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Ditto to most of what JamieLogical said. My PCP takes care of my followup bloodwork. Never needed any other postop care. And my surgeon has always been available for any questions I had along the way. However, My insurance excludes WLS including treating any postop complications, unless they are life threatening. Any major complications would have bankrupted me. But that was just one "con" in my decision to have surgery. I counteracted that with the "pro" of going to a world renown surgeon with a complication rate 1/10 that of US surgeons. I had 100% confidence in his skills as well as the quality of care provided at his Center of Excellence facility. I actually had no problems convincing my family of the good care in Mexico. My aunt and uncle have been traveling to Mexico for dental and medical care for years. And after my US surgeon botched my gallbladder surgery last November (left me with an incisional hernia) I really wish I'd gone back to my Mexico for that surgery. Even with insurance covering it it's gonna cost me twice as much because I need a second surgery to repair my hernia and I've got a $5000 deductible.

Holy cow, you are definitely looking at a vaca. Book your flight now! I could have gone back to work after 2 days. MADE myself take 4 days off. Hell, only took 7 days for my VSG. And a whole two weeks when I had two vertebrae in my neck fused. A month?! I haven't had that much time off since.....well, never. Have fun!

60-80g protein. 64-100oz Water. Vitamins. Veggies. Fruit. Whole grains. Stay away from white carbs. Be Active. Stay off the scale. Simple. Effective.

You had surgery on your stomach, not your brain. Nothing you can do about your cravings except not give in to them. All those Protein shakes are super sweet, they ought to help mentally. A lot of people eat sugar free popscicles and Jello, too. But don't start eating carbs or it will just make you crave more carbs. The best thing you can do is follow your surgeons postop instructions and focus on protein and fluids at this point. Did you have counseling or therapy before surgery? Didn't they give you any options for developing new habits and coping mechanisms? Are you actively working on the psychological aspect of WLS? You're in this for the long haul, so if you don't think you can handle the head games part of this process, you should seek professional help.

I'm not nearly this far out, but everyone needs take these words to heart.... There's nothing more true. Those first few months, even the first year in no way represents what post WLS life is like. Thanks for sharing.

Listen people.....I had lost 17 pounds at 6 weeks and I was THRILLED!!! You know why? Because I had LOST SEVENTEEN POUNDS!! And, BTW, that was just the second time I had weighed myself postop. This surgery and lifestyle is for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. Quit trying to make it into a competition sport. Just stick with the basic Protein, Water and Vitamin requirements, eat healthy, be active, enjoy the NSVs and SOTFS!!! (that stands for STAY. OFF. THE. F*****G. scale, but I'm getting sick of saying it so I gave it it's own initials)

Ditto! I felt like such a wimp stacking and loading hay the last two years. I used to carry an extra 100 pounds around with me every day and now I struggle just to lift and stack an 80 pound bale.....I AM a wimp! But I'm a HOT wimp

To hell with the calories. Get in your protein and fluids. Like I said, I never counted calories, especially when my surgeon's nut laughed when I asked her about it. Eating healthy and balanced is all she stressed. I actually made it a point to get my calories up ASAP. Keeping them low screws with your metabolism, can actually cause stalls and will only make maintenance harder if you let your body get used to running on a super low calorie load. Like other people said, it is possible to get in all that protein and still stay in that calorie range. But if you are losing, why bother?

Today I had 1 scrambled egg with some cottage cheese and salsa. Quest bar. 24oz Protein smoothie. Handful of Chex Mix. Small plate of carne asada steak. Brussels sprouts. Greek yogurt with ground flax seed and Kashi go lean cereal. 1/2 apple with peanut butter. 16oz tea. 16 oz coffee. 20oz vitamin water. 32oz water

Get in more calories, shoot for at least 60g or more protein everyday, but most importantly......drink WAY more water. 36oz is about 1/2 of what you should be getting. Your body needs water to metabolize fat. Otherwise it just sits there. Adding in one big protein smoothie made with 24oz milk, a cup of ice, a scoop of Protein powder, and Torani syrup of your choice every day would kill 3 birds with one stone. Oh yeah, and stay off the scale and read Inner Surfer Girl's post "Embrace the Stall".

I just order regular, pick out the parts I want and toss the rest. Or hand them to my dog in the back seat. I do the same in regular restaurants....just order normal off the menu, share the parts I don't eat and take home the leftovers. Either I or the dog will eat them. He's definitely been on a high carb diet since this all started but he also never stops moving so he burns through em quick! Carl's and I think Arctic Circle both do a low carb version of their burgers wrapped in lettuce, so that's the only time I've ever done a special order.

Yep! And if everyone thought that way our courts would be a lot less crowded and lawyers would need to find a new line of work. But that's a rant for another day....

From a medical standpoint, My plan listed chips as a "crunchy" food along with nuts and seeds and not to eat them till 3 months From a weight loss standpoint I wouldn't eat non nutritional carbs at least until you are at goal. Bad habit to start so soon. Put the queso on your refried Beans and call it yummy instead.

Had surgery about 8:30 this morning. Was home by 2 and stopped by Staples, the grocery store and post office on the way home. I can't believe how good I feel. Actually kind of wired.....been puttering around the house for almost 3 hours. Finally decided I better sit down and relax or I may be sorry tomorrow. So looks like I'll be eating thanksgiving dinner at Grandmas after all. Won't have to wait for leftovers. Yeah!

@@wannaBthinsoon did you have your cholecystectomy? I got my pathology report today. There were fifteen 3mm stones and one 13mm stone in there. Guess that explains the attacks

I make smoothies all the time. But they are primarily protein.....protein powder, Plain Greek yogurt and milk. Torani syrup for flavor. Maybe a little pureed banana or berries or peaches, etc. But each one always has at least 20-40g protein.

That's what Obamacare is for. You can get an individual policy and If you have no or little income you'll qualify for insurance assistance. It's only the middle class that makes too much that got screwed by the "Affordable" Care Act.

Can't you just get your own insurance? Get a policy with the old company effective Jan 1. Open enrollment goes until Jan 31.

So if you are using the nicotine patch, then what are you going to be tested for? You will test positive for nicotine and they can't tell the difference between smoking and the patch. I quit smoking 3 months before I started my preop. Switched from regular coffee to decaf and herbal tea a month later. Funny I went cold turkey with the nicotine but spent a month slowly weaning off the caffeine. Anyways, it worked. My motivation was to make sure I had the safest surgery possible.

I was on fluids for 3 weeks and wasn't cleared for solids like beef and pork till 6 weeks out, so no, I definitely didn't have those issues. Really surprised your surgeon has you advancing so fast. Your incision isn't anywhere near healed and the staple line is still susceptible to leaking and even getting bits of food stuck in it at this point. I guess enjoy your fortunately easy recovery, but be careful.

It varies. I was on clears for 3 days...basically during the time I was in Mexico. The clinic and hotel provided me with bottled Water, chicken broth and Popsicles. I picked up herbal tea bags and pedialyte while I was down there. Also got some Isopure at GNC but it made me gag. Syntrax nectar packets were a much better choice. But don't worry, you will be eating that Soup for a lot longer than just in the beginning. I overlapped my food stages and progressed much slower than my plan just to be on the safe side. And I always added unflavored Protein powder to every soup and broth I ate. And as for the info provided by your surgeon, just because you are going to Mexico there's no reason you shouldn't be fully informed of every step of pre and postop requirements. I talked to the nutritionist, cardiologist, and the surgeon before stepping on the plane. I had at least 20 pages of info emailed to me, detailing everything from using the spirometer to medications, food stages and excercise expectations. In fact, my Mexico surgeon kept me much better informed than the US doctor that just removed my gallbladder. You shouldn't expect a lesser level of care and followup, just because it's Mexico. Good luck and enjoy your soup. Mmmmm.

Protein is the number 1 way to prevent hair loss . And 50-60 g isn't bad. Can you tolerate Protein shakes? Do you add unflavored protein to Soups, broths, etc? 1 cup plain Fage Greek yogurt flavored with 1/2 scoop vanilla Protein powder = 33g. that plus 1 Premier Protein and you're already over 60g. Tried Quest bars? 20g in 1 bar. But really, if you're going to lose your going to lose and nothing you can go about it. It's your body's reaction to the stress of surgery and change in nutrition. Protein, Biotin and some shampoos and treatments like rogain can MAYBE help speed up regrowth, but nothing can stop the loss itself.

I never went super low carbs. Always ate veggies, fruit and whole grains, even throughout my losing phase. I couldn't tolerate artificial sweeteners for about 4 months, so even my fluids included regular sports drinks, pedialyte and diluted fruit juice. Ate mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with unflavored Protein powder added during my pureed and soft food stages. i never wanted to deprive my body of the nutrients you really only get from food....all foods. i always kept my diet as "normal" and balanced as possible which made my transition to maintenance easy and seamless. And now after reading this thread I'm headed to the store to buy some sweet potatoes....yum!

@@Kathy812 yes, I've spent the last year figuring out what works for me. It's a fine line balancing what I WANT to do vs what I HAVE to do to maintain. I never want to feel like I'm on a diet, but I do realize certain "sacrifices" have to be made. So far so good, but I also know it will likely change the further out I get. Good luck!

That's why the balloon is a good option for those that don't qualify for, or don't necessarily need surgery. Very noninvasive and with the appropriate counseling, could potentially be a good tool. Overweight people don't tend to have the same psychological issues related to food as the obese and super obese do. I actually was able to track down one of the girls featured in that news report that my surgeon was in. She has a blog and Facebook page. It is over a year and a half later and the balloon has been out for a year. She lost 70 pounds and has maintained with a healthier lifestyle and excercise. Basically just like if she'd had surgery.