AZhiker

My surgeon told me to walk an hour a day, or 10,000 steps. Also told us to get a step tracker. We also got a little book to log our food, protein, calories, exercise, fluids - really helpful. I plan what to eat the night before. This gives me an absolute plan that could change a little but I know exactly what I am eating, how many calories, and how much protein I am getting. I also walk my 10,000 steps a day, and climb 10 flights of stairs a day. Your friend needs to use this time to establish new lifestyle changes. If she doesn't, she won't lose the weight or will gain it all back when the appetite returns in the 2nd year, She needs to adopt an attitude of "I'M NEVER GOING BACK!" That kind of determination is what separates those who keep the weight off and those who don't. (Not that this is a totally blanket statement, but research shows that once cheating and compromise begins, weight comes back.) Your friend needs to get moving and embrace the new lifestyle opportunity she has been given. Surgery is not a magic pill - it is only a tool, but we still have to do our part.

I was a daily coffee drinker for a long time. I switched to decaf about a month before surgery, and afterwards, lost my desire for it altogether! Now I enjoy all flavors of herbal tea. Even green tastes sweet to me now - not bitter like before surgery. I drink broth - bone broth has 10 gm protein per cup. The best is a mixture of beef/chicken/turkey. Or I make my own, which tastes a lot better. Sometimes I drink naturally flavored, unsweetened seltzer water. I open it up and let it sit overnight to de-fizz. But my all time favorite is my green water! I have a large vegetable garden, and I am not allowed to eat any of it yet! Bah humbug! My post op instructions said to drink clear liquids that do not have calories or caffeine. So I put lots of my garden greens (kale, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli leaves, bok choy, arugula, etc) in my blender with water. I strain the sloppy mixture and then filter it with a coffee filter. I then have a vitamin rich, tasty (tastes like fresh salad) drink that I sip, add to soup, and add to my smoothies. My doctor about came unglued at my 2 week appt when she saw it - she thought I was cheating. But I pointed out that it was clear with virtually no calories, and a heck of a lot healthier than Crystal Lite, Diet Jello, or anything with artificial sweetener or colors. Besides, it made me much happier psychologically to be using something from my garden. She agreed it was OK. I make up a bottle of it every few days and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.

There is a lot of swelling and tissue trauma after surgery. Once this goes down, you will see that scale go down, too. Once a started losing again, the weight was coming off at 1 pound per day. WOW! I thought I was going to be one of those super-losers! But now I am at the 3 week stall. It is so good to know that this is common. Just gotta keep doing the right things and be patient. It will come off when it's ready.

2 weeks, but careful not to exceed lifting restrictions. I get more steps at home than I do at work, so it has been a challenge since going back. I walk the halls at every break. I

I was given heparin injections before surgery and while in the hospital, but did not get the Lovenox injections for two weeks after, like some of you have related. For any future major operations (and I hope there are not!) it will be something to definitely bring up! I wonder if the fact that I have varicose veins increased by risk. And maybe that I am older - 63? Who knows. Just glad it is resolving. Just got 11,000 steps and 10 flights of stairs in!

Well, it happened to me! A few days after surgery I noticed pain, swelling, hardness in a couple of my pet varicose veins. There was no deep pain, redness or swelling of the calf, and I was able to flex my foot fully without pain (the usual signs of DVT.) I kept exercising and used a heating pad. I started my walking activity ASAP after surgery. I was the first one in my surgical group to be out of bed and walking the hallway. By my 2 week appointment I was doing 10,000 steps a day. So this was not due to inactivity. At my 2 week appt, I told the NP about the sore veins and she ordered a Doppler ultrasound of my leg. To my great surprise, besides the superficial issues, there was a DVT! Fortunately it was not occluding the vein (or else I would have had the other symptoms). So I think it was caught early. I started on Xarelto(a blood thinner) and will be on that for a few more weeks. In the meantime, another varicose vein got hard and tender. So apparently, in spite of the compression stockings, SCDs (leg squeezers), and early ambulation, something triggered a little cascade of clots in my leg veins. I tell this story just to alert anyone else to report vein tenderness right away. Inflammation in the superficial veins could also mean something is going on in the deeper ones, as well. I am doing fine - still walking my all my steps, climbing stairs, and starting on weights now, Thankfully, this was caught early and that the treatment is easy (although not cheap.)

I read a recommendation from another surgeon to take Biotin 10,000 mcg to help prevent hair loss. I started this 2 weeks after surgery when I started the other vitamins, I'll let you know if it works. Might just be snake oil, but it can't hurt anything to try.

Congratulations! You look amazing and I can't imagine how good you must feel. You are an inspiration!

Due to insurance and scheduling issues, I had to wait 8 months before my surgery. This gave me a LOT of time to weigh the pros and cons, examine my motives, and get psychologically ready for the change. It is different from other surgeries - this is ELECTIVE. You are choosing to put yourself at risk. Like many others, I lost hundreds and hundreds of pounds on my own..... only to have it all come back, plus. After a life time of this, my metabolism was totally screwed up and the brain-stomach-hormone mechanism was also screwed up. I had no "stop button." I never felt full. I ate very healthy food, but could never stop once started. Meanwhile, I had given up, wheat, sugar, all artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, alcohol, caffeine. I ate nothing fried, only healthy grains, my homegrown veggies/poultry/ and eggs. I maintained an active lifestyle with my garden and animals. One day, feeling afraid of the surgery, I suggested to my PCP that perhaps I should just try again to do it on my own. She very kindly told me, "If you could have done it on your own, you would have." She was right. I was just fooling myself, maybe thinking I was weak for not being able to do it on my own. But I came to the realization that my body would NEVER lose weight because of all the damage I had previously done. Weight Loss Surgery was the final tool I needed to bring my metabolism and hormone mechanisms back to a more normal baseline. I was still scared, even laying on the Pre-op bed, I was crying and told my surgeon I was just scared about making such a big decision for an elective procedure. He reassured me that none of his patients had ever come back to him and said they wished they had never done it. He was right. I am only 3 weeks post op. I did have a complication that has now been handled, and I can say that my life looks so different. I feel better already, having lost 31 pounds since beginning the pre-op diet. I am very, very glad, even at this early point, for having done the surgery. I think this is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Preop, it is like you are looking up at a cloud layer that is obscuring the sun. All you see are shadows (doubts.) Afterwards, it is like you are flying above the clouds in the sunshine, looking down at the clouds that are now bright and white. It's all about the perspective of where you are, and you can never get above the cloud layer unless you bravely make the decision to go forward. That being said, you must be determined that you will do everything you can after surgery to be successful. No cheating, no compromise. Surgery is a tool - you still have to do your part. My best suggestion is to give up all addictions BEFORE surgery so you don't have to deal with them on top of the recovery. (Caffeine, sugar, simple carbs, processed foods, artificial anything, alcohol, and of course smoking.) Determine that these are lifestyle changes that you will never go back to. That is my slogan: "I'M NEVER GOING BACK!"

I was really scared, too. I mean, this is a big surgery and it's ELECTIVE - not like an appendectomy that you don't have a choice about. You are opening a whole new chapter of your life - one that will change you forever in a very good way. Hang in there! Walk through that door to a new life waiting for you! The volunteers at my hospital make little firm pillows for helping with coughing and moving - like getting out of bed. See if they have something like that - firmer than a regular bed pillow. My little pillow was my best friend for about 10 days! Also - wear your compression stockings at home if you have varicose veins. I ended up with superficial thrombophlebitis in my varicose veins which is very painful. It would have helped for me to wear my stockings more.

By the way, corn is one of the foods that can really spike insulin levels. So I, too, gave up the popcorn, as well as my beloved tortilla chips. IT JUST ISN'T WORTH IT! (My new favorite saying.) Corn isn't worth dying for when there are better options. Good health IS worth living for! Sorry corn, but you gotta go! (You know what they feed cows and hogs to fatten them, right?)

I had to do a 2 week pre-op diet and by the 2nd week I was famished! Basically a starvation liquid diet without the appetite suppressing benefits of surgery, But it's important and will jump start your weight loss, shrink your liver, and get you used to what you will be doing for a couple of weeks post op. I am now 2 weeks post op and still on the same thing and I am hungry now! It's been 4 weeks of fluids and protein supplements. I see my doctor tomorrow and I will have my first soft protein food tomorrow for dinner !!!! Yippee! Can hardly wait. The pre-op diet is the first stage of your new lifestyle. Embrace it! You are on your way to becoming the new you!

I was doing IF with 18/6 daily plan (fast 18 hours and eat during a 6 hour slot) before surgery. It was very satisfying and I really felt good doing it. However, think I need to wait a bit until I can start again. I am only 2 weeks postop and totally focusing on my fluids and protein now, Once I can get enough protein and nutrition into my daily menus, I will go back to IF. Actually at only 230 calories a day now, It's basically continual fasting! My brother was 50 pounds overweight. He was able to take off 30 with exercise and healthy eating, but then stalled. He didn't change anything in his eating plan except to start IF and then lost the extra 20. Everything I have read points to IF as a very healthy practice - so much so that it extends lifespan. The pre chemo fasting has shown to be very beneficial. I am excited about hearing how others are doing this after surgery and how soon folks are able to start.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Maybe in 6 months or a year those folks will see successful weight loss as more important to their health than Diet Coke or champagne! But maybe they are OK with where they are. "Fat and happy" is how I hear some diabetics describe their lifestyle when they don't want to control their disease. The immediate gratification is more important than the long term benefits for a lot of people. But for those of us who value our health more than any pet food addiction, we will find a way to beat it. IT IS JUST NOT WORTH IT! There is no pet food that is worth dying for!

I would encourage you to give up the processed snacks. Switch to veggies, fruit, nuts. After surgery, every bite needs to be as nutritious as possible. Those snacky foods are just empty calories, but oh so addicting. It takes some reframing to learn to enjoy veggies and raw nuts more than processed snacks, but think of the health benefits, the better nutrition, and less temptation later, I am gluten intolerant, so that eliminates a lot for me, but I LOVE tortilla chips. I could sit and eat an entire bag. But now I know that can never happen again or I will undermine my weight loss. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!! They must never come in my house again! Maybe eventually I will go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, and maybe then a few chips will be OK, but there will be a built in limitation. Today, I am experimenting with dehydrating some turnip and rutabaga slices (from my garden) in hopes of finding a great tasting, low calorie chip like snack. Sweet potatoes make great chips, but are higher in calories. Soooooo………. my plan is to have a healthy, crunchy little snack I can incorporate into my new lifestyle that will HELP and not hurt my weight loss. I also gave up ALL processed foods - basically anything that comes out of a box, bag, or can that I didn't prepare. My whole grains are grains - not flour. Quinoa, millet, brown rice, amaranth, steel cut oats are side dishes, as are beans and lentils. This sort of food is so filling, doesn't shoot the insulin levels up, and makes you feel good. Best wishes as you plan toward surgery with healthy goals! (Cheetos are poison! Congrats on giving them up!) You will not regret the choices you are making now! I cannot imagine going through caffeine or sugar withdrawal after surgery. It is hard enough as it is.

I think the intermittent fasting was the key. The meals and snacks are planned, and with limited hours to eat, it sort of controls itself. Also realizing that every time you eat or snack, you get an insulin spike, which drives calories into fat storage. Limiting the number of food intake episodes during the day, means fewer insulin surges. The fasting period gives your cells time to rebuild, get rid of wastes, knock off the "Zombie" cells, and basically rejuvenate. I am just trying to get all the nutritional requirements in now, but perhaps at 6 months I will be able to return to the IF routine. At that point, any snack foods will have to be planned into the time schedule. IF makes your eating more mindful and controlled. You look forward to the delicious healthy meals you have already planned. I was happy to see that this has helped me so far in my post op journey. Although I cannot eat solids yet, I already have my future menu cards written out! I have also been observing how MANY triggers to eating there are - TV ads, someone else snacking, watching TV, smells, even feeding the cat! Seems like everyone is eating all the time! This is really hard, but these were my mindless triggers before surgery - I was just not aware of them. So maybe the key is recognizing the triggers for what they are, drinking a glass of water, and going for a walk. I also have some hand work (sewing) to do while I watch TV to keep my hands busy. The bottom line is that snacking is a habit that is fueled by food addiction that tickles the pleasure receptors in our brain, releasing endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine - the "feel good" chemicals. We can use all sorts of tools to distract and redirect the behavior, but in the end, we need to deal with the addiction. Exercise also releases endorphins, and I am personally trying to get 10,000 steps per day, which means starting out with about an hour of walking every day, This is really helping to boost confidence, reduce stress, fight depression and self pity, and I hope will build a really strong tactic for dealing this snack cravings in the future, especially when I can start eating those foods again.

Had my bypass on Feb 7. That first week was rough, with sharp pains in the upper right and lower left that required medication. But now 2 weeks out, there is just some nagging, intermittent sharpness in the lower left. I have to be careful with how I roll out of bed. Our bumpy road is not fun! I did not lose weight in that first week, I think due to swelling and trauma of all the tissues. But now am losing 1 pound/day with a total of 27 pounds off since the 2 week pre-op liquid diet. The first week was also awful with smelly, unpredictable, explosive gas. This stopped almost immediately when I switched to a different protein supplement. I am so grateful to have found this forum. My local support group is an hour away, and it is very reassuring to find so much support, encouragement and information here,

I knew that surgery was going to be very hard, requiring discipline and a new way of eating. Wanting to give myself every chance for success, I tried to give up every addiction I could PRIOR to surgery, so that the battle would be less complex afterward. Prior to surgery I gave up sugar (my joints never felt better!), caffeine, soda, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, processed foods, and snacking. I also started 16/8 Intermittent Fasting. I had already given up wheat/gluten several years ago, I was never a smoker. The sugar, caffeine and snacking were especially hard, but I am SOOOOO thankful I am not dealing with those now that I am only 2 weeks post op. I would suggest this to anyone in their preop period. Get rid of the junk NOW! You don't need to deal with cravings after surgery - food deprivation is enough! It will give you the confidence to comply with the post-op restrictions, and will set you up for a much healthier life style for life.

I am 2 weeks post op, and started out using the chocolate Premier Protein. It was hard to get the volume down, but it started to taste soooooo sweet - like chocolate syrup. I also had unbelievable explosive gas/stool that was smelly, unpredictable, and very unpleasant. Prior to surgery I had given up sugar and all artificial sweetners, colors, and flavoring. I think I was reacting to the very artificially flavored PP. I switched to a very pure powdered protein that I mix myself with half the volume. I am using BioChem 100% Whey Isolate Protein that I got at Whole Foods. Nothing artificial in it. The gas stopped by the next day and the lower volume is easier to get down. Now my poor husband has to return 4 cases of Premier Protein.

Hi, I am new to the forum. I am just 12 days post op, and I am hungry, too. I am also a bit light headed and dizzy if I get behind on the fluids. My doctor wanted me to start walking right away, working up to at least an hour/day and at least 10,000 steps. I am getting over 10,000 steps now, and did my first post op hike yesterday - but only eating about 230 calories per day from the broth and protein shakes. I should start the soft protein foods in a couple of days which should double the daily caloric intake. I am hoping that will be satisfying - at least more than now. I have been surprised by the number of food triggers I am noticing - smells of food, the sight of someone reaching for a snack, commercials on TV, etc. I never resisted these before, so it is taking some real mental reframing as each one is encountered. Today was a big family dinner - Mexican food, and I cooked most of it. It was hard to watch everyone putting down my absolute favorite foods while I sipped my broth, but...… it was also amazing to see how MUCH everyone ate! A month ago, I would have eaten and eaten and eaten without being able to stop. So today I tried to reframe by thinking how wonderful just one bite of each of the dishes will take in a few months. So I am hungry, but I am also losing a pound per day, and I NEVER WANT TO GO BACK. This is hard work, for sure, and the mental part is definitely the hardest. BUT...… what choice is there really? I think regular therapy is a really good idea, because we absolutely cannot undermine the sacrifice we have made by having this surgery. I think the name of the game is mental reframing - looking at the triggers, hunger, and temptations through a new lens.