notmyname

I do consider it a rude question. I haven't been asked this time at weight loss, but have been before. I just look at them deadpan and say "Why do you ask?" If they don't get the hint, then I tell them that that is a fairly personal question and change the subject. If they're mad because they got caught being rude, that's on them.

I have a different Blue Cross plan. Under my plan, the out of pocket max is the max I'd pay in a year for all services - its intended as a safeguard if you have a catastrophic injury or illness. That was different than what I paid for any given service. Does your blue cross plan have a SErvice Benefit Brochure online? If so, it will likely list bariatric surgery and say what you need to pay depending on if the doc and hospitals are preferred providers or not. Also, note that this cost is JUST for the hospitalization. I ended up with costs for the hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and lab work. It was far lower than my out of pocket max. I saw three surgeons before I decided on surgery, the only one that would have required me to make such a big payment up front was someone who did not take insurance and was covered as a non-participating provider. Again, my insurance may work differently than yours.

You can make your own "refried" beans that have less sugar fat and don't lead to the sluggish feeling (at least they didn't for me). from bariatriceating(dot)com: blend a can of pinto (I used black) beans with 1/2 c. mild salsa and blend until smooth. Might need to add 1/4 c-1/2c water or broth to get it super smooth/pourable. I also melt a bit of cheese. With respect to the soups and other foods, I was told to look for stuff with 5g or less of sugar per serving (6g was OK for the oikos yogurt I was eating) You can make your own tomato soup fairly easily. I base mine off the following recipe, but use any old tomatoes I want and use dried basil to taste. https://www.bariatriceating.com/2011/11/tomato-basil-soup/

Just an FYI to any Blue Cross FEP folks - check your EOB for your hospital stay. They charged me twice as much as they should have because they didn't realize my hospital was a Blue Distinction Center. I called them up and within a couple minutes they recognized their mistake and said they'd fix it.

I'm almost 2 months out. Before the sleeve, I routinely drank over 100oz of liquids (mostly water). Right after surgery, it was tough - I drank an ounce or so every 15-20 mn. By end of the 1st week, I was getting in at least 64oz of liquids (note - all liquids, not just water, so that counted my protein drinks). But I did have to pretty intentionally drink liquids all day in small sips. I'm not really sure how to answer how much I can drink in one sitting. I basically sip all day (except 30 mn before/after I eat). I can easily swallow a mouthful of water, but once when I was working out I tried to do a couple gulps in a row out of my bottle and that was a mistake. I fairly easily get in 70-80oz of liquids without really trying now - mostly water, but sometimes herbal tea and one protein shake/day.

I got the Whisp brand from costco. They're tasty. Sometimes I have a serving at lunch with hummus. Its something like 23 nickel-sized crisps for about 13 g protein. Also, I do miss veggies. I can't WAIT to be able to incorporate more of them.

What does your day look like? I'm about a week ahead of you and, with planning, I'm doing OK on my protein and liquid. i think it helps that I only eat veggie and seafood protein, which are lighter and easier to digest. My days typically look like this: 8 AM Premier shake (11oz liquid, 30 oz protein) 9 AM start on a 24 oz bottle of water. Try to finish before lunch, but often have a couple sips left 12 lunch. Something like egg salad (about 1.5 eggs with greek yogurt, 10g protein) or ricotta bake (about 19g protein). If I eat something lower in protein like the egg salad, I'll have a babybel (5g protein) in the afternoon) 1: continue drinking 2:30 tea 16 oz or so, then some water (like another 8 oz or so) 7 dinner (2-ish oz shrimp or fish, about 12-15g protein with a TBL or so of veg) 8:30 - milk (13g protein for 8 oz) so, that's a minimum of 67 oz of water and 70-74g protein. One day I did it without shakes: Breakfast - one egg, a small veggie sausage, and 5g cheese (17g protein tea 14oz Lunch - 2oz tofu 17g protein water bottle 24 oz snack: parm chips 17g protein dinner: shrimp 14g protein Snack: cocoa (12 oz milk, 1 TBL cocoa, 1 packet stevia) 14 g protein 4 oz water before bed Total: 66 oz liquid, 78g protein

I also like their high protein veggie burgers (frozen). They're a bit too large to eat a whole one, but have a lot of protein per serving. Not quite as good as other veg burgers I've had, but worth it for the extra protein.

I love their baked tofu. The teriyaki flavor is delicious. Sriracha flavor is really good, but a bit spicy for my tum. Also like the frozen riced cauliflower and cauliflower mash.

I got a plastic coin tube (for quarters) with a screw top. Perfect size for bariatric fusion chewable multivitamins!! So easy to carry in my purse. Thought I’d pass along the tip.

I was like this for awhile. I don't know if you're experience is the same as mine, but mine wasn't necessarily anticipation/excitement about eating or hunger. It was more about anxiety about what I could eat and would I be able to get enough protein. So I was thinking about food all the time trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. Now I have several meals that have roughly the same amount of protein. That way, I can just grab one of those meals and eat. It is my way of meal planning without having to plan every meal a week in advance. It has taken my anxiety about what I can eat and how I can get in my protein.

I also like the variety of the Syntrax NEctar shakes. Love the lemonade. They sell a variety pack. I haven't seen them in stores, but I have bought it online. I also like unjury chocolate and premier chocolate. re: budget, just remember even if the powders seem expensive, you'll only be spending a couple dollars a meal, so it is still cheaper than most foods you'd eat before surgery. Good luck.

One other thing - go closet shopping. I found that I had some clothes in about 4 different sizes in my main and guest closets that I’d forgotten about. Not much, but enough to get by.

I find that belted dresses last a couple sizes. Check end of year sales. When I saw them go on sale, I bought black slacks, jeans, and work out pants that I'm currently wearing in the next two sizes down. I'm less concerned about tops - most of my tops are tunic-like, so they'll last me a while. I also happen to have sweaters in a couple sizes, so that should work for me.

The first days are the worst. It does get better. Can you add in some variety? If you can, try different types of protein shakes (I like unjury, premier, and syntrax nectar), some different flavors of teas, some millie's sipping broth for something savory. When I was on my liquid diet, I tried not to have the same flavor twice in any given day - it really helped me. You can do this!

Check your doc's instructions - every doc has different post-op foods allowed. If it says you can eat strained soups, then the tomato soups posted above should be OK (really well blended and strained, minus the crunchies).

Is a serving 1 cup or a half cup? If its a full cup, you'll likely only eat 1/4-1/2 cup, so that would be less sugars. Do you have some canned tomatoes? Maybe put the soup in a blender with some extra tomatoes and some water or broth and blend it well, then strain it. That'll mean less sugar per serving, too. Or just water it down a bit. Or here's a good tomato soup recipe. I wouldn't get too stuck on the type of tomatoes or basil. You could use any canned tomatoes and dried basil. Maybe a little less butter this soon after surgery. You might even just make a half serving and freeze some for later. https://www.bariatriceating.com/2011/11/tomato-basil-soup/ And another, just don't use the crunchies https://www.bariatriceating.com/2016/08/easy-grilled-cheese-tomato-soup/ And, if you want, try some unflavored protein powder (note, it will change the flavor a bit). Good luck!

it depends on your surgeon. I was able to do tomato soup on my liquid phase. I had to strain it to make sure it was really smooth. If it had any chunks, I would put it in the blender, then strain it. Just check the sugar content. I believe the limit my team out on me was 5g/serving. I got some from Trader Joes that was delicious.

Syntrax has a great trial pack so you can try all of their flavors.

I was allowed to have yogurt watered down with a little milk. I also made sure that I varied my protein shakes. I had premier and unjury chocolate, syntrax nectar lemonade and fuzzy navel, and some others. I also had some millie's sipping broths to use as some of my liquid so that I coudl have some savory. sometimes I'd add unflavored protein powder - but I didn't love the taste.

So, I'm 8 weeks out from surgery and I've lost 34 since surgery/48 since pre-op/55 total. Nearly 27% of EWL since surgery. Lost 8 points on my BMI and am now "only" obese. Wow! I'm super pleased. Sure, I'm still in a @#$@#$@# size 24 jeans (22 in other slacks), but that'll come. I do miss soups - they used to be my go-to lunch in winter. Now they just fill me up and don't have enough protein. But, other than that, all is well. I was even able to go out to dinner with a friend the other day. Great conversation and we shared shrimp and asparagus tapas. Just enough food, tasted great, and got my protein in. Excited for what 2019 brings. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Happy Monday to those that don't.

Most of this just need time. On the hair, the best you can do is get your protein and vitamins and hope. Some folks also do some other supplements, so hopefully they'll post here. Most people don't start feeling full until they start eating real food. And sometimes that fullness feels differently than you're used to. Tired - I was really tired for the first 6 weeks. I started teleworking on week 3 and, I'll admit, it was hard. But by week 4 I was back at the office and made it through every day. I'm now just over 7 weeks out and don't feel tired anymore. On vitamins - try different things. I've been using the Bariatric fusion chewables - orange. I started out with 2 a day and fairly quickly worked myself up to the recommended 4. If you're worried, it might be worth seeing which vitamins have a sample pack and getting a few to see which ones work best with you. Like I said, I'm just over 7 weeks out and my life is pretty much back to normal. I'm no longer tired. Sure, I eat less, but I can eat pretty much anything I try (although I don't eat beef or poultry, so not sure how they'd go down right now). I was able to go out to eat with a friend before a show on Friday. Had a great dinner- shared some shrimp and asparagus tapas with her and she got another one for herself. I didn't feel at all deprived and it was super fun to be out. You'll get there - it just takes time.

This won't be forever. I had surgery at the end of October. On Friday, I went to a nice restaurant with a friend before a play. It was small plates, we shared some really, really good garlic shrimp and I had a couple spears of asparagus. She got one other plate just for herself. It was delicious and just enough. And I got to go out and enjoy myself with my friend. Pre-surgery, i could likely have easily eaten 2-3 tapas by myself. So, while eating out is not a thing you can do now, it will be a thing you enjoy again.

I had surgery about the same time you did. At 8 weeks, I'm cleared to eat anything other than raw veg (but I dont eat beef or poultry, so my NUT didn't have to worry about that). I typically have a protein shake for breakfast Some of my go-tos for lunch/dinner: Ricotta bake (someone posted above). I'll also add well cooked and well chopped spinach to this. Tilapia or Mahi-mahi. basically just spray a bit of olive oil and sprinkle some herbs (or cajun spice) and sautee. Or sprinkle with herbs and parm and bake. Also fire roasted tomato tilapia from bariatric foodie Shrimp - basically the same as above. Or saute with garlic tuna salad egg salad beans (I still mostly puree these) with cheese melted tofu with veg and a tiny bit of sauce hummus with parm chips an egg (sometimes I'll add some salsa, cheese and guac) To this I'll add at least a bit of veg: riced cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, etc. And for a treat sometimes, I'll have hot chocolate: 1 cup fairlife milk, 1 TBL unsweetened cocoa, 1-2 packets stevia, and a drop of vanilla.

Thanks - I hadn't thought of that. I'll call my doc on Wednesday and see if I can get a referral.