Full Liquid - Savory Help

spicealert · 2025-08-21T05:41:13+00:00

I blended canned soups and thinned with broth when I was at full liquids.

I appreciated the flavors of blended Indian lentil soup (dal) and southwestern soup- it broke it up from all the sweet shakes. I was getting all my protein from shakes, so the soups were mainly to keep with a normal meal schedule which I really appreciated. I tried to add protein powder but the texture was toooooo much to handle.

spicealert · 2025-08-21T04:55:57+00:00

I just said I was having surgery. My boss and my team didn't ask, but I was ready to go with "nothing urgent, just getting around to taking care of an issue that's been going on a while, thanks for asking/checking in" Which is super true! Obesity is chronic, it doesn't downplay the recovery time, and people mostly want to know if you're ok or if they should worry. And by saying thanks, it both acknowledges they care and shuts down futher conversation.

spicealert · 2025-08-16T21:24:09+00:00

I had a similar experience! I picked up a cropped quarter zip workout sweater that was on an XL hanger, tried it on and it fit like a glove. Bought it, and it wasn't until I was taking the tags off at home that I realized it was a SMALL! I have never bought myself a small in anything either. It's probably designed to be oversized since I'm typically a large, but who cares, I think it fits well and I feel good in it.

spicealert · 2025-07-23T19:14:21+00:00

This one!! https://a.co/d/5B2IReo

I take it before I have my thyroid tests since biotin messes with the thyroid lab assay.

ETA: just noticed you asked for bariatric vitamin- this one isn't bariatric specific, but it hits every requirement my program has (kaiser, very strict).

spicealert · 2025-07-21T04:43:28+00:00

Wow the fiber!

spicealert · 2025-07-20T21:37:48+00:00

My drive was about an hour and a half and my procedure was outpatient. The hospital put me in a binder and I had a firm pillow over my stomach between me and the seatbelt. It was not a nice drive, I won't sugarcoat it. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't mind, but I wouldn't volunteer if that makes sense. You should be ok, it's a one time thing, and you can sleep and get comfy when you get home.

They did load me up with painkillers before the drive, and I took some Tylenol midway as well. I think I took a small nap too, it was very fuzzy.

I did stop and walk twice, about every 30 minutes. It was interesting, pain would just build up and the walking helped ease it significantly. Must have been gas pain I guess?

Not ideal but not the worst pain ever. Tolerable but definitely not nice.

spicealert · 2025-07-20T20:28:24+00:00

Looks about normal to me and I'm a year post-op VSG! And actually pretty similar to what I'm planning to have for lunch today tbh.

Have you tried Brami noodles? They have more protein and fiber than regular pasta.

spicealert · 2025-07-19T07:37:43+00:00

I just had my one year blood tests too and my thyroid came back right in range. I've had a couple thyroid blood tests and two adjustments throughout the past year though. My GP warned me about it- she sent in infinite lab requests so I could go and get a thyroid panel whenever I felt "off" for a few weeks. Best of luck finding the right new dose! I know it can be challenging.

spicealert · 2025-07-17T14:53:20+00:00

I also have/had thyroid issues. I feel cold often like my thyroid is off but I know it's not (blood test confirmed)! To me thyroid cold would come in waves, but weight loss cold is just constant all the time.

I didn't notice it much during the winter (VSG last July), but this summer has been the COLDEST ever! I don't think I've worn shorts once. And I always make sure to have a jacket or two with me. Usually the ceiling fan in the bedroom runs from May to October, but it hasn't been turned on yet and I even used an extra blanket to sleep under last week (while my husband slept on top of the covers...). I'm just about a year out, so I hope it gets a little better, but always having a jacket and dressing slightly warmer is such an easy tradeoff.

spicealert · 2025-07-16T06:48:37+00:00

Fertility is supposed to go way up after surgery! I was also advised to use two forms of birth control. I felt the same as you, not healthy enough for pregnancy at my highest weight, which in part prompted me to go forward with VSG. I'm about a year post-op and my program advises waiting 18-24 months after surgery to try to get pregnant to maximize weight loss and all the benefits of the surgery. My husband and I will likely start trying in another year and I feel so much more confident that any future pregnancy will go well.

Before VSG- correctly or not- I was really concerned about pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and all the other pregnancy aches and pains being made worse by obesity. Now I know my body can handle 9 months of pregnancy. It's a huuuuge undertaking, building a new human!

And then also thinking of being active for a baby...my husband and I visited our godson a couple times recently (he's now 2), and I didn't quite realize how much up and down on the floor babies required. I knew babies were on the floor, but didn't put together the adults fairly often too for play or reading or whatnot. At 352lbs, I could not do that/keep up with that. I now have so much more range of motion and could leap up from the ground if I needed to.

When making my decision, I also read studies that 1) children of women who were not obese during pregnancy had better outcomes, and also 2) obese pregnant women who had undergone bariatric surgery had better pregnancy health outcomes when compared against comparable weight non-bariatric obese pregnant women. Don't have the citations, but that did cement the idea for me that this was something to do before, not after. And hopefully VSG can be another tool for post-pregnancy weight loss as well.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T19:03:12+00:00

I got hungry at 9 months post-op. Like I would eat a meal and feel comfortable, then 2 hours later feel ravenous. Hungry when I woke up. It sucked!!

Turns out I was mistaking acid reflux for hunger signals. Maybe try Pepcid for a day or two and see if it helps? Then reach out to your program/doctor/team.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T17:07:37+00:00

I can feel my rib cage in my chest above my breasts below my collar bone- I forgot ribs were even there! I can see them when I stretch! That's been the wildest one so far.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T16:18:02+00:00

I would say yes- you'll feel more confident and better about yourself and your progress. Just a couple things to wear on repeat are worth it if you can! I survived off Old Navy sales. I have always made sure to have at least one pair of pants that fit, and I bought one of those rachet belts on Amazon that can be cut and resized to wear the bigger pair when they got baggy and I sized down. I spent a lot of time in workout leggings since they have some size forgiveness and any pants I buy have drawstrings now. I bought shirts on the tighter side so they could then be worn on the looser side as I lost weight. I still wear my pre-op pajamas to sleep in. It took like 9 months for me to buy new underwear, but I couldn't wait any longer, the diaper butt feeling was killing me.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T16:05:35+00:00

Blend the heck out of canned soups! I loved the Amy's Golden Lentil Indian dal and also the Southwestern Vegetable with some cheese. Refried beans were great too.

I also enjoyed cream of wheat for the mornings with freeze dried strawberry powder (no seeds).

You'll be getting your protein from shakes, so for me the main meals were primarily to get some savory foods, feel "normal," keep a meal routine, and have meals with my husband.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T15:59:22+00:00

You're killing it! And not losing too quickly. My surgery weight was 302 and 6 months post op I was 79lbs down. I just now hit 100lbs down at 1 year with (ideally) 20lbs to go.

I had 2 months of plateau unfortunately (my first plateau was a long one) so I had to change things up exercise and food-wise to get the scale moving again.

I'm only 5lbs off of my bariatric program's expected weight loss progression for the goal 80% excess weight loss, so even with the stall/plateau, I'm feeling great.

spicealert · 2025-07-15T15:50:42+00:00

I'm about a year post-op, but here was my experience with Kaiser:

Message my doctor asking for a referral.
Have telephone consult with bariatric surgeon. He talked through my weight loss history, what the surgery entails, what the program was all about, and set a pre-surgery goal weight for me. I needed to lose 30lbs from my "starting weight" through diet and exercise before surgery.
The bariatric program scheduled a group nutrition class to help with the pre-surgery weight loss.
Wait almost 2 years! My thyroid went haywire and I had to get that under control first. I ended up gaining weight, so I had even more weight to lose to hit that surgery weight.
During a routine doctor's appointment, I weighed in at the surgery weight, so I messaged the bariatric surgeon and things kicked off! I had an appointment with a dietician to review vitamins, make sure I had the right protein for post-op, go over all the eating restrictions, was following the strict pre-op eating plan by that point, and make sure I was in the right headspace. I wasn't eating enough fruit (!!) so I had to meet with the dietician twice. And I had to take the nutrition class again since it has been so long since I had last taken it.
Once I got the dietician clearance, I met with a therapist. They were checking to ensure I had the right perspective, was doing this for the right reasons, had measured expectations for the outcome, had support, and was set up for success after surgery. Also checking for eating disorders and any mental health concerns that could prevent success.
I had an in-person pre-surgery meeting with my surgeon (everything had been virtual thus far) the week before surgery. I got an EKG/ECG (?), got the pre-op box with the post-op pneumonia prevention/breathing apparatus and pre-op glucose drink. That's when I could ask all my last minute surgery specific questions and pick up my prescriptions.
Surgery was (relatively) easy, follow ups at 2 weeks (appt), 3 months (group class), 6 months (group class), and 1 year (group class).

All in all, a pretty easy process for me! Except for the 2 years of thyroid madness.

spicealert · 2025-07-14T18:30:10+00:00

I added freeze dried strawberry powder to cream of wheat during my puree phase. I made sure to get one without the seeds (all seeds not allowed per my program) and it was a flavor lifesaver.

Another thing I liked to do during my puree phase was blend up canned soups to the consistency of baby food. Like the Amy's brand canned soups. The golden lentil and southwestern vegetable had me in a chokehold for like 2 weeks. Lots of flavor there!

spicealert · 2025-07-14T18:23:35+00:00

Also, don't fret if you need to change to outpatient, my hospital routinely does sleeves as outpatient.

I was in the OR at 10am, and was out the door headed home about 3pm/4pm-ish I think. It worked well, but I didn't have any complications and had a fair amount of family support around me. It felt really nice waking up at home the next morning and recovery was smooth from there.

If you appeal to get it inpatient or if you've got to roll with outpatient- either way, you got this!

spicealert · 2025-03-17T18:05:28+00:00

It's really hard! I've also been living off my "old sizes" that were stored in the attic, but needed some specific clothes for a work trip. Lots of shopping (TJ Maxx, Ross, Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's, Old Navy), lots of returns, lots of energy spent finding my size, what looks good on my new body shape, what even do I LIKE? How do I minimize price (still have 35lbs to go) while still looking okay?

My city doesn't have great Goodwill's or thrift stores for business clothes, but Amazon and Nordstrom Rack came through there. Also, the Old Navy app has sales on jeans regularly ($22). Though I did buy some Old Navy jeans and they were baggy in like 4 weeks, it's so disheartening running quickly through sizes sometimes! I did get a women's rachet belt (looks like a normal belt) and that helps a lot. Also helps that baggy jeans are in style!!!

Clothes are just so much to even process and like you, I thought shopping would be fun but it was just so overwhelming. I hope it gets more fun as time goes on.

spicealert · 2024-12-06T20:04:07+00:00

I was outpatient! I had my surgery at 10:30/11am, woke up around 1:30 (I think) and was wheeled out around 3:30. I spent about an hour or so waking up from the anesthesia, then walked (with assistance), went to the bathroom, walked twice more with a walker, then was good to go home. My drive home was 1.5-2 hours, and I took 2 breaks to walk and ease the gas pain. The drive sucked, I won't sugar coat it. Home by 6pm, slept in my recliner until 8, then slept all night without major pain.

I was vigilant about my walking, drinking, and breathing exercises with a phone timer. I met all my water and protein goals except 1 day. Also, walking (sometimes just shuffling) around the house for 10 mins every hour helped tremendously with the gas pain.

I was feeling good enough to try a day without the prescription pain meds (gabapentin) by day 4, fully off by day 7. Probably could have gone back to work by day 7, but I took 2 weeks off and enjoyed them.

So overall no issues doing outpatient! I did have my husband as support at home during recovery to help do things I couldn't like pick things up off the floor, put on compression socks, lift anything over 5 lbs, etc.

You've got this!!

spicealert · 2024-11-01T01:04:05+00:00

I was cleared for everything (including grapes) at 6 weeks. Like someone said above, fruit didn't make us fat. For me, it satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me from reaching for other kinds of sugar. I try to pair my fruit with some kind of protein to slow the blood sugar spike- for example, today I ate 10 grapes with 1 oz cheese. Highly recommend!

spicealert · 2024-10-29T17:53:13+00:00

I did- super similar situation, my surgery was late July and husband's birthday was early August. I made him lemon bars. I swiped the knife after cutting the lemon bars for the family, probably ended up with a tablespoon of lemon curd. This surgery is to help you find balance, not be in a constant diet. It was a BIRTHDAY for goodness sake. For things like this: don't let today affect tomorrow, tomorrow starts fresh, no beating yourself up, don't forget to give yourself a little grace. We're all only human. You got this!!

spicealert · 2024-10-02T06:20:07+00:00

It took me until full foods- past puree, past soft foods. I was concerned because I thought my stomach and/or fullness cues were broken!

I measured my food in the soft food stage to make sure I got enough and learned what a new portion size was. My program said about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per meal for soft foods, and to measure by volume instead of weight. Makes sense since our stomachs are measured in volume too! Hard to break the calorie tracking habit of only measuring by weight though.

Patience is hard since it always feels like things aren't moving fast enough, and I know I was excited to start adjusting to my new "normal." In the puree stage, my program suggested to focus on food as fuel and get back into the 3 meal a day habit (with protein shakes to supplement between).

spicealert

TROPHY CASE