Canary Diamond

I think that's great - and I hope I'm able to do that too someday!

You betcha, Taradawn! It was one of my faves too

I know once you reach a certain point, you can eat anything in regulated portions, but I'm way too paranoid about gaining all the weight back to go there, soocalchic! Here's why: My mother works with THREE different women who've been sleeved and gained all their weight back plus more and now eat whatever they want in huge portions. She always brings them up as a warning when I mention I'll eventually get to eat normally again, and I do not want to end up like them (or give her an "I told you so" opportunity). So I'm looking for alternatives to keep me on the straight and narrow for as long as possible!

Hello JGJ, I understand where you're coming from. It can be difficult to comprehend why surgeons' post-op diet plans vary so much when you know they do not individualize them for their patients, regardless of BMI or other risk factors. One way I found to help me deal with cravings for more solid foods when I was in the liquid stages was to puree something like frozen peas or Beans (you can do a search for my salsa bean Soup recipe) then thin it down with broth until the consistency was somewhere between a clear and full liquid. I did this with homemade lentil soup and Trader Joe's Latin Style Black Bean Soup as well. It made me feel like I had something to "chew" (even though I didn't) and felt more satisfying in my tummy than plain broth. You also might try mixing yogurt or banana with your Protein smoothie to give it a fuller mouth-feel. As long as it's liquid enough to sip, you should be fine. However, I am not a doctor, registered dietitian, or nutritionist, so please don't take this advice against any given to you by your surgeon.

I'm on the Bariatric Choice website for the $20 deal (btw, am I the only one who finds it funny that VST doesn't recognize "bariatric" as a vocabulary word?) trying to figure out what's worth spending money on. I know not all Protein shakes, supplements, bariatric foods are not created equally, but this stuff is spendy! And there are a lot of things I could find equivalents for at Wal-Mart. Or so it would appear. Those of you who order regularly from them, what do you think is worth paying a little extra for? Any particular brands, shakes containing _____ g of protein, foods you can't get anywhere else? Much appreciated!

Those are actually sold on the Bariatric Choice website! Thank you all for the recommendations!

I'm in Oregon, but I've only been diving in Hawaii, the Philippines, and swimming pools.

My surgery date is Saturday, July 13 with Dr. Illan Fraijo at Florence Hospital in TJ.

Congratulations! Your hard work is paying off. Keep it up!

I'm only 2 weeks post-op. Where did you get 4 from? Do you know someone who had this for 4 weeks?

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm almost two weeks post-op and there's a hard, cylindrical lump in the back of my hand that hurts like hell. It also seems to have turned (used to be parallel to my fingers) and migrated down to my wrist. Do you think it's possible something got left in there when they took the IV out? It really frickin' hurts!

Lots of great info, thanks! Interesting that almond butter was found to blood sugar spikes caused by bread. Not so sure about putting olive oil on my cereal though!

Same issues here. Tried it for the first time last night in the microwave (i know, I know) and ended up with a protein pancake atop yellow water. Then blended it and got foam with clumps. Will try the blender bottle!

Yogurt (regular and frozen), jello, soymilk, juice, popsicles, and blended soups thinned with broth are what I'm living on at the moment. Haven't been able to handle cow's milk.

To quote Michael Pollan, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

I think it would be worth investigating when this commercial was made and, more importantly, who sponsored it.

Wow, that commercial is ridiculous. First of all, could the doctor look any more like he's on hash? For something he claims to be an adamant proponent of, he appears unenthused. Secondly, WHHAAAAAAAAT? LapBand is the BEST choice for most people? Least complications? Most successful weight loss? Where did he find these statistics - were they given to him by a kangaroo? (No offense to our Aussie sisters and brothers. I'm sure you have more reliable resources than kangaroos at your disposal.)

Did you mean safer than the sleeve?

I too was never given a goal weight. I never even spoke with a nutritionist or dietician, come to think of it. I chose the weight that put me at a BMI of 22 - middle of healthy range, which for me, at nearly 5'3" is 123 lbs. However, I'll be thrilled when I get into the 150s! I trust that my body will know when it's done losing weight, assuming I'm letting it do its job by exercising, avoiding fast food, soda, etc. and not packing my sleeve to capacity at every meal. Do you feel like you were meant to be smaller?

I'M SO THERE!!!

PM me

Banana-flavored Greek yogurt?

This is great! I had no idea protein powder could be used like flour/pancake mix. Definitely going to try some of these then my tummy's ready!

Thanks, Sassy! I've heard a couple different things: Liquids go through you faster and take the food with them when the exit the stomach, thus allowing you to consume more without feeling full (as you mentioned), but the other theory I heard was that they have the potential of over-expanding the stomach, stretching it out faster and enabling you to consume greater quantities earlier in your recovery than your normally would. I've had difficulty finding medical explanations supporting either theory, I'm assuming since our procedure is relatively new.

Cool - going to Wal-Mart today, will pick some up!