Bandme1

I used to buy those too but I'm in the phase now where I'm doing my pre-op diet and trying to lose weight quickly. The sooner I lose my weight, the sooner I can have surgery I gotta watch those carbs and sugar and the fruit mix that comes with the fage containers has like 14g of sugar or something like that. They are delicious though. So I substituted the SF jam so that I can get these last few pounds off faster and still enjoy my yummy greek yogurt.

It's in the way they make it. They end up squeezing a lot of the Water out, which means there is more of the milk Protein in it It's delicious with sugar free jam added. Fage is my favorite brand.

Wow, Kelly!!! That's awesome!! It makes me even more determined to stick with it

Daaaaaaang!! You look fabulous!! I hope I look that good a few months after surgery.

That's awesome! How much weight did she tell you that you had to lose pre-op? I have heard that Dr. Fisher is the most strict when it comes to that.

How did you like Dr. Park? I was scheduled to have my surgeon consult with Dr. Im on June 30, but I called and they had a cancellation so my appointment is now on June 14th with Dr. Park.

I tried the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey in the "cake batter" and "cookies and cream" flavors. The cookies and cream was pretty good, but the cake batter was DELICIOUS. It tastes like the birthday cake remix milkshake at coldstone. MMMMMM.... I added it to 8 oz. of milk and stirred with a spoon (I don't like to shake them because I hate the foam). Then I added some crushed ice on top and used my emulsion blender just long enough to crush the ice (again, not too long because you'll get the gross foam). It was sooooo good. I actually woke up this morning craving one! I got a sample of the cake batter, cookies and cream, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate from Vitamin Adventure. I haven't found anywhere online to get the sample packs. I've read a lot of good reviews about the caramel toffee fudge flavor. These are the least "dirty sock" tasting shakes that I've tried so far. I think I've found a winner

Good luck, girl!! You'll do fabulous! Keep us updated on how it goes as soon as you're up for it.

Northern California

Optasia, I agree. We all KNOW how to lose weight. We have the knowledge. It’s just the execution that’s hard. And sometimes, it’s not even all that hard to lose the weight, it’s the biggest battle to keep it off! I’m sitting at my desk right now watching my co-worker eat a buttered bagel and I’m drooooooling!! I’m not hungry, I had scrambled eggs and an apple for Breakfast. But dang, that bagel looks delicious. You’re totally right. It’s a head thing. I had to get on this website and distract myself, quick!! Lol. Besides, talking with you guys is better than a bagel anyways. Or at least that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself Nannie, you’re right. I don’t know if I can do this whole “never” thing. Yikes! But if I start out telling myself “Okay, not for a year. Anyone can go without junk food for a year.” That sounds a heck of a lot better than never. Then we’ll just see where things are in a year. I have to play those mental games with myself. It’s sad, I know…

I think the reason they say "never" is because there are so many people who have a skewed version of moderation. The lady sitting behind me at the orientation came back at break with a massive doughnut and a Starbucks frappuccino. I would be humiliated to walk into a class about weight loss eating a doughnut and drinking a coffee milkshake! She also complained throughout the entire seminar that she doesn't want to stop eating bread or sugar. I wanted to turn around and tell her "Then go home. There are plenty of people on the waiting list that woudl love your seat". If you tell someone like that that they can have sugar in "moderation" do you think she's going to have it in what we normal folk consider moderation? No. It's easier for them to just say "never" than to try to say to take it easy. Because some people's version of taking it easy is a doughnut and milkshake. lol!

That is awesome!! I just went to the orientation at Richmond on May 24 and I am waiting for my surgeon appointment with Dr. Im on June 30! From the time I got a referral, they told me it would be up to 3 weeks for them to call me. They called 6 days after my referral! Good luck!! If you want to check out the pre-op diet they give you, I just made a post about it. So far it's not so bad. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/19102-kaiser-pre-op-meal-plan/

The required Kaiser pre-op diet is low carb but also portion control. See my post about it http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/19102-kaiser-pre-op-meal-plan/

Awesome! You look great!

Oooooo, girl!!! Congrats!!!

You can either waste it in the trash or waste it on your waist. =) lol. That's what I try to tell myself. If I'm full, either way the food is going to be wasted. Wasted on excess calories or wasted in the trashbin. I'll give my trashcan those extra calories.

That is SO true. Other people can hide their issues. We wear ours around our waist.

That is good to know! I plan on sticking to that diet to the T! My plan is to lose 15 pounds before my surgeon appointment. Ideally he will tell me he only wants me to lose 20 and will go ahead and book my psych consult but we'll see how that goes I will definitely be drinking the Isopure like crazy post-op. (I actually love it. I know, I'm strange! lol. I think the alpine punch is quite tasty) I am so scared of not getting enough protein and losing my hair Thanks for your tips! =) I would have never imagined they don't encourage protein shakes pre AND post-op!

I had my 4-hour orientation at Kaiser Richmond today. The classroom was full and I was unfortunately sitting next to a HIGHLY obnoxious woman in the class. About an hour into the class she raises her hand and says "Ma'am? I am falling asleep over here." The nutritionist said "Okay, well we are about to take a break so you can take a short walk and maybe get a drink of water." The lady gets all angry and says "HOW SOME WATER SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME STAY AWAKE? HMM???" What I really wanted to do was turn around and say "Well, why don't you just go home then and come back when you are prepared to stay awake!!" So we took a break and the woman leaves and comes back with a doughnut in a very loud paper wrapper and a frappuccino. SERIOUSLY!? She kept asking irrelevant questions, too. At one point the nutritionist says "Before surgery, you will need to be sure you are up to date on all your routine screenings such as your PAP Smear, mammograms, that sort of thing." The lady raises her hand (I saw quite a few eyes roll) and says "Ma'am? How we supposed to get a pap smear if we don't have anything for them to be checking?" Okay, first off... that's too much information. Second off, this is for general information and GENERAL questions. Just shut your mouth, write down your question and ask your doctor later. Throughout the entire orientation, she was talking very loudly with the woman next to her about how it's ridiculous that you can't eat bread or rice and how she doesn't think it's right that she should have to go without sugar. It is just terribly frustrating to want something so bad and see people around me who have the opportunity but do not seem to grasp the concept that this is a gift. A TOOL to be utilized. Not some magic fat-be-gone surgery. This obnoxious lady said to the nutritionist (after reviewing the pre and post-op diet) "If I was able to just eat teensy tiny portions like this, I would do it on my own. 1/4 cup is just plain ridiculous. I can't survive off that. I'd be so hungry I'd eat my own arm." So I guess it just goes to show that there really ARE people out there that stupid. This lady obviously missed the whole point of the surgery and I am MORE than happy to assist her out of the line and take her surgeon appointment. Today was very informative and made me realize why we have to jump through all the hoops. Otherwise people like that crazy lady would be getting the surgery and giving the rest of us a bad name. I'm still convinced that quite a few crazies slip through the cracks and they are the reason the rest of us have to hear about "taking the easy way out" and "You'll gain it all right back". Because people like that lady who are looking for a magic solution have the surgery and *DO* gain it right back. I have an appointment with Dr. Im in Richmond on June 30 and I could not be more excited! =) I am excited to get healthy and get on the right track!

I WISH she would have thrown her out. She was very disruptive and quite rude. So far, I am thrilled with the staff in that department. Dr. Im came and spoke to our group and I am so glad he is my surgeon. Although I haven't met the others so I am sure I would be happy with whomever I got. I feel like I have all the information I need to succeed. They are definitely all about making sure you are educated. I have to admit, I did not learn anything new until the very end when they were reviewing the pre-op diet. I have done so much research on this forum and I love that the class was just a review for me. It made me appreciate this site even more and let me know that the information I've been gathering is correct and I am on the right track. The only thing I thought was a little strange was the whole no Protein shake thing. That seemed a bit odd to me. The examples she gave were Slim Fast and Carnation Instant Breakfast which I wouldn't consider Protein shakes... Are you drinking any protein shakes? Congrats on your new sleeve!! How exciting! You must be thrilled to be over the worst! =)

LoL!! That's so cute!! Congrats!

I'm sorry We all have those days where we just need a break from being positive and just cry it out, be angry, scream into a pillow. Do whatever is going to help you get through this. Be as MAD as you want to be. Let it all out. Be pissed. You've earned it. Just don't stay that way. We can't do anything to help your problem, but we can make it less lonely. *hugs*

Yeah I have decided to tell only a few close friends and of course my husband. My mom had gastric bypass about 6 years ago, lost over 130 pounds and has kept it all off for the entire 6 years. She has been a great resource for me. I have been so selective in who I tell. I need to surround myself with positive, supportive people. I decided to tell a family friend that is over at our house a lot. I knew it would be hard to keep it from him as he practically lives at our house. Let me also mention, that he is also very overweight. After I told him about the surgery, he was quiet for a minute, then rolled his eyes and said "PLEASE don't try to use this as an excuse to not exercise. That's what everyone tries to do and it's so stupid." I was dumbfounded. I was convinced that he would be supportive and not be just another negative opinion. So I said "You know what? I do not need or want judgements or advice. I told you because you are here a lot and it will be hard to keep it from you. If you want to be negative about it, that's fine, but you are not going to come here and be negative about it in my house." He said "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound judgmental, but I've had 2 aunts have bypass surgery and they didn't keep up with it and they never exercised and they gained all their weight back. You have to eat a lot of protein and stuff. You need to do your research." Again..... dumbfounded. Do people really think that we just run out and get this surgery like it's nothing? *He* is lecturing me on what my post-op diet is going to be yet he doesn't even know the difference between gastric bypass and the sleeve. Awesome...

I am SO grateful for this website. I am just beginning the process but everyone on here is SO helpful and nice. I am lucky enough to have a wonderful in-person support system. My husband and my best friends are fabulous and I am so glad they are so supportive. But this surgery is all I can think about, so naturally it's all I can talk about. I feel like sometimes I'm boring them with my talk of protein, exercise, etc. I get SO excited when I discover new things that I like that I can have. It's so nice to be able to come on this site and get ideas and be able to share those little excitements. As wonderful as my husband is, when I come to him ECSTATIC about a new protein supplement that I love or a new way to eat Greek yogurt that tastes fabulous, or a new workout that is fun, he stares at me like I've lost my mind. He doesn't quiiiiite get it. And that's totally understandable. But I love coming on here and feeling like I have a HUGE support system. A support system full of people that are in the exact same boat as me, people that are veterans and have amazing advice to give, and even people that are about to have the surgery and understand those butterflies that fill my stomach... my stomach that is about to be REMOVED. lol!! Anyways, just wanted to say thanks to everyone and say how much I love this site. And everyone share YOUR "little excitements" that get you going. Today's excitement was discovering how delicious Greek yogurt can be if you mix it until it's creamy and add some sugar free jam and a tiiiiny bit of milk to make it not quite so thick. MmmmMMMM!! =)

Congrats! How exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time! =) :thumbs_up: