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My nut has promoted a well balanced meal from day 1. As you think about carbs they are talking specifically about vegetables, fruit, dairy. They are not talking about bread, crackers, junk. The Way I have focused my diet to ensure I get my Protein is 2 bites of protein for every 1 bite of good carbs. I have a tight restriction so I still drink 1 Protein shake for Breakfast. I then have a balanced lunch and dinner. In order to meet my protein goals, I then will have 1 or 2 small Snacks that are protein focused. One of my favorites Is a pot of chocolate chai tea made with milk. The tea is a loose leaf teeth at I buy from Teavanna. There is no sugar and a hint of chocolate with all the wonderful chai spices. If I don't have my tea I might have an apple with Peanut Butter as dip, cheese, a piece of lunchmeat, a couple of shrimp or a tiny amount of nuts. This balanced approach works fantastic. My nut does not believe in protein only meals, she has had me eating good carbs since the puréed stage. Now that I am at goal, I have introduced whole grains, or small bite or two of potatoes or brown rice at my lunch or dinner meal. I am 17 months out and my calories are usually between 1000 and 1200. I rarely ever go over but I do have days where I hit 800 - 900. I will say I have had many many stalls but I simply stay the course and they always break. Also my longest stall was 28 days. At that point I was about 7 months in and I did add more calories and shortened my 1 hour a day work out to 30 minutes. I was not getting enough calories for how much I was working out. It did break the stall. There is no reason to go back to the pouch test unless you have come off the plan completely. That is not a good behavior to get into. Just remain patient. That's how I do it.....I would be interested to see how others respond.

@ I have been intutabed 3 times for surgery following my RNY. Just 2 weeks ago in fact. Whoever has told you that has it completely wrong. This was one of my biggest questions when I had a 3 level cervical fusion in June. Now following that surgery, they sometimes like to use video because I cannot tip my back far enough. I have been told that if I need this ERCP test they will need to use someone who is very familiar with bypass. So I was curious if anyone had that experience.

@@Nurse_Lenora Hi there! Things will get moving again. The most important thing to realize is that 4 days with no loss is absolutely NOT a stall! Now 3 to 4 weeks with no loss, yup that is a stall. Take it from me (queen of the stalls) it will come off if you follow the plan. I have been weighing daily since my surgery. I learned very early on that my weight fluctuates from day to day. To weigh daily you have to have patience and a realistic expectation or this process will make you lose your mind and ultimately you will struggle. I literally talk to myself before getting on the scale. There are days where I weigh a pound more than I did the day before and I know that really isn't possible given what I have eaten. The good thing about weighing daily is you learn how your body reacts to certain foods. For example, if I had a heavy salt day, I won't lose and may even gain a little. If I had a day where I exceeded Water, hit my Protein and stayed below my stats I might see a drop. If I do that 3 days in a row, chances are I will lose a couple pounds. However, when you have a real stall there really is nothing you need to do but follow the plan.

@@Kats Journey Hi and welcome! We are all here for you. I am 17 months post op and nearly at goal. If I can do this anyone can. When I started my journey I dared to believe I could go from 310lbs to my goal of 165. I am currently 166.8. I still drink 1 Protein shake for Breakfast every day. I have to in order to reach my protein goal. I am very restricted and cannot seem to get all of my protein from food. I have my shake for breakfast, a small balanced lunch, a snack which usually is cheese or lunch meat or milk, a well balanced dinner and a small snack after. I land between 900 and 1100 calories and 70 to 80 grams of protein everyday. I also drink a minimum of 48 oz. of Water, but usually more than 60oz total. Feel free to message with questions and good luck! You are clearly making fantastic progress so far! Congratulations!!!

@@Rustycreaks Welcome and thank you for sharing your story with us! This is a great site to gain and give support to others. I am 17 months post op, just nearing my goal. I started at 310 and I am currently 167. My biggest fear is getting complacent and regaining my weight. I have vowed to not let that happen and have worked my tail off to get here. Your story is inspiring and I hope you and your wife continue to realize the benefits of getting healthy and that you live a good long life together. That is what is most important!

Are you saying you gained 10lbs on the liquid diet? Or are you struggling to follow it? I am guessing you could be headed for a tough discussion with your surgeon. The reality is if you cannot follow the food plan, it shows that you are not making the changes necessary to be successful post surgery. You have to keep in mind that you have to be incontrol of what you put into your body. The surgery is simply a tool that helps you with volume and actually can cause long term problems if you don't eat the right foods. You can do this! You have to go back to all the reasons you chose to pursue this surgery. If you can begin to see the goal you will get there. hoe badly do you want it, that is the question you have to answer. I know it's hard but I promise, if you follow the plan you will be sucessful.

That show is the most unhealthy, ridiculous way to lose weight. Have you noticed that they never talk about where their winners are now? Have they kept their weight off? I never had a want to watch it when I was heavy and I have only watched it a few times but I am shocked at how they work those people nearly to death. Some day we will hear how someone died during the taping of that show.

There is no way I would meet my protein goals without 1 shake a day. I am very restricted and I use my shake for breakfast. Then I have 2 very small snacks on top of 2 other very small meals. This is the only way I can get between 70 and 80 grams per day. My calories are usually between 900 and 1100.

I am Italian too and Pasta was a way of life for me. We had it 2 to 3 times a week in different recipes. I am nearly at goal and have tried it. Spaghetti with meat sauce was my all time favorite dish from the time I was a tiny little girl and right up until I started the prep diet. I have tried it now on 3 different occasions and I hate it! I absolutely hate it. The texture, the chew and how it feels in my pouch. You have no idea how happy I am that I hate it. One of my favorite things to do was to eat cold pasta right out of the fridge! I have been released from that bad habit. I can still eat a little pasta in Soup but that is about the only way. Now, I still make chicken cacciatore, baked meatballs marinara, Italian sausage and peppers, chicken parmesean as well as many other Italian Proteins. I always make a veggie or a salad and both for my family but have removed most of the starch from our diet, even for them. They get a starch once or twice a week. I have also made chicken, veal manicotti al forno and it is delicious. I use fresh pasta and will eat the meat inside. My family would shoot me if I stopped making this dish, I make it about twice per year and plan my food around it for that day. I will make them fresh Italian garlic bread.That is the hardest for me to stay away from. I can easy well toasted bread. Occasionally if I have room in my food budget I will try a tiny bite or two of garlic bread.

@@CowgirlJane My granddaughter is coming for a visit from Minneapolis. I may have to give your recipe a try. Her favorite thing I make is meatloaf and my recipe is delicious however I have some culinary chops and she has been learning from me since she was big enough to stand on a chair (3). This is one that would be a lot of fun for us to try. Bacon would be a must! Yummy !

My heaviest weight was 320. The day I had surgery I was 303. I did not consider losing that weight as a lot of weight given I had 145lbs to lose. The biggest advantage was getting the right behaviors in place before surgery so the change would not be so hard on me. Secondly my liver was in much better condition making the surgery easier on my surgeon and a better recovery for me. If your liver is too big in some cases they cannot perform the surgery with opening you up with a big incision. I definately did not want that. I will say I was in the hospital two days and when I got back home I weighed 316! I had gained 13lbs back with all the swelling and fluids they pump into you. I did not expect that and was shocked but that comes off quickly and before you know it much more follows. I am now down 142lbs and 3lbs from my ideal weight. I am currently in a normal BMI of 24.1

@@Kats Journey I am sorry you are having a tough start but things will get better everyday. For me I started feeling back to my old self at the 8 week mark. I remember because I went to Las Vegas for 11 days. Other than dealing with food and Water I felt fantastic! It took me until 7 weeks before I could get all my water and Protein in. This is normal because of all the swelling. You just do the best that you can. Oh and I still get very constipated. I take a generic stool softener with laxative twice daily just to stay regular. I think this is a side effect of the diet and RNY. As long as I take my stool softeners I have no problem. I should also say I am on narcotic pain medicine which doesn't help but even before that I had to take stool softeners once a day. Hopefully things will get better soon for you.

I use my weight when I started the pre op liquid diet. HW - 320 SW - 310 CW - 168

Welcome back! I am sorry about what is going on with your marriage. Change is never easy. I have only been on this site for just over a year now but I am very active on it and absolutely love meeting others who are going through and been through the process. This is like my second home! Nice to cyber meet you and look forward to seeing your posts!

I had so many fears along the way but given I am nearly to goal my biggest fear right now is regain once I hit maintenance and saving enough money for plastics. I have so much loose skin and I really did not think it would bother me as much as it does. It makes me feel incomplete. I was expecting to have some but not realizing that it would be literally everywhere. It will likely take 2 or 3 surgeries to deal with the loose skin in my tummy arms legs, butt and breasts. I will have to prioritize for sure!

Yuck! I have always hated Beans. It's a texture issue with me and it did not change post surgery. I really wish they wouldn't gag me because they really are a great source of Protein. Enjoy!

@@Renkoss Don't get me wrong, since dropping 142lbs I am always freezing where I used to be hot and sweaty all day long. However I have horrible hot flashes and a lot of them all day long. It's funny because even in the summer I wear a jacket or am bundled up in a blanket. Then a flash comes on and I am throwing everything off for about 2 minutes. Then I am sweaty and freezing when I come down from the flash. It's like I can't make up my mind.

I researched this like a crazy person for 9 long months. I suffered from severe Gerd, had diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, anemia, apnea and stage 3 kidney disease. After seeing both my surgeon and my gastroenterologist I went with the bypass. I learned that the sleeve and band can make reflux worse and there are many cases where folks have to revise to bypass anyway. I decided I wanted to only do this once. Both surgeries require Vitamins for life. The RNY bypass is reversible where as once they remove 90% of your stomach the sleeve is not. Both surgeries are equally invasive. I have not regretted having bypass for 1 minute and all of my comorbitities are in complete remission. Do your research, understand how your medical history applies to each and leverage the experts (your doctors). This is a very personal decision. There are some doctors who push one surgery over the other. You need to be in control and understand the risks of each and what you are comfortable with. The best of luck to you!

@@Renkoss I have had the exact same experience! I had a hysterectomy at 40 and they left my ovaries. I have been stuck in perpetual peri menopause for too many years to count. I am 52 and must get at least 20 severe hot flashes every day and at night. The night before last I had one so bad that my entire body was soaked so bad with sweat that I had to get up change pjs, underwear and bed sheets in the middle of the night. Wtf, will it ever end? What's worse is because I had a hysterectomy I have no real idea when I no longer get a period. I seriously want to be done with this crap. I feel like the hot flashes got worse post surgery.

By the way, it really just happens to some people and not others. I have been at my Protein level since the beginning. Massive weight loss is a shock to your system or trauma. I have spoken to several doctors about this and all of them told me when the weight loss slows way down so will the hair loss and that is exactly what happened.

It will stop when your weight loss slows to a crawl. I lost about 2/3 of my hair volume. It started right around month 2, got really severe around month 4 and finally slowed down by month 12. It stopped completely around month 13. If you are taking Biotin you will already start regrowing hair now. I am 17 months post op and my hair is coming in like crazy. It's driving me nuts because there are hairs sticking up everywhere. Also the texture of my hair has changed significantly and the weirdest thing is my hair is coming back curly and I do mean curly! I will be glad when it is at its full thickness. It is definately getting there. The best advice I can give you is get all your Protein and Water. Also a short haircut really helps manage the hair loss in your house and it hides the thinness.

Yes, it is a healthy alternative. I use it to bread chicken or when you need a small amount of flour in a recipe.

Yes, you can do it. I started at 310, my heaviest weight was 315. I was a mess with many comorbitities. I had bypass almost 17 months ago. When I set my goal I thought there is no way in hell I will ever get there. Well my goal is 165 which is an ideal weight for my height. I am currently at 168! Yes, 3lbs away! And I will make it and will likely lose a little more just for bounce back sake. You just have to realize that you are in control, the bypass is simply the tool. You have to eat good well balanced meals and get active. I can only walk due to 3 surgeries this year but I can still walk. You will do great, you just have to believe it!

Set up an appointment a sap and have him complete the form while you are there.