WillowAnn

I hate fat-free of almost anything, but can handle low-fat of many items, including "brand name" mayo. I also find it works well to mix part mayo and part Fage 2% Greek yogurt. I like all the suggestions about using moist cooking methods, too. But this is one of those areas where the use of one of those porous clay cooking pots would be a good thing... I'm always up for a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond!!

Go on to Thinner Times - thinnertimes.com - and look for the thread "Caffeine after sleeve gastrectomy" with a lengthy and clear response from the bariatric surgeon who oversees that forum. In a nutshell, he says that there is limited research to support any position, but good evidence that both coffee and caffeine promote acid production and GE reflux; he suggests avoiding both if you have problems of that sort but thinks moderate use is probably OK if not. Hope this helps.

Surprising how little action there is in the groups I joined... Anyway, Kathy, I wanted to congratulate you on your awesome progress! I know it must feel great! I am 59 years old, 5' tall (ok, almost...) and was 200# last November when I decided to do this. I was 180# the day of my surgery, which will be 3 weeks ago tomorrow. Today the scale says 167. So I was one of those people who got a lot of "are you sure you need to do this?", but I knew - after dieting myself from 113 at age 12 to that 200 mentioned above - that I needed it for my health. I knew I could lose - obviously I did lose pre-op with no requirement or help - but I had reached the point where I was actually afraid of the losing because of the extra weight that I knew would accompany those pounds when they came back. My surgery was done at St. John Oakland Hospital (where more bariatric is surgeries are done than in any other Michigan hospital - and it shows), by the wonderful Dr. Kerry Kole from theSt. John Providence Weight Loss Center of Excellence. Nice group, nice staff. Clearly I am totally new to this experience and can't say much yet about how it will feel or work out long-term. So far, so good! Would live to see more activity on this group. A smaller group means better feed-back for the participants...

I have been told "no rice for several months", so I am thinking that will impact my sushi habit - but probably I could have sashimi much sooner. Only three weeks out tomorrow, so I don't get any solid food yet any way :-). I suppose I could have my favorites (including non-raw stuff like tofu roll) by just eating the insides. Might have to do a carry out, so as not to invite odd stares! I have to say it seems like chewing seaweed to a mush might be a challenge! Haven't talked to the dietitians about sushi yet - they'd probably think I was getting way ahead of myself at this point.

I hear you all. I wonder if the problem is that WLS wasn't a very safe and effective option back when these doctors were in training? A month ago I turned in the forms from the surgeon to my PCP's office, with a letter to my PCP about my decision to have VSG, asking for her help with the pre-op testing & the surgical clearance form. I said I had an appointment already (annual) for late January, but would like to move it up if possible. I never got any response from her at all except that her staff gave me scripts for the two tests she had to order. I manage a pediatric office across the hall from my PCP's office, have almost daily contact with the office and pass by the PCP in the halls at least a few times a week. Granted that I have this appointment coming up, so I know I won't have to wait forever (the surgeon had thought I could probably have the surgery in late January, but really this isn't a ridiculous wait), but I have a bad feeling about the interaction with this doctor over the surgery. I don't think she's going to try to say no, but I don't get the idea that she gives a damn at all. Not likely to get much support there! I have changed PCPs so many times due to insurance changes, and I hate to keep doing that, but I sure do miss the one I really liked! And although I do understand the reasoning, I hate the fact that my insurance requires me to go only to doctors who are a apart of the organization I work for - I feel like there would be no hope of true privacy if I wanted to discuss something controversial. Oh, well. At least I got my orders, I have my last test tonight (sleep study) and by the end of this month I should be back at the surgeon's office setting a date. Unless the fact that I have lost 15# in the last 6 weeks and lowered my BMI to around 38 ends up working against me!

Man, that sure is a tired old line!!! It's been used in the racism arena for decades! Probably goes back into deep history (how about "some of my best friends are Romans").

Hi, all - I was really reluctant to tell anyone about even looking into surgery, except for my partner and a couple we're friends with in which one had RnY a few years back. After a couple of weeks, I had to tell my mom - she has dinner with us 2 or 3 days a week. At first she was surprised and very worried, but I talked to her and she came to see that I had done a lot of research and soul-searching. She has a gym friend in her 70s that had it a couple of years ago, and talking to her helped my mom, too. I told one of the 9 docs I worked with, and he was wonderful. Apparently he has a family fiend who is a bariatric surgeon. But I still don't feel like making announcements, so I told him that while I'm on leave he can tell the other 8, and any of my staff who asks why I'm out on leave. This is going to sound really weird, but my biggest worry isn't people who will try to talk me out of it - it's the many very overweight women whom I have hired over the years. Several are significantly larger than I am - probably 4 or 5 of my 38-member team are over 300#. Will they feel like my decision to do this is a judgment of them - like "she must not want to end up like us (ergo she thinks we're bad)"?? Will seeing me get smaller quickly make them feel uncomfortable, or shamed? I tend to be a person who judges myself far more harshly than she judges anyone else, and as a manager I worry a lot about how whatever I do and say affects my team's morale. I'm probably going way overboard here, but I can't help it. I have to say that when I finally came out 7 or 8 years ago, it didn't seem to make one darned bit of difference to any doctor or any of my staff.

Well, if they gave you pre-op meds to relax you, maybe that helped you stay so calm! I think you did pretty well, and even though she certainly deserved a dressing-down, she might learn more from your tolerance. I may just be fooling myself, but I like to think that by just being out and easy about it, I am "changing hearts and minds" at my work. I hope your surgery went well and that you are settling in OK. Best of luck!

Welcome, Kennedy! I am hoping to have VSG next month, and although the Center of Excellence I'm working with is part of the health system I work for, and theoretically very familiar with the health system's insurance, I am just waiting for them to throw a curve (no pun intended) at me! I was "only" a 40 BMI when I started seeing the surgeon, and am now down to 37 BMI, and I keep wondering if they'll say "you are doing it on your own, so you don;t need surgery". I just have to be patient - as you are being. I suppose thee months of working with a nutritionist could be a very good thing (for all of us), although I am sure that the surprise imposed wait is very frustrating. Best of luck to you! I am hoping that this is a fairly active LGBT group - most of teh ones I've found on places like Fibit or MyFitnessPal aren't...

Hi - I'm no expert (just had my initial consultation this week), but I am a nurse, and I can offer a few insights that might help you understand this. In general: Increasing Protein intake helps raise metabolic rate, making it easier to lose weight. Protein is critical to support healing. Pre-op: increasing protein intake helps prepare your body to handle the surgery (see why, below). And learning to drink Protein shakes can make it easier for after surgery, when it really becomes essential to maintaining your health. Post-op: On any very restricted diet, protein is going to be the most essential thing, because it supports healing, builds muscle and so on. With a tiny stomach volume, you have to focus first on protein, and since it's hard to get enough, you will likely need shakes at least for the first few months. Once you get into this, you will almost certainly meet with a dietitian who should be able to give you and even better understanding. I was told that I should be drinking a shake a day now, with less than 200 calories and 12-15 grams of protein, but that starting a week before surgery I will be put on a shake with double that amount of protein. Good luck!