Bufflehead

Lots of people have no pre-op diet required. I would guess your surgeon is very experienced and knows what works best for him or her. If you don't trust your surgeon to decide about a pre-op diet, maybe this isn't the right surgeon for you?

When it comes to post-op eating plans, there is no "we" -- there is only you and your medical team's instructions! You probably don't want mine, I had to wait six months.

Most of the protein shots (even the ones with "whey" in the name) are made from collagen, which is pretty much useless. Have you tried water-based protein drinks such as Syntrax Nectar, Isopure, or Unjury Chicken Soup? You might also try mixing your drinks with half the recommended protein powder. No, you won't get as much protein, but you'll get some! And you can do some add-ins to make it a little more flavorful. So if you were going to make a chocolate protein shake 1 scoop of protein powder and 8 oz. milk, try half a scoop of protein powder + 1 T. unsweetened cocoa, or half a scoop of protein powder and a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee, for a mocha shake. But really, I drank a lot of Syntrax Nectar flavors after surgery. They are not thick and if you get the tart flavors like lemonade, twisted cherry, and grapefruit, not as sweet! The Unjury Chicken Soup was a lifesaver for me. I also made warm beef broth or miso soup and stirred in maybe a quarter scoop of unflavored protein powder. I had a lot of trouble with thick, sweet shakes right after surgery too.

You are not alone, but it is not a good idea and you should make every effort to stop! Copying and pasting Laura-Ven's post on this topic, which you can find here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/252757-chewing-food-and-spitting-it-out/ First, this behavior is the first steps of bulimia and getting into the habit of chewing food and spitting it out can lead to a very serious eating disorder. After WLS we are already dealing with changing the way we relate to food, so we want to instill good habits all along the way and avoid the bad ones as much as possible. Second, there's a biological reason not to do this too. When you smell food and when it enters your mouth and you begin to chew, the body goes into Prep Mode to receive food. Your salivary glands produce saliva, your pancreas produces insulin, your liver produces gastric acid and your brain begins to calculate how much nutrition you're about to receive from the food you eat so it can keep track of it's daily needs/calories --- the body is a well tuned machine and it knows how to deal with food when it knows it's coming. But then you spit out the food. Your body still has excess saliva, insulin, gastric acid and it can't figure out why it didn't get the nutrition it thought it was going to get so the brain accountants go nuts. Excess insulin in your body causes your appetite to increase so you'll eat more food to soak up all that extra hormone. Excess gastric acid in the stomach -- now released at the Y of your common channel -- can cause indigestion or heartburn or ulcers. And those brain accountants are now doing some creative math to recalculate the nutritional value of food because it thought it was going to get a certain number of calories, but none came, so next time you try to eat that same food the brain thinks you need twice as much to get the same nutrition as it thought it should have gotten last time. So not only is the whole "chew and spit" habit a training ground for bulimia, it's also a way to tease your body into thinking it's getting food when it really isn't. Bulimia is a very serious illness and not something you want to play around with.

I've developed a love for them too! I buy the packages of frozen ones at Trader Joe's, so I can make 5-6 small sprouts at a time and not have a whole bushel of fresh ones go bad before I can use them. They are really good roasted. I spray them with olive oil spray and then sprinkle on salt and pepper and add some of that minced garlic in olive oil. I put them in a little mini cocotte/casserole and roast for 25 minutes at 4, stirring a couple of times during cooking. Sometimes for the last minute I'll sprinkle some shredded parmesan on top and run them under the broiler, so that they get crispy and browned on top. Yum!

Yes, all natural peanut butter on purees for me, but small amounts -- no more than 1 tablespoon per day. I mixed mine with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. I know that might sound strange but it is delicious (to me anyway!). I still do that occasionally - just a little bit ago I had a spoonful of peanut butter stirred into a half container of Yoplait Greek 100 apple pie yogurt. Yum!

I wasn't cleared for circuit training until 8 weeks out -- but your own team should have their own protocol they want you to follow.

@@debcal73 yes, look for the High Potency Chewable Multi's. They have a very light taste. I've been taking two a day (one with breakfast, one with dinner) since four weeks out and my labs have always been excellent. 5 calories and one carb per chewable. Bonus: they are cheaper than just about any other chewable I have seen.

It depends on the person/situation. If someone wants to talk to me directly about religion -- "what church do you attend?" (lol, always with the assumption), "do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?" anything like that, I just answer with some close variation of "I'm not religious. At all." I say it like I mean it and they usually get the point. If they persist, I just say I have something to do and walk away. For people who are having a general conversation about political or social or cultural stuff and their point of view is flavored by religion, I usually just add a polite comment and leave. If pressed, I've been known to say something like "well, I completely disagree but I've found it's impossible to argue with someone's religious views so I think it's best I not say anything else." And for the basic "have a blessed Easter!" type comments I either remember my good manners and say "thank you! You too!" or if I'm feeling snarky I will smile, say thank you and give them a very enthusiastic "Happy Passover!" (or whatever nearby non-Christian holiday might be lurking around). I try not to do that too much because it seems to make them feel oppressed and like they are victims of a "War on Christmas" or whatever nonsense is being spouted on Faux News lately. I sometimes feel like a small blue atheist dot awash in a red theocratic (Christian, always Christian) state.

Probably half the stuff I eat is from TJ's . . . frozen shrimp, jumbo scallops, and turkey meatballs are my favorite from their frozen meats. Frozen veggies: artichoke hearts, grilled asparagus, brussels sprouts, mixed cauliflower & romanesco. Favorite sauces/condiments include garlic aioli mustard and garlic marinara sauce (great with those turkey meatballs!). Their shredded Swiss & Gruyere cheese blend is awesome. They have the best prices on Babybel cheeses in town by far. Their turkey jerky, turkey bacon, and turkey hot dogs are staples! The chicken jalapeno sausage is excellent. If you use egg whites, they have the best prices on those little cartons of egg whites. Refried black beans and fat free refried pinto beans are terrific. Love the half-salt canned tuna and the smoked sardines. I have the fully cooked organic sirloin for breakfast almost every morning, and use the chicken strips for lunch -- today I had the grilled chil lime chicken breast strips. So much sleeve friendly food there! I do stay away from their fresh produce (for the most part -- avocados are an exception) because they sell in big portions and I just can't eat much of it before it goes bad, as I live alone. Also, if you have a dog, their dog biscuits get the stamp of approval from both my dog and my neighbor's dog.

Just over the last week I've had three people say something like "you aren't going to lose any more weight, right? You look like you are at goal" and then when I say yes, I would like to lose 25-30 more lbs, express horror and say they don't know where it would come from. And these are people who are good people, who care about me, not trying to sabotage, be jealous, etc. So . . . I'm currently wearing a size 12, I need to lose 25 more lbs to be a normal BMI -- I don't think it's unreasonable to want to lose a bit more. And I can certainly see where the weight would come from! It makes me feel kind of weird and self-conscious about wanting to lose more weight when people talk like that. But I just try to take it as a reminder of how far I have come. I think we just look so radically different to people that they have trouble adjusting.

Just FYI, and I know this is really nitpicky, but technically what you have is a sleeve, not a pouch. A pouch is what you get if you get RNY.

Citracal petites. I order mine from Amazon. Much cheaper than chewy bites and zero calories or carbs!

For the first six months I wasn't allowed any snacks other than protein shakes and Greek yogurt. Meal sizes were 3 oz total - either 2 oz high protein food (meat, tofu, etc.) + 1 oz. veggies or low sugar fruit, or 3 oz. high protein food. I am 10 months out now and 90% of the time stick with the same snacking rule. My meals are a little bigger but I keep the proportions the same - 2/3 meat, 1/3 veggies/fruit.

I also take the Trader Joe's High Potency Chewables. I take a double dose, and like most here take additional calcium, iron, and B12. My labs have always been excellent. Trader Joe's is cheaper than just about any other chewable multi I have seen, plus it has fewer calories and carbs than most -- especially the bariatric vitamins, which seem to have more calories and carbs than most other vitamins!

My settings on myfitnesspal are for 30% carbs, 35% protein, and 35% fat, which works out to 64 grams of carbs, 74 grams of protein, and 33 grams of fat for 850 calories. I usually end up higher on protein and lower in fat at the end of the day. My usual minimum protein is more like 85 grams and I rarely go over 25 grams of fat.

Would I do it again? I would have this surgery every single year if for some bizarre reason I had to in order to keep going/maintain. And you mentioned "suffering the ups and downs of life after being sleeved" -- well, for me there has been no suffering and no downs.* No complications from surgery, no nausea, no constipation, no vomiting, no resentment at having to change the way I eat or having to be mindful about what I eat for the rest of my life. I love the way I live now. It is so much better than being a slave to cravings and finding myself in the cycle of overeating --> shame & self-hatred --> more overeating --> more shame etc. *other than some pain and tiredness after surgery of course -- but even that wasn't a huge deal, since I expected it. Now, lots of people do have complications or struggle with certain foods or getting enough fluids in, stuff like that. I recognize I am very lucky. But it's certainly possible to have the surgery and not have true "suffering" because of it. Good luck!

You might also be able to hire someone from http://www.care.com for cheaper than hiring a licensed nurse.

lol, I read back on my rant and decided to delete it since it might violate community guidelines. Nothing to see here folks, move along

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about "stages" -- instead I would revert to being sure you are maintaining sleeve-friendly eating habits. These are the rules for "getting back on track" as per my practice: 3 small meals per day. No snacks other than protein shakes. Your meals should consist of lean protein, green vegetables, and Greek yogurt. Aim for under 1000 calories per day. Minimum of 75 grams of protein and max 60 grams of carbs. Track everything on myfitnesspal or a similar logging site. Good luck!

@@mommyjamie yes, measure whatever amount you are given as okay to eat. If they won't give you an amount, I would probably stick with a quarter cup max to be safe. I wasn't allowed things like cream of wheat on purees (still am not allowed even 10 mos. out) but when I was on purees it was 3 tablespoons max. Full liquids was just basically sipping constantly because my full liquids was true liquids, not stuff like yogurt, jello, or anything else you would eat with a spoon.

You won't feel full so soon after surgery, your nerves are still healing. Plus liquids go right through. Ask your surgeon about exact amounts -- I was limited to 3 tablespoons.

I live alone, so no kids wanting stuff from me -- but I was very glad to be alone after surgery. I was able to focus entirely on getting my fluids, protein, and walking in. I could nap when I wanted to without someone doing something loud and waking me up. I didn't feel like I had to entertain anyone or do things for anyone else. Really, if someone did live me, I probably would have sent them away for the first few weeks! I did need a little help with pet care (changing kitty litter boxes = lifting stuff that is too heavy per dr's orders) and really heavy housekeeping like vacuuming and mopping. So I had my housekeeper come for a couple of extra visits to take care of that. And that wasn't even truly necessary, it was just nice to have the house kept sparkling clean for me. I could have done without it if needed.

I mean it to use an adverse physical reaction, not just that I don't like something. So something like foamies, vomiting, or choking. Luckily for me I have tolerated all food since being sleeved, but I can't say I have liked everything! Though Isopure made me teeter on the line of my version of tolerate and your version

It was very important to me to have a strict and strong aftercare program, with regular check-ins with a dietician, exercise physiologist, and support group -- as well as extremely detailed guidance on eating post-surgery and other recovery issues.