SerendipityHappens

I am scheduled for my surgery in 6 weeks. My highest weight was 360.. which is around 200 pound above my "healthy weight" I started looking into surgery when I was 330 pounds. I chose VSG because I knew I didn't want by-pass. I didn't like the fact that the benefits of the malapsorptave component were only temporary while the malabsorption of Vitamins was permanent. Based on the statistics, the results are very similar. Now, I hope that the sleeve will be a powerful enough tool for me, and I THINK it will be... but if it is not, then, I can still consider the Duadenal switch at some point in the future which is a more powerful surgery than vsg or or Bypass although I really REALLY don't want to go down that road would only do so if I developed co-morbidities that required further weight reduction.

Amen! I feel like it's important to know where someone is in their journey. High BMI, low BMI, near goal weight, age, sleeve date... all of these variables play a role... When someone is talking about losing 50 pounds in the first two months, the first thing I want to know is what is the starting weight/bmi and how old is this person, because I want to know if they are similar to my stats so I can hope for a chance of having similar fantastic results! It has absolutely NOTHING to do with giving accolades to someone who has had rapid weight loss or looking down on someone who is a slower loser, it's just about having some sort of point of reference.

On my paperwork, citrus is the last thing added at I think 4 months out. Which stinks because I like to drink a lemon-kale-cucumber juice that tastes like lemonade to me.. without the lemon, it just tastes like lawn clippings. So I'm drinking up now before my surgery since i t will be a long time for me until I can have lemon again!

I make my own SOOOO yummy. Buy 2 pounds of chicken legs and 2 pounds of chicken backs. Boil in seasoned Water (I use adobo and bay leaf) for about an hour until the meat is tender and falling off. Remove the chicken from the pot, when cool enough to handle, take meat off of the the bones and use it in whatever recipe you want for your family to eat (I add it to stir-fry vegetables with a bit of oyster sauce and ginger, my BF loves it) . Throw away the skin and return the bones to the pot of seasoned water, add an onion cut into wedges, half a fist of garlic, a couple carrots, and some celery. Gently simmer the bones and vegetables for 5 hours. Strain out the broth from the meat/veggies, don't squeeze out the bones, just let the juice drain from them naturally without force. refrigerate broth, once it is set up, take off the fat from the top which will be easy to do since the fat is hardened and the stock is like jelly. I freeze the extra in pint size containers. When I heat it up, I add two cups of water since the stock is concentrated. Add salt/pepper/garlic powder, etc to taste. From 2 pounds of legs and 2 pounds of backs, I'll get about a half gallon of stock, which when I add the water, makes about a gallon.. that's 16 cups of delicious chicken broth.

It's like this plastic tube thing with a ball in it and you inhale and try to keep the ball up to a certain level.. It's to keep your lungs healthy after surgery so you don't get pneumonia. People after surgery tend to take shallow breaths.. especially us fatties I'm afraid

I NEVER had a problem in my life until I started this 12 week high protein diet. I am a 3times a day girl, so you can imagine my horror when three days past without a movement. I even had a BM the day after I had my gallblader surgery.. I've never missed a day before in my life! I was sooo uncomfortable. I realized it was because my body is used to a lot of veggies and fiber and suddenly I was giving it protein shakes and cottage cheese and almost no fiber. I now add two tablespoons of chia seeds every day ( one tablespoon in my AM protein shake and one tablespoon in my pm protein shake) Things have been smooth sailing ever since! I don't know WHAT I'm going to do post surgery because I don't know how soon I'll be able to add hydrated chia seeds back into my diet, but I guarantee that is going to be the first question I ask my doctor when I see him!

No, it's Jay Robb chocolate or strawberry, or orange dreamcicle. I haven't tried his unflavored, but I think it's the same... They're sweetened with stevia, so unless you're used to stevia, you might think they taste weird.

Others have mentioned bringing ear plugs since mi doctor can be noisy at night. Also bring single dollar bills because in TJ, it seems that "nobody has change" Phone number for your coordinator and driver Compression stockings for the flights. powdered chicken broth to make chicken broth on the plane crystal light packets Also, double check with your coordinator, I think they'll give you a spirometer at the hospital.

They have a whole part of the menu with smaller portions that are under 500 calories... Have a look at the nutritional information here: http://www.longhorns...information.asp Enjoy your night out!

Yes there's an AWESOME list that someone made in the mexico section of the forum!

I am pre-sleeve, but am on an 800 calorie a day diet so I expect fast results, just like someone post surgery, I mean 800 calories to sustain a 300 pound woman, I should lose huge numbers daily.. right? WRONG. I weigh daily and it usually looks something like this Monday 310 pounds Tuesday 311 pounds Wednesday 309 pounds Thursday 310 pounds Friday 309 pounds Saturday 309 pounds Sunday 307 pounds Right at first, I actually lost 26 pounds VERY quickly and then gained two pounds and stayed there for almost 3 weeks and then started losing in the pattern outlined above. Now this doesn't frustrate me because I know it's the pattern for me, BUT if it's frustrates you then only weigh weekly.

Huh? Do you mean yo LOST 25 pounds??? I don't know if it's physically possible to GAIN 25 pounds in the first 6 weeks... If you meant to say you LOST 25 pounds, then I say 5+ pound per week weight loss is AWESOME.. If you really did mean to say you GAINED 25 pounds then please go see your doctor because you could have something causing you to retain fluids. And OP Congrats on your transformation. I'm still at the beginning of my journey, but I don't even notice any difference yet.... maybe after the first 50 pounds.

He likely won't know off the top of his head, get the info from the label. How many grams of Protein per serving? How many grams of carb? How many grams of fat? What is the source of protein? Proteins from certain sources are less easily absorbed by our bodies so you don't get the full benefit from the protein. I like to get Protein powder that gives me the most bang for my caloric buck. 110 calories for 25 grams of whey protein isolate.

I've got my nose to the grindstone working to reach my preop goal weight. It's good that I have this goal since I WANT the date to hurry up and get here.. but no so fast that I can't lose the weight first! I'm still super positive about the procedure. Not worried about the actual operation, more nervous about failing.

For me, I go into a feeding frenzy when I start eating certain things.. such as flour. carbs from veggies don't send me into a feeding frenzy. but bread, pizza, pie.. anything like this and it's like a floodgate opening up. I really can't do moderation with certain things because it just makes me want more and more. The good news is that tomorrow is a new day.

Nothing to see here.. move along

I just put what fraction of a serving. So if the serving size says 1 cup and I only eat a quarter of a cup, I just put .25.

I flew on Aeroflot once and the gap was a good six inches. I had to get an extender. I couldn't figure it out, I mean I knew I was fat but the lady next to me had SOOOOOO much extra belt space. When everyone was getting off the plane, I slipped into the seat next to me and tried that seatbelt and it closed with a few inches to spare! Not all seatbelts are the same length... even on the same airline.. even on the same plane!

I haven't been able to find any convincing studies that this is true. Still, I do my best to avoid artificial sweeteners because I don't trust them. I will still enjoy something with an artificial sweetener from time to time, but not on a daily basis. My protein shakes are made with stevia and I'm also trying to retrain my palate to not expect super sweet all the time.

Please also consider setting aside an additional 500-750 dollars. If your doctor discovers another problem such as hietal hernia they will fix it and add it to your cost. At least this is the case with many mexican doctors.

smallbird, You add people so you can see what they're eating and interact with them on MFP. I've found it VERY helpful to have the support and encouragement of my MFP friends.

I'm also preop, but I've done liquid diets and I know it's hard, but you can do this. Run to GNC and get some different protein powder if you really hate the unjury but don't give up. By tomorrow you'll be feeling a bit better and this will get easier as you go along.

I like the juice of half a lime, 12 ounces of Water, a bit of stevia and a table spoon of chia seeds. I let it sit for about 20 minutes and YUMMMMMMMMY I'm pre-sleeve so I know that the lime is out of the picture for a few months post-op.. does anyone know when you can start incorporated hydrated chia seeds? I was reading some MU paperwork that I think they said 3 months before adding seeds... but I don't know that hydrated chia seeds really count as seeds since they're kinda, goopy? Also another way to eat them, is to pre-make them into a gel by adding to waterand store the gel in your fridge, then just incorporate into whatever you want. That way there's no waiting for the seeds to hydrate. Some people do it this way if they like to use in yogurt or apple sauce.

I've only needed the extension twice, but I always DREAD boarding the plane and praying for an empty seat next to me... then I have to go through a LOT of contorting and breath-holding in order to get the belt fastened and then sit miserably with my arms folded in front of me so as not to encroach on my neighbor's space. I look forward to the time when I don't have to worry about who is sitting next to me or booking only red-eye flights, or looking up seat dimensions to make sure that seats over 18 inches across.

I keep my synthroid next to my bed. I take it before I even get out of bed in the morning. I don't take anything else eat until 2 hours later.