SpaceDust

I can tell you that I had a torn meniscus about 9 years ago, and while it was better after surgery, it still hurt. However, it has rarely bothered me since I lost about 40 lbs after the surgery. It had only really bugged me consistently when I let my weight creep back up about 20 lbs. Other than that, it is sometimes mildly painful if I've been on my feet all day and walked literally 10 miles or more. Even then it recovers quickly. I'm hoping that will become even less of a problem as I start seriously losing post surgery. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

Hello, NewStarter, and welcome! I'm also pre-sleeve, although my surgery won't be until mid-summer, most likely. I've been hanging out around these forums for a year now, and I can te you that you'll receive lots of support here if you want it. Best of luck! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

You have my deepest sympathy! Good luck!

There are various reasons why it's not recommended by some doctors, especially the caffeinated variety. A couple of them which I've heard about are: Caffeinated coffee has long had a reputation in the medical world for being diuretic, which isn't good for people struggling to get in their liquids. (However, there have been some recent studies which seem to indicate that it really doesn't have an impact unless you're drinking 5-7 cups a day or more. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661 speaks to this). Caffeine has been associated with increased pain related to ulcers, and may have some small impact on acid reflux. It seems like it might be a good idea to avoid anything to worsen the impact to your healing stomach, and in particular avoiding anything that might increase GERD/heartburn, right? That said, I've seen plenty of diets where decaf is allowed very early on, and some that don't restrict coffee in moderation at all. Best idea is to pay attention to what your doctor and NUT say, as there may be specific reasons why they don't consider it appropriate.

Hang in there, Karen - you've got this!

You could just mix unflavored protein powder into your regular meals to boost protein if needed, or mix it in broth for a snack. Then you can get the protein without that sweet element.

Excellent! I will have to get a sample of the Chike before I do my surgery.

You might try going more slowly to give your body a chance to adjust as you up your calorie intake. You might try getting to 800 calories, do that for a couple of days, then move up to 900 calories, and so on. You essentially doubled your calorie intake in one day - no wonder your body didn't know what to do with it!

How much Protein are you actually getting in right now? You are tracking the grams, right? You might try unflavored Protein powder in broth, if something thin is easier to get down. Perhaps thin your ready-to-drink shakes with skim milk and divide them into smaller portions - at this stage while it is probably best to be following a schedule, you may find it less intimidating to face a 4 oz shake with less heaviness every 20 minutes or so rather than a full 8 oz of thick shake. All of this said, a lot of people struggle with the protein the first couple of weeks - keep trying to get more in each day until you get to the correct amount and you'll be okay. Good luck!

Yup, that's the way to do it manually. However, it gets problematic for sleevers when you're really interested in calories, Protein, fat and carbs as well as other nutritional info - it just becomes overwhelming to do by hand for everything if you do a lot of home cooking (as I do). It really is generally quicker and easier use an application or a website that allows you to build recipes with complete nutrition info like MyFitnessPal, WeightWatchers, and so on. These sites usually have the nutritional information for standard ingredients, or if they don't have the info for an ingredient you use, you can enter it yourself as you build your recipe. Then as katikati said, identify the portion size and you're good to go. If you know that the standard portion size is a cup, but at first you can eat 2 oz., you could enter .25 of a portion to get an accurate count with all the necessary information.

I'm not sure I agree that a pre-op or post-op diet is one size fits all. Some doctors choose what you can have on the basis of BMI, the likelihood of a fatty liver getting in the way, etc. If you're larger, it might be to your benefit to try and get more of the weight off before surgery if you can to make it less risk of having to convert to open instead of laparoscopic surgery. If you're low BMI, you might not need a pre-op diet at all. I'd rather that my doctor and bariatric team made these decisions based on their expertise and my personal needs, rather than follow a generic guideline to the letter. That said, it could certainly be useful if there were some guidelines about what constitutes a standard clear liquid diet, a full liquid diet, and so on. Then your doctor could say, for example, that you are on a clear liquid diet, but you are also allowed to add X to that diet, and you may add A, B and C after the first week. Then you have a defined diet with whatever additions the doctor/NUT consider appropriate. You would be able to look up the guidelines for a clear liquid diet and know what that means even if your clinic doesn't give you a binder or a website with everything laid out for you.

If you haven't done so yet, you might want to try unflavored protein powder mixed into broth. Also, call your nutritionist or dietician, or perhaps your surgeon's office, and see if they have some suggestions. I know the liquid diets can be really boring!

Congratulations, and good luck! Please do come by and post as you move forward - it really helps pre-sleevers like me to understand what it's like for you folks on the other side

It's already showing very well in your face, and it looks like the waist is starting to trim down, too. Excellent job!

I'd guess that tonight is probably a bit too soon for your healing sleeve.

Here's the thing. I am not a fan of low-carb as a long term lifestyle. It's great for kick-starting weight loss, so I'm all in for the first part of the game. Eventually, though, I'm moving to a more normal diet, with a balance of proteins, carbs and fats that make sense. I think I'll be able to manage that, because I don't have any real trigger foods. I really enjoy rich foods, but I'm not a binge eater, just a too-damn-many-calories eater at my normal meals. By the time I'm ready to shift back to the balanced diet, I will hopefully be accustomed to appropriate portion control and I'll know what sorts of things I need to eat to stay both satisfied and also appropriately and nutritiously fed with our mini-stomachs. By that point, I won't be considering it a diet anymore. That won't absolve me of being mindful of what I'm eating, and if I start to see the scale slip upward, you can bet I'll be doing an analysis of what I've been eating, where and why, what my activity level has been, and decide if I just need to back off a little bit or put myself on a week of protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, or get to the gym more. Oh, and I can't wait to get myself into decent enough shape to really hike again. I live in the edge of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, darn it, and there are some awesome hikes to be had around here! There's a fairly easy hike up to some great cascades very near where I live. The trail is part of Wallace Falls State Park. I do fine to the Lower Falls viewpoint, and I've been up to Middle Falls (the most spectacular ones, honestly!) once, but I've not made it up to Upper Falls. I *want* to get to Upper Falls next year.

I can certainly understand feeling that way, and thank you for sharing honestly. For me, since I'm a type-II diabetic and have other co-morbidities, I've never really looked at it as just an easy way to lose weight - it was a way to reduce or eliminate some health risks that are otherwise a daily battle. Sure, I'm looking forward to losing weight, and I think I'll have more confidence about my looks afterward, but it is secondary to my health concerns, and I hope that will carry me through when the time comes!

Sharonintx, for shame! Fried stuff? With a crust and everything? How could you? Timeout for you, missy! You didn't bring enough for the rest of us!

First of all, congratulations! 31 lbs is NOT bad weight loss for the first month and a half! It's normal for it to slow down a bit after the easy stuff comes off, so relax and stay with the program. Are you tracking your food intake? I know it's a pain in the backside, and I'm trying to force myself to get back in the habit before my surgery. It's important for you to see if you are actually sabotaging yourself with your food choices and grazing behaviors, or if it isn't as bad as you thought and you just need to adjust yourself to an eating schedule. Back to basics - Water and Protein should always be first and foremost and at the levels your doctor or NUT have recommended for you. If not, fix that first. Next put yourself on a schedule for eating. You get to eat 3 meals and 1-2 scheduled and planned Snacks, whatever is on the diet plan your doctor supports. No munching in between, but also don't wait TOO long between food intake - 3 hours is a pretty good basis for your meals. If you desperately want something in between, that's a good time to hit up the water again. Stay on top of the liquids, it makes a difference in how much you lose. Your body does much better when it can flush your system properly. Now, figure out why you're grazing. If it's actual physical hunger and not just "the munchies", look at what you're eating at meals - is it mostly dense protein, which will keep you full longer, or is it too much carb and filler kinds of things that aren't going to keep you satisfied? Are you drinking enough water or other suitable liquids? If it's just the munchies, that's something to do battle with in your head - find something to do that's active or keeps your mind busy and your head out of the fridge and pantry. If you're the type, pick up a new craft or hobby, get out and go for a walk, heck, head for the mall and window-shop for the clothes you mean to get when all that weight comes off! I can't eat if I'm loom knitting or taking the dogs for a walk, and if I'm thinking about how cool it will be when I'm skinny and can buy that really awesome dress then I'm going to have a little extra strength to resist! Once the habits get into place and your tummy is also on a schedule, it will be easier. Good luck, and hang in there! I'm sure I'll fight these battles too, in a few months, but I've fought them before without the support of having a smaller stomach, so I am speaking from experience

My doctor and NUT say I will need to be on vitamin supplements for life, but acknowledge that after the first six months or so, you may find that you need less supplementation if your diet is good. Since I already take a vitamin pack anyhow, it won't be anything new to me, just what the delivery method looks like, whether liquid, gummies, tablets or later back to pills. Especially at first, when we're eating so little and so tightly focused on protein, I don't see how you can avoid needing supplementation, but there are plenty of ways to get it.

Is this doctor new to weight loss surgery results? He seems to not realize that everyone is a little different, and that there are variations in metabolism. I would be happy to lose that much in my first 9 weeks!

Jack up my threads whenever you like, Laura! I'm always up for lightening the mood with a little playfulness. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST