ShoppGirl

Have you tried the protein waters yet? Some people like them better than the shakes. Also, if you have a recliner, some people find that mkre comfortable for sleep for a while.

Double check with your team before incorporating any weights. My team said no intense exercise till 6 weeks and 8’weeks for any weights. I am a month out and called today and asked if it was okay to go up to an hour walking around the neighborhood (which I actually did last night but then read about waiting until six weeks and got scared). She said one hour collectively is fine but she would rather see me break that into two or three shorter walks so today I did 15 minutes in the morning and planned to do 30 tonight but I judged it wrong and it was 45. It’s a leisurely walk though. Not at all fast so I think it’s fine. in terms of the drinking an eating, some peoples pouches are more inflamed and it takes a little longer for the swelling to go down. You will be able to drink and eat bigger sips and bites eventually. Never the same as before but bigger. It can feel like a bit of a full time job to get In all the vitamins, protein and fluids for a while but it gets easier. As long as you are not drinking or eating past when you feel full, it sounds like you are doing fine!! And tell your husband he is awesome too for walking with you!! Mine encourages me, and like tonight he made my Salmon on the grill while I was gone but he never offered to actually go with me.

I was wrong. Baritastic does let me enter a recipe and just log the portion that I eat I just wasn’t looking in the right place. Thank you all for your suggestions, though. I really do appreciate this community for always being so eager to help with anything. ❤️

Hummm. I’m really hoping they do will go away for us both. I would’ve thought with weight loss they would be less obvious too but mine is still pretty noticeable. Ooh well, I guess in the whole scheme of things it’s not the end of the world if it’s just cosmetic. I’m really sorry to hear that you got the foamies. Fingers crossed I’ve never had that. I hope you can avoid it from now on. Sounds like it’s not fun at all.

I will definitely ask about that. Thanks.

@summerseeker your post reminded me to make sure if you do order a mixed drink to ask for it weak at least the first few times you go out. Just until you know how your body handles it. Sometimes if the bartender likes you they think they are being nice or doing you a favor by making your drink stronger or they just pour heavy for everyone but for us that could be a bad thing.

My book for soft foods say 1/2 to 3/4 cups of food but to stop when you feel full. Which I’m guessing you guys are getting sick of my saying but they didn’t operate on my stomach so I don’t feel full on these small servings. I made an omelette though with 3 eggs, 1/2 cup veggies and 1/3 cup shredded reduced fat cheese and I put it in the measuring cup to see and half fit in the cup. That is actually a lot more food than I thought and I’m kinda scared to eat that much before I’m healed.

Well your not totally off base if your okay with the bypass. It’s a little more aggressive so it carries with it a little more risk than the sleeve. The reason they do the sleeve I believe is because it’s a bit safer and it is adequate for many people to lose and keep it off but there are some (like me) with regain that need a revision and some that need revision because of GERD and other complications. I would ask the surgeon what percentage of patients need revision because of inadequate loss and/or regain and what percentage for GERD. I believe I read somewhere that it’s 26% need revision but I would definitely not swear to it and I am not sure if that was just for weight or for complications too. I think even if you do end up having to wait it is a good call to get all of your questions answered and feel confident in your decision that it is what’s best for you.

When I had the sleeve I tried it at home first. I figured if it was gonna make me feel bad I would rather it happen at home than when I was out.

Well I showed the NP (nurse practitioner) last week and she said she isn’t concerned yet because I still have swelling but the steri strip was still on it and it didn’t look as bad as it does now (to me at least). I have another appointment Monday so I will show her again. It is on my right side and that’s where I get pain when I get it. It’s not really bad pain it’s just not like the left side where I have no pain. So I really don’t know. I am hoping that maybe the stitches are just too tight and when they dissolve it may go back to normal.

Well if your not healed enough don’t do it too soon and when you do start, start out way less time and speed than before. I started with 30 minutes but it was slow and I just went down to the end of the street and back a couple of times so that if it hurt I could stop sooner. Even last night I did an hour but I just went around the block a few times so if I was ready to quit earlier I wouldn’t be far from home. Glad to hear you finally got a good nights sleep though. Lack of sleep can definitely take a toll on you and it makes me feel pretty bad all day.

Tonight I did a full hour walking. I did like 2.7 miles or something like that. It wasn’t speed walking or anything but that’s 2.7 miles more than i Was doing 4 days ago.

I forget who it was that said that they have an incision that’s dented in but their surgeon said it will work its way out but has it? Mine is still dented and it’s almost been a month. ?

Thanks. I’m actually looking for shorts that are to be seen but just something basic to walk around the neighborhood for exercise. I broke down and bought some bike shorts to wear until I find something I like better and I guess they aren’t awful. I just don’t feel super confident in them.

Btw you magic quiche looks good. ?

I have actually been sleeping better. I think it’s because of the exercise BUt, my sleep schedule is off. I stay up later and sleep in ever since the surgery. If I wake up early I have to take a nap. If you are prone to tossing and turning a lot during the night I could see where you may be moving in a few at that hurts a bit and wakes you up though??

Awesome. Thank you both. I need to check to see which of those I have available to me. Especially since I know that I will be eating them again and I will eventually eat more than one meatball. I did figure out how you can enter a meals name then enter in all the macros yourself but I would definitely rather just use one that calculates that all for me. .

Thank you for validating what I was feeling on the treadmill. I was trying to watch tv which was not directly in front of me too because it’s angled from the corner of the room but the treadmill was too close to it (kinda hard to explain) anyways, it did hurt my stomach worse so I had to quit. Also, mine can’t really go 2.0 mph. Anything less than 3.0 and it sputters…..is that the right word? I thought maybe it was my weight because I remember I was close to the high weight for it last time before I had surgery but that would make it 250 and I’m 228 now and it worked then at 335. In any case it’s really hard to keep my balance when that’s going on so I upped the speed and that didn’t hurt at first but caught up to me. I just don’t understand the bar that you cannot reach, lol, that thing makes no sense to me as I’m wishing I had something to grab and keep my balance. Awesome job sticking to just your protein and nothing more at the hospital. Especially when bored and worried about him and probably tired and all the things that would make us want to eat before all of this. Congratulations on getting cleared for soft foods. I started mine yesterday and it was so nice to be able to chew something. On that website that was suggested the fitness coach said she told her patients to do two bites of protein and one of veggie and I sorta stuck to that. I still obviously have to supplement with shakes that way but I would anyways so I figured it’s good for me to get into that habit. Hopefully my team will agree that is a good strategy. I’m not sure how early you get up but my time varies so I set alarms beginning at 9AM for my vitamins. I have been getting up at 8 and that works great I drink my protein shake and take my multi vitamin and stool softener by 9. Then the three calcium’s are 12, 3 and 6. Then at 9 I take my magnesium and stool softener. Basically every 3 hours I take something. I also added reminders in the Baritastic App so I can check it off each time which helps me to not question if I just turned off the alarm or if I actually took it. I’m really hoping they don’t add anything else or I will have to wake up in the middle of the night to take vitamins ? Congratulations on your non scale victory. I’m sure that others can see your 30 pound loss. It’s sometimes difficult for us to see in the mirror. It’s called body dysmorphia. People chat about it all the time in here who have lost 100 pounds and don’t see it. Three things that may help are side by side photos, taking measurements and if you look on Amazon they have a replica of one or five pounds of fat. You can visualize SIX of them big five pounders and see that IS ALOT!! it’s great that you are evaluating your hungry feeling to see if they are from the actual need for nutrition. When the hunger came back for me post sleeve that’s when things started to go wrong for me. I started giving into those feelings and I hadn’t changed my diet enough so the larger portions and more frequent meals and snacks added up quicker than if it was healthy foods. That’s why this time every healthy meal I make and actually like is a huge win for me as something to put into my Arsenal for when I am feeling hunger again. it sounds like you are really starting to get back into your groove. I’m so glad to hear it. Keep allowing yourself to take them little naps if you need them. It takes a while to get back to 100%’ from any major surgery. Never mind on the reduced calories we are taking in.

I’m so sorry to hear about the lasagna. If that’s your favorite I bet you will really enjoy the ricotta bake when you get to purée. It’s basically lasagna without the noodles Just be sure the marinate doesn’t have chunks or that you purée it if it does. I’m so glad to hear that you finally feel ready. Good luck tomorrow.

First of all Happy Birthday. ? and congrats on your 20 pounds loss and your first non scale victory (the stairs) ?. The chili was a really good choice and good for you sticking to a couple of bites of the cake. Your husband sounds super sweet and supportive. They actually have a birthday cake yogurt too. I can’t remember what brand it was but went I seen it I was like ooh I’ll have to remember that. I do log my food. I actually use the Baritastic App and it has worked great so far but i ran into a snag with it tonight. I made Turkey meatballs and it does have Turkey meatballs in the database but I’m pretty sure they are smaller than mine were because one meatball was way less calories than I estimated. I wish it had a way to add a recipe and say how many servings you had. I like the app because my phone is always with me and it also notifies you to take your vitamins and to drink and all that if you set it up. Plus you can log your measurements and weight. The book certainly is sufficient too if that’s what works for you though.

Well tonight was kind of a bummer. Started off great when my Turkey meatballs were so INCREDIBLE and even my hubby was like you made these? Like not from a bag? And they are healthy?? I was like yes, yes, seriously yes. He was like these are really good. He actually eats relatively healthy but it’s all just chicken or fish and a vegetable. Nothing with more than two ingredients. ? So now for my dissapointment. I have walked two nights now and last night messed up my time but the rain stopped. Tonight it is almost dark and still raining pretty hard. Well my husband moved my little folding treadmill onto the back porch and set it up for me. I did ten minutes before my right side started to hurt (like in my belly) so I stopped. I am thinking that it is because that thing is so narrow and it uses core muscles to balance on it?? It’s not like the big wide ones at the gym since it’s portable it’s much smaller. Anyways I am Just bummed. I set my alarm for early tomorrow at sunrise. I’m already in my workout clothes and I didn’t sweat so I’m just going to sleep in them and the plan is to get up, put my shoes on and go. I imagine I will come home and nap after I shower but thats okay I guess. Well, enough from me. I hope everyone else has had a really good holiday weekend and didn’t eat too far off plan if you went to any holiday BBQ’s. I was invited a couple of places but they were just courtesy invites. They know I can’t ever handle the heat. I used to go and leave in 20 minutes but now I don’t even bother. With any luck, next year that will be different. ?

I have been doing really good with the Baritastic App logging everything until now. I made homemade Turkey Meatballs with Peppers and onions and marinara for dinner but I have no clue how to log it. It made 16 meatballs and I’m early out so I plan to eat one but the only way I knke to do it is to say like 1oz Turkey, and literally reduce all the ingredients down dividing by 16 but that’s pretty hard and how do you enter 1/16 of an egg lol. I know that there has to be an easier way to do it then that. If not, any other app suggestions so that I can add entire meals and then just enter the portion that I ate?

How are you doing?

I was one to think the purée phase was awful too. In fact when I had the sleeve I at the same two things over and over just because it sounded so repulsive to me. This time I got a food processor and was so glad. I still wasn’t a fan of the meat being puréed but I did purée almost everything else and after all the liquids some of it actually tasted pretty good. You can do it either way though. It will fly by. Ugh, teenagers can be so stupid sometimes. I remember doing some pretty disrespectful things as a teen that I am still ashamed of when I look back though. They just don’t get it yet. I’m glad that you didn’t let it stop you. I am one to worry about what others think which is why I am only starting to exercise outside now because I finally decided that this is for me and only me. If someone doesn’t want to see me trying to get healthier they can look away. Good call on the recipe books. Someone in my August surgery group also posted a really great website for recipes. I will share that one too. Most of it is free but they do have a subscription deal so some of it is blocked. I have been scrolling through since they shared it. There are over 600 recipes it says but like I said some of them are blocked unless you pay to be member. The lady is a dietician that creates the recipes so they really are good and healthy. Good Luck at your appt with the surgeon. ? https://www.bariatricfoodcoach.com/weight-loss-surgery-recipes/

Found another product that is really awesome. It’s called a running belt by HAWEEL, but I got it for walking. It’s like a Fanny pack but it’s flat and has three pockets. The middle one holds you phone and the one on the left zips opens at the top and the bottom and has a mesh pocket sewn into it that drops out so you can put a bottled water in there. It has an adjustable band so it I’ll work for many sizes (although I only have maybe 4 or 5 inches to spare with it loose enough to not bug my incisions and my waist is currently 45” so I’m thinking it goes up to 50” but will go down to our goal weights). It has another pocket for like a key and some cash and it’s water resistant plus it has a reflective strip across the front for if you get stuck out when it’s dark (doesn’t go across the back though so if you plan to be out in the dark I would get a sash or vest or whatever that’s reflective). Anyways it’s only $16!! There are others on AMAZON that only fit a certain size, won’t fit a water, don’t have the reflective strip and they are like $40 which we would need a new one every couple of months. I am so thrilled with this thing. Ooh and it also has a spot where your headphones can come out if you use corded ones. This is exactly what I needed to walk all around the neighborhood. The mesh bag also has a little strap to better secure the water so it doesn’t shake if you wanted to use it to jog or run. Just thought I’d pass it along. https://a.co/d/74c2Yps