JamieLogical

There have been some studies showing it can increase the elasticity of skin. I took it while I was losing weight post-sleeve. Not sure if it made a real difference or not, but figured it couldn't hurt. It even had a gram of protein! Of course collagen is a low quality Protein that isn't as well absorbed by the body, but hey, still protein!

I really hope it does! Be sure to let us know how it goes.

At least you are on top of it now. You are setting things in motion so you can begin your new life!

Welcome to the Week 3 Stall. 90% of WLS patients experience it. Your body is reeling from the trauma and changes it's been put through. Give it a second to catch up. Get your water and protein in. Take your vitamins. Walk a little every hour or two. Advance through your food stages as planned. And you WILL lose weight.

It seems to vary widely from person to person. For me, I was off work for 15 days post-op and it was rough when I went back. I was very very tired. The pain was gone in the first week, but the fatigue lasted until I was able to eat more substantial food and get more calories in.

You have come this far in the process for a reason. You already made your decision. Don't start second guessing yourself now. The doubts you have now are all based on emotions. I assume you made this decision previously based on reason and logic. Reason and logic are MUCH better criteria for making a big decision like this. So trust that you made the right decision back when you were being reasonable and logical, not while you are being emotional. As for your question about the waist trainer. NO NO NO. It will definitely not do ANYTHING for your skin. The only things you can do to potentially help your skin situation are to stay well hydrated, moisturize daily, and take all your Vitamins and supplements (may want to take extra Vitamin C and beef gelatin).

The timeline is really all dependent on your insurance company and the surgical program. Hopefully it will all go through sooner than later. Congratulations on beginning your journey!

Awesome! Remember to get up and walk every hour or two. And drink that water and protein like it's your job!

Welcome to the Week 3 Stall. 90% of WLS patients experience it. Now it's your turn! Trust in the program. Continue to follow your plan, get your protein and water in, take your vitamins, advance through your food stages, and walk as much as possible. You will lose weight.

I actually like that my nutritionist gave me a target body fat percentage, instead of goal weight. She estimated that I would get down to about 165, which I set as my goal weight, but emphasized that she wanted me under 25% body fat. I reached that 25% body fat goal long before I was under 165, because I worked out A LOT and built muscle. Now I weigh 159 and my body fat percentage is under 22%. On the day of my surgery, I weighed 236 and had a body fat percentage of 48.2%. That means I had 113.75 pounds of fat. I now weigh 159 and have a body fat percentage of 21.7%. That means I have 34.5 pounds of fat. So while I have "only" lost a total of 77 pounds post-op, I have lost 79.25 pounds of fat. Which means I've actually gained a couple pounds of muscle!

The red lentil pasta is made of 100% red lentils. It's the only ingredient. So it's no different than eating Beans and lentils in terms of the carb/protein content. One serving is 14 grams of Protein, iirc, but you won't be able to eat a whole serving, obviously. I would eat half a serving with half a poultry italian sausage (cut into slices) and some pasta sauce. Delicious and still in my target range of 16-20 grams of protein per meal.

The first step would be to talk to your surgeon and see if a revision is necessary. Then, if you are going through insurance, I am sure they will require a whole new approval process for the revision.

I tried it and it was GROSS. After costco stopped carrying the red lentil pasta that I loved, I've been looking for other high Protein pasta options, but they have all been disgusting. The red lentil pasta was the only good one I found. Tempted to try to order some online, since I can't find any locally anymore.

Yep! I highly recommend it. I keep a spreadsheet on Google Drive.

@@newmeme Yikes! Popcorn is probably one of the worst things you could possibly cheat with this early out. The little shells from the kernels can get caught in the staple line and cause an absess. Hopefully no damage done, but be hyper vigilant if you start to experience any pain, report it to you surgeon immediately. And stay away from popcorn until at least 3 months out from now on!

I wonder what the reasoning is there. Everything you listed was on my no-no list until 3 months post-op, except the shellfish and red meat. Not sure why he'd want you to hold off on those since they are such good sources of Protein.

I would definitely agree with your NUT. That sounds like not nearly enough calories to sustain your leave of activity.

Gallbladder would cause pain on the right side of the body.

I assume this means all went well?

Thanks!! Yea restaurant eating still amazes me .. I love it even more I'm basically paying for lunch and dinner I'm always tickled by that. I'm going to have to try the burger with the mushrooms I've never had them before. Sounds tasty! I always joke that I'm a "cheap date" now, because I'm always ordering off the appetizer menu or just sharing an entree.

Truer words have never been spoken. The pre-op liquid diet is a bi****. That's all there is to it. It's almost no calories... your body is entering ketosis... you still have to go to work every day... and you still have 100% of your stomach! SUCKS! Post-op is very different. I wouldn't say "easier", just very very different. You'll still just be on liquids, but your life will depend on getting those liquids and you will need to work at it all day long like it's your job. The only "hunger" you will experience post-op will be head hunger and/or excess acid. Hopefully your surgeon will have you on a PPI for the acid. But if you are like me, every single food commercial will drive you crazy with head hunger. Even though you KNOW that eating those things in the commercial would literally put you in the hospital, you will see them and think "THAT LOOKS SO GOOD! I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!" It's going to take your brain a while to catch onto the limitations of your new stomach. But it will happen eventually. For right now, just fight through this pre-op day by day. You will have all new struggles post-op.

No shellfish for 6 months?!?! I would have DIED! I didn't have any restriction on shellfish. In fact, I was allowed crab salad in my soft foods phase. Think I even had some lobster bisque in my full liquids phase....

@@AnA92212 Are you maintaining on that few calories or are you still losing? Your workouts don't sound much less rigorous than mine, aside from my one long run per week for my half marathon training and I have to eat more than 1000 more calories than you in order to not lose more weight.

@@Rustycreaks I have definitely seen accounts of people on these forums taking NSAIDs daily post-op and developing ulcers or stomach bleeds. So not something be taken lightly. Apparently there are other meds that can be administered while on NSAIDs that can help protect the stomach if necessary though.

I don't like that you are grazing with the trail mix. You may be eating more than you realize that way. Grazing is one of the easiest ways to bypass the restriction of the sleeve, because you never truly get "full". So it can be a slippery slope. Much better to eat on a schedule and have a specified amount of something as your "snack" between "meals". I am not a breakfast person AT ALL either. I never ate breakfast until I started trying to seriously lose weight. Even still, my "breakfast" is just a Protein bar. You could try a Protein Bar or shake, since those are easy to eat "on the go" or at your desk at work. I always eat mine first thing when I get into work, because I love my sleep, so my pre-work routine is waking up at the last possible moment, rolling out of bed, hopping in the shower, getting dressed quick, then usually getting to work 5-10 minutes late. There can be NO DOUBT that eating breakfast helps with weight loss though. So it's worth squeezing it in where you can. Even on weekends, when I sleep in, I wake up at my normal time, eat my protein bar, take my Vitamins, then go back to sleep! So my suggestions are: add a protein bar or shake for breakfast cut out the grazing and instead have scheduled, pre-measured Snacks try tracking your food for a week or two just to make sure you really are where you think you are with your calories and macros, then maybe try adjusting up or down as needed