Search the Community

*Trigger warning for discussion of food* - just in case! I don't want to upset anyone who may be struggling with cravings etc 💜 Hello everyone! I have been on this site for a few months now, and my surgery date is getting closer and closer. I've just had the sale of my house finalised which means I can now officially pay for my surgery so it all feels a lot more real now! 😄 I am curious to know if anyone had a pre-surgery bucket list? I am talking things like, final meals they wanted to have or things they wanted to drink! Given that after surgery a lot of these things are going to be a no-go for a while. I just thought it would be a fun thing to talk about! I am thinking about Kokoro chicken katsu curry...😩

Had my one week post op appt today. She said my incisions look good but when she was cleaning one of them mostly because I was scared since the bandage came off in the shower and it was bleeding she noticed my pain lying on the table and getting up. She told me that I am trying to be too tough and that I need to take my pain meds. I ended up talking to her about that again today and she said if I don’t want to take them thatI could take Tylenol and try a muscle relaxer which I just picked up both and came home with the groceries popped the trunk and went inside. My husband took the hint since I had already texted him that I was hurting pretty bad. lol. I mostly talked to her about my gallbladder since I didn’t know anything about that ahead of time and didn’t much care while I was in the hospital. She made it sound like for most people it’s not really that big of a deal. I may have some issues with super rich and greasy foods but for most people that’s about it. She also started me in B-12 injections. She said it usually ends up being required witb the SADI but now with the gallbladder thing too she may as well just start me now. I am starting with once a month and we will tweak it from there depending on labs. So I picked that up too and ordered the sharps container and medical grade alcohol swabs. Wish me luck since I can’t even look when I get a shot. I feel like I have had to learn so much this week. A lot of surprised but am still just rolling with the punches. My biggest thing that’s pulling me through right now is that Sunday I get to have purées. 😆 Good luck to the two having surgery tomorrow and I hope that everyone else is going well with preop and recovery. ❤️‍🩹

So by 8 months post op with the sleeve, I started having complications. But before that, I was able to eat a cup to a cup and a half of food, depending on what it was. Now a year out from my revision to bypass, I have 2 cups of protein cereal, or 1 small piece of steak and 1/4 cup of cheesy peas. Or I can have a can of soup. I can have 2 chicken drum sticks and 1/4 cup of veggies. It's not so much HOW MUCH you eat as it is WHAT you eat. I'm careful with what I eat, I still log and track everything, and I avoid sugar (or go with no sugar added if it's unavoidable) and rarely use salt (but use Himalayan salt if I REALLY need it). It's about how often you eat and what you're eating. I don't graze. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. I don't drink alcohol (empty calories and carbs), I don't drink soda (again, empty calories and carbs and frankly, don't like the taste anymore), and I made sure to find alternatives to things I use to eat a lot that are healthier but still yummy. I don't feel like I'm deprived because it all tastes good.

I've always eaten well even at my highest weight. I eat the exact same just much smaller portions and I know now that the type food I was eating was never the problem but how I much of it I ate - because I always complained that I wasn't able to lose weight although I always worked out and ate well 🤷‍♂️ - . My meals are balanced and I always prioritize protein and have veggies with my meals, but I do have a couple of bites of not so good things (cake, cookies, ice cream) and I limit myself to a couple of bites, I am trying to enforce the taste everything but eat less rather than find alternatives to everything. With that being said, I do try to substitute things that don't affect the way I savor my meals (protein toast for normal toast, low carb tortillas for regular tortillas and so on, it's because I can't taste the difference). I also love eating out, albeit hidden calories and all. I do indulge in sugar free chocolate almonds though and chocolate protein balls because I like the way they taste. I make paleo cookies and higher protein desserts like chia seed pudding protein banana bread but I still limit myself on how much of that I eat.

I'm not sure if that was actual dumping or not. Nausea CAN be part of dumping, but it's not one of the more common symptoms. Usually it involves heart palpitations, cramping, sweating or chills, and diarrhea - and it can go on for hours, or so I hear (I've never dumped). It's also pretty rare in sleeve patients (although it's not unheard of), so I'm not sure if it was that or some ingredient in those foods that your body was reacting to. Although you could be right. I'll be curious to hear what others say/think.

So, I know they said that I can shower with the staples in, just no scrubbing the area. Instead I'm supposed to just let the water and soap run over the incision sites on their own. But I am so nervous about it that I bought baby wipes to do my 'cleaning' until I've healed up more. Or at least until the morning of my first post-op. I know they know what they are doing, but with my diabetes actually getting worse somehow on a liquid diet I am now terrified of screwing up my healing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl Ooooh, that recipe sounds amazing if we can do that for ourselves. I'm adding it to the list of things to ask when I go for my first post-op appointment. (I know it won't be for a while, but I think it's good to go ahead and stock up on recipes early to avoid boredom. Though my husband's coworker who had the exact same procedure I did said you don't ever enjoy food again and he eats the same thing every day because it's only an eat to live thing.) No clue about that protein powder. I have been considering getting some unflavored powder of some kind to add to meals and such going forward to help with the protein goal. But I will admit that I also really haven't thought that far in advance lol. Today was my first day of milk of magnesia, and yeah... I went. I didn't even feel constipated. But you said when talking to your doctor that going on day 7, 8 and 9 were normal. So now I'm wondering if I went too quickly? Since surgery was literally Friday and it's Monday now. I don't know but I do feel better after going, so I guess that's another thing that is going to be individualized. Thank you for the milk idea. I did not add soy milk to my grocery order today, but that makes sense. Maybe I can convince hubby to go out in the morning and get some to make my life easier. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt Glad to hear every day gets better! I've been stuck in awake for a couple of hours, sleep for four hours mode. So I'm still working towards hitting my goals. I hate it because I feel like I'm falling behind, but I'm not feeling dehydrated so I guess that whole "body is healing" thing is working in my favor.

Well, last night was.... bad. My dog came out of nowhere and jumped on me, his paw hitting right over a set of staples. 85lbs of "I just want to love you!" turned into absolute misery. It was 7am before I could finally fall asleep between that and suddenly having diarrhea, which I don't know if they were related or what. I didn't have anything that I wasn't supposed to have, so I'm not sure what caused the latter symptom. Anyway, it's been a day of sleeping on and off to catch up on last night. My cuddlebug of a dog doesn't understand why he can't be on mama currently. I don't know if it's because of the pain or the diarrhea, but I definitely did not feel as good today as I had been. Walking even five minutes at a time felt like I had run a marathon, whereas before I was able to easily walk in ten minute increments. (I probably could have easily gone fifteen minutes, but I didn't want to overdo it.) Tonight, I came up with the idea of thinning my vanilla pudding with half of a premade vanilla protein shake. It worked! I'm still eating on it slowly, but I'm glad to find that my random idea was actually good for something. LOL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl Glad to hear your adventurous egg salad seems to have gone well! I'm looking forward to having even just plain tuna at this point. 7 more days to go on the liquid diet for me, though I may personally extend it a little longer. I know I'm doing my best, but I am concerned that I'm not already meeting goals. (Yes, I know, I had surgery on Friday and the goal is to build up to it.) I'm really glad the doc doesn't think the cramping is a blood clot. It is definitely something for all of us to keep an eye on and definitely be annoying about. I tend to err on the side of "if it gets worse, I'll call" but I know that won't work with the RYGB recovery. Your potential dumping with teriyaki sauce makes me extremely sad. Oriental foods of all kinds are literally my favorite things ever. I knew I would have to really moderate them a whole lot after surgery, but I was sure hoping they wouldn't cause dumping. Maybe if we make our own teriyaki sauce, we can avoid it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses I may try to take an actual shower on Thursday after what you said about warm water. I want to make sure my husband is available to help me, just in case. He works as a 911 dispatcher, so he wasn't actually able to take off work to help me at home. But he's being as supportive as he can and helping as much as he can when he is here. So that's just my own personal precaution - waiting for him to be around. I wasn't given a special soap for washing post-op. Just told to let the water and soap run over the incisions and such without actually scrubbing at them. Did they give you another round of hibicleans? I'm sorry the oatmeal sat wrong with your tummy this morning. I hope you got relief over the course of the day. But I definitely feel you on the eyeballing my protein goals. I know my stomach is still recovering, but part of me feels like I have to have those goals met NOW. I am glad that the ice chip thing helped you out! Kudos to you for creating a routine. I should with my autism and ADHD just so I have less things to screw up on lol. But I've really just been trying to relax and take it one day at a time, each day. Your routine sounds really nice and doable. Might have to borrow a few steps of that when I'm feeling less bleh. I do totally agree with what you are saying about remaining upright. I have to stay that way even with water. Any other liquid? I'm fine. Water and food? Yep, no incline for at least fifteen minutes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt I was actually surprised that my doctor didn't send me home with Lovenox injections. I kind of thought that was standard procedure for most post-op situations now. But I guess that is how he emphasizes to make sure I'm moving around. The only flavor of Protein20 in this city is a berry flavor, or a cotton candy with caffeine in it. And my doc is very strict - no caffeine until six months post-op. I didn't realize they had caffeine when I bought them. So I guess I'll just leave them on my pantry shelf until that time rolls around. They seem to have a decently long shelf life. Did you get other flavors from Amazon? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 Welcome to the forums and to your new life! I hope you are recovering well from your sleeve surgery. Good on you for choosing a walk instead of falling into temptation. It's been hard on me, but I've managed to not stumble so far. And I know what could happen if I do, so that should be enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

When I was trying to slow my weight loss I was snacking 5 x a day. I felt like I was eating all day long. In time my meal sizes got a little larger though I still snack 3-4 x a day to get the calories in. Peanut paste, nuts, protein bar, string cheese, yoghurt. baked fava beans or chick peas, half an apple, small bunch of grapes, & my left over rolled oats, yoghurt & dried cranberry breakfast are all snack options. I’m a full fat milk & full fat salad dressing girl too. No low fat foods in my kitchen (in many cases it’s high sugar &/or high salt to compensate for the low fat). I wouldn’t get worried yet. Yes there is the bounce back many experience to keep in mind. Your remaining fat will resettle and changes your body shape & you’ll look less gaunt especially in the face. Much like we tell people while they’re losing not to worry about the number on the scales too much, the same is true now while things are stabilising. Though you say you look bony & too skinny how much of this is body dysmorphia & you’re not really seeing yourself? Are you too skinny or is it too skinny in comparison to how big you were before? Are you really seeing bones sticking out or just seeing some shadowing of bones or feeling bones which you’ve never seen or felt before or have forgotten? It takes time to really see yourself after weight loss. Our brains can really twist our thinking.

How’s everyone in the July group doing so far? I think I’m 16 days out as of today. My surgery went well and recovery has been quite swift. I’m cleared to swim and do non vigorous exercises. Yay! I loved to swim laps prior to surgery, so I’m pretty thrilled to be back at the pool. It feels so good to move and my mobility has already gotten better! I feel pretty good overall. I have weird days where I’m honestly just angry. Some of that is frustration with eating 1/4 cup meals of food. I just need to work through that and acknowledge my feelings. My journaling pen has also been getting a workout. I’m also a little frustrated with how much physical hunger I feel as well. I’m learning to deal with it and find other things to occupy my time instead of eating or thinking about eating/cooking/etc. I wanted to note here that I spent a lot of time worrying before the surgery about the outcome, or “what if I feel like crap?” Well, the reality is that I felt like crap for about 3-4 days because of gas and fluid. But, then it was over and I felt ok pretty quick. Don’t waste your time dwelling on that stuff. Get your fluids, your walks and your protein. I recommend Unjury chicken soup protein if you’re having problems getting your shakes down. Do what you’re supposed to do and in time you’ll thank yourself for taking care of yourself. Sometimes what gets me through the negative thoughts is that these first few weeks are temporary and meant to retrain your stomach and your brain to make healthy choices. The weeks after surgery WILL pass quickly and you will come out the other side AND BE OK. Use the time to put some healthy routines in your pocket involving self-care, exercise, hydration, walking and protein. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me.

I am on a similar diet now. Two shakes and then a low carb dinner of the same portions of lean meat and veggies (mine adds non fat sugars free snacks and a small amount of fruit or starchy veggies). I do that for two weeks, BUT, two days before I switch to a liquid diet and then the night before (it doesn’t specify the time) I drink only clear liquids and after midnight it’s nothing (excepts a few hours before I drink a really small amount of Gatorade). Everyone is a bit differnt but I agree witb you that actual food six hours before doesn’t sound right at all. I would call. I was given the wrong info about my diet too. Personally I would ask to hear it from the dr or a medial assistant. I was given the wrong info about the need for the Liver Shrink Portion alltogether. The front desk seconded what the nurse that did my paperwork told me but I still didn’t trust it. Yesterday I met with the dr to clarify and it was good I trusted my gut because I am in fact supposed to do it and it started yesterday.

*raises hand* warning: this may get long.... now, for me, replace 'whiskey' and 'cognac' with Vodka Sodas or Red Wine or Espresso Martinis. i looked it up and according to North American AND European "standards" i would be considered an alcoholic in North America, as well as partaking in "harmful and hazardous" drinking if I were in Europe, based on my average daily alcohol consumption. I started drinking regularly during Covid, and basically never stopped. I too, consider myself a high-functioning alcoholic...i don't get black out drunk, i dont drink and drive, operate heavy machinery while under the influence, make bad decisions that would harm or embarass myself or others, etc. etc. since surgery i get affected much quicker, and on a lot less than pre-surgery. i'm pretty tipsy just after a single drink...legitimately drunk after 2. BUT.....i sober up really quickly too. the alcoholic buzz lasts me maybe 30-45 mins tops. then it's like i didn't drink a drop....which probably contributes to why i drink the amounts that i do. i am a boredom and social drinker (i.e,. i don't need it to sleep...i am a lifelong insomniac and need very little sleep all my life anyway *shrug*). so if i am busy doing stuff during waking hours that doesn't involve food, friends and sitting around, then i wont drink. i also have a chip on my shoulder, so often when somebody (i.e., Mr. or the Kid) challenges me that i couldn't stop drinking, I totally would just to prove him wrong. I've probably gone cold turkey 9-10 times for about a month each time in the past 5 years just to be right. Mind you, i never actually STOPPED for good, so maybe HE's right, ha. As for my current state of health, I am probably in the best shape in my adult life. I have maintained below goal weight since reaching it at 7 months post op. I am 5'2", 52 yr old woman, and this morning weighed 115.8 lbs. My body fat percentage hovers between 18-20% All my labs since surgery have been satisfactory, the last one being last fall. I don't take any medication any more (i used to take blood pressure and cholesterol and adhd meds). but I do have to take pesky PPIs i continue to need to keep my reflux under control. I have endless amounts of energy, bad moods and bitchiness are a rarity now, i am patient, calm, less stressed since losing the weight. I exercise (yoga, pilates, running, rock climbing) 20+ hours a week. I also dabble with swimming, hiking, volleyball, and dance for funsies. I consume over 2300+ calories a day so i'm definitely not starving myself (mind you, 400-500 cals are from alcohol...) soooo....sometimes i feel like i SHOULD worry about the amount of alcohol i drink, but really, if i'm honest, i don't, really. but if/when i do i feel like its becoming a problem, I can re-evaluate then (though this probably sounds like the alcoholic's battle-cry, no? ha!) p.s. may be worth noting here (not sure why) that i am also an ex-smoker at the moment. i smoked for 20 years, then quit cold-turkey for 10 yrs, then took it up again for 4 years, then quit cold turkey again last summer (am currently 14 months smoke free this time around, yay, me!). p.p.s. DISCLAIMER: i am in no way advocating nor opposing my M.O. to drinking to anyone who reads this. I am merely describing my own experiences. take or leave from it what you will ❤️ ...and scene. lol.

@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?

Hi Possum220! I feel like you are very honest and courageous to ask for help because it’s the true first step. Yes, I have been seriously depressed before and yes I am mortified by regain. My last serious depression was way before WLS but I know that the longer it goes without help, the longer it stays. I’m going to suggest you start your healing journey there because it’s life threatening. Please continue to advocate for yourself and your health in that regard! As regards regain, I have had some success with “Glucose Goddess.” Look her up, she’s on all social media platforms. She is a scientist and mathematician who got into a serious accident and needed to heal herself. She cites all the medical papers that she has researched, peer reviewed, and published. You can by her book, but I’m just watching YouTube to get the basics right now. Eating veg, then protein, then carb has seriously slowed my hunger AND stopped the near daily dumping I was experiencing. I was never diabetic but I think the severe dumping syndrome of WLS was making me the equivalent. I swear getting my blood sugar under control has been a game changer. Many studies report lessening depression and less anxiety. It has helped me with asthma because it reduces inflammation. I have lost four pounds this week, and all I did was change the order of foods I eat. So, depression is like asthma, you need to treat it first. But the Glucose Goddess has practical applications that help with those problems and helps with weight loss too. (By the way, it has helped even though I’m on a new medication that has even more steroids too.) I’m wishing you the best! Keep up with therapy and finding a med that works:) You are not alone. Let us know how you’re doing and what you found that helps.

Hello! I'm new to the group. I just had surgery on the 17th. I'm really struggling to stick to liquid diet until cleared by surgeon. Husband has been super supportive with broths and other liquid diet adhered menu options as he cooks dinner for the household. Next check in with doctor is Tuesday and I hope he gives the clear for pureed foods so I can at least stop feeling like I'm on empty constantly.

Wowo!! What a transformation. Congrats on your success!! I struggled with depression too. At my heaviest, 320 pounds, I felt hopeless after years of struggling to get the weight off. My body finally just stopped cooperating and I couldn't lose more than 30 pounds no matter what I did. With my decision to have WLS I suddenly found hope. I didn't need a procedure that helped me eat less. I needed something that changed the way my body processed food. When I heard it referred to as Metabolic Surgery, it caught my attention. This actually resets my bodyfat setpoint to what I was born to be????? Sign me upppppp! No regrets!! I pray continued success for you @Real Komboand hope you find the help and mental clarity to overcome the dark thoughts we all have to battle with at some point. {{hugs}}

I feel like I am stuck in a repetitive loop with food at the moment - I find one thing I like and it is all I eat 😂 My current obsession is a mix of things in a bowl, including: beetroot, small balls of mozzarella, chicken pieces, cucumber, crème fraîche, olives, sundried tomatoes, and a protein popped corn and pea mix. Sounds gross but for some reason I really can't stop eating it 😂

Hello @Averdra ! I'm so glad that you decided to speak up and join us! I feel honored to have helped inspire you - I was a big RP junkie on WoW and it even overflowed to Tumblr there for a while, for me Man, Covid is such a bear to deal with! I completely feel you on the delay - My 24 year old son moved from Missouri to Portland Oregon in the summer of 2021 and I was BEYOND excited for him to come visit me last fall. The date approached; and I got Covid for the FIRST time about four days before he was scheduled to land. It was heartbreaking to have to socially distance visit with him; he still wanted to come to be able to see his Granny and other family, plus had everything scheduled off work at that point. We risked ONE hug with my double masked, wearing plastic gloves Stupid Covid, screwing things up! That said - yeah, the dehydration weirdness that Covid can cause and the cough - it's so much better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully yours passed quickly without any lingering negative side effects. Welcome to the club, fellow WoW nerd! You certainly don't need to worry about 'jumping in' - we're all going through this at our own pace and the conversation it TOTALLY open! To @draikaina8503 - Yes, you DO got this! You're so very close now! Don't forget (if you're going to!) that this is the time to take those post op photos and measurements! We're here cheering for you to have as pain free a surgery process and recovery as possible Enjoy your sugar free popsicles if you're allowed them - not sure if it's allowed in the clear liquid state. Also, I will say that when it comes to the shakes try to prepare yourself some variety, if you can! I ended up doing french vanilla and chocolate for several days and thought I was going to lose my mind! I'm way regretting all this 'cream of' soup that I got because they just taste beyond awful to me (maybe it's the 98% free? Idk.) and wishing I'd gotten more chicken noodle soup to strain. I got a container of chicken broth but it tastes SO plain. @Onemealplan - I meant to comment previously - I've been having a lot of upper left shoulder pain as well. I wonder if maybe I had a nerve block as well - my pain hasn't been severe unless I move wrong or stand for too long trying to DO something like cook for my family, Your suggestion of a thermal cup dinged a bell for me - My fella has one of those I'll totally be using! Oh and @ShoppGirl that IS a really good idea, with the warmer. I had already been thinking along those lines but I figured I'd just set my little plate on a heating pad turned on high lol Welcome and congratulations on getting your surgery date, @caseyash30! It will be here before you know it! I just woke up from a nap and I'm pushing my limited a little to have something NOT a shake - I stirred a little bit of low fat cottage cheese in with some of my sugar free vanilla yogurt for variety. I'm mashing the heck out of the cottage cheese part and eating super slowly while also sipping a little bit of chicken broth I warmed up SLIGHTLY and added a touch of salt to. Hopefully everything sits right; so far so good. Other than water and splitting a Strawberry Premier shake 30g Protein between breakfast and lunch this is the only other thing I've 'eaten' today. I know I'm not 'graduated' to puree yet but good gravy I've been following everything to a T as far as instructions. I may have missed someone here - Oh! @ShoppGirl - Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself. To ME you seemed like Superwoman getting everything so prepared - and I completely understand that anxiety that the progress you made will be lost. I'm cheering you on and betting it won't, though! Every friend of mine I've seen go through Bariatric surgery so far ended up finding themselves bursting with energy by about month 3, and they really threw themselves into cleaning and organizing in an effort to keep busy. I've struggled with depression, anxiety, and overthinking, so I am hoping the same for myself! I didn't get as much pre-cleaning done as I would have liked and as expected, looking at the clutter is driving me up the wall! On the upside, having these mobility issues has clued me in to a few that I've now taken steps to solve for my Mother, who I live with and help care for. She was always reluctant to take regular showers and I didn't understand it until I went to shower myself and it occurred to me - the grab bar on the side of the tub is totally inadequate if you are unsteady, and there needs to be one mounted to the wall. I've already taken steps to make that happen and am very glad that this afforded me the realization @Pepper_No_Salt - Woot! You're so close as well! I hope the liquid portion of your pre-surgery diet goes smoothly and we're here cheering for your surgery and recovery to be as gentle and painless as possible! @AndreaJD - Congratulations on getting through it! Yeah, the gas pain can be SO real. I hope your recovery is going smoothly! Congratulations to @Everyone on your progress, again, sorry if I missed anyone!

Oooh love how you describe it - I start day after tomorrow and am excited although a little apprehensive too on how it goes down stuff like would I throw up? Can my stomach digest it ok and a gazillion other what ifs which SF syrup brand do you use? I like caramel and hazelnut but haven’t tried any so any suggestions would be very welcome my prog has a post op liquid diet inc cream based soups and then goes straight to soft so no puree stage per se no crackers bread pasta rice in soft food otherwise the faux toast sounds yum

Does anyone have any personal experience using any egg-white powders for protein, specifically in cooking or adding to other foods in lieu of other protein powders? I'm looking at NOW's egg white powder and a couple of Canadian brands (Muskoka Mornings & Canadian Protein), but if you've successfully tried another brand I'm all ears. Do you find the eggy taste strong or mild when you use it mixed in other items? How hard is it to dissolve? What did you use it in? I've read mixed reviews on both aspects across a few different brands now -- some people saying it takes a lot of 'elbow grease' to dissolve and still has a strong eggy texture, others saying they barely notice it. Specifically, I'm having trouble getting enough protein at breakfast time. Due to my meds schedule, I can't have dairy/calcium until 10/10:30, but I eat breakfast around 7am. Usually it's a high protein cereal and almond milk, or lately oatmeal made with almond milk or water -- but the oatmeal is usually 6g of protein or lower, and the cereal nets out to about 8. I've tried adding my usual protein powders but -- of course -- most the ones I can stand are whey-based. Not to mention, the texture when added to my oatmeal is just ugh. (I've got so many texture issues lately, ugh). Basically I'm looking for another option I can add to oatmeal (sweet or savoury). ((I've tried peanut butter powder these past two days and it's good -- just not something I can handle every day. I'm experimenting later this week with some other seeds & nuts, but most of them are too high fat for me as the first meal of the day and just don't offer enough protein. I've also gotten some chickpeas, I've heard that mashing some up and mixing it into the oatmeal before cooking will work as it has a bland enough flavour to not stand out and will come out roughly the same as oatmeal. That's tomorrow's experiment XD)) Any opinions are greatly welcomed!!

My thing is that this time I will FEEL like I can get anything down and never feel full because they are not touching my already sleeved and HEALED stomach and my hunger has already returned. BUT I need to follow the same protocol to protect my healing intestines. I think I will feel just as hungry as I do now and be able to stomach eating like normal but i must be good and follow the staged return to eating protocol anyways. i am sure it’s not going to be easy but of course I don’t want to hurt myself. It should be okay if I can have three shakes because I am doing two a day now on the LSD and it’s enough to sustain me so I am thinking maybe he will say I can do three shakes to keep me full plus eat those little tiny meals to go through the stages. I know it’s a little more calorie wise but I just don’t see me making it on two tablespoons of food when I still have my hunger and my stomach is not full. I really need to talk to him more about this before I leave the hospital because the normal by the book diet just isn’t going to work for me. But it definitely Sounds like maybe to play it safe I should just wait until i am closer to the next stage to have any yogurt.

I don't know how other programs do it, but my 6 months of supervised diet was basically just a logbook of what I was eating, when, how much. My team didn't have me on any restrictions until 2 weeks before the scheduled surgery. They certainly followed up with me consistently, but it was more to suggest how I could adjust my food after the surgery -- ie, "I see you had 2 cups oatmeal for breakfast! After the surgery, you'll probably start at half a cup and go from there, you'll want to make it with either a higher protein milk like fairlife or even a protein shake, you'll want to use thicker oats rather than instant or minute-oats," etc I did lose about 20 lbs total pre-op -- just because having to measure my food made me more aware of how much I was eating. I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but I don't think losing too much weight before the surgery will be an issue for you -- or for most people approaching it as an option. If your BMI is high enough to qualify you starting the program, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to lose enough on your own to drop your BMI to a point that it would disqualify you. (I'm not saying it's impossible! But most people turn to WLS as a last resort after so many other methods have failed -- if we could successfully lose a big chunk of weight by ourselves just by being on a supervised diet, we would have done it without turning to WLS.)

Ugh, I definitely get the foamies from time to time (nice to know there's a word for it!) but a few times it's developed into all-around nastiness: sweating so badly my skin is wet and I soak all my clothes, bad cramping, concurrent vomiting & diarrhea, dizziness, and basically wanting to die LOL. I just assumed it was dumping, but none of those times have occurred with sugar -- and I'm pretty sure none of them were due to high fat content cause I've been ridiculously careful about that. (Other than the chicken, which was thighs cooked with skin on -- removed before eating though.) That said, most of the time it's also been with food cooked in a restaurant so who knows what kind of things they put on that they just weren't admitting too. At this point, I'm too scared to eat out other than at a few restaurants I know I can trust. :S

@ShoppGirl I am with you on the freezing side - I am far too unorganised to try and keep on top of all of that! I find that if I have any leftovers I will just take it into work the next day for lunch! Oooh that sounds so lovely, I can't lie, the food in the US sounds amazing compared to the UK at times 😂 I am a BIG fan of salmon with that being said haha. Your menu honestly sounds divine! Hmmm...I am inspired!

I am about to start the soft food stage and that means i can have hummus. I love hummus, but ehat am i supposed to eat it with? Cant do raw veggies or chips/ crackers. Any ideas?

Good morning everyone! I have to say, all the extreme pain and unforeseen issues with surgery makes me nervous hahaha. I know it’s not the “norm”, but it makes you think. Singingbarista and Hiddenroses (i can’t figure out how to tag people hahaha), I totally know what you mean about not telling people. I have only told my sister and my mother and that’s because they’ve both had procedures similar to this. I agree, in my head there’s a fear of judgment that I’m taking the “easy way out”… even if I know that’s not true… this has got to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. This is a tool to aid us in loosing the excess weight that keeps us down for a number of reasons. I’m an Accountant, and fortunately I get to work remotely now so I’m not in the public eye, but when I fly down to see my family next year they’ll definitely see a big difference and I’ll have to be prepared for questions. I don’t like to lie so I’ll just have to prepare myself to tell the truth. If they judge me, that’s on them. I was given a choice on my procedures but was heavily advised to go with RNY because of the success rate with weight loss. My doctor told me that a lot of people he’s performed the Gastric Sleeve on have come back to get the RNY because of the weight gain back. My surgery is coming up on Wednesday and I’m honestly ready to get it over with. My food cravings and hunger pains are terrible. Maybe I’m not drinking enough water? I hear a lot of people say by this time it wasn’t so bad for them… ummm am I doing something wrong? Hahaha. How is everyone doing on the last days of the liquid diet? I have 4 days and counting… @Singingbarista, you have 3 days right? By the way, side note… i asked the doctor not to give me anything that’s a narcotic for pain meds (family history of severe pill addiction), does anyone think I can recover on Tramadol or Tylenol alone? Is there anyone who’s gone through that? Good luck to all, and for those of you who just went through the surgery, I really hope your pain goes away soon.