Bufflehead

About Time has 24 grams of protein (or 25 depending on the flavor) for 100 calories, so you could get your 30 grams of protein by using 125 calories worth of protein powder. http://tryabouttime....rotein-isolate/ Disclaimer - I don't think this is the best tasting protein out there. Definitely buy a sample or trial pack before committing to a tub. Lots of people love it, but lots of people hate it, too. You could also try mixing your protein drinks with something less caloric. Skim milk = 90 calories, 12 g carbs, 8 g protein Hood Calorie Countdown Nonfat Milk = 35 calories, 4 g carbs, 6 g protein Carbmaster Vanilla Reduced Sugar Milk = 60 calories, 3 g carbs, 11 g protein

mine too, ground red meat only. It has to be something you can cut with a fork, which rules out your typical lamb chop or sirloin steak, no matter how tender.

For Vitamins & supplements I take: morning - 1 Trader Joe's chewable high potency multi-Vitamin, 1 sublingual B12, 1 Vitamin D supplement afternoon - 1 Iron slow-release pill evening - 1 Trader Joe's chewable high potency multi-vitamin, 1 chelated zinc tablet, 1 Biotin, 1 chewable probiotic, 1 Citracal petite. It looks like a lot, but I just get a week's worth lined up in my AM/PM pill organizer and make it part of my daily routine.

my stomach sounds like a cross between someone stepping on a creaky floor, a child trying to play the cello for the first time, and an elk bugling during mating season. Every time I eat and for about 30 minutes after. Luckily the volume is pretty low so I haven't embarrassed myself at work or anything! I'm four months out too.

This article says you can get insurance through an exchange even if your employer offers you insurance: http://www.npr.org/2...op-for-coverage Whether that means you have to completely give up your insurance from your job and just have the ACA exchange insurance, I don't know. You might want to get in touch with an insurance navigator or insurance agent for your state to talk details. The article does point out that the exchange insurance will probably be more expensive for you, since your employer won't be contributing anything. You'd have to weigh which is more expensive: buying your own insurance, or self-paying for a sleeve. Good luck!

well, the place I have the worst saggy skin is my mons/FUPA. It looks terrible, like someone stapled a bunch of deflated, wrinkly chicken skin to the front of my crotch. I'm actually thinking about letting the hair grow out in front (I usually shave) because I think that will camouflage it better. Other people may be looking forward to boob lifts and tummy tucks after they finish weight loss, but I may be pulling off a bank heist to afford a mons lift somewhere down the line. So I guess what I am saying is, beware the alternative!

I wish I could provide some concrete guidance . . . my insurance coordinator submitted and I didn't even know it, I called to check on when it would be submitted and she told me, oh hey, you were approved this morning! Anyway, I just wanted to say, it looks to me like you are doing a fantastic job getting ready for surgery. Keep up with your exercise and your good eating during this time and at some point you'll be able to look back and think it all went by in a blur. Good luck!

I can't give a personal recommendation since I ended up being approved by my insurance, but when I was considering Mexican surgeons I did a lot of research. I had decided on Dr. Garcia. You may want to look for members who had him (and other surgeons you are interested in) as their surgeon and look at their posts and blog entries. Good luck!

She can rearrange her flight schedule for a fee of $75 usually. I think you are going to have to be blunt here. It's completely unacceptable for her to think she gets to run your life like this. Just tell her you will be out of town/unavailable for this specific time and that you are sorry but if she comes then, she'll have to stay in a hotel and find stuff to do to amuse herself because you cannot play hostess then. And don't feel bad about it. It's not your fault that she made the completely boneheaded decision to impose herself as an out of town guest without even consulting her hostess about whether those are convenient dates. And the fact that she's family doesn't erase her obligation to act with at least a minimum amount of courtesy. If you still feel totally awful about it you could offer to pay or split her flight re-booking fees.

My surgeon has a goal of between 30 and 60 total (not net) carbs per day for six months out. Every surgeon seems to require something a little different!

I considered going self-pay in Mexico rather than jumping through all the insurance hoops. I had a six month doctor supervised diet I had to do and did NOT want to wait. In the end, I decided to go with my insurance, and I'm glad I did. I think Mexico is a great option, don't get me wrong. But I'm glad I have the local aftercare and I'm glad I didn't raid my house emergency fund to go to Mexico and self-pay. Just from a financial standpoint, I think if you have to go into debt to do it, it's not a good choice unless you have no other option. I would wait wait to get an insurance determination. If you have the cash on hand and no other looming expenses, I think either way is a good choice. I will say that waiting those extra six months also ended up being good just because I did learn a lot in the supervised diet classes, plus going to nutrition and weigh management classes with my surgeon's staff. Going to support groups prior to surgery is also great. So having to wait six months is not the end of the world . . . I totally understand your frustration though! Best wishes to you.

You could try some of the more tart Syntrax Nectar flavors like roadside lemonade, fuzzy navel, pink grapefruit, or lemon tea. You can get sample packs from lots of places online. You mix them with water instead of milk so that also makes them even less sweet than flavors like chocolate or vanilla. The unjury chicken soup protein broth is good and of course not sweet! I also did things like stirring unflavored protein powder into beef broth (with some steak seasoning), cottage cheese, and yogurt. Good luck!

Good for you! I'm exercising at home but am scared to join a gym. I promised myself that I will FORCE myself to do it once I get under 200 lbs.

Not only would I do it again, I would do it every year for the rest of my life if I had to. Recovery from surgery was not bad, just some abdominal pain and fatigue. I've not had any nausea or vomiting or even constipation. I've lost a good amount of weight (I'm four months out) and have discovered that someone who loves to exercise and strength train was buried inside me. I'm not spending every evening gorging on cookies and chips and then hating myself for it. My life is getting more and more normal all the time and as a result I'm feeling much more positive and confident. As far as I am concerned, for me there has been no bad or ugly. I love my sleeve.

Is it a requirement? No, no one is going to come take you to jail if you don't. Is it a good idea? Yes, I think so, at least for most people. At one of my follow-ups the dietician told me that there are published, scientific studies showing: --people who keep a food journal during weight loss lose, on average, twice as much as people who don't; and --whether or not you keep a food journal is the leading factor in determining how successful you will be in weight loss or maintenance. More than exercise, more than what kind of diet you choose, more than whether you have counseling for food-associated problems, etc. I've committed to keeping a food journal basically forever. I wasn't one of those special five percent of people who could lose a significant portion of my weight and keep it off without surgery . . . why would I be so special that I can progress and maintain as well without a journal as with one? I'm not special. I need to work at this even if it means doing annoying and time-consuming things. That said, you may do just fine without a journal. Some people do. You are the one who can make that judgment call. I envy anyone who can do it without journaling but I honestly need that accountability.

I didn't lie and won't lie. However, for the vast majority of people I told them I was having surgery and left it at that. A few people asked me "is everything okay?" and I just said yes, nothing to worry about, not life-threatening, I promise. A few other people acted like they wanted to ask me more about it but I just changed the subject and refused to go there. Since I have lost a fair amount of weight post-op, I've had one co-worker ask me if I had a gastric bypass. I told her no, I explained the sleeve and how it works. She was really happy for me and thought it was great. I assume word has now traveled throughout the library (she is a blabbermouth and I didn't ask her to keep it to herself) but no one else has said anything to me.

I have two suggestions: 1. Weigh yourself only once every two weeks, as long as you are following your plan religiously. Your body will naturally fluctuate a little bit, it isn't a machine. It could be water weight, stool, just about any little thing. By weighing yourself so often, you are just adding unnecessary stress and frustration, especially so early in your process. I think weighing more frequently is good later on, when it's harder to be absolutely rigid about following an eating and exercising plan. If that just won't work for you, consider: 2. Weigh yourself every day. Jot down your weight on a notepad by the scale and tell yourself that your weight today isn't important, what is important is long term trends. At the end of every week, calculate your average weight for the week. Plot your average weekly weight on a graph (or enter that, and only that, on MFP or a similar app) and watch those trends, rather that daily, non-important minor fluctuations. Oh and I would add, if you aren't logging everything that goes in your mouth on MFP or similar, I would encourage that. IMO that's the only way to see exactly what you are doing and notice any problems before they get out of hand. Good luck to you!

I am hardly a vet and feel weird giving advice to someone so far ahead of me. So feel free to disregard. But you talk about eating to the point of agony, and it sounds like you know you are going to be in agony when you make that decision. You also talk about food addiction and depression. If you aren't already, would you consider seeking counseling/therapy? I know the saying is trite, but it's true that the surgery fixes our stomach, not our brains. I'm a big fan of behavioral therapy, but of course you would want to seek out whatever makes you feel like you will make the most progress. Best wishes to you.

I had visits with my surgeon & staff at 2 weeks, 1 month & 3 months and I have another scheduled for 6 months out. Had labs drawn at the 1 and 3 month appointments. The only issue that came up was being vitamin D deficient at the 3 month appointment, which was an ongoing thing for me prior to surgery as well. I think if you are hitting your protein goals and taking your vitamin/mineral supplements that waiting for 6 months would be fine for the vast majority of people. But you may want to ask your PCP what he/she thinks to be sure.

Here's the list I posted on MFP - stuff that's often on my shopping list at TJ's: turkey bacon, chicken jalapeno sausages, fat free refried beans, nonfat cottage cheese, frozen organic blueberries, raspberries, & strawberries (add a quarter cup to your protein shakes & blend to make a smoothie with extra fiber); balela salad (in the deli area near other salads & dips), babybel cheeses (best prices in town), roasted chicken patties (fresh, in prepared meats area), shredded swiss & Gruyere cheese, extra lean ground beef patties, spicy buffalo blue cheese chicken meatballs, canned white tuna with half salt, smoked sardines, smoked trout, frozen roast asparagus.

Not sure where you are, but they sell PB2 at my local grocery store (Kroger). It's in the natural/organic food section.

Yes, my surgeon and his staff are extremely conservative with their food plans, no arguing that. But they have a very high success rate with getting their patients to lose all their extra weight, and also a very low post-op complication rate, so I'm not going to argue with them or veer off their plan because I think I know better. Thinking I know all the answers and can figure it out for myself is what got me to a place where I needed to lose about 200 lbs! So I am just putting my head down and following orders.

Are you on clears or full liquids? For clear proteins, I would recommend Syntrax Nectar flavors. You can get sample packets, just google Syntrax Nectar sample pack. For full protein, I like the Syntrax Matrix and Unjury brands. If you absolutely have to have ready to drink instead of protein powder, the Premier Protein chocolate shakes are good. I know a lot of people really love the EAS Carb Control shakes as well, but I haven't tried them myself.

Most people have to get an upper GI series or endoscopy prior to surgery -- ask your surgeon's office about this. If you have a hiatal hernia, they will find it then and assess whether it should be repaired during surgery.

I would ask about his technique/methods for surgery, i.e., what size bougie, does he oversew the staple line, etc. Just ask him to show you how it works. I did this not because I felt like I was a better judge of technique than my surgeon -- he's the expert -- but because I was curious about exactly what was going to be happening inside my body and wanted to be able to picture it. I also asked about how he tests for leaks. I wish I had asked what measures he takes to prevent blood clots. I didn't get a blood clot but I would have been better mentally prepared for some of the hospital procedures (pneumatic booties, regular shots of blood thinners in the tummy) if I had asked that. I asked about his usage of catheters and drains, again, not because I wanted to judge but because I wanted to know what to expect. I asked how often I would see him in the hospital after surgery and what kinds of things he would be looking for to judge my progress and readiness to go home.