Matt Z

Congrats!

In this situation, you can drink to clear it. They tell you not to drink while eating as to not force the food through or cause any expansion, but in a situation like this... you can drink to clear the blockage. My bigger question is, why are you eating real foods only 3 weeks out of surgery? Most folks are on puree's for a full month before moving over to soft solids, then normal foods.

Pretty much most places offer some form of samples, sometimes you just have to ask, this includes Brick and Mortar locations as well.

2 shakes should get you to or above 50 grams of protein alone.

Can you tell me exactly how you know they won't work for the OP? I've been on them like 7 months now and they are working just fine for me, as per my doctor and my labs, not just my personal opinion.

That sucks, but at least you've got a light at the end of that tunnel. My mother was denied outright because of an esophageal issue she has, she's unable to have *ANY* WLS at all because of it.

Everyone's weight loss is different. But weight loss does and will slow down as you get smaller. This is because your BMI is reducing as you age and as you get lighter. So the amount of calories you were burning 7 weeks ago, is higher than it is right now.

Tried to keep it up this weekend... but didn't do all that great. Long, stressful, emotionally trying weekend. Ate like an a*****e... but, I'm still down .5 lbs this morning so... yay? Back on the horse we go!

Work to cut out all added and extra sugars. Work to reduce your caffeine needs. Work to increase your water intake shooting for 128 oz +. Best mental trick for me. Remember all the reasons you want the surgery. Understand that things will get tough, but you will make it through. Physical, this one is tough because we mostly all started out pretty heavy, unhealthy and inactive. Starting to get into the habit of using the stairs, or going to the gym beforehand can help. Best emotional cooping, I faced all my "issues" head on, knowing that down the line, I'm going to be around things I used to be able to eat but can't anymore, that my comfort foods might not be viable, facing down the issues for me helped me get over them, I'd be faced with something like, the candy isle at the store, I'd walk down and look at all the goodies and I'd think, "that's tasty, but it almost killed me. That's my favorite, but it helped make me fat and I don't like being fat." Stuff like that. It's not easy, but it worked well for me. Look for swaps. Things that will replace certain food items to help you with cravings. For me, Ice Cream is a must, but eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's doesn't fit into my diet nor should it, but Halo Top does. I can't eat the whole pint any longer, but even if I did, the Halo Top is max 320 calories, where as those Ben and Jerry's are upwards of 1300. Finding little changes from unhealthy to healthy really do help. I snack on protein based snacks now, for sweet cravings, Fruits do the trick, etc etc.

Suffer through it. There really isn't anything you can do that's 100% proven effective for all.

To highlight how absurd the "what if" game is, think about all the what if's you don't care about. What if you choke on your breakfast? What if you trip and fall while brushing your teeth? What if a plane crashes into your house? What if your car explodes? I mean, you can what if ANYTHING, even stuff that's just absurd. The what if's for going into surgery are just as absurd. You can't control any of it, you've got the most experienced people possible performing the surgery, in a hospital, so... if anything WAS to go wrong, you couldn't be in a better place for it to happen to you. Anxiety and fear are normal. Don't worry about being worried.

Congrats and good luck!

It's actually VERY easy to do. The sleeve is ONLY a restrictive surgery, so, anything that passes or "slides" through the sleeve without providing any restriction... is very easy to eat and overeat with, it's called a "Slider food" and it's something sleeved folks need to be careful with. With a purely restrictive procedure, you can easily "eat around" it. Nothing is stopping those with the band or sleeve from drinking milk shakes all day every day. People gain weight because they stop paying attention, They stop tracking, They stop working with the surgery.

Here is where you weigh out the risks. I bet the risk of getting reactive hyperglycemia is a lot lower than the risk of weight related heart issues, diabetes, knee and back issues... etc etc etc. So, weigh out the risks and make the call. Personally, some ultra rare issue that almost no one experiences... isn't enough of a risk to outweigh all the things that WILL happen if one continues to be overweight.

Ok, final totals for today Today: Woke up at 0450 0515 coffee with a splash of fat free milk and a splash of sugar free sweetener/creamer - unknown, 50 calories maybe? 0800 1 Larabar - 200 calories 1030 1 bag of Kay's Protein Kruncheeze chips - 130 calories Missed lunch... Thanks work.. 1500 - Just the cheese, Cheese bars, 150 calories 1730 1/4 of a meatball wrap (I think I ate maybe 1.5 meatballs, whatever cheese, wrap and sauce was in that, no way to gauge calories really, but lets shoot high and say...) 250 calories? So, I'm now past 6pm, so no more food for me today if I stick to my guns, that puts me at around 780 calories or so intake and my fitbit is reporting 2073 calories of burn as of this moment.

It's called "Dumping syndrome" And it's widely known, that terminology for it is what's odd. What causes dumping syndrome? Dumping syndrome is caused by problems with the storage of food particles in the stomach and emptying of particles into the duodenum. Early dumping syndrome results from rapid movement of fluid into the intestine following a sudden addition of a large amount of food from the stomach. Late dumping syndrome results from rapid movement of sugar into the intestine, which raises the body's blood glucose level and causes the pancreas to increase its release of the hormone insulin. The increased release of insulin causes a rapid drop in blood glucose levels, a condition known as hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

Yea maybe your right I need more water, I just notice that because I am very constipated. Thanks Almost everyone neglects the importance of proper hydration. Also, make sure you are getting enough fiber, if not, supplement! I take fiber supplements every morning because a protein heavy diet isn't great with the required amounts of fiber.

I was 33 when I got the band. 38 when I had the band removed and was revised to the bypass. Best thing I ever did, wish I went with the bypass back in 2011... but I was afraid of the commitment with the bypass, and that logic bit me in the ass. I didn't want a permanent change... so I didn't get permanent results. I waited the time I did, because things progressed to the point where I needed to do something. I was heavy as a kid, lost weight through high school, joined the military, gained a bunch then from doing some very bad weight loss things. Got out and then just couldn't get my weight under control. When I hit 370, I knew it was time for SOMETHING. I was not going to allow myself to hit 400... EVER.

Just my 2 cents, but personally, I would pick the bypass over the sleeve. I had the band, that worked a bit then issues, revised to the bypass because of the band scaring. But the sleeve is also just a restrictive procedure and doesn't have the same nutritional reduction that the bypass has, so, you can totally eat around the sleeve, just like the band. You can work against the bypass, but you can't "eat around it" (eating sliders and all the bad for you foods that just pass through the reduced stomach size). Again, my opinion on the subject, there have been plenty of people that have the sleeve and love it. There are a decent number that had it and need to be revised to the bypass now. Either way though, if you work with your WLS tool, you'll hopefully get the outcome you are looking for. I wish I never had the band, wish I went with the bypass back in 2011.

I've got a FitBit Aria and I do like it. But if you don't have a FitBit already, there might be other options that are much cheaper. @AshAsh1 what was the name and link to that scale on Amazon that you are using?

What's a "ton" of water exactly? If it's not upwards of 128oz... it's not enough. Are you taking any electrolytes? Are you consuming lots of salts?

I guess I'm confused. You thought you were going for the Bypass, but then you state you can't get the Bypass at your hospital, if the bypass wouldn't give you the benefits of the free surgery, why did you want to put in for it in the first place? There are a decent number of folks that have gotten the sleeve and then had to revise to the bypass or to band over sleeve. If you've got GERD or other acid issues, the sleeve isn't going to be the option you want.

LOL when I first read my apnea report I was like... "arousals... oh man, is that why they asked me if I had any dreams?" I was starting to get a bit embarrassed then I was like.. duh, they mean waking up/not sleeping/falling out of REM. But then I started thinking, these nurses get paid to watch people sleep... the amount of "nocturnal arousals" they have witnessed must number in the hundreds of thousands. That's a lot of timber to behold LOL

Seems like it has something to do with the viewers own personal mindset...