Edge13

I took my glasses, my phone, my Kindle to read (I read all night lol), a charger for both, my CPAP machine, deodorant, toothpaste/brush, and bluetooth earbuds. I wore slip on shoes, light sweatpants, and a button up shirt, because I knew they'd have me walking the halls that night. The hospital did end up providing toiletries, so I took those for nothing.

I'm 9 months out and do about 6 oz of moka pot coffee a day. For me, it curbs my appetite in a big way.

I track broadly. If something is 240 calories, my mind registers it as 300. Around 900 calories I just go with shakes, or fruits until the next day. I weigh daily, same time in the morning, and decide whether to analyze the prior days nutrition based on that number.🤷🏾‍♂️

I make the peanut butter "cookies". Peanut butter, an egg, and sweetener (I use honey, and only half the called for amount). Google any 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe. Easy to just grab one or two as a snack. Satisfies the craving, and the craving goes away eventually.

Fluids in the weeks after surgery. 6 oz water, 2 oz protein shake, an hour.

I think around then I baked cheese on parchment to make "nachos", then had them with sour cream, guac, and a very small bit of very mild salsa.

I really want a nice car, but have settled for just researching them lol. It's a compromise my logic and emotions can agree on.

Early on cravings might occupy your mind. I'm going to my 6 month next Monday. It gets easier, and more routine. Right now, my best advice to you is occupy your mind with something else. I used to throw my headphones on, water bottle in one hand, protein shake in the other, and go walking. If it's too early for that, reading is great, or binge a series, or play an involved video game. Anything to not think about food, and just get your 6 and 2 in.

I had bad sweet tooth cravings, but was able to get through it by eating oatmeal with some honey, or the banana fake ice cream. After about 3 months post surgery, the craving went away. Edit to add, even if you fill a cup with the sugar free whipped topping and put it in the freezer, it settles down to a sort of ice cream consistency. Just enough to get you by without hurting anything.

I didn't really consider the surgery until I had a health issue beyond obesity. Once I became diabetic, it was a no-brainer, and all fear was gone, because I've seen the bad ending with diabetes a couple times. Whatever happened on the table, I'd rather face WLS than diabetes. That I got to stay home for 6 weeks, play video games, and save on groceries, just helped seal the deal. 🤷🏽‍♂️ I do wish I had done the surgery sooner in life, when I was well, as you are now. The decade, and more, prior to the surgery would have been so much different. Best of luck to you.

2 months might be too early for a protein bar, but a protein shake will have you feeling great through the day. Maybe have a string cheese, or some cottage cheese for snacks.

This whole thread makes me kind of sad, and really appreciate the whole head shrink portion of the pre-op. I thought she was full of it when she talked about how people may act, but actually seeing it happen is a daily source of humor for me now. It wouldn't have been without her guidance; it might have been crushing. My advice is talk about it with the psychiatrist; you're paying for it. Worrying about what to tell people is giving them power over you. Whatever you decide, good luck.👍🏽

I use jojoba oil. I also work out. That's it. 🤷🏽‍♂️

I never took the pain pills. Drove about two weeks later.

Glad it worked out. FWIW, the head doc they make us see prior to surgery really goes over stuff like this in detail. It was honestly shocking when she brought up other people, because I couldn't understand why they'd even care, but she was right.

I've done the Wendy's chili; I just don't like it. Taco Bell, black beans for beef is a free substitution, so a few things can be modded to fit. Honestly, gas stations (as was mentioned) is my fast food on the go, primarily because they always have the crispy protein bars. One of those, and a cup of coffee, and I'm good.

Either one is going to give you a better chance to meet your goal. I had no clue what I was having when they put me under; I just knew I needed help. We were shooting for bypass, but if my prior hernia repairs would complicate it, he'd do a sleeve. Woke up with a bypass. 🤷🏽‍♂️ And I had horrible heartburn before the surgery. None now, but even knowing that, we'd have done a sleeve, and just dealt with the heartburn if we had to. Dropping the weight, kicking diabetes, being more energetic, all carried more weight than gerd.

I've tried the Equate, Muscle Milk, Premier, and the Pure Protein ones. By far, and I mean a lot, the Pure Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter shake is my favorite. That flavor tastes like low-fat milk, with just a dash of chocolate and peanut butter. It's so much lighter than the other shakes.

3.5 months out, and I eat nothing but spicy if I can. It's the only luxury I really afford myself. Even my sliced cucumbers with Italian dressing, I add Tajin and Matouks. Your stomach will let you know. It really is a luxury, because even though restrictions have been lifted, there's a lot of stuff, like chicken, that I just can't stomach yet, plus we're still dependant on protein supplements, so it's still 'restricted'. I wouldn't do it in the first couple months though.

This gave me the chuckles. So I don't try and analyze every pound, I only count in Emma's. Emma was a 12 pound rat terrier that everyone liked. I'm down just over 6 Emma's. Sobering indeed!

I use the pea protein, and mix it into split pea soup. Doesn't really alter the taste or texture.

Wishing you the best!

I'm just shy of three months post-op, and the incisions still itch like crazy.

5% seems very doable. The liver shrinking diet alone sheds a decent amount of weight.

Oh heck no! I want to be a skinny person, not fly like one! 😟 My NSV is I can fit in a Miata now.