WhiteRice

I've been trying some Protein shakes as Meal Replacements. My surgery isn't until Aug 11, but I'm trying to find some stuff that tastes good before that. Anyway, when I make these in the blender, they foam up a LOT! (like wiht only 4 oz of liquid I get 16 oz of finished shake.) I can't see where I could possibly drink it post op in the full liquid phase. I think it would upset my sensitive tummy to have that many bubbles in there. Is this normal? I'm thinking about getting a bullet, and wondering if it's less of a problem with that blender than with my classic kitchen blender. Oh, and the brand I'm using is Designer whey, French vanilla flavor. Any feedback would be great. Thanks.

Mine is accurate. Keep hitting plateaus about every 10 lbs, which is very frustrating. Down from Size 28 to size 18-20 depending on the brand, so I can't complain.

I also recommend Protein bars. Protein plus are good, and I think they were on sale at Kroger this week (didn't look closely, but saw lots of yellow tags down that aisle). Also, if you like crunchy ones, south beach living makes protein crisp bars in chocolate Peanut Butter that are pretty good and 12 g protein. I also take nuts. Emerald Nuts makes a cocoa flavored almond that's sweetened with sucralose and are to die for. Trader joes sells "just a handful" individual serving packets of almonds, too, and they travel really well. It would be so easy to pack apples and peanut butter for Snacks, or a light bread with peanut butter. All very yummy. Have fun!

It's actually really common to have some bleeding, even if it's not the expected time, due to the trauma of surgery. It happened to me, but my pre-op instructions said it was to be expected and to pack my own "supplies", and I was able to wear my own panties post-op. It's not a big deal to anyone but you, so please don't be embarrassed. :crying:

I haven't had the experience of food tasting any different, but I do have far fewer cravings. And when I do have cravings, I will have a little bit of whatever it is...and that's enough. It's really pretty awesome that a little bite of something is enough. I no longer feel the need to keep eating something that tastes really good. I do struggle still with finishing what I dish out sometimes, but I'm working on it. I haven't ever eaten to the point of making myself sick like I've heard from some people, so I guess I must have a pretty good handle on it now.

Hey August Sleevers! So it's November, which means all of us are at least 2 months out from surgery. How's everyone doing?? I'm feeling really good. Down 40+ lbs. I have to say, my sleeve really feels normal now. I've only had one episode where I forgot myself and ate a slice of pizza too quickly. It had me feeling crappy the rest of the evening, but other than that I've not had any problems. How's everyone else settling into life with their sleeve?

Apparently, there's a wiki for everything! Trail mix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia What's it called in the UK, Helen?

Just keep doing everything right, and that scale will move soon. I was in the same position just 2 weeks ago...stalled...and I gained 5 lbs! Crazy! I know exactly how this stall can mess with your mind and emotions. But, my dietician helped put it in perspective. My surgeon considers it normal if his patients lose 15% of their excess weight in the first 60 days. At 3 weeks out, I had lost 11% already. So, as frustrating as it all was, I was actually ahead of the curve. And now I'm at 4 1/2 weeks, and the scale is moving in a big way. According to your ticker, you've already lost 21% of YOUR excess weight!!! You're doing fantastic! But right now, your body is going "hey, wait just a darn minute! What just happened here?" And in a few more days, it'll settle in to the new routine and the scale will move again. Patience, Grasshopper! :lol0:

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement, suggestions, etc. I'm doing fine now. I was just so taken aback by someone being so blatantly unkind. I just haven't run into very many people like that in my lifetime. I guess I've been lucky. I wanted to share the one thing that really put me back on track today and changed how I was feeling. I was driving the kids home from their haircuts and playing their Veggietales CD and I heard the song that goes, "God is bigger, bigger than the boogeyman. He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV. God is bigger, bigger than the boogeyman. He's watching out for you and me." How funny, that a kids song helped me put it all in perspective and see that that "punk" means NOTHING to me in the grand scheme of things. So why should I let him or what he said take up any space in my brain? By the way, I saw him (I'm pretty sure it was him), a teenager, sitting on his driveway talking on his cellphone when I drove down the street. I tried to wave and smile at him, but he wasn't looking up at the time. :thumbup1:

I had a first time experience today and am just flumoxed as to what to think... So I was walking my son home from his second day of Kindergarten, and I heard someone call out, "Hey!" So naturally I turned my head in that direction. Someone from inside the house yelled, "Walk more, you're fat!":thumbdown: I just kept walking, but it completely ruined my walk home with my son. I'd never admit to that guy that he ruined any part of my day, but I'm just so bugged by this. I've never had anyone be openly rude to me like that. Of course, he wasn't brave enough to say it to my face... But I couldn't respond because I had both of my small children with me.:thumbup1:

:thumbup: Hey all! Just wanted to report that I had another 1/2 lb loss this morning. Nice! So things are moving in the right direction again. Just another 1.5 lb to get to my lowest postop weight (I had put on almost 5 lbs during that wacky stall, so frustrating!).

Halleluja! The scale is moving downward again. I didn't realize because I hadn't looked at my last recorded weight, but I had actually GAINED about 5 lbs during that stall, but now I've lost, and 1.2lbs just since yesterday morning. It's been since Aug 20 that I've had these 1-2 lb fluctuations. Now I can go back to just weighing a couple times a week, instead of obsessing waiting for the downward movement to start up again. Whew! I did speak to the dietician, who suggested a couple possible reasons: not enough Water, not enough bowel elimination, and muscle gain because I've kicked up my walking. The solution for water was easy to see. She suggested Probiotics to help with the BM situation (she cautioned against Activia and suggested capsule or powder form from the health food store). The muscle gain was the hardest because it's something you just have to wait out. :tongue_smilie:

I'm having a moment, and I just need to get this out: I WANT TO CHEW! I've got another 8 days on purees. I think I'm going to have to go to bed, because I keep going to the fridge...looking for something...and I know that nothing that I can have will satisfy me tonight. Lord, give me strength to get through these last 8 days on purees.

I'm still waiting... :thumbup:

I'm having the same issue, AJW. I'm 17 days post-op and the scale hasn't moved much in over a week. I'm stuck at 20 lbs lost. Not that I can complain much for 20 lbs. :svengo: I figured it was an adjustment period for my body and it would start again soon enough. Yet here I wait... Anyway, I checked my waist measurement and sure enough it's down another inch, so there's progress. I guess this will teach us not to rely on the scale as much as we have in the past. But it is hard to resist. :biggrin2: Let us know when it starts moving again for you, and I'll do the same.

That's great Chick-ie. It will be here before you know it! My BIL was on full liquids around day 4...every doctor is different. And I've been swallowing pills since day 2...my doc's rule of thumb is no pill bigger than a plain m&m. Anything bigger I just split before taking it. Just be sure not to split anything that says not to on the bottle. I have one extended release med and it specifically says not to split it. Good luck!

Have you ever heard of using chicory in your coffee? It might help you to reduce the amount of coffee you're using per pot, without settling for a weak cup of coffee. It's looks a lot like ground coffee, and the people in New Orleans have been using it as a coffee "extender" since the civil war. It looks really dark, but the flavor is actually a tiny bit sweet and caramel-y. Best of all, it tastes like a full bodied cup of coffee, but less caffeine. The ratio to start is 3 coffee to 1 chicory. But I've heard of people drinking 100% chicory instead of decaf. I get mine at Communitycoffee.com, but I have also seen it in my local gourmet grocery. Or if you're in the south, you'll probably have no trouble finding it, or New Orleans blend coffees with chicory. BTW...Community also has fantastic decaf blends that really do taste as good as their regular. (Can you tell I really miss living near New Orleans?) WAIT! I just realized I'm quoting "cajun". You probably know all about this, then. I'll leave it, anyway, in case someone else can use the info. :biggrin0:

I don't know how rested my bowels were...they were still "cleansing" the morning of surgery. :thumbup: LOL (Sorry, maybe TMI.) I did get news that I was mistaken on my diet schedule. I haven't been off schedule, but I found out that purees is 2 weeks, instead of 1 week. Glad I got that cleared up before I tried to advance a week early. Phew! Can't wait to puree something on Tuesday! I've already picked a burger recipe from my Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery cookbook. It explains how to further prepare the food (ex. puree 1/2 burger with 2 tbs mushroom sauce). YUM!

Yes, decaf tea counts. My doc likes to call them fluids, so people don't get stuck on the idea that it has to be water. He says any sugar free decaf liquid is considered a Fluid. My doc also recommends limiting caffeine intake to occasional use, as well. It can dehydrate you, make you thirstier, etc. I've reluctantly decided, since I'm past the withdrawal stage, to give up my morning coffee and switch to decaf. :thumbup: Hopefully my thinner, healthier more active body will make up for the energy I used to get from caffeine. Here's hopin'!

I think it's normal, too. I'm 11 days post-op and having the same. I find that getting some activity seems to help... like taking a walk, or just getting up and moving about the house (doing light chores, etc.). Hang in there, and if it really concerns you, call your doc on Monday. They can let you know if there's anything else you can do. Hope it passes soon for you, though.

The advice my doc's staff gave for "stuck" feeling...if you really feel like something is stuck...walking around with arms in the air, and taking a teaspoon of olive oil to help lubricate. Maybe that will help someone out there. :smile:

Sounds like you and I are on the same schedule, Socal. Some doctors allow thinned out Protein shakes in the first week. Mine does not. Only clear stuff that you can see through. Every doctor has their own schedule, and they all base it on what has worked best for them in their practice. All I can do is shrug my shoulders and follow my own doc's schedule.:lol0: (I thought there was a shrug smiley, but the thumbs up will have to do.) I think what's important here is not to pick apart each other's individual diets, but rather to support each other as we go along whatever path our docs take us down. I wasn't really asking whether anyone thought I should be eating malt o meal. I just said I enjoyed it very much after all that broth and Jello. (And I'm going to enjoy it again this morning.) :drool5: Hope everyone has a great day and continued success on their individual paths!

I've been on Clear Liquids only for week 1 (water, broth, SF Jello, crystal light, K2O). Today I transition to opaque liquids which include very thin malt o meal. Also includes cream Soups (strained, no lumps of any kind), Protein shakes, SF pudding, etc. Week 3 is purees (regular foods pureed in a blender to baby food consistency). Week 4 is full solids, but chewed VERY well.

I chose thin malt o meal with a couple drops of SF maple syrup. OMG! I've never enjoyed malt o meal so much. And, I got the full feeling before I even finished 2 oz. of it. Wow! That's my morning so far. How's everyone else?

Good luck to you Alisia.