DesertRat

I'm anticipating sleeve surgery in about 2 months and working towards being prepared for a proper diet. Because I spend much of my time on the move I'm trying to figure out ways to eat high protein meals in restaurants. I know that Chili's uses fresh ingredients and will cook a hamburger without a bun if you ask, etc. Any other thoughts on places to get quality, low-carb foods on the fly?

Everything's on hold for me. My employer is changing insurance providers which may have a negative effect on things.

So how are you doing?

Best wishes for Monday.

OMG, it was awful! Will I ever get used to these things. I've yet to commit to surgery and I'm trying out any number of things right now. I have to admit that the shake filled me up and left me more satisfied than most meals I've ever eaten but the scent and texture did not go well. BTW, it was a Bariatric Advantage Iced Latte flavor meal replacement.

I have an Unjury starter pack and have tried several with favorable results. The Vanilla I had this morning was excellent, had no unpleasant aftertaste and kept me full until In & Out Burger opened and I had my double/double, animal style (no spread)/protein style (wrapped in lettuce, no bun). For those of you that live in the vicinity of an In & Out ordering "protein style" is a perfect way to get some lean beef, cheese, pickles and a tomato slice wrapped in lettuce. "Animal Style" gets a bunch of grilled onions but I'd recommend specifying no spread; the spread basically being Thousand Island dressing.

That sounds pretty good.

That's quite interesting. My personal numbers are 250 & 180. If I ever see 180 again I'll be thrilled.

Thanks for posting this. It is definitely a confidence booster.

Thanks Patrick. I'll have to try that.

It's sort of like people saying that blood thinners are Rat Poison. They have it backwards. One way to poison animals is to give them blood thinners in high dose but that has nothing to do with the use of the same chemical in an appropriate dose as a medical treatment. The poison is in the dose. Propylene Glycol is not poisonous but is used in a lot of foods. It is an anti-freeze but it's nothing like the Ethylene Glycol used in most automotive anti-freeze. You could drink raw propylene glycol and not harm yourself a bit. I believe that high doses are used to cleanse the colon prior to a colonoscopy. The literally give it to you by the gallon.

That's my understanding of the term too, however, depending upon the food being dumped into the small intestine the results can be dramatic. The intestines, the to best of my knowledge, process serially which is to say that if you small intestine receives something it doesn't want it will send it along as fast as possible and anything in the way will be leaving post haste. I can state from experience that when I was having these problems I could pass things I had eaten only hours before. Remember, this is essentially undigested food that has taken a rapid trip through the alimentary canal and is remarkably intact.

I just want to chime in an let you know that I'm happy to see that you are taking these step. Some of us get dealt a rough hand metabolically speaking and while the surgical solution can be daunting it is at least a solution. I wish you well in your journey and someday, when we're both at our ideal weight maybe we can have a bicycle race.

Protein will take you pretty far energy-wise. I've heard experiences of loss of energy after surgery but from what I've read it usually resolves in a few weeks.

Bypass patients lack a pyloric valve so if their mini stomach gets too full there's not much to slow the progress.

Congratulations on your progress. It's heartening to hear success stories like this and when you start exercising I'm sure things will get even better. Exercising actually something I look forward to. My particular exercise, is walking I walk briskly every day and I absolutely love how it makes me feel. Walking and swinging your arms increases muscle tone all over.

I had problems with dumping when I was about 6. Like I mentioned, I think it was some sort of stress causing my digestive system into overdrive. Here's the deal; no one knew what it was . I'd be flushed and sweating for no obvious reason. They thought I had heart trouble but found nothing wrong there. I actually went through the Mayo clinic and they never figured it out. When I went to the seminar and when he described dumping the mystery was finally solved.

I've been through it off an on since I was a kid but it was always related to stress, stress in school, stress in jobs, stress in relationships. When I went to the informational seminar that the surgeon put on he specifically mentioned dumping as a possible consequence of overeating, especially sugary liquids, after the sleeve. I really worry about the effects of my sweet tooth after the sleeve.

I've experienced dumping in the past, related to stress and I can tell you that you can pass everything in your digestive tract very quickly. Sometime I was certain that I had eliminated things I hadn't eaten yet.

How far out are you?

Ooooops! Just don't make it a habit.

This week I had my psych eval and session with the nutritionist. The Psych went well. She said I was fit for WLS and was very supportive. She gave me some counsel related to the questions on my eating habits questionaire but it was, overall, a very easy session. I had the impression that she was very sincere and took her job seriously but she made it very pleasant. Even if I wasn't having surgery it would have been money well spent. The NUT visit left me a bit more perplexed. She also struck me as good at her job but exceptionally serious. (Not criticizing, just observiceng.) She showed me a mockup of the serving sizes I would be eating after the sleeve and that didn't bother me. We talked about beverages and she was quite reasonable on that subject too. She had a 16 oz. insulated tumbler full of coffee and sipped on it as we talked. Just for perspective, my beverage habits are as follows; 20 oz. of black coffee daily, 20 oz. decaf daily and Water at all other times. I tried some stevia sweetened lemonade and would drink it in a pinch but it's not my favorite. That's OK because I drink a lot of water and have for years. And that's it with the exception of the occasional double shot of amaretto; something I'm more than willing to leave behind. No beer, no soda, no milk shakes or other junque. Now the idea of not being able to drink coffee throughout the morning I find daunting. OK, she didn't say it in those terms but she said I wouldn't be drinking 40 oz. of coffee a day after surgery . . . ever! Now I realize that a miniaturized stomach is probably going to mean less thirst for coffee but, for some reason, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this. Thoughts? Observations? Experiences?

More thoughts: I'm a lot less freaked after a few days. I think that this was a case of it striking me that being sleeved would restrict choices permanently; of course that's the whole point.

I've ridden motorcycles off an on since I was 12, starting of road, then moving to road bikes for a while. A few close calls put me off of it but I sure miss it. I've always wanted a Sportster, just a local runabout. I love how they handle and I love the fact that they look like an engine with just enough attached to make it into a bike.