Where do I find Date Buddies or a Feb 2017 Group?

[GreenEyedGal 19]

I have a surgery date of Feb 8th and I'd like to connect with others with similar dates. Can someone please direct me to the right place? I can't seem to find any chatter about getting sleeved in February.

Thank you so much, in advance!

[greenwithenvy 2]

Feb 9th! Are you excited?

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[GreenEyedGal 19]

Feb 9th! Are you excited?

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Yes. Excited and a little nervous. How about you?

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[Raymia 565]

Hey there I'm February 8th!!!!

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[ice75002 43]

Feb 10th. Very nervous and excited.

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[biginjapan 647]

Feb 9th for me! I started my pre-op diet yesterday, so it's really starting to feel real now.

[SeaShells82 96]

I'm February 7th! I keep going back and forth between feeling elated and down right terrified!

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[ice75002 43]

My doctor only has me doing a 5 day pre-op diet, and I can even have a light dinner the first 4 days

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[Kolleen13 0]

Feb 13 for me!

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[greenwithenvy 2]

Feb 9th! Are you excited?

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Yes. Excited and a little nervous. How about you?

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I'm very excited. I'm having surgery in Tiajuana and I just paid surgery off and bought plane tickets.. Everything is becoming very real.

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[tinkrbll 23]

Feb 6th here and nervous but oh so ready!!

[GreenEyedGal 19]

Me too! Who's your surgeon? Maybe we'll see each other.????

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[greenwithenvy 2]

Dr. Illan, who's yours? That's so cool.

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[greenwithenvy 2]

Feb 9th for me! I started my pre-op diet yesterday, so it's really starting to feel real now.

How is the diet going? I start mine on the 26th. Any recommendations?

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[biginjapan 647]

How is the diet going? I start mine on the 26th. Any recommendations?

@greenwithenvy: So far so good. Because of my high BMI, I have to do a 3-week pre-op diet. I have to drink 2-3 Protein shakes a day, and I'm allowed two meals of lean Protein (min. 4 oz per meal) and all the non-starchy veggies I want, plus 1-2 tbsp of healthy fat, like olive oil or avocado. In theory, I'm not allowed any fruit, but 1/2 c. of berries or 1/2 a banana is okay for one of my shakes. While I have mild feelings of hunger throughout the day (mostly in the afternoons), I'm surprised at a) how weak that hunger is and how satisfied I am from the food that I eat. I've been tracking my nutrition and so far I've been consuming over 120g of protein per day. Plus, I've already lost 3kg in 2 days! It really makes me wonder why I was eating so much before, when I could get by with so much less.

It may be kind of early to draw any conclusions, but so far this is what I have noticed:

- I need my Breakfast Protein shake to be "full" - that is, just Protein powder and Water is not enough to keep me satisfied until lunch. I tried that the first day, and it was a disaster. I ended up eating part of my lunch (grilled chicken breast over baby leaf lettuce with olive oil/lemon dressing) as a mid-morning snack to keep the hunger pains in check. That helped a lot. Yesterday and today I made full shakes and they have kept me satisfied so much longer! (For example: 8oz. of soy milk, 200g of tofu, 1 scoop vanilla bean Protein Powder (syntrax), and 1/2c. diced frozen strawberries. - OMG - so delicious! It's like a milkshake).

-I've been drinking Syntrax nectar Protein drinks during the morning and afternoon (16 oz. each). They taste really good and I hope I still enjoy them post-op. They don't have that really sweet flavour of the more traditional flavours like vanilla and chocolate. Plus, you don't need to mix them with anything except Water, which is a huge bonus.

-I've now rediscovered the art of poaching - last night was poached salmon (w/green beans), and the night before was poached chicken (w/zucchini and mushrooms). I had to find a way to cook meat/fish without using oil (since I already have it earlier in the day with my salad and/or use it for my veggies) and poaching is a nice alternative that leaves the meat really moist and tender, which I think will be essential post-op.

-I have to remind myself not to drink 30 min before/after eating. It's not that hard, just hard in the sense that I'm trying to start a new habit, since I'm so used to coming home with something from the supermarket and sitting down and starting to eat/drink right away. But since I can't do that anymore, I know that once I start preparing food that there is no more drinking until 30 minutes after eating. That said, I do a light "swish" of water or tea right after eating to clear away any bits - it's less than a tablespoon worth of liquid, and after that I don't feel the need to drink at all (in fact, I can go over an hour without drinking). Of course, I want to get to the point where I don't need that swish at all. In fact, I want to get down to one meal a day by week 2, and maybe all liquids by week 3, just to help kickstart my weight loss a little more. But, for the moment I'm taking it day-by-day to see how things go.

I started drinking Protein Drinks over two months ago (but one daily since Jan.1) just so I could get used to them, discover which ones I like, and also because it may benefit hair/skin down the road. I've also been taking a lot of supplements - Probiotics, Calcium, Multivitamin, B-complex, Biotin, and Vitamin C, and I have to say I've noticed that I have a lot more energy and feel better since I started taking them on a regular basis.

Since I live in Japan, I have a lot of tofu/miso/edamame and fish options for me, so I want to incorporate more of that into my diet, since it will help with getting protein from real food, rather than drinks. I know there are some people who are not fans of soy/tofu, but they are good sources of protein, and will enable me to keep up with my nutrition goals. I don't have the same options for low-carb, high protein foods and drinks that are more readily available in the US.

Anyway, sorry for the long post! I hope it helps.

Edited January 21, 2017 by biginjapan