SleeveToBypass2023

If you don't like the commercial protein shakes, can you just use the flavorless protein powder in homemade smoothies or other flavored waters? If you look up some smoothie recipes, you might be able to find ways to add calories to your diet (while staying in compliance) and still get the protein from the powder. Are you walking and exercising?

I'm sorry I'm thinking the lack of protein and calories is where the issues are. Can you set an alarm to eat? Do you still have protein shakes and waters?

That's correct. The panni is covered if there's a medical need (not hard to get it approved, I've heard). If you are self pay and bundle procedures, I've also heard the plastics can be cheaper, too. I'm hoping to get out with $15k or less, but we'll see when the time comes LOL

I have those horrible bat wings, too. And because I have PCOS, I hold a TON of weight in my stomach, so I already know that there will be a lot of skin to remove from my arms and stomach. I want my boobs done because they got demolished from having kids lol So this is as good a time as ever to get em fixed, The panniculectomy I want to get done first since it's covered by my insurance, and it'll take care of the whole skin slapping when I walk or work out lol

It might be because you're not eating enough protein. If you don't have enough, it can slow things down. You also need to make sure you're getting enough calories. If you're walking or working out but barely eating, your body will think it's starving and hold on to every bit of weight it can. I would still celebrate those 14 pounds!!! And it looks like you have a total of 36 total gone from pre and post surgery, which is amazing!!! You also maybe have hit your stall early. 9 days seems super early for that, but it might be possible. Not sure, tho.

My insurance will cover a panniculectomy (literally just the removal of the skin on the lower stomach that hangs down). No tightening of muscles, no lipo, nothing. So I will be having that done once I hit goal. Once I'm a good 18 months out (or stable in my weight for at least 6 months past hitting goal) I'm going to have a tummy tuck, arm lift, breast lift and augmentation. Not sure if I'll do my thighs or not. Depends how my legs look after all that is done, I guess lol

You are 43 days post op. This is not good and not normal at all. You need to call your surgeon's office asap to get to the bottom of this. What surgery did you have?

I lost 100 pounds over 9 months and then when the weight came back, I gained it all back plus an extra 11 pounds. I just sat and cried, and that's when my PCP suggested WLS.

Only if you can stick to it for life. It's more a lifestyle change, not so much a diet. I did it, and I lost 100 pounds. But in my case, I have PCOS and couldn't keep the weight off no matter how hard I tried. If you do keto and then go off, you will gain all the weight back quickly, and the more you start and stop, the less effective it is.

Awesome, thanks!!

Thanks I definitely will try that.

So I have MS. My mother has MS. I started showing signs when I was 39. I went to the doctor, was spasming right in front of me, and he told me it was nothing. I told him I wanted an MRI since I spoke to my mother and she said her symptoms and a MRI are how she was diagnosed. My doctor told me he wasn't going to order needless tests just to satisfy my need for attention. I called my husband into the room and went through it again with the doctor who repeated everything. My husband literally lost his mind on the doctor. So finally the doc said "Ok, fine, if it'll shut you up, I'll order the MRI. But your insurance isn't going to be happy, and you may end up paying for it anyway since they likely won't find anything." I begged for muscle relaxers and I was told no. Fast forward to the MRI and I was spasming the whole time I was in there. Get the results a few days later and MS was confirmed. 29 lesions on my brain, 5 black holes (permanent damage to my central nervous system), 4 lesions on my neck spine, and 6 on my chest spine. Once those results were sent to the doctor, his response was "oh, good. I'm glad you got answers." I was LIVID. My husband and I reported him and he was disciplined and I got a new doctor, who I now love.

Thanks! Sadly, I've been hungry since about day 8. And once food was introduced, it just got worse. So I'm trying to make sure I do this right so I don't mess up.

I can't speak to the MCAS, but I can on a few other things. The pills: I had to crush mine (except for 2 capsules that can't be crushed or broken - I have MS and those are MS specific meds) for about 12 days. On day 13 I could take them without being crushed at all, although I still can't take all my pills at once like I used to. Exercise: There needs to be some kind of exercise. Walking is the #1 to prevent blood clots and work out the gas pain (break it up and help it go away). It also helps with the weight loss. The other things you can do are total bonuses that will also be great. Never try to do more than you safely and comfortably can, but do try to do as much as you can. Diet: Can you have cottage cheese (since you can have dairy)? Have you tried avocado spread, non fat refried beans, mashed potatoes, plain hummus? There's also protein pudding, protein oatmeal (I just bought them on the BariatricPal website here), and of course protein shakes, protein smoothies, and protein flavored water. Also, try bone broth (variety of flavors). That also has protein in it. And of course eggs are great, too. There's lots of ways to get your protein in. You may not be able to get off the protein drinks like the rest of us can as we move into solid foods and get our protein from there, but you CAN still get your required protein in other ways.

You definitely need to contact your surgeon's office. Vomiting daily is definitely not a good thing. Are you able to get fluids down ok? What and how much are you eating?

Is it every 3 hours, or 3 hours from your last meal?

WOW!!! Congrats!!! You look great

I'm wondering...am I supposed to eat every 3 hours, or 3 hours after my last meal? Because it takes between 30-40 minutes to finish eating, and I am really struggling to eat every 3 hours (3 hours after my meal ends seems more reasonable).

Ok I just had dinner (took almost an hour lol) and I gave myself some variety. I had 1 tbsp of hummus (my favorite), 1/2 tbsp of avocado spread, and 1/2 tbsp of no fat refried beans. And I'm drinking Iced black tea lemonade. OMG. Can I just tell you how amazing my dinner was? I have timers set to eat every 3 hours, but I'm wondering...is it every 3 hours, or 3 hours after your last meal? Because I can't imagine eating again in 2 hours lol

I did great on the liquid diet, and I could drink away any hunger I felt. But once I started the mushy stage and had actual food, holy moly the hunger came roaring back. I will say I wasn't eating 5 times per day, so that's part of the problem. On the liquid diet, when I got hungry, I would have an extra shake or smoothie. Now, I have timers set to remind me to eat every 3 hours 5 times a day. I was waiting until I was hungry, and by then, omg it was bad. I got some new foods that have been recommended and I set my timers, and I'm drinking more. And hoping it helps. Also, I did start my stage 2 early. I started in 9 days post op, with my surgeon's permission, as long as I went slow. I'm not one to ever say to go against your surgeon's instructions, but maybe in a couple days you could call and see if they will let you start the mushy foods early....Otherwise, just drink extra shakes and smoothies whenever you feel hungry and try to drink the hunger away. Good luck!!!!

Ok so I had my 1st post op appt today, and I was weighed and I actually weigh 358!!!!! WHAAAAAT??!?! And my nurse practioner was SO much more helpful than my dietician. She told me that eating 1-2 tbsp per meal is actually less than they would normally see (she said 3-4 oz is pretty typical). She said my bp is the same now without my meds as it was 3 weeks ago when I was on it!!!! And my blood sugar was 126 without diabetes meds for 3 weeks (3 weeks ago, on both my meds, it was 144). So all in all it was a SUPER good appointment and I'm happy and relieved. She said I'm doing excellent, and that my walking on the treadmill for 20 min twice a day and riding the exercise bike 5 min twice a day (still have a bit of pain in my abdomen from the incision and the muscle, so the bike is much slower going) is really good and giving me the results we want to see. I told her about this board and how amazing it is and she said she would recommend it to her other patients. So all in all, a GREAT day!!!!!

Thank you so much, everyone. I really love this place. I am taking all of your advice and suggestions to heart and implementing it. I'm also looking into apps to help me along. Again, I appreciate you all, and thanks so much for your help

My stomach doesn't growl at ALL. I keep reading that it happens a lot, so I'm waiting for it, but nothing so far. I eat until I'm comfortable and then I stop. But each time I eat it takes a little more to get there. I'm not even talking FULL. Just comfortable. And my hunger hormone was never gone at all. I felt hunger the entire time, but I was able to just drink it away before I started on mushy food. Once food hit my system, it's like it woke the beast and I can't really ignore it anymore. I try to wait until I'm so hungry my stomach literally hurts, but by the time I get to that point, I'll eat anything in sight and I usually eat too fast just to make the hunger stop. I tried broth tonight, and while it tasted good, it didn't do anything for my hunger. For dinner I was able to comfortably eat 1 tbsp of hummus and 1 tbsp of applesauce, then 1/2 a tbsp of protein pudding before I was comfortable (not FULL, just comfortable). I think I'm failing at this.

Mine is completely better, but it took a solid week before I was good. @redhead_che what staples do you have? Was your surgery laparoscopic?

Can you update your information so we can see your stats? When did you have your surgery? What surgery did you have? Maybe you're in a stall??? How often do you weigh yourself?