Rara

I am grateful to be making out ok despite losing my job last March.
I am grateful that my VSG happened as scheduled, that I am 2 weeks out with a basically fine recovery.
I am grateful for life, health, strength and family.

I am grateful to be making out ok despite losing my job last March.
I am grateful that my VSG happened as scheduled, that I am 2 weeks out with a basically fine recovery.
I am grateful for life, health, strength and family.

I am also super grateful for summer's end being in sight and for the rain we got recently! This may be controversial, but I am grateful for movie theaters re-opening. I am grateful for being prescribed an anti-depressant that seems to be helping lift the veil a bit. Great post idea!

I love this!

I'm grateful for the fact that I get to spend so much time with my kids this year.(even though the reason why sucks)

I'm grateful I finally got to have my sleeve surgery and that I have so many supporting family and friends.

And I'm so so thankful for my husband, who's done everything imaginable to make sure we could afford the surgery and that my recovery was comfortable. He's a good guy.

So what is everyone thankful for this week?
I am thankful that the summer heat is starting to subside here and I've been able to get outside for my walking again.
I'm also thankful that I haven't had any tolerance issues with any of the foods I've tried so far, though admittedly I have been playing it safe and not branching out too much yet.
I'm also thankful that my bosses informed me of my raise for this year and it is beyond generous.

I was only eating three times a day & probably only barely 1/3 cup. Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re not hungry or to get in a specific volume of food. Listen to your body. It will tell you how much you can eat & how frequently. be patient you don’t want to make yourself unwell or suffer more dumping attacks.
If you are really concerned about your calorie intake at this stage, sip some Soup, broth or a Protein Shake over a couple of hours. During my liquid stage, I ate two ‘meals’ a day & take hours to drink my Protein shake or soup. (I kept the soup in a thermos to keep it hot.) Plus they add to your Fluid intake for the day.

What kinds of things are you eating? When I started the pureed food stage, I was eating 2 ounces at a time, consisting of triple zero yogurt + Protein powder, sugar-free pudding + protein powder, pureed refried Beans + protein powder, unsweetened applesauce + protein powder, or cottage cheese. I have been eating three "meals" per day plus liquids (protein drinks, sugar-free popsicles, sugar-free Jello, protein Soups, etc.) in between. Are you tracking what you eat? I track everything in MyFitnessPal and I average around 400 calories per day.
I don't really feel full when I eat, but I don't feel hungry, either (haven't felt hungry since the surgery). I just measure out 2 ounces and eat it, and don't feel much different before and after the meal. I'm 5 weeks out and on the "soft food" stage, but I'm still mostly eating pureed foods and ricotta bake (definitely the best thing I've eaten since surgery and now my go-to dinner; I split the recipe into 8 portions and that's dinner for over a week). I just recently started adding half an ounce of canned chicken to my refried beans and ricotta bake meals.

I agree with catwoman, I think the smaller stomach and changes to hunger hormones and insulin processing are all immediate changes after surgery for most people. I am only a few weeks post op and eating about 600-650 calories right now in puréed diet and I am not hungry. I did feel hungry sometimes on the liquids only diet, for the first few weeks.

800 calories can actually be alot of food if you choose the right ones.
4oz of grilled chicken sprayed with avocado oil & seasonings is a measly 110 calories, and will likely be more than you can even take in in the early months.
3 cups of a mixed green salad with cucumber and carrots and a sugar free vinaigrette is less than 50 calories
1 cup of Pasta carbonara (made w/ two strips of bacon and 1 large egg) on shiratake noodles is 162 calories and is crazy filling.
Going low-cal and not feeling starved is def. possible, ESPECIALLY in the first few months.
Good Luck!
P.S. I did less than 800 cals a day until I reached goal (and even much much less in the first 3 months)
P.P.S. I figured it was just something I had to do get to where I wanted to be. I am almost 2 yrs post op now and have been maintaining my weight for over a year at much, much more calories.

Over the past year been getting PM about what App did i use and about gadgets /devices/issues So Here i go again. Repost from last December
First of all this is what i did and I have a tendency to not follow the rules. KEY to this post is you decide, Do not follow, If a gadget makes you happy and keeps you focused, Great, but this is a individual journey that you and only you can do! During the journey ,,,,,Do not stress out, panic, just adjust and make changes that allow you and only you to enjoy the journey to a healthy happy you.
1. Shakes: I must have spent a thousand dollars on pre made shakes and to me they suck! Once you figure out how to make them you can enjoy the challenge and make them into little hand grenades filled with Protein and vits and minerals
2. Scale: Yes you need one but do not drive yourself nuts weighing all the time - I weighted in on the 1st and 16th of the month
3. Apps : I found this to be a pain in the ass to use and record, but if you like them people here swear by them, But do not get so obsessed with you app you loose focus
4. Plates and gadgets. NO WAY am i sitting down with others with a baby plate, Look at the images on google for the size of a meal you should eat. Look at a 100 images and you are adults you should be able to portion just by view. Weighing you food is insane to me. But i am culinary trained i can eye a piece of fish or meat and know it is 5oz. I think we all know what a cup of veggies is about in size.
5. Clothes: I truly have looked like a homeless guy for the last year, In fact as sit here i have a 5x Colombia fishing shirt on. Used to be tight now its huge but comfortable. Enjoy donating the fatty clothes, Enjoy the change who cares what you wear, I realize if you have to work you need proper clothing but getting healthy is a better thing then losing your wardrobe. Nothing made me happier then donating Bags of clothes - Sure I kept a few but donated the rest - Huge walk in closet full now everything that fits takes up a little area.
6. Others/Co workers/ Family. This seems to be a problem with many here, I suggest you just get the screw you attitude and you are doing this for yourself. Who really cares what Betty in HR thinks. This is a topic is see all the time, People are mean and love to see failure in others. So they get envious as you succeed
7. Dietetic and Trainer: To me this is a key from Pre Op - However I do realize money is a issue, If you can not use one read read read and do not read here first. There are great books and plans available from Trained Nutritionists on web. Then read here because No two WLS people are the same. If time is a issue Meal prep with containers and such. I suggest a trainer. One of my greatest things was the elliptical with the video screen trainer. Love it. Little pricey but great and private, they have bikes and treadmills also

The moral here is there seem to be alot of new people here, run your own race and do not waste to much time on Gadgets and Issues of the surgery. Focus on your journey and the changes - Keep it simple, Keep it healthy, Keep it up!

Whoop! Hope I can keep this pace going. I’m sure it’ll slow, my initial rolling seven day average was around 10-12 for the first couple weeks and it’s been hovering right around 4lbs a week since. Once I got past the low energy stage I feel like hyper-mode has been activated. No food issues. I’m capable of eating anything it seems nothing disagrees with me, just making good choices every day, and the restriction is still very high, an ounce or two depending on what it is. Ate some raw jalapeños even. I haven’t been this light since college (in the 90s). Doesn’t seem possible... wish I did this years ago.

I haven't seen that outcomes calculator before. It's quite interesting. I'm three years post op, but I put in my data prior to surgery and it predicted that I would be 259lbs in my third year, I'm actually about 210. I think that calculator is pretty conservative, so it's definitely very realistic in what you can achieve. I think a lot of people, e.g. on these forums are doing much better than what would be predicted by that calculator, but it really is up to the individual.

The Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collective has a database of WLS outcomes, and they created a calculator that takes into account your height, weight, age, and gender to estimate your weight loss for each type of WLS. Of course, this is only an average and any individual's results can vary, but it should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
https://mbsc.arbormetrix.com/Registry/public/calculator/uiCalculator/7?menuId=1013

i always try to have a goal to keep me motivated. When i first started for example it was to run a mile. then a 5k and so on until i ran a half marathon. I find if im always chasing a goal, and not just doing it to lose weight, it helps me keep going. Good Luck!!

I'm incredibly shocked how well things are going right now (knock on wood), given that things didn't start incredibly well.
I had my sleeve done Monday morning. They tell me I was under just a bit over 4 hours. It was a robotic-assisted surgery. I'm not gunna lie, Monday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon when I was discharged were miserable. I had been suffering with severe Constipation the last 2 days of my preop diet, and that continued through the recovery period, with the abdominal pressure and distension pushing back upstream, which made ridding my system of the excess gas from the surgery extremely difficult. I hadn't slept a wink the night before surgery, and only got about an hour Monday night after surgery, so by Tuesday afternoon I was running on empty.
The gas proceeded to work it's way out of my system, and by mid-day yesterday I was back to some semblance of normal. Luckily I did not experience any gas being trapped in joints, under shoulder blades, etc.
The only real side effects I'm feeling are soreness... more discomfort than pain I would say. They sent me home with Oxycodone, but I've avoided it, not wanting to go down that road, and luckily Tylenol has been sufficient. I just need to be careful when turning, twisting, picking things up, etc. I can't sleep on my sides, and sleeping on my back is not natural for me, so that's an issue for the moment, but that will resolve itself in time.
I've had no problem keeping full liquids down. I've not even had the remotest urge to vomit even once, so I must be pacing myself well. My biggest problem is not wanting to eat. I'm forcing myself to get in at least 3 Protein Shakes per day, but that is more than sufficient for me right now. I don't feel the need to eat more than that. I am, however making sure that I get all my Vitamins, and am drinking copious amounts of water/Crystal Light/etc. throughout the day.
I went out for two 15-minute walks at a brisk pace today, and they were lovely.
I'm down 6 pounds from Monday preop, so I'm quite pleased thus far... I hope this portends the future.

Today marks my 1 year anniversary for me and my weight loss surgery. Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Start weight 245lbs
Current weight 159lbs
Goal weight 130lbs
The hardest part is trying to get this last 30 lbs off and they my Tummy Tuck.< a class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image" href="/monthly_2020_07/20200707_142725.jpg.0057148de973703c2cbbd16db5d233bf.jpg" data-fileid="102851" rel=""> 
Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Yay, after reading these forums for the past year I can finally post!
I'll be having my VSG on July 20th, which just happens to be my birthday!

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Hang in there!! It will all be worth it!!!

Had it 7 years ago and never thought it was all that painful, though gas pain can be a beast at times for a while. Hurts in the shoulders. However it’s a journey for a few months for most people. Highs and lows. I had dehydration issues, low blood pressure, times I thought I broke the sleeve and on and on. But 7 years later all is well and I’ve kept off 63 of the 85 pounds I lost. It could be all 85 but the surgery was on my stomach not my brain. Stomach sends right message but brain sometimes ignores. None of it is easy but it’s sure easier than trying to do it all on your own.