told him wasn't on a diabetic diet,he believed me. Gave a wide shoulder to sugar free candies from them on and didn't hear much more about" sweet teeth"!

I about spat out my drink reading this....thanks for the story 🤣

Ok, this may be hilarious and I apparently didn't learn my lesson the first time I did this several years ago, BUT.....

I stocked up on a bunch of "sugar free" hard candies and ate about 8 pieces in one sitting. I was like, "No biggie, it's less than 100 calories, right?". That's when the rumbling started, very low in the guts. They seemed to echo like a humpback whale in heat, starting very softly, but constant, ever increasing until they were able to be heard from across the room.

The look that my wife and kids gave me was not nearly as priceless as the look I gave them as I started the 10 yard dash to the bathroom. I won't go into the rest, but I recall a scene from Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd got back at Harry for stealing his date by dumping Turbolax 3000 in his coffee.... It was just as violent.

There's no dignity coming out of the bathroom afterwards, I tell you, but I should have remembered what sugar alcohols do to me when I over-indulge... That is a lesson I am not going to forget again, I hope....OMG 💩💩💩

I just started the pureed phase yesterday and I'm so happy that I've been pureeing things for the last month and vacuum sealing them in little pouches and freezing. Yesterday was shrimp and spinach, today is asparagus and strawberries. Not mixed...eww

This is a great topic, thanks for asking @bariutiful and thanks to the veterans for your insight. I was just sleeved last week and (for me) this is one of the core purposes of this site, to glean this kind of wisdom from people who are well ahead of myself. Awesome!

14 hours ago, sillykitty said:

But we are talking a sweet treat, not a meal ....

@GradyCat that pic looks delicious!

Good call, I'm not in maintenance mode, so neither is my mind right now.

Sounds delightful but too bad its still so full of fat and sodium with margarine and Peanut Butter. I've been using PBFit powder a lot as a PB substitute, only 35 calories per Tbsp.

My Dr. said that margarine is worse for you than actual butter.

If you have an admin contact at your surgeon's office, call or email and ask them for typical. When I asked, it was quite quick, but may not be the same as every surgeon schedules differently.

took me 4 to 5 days afterwards, but I was prescribed Miralax starting as soon as I got home. Only drinking shakes won't cause diarrhea because your digestive tract secretes waste that makes it solid. No issues after my first one. Just the size and quantity is much less then pre-op.

3 minutes ago, Poppyseed28 said:

Isn’t it nice to have something other than Clear Liquids?

Hell yeah with capital H!!!

First day of purees, soooo psyched!!!

Shrimp and spinach/muchroom purees.

On 11/22/2011 at 5:30 PM, cutie pie said:

found this video very informative... just thought i would share... i would forward it to about the 2:25 mark for the demonstration..

great explanation Hope this helps

This is incredibly helpful, thank you very much for sharing!!!

its very reasonable, I went to my PCP last july of 2018 and just had my surgery last week. Trust me, the time will go by quickly. I needed all of it to prepare mentally and change my bad habits through the nutrition classes and accountability. It's worth the wait.

58 minutes ago, Cameo325 said:

My surgeon recommended Pinterest to search for recipes.

Yes, THIS! The baked ricotta dish is awesome that I found and simple. Never thought I would be able to eat it, but it's great. Also, I'm pureeing a whole lot of fruit and then for veggies, I'm roasting them first with either lemon pepper or garlic, depending on what it is. Lots of greens and squashes. just make sure you're seasoning things but not over seasoning.

Had surgery last week and I returned to work today. I feel great and had no issues.

I'm only a week post-op and I learned on day 2 what it felt like for me. It was similar to the others here where I felt a pressure in the middle of my chest. One more bite after I got that and it turned into pain. It's such a weird feeling because I'm not satisfied when I'm full like my brain and stomach had formerly correlated, now my brain needs to turn this new feeling into satisfied somehow, I hope.

My surgery day is Tuesday as well. Good Luck to you.

2 hours ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

I was sleeping on a wedge before surgery and kept it afterward.

I absolutely love my wedge since I started my aPap machine. Even when I get thin enough to get rid of that thing, I'm keeping my wedge. Love it!!!

Honestly, the biggest fear that I have is long term success and my ability to stick to a healthy lifestyle.

I truly believe that even with a smaller stomach, if you're not filling it with vegetables, lean Protein and nuts, etc, nobody will be successful. My fear is never being able to have pizza, subs, chips, etc ever again because even a small amount will sabotage me.

Not sure where you biggest fears are, be it the surgery itself or being able to lose the weight during the "honeymoon" phase, but mine is completely wrapped up in what I will be able to do after that. I plan to adopt an exercise routine and healthy diet for the rest of my life, so when I do get to the phase when hunger and cravings come back, I'm prepared.

It's so easy to say that now, but I'm sure much harder to actually do it when people get to that phase.

Good luck to you in your decision and path forward.

My surgery is next Tuesday, so that's perfect . My goal is to not cheat on this preop diet before next Tuesday's procedure.

I've tried many different and I hate Premier Protein because of the metallic artificial sweetener taste it has. My favorite all around has been Body Fortress Isolate with unsweetened almond milk. They only have chocolate and vanilla in the isolate, but it's only 1 gr sugar. Their regular super advanced whey Protein has 3 gr and have many flavors, all of which I like, except Cookies and cream. I also mix the flavors for new combinations.

I am on day 7 of mine and I'm ready to stab someone (not literally). I think my family is keeping their distance due to my grumpiness and realize why I'm a bit flustered.

To your point, though, I am of the same mindset. I keep thinking about never having beer or pizza or other things I used to love again because I will never be successful long term if I don't change my habits while the honeymoon stage is in effect.

I'm drinking so many fluids I can never be far away from a washroom, it's kinda irritating, however, the big picture is always on my mind when I feel weak. Just don't let yourself be alone during this time and you won't be tempted to cheat, hopefully.

This post is truly inspirational. I am starting near the same weight and I'm having the same procedure. My surgery is in 11 days, I hope so much that I have results similar to yours.

You don't even look like the same person. AMAZING JOB!

This question is close to my heart since I went through a lot to get my wife on board with the surgery. Long story short, she couldn't be more on-board now, but just like most people who are not educated to the process of WLS, they are initially skeptical.

I never wanted to push this on her because I would not end up where I wanted to be in the end. I should elaborate; when I got to the point where I could check the boxes for all the "co-morbidities" associated with weight-loss surgery approval in the eyes of most insurance companies, I decided to talk to my doctor about it. I was very desperate to get off my medications and have not had much success with traditional dieting and exercise routines; nothing new for any of you, but this was the first time my doctor had ever suggested WLS for me. I started pursuing this idea by telling my wife what the Doctor said. Her verbal response did not convey a feeling either way, but her body language was quite negative.

I was excited at the prospect, but didn't want to convey it to her, since after 15 years of marriage, I knew she didn't like it, nor was she even remotely on-board. I basically told her that it's a 6 month process and that I wasn't really decided myself, (secretly I was decided) but I would still go through the whole process and decide near the end. After many nutrition appointments and meeting the different medical team members, she warmed to the idea by the last month.

I'm having my surgery very soon and we're both in a really good place.

Good Luck to you in your journey!

My diet is Breakfast: Protein Shake, Morning Snack: fruit, not to exceed 1/2 cup, Lunch: Protein shake, Afternoon Snack: Protein Shake or 6oz FF Yogurt, dinner 3-6oz Lean Protein and steamed veggie or garden salad with light vinaigrette, Evening snack (optional): Protein Shake.

It starts tomorrow for me, I am a bit nervous about it, but will be fine. I'm happy i'm not fully limited to liquid until the night before where it's all clear liquids.

Good Luck everyone!