Chimera

Oh wow - looks like there are some great recipes there, thanks so much for sharing the link

We have really had to adjust to get used to this as well - I had my first restaurant meal last week - a 7 oz. sirloin that I worked on for days - was eating it each meal and I still couldnt finish it before I couldnt stand how 'leftover' it had become lol. The first few weeks I feel like I threw out tons of food - now I am using the freezer more and realizing my husband and I just cant eat that much - it helps having a 16 year old who has dubbed herself "The Black Hole" because she is happy to eat our meal leftovers - she is not overweight but has lost a few lbs. herself with no carbs or sugar in the house - well, except for low fat tortillas, we don't eat those and she likes them. I think it takes a little bit for our brains to catch up to the fact we won't be able to eat that much - it is such an ingrained habit to cook a mountain of volume - even cooking normal portions is too much - just gotta keep practicing

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Very exciting! Surgery day can be scary, but it is the best day ever

Go girl! That is awesome I began with 188 excess to lose to achieve goal, with some big milestones approaching. Congratulations on your hard work and success, you look beautiful

Fat isnt the problem - carbohydrates are Atkins is excellent - Primal is even better. I would suggest finding a few simple recipes that you both like that are Protein based with veggies on the side - she will be on liquids for a while after surgery and it takes a bit before she can eat again and when she does it will be like 1/3 of a scrambled egg my husband and I keep it pretty simple, do a lot of grilled meats, aged cheeses, and though it slows weight loss fruits - it is hard to resist the summer fruit in season for me so I will have a piece every few days. There are some fine recipes shared in the forum here and here are some links to very popular recipe sites that folks here frequent. Bariatric patient who has awesome recipes: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ This gal is a recipe blogger who tailors recipes to Weight Watchers - lots of good stuff, especially her wonton muffins. http://www.emilybites.com/ Primal site - primal/paleo are very similar with Paleo eliminating dairy, which can be rough for new surgery patients because it is a great source of protein and nutrients. In a nutshell, eating this way" meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds.I have a big group of freidns who are firefighters, and this is how they eat. This will be farther down the road post surgery, but there are folks here who enjoy eating this way (myself included) and it falls right in line with post surgical recommendatons. Excellent recipe section. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz20oAM2VNa Best of luck - spend some time with this board, the amount of valuable information as well as the kindness and generosity of its members is staggering

Welcome - I had a long time to prep, wasnt scared at all and then the weekend before surgery was petrified It was worth every scary moment.

Yes my vsg was done in Seattle - Dr. Ross Mcmahon at Swedish Medical Ctr.

I guess it depends on what your surgeon prefers in the pre-surgery diet - some Doc's want patients on all liquids - my Doc has us do Atkins induction - high Protein, low carbs (20g or less), lots of Water, Vitamins etc. I actually ate quite a bit of cheese (aged sharp cheddar) and did just fine with shrinking my liver - ate lots of chicken, low sodium Soups might be a nice savory option. I know that I lived on the protein chicken broths I purchased from my Dr's office post-surgery as I do not have a sweet tooth at all and much prefer salt/savory. I am one of those that does not do non-fat, I will do regular or lowfat cheese - evenutually I would like to ditch the artificial sweetener but it seems like it is in a lot of stuff used immediately post op. Unless your doc wants all liquids, eggs, chicken, broths, will still comply with the liver shrinking that needs to happen during the pre-op dieting phase.

You could start by trying out Protein shakes to see what you might like. We use Premier Protein ready to drink shakes - you can get a case of 18 them at costco for around $24 (160 cals, 30 g protein, 3-5 carbs depending on flavor, and 3 g fat) My NUT's at the surgeons office throughout my almost year of pre-op dieting always have us choose protein first - and my pre-op was similar to Atkins induction (less than 20g of carbs a day), lots of chicken, steak, fish and non starchy veggies. I quit coffee before because I have problems with addiction, and it is a vehicle for spoons of sugar - I also started to really cut back on processed carbs - i.e. anything made with white flour - breads, baked goods, rice, no popcorn - NUT even said that there are no essential carbs - but rather our bodies will convert fat into the best fuel ever. Also watch the fruit - yes it is full of nutrients but also quite a bt of natural sugar. Good stuff but it can slow weight loss. So lots of protein via shakes - chicken, fish, beef - all lean meats, green salads and veggies and lots of Water - if you have your bariatric Vitamins start those - they make you feel great.

I find that this is one of my biggest challenges. Especially with timing the Vitamins (usually the trusty Protein shake, which I can choke down once again, is the answer) Sometimes I will take a teeny tiny sip if I feel I absolutely have to - but I have gotten in the habit of leaving my drink bottle in the other room because it is second nature to want to reach for it. I eat Soup a lot so I can still drink - I wonder if that is cheating lol.

MOM helps me as well - but it certainly does suck that it has to replace a little meal lol. I swear it is the nastiest tasting stuff - gonna try the mirilax.

I had filet mignon yesterday and I certainly am not 4 months out - my nutritionists says as tolerated, and I tolerated it just fine Just have to chew, chew, chew. I know you are probably sick of hearing people say it gets better, but it does - I found that weeks 3 through 4 was where things began to normalize - that was when the diet was advanced. the liquid stage is mentally exhuasting.

This is exactly what I am afraid of as well - it has happened every other time. I see the successes of so many others here that have similar stats as my own ( My excess weight - 188 lbs) who met and exceeed goal, I have those folks in my support group at the hospital as well and they give me hope and reassurance that if I follow the directives given to me - and the wisdom of folks on this board I too can be one that finally gets this fat burned off for good. I am taking it a day at a time and working on issues as they arise. Things feel very different pre and post op I'll tell ya lol. I just always keep in mind the quote from Eggface's site: "There is no finish line, healthy food choices, move your body, work on the head, rinse, lather, repeat, forever."

My husband was up and running around mowing the lawn on Friday after his monday VSG - I was excited that the he was feeling so good so soon, I went in for my surgery two weeks later and it was like being hit by a mac truck, I expected to go home the next day and was in the hospital for a week - with internal bleeding, hematocrit (sp) dropped to 18 and had multiple blood transfusions and when I finally got home I had a suture split open and it was one giant bloody mess that sent me back to the hospital. I deeply hope that no one has any form of complication but I was not expecting what I went through - which is nothing compared to what some folks have had complication wise here. They do happen.

Don't even look at the scale right now - your body is all wacked out from surgery. I gained 20 lbs two days after surgery with all the fluid they pushed, had blood transfusions, it was crazy - 3 weeks later I was down considerably more than when I went in

Ticker has my current stats - I wouldn't call myself fast by any means, maybe median? From the start I think those with high BMI's lose faster - but statistically we may have more trouble getting it all off. My Dr. classified me as high risk with my BMI - think that is anything over 50.

There are many different pre-ops diets out there - lots of surgeons like you to be on liquids, my Dr. has his patients follow Atkins induction style eating for two to three weeks prior to surgery - with clear liquids the day before. I lost 14 lbs in a little under two weeks and I guess my liver was teeny-tiny from what the PA told me. I was really happy to still get to eat - it was good practice to cut carbs quite a while before surgery. Another route seems to be 2-3 protein shakes a day and lean protein and green veggies for dinner - no starches - I ate like this quite a bit, used Premier protein drinks and would have grilled chicken, turkey, beef for dinner - also ate a lot of eggs, and cheese as well.

So awesome! Congratulations Been a long time since I have seen a one as that first number - what a day that will be.

Praying for you that the pressure eases up - it is so important to take a deep breath and do your best to take good care of you, so that you can care for the many others that depend on you. Sending you positive thoughts!

This morning I got on the scale and arrived at a big milestone weight - or should I say a weight that was a 'setpoint' for a long time. It is the weight that my husband and I both weighed when we met in the late 1990's, and he has never seen me at a lower weight in person, only in photos from loooong ago. It is also what I weighed when I moved to NYC in 1993. It is a weight where the scale tends to want to stick and I have many of those - some of which surgery blasted through 283, 262, and now I am once again 240 - next ones, 233, 211, 202, 198, 155 - wow some of those were a very long time ago and have not seen them in decades. It should be interesting to see if the scale still sticks on this weight like it has always done. I am pretty excited at the prospect of losing into a range that my beloved has never seen me at - he had his vsg two weeks before I did and we are pretty close with our losses - he is two lbs ahead - cant wait for the day I surpass him and weight less - I have a much longer way to go than he does! It really is great having a partner in crime with this surgery - it is awesome that we both did it. Do you guys have set points - or certain weights that are milestones? Have you experienced the same stubborness in losing past them after surgery?

Aww I am sorry to hear that But keep your chin up - and just keep slogging away. Do you journal your food and exercise? It can be a big help if you are not currently. The key to success is cutting carbs - or no processed carbs specifically, cut stuff like baked goods, bread, Pasta, rice, etc. If you can up the Protein and Water and cut carbs so they are under 50 - you will lose. I personally did Atkins 72 prior to surgery - that is cut carbs to essentially zero. The fat will melt off, and fast.

Statistically for vsg patients WL in month one is 10-20 lbs. and 8-10 lbs a month after but your mileage may vary. My doc says we can expect to lose 50% of our excess body weight in the first 6 months after surgery, then another 25% in the next 6 months, and the final push to goal and the last 25% in the second year. There are many folks here who have lost all of their excess lbs. much faster - or within the year - same at my support group, at least the folks who have had a RNY or VSG as opposed to a band. There are lots who are slower too - I am hoping I get most of mine off in a year, but I know that is a mighty tall order with almost 200 to lose of excess I was like a limp rag the first month - I resorted to milk and I had a lot of those Protein chicken Soup mixes. It wasn't until I had a sip of regular gatorade that it was as if a fog lifted - I know they say to keep the carbs really low, but I do enjoy a bit a fruit every few days and I feel a lot better - usually unsweetened grapefruit or a nectarine. My energy came back around week 6.

when I used to go to weight watchers - that means that fat is ready to go - i.e. burn off. I have defintely noticed much more squish in certain parts of my own bod recently.

Great advice Pook - don't forget that the sleeve is a permanent, and new tool. It sounds as if your body is in starvation mode and not letting go - I know that if I dont get the Protein and calories in, my losses slow down - if my calories are at the upper range suggested (800) I lose about a lb a day. I would try getting Protein shakes in if you can choke them down - something like Premier at 30g of protein a pop. Your body is probably feasting on its own muscle with your exercise - and in my experience that is when losses stop - and you also dont feel so great. Sending you positive thoughts to keep up the good fight!