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Agreeing with clk,ya gotta lose the scale for now. I am 2 and a half weeks out. I dropped 14 lbs in my first week then stopped. Had to make my mom take my scale home with her the day b4 yesterday bc I was driving everyone,including myself crazy! My doctor quickly moved me to soft foods and I stalled at a week and a half out! But I am only getting like 350 calories a day and about 40-50 grams of protein,maybe 30-40 ounces of liquids. The weight has got to come off sooner or later! Just keep doin what you're doing girl. We will get there! Btw,I love my warm teas! So soothing to my sleeve! Love Chamomile. =)

T! YES! I was drinking decaff the first week after surgery, day 2 after surgery. I wasn't supposed to drink caffeine for a month out, but I hate teh taste of decaff coffee. Yuck. But so I drank regular coffee a week out, until now I not only lived. I didn't get dehydrated There are some rules that are put in place "just in case" but you should be fine The reason for the decaff instead of caffee, is bc caffeine tends to make you pe more, and they are afraid you'll become dehydrated since you can't drink as much liquids right after surgery Enjoy!

The mortality stats I have consistently heard from the Centers of Excellence I considered was 0.2-0.3%.....or 2-3 people per 1000. And they said their rates where that high BC they are the go-to people in my region, and they try and fix other doctor's mistakes. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

If you're watching your carbs (I say that bc of the mostly protein and veggies you're eating) the vodka won't hurt ya too much )) Drink it with diet drink or something

Ooh I loveee my BA shakes bc they're so thick. I think it's made the two week preop diet better. Are you telling me that feeling will change after surgery??

I'm no high Protein advocate as you all know. I say it often enough. But I do wholeheartedly believe that the whole high carb/low fat food pyramid that we were fed all through the 80's and 90's is a crock. Its a big reason why the population has just got fatter and fatter. Drinking a glass of Water with lemon juice in the morning will kickstart your metabolism- ah, bulldust. I also think Atkins philosophy is ridiculous - all you want of steak, cheese, eggs? May as well just shove it all down your aorta, that's where its going to end up anyway. Eat anything you want in moderation DOES work for me, but my idea of moderation when I was fat was slightly dysfunctional, lol.

I'm cooking for a husband and 3 kids, 2 of whom are teenage boys. I just eat whatever I cook for the family - healthy food is healthy food and appropriate for everyone. I hate cooking, lol, but I'm glad I have to do it. I think it always kept me somewhat in check. I would never feed my kids crap, would never let them eat take out regularly, or feed them 2 minute noodles, packet macaroni cheese, white bread and rubbish like that, so my base diet was always healthy, it was just all the crap I fed myself on top of it. Cooking for one would be really hard, I even make too much salad for lunch!

It's so hard to drink bc I still full from the first few..my tummy is so heavy right now from surgery,then menstrual now drinking...and who new passing gas would feel so great and peeing.

My blood sugars are great. I had a really high a1c of 9.4 at my last check up before surgery, I'll have another checkup in a month or so and my BS's range 100-130, that is great for me! I loved so many things that I don't care for anymore and that makes me happy! As far as getting too low, u really have to adjust ur insulin to fit your doctors plan. Ask ur doctor, he/she will help u adjust ur meds. I'm also off of my cholesterol meds and lisonopropil . I never thought this would happen to me, and it did! My sugar dropped a few times and during the liquid stages I drank orange juice but that made me vomit, so i had glucose tablets and those always worked. I hope they approve the sleeve for you. I was going for the band at first and so glad I didn't after all my research.

So the original "keto" as developed in the 60s and 70s by Dr. Atkins was much lower than todays' present iteration of the diet. For a normie Keto Diet based on Atkins 72, most fat % were in the 60-75% range. When I followed it as a normie, I had to be between 55-65% fat in order to lose the best. Most of the LCHF/keto docs agree that the amount of fat in your diet entirely depends on the amount of adiposity on your body. That means, that even with a keto diet, you still must operate in a caloric deficit so that you burn the fat stores in your body rather than the fat in your diet for energy. And for the most part, you must expend the energy from your diet before you tap into your fat stores. As @AZhiker and @KarenLR75 say, there is no need to inflate our fat to "today's keto" range. For most of us PO, it would be difficult due to surgical malabsorption. Even VSGers can have difficulty with higher fat. By simply reducing carbs to 20g net or below per day and putting your personal prescription for protein into the equation (given to you by your surgeon), then you can back into your target calorie goal and figure out your fat grams/percentage based on that. Any additional fatty acids you need (and the ketones produced through lipolysis) will then be able to come from the fat strapped to your booty and middle (and total body) rather than the fat bomb or MCT oil, or butter coffee -- or whatever ridiculous bolus of exogenous and unnecessary "keto bs" you consume. I knew that in order to lose I needed to maintain a range between 650-850 calories/day. I know, because when I got to 850 calories or above, I would stall out and not lose anything. I also knew from my surgeon and RD that I had a broad protein range (in the early days) of between 60-80g protein daily--with an optimal amount at 74g for my LBM and are based upon height, sex, age, physical status. Males and females of a different size will have different macros. Here are the macros I've used to lose 157lbs:

Someone is always going to say something negative I've come to find out. My sister told me that I can't have the surgery bc then she's going to be the only fat one left in the family. It's just selfishness. I'm finally doing something for just me and no one is going to bring me down. I don't want to look back in ten years and say I wish I did it instead of listening to the haters.

heres a simple thought so many fat people seem to know so much about being healthy yet cant get healthy themselves, so its do as i say not as I do because i tested 1 person who had diabetes, so therefore i know the truth. When i ask you what studies show artificial sweeteners not taken in tremendous bulk directly injected into lab mice has ever shown a correlation in humans. besides saccharin, and you cannot do it, because there are NONE but you say your surgeon is researching it. which is also amazing that a surgeon would be doing research not related to ther field of surgery. To me, youre lying over and over and what you are lying about is libelous and negligent. Then you want to attack paramedics by saying they know nothing but can give a few meds.Now i know maam you are so full of BS that you must have dark brown eyes. You are irresponsible, fraudulent and repulsive in your ideas. Project ME, you research diabetes, you dont experiment on your son, thats what this lady supposedly ( i dont believe she knows what a research study actually is since she had no control group, no study plan, no baseline of findings, no medical reports. but hey shes a whack job so whatever) see if you told us you feed different foods to your son then stick him right after to se what his blood sugar is, and do this over and over to test medical facts, id say you were an unfit parent but you dont, you monitor your son and looks for ways to make his health better. there's the difference. This idiot lady says that sugar doesn't make your blood sugar go up. um if anyone knows of anyone with diabetes like your son project me, you all know this is the height of BS ive had family members die from diabetes who never were alive to injest a single artificial sweetener. bt hey dont let facts get in the way of irresponsibility. Nothing is worse than an idiot armed with a little false knowledge. Here is the basic facts, when you go against established medical facts its not inventing or any such thing, hurt yourself, you can only blame yourself too bad so sad a darwin award goes your way. but when you promote it as fact to others you are disseminating lies to others in a medical context which as I said legally is libelous and can get you charged in a court of law. i can point out case after case of supporting case law to back that up. So because this lady works with paramedics she says she KNOWS what they know , see shes a secretary who thinks she knows more than the doctors do. Amazing. to be honest i would push to have her removed from this sight for promoting dangerous materials, but i assumes that he is such an idiot no one would listen, but just like the 9 eleven theory nuts and alien supporters, there's always a few nuts to cling on to their BS.

Mine was and is uneventful - I think we hear other stories BC quite frankly it’s probably boring hear how great it’s going v seeking advice when things are going well. As for food— Matty is tight- things change which is great. I don’t crave foods anymore . Once you’ve established good eating habits things are great. Other than foamies once or twice in the early weeks - nothing to write home about. Have never thrown up etc You’ll be ok!

It's been hard to do any outdoor exercise due to heavy snow and weather where we live but since spring is finally coming around every night I've been strapping him in to the back carrier and going to collect sap for our maple syrup and hiking back from the woods w him through the field Bc there is at least 6 inches of tough crust to fight through. I've also pulled back out my elliptical and have been trying to do it in the evenings. I was worried I lost my pouch but I've literally have been eating 3/4 or an egg and maybe a half of a sausage link for Breakfast but am starving by 10. So iv had a shake to hold me over until lunch. I'm happy to know my pouch tolerance is only my fault but now to get over the stupid food addiction again. So I've been starting to keep a good log to keep me accountable

I would be considered a newbie here, but I'd like to give some hope to others that have BCBS of California.... Im 26, 5'4, 232lbs...went to my first seminar on Dec. 3, 2005 after my job notified us that our insurance would be changing as of JAN 1...much to my surprise to a United HC plan that WOULD NOT cover the lap band surgery. So here it was i week into dec. and i had to get things rolling if i wanted any chance at being slim in the new year! At the seminar I was told that BC of Cali was mandated and that they HAD to cover the surgery; all i needed was a psch consult, and 1 visit with the dietician. So I had my psych eval on 12/8 and met with the dietician on 12/12. When I called the surgeon's office, they told me they mailed my letter of medical necessity on 12/7. I was thinking, WHAT??!! I couldnt believe they snail-mailed something so important. But there was still hope.... After hanging up with them, I got on the phone to BC of California pre-cert dept and asked them what their approval process was and if it was possible for the doctor's office to just fax everything over. Answer: YES. The rep gave me the fax # and i called back to the doctor's office and gave them the fax so that they could fax ALL of my papers to BC of California. I also had the doctor's office fax ME the confirmation that they faxed it to the insurance, so I would have something to go on when checking back with the insurance company everyday. So, all of my data was in the BC system on 12/19 and every rep that I spoke to told me that they have 30 days to make a decision. Well here's the key....I told them that I didnt have 30 days, because I was already given a surgery date of 12/29 and that I needed it approved by then. And wouldn't you know, my surgery was approved on 12/21!!!! and yes I just had my surgery on 12/29 and am in the recovery/liquid diet phase, all in the course of 1 month. Hope this is helpful to someone else...

I hear you. I gained 3lbs when I started back on mushies. I worked so hard to lose those 3 lbs again and then I hit plateau for about a week. I am so careful about what I eat (My dr's po starts on all food day 15), count all my calories, but my body doesn't want to lose weight. Eating 1000 calories a day or less is what has done it for me to help me continue to lose. Also, I walk 2 miles every day or do 45 min on the elliptical. My Dr. told me that I would gain weight until my first fill. Can you believe that?! He told me not to worry about it bc after my fill, the weight would fall off. I informed him that I had already gained 3 lbs since I started mushies (started mushy on day 7). He said it was just my metabolism.

Howdy Folks, The saga continues... In case you're just tuning in, I have been denied and my appeal to Blue Cross has also been denied. Well, today I sent my packet off to the state of California Insurance Board for an independent medical review. Maybe I am just pissing in the wind, here, because my policy with Blue Cross changes as of January 1 - and I really don't know if there is a company exclusion being added or anything. Hopefully, the change in policy will only mean that I have to pay more than I would have before... But, if Miracles happen, maybe somebody at the State Insurance Board will have a heart, give a damn, and get right on it. If they review QUICKLY, I could still get in under the wire on the current policy, and only have to pay 20% - vs 30% next year. Everybody keep your fingers crossed. The package will be delivered on the wings of Fed-Ex tomorrow morning. Please note, I would have filed my request much sooner, but our friends at Blue Cross did not bother to mail the denial letter until 3-4 days after the verbal denial - and it did not arrive until after I left on my vacation. Have I mentioned how much I love BC/BS of California, lately? After Jan 1, I feel like I will have to start ALL over. :[ Everybody think good thoughts.

3 wks out.....use to be a Venti caramel macchiato everyday.....sometimes 2x a day....that's 40oz.....I truly craved it......now I'll make an 8oz cup with skim milk...I use to do soy....I usually don't finish it.....no craving for it.....and it's regular coffee....hasn't done nothing so far........BTW....the caffeine issue is bc of dehydration, but I get 60-70oz in a day Sent from my iPad using VST

@@KaiserKid .... So I think what you're really asking is when did we decide it was right to go ahead with SURGERY, not necessarily the sleeve? I am pre-op, hoping for a late summer surgery. For me it came very very slowly but then very very suddenly. Slowly BC I have been seriously considering it for years, but I was embarrassed to admit it to my husband; he's a triathlete, runs marathons, and thinks the answer to any weight problem is to eat salad until the weight melts away. And I am talking about a girly salad: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, raw mushrooms, and a little bit of light dressing. No Protein, just....grass. So I hid this desire for years, BC I feared he would think I was copping out. But in Nov I moved out of our home BC of marital issues, and I started deeply focusing on me. In the spring I read an article in the New York Times on a study where The Biggest Loser contestants from one season were followed for six years, and how the overwhelming majority gained all their weight back, how they had wrecked their metabolism, and how the one person who had maintained her loss attributed it to 2-3 hour workouts every day AND coming to terms with the fact that she felt truly hungry all day and would for the rest of her life. That sounded like hell. And then I read another NYT article on an NIH study that showed how people who have fought lifetime serious obesity and who managed to lose 100 pounds or more, had a 5% chance of not regaining their weight and returning to morbid obesity. 5% chance. It was like a lightning bolt ripped through my heart. I have beaten so many odds in my life. I am a first generation American, my grandparents were prisoners in Hitler's labor camps, my mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the liberation. The scars of the trauma of WW2 lived on in my family; my mother was abused as a child, and she married a man who had been abused. Both of my parents went on to be extremely abusive to my siblings and me. One of my siblings committed suicide as a direct result of the abuse. BUT.... I got out, I got away, I was the first person in my family to go to college (and to an Ivy League one, though my parents didn't quite understand the significance), and I paid my way through 90% myself. I married a decent kind man who did not abuse me, I broke the cycle of childhood abuse and never hit or emotionally abused my children (who are decent, law abiding, sensitive human beings who contribute to society). But this obesity thing.....I never, ever could beat it. I have tried to beat it since my mother put me on my first diet at age 8. So I finally decided that it was completely ok that I seek help for the one damn thing I could not beat, and that was endangering my health. And what about my husband thinking that I was copping out with WLS?......all of a sudden, my answer was "I don't give a damn what he thinks. I know who I am, and I know I am not copping out by asking for help with this." And that was it. I was in. I wasn't weak, and I was asking for medical help for the one condition my formidable work ethic had not been able to conquer. I am not afraid of hard work. But I am afraid of worrying about what other people think and foolishly turning away the help available to me. So it was slow, and sudden. Literally a switch flipped when I saw the odds, and that was it. Still don't know if it will be sleeve or RNY yet, though....will let the surgeon tell me at my next appt on July 14. Which also turns out to be my 25th wedding anniversary. Oh, someone up there guiding fate has a sense of humor..... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had my gastric bypass surgery in September 2012 and weighed 285-got as low as 145 at one point until I had my gallbladder out in 2014. I was 165 when I got pregnant. Went into labor 7 weeks early for reasons still unknown and weighed around 180. Before he was discharged from the nicu 11days, I was back to my pre pregnancy weight from stress and hiking up and down a parking garage 8 x a day. 3 months post baby, I was creeping back up to the mid 170s I just thought it was hormones bc I nursed for 6 months. I also struggled with ptsd for the struggles I had w the guilt of him coming early, struggles w nursing, balancing work, etc. He just turned 13 months and I feel like my metabolism has just shut down still at 178. I am also getting depressed and discouraged. I live in a rural area, and do not even have a gym that's reasonable within 45 min. My job is literally drivingfor 8-9 hrs a day so exercise is difficult to give time to when I don't see my little man. I feel like eating enough to nurse mayhave reprogrammed my pouch. I dk what to do

Wishes - What is "AdBlock" and how do we do it?" Thanks! I'm fed up with them as well. The mobile site on iPad used to not show the ads that have always shown up on the right side of the regular web site version, but the new ads that are in the posts are showing up even on the iPad. Very frustrating when you are using a datacard to now have to use my data usage to pull down images of ads that I don't want in the first place. I honestly think I would rather pay a few dollars a month to be on the boards just to not put up with the ads. At least they could give us the option.

I am a total sweet person, loveeeee sweets. Love my Dr Pepper, love anything sweet. My husband too. I have been told by multiple people that sweets taste horrifically over sweet after surgery. Even on the pre op diet (day 6), this SF jello is starting to taste über sweet. I don't drink the mio, or kool aid, but I can imagine those would taste awful. Funny thing is, as much as I love sweets, I can take them or leave them, I don't HAVE to have them. For me, I haven't mourned the loss of anything, bc I know that the majority of what I eat, I will be able to have again, just in a smaller portion. My daughter is lucky, she's 9 & bc of my surgery when we do go out to eat we will get an adult sized meal, but we will share & take the leftovers home. :-)

Phone ap died mid post!!! Anyways, anyone out there with a just over the 40 or at 40 bmi have Kaiser permanente md/va/dc? The difference between the right bmi of 41.6 & not that is about 4 # for me!!!! That's crazy!!! I got sick & lost 8# in one week. So because I've not yet been weighed for the kaiser weight loss surgery class I've been trying to keep up my " fighting" weight. Any idea if Kaiser va/md/dc still makes you lose 10% of your body weight or any % really bc if I have to I'm worried I'll be denied.

Walking is always important. My doc doesn't give gas x to his patients in the hospital but best believe I took some as soon as I got home. My nurses were calling me a rock star bc I walked so much but it wasn't getting the gas out nearly as well as the gas x.

My theory is that because we are on a low carb diet. Our bodies use up all the carbs which is the first line of fuel for aerobic exercise. So cardio is hard bc we run into a "wall" so much sooner than before when we had carb reserves in our bodies.