joatsaint

Every WLS surgeon has their own set of pre-op diet guidelines. So there's no set rules. I'd follow the recommendations of my surgeon. He's in the best position to evaluate your needs. But the norm is a high Protein, low carb diet. For example, my surgeon's guidelines were for a liquid only diet. I could drink Protein shakes that were around 200 calories with 5 carbs or less, per shake.

I questioned it before surgery, but once I committed to surgery, I vowed never to regret it - no matter what I had to go through (not that I had much choice about what was going to happen post-op. ) I did as much research as I could pre-op and JUMPED!!! It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done. I always have a backup plan - a way out. There was no going back on this. Ummmm.... unless you know where I can get a donor stomach for a transplant??? Ebay?? Craig's List????

Figuring out how much I could hold was really trial and error. For example, I can hold more turkey hamburger than beef hamburger (must be all the tough scrap meat in there). And chicken is the toughest thing to digest to this day. For over 6 months, I couldn't eat more than 1/2 cup of anything per meal, so I just bought some 1/2 cup gladware containers. Fill one up, and I knew that was a meal. After 6 months my sleeve seemed to "relax" and I could hold more - 4 to 6oz of meat. But I always had to eat slowly and teach myself the warning signs that I was on the verge of being full - bubbles moving around the food in my sleeve. The old feelings of fullness had changed and there was no longer a building sense of getting full. One bite too many and I went from "okay" to uncomfortable.

My list was very short. Hospital: Robe Phone Favorite Pillow Home: sugar free popsicles sugar free Jell-O chicken broth cream of mushroom Soup Crystal Light Lemonade I didn't need anything else, for the 1st 10 days.

I bought one off Amazon, but don't use it very often. Most of my food I measure in a cup, but for those times when I can't tell how many ounces of meat I'm eating, I use my scale. This is the one I got. Easy to use multifunction home scale - Perfect for cooks, dieters and families Max weight 11lbs; Displays ounces/lbs/grams/kgs; Graduation .05 oz / 1 gram Includes FREE EatSmart Calorie Factors guide - Portion control and calorie counting made easy! Tare feature eliminates the weight of a plate; 3 Minute Auto-Shutoff lets you prepare ingredients while maintaining battery life 2 AAA batteries included; 100% EatSmart Guaranteed Satisfaction http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CM6TVI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I had bought the EatSmart brand digital home scale and liked it, so buying the food scale was a no brainer.

Congrats on doing so well. Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

No help needed here. The only hassle was getting the rolling IV tower in the bathroom with me.

My rule is no weight loss for a week. My Water intake goes up and down, plus the salt in my food can all contribute to keeping as much as a 1lb difference in my weight - daily. But if things are the same for 5+ days in a row, then I figure it's a stall. But in my first year, I ate almost the same thing every day, and I could see my weight dropping in a consistent basis. So with no changes to my diet, my weight loss would come to a screeching halt, sometimes for weeks. I eventually learned that if I just stuck with my diet and exercise, the weight would start falling again. If it was working before the stall, just stick with it. Sometimes you just gotta wait it out. Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

I would count it towards my total daily caloric intake - I don't really have a set number of meals or meal times. Protein shakes don't stick with me for very long and I wind up eating small meals 5 or 6 times a day.

I got the hiccups the day after surgery and think I stretched my staple line. I was hurting baaaadddddd! for the following week. I couldn't take the liquid pain killer they sent home with me, the taste and consistency made me want to throw up. It took about 7 days, but all the pain eased up and went away. I was back at work on day 11. Hang in there, it does get easier.

In my opinion, if it is a liquid, it counts towards my water intake... heck, I even count swallowing saliva! (no, not really) and if it has protein/carbs in it, I count it towards my protein/carb and calorie intake for the day too. It all counts.

Me too. I've been overweight since elementary school and just got bigger every year - so at 48 I have no recollection of EVER being a normal weight. I did find an old pre-school pic of me in which I looked like a normal sized kid. I was very worried at one point pre-surgery about how I was going to handle being "normal" sized?? I knew how to be fat, I was comfortable being fat. Now what do I do???? What do I do when I can't use my fat an excuse to stay socially isolated or not take chances in life or in my career? The good news, is that the transition from obese to normal doesn't happen overnight. I was able to ease into the new me. I'm very comfortable in my new skin, but I'm still working on the whole "self-esteem" thing.

I'm right there with ya! My pre-op diet was harder (psychologically) than going through surgery or anything I went through post-op. I think what made it so hard was the uncertainty I felt. I had been chasing the dream of being a "normal" weight (and failing) for so long that I couldn't bring myself to believe that WLS would be a success and I was just wasting my time. BUT I WAS WRONG!!!!

It's not how much you eat, it's just going to take time for your new sleeve to retrain itself to digest food. It took mine months and months to calm down. For my 1st month back at work, I carried cans of Cream of Mushroom soup to work. I kept an open can on my desk and at a tablespoon here and there (I ate it cold! Yes I know it sound yucky, but it was a small price to pay for getting my life back! ). I never finished an entire can before the end of the day. And I never worried about getting in enough Protein or calories. I concentrated on staying hydrated and ate as I could. As long as I felt okay, I figured I was doing well.

I know what you're talkin' bout! For months post op, whenever I would eat a "difficult" food like eggs or chicken, Frankensleeve would feel like a garbage disposal that was trying to grind up rocks! I would feel a seizing feeling, cramps, and a grinding sensation in my sleeve. The ironic part was that this happened when I was eating my "good for me" foods - chicken, eggs, vegetables, fruit. Processed foods like peanut butter gave me no problems.

The 1st thing I did was to contact my insurance and get a list of surgeons that were covered and approved by them. 2nd was to do a google search for each surgeon's name to find reviews and see how many years/surgeries they had performed for each type of bariatric surgery. From there, I picked the surgeon that had a location convenient to me. The next step was to set up an initial consultation with the surgeon. I never went to a PCP.

I can relate to what your doc said about "not wanting to eat" the bad stuff. When I saw the lbs falling off and my sleeve gave me control over my head hunger and "need" to eat, I didn't want to break the "spell" and go back to my old habits, life and weight. I was even afraid to start eating again, once I was past the full liquids stage. Fortunately, the "magic" didn't fade once I started eating real food again. The real difference in eating post-op vs pre-op, is in the amounts, not the kind of food I can eat. I no longer have to eat 6 slices of a large pizza to feel satisfied. Now, 1 slice or 1 1/2 slices is more than enough and I'm topped off. I can't tell you how good it feels when my hunger is satisfied by eating a 1/2 cup of carrot cake or 1 donut. Pre-surgery, I didn't have that kind of control and hunger dominated my thinking. At the 1 year mark, I was able to eat "almost" anything I wanted - the exception being Taco Bell taco sauce... Frankensleeve has never liked the stuff, even at 2 years post-op. At 6 months post-op, I was able to eat "most" things I wanted. The exceptions being fibrous foods like whole wheat bread, grape skins and pineapple. The ironic part was that processed junk foods were the easiest on my new sleeve, right from the beginning. It was the "healthy" stuff that I had to train Frankensleeve to digest.

I forgot to add, Smooth Move tea has been recommended by some on this board. I'm not a tea drinker, so I haven't tried it. But you can get a box for about 4 bucks at Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart or on Amazon. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/325635-smooth-move-is-my-answergo-to-when-i-feel-like-ive-eat-to-much/

I've only taken Milk of Magnesia, once or twice, since surgery. Are you sure your constipated? If you are like me, I didn't eat anything outside of popsicles and a few tablespoons of soup for the 1st 10 days post-op. My system was used to handling 3 or 4 pounds of food a day, so there was lots of empty space to fill. Being on a liquid diet, I didn't have to go for at least 2 weeks, maybe longer.

I've drank the Strawberry Energy Crystal Light. It tasted good, but I got tired of the flavor. I'm partial to the lemonade flavor, too bad they stopped making it with caffeine. When I need energy, I either take caffeine pills or drink coffee.

60 pounds is incredible! My weight loss was more like 12 - 15 lbs a month. And if you have a little setback from overindulging at Xmas, read my post on setbacks. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-33645-dealing-with-setbacks-or-climb-down-off-the-cross-build-a-bridge-with-the-wood-and-get-over-it/

I was never told what size bites to eat, but my 1st month, I can remember eating only 1/2 teaspoon full per bite. At that time, I was still learning how much my new sleeve would hold. And I didn't know how Frankensleeve was going to react to new foods as I transitioned to real food from full liquids.

By month 3, I was losing about 15lbs a month. Months 1 and 2 were the biggest losses, averaging about 19lbs each month. My doc wanted me to stay on track to lose 12 - 15lbs a month and eat about 800 - 1000 calories a day. And walk at least 30 minutes a day. As I say, I'm not a fast loser, and I'm not a slow loser, I'm a half-fast loser.

I ran across these today - Snapea Crisps - in the bakery/fresh produce area of Super Wal-Mart. I was skeptical at first but they turned out to be delicious. If you like Funyuns or Andy Capp fries, these make a great substitute for them or potato chips. I'm glad I picked them up and now wish I had gotten the other flavors to try as well, or at least bought more than 1 bag of the Caesar flavor! :-P If you are looking for an alternative to potato chips, I can't recommend Snapea Crisps enough. Made from green peas, they have the texture of a Funyun or Andy Capp Hot Fries. Baked and crunchy, they have a hint of onion and parmesan cheese. $1.50 per bag / 3.5 servings per bag 1 serving = 22 crisps, coming in at a low 120 calories: 16 grams of carbs 5 grams of Protein 5 grams of fat I would not recommend them if you are trying to stay within an 800 calorie/day diet.... because they are so good. If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

When the guys at work started noticing my weight loss and asked how I did it. I told them the truth. I said, "I have drastically cut back on the amount of food I eat and I do a lot of walking." And left it at that.