Bufflehead

If you are measuring things out, it should be relatively easy to fix. Say you eat 1/4 cup (measured out) cottage cheese, and the last bite is too much. The next time, measure out 3 tablespoonfuls of cottage cheese and eat that -- just keep track of how much was "too much" and make sure you measure out at least 20% less the next time, and stick to eating that amount of that food for the foreseeable future.

Isopuke is disgusting. If I were you, I would get in touch with your medical team and explain that it is just for a couple of days, you need RTD as you will be camping, and would they give permission to use whey concentrate rather than whey isolate just for a couple of days? I would be surprised if they said no, especially since the difference in absorption between isolate and concentrate is really not that huge.

Check out About Time protein (I tried it, thought it was good but not great), Jay Robb protein (love the stuff) and Tera's Whey (I thought it was disgusting, tasted like dirty dishwater, but some people like it). They are all natural and I believe they use stevia as the sweetener for all of them. You can buy sample pack size servings of each brand, just google the brand name and you should get to their sales websites.

I never had any buyer's remorse. Yes, treats like ice cream and espresso drinks are very rare for me now. But I do not miss my old life at all. My entire life has improved dramatically, not just numbers on a lab report looking better. The permanence of the sleeve is what I needed to get here and I'm so glad I decided to do it. Good luck to you!

The struggle that people have with liquids is because their stomachs are bruised and swollen after surgery, not because the underlying size of the sleeve itself restricts liquids. Liquids will go right through your pyloric valve. If you aren't struggling with liquids right now, it's because your surgeon did an awesome, painstaking, careful job and you are a great natural healer, not because there is anything wrong. That said, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. There are a lot of calories (relatively speaking) and sodium, and not much protein, in an entire can of tomato soup.

Lots of foods in the myfitnesspal database have a "net carbs" version that you can enter. If you search in the foods database for something like "quest double chocolate chunk net carbs" you'll usually find that someone has entered in a net carbs version and you can use that for your entry.

I don't want to be overly discouraging, but I will say I have never heard of anyone being approved if bariatric surgery is not covered by your insurance at all. The fact that you need the surgery seems to be irrelevant -- it is either in the contract, or it isn't. But appealing won't cost you anything so I say go for it, but keep working on those back up plans. Many people go to Mexico for their surgery and do fantastic. That was my back-up plan if my insurance denied me, I even had a surgeon picked out and felt very comfortable with the option. Good luck to you going forward!

Yes for adding most protein to hot liquids such as broth or soup, you need to use a food thermometer and make sure the liquid is under 130 degrees or it will clump and curdle. There are some special protein soups you can buy that are specially formulated to mix with hot (not boiling but just under boiling is fine) liquid, Those might be a good option for you too. http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-soups/ I used the HealthSmart brand. I thought the ones with pasta were disgusting but the other ones were good. Another option for you might be the Unjury chicken soup protein -- it is good, but it is one of those that you have to watch the temperature, if it is too hot it will clump.

I also had a low grade fever for a couple of days after surgery. My surgeon told me beforehand to expect that, that it is perfectly normal. He also gave instructions to call if it went over 100, which it never did. I would say keep monitoring your temperature but chances are very good that it will go down in a day or so. Good luck!

I was allowed poached and scarmbled eggs in puree stage, which started 4 weeks post op for me. They caused me no problems. I really liked melting some cheese and hot sauce into my scrambled egg.

Whenever your surgeon says you can . . . check with them for when you are cleared for vigorous exercise.

I have a strong family and personal history of autoimmune disease. Because of that, my surgeon agreed that sleeve would be better because of potential issues with medication absorption after the bypass. If not for that, I probably would have gone with the bypass. I know people who have had it and done great, it does have better stats than the sleeve. I tend to be a pretty rational person who tries not to make decisions based on emotions, so the "it makes me feel ooky to think about re-routed intestines" was not a factor for me. Well, rational is probably not the right word, I don't want to call other people irrational -- but I try to put aside my initial emotional response to situations and make decisions (particularly medical/health decisions) based on science rather than emotion. If you haven't, you might want to go to a support group and meet people who have had these surgeries and are at least a year out and see what they have to say. Sometimes it can help to talk to and see people in person to get a real sense of what their experience has been like. Good luck!

Most surgeons won't perform the sleeve on anyone with Barrett's. Gastric bypass is the preferred surgery for someone with that condition, from what I gather. However, you definitely want to discuss it with your surgeon. You may want to call your surgeon's office and see if you can make an appointment to come in earlier to discuss your options based on this new diagnosis.

Make some meat sauce and meatballs and eat that. Tell "everyone" that they are free to cook their own noodles if they want spaghetti.

Who are these people you are calling "friends"? I would kick anyone to the curb who talked to me like that!

As the others have said, feeling weak is very normal. Work on getting your fluid and protein in. Walk when you can, and rest/nap when you need to. And no, you can't decide to advance a food stage early, feeling weak is not a reason to disregard your doctor's orders. Keep sipping and resting and eventually you will feel better and stronger.

My doctor has us wait 30 minutes after eating but doesn't care about drinking before. Also, protein shakes count as drinking, not eating -- there isn't any reason to wait after drinking a protein shake before drinking something else.

Digital food scale and immersion blender. I still use them every day, 2 years post-op.

I don't think it's a problem unless you are eating tons of it. A small serving is still going to be reasonable in calories as well as high in protein. Plus, you need fat in your diet in order to properly absorb fat-soluble vitamins. So in my opinion, don't go overboard with it, but enjoy

Are you taking meds for pain, nausea, and a PPI? Getting your meds right can be trial and error post op, but it really helps. Don't try to be a hero and stop taking meds for things like pain and nausea. Not sure what you are allowed to drink, but for me, G2, Powerade Zero, and light fruit juice were easier to get down than plain water. Also low sodium V8 was great, gave me energy, and was a nice change from sweet stuff. Unjury chicken soup protein was a godsend for me because especially early on, the sweet protein shakes were just too thick and I had trouble with them. Finally, if you are using protein powder, try using half the amount of protein powder but mixing them with Fair Life milk or Carb Master milk. You might find them easier to get down and less nausea-inducing that way. Good luck!

Just to second above, definitely get in touch with your surgeon. It might be something minor (you were strapped down on the table tightly and your nerves are still recovering) but shoulder pain can also be a symptom of more serious problems. You want to have a medical professional sort it out, not internet strangers on a message board. Good luck!

Warning: long post ahead! Well, if you haven't already, focus on eating lean Protein, green veggies, and healthy fats. These foods will help keep you satisfied longer and avoiding high-carb foods will help curb your hunger. And the other thing to do is to learn to be okay with being hungry. Hunger is not an emergency. Starvation is an emergency, but you are not in danger of starvation. Hunger is just unpleasant. There are good CBT techniques to learn that can help you deal with hunger in ways other than eating. Here are a couple that I have found helpful: --plan everything you are going to eat each day, either at the beginning of the day, or the evening of the night before. When you get hungry, say to yourself, "it's not fun being hungry, but I can wait to have my beef Jerky snack at 2:30" (or whatever your next planned snack/meal is). --log everything you eat -- calories, carbs, protein. When you see those amounts going into your log, you'll find yourself less hungry. --plan three healthy meals and allow yourself unlimited Snacks in between -- but only if your snacks consist of nothing but one specified type of lean protein and one green veggie. You can use whatever spices you want, but no oils, no cheese, no sauce, etc. So your "unlimited snack" foods for the day might be chicken breast and asparagus. You get to eat as much as you want as long as it is chicken breast and asparagus. Again, you may find yourself not as "hungry" as you thought you were -- you may be experiencing head hunger or carb cravings, not true hunger. And if you are really hungry, well, you can't do much damage with chicken breast and asparagus. --practice fasting a couple of days a week. Have a small Breakfast, then no eating (or drinking anything with calories) until dinner. Before you start fasting, write a list of the most physically and emotionally painful experiences you have ever been through ("my mother died" "I gave birth" "I had a root canal" "I lost my job" etc.). Then, every two hours on your fast days, write a brief journal entry. Describe your levels of hunger. Rate your discomfort associated with hunger on a scale of 1-10 and compare that with the worst physical and emotional experiences in your life. Write down a coping strategy ("I will go for a walk" "I will remind myself that I can eat a nice dinner at 5 PM and I'm not in danger of starving" etc.) Make sure that you only eat sitting down at a table. No, you can't even taste or sample anything standing up. And being in your car does not count as sitting down at a table! Keep your phone turned off and do not look at any lighted screens (tv, computer, tablet, handheld gaming device) while you are eating. I am aware that this all sounds like a lot of effort and not much fun. Both of those things are absolutely true. I don't have a magic wand solution for you. But these things really have worked for me when I put the work in. Good luck to you!

I looked into lap band about 7 years ago and decided I would instead try to lose weight "on my own." I was successful in losing 85 lbs, but was still no where near my goal weight. Then I started putting the weight back on. I regained everything I had lost plus another 60 lbs. Fast forward 5 years. I looked back into surgery, got my sleeve (my surgeon won't do lap band except in rare cases, he has looked at statistics and believes the lap band is rarely the right surgery) and lost 180+ lbs. I still have a little ways to go but I will get there. This was so the right choice for me, though I am glad I didn't ever get the lap band.

I use a compression tank from Yummie Tummie under my regular workout top: http://www.yummielife.com/tanks and I wear Nike compression capris: http://www.zappos.com/nike-pro-capri

The human body can easily hold 5 lbs of poop. Time for Miralax or Milk of Magnesia.