determinedtolive

Excellent point. My pre-op starts 15 days before surgery and liquid diet starts 8 days before.

I'm having mine on 6/23 at Alo Bariatrics. I emailed them on February 23rd and chose a June date on purpose. I am positive I could have gotten a date sooner if I wanted. www.alobariatrics.com

I just realized today that I have some frozen beef liverwurst and beef braunschweiger that will be perfect for the pureed/soft stage. 5g of Protein in a 28g serving, no carbs or sugar.

I bought several flavors of the Pacific Foods brand: Organic Bone broth chicken with Lemongrass Organic Bone Broth Chicken with Ginger Organic Bone Broth Turkey with Rosemary, Sage & Thyme I haven't tried them yet, coming up on my pre-op diet here in 7 days. Worst case scenario, if they're not good I'll finish them up pre-op while I can chug them down. LOL I also bought a beef one that goes in your Keirig. I don't have one, just dumped the contents into a hot cup of Water. It didn't taste bad but OMG the smell. As long as I didn't breathe in before drinking I could drink it. Here's the link for that one if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019CWSMI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

June 23rd here

I had some king crab legs and sauteed scallops.

I'm 5'8" and am aiming for 145lbs which puts me in the "normal" bmi range but would be happy at 155-160 as well which is within the same range.

When I'm on the clear liquid diet I'll be using this one: I will probably mix it with coconut wate. I also plan on adding it to my bone broth and making homemade jello/gummies with it. ETA: When I actually go shopping to find a low sugar juice (diluted with water) to use to flavor the jello/gummies, I think I'll also make some popcicles. Someone on FB mentioned cranberry juice but I haven't looked at the ingredients yet.

You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Protein-Powder-Concentrate-Unflavored-Gluten/dp/B0177EF6KU?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01 I like that it's unflavored so if I want to add different flavors via fruit/veggies I can. I'm also going to use it in the bone broth I already bought which has 10 grams of Protein as well as make homemade jello/gummy bears with it. We'll see how it turns out. ETA: Holy crap that picture above came out huge!! LOL

I agree with the other answers but before I actually researched protein I bought some of these in Orange. I barely took a sip and it was the most horrid thing I'd ever tasted in my life. I gave them to a co-worker that uses protein powders as he's trying to aid in gaining muscle when he works out. Even he said he couldn't finish it it was so bad. You've been warned.

This may be helpful to some but I think I'll stick to my 1 ingredient Protein powder:

The episodes that kill me are on the ride home from the hospital, fresh out of surgery and the person driving goes through a drive thru.

I'm scheduled for 6/24 but am shooting for the 23rd. I, too, made my decision in February, around the same time as you. I think it was the 23rd-ish. I started off at 378 in January and am at 338 (need to get to 320 before surgery so I don't have to pay the additional $250 for being over 50 bmi...I'm self pay and going to Mexico). My goal weight is 140-ish, I'm 5'8" and 45 yrs old. ETA: So sorry! I'm actually getting the sleeve. Apparently, I was just so excited that someone with similar stats as me having surgery around the same time!

I'm still pre-op but I think the hardest habits to break will be like others before me, drinking while eating. It's something I not only enjoy but feel is necessary. The other one is going to be the chugging of Water. I'm a chugger as well and drink a gallon of water a day currently. We'll just have to see how things go post-op. If these are my biggest habits to break then I'll consider it a win/win. ETA: I just had lunch and think the bigger challenge won't be drinking while eating. It's the waiting before and after until I can drink that will be.

To wean myself off of the Diet Coke habit, I switched to iced tea (I drink mine plain, no sweeteners, no lemons, nada) for a week until I no longer had the cravings for Diet Coke. This also helped with the caffeine withdrawal headaches. After a week, I was able to go to just plain Water. I've done this twice with January 2016 being my 2nd (and last) time of beating this addiction.

When I was eating salad every day I didn't have this issue but in preparation of the post-op diet, I've been eating Protein first and sometimes find I am full before I can get to the veggie portion. This has caused the same issues you experienced. I've only taken a laxative once in my life and I swore that would be the last time. It was probably the worst experience of my life right after labor pains. LOL I did some searching and came across this product on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Kriss-Herbal-Laxative-Tablets/dp/B00142C664?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 While I've only used it twice (1 pill each time) it is gentle enough to used on a daily basis. My 12 year old has also it. Definitely made things better!

I, too, have started drinking bamboo tea as well. My hair is already super thin (can see my scalp if I wear my hair back in a ponytail) so I'm hoping the silica will help a little when I get to the hair loss stage. I am already prepared to buy some wigs if need be.

Congratulations!!!! That's majorly awesome. I can't wait until I'm able to experience some of these milestones myself.

Protein2O is pretty good. 15g of Protein in a bottle. Grape is my favorite followed by wild cherry. Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

I mainly put them on my chest because my thinking is to put them in an area that doesn't have as much fat. I'm not sure if it matters but thought maybe the absorption would be better in a less fatty area. Anyway, I have over 13 tattoos (large) and have put these directly over them without issue.

No worries! Didn't make sense you didn't receive a response from us. Here's some information from the company on how long to wear the patches: "Wear the patch minimum of 8 hours, remove after 9 hours. After 8 or 9 hours all ingredients have been used up." That's good information to have,@@Alex Brecher, thank you! The patches don't come with that information. I've been wearing mine for 24 hours (put on in morning and replace after shower the following morning).

Ouch! That looks painful. It almost looks like a layer of skin went right along with the removal of the patch. I use these too and have had instances where one will stick much more than the others. It sometimes leaves red marks but nothing like what you're experiencing. As far as them working, I know the Vitamin D is (I take Multivitamin, Vitamin D3/Calcium, Omega 3 and B12) as my levels went up slightly (I'm deficient) from my 2/23/16 test to my 4/5/16 test. I started taking them 3/4/16. I'm still pre-op so I don't know if that would have anything to do with it. ETA: I actually bought some of the anti-aging ones in my 2nd shipment because of the antioxidants but really REALLY struggled for a month with feeling tired all the time. That was the only thing I was doing differently so I stopped using them and feel MUCH better.

I have to do 7 days with 2 shakes and one small meal (add veggies during the day if needed) then 8 days liquid only so shakes are out for me. Have you tried bone broth? It typically has more Protein in it than the regular broths. Also, how about adding unflavored Protein powder to the broth you're eating? That's allowed by my NUT and is supposed to help with hunger. I still have a little over a month before I start mine, Lord help us all. LOL

They offer some in the store here. I found mine on Amazon (same price but didn't have to pay shipping): http://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatric-dinnerware/products/bariware-portion8-plate-set

SW 351CW 349 GW 315 (pre-op) SW 351CW 343 GW (pre-op) 315 Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App SW 351 CW 344 GW 315 (pre-op)