Stevehud

Id like to say this, first people, please avoid diagnosing someone, youre not a doctor having WLS does not make you an expert. I would like to ask didn't everyone have to use the shakes for weeks before your surgery? It seems like a lot of people are saying they started their shakes for the first time after surgery. I am kind of flabbergasted ( stupid word I know) that there are so many different programs and surgeons that can differ greatly their pre-surg regimen. Ive tried over 15 different kinds of powders and ready mades so far and im still a ways out. I know that some people change taste after surgery, that's fine, but if you didn't start shakes and drinks until after surgery, well, Someone let you down big time. Second thing that concerns me is people seem to go off their diets and eat or drink things they aren't supposed to. Why would you go through this and just arm yourself with failure? I mean everything from drinking regular Soup broth, on the liquids phase ( its a big no no from my team) to putting sweetened condensed milk in your shakes? that's pure sugar, worse its almost pure corn syrup, why not just squeeze in some hersheys chocolate too! Im very curious, my team when I first went in gave me a three ring binder full of guides, information, lists of shakes and drinks, schedules and more. Did I just get lucky or what? I assumed everyone did the research and got all this information ahead of time. Im not picking on anyone, what you do with your life is totally your decision period. I really am interested in the pre surg education, and Since I am determined to not fail, I am looking at all the traps and pitfalls, I truly believe forewarned is forearmed. Ive seen people complain they aren't losing enough weight, then they admit they aren't going to the gym or exercising at all. Do a lot of people secretly believe the surgery is a magic bullet? how many times is everyone told the surgery is just a tool, you still have to do the work. Im very confused, I know everydeals with things differently, but it seems like a lot of cheating going on. My surgeon told a story to me about a post op patient who wound up back in surgery after tearing their pouch, they went to mcdonalds on the way home from the hospital, and got chicken nuggets because they wanted to see if they would fit. For me, yes I know this is personal, but for me it seems like if youre going to go through this, I know its hard as hell, but please gove yourself every chance to succeed, its that old movie script saying "failure is not an option." Love you all, I wish you all well with your struggle. Be safe and be well.

no one can tell you about that relationship. But you definitely need to be you, the you that is a great mom, the you that doesn't have to be stared at, the you that wont have their daughters classmates refer to her mom as fatty fatty boom balatty. Not that they do now , but it certainly happens to people. Youre doing this for the right reasons.

why take in carbs when you don't have to.

oh and you don't have to eat until your full. eating less is the whole idea. So not feeling a restriction is good unless your overeating. you don't try to eat until youre full its a guide.

Par, you do know they make no carb low calorie Protein shakes that have more protein than you can possibly get eating anything else. I don't think you should be here telling people not to drink their protein, when you are not a MD or bariatric surgeon. You also drink coffee, and caffeine is a huge no no. Most people are not allowed to drink a whole bottle of Water. Youre post is extremely irresponsible. If you drink 5 Protein Shakes ( I use a 90 calorie per shake mix) I take in under 400 calories a day. Hardly high calorie. Protein like say chicken breast, has the following: Calories 100.0 Total Fat 1.0 g Saturated Fat 0.0 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g Cholesterol 60.0 mg Sodium 250.0 mg Potassium 0.0 mg Total Carbohydrate 0.0 g Dietary Fiber 0.0 g Sugars 0.0 g Protein 22.0 g Vitamin A 0.0 % Vitamin B-12 0.0 % Vitamin B-6 0.0 % Vitamin C 0.0 % Vitamin D 0.0 % Vitamin E 0.0 % Calcium 0.0 % Copper 0.0 % Folate 0.0 % Iron 0.0 % Magnesium 0.0 % Manganese 0.0 % Niacin 0.0 % Pantothenic Acid 0.0 % Phosphorus 0.0 % Riboflavin 0.0 % Selenium 0.0 % Thiamin 0.0 % Zinc One shake has the same or less calories, plus fiber and lots of Vitamins. AND it wont stretch your sleeve, which is a great thing. So I would avoid telling people to go against their doctors and nutritionists.

carbs can be a very bad thing indeed to overweight people. the brain uses very little in the way of added sugars or carbs, the body breaks down fats into usable compounds for the brain. That's the entire basis for losing weight and WLS surgery. adding sugars to someone after WLS is the dumbest thing you can do.

way to go!! you are proof we can make it. Thank you for being you!!

well I am doing a lot of taste test videos on my blog. I am right now trying the nectar Caribbean cooler mixed with some frozen mango strawberries and pineapple mixed with diet iced tea and blended, oh its heaven. but the regular powders and drinks are in video format on my blog. I will be added a few more taste test videos later today. http://cuttingthefatwithaknife.blogspot.com

So I wanted to let everyone know I have embarked upon a series of taste tests of various brands of ready made and powder form Protein drinks and shakes. I have at least a dozen small easy and fun to watch videos up with more every few days. If you would like, you can watch the videos on my blog at cuttingthefatwithaknife@BlogSpot.com , I do not get any money for this or any sponsors or any such thing, this is purely to help me get through all this and to hopefully help others by seeing what I go through. There are no ads or products or anything like that, purely just me to you. So check it out if you'd like, feel free to leave comments or put in your email and get updates as I post them. Thanks and remember we can all do this together!

im ordering up some unjury this weekend so the taste test for those will be late next week. If anyone has problems viewing my videos and wishes to see them, feel free to let me know along with an email or I can upload them to a fileshare site for you. email might work best but totally up to you. Have a great Halloween, and we can all do this. We have the power!

if youre on a mac or an ipad you might have issues they play in adobe flash format. let me get a list together for you. I starting a new product taste test tomorrow called abouttime, fill, shake and go. its a plastic bottle with the powder already inside you can carry it like that and then fill when you need one and toss it away when your done. its a neat idea and have 4 flavors to try . ill send you t the results as well.

Well I have done a little research on it. Two things worry me. The first is that itrequire two scoops per 8 ounces, it also has lots of weird extras in it like phenyalanine, and tryptophan, togther this has a laxative effect. So be careful. I guess that's why their add says it eliminates bad foods. The second and most problematic for me, is it says you can only take this once a day. Evidently the additives that worried me are too strong to take more then once , probably would make the laxative effect a bit strong shall we say. Here is the guidelines I have from my nutritionist and surgeron, Protein powders and rinks shouls have more than 15 grams of protein per 8 ounces and less then 4 carbs, no caffeine, no laxatives either. I tast test several commonly available ones on my blog if you would like to see the videos. AT http://cuttingthefatwithaknife@blogspot.com good luck, you can do this! and ask anything anytime this is a helpful place.

im on day 14 im down 15 pounds and I finally let my dark side creep in, I was so busy I had one shake for Breakfast and literally nothing else so at 8pm I had a whopper from burger king. SO now I know I have probably cost myself a few more days of the shake and salad barrage. Worst part is I hate the fact I did it. for the first time in my life I truly regretted eating. It really sucks.

glad to listen, sometimes we all need to vent. Glad you got it straightened out.

DO you even listen to yourself? You really think a surgeon , sits around waiting for people to com in with other surgeons issues and says WAH I dint get your surgical money so im not gonna like you. What do you think they are 5 year olds? They risk a lot of lawsuits from people who get substandard care or even good care but a screwup is a screwup and if you cannot sue doctor Mexico, who will you sue? Seriously. I have insurance under my wifes company, but her company specifically made her insurance deny all bariatric surgeries Specifically. SO what did I do,. I pay extra out of my own pay to have an insurance, for just me , a company that will pay 90% of my surgical costs. I now have 2 Insurances. you do what you have to, you have to go to mexico, good go for it. But do not belittle those who do not have to as if you are the enlightened , and everyone else is wrong.

Okay I have to be that guy I guess. First off. DO doctors in Mexico have to go through the same rigorous training as they do here in the US? Answer NO they take some pre med courses in HIGH SCHOOL AT AGE 15, then go right from high school to med school for four years. Then they do 1 year residency in a rural area hospital or clinic then they get to take their boards. Difference in training time? 4 YEARS. Here's the real reason why I would not go to mexico for surgery. If your surgeon screws up, face it, it happens, this is major surgery not clipping your toe nails. If it happens, you have no recourse. You cannot sue, you're on a self pay excursion, so if you suddenly need emergency care you have to pay for it out of pocket. All I can think of is flying down to mexico, then having surgery and two days after surgery trying to fit into an airline seat with fresh incisions, and in a lot of cases still oozing and draining. Somehow getting fluids in me, and keeping infections out, from the worlds most cramped common space ( an airplane) , yea that's what I want to do right after surgery. Be in a foreign country where my wife or family can see me, especially if something goes wrong. I also would like to bring up one MAJOR point, too many of you are acting very very childish. My doctor is better than yours, seriously, c'mon get a grip, if you cannot act like an adult how are you going to succeed with this surgery. Stop the denial, stop the oh care is better there anyway , it is al just you justifying your actions, we have all done it with food, please don't do it with surgery. If you went to or are going to mexico, it is because you cant afford it here. Great good luck. that's your choice. Do not expect others to agree with it or to somehow forego their own experience and knowledge of the surgery here in the US.

its funny at one point in my life I weighed 200 pounds, yes this was 1992, Im 5 8' and that was the last time I saw mine without the aid of mirrors. so just seeing it again will be.....enormous to me.

I do not know about others, but my weight loss team has outlawed all Protein bars because they just don't digest fast enough and can cause gastric discomfort and distress. Like I said though check out my blog and my taste tests trust me it helps.

If people think the surgery is cheating. Then educate them. tell them, say its a shame she will never have carbonated soda again or the other things we gave up. let them see the truth. then call them a bitchy shrew and walk away.

Okay first let me say, I am concerned. One A lot of people do not understand what a surgeon is. Now having been in and around the medical field most of my life, Both sisters nurses, one wither doctorate in nursing, mother was head of cardiology for many years, I was a secretary in cardiology, and an emt and medic. Here is a list of things a surgeon is not: A primary Care Physician Easily accessible A counselor A diagnostician A nutritionist A bariatric Care Physician Concerned with how much another surgeon got for his surgery, they are on staff at a hospital, they make what the hospital pays them. very good with the outsides of people, but they are great on the insides, for the most part. going to recognize you out of the thousands of surgeries they do. However you should research your surgeon, ask questions, and if you think they are ignoring you, for god sake say so, to them. I have seen my surgeon twice each time for over an hour discussing things. I made sure to ask, does he use suture reinforcement materials, does he do an inflate test after, how will he handle, other issues I have. etc. I will see him again before the surgery then the day of the surgery the the day after the surgery, then two weeks after the surgery and we make a schedule after that. Seriously if money was that big an issue then surgeons in Nevada where its average of 13 grand for the surgery would all move to Massachusetts where I am, which is the highest in the US at over 38 grand. ALL I can say Is I would never go to Mexico for this surgery, without a team to support me, I would fail miserably, and any complications, like infections etc, ( I know someone said they had a c-diff infection) Im sure the facility is wonderful, in your opinion. And to the person who said that the assumption that US healthcare is better than the rest of the world , is arrogance. I say this, The truth is never arrogance.

2new, I am in your boat except I will say this stay away from the special K, and a lot of Protein drinks, they have tons of sugar which will just make you GAIN weight not lose it. Many many protein powders and drinks are designed for weight gain not weight loss. Just because it is whey isolate doesn't mean its for you. Also gummy Vitamins are almost all loaded in sugar, look more for the chewables, there are several that have the calcium in them and Iron as well, and that dissolve fast. For some taste tests you can if you wish check out my blog, I video tape all the products I am trying and ive tried many of them, and add at least 4 taste test per week, in video form. I also have a bunch of products coming from a company that saw my blog and wants me to taste test their products, I get no money at all here, I am actually making this blog into an ebook 1 year post surgery as an adjunct to help men get past the stigma of bariatric surgery. if you are interested it is at http://cuttingthefatwithaknife.blogspot.com

while I understand when you say you didn't want to volunteer information. That's not at all what I meant. It's not like I run around saying hey look at me I am having surgery. But to the people I care about, the people who I will rely on for support either directly or indirectly, of course I told. The issue is whether or not you need to lie about it. Saying you had a different surgery , certainly cannot be a privacy issue, since you are admitting to having surgery. The only reason I can come up with is that the person believes the surgery does all the work and they will not have to do anything, so they want to make people who think the same way, that they did it the old fashioned way. Or they do not believe they are obese and somehow think that this is an admission of being obese or as I say, fat. I know that in talking to my psych person, we talked about people who cannot even admit they are fat, or obese. They say overweight, or yes big boned or, they use terms like "I'm big", or plus sized. To me my breakthrough that I needed help, was when I could finally look in the mirror and call myself fat.

It cannot be racism by the way because Mexican or latino Is not a race. The reason is much simpler, the standards of care do not have to be followed in Mexico, so doctors here do not know exactly what they are dealing with. They cannot call the surgeon and ask. For your daughter have you tried getting financial assistance through the www.wlsfa.org ?

congratulations!