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Eggs were approved for my puréed stage. Mixed mine with water to make them super soft and moist. I actually had a lot of modified Huevos rancheros in puréed stage.... Refried beans, egg, cheese and green chili. Yum. Egg and cottage cheese also made a really soft "omelet".

Yes, EVERYONE experiences stalls. My first one lasted a month from weeks 6-10. In fact I gained 3 pounds. But I lost a whole pant size. And now I'm at another stall. No biggie. You should stay off the scale and keep following your diet plan. Protein water protein water.

I do, however agree with everything lifeislikeaboxofchocolates said in her post. She found a surgeon who met all of her requirements and felt completely safe with him "as is". So did I. Different surgeons, but we may have had different criteria in our search. And personally, I didn't "negotiate" my surgeons techniques and sterility protocol. I wouldn't have gone into it knowing I would only feel safe if he "made an exception" and did the right thing for just my surgery. Surgeons are creatures of habit and having a patient tell them how to do their job would not go over very well.

Lifeislikeaboxofchocolates, do you purchase equipment for a hospital?. Just curious where you got the 2k price tag. I order for my practice and our Coviden endo GIA single use triple staggered titanium stapler/cutters are a fraction of that cost. Perhaps the multiload, laparoscopic versions are more expensive?

I didn't want to eat at all for 3 months. I thought woohoo, this is easy! But at 5 1/2 months out I definitely get hungry and I do have cravings. I get hungry and eat every 3 hours or so, unless we get too slammed at work. I just make smart food choices and always eat Protein first. That pretty much leaves me satisfied and I don't have to eat crap to feel good. (After all, that's what cravings are) I've had pizza, tacos, wine, ice cream and other Desserts, but I don't live on these things. So don't go into this thinking all that stuff will go away. The surgery isn't on your brain. Post op is a head game you will have to play with yourself for the rest of your life. I see it as an opportunity to be HEALTHY, not skinny. I only hope I can maintain for years to come.....

Garden of Life Raw Protein and Raw Fit is Dairy free, gluten free and sweetened with stevia. Protein source is sprouted seeds. Comes in original, vanilla, chocolate and chai tea flavors. It is whole food, not processed isolate, so it doesn't dissolve completely...more of a suspension that will settle out. I just mix it and drink from my blender bottle so I can keep stirring it. I also used the vanilla to make protein pancakes that I'm eating right now! Mmmm

I'm sorry you are having pain issues, but you just had MAJOR surgery 2 days ago. You can't expect to be pain free and you really shouldnt base your feelings about this surgery on less than 72 hours of experience. Being negative and wallowing in regret will not help you at all. Talk to your doctor about pain medications and be proactive with healing.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 160 No loss this week. Someone must have told my body I was at goal. Bastard!

There is another thread on this same topic going on right now (surprise, surprise). My comment was there is NO way to predict. I take my multivitamins, but nothing special for hairloss (biotin, shampoos, etc.) and at 5 1/2 months out I have had no hair loss. Other people have been avid about their special supplements and still lose hair. I read up on this before surgery and decided not to waste my money. If it happens, it happens....that's what clippers and hats are for. But with all the weight I've lost, I've been asked many times if I've been sick or if I have cancer (seriously!). A shaved head would REALLY get the rumor mill rolling.

Denise, glad I could be of help to you. I am by no means a veteran, and it seems I can eat more everyday, so who knows what will happen in the future. But those few months of (finally) not being hungry and really not wanting to eat showed me that I don't NEED food. (Of course we need food, but not in the emotional and mental way I needed food before). Now when I want to eat more than I think I should, I just don't. I do something to distract myself for awhile, or I say, "let's wait for an hour, have something to drink and THEN if you still want to eat we will". Being able to say no is very empowering and just makes it easier to say no the next time. I'm also growing to appreciate healthy food and making sure everything "counts". I am single and don't really like baking or cooking. I'm a pick it up at the deli on my way home from work kind of gal. But if I get the urge to cook, I make sure it's something super yummy and the leftovers get frozen in individual portions and I'm set for MANY quick microwave meals. This is truly a head game we have to play with ourselves for the rest of our lives. But right now I feel like I'm 20 years old again, and I hope this feeling keeps me motivated to keep winning the game. I wish you all the best of luck and PLEASE don't get frustrated with stalls or periods of slow losses. I had both, and look at me now!

So I typically wear sports bras on a daily basis cause thy are so much comfier. But when I dress up, I wear a regular pretty, lacy bra that lifts and separates.... Accentuate the assets! Last Friday night I was getting dressed to go out and discovered my bra was saggy and the wrinkles showed through the thin sweater I had on. So I tried another bra...and another...and another! 5 bras later I finally came to terms with the fact I am now a very sad, saggy, droopy C cup (I ranged between D and DD preop) Looks like I gotta start saving my pennies for new "unmentionables".

I flew home 3 days after surgery.

Who told you this was a "magic pill"?! Did you not have a psych eval? Did you not have preop counseling? Did you not spend any time researching what this surgery meant? You said "this is what I was afraid of", so I assume you knew exactly what you were getting into. Why would you waste all your doctor's good work just to keep doing the same things you did before surgery. The surgery itself was the easy part. You need to take responsibility for your decision and figure out why you are sabotaging yourself. Does your doctor have a support group or therapist you could talk to? Making poor food choices will only get easier and easier the farther out you get. You need to stop now. Sorry to sound so harsh but geez, I don't get why you would just throw away such a great opportunity. On the other hand, I COULD be wrong. Unlike the other posters on here, I do not track or count anything. But I know what I am and am not supposed to eat. It's really not that hard if you get your head straight and focus on your goal. There's more than one way to succeed with your sleeve and you need to find what works for you. If you are losing weight, reach your goal, feel good, have no complications, then good for you! In which case you should stop feeling guilty and enjoy this wonderful weight loss adventure.

Yea, that's a tuff one. Bean soups and split pea soup fill me up pretty good. Some tofu burger, kidney beans and veggies would probably make a great chili. I'm sure you know better recipes than I do, but I would try and think "thick". Also, Tempeh has more protein and fiber than tofu so that might be more filling for you. I usually have a mid day snack of mixed nuts and they last in my tummy awhile. And if you do dairy (I saw you listed cheese), mixing oatmeal in with Greek yogurt definitely adds a level of bulk to it. But really, you do seem like you are doing great.

I've heard that before, but what does "at a time" mean? What if I take 2 hours to drink a 40g Protein shake? What's the absorption timeline? Denise, yes, it was so great to not be hungry and to get full on so little. Preop i almost never got full. I do get hungry now, but a very small amount of dense protein still fills me up quickly. Other "soft" post op staples like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. slide through my sleeve pretty quick, leaving me hungry again after a short time. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, as for taste, everything seemed way too sweet to me immediately postop. I had to dilute everything I drank....vitamin Water, Protein shakes, juice, G2, etc. Even tomato Soup was too sweet until I added puréed Italian sausage to it. weird.

I think I would have a hard time giving up dairy and legumes. Cheese, Greek yogurt, skim milk, edamame, soy, whey, and peanuts are such staple proteins for me.

I just got too full. I could only sip a tiny amount at a time and it took me all day from wake up to bedtime to even approach my goals. Each food stage would be like starting over. First I got stuffed on liquids, then I could drink more. Then I got stuffed on puréed but eventually could get in a little more, then I got super stuffed on soft foods but that passed. I didn't dislike anything I ate/drink, I just wasn't hungry and it was such a CHORE to eat and drink ALL DAY. Never had a sore throat or nausea (except from some meds I was on 2-3 months out). But it's all temporary. I now love to eat and I can take big gulps of Water, so it's no longer an all day process. The sipping days and teeny tiny bites are behind me.

Ditto to what recycled said. You need to own up to this and take responsibility for your actions and decision to have surgery. Did you have psych consults before surgery? Did they not cover the lifestyle changes you have to make and how to deal with them? Does your surgeons office offer therapy or support groups? I suggest getting help with your food issues because 2 months out is way too soon to already be falling into bad habits, and it's only going to get worse. If you did not or do not have access to professional counseling, I would suggest at least reading some appropriate literature. There are plenty of books out there that can help get your mind where it needs to be, if you are willing to work at it. Don't waste this opportunity.

I had my surgery at OCC in December and had similar concerns. As far as complications, my insurance doesn't pay for WLS or resulting complications, so any costs would have been my responsibility even if I'd had surgery in the states. I am in the US, but lots of people said no one would touch me afterwards. Well that's just not true. Both my PCP and Ob/Gyn have been very supportive. I also had to see a gastroenterologist and infectious disease doctor for a C. Diff infection 6 weeks postop (that I likely got from being on antibiotics a tooth infection, not from my VSG surgery). They could care less that I had surgery in Mexico. They just wanted to get me better. Is your family physician willing to help you postop? The most common issues you may face will be nausea or reflux. Dr. So and Dr. Martinez were both great at postop communication with me and would probably be willing to coordinate with your doctor if you have problems. And maybe she could make some phone calls to see what your options would be if you do end up with a more serious complication. (Although I have yet to read about a single leak or stricture from OCC). The other thing you could do is check directly with your OCC coordinator to see what other patients have done postop. A lot of their patients are from Canada and they could maybe hook you up with someone else in your area to see how they've handled postop stuff. I asked Carolyn dozens of questions before my surgery....that's what she's there for. Good luck!

Garden of Life Vitamin Code for women. I like that they are whole food based and contain micronutrients, live probiotics, antioxidants and enzymes you can get from synthetic vitamin products. I also take a separate B12 sublingual.

Had a great ride today. We had to trailer about 30 miles to get out of the snow but had a very scenic ride on the cliffs overlooking the Snake River coming out of Swan Valley, ID. We worked our way down one of the canyons to the river so the dogs could drink and swim and we had a little lunch. My seat shrinker pad works great and kept my shrunken butt firm in the saddle even with a little "spring fever" behavior from my horse.

Ditto on the gas pain and getting your calf checked out. The cough could be from irritation from the endotracheal tube or bougie you had passed during surgery

Just FYI everyone, I chose to have "Gastrectomy patient" inscribed on my necklace instead of "VSG" or "vertical sleeve". Unless you are in the bariatric world, you may not know what these are....none of my EMT or nurse friends knew. All medical personnel will understand what a gastrectomy or partial gastrectomy is. This is mine....

I probably eat more dense Proteins than what you listed, and they always fill me up more. But geez, you've lost 50 pounds in 12 weeks (which is way more than I lost at that point). It sounds like you are getting fit and eating really healthy, so I don't see the problem.... Actually, way to go!

So what are you eating?