notmyname

Lucky. I've lost 40# from my high weight (about 20# from surgery) and ALL of my clothes still basically fit. They're too large in the legs, but fit just fine at the waist/hips. I have some clothes in a smaller size and none of them even begin to fit. I'm doing measurements every month - so I'll see the numbers on that later this week.

Its funny, my therapist asked me how much I'd lost and I didn't know what to say - I have a spreadsheet with 3 totals: Total from my high weight, total from the day I started the pre-surgery diet, and total from surgery day. :)

Woo hoo. First soft food. 2oz of tilapia and a bit of puréed sweet potato. SOOOO good! Sure, I cheated and started 3 days early, but worth it. :)

I know you're asking about pre-surgery liquids, but I'd suggest stocking your freezer for the pureed food stage as well. I got a bunch of half cup glass mason jars and cooked and pureed some spinach, sweet potatoes, and black beans and froze them. It has been a life saver in my post-surgery weeks when I just haven't felt up to cooking. Now I just make sure I have at least one mason jar of each in the fridge defrosted to eat when I'm hungry.

I know some of us can totally relate to this. Just thought we could use a post Thanksgiving laugh.

I'm at the tail end of purees - start soft foods on Monday. I don't have any T-day plans (not much family and my friends are all out of town). So I'm having ricotta bake with a layer of spinach puree. For my snack, I made some homemade cocoa - 1 cup milk, 1 TBL cocoa powder, and a packet of stevia. Yum.

My last weigh in I was right on the threshold, so I expect to cross it next week when I weigh in (I'm only weighing on Mondays) and am ridiculously excited.

I have reflux and my surgeon also recommended bypass, but after some tests said the sleeve would be OK, so that's what we did. I'm surprised your doc said to do a revision if you don't lose 50% - my doc said I'd only have to do revision if my reflux became intolerable. he said that only something like 10% of sleevers get worse reflux and 4-6% of sleeves need to be revised to bypass. Even if I "only" lose 50%, I'll be delighted. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to lose more, but I'd be fine if the ultimate loss is the average 60% EWL.

Thanks!

FluffyChix - how did you format your photos with the text at the bottom? I'd love to do that? Thanks!

I just went back to work today, and went to the gym at work to walk on the treadmill (I don't like walking outside in my neighborhood). Pretty proud of myself. Trying to set myself up for good habits. I'm saving my favorite podcasts (NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell ME and Ask Me Another) for the treadmill so I can laugh while walking.

I start soft foods tomorrow. I am going to try some tilapia, but the frozen fillets are far too large for me to eat. I tried to cut it in half, but my knife couldn't cut the frozen fillet. Anyone have any tips? I'd like to just thaw what I'm planning to cook because I'm not a huge fan of leftover fish and I'm not sure how long frozen fish will last in the fridge. Thanks!

So, I need to Fred Flinstone this sucker? 🤣

Have you tried different types of protein powders? I didn't like the chocolate/vanilla ones very much (I do drink them, though), but I found that Syntrax Nectar offers some tasty ones. I like the Roadside Lemonade and Fuzzy Navel. They do get a bit foamy when you first mix them, but that goes down if you wait. I find that both need to be iced to taste good. Good luck. Synrax sells a trial pack, if you want to try them.

Anyone else having gum probs? My teeth are normally fairly healthy and all of a sudden my gums are bleeding like I’ve never seen a toothbrush in my life. :(. Starting to see gaps between my teeth at the gum line. And I’m only 2.5 weeks out. Tried to do some searching for other posts, but my search of “gums” all came back with chewing gum questions.

Weirdly, I can fit into a sweater a size down, but the yoga pants I’ve been wearing for ages are still tight, they feel tighter than they were before. 🤷‍♀️. I’m about 30# down since starting my pre-op liquid diet.

Height: 5'9”  Surgery Date: 10/29/18 Highest Weight: 316 Surgery Weight: 295 Current Weight: 282 Goal Weight: 219 (This likely seems high to most people, considering many of you HAD surgery at this weight. My doc sets the goal at 60% of EWL - which is the average weight loss for the sleeve. He said its likely I’ll lose 12-15 BMI points. I like that he’s conservative because it sets more realistic ideas for me. If I lose more, great. If I “only” get to 220, I’ve still lost almost 100 lbs)

Have you tried different flavors? I’ve had good luck with the unjury powders, and the syntrax nectar powders. I really like the syntrax because there are fruity flavors so it cuts up the monotony of chocolate (I love the fuzzy navel and lemonade). Syntrax has a sample pack.

I should have know the smooth rolling was too good to be true. Have been feeling good and getting in my protein/water since I got home. For some reason, yesterday was tough. I barely got my protein/liquids, but it was so much harder than the other days. And I DID.NOT.SLEEP. Some weird pain under my right collar bone - I’d had it when I did my breathing exercises, but it had been gone for about 4 days. Came back with a ROAR last night and I didn’t sleep a wink. So tired and in pain. Glad I have a doctor’s appt tomorrow. Maybe its because I couldn’t walk yesterday due to the rain?

I haven’t made the ricotta bake this way yet. I intend to take any of the ricotta bake recipes online and just add a layer of puréed butternut squash and maybe a layer of puréed spinach. This is the pasta sauce I make (reduce/eliminate sugar after surgery). I make a smaller batch and freeze in about half cup increments. For purée/soft food stage, I’ll run it through a blender. https://www.imamother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=270021 This is the original recipe, which once I’m on real food again, I’ll work on tweaking without the noodles. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-lasagna-0

I have one capsule that I have to empty to take. I put one swallow of water in my mouth, dump the capsule into that water (trying not to dump any of it on my lips or gums) and swallow. Then take another sip of water, swish it around my mouth, and swallow. It’s the only way I don’t get a nasty aftertaste.

Mine was Very watered down - basically tomato soup flavored water. I have some butternut squash soup, but it has brown sugar in it, so I’m not going to try that. You’ll get there!

I'm trying to approximate one of my favorite meals - Cooking Light's Butternut Squash lasagna (it also has a layer of spinach/onions, but I figure I should start a bit more simple than that) Luckily, I dont have a family to cook for. Although my friends usually ask me to make a pie. Which I might still do, given that I typically bring a pie I don't particularly like and will have no trouble avoiding.

I'll be at the tail end of puree stage, starting soft food stage by Thanksgiving. Assuming I'm able to eat this by then, I plan to make myself some baked ricotta for Thanksgiving and take it to my friend's house. It basically tastes like lasagna without the noodles. If I can really eat, I may put a thin layer of pureed butternut squash in the middle.

Sleeve 10/29. Lunch today - 4 oz TJ's tomato/feta soup with 4 oz water. Put in a blender, then strained through a sieve and heated up. Yum! Unfortunately, the first time I tried this, I tried to add a little protein powder and it clumped. Anyone know how to incorporate protein powder into soup without it becoming a gross clumpy mess? Question - I'm walking a couple times a day. I was measuring by the laps around my row of townhomes. I've now put on my fitbit, but not sure if I should set step goals or what they should be. How is everyone setting their walking goals after surgery (I'm not yet a week out). Thanks!