Katie713

A good chewable multi-Vitamin, B12 sublingual 1000 mg., D3 1000 chewable to start. Your multi vitamin should have some Iron otherwise you may need a chewable iron as well 18mg. If you don't like the chewable Vitamins that are tablets, kind of like sweet tarts, then get gummy vitamins. You add calcuim citrate after 30 days. Isopure is a clear Protein drink you can get at Vitamin Shoppe or GNC, even Rite Aid carries it. It counts as a liquid in your daily liquid intake. Also get sugar free drinks, teas, and broth, maybe sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello. After a few days you can start with thinned out hot Cereal, creamy Soups and Protein shakes. Alot of people like the Premier shakes from costco. Good luck!!

Good Luck! By now you've probably already had your surgery. Come back and visit the group so we know how you're doing!

You have to space it out during the day. I used to do it something like this.... First thing: Cup of hot decaf chai tea with PPI 30-60 min later: Breakfast - Thinned out hot Cereal like cream of wheat Mid Morning: Protein shake 8 oz Vitamins Half hour before lunch: Iced decaf green tea 8 oz Lunch: Creamy soup 1/2 cup SF Jello (if still hungry) Mid Afternoon: Protein Shake 8 oz. 30-60 min before Dinner: Crystal Light and PPI Dinner: Creamy soup Evening: SF jello or Diet Hot chocolate Hope this helps!

I'm going to agree with ShapeShifter here. When you are tracking, you start to see the impact of your diet on your weight loss, along with other things like your nutritional status once you have your labs done, hair loss, energy levels, etc. If my carbs are too high, I stop losing, even though my calories might be low. Regardless of the mechanics of my body - I can see it in black and white. Reduce the carbs, lose weight. I've gotten out of every plateau the same way, even if I increase my calories. I love many of my old favorite foods and find ways to incorporate them into my new little sleeve life. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. But yes, everything in moderation. When I hit my goal, I will consider adding those items that hindered me from my initial weight loss. Time goes so fast too....it's worth the discipline for ME.

Rest assured, this is totally normal to be nervous before surgery and maybe a part of ourselves is afraid to totally commit to the process. No going back and all that. I worried a bit about having complications, then I thought back on previous surgeries, including 3 C-Sections, gallbladder removal, and a leg injury surgery....and all of those surgeries went well - I know that I heal well and tolerated general anethesia well, so my fears were just limiting my ablilty to go into this with a totally positive attitude. I just started picturing myself healthy, seeing myself being wheeled out from recovery, hearing the nurses telling me that all was ok, and that is exactly how it went. Hardly any pain, able to walk up and down the halls, tolerating liquids the next day and being discharged as planned. What you are doing is committing to your good health. YOU can do this, tap into your own well of strength and know that this is the beginning of something wonderful.

I am battling these last two pounds to get to ONEDERLAND. So far I have been feeling good and do not regret my decision to have the surgery. Eating still presents some challenges, some things my sleeve cannot tolerate. I hate finding that out a few bites in...that it will not work out...and then having to feel uncomfortable until the offending item is digested. For awhile I was having a really hard time with solid protein for dinners, had many evenings of vomiting. I switched to easy to digest/soft foods for evening and that helped. I have a nice solid protein at lunch and that works well. Fish is my #1 food right now, it always goes down easy and so I have been enjoying lots of ceviche and shrimp cockail, scallops, talapia, etc. I go back and forth with carbs. I had company for two weeks, and the crackers and chips found their way back into my cupboards. I have cleaned them out and working to get back to my under 40 carbs per day. Hopefully that will kick in soon so I can get into the 100's.

I was so busy trying to get in all my fluids, Protein shakes and meals in that I was able to address my hunger early on. Full fluids included creamy thinned out cereals in the morning and creamy Soups. So I would basically start my day with hot tea and take my PPI, wait about 30 minutes and have about 1/2 cup of cream of wheat or malt-o-meal thinned out, then about an hour after that have as much beverage as I could tolerate, then a Protein shake, and an hour after that it would be time for lunch, 1/2 cup of cream Soup, then I might have a SF Jello....later in the afternoon some diet iced tea, then another protein shake....then dinner (more creamy soup) and maybe some diet chai tea in the evening and another SF jello. It did seem like I was always eating or drinking something...but that helped to get in my protein and liquids and it help in dealing with hunger because my new little tummy was never really empty. It does get better after you move to solids but I still eat little Snacks and I would say I eat more like 6 little meals - something every two hours or so. I factor in calories, protein, fats, carbs....a snack might just be a cheese stick or a couple of nuts or a Protein Bar. In this way I am addressing my hunger directly and not letting myself get into a binge mode. By the way, I am 14 weeks out.

Atkins is actually very effective for quick and dramatic weight loss. You can get all the info on their website. You'll do 2 weeks of induction for maximum loss and then what they call ongoing weight loss. This diet works well for many men, as you can still have enough food to stay full...as you probably know, this is a very low carb diet. Good Luck!

I have heard of life-long problems with the gastric bypass which is probably because of malapsorbtion issues. There is also the factor that you still have your stomach tissue (fundus) in your body generating ghrelin - the hunger hormone. Many people I personally know lose weight like crazy - then gain it all back and their stoma (stomach pouch) is all stretched out. Your profile indicates a body type much like my own. I am around 5 feet tall and my highest weight was almost 280. I have done great with the sleeve and will soon be in ONEDERLAND. It works!!!

Whole grain crackers and pistachio's !!

What a great dialogue this thread stimulated! A myriad of things come to mind when I think about my ongoing weight loss journey. Tonight I am going to the Hollywood Bowl for a summer concert under the stars, to see Smokey Robinson. I am looking forward to the music of course, and hanging out with my girlfriends - but I am also looking forward to being able to walk that hill without feeling like I am going to pass out. Last year, I went to the same concert with some friends, and I used to huff and puff up the little hill that takes you into the venue site - I would always ask to stop at the restrooms at the mid-way point, even if I didn't have to use the restroom - I just needed to catch my breath! I would then get a few paper towels and moisten them to be able to cool myself off by the time we would get to our box seats. You know how it is or used to be, when you would stop walking - the heat in your body would just build up...and sweating was soon to follow. I can easily walk for miles now and I am nearly 75 pounds lighter than last summer...this is a milestone in my journey - oh how I used to wish I didn't have to go through the shame of being so overweight and out of shape! Well this is my little victory walk tonight! That's a NSV (non scale victory)! I was also thinking about the mechanics of the post-op hormonal changes that take place, one the decrease of the hormone ghrelin, but also what I think may be a change in our natural reward centers revolving around the eating process and the release of dopamine and serotonin - our natural feel good chemicals, many of which are released during the eating process. The process of eating pre-op without limitation offerred us more than the reward of just getting full, the "feel good" hormones were soon to follow, and that reward kept us coming back over and over. Feeling bad, lonely, frustrated....bring on the food. Feeling joyful, elated, excited...bring on the food. What I have noticed without the food binge opportunity, is that my reward isn't the same, whether it is because we are comsuming so much less, or whether the balance of hormones has changed, it is different. I think this is why so many say that eating is more of a chore than a pleasure. Also, once you experience a negative side effect of eating something you cannot tolerate, it sends the body a powerful aversion to that behavior which is held in our memory bank. This stuff is all probably instinctive, to prevent humans from consuming things that were toxic. But, hey...it works! The other side of this is that "feel good" hormones are coming from different strategies for me now. Feeling like I have a "can do" attitude makes me soar. Feeling good in my clothes is a secret little joy. Having control over my eating makes me proud of myself. I still enjoy cooking and I still enjoy food - I mean we need it to survive...but I don't turn to it first to make me HAPPY anymore. I get out more, I can do more physically, and I just keep feeling better and better about this decision I made ! Good luck DeterminedGirl !!

I'm 3 months out and I can eat 3/4 of a 6" flatbread at Subway. I very rarely eat bread at all, but once in awhile it is nice to have a little sandwich!!

Been going on for a while with me since pre-op dieting and going down to 1200 calories. After surgery it's continued but I have a lot of new hair growth too, I cut my hair shorter so I am not dragging the brush down the length of my hair, that helped. My hair is still ok - I can still style it so it looks healthy and even my stylist said it's doing ok, just be gentle to minimize the loss. I do take Biotin with my B-Complex and always get my protein in.

Glad I didn't have to give up my salsa & guacamole! Still my faves!!

Me too! I've got to try these!

Low carbing can be tricky - but you can have an omelette for Breakfast, perhaps a salad for lunch or a Protein style burger, fish or chicken for dinner with veggies, or make some fajitas without the tortilla...who can pass up on grilled onions and peppers with some good steak, or how about something on a skewer, like beef with cherry tomatoes, onions & peppers? Taco salad is good, seasoned ground beef on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and cheddar on top with some salsa. Snacks....beef jerkey, pork rinds, cheese sticks So many options...don't stress, you can do this!!

I was actually able to get all my fluids and protein requirements during those first few days on clear liquids. I was drinking 1 1/2 bottles of Isopure, in a large cup with ice, to just sip,sip,sip. I added chicken broth and beef consomme for my lunch and dinner to increase the protein and for variety. Started every morning with hot vanilla chai decaf tea and just totally got on board with the process. By day 3 post-op I moved on to full liquids/shakes and have stayed with Pure Protein as my staple (I buy one tub a month) as I drink 1 shake per day and I have protein bars in the afternoon plus what I get from regular foods.

Congrats! You're doing a great job!! Keep up the good work!!

Perhaps it is swelling near the esophagus. It takes time for the swelling to recede. Keep an eye on your symptoms, and if it becomes worse of very painful, put a call in to your surgeon's office. Some people do experience strictures which is scar tissue which sometimes causes a severe narrowing in the new stomach and it usually dealt with by stretching the stricture with balloon like device. Not trying to scare you, it might just be that you still need healing and things will soon pass without problem. Are you able to drink your fluids once the pain passes? Does it hurt every time you sip, or just at first? Once in awhile I go through something similar, I am 3 months out and eat solids but once in awhile it feels like I get this constriction after my first few bites like my stomach has clamped down and then I have to wait it out for a bit and then it seems to relax enough that I can resume and slowly eat. I would say try that as well for the meantime, go really slow and then stop and let your stomach relax and then see if you can resume. Good Luck!!

Just wondering if those of us who are already in menopause are sensing that losing weight even with VSG is more of a struggle than if we had done it at a younger age? It is so delightful to me to be past that time in my life and when I read of those who are struggling with that "TOM" and the associated Water retention/weight gain, I am grateful to not have to deal with that on top of the challenges of our new way of living. I do feel that my metabolism is slower that it used to be and I am a slow loser, but slow and steady and I feel better than I did in my 30's as I am much lighter on my feet and I feel more like my younger self. Interested to know what your take might be on this....

I was so worried about the darned hospital gown fitting, because as most big girls know when you go to the doctor and have to put one on, you really needed two one in front and one like a robe! I was so surprised when I was in the pre-op ward, I was given my gown and it was HUGE. Really HUGE, not because I had lost weight, they were huge because of our prevailing patient size. Oh....the little miracles : )

It's tricky for sure. I just made sure everything was very soft and saucy if that makes sense. I made mashed potatoes and then added a can of white/dark canned chicken to a jar of chicken gravy and had that. I made cream of tuna with a basic white sauce and added a can of drained tuna and frozen peas, and had that in a little bowl. All soups can be pureed, they have a balance of protein and veggies. There is no easy way to separate your food at this point, don't go crazy trying to do that. In a few weeks you will do that much easier with solids. Just make sure protein is a main factor in your combinations. You can puree chili beans and they taste just as good, and some people puree soft roast beef with roasted veggies. Refried beans with melted cheese and sour cream on top. Find a few things you like the taste of ok and rotate them.

I made the 10% by the time I went to my consult with the surgeon, but not before ending the Options classes and I was still referred to the surgeon. Some others I know were still given surgery even though they did not meet the 10%. I agree, for most surgeons, they probably want to make sure you are trying, and that you can be compliant.

Ricky.... for sure, it is nice to have a place to just talk about whatever is on your mind rather than asking a specific question you need help with...it can tend to be very subject (thread) based dialogue. But just chatting between WLS friends means alot and that is the building of the community!! How are you doing on your journey?? Katie

I am going to Trader Joe's after work to get some good healthy food. They have teriyaki chicken in the frozen foods that is only 150 calories a serving and it tastes so good, and some brown rice, perhaps I will only have 2 tablespoons, but it is a whole grain carb not empty carbs. I will also be looking for other tasty frozen and fresh Entrees that might work well for us sleevers!! My friend was visiting for 2 weeks and I didn't lose weight while she was here, so now I have to get back to being really strict and get this ball rolling again!!