lolasmom

I am going on 6 months...I lost 100 lbs in 5 months...the hair loss started at about 4 months and is at its worst now. I have two friends that had their surgery 3 months before me and they told me that months 4-7 were the worst and then it starts growing back. I sure hope so, my hair was fine to begin with...but I had a lot of hair. I am wearing it braided most of the time to avoid having to brush it so much. Small price to pay for the life I have today versus 100 lbs ago. If I have to get a wig then I will....I am just so thankful to have my health and my life back.

You look fabulous!!!

Syntrax Nectar...It comes in over a dozen flavors and I love them all. My very favorite is the Chocolate Truffle. They all have 100 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat and 24 grams of protein. I buy it from mybariatricpantry.com You can buy a sample pack with 10 different flavors for about $12.00. I tried many kinds of proteins drinks and powders and this is by far the best.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday!!!

I love Wasa! I always carry a couple of pieces of the light rye (my favorite) and a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese in my bag in case I'm out when it's time to eat something. it's great with tuna salad or egg salad too.

Woooo Hoooo! Congratulatons!!!

It was VERY hard for me to give up coffee, but I did. I weaned myself off before my surgery and started drinking decaf. After I was able to comfortably get in all of my required fluids so that dehydration wasn't an issue I slowly introduced coffee back into my new sleeve. I had no problem with irritation, so I started drinking a cup a day in the morning. I'm 3 months out and I drink as much as I want now as long as I get in all my non-caffienated fluids. I will tell you this...I loved cream in my coffee and post-surgery I had a very hard time finding something low in carbs to add to my coffee because I try to stay under 30 carbs a day. After trying everything I could find...International Foods sugar free liquid coffee creamer came in at 1 carb per tablespoon. However...a tablespoon isn't nearly enough for me, so I was still getting 3 carbs per cup, and at 3 or 4 cups per day that was way too many calories and carbs. Sooo...I have learned to drink it black. Good luck. It probably won't be as hard as you think to give it up for a while.

The recommended daily dose of Benefiber is 2 teaspoons 3 times a day. I take this EVERY day without fail. I had a bad time about 5 weeks out and had to take some very nasty stuff to get relief. The Benefiber can be added to anything...it truly has no taste.

What helped me was instead of focusing on fear, I just kept thinking that the closer I got to my surgery...the closer I was to what I wanted most in the world: to be healthy and to be able to enjoy my life. By the time my surgery date arrived, I couldn't wait to get to the hospital...in fact we got stopped for speeding! The cop just gave us a warning but getting stopped will always be a part of my "day of surgery story". Good luck!!!

Is your surgeon a BLIS surgeon? I was a self pay also...my surgery cost included insurance for complications occuring within 90 days of my surgery. For a small extra cost insurance was available for complications occuring up to a year after surgery. Complications are rare (1 in 2000 for bleeds and leaks) but they do happen...I had bleeding and had to have emergency surgery...I was in ICU for several days. Everything turned out well, and I would do it all over again...my results have been awesome and I feel great. If I had not had the insurance (BLIS) through my surgeon the cost for my second surgery and hospitalization would have been MANY times more than the cost of my sleeve. As I said...complications are rare...but they happen, even with the very best surgeons. the insurance is worth checking out. By the way, I am in GA...I had my surgery in LaGrange. Good luck to you.

Tuna- 2 0z has 14 g Protein Boca Burgers -14 g protein, I love the Flame Grilled Egg Whites- 12 g protein in 2 egg whites Salmon- 21 g protein in 3 oz I get the Starkist Salmon Filet in the pouch cheese Crisps 12 g protein in 1/2 recipe You can find this in the recipe forum. I hope you find this helpful!

Not going to lie...it hurt like s@#!

Breakfast- Snyntax nectar Protein drink...chocolate truffle 27 g protein Snack- Fage greek yogurt w/ sf french vanilla syrup 12 g protein Lunch- 2 oz tuna mixed with grey Poupon 13 g protein and a few tiny baby carrots Snack- 1 Laughing Cow lite swiss cheese 3 g protein with 1 Wasa light rye crispbread Dinner- Boca Burger w a few spinach leaves 14 g protein and a thin slice of tomato Snack- Atkins Carb Advantage Mocha Latte 17 g protein 540 calories 86 g protein

I read meggie's article several weeks ago so I was prepared when my scale stopped moving. Today I had a 2 lb loss which is my first in 2 weeks...BUT the whole time my scale wasn't moving my clothes got looser and looser so I knew that I was losing. Just know that as long as you stick to your plan you can't help but lose...even those weeks when it's not reflected on the scale.

My pre-op diet was no-sugar added Instant Breakfast by Carnation...you'll find it in the Cereal aisle in any grocery store. It's not the highest in protein but it was tasty and it's what my nutritionist told me to drink. It comes in strawberry, vanilla and two kinds of chocolate. Hope this helps.

Welcome! There are lots of GRITS (girls raised in the south) on this forum and we know all about that southern cooking! Congratulations on your decision...it will change your life.

You look marvelous!

I am a psycho-recycler so I re-use my 16.5 oz water bottles. Every morning I fill them up (4 of them) with water, add my benefiber and sometimes something like crystal lite or a similar product. When I have finished the 4 bottles I have had my 64 oz of fluids. I can take 1 or 2 with me when I go out and about. It really makes it easy for me. To keep track of my protein and everything I eat I have an app on my phone called Calorie Count. Online it's caloriecount.com. There are numerous apps, but this one is free. It keeps track of your food as well as water, the amounts of protein, carbs, fat and all the other nutrients and vitamins. It tracks your weight and BMI. It has a huge database of foods, but you can also add your own custom foods. best of all...it's really easy to use!

I can't stand crystal lite either! I found some pomegranate green tea by Arizona. It comes in the little stick packets that you mix with 16 0z of water. It's very refreshing, not sickly sweet and of course 0 calories. I also like the Publix brand peach ice tea...it also comes in the little packets. As for the protein shakes I am still experimenting. I can tolerate the Atkins carb advantage shakes, but what I have been using lately is Designer Whey powder in french vanilla. I mix it in the blender with a cup of decaf, a little skim milk and sometimes a tablespoon of sugar free chocolate syrup. I also throw in a couple of ice cubes to make it cold , but I try to blend it on low so I don't get all the foam and air bubbles. I hope you find this helpful.

The same thing happened to me...I believe that it was the swelling and some water retention When I went in for my 2week post-op appointment I only weighed two pound less than the day of my surgery. At my 4 week appointment I was down 30 pounds. Hang in there, the pounds will start melting off before long!

Wow these are some great lists! Most of these things fall into the " stuff I wish I'd known before surgery" category for me. The only thing I can add is a tip that was extremely helpful for me and for those that came to my house to help me out a bit. I made some homemade soup (I made split pea because I wanted the protein and fiber) pureed it in the blender and froze it in ice cube trays, popped them out when they were frozen and stored them in a big plastic container in the freezer. Two cubes is about two ounces, and they thaw and heat in the microwave in about ninety seconds. I didn't have to worry about opening cans, mixing milk or water in it and there was just my little bowl and spoon to clean up. Hope this helps! Good luck with your surgery!!!!!

I ordered a sample package of Nectar protein drinks from mybariatricpantry.com and it is more like a juice drink than a shake...not thick at all. For $13.95 they will send you 10 different flavors...it has 27 grams of protein, 0 carbs and 0 fat. It is the best protein drink that I have tried so far. I sure hope you feel better soon!

I didn't drive for a couple of weeks, but it was because the seatbelt was so uncomfortable...also, I was pretty weak and didn't have the energy to go anywhere.

Good luck! I'll be sending positive thoughts your way...

Good luck...I'll be sending positive energy your way!