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Listen to @@JamieLogical !

I added Unjury unflavored protein powder to beef broth, chicken broth, Swansons hot and sour soup based, tortilla soup base, and strained French onion soup. Once postop, I added protein powder to every cream soup I could find....cream of asparagus, shrimp, mushroom, lobster bisque, butternut squash, pureed split pea, potato leek, strained wonton, etc. It was a nice break from all the sweet shakes. It works best to premix the powder with a bit of water in a blender bottle and then stir it into your warm soup (not too hot or it will clump.... Like when you add the egg to egg drop soup.)

I'd never know if it weren't for the fact I get full on very small portions.

Not sure where you got your expectations from, but if 5 pounds/week is disappointing then they were very unrealistic. At two weeks out I maybe lost about 3 pounds. (I don't know for sure because I only weighed at the doctors office the first 4 months) I do remember I was 17 pounds down at the 2 month mark. But that didn't stop me from hitting then passing my goal weight. Measure your success with NSVs, stick with your program, learn how to eat healthy, and STAY OFF THE SCALE. I promise you will be a hell of a lot happier.

Who are you going through? This is the first time I've heard about cash only payment. That would make me nervous, too. I paid my deposit through PayPal and balance with a cashiers check when I went down.

So no one is supposed to talk about leaks or infections or severe GERD or dehydration or hair loss or vitamin deficiencies or other complications because they are scary?

I started at 238 and had a goal loss of 88#. I lost 22 before surgery, so I only had to lose 66 postop. I did that in just over 7 months, and then dropped another 10 pounds. Protein, water, veggies and vitamins. Repeat. I didn't weigh often enough to even notice most stalls, other than the month long ones. And upping my calories is what broke the early stalls. Calorie wise I was around 1000 at 4 months and 1200 by six months. I've been in maintenance now for over 6 months and it's definitely a never ending vigil. Not as hard as I thought, but you really need to maintain healthy habits....

My thoughts are to use the scale as often as you need to. It is a tool, just like our sleeves. If weighing everyday keeps you accountable and helps you meet or maintain goal then go for it. For example, I've been in maintenance for 7+ months and I weigh once or twice a month. Except after a holiday or weekend binge and then I'll weigh as soon as I get back to work. If I'm up I go back to diet basics and weigh a couple times/week to monitor until I'm back to the bottom of my bounce range. It's the folks that obsess and let the scale dictate their emotions and use it as their sole measurement of their success that I thought could benefit from this challenge. Especially the newly sleeved... They are going to lose as long as they are following guidelines. No sense letting the scale numbers demoralize what should be an exciting, rewarding experience.

Heat doesn't destroy the protein, but it may change the texture and make it gel or clump. Like what happens when you cook an egg. Or raw steak vs rare vs well done.

Ditto to what @@JamieLogical said. No, I am not satisfied with the tiny portions I can eat. Yes, I achieve physical and nutritional satisfaction, but not the emotional pleasure I had chowing down on a 2000-3000 calorie meal. But that is part of WLS. I had to find other non-food ways of satisfying my emotional and mental "hunger". It's the hardest part of surgery, but entirely necessary in order to be successful long term. The physical part will fail without the mental part.

This statement only makes me more leery. The product is basically so manipulated it really isn't even protein anymore. It's just genetically modified molecules that used to be protein. Where are all the anti-GMO advocates on this one? Who's to say the body even recognizes it as protein. Where are the studies that show the pre and post serum levels? Where is the amino acid profile? Does it supply the essential amino acids that our bodies can't synthesize? Again, where are the independent 3rd party studies supporting any of this company's claims? If it's so great, Where is the FDA approval? Until I see answers to these questions, it's still just snake oil.

I was wondering that myself.Read my post above for at least one reason. I know some people also go to Mexico because their BMI isn't high enough to qualify for surgery in the US. A lot of people from Canada go to Mexico because the wait list is 3-5 years up there. (Which is what will happen here in the not to far off future thanks to Obamacare). But I would be willing to guess the major reason is similar to my scenario....not everyone has insurance that covers WLS and they don't have $20,000 burning a hole in their pocket. Fortunately Mexico offers a good choice of affordable, quality health care for people that need it.

I don't see why you can't try it. I use premier protein as creamer in my coffee which comes out of my Keurig at 190 degrees. I also make my own hot chocolate protein powder....powdered skim milk, Syntrax vanilla protein powder, Unjury unflavored protein powder, Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa and monk fruit sweetener to taste. Just add hot water. Mmmmmmm. And a bit of Torani almond syrup makes it Mmmmmm Mmmmmmm.

Ok, here's my NSV for the week.... I decided to start riding my recumbent bike again (I hate exercise). I picked up right where I left off 9 months ago - same program, distance, pace, etc. My peak HR back then was 130-135. Now it is only 110-115. And along those same lines, before surgery, my BP had crept up to 132/95. Last visit to my PCP it was 106/68. My ❤️ loves my sleeve! By the way, welcome everyone to the no scale challenge! Keep those NSVs coming.

In my case, my insurance doesn't cover WLS so I was self pay. I researched all bariatric surgeons within 200 miles of me as well as several in Mexico for 6 months. I ended up going with the surgeon with the best credentials, most experience, and lowest complication rates. Just so happened to be Dr. Ariel Ortiz in Tijuana. He is has taught laparoscopic surgical technique both in the US and Mexico, he is a world renown bariatric surgeon, his facility is an an International Center of Excellence, he has performed more VSGs than the 4 US surgeons I looked at combined, and his complication rate is 1/100th that of the the U.S. average for WLS. And at under $7000 it was an easy choice.

@@Hetera I had surgery with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez at OCC 15 months ago. Unless one of them is on vacation, they both do the surgeries together and I would be confident having either one of them operate alone. I had a Wonderful experience, was well cared for by the entire staff, had no complications and a nearly pain free recovery. Currently 10 pounds below goal and maintaining easily. I chose OCC for many reasons including their fully dedicated bariatric staff, the facility (I preferred a surgical center over a hospital), and both Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez's credentials, experience and low complication rate. I have also discovered since surgery just how great their postop followup is as well. They have a staff dietician available for consult before and after your surgery. I haven't utilized this service, but I know some other OCCers keep in constant touch with her. As for other postop communication, Dr. So and Dr. Martinez have both been great in answering any and all questions I have had. They always return emails and phone calls within 24-48 hours, even on weekends. If you haven't already, check out the "Dr. Ortiz and OCC" thread on the Mexico and self pay subforum. Over 2000 posts from dozens of OCC patients. Or PM me if you'd like more info. Good luck with your decision!

Um, 2 pounds/day is a HUGE loss!

My starting BMI was 40 and I had to lose 5% of my body weight (12 pounds) on a 14 day preop. 3 protein shakes and leafy green veggies. I started 2 days early just to be safe, and I ended up losing 22 pounds instead. Yay! just that much closer to goal.

One thing I did was walk the circular halls and stairwells at the Marriott. I was on the 6th floor and everytime I went down to the lobby I circled the 6th floor, went down the steps, circled the 5th floor, went down the steps, circled the 4th floor, etc. Took the elevator back up to my room, though ????. You can also wander out to the pool and back to get some fresh air. Glad you're doing well!

My biggest surprise was how easy it all was. I read so many posts about emotions, cheating on the preop and postop diets, nausea, pain, stalls, constipation, diarrhea, depression, GERD, food intolerances, body image issues, loose skin, etc. I was expecting the worst, but turned out I worried for nothing. I had a fairly easy, pain free recovery and no problems following dietary restrictions. I never got emotional (other than happiness) and luckily had no serious complications. Even though I experienced some of the other things (diarrhea, then constipation, food intolerances, loose skin, and stalls) none of them were as bad as so many posters on here made it sound. I think a good attitude and realistic expectations makes a huge difference in your WLS experience. Postop life has not been any harder than so many of the diets I've been on in the past but this time I've gotten much better and more permanent results. At 15 months out and maintaining well below goal, I honestly think this really was the "easy way" to lose weight and have never had one minute of regret.

There are tons of other Protein flavors out there.....Syntrax nectar has grape, lemonade, iced tea, cherry, apple, peach, orange, Caribbean cooler (tastes like a piña colada), and Cappuccino to name a few. Muscle Milk has cake batter and red velvet cake. There are several brands that come in strawberry and banana. The Nectars may make it easier for you to meet your Fluid (and protein) goals since they are more like koolaid rather than a thick shake. I also used Torani and Davinci syrups to add even more variety. And since I couldn't tolerate plain Water or most artificial sweeteners for the first 4 months I drank a lot of skim milk, diluted fruit juice and decaf herbal teas. If you need a break from sweet, I mixed unflavored Protein powder in many different broths...chicken, beef, hot and sour, tortilla soup base, strained French onion, strained wonton, strained egg drop, etc. Once I was on full liquids I did the same thing with cream Soups.... Butternut squash, potato leek, cream of spinach, cream of shrimp, cream of mushroom, tomato...

I haven't had any plastics because there's no way I could ever take the time off work required for recovery, so I can't give you any advice pertaining to the actual procedure. But I applaud you for being financially responsible. I cringe every time I read a post about someone wondering how to finance their surgeries. Especially the ones that go with the medical loans with crazy high interest rates. Buying stuff you can't afford is the cause of SO many problems in our society. I could go off on a long tangent, but I will just leave it with Good for you for making the responsible decision. I hope you will be able to move forward with your plans at some point.

Had wine at 4 months. Tried a Bloody Mary at 5 months but it burned...switched to a mint julip (I was at a Kentucky Derby party). Couple Vodka cocktails at a gold tournament 6 months out. Didn't get too carried away with drinking until I went on vacation 10 months out. (When I was already well below goal weight). Unfortunately alcohol doesn't affect me any differently....I can still out drink a football team. But if I drink more than 2 days in a row I get bad gastritis.

I had a drain, too, but was instructed on maintaining and cleaning it and just went back on the third day to have it removed and do my final barium fluoroscopy leak test.

You shouldn't feel guilty at all. I've had dessert and sweets several times a month since being in maintenance. I even went a little overboard over Christmas and had to go back to basics for a couple weeks in January. But hey, that's what most "normal" people do...splurge a little, gain a little then go back to eating healthy. Remember maintenance is for the rest of your life and you need to find a happy medium and balance a few indulgences with your new healthy lifestyle. For example, today I ate a normal Easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes and salad followed by a piece of almond cake with blackberry buttercream frosting. My portions were a fraction of what they would have been preop and everything was delicious! I even brought leftovers home to eat later this week (including another piece of cake). All guilt free! I'll just step on the scale sometime this week and make sure I'm keeping within my bounce range. If not, I'll buckle down and eat Protein and veggies for a few days until I get back in range. So go ahead and eat your cake....no guilt needed! Find your happy place, enjoy your new skinniness and know that eating "bad" sometimes is OK as long as you keep it under control.