kcuster83

Probably the lack of calories catching up to you. Take care.

The first time I went out to eat when the waitress asked what I wanted to drink, I said "no thanks" and she looked at me weird and said "You don't want a drink". I said "no thanks" and she just said ok. Then I felt really weird and now always just order a water and don't drink it. haha

Hello, read around, ask questions. A lot of people have good input here. If you just want to talk to someone, feel free to reach out.

That is awesome. Good for you! Keep killen it!

Fluctuation is normal that early out. Try to weigh yourself less. It is not physically possible to eat enough to gain 6 lbs in a week, especially after WLS. You just can't eat enough to do it. Just stick to your plan and you will see the weight fall off. Good luck!

Based on my personal experience I would agree with this. EVERYONE I know who had surgery told me "you get drunk faster but you sober up faster too" NOPE! Not for me. I get drunk WAY faster and STAY drunk WAY longer. Luckily I never drank much anyway, so it is easy to just skip it unless I plan on making a night of it. haha

I get them from Bjs, I don't have a Cosco card. Premier is my go-to shakes. Good and good price.

I had broccoli cheddar and ate around the chunks (I was out), but I am sure you can blend it all up. I also had tomato soup, was warned to try a small amount by my Dietician because sometimes the acid is intolerable freshly out. I didn't have any issues so I had it a few times. I also bought random soups and drained them and drank the broth while others ate the rest so it wasn't wasted. This allowed for different flavors.

I have tried and it always grossed me out. Changed the texture of things and I am SO WEIRD about texture. I might have been doing it wrong or something. I did try a few different times, different ways etc and always gross. I don't have a problem hitting my protein with the shakes. I just decided to try the Equate because they were a good bit cheaper, so I will just stick to the ones I like. hehe

I bought all kinds of different soups and strained them and drank to broth. This allows for lots of variety and different flavors! Someone else would eat the soup chunks so they were wasted.

Congratulations! Coming off the meds and feeling good is the best part. Looking good and having your confidence grow is a bonus! Keep it up!

I was wore at my larger incisions for a while too but I wouldn't call it "pain". I really can't remember how long it lasted but I don't think you should have pain. I would probably reach out to your surgeon just for some piece of mind.

My Dietician has a "10 calories per 1g protein" rule for getting in lean proteins. With shakes and bars, he says to stay around 20 carbs and 5g sugar. That is pretty easy to find with protein bars. Most of the bars I eat are 180-210 calories and 20g protein so they fit right in. I tried the Unjury chicken soup and didn't like it, I couldn't even get past the smell. haha I do use Unjury protein powder though, keep it on hand for switching things up a little. I like the strawberry and I mix it with SF lemonade for a yummy strawberry lemonade. I use more lemonade to thin it out too so it is not really like drinking a thick shake but tastes good. I really want to get away from the shakes but I really struggle to hit my protein when I skip them. I literally eat ALL day and still end up around 55-65g protein. With the shakes I am more like 70-90g protein a day! Plus, I have never been a breakfast person so having a shake for breakfast is just easy and convenient. Just learning as I go and tweaking when necessary.

See my above comment.. lol

I was not alone but I could have been easily. I basically did everything for myself except when I dropped something I couldn't bend over far enough to pick it up in the beginning. I did get tired easily, but naps can help out with that. I think you will be ok, good luck!

I don't prefer the chocolate Farilife, but I LOVE the strawberry and use the caramel in coffee. Only problem is, they are impossible to find around me so I gave up. I was ordering them from Amazon but paying twice as much so I stopped.

Yea, I agree but usually willing to try it once. haha

I am 6 months post op and still need a shake to hit my protein. I come up just short without it after trying a few times. I have to eat so many times I feel like I just eat and drink constantly and it is annoying. So for now I just do a shake for breakfast, which I don't mind because I have never been a breakfast person anyway. I have my regulars but still randomly try different ones, tried these because there were a bit cheaper. HARD NO for me. haha I tried to chocolate. I do agree though, everyone has their preference with all the protein substitutes (shakes, bars, snacks, etc.) I guess, really anything and everything.

Perfect. Someone out there needs to hear this. I am glad you did not give up when discouraged! Good for you and congratulations!

Gas.. it sucks but it will pass in a few days. Heating pad helped me.

WOW! Glad you are moving in the right direction now and getting better. Did you discuss all of these weird things with your surgeon and/or PCP? For example, the passing out like symptoms when you get up sounds like low blood pressure. It apparently only happens for a few seconds and then your brain re-adjusts for it and you feel fine until next time. I am dealing with low blood pressure now, my stays pretty normal and randomly plummets. I haven't passed out yet but come very close. The being sick after meals does sound a bit like dumping and maybe you just don't recognize it as such? Which is another reason I asked if you talked to your surgeon about these things. But, if you feel like this even after eating some lean meat then it is probably not dumping. They said eat "anything" and with you eating in the middle of the night, things like cheez-its you may be dumping. Hard to assume, but could be. Do you track and document your intake? Maybe you could right down (or use an APP) what you eat but then also document how you feel after you eat it? It may help you figure out if everything makes you feel ill or if it is specific foods. I just want to make sure that with all the hospitalizations that you didn't forget to mention all the other issues you are having where you created interesting ways around it. Sometimes we get overwhelmed with what is happening at that very moment that we forgot to address the smaller things. I wish you the best and hope you get it all figured out and under control.

I would also take strawberry protein powder and use the sugar free lemonade as the liquid to make a strawberry lemonade shake! YUMM

So, my blood pressure is plummeting! To the point of passing out. I had HBP before surgery and on meds. It has slowly been going down. My PCP had me cut my meds in half, still too low. Took me off all meds and now even lower. It was so low yesterday that I couldn't even get a reading on my home BP cuff, but my wife took hers and it was normal. (mainly to make sure the cuff was working) When I finally got a reading about 20 minutes later it was 83/54, then it goes back to normal around 115/75... I am waiting for my doctors office to open this morning to see what he says and likely go in. I haven't been seen since before surgery. I went for a walk yesterday and got about a mile from home, and had to get a UBER home because I was to the point of passing out. It happened just while doing nothing to so I don't think it is activity related. It is making me so frustrated! It is always something, you make changes to get healthy and then other bull crap arises! Just venting

Hello. I didn't have a problem with fluids, hit and maintained my goal pretty quickly. But, I could NOT tolerate ANY of the chewable or liquid vitamins. I tried tons before surgery and tons after they are all horribly disgusting. It wasn't even like it was the vitamin itself my stomach wasn't handling it was the taste and texture. UHG! I discussed it with my team even before surgery and multiple times after surgery. They were not that "concerned" about it at the first couple of weeks. They just wanted me to focus on water and protein. At my 2 week follow up I discussed it again and my surgeon cleared me to swallow pills and capsules as long as I could handle them. LUCKILY I could and have been on capsules every since without any issues. Point: Discuss it with your team so they can work with you and provide insight and maybe get you an earlier clearance like they did me.

I LOVEEEE lemonade! Minute maid makes a zero sugar lemonade and it is great. Doesn't have that artificial sweetener taste. I drink TONS of water, always have and love to. But every once in a while I just need a kick of flavor and them lemonades do it every time. The crystal light packets or other brand flavor packets are too "intense" for me. That is the best was I can explain it. I have to almost double the water to be able to tolerate them so I stopped using them. As far as shake recipes, I can't help. I have read a lot and keep saying I want to start making my own shakes but never do. The pre-made are just so convenient, plus you just can't recreate 30g protein for 150/160 calories. So, I just keep going back to the pre-made shakes and switch around the brands and/or flavors when I get bored. Sometimes I take caramel shakes and add black coffee with ice so I feel like I am having a "cheat" sugary iced coffee. I have taken vanilla powder and added powdered protein to it too, but that is about the extent of my "homemade" shakes.