O.T.R. sleever

cheese Snacks are great, I keep string cheese, Laughing Cow wedges, and Colby Jack sticks handy.

The best is hydrolized whey. It absorbes faster. Then whey isolate, same quality protein but takes a bit longer to digest. Then whey concentrate, still basicly the same protien, but will contain some milk fat & lactose in it. That's the technical stuff, now for the real world Make sure it's whey. Look at the ingredients, you don't want anything tha say collagen(your body can't absorb it properly). Beyond this, the best one for you is the one you can actually tolerate.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-06-12/food-dining/32170676_1_greek-yogurt-yogurt-craze-milk-Protein Here's an articalthat actually supports the idea that straining regular yogurt may not give you true Greek yogurt, but still may be better than what is available in the stores labeled as Greek.

My son is a type 1 diabetic, and while he was working in a hot kitchen environment he has times when his blood sugars would drop. The best solution we found for him was glucose tablets. We bought them in a roll (kinda like candy) and when he needed it he could chew one or two.

4 weeks & it hasn't closed... That defiantly sounds like reason for concern. All of my incisions were sutured inside & taped outside. I'm wondering why your surgeon would have left it open.

The good thing about B-12 is that you can't really over do it. It's one of those vitamins that any excess flushes from your system.

I had a Popeye's spicy chicken tender when I was about 4weeks out. Didn't cause any problems, but I did realize that it doesn't taste near as good as I remember.

Hydration is defiantly gonna have to be a priority for you. Another thing that hit me is, you are not supposed to pick up anything over 15lbs for like 6weeks, to be honest I violated that on day 3 carrying my bag to the plane. But if your job involves lifting stuff over 50lbs(like I think it does) you might want to make your employer aware that you'll need a bit of leave or at least light duty type work.

3 weeks out, and you can eat 1/2 a sandwich & 4 oz of strawberries? That sounds like way too much to me, I'm about 10 weeks and 3-4oz is all I can handle. Not to mention, if you are doing this every 3 hours, that's 5 times in a 15 hour day, it adds up pretty quick. Does this fit into your prescribed meal plan at 3 weeks? The strawberry seeds alone I believe are cause for concern, I've heard of them causing problems in the staple line this early out. I'm glad to see you will be consulting a NUT, does he/she have experience advising sleeve patients?

I believe that so many people's choice not to tell anybody about their decision, is directly tied to numerous failed weight loss attempts, many bad decisions & the perception that they are incapable of making a rational, sound decision about weight loss. I read over & over "I'm afraid what so & so will think" or " so & so will give me crap over my decision". It's been my policy that if some one asks me, I'll tell them the truth. I find most often that they've heard horror stories about RNY, and associate all WLS to this. I have also found that when I take just a couple minutes to explain the difference, and the HUGE difference in complication rates, they seem to be relaxed and more accepting knowing this is not a snap decision on my part & that it was thoroughly researched.

Don't let your mind play tricks on you, it will try to tell you that this is not working, and that you need to give up. DON'T LISTEN! You can do this! You are stronger than you think you are, I recomend that you go to ABC's website or if you have an iPad download the app, and watch Extreme Makeover weight loss (Nayla's episode) I for one found this episode had so much insight into how we view ourselves & how much more we are capable of than we think. I really believe that it could only help.

Oh Dayum, now you got me thinking about catfish smothered in crawfish ettufe........ Something else I'll put on the " I can have it later " list.

Also, if you don't have one, a Food Saver is a great tool for your kitchen.

I for one have quit buying pre packaged meat. I buy from the deli counter & have found a supermarket that has a full time butcher and a fine meats section. I'm finding that I can eat much better on less money than I spent previously. I also avoid pre packaged veggies unless I have a specific use for them. Also keep in mind, all seafood in the us that is transported is either alive or frozen. So, if you are buying "fresh" seafood in a supermarket, it is previously frozen. So just buy it in the frozen state and thaw as needed. BTW Sams Club has individually sealed fillets.

And add the word PERMANENTLY to that;)

I think you are absolutely right on how they got he label, however, in reality, it seems that we have changed the idea of how we view Desserts/treats. For example when I met my wife, she was raised that desserts were just a part of every meal. That seemed completely foreign to me, my mother did a lot of baking when I was young, but not really what would consider dessert. It was more like zucchini bread, banana bread. It wasn't till I got a bot older and was making a good living that I felt I deserved the "higher quality treats" and with them being so readily available and somewhat affordable I indulged all to often. I mean, heck,I bought Hagen Däs bars at Sams Club & my wife can put Cheesecake Factory to shame. Now, how did I get to where I am?

Think about this, 2lb per week for a year is 104lbs. In 18 months that's 156lbs. I understand that you'd like to see it melt away tonight, but I'll bet even if it takes 18 months that's WAAAYYYYYY faster than it was acquired. Best advice I've ever gotten. Control what you can to the best of your ability. Then don't worry about the rest.

I've had a bit of it, went down fine, but still felt a bit greasy to me.

From what I've heard from women that have experienced both, the kidney stone is worse.

IMO leak tests are much more important for those of us that have our surgeries in Mexico. Since we have to travel great distances & cross international borders the redundancy is more justifiable. Also for people that are covered by insurance, the insurance co. may not be willing to pay for the tests. Leaks are pretty rare and I'm betting it's cheaper for insurance to deal with the occasional leak than it s to perform tests on everyone.