Actually, Little Green is a reference to a Joni Mitchell song, NOT a comment on my size - but I thought the title might be funny

So I'm 2 weeks away from surgery and just started my liquid diet. I thought I'd officially start one of these "tell your story" posts so that I have a place to keep track of all my stats and thoughts.

My highest weight is 381.25 and that was 6/14/14. After that I lost down to around 300-ish in about 18 months doing calorie-counting on MFP, but regained nearly all of it after my husband became disabled in a motorcycle accident. About a year after the accident - last March - I visited the bariatric surgeon for my first consult and I weighed 367 pounds. I've gone up and down since then but I started my liquid diet (today!) at 350.2.

I am a classic story of overweight-since-childhood along with a rapid weight gain starting in my late 'teens after getting a job and my driver's license, giving me full access to fast food morning, noon, and night. I'm not sure of all my milestones throughout the years but I know I weighed 180 pounds in 7th grade at age 12, and more than 220 when I graduated high school. I'm 5'8 so BMI 25 is 164 pounds and my goal weight is 150.

About six weeks ago I decided to go vegan and I've been transitioning into that diet ever since. I'm relying on plant-based protein supplements during the liquid phase but I hope to move to getting protein from whole food as soon as possible. My post-op diet will definitely be a lot higher in carbs than most people on this board are used to, but I'm confident in my choices and really excited about the health benefits in addition to weight loss.

I am going to try my darnedest to weigh myself only once per month after surgery. I did the obsessive daily "don't drink anything, have a bowel movement, get naked, and weigh myself" routine during my MFP days and it was really harmful to me mentally. I'm also logging my food in a physical journal and I won't be weighing anything or measuring beyond the standard 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc. meal sizes for post-op guidelines. Measuring food definitely works and I think many people can benefit from it. But again, it ended up being bad for my mental health. My ultimate life goal is to eat and enjoy an abundant amount of healthy plant-based whole foods without weighing or measuring portions. I know it will be awhile before I get there, but that's where I'm going and how I'm positioning myself for long-term success.

So that's a little about me! I'm going to post random crap in this thread, like musings on diet stuff, numbers, feelings (I have a lot of them), my appointments, etc. Thanks for reading!

Met with the surgeon again today to redo the consent form. All is good! Liquid diet starts May 3, class and pre-op labs May 9, surgery May 17.

Hi Little Green, great you're back on the scene!????

Welcome back girlie! I've missed you!

Congrats on your surgery date and on starting liquids soon!!

Thanks @Frustr8!

22 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

Welcome back girlie! I've missed you!

Congrats on your surgery date and on starting liquids soon!!

Hallooooo little miss Fluff! I've missed you too. I know I promised not to leave, but you know how it goes. Anyway, at least I'm back, right?!

The surgeon's office called today and asked me to do a 3-week liquid diet, starting tomorrow instead of May 3. My surgeon appears to be concerned about my belly size and made several comments about it at yesterday's appointment, so I'm guessing that's why. I'm fairly proportionate, I thought, in terms of weight distribution - though I'm definitely apple-shaped, so I see her point. I feel a little off about it, though, like maybe she's not confident about my safety for some reason. I've seen men 100 lbs heavier than me with much larger bellies than me get through surgery safely so I'm just hoping she's being super cautious.

I can't actually start my liquids tomorrow; my choir has our semester performance and if we do not attend we cannot receive a passing grade in the course. I really don't want to faint after standing on stage under hot lights for three hours, and nor do I want to fail my class right before I get my degree, so I'll have to start Friday. I'll report back

Awww who cares that you went away. School and life happen! But glad you're back now and are getting on the road to surgery.

I'm sure the doc is just being cautious! But it still sucks to hear that and then to have to add that to the worry list! I've no doubts you will get it done and be dedicated once you start. I doubt seriously that 1 day will make much of a difference? And by the time surgery rolls around, you will be good to fly girl!!!

And please! No fainting anywhere. Welcome back!

Day 3 of liquid diet and I'm doing fine this time around. I've stopped obsessing about it and I find myself not hungry at all and not fixating on food. If I get hungry I just drink a shake or eat a bar, and if I'm not hungry I don't worry about it. Whether I do 3 servings a day or 4 a day or 5 a day doesn't really matter to me at this point, even just having 3 gives me 60+ grams of protein which is more than sufficient.

The premade vegan shakes aren't quite as tasty as Premier Protein but they're easy enough to get down. Still loving my vegan protein bars, they are so delicious!

I have some svelte brand organic shakes from WalMart, have you tried them and if so,how do you rank them? Also have some Premier Protein on my shelf, started laying them on when I get to start, want to get closer and get into the final run for the Gold.

On 4/29/2018 at 4:50 PM, Frustr8 said:

I have some svelte brand organic shakes from WalMart, have you tried them and if so,how do you rank them? Also have some Premier Protein on my shelf, started laying them on when I get to start, want to get closer and get into the final run for the Gold.

Thank you, you actually reminded me that I had some of these in the pantry! I put them in the fridge and tried them yesterday - they are instantly my favorite, they taste so much better than the other ones. I think it's because they're getting their protein from soy milk, which is quite neutral-flavored, instead of pea protein or other form. (It's not that the others taste awful, they just taste really sweet and artificial.) However, I hope my surgeon doesn't read this lol because they don't quite qualify for the pre-op requirements, only 11g of protein instead of 15. But my other shakes have 20+ grams and the bars have 18-20 grams so it should still balance out over the day. So far my favorite Svelte flavor is cappuccino.

Today's day 6, I'm still feeling all right hunger- and mood-wise but I'm starting to feel run down and the dark black/purple eye circles are back. I've been in bed most of today, dozing.

I've lost 8 pounds so far, and I hope to lose another 2 lb by tomorrow to hit an even 10 pounds for the week. My goal is to hit 25 pounds lost on my liquid diet - going to add in a daily walk and hopefully get to a better sleep schedule as well, to help things get moving.

Edited May 2, 20188 yr by Little Green

Yeah I thought so too and they had them on sale at Wally for $5, couldn't turn them down.?

You're doing so good girl!!! Keep it up. Drink LOTS of water, sometimes it helps the brown rings!

Your body is reminding you that it's under stress and it thinks you're not getting enough rest. Peeved Ms Surgeon doesn't like your belly, probably you don't either, That's why you're having surgery, isn't it? Almost a Bill Engvall moment " There's Your Sign" Old joke from my youth, yeah we told jokes back then too.
Doctor: I don't care much for the look of your husband.
Wife: Well I don't either, but he is very good to me and,our children! Smile and don't sweat the small stuff. And if you live as long as me you will find life is chock-full of small stuff.???

6 hours ago, Frustr8 said:

Your body is reminding you that it's under stress and it thinks you're not getting enough rest. Peeved Ms Surgeon doesn't like your belly, probably you don't either, That's why you're having surgery, isn't it?

I appreciate the humor - but you knew what I meant. She just made me nervous by going on about it.

I feel like utter dogshit. I'm very weak and I've almost fainted twice today. I don't really know what's going on, as it seems my body should be fairly well-adjusted at this point. I rested at home most of the day today with the exception of a walk, which was cut short by the first instance of almost fainting. The second instance was as I was getting out of the shower just now. My HR shot up both times, which I didn't think much of during the walk but certainly showering shouldn't give me a 140+ bpm heart rate!

My urine output is normal and light in color so I don't think I'm dehydrated. I'm getting about 750-850 calories per day with around 50-70 grams each of protein and carbs and around 30 grams of fat.

I'm feeling better now that I've been lying down for awhile, but I still wish I knew what was going on. I'm hoping today was just an off day because honestly I've got stuff to do and I can't lay around in bed for the next two weeks.

Hope you are getting well-organized for the upcoming surgery. Boy it has been a time since you started by this time you'll be able finish it all.

Made it to 10 pounds lost this morning! Not exactly where I wanted to be but I can't complain. I'm still feeling ill occasionally but not as bad, so hopefully it was just an adjustment period.

One odd thing is I'm having heartburn between meals, not every time but at least once a day. And I've had a reflux issue twice. I rarely ever get heartburn and definitely only get reflux once in a blue moon (maybe 3-4x in my whole adult life). Not sure what the connection is. I'll call my surgeon Monday morning just to make sure.

I'm feeling good. I feel kind of disconnected from surgery, to be honest. I think I was so I incredibly engaged and anxious the first time I was in "go mode" that this time my brain can't get the anxiety juices flowing. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. Just trucking on having my protein shakes and water, biding my time.