JamieLogical

I had some fritos and gucomole today with spinach and artichoke dip I had a few olive oil and Rosemary triscuits crackers yesterday.....Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App How much is "some"?

Well, I'd try to say something encouraging about how loose skin can bounce back a little bit (though not usually near enough), but with your boobs, gravity will definitely be working against you. On the plus side, my boob job so much fun! Once you are past the expense, pain, and recovery, you will be loving life!

I was allowed ground meats during the later portion of my soft foods phase, but you really should ask either your surgeon or nutritionist.

It depends on what you are nibbling. If it's any sort of carbs, then your liver won't shrink, because it will still be storing glycogen. The way the pre-op diet shrinks your liver is by putting your body into ketosis, which depletes your liver's glycogen stores.

Not surprisingly, removing 80% or more of your stomach does a lot of damage to your nerves. You may not get proper "full" or "hunger" signals from your sleeve in the beginning. That is why it is very important to measure your food (no more than 2 oz. at a time this early out) and eat on a schedule. As others have said, there are a lot of low or no calorie alternatives if you are having trouble with plain Water. It's definitely important to get your fluids in! As for true hunger, it's unlikely at this point. If by "hunger" you mean your stomach is rumbling or growling, that is likely acid or gas. Are you on a PPI? If the "hunger" is triggered by seeing commercials on TV or smelling food your family members are eating or cravings for your comfort foods, that's head hunger.

The pre-OP liquid diet isn't intended for weight loss. It is intended to shrink your liver. The way it shrinks your liver is by depleting it of glycogen. Glycogen requires Water. So really, the bulk of the weight you lose will be water weight. While the minimal food intake will create a calorie deficit, it takes a colorie deficit of 3500 to lose a pound of actual fat. That means to lose 10 pounds of actual fat, you need a deficit of 35000 calories. It's highly unlikely that you create a calorie deficit of 2500 calories a day for those 2 weeks, and I definitely wouldn't recommend that you try.

If your blood work is showing no deficiencies, the I would guess dehydration or not eating enough calories? How much protein are you getting?

Yes, having protein will always help fill you up some. My nutritionist told me to never eat carb-only snacks for that very reason. Having an apple or toast? Put peanut butter on it. Having crackers? Put cheese or tuna salad on it. Never eat JUST an English muffin or JUST potato chips.

Depends on what you mean by "recovery". Recommended time off work is 4-6 weeks. If you have muscle repair along with the tummy tuck (which you absolutely should for good results), there will be a good few days where you need help with everything, like just getting up and down. Close to two weeks before you can walk fully upright. 8-10 weeks of wearing compression garments 24/7. A good year or so for your lymphatic system to build new channels. I had numbness and phantom itching for about 2 years due to the nerve regeneration. And I'd say it was about 2 years for my scars to fade to the point they are now. I'm almost 5 years post-TT now, thought and I promise that it was well worth all the suffering!

I bought every kind of cream soup my grocery store carried, because I was allowed strained cream Soups in my full liquids phase. My favorites were Campbell's condensed cream of shrimp made with 2% milk. And Progresso's chicken cheese Enchilada. For a VERY special treat, my grocery had a hot soup bar so I would occasionally go there and get their Buffalo Chicken Chowder! Welcome to the losers' bench! Sounds like you are doing great so far!

OMG! Do NOT get me started at people who text while driving... if they aren't trying to kill me, they are trying to slow me down. The other day I was stuck behind a guy at a red light... turned green... he's texting... I finally honk... he finally goes. VERY NEXT LIGHT... same guy... exact same sequence of events. Reminded me of a stand-up comedian I saw who said he hasn't seen a light turn green in years. He always just waits for the people behind him to honk and let him know.

I've seen the term "slider food" several times around the forum, but I don't know what it means. It makes me think of mini burgers! What is it? Slider foods are foods that you can eat without the restriction of your sleeve kicking in. Usually they are foods that dissolve easily in Water or foods with a high liquid content. Think of things like cheetos or cheez-its or cake. They "collapse" when wet, so they take up far less volume in your stomach than they do when they are dry. For me I can eat an almost infinite amount of potato chips or popcorn now at 20 months out. But I can still only eat 3-4 oz. of dense Protein, like chicken. As for foods with high liquid content, some examples would be Soup, chili, yogurt, anything in a heavy sauce.... all of those foods move through your sleeve more quickly because the liquid makes it easier (the same reason we're not supposed to eat and drink at the same time).

Ah. I never had any problem swallowing pills and I was cleared to swallow whole pills at 7 days post-op so I never had to bother with alternatives. I do use a B12 spray, because my nutritionist says it is absorbed better, but all my other Vitamins have been in pill from since the beginning. I hope the company gets back to you about how to treat that "burn" and how to avoid them in the future!

There is already a lengthy post going on this topic here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/366761-study-of-season-8-biggest-loser-contestants-re-weight-regain-causes/

The best advice I've seen for how to jump-start weight loss again after a while off is to just go back to the basics, as if you just had surgery again. Do a shortened version of the post-op food stages. A couple days of shakes only, then onto purees, then soft foods, then solid foods. Just a couple of days in each stage. That will wean your body back off carbs, kind of reset your restriction, and reset your head as well. It will give you an opportunity to refocus on putting protein first, eating on a schedule, getting your fluids in, etc.

Yikes! That looks painful. Is there a reason you aren't taking vitamins orally?

It is much more rare for people to experience dumping with sleeve, but it is definitely a possibility.

Definitely stop the nibbling. Grazing is one of the ways to eat around the restriction of the sleeve, so your tool isn't working for you when you allow yourself to graze. It may not be the source of your current stall, but it is still a potentially destructive behavior you need to acknowledge and work to overcome in order to be successful in the long term.

I feel like most people seem to experience some sort of bounce back once their real life sets in and their WLS is no longer "THE THING" that is constantly top-of-mind for them. The get caught up in just living day-to-day, maybe go back to eating more convenience foods, maybe start allowing themselves more "treats" once they are at goal and it's easy to regain a few pounds before they catch it. I also notice, at least based on the highly unscientific sample on these forums, that it seems like people who never reach their goal in the first place tend to regain more. I think in that case it's a sense of "failure" and "giving up" that lead them to return to their old comforts and habits.

Some people don't get a whole lot of choice because of their insurance, so you should count yourself lucky in that regard. But one of my favorite quotes of all time is: "Where there is clarity there is no choice. And where there is choice, there is misery." Sometimes having choices isn't such a blessing. Anyway, I was self-pay and went to Mexico so I had to do a TON of research before choosing a surgeon and facility. It took me probably close to a full month of reading reviews and posts, sending emails, and reading the provided materials from various surgeons before I made my choice.

People who still pay with checks need to be thrown out. Sorry. It's just the truth.

Just to give you a picture of what I was eating around 7-8 weeks post-op to get my 100 grams of Protein in: Breakfast: Protein shake or bar Morning Snack: reduced fat string cheese Lunch: 2-4 oz. of meat Afternoon Snack: Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt Dinner: 2-4 oz. of meat Evening Snack: protein shake or bar

That's insane that you have been told to only eat 2 meals a day! I was told to eat 5-6 times a day once I was actually "eating" and not just drinking everything. And now that I'm running and doing so much cardio and I'm in maintenance, I have to eat more like 7-8 times a day to get enough calories in. It's not physically possible for you to get enough calories and protein in in two meals with the restriction of the sleeve! I feel like maybe you need to call or meet with your nutritionist to make sure that's actually what you are supposed to be trying to do. Seems just crazy to me!

Oh! I forgot to mention that last night I was watching United Shades of America on CNN and they were doing a show on San Quentin State Prison and the inmates there were learning yoga! If I bunch of big, burly guys on death row are doing yoga, you can bet it is a real workout!

I am really so excited for you! It can be rough starting out, but a good attitude will get you far. Just have to hang in there through the tough times. Focus on meeting your daily (and even hourly) targets with water, protein, vitamins, and walking. If you are having gas pain, walking will help. And if you are feeling run down, walking will help too. I found that even though sometimes I felt miserable and like I didn't want to move, if I got up and walked a bit, I actually felt a lot better.