AmyTexan

I noticed it took a lot longer to drop sizes at first, I had to lose 45 pounds to go down a size...it was pretty discouraging. I also started at a 22-24, then all of a sudden I am wearing a size 10!

It might be your potassium or your B1 could be low. I was having bad leg cramps. I would only get them in the middle of the night and get woke up by them. I had my doctor order laps for me. That's when I found that my B1 is low. I would suggest calling your doctor and seeing if he can't order some laps for you. Hope you find out what is causing them soon. I know they hurt like crazy.

I have made this a few times and really like it (without the pasta accompaniment)
https://motivation.ie/recipes/dinner-recipes/smoked-paprika-goulash-motivation-recipe/

Some other ideas you might like (all of which I have tested and gone back to again and again);

https://www.bariatricfoodcoach.com/lasagna-stew/ - I do not do the pre-slow cooker browning

https://skinnyfitalicious.com/crockpot-chicken-shawarma/#recipe - Love, make using chicken breast cubes/strips

https://bakingqueen74.co.uk/slow-cooker-spicy-bean-stew/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-carrot-lentil-soup - I don't do the pre-slow cooker step, just bang it all in the slow cooker. I do keep back one carrot though and add it in after blending but sill with about 30 minutes left on the cook so there are some soft bites, I also add a lot more chili but that is to my taste.

https://www.bariatricfoodie.com/crockpot-curry-chicken/ - I skip step 1

https://www.bariatricfoodsource.com/blogs/bariatric-friendly-recipes/pureed-chicken-soup-bariatric-phase-3-soft-food - I just put all in the slow cooker and let it do its magic. I have added chili sometimes or other herbs.

https://motivation.ie/recipes/lentil-soup-with-crispy-bacon/ - again I just put all the ingredients (skip the oil & bacon) into the slow cooker.

I love proffee. I find more protein shakes too sweet, so I tend to mix decaf coffee with part protein shake, part fairlife milk. I've tried unflavoured protein powder into coffee with milk as well and it's not bad but never quite as good, lol. If you like flavoured coffees, sugar free syrups and extracts are great to change things up -- I like bourbon, almond or rum extract in my proffee, but can only handle the sweetness of the sugar free syrups if I'm using unflavoured protein powder in place of a shake, otherwise it's too overpowering.
My program had me wean off shakes and into purees (not soft food), so I had a much slower reintegration into 'actual food'. But I remember being absolutely in love my first day of purees (cottage cheese and pureed sweet potato seemed like heaven) -- and progressing to soft foods, I had chicken noodle soup my first day and not having to strain all the delicious things out of it made a world of difference. It's like a light shining down on you from above that there's an end to what you're going through, confirmation that you will be able to eat 'real food' again, all that reassuring stuff.

For soft food, definitely recommend ricotta bakes -- but since you're allowed lean ground meats too, you could adapt it into an even more lasagne (sans noodle) experience by making the tomato-sauce a meat sauce.

If you're allowed crackers yet (my program allowed melba toast and saltines early on), 'avocado toast' with a bit of cream cheese is a nice texture, or pseudo-eggs benedict: crackers/toast with goats cheese and a poached egg. I loved making chili with ground turkey and random veg, add a bit of refried beans to thicken it up and serve with a dollop of greek yogurt on top in place of sour cream.

I was given the 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup from purée advice too (slowly increasing to a cup by 6 months). If that’s yoghurt it would be about 2-3ozs. But I agree with the others - contact your team to ask. We have different needs & surgeons & dieticians have different requirements.
Remember to eat slowly. Wait a couple of minutes between bites. I used to dip my teaspoon into my purées. No spoonfuls. Try not to eat until you feel full. Those signals are still not functioning accurately because your nerves were cut. (Takes about 8 weeks to be fully healed.)
All the best.

Most programs will tell you to stick with 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup portions for the first month or two. There is a lot of swelling internally and a lot of nerves are cut that communicate fullness so it is hard for us to discern whether we are full or not. I found this portion varied per food personally though. I have always been able to eat a bigger portion of yogurt, for instance, than a pureed meat. Density seems to matter to my stomach.
You could always call your surgeon's office to find out their recommendations. But if you don't want to, I'd stick to the 1/4 to 1/3 cup range. I noticed my portions changed at around 2 months out. I can eat closer to 1/2 cup portions now. I'm assuming that is because all the swelling finally went down and there is more space now.

I’m 5 years out & maintained since my weight first stabilised. I’m also one who finds some carbs sit more heavily in my tummy & are too filling. Specifically simple carbs like the rice, pasta & bread were advised to avoid while we’re losing. It’s not a big loss even though I used to love eating them before surgery. But I don’t consider myself to be low carb. Lots of carbs in fruit & vegetables. I eat a good two serves of whole or multi grains a day sometimes a little more if I say throw barley or lentils in what I may be cooking too. I usually say I’m lowish carbs, lowish fats. I also think the quality of these food types are an important consideration too like the whole/multi grain, less processed complex carbs vs white, more processed, simple carbs. Same with fats like good fats vs bad fats.
One of the big learnings I had was that you have to work out a way of eating that works for you. That is it allows you to maintain your weight, complements your lifestyle so you don’t feel like you’re missing out or making sacrifices and is sustainable. It may be high fat or low fat, high carb or low carb, paleo, keto, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore or a mix of eating styles. Just what works.

I would probably be careful with the celery at first. Maybe purée it first then mix it in with the other stuff. That’s what I did with onions.
I did the Greek yogurt with half low fat Mayo as well but another way to cut the fat is to remove half of the egg yolks. I make my scrambled eggs the same way. They are called skinny eggs. One regular egg and one or two egg whites. Of course that’s way too much for the purée stage but later on if you hate just egg whites it cuts the fat some and doesn’t taste bad. I just keep on adding to this. I just made purée egg salad with hummus. I used board head dill pickle hummus but you can use any of course. I did three eggs with one big spoon of nonfat Greek yogurt and two big spoons of hummus. It may be a little thick this way if your just starting puree though because the non fat Greek yogurt is kinda thick.

For a lower fat version, try replacing 1 tbsp of the mayo with greek yogurt and still use .5 tbsp of the mayo. It is a lot less fatty and less calories with very little sacrifice in taste. I use this for egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad.

Hi -
Protein shakes were driving me NUTS. I am at the very end of full liquids and beginning to introduce pureed food. However my purees are on the liquidier side because it is what I can handle. You can add less liquid to this recipe if your tummy can handle thicker stuff. I was so wanting something savory. I've been basically living off premier protein chocolate shakes and broth based soups with flavorless protein added (for awhile this was truly all I could handle otherwise I would feel quite ill) but - now I am trying more things gradually.
Note - this serves probably like 6-8 servings? Maybe more? I haven't measured. I just eat a few spoonfuls and don't over-do it.
Ingredients
?4 hard boiled eggs
?1.5 tbsp mayo (I used chosen foods - because it's paleo and doesn't have inflammatory oils - I was paleo before surgery and before pre-op even to help manage my PCOS symptoms)
?1 stalk celery chopped
?A dash of Himalayan Pink Salt
?A dash of Onion Salt (I used Trader Joe's brand)
?1/4C Pickle Juice (this is the liquidy element that helped me)
Directions
? Throw everything into the blender and blend until completely smooth.
? Store and refrigerate. I tend to eat 2 oz servings at a time.

Additional notes - you can probably add more seasoning to this if you're able to tolerate. Since I am so early on I wanted to keep it very simple and easy to digest. I loved loved loved this meal. Hope yours turn out great ?

I've been trying to puree tuna with some yogurt instead of mayo and I think it's just too much for me right now. (three weeks post op) But I I've definitely taken the advice about blended thick soups so they are thinner and cottage cheese. I also had some cream of tomato soup and blended some cottage cheese into it and it enhanced the flavour of both.
I used to love cottage cheese when I lived in the US, but it doesn't have the same texture as the UK so I didn't like it anymore. Now, it's a godsend. Funny how life works. I'm really struggling with purees so I'm going to stay on liquids for an extra week.

I went the route of slow cooked soups with meats & vegetables & stews/ casseroles. Slow cooked so the meat was ‘fall off the bone’ tender. Also ate a lot of minced meat dishes especially mince bolognese & rissoles (meat balls). Also I had a separate purée stage then followed by soft food. Go slowly and see how you go. You may find a few days of purée first easy on your tummy then jumping straight into the more solid soft food.

Pea soup, re-pureed to a smoother consistency with a dash of parmesan cheese.
I loved putting fat free refried beans or ricotta cheese into anything I could, but I think I pretty much lived off of cottage cheese. I think I ate it every day, and just stirred in different seasonings (dill with garlic, chili powder, curry powder, rotisserie chicken powder. I even tried dill pickle popcorn seasoning!)
Depending on your program, you might also be able to have certain crackers already -- my team told me saltines or melba toast were good in small doses at this point, eaten slowly and with something wet -- ie. melba toast dipped in hummus.

I liked making a ricotta bake with one small container ricotta cheese mixed with 1-2 eggs and spread in a small baking dish, topped with a jar of marinara (make sure it's not chunky, so put in blender if needed) and a handful of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350F until the cheese browns. Now that I'm beyond puree stage, I add a bag of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained) to the ricotta mix and layer in chicken Italian sausage that I remove from the casing and cook up in a pan first (placed on top of the ricotta and before the sauce). It gives all the satisfaction of a lasagna or pasta dish without the added carbs, and pairs well with zucchini spirals.

I mix can of refried beans and two cans of chicken, which is softer than regular cooked chicken) and mix it well, then I have meals for several days. I usually microwave have a cup and up with a tablespoon of shredded cheese. I add spices to taste, but nothing too hot. It's my favorite meal. Soooo good. ?

deviled eggs, cottage cheese and skinless fruits, soups that are usually chunky but purreed, greek yogurts, canned chicken or tuna with reduced fat mayo and mustard

yes- I went through that. I just said "thanks" - and if they asked how they did it, it depended on who was asking. Normal-sized people and people I didn't know well I just said I was working with a dietitian and exercising like crazy. Skinny people believe that crap. If it was another obese person who seemed genuinely interested, I usually told them the truth.
I was very glad when the comments finally stopped - because now almost everyone I know either never knew me when I was fat, or they've seen me since I lost all the weight. Occasionally (actually, rarely) I'll see someone I knew from years ago who only knew me as fat - but oddly, they usually don't say anything. Maybe they figure I lost the weight a long time ago - or took it off very slowly - or have some kind of medical issue - but luckily, it doesn't come up.

Ok this is key...
Sneak in string cheese, protein chips ir puffs, yogurt cups, hummus, jello cups, pudding, root beer water enhancer (any water enhancer really)
Or eat right before you go! Works everytime...

Okay I am about to give you a list lol If any of these sound appealing I can get you the recipes!
-Chicken Fajita Spaghetti Squash Casserole
-Cottage Cheese Queso Recipe
-Low Carb Enchiladas
-Crustless Quiches
-Chocolate Protein Oatmeal
-Protein Pudding
-Chocolate Chunky Monkey Protein Drink
-Ricotta bake
-Mini Muffin Ham Frittatas

I lost a lot pretty fast. That is not the way it is with everyone, and in some regards, I wish the loss had been slower. It is a huge mental adjustment to losing so much so fast. I went from pant size 24 to 10. Bra 42DD to 36B. People don't recognize me and I hardly recognize myself. Body dysmorphia is real - I feel like I am in someone else's body. It's a bit surreal. Sometimes I feel a bit lost - like where did I go? I think I look old and wrinkled - shriveled and saggy. People tell me I look younger, but I don't see it. Without clothes, I think I look 90 years old. Anyway, I just try to focus on all the things I can do now, even if I do look funny! I must say, it is fun to shop for cute clothes. I hated it before - so shaming. But gosh darn it! I can't find jeans that fit. My thighs are hollow on the inside now and even size 10 have way too much fabric in the thigh area so they look more like English riding pants on me.
Bottom line - you will lose at the rate that your body wants. Going slower is not bad - it might even be better for all the mental and physical changes that happen. I am also getting pretty tired of people asking about my weight loss. Some are concerned that I might be sick and others are just nosy. That is getting old.

M1 -16.4
M2 -11 (-27.4 total)
M3 -12.4 (-39.8 total)
M4 -12.2 (-52 total)
M5 -11.8 (-63.8 total)
M6 -11.2 (-75 total)

I need some reassurance---- is it possible to be too fine?
I had RNY on Dec 16. The first few days I wasn't able to. get much down but since day 4 I have no issue sipping.
I am meeting my liquid goals ( 64 oz) protein goals ( 60oz) and walking 5k+ steps a day.
I am so sick of soup and really want to move to pureee but I know I can't. Any suggestions on things to do in the mean time?
How many carbs or fat should I be getting right now? How many calories is thee limit for these next few days?

Is day 11-14 the hardest?

100% Agree.
Reading through posts here, you'll see just how different the diets are for various surgical centers. It's not like some are "wrong" and some "right", it's that the surgical team may or may not be doing certain things because they've seen over time what tends to work best for their specific patients.
Once thing I will add here is that if your team did not recommend a specific amount of carbs & fat or a specific number of calories, then please don't worry about those components right now. You have plenty of other things to focus on as you retrain yourself how to eat. Worrying about even more is not really beneficial at this point.

I had a DS on 4/19, spent 2 nights in the hospital, and then had to travel 4 hours to get home yesterday. I was disappointed when I finally stepped on the scale to find I had gained 11 pounds!!! Is this normal? Is this because of the IV fluids?

Hey sorry for being so quiet, I just had emergency surgery the night before last. Apparently, my intestines got tangled up in my hernia and caused a painful/dangerous blockage. Anyway, I'll spare you the details, sorry about before, in my first post-op post, Everything did go well the first two days then I got really sick and had to be rushed back to the hospital. But I am feeling much better, and back home resting.
starting weight: 498 lbs
weight loss: 98 lbs
surgery weight: 404 lbs
current weight: 400 lbs