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I was allowed during puréed stage. Used Bob's Red Mill 10 grain Hot Cereal and mixed unflavored protein powder or a bit of vanilla protein powder with it. Once I was on solids it was also good with some melted cheese and chopped bacon or blueberries.

@@Missthugpassion That's probably a good idea. Regardless of WLS, you shouldn't feel you need alcohol to deal with your grief. But believe me, I TOTALLY get where you are coming from. My younger brother died unexpectedly 4 years ago and I was miserable with grief. I tried to dull my pain with food and alcohol.....drank every single day for over a year and a half. Unfortunately it didn't help. All I succeeded in doing was gain 40 pounds. It wasn't until I stopped drinking and actually faced my grief that I was able to start to heal. I am by no means OK even now, but looking back I see I really stunted my ability to move on by not letting myself feel. Now fast forward to 16 months after my VSG. My best friend committed suicide. The grief, anger, guilt and depression has been overwhelming. I go through the motions of living but it's all through a haze of my constant thoughts of him. 6 months later and I feel just as awful as the day it happened (probably worse since at least I had shock on my side at that point). But I learned from my brother that food and alcohol would not make anything better. Honestly I don't know what will, but I just know I can't fall back into that incredibly destructive, ineffective behavior. I have attended grief counseling and suicide seminars, but one website has actually been quite useful...... Www.recover-from-grief.com. It has a lot of good ideas and information. I am by no means close to "recovered", but at least I know I'm not crazy for feeling the way I do. i'm so sorry for what you are struggling with, but know you are not alone.

Yep, I can have just one. One small piece of cake, one cookie, one mini candy bar, one small ice cream cone...which I usually can't finish, one handful of chips, one cocktail. Heck, I even smoke 1 (actually about 2/3) cigarette after work. My only vices are peanut putter and mixed nuts. I CANNOT stop eating them. So I don't buy them anymore. I tried the single packs but then I would just eat two (or more)! I get my nut fix via ONE Natures Valley Protein Bar once or twice/week. Crazy that nuts are harder to resist than sugar and nicotine!

What's the rush? You are a speed loser compared to me. I had lost "only" 17 pounds at 3 months postop. The difference is I was thrilled! And I still passed goal. So stick with the program, get in all your protein, water and vitamins, stay active, make healthy choices and STAY OFF THE SCALE. This is not a race. It is a lifelong process.

You will never get full on liquids. They just run through your sleeve. Are you on antacids or taking a PPI? Acid often feels like hunger and since tomato soup is quite acidic, it would just make you feel "hungrier". My surgeon had me on 40mg omeprazole mandatory for two months while my sleeve was healing and I still had to take maalox or rolaids occasionally to curb those "hunger pains". But like Kate mentioned, head hunger is the strongest feeling of all and nothing is gonna make that go away except retraining your brain.

Not sure how to advise. Helping you to eat smaller portions is kind of the whole point of surgery. What were your expectations? As for the portions I can eat it depends on the density food. Solid Protein like chicken or beef I can only eat about 1/2 cup. But I can eat a whole cup of veggies or Greek yogurt or soup. Slider foods like chips, Cookies, popcorn, Peanut Butter, ice cream, certain fruits and even Protein shakes I could eat almost limitless amounts of. But "choosing" to eat like a small bird is what has made me successful.

Like everyone else said....quit comparing with others and stop cheating. If you follow the program you won't have to weigh to know you are losing. Track NSVs instead of numbers. They are more important anyways. Celebrate what you have accomplished, don't get caught up in the WLS race. You have the rest if your life to get where you want to be. It's not gonna happen in a few months. I had "only" lost 17 pounds at 12 weeks out (that was only the 6th time I had weighed myself postop) and I was thrilled. In the end, I lost over 100% of my excess weight, and the scale had nothing to do with it.

I am 23 months out. I lost over 100% of my excess weight and have maintained for over a year. I still drink a 20-30g protein/fiber smoothie and eat a 20g Quest bar every day. This takes the guess work out of whether or not I'm getting enough protein. I also eat a lot of protein rich foods, but with my automatic 40-50g, I feel free to eat more fruits veggies and grains without worrying about protein goals.

I did not have and have not sought any mental health support. Everything I know about postop life has been "self-taught" from books, on line resources and talking to friends that have had WLS. I haven't felt any need for formal, professional support. At only 2 years postop I guess I'm still kind of a newbie, but I have passed goal, maintained for over a year and haven't had any problems adjusting to this new life. Success is just something I was committed to and mentally prepared for when I decided to have surgery. Even with the death of two of my dogs, the suicide of my best friend, and a cancer diagnoses for another good friend, I've managed to stay away from my previous food and alcohol laden coping methods. Life is hard no matter what size I am, but it's no longer all about food.

My insurance doesn't cover WLS so I knew I would be self pay. I got info from all of the certified Bariatric surgeons within 200 miles of where I live. I automatically ruled out any general surgeons that just happened to perform bariatric surgeries. I wanted a specialist. Then I got a list of Centers of Excellence and Bariatric Surgeons of Excellence in TJ (any other location in Mexico would have made for difficult logistics). I compared credentials, experience, and complication rates. I narrowed it down to a top 5 and then further investigated surgical technique, anesthetic protocols, staff, and followup care. I corresponded with previous patients and did extensive online searches of each surgeon and facility. I couldn't be happier with my choice of surgeons and ultimate outcome. I'm super anal about any decision I make (I've spent the last month alone trying to figure out which refrigerator and range to buy), so my extensive search effort was just normal for me. Wouldn't do anything different.

We're all human. We all slip up. Then you get back up and move on. We are often brainwashed with the "all or nothing" mentality from a lifetime of yo yo dieting. This new life is not like any other "diet" I've been on. It's a lifestyle. It's choices. And every day is a new opportunity to do it "right". The cheese Danish I had for Breakfast yesterday doesn't make me a failure. Just human. And today I had an egg with salsa for breakfast. New day. New choices. There will still be stresses to deal with, and learning new coping mechanisms is vital to your long term success. So take as much time as you need to prepare for the mental games that await. Don't feel pressured into surgery until you are ready.

@@Dub your post made me smile. I had similar thoughts as I drained my savings account and got the cashiers check to pay for my surgery. That money was supposed to be for a new truck. 2 years later I'm still driving my 16 year old rust bucket. But damn! I look good (and feel good) doing it

This is hard enough to do even when you are 100% committed and have no doubts it's what you want to do and you know you will succeed. (That's how I went into it). So if you aren't ready then don't do it. If your head isn't right then you will be miserable. Take more time to research all of your options if you have to and do what you feel is best for you. Yes, there are cons to WLS and the changes you have to make to be successful, and you need to be aware of all of them. But then again there are all the pros and for me, they outweighed the cons (pun intended )

I was a vegetarian (not vegan) for like 6 years back in the 90's and you'd be surprised how many people often proclaimed "I'm a vegetarian, too. But I do eat fish." I quit trying to argue. Being from Wisconsin, I think I might get arrested it I didn't eat dairy. . Mmmm.....cheese

Where did you get the idea that whey protein is loaded with chemicals? It is simply the liquid part that separates out from the curd when they make cheese. Yes, some of the flavored shakes and powders may have "chemicals" in them, but whey protein itself does not. If you want to get a super pure product, check out www.mullinswhey.com . I have used hemp protein as well as pea, egg, rice and sprouted seed protein, and they all have their pros and cons. Personally, I think hemp tastes horrible, egg was so-so, but I like the Spirutein, Raw Fit and Raw Protein products as alternatives to whey. However, I use whey the most because it is the best, most efficiently absorbed form of protein available. (Even better than meat, fish, eggs, soy, etc)

I had to force myself to eat and drink every day for the first 4 months. Even when I was so nauseous from medication I was taking that I could barely even gag down my own saliva. And yes, I just made myself do it by sipping sipping sipping all day and into the night if needed. Everything I drank contained protein (shakes and unflavored protein powder mixed in broths and soups) so I was able to meet both goals almost every day.

Yes, it is hard. But 30+ days of liquids, 14 days of pureed food, 14 days of soft food and 629 days (And counting....) of healthy, delicious food I can tell you it is SO worth it. You are starting a new, better way of living. Love it, embrace it, be excited about it! Don't wallow in the "it's so hard". Research and look up new recipes for all stages. That way you can still focus on food, but on the "right" foods. I experimented with dozens of different Protein shake flavors using different powders, Torani syrups and pureed fruit. Explored the world of gourmet Soups (that I Added unflavored Protein powder to) SO MANY options! BUT if you find you can't do it alone, seek help. It IS A life changing experience and you don't want these early difficult days to go to waste because you weren't able to stick with the plan two years from now.

I became lactose intolerant immediately after surgery. My surgeon explained it's actually quite common. I couldn't tolerate artificial sweeteners or plain water, either. But all of my intolerances resolved after 4 months.

Unfortunately alcohol does not affect me differently....I can still out drink a football team. I was actually looking forward to being a cheap date. The only change is that now I get gastritis and have to take an antacid if I drink too much and I don't really feel like the little buzz I get is worth all the calories so I might have a drink maybe once or twice/month. I was a "cocktail every day after work and drink all weekend" person prior to VSG.

I took this photo about a year postop. The arrows are pointing to my scars. They are even fainter now. I never used any skin products, but my uncle swears by coconut oil.

She sounds like a concerned friend. Call her and tell her all the things you just posted to a bunch of strangers on the Internet. Clear up any misunderstandings between yourselves. She's your BFF, you should be able to talk to her about anything.

I mostly stayed away from white carbs until I passed goal. I'm not a big rice or pasta eater so it was no big deal. But I do LOVE sushi and starting around 9-10 months out I have had it at least a couple times/month. Same goes with Thai food...it's really the only time I eat noodles.

I never had any pain postop. Never took any pain Meds. My abdomen basically just felt fatigued, like I'd done a hundred sit-ups. The drain was a little uncomfortable (like a light cramp) but that was removed before I flew home. Surgery on Friday, flew back Monday (2 hour flight). Arrived in a snowstorm so I waited until Tuesday before driving myself home 5 hours. Plowed my driveway when I got home, rested the next day and back to work on Thursday. I would have LOVED to stay in sunny TJ longer rather than return to Idaho winter weather, but not because of any surgical pain.

just wanted some feedback from anyone that has had both VSG and cholecystectomy surgeries. What was your recovery time for both? Was one easier than the other? The reason I'm asking is that I'm having my gall bladder removed on Nov 25. My surgeon's office just informed me he wants me to take 3 weeks off work and no lifting more than 5 pounds during that time. I'm a little freaked out because I just gotta say that is NOT gonna work for me. I had heard laproscopic cholecystectomies were pretty easy recoveries and I only planned to take 5 days off over Thanksgiving. There's flat out NO WAY I can take off 3 weeks. If I don't go to work, business is closed. It's simply not an option. BTW I only took 7 days off after VSG and had no problems. I had a 20 pound lifting restriction for 3 weeks and that was doable. 5 pounds is not realistic since I've got horses to feed and hell, my cat weighs more than 5 pounds! I already disliked this surgeon after our first meeting and now he's really pissing me off. How can a non-emergency gall bladder removal on a healthy, fit, thin patient be more traumatic than an obese patient with high blood pressure having 80% of their stomach removed?

@@Babbs thanks for sharing. Sorry you had such a rough time and I'm sure that was quite a blow to your surgeons ego. I was so ticked at the lack of info from my surgeon that I called my PCP this morning. He just laughed and said yes, the guy is an ass but he is a very good surgeon with all good outcomes. Guess that's what's important.