mi75

Isopure. it's liquid and Protein both, but not thick like a shake. no 'whey' taste either. you have to just literally fill a 20 or 32 oz bottle with either that or a shake RIGHT when you wake up and just carry it everywhere and sip every few minutes ALL DAY. when i was brand new post op, i got up at 7 and went to bed at 10 and literally was drinking all day from the time i got up till i went to bed. if you skip your vital protein now, you will likely lose a lot of lean muscle tissue. muscle cannot be regenerated, but what remains can be built up, but will still put you at risk for later in life. also, you will definitely notice it in a few months with your hair and skin. best of luck!

i have had pretty much no regrets either. going to my uncle's pizza place last night, and not being able to order his famous stromboli was HARD, but i know that maybe eventually down the road it will be possible. i got baked cod instead, and this morning weighed in 1 lb down. this journey is hard, but you decide. having bariatric is HARD. being fat and unhealthy is HARD. pick your hard...

i am tolerating all foods too. my bari program recommends all foods in certain quantities, even good carbs. yesterday i had about 1 tbsp of spanish rice. i added some ground beef and cheese and fresh salsa and it was THE BOMB. so good. totally satisfied the carb craving. thankfully it was a catered lunch at work and we only have it about every 2-3 months. very good. i feel badly for those still having problems and hope the very best for you. hang in there and i'm sure it will get better!

awesome good for you! i hit a stall and was weighing every day but i also put it away and just 'working the program' for a while till i weigh again. oh, i also forgot grilled shrimp with lemon. YUM, had that for dinner last sunday it was absolutely awesome, and really cheap considering that a bag of raw, frozen shrimp will give me about 10 portions for $5!

well dang it, i fear i AM still in a stall and though the scale moved just a bit, it's still there after another 5 days. ugh! i've read MANY threads about stalls and i know that this can last weeks before it starts moving again. i told my hubs i'm a little disappointed, having lost 30 lbs total (pre op and since surgery) but he pointed out i have NEVER lost close to that on my own! he's right and i'm just keeping my eyes on the prize and working my program.

oh honey, i was THE pop addict of my entire town! i drank nearly a GALLON of REGULAR Mtn Dew every day for the past 10 years. i was taking Metformin for PCOS and passed right by the diet for the full-sugar option. I had a generic 44 oz cup that i filled in the early morning, on my mid morning break, at lunch, right after work, and again for mid-evening. i gave up my pop a week before i started my pre op diet. i had MANY MANY 'last' pops. i even sent my hubs out for a midnight pop run two nights before the last one, and sat it on my bedside and woke up during the night several times to drink it. on a tuesday (my busiest and most stressful day at work) i had my final pops, on wednesday i woke up, took 2 excedrin for a little caffeine-and to help with the impending headache- and took a Diet Snapple Arnold Palmer to work. the end. end of pop. that was it. no major headache, no withdrawals. no major issues at all. almost anticlimactic if i say so! i will be honest and say that i DO miss the sort of 'refreshing' bubbles and zing of a pop. right now it's just not worth it to me, maybe down the road i will have a sip to see if my love is still there. i doubt it, i'm loving how i look and feel WAY more!

awesome! i'm eating rotisserie chicken too and no issues, just have to cut it small and chew thoroughly so nothing gets stuck. i don't know if i pushed my diet too quickly but i was told by my nut two weeks ago to progress as i felt comfortable and i'm feeling awesome. today for lunch i had 1 tbsp of chicken salad with slivered almonds and a piece of deli roast beef with cheese and a little mustard rolled up. i ate all the chicken salad and about 1/2 of the beef/cheese roll up. In the past 2 weeks, i am craving ground beef like crazy and have had some basic sloppy joe (2 tbsp) in a little bowl with 1/2 of a nacho chip crumbled up on top. VERY GOOD and filling and gave me the chance to eat what my family ate. i also had some spaghetti sauce with ground beef and a few little shards of noodles broken up in it (about 2 whole noodles). also VERY GOOD. trying to eat a 'normal' diet just in very tiny amounts right now and FINALLY, after all these years, learning what a normal portion should look and feel like.

i am down 30 as well, including pre-op (lost about 14 then) and i am 4 wks and 3 days post op. i'm feeling awesome. i feel like i'm in a bit of a stall right now, eating about 700 cal a day, 65 Protein and about 65-70 oz liquids daily. just keep it up! i've lost more in this little time than i EVER lost on my own before, even after months of trying! i'm having great faith that even if i'm a slow loser, it WILL come off. plus, i'm a true believer that your skin retracts better and other things are easier if your loss is a little slower rather than faster. i'll take what i can get. i'm the turtle in this race but feeling awesome!

I am ending week 4, just about to week 5. eating most foods other than no hard stringy meats (steak or pork) or dense carbs (pizza, soft bread, etc). feeling AWESOME. having a Quest bar every day for a snack. drinking 65-75 oz Water a day and about 65 Proteins a day. eating egg salad, string cheese, chili, sloppy joe, lobster bisque, cooked veg, very tiny amounts of carb like 1 cracker or a half piece of toast, cottage cheese, eggs all ways. i eat about 5 times a day and time my drinks in between. i have one Muscle Milk 100 cal in the morning first thing. i am down 30 lbs and doing WAY better than i thought i would be at this point!

Hi Jen- Right now i'm only about 5 wks post op and FOR Protein shakes. I start my day off with Muscle Milk 100 cal pre-mixed, mix with about 10 oz milk and ice. it's a great way to wake my gut up without bombarding it with solid 'food' first thing. This also gets me about 25g protein and about 20 oz liquids so also helps there. i'm learning how to time my eating through the day and getting LOTS of protein through my food, but this shake in the AM is my guarantee that i will get it, because sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to eat enough, plus time it around my drinks! i've got a couple friends who are 2 yrs post op and they do smoothies now, with greek yogurt, frozen fruit and a small scoop of vanilla protein. it's the only protein 'effort' that they make in their days now, but for them it also ensures that they are getting adequate protein amounts.

yes, i have posted a LOT, as you can see from my numbers and i'm only about 5 wks out from surgery. i joined a few years back though when i started considering, but teetered back and forth with my decision, so most posts are from Jan 1 this year and forward... the online community here has a wealth of information. it is SO helpful to get responses from a dozen or more post op people when you are still pre op and post a question. it's also super helpful to get diet advice and food ideas. i have found many kindrid personalities here and 'regulars' that i know will be helpful to me, along with lots of newbies that i love to offer my experiences to as well. i'm a nurse by trade and even have medical based questions that i can't think my way through (i didn't even know how long my surgical glue would last!) but my training aside, i have gotten great advice here!

Hi Jen- just wanted to let you know i have enjoyed several of the 7 Bites episodes and make your little individual meatloaves all the time! I prefer online support because i can come here on my own time and can be here for 5 minutes or 2 hours, whatever i prefer. the face-to-face that my program offers is a good group but they meet at a time that is not great for me. i get out of work an hour and a half earlier than the meeting starts, and it's a 20 minute drive home. so i can't go home and back-waste of time and gas- and little to do if I wait in town. i DO go occasionally and have had a good time at the meetings i go to, always great info and fellowship!

Only about 5 wks out here is my daily menu-this was mostly today with a few other options for each meal also- Wake up, have Muscle Milk 100 cal with milk and ice and Vitamin Breakfast- Egg salad with one cracker or scrambled egg with 1/2 piece of toast 1 hr later Crystal lite with Water 24oz AM snack- 2 homemade meatballs (very small 1 oz each) 1 hr later water with vitamin Lunch- Soup or chili or (today) deli roast beef and cheese roll up with mustard 1 hr later water/crystal lite and Calcium pills PM snack- Cookies and Cream Quest bar YUMMMMM!!!!!! 1 hr later water and calcium dinner- Lobster bisque PM snack- Milk and small amount of muscle milk for extra Protein i am supposed to be incorporating cooked veg and canned fruit at this point, but it has been hard due to i'm VERY full after meals.

I have been on prescription strength Proton Pump Inhibitor drugs for about the past 17 years and have grown tolerance to almost ALL of them. Keep in mind too that OTC dosing of these drugs is 1/2 of the prescription strength. Omeprazole, which is Prilosec is a PPI but it is more 'mild' and is is considered a very minimal medication by GI docs. ESomeprazole is generic Nexium and is a PPI, but again, OTC dosing is different. All PPI's have the same mechanism of action in the gut but some just work better for some people than others. good luck!

The pre op diet is focused shakes, liquids and extreme cut of calories to SHRINK YOUR LIVER. not to lose weight. I started out with 100 lbs to lose. During pre op i lose about 14. At that rate, it would have taken me over a year of drinking only shakes, liquids, SF Jello and broth to lose the weight. The malnutrition that i would have suffered aside, no i wouldn't have been able to do it. My pre op wasn't to see if i could stick to the discipline of losing. it was to move my liver a bit so the doctor didn't lacerate it. Lastly, doing something extreme like that would pretty much assure that the moment i ate any sort of food, i would likely gain the 100 lbs back literally overnight. Surgery was the BEST thing i ever did for myself. Good luck in your decision.

I am a nurse and took 4 wks off. I was told to plan for 4 weeks and really felt i needed it. after surgery, the first few days are VERY focused on just getting protein/liquids. after that, it's waiting for the 'internal' healing to feel better. not really painful, you just know that they separated your abdominal muscles and it can feel a bit like you are off kilter. my 3rd wk i felt great and still focused on getting my diet and exercise in place so i could go back to work. i started back at the beginning of week 4 and felt great.

OW! been there, tried that but not on purpose. i just completely unconsciously took a drink of my kid's Water during dinner. OW. PAIN. major pain. didn't dissipate for an hour. won't try that again for a while, but i've heard from many in my support circle that they do drink small sips with food after about a year out. FYI keep in mind that i am only 4 weeks post op!

i am allowed roasted veg on softs, so all my veg i put through the oven until i can cut it with a fork.

Hi all- just curious since i don't see my surgeon for another 3 wks. No hurry, just mostly trying to plan. i am walking daily but i have a small gym available at work complete with treadmills, epilipticals, rowing machine, bikes, etc. no real weights. The PT at work will be setting up a program for me so i'm excited to get started. what were some of the general time frames before ok'ed to exercise by your surgeon? Obviously I won't start until I see him, just hoping i can start soon after.

I got a bunch at GNC yesterday as right now they are buy 2 get 1 free. stocked up! Cookies &cream, coconut, choc chip cookie dough, Peanut Butter and jelly, peanut butter & choc, strawberry cheesecake. YUM can't decide which one to open first! the GNC that i was at also had the peanut better cups- OMG- but there were something like 19 grams of fat and since i used to be a Reese's addict, i figured i'd just let them alone! going back to work soon and these will provide me with a great Protein option to nibble in between clients and still adhere to my work schedule.

i agree, 100 lbs in less than a year is awesome! i'd just keep doing what you are doing. obviously it has worked to get you this far!

4 wks out, i can eat about 1/4 cup at a sitting, mostly Protein at this point. it is PLENTY, and my sleeve lets me know when i am nearing full. if i don't listen and keep going, it is pure PAIN for about 40 minutes after. not worth it.

yes, you could be taking too much. i have severe GERD AND Barretts and the most i've ever taken is 1 PPI and 1 H2 blocker in a day. we have to produce SOME acid for normal motility in the gut, and all these pills may be prohibiting your acid production all together. you might not be digesting properly due to med levels I would check with your surgeon and make sure they want you on this much. i'm 4 wks out and also having normal hunger pains, but it's good to feel something 'normal' going on in my gut. especially when 1 tablespoon of food will quiet it~!

oh AMEN (carbs are not evil)!!!!! as a nurse i'll tell you that carbs are essential for brain function, organ function, metabolic cycle, and more. we need SOME. the diet that i ate once upon a time, 1/2 a pizza, or a whole box of mac and cheese, or 3 sandwiches, well that's not SOME. that's a HUGE OVERDOSE! i agree whole heartedly with others. my nut/surgeon actually have built a long standing and successful program and encourage small amounts of healthy carb (whole grain, high fiber pasta) at the soft stage in limited amounts. i appreciate this thread!

I watch and generally enjoy most of the shows. that one had me a little steamed too. i LOVE Fat Doctor way more though, because they show more stuff specific to the pre-op, surgery, and long term post op. good stuff and complete episodes on Youtube. To the posters who asked if anybody in the show works, I am guessing that many of these people are on Disability Social Security just from their multiple medical conditions stemming from their obesity. They are, after all, 600+ lbs and many of them can't move, use walkers, oxygen, etc. I can't imagine that they aren't considered disabled.