Oregondaisy

When I was first sleeved, I really enjoyed tomato soup that I bought online . Proti makes all sorts of high protein soups, hot cereal, hot chocolate, etc. Their tomato soup is really good. I think you can get it at dietdirect.com

There's a thread in the food forum under Protein drinks that rates all the powders. Everyone has their favorites. There are some that some people love and another person will say is awful. There is also a thread there of places you can order samples. That's the best thing to do, rather than buy a big package of anything. Samples are great!

I have no idea why they said not to eat melted cheese. I've never heard that in all the years I've been coming to weight loss surgery boards. Lots of people have melted cheese on refried Beans, and a lot of people mix it in with their eggs. I've never heard of anyone having problems or that they were ever told not to do this.

There is nothing wrong with Atkins drinks. Like you said, they are lower in protein than some of the other drinks, but if you like them, I wouldn't worry about drinking an extra one. If you're on the post op liquid stage, you can't be consuming many calories anyway.

I'll give you all the fast foods I can eat at 3 years out. I don't really eat fast foods a lot, but if I want to, these are things I can eat. almost a whole Junior whopper with cheese. I throw some of the bread away almost 2 pieces of pizza, more if it's really crispy thin 1 soft taco at taco bell or one crunchy one 1 snack size bbq chicken from KFC 1/2 sanwich

yeah, I never use real milk. I use almond milk, or sometimes I use half Hood Carb countdown, and half water.

You aren't able to eat enough when you're so early out, to hold you long enough to only eat 3 times a day, let alone 2 times a day. Eat protein when you're hungry, and don't worry if your weight loss has slowed. Everyone slows down at some point, and then it picks back up again. It's normal.

I'm 3 1/2 years post op, and I am really lucky that I still really don't get hungry. Head hunger is another story. I've been drinking Protein shakes for awhile, to get rid of all my cravings and grazing. If I want a snack, I make myself have another Protein Drink. I am lucky that I love my Protein drinks. I have all sorts of recipes for them, and most of them are only 120 calories and 3 carbs. It's really helped with the wanting to snack all day and evening long.

Sytrax also makes another protein powder called Matrix. I really like the Orange Cream. I use almond milk to mix it with, and I add more Torani sf orange flavoring. It tastes like a creamsicle.

16 of liquid is too much. They are kind of watery to begin with, compared to other protein drinks. I've added sf pudding mixes to some of them to thicken them up, cause I like my protein drinks to be like milk shakes, with ice in the blender.

Gee, I'm sorry Legal. I thought I typed on there somewhere that that entire post was emailed to me by Dr. Aceves' office. I am not a nurse, but apparently, whoever wrote that 3.5 years ago, when it was emailed to me, is a nurse and was also his patient coordinator. Maybe he was the secretary 3 years ago.

Can someone please explain twitter to me? I know you write short sentences. I don't get how you follow people, or what the point of twitter is. I know I just don't understand the concept. I opened a twitter account, but then I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it.

Yeah, that's what the powder room is for. Ladies need a place to be able to say anything they want and this is the place where we're free to post whatever we feel comfortable talking about.

There's a lot of things you can add to plain Greek yogurt, to keep the calories and carbs down . The calories and carbs are high in the flavored ones, but you can add stuff to the plain to make it taste good. I like to mix in Raspberry sugar free jam. Another favorite is a packet of splenda and coconut Toraini sf syrup. I buy frozen blueberries and add them with splenda. It does add carbs, but then again, I like to have some Fiber in my diet, and blue berries are really good for you too. I've heard of adding powdered sf Jello and some cool whip, or crystal light packets and a little cool whip. The sf cheesecake pudding mix is good too. Sometimes I will add some torani syrup to that too. Greek yogurt is a healthy snack, so I don't feel bad if I add a few healthy carbs. At least I am getting Protein too, instead of some junk food I sometimes end up having.

It doesn't take time to devote to having a sleeve. It takes eating right after surgery. There are plenty of people who walk for exercise and how you get your exercise is none of her business anyway. Why is this person calling all the shots, anyway? There has to be a way to make an appointment with the surgeon's office. She is not the person with the final say in this matter. Most ins. want a psych eval anyway. Is she trying to do their job?

It seems to be inevitable that we gain back some after awhile. I get so tired of beating myself up over it, but I certainly don't want to gain more. That's why I have to be so careful.

I'm sure he just wants some work to be done while you're gone, rather than leave everything for you to do when you get back. Assure him that you'll be back in the 2 weeks that you're planning. If you have a desk job, 2 weeks is plenty. Most people feel pretty good by then.

I've been sleeved for over 3 years, and I've been living with my bf for over a year and a half. Your lives will all change dramatically. It's nice to see so many people getting sleeved young in life. I know I never would have met my bf if I were still fat. It's the best thing I could have ever done for myself!

I think I am going to start some version of the 5 day pouch test soon. I have to detox. I am really afraid of the holidays.

If I had snackwells a couple times a day, I would certainly gain weight. I have to watch things really closely. I'm trying really hard but nothing is coming off. I need to really get back into lots and lots of cardio, but it's so hard to fit it in these days. I'm still plugging along, doing the best I can. I am not losing my regain, but at least I am not gaining more, as long as I am very careful. No sweets for me! sweets=regain and more regain!

Dr. Aceves is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. (FACS.org) This means that the American College of Surgeons has done an extensive background check on the doctor. He has to exceed the same standards as a US surgeon. His background is completely verified, his licensing, credentials, certifications, absolutely everything. If he does not maintain his reputation and current standards he cannot maintain his affiliation with the FACS. FACS is a really impressive issue in the world of medicine. Not all US doctors can maintain the background and honesty necessary to be a Fellow of the ACS. But Dr. Aceves can. There is a doctor in MX that claims to have almost 600 VSG procedures completed. He claims to have been doing this procedure for 3.5 years. Yet according to his CV he was just trained in the procedure 2.5 years ago. We know full well he has not done as many VSG procedures as he claims but unless you know what to look for you won't know that his statistics are impossible. This is why going to an FACS surgeon is critical whether you are going to a US or MX surgeon. Surgeons from all over the world (including the US) inflate their stats so they appear more experienced than they are. If they told the truth about their inexperience they wouldn't get any business. So, they are less than honest. Dr. Aceves is the Vice President of the Mexican version of the American Bariatric Assn. This is a position that is voted, so the doctors of MX voted him into this position. They recently voted again and he will be President this year. There is another organization called the International Federation of Surgical Obesity. (IFSO.com) This is an organization where weight loss surgeons all over the world belong. A few years ago Dr. Aceves holds the position of Secretary for this organization so this means that even the US doctors voted him into this office. Dr. Aceves is a proctor surgeon meaning he trains other doctors in various bariatric procedures. He typically travels to one country a month and either attends lectures to further his own knowledge on the new advances in medicine or he trains other doctors in various surgical procedures. He recently returned from Chile and Argentina training their doctors in the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. He trains US surgeons in the various procedures as well. Mexico has been doing the sleeve longer than US doctors and there are simply very few doctors willing to train other US doctors because then they would have competition. Dr. Aceves believes competition in this procedure is good as patients have more surgeons to choose from. Dr. Aceves has done over 2200 Lap Bands, over 1000 Gastric Sleeves, and over 1000 Gastric Bypass procedures. This means he has over 900 staple lines, a technique that is critical in a safe surgery for a VSG procedure. When researching surgeons you want someone that has done at least 250 VSG and at least 250 Gastric Bypass procedures. The reason is that the Gastric Bypass procedure has a very difficult staple line. It is an interrupted staple line and quite difficult to do. If a surgeon can do the more difficult Gastric Bypass staple line, he can do the easier VSG staple line. (This was sent to me over 3 years ago, so I am sure he has done way more sleeves by now) Leaks are a potential problem with this procedure but he has a technique where he over sews the staple line and we believe this one of the many reasons he has never had a leak with a VSG. I think one big issue here to remember is that just because someone is practicing in the US, that does not make them a good or skilled surgeon. Just because someone is in MX does not mean they are not a skilled surgeon or a person without ethics. I had a choice to go to any surgeon I wanted for my own sleeve and the only doctor I wanted to go to was Dr. Aceves. He is the surgeon with the most skill, the best stats, the best reputation, and the safest location. I include US doctors in that assessment as well when it comes to the sleeve procedure. I am a nurse, I've been in his OR many times during surgery and after watching him operate I was quite certain he is the only surgeon I wanted operating on me. Another upside to going to Dr. Aceves. In the US if you have the VSG you will likely spend one night in the hospital. Dr. Aceves does not agree with this. He keeps you in a fully equipped hospital for three nights following surgery. He believes you need to be medically supervised, have a total of three leak tests to be 100% certain you have no leak upon returning home, and he wants someone monitoring your vital signs, drain tube, and he wants someone available to manage your pain should you have any. He does not believe in sending you home before three nights/four days. Keep in mind, we completely and totally depend on reputation for business. We have no insurance companies referring patients, we have to do it by reputation. Dr. Aceves has been operating on US citizens for many years. He wouldn't have the reputation he does if he didn't do the best possible job for each patient. He has a great rep because we all do the job the right way. He has another belief, he only hires educated people around him. I am his patient coordinator and I am an RN. Most in this position (US or MX) are merely patients that have had surgery, they do not necessarily have any medical training. His Office Manager (my boss) is an engineer by trade. Her Office Assistant is a Law student. His OR techs (OR techs are used in the US and typically have 9 months of training) are actually 4 year RNs. His hospital coordinator is a retired teacher that previously taught English in the MX school system. His Aftercare Specialist is a PhD. She is a licensed psychologist in MX and available to all Dr. Aceves patients by phone or email. This was sent to me by Dr. Aceves' office when I had my surgery. I don't think they are telling lies about his experience and certifications.

There are many other anti nausea medications that work well. Ask your doctor to switch your medication. Other than that, it's important to sip liquids like G2 or poweraide, which has the electrolytes in it. You don't want to become dehydrated, because that causes nausea too. Keep sipping whatever you can manage.

I didn't know there was an already made sugar free cheese cake pudding. I've never seen that. How was it?

You'll be really happy you had this done. I wish I had done it years ago. Actually cooking for children is quite easy with the sleeve because you and your kids can share things. It's great that you want to do this at a young age. why spend your life fat if you don't have to? In the beginning it's a little hard, when you can only eat a tiny bit. After awhile, you'll be eating small portions of normal foods. I'm 3 1/2 year out now, and very few people know I had surgery cause I eat so normally.

As long as you can find a comfortable position, there is no reason to wait. We did it on our sides as soon as I got home from Mexico. I was there for 3 days, so I guess 4 days.