BigSue

From what I've read on this forum, many (most) of us have a lot of trouble meeting our fluids goals first the first couple of weeks after surgery. It's harder than it looks, and no matter how much you read about it, you can't fully understand until you actually go through it (which is why most surgeons don't understand how hard it is, and give us overly ambitious goals). It got a lot easier for me after the first few weeks. I'm 8 months out now and have no trouble at all drinking fluids. I can drink water just as quickly as I did before surgery. I suggest trying warm beverages like tea, coffee, or protein hot cocoa. My favorite beverage is Crio Bru, which is cacao beans that you brew like coffee. It's delicious with a little almond milk and sugar-free flavored syrup. In my early post-op days, I found that warm beverages went down more easily than cold.

I used this recipe (but I only baked them for 1 hour and 15 minutes): https://thesugarfreediva.com/how-to-make-sugar-free-meringue-cookies/ And this sweetener (I've seen a lot of recipes that call for powdered Swerve, but that's pretty expensive): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Granulated-No-Calorie-Sweetener-Value-Pack-19-4-oz/37415080 I made this batch with egg whites from a carton, and I only used the equivalent of 3 egg whites because I have found that the carton's idea of one egg white is more than an egg white from a whole egg. Also, I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer and it is too powerful to use on high for this recipe. I only turn it up to 6 -- any higher than that and the egg whites will be over-beaten and collapse in the oven.

Sugar-free meringue cookies -- egg whites, cream of tartar, zero-calorie sweetener, and flavoring (this batch is vanilla marshmallow). Ready to bake: Out of the oven: The number of cookies depends on how big you make them; I got 64 out of this batch and split it into 4 servings of 16 cookies. 19 calories for this whole plate:

I also take a walk outside every day (usually 1-1.5 miles, and sometimes one or two shorter walks), but I do the workout videos for cardio.

I really wanted to like the Body Project workouts, but the guy who leads those doesn't follow the beat of the music and it drove me crazy. I don't always follow the Leslie Sansone steps (I did at first, though) because I find that my heart rate drops during certain steps, so I do something else during those. And when I do back-to-back videos, I don't want my heart rate to drop, so I do different and/or faster steps during the cooldown/stretch of the one that's ending and the warmup of the next one. I don't like the ones with complicated steps because I don't like having to slow down or stop to watch what they're doing and try to get it right, and I feel like I'm not getting as much out of the workout if I'm not doing the steps. I also find it stressful; sometimes by the time I figure out one move, they've already moved on to the next one!

Thanks for the recommendation! I don't think I've seen this guy; I'll try one of his tomorrow. I've tried some other ones that look similar to Leslie Sansone, but the problems I usually run into are that (1) they don't follow the beat of the music, and/or (2) the steps are too complicated or change too often/without warning. Part of it may just be that Leslie's videos are the first ones I tried, so I'm used to them and I know what to expect and don't have to think too hard. I've done most of the ones that are available on YouTube many times; I do 30-50 minutes every day, so I often do 2 or 3 shorter ones back-to-back so I can mix it up a bit. My favorite Leslie Sansone videos are the ones with Nick as the walk leader. I wish there were more of those. It's funny because he annoyed me at first, when I saw him in the background of videos led by Leslie, because he just looks way too happy to be exercising, but he's pretty funny and seems to have a genuinely positive attitude. I still wouldn't say it's "fun" but it doesn't seem as onerous when I do his videos. I also think he does a better job of leading the walks than Leslie because he always gives a heads up when he's about to change steps and he is honest when he counts down (it kind of drives me crazy when Leslie counts down from 8 and I think we're done with that step and then she does 12 more).

Lucky you! I had a 2-week pre-op diet. The first week was 3 protein shakes plus one small meal per day, and the second week was just 4 protein shakes per day. It was rough! But yes, pre-op diets vary a lot, and some surgeons don't even require them (except for the last day before surgery, like yours). The purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver to make it easier for the surgeon to access your stomach. Some surgeons go on a case-by-case basis, so if your BMI is on the lower end (~40) and/or you don't carry a lot of weight in the midsection, the surgeon may not think it is necessary. Some surgeons are comfortable working around the liver even if it hasn't shrunk. The bottom line is, your surgeon knows what he or she is doing, so as long as you follow your surgeon's instructions, you should be fine.

Well... I basically hate everything about exercising. I hate spending time on it. I hate getting sweaty. I hate the way it feels. I hate exerting myself. I've always hated exercise and I'm pretty sure I always will. I have never been able to understand people who claim to enjoy exercise. I can't even believe it because it makes zero sense to me. I go for exercise I can do at home because the gym is just about my worst nightmare (plus, I live in a rural area, so I'd have to drive a long way just to get to a gym), but even working out at home sucks. I highly doubt I would find any exercise "fun," but I have thought about getting a stationary bike with the idea of being able to watch TV while I work out. One of the things I hate about exercise is having to spend time on it. When I do the workout videos, I have to watch and listen to the videos, so I can't really be watching or listening to anything else at the same time. But even with exercise bikes, the popular ones are based on classes where you're supposed to follow the workout on the screen. Plus, they are expensive and take up a lot of space. Fortunately, I haven't had any issues with any food I have eaten so far, but I have stuck very closely to what my program says I should and shouldn't eat. I haven't even tried a bite of bread, pasta, rice, deep-fried food, or anything with a lot of sugar (my program says not to exceed 15 grams of sugar in a meal, and I haven't come anywhere close to that) since my surgery. I haven't experience dumping syndrome, but I haven't eaten anything that should cause it, so I don't know if I would or not. There are so many great and healthy foods that I can and do eat that I am perfectly content when I am eating, but I still have the memories of the foods I used to eat and when I see other people eating them, it stirs up those memories. I miss being able to scarf down half a pizza, or a juicy hamburger on a big, fluffy bun, or a cream-filled doughnut, or a big slice of cheesecake with sugary toppings, etc.

I use IdealLean protein by IdealFit. The birthday cake flavor is my favorite (especially to mix into yogurt), and they have some other delicious flavors, too (I like chocolate brownie, chocolate coconut, and mint chocolate).

That is brilliant! I wish more doctors would take this approach. One of my biggest regrets in life is all of the years I spent yo-yo dieting. The first time I went on a diet as a pre-teen, I wasn't even that fat, but I got stuck in a cycle of dieting and gaining it all back plus more. I honestly think that if I had known then about how harmful yo-yo dieting is, I never would have ended up so big that I needed weight loss surgery. Maybe if I had a doctor or dietitian who had told me all of this, I could have found my "best weight" instead of striving for something that I couldn't sustain. I am still trying to figure out what this looks like for my post-surgery self. I have been doing everything right since my surgery -- eating the right foods and quantities, drinking plenty of water, working out every day -- but it is exhausting and I often wonder how long I will be able to keep it up. For me, I think working out will be the sticking point because I hate it. I found something that I can put up with (Leslie Sansone videos on YouTube -- I've tried other ones but they all seem to fall short of Leslie's), but I still dread it. I get up early so I can get it out of the way before work, but I hate getting up so early, too. I am actually pretty good with the food because I have found so many delicious bariatric-friendly recipes that I truly enjoy eating, although I still feel sad sometimes when I see other people enjoying food that I can't eat.

I am 8 months out and up until the last month or so, I usually needed protein powder to reach my goal of 60 grams of protein per day. It varies from one person to the next (and your surgeon may recommend a different protein goal than mine), but it could be a while before you can eat enough to get all of your protein from food. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to drink protein shakes every day (I know we all get sick of those); you can mix protein powder into other foods or beverages (a lot of people like to use caramel protein shake as a coffee creamer). My go-to breakfast for a long time was half a scoop of protein powder mixed with half a container of triple zero Greek yogurt, for a total of 19 grams of protein (my favorite combo is birthday cake protein powder plus vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries). Another good one is protein oatmeal. The BariatricPal store sells some with 15 grams of protein per serving, and you can add some more protein powder to that. There are a lot of protein pancake mixes on the market (and you can even buy frozen protein pancakes and waffles). Eggs, chicken sausage, and turkey bacon are always good high-protein options for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, I usually have about 2 ounces of meat and 2 ounces of veggies, like a salad with chicken, or BBQ chicken (with sugar-free BBQ sauce) and air-fried veggies (green beans, asparagus, carrots, or broccoli), or lettuce wraps (like PF Chang's). Another favorite is Mexican-seasoned chicken with cauliflower rice, salsa, black beans, cheese, and nonfat Greek yogurt. And taco bites, with Quest chili lime protein chips topped with Mexican-seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and nonfat Greek yogurt. You can't eat much at this point, so you have to keep it simple and focus on protein. I love my air fryer and Instant Pot and I make a lot of recipes with them, but if you don't have those, you can find similar recipes that use other cooking methods. Here are some great recipes that I've made recently: Chicken Divan with cauliflower cream sauce (the cauliflower cream sauce is fantastic and can be used as a white sauce in a lot of recipes) Instant Pot Carnitas Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries Buffalo Cauliflower (I make it in the air fryer) Turkey Ragu (excellent with Shelly's Ricotta Bake, roasted spaghetti squash, or shirataki noodles) Instant Pot Egg Bites Instant Pot BBQ chicken White Chicken Chili I have a freezer full of bariatric portioned meals and Pinterest boards full of more recipes that I'm dying to try! If you don't already use Pinterest, you definitely should -- it's a gold mine.

I'm sure you look great and you would get a lot of positive comments if you chose to post a picture... I find that I am often surprised by what is considered "overweight." I guess because I spent so long being really, really big, that if I saw a person with a BMI under, say, 30, I'd consider that person thin! (But now, my BMI is under 30 and I don't think I am thin.)

Wow... I'm sorry to hear people on this forum have been so rude. You lost over 100 pounds and kept it off for 3 years, so you clearly did something right! I was never really aiming for a specific goal weight -- I'm in it for the non-scale goals. I started out with a BMI over 60, so I never expected to be skinny, and in fact, I wasn't sure if I'd ever make it out of the obesity range. Even if I didn't, I'd still say a BMI of 35 was a big improvement over a BMI of 60. It's easy to be perfect and follow the rules during the honeymoon period, but I'm more concerned about the long term. I pay really close attention to those of you who are a few years out and try to learn from your experiences. I think it's important to figure out a sustainable lifestyle and not fall back into the trap of yo-yo dieting that most of us have probably done in the past. I'm still trying to figure out how to strike that balance and grateful to be able to learn from those who went before me.

I wanted to get home as soon as possible, too, but don't be in TOO much of a rush to get home. The nice thing about being in the hospital is that they pump you full of IV fluids, so you don't have to worry about getting dehydrated. It's hard to drink enough fluids for the first week or so, so the IV fluids are a big help.

I only stayed one night. I had my surgery on a Thursday morning and I was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Keep in mind that it can depend on how you're doing. If you have any complications or problems, they might want to keep you in the hospital for longer.

Nobody noticed (or at least commented on) my weight lost until I had lost 110 pounds!

Yeah, I've lost 180 pounds and I still have a big belly. It's not just loose skin -- there's definitely still some fat in there that does not want to go away. I'm having a hard time figuring out the right size of clothing to buy because if I go by my actual waist measurement around the middle of my belly, everything is too big. And I don't leave the house without wearing a shaping cami.

Skinny Chicken Divan (https://lillieeatsandtells.com/skinny-chicken-divan-cauliflower-cream-sauce/) This is a great recipe for a nice "comfort food" casserole. It uses a cauliflower cream sauce that is surprisingly tasty, and now I want to experiment with using it in other recipes as a substitution for white sauce. I made a few minor changes to the recipe. I used a little more chicken and less broccoli (I just used a 12-ounce bag of fresh broccoli florets, which you can see was plenty). Instead of bread for the topping, I used chopped-up pork rinds (which I always thought were unhealthy since they're fried, but it turns out they are surprisingly high in protein) and ranch seasoning. I don't like to mess with recipes too much the first time I make them, but next time I make this, I think I will cook the chicken with some onions and garlic, and not shred it as finely (I was lazy and shredded it in my stand mixer). The broccoli is a bit overcooked for my taste because I decided to try cooking it in my Instant Pot, and even 1 minute with quick release turned out to be too long. I'm thinking it might not even need to be pre-cooked. I forgot to take a picture of the full pan before I took out my serving... My 4-ounce serving (the whole pan was 50 ounces, or 12.5 servings like this):

I don’t think you need to worry about this... I’m single with no kids and I don’t have any family nearby. I didn’t tell anyone about my surgery, so I didn’t even have anyone to pick me up from the hospital, let alone stay with me as a “support person.” I hired someone from a home care agency to pick me up and bring me home from the hospital. It was not an issue at all. And you’re right — with the COVID situation, most hospitals aren’t even allowing visitors right now. Mine didn’t. The nurses and hospital staff will take care of your medical needs, and while it might be nice to have a companion/support person, it is really not necessary.

Carnitas burrito bowl (Instant Pot pork carnitas, riced cauliflower, salsa, and homemade pico de gallo).

@catwoman7, just out of curiosity, how many times have you gotten to that drop-dead weight (if you don't mind saying)?

Well... I'm the wrong person to ask because I'm super cautious about food safety, and I err on the side of overcooking meat. I don't take it off the heat until it's at a safe temperature (plus at least a few more degrees just to be safe). I also ruin it by stabbing it in multiple places with a thermometer (just to make sure!), which lets a lot of juices out. Dark meat is very forgiving, so it was still very juicy even though it was cooked a little more than necessary.

I fired up my smoker today for 10 pounds of leg quarters and 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Finished product (this is the smallest one): Took 2 ounces from that one to put on a salad for lunch: And 2 ounces with sugar-free BBQ sauce and a side of asparagus for dinner: Smoked chicken freezes well, so the rest of it's going in the freezer. I'll have plenty of chicken for weeks!

This is a very common question, but it's weird how many posts there have been this weekend alone from people concerned about their rate of weight loss... Everybody loses at a different rate. It annoys me when surgeons tell people how quickly they "should" be losing weight, when they should know full well that there are many factors -- many of which are outside of the patient's control -- that can affect the rate of weight loss after surgery. The bottom line is that if you're following the program and your weight is decreasing (even if it's slow), you're fine. For your specific case, you had a low starting weight. The less you have to lose, and the closer you get to your goal, the more slowly it will go. I started at 341 pounds (down to 270 on surgery day), so I had WAY more to lose than you. You can't expect to lose as quickly as someone who started 100+ pounds higher, so don't compare your weight loss to someone else's. Just be patient and stick with your program, and the weight will come off.

Those look delicious! I love green beans. My favorite frozen green beans are Steamfresh (I don't steam them in the bag, though). I also got some good ones from Trader Joe's for a great price.