Queen ApisM

This is where the "surgery as a tool" mindset comes into play. At some point, you will feel restriction, even if you don't now, but it's important not to rely on it too much to do the work. Personally, I have been working on eating to the point that I have had enough, but do not trigger the restrictive feeling. For me, restriction is quite unpleasant, so instead, I'm trying to focus on the hints my body is giving me that I am getting close without getting to the "oh crap I ate too much feeling." It is hard, and it sometimes is literally a forkful of food that can send you right over the edge and into discomfort. I've gotten good at spitting food out, if I need to do so.
For foods that don't trigger restriction (or don't seem to) I am careful about only allowing myself a serving or partial serving. One of my favorite Snacks is hummus and pretzel sticks. Don't ask me why, I hated pretzels before surgery, but it satisfies a need for a crunchy texture, and it is better than Cheetos. 🙂 But, I could easily overindulge so I start with some cheese sticks, since it is Protein and I know will fill me. Then, I portion out exactly how many sticks I can have. And then I make myself stop at that maximum or below. I do similar with other "forgiving" foods.
If chicken isn't affecting your restriction, you'll have to focus on Portion Control to get the same result. But, I also suspect that as you heal, your restriction levels will change, even with foods that previously didn't affect it much.

I had some work things come up early on, when I definitely was not eating regular stuff. In one case, a work lunch was organized at a place that literally had nothing I could eat. That was an extreme situation, to be sure, but I found an appetizer that would probably work, in case I couldn't gracefully bow out. No one knew of my surgery, just that I had a surgery, and I explained to my boss that I had food restrictions as I recover. He was cool with that and I was excused from the event. My colleagues all asked why I wasn't joining, and the same answer worked well. I didn't have to over explain and everyone was cool with it.
Since I have been on regular foods, it really has not been a problem even in some situations I thought people would notice. Most people are not paying attention to how much you eat. Just put stuff on the plate, and if you don't want it or are full, just stop eating. My first event once on real food again was an Indian wedding. The amounts I had on my plate matched what many of the thinner woman at the table were eating. I've become very good leaving food on the plate and not feeling guilty about it. I also had to cook for Thanksgiving which was about 3 months from surgery and it was totally fine. I was surprised at how much I didn't care that I couldn't eat much. I had tastes of my favorites, like stuffing, and even had pumpkin pie. It all worked out nicely AND I lost weight for once over that holiday!
My greatest challenge was just recently, at Orthodox Easter. I have a huge Greek family that eats crazy amount of food. I was convinced someone would notice - nope! I put enough on my plate that I could taste everything I wanted to taste, and no one noticed how much I did or did not eat.
I do think smaller gatherings like intimate holidays with people who know you will be tougher. I'd just put more food on my plate, move it around, and not eat it. It seems wasteful, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I

I had some work things come up early on, when I definitely was not eating regular stuff. In one case, a work lunch was organized at a place that literally had nothing I could eat. That was an extreme situation, to be sure, but I found an appetizer that would probably work, in case I couldn't gracefully bow out. No one knew of my surgery, just that I had a surgery, and I explained to my boss that I had food restrictions as I recover. He was cool with that and I was excused from the event. My colleagues all asked why I wasn't joining, and the same answer worked well. I didn't have to over explain and everyone was cool with it.
Since I have been on regular foods, it really has not been a problem even in some situations I thought people would notice. Most people are not paying attention to how much you eat. Just put stuff on the plate, and if you don't want it or are full, just stop eating. My first event once on real food again was an Indian wedding. The amounts I had on my plate matched what many of the thinner woman at the table were eating. I've become very good leaving food on the plate and not feeling guilty about it. I also had to cook for Thanksgiving which was about 3 months from surgery and it was totally fine. I was surprised at how much I didn't care that I couldn't eat much. I had tastes of my favorites, like stuffing, and even had pumpkin pie. It all worked out nicely AND I lost weight for once over that holiday!
My greatest challenge was just recently, at Orthodox Easter. I have a huge Greek family that eats crazy amount of food. I was convinced someone would notice - nope! I put enough on my plate that I could taste everything I wanted to taste, and no one noticed how much I did or did not eat.
I do think smaller gatherings like intimate holidays with people who know you will be tougher. I'd just put more food on my plate, move it around, and not eat it. It seems wasteful, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

I didn't feel that way the first month (needed so many naps) but after that? Holy cow! I have so much energy. I feel like the energizer bunny.

I didn't feel that way the first month (needed so many naps) but after that? Holy cow! I have so much energy. I feel like the energizer bunny.

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

I had an endoscopy and don't remember any gassiness or bloating. My throat was a little sore afterwards (understandable) but beyond that nothing. And I was half awake during most of it...!

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

Yesterday, I had to go get a medical test and was filling out the forms. When I got to the weight part, I wrote "385" and was going to move on to the next section, before my brain synapses fired and I realized I wrote the wrong number and needed to change that 3 to a 2! I've written that 3 in front of my weight for so long, it just became a habit... one I need to break because the 300s were 15 lbs ago. It was very satisfying to scribble out the 3 and make it a 2. 🙂

A good trainer should listen when you tell them important details, like that you just had abdominal surgery. You need to be able to tell them if something hurts or you are not in condition to move forward with an exercise. It's a fine line because they are there to push you past your comfort level, but there has to be good communication and trust.

Agree with others - if you are impatient to do more, focus on walking. I was working out with a trainer 2x a week even at my heaviest/right before surgery and used to do a lot of ab work (you'd never know looking at me, haha), heavy weights, all sorts of things most people wouldn't think I could do. But, I stopped all of that for a good 2 months after surgery. I did NOT want to pull anything or set myself back long term, so I was very careful. Even when I started back, we began with much lower weights and the ab work was very light for a while to ease back into it.
Also, I would caution that if you weren't doing more intensive exercise before surgery (I'm not sure if you were or not), that once you are cleared for taking on more, you ease into it. It is very easy to over train especially when we are in our post surgery high. 🙂 I'd recommend a few sessions with a trainer if that's in your budget. It really is helpful because they will be mindful of balancing your muscle groups, form, and also challenge you (safely) in ways you may not challenge yourself. Also, as we lose weight, the way we move changes which can cause different kinds of strain on the body you may be surprised by, as it adjusts.
I'm now 100 lbs down, and I am on an exercise high, having started adding in a lot more cardio on non-training days. I discovered the joy of streaming exercise video services!! But, I still have to mindful of what feels good for me at this weight, because even if I feel spry and want to hop around like a bunny rabbit, I'm still too heavy to be doing high impact work. That means modifying exercised to be low impact (lo-jacks vs jumping jacks, that kind of thing). 🙂

It could be the not hitting Protein goals. Also, the 3rd week stall is real. It could be that as well - it doesn't always happen at the 3rd week. But, my guess is it's not hitting the protein goals.
One idea: Bone Broth. That stuff is amazing. I found it more palatable than Protein Shakes sometimes (still made myself drink the shakes, but post surgery, the pre-packaged shakes were not my favorite). It has more protein than regular broth - I think about 9 g per cup. There are lots of brands you can try, some are even sold single serve if you want to give them a try. A few come in flavors, you just need to check that the flavored ones aren't high in things you don't want.
Also, I found the Protein Powder much better than prepackaged after surgery. I really like Unjury vanilla and chocolate Splendor flavors. Mixed it with unsweetened soy milk - so good! I found regular skim milk too sweet for the shakes.

I like:
Americano - Lady Gaga. Woo, that makes the legs go when on the elliptical
Rihanna. Hard to pick one song, they are all good.
There are more but if I have Gaga and Rihanna I am pretty much set.

I still eat every three-four hours and I am basically 10ish months out. I can't get close to my calorie goals if I don't, even with increased amounts at each meal versus where I was at two or three months out.
Having said that, early on as long as I was hitting my Protein and fluid goals, that's what I focused on most. I don't think I was eating 6x a day - more like 4 + a shake.

Oh, that definitely makes it harder. 😞 I had to force myself to eat for a long time because I just didn't care about food. You may need to do a little trial and error to figure out what works for you. Maybe try counting the 3 hours from what you finish eating for a week, and then try the other way, and see if one works better for you than the other? Just to mix it up.
It helped on my program that we could drink up until eating (no 30 min wait), and then did a 30 min wait afterwards. It helped free up more time in the day for getting it all in!

Oh this happened to me. I was self pay, and then they were charging me for some sort of pathology which should have been included, I tried to get that taken care of, and then I received a bill for $32,000. 🤨 The billing department was useless and made it worse, so I went straight to my surgeon's office and they put the kibosh on it way faster than I could. I'd reach out to your surgeon's office, esp if there is someone there you dealt with for payment and logistics, and see if they can help.

Oh, gosh, the super nose. My sense of smell was ridiculous for the first 3-4 months. It has backed off a bit in the past few months. It still more sensitive than it was in the beginning. I basically turned into a bloodhound and could smell everything.

Oh, gosh, the super nose. My sense of smell was ridiculous for the first 3-4 months. It has backed off a bit in the past few months. It still more sensitive than it was in the beginning. I basically turned into a bloodhound and could smell everything.

There is a lot of advice re: the scale and weight issue. Talk to your center and see what they have to say/think.
I'm going to focus on something else: I weighed your starting weight at my wedding, and I looked flipping amazing. It was my wedding. I was marrying the man I love and who loves me. All my family and friends were there and they were all happy for me. I look at pictures from then, and somehow, I do not complain that I looked fat, even though I certainly was still obese. I normally hate most pictures of myself, but I don't feel that way about my wedding because all I can is the happiness from the day and just revel in the happy memories. I am so excited just to get BACK to my wedding weight, much less lower than that.
I say this not to center attention on me, or make you feel bad, but to make the point that you shouldn't fixate on a certain number to make you beautiful or worthy for your wedding. You will have a beautiful day. Clearly, someone loves you and wants to marry you at your original weight, much less at your current one or some future one. Perhaps focus on that, because stressing over a number before your wedding isn't going to increase the likelihood of hitting that goal. In fact, quite the opposite.