Search the Community

My week has been decent, school for the kids is almost starting so that is exciting, I have a son who is going into 7th grade, daughter who is going into 2nd grade and a 2.5 rambunctious crazy toddler boy. So school shopping and haircuts are in our future next week! I finished my last final for my bachelors degree on Saturday so I will be getting that degree soon! Cannot wait!!! Probably the funniest thing that happened this week is that I went to F45 and my pants split right in the booty crack LOL!! So I ended up tucking in my top to continue my workout. I looked so silly but meh! still got a good workout in. My eating is not as strict as I was before but still tracking and maintaining a good caloric input and getting in around 120-150g of protein a day. Need to work on water more. Working on my food relationship and how its okay to have things in moderation is okay and healthy! Lately, I been having some accepting my new body issues, I went from a DD to A bra size and I am just not coping well LOL I officially am no longer wearing a bra because bralettes or pasties is all I need. The skin that is wrinkly and saggy regardless of how much I work out, its a reminder of how long I put my body through physical abuse and how there will always be remnants of it. I did however put a down payment on a surgeon for breast augmentation for Jan. Which I know I know I should wait longer but that will be a year and if I need them redone or fixed I'll pay for it. Plastics and my sleeve surgeon told me to wait the year. I will wait another year or 2 for my tummy tuck or 360 lift. My department lost 3 people within a month, 2 of which were tenured so this stings. My workload just got A WHOLE LOT BIGGER. Its going to be more stressful- so going to work with all my tools and make sure I don't eat my stress away. This week is my *spa week* Today- tanning & Brows, Monday- getting my hair did, Wednesday- Nails, so this is my week of treating myself for all my accomplishments thus far. I figure I should treat myself with something other than food. Anyways I needed this outlet more than I thought. LOL Thanks for reading if you did!

Sounds like we are in somewhat of the same position when it comes to food! I am really struggling to eat more 🤣 Protein shakes are also going to have to remain a part of my life for a while! I am glad that you are feeling great though, amazing to hear!

I had the SADI-S on June 14, 2024. Tomorrow (Aug 2) is my 7 week post op day. I was 278 when I started my liquid diet. I was 268 on surgery day. I was 275 directly after the surgery. Last week I was 238 and I had a combined inches lost of 31. I have been experiencing a stall for a few weeks. I’ll lose some and gain some but it’s the same 3 pounds. As such I’ve been trying to get more movement into my life. I’m eating, at the advice of my surgeon, in a trial and error way. He wants me to be able to eat normal foods as it is easier to get to your protein goals. I haven’t eaten bread, sugar, pasta, or potatoes. I probably won’t go back to those foods. The pain feels like you went hard on Abs day. It was pretty much gone after 3 weeks. Eating too much (even by a single bite) or drinking too soon after a meal hurts worse than after the surgery. If you feel full and you think it’s too soon, take a break then pick it back up. You’ll be able to get it down eventually. Your anastomosis will be swollen (the link between your stomach and intestines) so there’s a bit of backing up before it goes down. I found shaking my stomach helps the food/liquid go down. Get good with your food being cold. Even if it’s hot when you start eating, you can’t eat it fast enough for it to stay warm. This has been the worst change for me besides the smell of my 💩. Work on finding low fat/non fat substitutes for cheese, dairy, etc. Sugar free substitutes for drinks can help get water in. I like G Zero and the added electrolytes are helpful. Track your food in an app. Weight/measure everything. Avoid “eating out” even if you can find reasonable foods to eat, it’s impossible to know your macros when you’re only eating small bits of meals and maybe removing bread etc. I only have been out once and that was two days ago. I ate a few bites off my husband’s plate. I kept looking at everyone’s full plates and thinking about how I would have eaten all of that and still been hungry. You will be exhausted from lack of food and energy. However force yourself to at least walk laps around your home. Only weigh once a week. I had my husband hide my scale. It was pissing me off that my weight was fluctuating. You will see more movement in measurements than you see on the scale. Try not to fixate on the numbers and remember not to compare yourself to others. People with more to lose will be losing faster than you. Some will not follow a good diet and lose very slowly. Let your doctor guide you on follow ups. Trust the process. Im new to this message board but feel free to reach out to me if you want. I’m on instagram as @BariatricBunnyBabe and TikTok as @Bariatric.Bunny and when I find things that work I post about them. I also share my wins and my weight loss stats. SADI-S can 100% feel lonely but we’re out here doing the thing!

I couldn’t stand the taste or anything being puréed that wasn’t supposed to come that way. Purées meat just sounded so disgusting to me. I lived off of refried beans, mashed potatoes (some plans do not allow these) and the ricotta bake. The ricotta bake was my favorite actually. If you haven’t heard of it you can do a search for it. It’s basically lasagna without the noodles. Some of the recipes use egg which would add protein and bake in oven but I just did the ricotta, sauce and mozzarella in the microwave. I still make it from time to time adding in sautéed peppers and onions or zucchini and onions. I was still allowed anything from the previous stage so you should be still allowed to have shakes if you need them to meat your protein goal. If you are thinking you will just have what your family is having but puréed though I guess it coukdnt hurt to try it. I mean if Amazon.ca is like US Amazon it’s pretty easy to return stuff. Just open it carefully so you can get it back together for shipping and try it out. If you don’t love it, you should know pretty well after the first use. Just send it back and get your money back. i actually have a regular nutra bullet that I like for smoothies. Never tried it for puree but im pretty sure it would work and then you will have something you can use later for smoothies (if your team allows them-some say no to drinking any calories). Actually just googled and reviews say the magic bullet is better for purée but still good for smoothies, dressings and all that.

Do you have any protein shakes you like rhat you can tolorate? And do you like coffee? If so, have you tried “proffee”. I don’t like to cook in morning so even after 3.5 years And all my good habits going out the window, I still enjoy my proffee for breakfast. I was so relieved fbaf my dr is not a stickler on caffeine so I can still have it on my LSD for revision. Well up until the last two days of all liquid. Only because I can’t stand black coffee

Make sure you don't beat yourself up about it though. ❤️ Slips happen, and you know what to do going forward. You're heading in the right direction. Unless you literally hurt yourself eating it, it's not that big a deal. That said, maybe take some time to check out other healthier delivery options for the future, for anytime you feel stuck. It's easy to make choices that we otherwise wouldn't when we're hungry, tired and sick and feel that pressure of "I need to get this ordered now", but if you had a few other options saved and ready to go, you might make choices that you'd regret less / be less disappointed in afterwards. For me, I have a couple of local mexican restaurants that have some 'build your own salad / rice bowl' options with steamed brown rice, beans, charred corn, and several different 'clean' proteins that aren't covered in sugary sauces. There's a number of greek restaurants that have done me dirty with the amount of oil they use in everything, but there's one that has options with little to no oil. When you're feeling better, maybe see if you can find a comfort food that would freeze and heat up well -- or even a couple of store-bough frozen dinners if you can find some that suit you nutritionally. I don't know what the selection is like in the UK, but in Canada I've seen some decent low carb/sugar options from Healthy Choice, Green Giant and even Lean Cuisine.

I am in a stall but have gotten back to a comfortable, positive vibe where I just don't care. And hopefully it'll break my addiction to the scale. My work week has been fraught with stress and cleaning up other peoples' messes -- but I'm trying to remind myself that their bad choices are not my responsibility, and if they want to continue to make poor choices despite my efforts that they can deal with the repercussions themselves. I have entered my malicious compliance phase. Having a lot of trouble with foods lately, particularly lunch times for some reason. I reached out to my team and they told me that while it's not ideal, if I need to do protein shakes or protein-added soups at lunch for a while, it's not going to do any harm. They'd 'like' me to be eating more real foods and not relying on a shake for lunch everyday, but that's something I can 'work towards'. I really don't see the big deal, tbh. I get plenty of dinner variety, and while breakfasts have been pretty much cereal or oatmeal for a while I see variety on the horizon there too. Ok, all that sounded mildly unhappy - but honestly, I'm in a great mood -- especially compared to last week LOL. I feel energized again -- emotionally, mentally & physically.

Egg whites & eggs themselves are still giving me problems. (And chicken. I give one or the other a try every week or so but even two or three small bites induce foamies, no matter how slow I take it or what other foods I bite in between. Ooh, how did I forget pea protein existed? That sounds like a win already. The mashed up chickpeas was... an experience. It wasn't bad, but definitely left the oatmeal with a different taste that I wasn't fond of. This morning was oatmeal with raw sunflower seeds and some chunks of apple. It was delicious but heavy, and still more fat than I want so early in the morning. The brightside of the experiment was when I remembered (gasp!) that I don't have to eat classic breakfast foods for breakfast. I was looking at the portion of un-mashed chickpeas in my fridge this morning (after I already made my darned sunflower seed oatmeal) and finally had the fecking epiphany that I could just toast them up as is -- or as a patty -- and eat them seperately (or instead!) of my oatmeal, and it still wouldn't take much effort in the morning when I'm dragging my feet everywhere I go. Like. WTH. I knew this. I knew this when I was on purees. I had sweet potato with bone broth powder puree for an entire week back then. Why am I overcomplicating my life trying to solve problems that don't have to be problems at all. So, these surgery hormones, can I blame them for making me slower on the uptake or is my age finally catching up to me? XP

@AmberFL In all your exercising have you found that your arms are firming up, if they were flabby before? Just looking for some tips as they remain a problem area for me and doing arm weights at home (mix between 1.5kg and 3kg) a few days a week for some reps doesn't seem to be making any inroads. My legs are always going to be a problem area for me because of lymphedema but that just stops me wearing shorts or a short dress leaving me still with plenty of options but having to keep my arms covered all the time (because I hate my arms) is a pain.

This week has been disappointing. I didn't lose any weight despite not doing anything different. I got a dreaded summer cold, so I wasn't motivated to cook. So I ordered Pizza last night.. I'm really disappointed in myself, because there's a million better options. But what's done is done. So I'm back on the diet today. I'm still sick, but I can't use that as an excuse. And at least when I don't lose weight and gain, tomorrow, I'll know why. I've also joined a gym and I've got the induction on Saturday. I used to go to the gym pre-pandemic and just wasn't able (or maybe willing) to get back into the swing of things once they reopened. I do miss the water aerobics class I used to do. The new gym doesn't have a pool and I can't afford a gym with a pool. So up and down

I am actually doing pretty good now. I am able to take bigger sips, getting a lot more of my protein down, and how is chicken broth so delicious. I have been getting down most all of my pills and vitamins. Tomorrow I start mushy food and creamy soups (no chunks). I'm excited.

Ooooo very nice! When my children were young I used a large slow cooker almost daily. I would set up the meal in the morning before we left and return home to dinner being ready. It had the option for warming or auto off after the timer ran out (instead of keeping it in warm mode) That was very helpful if we were returning later than expected. It was wonderful. Now I have a tiny one that I’ve never used and probably never will 🤣.

I am not preventing more weight loss however I am not a fan of how thin I am right now. I work out to build muscle but I like being curvy and I am looking pretty flat now lol I felt really good and *think* I looked good at about 175-180 Not that I don't feel good where I am at, but I am would okay with where I am at. My surgeon said that same lol But like you said I am not letting my foot off the gas, still working out 6days a week, tracking my food and prioritizing protein which I plan to do for the rest of my life. Thank you I am loving joining this new life!

You’ll find your rhythm, it might take a while but you’ll begin to understand what works for you and what doesn’t. When I first started working out I was doing 2 hours of cardio a day. When I knew better I cut it to 50 minutes a day and lost more fat that way. I would train glutes twice a week if I could but I get too sore because I don’t eat adequately to recover and for them to grow hence the once a week. If you can train glutes twice a week and rest well between the sessions (say beginning of the week and end) and eat well then go for it, nobody minds a juicy perky booty lol. Shoulders are not large muscles so I would limit it to 3 exercises a week (shoulder press, upright rows, lateral raises) and 2 bis and tris exercises as these are smaller muscles. I didn’t meet my protein goals for over 4 months post op. At 6 months I upped my calories to 800 and at 7.5 months (now) I’m averaging around 1000 calories a day, give or take. I have some fierce restriction so my portions are very small but I eat frequently (every 1.5-2 hours when I’m not busy or distracted). On weekends I forget to eat and can go 6 hours between meals but on weekdays I try to stay consistent and eat every 1.5-2 hours. It’s very unlikely that you’ve messed up your sleeve, you’re losing weight and keeping active so it sounds you’re doing it just right. You might be surprised to find out that you might need to eat much more (1800-2000 calories) to maintain your weight! My brother was sleeved 3 years ago and to maintain his weight (mind you he’s really slim) he’s eating around 3000 calories and he’s not active lol. Not saying you should jump to 1800 calories overnight but maybe gradually start increasing your calories until you hit the sweet spot and your weight stabilizes. Track everything and keep a food journal and note down your weight changes (loss, gain, maintenance). Remember you are very active and you WILL feel more hungry than someone who isn’t. Your body is new to weightlifting and is trying to build muscle, and building muscle requires a lot of calories. At 4 months post op I started serious weight training again and I was able to up my calorie intake when I was failing prior to that, I am just much hungrier working out than when I am not. At 3 months post op I was barely getting in 200 calories a day. Don’t doubt yourself, you’ve done amazing!

See if you already wear glasses I think it would be at least an LITTlE easier because at least your have them with you. I am just not used to needing them yet so I can never find them when I need them. Despite buying the dollar tree version in bulk. I’m sure like everything else I will get used to it eventually. The protein water sounds awesome. Guess they named it correctly because all I can say is WOW. Sounds great. Thanks.

Mine is readymade too but Im sure like anything else it will vary from brand to brand. What brand is yours without whey? Will be good to know if Dairy is an issue for me post SADI because I like the protein water better than the shakes. What’s so difficult for me is that I can’t see the darn labels. 😆. Im just getting to this stage in life so I never have my readers when I need them. I usually take a picture so I can zoom in to read it. Pain in the butt.

@AndreaJD that actually sounds more like my LSD. There is this whole chart with portion sizes for different meals and there are a few more options but I don’t care for a lot of it. I have been doing the two shakes and a lean meat with one cup veggies for dinner and then I have the other 1/2 cup veggies and the fruit for snacks. I’m pretty board with it but at least I’m not starving. Do you think it matters if I do the meal for lunch and a shake for dinner? I am meeting a friend Saturday and I was bummed we can’t do lunch but I thought what if we go to outback and I do my shake for dinner. I can get a steak and veggies there. I just have to tell them no oil or anything. I may be torturing myself a little when I see and smell what she is having but I guess I gotta get used to it sometime. I think I have lost around 10 pounds. I didn’t think to weigh myself at home right before I started the diet but three days earlier I was 258 at the Dr. It seems like my home scale ran a little lower than his. I was 255 this morning on mine so I’m thinking that’s around 10 but I’m afraid to get too excited until that’s confirmed. i think I am back in a habit of doing all my vitamins now. I take the multi with my morning shake or proffee and then calcium at lunch and dinner. It takes a little longer to get moving in the morning because I sit and drink the shake right next to the multivitamin so I don’t forget but hopefully I won’t have to do that forever. I just finished a Walmart order for some more berries. I am eating so little that the others went bad before I could finish them. That’s okay I needed to add items to get to $35 so it helped me remember to get a small can of dry shampoo for the hospital bag and I need to pick up the nausea rx for the night before surgery anyways. I am also going to haul off some donations that have been collecting by the front door and I hope to finish the deep cleaning of my floors today. Fingers crossed that I don’t get dizzy again. I really would like to come home to a somewhat clean house after surgery. I know that it will be even harder to sit still and recover when I’m looking at all the things that need to get done. My husband is planning to finish some work on the bathroom while I’m in the hospital so we shall see if it’s still clean as I leave it 🤦‍♀️ Well, I guess it’s back to my never ending to do list. I hope everyone else is doing well and you all have a great day.

Just checked with mine - readymade has no whey protein, the stuff you mix yourself has ☹️ I guess it’s just a case of reading labels. Why do they have to make things so difficult???

@Greekmom4, that sounds a lot like my liver shrink diet, but I can only eat 1 meal a day, the rest is protein shakes (at least 3). I am doing ok so far, still able to do my treadmill without being weak or dizzy, but i go from zero to homicide in a hot second. My sister is a naturopath and said I will finish detoxing in 2 weeks (assuming I'm not incarcerated by then). She told me some things to help. I agree, @ShoppGirl, it's weird how different the protocols are. I would not want the all-liquid diet (I'll get enough of that after surgery). I have my surgery the week after you and @ShoppGirl, on August 12. It's getting so close!

Oh wow! I'm on full liquid for a week pre-op - I'm on day two today! So far I haven't wanted to claw anyone's eyes out (lol!) Like I said, I messed up on my first shake of the day yesterday and had one that had an insane 20g of sugar and 50g of carbs in an 8 oz serving! Since then I moved back to my 30g protein shakes that have 1g of sugar each; I had three yesterday and have had two today. I'm surprised that taking 100mg of colace morning and night hasn't had me running for the bathroom yet, so there's that! I had about a cup of sugar free jell-o yesterday throughout the day and have had about a half cup of it so far today. So far my plan is to shower with the Hibiclens Sunday morning, then when I get to the hotel that night. I'll wake up early Monday morning - no fluids after midnight at all - to shower again with the Hibiclens and head over to the hospital. Sunday is my normal sheet change day anyway, so that's good. I expect to be in the hospital for 2-3 days, hopefully getting released on Wednesday the 7th to ride home with my driver. I'll have my fella change the sheets for me at home again before I get settled in. Good thinking on packing light - I know I'll want warm comfy socks (I hate hospital 'socks' though they may make me wear them for traction, idk), the meds I am still allowed to take, and a robe that zippers all the way up the front. I don't plan to take a lot - I'll bring a set of earbuds in case I want to watch something on my phone to pass the time but other than doing the sip-sip-sip of liquids and restarting my Bariatric vitamin I imagine I'll rest as much as I can while still getting up as much as they prompt me to for walking around to work the surgery gas out. I figured I'd just toss a few changes of underclothes, socks, the robe, some comfy clothes to wear home, and meds in a backpack. Oh - And of course my phone charger. Can't go anywhere without THAT! You must REALLY be feeling it about now with your surgery tomorrow morning! Wishing you the very best!

I can't express how much I truly appreciate the honest and careful feedback from all of you... I DO want to change, and I know exactly what I'm doing to myself. NICKELCHIP you are an angel and reading your response touched my soul...leaving me pretty speechless at the moment. I do feel very alone in my journey and It's ok, but sometimes it would be nice having someone in my life who can understand the depth of my journey and what it really means to be a supportive person. I'm not asking or expecting of it, and I'm very grateful to have come across a lot of genuine and kind people on this website. Having some reassurance and affirmation DOES go a long way though. I think therapy and speaking with my team is my best option at this point. Group therapy will help with accountability and having people around who understand. It's just the act of actually doing it. LOL As NickelChip said in her response about being comfortable in failure...I felt that. Seems when I do something good for myself, I give up on continuing it. Or sabotage it completely. Thank you ALL again SO much ❤️

It’s so weird how the various doctors do things so different. Your diet is shorter but sounds harder than mine, doable though. At least you get to chew some things. I would hate to do the ALL liquid for two weeks like some people have to. I would feel full but I would just be so board with it. I am so glad you did not have to give a bunch of blood during all this. Thankfully I was allowed to schedule mine prior to the diet because I agree that wouldn’t be good. I was just cleaning today trying to get things done before next week and I guess I overdid it. I got real lightheaded so I definitely couldn’t give blood. I know it’s because it was almost 1:00 and all I had was a protein shake. I stopped and had my second shake right away then just took it easy for a while. i would hate to not know my time until the day before, though. If you can’t tell by my schedule above, I’m a planner. It helps with my anxiety to plan things way in advance. They did tell me that I will need to be flexible that day though because I could get there and have to wait. They said they will always take kids and diabetics to the OR first, bumping me if necessary. I will be done this time near week too, though. So excited for both of us.

@AndreaJD and @ShoppGirl, I also had a pre-op call from the nurse today. My PCP had ordered a bunch of labs that I felt were not needed. I feel so much better because the nurse and surgeon agreed with me. I also leary that I might pass out if I needed to have so much blood taken while on a very low calorie diet. Here is how my pre-op diet works. It lasts 13 days. Days 1-12 I have to eat all of the following: 3 protein shakes w/skim milk (8oz), 1/2c oatmeal or cream of wheat, 1/2c SF pudding, 4-6oz CarbMaster yogurt, 1c low-fat soup, 1/2c unsweetened applesauce, 1c of any combination (baby carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli, tomato, iceberg lettuce) with 2T FF dressing, and 60-84oz clear liquids. Day 13: 64-80oz clear liquids only. Today is day 7 and as I have progressed it has gotten more difficult to get all the food/water in each day. Several days I did not eat the pudding. I decided to prioritize my protein. Also, starting today I am not taking any vitamins just maintenance meds. I will restart vitamins one week after surgery. I still do not know my surgery time, as they call the day before to tell me when to be there. So, this time next week my surgery will be done and my new journey begins. How is everyone else doing? Getting anxious, scared, excited?

Just checked the protein water I have and it’s whey protein 😢

Would an unflavoured pea protein work? Or a protein water to have with your existing breakfast?