Kindle

Are you drinking Protein shakes? Even at 10 months out, this is how I meet protein and Fluid goals. I make a smoothie every morning and drink it late morning/early afternoon. I've got at least 8 different Protein powder flavors to choose from and then add even more variety with fruit, PB2, Torani syrups and Mio Water drops. My smoothies are 24-32oz liquid, 25-40g protein (depending on what type of protein powder a I use and whether it's made with milk or water) and 5-10g Fiber. So I'm killing 3 birds with one stone (fluids, protein, fiber) and easily meeting the other 1/2 of my goals through high protein food, tea, coffee, water and juice. You need to Try and figure out how to drink and eat more. I had only lost 17 pounds at 6 weeks postop, then gained 3 pounds and sat there for a month. That was when In was sick from a medication I was taking. As soon as I stopped the medication, I ate and drank at least twice as much and dropped 8 pounds in 1 week! Slow but steady loss (with just a couple. 2-3 week stalls) ever since. Good luck. PS. go ahead and eat 5-6 tiny, healthy meals/day if you have to....I do. It's better than Peanut Butter and ice cream.

9 months and still waiting.... :}

There is a sub forum on here that you should post to..... "Don't sweat the stall stuff" And my advice to you all is save yourself a whole lot of unnecessary stress and frustration and simply STAY OFF THE SCALE!

Everyone's likes are very individual, but since you asked, I like.... unjury unflavored and chicken broth Garden of Life Raw Fit and Raw Protein original, chocolate and vanilla Muscle Milk cake batter, banana and red velvet cake Syntrax Matrix vanilla Syntrax nectar cherry, apple, fuzzy naval and lemonade Spirutein banana Premium Protein chocolate, vanilla and strawberry Did not like... Any Isopure (only thing that ever made me gag postop) Any Jay Robb egg (the whey varieties were OK) Chike (too gritty). I just drink regular coffee and add premier vanilla or chocolate for creamer instead I also mix in PB2, Mio and Dasani Water enhancers, berries, peaches, mangos, bananas and Torani syrups for even more flavor options

Hey, if I actually ever had sex again I would totally be jumping up and down! Seriously, what ever happened to go old fashioned drunken one night stands with total strangers?!

@@gtmikki . I take a whole food based multivitamin. Source of Life Gold and Garden of Life both have very good products. I was also taking a separate calcium (capsules that I sprinkled in my yogurt or protein shakes), iron capsules, D3 5000iu gel caps and B12 sublingual. 6 month labs showed my iron and calcium were high so I cut out those supplements. I Take the multi daily and D3 and B12 3-4 times /week. But doing regular bloodwork is the best way to assess what you need. As for the water...try to make that a priority. Work it into your lifestyle because you should get that 64 oz in for the rest of your life. Just a simple adjustment to your routine. Believe me, you do NOT want to go through dehydration postop. Been there done that 3 times due to the diarrhea I had for 10 weeks. And I do think 30 pounds in 11 1/2 weeks is very doable with commitment and hard work....see comments below. @Newbiesleever. I had surgery right before Christmas last year and attended a funeral, a birthday party, and 2 holiday parties on my preop diet. I just brought my protein shake to every party and drank water after that was gone. I also nibbled broccoli (no dip/dressing) off the veggie tray because it was allowed. I was supposed to lose 12 pounds in 2 weeks and I ended up losing 22. The 3 shakes/ day plus leafy green veggies plan really does work if you stick to it. Of course I was hungry all the time and sad about not eating all the yummy party food, but a very small price to pay for the gift of this surgery. And, BTW, OCC can and will turn you away if you don't lose what they ask you to lose...I read about it from another member (she had her surgery, but another girl checking in that day did not because of her failure to lose preop). That was enough to scare me down the straight and narrow and even start my preop a couple days early. Good luck to all! You will do great!

I rarely weighed myself that early on, but I dug up some of my old posts and found these stats... 1 week...up 5 pounds 7 weeks....down 17 pounds 10 weeks......still stalled at 17 pounds After that I lost fairly steady and only had a few 2-3 week stalls along the way. But as you can see if you fast forward, my slow start does not reflect my overall success..... Down 78 pounds (surgeons goal) at 6 1/2 months Down 88 pounds (personal goal) at 7 1/2 months Currently down 97 pounds at 9 months Just keep on your plan and remember you are in this for the long haul and the numbers on the scale really aren't that important. As for my scale, I don't even own one. I weigh myself once a week on the dog scale at work so I have something to post on here. I weigh fully clothed, with shoes or boots, sometimes in the morning, sometimes after lunch. The accuracy really doesn't matter to me because I measure my success by how I feel, how my clothes fit and NSVs. Good luck!

My surgeon specifically said 3 months for nuts and seeds. But ask your doctor to be sure.

There are really too many variables for anyone on here to be able to tell you the answer. Some are in your control.....what and how much you eat, how much you drink and how you excersise. Others you can't control....your metabolism, any underlying disease processes, how you heal, complications /side effects. I'm assuming you must have health issues because you are having WLS with such a low BMI. Have you talked to your surgeon about how these may impact your weight loss? Really all you can do is follow the plan and commit to your new lifestyle. And be happy with whatever results you get. Also remember you are starting at a much lower BMI than most people that have VSG, (your starting at what some people have as their goal weight), so don't get frustrated if you lose slower than others on here. Good luck!

I LIVE for nuts. I eat em everyday. I buy mixed nuts in bulk and then mix in whatever might be missing so I get a nice variety of almonds, peanuts, macadamias, cashews, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. Then I add craisins and sesame sticks. This is a staple meal/snack for me. Other favorite new "junk food" cravings are sliced avocados and tomatoes with pita chips or plain Greek yogurt flavored with vanilla Protein powder...sometimes with Kashi Cereal or a Kind whole grain blueberry almond bar crumbled in. I also always have my homemade protein ice cream on hand for those sweet cravings. Flavors I've made are chocolate caramel, cake batter pumpkin pie, cake batter gingerbread with walnuts, and Irish cream.

I wonder who "we" is , too. And it certainly isn't a very complete list of bariatric surgeons. I can think of 6 off the top of my head that aren't even mentioned...Ariel Ortiz, Elias Ortiz, Aceves, Almanza, Quinones, and Martinez. I actually had my surgery done with Dr. A Ortiz and Dr. Martinez in December 2013 with an easy recover and outstanding results.

Dense proteins are going to leave you feeling satisfied/full the longest. Although the shakes are good for helping us meet protein and fluid goals, they will not really help with hunger. Any liquid just runs right through our sleeves, leaving an empty stomach behind. Newbies on their liquid postop diets are always freaked out that they still feel hungry. This changes as soon as they start eating solids. When you get hungry you should turn first to things like meat, beans, eggs, protein bars, nuts, cheese, soy nuts, and other solid, dense protein foods. Remember the basics....protein first, don't drink with meals and at least 64oz water everyday. I believe in a complete, balanced diet including veggies, fruit and whole grains, but protein is always a priority. And personally I never limited my fat intake. I use 2% milk to make my shakes. I eat full fat cottage cheese and Greek yogurt and a lot of nuts, cheese and avocados. Never seemed to affect my weight loss. Processed carbs are really the only thing I try to avoid, but certainly haven't banned completely.

Everyone had great suggestions, but I also want to add that it is important to do regular bloodwork (every 6-12 months) including vitamin levels to assess what supplements you actually need. Everything was normal in my 3 month labs, but my calcium and iron were actually high at 6 months post. So I stopped taking the calcium and iron supplements. I will reevaluate at 12 months post and adjust my supplements accordingly. It's not always a one size fits all kind if thing.

9 months out. Been below goal for 2 months. I have a 32oz 30-40g protein/10g Fiber smoothie everyday, usually late morning or mid afternoon. Pretty normal meals....eggs, pancakes, sausage, high Protein Cereal, yogurt, etc for breakfast. I'm on the road all day so I snack on nuts, jerky, and Protein Bars during the day rather than eat an actual lunch. In the evening I usually have 2 dinners, one high in protein and one may be all veggies. And I eat pretty much whatever I'm in the mood for. Then maybe a snack (usually fruit) or just some Sleepytime tea at bedtime. Today was a little different because I was at a fund raising event. coffee, then a protein bar for breakfast. Drank my protein smoothie throughout the day. Had a chili dog loaded with cheese and onions (no bun), corn bread, and Mac and cheese for a late lunch (a couple bites of each thing). Also managed to drink a Mikes Hard Lemonade after letting it sit on ice and defizz. Had more of the chili dog and Mac and cheese when I got home (and I still have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow). Drank 16oz of Water after dinner, Just snacked on some mixed nuts and craisins and I will have some tea before going to bed. This was definitely a carb heavy day, but I've been trying to stop losing for a couple weeks and I'm experimenting at this point. So I'd say I basically just eat like a normal thin person.

So unfortunately I've got some experience in this area.... I got a tooth root abscess 1 week after VSG. Totally out of the blue as I hadn't had any dental problems prior to surgery, or since. I did not want to risk the infection traveling from my tooth to my sleeve staple line and setting up an abscess. Surgeon and dentist agreed so I took clindamycin for 10 days. Tooth infection cleared up and all seemed well. About 3 weeks later I broke with diarrhea. PCP immediately suspected C. Diff infection because of the recent antibiotics. He was right. Long story short, 9 weeks of diarrhea, 2 rounds of metronidazole ( that made me very sick), 2 rounds of vancomycin ( which is insanely expensive), 3 rounds of IV fluids due to dehydration and finally a fecal transplant before I was cured. Still, all that was better than a sleeve abscess, but if there is any way to avoid taking antibiotics for ANYTHING postop I'd take precautions.

Have you tried different ones? If you don't like the thicker chocolate/ vanilla/strawberry ones, Isopure and Syntrax nectar make a whole line of lighter, fruit flavored ones with the consistency of Water. Or you can add unflavored Protein powder to broths or strained soups. Getting enough Fluid and protein at this point is very important to help with healing, and avoiding muscle wasting and hairloss. Are you actually vomiting up the shakes or you just don't like them? If it's the former you should call your surgeon. If it's the latter you should try different brands /flavors.

I am 5'5" and was fine in a 9/10. I'm now in 7/8 jeans and medium tops and the jeans are a little loose. I REFUSE to drop another size so I have seriously upped my fat and carbs. Never thought stopping losing weight would be so hard :{ .

Don't you have a postop diet plan from your surgeon? I had the same surgeon as Jamie and it was 18 days full liquids (Protein shakes, broths and strain cream soups with added unflavored Protein powder, drinkable yogurt, water). And like Jamie, I never bothered with the Popsicles and Jello because I wasn't hungry and didn't like anything sweet at the time. At 18 days, I transitioned into puréed foods and at 28 ( I think) moved on to soft foods. I'd follow your surgeon's plan for now and I guess call his office if you weren't given clear instructions. And yes, I got very full very quickly, too. It was a full time job to get in my 64oz of liquid and 60g protein.

How about warm liquids like broth or tea? Camomile tea was a life saver for me.

Ditto to what everyone said about Water being essential to organ function, healing and necessary for fat metabolism (ie without proper hydration, your body can't/won't break down your fat and you won't lose weight) The other big point is for quite awhile post op you just can't chug a bunch of water if you do get dehydrated. Between 6 and 12 weeks post op I had bad diarrhea from a C. diff infection. It would not have been that big of a deal with a normal sized stomach, but I simply could not keep up with my Fluid requirements made worse from the diarrhea. I ended up needing IV fluids 3 times. Nearly passed out several times because my blood pressure dropped so low. I just couldnt drink enough fast enough with my tiny sleeve. And, BTW, the 6 weeks that I was so sick and chronically dehydrated was also my longest weight loss stall. As soon as I was better and could finally drink enough water that my body needed, I lost 8 pounds in 1 week! So go ahead and do your own independent research, or simply take it from the experts and know that hydration IS the most important thing.

I agree with Sara. I had a short (2 hour) flight from San Diego and then a 5 hour drive home. I made it about an hour into the drive before deciding I was too tired and ended up staying at a hotel. So glad I did, because I felt so much better the next day and even got in some grocery shopping (for cream Soups, broths and drinkable yogurt. ) before heading home.

I've been using Eucerin Q10 anti wrinkle sensitive skin on my face and neck and a Palmers Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks (with Vitamin E, collagen, elastin, Shea butter, and cocoa butter) on the rest of my body. My saggy cheeks, jowls, and and turkey neck have firmed up really well, as has most of the jiggly skin on my abdomen and arms. My butt and thighs and knees are another story. Super saggy and jiggly skin despite good muscle tone. But I was a lot bigger on the bottom to start with. I recently read that DMAE can help with skin firming, so I'm now using Source Naturals Skin External DMAE Firming Body Lotion from the waist down. Probably a gimmick, but who knows. My boobs are a complete lost cause....went from a DD to an A/B cup and there's no firming those up! I don't plan on getting plastics, but I have read about thermage as a possible non-surgical option for firming skin. May check it out in a year or so after I finally stop losing and everything tightens up as much as it's going to. In the meantime, I've got the softest, smoothest saggy skin ever.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 141 TPL 97 TGP 88 Down two pounds this week....guess it was just a stall. . I'm already eating full fat everything...cheese, 2% milk, 1/2 and 1/2 creamer, 4% Greek yogurt (which is kind of hard to find), 4% cottage cheese, etc. I'm eating lots of nuts, bread, whole grain cereal and bars (Instead of protein bars), granola, lots of fruit, and starchy veggies. I drink 100% fruit juice instead of 0 cal sugar free drinks. I might have to resort to ice cream and potato chips because I refuse to drop another size. Never thought I'd have these kinds of "problems"!

No, they remove the majority of the stomach. Pull it out of the largest incision. Check out You Tube, there's lots of videos. There is a procedure called a banded gastropexy where there use a band and staple part of the stomach but don't remove it, and they don't remove any part for plication, but for VSG they do....that's what makes it irreversible.

Everyone is so different when it comes to postop pain. I had none and required no pain meds. A little discomfort and cramping from the drain, but really no gas or surgical pain. I was out shopping the day after surgery, traveling via taxi, plane, and car (driving myself) within 3 days, plowing snow 5th day and back to a physical job within a week. Very tired, but no pain. Eating/drinking early on just left me very full and feeling bloated but not painful. Now if you ask me about my gall bladder attacks...... I can't imagine anything hurting more :{