lollyfidy1965

I only have sugar-free hard candy...very careful about carb intake. Werther's sugar-free caramels are very tasty.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Singulair a steroidal medication? At least according to the program I went through, Steroids (and NSAIDs) are strictly off-limits after WLS. Please verify with your surgeon before you begin taking this again (if I'm correct about it being a steroid). Best of luck Laura

Also....when you contact your insurance company, verify that they will actually cover a "Laproscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy". Many insurance companies won't cover this particular procedure, because its not been as common as other procedures (gastric bypass, lap-band, etc).

At the risk of having things thrown at me from the peanut gallery..... I had my first visit with my surgeon on May 4th, got insurance approval within 2 days of submitting the request, and had my surgery on June 19th. (I have Harvard Pilgrim Insurance.) I am definitely the exception, and not the rule, I think. LOL

I have officially lost 100 pounds as of this morning!! This is the most amazing thing EVER!!!!

His VSG patients stay 3 days.

Thanks thanks thanks, everyone!!!

I was in the hospital for 6 days, because the inside of my sleeve was so inflamed nothing could pass through. I didn't get anything to drink (not even ice chips) until the night of the 4th day, then progressed rapidly to full liquids on day 5, and home on day 6. I'm grateful my surgeon was as conservative as he was, giving me the time to heal properly, without rushing me out the door.

I know everybody's surgeon has their own approach to things, post-op, but my surgeon highly recommends avoiding caffeine after having WLS. No Red Bull for me.

OMG!!! I am daily disgusted watching other people eat!!! I know that I used to eat like that (taking huge bites, eating without tasting, etc), but DANG!!!! LOL

Not to rain on your parade or anything...but....beware...your taste buds may change dramatically after your surgery has been performed. Many people (on this site) talk about this issue, and I've experienced it myself (I used to LOVE watermelon.....can't much stand the taste of it now ).

There are times when I walk away from my plate, and come back to it a little later...particularly on those days I have a harder time eating. I plan my days out ahead of time (in a "Diet Minder" journal), so I know exactly how many grams of protein I'm going to have, if I eat everything listed, so I can manage my food over the course of a day. The hardest period was several weeks ago, when I was really missing the "enjoyment of eating". I felt like I wasn't getting to taste my food long enough to be fully satisfied. (It was all psychological...had nothing to do with being "hungry.") I've started focusing more on the flavors of things (and started using more spices/herbs/flavorings when cooking, to increase the experience), while I'm chewing things to death, and now find that I'm completely satisfied when my baby sleeve decides its had enough. Its truly a beautiful thing....to order a small enchilada for dinner, and be completely happy to push the plate away after eating just half of it (and none of the beans or rice)!! The poor waiter was so worried something was wrong with it....til I asked for a to-go box for the other half! LOL

I would strongly recommend you go to a Vitamin Shoppe (or something similar near you) and try individual bottles of products before you order a bunch online. Vitamin Shoppe will give you a refund if you don't like a product (return it with the receipt). Personally, I love chocolate Muscle Milk Lite (its sugar free, sweetened with sucralose), and unjury chicken broth flavored Protein powder. I've tried three different flavors of the ready-to-drink Isopure drinks, and found them to be disgustingly sweet (truly undrinkable, even diluted with water). Another high-protein product you can get samples of (just email the company) is Gelatein 20...packs 20 grams of protein in a little 4oz cup of "jello". Best of luck! Laura

I typically eat about 1/2 cup of food ("solid" food...not mushy/pureed/etc) in a "meal". Because my intake is still so limited, I focus primarily on Protein sources for my "meals", and save veggies for "snacks" (I love 2 TBSP of hummus with 6-7 baby carrots to dip in it!!). It usually takes me 45 minutes to eat my "meals"...if I'm having a slow-eating day, it can take more than an hour. (Yes...some days its easier for me to eat, other days not so easy.) Regardless of what I'm eating, I take tiny bites (I use cocktail forks, and baby-size spoons, along with dessert plates/bowls, so it "looks" like I'm eating a plate/bowl full.), and chew until its liquid in my mouth (literally). I don't count chews....I work for texture. (To give you an idea of how small my bites are, I had golf-ball sized chicken meatballs for dinner last night...and got 14 bites out of each meatball....I mean TINY. LOL) I started eating like this about 2 months prior to my surgery, so its second nature for me now...and I'm SO grateful for that!!! Behavior change is tough for anybody....doing it before you physically have to will only make your post-surgical journey that much easier! Oh...and "eating too fast" means 2 hours of almost painful discomfort, shortness of breath, and misery. I work hard to avoid it! LOL Always remember....when eating, at least...less is more, and liquid is GREAT! LOL All the best, Laura

My program (and they're all different, apparently LOL) recommends 75-90 grams of Protein per day. Always supposed to eat my protein first, building up to 2-4 ounces in roughly 40 minutes. If I can eat that, and am not "satisfied," I can eat up to 1/4 cup non-starchy veggies (salad, green Beans, cauliflower, etc). If I can eat that, and am STILL not "satisfied," I can have up to 1/4 cup of a starch. I'm 11 weeks post-op, and still can't eat more than 2 or 2.5 ounces of protein in a "meal"....much less a starch!! I do eat some veggies throughout the day, but they're more like Snacks now, since I rarely can get to them during a "meal". So...as far as carbs go, the vast majority of mine are veggie-based. I do my best to keep my total carb intake below 30 grams per day, so that I stay in ketosis (for quicker fat burning). Its essentially an Atkins-style approach, without the hunger! I don't worry much about fat, because I'm not eating enough calories for the amount of fat to matter. (Looking back through my journal, my fat intake is never about 25 or 30% of my total calories on any given day.) I average between 550 and 625 calories per day, 85 grams of protein, and 90 ounces of liquid. I'm supposed to be working up to 800 calories per day, but I'm just not able to eat that much food now...at least not of the healthy choices I'm making. (I could easily eat more calories, by eating crappy food, but that would be counter-intuitive, now wouldn't it??) I hope you enjoy your class!! Laura

My personal weight goal is 180...which will "technically" still be "overweight"...even at 5' 11"!! However...I know that I will look and feel magnificent at that weight! My surgeon felt my number was a bit of a stretch (my weight at our first visit was 330), but I am determined. I'm now 11 weeks post-op, and am at 254...I KNOW I can lose the remaining 74 pounds!!

I used the weight I was the day I had my first appointment with my surgeon. BUT....when people ask how much weight I've lost, I count from my highest weight, which was about 1 1/2 months earlier (and 24 pounds heavier).

The Prevacid solutabs are great...they're orange flavored, and dissolve quickly in your mouth. Zantac comes in a liquid form....tastes pretty funky, but it works great.

With my surgery, a patient's starting weight will determine whether or not they do a laproscopic procedure. Patients over 500 lbs (through my program, at least) can have the sleeve procedure done, but they do it as an "open" procedure...big incision, instead of laproscopically.

WooHOO!! Good for you! I'm hoping tomorrow will find me 100 pounds down from my highest weight (I'm 99 pounds down today)!! Keep up the great work! Laura

Actually.....what I was referring to isn't "head hunger". It was never about feeling "hungry". It was about wanting to enjoy the flavors...pure and simple. The sheer enjoyment of eating. I think my new way of feeling is much more "normal"...and certainly more healthy. Does it help you if you take tiny bites and eat very slowly?? That provides the opportunity to prolong the dinner experience...even if you're only eating 1/2 cup of food for the meal. I've found that very helpful in dealing with the "I want to enjoy the taste of food longer" issue I had.

Thankfully, I've gotten to the point where my mouth (my brain) is satisfied when my tummy is satisfied. For weeks I mourned enjoying the flavors of foods long enough (during a meal) to satisfy my brain. (In the beginning I don't even think I realized the distinction between my brain/tongue being satisfied, and my tummy being satisfied...I just wanted more!) Now, most of the time I just want to WANT to eat. What a switch THAT is!! LOL

Make a list of all the reasons why you want (need??) to have surgery, and post it on the front of your fridge (or multiple places, if needed). Keep a journal of how you're feeling...good, bad, and ugly. And know that those cravings will pass....if you're strong enough to work through them without giving in! Also...get a copy of the book "The End of Overeating". It will give you a clear understanding of exactly why you're having those cravings. You're craving sugar, fat, and salt...for the exact same reasons drug addicts crave their drugs of choice...literally. Reading that book made me angry enough to avoid eating the bad things I was craving...and has made my post-surgical journey MUCH easier to manage!! I wish you great success Laura

Gustavo...at the end of the day, I will have lost all my weight "thanks to portion control and vigorous workouts." LOL Of course, the only reason I could manage the "portion control" part of that equation was to have 80% of my stomach removed! (But that's just detail...right??) ;-P

My surgery was June 19th, so I'm close to the same point as you. As a rule, I don't "snack"...at least not in the pre-surgical sense of the word. My typical day looks like this: Breakfast (7-8am) - 16 oz chocolate Muscle Milk lite (200 calories, no sugar, and 30 grams protein) late morning "meal" (10am) - 1/4 cottage cheese, or 2 oz tuna, or 2TBSP hummus and 6-7 baby carrots lunch (noonish) - 1/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese (45 calories, 8 grams protein) 1/4 cup tuna salad (made with fat-free miracle whip) - 78 calories, 10 grams protein) afternoon "meal" (3-4pm) - 8oz unjury chicken broth (80 calories, 20 grams protein), or similar dinner - 2 oz dense Protein ("meat") (between 50-80 calories, 6-10 grams protein) 1/4 cup veggies (next to no calories, no real protein value...just for variety) evening "meal" (8pm) - Gelatein 20 (high-protein "jello"...90 calories, 20 grams protein) You'll see....I focus highly on protein, averaging between 75 and 90 grams per day. The more protein you consume, the "fuller" you will feel...particularly if you spread it out over the course of the day/evening. I keep my carbs below 30 grams/day, with rare exception. (And please don't panic...the things I listed out above are just an example of the variety of things I may eat, on any given day. The calories and protein intake run roughly the same, however, regardless of the actual combination I choose.)