geralynbrock

I would agree with the others that exercise is one key. I work out a minimum of 4x/week: 30 minutes on the treadmill (varying speeds and hill intervals) and 30 minutes of strength training. Another important factor is TAKE ENOUGH PROTEIN. A bare miminum is 65g/day. Take your vitamins and calcium. Very important. Good luck! You will do great!

Hi everyone, I was researching Protein powders, and I ran across this Syntrax Matrix 5.0 in orange cream, bananas & cream and strawberry & cream. This is not whey protein isolate, but whey protein concentrate, casein-rich milk protein concentrate, and egg white protein. Is this acceptable to use post-operative? I am 8 weeks out and still dependent of Protein drinks to get most of my protein, and I'd like to try these flavors. Thoughts? Thanks for your help! G.

Did your doctor not discuss this with you prior to your surgery? My surgeon had us try a number of different Protein drinks BEFORE surgery to make sure we could tolerate it, and that we liked it. Did you not know you needed to do this prior to surgery? I don't know about the previous user's advice, especially kristikay's doctor not recommending Protein Drinks. That is insane. You must have the protein in order to heal properly. Your stomach will not heal quickly or properly if you are not taking iin protein. Your hair will thin, your nails wil not grow and become weak, you will not have the energy to exercise or even function without a MINIMUM of 65 gr. protein daily. You cannot get enough protein from food. You stomach is not big enough. You really must try to find a protein that you like. There are so many different products out there! Have you tried mixing powders with milk? Most taste like chocolate milk! Are you lactose intolerant? Have you tried both whey Protein Isolate and Soy Protein Isolate? If you can't tolerate skim milk with protein powders, try them with Water. Try freezing them after mixing. So people like them a bit slushy. There are so many choices, please keep trying to find one!! Finally, have you discussed this with your doctor? Protein is probably the singular most important issue! You must find a solution, and quick!

You are a long way away from worrying about this issue! With VSG, you don't lose weight as rapidly as you would with a Roux-n-Y gastic bypass. Very rapid weight loss will cause skin sagging, but since VSG is a more gradual weight loss (my surgeon does not want any more than 10lbs/month), skin sagging is less of a problem because of how gradual the loss is, giving your body a chance to keep up. Also, as anyone ages, skin does lose it's elasticity. However, you are so young, your skin will probably reabsorb most of the excess skin. My surgeon has also said many times that strengthening the underlying muscles (by exercising) and staying well hydrated will also help with this issue. He also said that other than doing those things, there isn't a lot else you can do about it. Another thing to consider is plastic surgery. My surgeon has a specific plastic surgeon he works with, so when we reach goal weight, they reassess any sagging at that time. Plastic surgery is extreme, painful and expensive, so the excess skin problem would have to be reallllly bad to consider surgery.. And, there are fabulous new advancements in Spanx technology! Having said all of this, I do worry about it....my arms are huge, and I do not want pancakes hanging off my arms. So we will see in about a year how it looks. However, I think if the worst thing I have to deal with is a little extra skin vs. 100 lbs. of excess weight, I'll take the flabby skin, thank you very much.

My doctor said never. Which I don't care, since I didn't drink before. His reasoning is that my stomach is so small now, do not waste the space on useless calories. Use the space for something useful, like Protein. Also, it does enter your system undiluted, and WILL cause liver damage, and WILL damage the lining of your stomach. Is having a drink really that important? Were we not all warned before surgery about alcohol use? I was, about a million times. If drinking alcohol is important to you, why have the surgery?

I understand and know EXACTLY how you feel. I was so desperate for something with some texture, I ate a piece of whole wheat toast (I am 3 weeks post-op today.) I am grieving for crap carbs. I regretted eating it immediately. I felt like crap for 15 hours. The next morning I was fine, and I swore I would never do it again because of how icky I felt. Keep calm and carry on. It's not the end of the world. You made a mistake. Learn from it. Make the changes you need to in your own household. Good luck, and keep working on it.

I just don't know what to eat on this pureed stage...Everything sounds so gross. It was toasted, but I think I ate it to fast, and I was miserable for hours and scared I'd have to go to hospital and confess to my surgeon what I did and he'd have to take it out. But, it worked out OK. I was fine the next morning. I just don't know what on earth I am supposed to eat during this phase.

Oh. My. God. I think I've ruined everything. I wanted to chew something so bad, so I ate a piece of whole wheat toast. I feel like I'm going to die. Did I just ruin everything?

Hi! I am in Toledo and 7 days post-op! Please let me know how you are doing!

I've been on my pre-op liquids for 10 days, and Thanksgiving was the worst day of my life. Everything smelled SO good. And I was starving. My surgery is Monday, 26NOV, and I am so hungry all the time. And it didn't help that I was feeling sorry for myself. I can't wait until Monday, just to get it over with and not be hungry anymore. I am worried that after surgery that even though I will be full on very little food, I won't be truly satisfied. Comments? Suggestions?

I am in Toledo, and my VSG is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 26. I am starting my pre-op liquids tomorrow. I am a nervous wreck.

Yes, that is one of the reasons why I am having the surgery: as more of a preventive measure than to actually correct any current health issues. My original premise still is that I have to live in this world, and this world is not accommodating to fat people.

My family (brothers & sisters, wives, and husbands) went on a family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina in May. When we got home, I saw the photographs of myself. I didn't even recognize me! I looked so horrible I just wanted to cry. I swear to God I never thought I looked that bad. But, having seen the evidence, it must be true! I have never felt self-conscious about my appearance. In fact, I thought I always looked like a rock star. Man, were those pictures a wake-up call! Also, I have begun to realize that people, especially men, do not care if you are nice, intelligent, pretty, funny, happy, or are a good friend, a good sister, a good aunt, or like to read and like to cook or the fact that you are an interesting person: the only thing most people care about is if you are fat. Unfortunately, the human race has not yet evolved beyond their biology. I understand that men are hard-wired to choose women who seem more physically able to produce children and continue the man's genetic line, but I keep hoping that people will eventually start to accept people as they are. But we all live in this world, and in order to be successful, we have to conform to this world's expectations. What bothers me the most is that while this world hates fat people, we continue to produce in massive quantities that which makes us all fat. I especially detest people who claim they "are concerned about my health." It is a ridiculous, and erroneous, assumption. I do not have high cholesterol, nor high blood pressure, nor heart disease, nor diabetes, nor mobility problems, nor pain. I am very healthy, other than a very high BMI. Not everyone who is overweight is unhealthy. People who say this to me think they are helping. Their "concern" is just thinly-veiled contempt. I think hating on fat people is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination. And society makes it acceptable because their false "concern for our health." Just admit your prejudices. My surgery is tentatively scheduled for November 28. I am very scared, but I am committed to doing this. Although I resent the fact I have to do this surgery, I know it is necessary.