PdxMan

Slimes usually happen if you eat something too quick or too much of something. Your body reacts by oversalivating or making your mouth "slimey" with so much foamy saliva it basically pours out your mouth. It is not vomitting, just extreme salivating. Happened to me when I ate a peach too quickly about 6 weeks out. Purged ... I thought just meant what it means, so I will let someone else define that if there is another context VSG related.

I had the same problem and talked to my NUT. She said my carb intake was too low for me and suggested I add more cooked veggies in my diet, even if it meant sacrificing protein intake. I did and about a week later ... YOWSERS! It worked. My energy was back. Give it a try, but know it does take a bit for your glycogen stores to refill and be available. Talk to your NUT and see what they say.

3,500 calories = 1 pound. Injest 3,500 more calories than you burn, you gain a pound. Burn 3,500 calories more than you injest, you lose a pound. Now, the real trick is to not lose muscle mass. From my research, in a nutshell and severly paraphrased, this is how it works: Your liver burns glycogen for energy. As you eat, nutrients are stored there first. If there is an excess, it gets stored in your body as fat. If your liver requires more glycogen and it has no stores, it retrieves fat from the body for which it then converts to glycogen and then is burned. But this takes time, something like half an hour or so. It is in this period that you run the risk of muscle being consummed. So, there is a fine balance of carb and Protein intake. Burning 800 calories in a single session may not be the most beneficial thing for you as your body will canabalize itself, even though it has fat reserves. Shorter workouts with breaks inbetween are suggested and ALWAYS follow a workout with protein, whether that be a shake (quick absorption) or lean meats. Talk to your NUT about this. If you are at a health club, talk to a trainer who KNOWS about nutrition and working out. Don't take my word for it as I am not an expert, but I have been researching this for my own program. I have lost a lot of muscle in the past 6 months and believe I have been able to reverse that. I workout pretty much everyday and monitor what I eat (carb/protein balance) closely. I carb up a couple days before I do my weekend long run to ensure my glycogen stores are full. Research this some more and find what truly is best for you. Lika, the best way to describe Zumba is to show you. Go to YouTube and enter Zumba in the search terms.

Also, explain that you are not having your stomach removed, just reduced. Once fully recovered, you will still be able to eat and carry on life as you did pre-VSG, just with more controlled portions. The surgery is merely a tool to help us live a healthier lifestyle. Stomach, still there and functional. Pyloric valve, still there and functional. No re-routing of intestines or anything. It is all there just as it was before.

... and that is relevant because ...

Sorry, I wasn't clear. First week post-op.

Talk to your surgeon about it.

I would stress liquids before protein for the first week. If you run short on liquids, you can end up in the ER with an IV in your arm due to dehydration.

I did, but then a week post, I couldn't stand my powder anymore and went to pre-mix, Premier Protein from Costco.

That is a good question to ask your surgeon. Why does he require (or not) and what are his feelings on why other surgeons require them (or not).

From what I have seen here from many others who have posted on this topic, and from what my surgeon told me ... wait for the 6 week mark.

Depends on whether you like it cold or room temperature. I liked mine cold, so 1/2 cup. But for water, I needed it room temperature, so I had full glasses of that.

Blittle, all my stats are in my signature. 6.5 months out. Down 105 lbs, but I work out crazy amounts. Run 15 miles a week, do spinning and lift 3x a week ... my results may not be typical.

Restaurants are going to have high fat soups. Made with butter, butter and then they add more butter. Needless to say, my guess is you are going to naturally stay away from cream soups for awhile. Like longer-life, I enjoyed the french onion with the croutons and cheese pulled off, which also sucks off the grease, which would also cause you issues. I enjoyed the vegetable soups and even a beef barley out at restaurants. I explained that I just had stomach surgery (didn't say VSG) and asked them to puree it, which they did, no problem. For the most part, though, I made my soups at home and ate them. My favs: Lentil/ham/veggie Turkey Chili Chicken Veggie Again, pureed.

Yes, I was drinking them a couple hours post-op, per my Dr's direction. Follow your own Dr's advice.

Everyone who is exercising should seriously think of avoiding the scale. It has absolutely no bearing on what you are doing. Yes, you will gain weight some days. Why? There is a balance of Water and salt and glycogen that is going to sway all over the place. Some people will work out for a week, gain two pounds and say, "Screw it!!", but that is not the answer. Weigh once a month, no more. What good is it going to do you weighing more often? Do you really think working out is bad for you? Do you really think you are going to gain fat by working out? Ditch the scale and believe in yourself and your exercise program. Do the best you can and push yourself harder each day. Just an FYI, I usually weigh myself on the 20th of each month, but a friend was over this past Sunday and wanted to know how much I weighed. He hadn't seen me since Christmas and was amazed at how different I looked since. I have actually gained 3 pounds! But you know what? My pants are looser than they were around Christmas. So, I am gaining back some of the muscle I lost during the drastic drop. If my pants fit looser and I gain weight, then HALLELUJAH!! I am all for that.

To echo what plyman is thinking, perhaps a quick search on YouTube for what was just done to your stomach might inspire you to stay on liquids for the designated time. Your stomach was just sliced end-to-end and stapled shut. Do you really want to push it? As I am sure you have read dozens of times during your research, the first month is the hardest, but it is only a month ... for the benefit of your life. Don't think about the enormity of 2 weeks left!!! AHHH!! HOW AM I GOING TO DO IT!!?? Take it one step at a time, one day at a time, 12 hours at a time, one hour at a time, 5 minutes at a time ... "For the next hour, I am going to drink my liquids and follow my Drs orders for the benefit of my health." You can do this.

I love salads, too, but one of the reasons I like them is because I CAN add all the tasty things to make them more nutritious. Protein, carbs, cheese all together in a fresh, fiberous salad ... YUM!! Yes, I think any way that you can assist in easing the mechanical part of the stomach function, the earlier you can probably introduce those things. A lot of this is trial and error. Small sample and see how it goes. If you have a NUT available, run it by them, but I think it would be fine. I have a can of V-8 everyday 'cause I'm too lazy to blend it up myself. It has a lot of sodium, but I don't use salt in any of my cooking (baking, yes, when called for). Don't even have a salt shaker.

Have you Googled cross training shoes supination? This can at least give you some models to check out when you are in the stores. I went to a running shoe store to get fitted (neutral) and bought the right shoe for me. If you're going to be doing Zumba like activities, you definately don't want a running shoe, but rather a cross trainer. There are lots to choose from. Google those terms and get on the phone to find stores that carry them. Good luck

Everything you mention are regular parts of my diet. As a matter of fact, for lunch I brought a salad with romain/spinach, diced chicken, blue cheese crumbles and honey mustard dressing. It is about 1.5 cups, and it will stuff me full taking me about 1/2 hour to eat. I started with salads at about 3 months and didn't settle too well at first. You have to remember, the stomach is the mechanical part of digestion and it is difficult to break down, especially the more fiberous it is. So, I introduced slowly. Iceburg at first, then romain, then spinach. Now, I think I am ready to add kale. I bought a package two weeks ago, but chickened out. Oh, well. All we can do is try. Other veggies? You bet. They are my primary source of carbohydrates, so I gotta eat 'em. Squash, okra ... name it. I'm eating it.

Until you can find an alternative, give the Premier protein shakes a try. You can get them at Costco and I see there is one in Aurora. They have 30 g in each one and are really easy to drink. At my Costco in Portland, they have Chocolate and Vanilla, but I have heard they have Strawberry, too. I think I pay like $22 for a case of 18, and they are ready to go. Grab a case. If you don't like them, I'll send you $30 and you can ship them to me. Seriously. I've tried several powders and shakes and these are by far the best.

I grabbed Soups and blended them. Any and all. My favorites were lentil/ham, chicken/veggie and turkey chili. ... and cottage cheese, which is good, but be aware some folks develop lactose intolerance post surgery.

Hunger, now, is a totally different animal. I don't crave food like I used to. I snack because I have to get calories in, not because I am hungry. But, what I do feel is body hunger. Meaning that my body feels a lack of nutrition, and so I eat. I relate it to a fire. I can feel there is less heat being produced, so I throw another log on. I am very active now, and my story is going to be different, for sure. When I say active, I mean I run 5 miles at a pretty good clip. Do an hour of aerobics at the gym and lift weights for and hour about 3x a week. So, I have to eat pretty much throughout the day in order to get enough calories to sustain that, but the feeling is still there and was before I was this active. As I told my wife when I was 1 month out, if I didn't have to eat, I wouldn't. That is how much I cared about food. Now, going on 7 months out, I enjoy eating, and can eat pretty much anything, but everything is different, which, for me, is what I needed. This morning, I took the kids out to Breakfast. They let me order off the senior menu which consisted of 1 egg over easy, 1 piece of toast (buttered, Whole wheat) hash browns and sausage link. I at 3/4 of the egg, two small bites each of hash browns, sausage and toast. I WAS STUFFED! I am the cook in the family and made a huge traditional Turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. The family asked how I could do it, being around and making all this food while I couldn't eat that much. I told them that I really didn't care. It's not like being a bartender who is alcoholic. I can still eat. I can be around food. It doesn't bother me at all. The sleeve just keeps me from scarfing down huge amounts of food. So, yes, it is totally normal to not care about food. This is not true for all sleevers, so I consider it a blessing. I have heard of the recent surgery folk eating popcorn (I started back after 2 months) and even read a post from a lady the other day who was asking why it hurts when she eats solid food ... she was one week out ... :banghead: What do you tell these people? 300 calories/day in the first two weeks ... sounds a little low, but not too bad. I was getting about 400-500. Two Protein shakes (2 x 160) and some other broth. How much protein are you getting in right now. Early, early on, you have to get your liquids in. If you don't, you're looking at an ER trip to get hooked up to an IV. Just keep following your program closely. If it sounds crazy, it is.

I'm sorry to say they are old wives tales. Building muscle will replace some of the volume lost by the fat, but it is not going to replace it all, unfortunately. I have been lifting weights like a fool and have added a lot of muscle mass. But with 105 lbs lost, I still have a lot of extra skin. I will be looking at surgical solutions once I have the sleeve paid off in about a year or so.

Forme, it was about 10 days. Each day was better than the day before. I think walking a lot helped. Keep the circulation going to help move the gas out.