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Im from London. Semi skimmed milk with 2 tablespoon skimmed milk powder. I use Hartley 10 cal jelly pot. I've been doing normal because I lost weight fast and because il lost weight in last 3 weeks in liver reduction diet when it's just soup and yogurt.

I'm definitely not someone who sews. My mom use to, but she lives in Florida (I'm in Colorado) and her arthritis has gotten bad and she hasn't sewn in years. I honestly wouldn't complain about something like this anywhere but here because absolutely NOBODY else can relate. I keep hearing "but you were so heavy before, I would think you'd be ecstatic now!!" and I alternate between wanting to look around on the floor to see if I can find their brains that must have fallen out of their head and wanting to smack the ever loving daylights out of them. The AUDACITY to say that...to my face!!! I'm hoping I can either find someone who wants to trade scrubs or someone wants to buy mine. I'm so thankful and grateful that I'm healthy and have lost so much weight. I honestly am. I just want my body to settle on a set point and stay there lol I absolutely DO NOT want to go lower than a Large right now, because I was already told I'll likely go down a size after my skin surgeries. If any of TPTB (The Powers That Be) are up there listening...PLEASE let me be good to go now lol I'm extra happy and grateful and thankful, and as my 3 year old granddaughter would say "I all dooooooone now" lol Please and thank you!!!! 🤣😁

You are amazing. You did this and lost so much weight. That is the best thing that I read all day. I know you will be smiling but I wish you could see the smile you put on my face.

I totally agree with the part about those patients who have had bariatric surgery, but ended up losing much more weight than they anticipated, looking emaciated. I had the mini gastric bypass procedure and ended up looking like a prisoner from a concentration camp.

Hi everyone, It has been awhile since I have posted. We have been very busy around my house. I will be 6 weeks post-op on Tuesday. I can officially transition over to regular texture foods as of then. My dietician did tell me to not attempt over 1/2cup per meal. She said that is my max goal for a couple more months. Daily goals: 60-80g protein, 48+ ounces of fluids, 500-700 calories, eat 3-6 times per day. Obviously do not eat 1/2 cup 6 times per day though. Lol I am excited about being able to go to the gym and start an exercise regimen. I also do not need protein shakes anymore as long as I am meeting my protein goals. So happy about that. I have found a new product, Nurri, it is an ultra-filtered milk (shelf stable) with 30g protein and only 150 calories. It is honestly better than Fairlife and comes in a can. I have been drinking that for my breakfast and while I take all my meds. I slowly take my meds over the 30 minutes or so I drink it. @draikaina8503 hope you are feeling better. @Justarwaxx the foamies are the worst. I’m glad it has only happened to me once. @ShoppGirl the target heart rate formula is interesting. I can walk across the room and my heart rate would be higher than that. Those goals don’t really work for me but if it’s great if they help you. @Voca my date was also 8/6. Hope you are doing well. I can’t remember who asked about weight going up and down. That has not happened to me since my surgery, but in previous dieting for sure it happened. I have had a couple of days where my weight did not change. I am more of a slow loser so I weigh every day to keep myself honest and to see if something I did the day before might contribute to loss or even a stall. It works for me but might not be good for everyone. I have tried chili from Wendy’s and McAllister’s Deli and they were okay. I do not really count those as “eating out” since they were chili and I could have had almost the same from a can. Last night I went to dinner with some friends for the first time since surgery. I had not told any of them about my surgery and then they were all worried about what I could eat. I had already looked at the menu before going so I knew what my options were. Really not super WLS friendly. It’s a wood fired pizza restaurant. I ordered the best protein option pizza and had only the toppings from 2 pieces. They were small pieces and the entire pizza fit on a single plate. My choices worked because today I am down 1.3 pounds. It made me happy that I knew I made the right choice. I was also not bothered by them eating other foods and seeing them finish their entire meals. They were all super supportive and asked if we needed to go somewhere else. I recently went through my closet and started pulling clothes that are too big and adding in fall clothes. I had previously done a big purge of clothes that did not fit and I did not want to keep so my clothing options are a bit limited right now. My cousin had the gastric sleeve about 18 months ago and she gave me all of her clothes so that has been a huge help. It was like getting new clothes for free. Haha My NSV is putting something on that did not fit a month ago and now is loose. That is a great feeling. Looking at the scale and saying I have lost 25 pounds since 8/6 and that does not seem like a lot to me but knowing how a certain shirt or pants fit before and now they are loose or even too big to wear. That helps keep it real for me and helps to keep me motivated. Hope everyone has a great week and keep focused on those small goals and successes.

@draikaina8503 wow, sounds like you are doing really well. Make sure that you give info that fatigue and get your rest though, you recover best while your resting. Yes, The no straw thing is for life with my team. There are a very small few it seems that make this only for like 6 months or a year but MOST seem to have that rule due life. Thanks for the direction of eating new foods. I already had a few today but thankfully so far I’m still good. I think I will do it your way from now on though. It will work out well because of course I have lots of leftovers from all I made today. I totally forgot about the recipes on Baritastic. I have the app too to track food and stuff. I just checked the soft foods and that cauliflower purée sounds good. Not sure about the heavy cream though. I think that may be bad witb the no gallbladder thing. I think that has a lot of fat. I will have to ask. Or maybe just try it with like 1/2 cream and half 1%! Is that like making whole milk. 😆 Anyways, for anyone who is looking for a way to track progress I second that app. It tracks measurement and weight as well as exercise and water too. And it’s nice that it lets you scan food and create meals to add things easier once you have used it for a while. And it’s free so worth a try.

Is this the same if you’re on HRT I wonder? Pre-HRT I would have quite happily stabbed hubby just for breathing too loudly and I honestly thought I was going mad - anger, tears, emotions all over the place. Really weird when I’ve generally been relatively sane previously! HRT has calmed all that down but I’d be interested in hearing from menopausal weight-droppers 🤔

Congratulations on your weight loss. I hope your sweating issue has resolved with your being closer to goal. I have question though? Do you recall the name of the rx your dermatologist gave you for sweating? I have a similar issue which I know is exacerbated by my weight but even when I lost weight with the sleeve it was still an issue. It’s horrible to live with. I have seen every specialist and had every test I can think of. My dermatologist gave me oxybutwnin which was great for my bladder but did nothing for the sweating. I would be thrilled to know that thete is another option.

Thank you for validating what I was feeling on the treadmill. I was trying to watch tv which was not directly in front of me too because it’s angled from the corner of the room but the treadmill was too close to it (kinda hard to explain) anyways, it did hurt my stomach worse so I had to quit. Also, mine can’t really go 2.0 mph. Anything less than 3.0 and it sputters…..is that the right word? I thought maybe it was my weight because I remember I was close to the high weight for it last time before I had surgery but that would make it 250 and I’m 228 now and it worked then at 335. In any case it’s really hard to keep my balance when that’s going on so I upped the speed and that didn’t hurt at first but caught up to me. I just don’t understand the bar that you cannot reach, lol, that thing makes no sense to me as I’m wishing I had something to grab and keep my balance. Awesome job sticking to just your protein and nothing more at the hospital. Especially when bored and worried about him and probably tired and all the things that would make us want to eat before all of this. Congratulations on getting cleared for soft foods. I started mine yesterday and it was so nice to be able to chew something. On that website that was suggested the fitness coach said she told her patients to do two bites of protein and one of veggie and I sorta stuck to that. I still obviously have to supplement with shakes that way but I would anyways so I figured it’s good for me to get into that habit. Hopefully my team will agree that is a good strategy. I’m not sure how early you get up but my time varies so I set alarms beginning at 9AM for my vitamins. I have been getting up at 8 and that works great I drink my protein shake and take my multi vitamin and stool softener by 9. Then the three calcium’s are 12, 3 and 6. Then at 9 I take my magnesium and stool softener. Basically every 3 hours I take something. I also added reminders in the Baritastic App so I can check it off each time which helps me to not question if I just turned off the alarm or if I actually took it. I’m really hoping they don’t add anything else or I will have to wake up in the middle of the night to take vitamins 😆 Congratulations on your non scale victory. I’m sure that others can see your 30 pound loss. It’s sometimes difficult for us to see in the mirror. It’s called body dysmorphia. People chat about it all the time in here who have lost 100 pounds and don’t see it. Three things that may help are side by side photos, taking measurements and if you look on Amazon they have a replica of one or five pounds of fat. You can visualize SIX of them big five pounders and see that IS ALOT!! it’s great that you are evaluating your hungry feeling to see if they are from the actual need for nutrition. When the hunger came back for me post sleeve that’s when things started to go wrong for me. I started giving into those feelings and I hadn’t changed my diet enough so the larger portions and more frequent meals and snacks added up quicker than if it was healthy foods. That’s why this time every healthy meal I make and actually like is a huge win for me as something to put into my Arsenal for when I am feeling hunger again. it sounds like you are really starting to get back into your groove. I’m so glad to hear it. Keep allowing yourself to take them little naps if you need them. It takes a while to get back to 100%’ from any major surgery. Never mind on the reduced calories we are taking in.

I suffer from GAD as well (and bipolar and ADHD). I am 2.5 weeks post op from a revision to SADI and doing great. Taking the vitamins have taken a while to get used to but honestly it’s not that bad now that it’s habit. I take my multi in the morning and get out three calcium’s to take throughout the day and then take my magnesium at bedtime (you may not need it). The bypass type surgeries are quite a bit more scary. I think it’s because they are not as straight forward as just making the stomach a little smaller seems but honestly a cut is a cut and the risks aren’t much higher than the sleeve. What you need to ask is what are the risks of all the weight related diseases And illnesses if you do nothing. Not to mention your quality of life with GERD. What I found most helpful to get through all of this was reminding my team about my anxiety when I felt myself freaking out. I told them I just need patience and I can deal with this. I asked loads of questions. I scheduled a couple of extra appointments in order to get everything answered and I over prepared. The day I walked in for my surgery I knew that I had done any and everything humanly possible that I could do to control the situation for the better and I let the doctors and nurses take the wheel. All the while continually reminding myself that they do this procedure every day and that chances were it was going to go on without incident but if it didn’t then I was in the absolute best place to be and get the help that I needed. Best of luck with your surgery. You’ve got this!!

I was sleeved in 2017. Highest weight was 275. Lowest was 159. My 'settled' weight was around 165 and it was perfect. I gained weight after menopause and couldn't move it with resets or diets. I just had GSRe or Overstitch a few days ago, which is a noninvasive revision that allows you to keep your sleeve--- it's just tightened up again. The size of mine had expanded quite a bit. The restriction I have now mimics what I had immediately after my original wls. This might be an option for you too if you're not wanting to revise to bypass.

according to this internet calculator: https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html ** at your current height and weight, if you did nothing but stand still and breathe, you would burn 1,478 calories a day (i assumed you are are a 30 yr old female to fill in the blanks). so THEORTICALLY if all you did was merely EXIST, and you ate less than 1,478 calories a day you would be in a deficit and lose weight (how much weight exactly would depend on your activity level, your genetics, your health and metabolism speed). with that said, i'm with @catwoman7 in that i agree that 2100 cal a day for someone with your current weight and height may be more than maintenance level cals (i.e, you will GAIN weight), unless you are exercising at least 4-5 times a week. see screenshot from the above calculator's results below. ** p.s. as always, pls don't think that this calculator is the be all end all of truth, its just a guide based on AVERAGES. roughly 99% of people with your similar height and weight will fall above or below this number produced by this calculator.

okay, am i the only one who actually DOESN'T like to wear leggings anymore????? when i was thin, i didn't like how my calves looked in them. when i got fat, i didn't wear them, because i felt even FATTER in them. then i lost the weight, and i was all, "oh yeah, look at me in leggings, i'm not fat". but after a while i realized that wearing leggings made may non-existent ass look even more non-existent! unless i constantly flex my butt muscles, you can draw a straight vertical line from my neck to my calves if i stand sideways. i do wear them to exercise classes though, but not in everyday public life lol

I don't think I ate anything that made me sick post op, except for sugar (I am sure it is a form of dumping). At 10+ months post op I eat everything, and by everything I mean I can eat everything and feel fine, my portions are much smaller of course. I eat tacos, burgers, sushi, noodles, pizza and even dessert but in smaller amounts. I eat out 2-3 times a week. Here are some things I follow that help me eat what I feel for in moderation: - I do not drink my calories, other than an oat/almond flat white, all my drinks are calorie free. I do not drink alcohol nor sugary drinks. I drink water, diet soda and coffee and that's about it. - I limit deep fried food, I almost always opt for grilled/air fried/baked. If there's a portion of fries and I really want some, I will have one or two and stop. - I prioritize protein 90% of the time. On weekdays I always start with my protein, then my veggies THEN a tiny bit of carbs if I have space (most of the time there is not much space left). When I'm out for a nice dinner or I've ordered in I will eat my order the way it is and will not pick the protein first, so if I've ordered a burger I will eat it as it, or if it is sushi i will eat that and not worry about protein first, but that is only a couple times a week. - I make tweaks and substitute when taste isn't compromised. I love my big mac tacos but I don't want to be eating 200+ calories from a tortilla, so I substitute that with a mission low carb because I really can't taste the difference, or it's negligible. I also substitute wheat toast for protein toast (still occasionally eat sourdough because I love it and can taste the difference). I also opt for low fat milk/dairy/meats when I can, but I will not substitute cheddar for a low fat version for example because MELTED CHEDDAR 🤤 - I eat carbs in tiny amounts. So if I'm snacking and picked up a cookie, I will eat a bit of it or half at most. If it is a slice of cake I make sure it is tiny or I will eat half the slice, if it's ice cream it is half a scoop. I can't tolerate much of sugar and it makes me ill but I will taste/try. And it has to be WORTH IT. I will not eat something for the sake of eating it, I should really want to try/eat it, and if it ends up not being good, I will not continue eating it. - I workout a lot, I lift, I run, I do Pilates, I cycle and close my steps. I stay active. If you can control your portions and refrain from the "all or nothing mindset" it is very possible to eat what you like and maintain your results, at the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out. Also, my moto is that life is too short to be living miserably (I love food LOL). I will however say that I recommend that you hit maintenance first before exploring with the above. I was VERY strict during weight loss and ate 100% clean.

I did feel anxiety and something that's grief-like in my early days post-op. I never did the liquid diet and was overwhelmed with how many things I thought I couldn't have. I have always enjoyed working out and always thought that not being to eat adequately will not allow me to workout intensely again. Those days are far behind me now. I eat everything and that includes sushi, burgers, tacos, rice, noodles and even dessert. I have been traveling to Europe for 2 weeks and I had gelato, pizza, pasta and bread every single day. I came back having lost weight. I walked 15k+ steps a day and enjoyed everything in moderation, I didn't eat big portions of anything, I rarely finished a whole scoop of gelato but I tasted everything and ate to satisfaction. I eat well 90-95% of the time, but I definitely don't deprive myself of anything. I eat out on weekends and I love trying new restaurants and cafes, it really doesn't have to be like that. It really comes down to how much you eat. Use your restriction to know how much to eat and when to stop. Of course I understand that the above might not be suitable for everyone, but the "all or nothing" mindset was something I struggled with pre WLS, but I find that adopting the "everything in moderation" OR "do I really want to eat that?" mindset now is really freeing and doesn't limit how I live my life. I love travel, I love food, I love culinary experiences and I am adamant to not let WLS get in the way of it. It is a tool that should be used to build good habits, which include portion control, daily movement and workouts but also freeing your mind of food fear and anxiety.

I was one of those "model patient" presenters at my clinic for the three years before COVID! I loved doing that! I had a partner - a VSG patient (I was RNY). I'd had a stricture at four weeks out - she never had any complications. I'm hoping we didn't sound too "vanilla" - but neither one of us had any issues (other than my stricture - which is a mild issue and very easily fixed). We were both super happy with our surgeries and both lost a ton of weight (she lost 100 lbs, I lost over 200). Although I think people found us entertaining (we were quite a pair!) and most groups asked us lots of questions. We always told the groups about the three-week stall (since it happens to almost everyone, and very few clinics mention it to their patients, so people freak out when it happens to them). Also told them about how we ate a month out, a few months out, a year out (our clinic's plan wasn't low-carb, like many of them are - it was balanced - although even given that, the typical eating YOUR presenter does sounds carb-heavy even to me). We mentioned how we typically eat when we're at a restaurant. Talked about the extra skin (my partner even lifted her shirt to show them her extra skin). Also talked about our experience with hair loss (since extra skin and hair loss are huge concerns among pre-ops). Also talked about constipation (we both have chronic constipation) and how we deal with it. And how we dress to "hide" all the extra skin (although I've since had mine removed). We always mentioned how most people lose their interest in food and hunger for several months after surgery, and how they should milk that for everything it's worth since it's way easier to lose weight when you don't give a flip about food. Basically stuff they likely would not have picked up during the classes they had with dietitian and the health psychologist. when I went through the classes in 2015, the presenter was kind of underwhelming, like yours. I'm sure he would have answered some of the questions we addressed when we were presenters, but he didn't, and the "students" wouldn't necessarily know enough at that point to even know what to ask. Shelli and I decide early on to talk about the issues they SHOULD ask about, but wouldn't know to. P.S. now I'm sitting her wishing I was still doing that - it was great fun! But COVID hit, so everything went online, and they didn't have the "model patient" class. Since everything is in person again, they may have some people doing it, but the two of us are pretty far out now (nine years), so they may have gotten people who had their surgeries just a year or two ago.

Hello everyone, Saturday was my birthday and I went with my daughter to McAllister’s Deli. I ordered a cup of chili as it seemed to have the best overall nutrition. I ate about 1/4 cup and took the rest home. The family really wanted to do a cake for me so hubby bought sugar free cake mix and frosting and made it. I only had 2 small bites. Just enough to say I participated. Haha Honestly I really did not miss eating a big piece of cake and ice cream. I much prefer my sugar free fruit popsicles now. Tuesday makes 4 weeks (28days) post-op for me. My energy level is getting better and I can walk up the stairs one foot per step. Before I had to do both feet per step and then up the next one. I can tell my breasts and a little smaller and my stomach seems a bit smaller also. I am down 20 pounds and very happy about that. I’m on soft food for another 2 weeks and my dietician did not mention increasing my portions from 1/4cup to 1/2 cup. However when I read the sample menu she gave me it does show going up to 1/2 cup per meal. Personally, I can only eat just over 1/4 cup at a time still. I know that makes it tricky with tracking meals. Tracking meals: who all is doing this? It keeps me so honest for myself. I do so much better when I track. I bought a food journal on Amazon and log my daily weight and everything I eat or drink, along with anything notable for the day.

The first step is to admit it, which you're doing. We all get in moods where we slip. The trick is to catch it, admit it, and start to correct it. You can still fix this, but you say you're not wanting to. So are you just wanting to vent about what you're doing to yourself or do you want to actually start fix it? If you want to vent...ok. But there's not much we can say or offer you if you truly don't want to start over and correct it. If you want to correct it, then we have something to work with. You know the rules, you know the diet, you know what you can and can't eat, drink, and do. You know you need to focus on protein, lower carbs, get in veggies and healthy fats, get in your fluids, cut out alcohol right now, cut way down or even out (for now) salt and sugar. Move your body more. Swim, walk, ride a bike, work out, do things that increase your movement more than you normally do every day. Cut way down (or out for now) soda. Start over and get yourself back on track and ease yourself back into things. You're only 4 months out from surgery, so you're still in the sweet spot of losing weight. So you can still turn this around and get back to dropping weight. If that's what you want to do. Again, if you just want to vent about it but not actually change it, there's not much else I can contribute. You've lost 41 pounds, and that's fantastic over 4 months. Remember your "why" for doing the surgery to begin with. Remind yourself what this meant to you and get back to that and really decide for yourself if that "why" still applies to you.

Thank you Yes, I have been getting support from the weight loss clinic in the hospital. I met with the in-house psychiatrist and he in turn referred me to one of their psychologists for PTSD and it has helped me. I actually see them both again (separately) at the end of this month as I will be doing some EFT sessions starting the end of the month.

I chose the sleeve. My mother had the bypass back in 2008 and had a lot of problems. She couldn't keep anything down for months after the sugery and the had to operate again and they made a mistake. So she basically couldn't really eat anything at all and suffered for years. She had a bowel perforation due to clot in April of 2023 that they couldn't diagnose until a month later and they couldn't repair because of what went wrong with her bypass surgery and she died in May of 2023. So I'm too afraid of having the same kind of problems. It's not the same hospital or the same surgeon, but I'm still scared. I did wonder if I should even consider any type of surgery at all, but my mother did lose weight and it did extend her life.

Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 7/10. I am having the gastric bypass. I'm on the pre-op diet right now. Doing well but am so weak from this diet. Last night I could barely finish my evening meal - got nauseated and just felt terrible. This is a revision surgery. I had the VSG 2914, lost 100. Foot surgery and the covid lockdown started my regain of 80 lbs. The surgery is to fix my hernia and hopefully get rid of my acid reflux. I am hoping to lose but more importantly to maintain my weight loss. I'm currently on 3 hbp meds and 3 acid reflux meds. How do I complete the settings about my surgery, weight, etc.?

Officially 5 months post-op today. Here are some progress photos of today compared to two months ago (I missed my 4-month photos because I was on vacation) and to my highest weight, which is almost a year ago. I've been basically stalled for the past 4 weeks with only 2 lbs lost and a lot of bouncing up and down. With vacation, my good habits have slipped a bit. It's too easy to take "just a bite" of this, and also that, and maybe a "taste" of something else... to the point that it adds up way more than I think in a day. And I'm not back in the routine I was in before with walking every day. I have an appointment with my dietician on Tuesday and am hoping to get back on track this week. I still want to lose 25-30lbs so I can't lose focus!

How did the prep for a colonoscopy go? I will have one in about 6 months and am super nervous about the prep. I've had many colonoscopies, so I'm not worried about that—just the prep with the new stomach! I've heard that our final weight can't really be determined until we are about 18 months out from surgery. I've been hearing people on social media say they have hit stalls that last as long as 3-4 months. It will be interesting what they say at your 6 month appointment. I wouldn't worry about anything at this point. I'm sure it's frustrating! I'm addicted to seeing that scale move... even though I don't want to be!

I’m sure this is pretty basic anatomy but I don’t understand much of it so don’t laugh but I think I may be confused. I had the SADI so I know that my post op body malabsorbs a pretty good deal of fat. I also know that we do need a certain amount of fat for our bodies to function properly. Meaning I probably will need to consume like twice as much as my body needs to actually get enough to fuel my body, right? (Maybe not twice as much but for sake of this let’s say twice). Okay so I also had gallbladder removal along with my SADI which wasn’t at all expected but apparently I had gall stones and the organ was already looking bad so with anticipated weight loss destroying it further it would need to come out eventually anyways so he went ahead and did it. Well with gallbladder removal you aren’t supposed to have a lot of fat because your body can’t process it as well. My fear is that if I eat twice as much fat so my body gets the half if that it needs to function that my liver and stuff still have to process all of it and that will be bad for my liver and whatever else. Is that the case? When we eat and the food goes through our intestines and only part of the fat absorbs, do our organs still process ALL of the fat or does it only process the HALF that has been absorbed. I was thinking it has to process it all and really worried about how this is going to work but if it only processes the portion I “absorb” then I’m pretty much like anyone else who has their gallbladder removed I guess. I just have to live on what my body can handle without a gallbladder. What makes sense when I really think about it is whatever is not absorbed doesn’t go through the organs but I am just making sure that I understand.

Hi, sorry I have been absent. I was sleeved a week ago today. I stayed in hospital two nights and didn't have any real problems. Liquids went down pretty easily and I got 1litre in on the first day and the drip was taken off that afternoon. They left the cannula in and it started bleeding - it was in my elbow bend and I think I did something when I bent my arm too quickly - so they took that out too, which was great! I tidied up my room, put on clean clothes and took it easy. I even got let out for a couple of hours to visit my father-in-law in the public hospital next door. He is nearly 90 and the end is coming - they thought it was close on Tuesday although he has picked up a bit since then. Slept intermittently the first night and rang the bell for pain killers a few times. The second night I slept fine - but they woke me up for obs at 11:30pm and 5:30am! Ugh! Then I went back to sleep after the 5:30am ones and my surgeon woke me at 6:30am! I gave up after that My husband turned up 9ish so I got up and showered, dressed and packed and was sent on my way with Palexia (opioid painkiller) and a reflux medication. We went to visit FIL for an hour or so then got an Uber to our short stay apartment. I had to go to Sydney for surgery - I live in Canberra - and the doctor said I should stay in Sydney for four more days. So that was Thursday, day 2 post op. I didn't do anything else that day. Friday was ok, I'm not having any trouble consuming liquids although plain water is the hardest - it gives me a temporary lump in my chest and sometimes hiccups. One thing that really bothered me on Wednesday and Thursday was that when I lay down to sleep at night I felt like I had a tennis ball in my chest. I had to sit up for a while. The surgeon said it is common with the surgery and I also had a small hiatus hernia repaired and it can be part of that too. I found that not taking tablets and drinking water immediately before lying down was best but I haven't had it since. Saturday I hit a wall mentally. I think it was a lot to do with being away from home - I always feel a bit "wrong" away from home but usually I'm travelling which means (a) fun (b) eating and drinking what I like and of course post surgery none of that was happening. I went for a short walk with my husband in Hyde Park Saturday evening and it helped a tiny bit. I felt really depressed and like I'd done the wrong thing and that I'd never lose weight etc etc. Because I'm autistic I had a couple of autistic meltdowns at my poor husband who copes with them quite well. So unfair, he was doing his best to look after me. Sunday I said I didn't want to do anything but after a while I said to him we should go for a walk. Unfortunately it was hot and humid in Sydney (Canberra has an inland elevated dry climate so I don't do humidity well), but we went out for two hours. I had to sit down a lot - no energy plus the humidity ugh - so it was slow and I only did about 5,000 steps but it was a good thing to do. We walked through Hyde Park, down to the Art Gallery, through the domain, up to Macquarie Street, round to Circular Quay. It was Australia Day so there were heaps of people out, which made me nervous about someone walking into me and hurting my incisions. We had lunch at the Quay - fish and chips for him and a banana smoothie for me - I ate the tip of a chip with aioli but I chewed it to death first, and chewed some fish and spat it out (I know, gross). We caught the light rail back up to Town Hall and went "home". He went back to visit his Dad and I watched YouTube videos and even edited one of my own (I have YouTube channel on, don't laugh after what I said about being away from home, travel). Monday we packed up and came home. The relief of being home! I still felt a bit funny bit it wasn't too bad and last night I gave the kitchen and butler's pantry a really good clean so I was obviously feeling a lot better. Our cats (6) sit all over the bench and leave hair and dirt so after a week of being away it was pretty grubby. Plus my husband cooked me some soup and he is messy to say the least. Today I'm back at my desk getting on top of things and having that shower in my own bathroom was unbelievably good. I'm shaky and weak this morning so sipping on an Optifast shake. I've been tracking food in My Fitness Pal. I was craving hummus for lunch yesterday - I saw it in the Qantas Lounge on the way to the plane haha - so when we went shopping for food I bought a tub and ate half of it for lunch. Then I tracked it and the calories are unbelievable! I thought it was mainly chick peas but the half a small tub was about 850 calories so I won't be doing that again. Michael is going to make me some and put only a tiny bit of oil in it so it should be a lot lower in calories hopefully. I hope all this is of some use to others about to undergo this procedure! Or else I've just been rambling to no purpose I think I can start puree today but tbh I've been eating thicker stuff like hummus and yogurt already.