higher

I found the green tea to be the most tolerable.

I'm excited for both of you!

@@tess170 carpe diem!

I use my digital food scale pretty much every day still so that's a definite must have from me. My other great purchase was a blender bottle- makes it so easy to whip up protein shakes while traveling.

I'm only 3 months out and already at 55% so I'll keep working it.

My surgeon told me he thought I would get to the 140s, which is still overweight BMI for my height. I told him I was in the 120s in college and would love to be back there and he said "if you really stick to it and work hard, you can get there!" But in the 140s I would still be a success. And honestly, I'm in the upper 160s now and I feel ten trillion times better that it's all gravy from here. I know I will keep losing and just feel better and better no matter where I end up.

Yeah, I leaned on Protein shakes, yogurt, and cheese pretty hard on that trip. I was cleared to try soft foods by then but mostly kept it safe and stuck with what I knew worked since I didn't want to get sick on my trip. The Blender Bottle and individual packets of Quest Protein Powder were clutch for me. I was in in CDMX which is famous for street tacos as well. On one of my last nights there one of the vendors made me a plate with just the taco filling which I tasted. Apparently it's pretty common - Mexicans watch their carbs too!

I had no issues flying internationally at 2.5 weeks post-op and my surgeon's only concern was to remind me to get up and walk around the plane a couple of times. I flew first class and had plenty of room to stretch out. I had a fantastic trip.

Never had any issues swallowing pills once I was allowed at a week post op.

I take a multi, calcium pills 2x/daily and vitamin D.

I would call your doctor's office and explain exactly as you did here - you can't take any more days off from work and you already have the required clearance.

UHC.

My plan says to stay between 8-1200 calories past week 4 post-op, but keep trying your NUT.

It took less than a week for my paperwork to be approved once his office manager submitted. I'm sure that depends more on your insurer than anything else.

I actually find Mexican food to be an easy cuisine post-op. Skip all the tortillas and taco shells. When you're ready to try dense proteins, Mexican grilled chicken, fish or carne asada are great flavorful choices. Sour cream, guacamole, beans, salsas and pico are totally cool accompaniments and condiments.

The search function on this board is practically non functioning in the mobile version which is what I'm guessing most people use. That said- if I'm sick of READING the same thing over and over, I can imagine how tiresome it must be to write out thoughtful responses repeatedly. The board is poorly laid out. There are way too many sections. It's very confusing for a first time user. The FAQs and stickies exist, but are large and unwieldy.

I hit my first stall around 12 weeks post -op.

@@DebraM04 what are your heartburn symptoms?

I'm not exactly picky but I have a lot of food allergies as well. The thing I love about the sleeve so far is that I don't get worked up about food- it doesn't always have to be so exciting. It just has to be fuel to move forward in your day. So when you find something that works for you, stick with it and eat it everyday. For me that's grilled chicken, yogurt, cheese. Some days I switch it up but most days, most meals I'm boring af. And it's great.

No worries, I'm happy to respond. I was actually just there for my 3 month post-op checkup and chatted with some of his other patients who all seemed to really like him too. My weight loss has been steady. I'm down almost 50 lbs since surgery which is way more and way faster than I anticipated. But I don't think that has much to do with which surgeon you choose- rate of weight loss is dependent on so many individual factors unique to each of us like our metabolisms, gender, how well we follow the program etc. I was in the hospital for one night. I checked in for surgery about 9 am and was home by 3 pm the next day. I had a nice private room at Methodist and was really impressed with the nursing staff. I had zero complications and was back at work/normal life within days. I didn't have any pain and no trouble at all getting down liquids in the early post-op stages and totally fine once I started working food back into my diet. I really do like him and Krystyna. A great team.

Yes he did my surgery. I was very happy with the experience - no complications and the hospital staff was excellent. The nurses all praised him and said he is very exacting about his patient care. His office manager handled my insurance paperwork swiftly and carefully. He is very straight to the point however and will not spend a ton of time going over questions with you. His PA Krystyna, who is wonderful, will do that. Only downside is the office at the faculty practice is always overbooked and running behind.

At 3 months out a daily probiotic and stool softener have kept me on track with this. Definitely had a few painful moments early on. Adding in small amounts of fruits and veggies helps too, but I don't get those in daily.

I was just starting puréed/soft foods on day 11. On those first few days I stuck with yogurt and cottage cheese.

Awesome job. I was the same way- recovered beautifully. Good for you.

If I had really smelly gas I would probably try anything so- sure !