TES

wow, you look fantastic! how tall are you? You look thinner than the 230s....

I've had duodenal erosion in the past (too much ibuprofen) and it healed once I backed off on the NSAIDs. It wasn't right before my surgery though. Did you ask your surgeon this question?

My RD said to focus more on protein than calories the first couple of months, but on average she said most people are getting about 600 calories during this time.

Also, what if you asked your doctor about physical therapy? If you could do water exercise or land exercise with a qualified PT familiar with your back condition, they could show you how to do the exercises so that they don't cause a situation like the water exercise that required the pain meds for 3 days. I know that I have a bad hip (I need a replacement or resurfacing) and have had knee surgery, and even water aerobics are hard on those joints sometimes. I went to PT and they helped me do the land exercises and use the machines correctly to protect my injuries, and there's a great water aerobics instructor who showed me how to modify some of the exercises so I don't put too much stress on my knee or hip.

Honestly, they can't force you to see this internist. I would keep going to your endocrinologist (I'm sure that you are), and I would find another bariatric internist recommended by other patients and let the bariatric surgeon know that is where you'll be doing your follow-up care. Are you also seeing a registered dietitian (RD) who specializes in bariatric patients? If not, I would definitely find one. I am a slow loser also and my RD is really my most important post-op coach. I don't know what I would do without her. Diet is about 75% of what will make or break our success, and it takes on even greater importance when you are limited in the exercise that you can do as you are, so I would see if there are any tweaks that you can do to help there. Obviously I know that you are working very hard and your weight loss isn't a reflection of that, but at the same time, there is always room for all of us to tweak and optimize what we can. I would really, really focus on getting at least 60 to 80 g of Protein, even if you have to do more shakes, and try to drink at least 100 oz of Water. An RD will have lots of specific ideas for you that work for you, your lifestyle, and the particular preferences of your sleeve.

You can get the Morningstar products in any major grocery store in the freezer section. I would just ask a worker where the vegetarian burgers are. The shakes sound good--I thought you meant 440 calories for 1 shake, but that's for two...got it! I use the ready-made ones or make mine with almond milk or soy milk, but I would think skim is fine too if you can tolerate the lactose and aren't trying to cut calories right now (almond milk is good when you are watching calories or want to spend them on other things bc it's 40 calories/cup--but it also doesn't have much protein).

It sounds like you both have a little anxiety about the surgery and this is how it's coming out, but it will all work out. That is so nice of your mom to offer to help care for you after the surgery. I agree that it is really great to have some help post-op, even if you could get by on your own. The first night, I slept on the couch downstairs and asked my husband to come down during the night to check on me (just to make sure I was breathing...lol...which was totally irrational but it made me feel better!). He also made some of my drinks and gave me my meds when I was feeling really punky. I really appreciated it and would have done the same for him. I would definitely work around your mom's schedule. She is probably taking vacation time to do this, which is very generous of her. A few weeks either way isn't going to make a big difference in your success, since this is a lifetime change. By the way, my surgery got moved at the last minute, and my husband couldn't get off of work and my parents were on vacation, and all of my friends (who knew) were working. My husband dropped me off for the surgery and met me in my room many hours later (he was there when they wheeled me in). It really was no big deal that he wasn't there sitting around twiddling his thumbs while I was in pre-op, surgery and post-op. The surgeon called him after to tell him everything went well (I gave him the phone number while we were in pre-op). Personally, I would take your mom a bouquet of flowers or pretty spring plant and tell her how much you appreciate her help and support during this time. Wishing you all the best!

Have you tried any of the Morningstar vegetarian proteins? I like the veggie meatballs with some ricotta, sauce, and parm cheese (about 3 veggie meatballs with the other stuff for about 18 g of protein). Also, the "patties" are good (breakfast patties like sausage but vegetarian)--10 g of protein each. The fake chik 'n strips are good too.

what kind of Protein shake are you drinking? You should try for one with at least 20 g of protein, minimal carbs, and no more than 200 calories. Muscle Milke lite and Premiere are good, or you can use whey Protein powder in a blender with some almond milk. Maybe add some PB2 (powdered protein powder).

When you first get your surgery, the diameter of your stomach is as much as a coffee stirrer (the ones you could get some fluid thru if you tried really, really hard). I'm surprised that a pill would go down a stomach that small? The first time I tried to swallow my meds whole (at 6 weeks, per my surgeon), I threw them up. Now I take one at a time with very little water.

Is she an internist or an endocrinologist or both? Or were there two doctors involved? Sorry, I know the confusion is on my end...just trying to understand. How is your food going? Are you getting in plenty of protein and water?

Can you put in FMLA so that even if you take unpaid time off related to the surgery/presurgery etc., your job should be protected?

My surgeon doesn't require a pre-op diet, just 1 day of clear liquids and a bowel prep before surgery. He examines you at your pre-op visit and shows you where your incisions will be, but the PA told me he is really palpating your liver and checking abdominal fat, etc., to see if you need a liquid diet prior to surgery. Most patients do not need to do it. I didn't, and I have a much higher BMI than you do. Hopefully you can still take some weight off on your pre-op diet. It gives you a nice head start and helps you feel better when you hit a stall after surgery. Make sure you are drinking more water than you ever though you could--over 100 oz if you can.

Those 3-oz protein shots are probably collagen--my surgeon doesn't recommend them bc they aren't very bio-available and the protein quality isn't as good. Try for whey or soy protein if you can.

Well, you did have a bypass and all. I think there is a forum for that. Unless of course on April 2 you find out it was just a big hoax or something.

We'll miss you around here, Fyre!

I read on here a LOT that if someone has a higher BMI to start, that he or she will almost automatically lose more quickly than someone with a lower BMI. This has actually made me feel a little bit worse about my relatively low rate of loss because I started (and am still at) a higher BMI. Anyhow, I am wondering if anyone who has made this observation can point to any scientific studies showing that this is the case? I asked my RD about it, and she said with her patients, the ONLY time she has sometimes seen this theory hold true is in a bigger guy who has lots of muscle mass (in addition to fat). She said it's not even always true in this type of patient. I'm not being critical of anyone who has made this statement about high BMIers automatically losing more quickly, but usually it seems like those who are referencing it have lower BMIs and are talking about their own weight loss being slower than they would like. Obviously my heart goes out to anyone, high or low BMI, who is losing more slowly than we would like or more slowly than others seem to be. On a completely different topic, another thing that I've wondered about with people who lose really quickly--sometimes it seems like that happens at times in people who didn't have a really healthy diet before surgery--like those who drank a 1,000 or more calories/day in sugar soda alone or ate lots of processed stuff. Obviously no one here, including me, had a perfect diet before surgery, or we wouldn't have needed surgery--but I think some of us just tend to gain more easily (especially if hypothyroid) even on a fairly healthful diet, and that's part of how we ended up being overweight or obese. So those who had a super-unhealthy diets who cut out sugar, processed carbs, increase Water and Protein dramatically due to surgery--they may see a more dramatic fast weight loss, especially right after surgery. They are shocking their bodies more than someone who comes from a baseline that is somewhat closer to a healthy eating plan, if that makes sense. No science behind this btw--just anecdotal in having read a lot of posts and blogs. I would love to hear from low BMIers who have had fairly rapid weight loss and high BMIers who feel their weight loss has been slower than average. My surgery was on Feb 5, so about 7 weeks out. I have lost about 20 lbs post op and 18-20 lbs in a 6-month medically supervised diet before that. Though my loss is slower than others, I am going in the right direction! And 7 weeks vs 6 months to lose 20 lbs is a vast improvement. Even if I go at my own pace, I know that I am headed in the right direction and my goals are attainable. Again, I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to start a low vs high BMI war here or something--I think we all have the same types of struggles and successes. I want everyone to succeed and be happy! The goal here is to increase a sharing of information so that if there are some myths floating about we can understand others' situations better and not necessarily make assumptions/generlizations. Or maybe the assumptions are true and I'm the exception. Would love to hear others' perspectives and observations on this topic. Thanks!

I'm eating Greek yogurt with Protein powder, JustGreatStuff (Peanut Butter powder like PB2), English Toffee Torani SF syrup, and fresh raspberries. It's so delicious--tastes like a fancy dessert. And a protein load too! What are you eating today?

Do they? What if their BMRs are the same?

15 pounds in 2 weeks is a LOT! Did you expect it to come off a lot faster than that? As far as the gain, I'm sure that it's just your body getting adjusted. It will come back down with Protein, water and walking! Congrats on your loss so far--that is awesome!!

If you weigh daily, how long do you wait to "claim" a new, lower number on the scale? I notice that sometimes my weight goes down and then it will fluctuate a bit over the next couple of days before the new number is established. I am wondering this mostly as related to entering a lower weight into MyFitnessPal (for my own purposes only). Thanks!

I gained 18 lbs of fluid from the hospital! It came off over the course of several days when I got home. My surgeon's office tells us not to weigh for a week after surgery bc this is so common. I should have listened but didn't. I knew academically that it was fluid, but it was stressful. So I understand how you are feeling. Drink as much water and walk as much as you can! Plus get in your protein. All will help you diurese to eliminate the fluid (which basically means you will be peeing like crazy and maybe get diarrhea/liquid stools). Congrats on your sleeve!

Thanks SpaceDust!

Nanaspez, congratulations on your wonderful weight loss--and on getting off 27 pills! Talk about an NSV!!!