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I'm 13 weeks post op and I am still struggling with protein and water amounts. I can not find protein supplements that taste good for more than 5 seconds....lol

Hi Camper Girl! I started my pre-op on Friday and am scheduled for my gastric sleeve on May 30th. I am doing the same diet you are on. 3-4 Protein shakes a day and a small meal of meat & veggies. Lots of Water too of course! Staying busy helps too! Good luck to you

K, so I'm wondering if anyone out here has figured out or decided that tracking your food causes too much anxiety or stress for yourself. I've been obsessive about it for years and had a revelation last night and this morning. I'm a control kind of girl. I feel stuck where I'm at, and I know it's more of a mental barrier. So my solution seems to stop tracking it ALL. Just eat until I feel satisfied and focus on Protein first. It's scary for me to think about tho. It's also super exciting to imagine the freedom associated with zero tracking...just listening to my tiny tummy. Anyone else deal with anything similar? I see my therapist monthly, but don't see her for 2 more weeks...which is why I'm bearing my soul to you all here. Thanks guys!

The article says "less than 1% of the product is “whey protein concentrate.” Whey protein is the type of protein that you should be looking for because it absorbs more quickly than casein." In stage 1 the liquid phase, it is hard to get your protein from any other sources besides the fact that I bought so much of it. I was worried about damage done, but now that I'm out of stage 1 and doing soups and able to add a scoop of protein I am glad.. I will continue to use them, but cautiously, since I have them, but I hope that Premier isn't lying about anything else about the product. Disappointed.

Hello All, I'm new here and I'm 2 weeks post op from Bypass. I'm in the purée phase and have no desire to eat. I feel full all the time, but in my head I know I'm hungry and need to get in my Protein. A day of eating is I had 2 sips of a Protein shake, maybe 20oz of Water all day and I am not hungry at all and feel if I eat anything I will be sick. Has anyone experienced this ? Feel like bloated all the time. But I move all the time. I feel like a lot of this is mental. In my head I'm mad at my body so I am depriving myself cuz I can't do things my way. I've always been a water lover I still love it but I loved to chug water at a time. Now I can't and I'm mentally mad. Please tell me I'm not the only one dealing with these things?! Does anyone have a tips that worked for them?! Thank you for any advice or input. I know this is going to be a long journey and I have to change my mind set just seeing if there are things that I can make easier Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sandy_pants, it is a frustrating thing to have to wait after you have made up your mind to do something. I think it does make the wait a little longer being on a Medicare list. Though to get my insurance to cover the procedure it took me over 15 months, so you are NOT alone. Have you given the office a call? It is a good idea to check in with them every week or so and see how things are progressing. Have you found out from Medicare or from the doctors office what the requirements are for Medicare to pay for the surgery? I have no idea what they are, but I ask because most insurances have a requirement of some sort, be it a number of years of documented morbid obesity, monthly visits to the doctor for weight loss for a specified time frame, a certain BMI, comorbid factors, etc. Make sure you've got those things in place or you will be waiting even longer. One other option is to self-pay and head to Mexico, there are a number of wonderful band surgeons there. There's loads of threads here about how to research them. Don't just go for cheapest, because you do get what you pay for to a degree. The good ones average about $7,000-$10,000. There is a lap band doctor in Denver who does bands for $11,000-Dr. Kirschenbaum. There's a thread here devoted to him, too. Ya know it sucks, it really does, to be frustrated and be waiting, but be pro-active while you are waiting. Do loads of research. Find out what to expect after banding. Practice life as a Bandster now. I did and it helped immensely. I started eating my lean Proteins first, then my vegetables, then if I had room I'd eat fruit or some complex carb (whole grains, NOT white bread or white potatoes). I gave up ALL carbonation and caffeine, I started eating (when I wasn't in public) with baby utensils to practice taking small bites. I practised chewing, chewing, chewing before swallowing, I stopped drinking with my meals and for 1hr after (or as long as I could make it). I got rid of all the refined sugars I could from my diet. I started reading labels and if it had high fructose corn syrup or enriched flour in it, I wouldn't buy it. I started drinking Water. Not lots of water, but I never loved it in the first place, so I experimented with True Lemon products so that I could drink something WITHOUT artificial sweeteners like Splenda or NutraSweet in it. I tracked EVERY bite and EVERY sip of anything I put in my body on a FREE intake tracker like fitday.com, mydailyplate,com, sparkpeople.com, etc (there are so many out there). It was eye-opening. I lost 44lbs making these simple changes, and I didn't feel deprived or stressed in any way. It has made at least the first couple of weeks (so far) after banding go fairly well. You can do so much to get yourself ready for this, take this time and DO IT. The band is NOT a magic fix, it will take work and committment to do it's job, it is merely a tool to help. It is up to us to make it work to the best of it's ability. I think we get into a bad trap if we sit and wait for the band fairy to come and place the band on our bellies and assume that's all it takes. I wish you luck and hope you get a date soon. Remember you are not alone, we are here and we're here to support each other.

Cheeses are calorie dense and cream of wheat is loaded with carbs. .select among the other items that are high protein-low carb and be mindful of the overall calories and you will lose weight.

Your body isn't ready for solids, but our mind sometimes gets the best of us. Just stick with liquids - try all kinds of soups, mashed potatoes, oatmeal. Lots of options out there. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Our guideline was every hour or two and in between have a Protein shot or drink , one or two hour food then wait 30 mins to drink and then wait 30 to eat vice versa ,you won't feel hungry I'm 7 weeks out , here's a guideline for what you have .. living4myself_gb1-21-13:

I'm going to have my surgery 12 may 14 How many calories should you have in a protein drink and how many grams of sugar so lost.

I don't track, except maybe in my head. I keep a guesstimate of how many carbs, fats, and Proteins I've consumed, but if I'm off, its ok. I'm not obsessive. The only real effort I'm making at this point (6 weeks post surg) is in getting Protein and Water. I've done ok so far. I thought I hit that dreaded 3 week stall, then I got a tummy bug and boom... lost 6 pounds overnight. I'm positive most of that was water, but I haven't gained much of it back, even though I've rehydrated myself. I wish I could track, I've even gone so far as to load myfitness pal onto my smartphone, but haven't even started using it yet. I don't think that tracking capability is in my brain.

I had a morphine drip (which was optional and extra believe it or not) to which I had a button to push for pain post-op. I must say that I was kinda abusing that, as the anesthesia nurses came to check the remaining volume and noticed I had been too button happy .. anyhoot, when they decided to remove my IV when I was clear to drink Water and diluted sports drink, I asked that they keep the morphine in but they refused and took it away. So, my op was at noon on Feb 8th, and I awoke around 4 or 5PM, I had the morphine until the next day around 6PM. After they un-hooked me from the drip stand, I was "weened" from pain medication. the only thing I could feel were my two holes where those rack things went in and the actual larascopic wound around my belly button. But I felt no pain internally by the second day of the op. May be there was some "memory pain" from the gas they pumped in, but for me that was very very minor. But then I'm probably one of your lighter candidates with a pre-op BMI of 36. I figure the heavier you are perhaps the more gas they would have to pump to keep the "ceiling of operation" up and the more pain you would feel post op. The biggest thing I would think for you at this time would be the liquid only diet, which will make you hungry all the time. I know I was for the first week as I average only 500 calories per day and wound up losing nearly 16 lbs in 7 days. Try to drink some un-diluted sports drink which has more calories that might give you a bit more ooomph than I had. I basically did NOT want to move around at all for the first week becuz I knew I had no "go juice" in me from what "they" were giving me (that inluded my mom's strict following of the recommended menu that had zero taste for a whole week before I got strained apple juice and strained clear chicken broth which felt like meals fit for kings at the time compared to the third world prison diet I was getting the first 7 days). Hope that helps!

I am inly 6 weeks out but I understand you can increase your caloric intake with time. The restriction is honestly wonderful. The pain of post op is minimal for most of us. It was actually so much easier than I thought it would be. And although you will get sick of hearing it the only things that help in the beginning are Protein Water and walking. . Good luck!

It at least breaks up how boring it can get drinking water and protein shakes. I went through a ton of them for the first few weeks.

I'm a Newbie to the Group.. 4 Days Post - Op Surgery I wanted to thank everyone for being so gracious with their wealth of knowledge and it's amazing how I've been able to read something that has been beneficial to me,regardless of the topic. I am a single woman with no children and when my Mom found out about my surgery she came to support me for the first 2 weeks post surgery...Here's my question..how many people had someone to help them during this period and did it help with your recovery or are you one of those people that wanted to be left alone to figure it out on your own. My only concern at this point is the lack of a bowel movement since the day prior to surgery and my difficulty with getting the amount of Protein and fluids in daily.. Thanks in advance for any advice that is given. DallasSmile

I could not disagree with these sentiments more. Most people with gastric sleeve are going to be expected to be doing light exercise as soon as they leave the hospital, will be cleared for moderate cardio at 2-3 weeks out and generally be cleared for a full weight training regiment at 6 weeks or so. The only reason for any limitation at all is the increased risk of a hernia developing in the first 6 weeks of surgery. Lightheadedness is a function of dehydration not lack of available calories. Thankfully being obese we all have an abundant reserve of "fuel" to power our exercise routine, so at this stage you don't really have to worry about a caloric deficit from exercise (just make sure you are getting sufficient protein and more importantly liquid in your diet).

On Nov. 28, 2009 I had lap band surgery in Burlingame, CA. My suergeon Dr. Pamela Foster is great. Afte about 6 months I was throwing up all the protein I was eating. I could keep a little soup and frozen yogurt down. After 8 months of constant throwing up and every test known to man kind they decided to remove the band. They did a sleeve so I wouldn't gain any weight back as I had lost about 70 lbs by then. While they were in doing the sleeve they found the scar tissue had wrapped around my esophogus and had been causing all the sickness. The opened it up and once I learned how to eat again I lost another 30 for a total of 100 lbs. I had the sleeve surgey Nov. 3, 2010. I feel great and look pretty good but my stomach is still na little sore and would love to find out what I should be eating. I was trained what to eat with the lap band and keep going back to that mind set. I would love to find a menu of what I should be eating with the sleeve.

The calorie/protein count seems a bit high. You really should contact your nutritionist or surgeon. Everyone's needs are different, based on their weight and activity level. It is very normal for your weight loss to plateau, and I don't believe your body is in starvation mode if you are eating the proper amount of Protein. Be patient, and stick to yout nut's guidlines. Good luck!

What protein shakes are you using? Can you drink isopure or premiere protein drink I know I. Ouldnt drink whey and when I tried premiere and isopure I have had no problems and I am 7 weeks out each day does get better. Welcome to the losers bench .

Well I had my surgery on 7/3, came home on 7/5 and been doing great today out of know where I got a headache which won't go away, I've been getting all my protein and fluid in I really don't know what this is about. Have any one experience a headache out of know where, did it go away or what did you do to get rid of it?

Hello all, Last time I posted I was at a stall. This time I am posting because guess what....I am at another stall. I am at 200.0 and have been for about 2 weeks and just can't seem to get down, I am starting to incorporate more excersize, and could use some advice for getting more protein in. As always any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thanks. Nellybell

Hi guys, Just wanted to check-in. I'm 5- weeks post op and down 20lbs. I haven't had a fill yet. The scale has been stuck for about 1.5 weeks, so that's a little frustrating. I get hungry but wouldn't call this phase "hell". I stay at about 1000 calories a day and do my best to get my Protein in. Wish I was losing more....sometimes I forget I even have the band. If I eat too fast I do get stuck, but that's probably the only change I've noticed. Other than getting full on a lot less! I hope the scale starts moving again....on Monday I'm part of a fitness challenge at work, so i expect that will help. I want to get below 200 so we can start trying for baby #2. That's 65 pounds away......seems too far!!! I guess I'm feeling a little down even though I know that without the band, there is no way I'd be down 20 lbs......the plateau really sucks and comparing myself to some of the amazing success stories is defeating as well. Wah, Wah, Wah---right? :-)

Im just wondering if any of you find soup to be a "no-no" because it is so liquidy or if you do get full from it. Im a few weeks post op and wondering if soup is still a viable option for me.

I don't know about the hot beverages, because even in the hospital I was drinking hot broths and teas. Just sip slowly and that should help. Hopefully, you'll have some protein shakes soon and those taste wonderful when you get to take the next step. My doc had my eating "mushies" at two weeks (cottage cheese and scrambled eggs, etc.) and that tasted like heaven. The liquid stage seemed like it took FOREVER to get through, but now is just a distant memory. Hang in there -- you'll get past it soon!! Carol

I've never been told not to have any specific food. I have been told to eat on small plates only. Start eating protein, if still hungry, eat vegetables, then if still hungry, eat the other thing. I generally only have room for the protein and sometimes the veggies. I've been told to track how much protein I'm getting a day and that I should get at least 80 grams; I usually try for 100g.