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I was able to easily swallow tables about 4 or so days after surgery. The initial post surgery swelling made it painful the first three days but once the swelling went down it was okay. Spread taking them out. Like I had two multi to take so took one in the morning & one at night. Make sure you eat first before taking your vitamins because they a make you nauseous As you’re still on fluids, take your tablets (singularly) with the last sips of your shake. Remember too not to take your calcium, iron or PPI tablets together (wait an hour or so) between.

So happy for you! Congratulations on the date, and on making the decision on surgery after a lot of research. I know you really have looked into it and weighed your options over the past several months, which is really good. Now that it's set, definitely take the next several weeks to get in the right headspace. You know how important that is, having been down a similar road before. And I think this time will be different for you. You know what you're up against, and I think you've given a lot of thought to where things went wrong before. That's a valuable lesson learned. This time you're getting one of the most powerful metabolic interventions available. That alone will make a huge difference in the outcome. Just remember that you're going to make mistakes, and that's okay. A mistake is not failure, and it's not a reason to give up! Keep checking in with your support people (including here!) and don't demand perfection of yourself because nobody is perfect. If you can do it right 80-90% of the time, you will be doing the very best you can expect, and it will be good enough to succeed in time. And success takes time. You'll get there.

Hello everyone - checking in and feeling kind of lousy post morning routine - as I seem to sometimes feel for about an hour after every 'meal'. I'm sure this will get easier with time; I hate this puree stage though and I hate not being able to drink 30 mins before and after meals! Everything wants to stick on its way down. Ugh. So - #1 - Protein powder! My nutritionist suggested an unflavored protein powder called Genepro. It's even lactose, GMO, and gluten free. I ordered it on Amazon this morning. The description states it can even be used in place of flour and that it should be mixed with room temperature fluids before being added to other items. So - I'm going to give it a try. It's only 11g of protein per serving but if coupled with protein rich foods like ricotta, low fat cottage cheese, or zero sugar yogurt I think it just might do the trick to help me meet my protein goals. Here's hoping! @draikaina8503 - Oh my gosh, my heart goes out to you and your sweet, confused furbaby! That sounds absolutely AWFUL. I'm so terribly sorry you ended up in that pain as a result of an overly eager, loving pup. I hope you managed to bring it back down to a tolerable level and that no long term damage was done! I know that I slept terribly last night between two doses of Milk of Magnesia working their way through my system, having heartburn, and the tugging/sharp pain that would shoot up from my left side in a brief flare when I moved wrong. I did some research and I'm pretty sure what I'm experiencing is from the stitch they used to keep my stomach 'in place' and that it will loosen some over time. I'm trying to work on posture and wanted to let you know I got to thinking of what other people have mentioned on here and thought of that pillow you talked about being given! I hugged my own round support pillow against my abdomen at one point finally and *poof* relief. So, thank you, again!! So today is surgery day, I believe, for @Averdra and @caseyash30 - Bidding you both the best of experiences and hopefully minimally painful recoveries! Remember, walk walk walk, ask for ice, and sip SO slowly. Be cautious about laying at any kind of incline until after you've had a good burp or two, or at least 'feel' the fluid trickle down! The posture you're in when you sip can make a HUGE difference - try to put your shoulders back and keep your spine as straight as you can manage - it helps! I strongly suggest staying ahead of your pain, and also staying ahead of constipation! If you get to day TWO with no bowel movement, take a dose of Milk of Magnesia - especially if you're also taking narcotics! (Obviously with doctor's ok! ) Also, your date must be coming up, @Ladygrey, I'm guessing? Sorry if I missed you posting the date! How are you doing, @Justarwaxx ? You're about a week out now, I believe? @Farhad - Also sending you the best and wonder if you're at purees yet? (I may have missed a post!) I also wanted to toss a message out there to @Mandalynne ! Maybe I've missed your posts, but you had your surgery on the 14th, right?? How you doing over there? I hope the Finch is still helping you out! I have my water goals on there and also assigned myself the task 3x day to do my Baritastic app entries, as well as take my vitamins (separate from also taking my Calcium since I can't take the Iron & Calcium together) I would absolutely be at a loss without that app and am SO grateful it's free. Let me know if you want to add me on there - it doesn't share personal information but lets your added 'Friends' send and receive cute little good vibes from your Birb. Only mentioning in case you didn't know, a friend had to tell me and once I started interacting with friends my dopamine boosts went up tremendously because I wanted to be able to dress up my Birb to go visit others. I'm so sorry if I missed responding to you in the chaos - I'm curious how your pain management is going and if you found an alternative to narcotics for your recovery? I'm in a limbo state myself with pain management right now - I have chronic pain conditions that were previously treated with an opioid by my primary care doctor but even though I stretched what was given to me by my surgeon I'm having trouble managing my chronic pain plus recovery. I thought of you and your question as I'm trying to mainly handle things with Tylenol myself right now, and lots of ice packs. It's rough and I agree - this is probably one of the hardest things I've EVER done. Welcome, @RRenaeL23, and congratulations on your surgery! How are you doing now? Are you still on liquids? How goes the pain / protein / fluid goals? Good job on denying yourself the fruit - you might pick up some sugar free popsicles to help when those cravings hit in case you don't always feel up for a walk! Also - I haven't taken the time to update my tag in quite a while, either, and I really need to. Oh well, limited chair time still for me! I'll get to it! That's all from me for now - thinking of you all, whether I tagged you here or not! I tried to do another recap of the thread from top to bottom and apologize for not having taken the time in this post to respond to everyone I've missed along the way. I'm working on it!

read as much as you can (hanging out on this forum should be very helpful!) and start trying to eat a really healthy diet - lean proteins, fruits & veggies, whole grains. You may or may not be required to lose weight before the surgery, but I was - I think 20 lbs or something (it's been over nine years for me, so I can't remember the exact number). I worked with a dietitian for six months (actually required by my issurance) and she had me eating 2300 calories/day in addition to focusing on types of food (same ones I mentioned - lean proteins, fruits & veggies, whole grains). I ended up losing more like 50 lbs rather than just the 20! Also, some programs (but not all) require you to give up caffeine for the for the first few weeks or months after surgery, so she also had me gradually wean myself off of it (replacing regular coffee with decaf a little at a time until I was on total decaf). She also got me exercising - slowly at first (I think I started with walking - but I eventually added swimming, too). All this really prepared me for post-surgery life, and I think made it all much easier.

Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I'm feeling quite a bit better now that my body finally evacuated what was bothering it. I'd kind of forgotten about the Milk of Magnesia I'd purchased, and yesterday it came to my rescue. Those protein shakes (30g) are no joke, especially if you're taking any medication that slows your digestion further. Yesterday afternoon, even after getting past the constipation, my body just wasn't feeling like much intake, either liquids or 'food'. I found myself getting full after only an ounce of the chicken noodle soup broth and a few teaspoons of yogurt. I struggled for the first time getting my fluids in; I think I had gotten lax about the sip-sip-sip method and maybe was trying to drink too much at once when I drank. It's definitely hard to resist the urge to go back to gulping, especially when the beverage it cold and satisfying, and I feel dry mouth creeping in. Tomorrow is technically my puree day but I skipped ahead just slightly to try to move away from those heavy protein shakes. I realized I'm very sensitive to the texture of my scrambled egg and had to recook it, pre-mixed with about a half tablespoon of skim milk, and instead of the butter he'd initially tried I just used a very light splash of olive oil. That gave me the light, moist scrambled egg I was looking for. I reread my book and while it suggested you might want to start with just egg whites I just couldn't make myself hold to that. I am trying to get better about spacing out the 'not drinking 30 mins before/after' now that I'm beginning to eat some actual food. That's a very hard thing to do, honestly, because I'm noticing that no matter how much I chew without a drink the food just feels kind of stuck in my throat for a bit. I can see now why my friend said she found drinking a broth type soup in the morning 'primed' her stomach for the day. @draikaina8503 & @Pepper_No_Salt - How are you two feeling? I hope that your surgeries went smoothly. @Pepper_No_Salt I'm glad you can mix in some variety with additives to your plant based shakes - I was close enough to losing my mind during the pre-op diet so I think that being limited further would have driven me over the edge! I'm going to look up that PB2 you mentioned because I'm curious about it! (Back to you, @draikaina8503 , just saw your post-op post!) Oh my gosh I hate that your body did that to you RIGHT before your surgery. Mine at least gave me two days I'm very glad they kept you at least another night! I hope they are helping you keep your pain managed. Yeah; it will definitely take some walking to get that gas pain to leave but in the mean time don't be shy in asking for those ice packs and your pain medication! Sometimes managing the pain, then walking with the ice pack is the only way to work it out - at least that was my experience, and I've heard the same from a few others. Thinking back, one thing I wish I'd done while in the hospital was be a BIT more squeaky - I remember now that when my Mom was in the hospital I had to shove a bunch of pillows behind her back when I put the hospital bed up at an incline so she could get a good enough angle in bed to safely sip liquids. I think that would have helped me tremendously, because I relegated myself to using their recliner a lot just so I could be upright, and it didn't work very well AT ALL. Hope you're starting to feel better! (Coming back to you @Pepper_No_Salt since I now see your post-op post!) : Oh my gosh I feel you on the cold drink thing! I was a bit grumpy when I asked the nurse at my 10 day post-op and she casually said, "Oh, room temperature is mainly just the first few days because foods of extreme temperatures CAN cause uncomfortable cramping'. My fella covered his mouth to hide his snort of understanding at the look I gave him, having had to hear me whine off and on for ten days about how I'd give anything for a COLD drink of something. Figuring out the sips is tricky. They gave me little medicine cups that hold about an ounce and for me, sipping one of those 2-3 times felt about right at first. I'm sure this is another one of those things that depends on the person. I also alternated one ounce of gatorade/proper (they had brought me a kiwi watermelon that elicited heartburn, the berry was ok if I went slow - Also weirdly orange gatorade zero goes down better than watermelon, guess its all based on the acid and flavoring? @draikaina8503 - I read where you discussed being pretty limited on the shakes due to dietary restrictions. That's rough It's very cool that you write the same genres as me - I, too, have given Nanowrimo a try but never seem to stick with it to the finish line. Maybe I'll try it again this year! I'm glad you mentioned it. Yes - I meant to follow up all week long on making sure I was on the waiting list, and lo and behold... it's Sunday, and I never did. I'm bad on a good day at executive function, so during stressful times like this recovery - whew. I need to add it as a task to my Finch app so my mind stops blanking on it. I hope they were able to do your full surgery with no complications. @Singingbarista - I hope your recovery is going well! I didn't feel too terribly at first but I am suspecting more and more based off of people's feedback that I almost certainly had a nerve block that took a good 4-5 days to completely wear off. The achiness has built over time, and I hope that is different for you! @AndreaJD - Yay! Another writer & Nanowrimo participant! I guess it isn't too surprising that several of us writing folks would find one another on a forum, but I still think it's really cool. Superhero fan fiction sounds fun; I'd say that some of the powers my characters have are very overlapping, like magic use. It would be awesome if you could get some productive writing done during recovery but I also wanted to encourage you not to be too hard on yourself if you can't. My mind feels muddy and I feel drowsy far more often than I would like. I know I'll probably feel SO much better in about a week, but it's sure hard not to be impatient. I also wanted to mention that I didn't have much trouble at all getting my fluids down at first, either, and that's definitely not a bad thing. My nurse told me there will be good days and harder days, and yesterday I definitely experienced that. It was the first day I didn't make my fluid goal, like I wrote above - and I tried to push it in the evening but that was a bad idea. The Berry Propel I drank a bit too quickly before laying down (should have waited longer, d'oh!) ended up giving me heartburn that woke me up around 3am. It's all trial and error, I guess. Dang - wish I'd thought of having tomato soup pre-op! No idea why I didn't - now it'll probably be a while before I dare due to potential acid reflux. Ahh well! I'm going to try some of that blended Progresso Chicken Noodle in my puree stage I think if it passes the 'book check' - it sounds amazing. @Averdra & @caseyash30 - Are you two still surgery twins on the 21st? I'm trying to backtrack and I know that you said there were possible concerns do to a potential Covid case, @Averdra. I hope that's smoothed out for you! I realized while I was doing my recap that I never mentioned - traveling to Lithuania sounds so exotic to me, as a resident of the Midwestern U!. The furthest I've ever been is Alberta, Canada! Not that you would get to go sightseeing or anything; I get it. I know a lot of folks from the US travel to Mexico for their surgeries. Very cool that you were another WoW OG! The game sure has changed a lot, hasn't it? @caseyash30 - How goes the pre-op diet? Are you getting nervous or eager as the date approaches? For me it all just felt really surreal. @Onemealplan & @Greekmom4 - Tomorrow is my 14 day post op! I was paying close attention to your discussions about puree - because to be honest, I'm kind of stumped on this particular stage. I just managed about half a scrambled egg and a couple of teaspoons of my sugar free Chobani and I just feel so full. The whole time I was eyeballing my sugar free gatorade, thinking how ready I was to just be through with food so I could set a timer to be able to start hydrating. As it is, I have hiccups from the two tiny sips of Gatorade I allowed myself just to make the egg not feel stuck in my throat. I know everyone's experiences are going to vary significantly; the friend I have who had surgery previously said she had a lot of luck sipping the French onion soup mixed, especially in the mornings. She's two years post op and doesn't seem to have trouble eating small servings of most anything she wants now, minus much fried foods or rich desserts. She had a full gastric bypass, for reference. She told me that ricotta was a big win for her because it could be blended and made either savory or sweet, depending on if you chose vegetables or fruit, and also said she really enjoyed refried beans through the puree with mild seasoning to make it more like a taco. I have a gastric sleeve cookbook that offers a lot of different smoothie varieties. Other than that - I'm just not sure what sounds appealing as a puree, despite the nurse saying 'you can puree almost anything but stringy / dense meat!' I can see how the chicken or tuna salad would work - tuna just scares me for some reason. I wonder if I'd be able to do a salmon salad instead of tuna salad. Also - @Onemealplan - Yeah, I tried having my fella puree me some canned kidney beans on Friday, just to test the waters, and they didn't settle well for me. I can't say they are what caused me to have trouble passing gas and extra trouble with my constipation - it seems unlikely since I skimmed away the 'shell' and only ate probably a teaspoon and a half worth, but I just don't know. It tasted great to me, but just made me nervous. This is probably in part because I've dealt with IBS and beans of that sort along with ground beef or tomato sauce with too much basil were trigger type foods for me. I concur on the puree'd meats sound distinctly unappetizing. I'm hoping I can get away with mashing cooked salmon or something like that. Wooo! I did it! I hope I didn't miss anyone - I feel caught up finally! Now, to go rest with my ice pack.

Whelp, now I'm so terrified about the surgery on Monday that I am psyching myself out thinking what if I die during surgery? What about my husband and our three young daughters? I'm thinking this is my addict brain trying any which way to prevent me from having this surgery, but there are risks. My doctor assigned a video for me to watch about gastric sleeve procedures, including benefits, complications, expectations, and 11 instances that the patient is at risk of death. So now I'm scared. I'm gonna talk to my Mom who had gastric bypass decades ago to try to chill me out, but anyone out there can calm my fears a bit. I'm also scared because I had some chicken breast and bunless cheeseburger, I'm putting myself at risk of death. Oh this cycle of nonsensical what-ifs is driving me mental!! Lol 😆 🤣 😂

I'm almost four weeks post gastric sleeve. I've lost 28 pounds, which I'm thrilled with. I've felt so good that I pulled some weeds in the front of my house yesterday. Today I have some abdominal pain. It's not horrible, but I'm worried I may have hurt my healing stomach. Should I be worried? No vomiting and I'm eating 1/2 cup of soft food as normal with no issues. Thanks for your help! 💕💕💕

If you have access to a pool and don't mind being seen in a swimming costume aqua aerobics is nice and easy to get the body moving and help joints. If you have a yard/garden even just walking around it would be good to help get you moving, or stairs if you are in an apartment complex. I am not the best when it comes to exercise but I can certainly feel an improvement in my interest and energy levels as the weight comes off. I start each day with good intentions but often procrastinate or find something else to do but I do go to aqua aerobics once a week since February and since last month I am doing pilates once a week. I believe in turning up if I have paid so signed up for a year of the aqua aerobics and doing the pilates in 10 block sessions. At home I do the One and Done program, seven minutes every two days or three days depending on how I am feeling. Again as I paid for it, think $30, I use it and I can feel the difference. I also have an stationary bike that I use once a week or so if I haven't done any other exercises. I just do about 5km at a time as I find it boring but I am sure any little helps. My main problem area is my legs (ankles to thighs) as I have bad lipedema and while they have gone down in size since my sleeve surgery they still do me no favours in the appearance department so I am just trying to target them as much as possible.

I did bone broth, tomato soup with protein powder, every flavor of sugar free drink mix and shakes. As long as i got enough protein and the recommended calories i felt good. I loved sugar free peach tea to help get the fluids in….. sip sip sip. For the first two weeks my surgeon included the shakes as prt of my 64 oz goal.

"- Still have fun but track their calories and weight DAILY." This is me too. 1. What are your golden rules to successful maintenance? I've found that sticking to a monthly calorie average rather than a daily one gives me the flexibility I need. If I go over my limit for a week, I know I have time to balance it out. This approach prevents me from being too harsh on myself for one bad day. For instance, my goal for June is to maintain a daily average of 1550 calories.This method has been crucial for my success. In the past, focusing on daily or weekly limits led to self-criticism and was counterproductive. It took some time, but I’ve learned that this is a life long game. By being kinder to myself. I've made much more progress. Even naturally thin people overeat occasionally; the difference is they don't punish themselves or give up. 2. How did you manage the mental shift (navigating fear and uncertainty) while transitioning to maintenance? The shift for me came pretty naturally. I eased into it slow. I remember in the beginning that if I lost a pound or so that month I would adjust my calorie intake, small increments so I wouldn't get used to too high of calories. It's always a slippery slope when you have a history of overeating. I adjusted it month to month, until I got to the point that my weight was stable month to month. 3. How much indulgence do you actually allow yourself? I don't have any absolutes. I do try to eat healthy 80/20. I try to eat 5-8 servings a day of fruits and vegetables.

So my doctor has me seriously ticked off. She told me she'd like to see my weight and bmi down. I said "WHAT???? I weigh 183 and my bmi is 30. What's wrong with it???" She told me she wants to see my weight around 155 or 160 and me at a normal bmi. I was like "if I do that, I'll look sickly!!! I've always been bigger boned and somewhat curvy, I carry my weight differently. Not one person would look at me right now and think I look like I weigh 183. No way would I look healthy if I went down to 160" and she said it would be better for my health and I should at least think about it. I told her "my blood pressure already runs on the low side of normal. I struggle to keep it up to 103/55!!! My A1c is 5.0 and my glucose is 96. I'm not on any meds except what I take for my MS. All my labs come back perfect. What else do you want??" I told her I feel amazing, I'm really active, I'm able to work as a clinical medical assistant for a busy specialty practice (infectious disease) which has always been my dream, I hike, I work out, literally I'm living the life I only dreamed about. What am I missing here???? I was so mad. And she said we'll discuss it at our appt on the 17th. I said "oh we'll discuss some stuff, alright, but that ain't happening". She's going based off my height, weight, bmi, and their supposed "ideal weight" BS. My bariatric surgeon is ecstatic with my progress. He actually said I've lost more, with both surgeries, than he realistically expected that I would. My neurologist is thrilled because losing all the weight has significantly improved my MS symptoms. My gastroenterologist is thrilled because all of my GI issues have gone away. Just this idiot yahoo isn't happy. I definitely think I need a new doctor. This is just too much. For reference, here's what I looked like when I first started seeing her, and here's what I look like now, literally this week....as in Monday and yesterday.....

I recall feeling similarly at 4 weeks. Some of that was due to the nerves being cut and dulled from surgery, I think, because I feel it more now. Also, I assume you are probably still on the softer proteins. I find I don't have the full feeling as quickly with things like yogurt or cottage cheese, or even a flaky white fish, the way I do with chicken or beef. I can eat a serving of yogurt and still have room for fruit, but if I eat 3 oz of chicken or beef, that's all I'm having!

I have a cousin that had gastric sleeve 5 years ago. She's since gained weight back. But, she also didn't follow the guidelines that were set for her after the first year from surgery. I had gastric bypass in February. The past 6-7 weeks or so I feel like I'm hungry more often than I should be. At least that's what it feels like. Though, I do workout a lot. So, im certain that's most of the issue. Learning that my body is telling me to fuel is different from eating before. When I ate for any other reason other than just fueling what my body needs. Going from living to eat, to eating to live is a process. I hope you get the answers your looking for.

I got calories guideline from my doctor, he expected me to just consume 600 - 1000 calories a day max, with minimum 70gr-100gr of protein. I'm on the first day of my 3rd week today, hope this helps and oh he said to prioritize protein over everything else, good luck for both of us!!

Yes, I was one of the few 0.01% unlucky ones who suffered post-op complications. 4 months spent in hospital and even though I am 11 months post-op it really only feels like a few months as I didn't start to feel well until Feb/March so about 9 months post-op. I couldn't fly home to see family until December (6 months post op) and work couldn't pay me most of my annual bonus as I was out sick for 6 months, instead of my expected two weeks!

If you've lost weight and gained it back multiple times, you might want to ask yourself if there was something truly, miraculously different THIS time that is going to stop you from repeating that pattern. Because if you have not had a completely life changing experience that has totally altered your approach to weight loss and nutrition forever, there's no reason to think the weight loss this time is going to prove any more permanent than it was before. But only you know the answer to that. Change is scary, and surgery is a big change. The chances of a serious complication are very tiny, but the chances for things that annoy you after surgery are close to 100%. I still find that I get an upset stomach about once a week for reasons unknown, and it can be a real nuisance. And I still have to take protein shake supplements sometimes and I hate how they taste. On the other hand, the power of the metabolic changes for losing weight and improving comorbidities is unmatched. All I can say personally is that I worked with my hospital nutrition and medical program for 7 long years only to never reach anywhere close to my goal and eventually gain every single pound back. I have now reached a weight after only 4 months post-op that I haven't seen in 25 years, no matter how many times I tried. And the surgery gives me a much better chance of keeping it off. So I'm glad I did it. Whatever you decide, just make sure you are being realistic with yourself about the possible risks and rewards of either choice.

Things have been going well! After some very slow weight loss in late April thru May, June is really looking up. With my 4-month mark just a few days away, I'm down about 61 lbs from my highest weight, which includes 35lbs since my actual surgery. I'm looking forward to hitting the "overweight not obese" milestone soon, just 5lbs to go! And 35lbs to go until I reach my weight goal! My hair thinning is just starting. My hairdresser styled it a bit shorter when I went yesterday and she'll suggest a new style if it becomes needed. But it's not too bad yet. Thankfully, I don't have any issues hitting protein and water targets. I usually have a protein shake in the morning to start the day and I put around a cup of Fairlife skim milk in my 32oz morning decaf tea, so that's 36g protein before I even have food, which I do a few hours after I get up. I can eat around 15-20g protein when it's solid food. I like Greek yogurt with berries and nuts for breakfast and often do a salad with chicken strips for lunch. Dinner is all sorts of things. The protein shake I use is Syntrax Nectar Natural in orange flavor, which vaguely reminds me of orange TANG. It feels sort of like having a glass of orange juice, enough to not be too weird in the morning before I'm fully awake. The rest of the flavors are just disgusting, although I am okay mixing a scoop of vanilla with some frozen pineapple and a splash of water or milk in a blender to make a frozen treat on a hot day. I do have about 1x a week issues with vomiting, triggered by different foods each time but usually either due to eating too fast or something being too dry. It's hard because a single bite can trigger it so it's very unforgiving. I've started carrying a small hospital-style vomit bags (found on Amazon) in my car and purse so that I won't be caught in an uncomfortable situation in public.. So far, I haven't needed them, but it makes me feel better to have it with me. I'm going on vacation next week and planning to bring along some protein bars and easy snacks like roasted edamame and beef jerky (which I found in 50-calorie packs at Dollar Tree). Once I'm home, I'm hoping to do some meal prep and try some new recipes because food is getting boring and kind of a chore. I don't really experience any hunger, so remembering to eat and making myself eat regularly is a nuisance.

I noticed a few weeks post op. Eye Dr said it was likely due to vitamin deficiency..most people reported there vision got Better.. mine definitely changed but I was over due for eye check up

Hello again! Yes, @ShoppGirl - that's exactly what it was, now that you mention it that rings a bell! It was Heparin to help prevent blood clots. Maybe I won't need to B12 since I do still have my gallbladder - time will tell! I, too, had forgotten about the recipes on Baritastic until earlier today when I went to add the recipe I ended up using for the chicken salad I had for dinner. I need to get some fat free mayo; today I cheated and just used two teaspoons of regular mayo because that's what I had; and also sweet relish as opposed to dill relish. Are you taking an ADEK supplement? My nurse was insistent on my having to take them as a SADI patient post-op, so I ordered some from Barimelts that have thankfully not tasted terrible and dissolve quickly. It's a GREAT reminder about the recipes in Baritastic - thank you, @draikaina8503 for the reminder as well! When you get your staples out I'd suggest asking them to be liberal in their application of steri-strips, especially for ones that are on the sides or at an angle. Having that extra support against the pulling really did make a big difference. Weirdly, so has using antibiotic/pain relief ointment?! I'd never really experienced 'pain relief' from that ointment (generic over the counter) but I was shocked to find that after I applied it my pain did actually lesson! Who'd have thought?? Also, I totally kept the two reusable ice bags from the hospital and have been using them this whole time because they were softer than the ice packs I had and the ice being able to move around a bit as it melted was just more comfortable. I'm glad you'll be able to get back on your Adderall and normal medications now! I will say that nice warm showers also feel really nice overall during recovery, especially if you have an alternate shower pressure setting that can go easy on the surgical site and maybe more pulsing/massaging on the back. Just my own personal experience. I came across an inspiration idea for the puree phase today when looking around on Amazon! A friend of mine had given me about 2/3 of a container of the 30g powder protein in Vanilla and I realized that oatmeal is a great thing to add it to! I feel like if I cook the oatmeal and let it get soft and fluffy, then add in the protein powder with it to the food processor that I bet it will be perfect AND help me get my protein goal! Plus since oatmeal is high in fiber it should help with regular bowel movements. I even thought I might add some of my zero sugar caramel macchiato creamer to it in order to give it more flavor without adding an artificial sweetener. I do have some xantham gum though should I need it. I'm planning on exploring what types of purees I can make with my greek zero sugar vanilla yogurt, various fruits, and that protein powder. I'm not sure why but something just CLICKED earlier when I was in my kitchen and I realized that between the ricotta, strawberries, blueberries, low fat cottage cheese, and protein powder that I actually have a lot more options than I'd previously considered! You can also mix protein shakes with sugar free pudding instead of milk - but word to the wise, learn from my mistake and don't make up too much at once because at about day 3-4 it starts to separate and get runny. Before that it's quite tasty and filling, though! My chair isn't bothering me quite as much today after I laid a thick folded blanket down on the seat for cushioning; and I think part of my discomfort may have also just simply been from constipation and gas that needed to be passed. I'm proceeding with caution on starting new foods that I haven't already tried, but I will say the chicken salad sat really well on my stomach. I even 'cheated' and crumbled up two Ritz crackers on top for some texture variant - it was the first 'meal' I've eaten really other than my half a scrambled egg this morning that I found to be satisfying. I'm using the timer in Baritastic to make sure I go 30 mins before and after eating without a drink - that's still been rough but as long as I distract myself the time goes by pretty quickly. Oh - @draikaina8503 - I'm not sure if it is allowed for you per your doctor, but I've dealt with the dry mouth using sugar free jolly ranchers sparingly. I'm so sorry you're struggling with getting water down, but glad you're getting some relief with ice chips! Sonic definitely has better ice chips; as do a few gas stations here any there. Ice chips are SUCH a nice thing to have available. I'm cursing the fact that I don't have an ice dispenser in my fridge - sadly it isn't that fancy - but it sure would make it easier to fill these ice packs than having to fight to crack an ice tray and refill lol @Onemealplan - Yeah, what's with the ice cream? That sounds delightful lol - I mean, obviously one ounce wouldn't be bad - It just wasn't something I thought of myself as being allowed to have! Now you've got me thinking of all the sugar free varieties I saw available at Braum's in their store section! I guess I can also finally have my sugar free popsicles - Woohoo! Also thank you to @Rob Nissam for your insight about the gas and general knowledge sharing! I hope you are doing well on your path and in recovery! @AndreaJD - Thanks for the suggestions about what purrees are working for you! I'm all ears when it comes to tips to carry me through these next two weeks. I was thinking about my cream of soups earlier and how I can now have them warm. I know I need to buy some unflavored protein powder -- Does anyone have a suggestion for an unflavored protein powder they've found works well and mixes well? Just curious what's working and what if anything isn't! Wishing all of you the best in preparing, having surgeries, and recovering from them in the coming days! This forum has been invaluable to me and I'm grateful to all of you for sharing your tips and experiences so far!

I am struggling terribly with eating. I am 8wks post-op and did ok with food stages in the first few weeks. I now have been cleared to eat what I want within guidelines. My problem is that I am just not hungry most of the time. When I am hungry it seems like everything just tastes gross. Or the thought of eating anything makes me feel queasy. I did talk to my team and they reassured me that its not terribly uncommon until around 3 months out, and to just keep trying foods and supplement with shakes to get protein, I am doing great getting fluids and taking all my vitamins but food is just a struggle. I can tolerate most things I have tried (except bananas for some reason) so I don’t think it’s anything structurally wrong bo pain or vomiting or anything like that. I just dont have the desire to eat. Its like I have an aversion to food!! I absolutely can not stand the thought of eggs anymore. Or cottage cheese because I ate so much of it during soft foods. Salty food are too much so even soup has been off putting. Im not a sweets person so protein puddings and smoothies really aren’t my thing though I will make smoothies as a quick and easy meal but I cant drink them every day because its just too sweet. I didn’t really have a dependency on food, just made terrible choices. so I dont really crave anything either. Its just so weird and I am so lost on what to try. Meal prep is a flop because I make foods and then dont want to eat them and end up throwing most of it away.

Welcome! I'm still a baby here myself (almost 12 weeks post-OP). I remember my first sip of creamy chicken broth on day 4, it felt like life and optimism was returning to me! If you need to, slow down even further. I remember my care team said 1 teaspoon every 5 minutes (when I was first reintroducing non-protein shake liquids), and sometimes that worked for me and sometimes it didn't. Most broths I could get down in shorter time, but creamier soups it would take quite a bit longer. You get used to either reheating your soup or sipping it cold, lol. XD

Last year I had given my daughter a bunch of jeans that were too small for me. I just got to take them back!! She brought me 10 pairs of jeans and 3 pairs I got to send back because they were too big!! The ones I got to keep were size 9’s. I didn’t want to go buy clothes yet because I’m still 9lbs from my goal weight and 19lbs from my surgeons goal weight. Very much in need of toning my stomach though. I keep hearing my surgeons words in my head over and over “skinny fat””skinny fat” if you don’t exercise you’ll look “skinny fat” ugh, this is my stomach right now. Never mind I’ve had 4 babies and that last one I had when I was 38 so my abdomen has not been bikini ready in a lifetime. So small win for me, I fit in a size 9 jeans, big loss…out of the jeans is not as pretty. Time to really get to toning and exercising and move onto the next steps in getting healthy. I haven’t stepped on the scale in a few days. Eating wise I have not been sick in over a week. All my vitamin levels are where they should be. Things are finally falling into place.

☝️i'm one of these. with a dash of some major changes...specifically my regular exercise regime. though i have to say that what i was doing when the first year or so of maintenance is very different from what i am doing now. i was still pretty strict about carbs and desserts and drinking calories that first year and a bit after reaching goal. as the years went on, i became less strict about WHAT i was eating, but still continued to keep an eye and stick to the TOTAL NUMBER OF CALORIES i needed to maintain...this amount changed up and down depending on my activity level, and i made sure to make changes as needed. i love going out and socializing and eating and drinking, and i've discovered that i can do all that and still maintain my current weight. i love to try new restaurants and tick off all the michelin star venues i could possibly go to before i die. and i am forever grateful for my wls and its restriction that has conditioned me to not overindulge...just have a taste to try and i am satisfied. (i am also forever greatful for whatever powers that be that have me loving exercise lol) with that said, let me attempt to provide my answers to your questions. NOTE: starting weight 235 lbs, 5'2" female, 46 yrs old at surgery. i lost 108 lbs in 7 months (plus my 2 wk pre-op diet) to reach goal. i am now 5 years, 8 months post op, and weighed 118.2 lbs this morning. 1. What are your golden rules to successful maintenance? - be flexible, be willing and able to change and make adjustments. weigh daily, always be aware of your calorie intake (i.e., track). EXERCISE: it makes you look and feel good. don't give into the angst...nobody is perfect...including YOU. i realize this is not for everyone, it takes a certain type of personality to be ok with this...i just happen to be one of them. 2. How did you manage the mental shift (navigating fear and uncertainty) while transitioning to maintenance? I can’t seem to quiet my thoughts and anxiety around WHAT IFs? - TIME. as time goes by you will gain experience and knowledge and hopefully learn to trust yourself. 3. How much indulgence do you actually allow yourself? - any time i want. hard to put a number or amount on this because it varies day by day, week by week. but i probably eat SOMETHING or other that most "dedicated" wls-ers would consider "bad" every day. (ASIDE: i personally don't think anything is "bad" just stuff higher in calories than others, with varying macro-makeups.

This really is the big fear, isn't it? I mean, I know when my bad habits hit. It's when I'm stressed and short on time. Like this week, where one kid had a major school presentation and the other was both sick AND had rehearsals for dance recital every night. And they need to be fed, and have all their stuff, and did they remember their water bottles, and money for a snack, and where are the dance shoes, and what time is pick up and...oh, wait, have I eaten anything today? And now all the food I bought to be so good and healthy is still frozen and I'm trying to figure out if I should choke down a protein shake or if putting peanut butter on a Ritz cracker can count as protein... This is definitely where those new, good habits need to be built. Because of course I can anticipate the craziness of a week like this ahead of time and prepare for it. I just need to work on actually doing so because a trip through McDonald's is no longer in the offing or I'll end up right back where I was. The modern world is built for convenience, but not for good health.

Sigh.....I need to figure out how to maintain and not lose more weight. Wanted to stop at 190....but now I can't figure out how to stop losing!!!! Never in a million years did I think I would ever have this problem. I can't add more carbs because I'm SUPER sensitive to them and too many make me REALLY sick. I tried adding more calories, but because I work out 4-5 days per week, it's actually causing me to lose still. So weird. I tried eating more small meals and snacks more often, but honestly, I already have 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, and eating more just makes me sick to my stomach because I'm trying to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I know my secret goal was 180, but I actually like how I look and feel at 190, so I'm not really looking to go lower. Yet here I am....going lower.....