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(Also my status update, btw) It's finally here!! My last day with a "normal" digestive system. Tomorrow morning I go in at 10:15am to check in, go through all the pre-flight checks (IV, vitals, sign consents, talk to anesthesia and my surgeon, etc), then into the OR I go! This process has taken what seems like forever. Way back in April of 2022, I saw a general surgeon to have a Nissen Fundoplication to deal with my (horrible!!) reflux and repair my hiatal hernia. Problem was....my weight made it so there would be a high risk of both failure after a couple years and potential complications. He then suggested I see a bariatric surgeon (which was the first time anyone had ever made that suggestion. So off I went to see bariatrics. From the first appointment, Dr. Beekley was nothing but supportive. He never once belittled me over my weight, or made me feel like I was making excuses for my health. The entire team has been awesome. They keep up with me in myChart, letting me know what Pre-op clearances I needed, or if anything extra was needed from other providers (which, given all my health issues, there was always something extra that was needed lol). But all that hoop jumping was worth it. Now I'm packing my bag and getting ready to have my life completely changed for the better. While I may be increasingly nervous the closer I get to that OR, I'm also excited beyond belief. I've been stuck in this messed up body for entirely too long, and I can't wait to start leaving it behind and meet the woman I know is inside.

I'm so excited, I got my surgery date today and we finalized all the details of the surgery!!! I'll be doing the duodenal switch with a longer common channel since I have a history of vitamin D deficiency and anemia. The surgeon talked to my GI specialist and they signed off of on it so everyone is on board thankfully. We picked December 13th, since I'll be in New Zealand for most of November. He said 2 weeks is standard for their liver reduction diet but if I added in a gradual 3rd week it would probably help as a bonus week. Their liver reduction diet is 2 shakes, 2 snacks and a lean, green dinner until one week before surgery, when it switches to all fluids. So basically I'll be starting the diet as soon as we get back from traveling... I already have 7 flavors of premier protein shakes in my closet. LOL (They require the shakes be either those or the bariatric advantage powder as per some study they are following). I'm really happy to be at this stage of everything, I know the 2 months will fly by fast!

Congratulations, Very exciting! I remember I was so nervous before surgery that I stayed up the entire night binge watching TV. Whenever you’re settled, let us know how it went.

Total Ounces 5.5 divided into the number of grams of protein at 21 is 3.81g per ounce, so you ate about 7.5g

What is your favorite way to get protein?? I drink protein shakes, eat fish and other meats. Anyone have another way they like to get their protein??

Good luck! Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

I get mine from real food. Haven’t touched a protein shake or protein powder since my purée stage began. They were disgusting & I didn’t want to spend my life drinking any of my meals. Of course it’s easier to meet your protein goals as you progress & your meal size increases & additional protein via a shake may be needed (I ate a yoghurt with 20g to boost mine & often still do). I breakfast on oats with seeds & blueberries made on milk. Lunch is often mostly protein like prawns, calamari, yoghurt with seeds, savoury egg muffins, (gone off chicken tenders & omelettes at the moment). Dinner is meat & vegetables. My snacks can be any combination of cheese, multi grain crackers with liverwurst or labneh, peanut paste, nuts, jerky & I have a protein bar most nights to top up my protein. I used to make a chia pudding as a night time top up but wanted a change (mmm, I might make some today). I often add barley, chickpeas or lentils to any soups, stews or mince based dishes I make for extra protein too.

At almost 2 years out I can almost eat anything. Some meals are always the same. Breakfast is always Greek yogurt and berries. My lunch is usually a bit like pick and mix - a bit of a few things, Which could be a selection of these, Smoked salmon, deli meats, burrata, cashew nuts, walnuts, blue stinky cheese, any fruit, tuna, boiled egg or any left over from a previous meal. The evening meal is usually food cooked from scratch for the family with carbs that I can not fit in my stomach yet, casseroles, roasts, pies, stews. I eat what I can. Later in the day I either eat my meals, left overs or have a protein bar or a protein yogurt. My protein is about 80 grams a day now and my calories are between 1200 and 1500

P.S. The old rule of thumb used to be your weight times 10 is about how many calories you should eat to maintain that weight. However, that doesn't take into account your activity level, musculature, etc, so that's just a rough estimate and can vary between people. You have your goal weight set at 140, so that means (at least according to the old rule of thumb) it'll take around 1400 kcal to maintain that. But again, that doesn't take into account how active you are - and there ARE variances among people - so I wouldn't consider that a hard and fast number. You sort of have to experiment to see what your maintenance level is. It's mostly trial and error.

I don’t eat many, but the roughage can make me visit the bathroom more.