BLERDgirl

I had the upper GI as well. Nearly barfed up the barium because it already taste nasty but the positioning and re-positioning was triggering my BPPV (vertigo). Sorry to hear about the delays for you guys. On the positive side it's best to take these precaution to ensure you have the most positive outcome possible.

My lettuce and avocados. Once I was cleared to eat whatever I could tolerate I went and bout some. I used to eat 1-1½ head of romaine in a salad. Now I can barely eat half a leaf. I would buy avocados 2 -3 times a week. I ate at least half of one a day. Now they are sitting in my fridge and I'm worried they will soon go bad.

I eat a lot of Greek yogurt and except for Vitamin D I never had any deficiencies pre-op so I'm thinking I'll be good.

I was allowed the bean soup since it was more liquid-y then mushy. I made my own so I had to start with pureeing the Beans, then I strained out the skins, mixed it with a bit of vegetable broth and drank it. I don't eat meat but maybe you could do something like a cream of chicken soup or at the very least chicken or beef broth. It's not going to be a big Protein push, but I got in most of my protein early on with the shakes so it balanced out. I was also allowed yogurt when I was in the full liquid stage. Double check with your medical team and see if that's allowed. Just being able to break up the monotony of sweet made a big difference.

I was told chewables are allowed but gummys do not have the complete nutrients needed.

It's the metal they worry about. You can go to your piercer and get a glass or plastic holder. They are temporary so you'll need to go back to the piercer in 3-5 days and get the earring out back in. I have a tragus but it's old so I was able to just take it out without the holder. IMO - the plastic holders are better than the glass ones. I had a glass holder break on me. Fortunately it fell off and didn't cut me.

I get a full blood panel at my next follow up on the 19th. I'm hoping to drop some of the supplements then. Really if I could toss the calcium horsepill, I'd be okay with the rest. Glad to see someone else uses and likes the Garden of Life brand. As for supplements in general, I try to eat as clean as possible however, with the limited amount of food I am currently taking I would rather err on the side of caution and take the supplement.

There are a few places to get it online. Here's a link to the unflavored variety. I was given the Prosource no carb in the orange creme flavor in the hospital. They gave me a few packs to take home. I would mix it with 6 ounces of herbal tea. It is very viscous, but mixes well in teas and Soups.

I had no pain. Seriously I've had worse menstruation cramps. I also experienced no gas, constipation or nausea. I was up and walking in recovery and felt great.

I looked at these pre-op and now googling the ingredients I can't figure out why I didn't go with them. I'm going to give the insure nutrition line a try.

My program gave us a handbook at the first doctor's appointment. It became my bible for those first 6 weeks. I had to take into consideration when choosing a Protein drink as well as vitamins/supplements that I'm I'm vegetarian and I'm allergic to most artificial sweeteners and stevia. In my hand book was 2 page list of some of the more popular brands. unjury for example, was out. It has aspartame aka sweet n low. I would recommend trying a variety in all 2 forms: powder, liquid and premade. Once you find a few you like, buy no more than 2 weeks worth. Some people have reported their taste buds changed post-op. You don't want to get stuck with loads of something you can't tolerate. Then there were vitamins/supplements. My doctor recommends the full regimen of AM/PM Multi, Vit D3, Calcium Citrate+D and B12. The handbook had 3 full pages front & back on that! Here I also had to be on guard for ingredients that could trigger my seafood allergy & artificial dyes. Flintstones were a no go because I can't do artificial dyes/food colorings. I would also stock up on your liquids; herbal teas, milk or non dairy drink of choice and cream Soups or soups that can be pureed & thinned out if necessary, hummus and yogurt. Hope this helps. Congrats on your surgery date!

I don't have those but I have a similar all natural multi called Kind Organic Women's Multi 40+ formula. Yeah, horse pills. Thankfully I only have to take 2 a day. I like them, but they're a bit pricey.

Easier surgery I ever had. You'll be fine.

You could try liquid Protein instead of the powders and shakes. Liquid Protein mixes well hot or cold. I used Prosource unflavored but others like the GENEPRO and unjury unflavored Proteins.

My disordered eating went in the opposite direction. I was never a big meal eater. Inconsistent eating might be a better way to describe me. I could nibble all day, or sometimes have a cup of coffee in the morning and not eat again until 8 the evening when I realized I hadn't eaten all day. Then I'd have a bowl of Pasta with some veg and butter or EVOO . That inconsistency was just as dangerous. Not only was I not getting enough nutrients, I wasn't getting the little I did get on any sort of regular schedule. My poor metabolism that was already struggling to work with a defective pituitary and menopausal hormones didn't know what to do. No wonder it held onto every single calorie!

Mine are going to sound weird because I LOVED junk food as much as I LOVE healthy foods. Here are examples of my two extremes: A really big salad. It consisted of: 3 cup of either romaine or baby salad greens, 6 grape tomatoes cut in half, 1/8 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup black bean, 1 hard boiled egg, 1/2 an avocado, 1 tbsp EVOO and either a splash of lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar and a dash of cayenne powder. I ate this salad or some variation of it nearly every day. I miss salads, but the best I can manage is occasionally making a lettuce wrap. My tummy is ready for all that roughage just yet. Vegetable Egg Foo Young. A large order was 4 patties. I could eat at least 2 or 3 in one sitting. Often with white rice. A half pint of Ben & Jerry's, Ciao Bella or Talenti ice cream or sorbet. Especially if it was chocolate.

There was a big thread on this a while back. Most US doctor's cite increased chance of acid reflux, dehydration and the fact that it can be a diuretic as the reason why they discourage it. I was told no caffeine for the first 6 weeks and then it was allowed in moderation. This can be hard on die hard coffee drinkers and even worse on soda addicts. I drink coffee but only once or twice a week if that. Ironically those in the UK aren't given those restrictions. If coffee is your issue, there are loads of tea and drink subs you can try. ETA: Here's the previous thread on this subject.

I sometimes do a half a tsp of plain greek yogurt.

I think it comes down to a matter of self care. I have always had a good sense of self. I just have never allowed anyone to make me feel bad or ashamed of who I am. Except for after facial shingles scarred my face I have never not felt beautiful. I've always liked myself and be good at setting up boundaries. I have a large multi-generational family that I love and respect. I am a firm believer that we teach people how they can treat us. Anytime we quietly seethe or hold in out feelings we only hurt ourselves. I like myself too much to do that. You have to find the way to say "that's not okay". It can be done without having a hissy fit. Whether it's deflection, laughter, changing the subject, you need to find the words and use them. My mother remains my biggest challenge. Despite many conversations with her about lifestyle changes she only hears "diet" and "weight loss". This has gone back to when I started eating clean and exercising regularly 2 years before my WLS. Since she doesn't get it, I'm not going to put myself in a position to get upset at her or try and hurt my feeling. I simply said, " I do not want to discuss my weight with you." It wasn't said in a mean manner. It was just stated as a simple fact. Post WLS I've had to remind her of this twice. Both times it was "How's the diet coming, have you lost any weight?" I gently remind her that we don't discuss my weight and moved on. There are a thousand things to discuss and share with my family. I'm not going to let one topic ruin those. Self care is important.

The way I make my soft scrambled eggs is by constantly stirring as they are cooking. They will have a more custard like consistency.

You may have eaten it too fast. I know we are told to go slow, but honestly it's not just slow, we have to go a virtually a snails pace or risk stacking. I also found it helpful make soft scrambled eggs. I hope you feel better!

I realize you've probably heard this before, but it bears repeating. DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYONE. Those 17 pounds are 17 pounds you weren't able to lose before. A slow, steady weight loss is not a bad thing. Hang in there!

It will pass. I assume by chips you mean the fried won ton strips. Likely they were too heavy for your sleeve to handle. You could try an ant-acid like chewable tums and walking around. I had this happen once. It was uncomfortable to even try and sip warm Water. I took 2 tums & my omeprazole and then walked around for a bit. I had eaten some macadamia nuts. I wondered if the fat content was too high for my sleeve to handle. It only happened that one time so I'm not really sure what was the cause. It was really uncomfortable and I was afraid to lie down and go to sleep until it resolved. Needless to say that was a long night.

Simply say, "Thank you for your concern, but my doctor's have approved my current eating plan and are carefully monitoring my process." Personally unless it's someone I want to share this process with I tell people " I don't discuss my weight, but thanks for asking. " But some people may find that rude. I rarely get those types of questions since so the people I would say that to deserve it.

@@Stevehud - I understand all that you are saying, but I assure you everything I did is per my doctor's protocal. I did not have a pre-op diet as part of my program. I also know the difference between a weight loss supplement and a meal replacement. As I mentioned those shakes were but a small part of my Protein intake. My surgeon is the chief of the bariatric program at my hospital, which is a world reknown hospital. It is one of the reason why I choose him. I am a vegetarian with multiple food and medicine allergies. The popular protein drinks would never work for me because they almost all uniformly contained allergy triggers. I made it through surgery with absolutely no problems, no gas, no pain, no nausea, nothing. I walked in recovery and have been losing steadily. Why would I question my doctor's advice? @leila0812 - Talk to you doctor or nutritionist. My program gives it patients a handbook detailing the program from the pre-op to post-op process. The nutrition class also goes into greater detail. I was given sample menus, list of Vitamins and supplements to try, the whole nine. It's very detailed and comprehensive. One thing I will say, is every surgeon is a bit different in their protocols. It's nice to get opinions and thoughts here, but also touch base with your surgical team.