JamieLogical

If you are still on clears I don't think there is any way for you to possibly get all your protein. I don't think that's something you can realistically be expected to do until you are on full liquids and can get back to protein shakes and yogurt and such.

I make my own Protein shakes at home with whey Isolate powder, soy milk, and flavored syrups. I've been doing that for a while now. But when I start my pre-op diet, my nutritionist wants me using 4 oz. almond milk and 4 oz. Water instead of the soy milk and sugar-free syrups (the syrup I use now is just normal Hershey's chocolate or strawberry or both!). So I am worried about how those will end up tasting. I did order a bunch of different flavors of Torani sugar-free syrups, so we'll see how I like those. Today I went to the bookstore at the college where I work (serves as sort of a convenience store as well) and bought a vanilla Muscle Milk. OMG, it was SOOOOOOO gross. I only managed to force down about half of it and had to pour the rest out. That sucks, because I was hoping the fact they sold Muscle Milk might be a good back-up plan if I'm not able to make it home on my lunch break during my pre-op diet or if I just needed to get some extra protein in post-op. I guess I can still try the chocolate, but they do have a lot of carbs, so I am thinking I should just avoid them altogether. The protein shakes I've already been making at home are way healthier (even with their soy milk and Hershey's syrup) than those Muscle Milk ones anyway.

Let us know how it works out. Hopefully they can get everything sorted for you.

I have a two-week liquid diet starting on the 17th for my surgery on September 1 and I am definitely dreading it more than the surgery or any of the post-op discomfort. I keep referring to it as "doctor-sanctioned" anorexia to my friends and family. I'm only supposed to have 500 calories a day of Protein shakes, sugar free jello/popcicles, and green salad with zero-calorie dressing. Meanwhile I'm supposed to continue working out, which is currently burning 500+ calories 5 days a week. And all of this while I still have 100% of my stomach! Seems INSANE! Good luck to you tomorrow and for the rest of the week. Hopefully it won't be as bad as we all fear.

One of the key factors those people are missing is time. As I said in a previous post, it can take time for the skin to catch up to the weight loss. That's not to say that all of their skin would have shrunk had they given it more time, but it may have improved somewhat. I don't want to sound like a hypocrite here though. Full disclosure: I lost 90 pounds back in 2010/2011 "on my own" and had an extended tummy tuck and breast lift afterward. And that was after having maintained my weight for almost a year. So clearly my skin didn't tighten back up to the point where I was happy with it. I do wish that I knew back then what I know now about steps I could have taken to reduce the loose skin issue WHILE losing weight. Once I am sleeved on September 1, I intend to be religious about hydration, moisturization, supplementation, and resistance training. Hopefully by doing that, I can reduce the likelihood of needing to have any revision to my tummy tuck or any additional skin removal surgery down the road.

Exercise will definitely help, but it's no guarantee that all of your skin will bounce back. Resistance training can help "fill in" the skin with muscle where the fat used to be. But there are so many other factors. Stay well hydrated, moisturize daily, and just give it time. It is hard for the skin to keep up with the weight loss, but having some excess skin when you reach your goal weight, doesn't mean you will ALWAYS have it. It just might take some time for it to catch up.

I wonder if going off your diet caused your stomach to stretch and that caused more strain on the staples? Sucks that this happened right as you were finally getting back on track! Hopefully the recovery time will be minimal and you will be able to continue your new efforts to eat well and exercise again.

Please don't stop your cardio. It is vital to your health and fitness. Quitting your cardio will accomplish nothing other than decreasing your weight loss on increasing your weight gain. Do your research. It is a fact that you cannot target weight loss. You can target toning through certain weight training and resistance exercising, but that WILL NOT affect the fat in those areas. A quick Google search for "Spot Reduction" will turn up countless reliable results all explaining that it is just not possible. Here's a quick article: http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/cm_archives11ml3p1a2.html

I am so sorry to hear that. Is there anything that can be done to treat the cirrhosis? I'm surprised it hadn't manifested any symptoms or turned up in any of your pre-op lab work.

There is no way to control where the weight comes off first. As for "contouring", that can really only be done when you have little to no weight left to lose by building muscle through weight and resistance training.

What do you mean by "I am able to eat normal foods."? Your surgeon/nutritionist has already cleared you to eat solids at 3 weeks? Maybe to avoid overeating, portion out the amount of food you should eat instead of eating out of a larger container or off a larger plate than you need?

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I did have a lot of cosmetic surgery done in Mexico in 2011. My main issue with the flight home was back pain due to excessive fluid collection in my lower back as a result of my extended tummy tuck. As far as bags and whatnot, there is always someone around willing to help you with your bags. I had someone help me get my carry-on in and out of the overhead compartment and I had someone help me get my checked bag off the carousel. Definitely try to use roller bags so you aren't having to lift and carry them through the airport.

My nutrition plan allows for G2 during the clears phase post-op, but that doesn't mean your surgeon/nutritionist would approve.

Does anyone know what the likelihood of gallbladder issues is post-sleeve? I know that it is fairly common for people to have problems with their gallbladders after going on extremely low-fat diets. My sister, my mother-in-law, and my sister's sister-in-law all had to have their gallbladders removed as a result of eating extremely low-fat diets at one time or another. I also remember reading that people who used Nutrisystem in the 90's often had to have their gallbladders out, because back then their food was extremely low-fat. I just received my post-op diet plan and it includes a lot of "low-fat" this and "low-fat" that. It specifically says to avoid things like cheese, white dressings and sauces, butter, oil, mayo, cream, etc. even once I am back to solid foods. Not to mention the fact that with the physical restriction on how much we can eat and the emphasis on getting all our Protein in, it doesn't leave much room for fat in our diets anyway. Has anyone experienced any gallbladder issues post-op or read any studies about the chances of gallbladder complications after VSG?

Ha! No, I can look them up online. I actually never get printed pay stubs. The come to me via email as PDF documents.

Holy cow! You look FANTASTIC!

I didn't have a lower body lift, but I had an extended tummy tuck back in 2011. I was scheduled for 4 weeks off work, but ended up needing more than that. I only had an office job as well, but I needed to work only half days for quite a while. These types of procedures are very disruptive to your lymphatic system. I had pooling of fluids in my lower back that made it incredibly painful to sit in a chair for any period of time. I would say I wasn't fully recovered until about 6 months out. .... I just looked back through my pay stubs and it looks like I wasn't back to work full time until 3 months out. Of course, not everyone's recovery will be as difficult as mine was. Everyone's body handles things differently. But I would say expect to be off work for 4 weeks MINIMUM.

I don't think many people within this community would consider it an "easy fix" because we've done the research or been through the process ourselves and know how hard it really is. But I do think there is a misconception amongst society at large, especially here in the US, that WLS is the easy way out. I don't know why it is so misunderstood. I think if the majority of people knew about the hoops you have to jump through, the pre-op diet, the potential complications, the pain and discomfort, the post-op exercise requirements, and the post-op diet there is NO WAY anyone would consider this "easy".

The main reason most diets tell you not to drop below 1000 calories a day is because it is extremely difficult to get sufficient nutrition from fewer than 1000 calories. That is why bariatric patients have to focus so heavily on Protein and take so many vitamins/supplements. As for slowing your metabolism, that will happen. Once you reach your steady weight, it will take fewer calories to sustain you than it would to sustain someone that same weight who had never been obese or had bariatric surgery. However, by getting your protein and exercise in, you can curb that a bit.

Good luck!

Hi everyone! I'm Jamie and I'm scheduled to be sleeved on Sept. 1! I am stressing more about the logistics than the actual surgery at the moment. And I am dreading my pre-op diet. Fortunately it's only two weeks, but I think it's going to be a rough two weeks. I keep referring to it as "doctor-sanctioned anorexia" because I'll only be doing about 500 calories per day of Protein shakes with some sugar-free Jello and popsicles and green salads with no-calorie dressing. I'm burning more than 500 calories 5 days a week through cardio right now and they want me to keep up my exercise while on the pre-op diet, which seems insane. Do they not realize that I will have to be working every day and still have 100% of my stomach at that point?!?! I'm supposed to be down 13 pounds by my surgery day. So far I'm down 3.6 pounds. I'm hoping I can lose about 3 more before my pre-op diet starts.

Any idea how many calories you are getting? From reading these forums it seems like when people start stalling about 5 months out, it's because they aren't getting enough calories.

I am dreading giving up my Diet Mt. Dew. I know I should be weaning myself off of it now (4 weeks pre-op), but every day I tell myself I won't drink one, then 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon rolls around and I find myself walking to the vending machine! I only drink one a day and only on weekdays (at work), but it's still going to be hard to give up. It's my little afternoon ritual.

How long did your doctor have you on Clear Liquids that you are almost a week out and haven't started full liquids yet? My nutritionist only has me on clears for 2-3 days.

I already have and I have an appointment with my PCP later this week, because she'll be handling my follow-up lab work and whatnot.