DebiC

On this forum I have seen where people have lost anywhere from 50 lbs to 300 lbs. So your weight is right in the middle of that. I personally had NO pain at all. And like the woman above said you can only drink fluids for a few weeks to allow your stomach time to heal. Then you begin re-eating gradually. My doctor allows us to eat a complete "normal" diet at 4 weeks-I haven't had any problems but some people become lactose intolerant. You need to consume lots of Protein and drink lots of fluids-so like a diet you need to keep track of what you eat and of course you will lose faster if you avoid sweets, fried foods, breads/pasta/rice. For me, I can only eat about 1/2 cup per meal (I have 3 meals a day-no snacks). After I consume the necessary protein, I can manage a few tablespoons of vegetables, but seldom have room for, or desire "filler foods". I am almost never hungry between meals. I have lost 60 lbs in 2 months. but I have a lot more to lose than you do so it comes off a little faster. I wish the sleeve had been available to me years ago, but I'm certainly glad I took advantage of it now. Good luck, and keep coming back to these forums for support and to ask whatever questions you have. Good luck.

Your topic says "double up on Protein powder". so are you doubling the powder or just reducing the Fluid? I have read of several people who double up on their protein powders (getting 50-60 grams per shake) to get it all in in one shake. It has been brought up several times that "Nutritionists and doctors have maintained for decades that "people can only digest 30 grams at a time of protein and any additional protein is wasted or converted to fat." . I haven't seen any research to back that up and don't have 100% confidence in everything the medical community says, but I think we are hear to learn to eat properly and healthily (is that a word). If you are just reducing the fluid, don't see anything wrong with that, would get it over with faster (personally would be happy if I never saw another protein shake again!)

Sleeve day-Nothing Days 1-14-full liquids including pureed soups/chili-protein shakes optional Days 15-30-soft foods (basically everything except fresh vegetables, nuts, rice/pasta, dry or tough meats) Day 31+ Full normal high protein/low fat diet limit carbs to 25 per meal

My doctor allows all foods at 4 weeks. I waited until about 5 weeks to do salads-he advises no iceberg (no nutritional value). As for rice. My doctor discourages all rice, Pasta, grains, bread. But I have eaten small amounts of rice. Had no problems with it. I am surprised at the number of doctors who advise their patients to wait until 8 or 12 weeks for solids. The medical community needs to get together and do some research so we could have some kind of a standardized time line.

My doctor is one of the Full liquids/soft foods/regular. He considers full to be shakes, pureed soups, jello, pudding. Soft is almost everything else except fresh veggies, nuts, and tough or dry meats. So his stages are kind of a mixture of the other doctors. I suggest you either ask your NUT or get one of the WLS cookbooks from your library to give you a more complete listing.

I use the WASA crisp breads. They are 20 calories for a cracker the size of a graham cracker. They are multigrain, but not a strong flavor.

Looking for a buddy who-like me-has a LOOOOONG way to go. I think that having to lose 250# is a WAY different journey than even losing 100#. I have lost 60# in two months-but you can't even tell. I am a 57 year old female. I live in Utah. I am 6' tall. I have been at my this-my highest weight for at least 20 years. Which means that for 20 years I haven't been able to go into a store to shop. Before I can go anywhere I have to take into account the seating arrangements, I seldom go into other peoples home or ride in their car. I graduated from college 2 years ago with a degree in Social Work, but would never think of even applying for a job until I lose a LOT more weight. I would love to have a buddy or two-male or female-who might have something in common. Debi

I weigh every two weeks. But that's only because I am still 12# over the highest my PCP's scale goes! But even when I am able to weigh on a regular scale I do believe in only weighing once a week. I think you get too discouraged when you weigh every day-and some here even weigh more often than that.

WHAT??? Do you mean to try and tell me I can't just put 3 scoops into my morning smoothy and eat crap the rest of the day? what's up with that?

Sharon-You do sound harsh-but you are also RIGHT on! Good advice for ALL of us. Sometimes we all need some Tough Love to keep us on track. It may not be what we want to hear-sometimes we want to be coddled. But coddling ourselves too much is what got us to this point. So Emma's mom-These may not have been the answers you hoped for-But we are all here to support you. We all want you to succeed, just as much as we want to succeed ourselves. Please let us know how you decide to deal with this and how it works out for you.

Any soft or mushy should be OK at this stage (I assume you mean the stage between full liquids and normal). Cooked-non fibrous vegetables. Moist meats (chicken, tuna) Shaved deli meats (turkey, ham) cottage cheese, yogurt (particularly Greek), eggs, low fat cheese, Peanut Butter, Beans (refried) One of my faves is to cook up a couple frozen meatballs in spaghetti sauce. Top with shredded Italian cheese and broil until cheese is melted. The thing to remember is that when you dish up your food, you will think that you have taken a super small portion, and then you will find you can only eat a portion of that! Starting out you can probably only eat 1/4-1/2 cup. Since the portions I was eating were so small I splurged on quality. Fruits, deli meats, special cheeses. If you enjoy Protein powder check out eggfaces web site. she has loads of recipes include WLS friendly ice creams, baked goods and egg dishes. Good luck. And enjoy being able to eat again while watching yourself get smaller and smaller.

Yes, Pre-op is not fun (but neither is being overweight!) but you will get through it. Then very quickly it will be nothing but a vague memory! Everything is so exciting after the surgery-getting used to so much new stuff-knowing you did something to help yourself. And then the actual losing part starts! Just take it one day at a time and remember that it's only two weeks and you can do anything for two weeks. Keep coming to the forums and share your good and your bad. So glad you are taking this step to improve your life and your health. Best of luck. Enjoy Vegas!!

So sorry to hear that. At least it was found early. Hang in there and keep us informed what is going on.

Gastric Bypass is not reversible. Gastric bypass also often leads to nutritional deficiencies that can cause severe health complications. While you may initially lose weight faster with bypass, in the long run bypass and VSG have the same results. The hospital stay with VSG is shorter. You don't have dumping syndrome with VSG. With VSG you can eat more normally than with either bypass or lapband. These are just a few of the reasons for choosing VSG over Bypass

I have found I don't have room for sweets after eating my proteins and veggies. I am not a sugar free person-nor a no sweets person. So when I do indulge it is the real thing and just one bite or so before bed. That way I'm not tempted to have more. It is usually one bite of ice cream or a 25 Calorie piece of a specialty dark chocolate.

I haven't let things go quite as bad, but have had a few minor issues. I have ended up just throwing out the food that was causing me problems. But that doesn't solve the husband/dinner/meal problems. Sabotage is very common. Not just with WLS surgery but any type of change a spouse makes. The person fears that if their spouse changes, that they won't love them any more or that the relationship will suffer. Unfortunately, this really does happen sometimes. Can you talk to your husband about this. Maybe you two can work together on some meal plans? These meals aren't healthy for your child(ren) in the long run. I know exactly what it's like to have a non supportive husband. That's part of why I kept my weight on for sooo long. He's not around now and I am only surrounded by supportive family and friends. I don't have a solution for you, other than to find a way to put matters in your control. Your child will not die if you don't buy him/her treats that also appeal to you. Find some healthier Snacks or snacks he likes but not you. Fix your own dinners if you have to and let your husband continue to cook for himself and the family. There are a lot of simple things you could cook. Even just buying lean cuisine type meals, while not the best option, would still be better than eating fried chicken and sausage. If you need some ideas for super easy things you can prepare for yourself, check out eggface's website, look through the forums or please contact me and I will be happy to help you come up with some ideas. I don't want to see you fail after all the hard work it took to get this far. And especially while you are so young. I hate to see anybody stay big for as long as I did because they didn't know how to make it work. Best of luck to you.

My doctor allows regular foods after 4 weeks. I have been on several cruises before and it really is possible to make your cruise WLS friendly. If you eat in the dining room (as opposed to the buffet) you can request exactly what you wish to eat and will have many more WLS type options. For Breakfast there is always eggs cooked however you would like, and you can ask for skim milk. Tell your waiter that you don't want bread and he will remember and not continually offer it to you. Main meal menus almost always offer a beef, a chicken, a seafood and a vegetarian offering. If none of those seem right, you can ask for something else. Worse they can do is say NO. Portions in the dining room are generally small, you can always order just an appetizer and that would most likely fill you up. If you enjoy seafood that is usually your best choice. There are usually several Soups available. Stay away from fresh vegetables and fruits at this point as they could be harmful to your sleeve this early out. Some ships have deli's-you could order a sandwich with shaved meats and just eat the meat and cheese. Cottage cheese is usually available at every meal and so are things like mashed potatoes, applesauce and other "soft" foods that will be good for your tummy. If you feel you absolutely MUST have a dessert they usually have several that are sugarfree. I think the hardest thing will be when you realize just how little you can eat (that old-My eyes are bigger than my stomach-syndrome). You will find this early out that you will most likely feel completely full after only 2 or 3 bites-so choose those bites carefully to get the most benefit and enjoyment from the foods you do eat.

While I don't intentionally eat low carb-it just happens that way. My doctor says to stay about 20-30 carbs PER MEAL. I don't even count. After I eat protein, then veggies there is seldom any room left. I do on occasion eat half of a sandwich thin (whole wheat) or a WASA crisp bread. But I have found lately that I would rather have more vegetables and some fruit than a slice of bread. I thought I would feel deprived from the no pasta/rice/bread rule. But I really don't.

I had about 24 staples. They gave me the tool to take home and said I could remove them myself-proving it's not a big deal. However, I had an appointment with my PCP so I asked him to do it. I was about 2 weeks out. There was some tugging, but not pain (and I'm a big baby when it comes to pain). The tool looked like a staple remover.

Indymom-Thanks. I just looked it up and it sound fabulous. I bet it would make a great chicken marinade too.

I see that some people eat 3 meals and a snack or 6 meals-And I just wondered how that works? I eat 3 meals a day 4 hours apart which is what my doctor wants. When I eat a meal I am full and then there is no way I can eat anything again for the full 4 hours. I've tried moving it up by 30 min or an hour and I could barely swallow a bite. So how do you work in 6 meals? Or when could you fit in a snack? I don't do Protein shakes so each meal is an actual meal. I don't want to change my plan, I'm just curious about why our sleeves act so differently.

Yeah! The first step is always the hardest. Just keep remembering what the end goal is and hang in there.

My doctor graduates us to soft foods at 2 weeks and a regular diet at 4 weeks. Soft foods was basically anything except fresh veggies. Then at 4 weeks add in fresh veggies (except celery, corn) You just really want to be careful and remember that your sleeve is still healing. The food may go down OK and you may feel OK, but your tummy just might not be ready to handle some of the things we want to eat. This part only lasts a few weeks, so if you are going to go faster than your doctor advises, at least take care that you don't eat things (dry, tough meats, nuts, breads/pasta, fibrous foods etc) that could end up harming you.

6 weeks out. I can still only manage about 2oz Protein and then a few tablespoons of veggies. Egg and 1 slice bacon or a sausage for Breakfast. Some meals a little more-some times 2 bites and I'm done. Tonight I had 1.5 oz of small meatballs-1/4 steamed zucchini slices and about 1/4 cup Pasta sauce. Ate it all. But didn't need more. I wouldn't worry about it unless you are not getting enough protein.

Personally I can't see where you would be able to lose another 62 lbs! You look so good already. Congratulations!