NickelChip

Honestly, I would demand an explanation for why their program is so different than almost every established program out there and why the discharge papers contradict her instructions. Are you getting protein with the clear fluids? Also, I would want them to outline clearly what your food intake goals are going to be for the next several weeks. I've seen 2 Tbsp as a guideline on solid foods before for the first few months, but never limited to once a day. That's usually per meal, with 3-6 meals per day.

The day I got home from the hospital, I had two Premier Protein shakes. The next day, I had 2 protein shakes, 16oz of bone broth sipped over a very long period of time, and 2 Tbsp apple sauce. On day 3, I managed to eat 1/4 c of very thin Cream of Wheat made with high protein milk along with the 2 shakes. On day 4, I had 2 shakes and one 5oz cup of Greek yogurt. Even 4 weeks out, 1/2 cup of anything but soup in one sitting would be a challenge. But the only thing my doctor's office really cared about the first several days was fluids.

After only 4 days? I've seen dozens of people on this board say it took them a week. It might be time to take a dose of Miralax.

It took about three weeks to not feel exhausted. I'm 4 weeks out now and this si the first week I haven't felt like I could close my eyes and nod off at any moment.

What else is allowed on your program? Some are more lenient than others. Mine allowed tomato or strained cream soups, for example. Although lobster bisque has got to be one of the richest soups I've ever encountered. It's so full of calories and fat, not to mention lobster is not as easy to digest as, say, flaky white fish. I honestly can't imagine eating this 4 days post-op. Greek yogurt would be a healthier option, or strained cream of chicken soup. So, the issue with coffee is caffeine, which dehydrates. If you said you were getting 64+ oz water every day, no problem, I might shrug at a little bit of coffee. Some programs allow a cup a day. But given that you're struggling to hit even a much more modest 48oz goal, I wouldn't drink something that is known to dehydrate you. Could you try decaf instead? I drink a 32 oz travel mug of decaf tea every morning and it goes down so smoothly, better than water, and counts toward my hydration goal. Ultimately, taking a bite or sip of something forbidden isn't as big an issue as why you're doing it. When I am tempted to do something not approved on my plan, I have tried to ask myself why, and get to the bottom of it, because what can quickly undo all your best efforts and intentions is not being in a healthy headspace. Is there something going on that will continue to drive you to push the limits, or lead to a slippery slope? That's something only you can know. I totally understand how boring and disgusting the options get that first week post-op. But it's really such a short time. For me, my program allowed soft proteins at one week post-op. That's really not so long to wait. Your body doesn't need much right now. If you're like me, you don't even experience hunger yet. So "needing" something different is mostly head hunger, which can get a lot more dangerous as you go along. Bending the rules now makes it a lot more likely you will bend them later, too.

These all sound delicious!

This is what I was thinking of doing with my meals, prepare the size that's recommended and then eat it in 2 shifts if needed. I did speak to the nurse at my doctor's office yesterday about the recent vomiting and she wanted me to go back to liquids at least through today. Not sure if they'll want me to do any tests but she was going to check in with the surgeon and the dietician for their opinions and get back to me today.

Here is my 4-week post-op update: Highest weight: 251 Start of 2 week pre-op diet weight: 238 Day before surgery weight: 226 Today's weight: 214.8 I had a stall that began exactly at the 3-week post-surgery mark and lasted 7 days. Below are photos taken before surgery and this morning.

Well done! You're definitely making great progress.

Well, I think you look spectacular and very healthy. The transformation is absolutely stunning! I also think as our population trends heavier, we don't see the extra weight as much. I was a chubby kid, and I was like one of maybe 3 chubby kids in my entire grade, not just my class. I dieted like an idiot as a teen and got down to 126 lbs and I was nowhere close to the thinnest person in my friend group. Nobody said anything about me getting too skinny, for sure. I gained weight in college and by the time I graduated, I was overweight again, and obese by the time I hit my late 20s. I always felt like the biggest person in the room (at, like 210 lbs). But by the time I was in my mid-30s, I started seeing bigger people than me all around. Everyone was getting bigger. My weight went up to 225, but many of the parents of kids in my daughters' grades were way bigger than that. It almost had an insulating effect from my own weight gain, because I was no longer the biggest person in the room. I just kind of looked normal. When a friend heard I was getting bypass, her first response was "but you're not that big" and at this point I was 250 lbs with a 40+ BMI, plus high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. And this was from a person who is in the healthy BMI range and never been overweight. So I definitely think we've become so used to seeing larger people that we think "obese" is a term reserved for the people on television shows who weigh 600+ pounds. And, of course, the rapid weight loss from surgery is jarring so people notice it more. But don't let their comments get to you!

Excess body weight equals your starting weight minus your "ideal" body weight (not the highest weight in your healthy BMI range). You can calculate your ideal body weight here: https://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html You get several slightly different calculations with this, plus a healthy BMI range (in my case, 114.6-154.9). For me, 3 out of 4 calculations tell me my ideal weight is 130, so I'll go with that. It should be noted, that is not my "goal" weight. Keep in mind all of this is a guessing game, not an exact science.

Dang. That eliminates what I would say. I will say this, though. Did these same people tell you to your face you were "too fat" when you were obese and your weight was actively trying to shorten your lifespan? Or is it just your skinniness that worries them? Because you are right in the middle of a healthy weight range right now. You could drop to 125 lbs and STILL be 100% healthy and normal weight. So, if these people weren't telling you every day when you were 262 lbs how worried they were about your weight, I don't think I'd trust their judgement where weight is concerned. I'm not saying the comments don't come from a place of love, but they do seem to come from a place of ignorance.

I know I shouldn't complain because I'm feeling great and hitting my protein and water goals every day since I got home from the hospital, even tolerating soft proteins really well. If it weren't for the incisions and the lack of hunger, I'd almost forget I had anything done. But man, I would check my scale for bad batteries if I hadn't just changed them. My preop diet was a very exciting time as I was dropping weight like crazy. 15 lbs in 14 days! I was 238.8 on February 7, and the day before I went to the hospital, February 20, I weighed in at 223.4. I stayed off the scale after getting home because I knew I had IV fluids and all of that to flush out of my system. But I weighed myself today, 10 days post-op, and I'm down exactly 1 pound at 222.4. Color me underwhelmed. I know it's probably just an early appearance of the "3 week stall." Logically, I understand all the reasons for it to happen. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to kick something, specifically, my scale. My body will never miss an opportunity to mess with my head. Anybody else have a slower start after surgery than you were expecting? How long did it take to pick up the pace?

I hope talking to them about it will help! It's funny because everyone knows right now I can barely eat anything, but they all catch themselves offering me food because it's "polite." I'm eating dessert, want some? I made this big meal full of stuff you can't even look at right now, can I get you a plate? And then I see it on their faces, it's like oh, wait... But since you're dealing with regain, it's good that you are figuring out your triggers and asking others to help you avoid them now so you can have the best chance for success the second time around.

You can take my advice with a grain of salt since I've never been in the position of losing too much weight and am only 4 weeks post-op, but I think at this point your best bet is to ignore calories and just listen to your body. Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not, and focus on nutritious food. Your body will stop losing weight when it feels like it. I agree with @Spinoza that I think the surgery gives you a new set point. It's best to just see what that is and only worry about it if it's so low that it's unhealthy. More than likely, it'll bounce back up on its own if it's too low for you to maintain. But better you bounce up to where your goal was initially than put the brakes on now and then bounce up 10 lbs higher than you wanted in a year.

I really love sheet pan roasted veggies. You can do a mix of sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, sweet onion, butternut squash, zucchini, beets, etc. Spritz with avocado oil and put a little bit of sea salt, or try a glaze with some balsamic vinegar and pomegranate juice. You can also try cooking green beans in some chicken bone broth with a little diced ham for a healthier version of southern style green beans. I love making eggroll in a bowl, which uses a bag of coleslaw blend, julienne carrots, and ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. You can add ground pork for an all in one meal. I usually add snow peas, too, and mushrooms that my kids immediately pick out.

I recently tried a very natural protein bar made with nuts and egg white protein that I really liked. It was the Mammoth Bar in the goji berry flavor, available on Amazon. They're pricey but very good ingredients, and I found them to be super filling. 12g protein. I'd say they're a lot like the Rx bars, which are a bit cheaper and easier to find in stores. Worth keeping on hand for hikes or when you're going to be out all day.

Yesterday was no fun, not gonna lie. Having two meals in one day disagree with me to the point of several hours of pain and frequent vomiting is not something I'd care to repeat, so I'm taking it as a warning to go very easy with foods today. My program's recommendation was to have 3 meals daily and to supplement with protein shakes in between as needed, but they were very anti-snacking, which I do understand in the longterm. But I hate protein shakes, so I've felt this added pressure that if I can't eat enough protein in one sitting, I'm dooming myself to drinking something vile in a few hours. It's a recipe for taking one bite too many. However, I went to the dietician the other day and she was asking about snacks, and seemed surprised when I said I didn't have any, just the protein shakes. She even suggested I may need to add in a snack or two! So now it seems I can have several small meals instead of protein shakes and they're fine with it. Talk about mixed messages! I swear they don't read their own booklets sometimes. Anyway, I'm going to experiment with smaller portions size and more frequent meals to see if it helps. If it's just a few things that trigger the tummy issues, I'll chalk it up to not being able to tolerate those foods. If it continues with no pattern or becomes more frequent, I'll definitely talk to my doctor's office to rule out a stricture.

I'm 4 weeks out and started having this issue the past couple days off and on. This morning I had a scrambled egg and it ended up not staying down (despite no trouble with eggs in the past). Lunch was okay but then at dinner I went from being totally fine with 2oz smoked salmon to taking a single bit of veg and having pain and fullness, that stuck feeling, that again eventually led to the food coming back up. Now I just have a painful full feeling that's lingering for hours and is miserable. If it continues a few more days I will reach out to my doctor.

I'm not sure a PCP would have too detailed an understanding of complications from any bariatric surgery, even a more common one. At least I wouldn't rely on that. Although I have a feeling if she has a patient who gets a certain procedure, she might be more likely to read up on it. Is your surgeon attached to a weight loss center of some kind? Mine is, and I'm expected to go for a follow up at the center yearly, basically forever, so I'll always be in close contact for questions. Honestly, I think you need to choose your surgery based on which one will work best for you, which could very well be the SADI. A long term complication is going to be rare, but also you'll know to bring it up if something happens. You don't have to rely on your doctor to think of it, and any doctor will know how to find out more of needed, even if they don't really know much about it now.

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Hooray! Hopefully the time will move quickly for you. I remember how hard it was to be patient while I was waiting, and now all of a sudden a month has passed since surgery. It's funny how time works.

That is such an accomplishment! You look so much more vibrant now, and very happy, too. Extra energy must feel amazing! I finally have some energy kicking in 4 weeks post-op, but I wouldn't call it extra. I didn't count on how tired I would be, like dragging through the morning every day and needing to close my eyes by the time noon arrived. I finally feel back to normal, though. Which without caffeine (I've been told no to caffeine still) is saying something. Sounds like you're on track to reach your goal!

Looking great, and I love the hair color!