Bufflehead

Milk of magnesia works within 2 hours for me, like a charm. Make sure you drink some extra water with it.

I hope so, I eat it almost every day (and I'm 2+ years post-op). So far no problems!

First off, no I don't miss it. What I gained from this surgery and weight loss is so much more than the ease of convenience food and the pleasure of eating wtf I want that there really isn't any comparison. It just makes me laugh to even think about regretting it. That said, I am not much of a cook either and I also like fast and easy. I am not a fast food person, but I do stuff like buy pre-grilled chicken breast and pre-roast sirloin from Trader Joe's. I can just chop up as much as I need, throw some (bottled) sauce on it and heat it up in the microwave. I can buy bags of peeled hardboiled eggs and packets of pre-flavored tuna. I use frozen veggies and just break off as much as I need and either nuke it in the microwave or roast it in the oven. The most complicated food prep I do is making a protein shake with four ingredients.

Can you share a little more info about what you are doing? How many calories/carbs/grams of protein are you getting? Are you getting your 64 oz of fluid? What does your exercise look like? What do *you* think is causing you not to lose as much or as fast as you want? And what does your weight loss picture really look like now? Have you stopped completely or just had a little slow down? Not a lot to go on in your post for any of us to give advice . . .

At that time I also started aiming for 21 grams of fiber daily (the minimum for women - for men it's 25 grams). I don't want to discourage anyone from trying to get more fiber in their diet -- I aim high on mine, too. But keep in mind that the 21/25 grams figures are not static. They are actually calculated in proportion to the number of calories you are taking in. The numbers 21 and 25 are thrown around based on the assumption that people are eating the "standard" diets in the 1800-2500 calorie range. The real number to work from is 14 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/recommended-daily-serving-fiber-4262.html So for someone eating 800 calories per day, the minimum to shoot for would be 11 grams of fiber.

Focus on lean meat (no bacon, sausage, deli meat, or jerky) and green veggies for lunch and dinner, Greek yogurt for breakfast, and fruit for snacks. Be careful how you prepare things -- stay away from butter, cheese, sauce, etc. Stay away from grains, sweets, and starchy veggies such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peas. No, this isn't a lot of fun but you can do this without being terribly hungry for a week and you will lose the weight and likely more than half a pound. It is just for a week and you need to be strict with yourself for a little bit to keep on track towards the surgery you want. Weigh yourself every day to make sure you are staying on track. Oh and cut out liquid calories completely. Also, this will help you get ready for post-surgery life. Good luck!

Whey isolate is the form of protein that is most readily/completely absorbed by your digestive tract, so it is ideal. However, there are lots of people who use whey concentrate, egg white protein, etc. and do just fine. I think it's fine to sample protein shakes before surgery to see what you *might* like, but keep in mind that your tastes may very well change with the surgery and if you stock up on tubs of protein powder or cases of RTD protein before, you may end up just throwing them all out. I know that having your tastes change overnight is hard to imagine, but it really does happen, quite commonly.

The running coaches at the local pro running shop told me to jog every other day, not every day, especially since I have some arthritis in my knee and hip. Here's my exercise routine from the past week, it's pretty standard: Today: 48 minutes jogging Yesterday: 40 minutes circuit training (mixed weights/shadow boxing/aerobics - Kelly Coffey-Meyer Circuit Burn dvd) Wednesday: one hour jogging Tuesday: 25 minutes low impact HIIT (Cathe Friedrich Ripped with HIIT dvd) Monday: 50 minutes jogging Sunday: 20 minutes HIIT (Cathe Friedrich All Out Low Impact HIIT dvd) + 40 minutes weights (Leslie Sansone 30 Day Firm dvd) Saturday: one hour jogging

my dietician doesn't have us worrying about fruits and veggies while during weight loss. That's what vitamins and fiber supplements are for. We are supposed to focus on protein first and maybe have an ounce or so of green veggies or berries if there is room for it.

No grains or starchy veggies of any kind permitted on my plan.

I think it sounds like you are doing well with your protein intake. Don't push yourself to eat too much too soon. Does "back off protein shakes" mean that you can no longer have them at all, or just that you have to dial it back from maybe 2 shakes per day to 1 shake per day? If you can have one shake per day, could your daily eating look something like this? Protein shake -- 25 grams protein Greek yogurt -- 15 grams protein Ostrim stick - 14 grams protein 1/2 c. cottage cheese - 14 grams protein string cheese - 7 grams protein That would put you right about at your target, at least under most plans. And, I hate to break it to you but you can't prevent hair loss. It either will happen, or it won't. It's caused by telogen effluvium, correlated with the shock of surgery. I hit my protein goal every single day (75 grams) starting the day after surgery and I still had significant hair loss. Other people were not nearly as religious about protein and didn't have any hair loss. It's really luck of the draw IMO. If your dietician is absolutely adamant that you must stop all protein shakes immediately, I would get back in touch with her and lay it out very plainly for her. Tell her that there is no way you are going to meet your protein goals without having at least one shake per day. Given that reality, your options are either to have that shake and meet your protein goals, or skip the shake and not meet your protein goals. Since those are your options for the immediate future, which option does she recommend? Yes, you will still lose without exercising. Quadriplegics can lose weight doing nothing but lying in bed or sitting in a chair so long as they eat right. In fact, there are studies showing that exercise causes people to gain weight, not lose weight. Exercise is great for your health but the impact on weight loss is minimal from what I can see.

Honestly I would seek a second opinion.

I am not a medical professional. I can say that if I were in your situation, I would be checking with my surgeon and/or PCP and asking to be assessed for a stricture or other post-op complication, because that does not sound normal to me based on what I read here, see in my support group, or hear from my medical team about what to expect. I would not waiting around for my symptoms to go away on their own. I think that's actually very dangerous.

It really depends on what your plan allows. I was just transitioning from full liquids to purees at four weeks, and was just transitioning from purees to high protein soft foods at three months out. I wasn't allowed any raw veggies until six months out. So no, I wouldn't have been eating salad either time. Other people have less conservative plans than I did, but I do think it's unrealistic to plan for eating salads so early. Keep in mind that raw veggies are typically among the hardest things to digest and for your stomach to deal with. If I were you, I would be thinking about high protein options (salad is practically nutrionally worthless from a post-wls perspective) that are easier to digest. Things like seafood or chili are probably going to be easier on your still-healing stomach as well as providing more nutrition.

I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse, but just being blunt -- my legs sound like yours, or possibly mine are worse. I joke that my thighs look like an elephant mated with a melted candle and had a leg baby. Anyway, I don't feel terribly comfortable showing them in public. So I wear swim shorts that come to my knees, or swim capris. No, I am never going to be strutting around in a bikini. But I feel great in the swim clothes I do wear and just move on.

Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multi-vitamin. Tastes fine, and is cheaper, lower calorie, and lower carb than most other chewables -- particularly the bariatric specialty ones.

I had surgery and went through recovery and all that as a single person. In a way, it's good. There isn't anyone hanging around to sabotage your efforts, make critical comments, eat ice cream in front of you, or bring pizza home. You can eat whatever you want without worrying about whether your partner wants something else. If you want to work out at three in the morning with the music blaring, go for it. If you want to spend your money on the most expensive protein powders, workout clothes, and digital kitchen scales available, no one is going to argue with you and tell you that you should be spending money on Nintendo games or HBO subscriptions instead. I guess I am by nature an independent person -- generally, the fewer people hanging around to bother me, demand compromises from me, and expect me to spend my time and energy accommodating their needs, the better. Yes, there is a reason I am single -- for starters, I like it! I had the support of my medical team and my close friends and family. That was more than enough for me.

I'm not talking about what you might add other than fruit. Fruit itself has tons of sugars and carbs, that's why I would choose to stay away from it in any form. I wasn't allowed fruit for eight weeks after surgery (because of the low protein content) and even after that, I really couldn't even consume much fruit at all and still stay under my daily carb limit and meet my daily protein goal. For example, a small Apple Banana smoothie made from a typical recipe (banana + apple + orange juice + unsweetened almond milk) has 50 grams of carbs, which would have been 10 more carbs than I was allowed in an entire day when I was in my first six months. That's why I am saying I would stay away from them. If you are allowed all the carbs you want, go for it. It also has over 200 calories, even before you add in protein powder, So my choice would definitely be to mix my protein powder with 25 calories worth of unsweetened cashew milk rather than 200 calories of fruit smoothie -- but since you are probably eating less overall than I am at this point, that may be less of a concern for you. Your call.

Try taking smaller bites, slowing down your eating, and eating smaller amounts. If this doesn't stop your problem, you need to contact your medical team and seek a solution (possible stricture?) because what you are experiencing doesn't sound normal and it needs to be addressed medically IMO.

(Greek) yogurt and scant amounts of cheese are the only things on that list that I eat. Frankly I would be more strict and add in protein bars and potatoes in any form -- not just chips.

Honestly? Fruit is loaded with sugar and carbs, I would stay away entirely since you are early out (if I remember right) except maybe some berries.

I took two weeks off but the first two days back I was too exhausted to make it through a full day and went home after about five hours.

There isn't much you can do other than trying to disguise it a little. Sugarfree mints and sugarfree gum will help somewhat, as will chewing parsley and drinking lots and lots of water. Good luck!

I think a lot of people just get "weirded out" by the idea of their intestines being re-routed. I personally don't think "I get an ooky feeling" is a great basis for making a medical decision, at least it isn't for me. I ended up going with the sleeve because of some medical issues making the sleeve a better choice for me, but I would have been very happy with a gastric bypass. I know several people who have had them and they are all doing fantastic.

Being exhausted for a few to several weeks is completely normal after surgery. I don't know if hearing that will make you feel better, but I hope it does, and you can know that you will gradually get your strength and energy back. Your friend sounds like a pill. Tell her your doctor ordered you to rest as much as needed. If she can't accept that, and you can afford it, I certainly endorse the idea of a hotel! Good luck.