PdxMan

I know I can eat A LOT more when I drink and eat at the same time. This is what I do to prepare for races when I need to increase my calories. It triggers the pyloric valve to open and send food on down to the intestines creating more room in the stomach.

Candyman, check out the Fitness and Exercise forum. There is a thread there for FitnessPal friend joining.

I haven't heard of the Cookies, but costco also sells the Protein bars. Same deal ... 30 grams of protein. 3 flavors ... Can't remember them exactly ... chocolate Peanut Butter, double chocolate and yogurt something. They are big, so it takes me awhile to eat one, but they are good.

As long as it takes ... Everyone is different. Your stomach swelling may be more/less than others. Just try to do the best you can. Be sure to get your Water in, too. How far out are you?

Gosh ... I'm not saying I'm an authority on this by any means, but from my experience at 11 months out, this couldn't be farther from the truth. I hope no one has this expectation. The sleeve is a tool which helps you restrict your portion size and that is about it. Anyone can still make poor food choices and if you drink liquids with your meals, you can eat a large quantity. I know this because I practice this. For those who haven't read some of my posts, I am a runner now, post-sleeve and race competively. I ran just last Sunday and won my age division. Nutrition is my biggest challenge and the only way I can get enough calories in is to break the sleeve rules. Starting two days before a race, I eat and drink at the same time and can put away a lot of food. I am eating chocolate and all sorts of things which I am sure is not recommended by bariatric dieticians. Buuuut ... I am at goal and exercise A LOT. So, I wouldn't recommend anybody else follow my diet unless you, too, were committed to serious amounts of exercise. Bottom line, the tool is not going to teach you to eat properly. You still have to do that and you can still make bad decisions with the sleeve, so please don't believe the sleeve is going to do it for you.

I get them in the mail from costco. Their little booklet of coupons you get like 6/8 times a year. If you don't get them, then you need to have your address updated in their computer. Go to the service desk and explain you didn't get one and they will give you a booklet. Also ask to have your address confirmed so you get them in the future. And no, I don't work for Costco, either.

I know I have sounded like a salesperson for Premier Protein shakes in all my previous posts regarding protein supplements ... but really, I'm not on the take. I have tried dozens of RTD and powders and I have settled on these. Yes, they can be chalky at the end if you are sipping and taking awhile, so I tend to put my thumb over the opening and give a shake before each swallow when I drink them slower. OK, here's the sales pitch ... Right now at Costco in my neck of the woods, they have $5 off coupons bringing the price per case down to $20 for 18 pack. The coupon allows you to buy 2 cases for $10 off. I have stocked up. I think I have about 8 cases. Hey ... they keep well. I have the vanilla and chocolate. I would like to try the strawberry, but my Costco doesn't stock them.

I think people would say I am a risk taker, too. But when it came to post op eating, I was the opposite. Let's take a look at what has been done to us. We had 80-85% of our stomachs removed with a titanium staple line going from the top to bottom of our stomach ... no small scratch, there. This is our stomach. One of the most active organs in our bodies as it is the mechanical part of eating process. It secretes the acids and churns the food to get it into a paste to pass through the pyloric valve and down into your intestines for absorption. Do I really want to hinder it's healing process? Is jumping ahead a week in my diet progression really worth it? I'm going to have this sleeve for the rest of my life and I want it to heal solid. I was not going to throw it curve balls. Was I too passive ...? Perhaps. But now I am going on 11 months out and I can confidently eat anything. I am glad I did not try to test my staple line with advancing my diet too quickly. What's the point?

Wow, beef at 3 weeks? This is OK with your Dr? Give it another 15 minutes and then have a sip of Water. Keep sipping until you feel better .I'm thinking trying to force your pyloric valve open and clear out the stomach as quickly as possible. I just can't see how the stomach can mechanically break down red meat at 3 weeks ...

Hmmm ... There are always risks in surgery, but dying because of not having a sleep study done ... I feel pretty confident putting that at zero percent. The reason I can say this is you are intubated (A tube is stuck down your thoat, but don't worry, you're asleep) to keep you breathing throughout the procedure. You have an anesthesiologist right there monitoring everything including your oxygen levels. You'll be fine.

Yea!! Congrats. Just keep doing what they tell you to do. Tomorrow, it's all about walk, sip, walk, sip.

Well ... what was the post that almost made your heart stop? Kinda hard to talk you down from the ledge if we don't know which ledge you're on This is a big step and one not to be taken lightly, for sure. You should be scared if your not scared ... a little.

Might be time to sit down and have a heart to heart chat. "Honey, I love you and all the great things you do for me very much, but I am about to embark on a life altering journey and I am going to need your help. Part of the reason I am at this point in my life is the poor food choices I have made and the presents you bring do not help. The sleeve is going to help me, but it only a tool. I still have to make these choices and it would help me sooo much if theses gifts weren't even an option." This is a tough conversation for us to have as it draws a line in the sand saying you are making a change in your habits. But, it is a change you are going to have to do if you want to be successful with your sleeve. There are healthy options out there in the fast food world, as you pointed out. I ate salads from McD's 3 times on a recent trip. They were tasty and healthy. There are options out there, but you also need to find the time to prepare options. I am a big proponent of Soups frozen in pint jars. Grab one on my way out the door about everyday. I make a large batch on Sunday evenings. As I have posted in other threads ... things only change when things change.

Check out this post: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/28153-protein-shakes-as-meals-to-avoid-the-no-fluids-thing-smart-or-bad-idea/page__p__239465#entry239465 There are many threads about stretching the sleeve. Your sleeve is going to stretch a bit over time, but it is not going back to its previous size. Search more threads on this topic for more details.

My width changed from a wide to a regular, but not my length. I have heard of others, though, who have.

I think it is important to know the weight loss process and have realistic goals. I think that was one of my failings in my pre-sleeve life. From my research, this is how I understand it. (extremely simplified for the purposes of this post) Your body converts calories you consume to glycogen. Glycogen is what is burned for energy. It is stored in your muscles and your liver, drawn first from the liver. Glycogen needs to bond with Water in order for it to be stored in a 1 to 4 ratio, meaning 1 pound of glyogen bonds to 4 pounds of water. Your body can store about 2 pounds of glycogen, so bonded, you have 10 pounds. Each gram of carbohydrates is 9 calories, the highest gram to calorie ratio along with Proteins. So, drop your carbs, you drop your glycogen reserves and voila! A week later you have lost 10 pounds!! YEA!! ... well, no ... you haven't lost any fat and now you have no energy (glycogen stores depleted and not being quickly replaced because you aren't eating much carbs) So, now, you are in the next week and you are not losing any weight. You get discouraged and say, "Screw it, give me a bag of Doritos." And, wow! You feel so much better! (carbs coming in ... glycogen stores re-filling) Let's say you don't do the above and stick with it ... you're not losing weight! Why!! So frustrating! Well, the process to convert stored fat to glycogen is occuring and this is not going to happen as rapidly as you might like. Also, your body may not necessarily convert stored fat to glycogen. It may look to your muscles and feed off of them. Remember, they are Protein. 1 gram = 9 calories ... a great source. So, why do I type all of this? It is about setting realistic goals pre-sleeve for a pre pre-sleeve diet. Are you thinking you are going to lose fat? Are wanting to start healthier habits? What is your attitude going to be when you drop the 10 pounds after a week and then don't lose anything more until the surgery? This is an individual journey and I just want you to set yourself up for success. I do wish you the best.

I would fill out a survey.

For pre-op, I did shakes for breakfast and lunch with a lean and green dinner. I was working out and would get hungry in between meals, so my Dr said it was ok to have a shake for a "snack". It worked for me. Pre-surgery, I used powdered Protein from Vitamin Shoppe. Combined with yogurt and berries, they were great. But then post-op, they were terrible. Couldn't stomach them. I tried a few powders and some ready to drink (RTD) varieties and settled on Premier Protein from costco. They are $25 for a case of chocolate or vanilla. In my neck of the woods right now, Costco has a coupon for $5 off a case, so I'm stocking up. They are great. Best tricks ... hmmm ... Get all the cr@p out of your house immediately. There's an old saying ... "Sit around a barber shop long enough, you're going to get your hair cut." Talk to you family and explain that the Cheetos are going to have to leave the house for awhile. Just dump all the stuff you know you shouldn't have. Throw it away. Don't gorge on it. Exercise. Start now. It will help with the hunger now and it will help with your recovery, too. Exercise is something most of us want to adopt post-sleeve anyway, so you might as well start now. Things to stay away from ... well ... let's focus on what you should eat instead, because that is a far smaller list. The bottom line, though, is to follow your medical team's dietary guidlines. My biggest tip would be to read, read, read this forum. There is a search area in the top right if you are viewing this on a web browser. Believe me, the chances are pretty high any question you have has been answered by dozens of people and you should tap into that repository of experience. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

I've been told I have lost 10 years ...

I believe Lissa would be the obvious choice for a Member Highlight. She posts honest responses to so many topics and her insight is spot on. I think she defines the role of a dedicated forum member.

For most people at this stage, you don't know when you are full and eating too much has negative consequences. So, the best bet is to eat measured amounts and stick to it. A half cup at the most or a quarter cup to be safe. Don't push it beyond that.

Wow ... Not being able to wear my favorite fat pants is a downside ... Having to take leftovers home from a restaurant is a downside ... Believing everybody hates me not because I am fat ... Uhhh ... there are other issues in that poster's life. But they are correct. Losing weight does not fix all of your issues. It would appear they thought they would.

French onion Soup, minus: onions, cheese & croutons. I strained Campbell's veggie beef soup. It was yummy.

Nice! Keep on keeping on!

And both of you folks are taking stuff for stomach acid?