December post ops

[redstacey 33]

I used to love chicken. Even when I had my sleeve surgery in September I could eat chicken. Now since I have had the RNY, as soon as I swallow the chicken I am miserable and it is going to come right back up. I know that there was some discussion about salads. When I had my sleeve surgery I enjoyed my salads very much. It did take baby steps to get there. Since I have had the RNY surgery I have yet to try my salads again.

[loving.life 110]

I hope I don't have a problem with salad, it's my passion, ,,

[Greenize42 62]

I can't seem to stand hamburger meat any longer! I have tried it but it just doesn't taste good anymore! I love chicken and I would like to try salad but I am scared to try it!

[redstacey 33]

I started off with my salads very slow and very small portions to see how it would feel in my pouch. I started out with butter lettuce and baby spinach leaves with the stalks removed. I am getting ready to try them again soon. I hope that I am able to enjoy them since the RNY.

[mcmann1 7]

here in alberta canada, i just went to my dietician and asked her about salads and she said the best to try and handle is iceberg and the heart of the roman...she said to stay away from leafy soft lettuce. She also told me red meat is always the hardest to handle especially before the six months is past. She told me i can have fruit now but make sure to peal any with a skin. even the veggies peel the skins.

[Niki-70 3]

I was told no raw veggies until 3 months out and no red meat or tomatoes or Tomato products until 4 months out. It's so strange how all doctors seem to differ. I've had some chicken breast cut up super small and in a light Alfredo sauce. That went down fine, but I'm really learning, for me anyway that anything I eat will get stuck if I don't take my time, take small bites and chew everything into mush or less.

[looking forward 14 0]

I'm so glad I found this App and that I can read others journeys. I had surgery 12/18/13 and I am glad to see I'm not alone in so many things.

[redstacey 33]

Yes, my nut also said stay away from red meat except for very lean hamburger meat. She said the same thing about veggies and fruit to peel them if they had skin. I wasn't told anything about the types of lettuce to eat. I just chose the types that I used to like to eat. She did say to remove the stalks of the spinach if I used that in my salads. It is very interesting to read how different the doctors are with their diet advances.

[heart_lungs 3]

Hi and Good Morning everyone! My name is Victoria had gastric bypass on 12/3 lost 37 pounds. Just wanted to introduce myself to the December click lol.

[terry1118 1,274]

It sounds like a lot of you December people are struggling. I'm almost eight months out - here are some of the things I learned:

Emotional problems are common in the beginning. In addition to dealing with cravings and mourning old food favorites you are experiencing hormonal issues. There are hormones stored with the fat - as you burn the fat these hormones are released into your system making you feel as if you're on an emotional roller coaster.

Everyone experiences food issues like vomiting, nausea, pain, foamies, and getting stuck. While you are introducing new foods and experimenting with what you can tolerate it's inevitable and part of the learning process. It's also a sort of 'aversion therapy' - if you eat something that makes you miserable you don't want to experience that again! So that also helps change how you look at certain foods. I had a relatively small list of 'safe' foods. By week five when I moved on from mushy foods I could to tolerate tilapia, scrambled egg (as long as it wasn't cooked too dry) pea Soup (good Protein for a veggie soup), chili (Wendy's or my own homemade), hummus, ground meats like turkey or chicken, meatballs, meatloaf, broccoli, cauliflower, zuchini 'pizza' (zuchini stuffed with diced tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, and basil - Yum!) and deviled eggs. I couldn't do hard boiled - too dry. Very bad foods for me were tuna and any kind of chicken except ground.

Special food instructions from my team were no raw veggies for 3 months (veggie fibers can get caught in the pouch staples), no nuts for six months, no caffeine for six months (diuretic, pouch irritant, acidic can cause ulcers), no alcohol for one year (liver working overtime to process toxins released w/fat loss - alcohol can cause liver failure during this time, alcohol is an irritant that can cause ulcers, and high cross-addiction risk for some people). Also no white anything EVER - white potatoes, white bread, white Pasta, white rice. No nutrients in anything white. Always choose whole grains, brown rice, quinoa.

Don't try to find substitutions for old favorites that are too similar to them. From there it's just a short jump back to old bad habits. Instead find new favorites that are totally different. Become as gourmet - savor your food, eating slowly. We eat so little that I don't care what something costs. I only eat a tiny bit anyway, so I want it to be awesome! I can make a whole meal out of 4 cocktail shrimp and a little cocktail sauce.

Most of all, Celebrate your successes! Each pound or inch lost, meeting protein, Water, or exercise goals, avoiding a temptation or solving a problem, donating one more bag of clothes to charity, not taking that med anymore, doing something you could never do before like wear a seatbelt, or play with your kids, walk that mile, or wear that dress, or so many other things that each of us find amazing when they happen. Celebrate all those things - you work HARD for them!!!

Don't compare yourself to others. We are all different. We lose at different rates. How we lose is affected by so very many different things - age, health, activity level, abilities, gender. Comparing yourself to others will only make you unhappy with yourself. Your journey is about YOU. :-)

[redstacey 33]

Wow! That was very encouraging and inspiring. Words that I needed to hear right now. Thank you for that.

[Greenize42 62]

Yes thank you for your encouragement! Your right comparing yourself to others is not a good thing. I try to tell this to people I work with about me weighing etc. I am having a hard time eating four meals a day and getting all my Water in. I always come close but I haven't been able to get it all in. My pouch is kinda nauseous in the am and I have to make myself eat for lunch. Anybody have the same thing or have any advice for me!

[redstacey 33]

Yes thank you for your encouragement! Your right comparing yourself to others is not a good thing. I try to tell this to people I work with about me weighing etc. I am having a hard time eating four meals a day and getting all my Water in. I always come close but I haven't been able to get it all in. My pouch is kinda nauseous in the am and I have to make myself eat for lunch. Anybody have the same thing or have any advice for me!

Well this is probably not good advice but I too tend to stay nauseated a good bit of the time. I also have to be very careful because I can get busy and not eat all day. I don't realize it until I'm about ready for bed then I don't want to eat that late. So I don't have any good advice but I am going through similar situations.

[Christi85 24]

I had RNY Dec 16. My Doctor told me I need to be getting at least 1000 calories in a day. I'm doing good if I get 500 in. Anyone figure out how to do this? Not getting my Protein in either. Blah.

[lalaissweet 0]

I had RNY Dec 16. My Doctor told me I need to be getting at least 1000 calories in a day. I'm doing good if I get 500 in. Anyone figure out how to do this? Not getting my Protein in either. Blah.