meggiep

Yay I finally found out thanks to Irene that I was approved right away and I'd been anxiously awaiting notification thinking I might have been rejected ;-P Sacratomato (as Herb Caen always called it!) is a bit far for me unfortunately because I would dearly love to meet you all- but maybe if I plan agead and get some more weight off I could do it. My back nerve pain makes longer drives really painful but my hope is weightloss will ease that some! I have so many Protein Drinks that I once liked and now don;t that could be YOUR next fave thing- and already will soon have to GORGEOUS chlorine resistant swim suits to pass along. BOy will I be buying cheap suits for a while before I spring for another good one! So glad to be with my No Ca peeps!

Tiff is the expert- follow her plan and you can't go wrong though everyone needs to see what their body does! However re exercise- you can walk- walking is so good for fibro AND for weight loss so you can't go wrong doing that. Also - I do Water aerobics five days a week and the classes are KICK BUTT workouts- and there is no pressure on your body so for fibro as well as bck and knee problems etc. it is HEAVEN! Seriously, when I went back into the water for the first time Tuesday the class was lined up treading water and watching me and I went into total bliss as soon as I was floating- with my cold the week before surgery it had been almost a full month since I had that feeling of weightlessness. I am not cleared for core work yet but the water walking is giving my legs and arms a killer workout, I am sore! For some reason I have been told 80 grams protein- I sure hope as I have lost some weight that it will come down to a much more manageable 60!

I was told no core work for a month. I am walking every day for an hour and then Water walking every evening but am not allowed to do the full water aerobics until my one month. (I am at 3 weeks- so near yet so far ;-P) I also can't lift over 5 pounds. The incisions pass through muscle so you need to let that all heal before you start stressing it! I rediscovered and enjoy the walking and my husband and I consider it a date and our dog loves it too so I will now do both for a double workout!

I think counting carbs and making absolutely sure you get your Protein will really help you. The high protein and low carb is a key factor in the chemistry of losing weight and making the most of this "honeymoon period" of weight loss. Fruit is really high in carbs and when your body has carbs it wont turn to the fat cells for energy- it really needs to be pushed to do that! Exercise is also key- and I know that is a tough one. Have you considered Water aerobics? It's a good workout and fun too. IN any case even long walks are good as long as you do it daily. I do a 45 minute walk every day and water aeriobices 4-5 times a week now that I am at three weeks. Also- I am interested in you being told just to eat when you are hungry- cause if I did that it would be never! I am never hungry- I just schedule my meals when I know they should be! Don't forget the grehlin is no longer being produced in your thumby (my word for our new tummies) and you may need to eat to live now that we no longer live to eat! All that said- you will still stall now and again! This article helps explain the chemistry of a stall and why you can still be losing even when the scale is not budging... http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html

I think if you put this in Post-Op you will probably get lots more answers! (I am only three weeks out so wont answer ;-P)

Jut have to tell you my so works at a movie theater and before my sleeve he would bring a huge bag of buttered movie popcorn home almost every day. Oh but I miss it so! And have to watch my husband eat it...sigh! Just know that her meals are more for the soft foods stage than the mushy stage as in this stage everything should be pureed. Refer to your doctor's instructions for what is allowed on their plan. Everyone is so different!

I will only add that it is good to strain any solid out of your cream Soups for the first few weeks to protect your tender new tummy. I was not allowed fruit until now, and even now not fruit with seed such as strawberries. etc. With that as well as the high carbs of the smoothie mix I would probably avoid that. You may or may not decide to count carbs but it does seem to me that the people who have the best weight loss results do count carbs. That is all I have to see to make my decision! Welcome to VST!

You go girl! Wow, your doc is even more conservative than mine- I got mushies at three weeks (Monday) but FOUR weeks of full liquids- wow! Do you get yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.? Do you add Protein powder to your soup, etc. Keep it up!

That is funny- especially funny because the SAME thing happened to me! I am Meg Price now but in my previous marriage I was Meg Davis. Well, when I started Water aerobics the teacher was named Meg...Davis! We soon realized that we went to the same vet for our cats and the same clinic for our health and had been mistaken for each other for years! Small world indeed. BTW, are you Margaret? All three of the Megs in my class are Margaret.

My doctor wanted me to try and get my Protein in from the very beginning- and I was released with a Clear liquids plus protein drinks order. However, I could hardly drink anything for the first five days- I set the alarm on my phone for every fifteen minutes and measured out 2-4 ounces and drank it. It was tough! At day five drinking became much easier and I started getting all my protein in from that point as I am a complier by nature and I am determined to make this work for me. Though some of the drinks I had liked pre surgery were now disgusting to me I did find a couple that worked and I had at least two a day plus added some greek yogurt and milk to my Soup etc. ( went to thin liquids after a week) and have gotten 70-80 grams since day five. I suggest ordering different samples for sure- I like the Chike meal replacements- they are very tasty and though they have about 8 net carbs they are great for the first few months . I also second Unjury- their unflavored protein is great to add to soup and other things and the chicken soup is an absolute Godsend because believe me you will get really sick of sweet protein drinks! Everyones tastes differ so you wont know what works for you until after- I advise you to have lots of samples on hand and don't stock up too much in case you hate the things you formerly liked. The reason, btw, that my doctor wants you to have protein from the start is to keep your energy up and especially with the lower calories you tend to take in during this phase, to be sure you don't start burning muscle instead of fat. It is never too soon to start the right chemistry for weight loss! Good luck to you!

I know this about you- you are so good at following a program girl you are going to ROCK your sleeve- I can tell. This tool will do it for you- I know from getting to know you! For what its worth my doctor uses a 34 but truly from seeing some of the hard times people have eating here I think you will be in great shape since I know you will follow all the rules and your sleeve is nice and small yet not so small as to have possible problems. I LOVED seeing your hospital vid yesterday! xoxo

I actually stalled at 2 weeks and a couple of days- and since I lost a pound yesterday at 3 weeks one day I hope my stall is broken! Luckily I have everyone here talking about stalls so I knew to just keep on keeping on!

Well....after a wonderful day yesterday with an egg and cheese in the morning, a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese with a puff of hidden valley ranch seasoning...and a SECOND egg and cheese at night...all going down well and with my morning shake ending the day at 70 grams- my minimum... today is another story. I made a mistake- I finished my shake and then it was so late in the day I decided to have my egg right away- as I think of the shake as a liquid. I was not hungry- not in any way. I am NEVER hungry- so it is really hard to know what works. I started burping as I ate but I have that sense of urgency to get enough of the Protein grams in so I almost knew as I put the last bite in that I had overdone it. In fact I think even eating it so soon after the shake was wrong. Well it was not subtle- no pain, just an icky feeling and a knowledge within three minutes that it was going to have to come up. And it did- my thumby was not content until every bit of that egg came up. And i was left feeling really ucky- and finally had stomach pains AFTER and spent some time TMI'ing on the toilet- so this really set off a chain reaction that did not do me well. I still feel bad and don't even want to go for today's walk. UGH. I am queasy and shaky and having trouble even thinking about having anything, even Water. Sigh. This is hard, incorporating food! I just hope eggs aren't ruined for me- certainly right now I don't want to see one anytime soon but hopefully this feeling will wear off. Kelly I am sorry you are still having problems with mushies. I did want to mention though that even though you get soft food next week I think you might want to reconsider since you are still not tolerating the mushies. I don't think the soft foods will be any easier! My doctor has you dial back a step every time something isn't working. Just a though! Have you talked to the nutritionist about the problems you are having?

But H to H my 8 weeks is July 3rd- aren't you more than two days further out than me? My surgery was 5/9.

I am only three weeks out but I have followed everything to the letter- getting my 80 grams of Protein, all my Water, and adding exercise as well as counting my carbs, I intend to follow this as exactly as I can for as long as I can because I want the "honeymoon period" to work for me- I want to get to my goal and I believe from everyone I have seen that following the plan WORKS. After I am at goal I will ease off a bit and allow the occasional treat or special event. But I will always record my food and keep an eye on things. I invested a lot of thought and made the decision to have 85% of my stomach removed and I need to make this work...or then what?

I am glad you made it! I know from my own feelings today that adding the mushies really brought my energy up today and I hope that helped see you through! I felt ready to be out in the world but I have to say I am still glad I work from home!!! Make sure you keep your fluids up and get lots of rest. Cook on getting the recognition for the weight! Wasn't that awesome? It was like that for me at the pool tonight too. Loved it ;-P

I absolutely echo the recommendation for water aerobics. I live with bad pain from nerve pain in my back and tears in both knees that have me a near invalid- but in the water there is no pain and no pressure on your back. Not only that but the classes are a KICK BUTT workout- truly- we do 300 crunches in many of our classes and lots of aerobic work as well as core. Try it- you may be surprised!

HI Meg! I am actually 3 weeks post-op but I wanted to reply as you are another Meg on the forum- this makes three that I know of ! I find this so funny as for many years I hardly ever met another Meg and right now there are three Meg's in my Water aerobics class as well! I wanted to reassure you about the psych eval- I have had depression for quite a few years and take an anti-depressant. Don't worry about it- most of the eval, aside from the standard questions about whether you want to harm yourself or others, etc. ,has to do with making sure you understand what the surgery is and also have realistic expectations of what it will do for you. that it is a tool, not a magic wand, etc. For me it has been the best thing I ever did.

I will be extremely pleased if I average 2-3 pounds a week. I have lost 13 pounds in three weeks but consider that to be because I have been on liquids the whole time and also had an eight day stall. The way my doctor put it is that the first six months to a year is the optimum window of time for losing. It is important to help maximize by stiking to the prciples - which for my doctor are 70-80 grams Protein 64 plus ounces Water 40 grams max carbs minimum 3 times a week exercise Vitamins This is pretty similar to most doctors credos I think! Even though it is in a sense dieting, I plan to do it because I want to use the honeymoon period to the max. I know eventually I will have a harder time losing and will have a bigger capacity for food so to me it is worth "dieting" for a time. And with this wonderful tool, which for me has meant NO hunger- I think for the first time in my life I have a real hope of succeeding.

I will think of you tomorrow Kwikwits! In fact you will have exactly my post-op regimen and I have to tell you I think you will be happy you did it, even if not happy while doing it! Hard as it was to go five solid weeks on liquids- the two weeks before and the three weeks thin liquids- I found when I finally had my purees and mushies yesterday all went down without any pain or problem. I trust my doctor totally - he has been doing this for 9 years and has few complications. Today's egg was even more sublime as we added a tablespoon of melted cheddar cheese- I swear I had tears in my eyes it was so good! Then this afternoon I sprinkled a tiny pinch of hidden valley ranch dressing powder on my cottage cheese- sooooo good! I did both a long walk and Water walking today so I fell nice and worked out and I am about to make Eggfaces ricotta bake. yumm! Savory savory savory- so good! H to H- thanks for the delish idea- I know I can't have hard boiled eggs until later but pureed is probably another matter. It sounds great with the avocado- yumm! If you can believe it, an avocado tree in our yard is actually bearing fruit that is quite tasty. And we know it's organic ;-P I feel like I have returned to the living today for real with the advent of food you can chew (to a degree) . And the chorus of huzzahs at the pool tonight raving about my weight loss was really great too!

So for lunch I had a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese- so nummy! And toothsome! And again, no pain , no problem going down, no problem after either. I am thrilled! I did have my 45 gram Protein shake in between...and for dinner I am going to blend the full, unstrained chicken soup, and add a scoop of unflavored protein powder. I am not sure I will hit my full 80 grams but will hit at least 70 with only one protein drink- praise the Lord! I am thinking from Kelly's experience that three weeks or so works really well for starting purees and soft foods. My doctor also wants me to stay on this for three weeks and at this point I have so much confidence in him that I will do exactly that! I am walking longer and longer distances and tomorrow as I mentioned adding Water walking. With real food being back in my life I really do feel back among the living now! You know, I don't think I get head hunger so much as a sort of longing- we walked past so many barbecues (cook outs for you east coasters ;-P) and some of the smells were so delicious! I felt this yummy longing but I really was not hungry and it didn;t leave me feeling it once we had walked past. I think my PPI really helps with those pangs which I might mistake for hunger. I can truly say I do not get hungry- aint it grand? How was your Memorial Days?

I am actually wanting the original poster to chime in as I am worried not hearing from her since this post- that amount of food in a young sleeve could have been a huge problem for her last night. Today is my three weeks and I have been carefully and tentatively graduating to soft and pureed foods today- I ate half a soft scrambled egg for Breakfast and for lunch a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese. Both went down well (and made me swoon with joy! ;-P) and I did not feel bad or have pain. I will NOT blow this phase, I need to know my sleeve is healed and whole and ready to serve me ( or more realistically-have me serve it!) for the rest of my life. I was on thin liquids until today and I hated it but please OP- you need to do the right thing here. Worst case- you create a devastating medical problem for yourself. More likely- you eat your way around this sleeve and end up sleeved and still obese. Learn how to use this tool, get help with nutrition and emotions.

Hooray for being on the loser's bench and starting you life with a sleeve!

The person, I totally understand. I feel compassion for anyone battling their weight, and the pain and sadness it involves. The doctor, on the other hand- sorry but there are standards. I find this really suspect.

I agree. Renee has said over and over that she has the greatest respect for Dr. Aceves as a surgeon. However the fact remains that she fully disclosed her medical history, both before her surgery and again at the hospital. She was lied to by her coordinator about her situation and several aspects of the care she would receive. She was told by her surgeon that fibro was all in her head and to "stop it" She experienced ghastly pain without relief, and then when she was given "enough pain medication for a horse" (sic) she was left sitting up alone in her room and fell off the bed and injured herself. Her experience belongs here just as much as all the gushing raves and wonderful experiences. I also feel that it is not JUST people with her history that should be very careful in approaching their surgery- anywhere. I thin it is good to find out exactly how pain is handled- including the names of the drugs, and which drugs are used at which phase of recovery, as well as what is available if sever pain becomes an issue. As you foud out when you vomited blood- sh** happens! A person who never has had surgery may discover they have a very low pain threshold and they need to be managed well. I know it took a lot of courage for Renee to post because she was afraid of being picked on for scaring other, etc. I applaud her as she may have helped someone greatly with her story. As I told her today- girl you got a sleeve from a great surgeon- it is in the past and now lets start healing and looking towards a wonderful skinny future! Yes indeed. It seems that her history was ignored- perhaps because of the lack of belief in her condition-and I have to say that ignorance of a very real disease bugs me. It also seems like there is a lot of conflicting info- a doctor saying they do not use narcotics- others saying they do use it. I certainly know it is used in Mexico- my own sister had surgery for internal bleeding and broken knees and wrists and was beautifully pain managed. She had an absolutely fabulous experience. Including yummy homecooked meals (no tiny tummy for her!) I think communication is the key here- better communication about the procedures and what to expect, and perhaps even , hard as it might seem, the odd person who cannot truly be accommodated should be turned down. Ultimately as surgery in Mexico is a blessing for many who could not possibly have it otherwise, I believe anything we can contribute to help make it a better experience is only a plus.