AliveAgain

Hi, I'm also very large breasted. It would be great to daydream just "not wearing a bra" when outside of the house, but I understand that when you're large -- that is just NOT an option. Mine, swing, sway and hang low like a pendulum. I'm embarrassed in front of technicians just getting MRIs and xrays.
I found a non-underwire bra from Aviana and wore it home with some padding made from folded gauze pads pinned between the band and the incision. Granted, I couldn't walk or go far comfortably for it rubbing or moving, but just sitting in a car was OK. I mention Aviana because they fit larger breasted women well, unlike a lot of those Genie and Ahh bras that assume if you're large in the boob, you must be tall and have a larger band measurement. (I'm short and not that large around back so the straps were always too long and the band was gapingly huge).
Then sometimes, once I got in the car, I'd unhook the back (take off pressure) and just let them "rest" in the bra -- asking my husband to hook them back when I had to get out of the car.

Unjury (order at their website) - chocolate splendor. Just like good old choco milk when mixed with skim milk.

This was a PITA for me as all my bras have underwire. I found that taking a big patch of gauze pad, like the size of an index card, folding it once or twice, and fixing it between the skin and the band of the bra helped. Most of the time. My incision had surgical glue, so it never really scabbed or got wet. It will eventually heal, I think it was a month before I no longer noticed the discomfort.

Give it a week, you'll feel about 30% better. At the end of two weeks, you'll be another 30%. That last bit will take the next 2-4 weeks. What you're feeling is normal. Keep sipping fluids, walk when you can, sleep when you need it, and you'll get there. I agree with SunnyCox, Protein Shakes may feel like a struggle to get down right now, but they will give you more energy, help you heal faster, and get you over this hump sooner. Good luck!

I'm just so curious as to why people, not just directed at OP, believe stalls are a bad thing. Sure, we want to be skinny in 5 days, but that is not how this works.
Having your body try to hold on to reserves really is a good thing. Really.
As long as you keep doing the right things, your body will respond as it needs to. It just kills me when people think they are doing something wrong when everything happening is absolutely right.
You're doing fine. Just keep following the sleeve rules, get some exercise and everything will be fine. Really.
There is absolutely no possible way to gain fat when you are running a calorie deficeit. You have to believe this ... right?
Celebrate your stall. It means this is one less stall you have on your journey to what you will ultimately be.

Pre-op diets vary all over the place. Some docs (like mine) only had me do liquid for two days prior to surgery. Other than that, I was just told to eat high Protein, low carb/fat and lose 10-15 pounds. He encouraged drinking Protein shakes to get to know which ones I liked so it wouldn't be a shock after surgery.
You'll be fine, don't beat yourself up too much. Thankfully they are good Protein Snacks, just a little higher in fat than you may want. But if you had only a little, let it go. Get back on the diet and move forward!

In general, no, it's not on the approved list of soft foods. But some docs vary on this, so I would check with yours. Noodles are carbs and not on most post-op diets, as trying to keep under 30-40g daily for the first month. However, I had strained chicken noodle Soup in my soft phase and I think a *few* noodle parts made it through and it didn't hurt it any way. I would say if you're getting more chicken than noodles, you're doing OK. Sometimes if you puree the soup with a hand immersion blender helps so you don't have to chew like crazy.

I like Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. Granted it's not lower in carbs, but it's made with corn and quinoa flour which is lower on the glycemic index because of Protein content. Granted, like any other refined or non-whole food carb (i.e. veggies and fruits) -- it's only good in moderation and you have to be aware of what you put on it. Store-bought pasta sauces should be banned when losing weight, make your own with fresh whole tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil. All in season and yum! And of course - PROTEIN FIRST! I'm lucky if I can eat 1oz of pasta after getting my protein and veggies in.

Should you? No.
Would I? Possibly
Can you have a little & not derail yourself? I think so.

I wanted to tell all the August sleevers how proud I am of your choice to do VSG. For me personally it has been the best decision I have ever made. Although I had a low bmi (31) I was obese, I took 2 blood pressure pills that were very expensive. I have a rare liver disease so I can only take certain medications. My liver doctor told me that if I continue to gain weight it would compromise my chances of a liver transplant if I ever needed one. Wow! I was just shy of turning 50. Tried every single diet more than once. Even tried hypnosis. I excercised regularly. But I was always hungry, even after eating a large meal. The hunger monkey climbed onto my back in the last 5 years and just stayed there. Although I had fought with me my weight for the last 20 years there was a significant change in my hunger cues that became constant in the last 5. I have no idea why. So I looked into to Lapband and was not thrilled about the results. But fortunately during that research is when I learned about VSG. The first few weeks are tough at times but it has been so worth it in the end! You have begun the most brave and fantastic journey of your life! This tool WILL help you to succeed. It WILL NOT fail you if you stay on your doctor's reccomendations. Enjoy the journey...take progress pics (wish I would of done that)
Wishing you all the best of luck!!!!!!

No, I've had it a few times and never had a problem with it. You do have to chew it like crazy, which can take away from some of the pleasure of eating it. I also skip the butter and get it poached which makes it a little dry. But it's never come back up on me. Could just be one of those foods that doesn't agree now, but could agree later. I can't do tuna salad anymore. I can eat tuna sashimi, but cannot do more than a bite of canned tuna without a queasy feeling. Eh.

I appreciate your update. My doctor is the one tht said it ws ok & also gave me juice in the hosp. I didnt however realize abt the Greek yogurt until reading in the forums so, im for sure going to try tht. I hv been doing great, but fluids are the hardest to get dwn. I knw im not getting enough protien. I havent found a Protein Drink i can intake yet.

Dumping is a thing which happens with gastric bypass, not VSG. With VSG, a bagel will be fine after some time from surgery. Pretty much all bread products, for that matter. They tend to swell in your stomach, so you feel the restriction quicker. I pretty much try to avoid them as they are pretty much nutritionally void. I would rather have the space used for more nutritional options.

I'm 13 months post op and I can drink exactly like I did before surgery.

No, I don't think so. I was a high BMI (48) and my doctor only had me do the liquid diet 48-hours before surgery. He said the whole 2-4 week liquid diet is just torture and so long as you can adhere to a high-protein/low carb diet and lose 10-15 pounds before surgery. Which I did.

I take one sublingual tablet every morning at 500mcg and my labs are perfect.

I lost 12 pounds my first week after surgery, but that includes having to lose the 8 pounds of IV fluids I came home with. I went in at 251, came home at 259, and at week's end was at 247. Most people come home with some extra weight from all that they pump in you during your hospital stay.

My experience has been that the doctor greatly restricts your carbs in the beginning to do a bit of a "cleanse" for your liver, pancreas, and other organs -- it will allow for a greater amount of weight loss in a short amount of time. Also, Protein is best for you while you're recovering from surgery and resetting your relationship with food: To learn how to get fuller on denser, nutritious foods and not carbs. But in the long run, this would be hard for most to sustain, though not impossible. For instance, I had a very unhealthy relationship with carbs prior to surgery sometimes having them make up a majority of my meals.
As Rootman explained so well about how carbs are burned and stored, this was bad for my weight. Now, I have a very healthy relationship with carbs. I still keep them to a minimum compared to my intake of Protein, and I choose healthier carbs in fruits and vegetables and still limit the refined carbs. But I allow myself the occasional taste of Pasta noodles, so long as I have my protein and veggies as priority. And it's nowhere near the amount I used to eat. Now, it's a treat rather than a meal. We only go out for sushi every 2-3 weeks or so, but I'll allow myself 1-2 pieces of a roll, perhaps taking off some of the excess rice before. Again, I used to be able to put down 8+ pieces, plus tempura, etc. so this is much better for me.
Yes, the months 0-4 you are really focused on low carbs. But the further out you are, the more it's about eating normally, in moderation and with balance in mind. Also, the more active I've become in physical training and other sports, the more you do need some of the healthy carbs in your diet. But this does not mean I "carbo load" prior to an event, I still monitor, measure and weigh to know that I'm keeping to a certain limit.

My experience was good, no major issues. This was my first surgery besides outpatient knee arthroscopy, so not a lot to compare it to. The nurses who checked me in and did all the prep were very nice, and the head of their bariatric center came and spoke to me at length. The room was nice, thankfully private. Most of the nurses I had were top notch, though the night staff was not the best. Just lack of personality and empathy. They allowed us to bring a recliner from another room for my husband to sleep in, though we got yelled at later by another woman because that chair was from the diabetic area and wasn't supposed to be moved. I complained about her. The staff on the second day was a little lacking in that they didn't communicate with me very well what was going on, if I could go home or was having to stay longer. I rang the nurses station a lot and they took their sweet time to come talk to me. Though I wasn't in pain or anything, and it turned out to be a lot of "oh I thought X person was doing your paperwork."
Otherwise, no complications. OR was very clean, and I generally had everything I needed. Best of luck to you!

Just want to pause and say how great full I am for this wonderful life I'm living. I'm not living an extravagant life. My husband and I are working class people we don't even make 6 figures combined. We rent because we'd be broke in a tiny house if we bought in a decent area in Chicago, the schools here suck and I'm going to have to pay tuition for my son to attend private school, but you know I'm so ok with all of that. I love my life the only problem I had was my weight, and now I'm 4 months postop and loosing. It's surreal, a once upbeat happy person, I'm now on top of the world, I'm literally ecstatic!!! Life is great.

A few years back, I was shopping in a cute boutique with a friend. I knew they only went up to a size 10, but I was looking for gifts for other people. A very rude saleswoman made it a point to let me know, "We don't carry your size in here, you may want to go to the mall to find what you need." Well, today I walked into a Lane Bryant to return some size 14 shorts I bought last month. And wouldn't you know it, one of the saleswomen kindly pointed out, "Ma'am, I don't think we have your size here, may I ask what you're looking for?"
Ha. THAT was a first...

So this thread came to mind today for me...
So I decided to just ask my husband, "Did I lose weight in my vagina?" He belted out laughing and nearly fell off his bike. Did I mention we were mountain biking at full speed? He said he'd have to put that one in the books of one of the things he loves about me.
Oh, and he his answer was, "Yes, a little bit"

Yep, I was trying to make a funny! I was in economy (I'm too cheap to pay more) but this was my first time flying since surgery. It was just amazing to not hit all the seats walking down the isle, to lift/pull down my own carry on, slide right in to the seat, and have so much spare belt! I could pull it loose when we were in the air, I had extra legroom because my butt wasn't pushing me out. I kept pushing down on the arm out of old habit when it would jam on my saddlebags. The guy next to me asked if I wanted it up because I kept touching it, not realizing it was all the way down!!
Also, the energy and stamina I had today was great. A day like today of flying across country used to exhaust me, but I felt awesome. Had my Jerky, my Protein bar, my Blender Bottle and powder. Drank tons of Water, too!!
I am so happy because for the longest time I got to a point of hating traveling because of how hard it was in me. I'd have bruises for weeks from jamming every seat, bumping into strange metal knobs.
On top of it, I was able to pack for a whole week in just carry on!! Whoo hoo smaller clothes!!

At least that's what it feels like. Look at all the extra belt strap!!! No extender here! And did you know the armrests go ALL the way down?!