Vidalia

I was sleeved on 11-9-12 and have lost 21 pounds. I am thrilled with the 21!

Does anyone use this? A friend of mine recommended it to me. She gave me a sample and I really liked it. It hardly had any taste at all. I put it in my milk and ate it in Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax cereal which has 9 grams of protein/serving. The powder only has 15 grams of protein, but it is so tolerable.

It is whey protein. I am not sure about the isolate part.

The main thing I have experienced along those lines is looking at other people's plates and the large bites they are taking. It almost makes me sick.

I have tried a Ninja blender and the large blender bottles with the balls and strainers. I have found the method that works best for me is using a 1 pint Rubbermaid shaker bottle with the red top. Here is picture of it (copy and paste in your address bar if does not show up): http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_134438 I saw where someone else recommended this and I like it. I found some in my local grocery store and bought 4 of them. That way I can keep them washed up and ready. They are very easy to use and I drink the shake straight from the bottle. It is easy to take in the car or traveling. Another thing I found that is helpful is to mix the morning shake the night before and leave it in the fridge. It is nice and cold and well dissolved when I am ready to drink it in the morning.

Just FYI...I was told in my pre-op education appointment that there is a direct correlation in adequate protein intake the first few weeks after surgery and the amount of hair loss in the 3rd and 4th months. I tried really hard to get that protein in the first few weeks. I am hoping for the best.

I think the pre-op or no pre-op diet has something to do with your BMI before surgery. I know people who used my surgeon who had to do pre-op diet, but I did not. It has something to do with a fatty liver.

Have you tried mixing the powder with something lactose free, like almond milk? Maybe it's the milk.

Okay, I just posted this morning how normal I was feeling...until my experience tonight. I am 4 weeks post-op tomorrow. I went to a "Christmas dinner" tonight. I ate some ham, few bites of mashed potatoes and some green Beans. I chewed thoroughly and stopped eating when I started feeling "that full feeling". I decided to try a tiny bite of brownie for dessert. It was about the size of a cube of cheese. About 15 minutes later I started feeling extremely nauseous and had that "I have to get out of here feeling". I ran to my vehicle and stood behind it while saliva poured out of my mouth. I thought for sure I was going to throw up but never did. The feeling passed in about an hour, but still have a dull headache. Could it have been that tiny bite of brownie? That is probably the sweetest thing I have had in 4 weeks. Sure taught me a lesson. I don't want that to happen again. I have never thrown up once since my surgery and don't want to start now!

I will complete my 4th week tomorrow. Last night I ate a small handful of cashews. I know they are high fat, but I think it was a turning point for me. They were so good and did not bother me at all. That is the most normal I have felt since surgery. I can do this!

Sounds like it will work out. Like I said...covering their butts.

Chobani has some new kids Greek yogurt with chocolate chips or berries in that my kids like. I also do apple slices with some peanut butter. I found a neat container that has a little place in middle for peanut butter or dressing. You can also do carrot sticks and low-fat ranch dressing. Sometimes I put in bars like NutriGrain yogurt bars or granola type bars.

I think the surgeons are just very cautious to cover their butts in case something happens. My dad died of a massive heart attack at age 51 so my surgeon said that concerned him and he just wanted to be sure. He said they usually check out okay. My surgery was already scheduled and he said he was leaving it like it was unless he heard a negative from the cardiologist. I knew when I left the cardiologist that I was cleared. So at least you probably won't have to wait to find out after your appointment tomorrow.

I will just be happy when I can see mine again. I haven't seen it in 15 years. LOL

Yes, my EKG came back abnormal and I was terrified also. At my pre-op appointment he sent me that same day to a cardiologist to have another one done. That one came back fine. The cardiologist also looked at the first one and said it was not very bad. He went over the risk factors with me and said I was approved for surgery.

When did you start swallow vitamins? I will be so glad to change to a swallow vitamin. These chewables are killing me. I feel like my quality of life would sky rocket if I did not have to worry about spending 2+ hours of my day trying to get 2 vitamins to dissolve in my mouth. I am starting week 4.

I sure will try it tomorrow. I have a metal meat mallet, so I will use that.

How do you crush them? Do they not taste horrible in the drink?

It is very scary. But, thinking about dying young was scarier for me. Would I rather be able to eat moderately and live longer, or would I rather keep eating like was and die early like my daddy did at age 51? That's why I took the plunge.

I was told I could have the caffeine drinks, but could not count them as part of my fluid intake.

It is also a diuretic, so it causes you to need even more water.

Oh, and they gave me a spirometer and taught me how to use it for after surgery. It is a machine you suck on to exercise your lungs to prevent pneumonia after surgery.

They registered me and they did a blood type test in case I would need blood. They said it would be rare, but they did it just in case. They anesthesia people asked questions. They went over what would happen on day of surgery.

Thanks kmwheel...that does make me feel better.

I am starting my 4th week...and while I am happy with my weight loss, I am beginning to feel a bit depressed about how I am feeling about food. The first few weeks I was so busy trying to follow the rules, I didn't really think about it. But, now it is as though getting food down is harder than it was the first few weeks. This includes foods that I normally would think tasted really good. I dread having to eat my next meal no matter what I eat. My appetite is pretty much gone...and I miss it. I don't want to overeat, but I would like for the food that I eat to at least be enjoyable. Does the appetite and joy of eating in moderation come back?