Fiddleman

I buy my extended release protein shake from Syntrax. They make a product line called matrix which comes in several flavors. I love the "Cookies and creme" flavor and have been ordering it for at least 5 months. It has a very high quality whey protein and keeps you with a satisfied feeling for 4-5 hours. it works particularly well to jump start your metabolism at night while sleeping. For those that cannot eat enough solid Proteins or are not yet eating solids, the extended release Protein shakes are an excellent way to increase protein intake. I still enjoy drinking these shakes mixed with gelled chia seeds after 6 months. The gelled chia seeds have so many benefits, starting with fixing any constipation issues. Go ahead and search this site and use google to perform research on gelled chia seeds as a supplement.

This is just my opinion. I think eating to the point of belching (me), runny nose (me also) or sneezing is still an indication that you have eaten past the feeling of satisfaction. Instead of the signals I used to get from being full, I now stop eating after feeling satisfied. I am not sure how to describe the feeling exactly. Sometimes it is a sigh sometimes it is a message from my brain to put he fork down because of the satisfied symptoms and unconscious memory of full signals, including sliming or throwing up. It usually does not take much food to eliminate the empty or hunger feeling (1-2 bites) and then not much to be satisfied, depending on where you are at post op. For me, I now get satisfied for main meals somewhere between 4-5 oz at 6 months. My Snacks are usually more like 3 oz. I eat every 3 hours to keep my blood sugars level and to optimize my ability to process food during the day as fuel. I always have an extended release Protein shake first thing in the morning after taking Vitamins and last thing in the evening before going to bed.

It really depends on how much you want to work the sleeve journey. In the most optimal case, I think you can expect to lose 10-15 lbs a month, but that is going to require a very strict diet, almost like phase 1 Atkins, and a fine tuned exercise plan. Most lose between 5-10 lb a month by eating healthy light meals that are high in Protein and low in carbs. Following a daily exercise program also helps where you are able to put your heart rate into the fat burning zone with some cario zone bursts. I like that running is removing the skiing in places where.plastics are generally needed (stomach, neck, inner thighs, under knees, triceps and more). I feel good about the way that a well-tuned exercise program is shaping my body. I post questions often in the fitness forum and try and integrate people's suggestion's into my plan. I pick and choose to build an exercise plan that is optimized for me and something I can do long term. Good luck!

Mine was 300-400 calories /day at 2 weeks. Barely able to take in the 3 125 calorie shakes.

A combination of gelled chia seeds and miralax help get things moving and generally keep things moving. I take gelled chia seeds 2x daily and almost take miralax daily. There is something about regularity that helps with weight loss efficiency. It is probably due to a more efficient digestive track.

Funny!

Wow, you have done so great!

That is the interesting part. No one from the surgeon team has discussed a goal with me since I started the weight loss surgery journey, including back from first seminar. I made the assumption that the BMI would be good to target for my height, but I would like professional guidance so it can be an informed decision. I hope that the topic should be discussed at the 6 month appointment in my post op support program.

My "success" weight is 180. This is just a goal based on the bmi chart for my height. I do not feel too strongly about that specific number. I feel and look great now. I will get a chance to discuss with my surgery doctor in a couple weeks (6 month appointment). Do you or anyone else have suggestions about a good goal weight?

Hi MaryPoppins- Here are my stats: Heaviest : 365 lb (approx. 6-1-2012) Surgery: 335 b (7-2-2012) Today: 200 lb (1-3-2013) It has not been easy and has honestly been a lot of effort and persistence. I thank everyone on this forum for their explicit and implicit support. I could not have done it without all of you. You all are the best!! My biggest problem is that I get bored. Bored with food, bored with work, bored with just being me. This has been increasingly a problem within the last week or two. I used to turn to food when bored pre surgery and have just started having more cravings for food Have not reached for bad food lately, but there are days when I feel down for no particular reason at all. Darn my psyche. Exercise and being active definitely helps chase these feelings away, but I would like to feel good all the time. I would have to say feel good "like" taking an oxycodone, or running, or hiking, or good sex. All these get the enorphines flowing. I hate feeling down and bored. I fear I am going to develop som cross addiction if I do not get a handle on these bored and down feelings that are no longer being satisfied with food. I am not anxious or depressed any longer and I thank god (and the positive effects from this surgery) to be free from that. Depression and anxiety really immobilized me previously as a person. Any ideas?

I have lost 135 lb since 7-2 surgery. I love what I have achieved with this amazing tool and have elevated my existence. The only problem is that at 6 months I am starting to get bored of the having the same foods all the time ( mainly chicken). I need to be careful as to not eat other foods out of boredom. I am trying now to make some dishes and finding dishes when eating out that maximize flavor while still being very healthy.

I don't know about you, but fiber one muffins and cereal were my favorite way to get fiber before being sleeved. I was a junkie for the fiber one cereal and ate it every single day ( the low sugar 57% variety - looks like rabbit food). At my family gathering this last week, my mom made them every day for every one. I did not eat any, but really wanted to!!! Are these going to be good for a Sleever long term diet or are they too high in Sugar or carbs? It took a lot of willpower to not eat those, not to mention all the other food everyone was eating over the holidays. Lol. I stayed the course....

Oh yeah, cold all the time since about 2 months out. I am now at 6 months out and almost reaching goal. I bought a space heater in my home office which helps me warm up in the morning hours. I m also pretty verbal to others when I get cold in order to have them help keep the environment warm (home, car, etc). I also wear gloves every where. That helps lot because it is my hands that turn to ice first. Next my feet. Layering up at home and when out really helps. Don't forget that winter coat or wear a sweater. Finally, drinking warm drinks helps. I like to drink coffee and hot apple cider to warm up. I hope some of these tips will help you.

20 F. Is that cold enough for you. Lol! When I went snow shoeing, I had bout 5 layers of clothes on. Sure, I was roasting due to the workout, but I will take that over freezing my tail off. Let us know how the treadmill running goes.

Great job!

That sounds great! I am certainly the same way anything to get out and be all I can be in a physical way, even when I was heavier. My favorite activity is hiking and mountain climbing, but I have a secret hidden desire to really get into caving as a regular activity. I love exploring! I try and wander through caves whenever I find them in my travels. It is fascinating. I mostly go by myself into caves, but would like a partner or go as a group. Do you know how to get involved in groups that go caving? I am in the Seattle, WA area. One of my other goals this year (sooner rather than later) is to become a regular participant in the northwest hiking meet up group. I signed up a few years ago to the group, get all their emails, but sadly have not felt like I could participate due to weight issues, until now. Now that I am in good physical shape, all I want to do is get out there on the weekends and go hiking, hiking and hiking. I might also look into the mountaineers club. I have always been into hiking since a little boy and have very good endurance for hiking hard hikes.

There are many high protein Soups you can order from my bariatric pantry and others. For example, tomato soup (15 G protein), chicken soup (12 G protein)

Yesterday, I ran 45 minutes for 4.5 miles on my treadmill. This time I set my speed at 5.6 mph versus 5.8 mph in order to measure heart rate at a slightly lower rate. The last few weeks has been running 5.8 mph and I have not been measuring heart rate until yesterday. I noticed my heart rate was 135 bpm at about 30 minutes in when running 5.4 mph. I was able to easily carry on a conversation, even after running for 30 minutes at 5.4 mph. It felt to me like a fast jog and was about 3/10 effort. I then increased my rate to 5.10 mph and noticed that after 5 minutes my heart rate was up to 176 bmp and effort was 7/10 (35 min in). This was way too high to sustain for longer than 10 minutes ( for me). I backed the speed down to 5.6 mph and measured my heart rate again at 146 bmp (40 min in). This was reasonable, but I could not carry a conversation very well with my brother in the same room. 5.4 mph seems to be my comfortable speed. I am sure I will be able to go faster and still keep my heart rate at 135 bpm after building up some more running experience. I don't think it is safe to be constantly running near my max of 154 bpm or higher. I am happy with being able to run 45 minutes at 5.4 bpm because I get a good workout, plenty of sweat, but still have energy and breath when finished (average, 3-5/10 effort where 1 is at rest and 10 is extremely hard). With this said, what would be a good speed to run at if running for 1 hour or longer in order to get maximum benefits and remain in fat burning zone? I also want to prevent injury. I generally allow 2 days between treadmill runs for rest.