Kindle

Surgeons have been doing total and partial gastrectomies on cancer and ulcer patients for well over a hundred years. With proper vitamin supplementation and diet, there is no reason a complication-free VSG would shorten your life. But obesity-related comorbidities certainly could.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 159 Below goal and down another pant size (from 22 to 12)!

I suggest going to your local deli and try some new things...some of my favorites are BBQ ribs, roasted veggies, turkey curry salad, meatloaf, garlic sesame pork loin, seafood kabobs, crab salad and broccoli bacon salad. One small container will last me several meals. Visit areas of the grocery store you don't frequent and really look things over for new ideas. If you are miserable with no Pasta, bread, rice, etc. go ahead and eat some.....in moderation! No sense losing weight if you are miserable. Just try to make it as "high protein" as you can. There are some breads higher in Protein than others. Use a thin wrap or flat bread to make a sandwich. I eat chicken salad and tuna salad with Pita bite crackers. I pile on the salad and am stuffed after just 3 crackers.... a "full serving" is 7 crackers. If you make a pasta dish, add extra protein ( pasta salad with chicken, spaghetti heavy on the meat sauce, light on the pasta). Barilla has a "Plus" line of pastas that are higher in protein. Have Chinese food or curry with just a little rice. I've had sushi roll with rice and yum. Visit the recipe sub forum on here for some recipe ideas that might not be so blah. Google "the world according to eggface", too. She has some incredible recipes....cake, ice cream, donuts, smoothies, etc. I am not a fan of cooking myself, (thus the deli suggestion), but I even made my own protein pancakes using Red Mill pancake mix, unjury Protein powder, Garden of Life Raw Protein and an extra egg. They are better than any pancake I ever had preop with 8 G protein. Basically, if you REALLY want something, figure out how to make it work, or at least practice serious moderation. Hell, I've had ice cream, cake, cheesecake and alcohol when I wanted some and there's nothing high protein about any of those! Hmmmm, I wonder if I could make protein cheesecake?!?

Texasmeg - yeah, the concerned "did you mean to" comes up a lot before the congratulations part. Mississippi girl - I haven't gotten these comments from people I feel are haters, they are just shocked because they may not have seen me in awhile. Most of them seem pretty happy I don't have cancer . But I agree with the loving this life but not wanting the drama part. I have to respond to weight loss comments EVERY day. I might start working on the "she's doing meth/crack/heroin" rumor to see if that gets people to stop asking.

I like variety, and here's what I have in my house right now... Premier Protein chocolate and vanilla Garden of Life Raw Protein chocolate and vanilla Syntrax nectar cherry and apple Syntrax Matrix vanilla Jay Robb strawberry and piña colada PB2 to mix in the chocolate or vanilla shakes unjury unflavored to add to Soups and use for baking (protein pancakes, quiche, casseroles, etc) I have also just ordered Muscle Milk cake batter flavor and some Torani syrups to see what I can create.

I had the opposite problem until I had my fecal transplant 3 1/2 months out. Since then I have acquired my donor's BM qualities, which, unfortunately includes constipation. I would only go every 3 days or so and it was really hard. I started mixing 1-2 teaspoons each of Metamucil and benefiber in my protein shake everyday and it has really helped. If I miss pooing one day, I will take 2tbls Milk of Magnesia that night to make sure I go the next day.

What is it you are having to think about? Are you having food intolerances? Are you not satisfied after you eat? Are you spending all your time counting and tracking? After 3 months I pretty much started eating anything I wanted whenever I was hungry...which is every 3-4 hours. I do, of course reach for Protein and veggies first, but it's kind of habit now. Other than drinking one big protein shake/day (which I love anyways) I don't track or measure anything, so eating for me is really just as easy as it was before surgery. The only difference is now I'm satisfied with a lot less. If you are unhappy with your diet plan, maybe you should try and develop a simpler plan. This is your sleeve and you can work it however you want. I just figured out what I am happy with and you need to do the same. There's more than one way to be successful. BTW, how's your reflux? Is that affecting your eating habits?

Awesome!!

I am on the run all day and don't get a lunch break so this is what I consume during my workday... Large Protein shake (32oz/40g protein) to drink over several hours in between appointments Mixed nuts pumpkin seeds String cheese Jerky Natures Valley Protein bar/GNC Lean Bar/Fiber One protein (I hate the taste and texture of Protein Bars, and these are the only ones I can stand.) Tuna salad packets (the ones in foil that I can just suck out of the corner and don't need utensils) Hard boiled egg At least 1L of Water

I started puréed food at 18 days and I could have really soft cheeses like laughing cow and cottage cheese. Started soft foods at 28 days and any cheese was OK. I eat cheese almost everyday. ( I'm a cheesehead, so pretty sure it's a rule)

I had a month long stall between weeks 6 and 10 ....in fact I gained 3 pounds. And this was while I was on a medication that made me very nauseous so I could barely eat or drink. As soon as I stopped the meds I pretty much doubled my calories and fluids and BAM I lost 8 pounds the next week. So you may try changing what and how much you eat to see what happens. I did, BTW, drop a whole pant size that month even though I lost no weight. I just came out of a two weeks stall but I didn't do anything different. Actually I don't really consider this last one to be a stall. I think my weight loss is just slowed down since I'm at my doctor's goal. I only weigh once/ week, so if there's not going to be much change going forward I may switch to 1-2 times/month. My personal goal is a normal BMI (right around 150), and I'm fine if it takes a few months.

Yep, love my shakes everyday. In fact, I think I would have a little panic attack if I didn't have one...like something was missing or terribly wrong! And Like you, I use a huge variety of flavor options, but tend to mostly drink my top 3-4 flavors.

Although there are a lot of people that needed help due to pain or mobility/bending issues, fortunately I wasn't one of them. I was shopping the day after surgery, and flying, driving and more grocery shopping within 3 days postop. I am single and have 3 dogs and 2 horses to take care of. My lifting restriction was 20 pounds so the only real alteration I had to do was to carry one flake of hay at a time ( instead of 1/4 of the bale) and use a pitcher to fill the dog Water bowls (they are very heavy clay bowls that would have been hard to set down on the floor full of water). I had no problems getting in and out of my low waterbed, but again, others have reported having to sleep in a recliner. I had to go back to work after 7 days, and I was pretty tired and weak for a couple weeks, but nothing I needed help for. I think you 'll do OK the activity will be good for you. Best of luck!

You won't get full on liquids and puréed stuff. It just passes through to quick.

I use a blender everyday (HB dual wave) to make protein smoothies. Add skim milk, ice, bananas, apples, berries, whatever to my premier protein and Syntrax nectar drinks.

If it's liquid, I consider it drinking, but if you are tracking stuff (which I don't) you of course have to count the calories, protein, carbs, etc. OCC's instructions say no drinking 5 min before or 45 min after a meal. This is different than the standard 1/2 hour before or after I think because the liquid we drink is out of our sleeve in 5 minutes or less, so why wait the 1/2 hour. Also, the food stays in longer than 1/2 hour, so why wash it down sooner than later? As for me, I wait a minimum of 45 min or until I don't feel the food in my tummy anymore, which could be 1-2 hours depending on what I ate. As for what I eat, it's pretty much anything. Obviously protein first. Weekend breakfasts will be an omelet or something with eggs or a protein pancake with turkey sausage. I use premier chocolate or vanilla as creamer in my coffee. Workdays breakfast is often a protein shake. I don't get a lunch break, so I'm pretty much snacking on nuts or cheese or a GNC lean bar or something every 3 hours. Also drink water all day in between the snacks. Dinner is any kind of meat and a veggie. Usually have dessert a couple hours later of Greek Yogurt or cottage cheese and peaches. I eat plain Greek yogurt flavored with protein powder. On weekends I tend to eat more ( like 5 mini meals) and drink less. I eat chicken, tuna, seafood, ham, pork, ribs, burger, cheese, yogurt, edamame, mixed nuts, veggies, fruit, eggs and even an occasional dessert or glass of wine. But I couldn't get my protein and fluids in without protein shakes. I have a "super shake" everyday consisting of 24-32oz and 40g protein and drink it over several hours. Premier protein chocolate with skim milk, banana and ice is a favorite. Also like Garden of Life Raw Protein. Starting to drink more Syntrax nectar because the fruity flavors are refreshing now that it's summer. Mix 1 1/2 scoops with 28oz water and 4 oz fruit juice (the fruit juice helps mask the artificial sweetener taste I now can't stand) I was a lot better about my vitamins earlier on, now I'm taking them 75% of the time. At 5 1/2 months out I 've had no hairloss. Never took any special supplements, but I have always gotten my protein in at least after the 1st week postop. Sorry I can't be more specific on numbers, but I don't count or measure or track anything....besides the protein drink. I just eat when I'm hungry until I'm satisfied, not full. Good luck to you

Besides, only us Midwesterners call it pop

Even if you disregard the chemicals and artificial sweeteners, there is the carbonation thing. Do a search on here for "carbonated" or "carbonation" because there is currently a thread talking about this very thing. If it's the caffeine you need, you can drink tea or even take caffeine pils to see if that helps.

At almost 6 months out I don't think a I could eat a whole cup of food. Maybe yogurt, but definitely not anything denser. I look at my tiny amount and feel great about it, knowing I will feel satisfied with such a small portion. I'd rather be "abnormal" and eat 1/2 cup of food than the 3-4 + cups I was eating before. Besides, who cares if you fit into some one else's definition of "normal". I love the new normal me, and will frankly be a little sad if I am able to eat more the farther out I get.

I started with tuna salad, crab salad and chicken salad (made with canned chicken breast,) so I could shred the meat as small as I wanted and add as much mayo as I wanted to make it plenty moist. I also added water to scrambled eggs to make them more moist. Plain eggs were even too dry.

Gotcha! Well at almost 6 months out I've got a lot of restriction. dinner tonight was 1 BBQ rib and 3 brussel sprouts and I'm stuffed. Last night I had three pita bite crackers topped with a tomato slice and chicken salad....stuffed. I can eat a little more of things like yogurt and Soup, but still no more than 3/4 cup. I can drink liquids all day long. I do get hungry every 3 hours and I snack on nuts or cheese or edamame, etc. Like any other WLS, this is still a head game. You still have to control what you eat and how you eat and how often you eat. The sleeve just helps you control how much you can eat at one time. Good luck.

Not sure I understand your question. The obvious answer is "Of course! They remove 85% of your stomach. Restriction is the whole point of the surgery". But, being so obvious I'm wondering if you mean something different by restriction than what I thought you meant.

I didn't want to eat or drink for 3 months. Nothing was appealing and eating had become a not so fun job. But I totally agree with Lipsticklady. That period allowed me to break the chain between me and food. I do love to eat now, but it's not obsessive...other than trying to make everything I eat "count" towards health and good nutrition. (OK, maybe not the 1/2 cupcake I had on Saturday, but oh, well....) Oh yeah, and just tonight I finished the last portion of the tomato, sausage, veggie Soup I made almost 4 months ago. After I made it I didn't want it anymore and ended up freezing it all. This time it was delicious!

I'm sure your doctor and his billing department know what your insurance does and doesn't cover....more so than I do. You would have to have all those tests and submit results to be approved for the bariatric surgery they do cover, so it's probably OK. My situation is completely different since my insurance excludes all WLS, so obviously they wouldn't pay for any tests related to WLS.

Eating and drinking was a huge chore for me for almost 3 months. I really just wished I could take everything IV. But now everything has returned to normal, I love my meals and snacks and even protein shakes. And I can finally drink plain water again....thank goodness because now I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners. With all this healthy eating I feel like I'm 20 again. Don't forget you just had MAJOR surgery and you have to relax and heal and take things as slow as you need to. Like everyone said, it will get better.