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Hi Paula,

Just got back from a week's vacation.  That was challenging!

I am on softs.....4 more days until full food.   I have a stressful life....I work full-time and lead a team of 50, have my family to manage as well.  It's a lot...but I keep juggling. I went back to work after 2 weeks (worked at home for 1 week and then back to the office.)   I went in for surgery initially in January and the surgeon made an error, so this is my 2nd time off of work.  Had to make it short.  I have been a little frustrated by a 1 1/2 week stall (just lost a pound finally.)  I am trying to up my protein to 75 grams and really get my water in.  Water is hard for me.  I can only drink a little at a time...so to get it all in is really hard.  I'm down almost 40 pounds...so doing OK, but some people seem to be losing like gang-busters, but mine is much slower.  As long as I am losing right? 

How are you doing?

I was told no solids, including lean meats.  That they'd actually had cases where they started surgery and had to abort because of blockage from the liver.  Those cases are why some doctors are switching to liquids only now.  I was told it shrinks your liver so they can better access the surgery location.

But I was also told to talk to my nutritionist if it was really difficult; to discuss options.  

The protein shakes kept me full, I just got sick of the monotony -  a warm savory chicken broth and cup of jello was a feast for tastebuds.

Good Luck!

I'm also in the pre-op phase of the diet... and I believe that different doctors utilize different diets. Mine, for instance, doesn't use a liquid diet; he prefers a high lean protein, no carb/no fruit diet. I'd call your doctor's office and seek clarification about what diet plan they require.

Hi, I am going with the sleeve because with the Gastric bypass you are more likely to become malnurished and you almost always have a dumping problem. I looked into both procedure and really felt like the sleeve was a healthier option for me. with the sleeve dumping doesn't normally happen and your body can still absorb the vitamins you take so you aren't likely to become malnurished. Eventually you can pretty much eat anything but in smaller portions. I am 5'3 and 296 lbs BMI is 54 or 53 so I am higher up there. These are just some things I found out while investigating all the options. Hope this helps.

Hello Karen, I was sleeved 6/10 so am about 2 wks behind you, but it sounds like we're on a similar learning curve.  I'm using myfitnesspal.com to track meals; and at the end of the day, I have whatever size protein shake it takes to meet my protein goal.  (The goal the program created didn't match mine; but it still lists a total for comparison).   Suspect I'm going to drink shakes for life, but now that its not mandatory, it'll be okay.  

Was sooo sick of liquid diets.  I'm allergic to dairy and found a great egg-based shake -- but every day gets old fast.  A feast was having warm savory chicken broth and solid-seeming jello.  Some of my happiest moments were when the nurse said I could swallow medicine without crushing it first (heart meds taste unbelievably nasty) and when Dr. Khalil (yay Dr Khalil) said I could introduce pureed foods.  

Took me a couple days to get anything down too.  Still hard, take it as a good sign that my stomach is not stretching.  Want it to stay that way.  Serve meals in a custard cup and try to stop at the first indication to.  A couple times I spit out what was in my mouth because what had hit my stomach a moment before warned me it wasn't happy. Haven't thrown up yet, but prepared a couple times...

Water is still hard for me even tho its always been my favorite drink.  Used to drink with meals, so that trigger isn't available anymore.  Am trying to remember to interrupt myself all day to keep sipping - not easy.

What food level are you on now?  Have you needed to cope with other stresses, like family or work?  I'm concerned about going back to work full-time. This takes so much time to learn and pay attention to goals - it's nowhere near automatic yet.

Best wishes,

Paula