Pines

I had a funny one this week. I was walking along a hallway at work with someone I don’t see often. This person said, “I think you are shrinking” to which I responded, “Oh, I’ve never been very tall.” 30 minutes later I realized what he meant - LOL!

Yesterday I bought my first “regular” sized clothes in many, many years! (Maybe since high school which would have been 35+ years ago…) I’ve been wearing smaller plus-sized clothes (yes, a range of sizes) that I’ve had in storage from previous weight loss but they are all beginning to get loose too. I’m hoping to make it through summer in them but it was thrilling to find some well-fitting fall items for work. I was shopping with some plus-sized friends who have been very supportive but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it in front of them. Fun to celebrate it here though!

I had surgery on 3/6 of this year and am doing really well - losing steadily, no food issues, etc. I am still sleeping a ton though - feeling best getting 10 hours of sleep, which seems crazy to me. I used to go on 6-7 and never felt tired. I’m assuming it’s the extreme calorie deficit and will ask my doctor at my next appointment, but wondered if anyone else had the same experience?

I eat out a lot, both for work and in my personal life. I feel like I’ve been navigating menus alright and making good choices. It didn’t take long though for the takeout containers to take over my fridge and my garbage. And take up so much room in the trash! So I bought a four pack of square plastic food containers (Glad brand, I think) that are about sandwich size. I keep them in my car and stick one in my purse when I go into a restaurant. They seal well and don’t spill in my car, store leftovers better in my fridge, and are less wasteful. Might be tricky with restaurants that want to wrap up leftovers themselves but I’ve been able to use them ok so far. A friend recently said she wondered why she never thought to do that, so thought I’d share here.

When were you able to start eating raw vegetables? I’m only six weeks VSG PO so I know I have awhile to wait but don’t see an approximate timeline in my program materials so wondered. I had a couple of tiny slivers of peeled cucumber today (chewed to nothing) and they tasted SO GOOD! I have a follow-up in two weeks, so will ask then, just curious about others experience.

How are you struggling, Jah’linah? There are so many very experienced people on this board, I hope you’ll ask for help with whatever you are struggling with. I’m a newbie like you, but there are people here who have been in our shoes and they freely share great information. Blessings to you too, surgery twin! ?

Yes. I would sleep more than I thought possible during the day and then sleep all night. I think I stopped napping at around a week after surgery. Sleep is good for recovery.

Still on liquids here but was scoping out a split pea soup recipe to make for purées - fingers crossed starting on Monday! The recipe said it makes a gallon of soup. The visual of me scooping 1/4 C out of the gallon of soup did make me laugh. Yes, bariatric cookbook too but I really like the book so am not complaining. Will definitely cut that one down… ?. And freeze some.

I’m with ya! One more week…

Could you request another dietician in the practice? My dietician was amazing! I was still in the “investigative” mode when I had my first appointments, and my dietician really seemed to understand where I was coming from. She recommended a cookbook that changed my views about what post-surgery eating would be like. She also said all of the RDs regularly do the pre-op diet so they can make tweaks and adjustments. Clearly I can’t speak highly enough of my experience and hope you are able to find someone more supportive!

I second the suggestion of getting a few four packs and seeing what you like after surgery. I drank protein shakes the first couple of days when I could barely stay awake to drink them and get my water in. I liked the Fairlife ones the best but many like Premeir. I’m on day 8 of post-op full liquid now (3 weeks for my program) and have shifted toward the savory. I made a turkey bone broth and a beef Asian spiced bone broth before surgery and froze in pint containers. You can buy bone broth or bariatric broth packets as well. I've been rotating between those and “healthy” canned cream soups mixed with Fairlife milk - adding additional protein powder as needed. I spotted my miso in the back of the fridge tonight and am going to add that to the mix tomorrow. I strain everything I make through a fine mesh strainer and add plain protein powder to meet requirements. I think the variety of options is helping me get thru.

I’m no dietician and very new here as well, but if you really have no access to other food (hopefully on a temporary basis), could you just order the protein and veg? Maybe skip the rice and noodles? Consider adding another protein and veg combo like shrimp and veg instead of the lo-mein. I’ve noticed many Chinese restaurants have “diet” offerings with low oil sauces, sauces on the side, etc. And sorry, I’m only 8 days post-op so have no idea about food fixations at this point. ?

Had mine done on March 6 and so far, so good. The surgery went well and I was up and walking while in post-op. Been on the full liquid diet since Thursday and that seems to be going fine too. I made a banana cream pie shake today and really appreciated being able to make something, though I’ll admit the straining got a little tedious. The worst part for me was the shoulder pain due to the gas. I probably wouldn’t have taken any pain pills but took one to take the edge off the shoulder pain. It was gone the next morning anyway. And sleeping. I almost can’t believe the amount of time I’ve spent sleeping. I’m sure it’s helping the healing but I’ve never been a napper so sleeping so much feels strange. I’m sure that will subside as well.

Had mine done on March 6 and so far, so good. The surgery went well and I was up and walking while in post-op. Been on the full liquid diet since Thursday and that seems to be going fine too. I made a banana cream pie shake today and really appreciated being able to make something, though I’ll admit the straining got a little tedious. The worst part for me was the shoulder pain due to the gas. I probably wouldn’t have taken any pain pills but took one to take the edge off the shoulder pain. It was gone the next morning anyway. And sleeping. I almost can’t believe the amount of time I’ve spent sleeping. I’m sure it’s helping the healing but I’ve never been a napper so sleeping so much feels strange. I’m sure that will subside as well.

When hair thins after surgery, is loss more noticeable with shorter or longer hair? I’ve had a pixie style cut for years and just started growing it out. Now I’m wondering if I should keep the pixie cut until after the thinning stage? Surgery is next week so I have some time to let it grow