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My surgeon's nut strongly encouraged drinkable yogurt starting day 4. Plain Siggi's and kefir were the only ones I found not loaded with sweeteners and a bunch of other extraneous ingredients. I used Protein powder to flavor. Regular Greek yogurt was allowed once I was in pureed stage.....3 weeks out. But every dr has different postop diet plans, so I'd check with yours first.

I see most of us Dec 2013 peeps have drifted away.....????. Miss you all! Hope everything is going well and on track. BTW, my pup didn't make it very long after his diagnosis....I had to put him down last week. The tumor tripled in size and spread to his lymph node and salivary gland in only a month. Histopath came back as extremely aggressive carcinoma. He is greatly missed.

You could add unflavored protein powder to it to boost the protein content....I did this with all of the broth and cream soups I ate for the first month postop and never had a problem meeting protein goals. And it was a great break from all the sweet shakes.

I ate cream of every kind of soup I could find in my full liquid stage. I diluted it with water or milk, strained out the chunks and added Unjury unflavored protein powder. My big thing was I never drank/ate anything that didn't have protein in it. Even made popsicles out of protein shakes. After I hit 60g each day I would add in some herbal decaf tea or juice or vitamin water if needed to make sure I hit 64oz fluids.

Here's my typical mixtures... Muscle Milk 1 1/2 scoops + 16oz milk = 40g Premier Protein 11oz + 12oz milk = 42g Syntrax nectar 2 scoops + 32oz Water = 46g Raw Fit 1 1/2 scoops + 24oz water = 42g Spirutein 1 1/2 scoops + 16oz milk = 37g Raw Protein 2 scoops + 24oz water = 34g I found water works better with some and milk works better with others. It's a matter of taste preference. Then of course I add my fiber supplement, sometimes Torani or davinci syrups, and sometimes fresh fruit like berries, bananas, peaches and mangos to mix up the flavors. Been doing this for over a year. And like I said, it allows me to eat a more balanced diet of veggies, fruit and whole grains because I'm not trying to cram in protein for every teeny tiny meal or snack. Also be aware that our bodies can only absorb just so much protein at one time...they rest is just converted to glucose. so I drink these slowly and limit my intake to no more than 20g/hour. I put ice in them so they stay cold.

Me too, I'm headed out the door to get some fixins for a veggie lemongrass basil stir fry ???? ! I found these great Indian and Thai sauces at a Natural Foods store I want to try out. And PS, I love love love seaweed salad. Is this a veggie?

I was eating well cooked, mushy veggies as soon as I was allowed solid food. Of course only a teaspoon or two would fit after my Protein. By 3 months I was eating raw veggies. And because I make sure I get a big hunk of my protein in a smoothie everyday (30-40g), that leaves me free to eat more veggies than if I had to to try and get protein in at every meal. You name it, I eat it....spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, green Beans, carrots, tomatoes, kale, spaghetti squash, peppers, edamame, cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, and Brussel sprouts. I eat less of the sweet/starchy veggies like potatoes, corn, peas, butternut squash, and yams. As for rice, I'm a big sushi fan, so of course I eat it. But I actually didn't eat white carbs, (rice, Pasta, bread) until I passed goal. We are advised not to eat them because they are empty carbs and could slow or stop weight loss, not because of intestinal blockage from fiber. I actually add insoluble fiber to my protein smoothie every day to help with normal BM's.

I think the hairloss thing is just going to happen, or not, no matter what you do. Just like postop pain and nausea...some people have it and some people don't. It's all in how your body handles the stress of surgery. I read of all these regimens people go through and STILL have hairloss. I didn't use Biotin or Gelatin or any special hair products, and I never had any hairloss. I've always gotten in all my Protein and fluids starting day 5, and I take a whole food based Multivitamin. Mental stress can also contribute to hair loss, so the more you worry about hairloss and surgery and stress over stalls and preop and postop diet restrictions, etc, the worse it could be. I was totally prepared for hairloss, and planned to shave my head and wear hats. I just figured it would be one of the "dues" I had to pay for this awesome transformation. So try and keep up a good attitude, go ahead and use supplements if you want to, definitely get in all the protein you can, but don't get upset if you do lose hair. It's just part of the process for some people.

Besides my Protein smoothies, I use Torani and Davinci syrups to flavor plain Greek yogurt and to make flavored coffee/lattes and hot chocolate (homemade, protein rich recipe) . I also mix it with Protein Powder, greek yogurt, milk and sometimes add nuts and freeze to make protein "ice cream". I've got hazelnut, almond, english toffee, salted caramel, irish cream, tiramisu, pumpkin pie and gingerbread in stock right now. I've never bought the fruit flavors because I just use real fruit when I want those flavors.

I just ate off the teacup plates I already had and have now transitioned to the small salad plates. Use regular utensils. Surgery was expensive enough and I sure don't need more stuff taking up space in my cupboards!

I never tracked or measured my food, but did a few spot calorie checks along the way. At 3 months I was at 800-1000 calories, 1000-1200 by 6 months and have been maintaining below goal on 1400-1600 for 7 months. But your body is different than every other body on here. If you are happy with your weight loss, then who cares what your nut's charts say??? If you can lose at 1200 pounds then go for it! The important part is that its 1200 healthy calories, and those choices are up to you.

Pretty sure I got almost no Protein first 3 days while I was on clear liquids. I was mostly traveling up until day 4 and Isopure made me gag. I got a bit of protein from unjury chicken broth and thats it. Started full liquids day 4 and went gang busters on the protein...shakes, milk, Soup with unflavored protein powder added and drinkable yogurt (Siggi and Kefir). I made sure EVERYTHING I drank had protein and didn't waste my tiny space with popsicles, crystal light, etc. After I hit 60g, I would throw in some decaf herbal tea or Vitamin Water to get my fluids up to 64oz if needed. I've gotten 60+ g protein everyday since day 5. And yes, getting in protein early on is extremely important for healing and preventing hair loss.

I had surgery when I was 45. I'm 46 now and hotter than ever!

I was up to 1000 -1200 calories by 6 months and still continued to lose....10+ pounds below my goal weight. I've maintained with 1400-1600 calories. The "didn't see it coming" thing for me was I wouldn't miss drinking alcohol. I used to be a BIG drinker....cocktails after work everyday and major "partying" on weekends. My college friend who had Lapband years ago said it would happen, and turned out she was right. I don't get the buzz I used to and it's just not worth the calories.

I had a lifting restriction of 20 pounds for 3 weeks. I just had to adjust how I fed the horses and we didn't schedule any equine appointments or large dog surgeries until after those 3 weeks. I felt great and never had any issues. Like BLERDgirl, I would have been bored silly to stay home any longer than I did. (Well, maybe an extra week of healing in the tropics would have been nice ????)

I had almost no downtime and no pain. I was shopping day after surgery, traveling/flying day 3, drove myself home from airport 5 hours day 4, plowing driveway and caring for horses, dogs and cats day 5, more shopping, haircut and nails done day 6, back to work as a vet tech with lots of standing, squatting, bending, lifting, etc day 7. I was tired in the evenings, but barely even felt like I had surgery. The biggest challenge was getting in all my fluids and protein while working all day.....started sipping from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to bed.

I've always been a fan of whole food based vitamins. They have micronutrients and cofactors that just can't be duplicated in a lab. Prior to surgery I was taking Source of Life Gold chewable (also comes in liquid). But postop everything tasted too sweet to me, including the chewable vitamins, so I switched to Garden of Life Raw Vitamin Code for Women because it came in capsule form. Besides being a multi, it's got digestive enzymes and probiotics for optimal GI health. I actually only take 1/2 the recommended daily amount plus D3 and B12 sublingual a couple times a week and my bloodwork is perfect. As for B12, BTW, it should be methylcobalamin, not cyanocobalamin. Methyl is the natural form that our bodies can utilize. Cyan is synthetic that our bodies have to break down and you are left with some B12 and lots of leftover metabolites. No matter what supplements you choose, The biggest thing is to followup with the recommended bloodwork. This will alert you to any deficiencies before they become a problem.

Raw Protein, Raw Fit and Jay Robb all use Stevia. Spirutein uses fructose. There were also several whey protein powders with no artificial sweeteners listed on the nutrition express website, but I never tried them. As for unflavored, I used unjury.....whey protein isolate and soy lecithin. I rarely actually add sweetener to anything, but when I do I use raw honey (my friend's dad is a beekeeper, so I get it straight from the hive...yum,) monk fruit, or just plain sugar. I had stocked up on Mio, dasani and crystal light Water flavorings but ended up throwing them out postop because they hurt my sleeve. That cleared up after about 4 months, but even though the artificial sweeteners don't upset my tummy anymore, I dislike the taste. I can, however, drink the Syntrax Nectars if I add a touch of real fruit juice to mask the artificial flavor. And I like most of the the Premier, Muscle Milk, Quest and Syntha6 shakes even though they have artificial sweeteners.

You can't take a taxi from San Diego to the TJ Marriott. She would have to take a US taxi to the border and then get a mexico taxi from the border to the Marriott. I know this because my plane was delayed and I got in to SD at 1am and that was the only way to get to the Marriott that night. Gloria, the travel coordinator at that time strongly advised against taking cab rides in TJ in the middle of the night ????So I had to get a room in SD and meet the OCC van back at the airport 7am day of surgery. Regardless, my sister and I were also arriving and departing separately anyways. I simply coordinated her times with when the OCC van was going to be at the airport picking up other patients. She actually arrived the day before my surgery and hung out at the Marriott and took the shuttle van from the Marriott to OCC. We literally met in the lobby of OCC morning of my surgery. She got there at least an hour before me!

How much did you lose so far? I lost 22 pounds in 16 days, so 6 in 7 is definitely doable. Maybe mix up your veggies a bit... you could be experiencing a bit of "starvation mode" weight stall. Besides cabbage and Brussels sprouts, I did broccoli, green beans, mushrooms, kale, lettuce with flavored vinegar for dressing, and occasional tomatoes. Also, what kind of shakes are you drinking....some can be pretty high in carbs. Good luck! Also, not drinking the night before surgery will probably lose you a pound or two in water weight when you step on the scale at OCC.

Interesting read. Thanks for posting. Fortunately I don't experience any of the symptoms from eating these stealth fibers. So although it's not giving me the expected fiber benefits, anything that tastes that good yet passes through without contributing to weight gain gets a thumbs up from me! And after having C. diff, anything that contributes to the health of my good colon flora Is especially welcome. Makes me love em even more.

i had the same surgeon as Jamie and wasn't allowed nuts for 3 months. Since then I've had nuts almost every day....almonds, peanuts, walnuts, Brazil, macadamia, pistachio, cashews.... A month may be a little soon for certain things. Your sleeve isn't quite functioning normally yet, so the stuff you eat enters your intestine in a slightly "under digested" state. This is what causes food allergies and intolerances postop because it's a foreign thing for your intestine to be dealing with. At least this is how my surgeon explained it. The intolerance I had for artificial sweeteners and lactose immediately postop resolved after about 4 months. So Like others said, maybe try almonds again in a month or two.

They are actually quite low in carbs... 15 of the 21g carbs listed on the label is fiber, which is awesome for those of us with constipation and one of the big reasons I finally broke down and started eating them. They only have 1g of sugar.

Hell, sunlight causes cancer.... Should we all live in caves?!

You can find Syntrax nectar most anywhere....Amazon, Syntrax website, Nashua nutrition, Vitaminshoppe, and pretty much most body building/weight loss supply place. Just google Syntrax Nectar.