Bufflehead

Seasoning won't harm your liver unless you are planning on seasoning with sugar, honey, ice cream, candy bars, potoato chips, etc. Spices and hot sauce won't hurt your liver. Stay away from toppings like cheese, fritos, and crackers for sure!

IMO all of those things in any form are a scam. If you need more greens in your diet, eat them. If your bloodwork is good and you are healthy and functioning normally, you probably don't need more greens in your diet, but you might want to consult with your PCP or bariatric team to be sure.

"Spending" 200 calories to get 12 grams of protein is not a good bargain IMO. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole. With respect to protein shake ingredients, every surgeon's office has their own rules for both pre-op and post-op nutrition. You really should get in touch with yours and check to see what they want you to do.

Dr. Umbach in Las Vegas has gotten lots of good reviews here, and many of his patients are self-payers who travel in from other states. I hear great things about Dr. Fernando Garcia and Dr. Guillermo Alvarez in Mexico. I had considered Mexico and had selected Dr. Garcia. I also looked at Dr. Alvarez -- he seems to be absolutely top-notch -- but he was about $5K more than Dr. Garcia and I just couldn't afford that. In my case, insurance did end up approving me so it wasn't an issue in the end.

@@AWD12368 I added a few drops of sriracha to soup and broth when I was on full liquids. When I was cleared for purees (four weeks out for my surgeon) I added hot sauce to all kinds of food. No problem whatsoever but I've always had a stomach made of cast iron. Spicy or rich foods have never bothered me in the slightest.

@@Alex Brecher Amazon -- I have Prime so I get free delivery within two days. Or sometimes at the Vitamin Shoppe (brick and mortar) I will check to see if they have any good sales. I got a 2 lb jug of my favorite flavor (Cappuccino) for $18 that way.

@@theother_onefoot that's the way I mix all my protein drinks, I find it works really well.

@@theother_onefoot Unjury really works better if you keep it at 130 degrees or lower rather than 140 degrees. Also, you need to blend it, not stir it or shake it. Good luck!

Just use a full scoop or a full packet in about 8 -10 oz of water or milk. If for some reason you really want to use a quarter scoop or quarter packet, weigh it. Put your blender bottle or beaker with the liquid on your digital food scale, set it to grams, tare it out, and then slowly shake the powder in until you get the right number -- I think it's 7 grams for most Syntrax products.

I miss eating good bread. My stomach just can't handle bread with yeast anymore (thinks like quick breads or muffins are fine). It hurts and feels weird after just a few bites, and then I can't eat any protein for a long time either because I am too full and my stomach feels weird. So I just don't eat it anymore, it isn't worth it. I also used to love having a glass of good champagne on special occasions. Carbonation is another thing my stomach can't handle. So I have a couple sips of champagne and that is it. I miss being able to have a glass or two. But the trade-off is totally worth it.

@@agwj71 PB2 is generally a better option because it is so much lower calorie. I stir it into yogurt and cottage cheese, and add it to protein shakes. You can also stir it into hot cereal if you eat that sort of thing (I don't do grains).

I occasionally do days where I eat vegetarian and still meet my protein goals pretty readily. But does the title of your post mean that cheese is the only dairy you will eat? That might be tough -- cheese doesn't have as much protein per serving as other dairy (except maybe cottage cheese). If you are open to eating yogurt, particularly Greek yogurt and drinking milk, you'll likely do fine. There are some specialized brands of milk like Fair Life and CarbMaster that take out sugar and add in additional whey that work really well for post-wls people. Whey protein powder is another good dairy option to keep your protein high and your carbs low. Good luck!

2+ years post-op and I have only mixed my eating and drinking a couple of times. A couple of times by accident and a couple of times because I was in a huge hurry and didn't have time to wait. I regretted it when I did because once you get used to separating them, it feels physically weird and wrong to do it together. Not painful but uncomfortable -- at least for me. I don't see this changing, ever, in my life. If you end up in a place where you need to take tiny sips occasionally to avoid puking or gagging, I think that's understandable. But I would say don't plan to make up your own rules up front. Have the attitude that you will follow the plan your medical team lays out for you unless and until you are physically proven that it's impossible. Don't give up and admit failure at any part of it until you've made a sustained effort post-surgery. Good luck! Completely unrelated but just FYI you won't have a "pouch" -- that's what RNY'ers get. You will have a sleeve.

Yep, the vagus nerve runs along the top of the stomach. It controls a lot of things like hiccuping and nose running. When you cram your stomach so full of food that the vagus nerve gets irritated, you will get stuff like hiccups or a runny nose. So when you get that, it doesn't mean you are full, it means you over-ate a little bit. Just keep in mind how much you ate of that food and measure out your portion so you are sure to eat less the next time.

I pureed lots of crab and shrimp when I was on purees. No problems! And when I was on soft food, I ate both shrimp and scallops without problems as well. Good luck!

Digital food scale, immersion blender (if you are making shakes rather than doing RTD), heating pad, soft cotton leisure bra that fastens in front (you will likely have an incision right at the bra line), G2, Powerade Zero, Fair Life or CarbMaster milk, Vitamin Water zero, low sodium V8, light cranberry juice, ginger miso broth, peppermint licorice tea. Those were my favorites, but everyone has different tastes.

Barring a medical problem, three months without weight loss isn't a stall, it's maintenance. If you aren't, you need to carefully log everything you are eating (weigh and measure your portions) in a program such as myfitnesspal. "Sandwich wraps" are notoriously high calorie and high carb with all that bread and usually stuff like mayo, cheese, etc. This will help you figure out what's going on and come up with a plan of attack to get back in weight loss mode.

Your PCP can order an upper GI series or endoscopy to test for a hiatal hernia. Hopefully you can honestly say you have symptoms (night attacks of reflux for example) and otc PPI's haven't helped. Then you can go to different bariatric surgeons and say you have a diagnosed hiatal hernia, would they do both surgeries together and you could self pay for the sleeve portion? You can also go directly to the surgeon. Just explain that your insurance won't cover the sleeve but you *might* have a hernia. Someone at the doctor's office should be able to tell you whether they can help or not.

I was allowed peanut butter on purees, which for me was four weeks post-op. However, the peanut butter had to be weighed by the gram, and mo more than 15 grams per day. People are really bad at measuring peanut butter by volume, and it so high calorie, you can really mess up your weight loss if you get that wrong. Weighing it is the way to go.

I eat off my regular diet plan (which is high protein, low carb, grain free, sweets-free, starchy veggie-free) on special occasions. And the special occasions have to be true special occasions, not "it's Friday," or "it's my neighbor's nephew's birthday." I don't eat foods off my plan on a regular basis, not even in moderation or small quantities or whatever you want to call it. So, I am not depriving myself completely, but I have to tell you that this would not work for me if I ate crap on a regular basis, no matter how small the quantities. I am sure others have different experiences. So I guess my answer might depend on what exactly you mean by "keeping portions in check" and "eating in a more balanced way."

I try to mix it up. If I were in your situation, I would probably do either weights twice a week at the gym and cardio once per week, or I would mix it up and do both weights and cardio all three times. As far as the riding and horse care goes, I would consider that "being active" -- which is great -- rather than "exercise" (in the sense of something you journal in MFP and give yourself calorie credit for or anything like that). I have had horses pretty much all my life and I do know what you are talking about in terms of effort and activity level. Anyway, I think weights and cardio are both important and it sounds like you are doing really well, so don't second guess yourself too much

I've still got a little ways to go (and man this last bit is HARD) but here is before and during: (eta: I will probably come back and delete these pictures later today, I don't like the idea of them getting stolen etc.).

You'll need to be off narcotic pain meds for at least 24 hours before driving. Everyone is different, but I don't think going back to work on Friday or driving on Friday is realistic no matter what your pain med situation is.

You don't need a robe, just get a second gown and wear it backwards when you go out walking in the hall, to avoid accidentally flashing people.

no, I followed my surgeon's plan for me