mistysj

GG, you have really given a lot of time to these forums. You have posted recipes and thought-provoking threads and great replies. It must be tough not to be visibly (the scale) successful every week. If you are like me, you want to do this "right". It is part of your identity. But I think we need to realize that as long as we are doing our best, including all our other commitments in life, we are doing great. I think this is also why the percentage of vets who stick around is low. I am a bit of an internet person. I used to spend heaps of time on a trumpet forum (I play). All that trumpet forum is spent on BP now. I miss that other forum but I don't have time for both. Sometimes I do get bored and want to just live my life. But I need this place to keep me aware that I'm a sleever. Not sure what I'm saying but your post resonated with me. To be honest it is good to see that you have down moments too (though I hope they are few and far between)!

In the app go to the fitness forum (this one) and click the Sticky tab at the top.

Try again in a few weeks? We all have different tolerances.

I just tried the Musashi High Protein vanilla and I don't mind it. And that is saying something because I usually have a hard time tolerating artificial vanilla flavor. Again I mixed 45 grams with 200 ml water and it is the consistency of milk. Shook it up in a Tupperware cup with a lid and no gross residue either.

No but it could be a lot of things. Winter or summer squash? Steamed or baked or fried? What else was on it / with it? How much did you have?

We do talk about the phenomenon of regret during the first few weeks post-op, also called "buyer's remorse" quite a lot here. However, pre-ops seem to close their eyes to this kind of discussion, so we have lots of people who post during their first few weeks asking about regrets, and replying to such threads. I wish somehow we could get the message out that this is a normal feeling, and barring complications, usually passes by the end of the first month, when you have mostly healed and food choices are getting more interesting. For those who are new, how could we have phrases this so you would have heard it during your pre-op research? When you were pre-op did you do a search for threads with "regret" in the title? Do you feel like you understood the post-op graduated diet before your surgery? I'm really curious if there is some way to make sure that the right info gets to people before the surgery is they are not surprised afterward by buyer's remorse, the three week stall, etc.

Both of those drinks are sugar free. That is why they have Zero in the names.

Baked ham (60 grams), steamed broccoli (about 1/3 cup florets and stems), one baby bel cheese shredded

Weird! Thanks for the report.

I got the Aria scale for Christmas and I love it! It tracks your weight, BMI, and body fat percentage. It can track several different people and by default doesn't let them see each other's weight. It uploads the numbers to Fitbit online which can sync with MFP. That means I can't play games with the numbers (oh I peed after so I need to take off another half pound) but that I can track trends daily. I also got the Flex for Christmas as an upgrade from the One, which I got just before surgery. I didn't want the Force because I already wear a watch as jewelry. I like the Flex because it doesn't have to clip on, but you can't hide it like you can the One. And the Flex doesn't track altitude (stories climbed). Daily I use MFP and BariatricPal, and I use a fairly cheap food scale that can measure in grams, kilograms, ounces and pounds. My best investments are my tupperware containers because they seal so well for taking lunches to work, making shakes on the go, etc. I tried a lot of other brands before finally laying down the cash. And I have two Zojirushi vacuum flasks, a 12-oz one for coffee and a 16-oz one for Water. They keep things hot or cold for upward of 10 hours. I only drink one cup of coffee a day but it can take me most of the day to drink it and I want it to be hot! The flasks are available on Amazon and are not too expensive. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHOUI86/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

And here is a screenshot of yours:

Hers also shows up as post-op for me. Here is a screenshot.

Here is your profile page, which shows you as post-op from the DS: http://www.bariatricpal.com/user/201465-southernlady5464/ Maybe you need to refresh your web browser window?

Always ask your surgeon and medical team for advice about medications.

Tony, there is a lot of evidence in favor of carbs causing fat storage. Check out "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, which explores all the science he could find over the past two centuries of research. He is a journalist and the book is showing all of the bad science which has been accepted as good science over the years, and vice versa. The sleeve works so well because most of us are getting less than 100 g of carbs a day, some of us less than 50. Combine that with low calories , high protein, and exercise and it is the best of all worlds.

GG I am curious why you aren't just taking normal multis rather than chewable? You are a ways out now and I think you will find normal tablets are cheaper for the same amount of nutrients. My surgeon was weird I suppose and had me taking normal tablets and capsules the day after surgery so I have never bothered with chewable or liquids. To the OP, great idea to get yourself as healthy as possible. I am sorry to hear about the mono and hope you get good news from your upper GI series.

You will be able to, physically. For me, they don't taste as good as they smell and they fill me up very fast and make me feel like crap. If I really want one I just steal one from someone else's plate and then I remember why i don't eat them. There is nothing you physically won't be able to have, unless you develop an intolerance. There are things that most successful people choose not to have during the losing phase, or to have often. This kind of thread comes up all the time. Do a search for pizza, fries, ice cream, burgers, alcohol, or whatever food you are curious about, and someone will have asked about it and got answers. One thing you should never do is advance your post-op diet faster than your surgeon's plan. That is for your physical health while healing, rather than for weight loss reasons.

McButterPants, can you please add those to http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/292198-staple-foods-for-puree-phase-2/? The rest of you might find that thread helpful too.

I can still only do 4k in the 30 minutes but I love it! I did 5k in 45 minutes this morning before it got too hot and it was great. I had some serious hills to power up and down but I just found a pace I could stick with and got it done! It's great to start the day with a run!

I don't know your doctor's plan or guidelines but I have been allowed and encouraged to eat veggies that complied with my diet phase (v8 in liquid, puréed soup in purée, overcooked carrots in soft, etc) the whole time. At 3.5 months out I didn't have any restrictions and was allowed any veggies I could tolerate after I had had protein at a meal and as long as I was making my daily goals most of the time. I would have had a hard time coping without them!

By the way you should ask your doctor about bile acid sequestrants. The classic one is called Questran but it is a powder that you dissolve in water and drink, and I find it hard post-sleeve. You are lucky enough in the US to have some alternatives that are a pill form that would be much easier, but I can't get them in Australia. One is called colesevelam and one is Cholestid. These were all originally used to great cholesterol and the bile acid thing is a side effect.

The article linked from this thread explains why you can't replicate the sleeved or bypassed state without surgery. It isn't just about what you eat but whether it fills your stomach, because metabolic things happen when the stomach is full (doesn't have to be thanksgiving-full but "I could have a couple more bites but I will stop now" full). http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/250331-science-of-why-and-how-the-pouch-sleeve-works/

It could go either way but at least my butt fits on the toilet seat now!

Careful because buying can turn into something harmful in your life too. Eventually you do need to really face up to what you are feeling. I'm not saying the occasional credit card spree is a crossover addiction waiting to happen but be aware that it won't really fix the problem either. When in therapy my therapist would have me ask myself: What is the worst thing that can really happen? (Like I could die from a broken heart or I could lose this person as a friend or whatever my worst fear is. Even if my adult mind finds it silly. ) How likely is it to happen? Would I survive it if it did happen? This was like talking to a small child (myself really) and bringing them out of panic and into calm. It sounds idiotic but it really does help especially for intense emotions.

I wish I knew that I would have diarrhea for the whole time since surgery because my gall bladder was dysfunctional and that I would still have it even after gall bladder removal .. Still dealing with this but would have done it anyway. I wish I knew that I have a deformity that makes my hiatus hernia impossible to repair 100% and that I will be on the lowest dose of nexium forever .. But I would have done it anyway. I wish I knew how much better I would look and feel just 7 months out because I would have done it sooner. I wish I knew how awesome running and riding my bike would be after losing this weight, I would have done it sooner. I researched the hell out of this surgery and went into it with my eyes wide open and I don't regret a thing. I haven't had any deal breakers. If I didn't lose any more weight in my life I would still be over the moon.