SteveD

Red or white wine would work for me. Watch those hidden calories though!

Hello everyone my name is Steven and I am 52 originally from NY and now living here in Northern Virginia since 2001. My weight-loss journey is similar to many of yours as well. In my youth I was "Stocky" and I have progressed to obese by definition though I hide much of my weight and people never guess I am over 200 pounds. Like most here I have tried with limited success every type of diet and fad, skipped over a few like the growth hormone and starvation diet. Slim Fast for sure, Weight Watchers, Nutri System (several times) and always stayed with it for a short while, once I lost 26 pounds and kept it off about a year and a half. In the past 11 years I have gained just shy of fifty pounds and have every co-morbidity you can have although I am only pre-diabetic but just a matter of time before I have that too. In 2008 I went for a consultation with a bariatric surgeon to discuss the latest in techniques which at the time was the band. I didn't commit since I would had to jump through many hoops to get the band. Back then I didn't hear too much bad about the band. Now I hear plenty which leads me to the LGS procedure. I went for a consult with Dr. Denis Halmi of the Bluepoint surgical group here in Northern VA where I reside. We discussed the sleeve and the changes to my insurance which now has very few restrictions and hoops to jump through. No longer need a medically supervised diet for six months. Just some nutrition counseling, tests to ensure your healthy enough for the surgery and a psych eval to make sure you know what you are getting into. My surgery group required 2 weeks of opti-fast pre-surgery which I understand is to shrink the liver but that is usually for folks with BMI greater than 40 and I am 37. My surgery date was June 12, 2012 or more commonly known as my re-birth! I really felt like somewhat of a failure for not being able to manage my weight non-surgically but at the same time I feel like who am I kidding? I obviously can't/wont do it myself and I am slowly dying albeit not that slowly. I come from a long line of fat people with all the diseases of obesity minus heart trouble. I NEEDED THIS PROCEDURE! Every time someone tries to tell me I don't need that surgery, I can do this on my own, I politely ask them, if you were chemically dependent or an alcoholic (Which many of the people I know are either alcoholic or just about to become one) and you were given an opportunity to have a relatively simple procedure to cure you of your illness, would you do it? The answer is invariably, yes. I say that I am addicted to food and I needed this to save my life. Shuts em up every time! If you want to read a real easy to read and understand book about the gastric sleeve before, during and after surgery, I highly recommend the book "Successful Weight Loss with the Gastric Sleeve" It is written by Guillermo Alvarez the Doctor from Mexico. Great information. Thanks for reading about me! Steven

Funny how different doctors have differing philosophies. My Doctor did an upper GI the morning after surgery to detect for leaks and at that point was put on clear liquids. The next day which was the morning of discharge I was given the go ahead to advance to full liquids. Nothing with chunks. Soups, yogurt with no chunks, juices with low sugar, and the closest thing to solid is cream of wheat as long as it is a pourable consistency, and Protein shakes. Only very specific Protein Shakes though, like Premier Protein shakes from costco or Sam's Club due to the fact that they are low-no sugar. I was told to avoid the Optifast shakes I had pre-surgery because of the sugar but I guess since you can't eat anything else besides clear liquids, your doctor wants you to get your protein in some how.

I had my sleeve on 6/12/12 and advanced from Clear Liquids to full liquids while still in the hospital. It has been one week and I ave one more week to go on full liquids before advancing to the mushy phase. Why are on clear liquids for so long? How are you getting your Protein on clear liquidds? Most solid food I can have on this phase is cream of wheat. Anyone else similar to my menu?