linkybo

I agree! My husband bought me a bunch of new clothes for Christmas - size Medium. What?! And some are kind of big. But when I looked at them, I was afraid to try them on because I'm so used to buying the biggest size, getting it home, and having it be too small. Still can't quite get the idea that things in the store will fit me.

Yes, Swedish. Are you familiar with their particular kind of crazy? Wait - you're not the fish lady, are you?!?!

I'd love the hand out from the NUT. I'm definitely an information junkie - otherwise I wouldn't be using a board like this. The NUT is young, probably 80 pounds wet. I thought she was an interesting choice for a position like this. She seems nice enough, but doesn't seem to be able to control the group.

salmon - yes

cod - yes

then the NUT said "but tuna only twice a week" and the lady (who was POST-OP!) said "I hate tuna, but I love potatoes!"

huh?

I'll just check the peep hole before I open my door. If I see my surgeon with the part of my stomach he removed, I won't answer the door.

I totally agree that some people need guidance. And I'd love to read over the hand out, but I'd rather poke my eyes with ...potatoes than sit there for an hour.

The entertainment value is there, but probably not high enough to make me actually go. There was a husband there last time, probably in his 60's who had the band. His thin wife was with him and she did all of the talking. I don't know that he spoke a single word. She complained that he ate too much and she was pretty sure he needed to chew more. She took notes (no doubt writing down all of the allowable varieties of fish!) and nudged her husband in the ribs while the NUT spoke about vegetables. Now that was fun to watch.

But I don't want a black mark by my name so if I call for something, they say "Oh, you didn't follow the rules! We can't help you."

Hi all,

My surgery was back in April last year and I'm within a few pounds of goal weight. Whoo hoo! I've been good taking my Vitamins, drinking but my eating isn't quite as good as it was closer to my surgery.(Can anyone say crackers?!) I went in for a six month check up and saw the dr, talked about my eating/exercise habits, etc. She said I was doing amazing and sent me on my way. I also spent an hour with the nutritionist and she gave me a hand out. This is a group class and is horrible. Online, if you get bored o listening to someone, you can quit reading. In the class, you are stuck. I swear, this person who had the band asked if she could eat fish. The nutritionist said "Yes, fish is a good choice." Then the person said "Halibut?" Nutritionist "Yes." Person wtih lap band "catfish?" Yes.... This went on for longer than you'd think was possible. So, I'd like to not have to go to another nutritionist class. I'd love to just get the hand out and read it on my own, then contact her with any questions.

BUT - when I tried to cancel my nutritionist visit for January (my 9 month visit), she said the class is mandatory and I have to go. Seriously? I have to go? What if I don't? Are they going to come and get me? The office is about 40 minutes away in Seattle so parking is always a mess and so is traffic. Can't I just keep doing what I'm doing?

What do you guys think?

Hi April buddies!

Down 75 pounds since day of surger, April 10. Amazing. I look like a different person. Stil have some fat hanging around my belly but my chest area looks absolutely skinny.

I'm only ten pounds from being considered "normal" weight, something I didn't think would ever happen. I'm a little concerned that I'm able to eat so much more than I was now though. It used to be a half a greek yogurt would fill me up and now I can eat the whole container with some fruit on the side. I'm also a lot hungrier than I was in the beginning. Junk food didn't even sound good before, but now, it's sneaking back a bit. I can definitely see how this is a tool and not a quick fix, because when I abuse it, the scale goes the wrong way.

Cat lady - hope things are improving with you! Good job to all of us!

MSA - your post made me laugh because my hairdresser just asked me if I had lost weight. Um - yes!! She said "Oh, your face looks thinner but I thought it was just the way I was cutting your hair." Oh, my gosh. If she could have cut my hair to make me look 80 pounds thinner, she should have been doing that a LONG time ago!!!

What do you mean by soft Protein?

Soft protein: cottage cheese, greek yogurt, scrambled egg, tofu...

I also have no problem with what I call ABC meat. Already Been Chewed. And no, it's not really been chewed, but it's been ground. Like a turkey burger or turkey tacos. And Protein Bars are easy to eat, too. It's those fibers in meat that make it so hard to digest.

kiki - 3 week stall! Ugh!

I've been plugging right along. Every day the scale scoots down just a bit. From surgery (4/10) I'm down 52 pounds to 172. Finally I weigh less than my husband!! I can feel bones I have never felt before. On a funny note (boys, cover your eyes) when I lie on my back, my boobs have shrunk and tend to slide to the sides, but I now have my rib cage poking up, that looks like low boobs. Well, can't have everything, right?! At least my ribs are my highest part when I'm on my back instead of a tummy mountain.

Shopping has been weird. I've nearly shrunk past all of the clothes I had that were too small. I've picked up a few things at Target but I'm not sure what size to buy. And the selection! Isn't it strange to be able to shop the whole department?! Before, it was "Well, this fits, I guess I'll take it." Now I can hardly decide what to buy because everything fits. Amazing.

With food, I'm still sticking to soft Protein. I've got years to eat chicken and all that. I want to eat easy food that I know will make me feel good. Good luck everyone - we're doing great!!

Yup. I called my surgeon about mine and he said put some neosporin on it during the night and use hydrogen peroxide a few times during the day and keep it covered. I was kinda freaking out and he acted like he was talking to a crazy person, but his advice worked pretty quickly and I'm all good now!

Ten weeks and down 40 pounds. Whoo hoo! I'm still eating a lot of soft Protein - scrambled egg, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and a Protein Shake a day. Some chicken is okay but a lot of the time it feels so heavy it's not worth the risk. Calories range from 500 - 700/day and i've got a pedometer to make sure I take at least 5,000 steps a day. I know the goal is 10k, but some days are just lazier than others!

Love to hear how we're all shrinking!

Great tips! I just knew my buddies would be helpful!

Sounds like eating 5 times/day is the plan for now. Every time I eat chicken, it just feels so heavy. I know - keep trying. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that light food isn't sticking around for long.

I like the idea of splitting the day into 15/30/30 grams of Protein and then making up what I couldn't do as Snacks. And I'm excited to not have to wait 45 minutes to drink after eating!! Geez - I love spicy food and not having a drink for so long after makes it really difficult to eat anything wtih a spice involved.

Indymom - "Make sure you're tracking" That should be my mantra. It's impossible to make up for low Protein when you don't realize it until it's 10pm.

I'm two months out now! Whoo - many pounds down and my skinny pants are loose. But - I hate to eat. It's like a chore. And who would have ever thought I'd say something like that?!

I find myself not wanting to overeat my sleeve so I'm eating small bits of things. 1/4 cup cottage cheese and some melon for a meal, or a hard boiled egg. 1/2 of a turkey burger with a couple of pickles. But then I find myself feeling hungry again soon after so with the no drinking 30 minutes before meals and 45 minutes after meals, I have no time to drink.

So, wise ones who have gone before me, what should I be eating? Are my meals just too small? If I'm eating 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and melon, should I add something else to it? I feel like I'm needing to eat too often and it's such a drag. But I don't want to over do it and feel sick, either.

okay, wait a minute. I just saw your ticker and you're already down 86 pounds! Maybe your body needs some time to adjust to that loss before it wants to shrink any more? (that's awesome, btw, congrats!)

I can't get in all that Protein without at least two shakes so I make sure I'm mixing my Protein Powder with sugar free drinks so there aren't extra calories that aren't protein. I can do two scoops Unjury strawberry sorbet with crystal light so it's only 200 calories and 40 grams of protein. Some of those Protein Drinks are more like milkshakes!

I guess if what you're doing isn't working, mix it up. Add more calories, cut some calories. shake up what your body expects.

I'm going to see the NUT this morning so that will be interesting, of all the people I have who are helping me, I like her the least, I think she used to teach pre-schoolers and it carries over to how she deals with adults, drives me insane.

I agree! Hmm...maybe we have the same NUT? I tried to like her, I really did. I thought maybe my dislike stemmed from her being crazy skinny, but I think it's the baby voice she uses when she talks to our group. Like we are 3 year olds and have to be taught to keep our hands out of the cookie jar. And the best way to teach us is using a very slow, baby bear voice. Makes me want to stuff her in my purse (she'd fit!) and hide her somewhere.

I weighed today and I am now on a 4 week stall even gained a 5 lbs idk why. I eat right , do what I need to. total loss since surgery is at 13lbs. Any suggestions? I am in total awe , it seems my sleeve is broke

What a bummer! That must be so demotivating. Have you logged your Protein? How many grams are you getting a day? I thought my NUT was crazy when she suggested I get 80 grams/day, but if I get close to that, the weight just keeps disappearing. If your body isn't getting enough protein, it think it's starving and refuses to let go of anything.

Kind of like ripping off a bandaid. If I get them all swallowed in the morning, I'm done for all day!

I take two chewable Multivitamins, 2 B-50 complex capsules, Vitamin D capsule, chewable probiotic, chewable Iron, sublingual B12, reflux med, and a birth control pill.

Then I have to chew 6 chewy Calcium squares a few hours later - but those are delicious so I'm not complaining about those!

Dumping? Wow! It's not like I'm dipping them in chocolate first. I didn't realize that chewable bariatric Vitamin would cause dumping. I'm seven weeks out.

Great tip to have a bite of something else first. I usually want to get them down as fast as possible but sometimes that first one does me in.

Maybe when this enormous bottle of Vitamins is gone, I can try to find another kind.

Thanks for your ideas!

Hi All,

Every morning, I put my many Vitamins into a little bowl and we stare at each other. I usually start wtih one of the bigger, Multi Vitamins to make the amount in my bowl look smaller. But about once every two weeks, after I chew that multi, my mouth starts watering like crazy and I feel really dizzy. Then I have to sit with my head down and focus on swallowing all of the spit I'm producing and not passing out.

What the heck? Anyone else have this fun added to their mornings?

Linkybo....its almost as if I wrote this myself! I couldn't have said it any better! My NUT is also super strict! My info I was given said I could eat things that she told me not to. How do u get ur Water and Protein in? I'm supposed to get 60 oz water/60 grams protein/60 minutes excercise.

Thank u for ur help!

I'm eating some, but I'm supposed to get 80 grams of protein a day. Told you my NUT was a nut. There is no way to cram that much turkey, yogurt, etc into me to get 80 grams of protein. Right now, I'm mixing two scoops of vanilla protein (unjury) into 16 oz orange crystal light and that's what I drink all day. But, if I'm successful, that's 40 grams of protein right there. It needs shaken constantly because it's past the point of being able to dissolve and gets a little grainy at the bottom, but it is what it is. I just look down at my toes that I can now see and suck it down.

I also mix protein with half water/half milk. Makes it so much less thick. Try some vanilla with a few marschino cherries and some Torani vanilla Syrup, blended then let the foam die down. Almost feels like cheating!

And all those trips to the bathroom - that totally counts toward exercise!!

Hi Ltarlton,

I know how you feel! I was sleeved on April 10 and the first several weeks were hard with liquids, but that's what you have to do, so that's what I did. Then I got to go to mushies - which was also hard, but again, you do what you've gotta do. Now I'm 7 weeks out.

I used to wake up, planning my food for the day. Hmm..maybe four slices of toast with some hot cocoa, gotta go to target, get a few bags of chips, maybe tostitos and a jar of cheese for a morning snack, etc. Now food is a job. Something I'm annoyed with when it's time to eat. Nothing sounds good and I'm so tired of Protein Shakes. When it is time to eat, I'm annoyed I have to find something to eat and then I end up eating too fast and not feeling great.

My NUT is also super strict. She said we shouldn't even eat flavored yogurt because it has (pause for dramatic music) SUGAR in it. Now I understand our desire to lose weight but I'm thinking a low fat yogurt with a bit of sugar probably isn't what got us in this positon in the first place. (refer to bag of chips reference!)

On a more positive note I have found that each week, food gets easier to tolerate. My first mushie food was hummus from my favorite restaurant. I was so disappointed! It tasted gross, I couldn't have any flat bread, and now, four weeks later, hummus is a great snack. I tend to think "Ok, the surgery is done, let's get back to normal" but I'm afraid normal is going to take a while and some experimentation.

Mmorral - can you pass on the info from your NUT? The calories per day and calories burned per week are great info to have. The nutritional aspect is definitely a weak point in my surgeon's care. All of my nutritional classes are group classes and are very general. I'd love more details on some good things to be eating (and maybe not eating!) so I can get in those 80 grams of Protein a day.

What is everyone eating that is working?

FannyF - when you weigh yourself at home, is it first thing in the morning with an empty stomach and hardly any clothes? Then you go to the doctor and you've eaten, you've had lots to drink and unfortunately - you have to be dressed! Clothes weigh a lot.

Definitely going to look into bcomplex liquid drops. Just the idea of swallowing a big capsule makes me gag.

My NUT actually said flintstone Vitamins aren't sufficient. I remember LOVING those! She's a tough one, though. Would you mind taking a few minutes and listing the nutritional facts? I'll list the ones for the Bariatric Advantage complete multi.

calories 10

total carbs 2

sugar <1

Vitamin a 7500iu

Vitamin C 120 mg

Vitamin d3 1000 iu

vitamin e 30 iu

vitamin B1 6mg

vitamin b2 3.4 mg

niacinamide 50mg

vitamin b6 4 mg

folic acid 800 mcg

vitamin B12 100 mcg

Biotin 600 mcg

pantothenic acid 20 mg

Calcium 200 mg

magnesium 50 mg

zinc 15 mg

selenium 100 mcg

copper 2 mg

manganese 2 mg

Part of the reason for this surgery was to stop taking blood pressure medication - which I have! Yay!

But I've replaced that one, tiny pill with two huge chewable Bariatric Advantage Multivitamins, a b-50 complex that is a capsule, another capsule of Vitamin D, a chewable probiotic, chewable Iron, sublingual B12, an acid reducer, and SIX chewable Calcium every day. And my NUT says the only one that is not for life is the acid reducer.

Everymorning I put them into a bowl and my Vitamins and I have a stand off. They make my mouth Water and the capsules make me gag. Ugh!

So I'm only a month out, do you think my blood work could show too high of Vitamin levels and I can lose some of these pills?

I agree ShellBell! Drinking is something you do when you're thirsty and then you gulp some down and move on. This whole sipping thing is harder than it sounded. I know I'm always below on my Water, and food has definitely lost it's draw. Even an ounce of tuna or half a scrambled egg feels like it's sitting on my chest for the next 45 minutes. Yogurt is the only food I've found I can eat and not feel suffocated by it.

I'm a month also, and it seems like it should be easier to eat now. It's difficult to look ahead and think someday I'll be able (and even WANT to) eat more than an ounce of something at a time.

Maybe we just need to be patient.