Bufflehead

@@Paula Johnson Edwards Lucy here is a possible meal plan: breakfast: 3-4 ounces sirloin steak wrapped in romaine lettuce leaves with mustard lunch: small can of tuna (3 or 4 ounces) mixed with chopped green veggie of your choice (asparagus, broccoli) and light salad dressing dinner: 4 oz. grilled chicken breast and green veggie of your choice snack 1: beef or turkey jerkey snack 2: hard boiled egg snack 3: Protein shake (under 150 calories total for this, at least 20 grams protein, no more than 10 grams carbs total)

Go back to weighing everything you eat and tracking your intake on myfitnesspal or a similar nutrition tracker. Set a strict daily goal for protein, carbs, and calories. My suggestion for weight loss mode for someone at your weight would be 900 calories max, 40 grams of carbs max, and minimum of 75 grams of protein daily. For three days, eat nothing but lean protein that you cook yourself, small amounts of healthy fats, and green veggies. After that gradually add in tree nuts, fruits, dairy, and legumes, but keep tracking and keep to your daily goals. Until you get back to your goal weight, avoid all grains, sweets, and starchy veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, carrots). The first three days will be tough but once you get through them, it gets easier. When you get back to your goal weight, weigh yourself every day and go back to a strict eating plan and tracking if you get 5 lbs above it. Good luck!

Have you tried Jay Robb egg white protein? A lot of people really like it, and the numbers look better to me in terms of grams of protein vs. carbs etc. You can buy samples so you don't have to commit to a whole bag. Also, I mix my protein shakes with cashew milk or almond milk -- no dairy, lower calories, tastes good. http://www.jayrobb.com/protein/egg-protein-samples.asp

You can't tighten skin with any exercise, so there's no point in worrying about that. If you want to do arm exercises that will help burn calories but it won't affect your skin situation one way or the other.

I work out almost every day and have never set foot in a gym. Don't worry about doing anything more than walking for the first few months. After that, if you want more, look into couch-to-5k apps, workout dvd's/streams, hand weights, stuff like that. I started with Leslie Sansone dvd's and moved on to Kelly Coffey Meyer and Cathe Friedrich, focusing on low impact circuit training, HIIT, and weight training. I also did a 5k training app and now run 5k just about every other day,

If you aren't already, I would say spend a week or so weighing/measuring everything you eat and carefully logging it in myftinesspal or a similar program to track calories, carbs, and protein. Exercise is great for your health but not terribly important for weight loss, so don't look at that as the source of your stall. And actually, if you have been at the same weight for months, that isn't a stall, it's maintenance, and IMO you are going to have to change your diet in some significant way to get out of maintenance and back into weight loss. But you can't know what you need to do unless you know exactly what you are putting in your body. If you are already measuring, weighing, and logging, can you tell us how many calories, carbs, and grams of protein you are getting each day? We might be able to give more specific thoughts if so.

welcome to ketosis

There is no norm, every doctor's requirements are a little different. Here's my sort of unasked-for advice, and I know this is going to sound harsh, but I mean it in a caring way, I promise: follow the orders of your own doctor. Don't start following the orders of Dr. "Everyone Else on the Internet is Doing Something Different." You engaged your surgeon and hopefully you trust him or her enough to cut you open and perform major surgery on you. So why don't you trust your surgeon when it comes to knowing what protocol is needed for pre-op? Are you going to require an internet consensus of approval on every order they give you? Like I said, I know this sounds harsh, but I really think it is important to get in the habit of closely following the orders of your own doctor rather than thinking strangers on the internet can give you better orders. I'm saying all of this because I really do want you to succeed PS I wasn't on a liquid diet either, my surgeon doesn't think they are necessary for his patients.

immersion blenders will make you a protein shake without foam. Also, if you are using a blender bottle, if you fill it up 100% there will be virtually no air in the bottle and it will be a lot less foamy.

Stomach growling is normal, but in conjunction with being hungry, it makes me wonder if you are on a PPI? You might want to discuss that with your surgeon. If you are on a PPI, you might need a higher dose or a stronger medication than your current one.

First, don't worry too much about being denied unless it actually happens! But if you do have to wait, I think it's a good gamble to do it during the semester, especially if you can do something like schedule it in conjunction with fall break to give yourself a couple extra days. Once you are scheduled, let your professors know a couple of days before your surgery that you will be having surgery. You don't have to tell them what kind if you don't want to. Almost certainly be accommodating and help you out in terms of easing back into your classes and projects. Speaking from the other side of the podium, I can say that we pretty much all do really care about our students and want you to succeed. Good luck!

@@r6malbear mostly I said swap out cottage cheese for yogurt because at least to me, if you are going to swap out fruit for meat, then meat goes better with cottage cheese than it does with yogurt. However, typically cottage cheese is lower calorie and lower carb than yogurt is, for a pretty similar Protein count. shake recipes: Hot chocolate: 4 oz. Water + 4 oz. CarbMaster* milk. Heat in microwave until just under boiling, transfer to blender and blend with hot chocolate Protein powder http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-drinks/healthsmart-hot-chocolate-7-box-sucralose.html and any Torani SF syrup(s) you want. You can also put a dollop of fat free whipped cream on top for a minimal hit to your daily calorie budget. My favorite ways to make this are a gingerbread mocha (add in gingerbread SF syrup and a couple teaspoons of instant coffee), and a peppermint hot chocolate -- add in peppermint SF syrup. Chocolate peanut butter: 8 oz. CarbMaster* milk blended with 1/2 scoop Syntrax nectar Chocolate Truffle protein powder, 1 shot Torani SF chocolate syrup (or a dropper full of Sweet Leaf Sweet Drops chocolate: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Drops-Liquid-Stevia-Chocolate/dp/B00H4HKNA4, and 1.5 T PB2 chocolate http://www.amazon.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-Chocolate/dp/B0043WOANY *CarbMaster milk is available at Kroger supermarkets. If you don't have Kroger near you, I believe Fair Life milk is much more widely available and has a very similar nutritional profile: higher protein, lower calorie, and lower carb than regular nonfat milk. I love marlin jerky! It is just delicious to me and absolutely packed with protein. However, I only recommend it to people who like strong flavored fish like swordfish and mackerel. If you prefer more bland white fish like tilapia or sole, marlin Jerky may not be for you! http://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Marlin-Jerky-Onion-Pepper/dp/B00B8XOUX6/

Puree = consistency of applesauce Soft foods = you can easily cut it with a fork Those were the rules my team gave me.

I wouldn't have been able to, but I have seen others here do similar things.

--switch out the yogurt and fruit for cottage cheese and meat for Breakfast --switch out the Protein bar for 3 oz grilled or baked chicken breast Here is a sample menu from when I was under 800 calories and regularly getting over 75 grams of protein per day: Breakfast: 2 oz chicken wrapped in romaine lettuce leaf (85 calories/12 grams protein) Lunch: 2 oz sliced roast beef, 1/2 oz. roasted edamame (137 calories/19 grams protein) Dinner: refried Beans with an egg baked on top, melted cheese (150 calories/12 grams protein) Snacks: hot chocolate Protein shake (110 calories/ 21 grams protein) chocolate PB2 protein shake (140 calories/26 grams protein) marlin Jerky (80 calories/18 grams protein) totals including various Vitamins etc.: 768 calories, 107 grams protein

Check with your surgeon about NSAIAD's. Some permit them, some permit with restrictions as to how much and how often, some forbid them entirely. It's definitely something to discuss with the medical professionals involved in your care.

It really does vary a lot. My plan was: four weeks full liquids -- protein shakes, milk, strained or cream soups, G2, Powerade Zero, SF popsicles, SF jello four weeks purees -- poached or scrambled eggs, various forms of dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese, melted cheese), pureed meats or beans, nut butters, soft tofu, refried beans -- ONLY high protein foods, no fruits, vegetables, or grains four months of soft foods -- food soft enough to cut easily with a fork. No grains, starchy veggies, or sweets permitted. As you can see from the variety of responses here, you'll need to get detailed information, including lists of permitted and forbidden foods, from your dietician directly. It's really pretty irrelevant what other surgical practices do -- you should only care about your own.

Look for shakes that are 100% whey isolate, not whey concentrate. The whey isolate shakes will not have lactose. Brands that I like are Syntrax Nectar (comes in lots of flavors), Jay Robb (several flavors), and Unjury -- comes in a variety of flavors, the one I liked was Chocolate Splendor. You can buy samples sizes of all of these brands, just Google [name of brand] + sample. Almond milk, cashew milk, and soy milk are good alternatives to dairy for blending protein drinks. Or, if your aunt can handle lactose-free dairy milk, that's an option too.

"Thanks for your concern. This surgery is a decision my doctor and I have decided is best for my health. My surgery is scheduled for (date) and I'm already pretty nervous. I'd appreciate the support and good thoughts of my friends. If you can't provide that, let's change the subject."

Things I used: --clean underpants --comfy cotton sports bra that fastens in front (you may end up with an incision along your bra line -- trust me, you do NOT want this while wearing an underwire bra, or even a regular bra!) --charger with extra long cord for my phone --lip balm --toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, deodorant Things other people suggested I might need which I didn't: --laptop, ipad, kindle (no way did I have the attention span for any of that, plus too busy sipping and walking) --any other toiletries or makeup (this is major surgery, not a spa vacation, the hospital will have the basics) --my own pajamas or robe (the hospital provides gowns, which are much easier to manage in conjunction with IV lines, drains, etc. -- just put an extra one on backwards when you go out walking the hall to avoid flashing people) --non-skid socks or slippers (hospital provides non-skid socks and won't allow use of personal socks/slippers) --gas-x strips -- these are useless for surgical gas anyway, and hospitals frown on or prohibit use of any medications they did not provide --a pillow (I just made sure that my ride home had a pillow to clutch -- hospitals have plenty of pillows for use there) --books, magazines -- lol no, see above with respect to laptops and tablets IMO keep it as basic and lightweight as you can. The most important thing is not what you bring with you but your commitment to being upright and moving as soon as possible after surgery. When they take you to your room after recovery, do NOT let them put you in the bed! Sit upright on the sofa or easy chair in your room and get up and start walking as soon as you can! Do make sure you have a nurse or support person there when you get up and walk the first few times though. Walking. moving, and being upright instead of lying down are the fastest way to get rid of the gas.

Don't feel bad, it's nice when people notice and compliment us! I have always found when losing weight in the past that no one noticed until I lost about 20% of my starting weight. Also, if you are still wearing your same clothes, they are going to start to get baggy on you -- wearing clothes that fit really well helps people notice, at least in my experience.

@@Missbliss14 I don't know for sure (not a medical professional) but I doubt a drain would have an effect on whether or not you throw up. Anything you throw up starts inside the closed world of the stomach, but the drain is from the abdominal cavity and doesn't take anything from the inside of the stomach. That's how they can tell if there is a leak from the drain fluid -- if something drains out that should be staying inside the stomach, there's a problem. Surgical anesthesia is pretty good these days. If you have a tendency to throw up after general anesthesia, discuss it with your surgeon and anesthesiologist -- there are steps they can take to lessen the possibility of that happening. Good luck!

Only some doctors do them. My surgeon does -- it helps get blood, etc. out of the body cavity instead of just sitting around in there. Also, the fluid that drains out can help to determine (very easily) whether you have a leak or not. Having a drain wasn't exactly a ton of fun, but it wasn't a big deal either.

Stick with lunch meat, eggs, and baked potato for now (easy on the potato). Yes it is boring, but food =/= entertainment and you should just focus on what you can eat that is healthy and nourishing. Eventually you will be able to eat more kinds of food, but there is no need to rush things.

I wasn't permitted to eat that much -- my plan called for 3 tablespoons of food max per meal on purees. Once I accidentally ate more (used the wrong measuring spoon) -- got a little more than 1/4 cup -- and I got the foamies and was so miserable for hours. I think a half cup would have been physically impossible for me.