dwbrown1978

I started using milk (always fat free) right away after my surgery (3rd day) and had 0 problems. Are you lactose intolerant? Does your plan not allow milk until a later stage? I drank a lot of the "premier" protein ready to drink shakes from costco too. Not sure if those contained dairy or not. I also sipped 1/2 cup of milk alone 1 or 2 times a day. I believe it really helped me.

Ok - so I got blood work done for my upcoming visit (Thursday 04/25) with my oncologist. All my blood work came back SUPER GREAT. EXCEPT my Vitamin B12 level. Look at my results. It was crazy high. It is like 1000 units over what it should be. I do take a supplement, but it was on my requirement list post VSG (with Vitamin D, Calcium, etc.) I really only take it every 2-3 days, not daily. And all my other levels came back near perfect.... Component Results Component B12 YourValue 1419 pg/mL Standard 211 - 911 pg/mL Flag H Has anyone else gotten these kinds of results? Should I be concerned? I mean WOW. I will let you know what my Dr. thinks after Thursday.

You can go to a low-carb chat type site or google fat bombs. It is a combo of coconut oil, butter, cream cheese, peanut butter or any combination you prefer. You can make them sweet (cocoa powder, splenda, etc.) or tart (lemon/lime juice) or whatever. You mix all the stuff together and pour into muffin cups or mini muffin tins (depends on the size you want). They keep in the fridge. The point is that they are like 75-90% fat and a couple hundred calories each.

2013SleeveGirl - For almost a month after my surgery I didn't really "eat" anything. . It was just drinking liquid protien shakes and broth. I dropped about 30 pounds. But of course my stomach was healing. When I moved to pureed foods I ate mashed potatoes with gravy and creamed Soups. My family and friends called me the mashed potato queen. I really only ate like that for about 3 weeks. For months 3-4 I could eat basically anything I wanted (my stomach healed VERY quickly according to my doctor). BUT. I found myself drifting back to old bad habits. I found myself grazing constantly. I found I was eating all the time, however, it was such tiny amounts. Like 1-2 saltine crackers, or a handful of parmesan goldfish, or 1/2 slice of sandwich bread. Maybe a bite or two of Pasta. I would get "full" and then not eat again for a couple of hours and then eat again. When I actually started to tally how much food I was eating, I was shocked. I was barely eating 200-300 calories in an entire day. ONE Protein shake should have had that many calories. My hair began "shedding" (to put it nicely) and believe it or not, my weightloss SLOWED. My nutritionist explained that I was "normal" and that most patients experiment with different ways of eating while they are adjusting to their sleeve. But she said that, of course in the long run, I was doing more harm than good to my body by not giving me the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. She encouraged me to try low-carb (higher protein & fat) diet for 2 weeks to see if it would speed up my weight loss and stop my hair shedding and other problems I was having. I bought the Dr. Atkins book and tried it out. That was about 4 weeks ago. I am losing 1/2 pound per day. I am literally shrinking. I am up to about 600-800 calories per day, but of wholesome, nutritious, unprocessed foods. Here is a typical day: Breakfast - 1 harboiled egg and 1/4 cup cottage cheese or greek yogurt or 1 slice lean turkey w/ 1 slice lean cheese (Even now it takes me about 1 hour to eat this. I chew slowly so not to overill my sleeve and get chest pains) lunch - a slice or two of lean ham w/ a few olives and roated peppers (think antipasto platter), or my current favorite a 3/4 - 1 cup of chicken caesar salad. dinner - is usually a couple of homemade meatballs or small (about 2oz.) hamburger patty, or 1 roasted chicken leg topped with ranch or guacamole (for added fat), sauteed cabbage or mashed cauliflower (instead of potatoes). I enjoy 2-3 Snacks per day: 1 teaspon of Peanut Butter (it takes me a long time to eat... ) or 2-3 olives, about 5 pistachios or cashews, or 1/2 ounce of cheese. These foods fill up my sleeve just as effectively as the crackers or pasta or bread did, but they are so much more calorically nutriently dense now. And I am adding much needed healthy fats. I feel like my body has become a furnace now. :wub: Sorry if this post is somewhat long winded.... I am hoping this helps anyone who may be struggling or stalling in their journeys and can find it helpful to see if it might work for them too.

Hello all - Wanted to give you all a LONG OVERDUE shout-out and update on my progress. I began my journey at 285 (recorded weight 1 week prior to pre-op diet). I was sleeved on 11/13/12. This morning I weighed 215 pounds. I have lost 70 POUNDS in FIVE months. I can hardly believe it, even as I am writing this. I went from a size 22/24 to a size 16. Regular stores size 16, not the avenue or lane bryant size 16 which hang on me like a tent. My BMI has gone down 12 entire points. I eat on average 600-800 calories per day. This is way up from the 300-400 I was only able to eat for the first 3 months or so. For the past month I finally started to follow my dr. recommended low-carb diet and eat about 60/40% ratio protein/fat. After 3 weeks eating this way, I noticed my hair stopped shedding and is back to being glossy, thick and shiny again!!! Yea! My energy levels have SKYROCKETED. In case you are interested, I am following Dr. Atkins (basically induction of less than 20 carbs/day). My weight loss not only increased - I am losing inches more rapidly too. My blood/lab work is coming back THE BEST IT HAS EVER BEEN. My doctors are my own personal cheerleaders. I cannot wait to keep going on this journey. 199 - here I come!!! I wish everyone here success, health and happiness on their own journeys.

I just posted an update, if you would like to read it. I was actually encouraged by both my doctor and my NUTRITIONIST to follow a low-carb plan. I chose Dr. Atkins, but Protein Power or South Beach are good choices too. I keep my carbs under 20. I eat a ratio of 60/40% protein/fat. That might sound shocking, but I am lucky to eat between 600-800 calories a day. I have increased energy, am losing about 1/2 pound per day and losing inches. Both my dr. and nutritionist (along with support group members) have found that low-carb seem to go hand in hand with this lifestyle. I eat very very little processed anything anymore. At months 2-3 I was eating too much "filler" food, like crackers, bites of Pasta, or bread, etc. All it did was fill up my sleeve, but it offered my body practically no nutritional value. I was barely getting 300-400 calories in. I was lethargic and became tired easily. I was losing weight, yes, but I was losing my hair in clumps and my skin looked terrible. Since switching to low-carb I am still losing weight, but all those other problems have disappeared. I am giving my body what it needs nutritionally. It may be a great way for you to re-start your weight loss too.

I am 11 days post-op. I have lost 25 pounds total. I cannot believe it. I am so thrilled. OK. So I am going to post the truth. I started eating soft solid and solid foods. 3 days ago. Seriously. I couldn't stomache another protein shake. They were so sweet. I started with 2 teaspoons of mashed potatoes, thinned out with gravy. Zero problems. 3 hours later, I ate another 2 teaspoons. Again zero problems. I loved them. I decided to not take anymore chances that day, so the rest of the day was isopure protein water, and water. 2 days ago, my mom made deviled eggs for Thanksgiving so I took 1/2 and mashed it up really well. I ate 1/2 of that (so 1/4 egg) and then waited and I felt great. Again, I waited about 3 hours and had the other half. I ate it over the course of 15 minutes and chewed really, really well. I slept like a baby yesterday. I was able to drink almost a whole protetin shake and another isopure water throughout the day, along with my water. Yesterday I was feeling really brave. I made one chicken apple sausage link, cooked moist in a little broth. I cut that one sausage into three chunks and then cut one of the chunks into teeny tiny pieces. I ate slowly, one piece at a time. I had no problems. Throughout the day I ate the other 2 chunks of sausage the same way. I had no heartburn, no slime, no gas, nothing. I ate teeny bites, and stopped when I felt full. I waited several hours before eating again. I still supplemented with isopure and protein shakes along with water. Today, I made some creamed spinach (yum - my fave) and ate about 1/2 cup throughout the day, 1 teaspoon at a time. I ate about 3 oz of dark turkey meat (no skin) over the course of 3 meals (so about 1 oz each meal). I walked on the treadmill 3 times today (each time 12 minutes). I am getting ready to walk for a fourth time. I am off work for one more week, but I feel really great. I have a lot of energy. I have to say, I feel like I have had a relatively easy time with my recovery. The first few days were rough, I'll admit. The first couple days home from the hospital I hurt like hell. I couldn't get the gas out of my body. It was painful and my body kept rejecting the pain and nausea medication. I kept throwing up, which of course made it hurt worse. Sleeping was not happening. I couldn't get comfortable. BUT - suddenly, on the morning of the 4th day, it didn't hurt so bad. And on the 5th day, I was able to finally get comfortable and fell into a deep sleep. I needed no pain medication at all. I started taking my chewy vitamins. I started walking on the treadmill (2-5 minutes at a time). As I got stronger, the pain practically disappeared over the next 24-48 hours. I have read from other posters, that unfortunately, their recoveries haven't been so easy. So I feel blessed. 25 pounds gone forever. I am looking forward to when I can post that I have lost 50 pounds...

You look awesome! Congrats on your losses! Keep up the good work!

Welcome to these boards! I found a lot of support and encouragement here. I hope you will too. Please keep posting and let us become your support group. Congratulations on your decision to take control of your health.

Me too! I thought it was just me... I was sleeved Tuesday. Been home for three days and I have to force myself to drink. Protein water, protein shake, and some broth and water. I am going very slowly. I drink all day, but it is probably only around 40-50oz total by the end of the day. I see others who are consuming much more than me. I don't feel bad though, so I don't think anything is wrong. Hopefully it will get better.

Hi all - Just checking in. I was sleeved on 11/13. Stayed in hospital for 2 nights and released yesterday. I'm doing ok except I can't seem to get to sleep. It was really hard last night. so much gas seemed to be trapped in my chest. It was really painful. I can't seem to release it. Does anyone have any tips? Thanks

Surgery is tomorrow! First one of the day. Check into hospital at 5:00am. Surgery by 7:30am. Got butterflies, but still excited. I'll post in a couple of days to update. Wish me luck!

Thank you so much for your beautiful inspiring story. My surgery is next Tuesday. One year from now, I hope to be able to write such a beautiful post as well.

How about sweet potatoes, and/or butternut squash? pumpkin is good too. Must be Fall... Applesauce. Canned pears. I am thinking baby food I guess.

Congrats! That will be here before you know it.

Good luck to you. Please post and let us know how you are doing... My prayers are for you.

Congratulations! Wishing you a very speedy recovery.

I bought mine on Amazon. I haven't found them in any of the stores in my area yet. However they have decent pricing on amazon. There are about 6 flavors I think. I have the fruit punch, orange and blue raspberry flavored. The orange was the first I tried. It was really good. It really did taste like sugar free Jello. It took me awhile to eat. Maybe because it was Protein packed, or because it was 6oz as opposed to the 3oz size of the regular jello ones. But it was nice because I felt full afterwards. It was a great change of pace from constantly drinking Protein shakes. Also - a great way to help get protein requirements in.

Oh My Gosh. I just tried my first Protein gems Jello in orange flavor. It is amazing. It has 25 grams of protein per 6oz container. 5 grams Fiber. No sugar or carbs. I think it has less than 60 calories. Tastes just like the sugar free jello. YUM!

I don't think you need to do anything before the first nutrition class. You'll get lots of information at your first class

Congratulations! Good luck to you. It will be here before you know it.

My entire family knows. I mean entire. My mom told all my aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. She sent it out in an email. Sigh. She's not really tech savvy. She hasn't gotten the hang of texting and she posts WAY TMI on Facebook.... (love her lots though :wub: ) I have a really supportive family though. They're all my personal cheering squad. My brother told both my nephews (5 & 12) about my sugery. The 12 year old is totally cool with it. "As long as it saves my life so I can be around forever" and the 5 year old is ok with it "as long as it isn't anymore of that yucky cancer stuff". (Gotta love kids!!!) Kids will ask questions if they notice. If not.... you'll be fine not to share too much information.

How big are your portions? My doc said to eventually get to eat every 3-4 hours but since my portions will be so small it should be fine, as opposed to now (well pre liquid pre-op diet) when sometimes I eat three huge meals and plus 1-2 snacks.

hmmm... unfortunately I don't know the answer to that. It would appear as if our post-op phase 2 diets are different. On my phase 2, I cannot have oatmeal (too rough). I can have malt-o-meal, cream of wheat and/or cream of rice (thinned out with water or milk). BUT I can also have cottage cheese, cream cheese and 2 egg whites or 1 whole egg, scrambled, or even a poached egg (soft). Not sure why everybody seems to have a different diet though. Maybe you can call your nutritionist or surgeon's office and ask if you can start implementing those foods?

I won't tell... promise. Congratulations!