Bufflehead

When I started out at size 36 it took me about 40 lbs to lose a size (I am 5'4). As I lost weight, the number of pounds needed to drop a size got lower and lower. It helps to think of it as a losing a percentage of your body mass rather than a number of pounds. As I approached maintenance and single digit sizes (!!! I never thought I would wear a size 8!) it got to be more like 10 lbs or less to drop a size.

I'm so sorry about your dog. I lost my dog last year -- and even though the circumstances were peaceful at the end, it was still one of the worst periods of my life. I can't imagine the trauma you must be feeling. (((hugs)))

I personally think it's a mistake to believe that your body is sending you messages about what to eat and those messages will result in weight loss. Your body, sadly, does not want you slim and healthy. Your body wants you sick and obese just like you used to be. Stick to having daily targets for calories, carbs, and protein and don't let your obesity-craving body fool you. Listening to our bodies and eating the way they told us to was what got us all needing weight loss surgery in the first place. My body regularly tells me to feed it cupcakes and crackers -- lots of them! I make a practice of ignoring it as best I can.

Have you considered trying egg white protein powder? It will have much lower calories and carbs than plant-based protein powder. Jay Robb makes an egg white protein powder in lots of flavors that gets great reviews. Trader Joe's and other places also sell unflavored egg white protein powder. Paleo Protein is another brand. And if you haven't, you might at least try protein powder or RTD that is 100% whey isolate protein. High quality whey isolate protein (make sure it is not "whey concentrate" at all) has something like 99.5% of the lactose removed and most people who are lactose intolerant can drink it. Good luck!

I think DS is the only surgery that is going to give you more calories once you hit maintenance. Gastric bypass starts out with caloric malabsorption, but after about 18 months your body figures out how to efficiently absorb those calories again, and the malabsorption component fades away. The duodenal switch has more powerful and longer-lasting malabsorption effect, which is why it is the most effective weight loss surgery there is. At least, that is the way my surgeon explained it to me.

One more thing for pain management -- stay out of bed unless you absolutely must sleep! There should be an easy chair or a glider or something in your hospital room. Park yourself there instead. Much easier to get up and down, plus the more upright you are, and the more you move, the faster you will heal and also get rid of that surgical gas.

I can't imagine there will be anything suitable there. Besides, snacking may not be the greatest habit to pick back up. Maybe focus on learning to enjoy the movies without snacking. If you are really concerned that you will be so hungry that you will be unable to enjoy the movie, smuggle in a Premier Protein shake or a small container of Greek yogurt. Good luck!

Follow the advice of your surgeon and dietitian.* Do not buy into the bro science peddled by physical trainers, who do not understand post-wls surgery eating and seem to want to push everyone to chow down on all sorts of crazy kinds of food. *If you haven't specifically asked them how you should be eating while weightlifting, don't hesitate to call or email your bariatric practice and ask for guidance.

You need to let your surgeon and your OB/GYN know. Yes, they pregnancy test everyone with a remotely close to functioning uterus prior to surgery. They pregnancy tested me and I was a 47 year old gay woman (I'm a still a gay woman, moved on from 47 though). If you want to continue this pregnancy, surgery is a terrible choice and no competent surgeon would do it on a pregnant woman. General anesthesia followed by starvation rations? That's a big no. If you do not want to continue the pregnancy, then you'll likely just have to reschedule for a few weeks after the termination. Good luck going forward -- I know this puts you in a very hard position.

I have no idea because my surgeon strongly encourages people to not weigh until they are four weeks post-op, and I followed his guidance. He says that people are so variable in terms of how they recover from surgery that weight loss is super erratic in the first several weeks, and for many people, the scale just tends to stress them out. Stress is bad for weight loss, so jumping on the scale and not getting the results you want isn't helping, it's hurting. You are doing a great job following your program. Keep doing that, and put the scale away for a while and the weight will come off, I promise.

I was eating high protein for months before surgery and started hitting my protein goal (75+ grams) within 24 hours of surgery. I was also taking biotin well before and after surgery. I still had massive hair loss. I wish I had listened to my surgeon and not wasted my money on biotin. He told me it wouldn't help! I did notice it helped me grow new hair quickly . . . on my face and from the waist down. Not what I was looking for tbh. I think that all the supplements and teas and potions in the world don't do anything but make people feel good about being proactive. Hair loss is, IMO, a crap shoot after surgery. Still, with all the hair I lost (and I had experienced a lot of permanent hair loss before surgery because I am just lucky that way) I still never had anyone say anything to me about my looks after surgery beyond how terrific I looked. You lose 100+ lbs and people aren't going to notice a little hair thinning. Besides, hair loss may not be preventable but it is disguisable. Good luck everyone!

Honestly, if they don't mention eggs until the soft texture phase, I would assume they mean no eggs until the soft texture phase. But definitely call them and ask for clarification. You/your insurance company paid them a lot of money for their guidance, don't hesitate to make use of it!

For me getting the drain removed did not hurt, it just felt weird, like I could feel something moving inside where it shouldn't be. It only takes a couple of seconds though, so regardless of what it feels like, it will be over quickly. I felt much better in terms of moving around once the drain was out.

My surgeon requires being on a 48 hr clear diet before surgery. I know I could have Jello, chicken broth, cranberry/apple juice, basically anything clear. Does anyone have suggestions of other things I can consume? Tea, beef broth, miso broth, G2, Vitamin Water Zero, Propel Zero. You can get protein powders that mix well with water -- Unjury chicken soup, Syntrax Nectar fruit or tea flavors. You can buy individual size packets of those, which would probably make sense if you don't have an extended clear liquids diet post-op. What I really need suggestions for is my post-op diet. What are the best things to consume post-op that are filled with Protein? On full liquid phase: protein shakes Puree phase: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese (Google Eggface ricotta bake for a great recipe), scrambled or poached eggs, refried beans with melted cheese. I made a lot of pureed casserole (minus the high carb ingredients) type things. Basically I would take meat, add a flavorful sauce, puree, put in a tiny little ramekin and heat in the microwave maybe with a little melted cheese on top. So, salmon with dill sauce, chicken breast with marinara sauce & mozzarella cheese, tuna with low fat roquefort dressing & swiss cheese, turkey with peanut satay sauce & jack cheese, ground bison with low carb bbq sauce & cheddar cheese -- you can do whatever works for you. How long was it until you could even try a solid? Everything will depend on the food progression your team gives you. I am sure your dietitian will give you more info as your date gets closer, but if you are curious now, call them up and ask if they can email you a copy of your post-op eating guidelines, or if you can stop by and pick up a copy. My team has extremely conservative guidelines, so I was on full liquids for four weeks, purees for four weeks, and then soft foods (easily cut with a fork) for four months. but how do I check my private messages? Someone messaged me last night, and now I can't find it to respond lol. I use the website, not the app, version of bariatric pal so unfortunately I can't help you here. Hopefully someone else can step in and provide an answer.

Unless you have complications, you should do just fine using your PCP for follow-up. Your PCP can order the blood work that you need and see you for regular weigh-ins and health checks.

--Get a MyFitnessPal account and a kitchen scale and practice weighing your food and logging it faithfully --Practice not drinking with meals or for 30 minutes after --Find a therapist/behavioral psychologist who specializes in working with weight loss surgery patients and start working on your specific issues and strategies to deal with them --Read all of these boards -- not just the pre-op boards, but the post-op boards, the general discussion boards, the success stories, to learn what you can expect, so you won't be surprised when, for example, you stop losing weight for a couple of weeks when you are 3 weeks post-op, your stomach makes weird noises, or you can eat yogurt more quickly than you thought you'd be able to after surgery. Good luck!

Yes, but keep the total protein grams 30 or under for your serving -- there is a limit to how much protein the body can absorb in a short period of time. Try to cram too much protein in there and you'll just be wasting your money! Do you have to use Premier shakes? I found the fruit-based and tea-based Syntrax Nectar flavors better, and you can mix them with water, making them much less thick and sweet. Plus their numbers are better than Premier (calories/carbs/protein). Unjury chicken soup protein was another one that was easier for me to get down than the super thick, sweet protein shakes.

Biotin will not prevent hair loss, although it may (MAY) help with hair growing back in faster. Most people notice their own hair loss, but no one else notices. If it gets to the point of being noticeable, you can conceal it with fiber powders such as Nanogen or Toppik, or get a different hairstyle to help conceal it (a layered, short bob with a side part will cover almost any hair loss, at least on a woman). Saying this as someone who lost most of her hair before surgery due to unrelated reasons -- hair loss is something you can deal with. There are ways to disguise it easily, and with weight loss surgery, it's temporary. I wish mine (from before surgery, I also lost more hair post-op but that came back) were temporary, but it is permanent -- and I still manage just fine. And a little bit of temporary hair loss is nothing compared to how good you will look -- and more importantly how much healthier you will be -- after significant weight loss. I never had anyone say anything to me about my looks after surgery beyond OH MY GOD YOU LOOK FABULOUS! I have never heard of anyone going bald! Even I didn't go bald and like I said I had already lost well more than half my hair before I even had surgery.

About Time is another protein powder sweetened with stevia. I liked that, and I really liked Jay Robb a lot. I did not like Tera's Whey at all -- I thought it tasted like dirty dishwater -- but that's really an individual thing.

My rule for soft foods was it had to be something I could cut very easily with a fork. To me hot dogs didn't quite fit, so I stayed away. If you do want to try hot dogs, I would say stick with all natural turkey dogs if you can. Good luck!

Yes, very normal.

I saved butter chicken for maintenance, just because it is so incredibly high calorie. It really isn't a good choice as a weight loss food, even in small quantities. It never gave me any problems once I did try it -- but virtually nothing else does, either, so I'm probably not the best gauge to use!

I haven't, but a friend of mine had her surgeon write a note that just said "X is scheduled for surgery on y date, and will require z days off followed by zz days of part-time work in order to accommodate her recovery." She also had the surgeon send the letter on his general surgery practice letterhead, not on the bariatric center's letterhead.

Good news, you have caught this early and it will be relatively easy to lose those extra pounds and get back on track. Here is my standard plan for getting back on track, what I do when I find I have wandered off the path of righteous eating. For me, my problems tend to be high sugar and high carb slider type foods. So I do a carb detox over six days. The first three days are terrible, but once I get through them, it is smooth sailing! Here's my plan: Days 1 & 2: eat only lean, unprocessed meat, green vegetables, and healthy fats (olive oil, grass fed butter, etc.). Eat as much as I want and do not count calories, carbs, or anything like that. Days 3 & 4: continue eating plan but log everything I eat on MyFitnessPal. Set my calorie limits high and continue to eat as much as I want, but only of those foods. Days 5 & 6: Set my calorie goal on MFP for weight loss, which for me is about 1200 calories per day. Continue to eat as above but make sure I stay within my calorie range. After the 6 day carb detox: add in moderate amounts of dairy, tree nuts, and fruit. Continue to avoid grains, sweets, high carb veggies (potatoes, peas, etc.), and Beans and legumes. Exercise at least 30 minutes every day. Do NOT attempt to count or "eat back" calories burned during exercise. Weigh myself every day. All crap foods get OUT of the house. Also, I make it hard for myself to buy crappy junk food when I go to work, basically by not taking any way to pay for it -- no cash, no credit cards, no debit cards, disable/remove apps on my phone that would let me buy things using them. That's because those are my particular challenges -- figure out what your particular challenges are and find a way to overcome them other than "I'll be strong." If that means tossing ice cream and potato chips in the trash, do it. You don't need that stuff in the house and neither does anyone else you live with (they can eat crap outside the house). Good luck!

The only thing I needed help with was changing the kitty litter (due to weight limits on lifting). If you are ordinarily hauling around big sacks of chicken feed, or cleaning out the chicken coop, you might need someone to do that for you.