My surgery is scheduled 4/8. I'm excited but, also super nervous [emoji27]. What are you guys packing for the hospital? Are ya'll stocking up on liquids (broth and protein shakes etc.) now?

On 5/13/2021 at 9:01 PM, Cherylanne22 said:

What do you find is good Snacks?

String cheese just chew it good and laughing cow cheese.

Hello all,

Great reading your posts and thanks for responding to my questions.

So far, I only really have space for a snack maybe once in a while, like maybe 2 days a week. Those times are usually like once in the afternoon while I'm at work. I eat a cheese stick. I dont usually desire any snacks in the evening at home. Most evenings, I'm too busy trying to finish up my water goals for the day. Hahaha.

I get so distracted at work some days that I don't meet my water goal while at work. Its annoying because then at night I'm trying to make up which is hard and I stay up late sipping on water. It's a day by day process of trying to make sure I take care of me while at work and meet my intake goals while there. Need help with that.

I'm excited to share that I walk at work every single day! Usually around 30 minutes. I even walked twice Wednesday. Once during work and then at the end of the day for a few minutes. After work, I drove to an empty parking lot at work and did some speed walking laps around the lot for just 15 minutes. I don't speed walk during the work day because I don't want to get sweaty or anything like that and have to go back to work. I'm really digging walking now. Feel more energy to do it and the weather has been great. I think it's about me liking being outside and liking that I can walk without feeling tired most days now. That's progress for sure.

Tuesday I will be 6 weeks post-op and can move to normal food that's of course low cal, low sugar, low fat, low sodium, low carb, etc. So far, I have not cheated at all. No cravings so far. I do feel some hunger at times, but that's usually my fault because I'm past the due time for a protein shake or a 2.5 - 3 ounce meal which is still my capacity limit. I think Thursday I had some thoughts about wanting to eat out, but I squashed that. First, I can hardly eat any volume so eating out is wasteful, even if I take leftovers home. Second, I don't want to open a slippery slope of eating out once and then wanting to do it again and again and getting off track with my plan. I'm not willing to risk that so early in this process. I also don't want to introduce something that will trigger a craving. So, I got past that.

I still food prep. Man, since surgery, I have saved so much money on food. I used to spend a lot more on dining out and groceries. Now with only eating like a max of 3 ounces per meal and just drinking water the rest of the day, I save a ton of money. Protein shakes and vitamins are bigger expenses than food I guess.

I see my WLS Team in two more weeks for my 2 month follow up. I am meeting a friend for a weekend mountains getaway to celebrate my two month surgerversary. He is the only person who knows that I had this surgery other than my medical team. We talk all the time about how it's going which helps. Since no one else knows, I don't get to talk with anyone else about my experience during this process.

I have one possible challenge coming up. My family is getting together for Memorial Day wknd. That's the weekend before my 2 month mark. That will be the first time that they will see me since my surgery. I live states away from my family so they don't see me all the time. Plus, with COVID the past year, we have gotten together less than usual for family gatherings which usually include siblings, parents, aunt, uncles, nieces and nephews, and cousins. So, a nice size group of people. My parents saw me Easter weekend which was the week before surgery. I had lost some weight pre-surgery, but I don't think they noticed. Now its noticable. So, I've created a couple options for responses to questions about my weight loss since I don't plan to disclose that I had WLS. And I have a plan for what to eat since the family is cooking out. I should be in the clear for a few months after that in regards to any other family gatherings.

I'm content with how I feel now and my progress. I do weigh on the scale, but I'm not overly focused on numbers. I noticed that a few of my summer dresses fit better. You can see weight loss in my face. So, I value the non-scale victories.

Sorry for the long post. I'm really glad to be a part of this community. It has been very helpful during this process.

Have a great Saturday everyone ?

Any idea when the pain should subside a bit? I’m on day 7 and still in a load of pain?

I stopped feeling pain around day 9 or 10. 2 weeks out I was fine.

Hello everyone. I’m new here first post.
My surgery was April 7th gastric sleeve. So far so good.

7 hours ago, Blueslily said:

Hello all,

Great reading your posts and thanks for responding to my questions.

So far, I only really have space for a snack maybe once in a while, like maybe 2 days a week. Those times are usually like once in the afternoon while I'm at work. I eat a cheese stick. I dont usually desire any Snacks in the evening at home. Most evenings, I'm too busy trying to finish up my Water goals for the day. Hahaha.

I get so distracted at work some days that I don't meet my water goal while at work. Its annoying because then at night I'm trying to make up which is hard and I stay up late sipping on water. It's a day by day process of trying to make sure I take care of me while at work and meet my intake goals while there. Need help with that.

I'm excited to share that I walk at work every single day! Usually around 30 minutes. I even walked twice Wednesday. Once during work and then at the end of the day for a few minutes. After work, I drove to an empty parking lot at work and did some speed walking laps around the lot for just 15 minutes. I don't speed walk during the work day because I don't want to get sweaty or anything like that and have to go back to work. I'm really digging walking now. Feel more energy to do it and the weather has been great. I think it's about me liking being outside and liking that I can walk without feeling tired most days now. That's progress for sure.

Tuesday I will be 6 weeks post-op and can move to normal food that's of course low cal, low sugar, low fat, low sodium, low carb, etc. So far, I have not cheated at all. No cravings so far. I do feel some hunger at times, but that's usually my fault because I'm past the due time for a Protein Shake or a 2.5 - 3 ounce meal which is still my capacity limit. I think Thursday I had some thoughts about wanting to eat out, but I squashed that. First, I can hardly eat any volume so eating out is wasteful, even if I take leftovers home. Second, I don't want to open a slippery slope of eating out once and then wanting to do it again and again and getting off track with my plan. I'm not willing to risk that so early in this process. I also don't want to introduce something that will trigger a craving. So, I got past that.

I still food prep. Man, since surgery, I have saved so much money on food. I used to spend a lot more on dining out and groceries. Now with only eating like a max of 3 ounces per meal and just drinking water the rest of the day, I save a ton of money. Protein Shakes and Vitamins are bigger expenses than food I guess.

I see my WLS Team in two more weeks for my 2 month follow up. I am meeting a friend for a weekend mountains getaway to Celebrate my two month surgerversary. He is the only person who knows that I had this surgery other than my medical team. We talk all the time about how it's going which helps. Since no one else knows, I don't get to talk with anyone else about my experience during this process.

I have one possible challenge coming up. My family is getting together for Memorial Day wknd. That's the weekend before my 2 month mark. That will be the first time that they will see me since my surgery. I live states away from my family so they don't see me all the time. Plus, with COVID the past year, we have gotten together less than usual for family gatherings which usually include siblings, parents, aunt, uncles, nieces and nephews, and cousins. So, a nice size group of people. My parents saw me Easter weekend which was the week before surgery. I had lost some weight pre-surgery, but I don't think they noticed. Now its noticable. So, I've created a couple options for responses to questions about my weight loss since I don't plan to disclose that I had WLS. And I have a plan for what to eat since the family is cooking out. I should be in the clear for a few months after that in regards to any other family gatherings.

I'm content with how I feel now and my progress. I do weigh on the scale, but I'm not overly focused on numbers. I noticed that a few of my summer dresses fit better. You can see weight loss in my face. So, I value the non-scale victories.

Sorry for the long post. I'm really glad to be a part of this community. It has been very helpful during this process.

Have a great Saturday everyone ?

I’m going back to work after 6 weeks of post op, so what do you do / how do you meal prep. I need some help and ideas. Sound like you have everything down packed.

44 minutes ago, Joser09 said:

Hello everyone. I’m new here first post.
My surgery was April 7th gastric sleeve. So far so good.

Welcome! This site is a great resource. Congratulations on your surgery!

I am trying to learn how to respond to these posts... it’s new to me. I am now almost 5 weeks post Gastric Sleeve surgery. My surgery date was April 12, 2021. I began my journey to surgery with the first doctor visit, then an endoscopy in February. He found 1 esophageal hernia above the stomach which he planned to repair during the surgery. I started the maintenance diet on February 26, I weighed 242 pounds. 2 weeks before surgery I had to begin the liquid diet. Between February 26 and April 12, I lost 15 pounds. During my surgery he found I had a Hiatl hernia right on top of my belly button so he fixed that too. Today, I weighed in at a whopping 200 pounds even on the scale. I have lost a total of 42 pounds since February 26 and 27 of it since my surgery. BEST DECISION I EVER MADE.

Edited May 15, 20215 yr by SueClement

2 minutes ago, SueClement said:

I am trying to learn how to respond to these posts... it’s nee to me. I am now almost 5 weeks post Gastric Sleeve surgery. My surgery date was April 12, 2021. I began my journey to surgery with the first doctor visit, then and endoscopy in February. He found 1 esophageal hernia above the stomach which he planned to repair during the surgery. I started the maintenance diet on February 26, I weighed 242 pounds. 2 weeks before surgery I had to begin the liquid diet. Between February 26 and April 12, I lost 15 pounds. During my surgery her found I had a Hiatl hernia right on top of my belly button so he fixed that too. Today, I weighed in at a whopping 200 pounds even on the scale. I have lost a total of 43 pounds since February 26 and 27 of it since my surgery. BEST DECISION I EVER MADE.

Congrats on your surgery and your weight loss so far.

Thank you!

3 hours ago, Joser09 said:

I’m going back to work after 6 weeks of post op, so what do you do / how do you meal prep. I need some help and ideas. Sound like you have everything down packed.

There are lots of videos on YouTube with ideas for meal prepping after WLS. Maybe some will be helpful as you prepare. Good luck!

1 hour ago, Blueslily said:

There are lots of videos on YouTube with ideas for meal prepping after WLS. Maybe some will be helpful as you prepare. Good luck!

I’m thinking about going to look for some 2-3 Oz containers that can go in the freezer and just make a few things and fill each one. That way I will know exactly how much I am eating. I have found a lot of healthier frozen meals that have little carbs/calories and a lot of protein that I can get 3.4.5 meals out of them and just spoon them into these dishes. Then I can take the weeks worth of breakfast and lunch to work with me. Maybe rotate protein shakes out a few times a week for those meals too. I go back Monday. Today is my 1 month post op date!

7 minutes ago, Struggling a bit said:

I’m thinking about going to look for some 2-3 Oz containers that can go in the freezer and just make a few things and fill each one. That way I will know exactly how much I am eating. I have found a lot of healthier frozen meals that have little carbs/calories and a lot of Protein that I can get 3.4.5 meals out of them and just spoon them into these dishes. Then I can take the weeks worth of Breakfast and lunch to work with me. Maybe rotate Protein Shakes out a few times a week for those meals too. I go back Monday. Today is my 1 month post op date!

Baby food containers would work well.

2 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

Baby food containers would work well.

They would work perfect. I should put out a fb request for empties. My surgeon recommended not eating baby food in the purée stage because of the sugar in it. So I don’t have any here and my last grand baby has not yet started baby food yet ?

42 minutes ago, Struggling a bit said:

I’m thinking about going to look for some 2-3 Oz containers that can go in the freezer and just make a few things and fill each one. That way I will know exactly how much I am eating. I have found a lot of healthier frozen meals that have little carbs/calories and a lot of Protein that I can get 3.4.5 meals out of them and just spoon them into these dishes. Then I can take the weeks worth of Breakfast and lunch to work with me. Maybe rotate Protein Shakes out a few times a week for those meals too. I go back Monday. Today is my 1 month post op date!

If you haven't already checked those frozen meals for sodium levels, you might want to check that. I've seen many of them advertised as healthy but they have a ton of sodium. Just a thought.

I use 2 ounce plastic containers from the Dollar Tree. I just fill them and leave them in the fridge since it's just for a few days. I have 4 ounce glass containers if I have bigger batches that I then break down into the 2 ounce containers. I'm still eating just over 2 ounces per meal so the small containers still work great for me. And they are easy to take out with me. Like I took a meat and veggie with me to the hair salon today since my appointment was during lunch. LoL. Ate lunch while sitting under the hair dryer, lol.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone for responding and the ideas. Much appreciated