Matt Z

Firstly, Congrats! Second, You won't be able to tell that you are missing part of your stomach, you just can't feel it. With my bypass, I can't tell that my stomach is now in 2 pieces. For vitamins and the hospital bag, use the search feature, there are hundreds of posts about these things.

I've been using the PatchMD Patches, I buy the Band pack because I don't need the extra iron. The Sleeve pack has a Multivitamin, B12 and a D3 with Calcium. I also take a once a week 50,000 IU Vitamin D and a daily 10,000 IU Vitamin D. I also take 10,000 IU of Biotin and a dose of chewable fiber in the morning. That's it.

I'm going to start doing a slightly modified 8-6 format IF (you eat between 8am and 6pm) so it's a 14:10 fast/food ratio, starting this coming Monday. The modification is going to be the coffee I drink at 5ish every morning on work days. But all "food" will be consumed within the times allotted.

Congrats on your loss!

Yes, it's normal. As we lose weight, our Basal Metabolic Rate drops as well. Not many people pay attention to their BMR.

One of my big major NSV was being able to walk into Kohls and buy stuff right off the rack without having to worry if it would fit... Or when I recently decided to try out a pair of size 36 pants... and they fit. They looked horrible, all my fat and saggy skin was visible, but, I haven't been able to button a pair of 36s in more than 15 years... maybe longer! Such an amazing feeling being able to do "normal" things right!

Do you want to need them again? Try to avoid this type of logic, stick with "I refuse to need this size again".

This is actually VERY common and is one of the things they watch for during the pre-op psych eval, because they know this happens. I went through it as well. Had some crazy moments where I was like.. WTF did I do. Also, it is reversible. It doesn't happen often, and only under extreme cases, but it *CAN* be reversed since nothing was taken out, just split and reassembled. Don't worry about it, seriously, don't worry about it. The "dangers" and statistics are skewed with old data from older versions of the surgery. The surgery has come a VERY long way since it started. You'll get back to feeling better / normal as you heal and as things change. You'll be very happy in a few weeks, just wait it out and make sure you do your very best!

At 5 weeks I was on soft solids, so no chicken yet unless it was pureed. It's possible you've got a esophageal stricture and having that checked isn't a bad idea.

I was approved by my surgeon, head nurse, head pharmacist and my nutritionist to try them out. I'm coming up on my 6 month labs so I'll have more information about longer term usage then. But my 3 month labs were all within normal ranges expect for my Vitamin D, but I live in New England and I work IT... so my Vitamin D intake is nill to begin with. But every other tested level was within normal ranges.

I hope you realize that to burn 300 calories with just walking you'll need to walk, at around a 3.5 mph pace for a full hour straight without stopping. Drinking wine when you are only 3 weeks out is just daft. You are not healed, there is a reason why they tell folks not to drink for a minimum of 6 months, and it's not just extra calories. I see SO much wrong with your current process. 3 weeks out you should still be on pureed foods, no protein bars or soft solids yet and I would have doubts with any doctor or nutritionist that's approved drinking wine this soon out of surgery, but that's assuming you asked your doctor or nutritionist if you can drink wine yet.

The pre-op liquid diet *IS* the liver *shrinking* diet. Not everyone has loose stools on this diet, I wouldn't try to force yourself into loose stools just because someone told you it could happen. If you are having problems moving, sure, but trying to meet a potential outcome just because, isn't really super smart. So again, if you are moving normally and aren't having issues, then don't worry about it. If you are backed up, THEN it's understandable.

I use Whey, Soy or Pea during the day, and Casein before bed.

You've created a profile already, which is what you used to post. You are unable to modify that profile because the apps do not have the same features as the website... a fact which I've been trying to get them to fix for some time now. Get on a real computer and log in and you'll be able to make the changes you need to.

Congrats and Good luck! Pre-op diet sucks but it really does set you up for a better experience post-op.

Something that so many people miss too, is that, you CAN lose body fat and not lose any weight. There have been so many times where I've stalled out, stayed the same weight or even gained a bit and my body fat % would continue to reduce. It's called Weight Loss Surgery, but it really should be called Fat Loss Surgery.

You'd be surprised. Just because someone is a doctor, doesn't mean they are correct. *ALL* Whey is sourced from Cow Milk. Whey concentrate and Whey Isolate are processed differently and Isolate is a much more pure form of the protein and has most (if not all) lactose removed from it. But, it's all still sourced from the exact same location. The statement of staying away from milk protein, but use whey, is just an incorrect statement from start to finish, that's like saying, Stay away from H2O, make sure to drink DiHydrogen Monoxide. They are the same thing.

It's not "just you" but it's still not a healthy mental state at all. Long haul not quick trip.

You realize that Whey *is* from Cow's Milk right?

I'm going to second the Isopure, they even have a natural chocolate version, they are very tasty. Muscle Milk is really good, but you need to watch the calories and sugars in some versions, just read labels. Gold Standard makes some great flavors as well.

I had a few dumping episodes of varying degrees early on, however now, being close to 6 months out... I'm finding that I can eat a bunch of things I really wish I couldn't without any dumping when you'd think there would be. Some folks call me lucky, I don't think I'm lucky. Now I have to worry about the will power to not stuff.... like my youngest brought home a new flavor Oreo cookie. I had 1 serving (2 cookies) and expected to have to pay for it... yet, nothing happened. Then I ate 4 of them the next day expecting SOME form of negative feedback... still nothing. Dumping sucks, but it's that sucky feeling that I was hoping for to help assist with the whole cognitive reassignment associating those foods as "bad" and it's just not happening any more. Just wanted to provide my experience with dumping and let you all know that, it doesn't always stay the same, what I dumped on early on, I no longer dump on.

General rule of thumb is "No NSAIDS" and Naproxen, is an NSAID. That said, I've also been told that limited usage *should* be ok. I don't like "shoulds" personally so, I avoid NSAIDS completely.

The **ONLY** thing that would cause less weight loss would be consuming more calories... or its just that the bars, stick around longer because they are "food" and not a "drink". In the long run though, neither on their own adjust ones weight loss simply because one is solid and the other isn't.

For your first question, gas doesn't cause weight gain, but all the swelling and fluid retention from surgery sure does. everyone is different, but you should see some reduction as you start to heal up, usually a week or so. Surgery, caloric intake changes, stress, diet changes, medication, all can cause vision changes. With this, you are just going to have to deal with no wearing contacts until everything sorts itself out.

This is the type of post I like seeing about Stalls. The "I researched and was prepared"... Very happy to see someone able to breeze through what is typically a very stressful situation. Congrats!