carolina girl

My NUT is part of the package with my bariatric surgeon. She deals specifically with bariatric patients. Not saying that what she recommends is the "gospel" but at least she is familiar with our kind. At 6 months her recommendations are: Calories- 800-1200/day Protein- 70-90/day Carbohydrate- Less than 100 grams/day Fat- about 35 grams/day Hydration- 64oz /day

If you have never worked out before and aren't familiar with proper form and function of the various exercises, Curves is a great program, If you have experience in the gym it may not be your thing. The equipment is designed to prevent injury from both doing exercises improperly and lifting too much weight too soon. The staff is knowledgeable and in my experience was very helpful. It is very "friendly" to a less experienced clientele. You won't have to worry about the muscle heads rushing you through your sets or taking forever to complete their 10 million sets like a typical gym. I say try it, you just might like it.

Congrats! I just registered for my first 5k on Dec. 3rd - can't wait to see how it goes. Keep up the good work

This week will be week 7 for me also. These are the foods I eat most often: 8oz soy milk with one scoop of nectar Protein powder and one scoop of click Protein Powder poured over lots of ice, it"s my version of iced coffee and it is yummy! string cheese edamame (soy beans) chicken/tuna/shrimp salad fish egg drop Soup scramble eggs w/ cheese pretty much i eat my protein first - ALWAYS. Rarely is there any room for anything else so pretty much only protein for now. I have discovered that my sleeve does not tolerate breading of any kind (ie: chicken tenders) which we really should avoid anyway.

I too had problems finding a protein that I could stomach. I tried several , including "Isopuke" as you call it, lol, that were just horrible. I ended up with Nectar as my everyday choice. It blends perfectly, not grainy. I mix it with light vanilla soy milk and add a few ice cubes to help water it down and keep it really cold at the same time. Nectar also has some fruity flavors that I like- Twisted cherry is my favorite, I mix it with water, ice and just a little dash of great value brand sf cherry drink mix. It has 25 grams of Protein, 0 carbs and 0 sugar, 100 calories in a serving (1 scoop). I agree with the advice someone else gave- go to the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC to buy protein and they will let you exchange it for something else if you don't like what you get. I've done it a few times at my local Vitamin Shoppe and have never had a problem. It is really important that you start to get some of your protein down soon though. It will be a few weeks or longer before you can get enough food to eat to cover all your protein needs. Best of luck to you in finding something that works.

Yes, my NUT recommends the same after the first month. For the first 4 weeks I was told less than 50gms of carbs, after week 4 we are told to up the carbs to 50 -100 gms a day, especially if you are working out on a regular basis. Maintenance phase moves you to 100-150 gms of carbs a day. Everything your NUT told you is true. The biggest difference is the type of carbs we should be eatting. It should be from complex carb sources, not quick burning carbs such as white flour products. Veggies and whole grains are the best sources of complex carbs.

I don't know my way around this BB very well apparently.. I didn't even know this post was here until just now! I was sleeved on the 29th of July. I didn't weigh myself until I went to the Dr. for my 2 week check up on the 11th, at that time I was 14lbs down from my day of surgery. I probably won't weigh myself again until I go to my next appointment on Aug. 25th. I am trying to focus on doing things right, following all the rules and not worry so much what the scale says. I followed the all liquids diet until my Dr. advanced me to pureed foods on the 11th. So far I'm not having any trouble eating my proteins, but I am really sick of protein drinks!!! I still feel shaky at some point during the day, almost as if my blood sugar is low. I am trying to just work my way through it. I go back to work on Monday so hopefully this shaky feeling will go away before too long. Over all I'm feeling pretty good. Best of luck to all the July Firecrackers, I look forward to keeping in touch!

According to the nutritional information I found on livestrong.com, a crystal light slurpee has nine grams of carbs. I guess you just have to plan for those carbs in your daily totals.

OK , no laughing here but I use preparation H cream around my eyes, the original oil of olay everywhere else on my face. I know it sounds weird but it works. Also sip, sip , sip that water! I'm forty one and no real crows feet yet- of course I've only lost 15 lbs so far, so maybe they"re waiting to surprise me soon!

Baby food is actually high in calories and carbs. It is intended to fatten-up those bambino's! I don't know if you've ever tasted baby food but .......YUCK! There is no way I could ever eat that stuff. Just stick with the basic high protein food choices and use the blender or food processor. My first pureed food was Wendy's chili run through the processor. It was delicious- but go slow it won't take but a couple of teaspoons to fill you up! Just make sure you add some type of moisture (broth or marinade) to your meats so they aren't dry- remember moist goes down better.

I too had a hiatal hernia - but mine was a para-esophageal hiatal hernia. Over half of my stomach was stuck up in my chest cavity. I also had trouble swallowing, this is how I found out I had the hiatal hernia. I had a problem with food betting stuck in my throat, sometimes for minutes (which seemed like hours) at a time. It kinda' freaked me out so I went to the Doc and they ordered an upper GI. Long story short, this is how I learned about VSG, the Dr. said that if they got in there to fix the hernia and any of the stomach tissue was strangulated they would have to remove a portion of my stomach so that I didn't develop infection from the dead or damaged tissue. I looked right at him and said "go ahead and take at least half of it- I eat way more than I should be able to now" he said "well actually, we could do that, have you ever heard of VSG?" I would say in my case it helped get me approved and for me it happened rather quickly. My Dr. did say that it wouldn't take any longer to recover, just that I would probably have a little more discomfort with deep breathing after surgery. That was indeed the only pain I really had, and even that wasn't bad after the first two days.

@BigSexxy: Oh, that is too funny- I read this and thought "that's right - you just wanna take that milkshake and french fries away from that baby!!! I know the feeling!lmao

Best of luck to you Toyia. This part of the process it rough, it ain't pretty at all!!! But the big picture... it's gonna be BEAUTIFUL! I keep telling myself this:)

Hey ya'll. Hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to share some observations/ experiences from my first week post-op. I came home last Saturday and was determined to meet all the requests of my Dr., bad idea. I tried to get in all my Protein and liquids - thats 48 oz of liquids which include the liquid I use to make my Protein shakes and 90 to 100 grams of protein. That's four or five, count em' 1,2,3,4 or 5 protein shakes. I made myself sick on day 2 and ended up throwing up almost a whole protein shake!! Do you have any idea how mad I was!!! It was enough to make a preacher cuss! SO lesson one- it is better to get in 75 grams of your protein without vomiting than to force that last cup of protein down and end up losing it all! I have been able to work up to this as the week has progressed but it has been a chore. On day three, my husband and I went to visit my mother-in-law ( who is just precious to me) for her birthday. Of course we stayed later than we planned and it was dinner time. My sister-in-law came over and cooked dinner for everyone. She made spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. For some strange reason it smelled awful to me. I know it wasn't awful, but it almost made me sick to smell it cooking!! Once it was made and everyone was sitting around with their plates, I thought that looks soooo goood!! I wasn't hungry, but I didn't quite know what to do with myself while everyone around me ate. It was a real challenge!!!! Lesson number two: plan for those times when everyone around you will be eating and drinking and having a good old time while you choke down protein. It will happen. Today i went with my mother aka "Paula Deen" and my youngest son to the aquarium. I was having a hard time getting my protein down this morning so I drank a premixed muscle milk for the first time for convenience sake and got it down pretty easy. Well, fast forward one building of the aquarium and the nature trail walk that leads to the next building and I find myself needing to get to a bath room (if you know what I mean) NOW!! I take care of business and think I'm on my way when we round the next corner on our way to the shark tank when BAM!!!!! it hits me again. I sprinted out and back to the little girls room for round two!! I don't know what caused this but......lesson number three: don't try a new Protein Drink when your going out for the day- it can be BAD...REAL BAD! We left the aquarium and of course the normal people with me need to eat. My mother loves "Bakers Crust" so off we go for a late lunch. Now you must know this about my mother, she LOVES food... probably more than me. She sits there and starts to read the details of the menu to me... OMG torture me!!! I finally look up and say "mother, would you mind reading that to your self maybe this time?" She says she's sorry that she forgot that I can't eat yet. REALLY MOM.. you forgot that a week ago today I finally went to a Dr. and had him cut out most of my stomach so I couldn't continue to kill my self with a fork!!! Of course I said "it's ok mother". lesson number four... If you have a mother, friend, cousin, etc. that loves food, It may be wise to limit your time with them while in the liquid phase of your diet!!!

Try getting some of your liquids from sugar free popsicles. I found out that it's much easier to get liquids in very slowly in the beginning. Don't worry too much over getting all your protein in the first couple of days- but make sure you do stay hydrated.

Today is actually my one week mark from surgery. I haven't gotten on the scales yet!!!! I said I wasn't going to get on the scale until I go back to the Dr. next Thursday. So... next Friday I will be ready for feel good Friday !!! Congrats to everyone here on being such big "losers"!

Wow... must be nice!! I want to have your NUT! My NUT says no food of any kind, only liquids and protein drinks that fall into the "less than 3gms" rule for two weeks, then pureed foods and protein drinks the third and fourth week and those pureed foods must be high protein foods; pureed meat, beans, eggs. I have noticed on here that every Dr./NUT has a different recommendation. A girl at work had the same surgery and her Dr/NUT only recommended 50 to 70gms of protein a day ,while mine says 90 to 100 gms. We were about the same weight and height so I'm trying to figure out why the big difference in our numbers. Whatever your NUT recommends just go with it. I wish you the best of luck in this crazy journey we're on!

I was just getting ready to ask a similar question. I was sleeved on the 29th of July and ever since my surgery my sense of smell has been multiplied x's 10!! It's not only my personal body odors, but everyone that I come in close contact with. If someone has had Italian food for lunch, I can smell 50 cloves of garlic. My birds cage never smelled to me before but now YUCK!!! Everything tastes different, protein drinks that I liked before surgery, I can't tolerate any more. I keep the worst taste in my mouth all the time. Any tips for the breath issue? I brush, floss and use Listerine and it comes right back in a few hours.

I'm sure it tastes great, but... it's got 44gms of sugar in a 12 oz serving along with 48gms of carbs. My doctor says "no no no" to protein drinks with more than 3gms of sugar and 3gms of carbs. This is the kind of protein drink meant for hard core athletes who would burn off the sugar and carbs in a normal workout, not so much for us trying to lose pounds, we've got to stay away from these.

Congrats Danielle86, celebrate every single pound!

the vitamin shoppe carrys it. I usually buy it online at amazon.com. most of the vendors on there have free shipping for orders over 25.00. Nectar usually runs about 33.00 for the large containers.

I was sleeved on the same day and while I have had plenty of gas, I haven't had too much pain from it. I have tried to walk as much as possible to help with the gas. What I do have a problem with is figuring out how to get all my protein and liquids in. The protein shakes I used pre-op now taste horrible to me. I feel like I am going to throw up every time I smell the protein. It seems that day 5 must be magical, everyone says day 5 things get better. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for day 5! I just hope it brings me relief.

You are right about one thing cinderall123, this is a huge step. I won't lie to you the last two days have been kinda rough, but if you read this bulletin board over and over again people say the same thing- despite the rough days, they would do this again every day. I am looking forward to the next phase myself. Best wishes to you in your journey. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hey Yall, I just wanted to let everyone know I did get sleeved yesterday and everything went well. I am home and of course very uncomfortable, but not in any real pain. I had a rather large hiatal hernia that had to be repaired as well. Dr said I've probably had it for years. The hardest part has been trying to take deep breaths- boy does that hurt! Also trying to learn how to drink is a challenge, it"s probably going to take a while to get this drinking thing down!

I will find one to do!!! I find my self reading your story and I feel like I'm right there beside you. I can just picture myself doing all this again one day! I'm going to start swimming after my two week recovery period is up. I haven't been in a pool in a long time and I think it will be a good place to start exercising again. I have been walking about three days a week for the last month or so. I will continue that too until I can start working up to a walk/jog and then walk/jog/run. I don't even own a bike but I have asked for one for my birthday (October) so maybe I can get something to get me started on. I get sleeved this Friday July 29th, wish me luck! Thanks again for sharing, can't wait to hear about your next adventure!