ShelterDog64

Temperature can make it easier/harder, too. I liked mine REALLY cold, so I blended the Premier shakes with a little ice to make them lighter in texture and colder. I still have a hard time drinking RTD Protein shakes straight out of the carton.

You look fantastic...what an amazing transformation! I need to put some pictures of myself side-by-side to get me through this little slump I'm in. You are a role model of what this surgery can do!

Saw my surgeon today...he said it's normal and we'll only take it to a GYN if it's irregular or persists more than 3 months.

@@susie66 Do you have the Mirena? I'm pretty sure the resumption of my periods is because I'm mobilizing fat and all the estrogen that's stored there is back in my system. If the same is happening to you, I'm sure the estrogen is interfering with the levonorgestril the IUD releases. Fun stuff, eh? I didn't expect this AT ALL.

@@susie66 I'm definitely not having any issues like you describe. I'm pretty much eating whatever I choose and have been since around week 4. I guess I'd do what you're already doing...go back to liquids then try to progress to soft foods, then back to regular foods. I'm so sorry you're feeling nauseated...that's the thing I fear the most every time I eat and I think it's why this surgery is working so well for me. The only time I have nausea is if I eat too much (or eat mushroom soup ) so I avoid overeating at all costs! Do you have a post-op appointment anytime in the near future? This might be something to run by your surgeon or dietitian, they've likely seen the same thing from another patient and can give good advice. Good luck, and I guess the bright side is that going back to shakes should jump-start any stalls you've had!

This surgery (I'm only 9 weeks post-op) has taken away my cravings and hunger, so I'm establishing new eating habits right now. I had the surgery because I care about my health, and when I can only eat a few tablespoons of food, no way am I going to have that few tablespoons be carb-y garbage like bread, rice, baked goods, ice cream, etc. That mindset keeps me from eating dumb, useless foods. Instead, I now know that I need Protein to feel good. Before my sleeve, I could eat a bunch of crappy food AND the protein I needed for survival. Now, I have to choose and for me, it's been easy. The restriction helps to keep my portions where they need to be as I train my body to be satisfied with small portions, and the lack of hunger allows me to portion appropriately and avoid mindless eating. It IS hard to explain and even harder to understand until you're in the midst of it, but this is the most effective tool I've ever had access to and I'm loving it.

I've been looking for Protein2O everywhere! Rite Aid is supposed to carry it in my area but none of them do

I have a seasoning called shallot pepper from Penzey's Spices that I love on cottage cheese. Lemon pepper is good, too. I buy those 'fruit only' spreads and put a teaspoon of that in 1/2 cup cottage cheese, and it's delicious (when you can have them).

I went off my lisinopril/HCTZ for surgery and never went back on. My readings have been consistently in the 120s/70s every since.

So, I'm going to weigh 217 for the rest of my LIFE, apparently. Every day, 217.4, or 217.2, or 217.0...but NEVER 216. ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH. AND, my periods have started again. It has been about 18 months since I've had one, so comfortably menopausal, and now I'm cramping and crabby. AND I turned 52 this past weekend. Did I mention crabby?? LOL. How's everyone else doing? Tell me something good....

@@jurisjitsu If you're truly getting NO protein, you need to see your surgeon ASAP. Are you taking in any fluids at all? If you are, you can mix an unflavored protein powder with that fluid to get something in. You HAVE to have protein.

@@LisaMergs That's interesting that your doc thinks the sweet spot is after the 3 month period that mine thinks is the same...I'd love to find out that this first 45-50 lbs is just the tip of my rapid weight loss!

My program gave me this formula, to help ME determine what my loss needs to be in the different phases to get me where I want to be. In the first 3 months, you lose x amount of weight. In the following 3 months, you'll generally lose 1/2 of whatever number x is, which is then number y. And then in the following months, you can lose 1/2 of y, for as long as you chose to eat/exercise in a way that puts you in weight loss mode, for number z. I want to lose about 110 lbs. My goal is 50 lbs in the first 3 months, so x = 50. I'll lose half of x in the 2nd 3 months, so y is 25. Then in the subsequent months, I can continue to lose 1/2 of y monthly, so z is 12. x + y + (as many months of z as I chose) will get me to my desired loss...50 +25 + (12 x3) = 111. I could be at my goal in 9 months if I work hard and stick to my plan. I've lost 45 lbs in 9 weeks, so I'm on track for that first goal. It really helped me to have interim goals and to have some sort of expectation of weight loss. Of course, this could all go out the window if I don't continue to lose as I have, but I have no reason to think that I'll be anything but successful as long as I continue doing what I've been doing. Good luck!

I just turned 52 and haven't had a period in over a year...until yesterday. My surgery was 21 June, and I wasn't expecting this at all. Full-on cramps, etc. I sure hope it doesn't last long, but I have a lot of fat, so a lot of stored estrogen left. Ugh.

It's funny that you snuck in a bit of scone...I've had little hunger and few cravings, except I think about blueberry scones almost daily. They weren't even a top 10 food for me pre-op, but I swear I dream about them. So bizarre! I definitely sympathize with the desire for fruits and vegetables, it's that time of year when our farmers market is loaded with the best of the entire season and I can only have tiny nibbles of it. I've been freezing blueberries and blackberries like crazy, hoping to save some of what I'm missing right now. The only thing I've seen you write that I'd question is that you're not allowed the muffin or bread until you're reached your Protein goal for the day. My plan wants me to eat my protein for the meal prior to any veg or starch, so I eat my meat/cheese/whatever, then some vegetable, then if there's room, I might have a touch of quinoa or brown rice or a small piece of grilled potato. I'm still using Protein powder to supplement so that I can have some fruits and vegetables during the day, I put a scoop of GENEPRO in my coffee every morning, then have some cottage cheese or yogurt with some berries after I'm done with my coffee. That way, I get a big protein hit early in the day, which helps me greatly. And one more thing (sorry, it's early and my brain isn't fully on yet!), I just spent 10 days traveling and eating in restaurants and it's SO much harder for me...lots of moments of nausea, my only episode of vomiting was in a restaurant bathroom, and in general, not the pleasant experience I used to have eating out. It's kind of an eye-opener, thinking about why restaurant foods are so much harder to eat...I think it's in the prep, lots of oil and butter, stuff I'm not cooking with at home now, at least not in large amounts. Also the size of the meals tempt me into eating more than I know I should, and I have a tendency to nibble and pick at my plate even after I'm full. I'm learning how to manage all of that, but it takes deliberate thought and doesn't allow me to just relax and eat and drink like I used to. This is such a HUGE change, in all aspects of our lives, isn't it?

I don't let myself eat until I feel restriction...because once I feel it, it's way too late. Are you eating very slowly? It takes me 20-30 mins to eat 2-3 oz Protein, a T or 2 of vegetable and on occasion, a T of something carb-y. Your weight loss seems good to me, I had my surgery 6 days before you and I've lost 45 lbs. That's right on track for my goal of 50 in 3 months.

@@Cape Crooner Shark, jumped.

I used Isopure for a very short time, then I just couldn't stand it in anything. I switched to GENEPRO and am very happy with it. I can't smell or taste it at all.

I had my VSG in June, and the only way I can tell that my stomach is mostly gone is when I eat, since my capacity is so reduced. I never had any sense of something being gone or missing from my abdomen, and I had virtually no pain other than the incisions themselves.

I'd guess it wasn't really a 'stall', but pre-menstrual Water retention or you ate a lot of salt a couple of days prior? I'm now in week 9 and although I haven't had anything like a true stall, I can definitely tell when I've overdone sodium, not gotten enough fluids, not gotten enough Protein or not exercised enough. It usually manifests a couple of days after the poor eating or non-exercise, and shows up as either a .5 to 1 lb gain or a no-gain/no-loss day. I think at the stage where I am, I need to start looking at trends weekly instead of daily. And yes, I think 4 lbs from one day to the next is entirely possible!

Then why sling them? Just move on. Leave us who dislike our sleeves here. We simply want our voices heard. m Why do you want to silence us so much? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Gina, I want it to be clear that I'm not looking to silence you in any way whatsoever. What I am looking to do is find out why some people (and I'm not really talking about you, but others who've posted in this thread) seem to have so very little information/understanding of the procedure they've had, and what can be done to change that. If someone says "I thought I'd be able to eat anything, just less of it", then they weren't truly knowledgeable about what was going to happen and IMO, true 'informed consent' was not obtained prior to surgery. I was given a couple of lightweight handouts prior to my procedure, but I supplemented that with copious research...it would be impossible for ME to go forward with anything this serious without investigating it to the limits of my ability. Maybe it's because I work in healthcare, and am married to someone who works in healthcare, that I've never assumed that any doctor/nurse/caseworker has the time, concern and/or inclination to tell me EVERYTHING that may possibly arise from any procedure, medication, etc. Your situations sucks, plain and simple. If I had been in your shoes, with the health concerns you already had, I wouldn't have considered VSG for even a moment. But clearly, the information needed wasn't readily available to you and I find that concerning, in an abstract sense. Is it a shortcoming of the NHS system, or is it global and involving many/all healthcare systems. I have family who've lived in Europe all my life and they've used nationalized health systems with great success, and I have family in the US who've been utterly and completely failed by our for-profit health systems.

@@ChrissyNYC Any Fluid counts on my program.

@@silverwhitemoon You said: *Exactly. I was under the impression that I would be able to eat anything - just in smaller amounts. That really isn't the case. I feel like I have set myself up for having digestive problems for the rest of my life. Also, I can't ever just eat. I have to worry about eating too fast, not chewing enough, whether the food I am going to eat will digest properly or whether it will contribute to the reflux that I now have after VSG that I didn't have before. I am two months out and regret doing this to myself. * Your sidebar says that you joined this group 10 years ago, and had surgery this June. I can't see how, since you had 10 years to research, you could possibly have held this impression about eating anything you want? I KNEW going in to this that I'd likely have foods I'd never eat again. That I can't 'just eat'. That reflux was a very real possibility of the surgery. The more I see 'regret' stories like this, the more I wonder if there should be a test of some sort that people have to take and pass before they're allowed to have a surgery like this. What on earth did you THINK having 3/4 of your stomach removed was going to do to you? Just make you full faster? What were your expectations, seriously?