bookpusher

My surgeon's diet guide says no more citrus fruit ever after gastric sleeve surgery. Does anyone know why? I know the juice isn't great because of the sugar, but is there a problem digesting the pulp or pith or something? I'll be sad to lose clementines. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

I'm half-way through the puree stage, and very ready to be over it! I'm doing yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese (chew it really well), refried Beans with salsa and cheese, ricotta with marinara and cheese, pureed great northern beans and cauliflower with pesto, and tuna with mayo and pickle juice. this week I found a white chicken chili recipe and a turkey chili recipe I plan on trying. Also, I have Campbell's Broccoli Cheese or Tomato Soup in a pinch. I tried scrambled eggs plain and with cottage cheese, and also pureed deviled eggs, but those all felt really heavy in my sleeve. Tasted good, though. I can't bring myself to puree meat- I've just been looking for things that are supposed to be that texture.

I'm doing okay. Getting in all my liquids, though sometimes I'm drinking a mug of chicken broth for dinner. One of my incisions is still bleeding, 13 days out. But the doc's not worried about it. I don't really feel ready to go back to work on Monday, though! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 286

Definitely. My first try was Ecodrink, which is a flavored powder you add to Water. I was only able to do that for 2 days, and then I bought some Centrum Silver Chewables. I'm not exactly "silver" yet, but that's the only chewable they had at the grocery store. Those are already starting to nauseate me. I thought about buying the Patches before my surgery but put it off too long. In retrospect, I should probably have done it. My sleeve is pretty touchy, so it would have been nice to have one less nauseating thing in my life! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 290

Oh wow! That's a huge percentage. I am very curious as to why that is when more men could technically benefit from the surgery. Edit: Hmm... guess I was wrong. When you look at this page it shows that while a higher percentage of men are "overweight or obese", the numbers are the same for men and women who are obese and the percentage of women who have "extreme obesity" is higher than the percentage of men. (Light blue is men, dark blue is women) Thanks for the graph! I wonder why twice as many women are in the "extreme obesity" category? In my materials from the hospital, it said morbid obesity takes 5-7 years off a woman's life, and 12-20 years off a man's. Maybe that other 4% of men just died. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 290

I think more people have those thoughts than don't! But the thing is, the main point of the surgery isn't really losing weight. As someone who has lost 60+ pounds on 3 different occasions and 10 pounds countless times, I can tell you there are plenty of less drastic ways to lose weight. The point of this surgery is maintaining weight loss. The chances of being able to do that without surgery are ridiculously low, but with surgery they are decent. The most recent and best study I saw for people with morbid obesity like myself showed that 1 in 677 can lose and maintain a healthy weight without surgery. My experience shows me I'm not that 1. Of course, YMMV... VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 290

Make sure to schedule your shakes and plan high volume/low cal meals for dinner. If you have to decide these things when you are hungry it will be so much harder. My shakes were at 8:00, 12:00, and 4:00, then dinner was some kind of meat and veg. I had the same diet as you, but I had to also keep it under 1000 calories, so I bulked out the meals with lots of veg. These were my best meals: Salmon and roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower A big salad with turkey chili, salsa, a small amount of reduced-fat shredded cheese, and a tbsp of sour cream A big salad with grilled chicken, red onion, cucumbers and a home-made tzatziki sauce (low fat Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, dill) After that, I was pretty satisfied and would maybe just have a sugar-free popsicle or a sugar-free Jell-O before bed. I'm not saying it's easy, but planning makes all the difference. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 293

Yeah, I think this question says more about the asker's feeling about themselves than anything else. I'm betting you don't hear it from people who haven't struggled yo-yo dieting. I mean, unless they are assholes. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 293

I'm on day 5, and should be advancing to full liquids, but my sleeve's not having it. It will take the Protein shake, but no cottage cheese or yogurt. Unfortunately, protein supplements are verboten with my docs. I feel guilty ignoring their advice to drink them, but am very worried about not getting enough calories, protein, and Vitamins. I'm barely breaking 400 calories today, and that's twice as much as yesterday. I've had maybe 700 calories total since Friday, and that's just not enough to heal or be alert. I am doing well with the Water, though. Any ideas? VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 293

I didn't use almost anything I brought. They really had everything. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 295

I think most people go through something similar. It's human nature. Here are the things that helped me. First, create a line for yourself. Once the pre-op diet starts, there is no such thing as cheating. Not following the diet is seriously endangering your health, not a naughty misbehavior. This will be true until you are fully healed, so you can't allow yourself to think of cheating as an option. Second, remember the scarcity is not true. You'll be able to eat those things again for the most part, eventually. Not in the same quantities and not frequently, but it's not like this is your last chance to taste it ever. Third, read The Diet Trap Solution or one of the other books by Judith Beck and actually do what it says. It's not a diet book, per se, but a cognitive behavioral therapy book focused on weight loss. If you faithfully practice the CBT principals, it will be much easier. And finally, come to terms with the fact that this sucks but you are up to it. food can't be your entertainment or comfort anymore. It's just fuel now, at least for the next few months. But life goes on, and food is really only a small part of it. Good luck!! You can do it!! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 296

I would tell them that's what I used to think too, before I looked into it, and that sadly there is no such thing as an easy way out. WLS just evens the playing field, so that people with chronic obesity can have a reasonable chance at maintaining weight loss. It doesn't magically make it happen, as the 40% of people who don't maintain it can attest. However, compared to the more than 99% who fail with "traditional" methods alone, I'll take it! People who talk about "the easy way out" may not even realize that they are equating a disease with a moral failing. Science doesn't bear that out, and you shouldn't buy into it either. If you had hyperthyroidism and needed your thyroid removed, would you feel guilty about taking the easy way out? Or would you try to use will power to even out your hormones? Chronic obesity is a misunderstood disease that requires lifelong management. But, hell, if there was an easy way, I'd take it in a heartbeat. There is no prize in this life for people who beat their heads against a wall. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 296

I was on the same dosage of metformin as you, and was taken off it immediately. I'm two days out. I was pre-diabetic and received at least one shot of insulin in the hospital. I was also taken off omeprazole and amlodipine, so the only thing I'm still supposed to take is bupropion. So far, so good! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 SW:294 CW: 296

Sleeved and back home. Everything went just fine, I think. Not too much pain so far. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

Good! A little scared, but so far not too bad. I'm trying to act confident about it so I don't upset my poor husband. Sometimes it's harder to watch someone you love go through things than to do them yourself! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

Yes- I'm trying hard to reframe "terrified" as "excited"! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

Me too, and same. But add to that the ???? from the magnesium citrate. The whole thing seems kind of surreal. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

@@bluey I'm about 15 down now, I think, and surgery is tomorrow. I hope I do as well as you! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

I brush my teeth and get in the bathtub with a book. Getting wrapped up in some kind of project works well too. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

30 pounds! Wow! Including pre-op diet? VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

Mine is low carb/fat and less than 1000 calories per day, but they suggest Protein drinks during the day, and a light protein /veg dinner. Also, no sugar. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

I'm 3 days in to the pre-op diet and my headaches are fading. I'm starting to feel less crabby and more energetic now, but the first couple days were pretty tough. Fortunately, I can still take Advil for another week! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

I know that's how it's supposed to work, and people keep saying that, but it's so hard to get my head around the idea. I can't even imagine it! Thanks for the encouragement! This morning really sucks, and I know it will get worse before it gets better, so your kind words really help. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

My FIL sent us to Paris last summer, and I was miserable the whole time. We walked like 8 miles a day and tried to see everything we could, but it was so painful. I pushed through, though- when am I ever going to get to Paris again? I remember walking back to the hotel along the Seine, on a beautiful evening with my wonderful husband, and just sobbing and limping the whole way. I'm only 42, but it was obvious it's all downhill from here. If I don't do something now, I'll be in a Jazzy in a few years. I don't want to live that way. I have to do something now while I still have a chance to lead a healthier life. VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305

Finishing my first day pre-op, too. The sugar withdrawal is not fun, but I'm surviving. And I haven't killed anyone else, either, so that's good. I had to go to a staff meeting with a grilled cheese buffet, which was pretty tortuous, but I drank a Protein drink right before and made it through without breaking. 9 days to go! VSG 1/20/17 HW: 325 CW: 305