wannalise

I've been mixing it up a lot lately to find foods that I can get Protein sources from, then I do one biggie Protein Shake for Breakfast. I have never been a breakfast girl and it really helps me. Just some additional protein ideas: 1 c. cottage cheese 1%-28g (I add a few Tablespoons of lemon juice) Greek Yogurt-1c 23-g tuna (canned in water)-3 oz-20g extra lean ground turkey-4oz-28g (I put taco seasoning in it.) I don't do well with chicken it just doesn't go down well. I have made cube steak w/cooking spray and it goes down really well. So much of this is just trial and error, I am 4 mos out and am still learning new things every week. Good luck finding what works best for you. Anna

Deb, The chicken thing is pretty common, it doesn't work for me either, I've crock potted it, grilled it and it just doesn't work for me. There are several sites to track your food, lots of people like the daily plate.com My fave is obesityhelp.com Tracking really helps keep me aware and I think not being aware was one of the ways I gained weight. As for protein I try to do a minimum of 70g of protein. I try to keep my carbs below 30. I keep my calories between 600-800 calories daily. For each pound you want to lose you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories. Even if you only maintain a deficit of 500 calories daily you will lose a pound per week. Keep it up you can get there!

So I don't know how to explain this correctly but post op I have had probably 5 nights where I can't fall asleep because when I go to swallow (just the saliva you swallow) it takes real effort and it feels like my throat has LOADS of restiction. But I can get up and drink Water with no effort. Anyone experience this or know what it would be? I find it SUPER frustrating. Thanks!

Hey just a side note, our bodies will never become deficient in calcium because it has a set point it always has to be and if you aren't consuming enough it will leach calcium from bones and teeth. So....often when we present with Vitamin d deficiency it also means we are low on calcium. I think that it is important to help educate your doctor, not in a confrontational way, but to help him understand why you made the choice you did. My doctor's reaction was more positive, but she was very unfamiliar with how the sleeve works. (but we all know it does) Results may be the thing that sells your doc on the procedure.

You are doing great, the coolest part of this journey, though not one that others see is the changes that go on within you. To become obese I had to physically and spiritually check out from what I was doing to my body. You have checked back in, your posts really show that you are growing and learning to take care of you! That is bigger and better than any weight loss. If we lost know weight at all, but were able to rediscover what it feels like to be kind to our bodies we should be very proud of ourselves. That being said....isn't it cool to have lost 22 lbs and see the changes in your body!!! Hang on, your pace might be different than others, but this is YOUR journey. And you are rocking it!!!

I'm so sorry Kathy.

Your body absorbs the nutrients in skim milk better then the other varieties, dunno why but it may be a part of your consideration. But...you also have to find ways to get things you enjoy in your day or you will feel deprived and have a more difficult time succeeding.

My surgeon talked about stopping eating a couple hours before bed. I have to make sure that even water has had a few minutes to get down before bed.

I get the hiccuping as well, but two of the other full signals my surgeon talked about were runny nose and sneezing. It sounded crazy to me, but I sneeze like a fool when its time to stop.

You are doing so well! Thank you for sharing your awesome couple story. Keep up the excellent work. Anna

The day before surgery my cholestoral (sp) was 249, this week it was 181. NORMAL RANGE YA'LL. The looking good is an awesome perk, but nothing beats reclaiming my health. So excited!!!

Oh my! I could have written that post, yes it is normal to have a weird reaction to just water. I have had some people say that its because of the change in amount of acid in our stomachs, I dunno. I do really well if it is ICE COLD for the most part the nausea part of it has gone away, it used to feel really heavy and get me almost every time. The carbonation thing as it was explained to me is because the carbon dioxide when it reaches a temperature change (98.6) it can cause your stomach to inflate. Some disagree with this stating that the portion of our tummies we have left are very difficult to stretch. I am choosing not to go back to diet coke because I have had lots of what I thought were health problems go away. Fewer headaches, no more IBS, and with diet coke I always want something sweet to go along with it. Good luck!!!

The best protein is from food sources, I am almost four months out and I still supplement my food sources with a protein shake in the mornings. I have a minimum target of 60g of protein daily, but I really like to be around 90. Your NUT will be able to clear up what they think is best for you. I found mushy stage to be the most difficult. You can do cottage cheese (which is an excellent source), greek yogurt (depending on the brand 23g of protein per cup) though you may want to add some sugar free toriani syrup to it. Lots of people also enjoy cream soups at this stage in the game. Your options are more limited here, but stick to it and give yourself time to heal. Good luck!

Good for you. Having your sleeve and overcoming a very traumatic experience will definitely be worth it! Keep us posted.

I couldn't do it the first little while because I would drink too quickly and slime and it was nasty! Now its no problem.

I start out every day w/ a Protein shake still I put double scoop in it (48g protein) 1 c. 1% cottage cheese-This takes me two seperate sittings and I have to eat very slow but it leaves me full. 2-3oz. Cubed Steak 1c strawberries and 2 wedges light laughing cow cheese My restriction varies from day to day. There are some days that food is not at all appealing and I will do a lot of mushie foods those days. I have also really tried to seek out foods that are very filling to me, and I am careful about carbs unless they come from sources like fruits or veggies. I am still mindful of them, but way more willing to get carbs from natural sources rather then simple carbs (white breads, rice, Pasta.) If you are eating those quantities in 10 minutes or less I would guess that you also need to slow way down. Most surgeons advise spacing your meal over 30 minutes. You may not be getting the signal from your body that you are full. Good luck!

Sonic should pay for advertising on this site!! Isn't that feeling of finally being able to drink the best? The first few weeks I was post op and couldn't drink normally were upsetting to me. It is so nice to get to quench your thirst.

but dr. aceves does sound wonderful and i can't find ANYthing on the net that suggests anything to the contrary. i'm a cynic though, so if something sounds too good to be true, in my mind, it probably is. let's think about this.... he's done about 1000 VSG surgeries according to the coordinator i spoke to, only 1 death and that was from bowel complications for a bypass patient, no leaks from VSG, and a hospital that is apparently equipped with the most state of the art equipment and staffed with the best nurses you can find. and all this for.... just under $9000, which is supposedly ALL inclusive, from pre-op tests to surgery time, to hospital stay, to meds, to your own personal transportation to and from the airport. hmmmmm..... i know it sounds like i'm criticizing but i'm really not. i just think it's odd that you can't find ANY negative feedback about dr. aceves. it makes me wonder if he tells his patients to come back and flood the net with good reviews! haha! but all kidding aside... i will keep researching. by monday if i can't find anything negative or anything that tells me he's too good to be true... i think i'm going with doc aceves and almater hospital. and i do wish ALL of you the best of luck! maybe i'll see you there, who knows!!! I thought many of the same things as you, do loads of homework until you are absolutely comfortable with the decision you make, I had my surgery there and it seemed kooky to my family but I had done enough research to know that for me it was the right choice. I was incredibly well taken care of. Dr. Aceves found a hernia in me during surgery and fixed it w/no extra cost to me. I also had horrible nausea and he kept me an extra night again w/no extra cost. I have also been pleased post op. I have had questions or needed copies of some of my documentation, and was provided with support always within 24 hours. I think the thing to consider is that for a surgeon to be successful at further business outside of the country is to get excellent word of mouth, and they take great care of you. Ultimately do your homework and you will find the choice that is best for you. There are a lot of good options out there, I know that for me I would have very willingly paid a lot more for the experience Dr. Aceves gave me, and was grateful I didn't have to! Good luck, Anna

I didn't have pain. I did have quite a bit of nausea for a couple weeks. I think the biggest difficulty I had (and I've read several other threads who also struggled) was staying hydrated the first few weeks. I had to set timers to drink every 15 minutes and couldn't get much down at that point. Now I can drink pretty normally.

So...today I went to Old Navy and a size 18 pair of jeans were on sale, I figured I'd buy them for when I got to that size. I took em home to see how far away they were, OH YEAH!!!! They fit me!!!! Four months ago I was in a 26. Woohoo!!!!

It feels different then it ever did preop. You will get it!

It took me a long time, you will get to a place (as long as you eat slowly and pay attention) where you can recognize the bite that is one bite away from discomfort. Once you've hit the discomfort or it feels like its in your throat you've gone too far. You will get it. Pay attention to your body.

My internet was super slow and netflix has a country code and it wouldn't work for me in Mexico.