joatsaint

If you can, contact your doc or nutritionist for clarification. They are in the best position to advise you. During my pre-op diet, my doc allowed me any sugar substitute I wanted. My favorite being Splenda. There weren't any limitations on coffee. I was using CoffeeMate liquid creamer (one that has no sugar) - and Splenda in my coffee. The main focus was on drinking high Protein, low carb shakes - shakes with less than 5 grams of carbs. I was drinking EAS Carb Control Shakes, from Wal-Mart. I later discovered Premier Protein Shakes, which I like better. I could eat that way up to 24 hours before surgery. The 24 hours before surgery, I was only allowed Water.

Congrats on getting your surgery. You can always PM me with questions. I'll be happy to share my experience. If you have any questions that you feel are more private, you can always post them in the ladies powder Room - http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/432-powder-room-ladies-gone-wild/

I too was afraid to start regular foods again, mainly because I thought I'd break the "magic" of my weight loss. It would be very difficult to do any permanent damage to your new sleeve, as long as you don't test it's limits. Don't expect to be able to hold but a few bites. Eat slowly at first, different foods are going to fill you up at different rates. chicken and hamburger are still the toughest foods on my sleeve. Turkey hamburger and pork loin seem to be the easiest. Here's my own hard learned method for testing Frankensleeve's tolerance for any food. Eat 1/2 teaspoon of food, wait 5 minutes, eat another 1/2 teaspoon, wait 5 minutes. I found that if Frankensleeve did not have a negative reaction within that time, it was a safe food for me.

That would be great. Frankie could use a friend.

Baked yellow squash and steamed pureed cauliflower were my 2 favorites. But Frankensleeve really didn't like them for some reason. So I wound up eating a lot of refried beans... good thing I live alone!!!! AROMA!

Congrats on such a great NSV!!! Had one myself last week. I tried on an old leather jacket that my dad couldn't wear AND it fit! Size large - I haven't fit into a size large since junior high.

I've only used ISOPURE unflavored powdered protein. I mix it into all kinds of foods - after cooking them. I'm not sure if you're suppose to cook protein powder or not. I've read some who say it's okay and some say the cooked powder messes up the recipe.

Too bad there wasn't an abbreviation for that list, so you weren't forced to type all that out. LOL Thanks for going to all the trouble. P.S. Could I add one to your list? NTF = Never Trust a Fart!

I mean, seriously!!!!! I haven't see a new Zombie Apocalypse thread in over a year!! What's up with that???? P.S. I no longer consider myself in the "one of the 1st to go" category! (watch the beginning of Zombieland to get the reference)

I couldn't see any changes in my looks for a long time. Although my friends could see the changes when I'd lost my 1st 30lbs. It takes a while for your real image to overcome the mental picture we've built up of ourselves. And who says it's not okay to become obsessive about the scale. My 1st week post-op, it was a cold and rainy December and I was trapped in the house. So, I needed entertainment. I'd weigh right when I got up, then before a pee, after a pee, before a poop, after a poop, in the evening and again before bed. I just didn't let myself take it too serious. I started out with the ground rule that only the 1st weigh in (when I woke up) counted. The rest had too many variables that could affect my weight - intake of solid food, Water, salt content, how much I sweated.... ect. Have a good time with it.

Most of my indigestion/cramping with meals went away by 6 months. There were some foods, like whole wheat bread and pineapple - high Fiber foods, that still caused some mild cramps. By 1 year, I could eat nearly everything with no complaints from Frankensleeve. At 2 years, there are only 2 things that Frankensleeve sometimes complains about - baked chicken and Taco Bell taco sauce (the version you can buy at the grocery store - I've never been to Taco Bell since surgery ).

Every WLS surgeon has their own set of pre-op diet guidelines. So there's no set rules. I'd follow the recommendations of my surgeon. He's in the best position to evaluate your needs. But the norm is a high Protein, low carb diet. For example, my surgeon's guidelines were for a liquid only diet. I could drink Protein shakes that were around 200 calories with 5 carbs or less, per shake.

I questioned it before surgery, but once I committed to surgery, I vowed never to regret it - no matter what I had to go through (not that I had much choice about what was going to happen post-op. ) I did as much research as I could pre-op and JUMPED!!! It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done. I always have a backup plan - a way out. There was no going back on this. Ummmm.... unless you know where I can get a donor stomach for a transplant??? Ebay?? Craig's List????

Figuring out how much I could hold was really trial and error. For example, I can hold more turkey hamburger than beef hamburger (must be all the tough scrap meat in there). And chicken is the toughest thing to digest to this day. For over 6 months, I couldn't eat more than 1/2 cup of anything per meal, so I just bought some 1/2 cup gladware containers. Fill one up, and I knew that was a meal. After 6 months my sleeve seemed to "relax" and I could hold more - 4 to 6oz of meat. But I always had to eat slowly and teach myself the warning signs that I was on the verge of being full - bubbles moving around the food in my sleeve. The old feelings of fullness had changed and there was no longer a building sense of getting full. One bite too many and I went from "okay" to uncomfortable.

My list was very short. Hospital: Robe Phone Favorite Pillow Home: sugar free popsicles sugar free Jell-O chicken broth cream of mushroom Soup Crystal Light Lemonade I didn't need anything else, for the 1st 10 days.

I bought one off Amazon, but don't use it very often. Most of my food I measure in a cup, but for those times when I can't tell how many ounces of meat I'm eating, I use my scale. This is the one I got. Easy to use multifunction home scale - Perfect for cooks, dieters and families Max weight 11lbs; Displays ounces/lbs/grams/kgs; Graduation .05 oz / 1 gram Includes FREE EatSmart Calorie Factors guide - Portion control and calorie counting made easy! Tare feature eliminates the weight of a plate; 3 Minute Auto-Shutoff lets you prepare ingredients while maintaining battery life 2 AAA batteries included; 100% EatSmart Guaranteed Satisfaction http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CM6TVI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I had bought the EatSmart brand digital home scale and liked it, so buying the food scale was a no brainer.

Congrats on doing so well. Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

No help needed here. The only hassle was getting the rolling IV tower in the bathroom with me.

My rule is no weight loss for a week. My Water intake goes up and down, plus the salt in my food can all contribute to keeping as much as a 1lb difference in my weight - daily. But if things are the same for 5+ days in a row, then I figure it's a stall. But in my first year, I ate almost the same thing every day, and I could see my weight dropping in a consistent basis. So with no changes to my diet, my weight loss would come to a screeching halt, sometimes for weeks. I eventually learned that if I just stuck with my diet and exercise, the weight would start falling again. If it was working before the stall, just stick with it. Sometimes you just gotta wait it out. Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

I would count it towards my total daily caloric intake - I don't really have a set number of meals or meal times. Protein shakes don't stick with me for very long and I wind up eating small meals 5 or 6 times a day.

I got the hiccups the day after surgery and think I stretched my staple line. I was hurting baaaadddddd! for the following week. I couldn't take the liquid pain killer they sent home with me, the taste and consistency made me want to throw up. It took about 7 days, but all the pain eased up and went away. I was back at work on day 11. Hang in there, it does get easier.

In my opinion, if it is a liquid, it counts towards my water intake... heck, I even count swallowing saliva! (no, not really) and if it has protein/carbs in it, I count it towards my protein/carb and calorie intake for the day too. It all counts.

Me too. I've been overweight since elementary school and just got bigger every year - so at 48 I have no recollection of EVER being a normal weight. I did find an old pre-school pic of me in which I looked like a normal sized kid. I was very worried at one point pre-surgery about how I was going to handle being "normal" sized?? I knew how to be fat, I was comfortable being fat. Now what do I do???? What do I do when I can't use my fat an excuse to stay socially isolated or not take chances in life or in my career? The good news, is that the transition from obese to normal doesn't happen overnight. I was able to ease into the new me. I'm very comfortable in my new skin, but I'm still working on the whole "self-esteem" thing.

I'm right there with ya! My pre-op diet was harder (psychologically) than going through surgery or anything I went through post-op. I think what made it so hard was the uncertainty I felt. I had been chasing the dream of being a "normal" weight (and failing) for so long that I couldn't bring myself to believe that WLS would be a success and I was just wasting my time. BUT I WAS WRONG!!!!

It's not how much you eat, it's just going to take time for your new sleeve to retrain itself to digest food. It took mine months and months to calm down. For my 1st month back at work, I carried cans of Cream of Mushroom soup to work. I kept an open can on my desk and at a tablespoon here and there (I ate it cold! Yes I know it sound yucky, but it was a small price to pay for getting my life back! ). I never finished an entire can before the end of the day. And I never worried about getting in enough Protein or calories. I concentrated on staying hydrated and ate as I could. As long as I felt okay, I figured I was doing well.