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Slightly off topic but I had to buy period underwear yesterday only because I’m about to have a hysterectomy. It was weird and I had to do a bit of reading (I’m a researcher) about the period pants because they didn’t have them back in my day (that makes me sound ancient lol but have been menopausal for 8 years or so). Also thought I should buy a pack of pads too just in case the surgeon prefers they’re used post surgery. OMG I didn’t know where to start. Couldn’t remember the brand I used to prefer and they’re are thousands of options now. Good Lord! The oestrogen flush is very common after surgery @Dchonlee and can persist until you’ve lost most of the weight you have to lose (which I know you’re nearing) but maybe get your hormone levels checked to see what they are.

I agree with @NickelChip, you’re not a failure. Not just from a statistical perspective but also from the perspective that you lost weight & kept it off for a while. That in itself is a success because we know how hard it is to lose any weight at all let alone keep it off for anything more than a week. Yes, there has been some discussion around the long term effectiveness of the sleeve but I think it could be said of any of the surgeries - it may work for some but not all. And what sometimes defines as a success may differ too. Too many external and internal factors can affect how successful you are in the short & long term too. I had my surgery when I was almost 54 because peri menopause & then menopause did a number on me & my weight. Quickly pushed me to my usual high weight then I swear overnight, to my all time high of 91kg, (Hormones are the gift that just keep giving whether you’re producing what you need or your production is decreasing as you near &/or are in menopause.). So yes, being in peri menopause or menopause could mess with your weight. I’d get in touch with your surgeon and ask him about a revision, GLP-1 meds and any other options. The fact you are ready & want to do something is such a positive position to be in. All the best.

Yea. The one I ordered says spicy lime I think. It says mild so that should be good for me. I’m excited to try it. I plan to have all of my options and do some taste testing.

I'm not sure where you found the 50% body weight number, but I had my 6-month appointment with my surgeon today and was told that losing 20% of your starting weight and keeping it off is the definition of "success" from a medical perspective. So, if you started at 252, that would be a 50 lb loss. Prior to gaining weight, you were at 65lbs lost, making your initial results within the successful range and if you are currently at 205, you're just slightly out of that range for longterm success. I think you may have confused the percentages of "body weight" and "excess body weight." To determine your excess body weight for a woman, you start with 100 lbs and add 5 lbs for each inch over 5 feet tall. So for you, that would be 120 lbs. (That's not a goal weight, but rather an "ideal" for a person your height who has never been overweight.) You would then subtract that from your starting weight, giving you 132 lbs of "excess" body weight. 50% of that is 66 lbs, which is essentially what you lost after surgery. Current research is showing that gastric sleeve surgery is not as durable for weight loss for some people. The Pound of Cure podcast has a lot of episodes that address this (you can find it on Youtube). It's certainly worth talking to your doctor about your options, which may include revision or GLP-1 medications. You'll want to find out your insurance coverage options, too. Of course, the first thing you'll want to do is make sure you are following your nutrition plan and exercise guidelines and cutting out bad habits to see if that helps you reverse some of the gain. If you haven't had a physical lately, definitely go in for that as any number of things can crop up, especially during perimenopause, that can cause weight gain. Wishing you luck! I'm 50 and I'm definitely nervous about reaching my goals and keeping the weight off at this age.

What about yoghurt with some garlic and lemon in it? Also work as part of protein needs.

Really starting to feel like I am in a groove getting in all of my fluids, protein and vitamins. It’s no longer a huge struggle I have to constantly think about. I take my calcium with my morning proffee that I drink first thing that gives me a really good start at 20oz fluid, 30g protein and one vitamin down. (Just take the vitamin with the last sip as opposed to the first if your vitamin has a lot of iron) and I mix in a spoon of soluable fiber so I get that over with as well. While I’m drinking it I get out my three calcium’s for the day, take my stool softener and take my daily rx meds. The rest of the day is pretty easy. I don’t get up at a set time so I just make sure to wait at least two hours to take my calcium’s and just fit in all three like an hour before I plan to go to bed at which time I take my second stool softener and the magnesium she added for muscle cramps. If i am going to be out for the day I will set alarms for the calcium’s and put them in my purse during my proffee. . A long time ago I created alarms for every half hour of the day so that it’s super simple to just toggle on whichever alarms I may need in the morning and when it goes off I just have to figure out what I’m forgetting 😆 You may have to turn off the ”everyday” function so when you turn it off it’s really off but doing that has helped me with everything I have to remember since I get distracted pretty easily. This would be way easier if you get up at a set time because you could turn on that everyday function and set the alarm once and it’s done from then on. At this point I’m only reminded of the pain a handful of times throughout the day. The only thing that is still not easy for me is the 30 minute rule. I know that I was supposed to do that forever after my sleeve but around the time I gave up hope on that I started back with drinking while eating and it’s a really hard habit to break. I do find that if I brush after meals and swish water around and spit it out it helps some. Next step is soft foods I am so looking forward to this stage and at the same time anxious I will overdo it too fast. I believe I mentioned before I am a rule follower and prefer more structure “soft food” is a bit vague for me. I survived it last time, though so I’m sure it will be okay I really hope everyone else is recovering well if early out and starting to get in their groove as well if they are a little further out. Any tips that you guys have worked out to remember it all?

Just a thought whilst reading through others comments. I know you said that carbs are hard to increase, however I think that is the culprit. I work out 6days a week and I am closer to 80g of carbs and 30 ish g of fat most days. You don't have to eat bread but fruits, and veggies have carbs. I am not saying goes balls to the wall, but if your working out then 1800 cal is not cutting it. My BMR to maintain is close to 2500 calories, I eat about 1500 cal right now just because I cannot physically eat that much. I checked to see how many calories I need to gain weight and I would need to consume 3300 calories a day! I am not saying stuff yourself, but eating every 1/5-2hrs will be beneficial- add granola to your yogurt, protein bar right after working out, eat some peanut butter balls with oatmeal, maple syrup, caco nibs or chocolate chips, add cottage cheese to eggs with a handful of spinach. Beefing up your meals will help you feel better. Maybe you know all this but just my two cents

Yes everyone's programs are different for sure and I agree with @ShoppGirl that if you have the option of a meal go with that. My program was 12 days pre-op diet - the first 10 days were 2 shakes - my team had a guideline for the calorie/carbs/sugar count they should have - and then a lean protein with a non starchy veg dinner. All other diet/no sugar drink options were fine - seltzer, diet soda, tea, black coffee, broth. I think I could have 1/2 cup of milk and a yogurt somewhere in there. Day 11 was liquids only - shakes, jello, broth. Day 12 was clear liquids only basically broth lol. Thankfully I was released from the hospital at the pureed stage and did not have a full liquid stage, but even pureed was not it after awhile. Vitamins and supplements you don't have to really start until after as long as your current bloodwork doesn't show any deficiencies. I had to start chewables only for the first 30 days and then could move to capsules.

What were the guidelines that you were given? If they just gave you a caiorie restriction I don’t see where that would be wrong but I would honestly double check with them. And as I said before keep in mind that you will have to do liquids for a while post op to and the shakes really do get pretty old so if your allowed actual food on the LSD I would choose that option. Up to you what works best though.

I forget if you have had your surgery or not but if not or for anyone that has not if you are allowed the option of food on the LSD I suggest eating it. I didn’t and between that and the post op liquids it got REALLY old. I was so sick of shakes they made me feel almost ill.

I specifically made sure that purée was one of the options @ShoppGirl. I can’t say that the thought of puréed food thrills me but the hospital says that, if you have a bypass, the puréed stage is for 6 weeks (4 weeks for a sleeve) If nothing else, it allows hubby to have a play when he’s prepping meals for me too! I’m reigning in the free fall @Arabesque This is where things can go wrong for me as I’ve experienced many times in the past. It can be a delicate balancing act at times. This is why I feel I will benefit from WLS because it’s difficult to be make good choices all the time when something inconsequential can send me spiralling into unwise food choices. Willpower can get me so far but I know myself. If I was able to be moderate in my choices, portion sizes etc then I wouldn’t be in this position now! Oh, I have an electric heated throw that I use for the sofa plus we have an electric blanket for the bed which we haven’t put back on for the colder months yet. It’s difficult isn’t it, when you feel the cold has seeped through to your bones? I’ve always been a warm person - windows open, fans on all night so feeling cold is a strange experience 🥶

Hi, on LRD and wanted to check that it’s ok to have slim fast for breakfast and lunch and a low carb high protein meal in the evening? still counting calories etc. also, supplements and vitamins what and when I should start taking them? thanks

I don't know where my other post went - I swore I typed one up earlier. Oh well - Here we go again! So, I'm at 3 weeks out exactly today from my SADI (Sleeve + Intestinal shortening) surgery and I'm definitely starting to feel less pulling and pinching with movements. I'm beginning week two of my puree diet, and I feel like it's going pretty well. During the Protein shake / liquid post diet for two weeks I did deal with constipation. It's still leveling out, but as I eat more 'regular' food (Even as a puree) that seems to be lifting a bit. I did still take some milk of magnesia yesterday out of caution because I hadn't 'gone' in two days, and didn't want to worry about it worsening. I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a timer. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed (same with the ground beef in my ricotta bake). Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each. I want to respond more to folks - @Pepper_No_Salt I hate that you're dealing with so much nausea! I absolutely second talking to your care team about that. There are some nausea pills that dissolve under the tongue and work more quickly for me than the Zofran, they'd probably be willing to call you in some. Things that made me feel queasy were taking meds or vitamins before my meal had hit bottom, drinking too quickly, not walking around after I ate, and taking calcium and my multivitamin with iron too close to my Calcium. Not sure if any of that helps - I am also taking Prilosec for heartburn in the mornings and they had me add Magnesium Citrate at bedtime to help with constipation. Sometimes when I'm due to pass gas or have a bowel movement working its way through my system I'd start to feel a little icky and not really nauseous but more anxiety / feelings of fullness. I found that for whatever reason putting an ice pack on my chest or low back helped. I hope you find some relief! Oh, I also found that as soon as my thirty minutes post-meal is up it helps me to sip on REALLY cold water or Gatorade zero, especially if I do it while standing and moving around a little bit. I equate it to the need to get the burps out after eating, just like I had to do post-surgery. @ShoppGirl - Thanks for all of your support and input. I continue to read your posts and while I'm low energy on responding right now I hope the details of my recipe for the unstuffed cabbage bake is helpful! @draikaina8503 - Congratulations on your walk! I still wear out quickly even at three weeks out, but I knew the first month or two would be a slog and do feel my energy is rebounding. @Onemealplan - Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your vacation! I second what you said to @ShoppGirl about trying the crab, and hope the meals you do get to taste on vacation treat you well. I think her advice to just explain you're recovery from stomach surgery should more than reassure any staff concerned about your small portions. @AndreaJD I'm so glad your sister has been supportive! My 'chosen' brother and best friend has likewise done the same. He's been on a Keto journey for about two years with great results and I worried at first that he would think I was taking the 'easy way out' and now that he's heard more he's been great in reassuring me that he does NOT think that is the case at all, and in fact believes I chose a great option for myself that moves things along quicker but certainly with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I also completely agree with you on the 'mind hunger' vs 'body hunger'. I'm lucky that I do feel a bit of pressure in my chest that I now identify as a feeling of 'fullness' as opposed to anxiety and I'm less worried about my protein goals now that I have the Genepro protein powder. I love that it isn't gritty when I mix it in with things as long as I mix it with something room temperature FIRST. That's on the instructions, actually, as is the fact that for your macros to count it as like 30-ish grams of protein per scoop rather than the 'weight' listed in Nutrition facts of 11g/scoop. Just wanted to make sur eI mentioned that! Oh - in regards to weighing - I get on the scale every day or so to kind of 'reinforce' what I'm doing, but remember that sometimes you see more from your measuring tape at the waist, hips, etc than the scale will show. Also head's up, a lot of folks plateau for a handful of days around week three and it will happen on and off moving forward, so don't be discouraged by that! @RRenaeL23 - I hope these recipes and suggestions for your puree diet work well! I'm still finding myself comfortable eating no more than about 3-4 oz at a meal, and certainly am following the no drinking 30 mins before/after meals. It's absolutely easier for me to do if I make sure my meal is on the moist side, even if it means adding a little extra water. It's better to add protein powder (Can't speak highly enough of the unflavored Genepro) to hit your protein goal than to overeat to make it, that's for sure! I'm always eager for my 30 minutes to be up so I can sip on icy cold water or Gatorade Zero. @Meme Campbell - Best of luck to you on your surgery tomorrow! Don't hesitate to ask for ice packs and pain relief and take advantage of the pain relief to get some walking in, especially the first couple of days. The pain lessons as you walk because it works the gas out. I also strongly suggest sipping your shakes / water / propel sitting as upright as is possible and not laying back until about ten minutes has passed or you've burped a few times! Keep us updated! Most of us in this thread have already had our surgeries but if you read through the first 3-7 pages you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you don't already feel prepared. It's a bit of a process but the pain WILL start to lessen in the coming weeks! Don't be surprised when you get tired super quickly and be gentle on your body. Across the board surgeons seem to agree that your #1 priority fresh out of surgery will be walking as tolerated, focusing on your hydration, and getting as much protein as you comfortably can. Don't let yourself go more than three days without a bowel movement - Milk of Magnesia works wonders for that. I let myself go 5 days post surgery and that was a somewhat painful and unpleasant process to reverse. Colace makes your bowel movements 'smoother' but is NOT a laxative. If you deal with heartburn talk to your team - they put me on Prilosec for now. We're rooting for you! Sorry for anyone I missed; not sure what happened to my other post. Wishing you all the best in surgeries and recoveries!

What is Taking? I have the I can’t believe it’s not butter light in a tub and the fat is a lot better than butter and actually better than their original but I just want to cut it further if I can because of my gallbladder removal. I’m supposed to introduce fat very slowly to see what my body can handle. I guess I can just measure and use less of the light one so I will have a way of knowing how much fat is in there exactly. I did find a recipe for skinny shrimp scampi too that’s juice is almost what I was speaking of that I had earlier. It has shallots and garlic and uses only one tablespoon of butter and one of olive oil. The rest is broth and wine (which I will just do more broth). I’m gonna try that out but have the other option as well and see which way is better. Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

You will be really happy that you got the food processor for the purée stage. For my sleeve I didn’t get one and just thought puree food that wasn’t supposed to be purred sounded so gross. This time around this stage is sooooo much easier because I can have more variety. You can add some foods witb fiber too which helps with the constipation. I still don’t really like purée meat but I add unflavored protein powder to everything else and supplement with shakes. I know you didn’t get as much time as expected to wrap your mind around all this as expected but you are ready and you’ve got this!!

So as I’m looking at these healthy recipes I am thinking that my food choices will be more quality over quantity In the future. I know that some generic products are exactly the same but for those that aren’t I am splurging on the better brands and thinking of using fresh products more often. Instead of grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker I plan to get the chunk of Parmesan and grate it fresh for instance. I know that for my broccoli cheese soup I use fresh grated cheddar and it makes a huge difference so im hoping that’s the same with Parmesan. I’m going to try the cheese grater I already have to see if that works but if not the rotary ones are pretty inexpensive. I’m also going to do fresh vegetables and herbs. I may even experiment with making my own sauces and dressings eventually. Hopefully that will infuse better flavor to the healthy stuff. I also have a store near me that has a lot more healthy options and really good produce but I never go because it hasn’t been important enough to me in the past. I am like 10 minutes away once a week for my crochet group though so I figured I can at least go that often to start and more often if necessary. It’s ironic because I don’t want to go because it’s “too far” yet I wouldn’t think twice about driving that far for an unhealthy restaurant or just about anything else to be honest. My plan is to prioritize my health and that begins with the food I am putting into my body. Now I just have to figure out a plan for the exercise and actually follow through on all of it. . Anyone else have any ideas to get us on the right track?

I eat oats once in awhile. Yes they're carb-heavy, but they're also whole grains, so they're good for you. I just eat about 1/2 cup of them at a time, though. I add some protein powder and usually some vanilla and cinnamon. I alway top them with a dollop of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt and a few berries - and I'll sometimes put some sugar free maple syrup over that, too.

The unstuffed cabbage rolls sound good. Believe it or not I’ve never made any type of cabbage roll. I have however been using deli roast beef for my cheese steak for a while. I just get the really rare meat and then heat it for a few Seconds in a skillet. I’ve never tried mixing cream cheese in it though. That sounds interesting. I like to make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers when I trying to be good. I bet the cream cheese would sorta hold the mixture down into the pepper better. I wish I could try it now. I suppose I could make it for my hubby and puree mine. My AC miraculously came back on last nigjt after two hours of flashing an error code and not working. It just started back up- so weird. We don’t dare touch it because we don’t believe it’s fixed but it’s cheaper to have someone come check it during the week. My husband is going to tell them the error code it was giving tomorrow and just see if there is anything they need to do. Maybe it is fine. That would be a nice break since it’s just barely out of warranty now plus I won’t habe to deal with the workers being here. I’m still thinking about them cabbage rolls. After the purée tuna was gross to me I kinda thought purée meat was gonna be a no go. Was it good? I’m sure iit helped that it was in the sauce and all that too. I was looking at another ricotta recipe that had chicken and spinach that was a casserole with cheese as well I was considering for my early soft food stage. I think it had artichoke hearts too. It was on Pinterest. They actually have a-lot of recipes under high protein low fat and high protein bariatric recipes. One thimg I forgot about is adding to the plain Greek yogurt. The ranch or French onion soup mix or PB2 to make dips. I added that and some peeled apples and a seedless cucumber to my shopping list for soft foods with the ranch and the PB dip in mind. I think the dry onions should wait for regular foods but it is really good so I mentioned it.

Hello! Short update from my phone -- @draikaina8503 - 60g of Protein is what they told me to aim for once I'm active, and yes - the more the better, but they said during this stage it's better to not push my stomach and to still focus #1 on hydration. Since I got the Genepro it's been a lot easier to hit between 50-60/day, for sure. Mind that it states on the back that for macros you should treat it as 30 (or 35, not looking ATM - per scoop) even though Nutrition Facts read as 11. Oh, and the 1-2 month timeline - Yeah she said it would lessen between 3 wks and 1 months but the fatigue and occasional tenderness with certain movements does last up to another month for some. @ShoppGirl - That recipe sounds great, thanks for sharing! I may try that in the morning. I've also had luck with egg drop soup (added a half scoop of Genepro to bulk the protein), I did add a little bit of crumbled ground beef to my ricotta bake for more protein (made my own marinara out of garden tomatoes from a recipe I found) and today made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which was basically shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and ground beef simmered together, seasoned with salt and pepper. Oh, and I had success as well with pureed roast beef lunch meat, cream cheese, and sauteed bell peppers and onions as a sort of pureed Philly cheese steak filling. Wish I'd had mushrooms to add! So sorry about your A/C!! I hope it gets fixed swiftly!

Did you see the idea for the ricotta bake? I have posted it a couple of times but it’s really good. I will add though that with the purée stage I was eating a lot of cheese and barely any fiber and between that and the shakes the constipation was pretty bad. I ended up adding some purée oats with the NP permission and some purée veggies with Genepro unflavored protein powder mixed in and I added a teaspoon of soluble fiber to my daily proffee and all that seems to have helped. The other thing that is pretty good is puree egg salad. I just made it like normal then put it in the food processor. Well I did use less of the yolks and subbed some Greek yogurt for half the low fat Mayo to cut some fat. I thought it was gonna be really gross honestly but it pretty much tastes the same. The other thing I did was to purée a whole container of salsa and I add that to my scrambled egg beaters and my purée refried beans for some flavor.

I think when you go on vacation if you just tell them you had stomach surgery they will understand. Don’t have to get into what it was specifically. Just says special diet prescribed by doctor. Or even it’s delicious but I already ate. All they really care about is knowing that it’s not because you are dissatisfied with the food. I was a savory person before my sleeve too. I had kind of a unique change to where I craved sweets which was another of the things that contributed to my regain. It’s pretty uncommon according to my dr. Post SADI I don’t feel like I am craving sweet as much. Perhaps because I know I can’t have the sweets I really would want but hopefully because that reversed itself again. We shall see. I know that I have been craving fish tacos which is really weird for me. I barely even ate fish pre surgery or post sleeve. Just made myself like once a month because I know its good for me. I don’t think the caffeine restriction is really about how you will feel when you have it. It’s more about affecting your healing and I think I also heard something about it causing irritation or GERD.

Hey everyone! I’m reading though all the post and it’s interesting how similar and different our experiences are. Can’t thank you all enough for sharing because sometimes I feel like it’s just me lol. This is my second week of puree foods and I can now move into soft. However I can only hold 2oz of food every 3 hrs and I drink nothing but water with electrolytes in between. I’m thinking soft foods might be too heavy for me. How much is everyone having of foods? I tried 30z of scrambled eggs yesterday took me 1 hr to finish lol. I accidentally had matcha 🍵 tea the other day because I forgot it had caffeine, silly me but my stomach did just fine. Granted it was the tip of a teaspoon with some milk. So this week I’ll be slowly adding dry decafe coffee to my morning warm cup of milk here and there. Oh homemade blended and straining apple, carrots, ginger is wonderful! I have about 4oz of it a day. I do feel “full” it’s a heaviness in my chest. I’m also still feeling discomfort here and there with purée foods as they go down my esophagus . Anyone else? That mental hunger hasn’t gone away and I know it will be a while before it does but I’m such a foodie that all I want is to “taste” food on my pallet that not the same everyday. I’m not doing artificial sugars, I’ve never liked them. My new stomach still doesn’t and nor does my pallet. I’m just going to keep sugar low as I always have. Savory foods is my achilles heal lol. I think because I’m not focused heavy on extra protein in between foods I’ve not had issues with consipation. Take care of yourselves and just try one medication at a time. My stool is “lose” but not watery. I go every other day. I’ve started vitamins but very slow and they are so sweet I have to force myself to like it. They are the Berimelts. I have a vacation coming up in two weeks, which I’m excited for! Mentally preparing myself for only having 1 taste of the food my husband and I decided to get. We have the same taste and always share or split plates so I’m not too worried about deciding on what to eat. I’m nervous about restaurants pushing food on me or asking if I didn’t like something or why we are ordering for one. If anyone lives in the UK please let me know if that’s uncommon. I know in the states when I said no water with my meal post surgery they looked at me crazy. I’m bummed that I won’t be able to enjoy beer or pub food in the UK but that’s just the way it is. Hope everyone is having a good recovery! ❤️‍🩹 I will say I’m so happy to be out of the liquid phase that was the worst for me. Also I didn’t drop any weight during the liquid phase that was my stall, funny enough because they say week 3, but not for me it was week 1 and 2. Now I’m dropping weight and down 20 pounds. (Yay) they said you’ll lose about half of your ideal weight within the 6 months so I’m on a good track. I do weigh myself daily and the scale is dijital so it records everything. I highly recommend those. Take care everyone!!

Hey everyone! I’m reading though all the post and it’s interesting how similar and different our experiences are. Can’t thank you all enough for sharing because sometimes I feel like it’s just me lol. This is my second week of puree foods and I can now move into soft. However I can only hold 2oz of food every 3 hrs and I drink nothing but water with electrolytes in between. I’m thinking soft foods might be too heavy for me. How much is everyone having of foods? I tried 30z of scrambled eggs yesterday took me 1 hr to finish lol. I accidentally had matcha 🍵 tea the other day because I forgot it had caffeine, silly me but my stomach did just fine. Granted it was the tip of a teaspoon with some milk. So this week I’ll be slowly adding dry decafe coffee to my morning warm cup of milk here and there. Oh homemade blended and straining apple, carrots, ginger is wonderful! I have about 4oz of it a day. I do feel “full” it’s a heaviness in my chest. I’m also still feeling discomfort here and there with purée foods as they go down my esophagus . Anyone else? That mental hunger hasn’t gone away and I know it will be a while before it does but I’m such a foodie that all I want is to “taste” food on my pallet that not the same everyday. I’m not doing artificial sugars, I’ve never liked them. My new stomach still doesn’t and nor does my pallet. I’m just going to keep sugar low as I always have. Savory foods is my achilles heal lol. I think because I’m not focused heavy on extra protein in between foods I’ve not had issues with consipation. Take care of yourselves and just try one medication at a time. My stool is “lose” but not watery. I go every other day. I’ve started vitamins but very slow and they are so sweet I have to force myself to like it. They are the Berimelts. I have a vacation coming up in two weeks, which I’m excited for! Mentally preparing myself for only having 1 taste of the food my husband and I decided to get. We have the same taste and always share or split plates so I’m not too worried about deciding on what to eat. I’m nervous about restaurants pushing food on me or asking if I didn’t like something or why we are ordering for one. If anyone lives in the UK please let me know if that’s uncommon. I know in the states when I said no water with my meal post surgery they looked at me crazy. I’m bummed that I won’t be able to enjoy beer or pub food in the UK but that’s just the way it is. Hope everyone is having a good recovery! ❤️‍🩹 I will say I’m so happy to be out of the liquid phase that was the worst for me. Also I didn’t drop any weight during the liquid phase that was my stall, funny enough because they say week 3, but not for me it was week 1 and 2. Now I’m dropping weight and down 20 pounds. (Yay) they said you’ll lose about half of your ideal weight within the 6 months so I’m on a good track. I do weigh myself daily and the scale is dijital so it records everything. I highly recommend those. Take care everyone!!

Ok what??? HOW??? I was staying between 177-179 for the last few weeks so I thought I was FINALLY at the place my body was setting at. Apparently not!!! I've even increased how often I eat. But it seems like the more I eat, the more I lose. The less I eat, that's when my weight stays pretty much the same. And that seems pretty messed up to me. So I have to starve myself to STOP losing weight but if I eat well I'll keep going lower??? What??? I don't WANT to go lower. I was supposed to stop at 190!! Make it make sense, cuz the math ain't mathin. Just had blood work done. Other than being anemic (thanks lupus!!) everything was normal, including my thyroid. My nutritionist and I got my calories up to 1600 per day when not working out and 1800 when I am. Protein up to 90g on non work out days and 120g on work out days. Carbs are trickier since I'm super sensitive to them, but we got them up to 35g on non work out days (up from 20-25) and 45g on work out days (up from 35). Healthy fats we upped to 70g on non work out days and 100g on work out days. My fluids are always good. Normally I drink around 80 fl oz on non work out days and 100+ on work out days, which 20 of those being an electrolyte drink like Prime hydration, Propel, or Gatorade zero. Being that I'm 2 years and 4 months removed from my 1st surgery and 1 year and 2 months removed from my revision, she's really surprised that I'm still losing. I said "You and me both, lady. Now how do I make it stop?" She said to just keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully my body will eventually hit it's set point and stop on its own. Um...what?? I'm now 15 pounds below my goal. I understand the whole "bounce back weight gain" or whatever it is, but that can't happen until my body finally picks a weight to settle at. I really don't like how I look at this point, and it's frustrating that nothing fits...again. I know it seems crazy to complain about this kind of thing, and believe me, I never EVER thought I would be the one doing it. But something's gotta give, you know? I'm really starting to look sickly, and in my line of work, that's not a good thing at all.

Well I had some circumstances (some out of my control but some that ultimately were) that all added up to my regain but it boiled down to unhealthy choices and increased portion sizes. Just don’t do that and you should be fine. Sticking with the support groups should be a huge help. I stopped posting here and going to my my appointments when I started gaining too much because they couldn’t offer much for me in terms of options and I was embarrassed. It was a bad decision since that was when I needed support most.