SpartanMaker

Gastric Bypass on the 20th. Just got back from the hospital after a one night stay. So far so good. Tolerating liquids well and pain is fairly minimal.

Tomorrow's the big day for me! I can't believe it's finally here after trying to get to this point for almost 3 years now. I had a big scare this week just to make my nerves even worse: My wife got exposed on Tuesday to a coworker that tested positive for COVID. We had to wait to Saturday for her to get tested, and I got tested yesterday (it was the last required hurdle from my bariatric team). Thankfully we both turned up negative. I was seriously worried I'd be delayed. Especially after basically completing the 2 week pre-op liquid diet, it would have really been a letdown if I'd had to put surgery off even longer.

Can you combine them? Protein waters like Protein2o and Gatorade Zero + Protein should count as both. Same for bone broth or regular broth with added unflavored protein powder.

You'll need to check your insurance. I believe most of those that cover bariatric surgery cover it for a BMI over 40, or over 35 with comorbidities. Don't think I've hear of any that cover it at 30?

How I wish other people didn't care what we eat, but alas, I know that's not reality. I'm still pre-surgery (4 days!), but I've been down this road many times on many other diets. For things like the birthday cake, i think the best tact is simply avoid it. These days it's becoming increasingly common for people to be on diets of one sort of another and I doubt most people think twice if someone doesn't eat a particular food. If someone's curious why you didn't have any, just tell them it's not part of your diet and leave it at that. The bigger issue for me was always holiday meals. One thing that worked well for me was actually hosting the get-togethers. I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. By doing this, I retained control over the menu and thus could make sure I'd have things I knew I could eat. At the event, I stuck to those and left the rest. If I couldn't host, I might try to convince the host to consider more of a small plates approach vs. a big sit down meal. These are easy to fake your way through by loading up a plate that you carry around, but don't actually eat. It would be rare indeed fo people to pay much attention to how much you've had in such a case. For the sit-down meals, worst case, pull your host aside and let them know you're limited to what you can eat right now due to a medical condition. I find the host of these events seems to be the one that worries the most if guests like the food, but if they know ahead of time that you can't eat much, they'll likely ignore it. Just my thoughts based on what's worked for me in the past.

I was going to reply, but @Nepenthe44 hit all the points I intended to mention. For the record, I'm not carb averse, it's just that carbs do nothing to help avoid excess muscle catabolism. Sufficient protein is what you need to help keep you from losing too much muscle mass. That's one of the primary reasons all post bariatric surgery diets emphasize a protein forward approach.

I have used Liquid IV in the past. It works well, but does have sugar in it. Buyer beware if that's a problem for you.

Sounds like your plan is like mine and the short answer is no. At first you are just focused on staying hydrated. The number one reason for hospital readmission post bariatric surgery is dehydration.

I've pretty much tried them all and I think most of the chewables are less than ideal. It's the iron that makes them taste "off". They also are all sweet, so if you're having issues with sweet things, these probably won't be a good choice. This is why my team actually recommended the capsules. If you can't swallow them, or get an upset tummy if you do, just open them up and sprinkle them into a drink, yogurt, or broth, etc. Seems to work for most folks early post surgery.

That's awesome! I'm guessing you may have had a nerve block like exparel? This will block the pain for roughly 72 hours, but when it wears off, you may start to have some pain. Hopefully by then it's minimal and will be easily controlled.

That's where the bone broth comes in. Plus, I have some unflavored protein powder that I can add to regular broth or even water if needed. I just have not used it yet since I didn't have the need. Also, I'm only on liquid protein for days 4-7, then I can add in cottage cheese & ricotta cheese. At that point, the old standby Ricotta Cheese Bake may be my friend for week 2.

sorry, just realizing this was an old post.

Wow, lots of new folks joining us this week. Welcome all! I'm finishing up my first week of my pre-surgery diet today. I'm on 3-4 protein drinks and 64 oz fluid per day. No meals. Honestly, it hasn't been a big deal at all. I think what's helping me is lots of variety and just staying busy to keep my thoughts off things I'm not supposed to eat. Plus, I wasn't really eating all that much before this, so the transition wasn't too drastic. My Protein sources: Premier Protein Caramel - I drink this as creamer in 2 very large cups of decaf coffee Fairlife Nutrition Plan Chocolate Homemade Bone Broth Bariatric Pal Hot Chocolate, Cream soup Variety Pack & Variety Pack Pudding Mix My Fluid Sources: Coffee Herbal Iced Tea Store Bought low-sodium Broth Millie's Sippin' Broth (these are a nice change of pace) Other: I'm allowed 1 cucumber or pickle a day (it's nice to have something to crunch) Sugar Free Jello (I don't really count this toward my fluid intake, though I could.

I was told to expect 2 weeks minimum, and I work from home. The issue isn't pain, it's mostly due to tiredness and brain fog. Also, it's super hard to get your fluids/protein in, and that will just be harder if you're trying to work as well. Can you take short-term disability?

I'm honestly a bit surprised so many of you are trying to (or supposed to), drink protein shakes so soon? In my program I'm supposed to do clear liquids only for the first 3 days. Considering that dehydration is the number one reason for hospital readmission, I think it's critical to stay on top of your clear liquids. The protein is important, but probably a bit less so.

If outpatient, very little: driver's license insurance card List of medications CPAP if you use one If you will be staying at least one day, add in: Some basic toiletries Cell phone and charger Robe (optional, but it's better than having to wear those silly hospital gowns to cover your backside) Maybe a book or tablet if you wish, though some people never use theirs I also like to have ear plugs, because hospitals are noisy! I never pack extra clothes, I just re-wear what I wore when I arrived. Have your driver bring (leave in car): sunglasses a pillow to hug maybe a blanket, but depends on how hot it is where you are.

I agree, talk to your doctor. Most doctors want you to avoid any form of exercise other than walking for at least a couple of weeks and some even longer. Also, I would not call most of your examples "stretching exercises". At the very least, they'd fall under what we used to call calisthenics in the old days, but more properly fall squarely into the bodyweight strength training realm. Your toe-touch example is the only one that might be considered a stretch, but it's highly dependent on how you're doing it.

Yep, could be the amlodipine. I use to take it, but my doc took me off it due to the edema.

I don't think keto is any more a fad diet than is the diet recommended to post surgical bariatric patients. They both have specific purposes and are (or were) very effective for their original purposes. The keto diet was originally developed a long time ago as a specific treatment for severe epilepsy. At the time, before antiepileptic drugs, it worked very well in controlling symptoms. The problem is that it became popular for weight loss and it's probably not the healthiest way to eat long term. That said, I think the same thing is true for the post-surgical bariatric diet. It's a diet developed for a specific purpose and it works well for that, but it's not really a healthy way to eat for the general population. The reason we eat a protein forward diet is for a few reasons: Protein helps preserve as much muscle as possible while eating a low calorie or very low calorie diet. This helps keep your metabolism as high as possible so you burn more calories at rest. A carb forward diet (or even a more balanced diet), would cause your body to burn less fat at any given time because carbs are easily burned for energy, whereas protein is not. Protein (actually the amino acids in protein), are essential to your bodies proper functioning, whereas consumption of fat or carbs is not nearly as important. Protein is even more important when healing, thus it's critical post-surgery. The reason the medical community focuses on protein for bariatric surgery patients is due to the above. It's not because protein is actually "healthier". It's just because we are so restricted in what we can eat, thus tradeoffs must be made. I think most doctors would agree that once a bariatric surgery patient can eat more, they should not eat more protein, but instead should work to add healthy fats and carbs ASAP in the form of more whole foods. The general consensus in the medical community is that the healthiest diet is one that starts with lots of fruits and vegetables, has very little processed food, and a lot less meat than what most American or Western Europeans eat.

Well obviously I'm still pre-surgery, but I do have some rewards in mind when I hit certain goals. I'm trying to focus on healthy rewards, so for example I've been wanting a new treadmill and have that on my list. I also want a kayak, so that too is on the list. There are several others, but collectively, they all are things that will help me stay active. I'm motivated by these types of rewards, so they help me stay focused. This may not work for everyone, but I know myself well enough to know it works for me.

It all depends what's allowed on your plan. I started mine Tuesday. In addition to 3-4 protein drinks a day, I'm allowed as much clear liquid as I want. That includes broth, as well as SF jello and popsicles. The variety really helps, because psychologically I feel like I'm eating something when I have any of those latter things. I'm also allowed one pickle or cucumber a day and you can bet I'm having that too. I'm really not finding it that hard yet. I just try to keep myself busy, because one of my biggest eating problems has been mindless snacking out of boredom, or as a stress reliever.

If so, how'd your turn out? Any special recipes? I have some in the freezer. Now just have to be patient and wait for them to freeze!

Lousy, they were too hard to eat! I've seen some recipes for protein ice cream and may try that instead?