JamieLogical

You can get the recipe, along with MANY other great recipes here: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

My tummy tuck held up AMAZINGLY well and, so far, the fat grafting to my butt seems pretty well intact. I haven't been losing the fat there on my way back down. The main issue I've had is that my left breast implant has become malpositioned with the weight gain and re-loss. Like as I gained the weight, the real fat tissue expanded and pushed the implant out of position and now that I am losing that fat again, the malpositioning is obvious. I will have to have a revision to fix it. I've had a consult with a local surgeon and I've had some talks with my original surgeon back in Mexico. I haven't completely decided what and when I am going to do about it. I've decided to sort of take a "wait and see" approach, since I still want to lose about 25 more pounds. I think I'd rather wait until I'm at goal and maintaining for a bit before addressing it.

@@OneDollarBill I HIGHLY recommend investing in some good, well-fitting running shoes. That is NOT an area where you want to cut corners to try to save a little money. Also, you should get high-quality inserts as well. Someone at the running store should be able to help with those as well. I use SuperFeet brand, which my physical therapist recommended, but there are many options available based on you individual situation. Another thing you should look into is a good post-workout stretching routine. Several years ago when I started running for the first time, I had serious problems with my knees (thus the need for a physical therapist) and I learned some critical stretches to do after every single time I run. It has made a huge difference.

Pointing out ignorance isn't name calling. You are ignorant about the process of having surgery in Mexico and the level of care available. That's a statement of fact. If you had more information about it, then you would no longer be ignorant. I'm sorry if you find the term "ignorant" offensive here. In case you are ignorant to the definition of the word "ignorant", here you go: Just like the example given in the second definition applies to someone who is ignorant about quantum physics (Like me! I know nothing about physics!), you are ignorant about surgery in Mexico. Now, there is nothing wrong with being ignorant about something. We are all ignorant about a GREAT MANY subject matters. There is, however, something wrong with espousing ill-informed and uneducated opinions on a web site where people come to seek advice. Also, with regards to name-calling, I'll point out that YOU were the one who said people who have surgery in Mexico are desperate and/or sad. And while that may be true for some of the people who go to Mexico for surgery, it certainly does not apply to all of us.

Well, that's ridiculous, so maybe your NUT isn't as educated as I'd hope. But I don't think it's unreasonable for you to be aiming for 800-1000 calories a day. You want to keep your metabolism up and stay out of starvation mode. And if you are doing ANY sort of exercise, you need to be eating more calories in order to sustain your activity level. Definitely don't worry about this 2.6 pound "gain". It can only be Water weight and there is no way you are actually GAINING real weight eating under 1000 calories a day. Stalls and slow-downs are common around the 3 week mark post-op and things usually pick up again a few weeks after that, so just hang in there.

If you are just now getting back to work, you can't be too far out from surgery and you are already eating crackers and chips?!?! I wasn't allowed anything crunchy until THREE MONTHS post-op. As for eating during the day at work, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. I eat breakfast, lunch, and two Snacks during my work day. I start off by bringing a Protein bar for breakfast (since you are probably not actually supposed to be on solids yet, you could do a ready-to-drink protein shake). Between breakfast and lunch, I have a reduced fat string cheese, which you can probably safely have at this point. For lunch I have leftover meat from a previous dinner, but you could probably do something like tuna or chili? In the afternoon I have Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt. I mix some granola or kashi Cereal into mine, but you probably shouldn't be having that quite yet. So by eating every two hours or so, I never feel hungry at work. And I manage to get a lot of protein in!

Wow! I don't think you could be more ignorant if you tried. There are MANY excellent surgeons in Mexico who have entire teams of specialists and nutritionists that provide extensive pre and post-op resources. But, just like in the US, there are also surgeons who cut corners to save money and make more money. It's all about doing your research and choosing a good and reputable surgeon, no matter WHERE you have surgery. I had my VSG in Mexico with a world renowned surgeon. I had many pre-op consults via phone and email with a nutritionist who provided me with thorough and extensive directions for pre and post-op diet and activity. I had a consult with their cardiologist about when to stop and start my prescription meds and Vitamins pre and post-op. I discussed everything with my PCP at home and had her blessing for the surgery and had follow-ups and bloodwork scheduled with her for when I returned to the US. She was also provided with my complete surgical records from my surgeon's office. I've also had regular follow-up phone calls with the nutritionist and regular surveys sent from my surgeon's office. All of my post-op questions were answered by the nutritionist and surgical staff. At one point I was worried about the healing of the hole where my drain had been and I emailed one of the doctors and he called me within minutes to discuss it with me, in the evenong, on a weekend! So, before you go making blanket statements about surgeons in Mexico and patients who are "desperate" enough to go to them, maybe learn a little bit first?

Weight can fluctuate drastically from day to day and it has nothing to do with calories. You understand that it takes 3500 calories to actually gain a pound of fat, right? To have actually put on 2.6 pounds of real weight, you would have had to eat 9100 calories. It's just water retention. Stick to the plan your Dr. and NUT gave you and stop weighing daily or learn to not take the scale so seriously. I weight daily, but I understand how my body works, so seeing the day-to-day fluctuations doesn't mess with my emotions.

I was only allowed juice in my clear liquids stage if I mixed it with water, for a 50/50 blend and I was told to phase them out as soon as I possibly could once I was onto full liquids.

There wasn't really a distinction between my puree and soft food phases, just the introduction of more specific soft foods as I went along. I was allowed Shelly's Ricotta Bake during the puree stage, I just had to make sure there weren't any big chunks in the pasta sauce I used.

Which EAS line did you try? I drink the AdvantEDGE Carb Control, Rich Dark Chocolate flavor and really like it. The down side is that they are small and only have 17 grams of protein, where my nuritionist wanted me drinking shakes with 20+ grams. For a while I was added unflavored whey protein powder to them to increase the protein. Now I don't worry about it, because I'm 7.5 months post-op and get a lot more protein from real food.

I forgot to list my starting BMI as one of the reasons I chose sleeve. When I began pursuing WLS, my BMI was right at 40. Bypass is usually recommended for people with higher BMIs than that or other comorbidities (I didn't have any).

I chose sleeve over RNY for many reasons: No rerouting of my digestive system The idea of my old stomach still being inside me, where it might develop ulcers or cancer down the road and be harder to diagnose/treat since an endoscopy could no longer reach it concerned me I couldn't really understand what the loss of a functioning pyloric valve might mean for me. Like, does my stomach pouch still send signals to my brain for it to open and close, and it's just over there with my old stomach randomly opening and closing? Weird! Also, since my pyloric valve would no longer be holding food in my pouch, wouldn't everything just pass right through into my intestines? What if it didn't have enough time to sit in my stomach juices and get broken down enough for my intestines to handle? I liked the idea of eventually being able to eat whatever I want, just in moderation. I didn't want to give up all the foods I loved forever. In reality though, post-sleeve I don't really want a lot of those foods anyway. Still, at the time I was going through the process of surgery, it was reassuring to me to know I would eventually be able to eat those foods again. I was concerned about the malabsorbative aspect of RNY and the potential for developing deficiencies. I was self-pay and sleeve is much cheaper!

Had my surgery in Mexico and it was a great experience. No reason to be nervous. As long as you've done your research and picked a respectable surgeon, you have nothing to fear.

I'll post a bunch of photos, but first let me explain my situation for anyone who doesn't know my story. In 2010/11, I lost 90 pounds "on my own" through diet and exercise. I went from 270 down to 180. I maintained around 180 for about 8 months, then had plastics done in August of 2001. I had an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair, breast lift with augmentation, all over lipo, and fat grafting to my butt. Over the course of the next 3 years, I regained 80 pounds, back up to 260. When I decided to try to lose weight again, I opted to have VSG, because I didn't want to get back down only to regain again. I was hopeful that sleeve would allow me to maintain a lower weight. I was sleeved on Sept. 1, 2014 and at 7.5 months post-op, I am now back down to 180 pounds, so I have re-lost all the weight I gained post-plastics. I still want to lose about 25 more pounds to reach a healthy BMI. So, here are the pics! Before initial weight loss - November, 2010 - 265 pounds: After initial weight loss - August, 2011 - 180 pounds: Pre-plastics - August, 2011 - 180 pounds: Post-plastics (1.5 months post-op) - September, 2011 - 180 pounds: Before sleeve surgery - October, 2014 - 240 pounds: After sleeve surgery (7 months post-op) - March, 2015 - 185 pounds:

@@VickiCat You are only three weeks out. I promise you that you will feel normal sooner than later. I really had my turning point once I was allowed solid foods. There was still some adjustment after that when it came to eyeballing how much food I could actually eat, but it got better and better. Now I have no issues.

@@hthr I got headaches in the early days of the pre-op diet. That's common at the start of any low-carb diet as the body goes into ketosis. As for cash, I think I brought around $200. I got in in smaller bills for tipping and I didn't even use half of it while I was there.

Do you want "before" pictures from before our weight loss or "before" pictures from right before our plastics?

In the first couple of weeks post-op, I definitely had some regrets, because I was so miserable and questioning if I'd ever feel normal again. Now, 7.5 months out, definitely NO REGRETS! PS: I started feeling pretty normal again once I was allowed solid foods at 40 days post-op.

Every surgeon is different with their pre AND post-op plans. I think if you wanted so maybe replace one meal a day with a protein shake now, it might help you figure out what you like and dislike rather than experimenting post-op.

I think you'd find my diet pretty "boring" since I eat the sames things for all my meals/snacks except for lunch and dinner. Those are always meat of some sort and I try to make sure I never have the same kind of meat for lunch and dinner in the same day. My husband cooks our dinners and I always just eat the Protein from whatever he cooks. Last night was meatloaf. The night before that was feta & spinach poultry sausage. The night before that was chicken breast in an Indian simmer sauce. Shrimp is also a common options.... I always eat half us much meat as my husband does and save the other half of MY half as leftovers to have for lunch another day. I can now eat about 3-4 oz. of meat at a time, depending on what kind it is. I'm 7 months post-op. I wasn't even allowed solid foods at 1 month, so I know I wasn't eating exactly the same things I'm eating now. Back then I was eating more pulled chicken, pulled pork, tuna, etc.

How low? Protein bars come in such a huge variety. The main things to keep and eye on are carbs (especially sugar) and saturated fats when choosing a protein bar. My protein bar of choice is Quest Bar, chocolate chip cookie dough flavor. The have about 200 calories, with 21 grams of protein. They have somewhat high carbs with 21 grams, but a lot of those come from a "fake fiber" called Isomalto-Oligosaccharides, which isn't fully digestible by the body. They only have 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of saturated fats.

Do you have a 5k race scheduled? I'm hoping to run one in the second half of May, but haven't signed up for a specific race yet.

What you are describing can only be fixed with muscle repair surgery, usually done as part of a tummy tuck. You may loos some fat around your abdomen as you lose weight, but the only way to "tighten it up" once there has been that much damage to the abdominal wall is surgery.

That completely depends on your surgeon. I was allowed full liquids on my 3rd day post-op. Everyone has a different plan and the OP should follow the one their surgeon gave them.