Bufflehead

Don't be afraid to take charge of the conversation. If people start commenting on your eating habits or your weight, just say "oh gosh, this is boring, no one wants to go into detail about how I eat" and then change the topic. If they bring it back, change it again, more forcefully -- "no really, this is an uncomfortable topic for me. Can we please talk about something else instead?" If people are lacking manners, sometimes you have to be willing to bash the manners into them. They are being incredibly rude and thoughtless and it's okay to show them that fact as long as you are tactful about it the first time around.

Your body has all sorts of sneaky ways to try to keep you fat. It wants you to stay fat forever, and is flooding your brain with messages to be "nervous" and be scared of the surgery. Don't let your fat impact your decision to get rid of it and get healthy. This surgery is incredibly safe and your surgeon and his/her team are skilled at keeping bariatric patients safe, I am sure. As for the pre-op plan, many surgeons have plans similar to yours. You trust your surgeon to open you up and work on your major organs . . . trust him or her to know what kind of pre-op will work best for the patient in question. I know it's tempting to go online and survey what everyone else's doctor is doing and wonder about differences, but *every* surgeon has their own way of doing things.

I use a blender for my protein shakes. I find an immersion blender works best to keep the shakes from getting foamy. I used a mini food processor for purees.

1) what products have you found that have been saving graces that I must have? (For any stage) Digital food scale, immersion blender, Bubba Keg, heating pad 2) do you do any sort of trick or regimen to keep the excess skin firm? Moisturizing and lifting weights isn't going to hurt in terms of how your skin looks. If there were an actual trick to avoid excess skin, everyone would be doing it and no one would ever need or want plastic surgery after weight loss. Don't waste your money on expensive creams or wraps or supplements. Save your $$$ for plastic surgery instead if excess skin is going to bother you very much. 3) what has been the best way to stave off hair loss? You can't stave off hair loss. It either will happen or it won't, and all the biotin in the world won't change that. You'll probably have better results if you just do a bunch of good deeds for people and hope that the resulting good karma keeps the hair on your head. It's about as effective as any special shampoo or supplement, and at least you won't be throwing your money away. 4) how did you explain this to your young children? I have a 6 yr old daughter who is an obsessive thinker. I don't have children, but all the young children in my family were told that Auntie is having surgery to fix some problems with her stomach so that she can be healthier. The older children (teenagers) were given the specifics by their parents and even the option to watch a sample sleeve surgery on Youtube -- which they all did and loved! Disclaimer -- there are multiple health care professionals in my family and the children are used to medical stuff not being sugarcoated.

I'm glad my surgeon used glue -- I don't have any scars -- but if he had wanted to use staples, that would have been fine with me. The most important thing to me was surgical skill and care.

I was still taking painkillers at night for about the first 8 days after surgery, so I waited until about 9 - 10 days after surgery, to be sure that the narcotics were out of my system for at least 24 hours.

CarbMaster "yogurt" is a Frankenfood . . . they aren't even legally allowed to call it yogurt because it doesn't have enough live cultures and other characteristics of yogurt. You'll notice the containers say "dairy blend" on them, not yogurt. But if your doctor recommends them, I guess no harm in giving them a try!

My team's rule was that soft foods are foods you can easily cut with a fork. However, I was not allowed grains, sweets, or starchy veggies no matter how soft they might be! So no potatoes or oatmeal or anything like that for me.

@@OKCPirate the link you posted I trust! It was the one replying to your post that included a link from the ACSH. Not surprisingly, the ACSH, which takes lots of money from drug/supplement manufacturers, has a spin on the study that says that calcium is effective in protecting against bone loss and bone fractures. I am quite suspicious of their take on things. I have also been reading a lot of studies on what calcium supplements do for you. To me, it looks like the strongest evidence is that calcium supplements lead to heart attacks and strokes. Frankly, I'd rather have a broken bone, even if I thought calcium was a great way to prevent that. Which I don't. I am planning to back way off calcium supplementation.

All you need to do with MFP is go over 1,000 calories a day. I'm not suggesting you have to actually eat those calories! If you end up with 850, go to the Quick Add Calories tool in your food diary, add in 151 calories, and close your diary for the day. It will post your diary to your timeline and give you your projected weight loss without the stupid message about how unhealthy you are. Then just delete the quick added calories from your diary.

I take Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multi's. They taste fine, are cheaper, lower calorie, and lower carb than virtually every other vitamin out there. My labs have always been great.

I'd take anything the American Council on Science and Health says with a pillar of salt . . . they are known for advocating against anything that would hurt their financial sponsors (chemical companies, Big Pharma, petrochemical companies, huge food processing companies and their ilk). This is just a start on the information you can find on this group if you look around: "Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group" http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/american-council-science-health-leaked-documents-fundraising As far as I can tell, the only method of preserving and building bones and preventing fractures that seems to be widely accepted by medical science is exercise -- specifically, high impact exercise and lifting weights. @@BLERDgirl standard blood work does not tell us much of anything meaningful about calcium -- if your blood and immediate systems are running low on calcium, your body will leach some from your bones (hence osteoporosis), and your labs will pretty much always show normal calcium levels. The only way to really study your bone mass is through bone density scanning.

3 days without weight loss is completely normal. It isn't a stall until it lasts 10 days. If you are confident you are following your program correctly, just keep doing what you are doing. You may want to avoid the scale for a few weeks if it is stressing you out

Are you allowed to have protein shakes between meals? When I was on purees, I was allowed that and I think it helped me not be hungry. If not, drink more liquids, and possibly consult your dietitian for guidance. It may be that you have to learn coping mechanisms for dealing with hunger -- no one likes being hungry, but it isn't an emergency and you can get through it. Find something to occupy your brain and hands/body (crafts, computer games, puzzles, etc.), go for a walk, things like that.

The vagus nerve runs along the top of the stomach, and it controls all sorts of involuntary upper body reactions/movements, like sneezing, hiccupping, and getting a runny nose. Lots of sleevers find that if they eat too much, their tiny stomach is so crammed full of food that it puts pressure on the vagus nerve, which gives you all sorts of weird reactions to being overfull - such as sneezing. So yes, reduce the amount you eat and eat more slowly, and you should find that the sneezing will likely go away. Good luck!

I used it in place of mayo to make egg salad or tuna salad. It also does pair well with chicken IMO. And you don't actually need anything to eat it with -- I would just measure out a small portion and eat it with a baby spoon.

Sugar free ice cream is not allowed on my plan. It triggers cravings and doesn't have a lot of nutritional value. For treats, I like full-fat Greek yogurt with PB2 stirred in, or dried fruit, or nuts like sweet & spicy pecans or sesame-honey almonds.

@@Slimsoon1988 preboiled eggs are in the dairy/egg case at some supermarkets, including Trader Joe's. I stay away from protein bars (too many carbs for me, plus I find them to be trigger and slider foods) but I know a lot of people like Quest bars.

Frankly he sounds like a total creep. I'd rather put tarps up on my roof and investigate financing the roof replacement than spend any more time with him. What he is doing is not okay and he is not respecting you.

What protein drinks have you tried so far?

@@pindoctor nope they are ready to go straight out of the package. I love them! They come in plain/basic seasoning as well as chili lime, lemon pepper, rosemary olive oil, etc.

Mine didn't give specific percentages, but with the limits and targets they set for me, it worked out to roughly 40% protein, 35% fat, and 25% carbs. I never really worried if I went over on fat though -- I am not afraid of dietary fat as long as it isn't trans fat.

I buy the flavored pre-grilled chicken breast strips from Trader Joe's and will use them as snacks. I also use packets of tuna. My criteria for snacks are (1) easy to prepare & portable (2) healthy & (usually) high protein (3) I can't like it too much or I will just keep going and going with them . . . or simply eat out of boredom. I had the same problem you did with nuts. So, now I stick to grilled chicken, tuna, jerky, and apples. String cheese also works well as do hard boiled eggs - you can buy bags of pre-boiled, peeled eggs, so they are super convenient.

@@nicash4 just wanted to let you know that even though there are lawyers here, it would be a violation of our ethical rules to give out legal advice to someone who isn't a client, and we have to do all sorts of background/conflict checks and formal arrangements to make you a client. Also, we are only allowed to practice law in the jurisdictions where we are licensed, and it's too hard to determine where an internet message board is considered to be for jurisdictional purposes. I would say, it is in your best interest to have an in-person consultation with a local attorney or at least visit your local law library to do some guided research with legal reference attorneys showing you how to use the materials you might need. Your local bar association may be able to provide free or low cost consultation services. I know mine does free in-person consultations on Saturday mornings with volunteer attorneys, or they provide references to specialist attorneys who will meet with someone for 30 minutes, I think for $25. It isn't that we don't want to be helpful here, we just can't. Good luck!

1. I don't cook much. Neither do I. I get a lot of pre-cooked meats from Trader Joe's and frozen veggies. I also used things like cans/pouches of tuna and salmon, canned sardines and mackerel, bags of peeled and hardboiled eggs, cartons of yogurt, string cheese, etc. There is no rule that says you have to become a gourmet cook! I can't be bothered. 2. I work at night and the options for ordering in are limited. I realize it will be better to bring my food most of the time anyway, but as I said - I don't cook much, so this will be new. Get some tupperware type containers. Add in a few ounces of meat (pre-grilled chicken breast, packet of flavored tuna, etc.), an ounce or two of thawed frozen veggies, and a tablespoon of salad dressing. shake. Or bring in yogurt or a hardboiled egg (you can buy bags of hardboiled eggs at Trader Joe's and other places). If you don't want to turn your life into slaving over a stove, don't! 3. I've never been one for chewing my food thoroughly. I tend to swallow my food in large quantities and one reason that accompanies that, though certainly not an excuse, is that my teeth aren't great. If there is any way you can, start working on getting your teeth fixed. Just as a general rule, this will be great for your overall health. If you can't do that, then at least practice taking in smaller quantities. Your teeth should not be too much of an impediment there. One additional reason you may want to look into getting your teeth taken care of -- many surgeons and anesthesiologists will not do any elective surgery on someone with a tooth infection or a loose tooth. So if those are issues for you, you may *need* to get them taken care of before your surgery, and preferably as much before the surgery as possible. 4. I have an over 2 liter a day of Diet Coke habit. I actually think I can kick this one This isn't a "think I can kick this one" item -- this is a "I will kick this one." It isn't optional . . . start practicing good mental habits now as well as good physical habits. Don't debate with yourself whether you can make the changes necessary. Tell yourself it isn't up for discussion and come up with a plan as to how it will happen. 5. I love food!!!! - I feel like I'm giving up my best friend, but it does feel similar to other addictions and I do want to be healthy. I can see myself in a new lifestyle regarding food - though, for me, it will mean changing everything. I think that's true for everyone here! We can all relate. We all love food and had to change how we expressed and indulged in that love. So make the best use possible of your medical team as well as resources like this forum and hopefully we can all learn and change together. Good luck!