Garifab_VSG

What are your favorite post-op high Protein go-tos? I've relied heavily on: Dannon Light and Fit GREEK yogurts - 80 calories, 12g protein, 1g sugar - LOVE! vanilla is my fave. StarKist Tuna Single Serve Pouches - Lemon Pepper flavor has 18g protein. Also love Ranch, but only 14g protein in Ranch. BabyBel Mini Mozzarella cheese - one little disc is 50 cals/6g protein Quest Bars in chocolate Brownie. I eat about 1/3 at a time since the carbs are on the higher side. Love them! Shrimp - cooked, with a touch of cocktail sauce. Alaskan Snow Crab meat - OMG, so delicious. But a special occasion since it's expensive.

I was sleeved 3/31 and 6 days later was Easter. It definitely sucks. I just had to grin and bear it since it just wasn't my time, and I wasn't about to not spend Easter with the family! I think most of this time you're in right now is mind over matter. Just keep reminding yourself why you did this. Remind yourself that it's not like you'll NEVER get to eat food again. Just not right now. This isn't forever, it's just a moment in time, and it will pass.

It's amazing how different everyone's experiences are with the same surgery. I was expecting a ton of body cavity gas pain and didn't have any! But I did have some dry-heaving from the anesthesia, so I had a theory that all that heaving brought up and out a lot of that air, which was why I felt hardly any gas pain.

What do you eat that you eat only protein? Wow - I am impressed that you can drink 100 ounces of Water. I don't come close to that. You eat only protein... that must be very challenging. What are your typical lunch and dinners like? I really, really force the fluids. It helps that my two toddlers have me up every day at 6AM, so I get a very early start. My daily menu is extremely boring! By saying, "I only eat protein," what I mean is, I have not incorporated in any type of vegetables or fruit, or even healthy grains of any kind, yet. I'm 10 weeks out and have no food texture restrictions now, but here's how a day typically looks Breakfast - egg whites with shredded low fat cheese, or a Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (or any combination of those things, depending on how hungry I am/time of month.) Mid-morning snack - Babybel Mozzarella mini cheese (or two) Lunch - any of these things: steamed shrimp, StarKist tuna pouch, grilled chicken, grilled salmon Mid-day snack (if I need one) - another Greek yogurt or cottage cheese dinner - usually fish/seafood or chicken again, similar to lunch. Lump crab meat, shrimp, salmon, tuna ... I'm a creature of habit, so eating the same things for an extended period of time does not bother me. I know at some point it will, but for now, that's how I'm eating. I'm ever conscious that we have a honeymoon phase, and I'm taking full advantage of it. Right now, I am eating 90-100g of protein every day. Again, something I know I won't sustain forever. But, honeymoon phase.

@@AussieSam I only eat Protein, and I drink 100oz a day LOL. The more you burn the more you require!

I don't agree with this part at all, or, at least, that is definitely not my experience. Exercise makes me MORE hungry, because it results in your body requiring more energy in the form of calories.

I forgot about cottage cheese. I overdid it on cottage cheese in the soft foods phase, but I do love it, and am ready to go back to it.

My first meal was fat free refried Beans, about 1.5 oz. Your sleeve will definitely relax a bit more and you'll be able to eat more than five bites. Tomorrow is 10 weeks out for me, and I can already eat about 3-4 oz at a time now.

I think it depends on your surgeon rather than the situation. My bariatric practice is overly cautious on EVERYTHING, and they said that everyone gets a drain. Mine was removed the day I left the hospital, as my practice won't allow people to leave the hospital with one. If there was a need to keep it in, I would have had to stay longer at the hospital.

Or just smile and say, "I have, thank you!" and be done with it!

The way I know I am full is when I feel like the last bite I took is sort of sitting right below my collarbone and not moving. It's not a feeling of wanting to throw up or something being stuck, but I can just feel that I've reached capacity. As of today, I am just over six weeks out.

During my two week pre op liquid ONLY diet (my surgeon's plan did not allow any solid food at all), every time I felt like I was hungry, I stopped and just really paid attention to whether or not my stomach was truly growling, or if I just WANTED to eat. It was great practice for post-op as well. I found that when I only drank a shake if I was TRULY hungry (stomach growling) I honestly didn't feel too much real hunger. I was terrified of the two week pre op diet. It was definitely hard, but not as hard as I had thought it would be. Days 1, 2, and 3 (and possibly 4) are definitely the hardest. After that, you will feel better! Push through!

I totally know how you feel! This is so very exciting. Good luck to you!

This is me, too. The 1000 mg of Tums is for Calcium rather than heartburn, though.

Thank God for this forum, and this thread. I am on my last day of liquids before starting purees. Let me tell you all, between the two week pre-op diet and the clear//full liquids two weeks post-op, I haven't "eaten" anything for a month, and it has been hard. The hardest thing ever? Easter dinner, when I was five days post-op. @@eyhornmom ... I used to think that the VSG people on YouTube who posted grocery hauls were crazy, and that was the least interesting thing posted in the VSG community. But now? Being on my last day (THANK THE SWEET BABY JESUS) of liquids before purees/soft/mushies, watching those videos has totally gotten me through. There is a girl on YouTube, her channel is called Lauren Losing, and she posts grocery hauls and food finds all the time. It is very helpful. She started at almost 270 lbs, and is now in the 130s, and she eats SO, SO SO many different things. Sometimes she is a little more indulgent, and others she is very strict. Watching her grocery hauls for each phase has taught me so much about how successful VSGers behave, and think, and what they allow themselves all the while still being successful. I highly recommend it! It's really gotten me through.

Prefacing this by saying I absolutely know that everyone is different. Naturally. This question is driven out of pure curiosity for EACH PERSON's experience, who wishes to share. If you ever had a c-section, and then you had VSG surgery, which surgery IN YOUR EXPERIENCE was more painful to recover from? How would you compare the two in regards to post-surgical pain? Which did you think was harder to recover from?

Good luck!! I have the GNC Lean shakes, too. What flavor is your favorite? The Mint chocolate was excellent.

Mine was 30 minutes, and she really was just asking question about my family and their weights, how much support I had around me, and I took a survey (prior to appt.) to determine levels of food addiction. At the end, she said, "I don't see any reasons why you wouldn't be successful after this surgery." and she gave me the clearance to move forward with it.

I'm realizing my pre-op requirements list is pretty vague. It just says 5-6 Protein shakes a day (with recommendations on which kinds) and that "you can supplement your diet with SF, calorie-free liquids throughout the day. Liquids include: SF Jello, SF popsicles,, Crystal Light, Fruit2O, Propel, Water, decaf coffee/tea with sugar substitutes, and broth." It doesn't specify one cup of broth, one cup of jello, etc.

This is my pre-op diet exactly. I'm on day three, and I'm struggling with weakness, but that's really it. I definitely feel less satisfied, but I'm not dying of hunger. Honestly, what I'm the most sick of is the sweetness of the shakes. I love sweets, but this is just too much, and what's crazy is the shakes I'm drinking (the ones specifically recommended by my nut) are only 1g and 2g of sugar. Ugh, I just want something salty! broth helps that. I must say, I'm completely envious of those of you whose doctors allow any solid food at all during this pre-op diet. I know I could totally keep it under control to have just a salad every day with these shakes, or even just a few veggies

Ah, OK, that makes sense!

? You should still take supplements for the rest of your life with VSG, too. The excised portion of the stomach is responsible for storing B-12, Iron and Calcium, so you will have deficiencies in those three things My surgeon is one of them. No NSAIDS again, ever, after VSG.

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All - there appears to be two separate threads on this exact subject started by the same person ... here is the other one http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/333347-any-april-sleevers/ In that one, we're trying to see if anyone would be interested in a private FB group for our time frame. @Debranua is willing to open the FB group. Please PM Debranua if you are interested! We’d like a good little number of people before getting the group going.

That's a simple answer. "I will have no choice but to stop eating after a few ounces after surgery. That's why." Ugh. I'm sorry you're dealing with that.