Spirit Fire

I drank Nature's Best Isopure Zero Carb in alpine punch, grape, raspberry and orange for two solid weeks. I had to ad a bit of salt to them because they were just too sweet. Here's a picture of my First 2-week "meal plan"

My story is similar to Oregondaisy: I am four months post-op, and have started losing a significant amount of hair which was already thin to begin with. I have used biotin for months both before and after surgery. I take hair and nail vitamins. I use Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. I get 80+ proteins in every day pre-op and post-op. My hope is it will come back in, and I will enjoy it if it comes in curly, but just so long as it comes back!

No regrets for me! During the preliminary stage, I was frustrated with all the psych eval, classes, support groups, text book reading with quizzes, and numerous lab work and medical tests. In hindsight, I am grateful for the rigorous preliminary requirements as it was part of the journey for making an informed and considered decision. It was an important process for me to get myself in the right "head space". I even had to take a written tests to ensure I understood all the possible complications and that I acknowledged this as a tool that I had to work with -- not a miracle "cure". Post-surgery, I have had relatively few complications, but here are just a few things I wish I had known: I wish I would have known I was going to be nauseous the whole drive home and part of the following day so I could have had the anti-nausea meds on hand rather than having to ask my hubby to make a call to the surgeon and then make a pharmacy run. I wish I would have realized my body would be constipated for the first time in my life. At four months out, I find I must take stool softners to keep this from being a problem. I wish I would have known that all the "taste testing" I did with the Isopure pre-surgery was for naught. My taste buds changed drastically, and what I liked pre-op was horrible post-op. Other than those very minor issues, I am thankful each and every day for making this decision. I am also incredibly grateful for this forum as it has given me the inspiration, motivation and support I have needed throughout the process.

I had a bit of a learning curve -- distinguishing head hunger from the desire to chew/taste from thirst, etc. It took me a good 3 months before I had it wired. Sometimes I do still "feel" hunger when it is the appropriate time to eat but it is no where near what it had been in the past. Most days, however, I have to remind myself to get my proteins in and drink because I just don't get the hunger signal.

Thanks for the recipe. I have recently become a Pinterest fan and have "pinned" numerous low carb, sleeve-friendly recipes and websites.

I stayed true to the doctor's orders until the mushie stage (week #4) which I started 2 days early with the most wonderful spoonful of black refried beans.. I worked too hard to get to the point of having this sleeve that I didn't want to jeopardize the healing process. Now, at 4 months out, I am still good about getting my proteins and liquids in daily, and I don't feel deprived of anything. I can eat what I want without difficulties and have enjoyed many times out with friends and family to restaurants, movies, etc. I do keep a protein bar (Premier) in my purse for emergencies.

I am at 17 weeks and have not lost this week -- as a matter of fact I gained a pound. I just reviewed my FatSecret.com (similar to My Fitness Pal) and noticed that, although my fitness activities and liquid intake have remained the same, I have not been getting in as many calories this week -- around 650-680 down from 850-900. Also, my typical 80+ grams of Protein has been in the 60 range. So, my solution will be to up my proteins/calories a bit -- perhaps with a mid-afternoon snack and hopefully this will get me back on the "losing" train!

Agreed! I have plenty of BIC (Butt in Chair) Support Groups that I can attend, but I feel like I get more support, motivation, ideas, recipes, troubleshooting ideas, etc. from THIS support system than from the others. Also, there seem to be people who dominate the meetings or the focus is on a topic that doesn't relate to me and my issues, or, since it is a mixed group with those who have had Gastric Bypass, the conversations don't always focus on the Sleeve. This forum is PERFECT for me and I feel it meets the criteria my surgeon outlined to attend a support group at least once a month -- I attend this at least 3 times a day!

Most humiliating fat moment for me: Last September, my Counseling Division at the community college where I work, was required to do Stryker Chair training. Stryker Chairs are the ones used in an emergency to get people down stairs. We all stood there listening to the trainers and then one person, whom I thought was a kind person prior to this, looked directly at me, then the trainer and said, "If someone is . . . too heavy, do we even have to try to take them down the stairs? I mean, let's just say for example, if Deann (that's me) is injured, how am I supposed to get her on the chair?" I has mortified -- I was standing there with my Boss and co-workers and I'm sure this person expressed the thoughts that others were thinking, but to be called out like that was simply humiliating. My reaction was, "I hereby absolve you all of the responsibility of taking me down the stairs."

Just checked out the Bariatric Foodie website -- THANK YOU! Has some great recipes and I had never heard of TVP (Vegetable protein) so just ordered some. THANKS!

I had the same problem with the CPAP machine -- waking up with a severely dry mouth. I discovered Biotene Oral Rinse and it helped a lot. Biotene also has other products for dry mouth: http://www.biotene.com/Products.aspx Good luck!

Congratulations! You have a wonderful and inspirational attitude!

Fatsecret.com

I was sleeved 3/21/12. I have lost 91 lbs total -- 50 lbs pre-op and 41 lbs post-op. I am losing at the same rate post as I did pre; approximately 10 lbs a month. I had a stall at weeks 3-5 but have stayed fairly steady since then. I finally feel "normal" and am excited that I will maintain this weightloss which I never was able to do before being sleeved. I have had relatively few difficulties outside of constipation. I get all my proteins, liquids and vitamins in daily and have found I have the best weightloss success when I eat a variety of foods and stagger my calorie counts (900 one day, 750 the next, 825 then 800, etc.) I have made my wardrobe "work" for me because I can't afford to buy clothes in multiple sizes, but today I discovered (big smile) that I went from a size 28 to a size 18. I kept saying outloud, "Really!? Really!? Size 18? I haven't seen this in 20 years!"

I posted this a few weeks ago, but copied it to (hopefully) respond to your question: I found that I needed to have my grocery shopping list easily available AS WELL AS keep the recipes new, exciting and flavorful. I joined the FREE online site: Allrecipes.com (They also offer a pay/subscriber membership but I haven't found the need for it). After creating my account, I added recipes to my RECIPE BOX. You can add recipes from various websites and personalize/input your own recipes. I am now able to create shopping lists easily from these programs and access them from my smartphone via the app "Chef Tap" which links to the Allrecpies.com site. I have found many recipes from these sites: Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ Low Carb Luxury: Recipes www.lowcarbluxury.com/lowcarb-recipes.html Emily Bites - Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes www.emilybites.com/ The World According to Eggface theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Low Carb Recipes lowcarb.betterrecipes.com/ Low Carb Recipes - Cooking Good food That Keeps Your Diet on ... www.low-carb.great-recipes.tv/ Bariatric Surgery Recipes www.froedtert.com/SpecialtyAreas/BariatricSurgeryProgram/Recipes/ Bariatric & Lap-band Surgery Shared Recipes recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=47556 Bariatric Eating www.bariatriceating.com/ Recipes, Cooking and Baking Forum - Weight Loss Surgery, Obesity www.obesityhelp.com/forums/recipe/ Happy Cooking!

I'm in! 7/6/12 -- SW - 209 8/7/12 -- Birthday Goal to reach Onederland 9/3/12 -- GW - 195 increase Water intake to 80+ oz day increase pace from walking to jogging

I loved carbs and fats -- breads of all kinds, pizza, pasta, french fries, etc. I rarely crave these things anymore. I'm 16-weeks post op and can eat what I want but I seem to WANT lean protein and, if there is room, veggies. However, I have also used alternatives to meet the needs if they arise -- I keep Eat-Rite Pizzas in my freezer which are high protein/low carb soy based pizzas that taste very good. I have low-carb bagels and bread in the freezer. I have a supply of bariatricchoice.com foods in my pantry such as cheesy-mac pasta, choco-lite candy bars, biscotti cookies and a few other things so that mentally I know I can capture the flavor when/if I am craving it. If out and about and I smell pizza, I think "I can have that when I get home." Most times, I don't have it when I get home, but just having that safety net has kept me on track.

I agree . . . this is an amazing site with helpful insights from people who truly understand. I find the individual stories to be motivating and encouraging. It is refreshing to find out the "issues" I have are shared by many and often solutions are presented that truly work. Thank you adrimc26 for creating this post!

Thank you! Grateful to hear how Patrick is doing as he has become an important fixture and inspiration for many of us on VST. Sip, Sip, Sip, Walk, Walk, Walk -- all will go well on this amazing journey!

Slider foods are those that just "slide" through the sleeve, not activating the restrictive nature of our new tool. This will sabotage what we are trying to achieve as we will eat more than is good for us. Unfortunately, slider foods don't tend to be Protein shakes and lean chicken, however it is different for everyone.

I reached my July 4th Challenge weight of 209 and maintained it for 3 days. YAY!