Bufflehead

Sunflower seeds are a great choice if you are far enough out of surgery to tolerate any crunchy foods and you want to stop losing weight and start gaining,

@@Caribear I will definitely stick around! And there will always be people to answer questions. To be honest some of this is me trying to learn to step back and be less of a know-it-all

Great job!

@@brather yes they are. Way too high. You are lucky you lost anything given all the fluids you were pumped full of during surgery, and 6 lbs per week even without the trauma of surgery is more than anyone can expect on a regular basis, particularly a woman. You'll make yourself much happier if you dial those expectations way down. Good luck!

You can lift weights to add some muscle beneath the skin, which could fill it out a little. But in terms of true toning/tightening, I'm afraid your only real option is surgery.

I was on full liquids for four weeks. Lots of protein shakes, diet cranberry juice, chai tea, ginger miso broth, and G2.

Ask them if they plan on sticking to natural dentistry (no anesthetics! no steel tools! no mass-produced toothpaste! just pick your teeth with a twig and if you get a cavity, have your friend pull it out with some pliers? Or natural transportation - why can't they just try harder to walk where they need to go, or capture a wild burro and use it for transport, instead of relying on all that lazy technology stuff needed to make a car? Or natural eating? Are they so lazy and unnatural that they buy meat wrapped in plastic from a supermarket? Let them whittle a bow and arrow and find their own meat the natural way. Seriously, medical science is great. Don't apologize for using it. If anything, laugh in their faces, they are being ridiculous. A slightly less confrontational tactic is to just smile and say thanks for your concern! My doctors agree that this is the best approach for me. If they say something negative again, just keep repeating and refuse to engage beyond thanks for your concern. I hear you and would really appreciate your support going forward.

The only nuts I keep in my house are raw and unsalted (the ones you get in the baking aisle, not the snack aisle). That way I have to roast and flavor them myself if I want something that is better than "okay, that's edible." I'm super-lazy so this is enough of a deterrent to stop me from being able to nosh on them endlessly, which I would otherwise do.

agree with @@M579 -- "empty burning sensation" is very likely stomach acid, not true hunger. Talk with your surgeon about more/better PPI's and see if that doesn't take care of it. The stall in weight loss starting around the third week post op is completely normal. You can search the forums here (or even Google) for "three week stall vsg" or "third week stall bariatric surgery" or "3 week stall weight loss surgery" and you'll see that virtually everyone goes through this. Hang tight and stay off the scale for a few weeks, things will pick up again. Good luck!

My favorite protein bar is no protein bar . . . they are Satan's work IMO. Turkey jerky or some chopped up chicken breast in a little tupperware container is lower calorie, lower carb, higher protein, more filling, and often cheaper too. Nutritionally not much different from candy bars with protein added. I've noticed that people tend to get obsessive about their protein bars the way they used to with candy bars or brownies or whatever. True story -- my mom has a weight problem. She tends to be underweight! She has to work hard to keep her weight up to a normal range (yes I resent this bigtime). Her doctor ordered her to eat a protein bar every day in order to stop weight loss. If she finds she is losing weight, she has to eat two protein bars a day. It works for her! Protein bar = no more weight loss. Two protein bars = weight gain.

My hunger came back about 8 months post-op.

Depends on the rules of your pre-op diet, they vary a lot. It would not have been permitted under my plan.

If having soft food at one week was so important to you, why didn't you choose one of those doctors to do your surgery? Why listen to any doctor at all, just conduct an internet poll when you want to make a medical decision.

I would imagine you'll be fine at six weeks. Have a plan to get your liquids in and to rest/nap during the day if you need to -- but you probably won't. Have fun!

I was allowed turkey hot dogs (just the dog, no bun of course!) on soft foods. No Vienna sausages.

Keep trying, maybe smaller sips, and if you are drinking cold liquids, try switching to warm or hot (or vice versa). If it persists, get in touch with your surgeon because things should be improving.

Right after surgery? No, probably not. This is major surgery and most people are exhausted for at least a few weeks after, and spending all their available energy on trying to get their fluids and protein in.

Sadly I have the same issue and for me weight loss did not help much. I have been waxing, looking into electrolysis. I can warn you that biotin (which people will tell you to take to prevent hair loss on your scalp -- IT WON'T) will likely make the problem worse and I strongly advise against taking it.

I never had more than 700 calories before moving to soft foods at 8 weeks post op -- I wasn't supposed to -- nothing bad happened to me. What bad thing are you worried is going to happen to you?

It's very typical. Fat cells store hormones in addition to fat, and when they release the fat to nourish you in this period of semi-starvation, the hormones come flooding out too. So it is very normal to have several weeks of strong emotion, whether that is rage, weepiness, irritability -- or the whole gamut! Try not to take it out on the people around you and don't make any major life decisions right now

It all depends on what your insurance requires.They really vary a lot. You should get a copy of the member benefit handbook or "plan document" and review them with your mother or whatever adult in your family is best at working with bureaucratic/legal type stuff. Unless, of course, you are planning to pay for the surgery yourself, in which case insurance requirements won't matter. Once you have your insurance documents, make a few appointments with bariatric surgery centers to discuss things like insurance coverage, whether they are willing to do surgery on someone so young, and what surgery might be best for you. I do think surgery can be an excellent option for some teens, but I don't know you so I can't say whether it is right for you. I know that surgeons when looking at surgical candidates at any age, but especially for younger people, want to find people who really understand the commitment to lifelong work, changes, and good choices. Good luck in your decision!

@@tenseintexas the rules I was given were: pureed food, 1.5 oz or 3 tablespoons of food per meal. 3 meals per day, no snacks other than protein shakes. For soft foods and continuing through weight loss phase, 3 ounces of food per meal max.

It's hard to give you thoughts on what you *should* do when we don't know what you are currently doing? Are you: --measuring/weighing all your portions and tracking them in MyFitnessPal? --making sure you are staying in a caloric deficit? --exercising regularly? --getting all your fluid and proteins in? --eating a diet that focuses on lean protein and green veggies? ???

I used a food processor, and blended meats with sauces (not broth or water) and then heated them up a little bit. They were very tasty. Baby food is disgusting and I would refuse it on that grounds alone. If you don't find it disgusting, do be careful about what is in it and the macro nutrients. Lots of baby food is high carb, high sugar, and low protein.

Sleeve is not going to stop you from eating potato chips. That's what we call a slider food. This is just one of the reasons you need to stick to lean, dense protein, green veggies, and other protein-rich and/or fiber rich foods, not highly processed, high carb foods, particularly if you have trouble stopping yourself after eating just a couple.