Berry78

Ok, here is what 61g of protein looks like on a whole food plant based diet. Each bowl is 1/2 cup black beans. Now, you can replace a bowl of beans with the following: 3.5oz tofu 1 cup soy milk 2 slices ezekial bread 3/4 cup kasha (probably too much to eat at once until later) So, what's the problem? Well, I don't see any fruit or veggies. If you drink a quart of soy milk a day, then only 2 meals have to be so protein heavy and you can squeeze in some then. So I'm not saying its impossible...I'm saying it requires counting and planning. Now, if you drink 2 protein shakes a day, then you're covered and can eat what you want.

You got it! The "players" change each day. Today it's a banana. Tomorrow, strawberries. Exchange chicken for salmon, etc. But the portion sizes stay pretty much the same. The bowls holding the veggies will hold 8oz water if filled to the brim, so my stomach is holding about a cup of food now, if it's soft. The cloudy jar of liquid is coconut water.

I implore you to please start counting protein. The average, typical woman needs 46g/day, a guy needs 56g/day. Bariatric patients digest protein surprisingly well, but there still may be a small deficit to our absorption. Studies have shown that patients that consume less than 60g/day lose muscle mass. The body also doesn't store protein. It has to be eaten daily. Those that have a typical stomach can eat 5 times the food that we can, so it's not hard for typical WFPB followers to meet their protein needs. We have special needs.

Don't even try carbonation until you are at least 9 weeks postop as an absolute minimum. People have died from (alka seltzer) during the initial postop healing period. Gas bubbles are no joke when the only thing between you and certain death is a line of staples.

mylighthouse.. congrats, and GOOD JOB!! You have done amazingly! It's unfortunate my post showed up under yours.. I totally was responding to one above.. and we were typing at the same time. (Even though I'm wearing a 12 in my brand, in every other brand I'm a 14.. so we're the same size..same height, and within 2lbs of each other!). Feels great doesn't it? I love how life just seems to FIT better.

I do wonder if people are remembering sizing from 20 years ago. (Man I feel so old..) In 1996, I weighed 215 and squeezed into an 18. In 2008, I got down to 205, and squeezed into a 16. Now, I'm 208, and can squeeze into a size 12? What is wrong with this picture? And no, it's not that I'm more muscular or dense, or anything. I can tell that I'm no smaller than I was either of those other times. Its just the clothes have changed. So, what used to be medium at size 8 and 10.. now it's somewhere between 4 and 8. (I think.. maybe someone down there can chime in).

Hernias? That's a new one on me. Did your surgeon explain that any more?

Wonderful!!! You are a true inspiration!!!! I was just reading an article that talked about this. What it said is there are 2 types of lymphadema. One is due to a mechanical defect in the lymph-pump system. Basically the fluid accumulates because the pump that removes it is broken. That is a type that is less likely to respond to weight loss. The second type is pretty much caused by being heavy. The heavier we are, the more volume of fluid that goes into the legs... the more fluid in the legs, the more has to be pumped out. After a certain point, the pumps get overwhelmed and can't keep up with the amount of fluid. Since the pumps are still working, weight loss removes the excess burden, and the condition gets better. The article didn't really go into how to tell which one you may have.. but it would seem to follow that if the condition only showed up after weight gain, then there is a decent chance that it's the second type. This is all based on a single article that I came across. I'm in no way an expert on this condition, but hopefully it's true that in some cases the condition can get better!

I try to restrain myself.. I'm not always updating her on my weight loss (I try to avoid that conversation!) But.. I couldn't help showing her the label on my new pair of pants when she guessed I was in an 18 (it's a 12! A TWELVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).. can't let that one slide!!!! Lol. (Too bad today's 12 was size 16 only 20 years ago.. so it's not all THAT great.. but still, even for 20 years ago, I'm still not an 18! See, I can get excited a bit.. mostly since last March I was in a 24 (What would THAT have been 20 years ago??). So, yeah.. I'm excited!) But for all the excitement I show here.. I just showed her the label (that at first she read as "1x".. no glasses. WHAT THE HECK! I brought her a magnifying glass, waited for her to exclaim "TWELVE?!" and then went on my way.) You should be proud. Ok, but after 7 months, and that was the first time my clothing size was brought up.. so I guess it was due. Anyhoo.. the problem with jealousy is that even though she's now wanting to watch what she eats, it's undertaken under duress, so she's, like, frantic. No plan, just an after-the-fact, counting (guessing) of caloric intake for the day. Woo hoo.. I only ate 700 calories today.. sheesh. That isn't the goal. She's not thinking about counting protein or vitamin requirements or any of the parts of postop life that make limited caloric intake work. I have a lot of work to do with her to get her to tackle this thing in a healthy way. Her problem is she's so independent that my advice falls on deaf ears. (For years, she has had chronic low potassium or magnesium that results in debilitating muscle cramps. When she drinks low sodium v8, she doesn't get them. So.. drink that stuff every day, right? Nope.. just after the fact). Sigh.

I had surgery March 20th of this year, so just turned 7 months postop. The way I kept my calories up until my tummy relaxed was to drink most of them. Well.. not so worried about CALORIES per se.. more about meeting protein goals. I was still drinking most of my protein (in milk) until at least 6 weeks post. I'd eat, but didn't really count it until I could eat enough to make it worthwhile. 2 spoonfuls of split pea soup filled me up at 3 weeks post.. so how do you count that? (you don't). Water may get better for you. It's hit and miss for me. When I'm THIRSTY, it goes down A-ok. If I'm just drinking to meet my fluid goals.. forget it. I drink alot of coffee (regular and decaf) and tea. (And a pint of coconut water each day for potassium).

Do you mean the bariatric patient is jealous of someone, or that someone is jealous of the patient? If you mean the latter, absolutely! (The former.. not so much.. ) My MIL lives with me, (was 100 pounds overweight herself), and when I started losing enough to "show".. boy did those green eyes come out! Now she's working on losing, herself, and has done well so far. Jealousy isn't always bad, if it motivates change for the better...

Oh, shucks.. cigarettes.. you can tell I'm tired. Hankering for smoked meats.. almost forgot which board I was on.. Well, I'm proud of you for steering clear! One day (hour, minute) at a time! You've got this! {Hugs}

You know, I haven't, but I better get started soon, before the weather gets too cold. Smoked chicken is da bomb.. and smoked nuts. (And both are bariatric friendly!). Thanks for reminding me!

Before you even divulged the history of illness at holiday time, I was gonna say wait. It's only a month, you won't lose traction, and your family will thank you. It's not about the party.. although it can be if you want. It's more to do with having a good holiday with your family. It'll be good to have some "the last Christmas before surgery" pics with the family to look back on, since all Christmas's from here on out will be with skinny-minnie you. 2018 is gonna be here before we know it! (My oldest will be 18 next summer, all grown up, and *hopefully* leaving the nest).. it'll be a great time for new beginnings!

Have your thyroid meds helped your metabolism?

We are coming from VERY different places, metabolically. I was eating 3000-4000 calories a day before my preop diet. And I wasn't putting on much weight. My metabolism was on overdrive, so I can handle more food during the losing phase than some patients. If you gain on 1200 calories (which is about how much you see in the picture..about 1100 unless I add oil to veggies.), then your postop calories are gonna have to be more strict. I was gone all day, so still need to eat everything on the plate. Made it halfway through the chicken and am stuffed. *sigh*

Ok, the stuff on the plate and drinks were at 9 weeks. The stuff around the plate I've gradually added since then. 4oz chicken, 4oz cottage cheese, 3.5oz beans, 1 egg, 1oz cashews, 1 small banana, broccoli, and butternut squash.

Day 2 out of surgery I was brought my first tray of clear liquids. I was prepared for what was gonna happen. (1 sip. Full.) So, I took 1 sip, was dutifully full, and pushed the tray away. A couple hours later I met my nut.. she came in, took a look at that tray (that was still full of various liquids, since it was only missing 1 sip), and she says.. nuh uh. You have to FINISH that tray, and there will be more coming! And you'll have to drink that much every day after you leave here. I don't know, somehow I missed that part! LOL! So, there I was, sipping and sipping and sipping. And finally.. the tray was empty. I dunno.. do they have a camera in the room? Because no sooner did I finish that last sip, then within 10 minutes they brought ANOTHER tray that was just as full as the first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A third tray came that day, and so I worked on that one into the night. There is no deprivation postop, only pushing, pushing, pushing to meet goals. Can you imagine HAVING to eat 12 times a day? That's what it is immediately postop (for me, anyway). When my son relinquishes the phone I'll take a picture of what I ate at 9 weeks and now. I love avacado and salsa. Got tired of avacado turning, so don't get it often. But I use salsa all the time. Tomatoes took the full 2-3 months before I could tolerate them. They were too acidic during the healing period (for me).

I paid $5000 for surgery, including plane tickets (which were about $700), and souvenirs. The prices have gone up a little, but I feel confident you'll get it done for $6000-ish, all in, by going to Mexico (unless you have special considerations that I didn't have). There are several good programs, though I can't vouch for any except the one I used. I had the same surgeon as Apple1. I asked Dr. Illan's coordinator if I had a problem for which I could make it back to Mexico, would he help me with it, and he said yes. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems. The good thing about our health care system is if you have a medical emergency.. you go, get it fixed, then figure out how to pay later. Really takes a lot of this financial stress off, especially when you are trying to recover from surgery. Have a plan, but try not to stress over it. (And do some due diligence before you pay 2k for an insurance policy that may not help you anyway.)

Alright, this post was inspired by the discussion about "intuitive eating". Ok, so 70% of residents of the United States are overweight or obese now. Mexico is similar, and although other industrialized nations are lower, they also have a significant problem. This statistic is derived from BMI tables, which are frequently inaccurate. The following study shows what I mean. Keep in mind it is looking at obesity, not overweight. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0033308 Ok, so if you look at the fun graph (that I stole from some skinny skater) the lines show obesity. If the BMI line were moved to 25, then the picture becomes more clear. Basically, guys can be "power lifters", when women aren't, and women can be "skinny fat", when guys aren't. (Rare exceptions) What that means, is there is a higher percentage of over-fat women than the statistics show, and fewer men. In the end, I dunno, it may not change the total. While I'm talking about this chart, what strikes me is how little weight has to do with body fat percentage for women. Some of these women have a 22BMI, but are still 40% fat! There is no BMI that a woman can aim for and be "safe" (maybe under 21?). A guy, on the other hand, if he has a BMI of 25 or less, is almost guaranteed to not be overfat. Ok, so that is all really interesting, but what's the point? Well, back to what I was talking about.. the idea of "intuitive eating". I think our whole country is like a fishbowl, and we're little fishes swimming around in it. If you are a fish in a fishbowl, you'll be wet, right? But what if there was something wrong with the water? Everyone would be wet and have something wrong. How can you swim around in your little fishbowl and NOT get wet and NOT have something wrong? You'd have to don a waterproof space-suit type thingy, right? Then you are insulated against the poison water and do your own thing. THIS is why there are so many diets, nutrition plans, intuitive eating, organic, gluten free, keto, low fat, high fat, low carb, high starch.. etc. etc. Everyone is trying to don a spacesuit to escape whatever the heck is going on in that bowl!!! The spacesuit salesmen all are touting how wonderful their spacesuits are, and how you'll be dryer than your buddy, and have greater freedom of movement... etc. etc. ... you get the point. I don't know what's wrong with the "water", but there is definitely something wrong. We are all on this board because we are going the "seal one gill up with superglue" route. At first, breathing in the toxins through one gill only gives us half the poison. Cool! But we're still breathing poison, and it will catch up with us eventually if we don't make other changes. What do y'all think? Is there something systemically wrong with our country (western civilization)?

I took to heart the "big picture" stuff with my surgeon's plan. The idea that things need to be liquid, or pureed, or thick/smooth, etc. What I listed wasn't termed in the same way that my plan was.. it was termed in the way that I followed my plan. I didn't introduce things earlier than permitted, but I just left things in a simple, limited way that I could meet my goals without having to make things "look" like real food. Sheesh, what's the point? I get into the fridge, weigh out 2oz cottage cheese, take 10 minutes to eat it, and that is a "meal". But it only has 6g protein.. so now I need to do that 12 times during the day to meet my goal. Until I could eat 4oz at a time, I drank a lot of my protein (milk and kefir). The concept of "meals" is just now beginning to make sense (7 months postop!). I can finally eat enough at a time that I can meet my protein goals with 3 meals and a snack. I would love to cut out dairy altogether (on principle, except that I like it!), I have, at least, cut it down to a couple servings a day. What was very good was my plan did progress exceptionally slowly.. because truly, I wouldn't have been ready for it to go any faster than it did!

Week 1: clear liquids, almost no protein except a little broth. Water, g2, herbal tea, apple juice, sugar free jello. Week 2: Milk, protein kefir, broth (and clears from week 1). Week 3: all of the above plus yogurt and cottage cheese. Week 4: purees.. all of the above plus blended tuna salad and refried beans Week 5: I don't remember as well, but still relied HEAVILY on cottage cheese and yogurt and beans and introduced eggs (sulfur, yum! Sounds like I'm joking but I'm not. I really liked that..I must have needed it). Weeks 6-8: I really started eating. Meats without blending, cashews, smoothies, eggs, cooked veggies, a little fruit. Chili, potato soup. Week 9 to present: cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, eggs, beans, nuts, meat, fish, fruit, veggies, potatoes (white and sweet). Coconut water and V8. Rarely cheese. Grains and sweets are reserved for special occasions. Everything I buy is single-ingredient. So fish is just fish, not breaded. (I occasionally splurge and get it pre-marinaded). I hate mayo now, but like chik fil a sauce. I put that into tuna salad. Salsa is great with beans and eggs and potatoes. My goal is 70g protein, and have been able to reach it most of the time since week 2. No protein shakes or bars. I used to count carbs, but stopped. I'm pretty much always under 100g. The most important things to measure are added oil/fat, and nuts/seeds. You could eat 2 whole potatoes for the calories in an extra handful of almonds. (I know that sounds like I load up on potatoes, but I don't. I eat 3.5oz about once or twice a week).

At this point I've spent a couple thousand hours looking at bariatric related stuff. I've watched the actual surgeries on youtube, read a lot of studies, and watched the likes of Dr. Matthew Weiner and Dr. Duc Vuong. I'm always excited to see a new piece of information (and I am still learning new stuff all the time). I don't work at the moment, so this is like a job/hobby. And if I can help others, all the better. What is a self-esteem boost is y'all listen to me better than my own family. (Funny how that works). But, the problems are always the same. My MIL (who lives with me) started trying to lose weight.. is doing well. She has lost about 30lbs, and suddenly it's the dreaded stall/scale bounce up. So now I hear her moaning and groaning, just like everyone on this board! Aaaahhhhh! Lol! Both hubby and MIL lose 30 or 40lbs (they were both 100lbs overweight to start).. and then the scale stops budging, they lose heart and stop watching what they are eating as closely. I'm watching WHY DIETS FAIL unfold, right before my eyes. They refuse to weight/count/measure. It's ok to drink a few calories or grab fast food. Just this once. I was in a hurry. I was out of town. Yup.

I wonder how I'd even do that.. it would take some special equipment and such.... Too much work. Sorry.