Should have introduced myself before previous posting - oops

Sorry all, I realized that I should have introduced myself and told you a little about both myself and my partner before posting and asking for help - so here goes!

I know I am considered a realtive 'light weight' when it comes to WLS, however, as with many of you, I have lost weight and then regained more. At the age of 44, I needed to do something to stop this vicious cycle. My partner has a much higher BMI and needs to lost about 150lbs, so we decided to do the surgery together thinking that way it would be much easier to support each other through it. I have to say that the decison to do it together was the best thing we could have done. Although only 11 days out, we are able to understand what each other is going through and empathize appropriately.     Neither of us had any significant issues with the surgery, although I bounced back much easier than my partner. He did have some of the left shoulder pain - again, because I had been reading the posts here, I knew it was normal and it cleared up in a couple of days.

I read with interest many of the posts about whether people told their families or not.. We decided to keep it private, and although with summer BBQ's and parties in full swing, we have managed to keep it that way. We may tell people as we progress along our journey.  Being from Canada, we are self-pay (it is not covered at all by our health insurance) but along with the surgery we get 4 years of follow-up appointments and fills included. The clinic was fantastic and the follow-up has been great so far.  

I know the first few weeks are about healing and not weight loss, but it is gratifying to see the scale move - even just a little bit!   I have learned so much 'lurking' for the past few months and am feeling more confident about posting now so you may hear more from  me.

Thanks again to all the regulars who helped prepare me for the good and the potential bad. I certainly don't want to experience some of the difficulties others have gone through but I went into this with eyes wide open and know that there is a great support network in this group.

It is nice to have someone going through it with you. A friend of mine and I did everything together and shared a room the day of surgery. Welcome:)

Welcome!  Please feel free to ask any questions you have along the way! 

My only advice is to follow your doctor's protocol.  You'll see a lot of varying advice on this forum and other sites but since your surgeon is providing your after care it's always best to follow their rules.  Don't progress your diet faster than recommended.  It's tempting the further out you get, but it's dangerous while you're in the healing process.

I read your previous post and the only thing I have to add that wasn't previously covered is unsweetend apple sauce and cottage cheese.  Together or seperately!  I mixed a lot of things with cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.  You get pretty creative when you're limited.

There's nothing wrong with supplementing with protein shakes when you're in a bind.  I also think starting with a warm beverage like strained soups that are not cream based is a nice savory option.  I got really sick of all the sweet tastes like protein shakes, SF pudding, yogurt, etc.

Best of luck to you and yours!
Lisa O.

Thanks for the welcomes. Agree it is nice to have someone to go through it with, especially since no-one else knows.

Lisa -good advice re the Dr's protocol. His regimen is pretty strict and pureed food means pureed, so some of the soft food suggestions are not going to work but many have been helpful. Cottage cheese sounds good. I am on my way to the grocery store to stock up, so I really appreciate all the advice.

Welcome!

It's great that you and your partner are going through this together and can completely understand what the WLS journey feels like.

Good luck to both of you, and don't hesitate to post your (or your partner's) questions on the forum. If you have any questions you don't feel comfortable posting on the forum, send me a PM and I'll do my best to answer or send you in the right direction.

Jean

Thanks Jean. Your informative, rational and logical posts have been so helpful as I prepared for this journey. I would really like to order your book. Can you tell me the best way to get it?

You can order Bandwagon by clicking on my banner ad at the top of the band forum page (it cycles with several other ads, so you may have to wait a minute or so for it to appear), or by going to jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com and clicking on the image of the book cover on the lefthand side of the page. And you can sign up for the newsletter by clicking on the brown sign-up block, further down on the lefthand side of the page.

Thanks for your interest!

Jean

P.S. - you can also get an autographed copy of Bandwagon directly from me - send me a PM and I'll explain in more detail.

Best wishes to you and your partner. I am extremely happy for both of you to have someone to share this life changing journey with. You are both very fortunate. I have a loving husband that still thinks that he is being sweet to me to bring me home ice cream treats like he did when we were dating 30 years ago. LOL
I also advise you to follow your surgeons advice since there can be a difference in rules from surgeon to surgeon. I also recommend that you check in frequent here on OH. For me it has offered me more information and support then my teice monthly weight loss/surgery support meetings. I highly recommend that you order Jean McMillians book (she shas a post on your question) as well as subscribe to her free weekly news letter. I can honestly say that both have been extremely helpful to me in almost reaching my goal. Hang tough and take it one meal and one day at a time. It a new way to live, but a healthier way. When you both feel up to get out and start walking a short distance at a time. Remember that you have enteried a marathon and not a race. Welcome abord.

Thanks so much. I will sign up for the newsletter. I am an information junkie so there is never too much info for me! I will also get in touch with Jean regarding her book.

I just got back from a 45 minute walk. The weather has been beautiful here in a toronto so I am taking full advantage. I also signed up for the gym but have to wait 3 weeks as per the surgeons instructions.

So many of you here have had such amazing successes, while I was 'lurking' I was constantly inspired by your stories so I am very happy to be part of the community.

I am also an information junkie and find that anything I can read will help to keep me on the right plath. Call me strange, but this is whst works for me. Please keep us posted on your journey.