HeatherS.

It depends on your surgical team, of course, but it fits in with any stage from puréed on, generally speaking. Probiotics are almost always a plus, so make sure it has live & active cultures.

Weight-bearing exercise, in particular, is important for strong bones and muscles. Muscle burns more than fat, which means you want more muscle. That's pretty straightforward. As MarinaGirl says though, studies on exercise as the primary method of weight loss have found that it's not terribly effective. For quality of life, yes. Weight loss, no.

I'm open about the procedure and my reasons for having it when it comes up. My family (parents, wife, in-laws) have the full story, and my friends have as much of the story as they're interested to hear. My my dad and MiL took some explaining, as neither has been obese or had trouble losing weight, and both have the type of personality that struggles to understand what they haven't experienced. Once they had the information they've both been very supportive. My dad, especially, supports me doing everything necessary to age well and avoid the diabetes and cardiovascular disease that robbed mom of her quality of life by the time she was 50. I'm always happy to be a resource when I can, so that's my nature with everything.

I think you're right, especially those who don't follow up on the bloodwork with their GPs. Blood work is what wasn't mentioned by my surgical team. Also, a lot of people think that because VSG isn't malabsorptive, vitamin deficiencies aren't an issue while forgetting that some vitamins need to spend time in the stomach to start breaking down with the stomach acids, which affects how much your body can actually extract (calcium is one of those, I think?) Its too easy to forget that less food = fewer nutrients. And lots of people going the ketogenic route are virtually eliminating whole categories of nutrient-bearing foods.

Given the numerous studies that have found a positive correlation between calorie restriction and increased longevity, I would not be surprised to see a bump in longevity for sleeved peeps once the post-op and comorbidity mortality have been neutralized. On the other hand, we may also have a propensity to LOOK older than we would have otherwise due to sagging skin and lower fat intake. There could also be osteoporosis and dental repercussions for those of us who don't keep up with the calcium supplements, especially if sleeved young. I've been pondering on this, too, can you tell? But I'm hoping the surgery will let me age more like my relatively slender paternal relatives rather than my maternal relatives who are all struggling with the syndrome X spectrum of health and weight issues and who tend to become infirm much younger.

I like your style!

Try as I might, I just can't de-lump the powders successfully.

Stewing, braising, and lengthy simmering, with a sauce or gravy and always lots of chewing. I only manage a teaspoon or so.

Never ending nausea. 🤢 And any amount of emotional stress turns it into a fibromyalgia mini-flare. It'll be worth it, but right now, ugh!

I'm in the same boat. It seems to be the artificial flavors that are really doing me in. It's like drinking cleaning fluid. I've been getting as much protein as possible through dairy, legumes, and very soft moist meat in tiny quantities. And, of course, everything I eat still makes me super nauseous. 🙄 Except fruit, and fruit/fresh juices with pulp are just too much sweet for me in any quantity.

In a head to head test, Wikipedia outdid Encyclopedia Britannica. Times are a'changin'. But I'm firmly in the "oh grow up" contingent when it comes to immature and judgmental people around here. I'm not here for diet advice. That's between me and my Dr.s. Im here for mutual support and experience sharing. Even if that experience involves peeps. For what hat it's worth to the OP, my doctor was in full support of me not missing out on my birthday cake 2.5 weeks after surgery. Its. It going to be a successful lifelong change if we can't have any flexibility.

There's always ricotta pancakes, or for the savory days, beans & rice (for a complete complement of amino acids) with a bit of cheese and a dab of sour cream/hot sauce/ salsa/ enchilada sauce/ whatever.

Prevalent, I agree, but truly unfortunate. This is going to be a mini rant, but not at you, blizair09. Its "professionals" like that who set students AND patients up for failure. I almost quit my pre-surgery classes because I, as a fellow adult professional, couldn't tolerate being "bup-bup-bup"ed and told "just follow the plan" any time I asked for clarification or explanation. If you're a professional, you really need to learn to treat your clients with a baseline of respect. If they lose your respect? Fine. Its especially unforgivable in the medical profession where that kind of arrogance costs (mainly) women their lives every day. Grr!

This, basically. Part of the reason I needed the surgery so urgently was to hopefully alleviate the other health issues I have which made vigorous or drawn out exercise dangerous. When i I was faithfully doing the hour-plus my then-advisor mandated at the beginning of my pre-surgery class, I ended up in the ER twice and wrecked my not-quite-wrecked-yet knee to boot. A new advisor later, I did what I could consistently, qualified for the surgery, and am already seeing improved quality of life three weeks after my surgery. The will was always there. The flesh, on the other hand, was too fragile under all the extra weight.

I can't even imagine waiting that long! I'd be climbing out of my skin!

It really seemed to depend on peoples' availability and scheduling. I told him I'd take the first opening he had. He had one opening on that day, so I may also have gotten lucky with a cancelation. Point is, you never know.

Depends on the condition. Back damage shouldn't be too affected by malabsorption with all the different ways to get in calcium and D these days. On the other hand, losing as much weight as possible could be the difference between an ambulatory future and a wheelchair.

I did have one person with the pre-op class saying that, but she wasn't a gatekeeper to the surgery, and nobody else said anything like that. Admittedly that COULD be because I first followed her instructions and by doing so, finally qualified myself for a lovely total knee replacement surgery for which I am way too young. 🙄 Everyone's instructions are gonna differ here and there.

2.5 hrs is new to me. Did you know this psych before your surgery? Mine didn't get into exercise or anything, focused more on my reasons for eating (hunger, mainly), reason I want to lose weight (health, mainly), etc. but she's been my shrink for over 5 years. Perhaps a second opinion? O

I had my surgery through Kaiser South Bay. I finished Options the beginning of Feb, met with Dr. Zane (highly recommend!) on March 10, and he scheduled me for surgery March 27. I hear South Bay has a shorter wait, but Dr. Zane is one of Kaiser's best and most experienced WL surgeons in So Cal. That said, he said pretty much everything will be unique to the patient. (Not helpful for those of us who like to KNOW, right?) I had 8% wl before surgery, 5% of it during options, and he was completely fine with that. Talk to the surgeon and ask when the first opening is. You might get lucky, too.

I'll answer my own topic, and say I've had good days (2 miles) and bad days (fibro flare, slept 36 hours). Its been improving, though as I'm listening to my body and getting better at understanding what it's saying to me. I climbed two flights of stairs for the first time today without my heart racing. My weight loss has been steady. I've been losing fat and retaining muscle. Do what you can, focus on the big picture, and remember it's not a competition because no two of us are the same.

I knew bariatric surgery was inevitable because of my deteriorating knees and spine, as well as the difficulty I was having making progress with fibromyalgia and depression because I couldn't exercise without damaging my spine and knees further, but what motivated me to really go for it was: 1) wanting to be there for my (younger) wife until we're good and elderly together 2) I knew the time was NOW when I looked in the mirror and no longer recognized myself. That's a life long nightmare, losing my identity.

That right there 100% validates the need for this show. Congratulations! Get ready to work your butt off. 🤓

I'm the chef, too. I woke up in the middle of the night after surgery dreaming of cooking amazing things for my loved ones and felt strangely elated at the thought. Now im 2 weeks out, and I can eat about 2 tablespoons at a time.