September surgery buddies!!

[nymisc 54]

1 hour ago, Band2SleeveGurl77 said:

Congratulations on all your progress, that’s amazing!! I am officially 4 weeks out and can’t complain bc I’ve had very few issues. I also have one incision that is healing slow so that made me feel better to read that. My energy has improved this week and I’ve been doing IV Vitamins to help. The one thing that has been disappointing is how slowly I’m losing - i was expecting to be down at least 20+ by now. I haven’t had much energy to workout or exercise so that could be it - if anyone has any feedback I’d love to hear. This group has been amazing so hopefully we keep it up!

You are a pretty low weight so your journey may be a bit slower. In some ways the slower journey is better because you may not have as much skin.

[SpartanMaker 676]

8 minutes ago, Band2SleeveGurl77 said:

I think it’s the silly things we put in our heads - thank you for sharing that it makes me feel much better

I hear you!

I always put it in the perspective of what things were like for me pre-surgery. At that point, if I saw a 5-8 pound drop in a month I would have been ecstatic!

Edited October 20, 2022 by SpartanMaker

[nymisc 54]

15 minutes ago, Slwhurst said:

I am 5 weeks post op and have been stalled for the past couple weeks. I guess I can’t really complain about that though cause I did drop 30 pounds in the first few weeks. Things got so much better for me as far as nausea when I decided to go against the plan of puréed food and just skip to soft food. My body tolerated that a whole lot more. Is it why I am stalled? Maybe… but in the long run I had to do what was best for my body. I was not getting the nutrients I needed to even survive. Hopefully I am on the back end of the stall and about to start dropping again. I have been super busy at work and at home. I did have an upset by losing a baby(puppy) but she was my baby! Life goes on though and we persevere! Y’all all keep up the good work! No one has left that I know of I think we have all just been busy in our own ways! And for those that wonder about the earlier dirty and sick posts that situation seems to be better since I moved to soft foods as well!!🤣

I am five weeks, in a stall and lost 30 as well We got this.

[Band2SleeveGurl77 3]

1 hour ago, nymisc said:

You are a pretty low weight so your journey may be a bit slower. In some ways the slower journey is better because you may not have as much skin.

I’m pretty short so I’ll probably have lots of skin but that’s another problem for another day lol. Hope you are doing good and thank you for responding- it’s so nice to share this journey

[Slwhurst 86]

On 10/20/2022 at 15:49, Band2SleeveGurl77 said:

I’m pretty short so I’ll probably have lots of skin but that’s another problem for another day lol. Hope you are doing good and thank you for responding- it’s so nice to share this journey

Girl I am 5’4 and started at 238. I feel that is an extremely high weight for my height. But apparently it might not be. How tall and where did you start and where are you now? I am at 208 currently.

[Cassandra Maughan 9]

Today is the first day I really stepped off the program. My kid handed me a piece of pizza and I ate all the toppings but not the bread:(. If I eat dinner later it will put me at 925 calories for the day. My doctor said at this point I should be at 600-800 no matter how much I exercise unless I am running marathons. Idk how much I buy into that… I’m not doing anything amazing but managed 25 minutes on the elliptical today. I think my main issue at this point is I really have been able to eat pretty much anything.

[Hope4NewMe 167]

4 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

I had been thinking the same. Mostly I'm just doing my thing, trying to figure out how to live with all the changes I'm experiencing.

My challenges lately:

• I'm still not regular, with my guts bouncing between one extreme and another. I'd really like to find the right balance, but haven't found it quite yet.
• I'm struggling with Water more now that I have to not drink 30 mins before and after a meal. If I take ~30 minutes to eat, than means I'm not drinking for and hour and a half per meal, or roughly 4.5 hours out of the day with 3 meals a day. Add in a snack to hit my Protein goals (which I often have to do), and we're at 6 hours sans liquids. Some days I do okay, but I find once I get behind, it's almost impossible to catch back up.
• I'm still struggling to slow down my eating and chew better. I knew this would be a problem for me and it is. Thankfully it's not been too big an issue as my pouch seems to be surviving me not doing this quite as well as I'm supposed to.
• I'm trying to understand what both being hungry and being satisfied feels like with limited success. About all I can tell at this point is no pain and some pain.
• Some foods seem "different" than before. Because I'm never really actually hungry, I sometimes either don't eat at all, or don't eat very much, just because I don't like what I'm eating.
• I have the alternate issue sometimes as well. When I actually find I enjoy something, I find I can eat more than i thought and more than my team says I should be able to. (See previous bullets about trying to understand fullness). I'm not concerned, but on occasion I have found myself pushing the limits of this capability and paying the price afterward.

Enough for now. What about everyone else? What's working or not for you right now?

Waiting to drink has made things difficult but with my latest dietitian meeting he said I didn't really have to wait as long, like 10 before and 20 after. That will help me out a ton. wonder if you talk to your team if they would relax the rules a little. I to am still trying to understand my new stomach. I really can't tell satisfied yet, its empty and then its full lol. I am going through a phase where nothing seems to taste good. Even the stuff I know should taste good, its like food has lost its flavor and is bland. Hopefully that goes away soon. chicken it seems hates me. I was able to eat 2 oz one night and was perfectly fine. The next night I weighed out 2 oz and I ate about half and for the 1st time since the surgery I was in a lot of pain and I felt like I was going to throw up. I actually wanted to throw up to end the pain lol. It lasted about 1.5 hours and I'm afraid to eat chicken again. Still learning I guess.

[JustAMomATX 24]

I’m finally feeling “normal”?? I started a stall at 3 weeks and this week (my 5th week) it FINALLY broke. Thanks to helpful advice here especially the post from @SpartanMaker describing the why’s of stalls. It was Water retention...and how do I know this? Because it started at 3 weeks and also this week the volume of pee vs consumption just went to a whole new level! I should have realized something was way off with that because I was drinking the recommended amounts but not peeing nearly as much as I would prior to surgery. I also upped my Protein just because 40g wasn’t cutting it so I’m really really trying for 60 now. Also, started a Miralax every couple of days and Benefiber daily program....big help there also. All of these things have made a huge difference and I feel so much better.

I, too, am making an effort to get walks in every day. I’m working on weights twice a week but I need to get with my team on that. I was told no more than lifting 5 lb weights but that seems insanely ridiculous. Also, not sure when I can resume any ab work (not that I’m begging to do planks and sit-ups....)

I hear you all on the Fluid intake when we can only hold so much AND there are hours around meals when we can’t drink...it’s really hard. The mathematics that it takes to keep all the timing, portions, tracking and Vitamin regimens is something else! 😂😂 We all need a pat on the back for determination and perseverance - good job everyone!

[Hope4NewMe 167]

4 hours ago, Slwhurst said:

I am 5 weeks post op and have been stalled for the past couple weeks. I guess I can’t really complain about that though cause I did drop 30 pounds in the first few weeks. Things got so much better for me as far as nausea when I decided to go against the plan of puréed food and just skip to soft food. My body tolerated that a whole lot more. Is it why I am stalled? Maybe… but in the long run I had to do what was best for my body. I was not getting the nutrients I needed to even survive. Hopefully I am on the back end of the stall and about to start dropping again. I have been super busy at work and at home. I did have an upset by losing a baby(puppy) but she was my baby! Life goes on though and we persevere! Y’all all keep up the good work! No one has left that I know of I think we have all just been busy in our own ways! And for those that wonder about the earlier dirty and sick posts that situation seems to be better since I moved to soft foods as well!!🤣

Glad you are doing better with the food and your other issues. Super sorry to hear about your puppy though! I love all of my animals too.

[Hope4NewMe 167]

31 minutes ago, Cassandra Maughan said:

Today is the first day I really stepped off the program. My kid handed me a piece of pizza and I ate all the toppings but not the bread:(. If I eat dinner later it will put me at 925 calories for the day. My doctor said at this point I should be at 600-800 no matter how much I exercise unless I am running marathons. Idk how much I buy into that… I’m not doing anything amazing but managed 25 minutes on the elliptical today. I think my main issue at this point is I really have been able to eat pretty much anything.

Don't beat yourself up for one bad day! Thats also not too bad of a day compared to where we were before the surgery. I know I've come close to 1000 a couple of times because I'm trying to find foods that I like that have a ton of Protein and sometimes those are also high calorie. I also can pretty much eat anything and have no nausea so its harder to keep on track when our tool is a little more lenient than others. Its a long journey, so don't stress too much about the bumps, we'll get there!

[SpartanMaker 676]

29 minutes ago, JustAMomATX said:

We all need a pat on the back for determination and perseverance - good job everyone!

Hear, hear!

By the way, anyone that says this is the "easy way out" is, well, an idiot.

[SpartanMaker 676]

1 hour ago, Hope4NewMe said:

It lasted about 1.5 hours and I'm afraid to eat chicken again. Still learning I guess.

Don't even talk to me about chicken! I was so grossed out by "chicken salad" during purees, I have not touched any chicken since.

On reflection, it wasn't just that I was grossed out, but it also "sat really heavy" in my stomach. It made me feel gross and felt like it took forever to digest.

Edited October 20, 2022 by SpartanMaker

[SpartanMaker 676]

1 hour ago, Cassandra Maughan said:

Today is the first day I really stepped off the program. My kid handed me a piece of pizza and I ate all the toppings but not the bread:(. If I eat dinner later it will put me at 925 calories for the day. My doctor said at this point I should be at 600-800 no matter how much I exercise unless I am running marathons. Idk how much I buy into that… I’m not doing anything amazing but managed 25 minutes on the elliptical today. I think my main issue at this point is I really have been able to eat pretty much anything.

Now if you'd eaten the whole slice I would have been a bit concerned (mostly about where you put it all), but just the toppings? Eh, no big deal. Especially if it didn't hurt you later. Don't make it a habit and I think everything will be fine.

I'm generally in the 600-800 range too, but have found some days it's more like 500 and some days more like 900. It all works out in the end. I think part of that is just our bodies telling us we need more food sometimes?

[SpartanMaker 676]

1 hour ago, Hope4NewMe said:

Waiting to drink has made things difficult but with my latest dietitian meeting he said I didn't really have to wait as long, like 10 before and 20 after. That will help me out a ton. wonder if you talk to your team if they would relax the rules a little.

Thanks for this advice, I'll have to ask!

I also REALLY need to know if I can shorten the time between pills. It's such a chore for me because I'm talking about 30 pills a day right now. Having to wait 10 minutes in between makes this really hard.

[Cassandra Maughan 9]

1 hour ago, Hope4NewMe said:

Don't beat yourself up for one bad day! Thats also not too bad of a day compared to where we were before the surgery. I know I've come close to 1000 a couple of times because I'm trying to find foods that I like that have a ton of Protein and sometimes those are also high calorie. I also can pretty much eat anything and have no nausea so its harder to keep on track when our tool is a little more lenient than others. Its a long journey, so don't stress too much about the bumps, we'll get there!

Thank you! You’re right, the old me would have thought this was a great day in terms of intake!