Search the Community

Hey, BariatricPal Members! Happy Fourth of July! This summer holiday is filled with parades, barbecues and concerts, and we hope that your holiday involves family and friends! Any weight loss surgery patient or potential patient can use a little advice to get through a three-day weekend, so that’s why we’ve put together this newsletter! Here is what you’ll find. Pay It Forward This Independence Day July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! Have a safe holiday weekend! We hope you find some time to spend part of it with us. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder BariatricPal.com Pay It Forward This Independence Day On July 4, the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as a significant step in the separation from the United Kingdom. Since then, Americans have enjoyed a degree of prosperity that is unparalleled in most places in the world, and many of us are grateful for the freedom that we have to express our thoughts, pursue our interests, and choose our friends. This weekend, we suggest that you take a few minutes to reflect on some of the things in your life that you are grateful for, whether that includes your family and friends, your job, or your freedom to make decisions that affect your own health. We also suggest taking a few minutes to help someone else out in any way that you can think of. You could help your neighbor clean out the garage, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or read a book to children at a local library. Your way of helping may be as simple as logging on to BariatricPal and giving a struggling member a few words of encouragement. Kindness can only make this country better! July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Your friends or parents invited you over for a barbecue this Fourth of July weekend, and you know what that means: ribs, hot dogs, baked Beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and cupcakes. Unfortunately, you know from past years that there is not going to be anything that you can eat. What can you do without being rude? Be polite, of course! No good guest shows up to a party empty-handed, so why would you? Think about the foods that you need to stick to your diet during the barbecue, and bring them. Just make sure you bring enough for several people because these healthy treats may be the biggest hits of the afternoon. First, make sure that you bring some lean Protein. You might bring a package of vegetarian burgers or turkey burgers to be grilled along with the other meat. If you don’t think the host will be willing to grill your protein for you, bring your own pre-cooked veggie burger, low-fat cheese, or hard-boiled eggs. Another option is to bring a high-protein salad to share. You might try chicken breast, egg white, or tuna salad made with Greek yogurt. You’ll also want another dish or two to eat with your protein. These are a few foods to consider bringing. Classic green salad with a bottle of dressing on the side. Raw or grilled veggie kebobs with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper pieces, and zucchini slices. A cut-up watermelon so that you and the other health-conscious guests can have something to eat for dessert instead of brownies and chocolate chip Cookies. Frozen bananas. These may simple, but a half of a frozen banana can keep you from digging into the ice cream. When you bring enough delicious and healthy food for everyone to share, you can be certain that you will be able to stick to your diet at a barbecue and still be able to enjoy the occasion with everyone else. Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! Soccer is nowhere near being as popular in the U.S. as in many parts of the rest of the world, and it lags far behind the major sports of football, baseball, hockey, and basketball. Many Americans do not watch any Major League Soccer games during the professional season, and can’t name the top American or international players. Still, that lack of interest changes once every four years during the FIFA World Cup. As the games play out in Brazil, millions are watching these incredible athletes. Whether you are a patriotic American who roots for Team USA, or you have chosen your favorite teams based their stories or on your or your family’s ancestry, you can use the FIFA World Cup 2014 as motivation to get in better shape. You may not have the athleticism of these seasoned and talented athletes, but you can use a soccer ball to get yourself moving. One great idea for getting some exercise is to bring a soccer ball with you whenever you go to a picnic or another outdoors event. Take it out and kick it around with your friends and family when you have a few minutes to spare, and you’ll burn a few calories without much effort. You would be surprised at how much of an effect this can have on your weight loss when you do it regularly. You don’t need to be a good athlete to have fun and burn calories with a soccer ball. If you’re not up for sprinting up and down a soccer field during a full-out game, try one of these lower-intensity alternatives with a soccer ball or another kind of ball. Kick the ball around with your friends and family. Play dodgeball. Play monkey-in-the-middle. Play kickball. Whenever you make exercise fun and convenient, you are more likely to do it. So, keep your soccer ball handy and get it out whenever you can! You’ll also be showing your support for the World Cup teams. A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! This topic comes up all the time on BariatricPal, and it’s worth mentioning here as a little reminder. The only way you will be able to lose weight and keep it off is to be honest with yourself with respect to your food choices, portion sizes, and exercise. What other people believe doesn’t matter. Tricking yourself into thinking you are following the plan when you really aren’t will not lead you to lose weight. If you hit a weight loss plateau, you start to feel sick frequently, or your health numbers are not as good as your doctor expected, ask yourself these questions. “Am I measuring every single bite?” “Am I drinking enough Water every day in between – not with – meals?” “Am I eating a source of lean protein at every meal and snack?” “Am I choosing nutritious foods or sugary, fatty foods?” If you’ve fallen into a few bad habits and you’ve noticed that you might not be telling yourself the whole truth and nothing but the truth, a three-day weekend like the Independence Day weekend can be a good time to get back into it. Use the extra time to figure out what you can do better, and how you will make it happen. Good luck, and let us know how it goes on BariatricPal!

Hey there! I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1/31/2020 and here's my story. I attended the free 12 week orientation classes June 2019 thru Sept 2019 at Kaiser. My insurance paid for everything and I had no issues getting approved. My only out of pocket expense was a $100 co-pay for the hospital stay. Wonderful insurance, I know. Luckily, I had no medical issues making me very low risk for the surgery. My surgeon recommended that I get the Bypass and I changed my mind on procedure the day of surgery and switched to the Sleeve. My reasoning is simple...I didn't want to reroute my intestines and I didn't want to chance vitamin deficiencies or dumping syndrome. I fasted on clear liquids the day prior to surgery and it was hell. I had an interview on fasting day and wanted so badly to stuff my face, being an emotional eater (i did get the job!). I went to bed super early the night before surgery because I had a massive headache and mood swings from fasting. My surgery was at 1pm and because of the fasting... I wish I scheduled a morning surgery. The nurse that prepped me for surgery was an idiot. Why on earth would I be able to pee for a pregnancy test after having no fluids since the day before?! I could barely pee and what I did pee didn't make it in the cup lol I got 2 tiny drops of pee in the cup and guess what? It was enough for the pregnancy test. The nurse stuck me 7 times looking for a vein. 7 times. Not just a poke either, like she was really digging. She tried my forearm, the top of my arm, and both hands before calling for help. I woke up in recovery in extreme pain, nausea and was thirsty. I said "I'm thirsty and my stomach hurts really bad" and the nurse said yeah you just had stomach surgery. I wanted to sock her in the face. They made me wait 6 hours for pain medication and water. The night nurses sucked and the day nurses were great. I used the call button every 1-2 hours for more pain meds which they could only give me every two hours. I called after 45 mins and said "did you give me a full or half dose?" lmao but I was serious. The built up gas hurt and my throat was sore. I tried really hard to push the gas out and ended up sharting in my bed. I walked often because I badly wanted to go home. Coming home was nice and I wasn't hungry but still thought about food a lot. I followed the rules and sipped my water and protein shakes and jello. I only took a week off from work because I wanted my routine back. The doctor told me it was too soon because of brain function is usually low this early on. He said "do you want to go back because you're bored or because it's a money thing" and I said "I'm bored as hell" and he said "then no, you can't go back yet." I didn't listen and have no regrets. I started taking the pill form of multivitamin early on because the the ones you eat made me gag. I slowly introduce foods as instructed and my staples are yogurt, protein shakes, salmon, cottage cheese, and veggies. I keep my meals simple. I had my 3 month check up today and I'm on track. I've lost 50 lbs total since surgery. I'm aware that weight loss with the sleeve is slower but I'm okay with it. Each week I can physically feel and see my body changing for the better. I exercise daily by walking 1-2 miles, I feel great, and I have more energy. This is the one and only time that I've had surgery. It was rough at times but overall a good experience. I am happy that I did it and have a long road ahead

It says 3 weeks out but they are in the soup form but I think I'm gonna cut back but I'm running out of things to eat! Chx broth jello yogurt ughhh what else is there . At day 14 I can add flaked fish or meats puréed

Hey Groove, I bought the giant pills accidently and have put off taking them until now. I know I need to be more vigilant in taking my vitamins because I have not taken them since surgery, which was on 3/1/11. I took them today by breaking them in half. They did go down, but not as easy as I would like. So I plan on crushing them and adding them to my drink or some yogurt or maybe breaking them into more than 2 pieces. Give it a try, I think it would be better than taking the carbonate.

Due to the limited stomach capacity I am trying to eat the best nutritional foods with vitamins and minerals I can. Besides protein requirements what are some foods you eat to get the best nutritional bang for your buck? I still have a premier protein shake daily. I eat yogurt and spinach daily. I eat pumpkin seeds and or walnuts often too. I know a varied diet with different fruit and veggies is good but sometimes i want to just stick with something I know I will get a lot of nutrients from. I don't eat beans often and think maybe I should try to add some to my diet.

After surgery I only did Clear Liquids for a day as per my plan and then moved onto full liquids. I made smoothies with fruit and blended up weetbix (a wholegrain cereal), or egg flips with milk and an egg, I drank V8, Soups (home made ones with lots of vegies and some meat in them blended and thinned with stock to the consistency I could handle at the time), thin yogurt, fruit juice (minimal, too much sugar), plain milk, and as I could handle thicker liquids, I blended down whatever the family was eating if it was suitable with either stock or something like a tin of tomatoes - lean roast lamb and vegies and just a touch of gravy with beef stock makes a surprisingly good Soup, lol. I'm all in favour of real food.

THANK YOU!!!! See this is the kind of stuff it would have been nice if I could have discussed it with my doctor. I love this site! You are all helping me. I'm TRYING to pump up my bravery! I'm testing so we will see. I found a berry flavored protein and I tried it in a vanilla Greek yogurt....nope. Not my thing. Lol. Maybe I put to much. I MAY try again. I am doing well with Sobe waters, vitamin waters, and Powerade with a little water added. I got 32 oz Powerade in yesterday!! Not much food but fluids are starting to make it thanks to suggestions on here! Your posts are appreciated more than you know!!!

Hey All, I am entering Day 1 of my Pre-op and I am sooooo excited. I think I am almost too excited to be hungry! It's been an okay starts. My husband and I have been up since 7 with our DD. He keeps slipping up. He brought me some French Vin coffee in bed. But then I had to remind him that start my pre-op today. So only Water. I think I am going to try to plan each day out the day before. While there aren;t any calorie restrictions, I still want to make sure I look at my carbs (no more than 40 a day) sat fats (no more than 5/serving). So here is what I had and what I plan on for the day Goal: Shrink the Liver not Loose weight 9:00 am 16 oz of water and a plain hard-boiled egg 10:15- 16 oz of water a a half of banana (other half is my daughter's :-) 11:30- 16 oz of water and a apple 1:30- Protein shake (150 cal/ 1 gr of sat fat/ 6 g of carbs/ 26gr Protein) and 8 oz of water 4ish -Some snack within guidelines (I was thinking Greek yogurt with frozen strawberries) with 16 oz of water Dinner- Plain chix breast w/ sweet pea with 16 oz of water Late night snack if needed- Protein Shake (280 cal/ 2 sat fats/8 gr carb/ 56 gms of protein) Wish me luck!

Can you add unflavored Protein powder to your yogurt and broth? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm 8 weeks out & still get the 'stuck' feeling at times too. If I concentrate on chewing more & really moist foods I do better. Doesn't happen with yogurt or cottage cheese, but does with anything heavier. Not drinking with meals is also hard when you get the stuck feeling!

Oh Ready, I love you! You just eloquently said everything I've been feeling lately. I've been stuck at a plateau and even gained 2 pounds and needed a fill really bad but was too stupid to try to move it up. I haven't changed sizes at all. I fit into a couple of shirts that didn't really fit before but even they aren't much different. As far as pants go, I haven't had ones without elastic waists for years so these will be with me for a while. Part of me is glad because I won't have to go thru a bunch of clothes but I'd really, really love to be able to put on a smaller size. Oh, and don't wish for 5'5", that's what I am and it's still too short to really be able to see and feel a difference when I lose. Why do I want to kill everyone that is thin? It's so not fair that people can eat more than what I'm eating when I'm being bad and they lose like crazy. How can it possibly be fair that if I eat a whole 100 calorie yogurt for Breakfast, it's too much? I don't want to stay away from carbs. I love them too much but it seems to be the only way I can lose. I have about two hours left until my fill and can't wait. I really want to be back on track and I try so hard. I need that feeling back that I had when I was first banded. That feeling of "dang, it's time to eat again already?, I really am not hungry at all". Instead, now I have the "Give it to me! Jeez, I need those chips and then that ice cream". I feel like Audrey II in Little Shop - Feed me! I'm right here cheering you on Ready. We'll get through this without the blood loss of our peers.

I hope it works too. I mean realistically speaking...there is only one more cc left!!! If this doesn't work then I'm going to go into panic mode!! Most of the people I know from my clinic are between 7.5 and 8.5 so I was getting a little worried when the last one didn't cut it. As for the lean cuisine thing...the calorie count in those are great but you are absolutely right about the carbs. My nutritionist recommends the Atkins Advantage meals (if those are available in your area). They have no carbs, just the meat and veggies. Another thing I will do is make a chicken breast for dinner and eat half then take the other half for lunch. I make sure to eat all my Protein first and then fill up with the veggies and a piece of fruit after. If I'm still hungry I will have a FF yogurt. That usually does the trick until about 3:00. Then if I know I can't wait any longer I will have some nuts (almonds are the best nutrition-wise, or toasted soy nuts are a great protein source). That will get me through to dinner. The more protein you have the less hungry you will be. Don't waste precious pouch space on carbs. I can relate to your frustration. I have been yo-yoing with the last 10 pounds for nearly 2 months. Down 5, up three, down 2, up 4. It's driving me mad!! I still seem to be at a 5lb per two week rate. I suppose that's better than nothing, but I had hoped for more. I really need to get active and that should help out. Just waiting for spring to come to the great white north. :tongue2:

I hope this fill works for you... if I have to wait until I get to 9cc's for restriction. I'm going to be pretty frustrated. I have terrible restriction ( meaning none) right now. I just had lunch... a big lean cuisine AND a yogurt and I could eat more. Worse part is that the Lean cuisine had Pasta in it... too many carbs. I have been sticking to my diet until today and while my calorie intake for the day will still be reasonable, I will not continue to lose weight, if I eat like this. Tues ( nest fill appt) cannot come soon enough. I'm sorry I didn;t call this past week to go in again, but we are driving to VA for the weekend and I was worried I might get too tight and not be near the Dr.

I have not tried it in a protein shake but I bet it would be good. I have been eating frozen yogurt YES the kind with "how dare I" sugar since about 2 months out. Some of them have a fair amount of protein in them and is a better choice than ice cream.....

I would like to know what everyone's favorite brand of greek yogurt is? Also, do any of the brands make flavored sugar free varieties as they do with regular yogurt? I tried the Fage plain but I ended up putting honey in it as it was to bitter and strong for me. I liked the fruit mixed ones as well but I know that is all added sugar and I am trying to avoid adding too much sugar. As well, any suggestions on adding things to the plain to make it nicer? Thanks for the advice.

i went into best buy this morning looking for a new television since my wanna be hip father try to play wii for the first time today and u can guess it, broke my TV:scared2: ugh parents. :tt2:He is on a strict PUNISHMENT LOL. well anyways while i was there i found this book KITCHEN SURVIVAL GUIDE COOK THIS NOT THAT I find it to be very informational, the first chapters tells you what type of pots and pans you need, and it also explain what type utensils you need and all the above mentions is all the tools you will need for the book. Some people may not find that to be important but for me it was because i am about to move out on my own and i never cooked anything until now (had to heat up some broth) lol and i don't even know if thats cooking lol This book has sooooo many recipes that you can learn and see the full nutritional values, and there is a couple of pages that compares items. for example: have this in your pantry ....... Smucker's natural Peanut Butter creamy ................................... don't have this in you pantry ....... jiff reduced fat and it explains why by saying your trading hydrogenated oils and corn syrup for more healthy fat (small excerpt) I took a pic as you can see below of one particular recipe.. yogurt parfait ................ made @ home the calories are 330 G fat (3.5 sat) 34G sugar ................... but if getting from Au bon pain its 700 calories (4 sat) 91G sugar Has anyone else brought this book and cooked anything out of it?

My pre-op diet started today 3/18 anc consists of Bariatric Advantage shake for breakfast and lunch. If I want a AM snack it is to be 6 oz tomato juice or low cal vit c fruit juice. At night I can make dinner or some of the low card ww meals, lean cruisine, etc. PM snack can be 1 oz cheese and fruit, or yogurt and nuts, or another protein shake. I was a bit hungry come dinner time tonight but I think this will be liveable. Only 26 more shakes still surgery.

you could try PB2 it is a peanut butter powder only 45 cals per serving. It helps when you crave that peanut butter taste. I add it to my shakes or plain greek yogurt or even spread it on a lo cal bread.

No yogurt or cottage cheese here. I have not had dairy products since deciding to go paleo ( had cottage cheese up to a few weeks ago and no yogurt since pre surgery). Diet is really earthy( by design) and it is working well so far. I do have energy squares, but these are organic and made with raw foods ( not sure if it qualifies as paleo or not). I cut out Protein bars a couple days ago except Paleo bars. My food hunger is getting so much better after cutting out processed bars.

Tomorrow makes 2 weeks post op for me and protien is def an issue for me. Since the surg im def lactose intolerant so i had to skip the shakes and yogurt phase. Im able to move to potatoes and cream of wheat tom. Im so happy abot that. Overall im doing well now. Down 37#s from my highest.

I work the mid shift but I try to do a yogurt first thing in the morning or protein drink since I'm thirstier. It works for me!

If he's truly trying to help you and doesn't think that it's sabotage, ask him to bring you some fruit or yogurt instead. Maybe some sugar free pudding or Jello? Give him some suggestions of things that you can have instead of things that you aren't supposed to have. IF that doesn't work, then I would suggest when you get upset to go into another room of the house and tell everyone to leave you alone.

You sound like you need an unfill...today! Don't wait until after the holiday weekend to have it done. You may very likely end up in the E/R if you wait. If you have tried the small bites, chewing well, taking a minute or two between bites and even soft foods like yogurt and pudding aren't staying down - you need help. BE ASSERTIVE and say you need an unfill. A slight unfill may do you a world of good, you don't have to deflate the whole thing. Remember, this is YOUR body, don't let them make you feel like you're being paranoid. It is stressful enough when your band is tight, let alone when you can't get anything down. Please call them and demand they see you today. I wish you well.

Meganliz0824, I feel ya man. I am 10 days post op and for four days I have stepped forward a week and have been having yogurt and cream of wheat. I am supposed to still be on Clear Liquids. I am thinking that since I tolerate it it's ok. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. I just wasn't satisfied and was hungry. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. I have felt great through this whole process I am sick of isopure drinks. I have also had premier Protein shakes and not supposed to yet. I don't know the answer and I really don't want to screw this up. Liamnatx, thanks for the great ideas!!!!

I'm 3 months post op and I also forget to eat. I'm going to be seeing the nutritionist for the first time after surgery in two weeks and now is definitely the time. Not only do I forget to eat (and drink enough water) but it seems to be so much work to get in the Protein drinks which I still supplement with because there's no way I can get enough protein otherwise. I still have a tendency to eat too fast which can cause nausea but it could be lack of Water as well. It's a work in progress for sure. I start the day with a Protein Drink and often that's more than I can handle for Breakfast. Sometimes I'll have eggs (2) for lunch or crackers and cheese or yogurt and fruit with granola/cereal. Another protein drink and then supper. Not sure whether I'm getting enough calories or perhaps the wrong calories. Hopefully, the nutritionist can give me some ideas. Ruth