johnlatte

I hear what you are saying...I'm a chef and a darn good one at that. You have the right attitude if you put your "thiness" over getting yer drink on. Go slow, good luck.

Mutants will be mutants no matter where they mutated from

Check with your nutritionist. Mine said that protein drinks do not count as fluid.

You are going to get a myriad of answers on this board about alcohol. They are going to range from YOLO to never again. Your Dr. and your nutritionist are going to weigh in on it as well. I think that the general consensus is to wait 4-6 months even a year in come cases before drinking. Some here start back much sooner than others. There's also a group like myself that has committed to getting as healthy as possible and has decided that I can do without alcohol until the time that I have gotten myself to my goal. Alcohol, for me, was a trigger food. Start with a few cocktails, get some food down, get a few more cocktails in so on and so forth. It's important to know a couple of things, first, you have a lot smaller stomach so the alcohol is going to hit you way faster and reasonably harder than it would otherwise. secondly, alcohol is hard on the stomach in general. You have a pretty delicate sleeve going early on, so the longer you let that heal, the better off you are going to be long term. Lastly, give some thought to why you had the surgery to begin with and try and connect the dots to any habits that you had in the past that might deter your success. If alcohol played a role in that, like it did for me, then would it not be in your best interest to just let it go? Good luck in what ever you decide.

Thanks --- Specifically

For what it is worth, I would recommend going to the support group even if you are the only guy. I thinking my Saturday support group there are 2-3 guys and the rest women. Ok with me. I enjoy getting their perspective. We are on the same journey even though the room is filled with banders, sleevers and RNYers. There is a lot of good information shared by other WLS folks and, in my case, by the NUT and guest speakers. Sometimes to make a friend in this group setting dominated by women you have to be a friend. Take the first step... Yep

I know right? It's weird, some of them acted like I was not supposed to be there. Or they would huddle around a table and I sat by myself. It was really just weird. I tried to start a conversation, and they were friendly enough, but they seemed to only want to talk about anything but the surgery or wl or the reason that we were there. I pulled out my phone and started reading emails etc. Until it was time to go.

Went to one support group. Was the only guy. Was very much like VST. Lots of complaining, lots of questions (some quite silly). Some very over the top people. Never went back.....

I was 260 and wore a size 46 or 48 pants. Five months, down 50 lbs and I now wear a size 40 (and they hang). Weigh in about 209 today.

Okay so before people start getting certain things in a twist, make sure you read exactly what I said. My point AGAIN was that MAYBE some people that go to Mexico don't get or don't ask for the support that they need. I WAS NOT bashing, pigeon holing or whatever you want to call it anyone that had to self pay or went to Mexico. I responded to a post the other day to someone who flat out said that she did not have access to a nutritionist because she went to Mexico. Had she had this access she would have had the information that she needed and probably wouldn't have need to post a fairly routine question. SO again I am in NO WAY bashing on anyone that went to Mexico or had to self pay or anything like that. I stand firm on my point that the reason that some people regret the surgery is that they had no clue what to expect, had higher expectations than is reasonably possible and/or lack the necessary tools (education, access to nutritionist or PCP care) for a successful outcome. Okay?

I have checked it out and I stand by what I wrote. I see a ton of these posts. I'm not knocking people going to Mexico at all, but many folks don't have the support that they need post op. I am not talking about researching, I'm talking about not having access to a nutritionist or looping in their PCP, REGARDLESS of where they have the surgery. If you look at the posts about people that are having regrets about the surgery, you'll see that they are NOT mentally or physically prepared for the surgery, and lack the support that they need for a successful outcome.

I don't do low fat, I just limit the full fat items that I eat. There are too many hidden sugars in fat free stuff. Just like I don't do net carbs (a carb is a carb it doesn't get invalidated by fiber). I do sugar free simply because I've been a diabetic for so long it just is a habit. Not one that i particularly like, but it is what it is. I don't like overly sweet things anyway and something with sugar always seems too sweet to me.

I think I even told this to a poster once. The surgery is on the the stomach, not the brain. A lot of what got us the where we are, is between the ears and that's the part that WLS surgery isn't going to fix. That's why getting support is so important and is a big piece that gets left out of the equation.

I went in with a pair of sweats a t-shirt, a hoodie and some flip flops, came out the next day just like I went in. For Protein, I highly endorse the Premier brand that you get from Sams' or costco, not overly sweet, an easy drinker. The vanilla can be altered with sugarfree syrups or you can blend them with p-nut butter or fruits when you get to that stage. I don't do powders, because to me, they are just dreck. Good luck!

Nice!

That's what I'm talking about. I wanted to buy some time to get as healthy as possible and the surgery is doing that for us. I think the expectation for some of the reqretters is that the weight would magically fall off within a week or so and they could go back to doing what they did pre-op. HelI don't think that I've ever worked this hard to lose weight and I think that gets overlooked. I also see that a lot of folks just don't have a support system in place, maybe its the ones that go to MX but they don't seem to have access to a nutritionist or they don't bring in their PCP for support. It takes a team.

Digging the Cards Jersey!!!

I dunno Laura, I think it has to do mostly with the mental and physical aspects of going through all this. One of the things that I notice that might contribute to the regret thing is that a lot is that people aren't prepared for the surgery. Typically you see them complaining about the pre-op diet, or they don't like the taste of protein shakes etc. They want to start eating a week or so right after surgery. To me that's a clue to me, that they aren't taking the whole thing as serious as they need to and those seemed to be the ones that voice the most regret. I also see a lot of people in pain and can't eat or drink, and I wonder about that too? Maybe I'm one of the mutants that got lucky. I've never had any "symptoms" like that. I followed my Drs orders exactly (well except for that whole eating enough thing) and I got my butt in shape pre-op (well as good as I could) and I never looked back. Never had a problem drinking or eating much of anything. I'm not 100% happy losing a pound a week, but it is going down not up and a year ago I couldn't say that. My soon-to-be ex still doesn't get how I was able to get sleeved on a Tuesday, go back to work on a Monday and hit the gym the same week, then two weeks post op, fly from NC to NM with my staples still in and not once have a problem. You just got to suck it up and deal, and maybe that's what we are seeing a lack of... I dunno...

As you get to eating more solid foods, you will start to feel it more. When you are on liquids, purees, soft mushies etc. you tend not to feel any restriction. That is why following your nutritionists guidelines while your insides are healing up is so important.

deep breaths and relax. Your stomach is recovering and is missing 85% of itself. you are stretching as most of what your are drinking is just passing on through. Are you taking a PPI? That would help with the extra gas and acid in your stomach and that would cut down on the sounds quite a bit, and you are not far enough along to have restrictions as of yet.

everybody is different. If you are struggling to get in your fluids and/or protein, then I would look to get that squared away then your weight loss would be more in line with what you are expecting. The body does everything possible to hold on to as much energy (fat) as possible. If you are not fueling it through protein consumption and drinking your water to stay hydrated, your weightloss is going to go much slower than if you hit the numbers correctly.

you can get sample packs from GNC. You really want to get this nailed down before surgery. Protein shakes are a staple item. You can get protein from broth, but it will take an awful lot to equal the protein you get from a shake. My favorite is the Premier brand that you can get from Sam's or costco. Not overly sweet or thick. The vanilla can be altered with some sugar free syrups. The chocolate is really good too.

the best thing I can tell you is to track everything you eat. Use Myplate or myfitnesspal. It will give you a solid idea of the number of calories that you are consuming along with carbs and Proteins. What I eat daily is going to be different than what you might need to eat or someone else. Are you seeing your nutritionist? That would be the place I would start first. Everyone on this board does something different and we all think that we are doing the best. You need to figure out the eating plan that works best for your body, the amount of weight you need to lose and your activity level. Once you have that defined then making a meal plan gets a lot easier and tracking keeps you...well on track. Hang in there. (btw, I am not considered a vet on this board...)

If it makes you feel better, I was sleeved the same day, and have lost 51 lbs to date. I hit the gym every day, eat probably less calories than I should, and am losing 1 lb a week. You are doing great!

I keep jeep at our beach house. Haven't driven it in a while. Previously I was rubbing up against the steering wheel, even with the seat back all the way (they don't go back all that far in a jeep). Today I took it out ,and had plenty of room to drive comfortably. No more belly rubbing the wheel!!!