lisajxoxo

Great minds think alike! I was just about to post a link to that article. Pretty interesting protein info!

Hello, I have Hashimoto's too and pre-surgery I wondered if I was really going to lose weight at a standard pace ... if you have any doubts, don't worry. It comes right off! Good Luck with your surgery and talk to your doc about exercising but more than anything I would trust your body and how your'e feeling. Take care!

Thank you and your success inspires me!

I'm not discounting anything you've said, but just wanted to point out that the quality of care I received in the USA was top notch.

I drink the sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast once in a while but it seemed high in carbs and low in protein (in comparison to protein drinks). I never thought of adding more protein and that's a GREAT idea! I'm going to do that tonight!

Crossing my fingers for you!!!

Yes, I had my surgery on 10/11 and can say I feel great! The first few days are the hardest but you will wake up each morning feeling better than you did the day before. Good Luck to you!!!!!!

I was struggling just a little bit today (scale didn't move and my tummy is being picky). This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. HUGS!!!!! Thank you!

A-freaking-mazing!!!! WOW! What is your secret for losing it so fast? It must feel so good to live life so much differently now. Congratulations on your success!

One thing I wish I had done was to call and set up the appointments AS SOON as I had the authorizations. If you know who you are going to see (the nut and psych) you could always call now and set up an appt for after your seminar. That will lock you into an early appt after your seminar and if for some strange reason you change your mind afte the seminar you could always call and cancel. I had to wait 2 week for my initial nut appt. You just never know how their scheduling works. Good Luck!!!

Hello and congratulations on your pending surgery! You will get a wide variety of answers here I'm sure. I took 2 weeks off and that seemed perfect for me. My first day back (was this Monday) and the only real problem I had was that I was SUPER tired. No issues with pain or anything else. For me, your food intake the first week or so is soooooooo minimal that my energy levels just tanked. I've also read on here where some people are up and back to normal only a couple days after surgery. My advice would be to take as much time as you can. It's good to let your body heal ... Good Luck with your surgery!

Oh I'm so excited, I get to join my first challenge!!! SN - lisajxoxo CW - 232 GW - 212 lbs to goal - 20

Hi Mera, welcome to VST! I don't really have any advice to give you because I'm just newly sleeved. I will tell you though that I was (quite possibly) addicted to this site when I first found it. There is a wealth of information here. I used the search button up top and found answers to so many of my questions. Good Luck and welcome!

TMJ has some big long technical term but it basically is an inflamation in your jaw joint(s). For whatever reason I clench my jaw at night while I sleep (I don't grind, I just clench) and it gets so bad that I wake up and can't even open my mouth for up to an hour or so. I've tried just about everything and low and behold, a little botox in my jaw muscles relaxes them just enough so that I can still eat, talk and do everything normal, but I don't clench at night. The pain is gone. WooHoo!!!!!!

I'm not even too shy to say that for me Botox (actually I like Dysport better now) for my wrinkles and Sculptra for the deep bags under my eyes have made a WORLD of difference for me! No one ever notices that I've had anything done BUT I always have people comment on how "rested" or happy I look. For me it's well worth the money. In fact, I had a conversation with my doc the other day about what will happen to my face now that I've had my sleeve and will be losing a significant amount of weight. We've got a plan. I'm so excited! Oh, by the way, he also puts botox in my jaw to relieve my TMJ (and that's the only thing that has ever worked). p.s. I'm not saying this is for everyone, just sharing my experience.

Have you tried logging into myfitnesspal.com yet? I use it to keep track of my Protein mostly but also calories, carbs and Water. There is a place you can enter recipes and I'm sure that will give you the protein/calories etc. p.s. I'm in no way affilitated with that website, I just happen to think it's super easy to use. Good Luck!!

I want to start by saying I’m writing this just one day short of 2 weeks post op (and this is how I’m feeling right now). In the past, I would consider myself an overachiever when it comes to losing weight. I’m an expert. Give me a plan and I will follow it and lose weight. My down fall has always been KEEPING it off. I lose and then I gain it all back and then some. The point between losing and gaining has usually been triggered by frustration. I’m tired of counting points or tracking calories or carbs or meals or shakes or pills or whatever the diet of the minute is. When I get frustrated my thought process was, “oh the heck with it” and I’d go eat whatever I wanted … and the gaining begins. I’ve read several posts where people ask if the way we eat after VSG is “just another diet”. I’d have to say no because in some ways it’s similar but for me the “frustration point” leads to a very different outcome. I’ll explain. The other day I was in the myfitnesspal site logging my food/water and trying to figure out how I can get all my Protein in without drinking Protein Shakes. I’d prefer not to drink them but in order to get 70 or more grams of protein in I’d have to eat a lot of food and on mushies, with my tiny tummy and ZERO hunger, that’s a challenge. Then I hit a familiar stage … I though “oh the heck with it” followed by something new … “I just won’t eat, it’s easier that way”. WHAT???????????? If you want to know if post VSG is anything like a diet the answer is NO … in the most important way. I have ZERO hunger which means ZERO desire to eat things that I shouldn’t. My focus is getting my protein in because I know I feel better when I get a lot of protein in my system. I feel better when I have all my Water, all my Vitamins and all my protein. Of course I want to lose weight, I wouldn’t have had this surgery if I didn’t but my daily goals now are to do what I need to do to feel as great as I can and for me that means water, protein, vitamins and walking. Maybe this is the difference between a diet and a lifestyle change? If so, how totally awesome is that! Happy Monday my friends!

My surgery was done by Dr. Marc Zare at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, CA. Best decision of my life. Great surgeon, he even has a great bedside mannor! Ben works in his office and is amazingly helpful with the paperwork and insurance companies and with the 8,000 questions. Dr. Zare and his team were amazing! -Lisa

A couple of things that REALLY helped me ... 1) boat loads of bottled Water (both cold and room temperature) I found I tolerated room temp much better and at 64oz a day you go through a lot! 2) a few different Protein shake choices - you never know what you will like or tolerate post surgery. I can tell you that as soon as I was able to get my protein in I almost immediately felt my energy levels rise which was good. 3) lots and lots of pillows. At first I was most comfy sleeping on my back propped up on pillows and then I realized that in between walking I had trouble sitting in the same position for too long so I was always re-adjusting and moving around and the pillows helped. and last but not least .... ... something to keep you busy!!! Day time TV stinks so find a good book, have the internet close by or something you find interesting! Good Luck!!!!!

It will only be uncomfortable when it's removed, otherwise you won't even know it's there. When they remove it, you won't feel pain, it will just be uncomfortable and kind of strange feeling. I wouldn't worry at all about it!!! Good Luck on your surgery!

I just started puree/soft foods and so far I've tried hard boiled eggs (I can only eat half), split pea Soup, string cheese and tuna. I also bought some frozen grilled fish (not breaded) and hummus (because they were on my approved list as well) but haven't tried it yet. I'm still drinking Protein shakes to get most of my protein in because food kind of scares me but I'm S L O W L Y trying things. Good Luck to you!!!!!!

What did it feel like? How did you know something wasn't right? I hope you feel back to 100% very soon!!!

I had the spasms as well. I stopped drinking anything cold and only do warm or room temperature now and since then I've been fine. This may not be true for everyone but I think part of the reason I got the spasms was from me mentally freaking out a bit. I was so stressed about drinking and the amount etc. etc. ... I would have to remind myself to relax and the spasms would go away. I'm in NO WAY saying all spasms are caused by that but just wanted to share my own experience. Hope you feel better soon!