Tiffykins

I've heard that some people mix in different extracts, or those sugar free syrups by DaVinci or Toriani. They add them to the protein drinks for some extra flavor.

Everyone is different, but I am able to drink 16 ounces of fluid in about 20-30 minutes. I couldn't do that until about the 6 month post op. I am not a fan of super cold drinks, but that's my preference. I can drink fluids that have ice in them, but I prefer room temperature water. The only time super cold fluids bother my actual stomach is first thing in the morning. I kind of think my stomach needs to "wake up", so I take my Prilosec with room temperature water.

Here's the Forum area on here dedicated to the clothing exchange/recycling. The Clothing Exchange - Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (VSG) Forum

YAY YAY, my husband likes his super cold. I just can't handle super cold stuff on my teeth. I bet freezing it or even blending it with some ice would be yummy. Are you mixing it with Water or milk?

You increase your calorie intake, and add more healthy carbs back into your diet. Instead of being in the "weight loss" mode, you switch over to maintaining mode. I need to shoot for about 1000 calories a day now that I'm at goal. I'm still only hitting 850-900, but I am adding in more carbs. Some days, I don't hit my Protein goal of 60 grams, but other days I hit 80. I just started trying to maintain so it's hit or miss. I haven't lost any weight in a week, and actually have been bouncing up and down with this 1.5lbs on the scale for the last week. Some days it's there, the next day it will be gone. Plus, I am back on track at the gym with my strength and weight training program. I should be able to burn the fat, and build muscle. Since a pound of fat and a pound of muscle weighs the same (it's a myth that muscle weighs more, a pound is a pound), I am hoping this will help me tone up, and get rid of the bulky belly fat I still have while helping me maintain my current weight. I do weights 3 days a week, I bowl for 2-2.5 hours on Wednesday, and then I do 1 hour of cardio per week. I plan on starting back doing my Hip Hop Abs work out at home for my cardio because I do not have enough muscle tone for the spin class that I went to. I need to build some strength before I get back into spinning.

No problem. I've only had to ask to speak to the manager at one establishment, and he was super understanding. It's not a national chain place, it's locally owned/operated. I don't mind telling my friends, and people I somewhat know about my surgery. Or even people that ask that haven't seen me in a long time, but to flash a card at a complete stranger seems creepy. Don't be surprised if those same places don't accept your card. I bring home a lot of leftovers ha ha ha.

I was given one with my band surgery, and I never used it. Most restaraunts have been very accomodating when I order off the kid's menu or just an appetizer. My son and I share an adult entree a lot of the times we eat out. We rarely venture to buffets, but that's only because I hate Golden Corral places. The only buffet place we go to is the Chinese buffet with a mongolian grill. I only eat the mongolian grill noodles and meat. This may sound horrible, but for me, I will pay full price for a meal because they didn't charge me when I ate enough for 4 people. Now, when we do hit the chinese buffet, I stick with normal portions, and I may full price only because it's an "all you can eat" place. Well, all I can eat is about 3/4 cup of food so I pay for it. Or I get a to go box, and pay for the food by the pound and I eat out of the to-go box while my husband and son eat off the buffet. Now, for medical reasons, I have it all written on the back of my insurance and registration paperwork that I've had a partial gastrectomy, and that I have been diagnosed with an idiopathic clotting disorder. Here's a generic one from the internet if you would like to have one. Restaurant Card Bariatric Surgery I personally have never had to use one. If I go to Chili's or TGI Fridays, I order off the kid's menu without being questioned. On NYE, John and I went to a local steakhouse. He ordered an entree, and their policy is that you can order a half rack of ribs half price with an entree. I ate the ribs (2 of them) and we shared his side dishes of mac-n-cheese, and mashed potatoes.

I switched over to myfitnesspal.com because my IPhone had a free App, plus I found that myfitday was missing a lot of foods that I eat on a regular basis.

I thought I would share this with y'all. I haven't journaled my food intake all that dilligently, so starting today, I'm going to log everything. I like this site much better than sparklepeople.com I know the dailyplate.com is another good one that many people use. This is exactly what I ate yesterday. I've already done my stuff for today, and I'm super low on calories today. Even with my dinner meal plan added in there I'm only hitting 650 calories for today. But, I hit 70gr of Protein again. Total 861 Calories 34.7 Fat 62.4 Carbs (The Nestea screwed my carb count for the day, I have one to two per week) 72.2 Protein Crackers, saltine 4 chicken Breast 4ozcheese sauce 3oz Potatoes, scalloped, home-prepared with margarine 2oz Venison/deer steak, cooked 3oz Rice, cooked 1 oz Cheese, cream 2oz Tea, ready-to-drink, NESTLE, COOL NESTEA ice tea lemon flavor... 1/12oz can I forgot to add the 1 bite of a crescent roll I had.

These are the questions I asked: What size boughie do you use? Do you oversew the stable line? Can we discuss my goal weight should be? How many sleeves have you performed? Complication/leak stats? What post-op labs are done, and when? How many leak tests do you perform? How many nights in the hospital? What type of anesthesia do you use? (he referred to the anesthesiologist, and he answered my questions) What is the post-op diet? When and how often can I meet with the nutritionist?

I was told to steer clear of the Carnation products just because of the carb/sugar counts. I wish I had more information for you, but I would look at a different protein source if you are concerned about the sugar content.

I didn't have HBP before surgery. My mom has the band, and with her first 45lbs. loss, her BP dropped to normal. By the way, I miss you chat at night ! ! !

YAY YAY I'm glad you are home and recovering.

Megan - you are wonderful hands, and we're all pulling for you. I'm thinking of you today. Some surgeons use the spinal so they don't have to use as much of the general anesthestic. I know it's scary, but have faith in your surgeons, and their skills.

The time off from work will depend on what type of work/job you do/have. As for alcohol, I wasn't cleared until around 3-3.5 months post-op, and then was cautioned to take it slow, no carbonated drinks, and only light wines to begin with. Some people experience a much lower tolerance with alcohol post-op. I know that 2 glasses of wine is my limit. 3 glasses even over 5-6 hours is a bit much.

I would try to get in to your PCP/M to make sure it's sinus/allergy related. Our weather here in NW Florida has been crazy, and I've had allergy/sinus issues because of the drastic changes. I'm taking a Dayquil every other day.

You just to have to remember that most everyone hits a stall. But, they don't last forever, and you will be able to lose weight. None of us got fat overnight, none of us will get thin over night. This is an endurance race and definitely not a sprint. I have to remind myself that the BMI chart is not the end all, be all to calculate my success. My starting BMI was 47, and today it's 27. Technically, I'm still overweight by the charts. But, I'm at goal, and my surgeon set my goal weight with many factors in mind. Such as because I had been fat for so many years, my bone are more dense than naturally thin person my height. I'm technically a "big boned" female. He used these tools to measure certain joints, and I had a bone scan in the past that was evaluated by a radiologist. So, remember that you may hit a stall, but the pounds will melt off as long as you follow the program, drink plenty of fluids, work out to build muscle and burn fat.

Bill - that NSV is awesome ! ! ! Carolyn - that is exactly what I was thinking when I posted that one. It's not always the numbers on the scale. It's the little victories that feel the best. It's realizing something that never happened before, and thinking "wow, I can actually do that now."

I'm glad you were able to get in today. I wanted to share that my sleeve was made with a 32fr boughie, and with my complications, my sleeve is actually shorter than most sleeve patients. They had to remove a little more of the top portion of the stomach during my leak repair because the band had damaged so much of my stomach tissue. I also suffered with lots of nausea, and was on Zofran for awhile until my stomach was ready to work on it's own. I'm really glad you are getting the upper gi, and hopefully you get some answers quickly.

The scale will move again. Don't let the stall get ya down.

I find all my recipes at www.allrecipes.com

You're doing great ! ! !

Okay this one is seriously ridiculous, but I found it to be pretty awesome. I have been super emotional, and pretty irritable lately. This weekend, I decided to take a bubble bath in our garden tub. I never take baths. I'm a shower girl all the way, but I thought a hot bath would relax me. While I was soaking, I decided to sink below the Water, head and all. Then I noticed I was starting to float. I couldn't get myself to just lay in the water without floating to the top. I could never float in the tub before because I could never displace enough water to get my big butt to float. But, I totally floated right up to the top of the water. I called John in there laughing. He thought I had fallen, I was laughing so hard. I know it's not anything super exciting, but it made me giggle, and realize that I can now displace enough water to float in the tub ! ! !