TheGamer

I've been using net carbs, personally. Since I want to avoid sugar, not fiber, I figure it was more logical to operate that way. I may be wrong, though!

I was sleeved 10/22 and am down 40 pounds since surgery. I am down nearly 65 since I started pre-op. I have exactly 100 pounds to go until I hit my first goal weight of 220

I've been digging the Quest protein bars. They've got a little under 20 carbs per bar but it's all dietary fiber (like 17g) and very minimal sugar (like 3 grams). They're not meal replacement, only protein though, and that's a bummer.

When I quit, I used the patches. They tend to give some people strange dreams if you wear them at night, though. For me, it was just kind of an added benefit to them It also helps to have something close that you can distract yourself with.

Breakfast is usually a Protein drink. I like GNC's Total Lean shakes. lunch is some salmon or tuna or a Protein Bar like Quest. I'll have a cheese stick, yogurt, or pudding for a snack and then maybe chicken for dinner and steamed broccoli for a snack. I should point out that I live alone and quickly learned that if I cooked a lot, all I did was waste food. I still end up getting rid of at least half of all the perishable things I buy. I've started buying the small, individual servings of shelf stable milk (like you'd get for a lunchbox), for example, because it doesn't go bad. I buy small amounts of lunch meat from the deli for the same reasons.

I am 5'10" and my pre surgery start weight was 383. I was sleeved on 10/22 and as of today I am down 60 pounds. I lost 30 pre surgery, regained 15 in the hospital, and have lost 45 since. This includes about 2 weeks on the week 3 stall where I regained 2 pounds eating 600 calories a day. The nerves are normal. When I woke up after getting sleeved, the first thing I did was question my sanity and think that I had been happy fat (which, I was). I hurt a lot and because of my size, moving really hurt. I had a rough first week, but with no major complications. My biggest annoyance was struggling to find some Protein I could stomach. I had a few bumps in the road and a blood clot scare last week (it was negative), but now I think I'm pretty well adjusted. I thought my weight loss would be one nice steady drop, but it hasn't been. The body reacts in strange ways to what we've done. Am I losing overall? Yes, very much. But one day I'll drop a pound and a half, the next I'll be up a pound, then down a half pound, then down a pound, then lose nothing for a couple days... ultimately the scale moves in the right direction. I started out in 5x tops and size 32 pants. I am currently baggy in a 3x, happy with a stretched out 2x, and comfortably in a size 28 pant. I am fanatical about watching what I put in my mouth, and frequently keep a food diary to record how much I eat and to make sure I get my protein in. I walk about a mile and a half more days than not. Also, Water. Water, water, water. It's a change. A big one. I'd do it again, though. I couldn't have done it without taking this kind of step.

It's not uncommon to stall. Do a search for week 3 stall and you'll see what I mean. It seems that for some reason, a LOT of people stop losing weight for a while in that time frame. It can last for a couple weeks or more, but what I found is that even when I gained two pounds over the course of a couple weeks (even while I was only eating 600 calories a day!) I lost inches even though the scale went the wrong way. Just stick with what you've been told to do and it will work.

You'll be surprised how huge they become immediately after surgery I never thought I'd look at a quarter cup of food and go "How am I supposed to eat all that?"

I drank plenty of broth when I was on liquids. I love Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor. It's high sodium, though, so be cautious.

One specific pre-op drink? I'm not quite sure I know. A lot of us were on liquid diets pre-op, which is just a fancy way of saying "too many protein shakes and drinks".

Unless the instructions (or your doctor) tells you to crush the meds, be cautious about doing so. Medications are designed to be taken in the form they are dispensed in. What you're doing can cause you to absorb way more than you're supposed to at any one go and can have serious repercussions.

Honestly? It's going to come down to what you can tolerate. Pre-surgery I was okay with just about everything I tried. Post surgery? I had trouble tolerating anything and even now there are just a few I can stand. There are lots of places you can get samples of protein powders and I'd highly recommend you spend the $5 getting a few of those before you make any major buys.

If you have a local Asian market (Korean, Chinese, etc.) you can get the seaweed strips (Yamamoto Yama makes some) in large packages for much less. They have flavors like teriyaki which are delicious Dried seaweed is one of my favorite snacks.

I struggled to get my protein in until I was out of liquid phase. My taste buds did a major 180 after surgery and I really couldn't tolerate the smell and taste of protein drinks any more. I recently found the GNC Total Lean shakes which are perfect for me. They're meal replacement and they don't have the nasty smell or chalky taste I experience with a lot of protein drinks. I wish I had these things the first two weeks

I had the week 3 stall myself. Just wait it out and once the body is ready to lose, it'll lose. You should be losing inches right now, even though the scale says you're losing nothing. Even with a multi-week stall between my week 1 and week 4 appointments, I still lost 16 pounds post surgery. Can you fail at this? Yes. But, I've yet to hear of anyone failing because they followed doctor's orders and did everything right. When people talk about regaining weight you'll usually see them talk about the self sabotage they did - high calorie, high fat, high carb foods that would make any dieting effort ('scuse me... "lifestyle change") fail.

I have that issue at night so I sleep with a bottle of water on the bedside. It's not uncommon for me to wake up a couple times at all, drink, and go back to sleep. During the day it's much easier to deal with. No idea if it gets any better, though

I'm between 500-700 most days. Remember, while calories are important, what's more important is the protein/vitamins aspect. Most of us have some significant weight to lose, so even if we were consuming 1000-1500 calories a day, we'd still be losing weight. I find that I have to eat every few hours at this point to get my Protein in by the end of the day, usually about 100 calories at a time.

No alcohol, no carbonation. I was told no booze for at least six months. I am looking forward to the six month mark, though. I've got a bottle of soju just waiting. Added bonus, surgeon said you become a super cheap date on drinks because one usually does it

So I've been put back on straight liquid for 24 hours and faced with the fact that Protein drinks are gross, I threw myself on the mercy of the local GNC with a plea to sell me something that wouldn't make me want to puke. They let me sample the Total Lean shakes and I ended up getting two cases (chocolate and strawberry). No chalky aftertaste at all and they've got Vitamins and minerals so they work as Meal Replacement. They've got 6g fat, 6g carb (3 fiber), and 25g protein. The chocolate tastes kind of like a YooHoo and the strawberry tastes like Strawberry Quik. Seriously yummy.

The reason they want you to wait is because think about it - how much nutrition are you getting right now? The body just isn't getting enough in to support a baby. The reason they tell you to wait is for both your health and the child's health. Accidents do happen, and if it does, the first thing you'd need to do is to get in touch with your surgeon and find out what to do, because it's going to be difficult to get enough nutrition in. I've never read in any literature that the pregnancy would need to be terminated, but it would require a high level of medical attention, that's for sure.

Celestial Seasonings Blueberry tea with some liquid splenda is my favorite. It has the most amazing aroma and tastes delicious.

You really don't even realize it happens. They give you something to relax you and you're semi aware of being wheeled in to the OR and you're really not aware of anything else after that until you come out of it. Of course at that point I wanted them to put me back under because I hurt like hell, but you take what you can get

So the last couple of days I've noticed that I feel perpetually full. It's different from normal where I just felt like I am not hungry. I've even noticed that after much less food (HA!) than normal, like one ounce as opposed to two, I am having trouble not sliming. It just feels like something is sitting right under the juncture of my ribcage and not passing through and that it's impacting everything. I've had no issues drinking, taking my meds (including acid reducer), or anything else, but it just feels DIFFERENT. Anyone else experience this?