Bufflehead

@@vegbeth if you are comfortable with it, you could hire a petsitter or someone from care.com or taskrabbit to come in and do that for you. It's not terribly expensive and definitely worth spending some money to avoid potentially causing yourself serious complications by lifting bags of kitty litter. Or, if your cats will accept clumping litter, you could buy some of that featherweight litter and use that for a bit after surgery. Good luck!

I would get a second opinion from a different bariatric surgeon if you haven't already. Is there a possibility that revision to bypass would help your issues? As far as eating goes, can you tolerate foods that are healthier, such as yogurt or cottage cheese?

I was allowed poached, loose scrambled, or over easy eggs on pureed stage. Chorizo would have had to be pureed to be okay on puree stage.

I had stalls lasting as long as 3 weeks all along the way. Mine usually seemed to be tied into hormonal cycle issues. Might that be the case for you? Or could you have possibly put yourself into maintenance in terms of calorie intake vs. expenditure? Are you getting enough liquids and protein? Do you think you are eating too many calories or are you confident that you are sticking to your plan and are in a caloric deficit?

What do you think is causing your lack of weight loss?

If you are only getting in 300 calories per day, I would guess you are not hitting your Protein goals. That needs to be your priority, along with hydration. That said, the other thing you are possibly doing wrong is having expectations about the rate of weight loss that are out of whack with reality. Put aside the first three weeks -- all sorts of weird things happen as your body recovers from surgery. Some people lose really fast, others don't lose at all. But it sorts itself out after a while, and I have to say that having been around this board for over 4 years now, losing 5 lbs every couple weeks is on the fast side of normal. So stop beating yourself up and start patting yourself on the back as you work towards that protein goal. Good luck!

Some stalls are natural but it's hard to say whether you could start losing again without some basic info. What are you eating each day? How many calories? What is your protein goal, and are you meeting it? How many ounces of fluid are you getting each day? How many carbs do you eat each day?

I only had to pack lunch, I eat breakfast and dinner at home. My usual was either Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with a little nut butter or PB2, or a couple of slices of deli meat (roast turkey, roast beef etc.) and maybe a slice of cheese in a roll-up. I kept it very simple. I would also take a couple of protein shakes as snacks, to make sure I hit my protein goals for the day -- Premier Protein was my usual brand.

Do you have guidelines from your dietitian that say when you can add in leafy greens, or raw veggies? If not, can you call them for guidance? That would be your best bet.

Keep in mind that unflavored =/= flavorless. It just means there is no chocolate or vanilla or whatever flavor added. It will still have the underlying whey protein flavor.

I did it on my own. Didn't need any help and frankly would have found people hovering around me annoying. I did make sure the house was thoroughly cleaned beforehand and had my housekeeper come in an extra time to change the kitty litter -- you'll have a lifting restriction after surgery for some weeks, so think about anything you might do on a regular basis that involves lifting something 10+ lbs and find a way to work around that.

Yes, it is normal.

You lost 5 lbs in a week but you say you are on a plateau. I'm confused. Your weight loss appears to me to be happening at a lightening rate, I don't see a plateau anywhere?

Why wouldn't I? They *are* fluids.

People have different experiences after surgery, as you note yourself. So no, no one can tell you exactly what to expect. Hope to be one of the people who are up and walking right after surgery but keep in mind that you may be one of those wailing in pain (in my experience there are more of the former than the latter). I do think everyone should expect some degree of pain after surgery, it's just that the level and kind varies. It is not realistic to expect no pain. Plan out the things you can do to minimize the pain. Tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist that you are worried about pain control. Keep on top of your pain meds -- take them as prescribed rather than waiting for the pain to sneak up on you. Walk as much as you can and when you aren't walking, try to be sitting up in a chair rather than lying down in a bed -- sitting up helps get rid of gas, and getting up and down and in and out of bed can cause additional pain, Good luck to you!

@@morningangel79 ah, you had the upper GI endoscopy rather than the upper GI series.Glad you survived, I hope your throat is better soon!

I think Premier used to be whey isolate a while back and they changed the formula. Perhaps the info with acceptable drinks was put together a while ago and no one knew about the change or bothered to update it? Anyway, I know many people who drank primarily whey concentrate and did just fine. Yes, whey isolate is absorbed better by the body, but when I looked at the actual numbers for my own research, the difference didn't seem that great to me. It's not like whey concentrate is useless, it's just not quite as good as whey isolate (especially if you are lactose intolerant). I did about 50/50 isolate and concentrate when I was in weight loss mode and I lost all my weight (200+ lbs) and never suffered from any sort of Protein deficiency or ill health. Tons of people here drink Premier Protein too! I think you will do just fine.

The barium swallow one? It isn't so bad! Make sure you drink tons of water after and keep in mind that you may have, um, white poop for a day or so. I actually thought the whole process was kind of interesting.

1. Weight loss phase: I stayed under 800 calories for the first six months, then under 1100 calories from six months to goal. During weight loss, I was not permitted grains, starchy veggies, tropical fruits, sweets, or liquids with calories other than protein shakes. My meals were 3 small meals per day plus only protein shakes for snacks. A sample menu might be: breakfast: steak and pickle relish wrapped in romaine lettuce. Lunch: tuna salad and a couple of prunes. Dinner: scrambled egg with avocado and melted cheese. Snacks: 2-3 protein shakes. 2. Maintenance phase: I typically stay under 1600 calories. My meals are a little bigger and I do have "real" snacks. I also allow myself one serving of whole grains daily, but I still avoid starchy veggies, tropical fruits, sweets, and liquid calories -- except on very special occasions, such as Christmas. Then, all bets are off! Sample menu: breakfast: hot oat bran cereal with toasted almonds, almond butter, and cashew milk. Lunch: chicken breast and grilled asparagus salad with light champagne vinaigrette dressing. Dinner: baked salmon topped with an egg, roast cauliflower. Snacks: low cal hot cocoa, Greek yogurt, small apple, dried apricots, turkey jerky. I have lost over 200 lbs and am maintaining at a healthy weight. I continue to watch what I eat very carefully. PS this is just an aside and it is a small matter, but none of us sleevers have "pouches." That's what RNY people have. You can accurately call your stomach a stomach, or a sleeve, or a sleeved stomach, but not a pouch. Good luck to you!

Most people get pumped full of IV fluids for surgery, and it can take several days or even a few weeks to lose that water weight. Many people have lost nothing at your stage, or are even still up in weight from their surgery. The fact that you have lost that much should have you delighted, not upset. My best advice -- stay off the scale at least for the next few weeks. Your body is still recovering from surgery and you are very likely to be hitting a true stall at about 3 weeks post op (most everyone does). Don't let this early period stress you out. Work hard at following your post-op recovery plan and orders and don't worry about other things right now. Good luck!

unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened vanilla cashew milk, Fair Life or Carb Master milk, cold brew coffee (if permitted under your plan).

I love most of them but I will say that the elk-beef habanero and elk-beef sweet & spicy are my favorites. I tend to find the applewood turkey too salty. They recently started making a buffalo chicken stick and it tastes delicious but the texture is really bizarre and off-putting. It's hard to describe how weird it is. I am not someone who is picky about food or food textures -- really, I am not -- but I bought a box of these, ate one, and the rest of the box has been setting in my pantry for a couple of months. I can't bring myself to eat another.

It really depends on what your insurance requires. Many insurance plans don't cover bariatric surgery at all, but if they do, the most common standard is that you qualify if you have a BMI of 40, whether or not you have a comorbidity (or a BMI of 35 with one or more comorbidities). If you don't have a copy of your member benefit handbook or plan document, get one and find the part that spells out coverage for bariatric surgery. In the meantime, don't lose any weight between now and the 7th. Good luck!

There's an app you can use called Eat Slower that may be very helpful. However, you are the one who has to commit to using it and putting your health as a priority. I used it for about the first six months post op. I set the time between bites as 45 seconds. You don't have to chew the entire time between bites, just chew well, swallow, and wait until it is time for your next bite. As far as the stomach acid goes -- are you taking a PPI? If not, why not? Untreated stomach acid can turn into a very serious health problem.

Are you sure about that? Most sleevers get started on a PPI in the hospital, no waiting. You could also inquire about a liquid PPI such as (I think) liquid protonix. Reach out to your bariatric team for help right away, don't wait around for it to go away. Good luck!