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Here I am on the other side

Hi, I had surgery about a month ago and although the recovery wasn't bad you have to listen to the signs that your body is now sending you. Sip slowly they told me to try and make sure to get an ounce down every fifteen minutes. The uncomfortable feeling is from taking it in to fast and the burping I'm sorry to say doesn't go away. It's a sign that you are taking in air when you are drinking or eating. It has to come back out some how so that is it's escape. The pains that I had in my stomach came from the gas that they filled me with so that they could move and reach things during the surgery.. As soon as it all came out the pain was gone. Take one day at a time and walk as much as you can the movement helped me get rid of the gas more quickly.. Take care and I wish you a speedy recovery.
 
Hi Karenina,
How are things going for you? I know you are one week behind me. I go to the Dr. tomorrow so hopefully I will be started on Soft foods. I still have good and bad days, sometimes I think the bad days are more often than the good ones. Still somewhat sore, I can smell everything now. Just wanted to check in with you.
 
needtotalk---I'm doing OK. Went back to work this week, although I don't think I'll make 40 hours. I'm still on liquids and trying to get them to add yogurt or pudding or something else. There's just not much to eat besides jello and broth and protein shakes, although I'm not hungry. Have days of head hunger, although the thought of putting something solid into my mouth is not appealing at all. the only thing I seem to have problems with now is speed. Even jello has to be eaten slowly, and that's really going to be hard to do.
I hope your good days start outweighing the bad days soon!:)
 
Nothing wrong, on your way to a brightier future = I had no problems and thought well what next - but it as been wonderful after the first 3 weeks. Would do it all over again!!
 
Hi Karenina, Just about a month since your post. Hope you are through the physical recovery of your surgery. In the beginning I didn't have cravings at all. I had that I must be cured thing. No chance. I get them sometimes now. Just in the last few months. It is never anything awful, just wanting to eat a little something more on my food plan. REally need to keep myself in check and accountable. More times than not I am not dealing with the beast, but when it comes it can be fierce. It is all about making the choice when it comes knocking. Obsessive thoughts are horrid. I try and check in to see what is really going on and sometimes it helps, but other times I just have to white knuckle it until it passes. It will pass it you don't act on it. You have worked so hard to get where you are I know you will make the right choice most of the time. We are all in this together.
 
Dear Kim, I am 5 weeks post-op and feeling OK, but shaky. Thanks for thinking about me. Your post about 5 pounds gained being critical at goal weight really made me think. In the beginning, I thought that once my goal was met I could go back to my 1600 to 1800 calorie diet and maintain. I'm realizing now that that is not going to work. Having to stick to 1200 calories every day sounds tough. That's probably the main reason people gain weight back.
I wonder if I might be in starvation mode. Most days I don't get 800 calories in, and I'm not losing at all. Does anyone have any experience with that?
 
bump up your calorie intake by 200 calories and you would be shocked at the amount of weight that sheds off. I just found this protein "shot" its 3.8 ounces 180 calories and 42 OUNCES OF PROTEIN!!!
 
Karenina, Not all of us are the same. I know others that can eat more calories and still loss weight or maintain. this has not just been my experience. At your stage I was barely at 300-400 calories a day. My NUT kept wanting me to increase, but I just couldn't eat anymore than that. I was losing, not quickly, but still losing. Frankly after the first month I was one of the slow and steady losers. After a year I was down 103 pounds, and now 131 pounds. I never worried how quickly I would lose. I had done that many times before. I will tell you that maintenance is such a new concept for me that I am having to learn how to do it. If you can get down an extra protein shake with milk, instead of water, that can add calories. Also mix some protein powder in your yogurt. The scale will move. I promise.
 
Karenina said:
Dear Kim, I am 5 weeks post-op and feeling OK, but shaky. Thanks for thinking about me. Your post about 5 pounds gained being critical at goal weight really made me think. In the beginning, I thought that once my goal was met I could go back to my 1600 to 1800 calorie diet and maintain. I'm realizing now that that is not going to work. Having to stick to 1200 calories every day sounds tough. That's probably the main reason people gain weight back.
I wonder if I might be in starvation mode. Most days I don't get 800 calories in, and I'm not losing at all. Does anyone have any experience with that?
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Yes, I went almost a month at the same weight no matter how little I ate. I was maily eating an egg for breakfast and salad and some steamed chicken breast for lunch and supper. The scale didn't move. So I made a pot of my version of chili.. pinto beans, lean hamburger, Ragu with green pepper. Then I ate a little bit a few times during the day for a week. I went to the bathroom better and started to lose weight again. Thank goodness!!!! I think my body thought I was starving and was trying to hold onto my weight.
 
These are all good suggestions. I think the problem is that I'm trying to reduce the protein shakes (from 3 a day to 2), but I'm just not getting enough calories from food. I mean, how much can you get from and ounce and half three times a day?
So I've gone back to 3 protein shakes a day which ups my calories to about 900 total/day. I think that's better for me.
 
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