NtvTxn

I definitely know what you mean. I had to switch, but it took me a while to 'like' it. My husband had a stent put in due to a blockage, two years ago....because of the partially hydrogenated stuff, we switched, chips and Oreos also left his diet!! LoL He immediately liked it....not me. Now I can't eat Jif or Skippy....just because I finally developed a taste for this other....but it DID take a while!!

Don't forget "Natural Peanut Butter" - high in calories for a TB, but GOOD fat and oh-so good and the natural PNB has no partially hydrogenated anything, no additives. It's all good!

whey Protein has milk in it: Whey protein is a high quality protein powder from cow's milk. Every dietitian is different; Mine considered skim milk a clear liquid. I think if sugar sweetened tea sits well, but Water makes you sick - there may be a medical problem - in my humble opinon. Medical attention may be needed. If there is pain when you swallow - he did nothing to your throat unless something was damaged during surgery. Slowly sipping is normal at this time, and will be for a while. Tea and decaf coffee tasted funny to me for approx. three months. The protein bullets are NOT 'the best' source of protein, but alas, they did not make me sick and I didn't really taste them when holding my breath and nose. Being from Texas and very vain, I had two goals, losing weight and not losing my hair. Mission accomplished. I knew I needed to get the protein in and could not and would not be able to do it with Whey, soy or any kind of protein shake. I couldn't stomach them before sugery, I knew afterwards would be impossible. I did try for a few days and it took HOURS of nursing one, it would get warm, I'd add ice, it would milk and the dang thing did nothing but "grow". More to drink!! Yep, we're all different. Whoever said they started solids at three days....I can't imagine any reputable doctor in OUR country recommending putting solids in our new tummies at day 3 or 4; We are stitched and full of staples, but I guess you never know, there are quacks, we all know that. You can't drink water, imagine eating baked chicken or a sirloin; nobody wants to risk a leak! I cannot believe doctors nation wide have these diet rules to be 'mean'. A conspiracy? Oh my! At our seminar, what did catch my attention, and stuck with me is: "This is not a diet, this is a way of life" I like that, it's hard to wrap your head around it and not worry about regaining, but it's possible. About the sugar thing and finding something to drink, I looked in what I call my 'bariatric Bible' the book they gave us at the seminar and what it says is look for things, food and drinks that have no more than 10 gr per serving, but SF is preferable. It is some times hard to do, but possible with 100% fruit juices and other drinks. I cannot remember what, but there are drinks out there. The first two weeks when I was allowed broth, we went out to eat several times and I'd order Soup and just sip the broth. The BEST was a Mexican food restaurant in Dallas - El Fenix, the tortilla soup. Real food....seasoned perfectly but just the broth, I left the solids. Another good one was the chicken noodle at Panera Bread. Just suggestions for something different. You'll have plenty left over to take home. I would call the doctor about the pain if it continues, seriously.

Actually, I lost 55 lbs between June and November, exactly 11 lbs per month averaged out. 70 lbs, lickity split will be gone. Just think, every lb, God willing, we will lose and it will be forever this time. My first 2 weeks was nothing, just like you said, as far as caloric intake. Isn't it weird how you don't have the shakes or get headaches??!! I mean seriously, how do we not just lose 20 lbs in that amount of time?? I know, I mean I KNOW I was getting only 275 to 300 calories per day. I was drinking Protein bullets, so I was getting no calories with those shakes....I swear, most of my calories back then were with the 2 cups of milk I drank per day!!! Do keep in mind, I'd go up and down during my entire losing stage...I WOULD gain a lb or two, hold on to them for several days and then all of a sudden they'd be gone and I'd move on to the next lb or two. I NEVER could understand HOW I could gain two over night when I'd done nothing different, and I never ate anything I shouldn't. For some reason this is NOT uncommon! Don't get discouraged, think of this as a 'great adventure' and enjoy it. As soon as you really start seeing a difference and you NEED to buy a new pair of jeans or whatever....it is soooo exciting! Even now, I am maintaining, but weight is redistributing (sp?) or something. I'm still losing and inch here a half an inch there. It's really strange, I haven't lost 'real weight' in several months. I have three or four lbs that I go up and down with...that is my 'maintence weight' - but still, the losing inches is strange. Hang in there....and KNOW it's happening, the end result is amazing, I promise you!!!!

You're absolutely correct, everyone is different - if every single brand of stivia is unappealing and no artifical sweetener will do, then by all means, use sugar.

By all means, if you are vomiting in your tea, and if you cannot stomach unsweetened tea, tea with lemon, or plain Water to hydrate, then for heaven's sake.......throw caution to the wind and add sugar! I have no suggestions. I don't drink stuff with artificial sweeteners, but for different reasons; I suffer from migraines and the blue and pink stuff trigger them. Only Stivia is "safe" for me. So....that is what I use. For some reason tea doesn't taste good to me with Stivia in it since I had surgery, go figure. I drink it plain or with lemon. Water, plain or with lemon or lime. Water in a big glass pitcher in the frig and several slices of cucumber is refreshing, believe it or not. (A suggestion from Tiffikins) I drink 2 glasses of milk a day.....16 oz of liquid and 16 oz of Protein. I've done the milk thing this since I was about where you are now. I discovered the protein shots, little 3.5 oz things from GNC, a couple sips in the morning, a couple at noon and finish it off later in the day. Hold your nose and rinse your mouth out afterwards. Beats the hell out of nursing a big Protein shake for two hours....GAGGING it down the entire time. Yuck!!! Those bullets saved me. They're not something you're going to belly up to a bar and order....but it beats a nasty Protein Powder any day of the week. In good conscience I have to ask, have you spoken to YOUR doctor or dietitian? You are on a forum asking strangers, and I dare say, none of us are bariatric dietitans, bariatric nurses or doctors. All we can tell you is what we do, what we've been instructed to do and what has worked or not worked for us. Opinions are kind of like...well, you know. I do concede, I am a bit harsh. .

Hi there!! My dietitian recommended Special K crackers. I eat them with tuna. I love them! I also will grab several for a snack. I keep 'Water crackers' on hand for a change too, but I can't tell you what the carb count is, my surgeon never requires his patients to do that unless they aren't losing. That's never been a problem for me. Anyway, the water crackers with peppercorns is great!!! Otherwise, you'll be hardpressed to find a cracker that is ok, in my humble opinion. I steer clear of anything in a 'box' for the most part. =)

chocolate is poison to dogs too.

My dietitian would ask "why would you want to sabotage yourself?" You know the answer or you wouldn't be on here asking us. Your in the honeymoon stage....your chance for the biggest weight loss in the least amount of time is in the first 12 months. I didn't 'cheat' at all during the losing stage. I treated this as the most important diet of my life. Nothing sweet passed my lips. Stivia is my friend, I love it, it's been a life saver. (GNC has the best) I don't care for the blue, pink or yellow either. Now I'm learning to live as a thin person, which is the difficult part. Life changes should have been made before surgery. This is why people are on message boards and forums whining about regaining or not losing quickly enough........I'm just sayin'

Hi Finally - I've always tracked Protein and calories. My surgeon and dietitian never required watching carbs unless someone isn't losing weight. That was never a problem for me. Also, they want you to make sure we are getting enough Water. That is the one thing I've had trouble with since day 1.....ugh. I just count, one glass, two glass etc. I learned at the last support group a couple of days ago that everything counts as 'liquids' - just so there is no caff. in it. So with that said, I am doing "ok". Three - four 8 oz glasses of water per day, 2 cups of skim milk. Maybe a cup of decaf. All in all.....I'm calling it 'good'. I'm 14.5 lbs under goal and could continue to lose weight....so a sweet now and then is no problem. Every Friday my husband and I go to Star Bucks for coffee and we split a piece of pumpkin bread. It helps me with the 1200 calories I need every day.

Terrib - First of all, weighing yourself is how you keep a tab on how you are doing and nip anything in the bud if need be. I have weighed every single day, first thing in the morning, since I came home from the hospital. We were told to at the seminar I attended! With that said, you will go up and down, you need to be told now, DEAL WITH IT!!!! It's part of the journey we all go through. If you are doing what you are suppose to do, you will lose weight, you WILL be successful!!! You've had approx. 85% of your stomach removed. It's impossible not to!!! Relax and enjoy all the changes. Take it from someone who is 11 months out, a year from now, you'll look back and you will not believe what your life use to be like!! I would hold on to a lb or two, go up with them, back down, up and down for three, four or five days....until I'd finally lose them for good. Usually I could up my Protein and Water and that would help, but it is normal - I found that out at my support group, everyone goes through it. I followed the rules, I never, ever cheated. I treated this as the most important diet of my life.....I still measure and weigh all my food when I'm at home; when we're out I have to "eyeball" it, but when it's brought to me, I divide on my plate what I am going to eat, or else I share with my husband. It's easy to take 'one bite too many' when you're out and visiting. The only way this won't work is if you are drinking a couple of thousand calories per day, I.E. cokes, milkshakes, alcohol....followed up with Twinkies, donuts....you get the picture. We can sabotage ourselves. This is a tool we WORK with, not a fix all. Good luck and enjoy....it's a fun, fun ride!!!

Samantha! You are so welcome!! I just noticed, you lost 43 lbs pre-op! I'm truly impressed!! Kudos to you!!! You really are doing a great job!! Realize and Celebrate this journey, the ups and downs!!! I have to add to my last post....WW does work....but only for a while. I am not sure it is EVER a forever thing. I've know scads of people who've gone and lost weight, but NONE that have kept it off, EVER!! We've only kept it off as long as we attended, and nobody goes to meetings forever. I know people may attend AA meetings forever, but not WW meetings!! Anyway.......good luck!!!!

Hip - you might look at the sugar content in the fruit cup. Even if it's a "no sugar added" - my dietitian told us, sugar is sugar. She said to treat fruit, even fresh fruit, as a treat....eat it or drink no sugar added fruit juice a couple of times a week. Read labels, don't risk sabotaging yourself. Good luck!

I can't explain it.The doctor put me on an 1800 calorie a day diet one time years ago and I could lose. I'd have thought I was starving at 1500 calories. Our bodies change and adapt. I suffer from migraines....frequently; I thought surely I'd get headaches because I eat so little, get the shakes something. Nothing. I have more energy than I ever did before. I eat like I should, much healthier in fact. Protein is first and foremost always. I've gotten in all my protein from food since my second month. I think the yo yo dieting, popping pills and the fad diets is what screwed up my metabolism, for once, I feel good and I am in control not food!!

I'm maintaining @ 1200 cal per day...during my losing stage I averaged 675 calories. If I took in 1500 now, I'd gain. That's amazing.

Samantha, The difference is, this time that 16 lbs is forever. Obviously the other times you regained, or you wouldn't have landed in the waiting room of a bariatric surgeon!! 16 lbs. Wow. I llost 23 lbs before surgery. I reached goal in 5 months....losing the final 55, that averages out to 11 lbs per months. I think that is pretty damn awesome! Now I'm 14.5 lbs below goal and wearing a size 4 jeans! I never thought I was losing slow....maybe I was dense....had the bar set to low but the surgeon and everyone else was thrilled. I never once cheated, I treated this surgery like the most important diet of my life...I could continue to lose, it is a struggle to get in the 1200 calories per day that I need to maintain. I hope it's like this forever. 16 lbs the first month. That's amazing. Granted, when I went to WW, I could drop 20 in a month, way more than I lost with my sleeve....and I could re-gain it pretty fast as well. I did it three times, losing 50 at one point. Counting points works, but who the heck can do that forever??!!!

Mandems Mom - Don't get down and don't set your expectations so high, 20 -30 lbs in in the first month or two??!! OMG - this is a marathon, not a sprint! I averaged 11 lbs per month!! I reached my surgeon's goal in five months! A total loss of 78 lbs yes, but 23 of that was before surgery. From June until November, I lost 55 lbs. and everybody was amazed, proud, shocked!! Now I'm 14.5 lbs under goal. I went up and down, up and down with a lb or two on numerous occasions, yes, i have weighed every single day, I still do....but I knew it was part of the journey, I knew I had to deal with it. I was following the doctor's directions, so I KNEW I would lose the weight. You'll do fine....a year from now, you are going to be happy as a clam!!!!!!

Oh, and some use stitches, some use glue. I am certain mine uses staples to make surewe come back for the follow up visits so he can make sure we are progressing as we should.To make sure we are doing ok. LoL

Many surgeons use staples with the incisions on lap. surgery. It's not uncommon and not painful at all to have them removed as I had feared it might be.

I am 11 months out as of yesterday. Of course it doesn't seem 'normal' - our old normal is what landed us in the waiting room of a bariatric surgeon!! Our 'new normal' is great, but at first seems like so little, after a while, we look at what is on the plates of others and are shocked!! I still weigh and measure my food. I want to know everything and how much of everything I put in my mouth!! I log it all on line as well!! I need 1200 calories per day to maintain or else I'd continue to lose! I can eat 2 eggs on a good day, some days I can only eat 1.5. Some mornings I eat a half cup of cottage cheese for breakfast - I call it the breakfast of champions! I can eat a fourth cup of tuna with seven Special K crackers. I can eat 2 oz of protein, I.E. pork chop, steak, hamburger, fish...and an eighth of a cup of cottage cheese and an eighth of a cup of a veggie. I eat on a small plate and most of the time (at home) I use a seafood fork. I still love food but I'm never hungry. My new hunger is an empty feeling. I can ignore it, but it lets me know that I should 'put something there. You'll get use to the amount of food, it's how we are successful, it's why we chose WLS!!!!

You too Suzanne!! Good luck and have a great day!! Stacy

Hi Finding Me - Hey, it's not 'giving up' at all. Anyone who says we're taking the 'easy way out' - I hardly think major surgery having approx. 85% of our stomachs removed is 'the easy way out' - but if they think that, so what!! I personally think popping a pill or pushing away from the table is easier, but whatever! We still have to make changes and really, nobody on the 'outside' except those closest to us, knows what it takes. In Texas, the little town I lived in for 20 yrs before leaving, WLS is practically a status symbol. You know, vanity and Texas go hand and hand....women and men!!

Kelsey, you must make lifestyle changes. There is not a WLS that will "fix" you. Even if you do have 'dumping syndrom' - and not all RNY patients do, it doesn't last, at least it has not with my friends. I am the ONLY sleeve patient among my friends. There are two bands and 13 RNY among us from my home town, that I personally know. With my RNY friends, ONE reached goal and has kept it off....with the others, some never reached goal and all of them (the remaining 12) have started re-gaining. Some a little, some enough to where they are considering a second surgery. As far as dumping, I wouldn't swear to it; all of them are at least four years out, but I think they can all eat sweets to some extent. I'm not sure when it started and I'm not sure if all of them had DS right off the bat. I didn't ask a lot of questions; at that time I was already living out of state and wasn't too interested in WLS and certainly not in by-pass.

Let me play devil's advocate and ask you this. Why would you want to rearrange perfectly good intestines? Just askin'!! I never considered RNY because of two things. One, the re-routing thing and two, because of the high rate of weight regain, so I cannot really put myself in your place. I did consider being banded until I started researching and saw how many problems there were and the lack of reaching goal and again, regain. For some reason, removing 85% of my stomach didn't bother me. I was left with a perfectly functioning tummy, just less. It's the best decision I've made. I love my sleeve. I've had an easy time - forced portion control is just what I needed. Good luck. Oh, I had a hernia that was discovered and repaired during surgery.

Some people I told, some I didn't. I've had a couple of people (even somebody in my family) act a little different, but that is their problem, not mine. You won't be surprised to know, they are both overweight. All my thin friends who are thin, are my cheerleaders! Go figure! Many are very, very interested, want to know all about the sleeve, everyone knows and has heard of the other two, but this is something new'ish. I told one person from high school, but all in all, I've told quite a few I guess, everyone in the family knows, all but one are thrilled and have followed my progress closely.