FreeToBeMe

Hi All,

I am 6 weeks out and still haven't learned to judge my portion sizes when I eat real food. I don't eat much but still feel stuffed about 10 mins after I stop eating. When y'all eat, do you have that full feeling in your throat or do you feeling nothing at all? I don't feel that I am overeating but I don't like that too full sensation. I am thinking of dividing my real meal into two portions. I want to shoot for 600 calories a day. My two shakes are about 300 together and I eat between 150-200 of food so I am falling short. For some reason, I want to eat at least 600 daily. For those who count calories, what do you average to see a good loss on the scale?

Thank you.

Pennie

I had it too before surgery-just to check out that my anatomy was normal. It was interesting to see my stuff work.

I can only suggest that you keep on reading about the VSG and bariatric surgery in general. There are some good books out there even if they don't cover the VSG in detail.

My VSG was my first operation too so I learned a lot of new things like one takes off all your clothes and puts on the gown. I think they put a modesty patch over your privates during the surgery.

I survived on a few hundred calories those first few weeks after surgery and, like the previous poster, I drank my share of decaf/herbal tea to help get the Water in.

Good luck,

Pennie

I know what you mean about most WLS books being too old to mention the sleeve. I did find one book called The Idiot's Guide to Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery that talks about the sleeve. It has a lot of good recipes too.

Pennie

During the surgery, you don't breathe on your own since you have a breathing tube. When I was in recovery, the breathing monitor kept going off because I can't breathe while on my back so they adjusted the bed so I was sitting up. I have never been tested for sleep apnea but when I was at my highest weight I was sleeping in an armchair. Now that I have lost over 50, I can sleep in a bed again through the night and it is so wonderful.

Good luck!

Pennie

Does anyone have an opinion of the different flavors of lozenge Calcium that Bariatric Advantage sells? I tried the mint and it was just too intense. I like a more subtle flavor. I have a bottle of Solaray Orange chewable calcium citrate and, man, is it tart! How about some calcium that is not overpoweringly sour or minty? I have been a really bad sleever lately and skipped my calcium supplements but I know that I can't go on like this. Thanks for you advice!

Pennie

I've been told that the body can only "use" 30-35 grams of Protein at a time. I get Premier Protein ready-to-drink shakes at costco. They have 30 g per serving and mix it with PB2, the lowfat Peanut Butter powder, which has 4.3 g of protein for my morning "peanut butter cup" shake.

Do you plan on about 5 shakes a day to get all that protein in?

Good luck on your journey.

I am also about 5 weeks out and have gone through a stall and now TOM so everything is going up a little. I am down about 24 pounds so I won't complain. I also know that I likely would have lost more if I been more compliant with the twice daily Protein Shakes instead of substituting mushies. I am trying to get with the program and hopefully will see my losses increase.

I also think that you have done well.

Hi All,

Protein Shake fatigue has settle in. I really need some tips. I have bookmarked Eggface's recipes and am looking for more. My doc has me on two shakes a day while I am losing. Ugh! I cheat rather often by having real food like pureed Beans when I just can't face a shake. However, I don't feel that I am getting all my Protein in when I do that.

I think that a lot of it is psychological because I went from eating for comfort all the time to subsisting on Protein Shakes. If I could just divorce myself from wanting a little comfort from food I could live on shakes.

Excuse my rambling. I'd appreciate those tips.

TIA.

I have thrown up two times now since I was sleeved on Feb 10th. The first time I ate too much scrambled egg and I had a sensation that food was crammed in the lower part of my throat. Second time I ate a little too much. Now I try to pay careful attention to my feeling full. I have a tendency to eat too fast and then feel uncomfortably full later.

I think that it is a trial-and-error process that we all have to go through.

Good luck!

I am about three weeks out and on the mushie stage with two Protein Shakes a day and one mushie. I was doing about 300 calories a day and felt light-headed and weak so I upped it to around 600. The problem is that my weight loss slowed and this morning I showed a gain of .2 lb. Is this the dreaded three week stall or I am messing up? My fat intake was a kind of high yesterday and I didn't exercise.

Advice is really appreciated.

TIA,

Pennie

Hi All,

I am a little worried about my calorie intake. I am in my third week post-op and I average around 300 calories a day. I drink one high Protein Shake in the morning and then eat about 2/3 of an egg with a little reduced fat cheese in the evening. Also I supplement with Protein Water to get that in. I just don't feel hungry and I am losing weight well but I am worried that my body is going to suffer taking in so few calories. My surgeon's office says don't eat if you are not hungry but still...

I appreciate any advice.

TIA,

Pennie

Hi,

Sounds like a whirlwind of appointments. The psych eval is a breeze-nothing to worry about. I am very happy with my VSG experience with Dr. Chiasson and his staff.

Just sent you a PM.

Pennie

Hi Clock,

I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better. Getting rid of the trapped air helped me the most too.

Take care all,

Pennie

I can't believe that I can ditch the Protein bullets!! It's been a week since surgery and I can have a real protein shake! Sweet!! It may seem strange to crave a Protein Shake but after a week of choking down the bullets-Wow, I'm ready.

It has been an amazing week. Already, I am waking up feeling much better and energized. No longer depressed about my weight problem, I wake knowing that I have finally done something about it and it is great to be done with binge eating and food hangovers.

Take care all,

Pennie

Lee, wishing you a smooth procedure and a speedy recovery! Can't wait to see you back here soon on the bench.

Thanks, Tiff. I was told just to keep an eye on it. I think that the area is sore or maybe it is my old hemmorhoids(sp?).

I have had watery bowels since my first movement 4 days post-op two days ago. Today, I noticed some fresh bright red blood on the toilet paper. Is this normal?

TIA,

Pennie

Dear Polly,

I hear your fustration with the Medicare system. I postponed my surgery from December to Feb because I had heard rumors on the internet that Medicare would come through early 2010. Well, that didn't happen and I realized that I couldn't wait indefinitely and I did not want the gastric bypass although a lot of Medicare folks end up getting one. I was very lucky to have my mother pay for the surgery. I decided that my risks for complications were low because I do not have any co-morbidities beyond sleep apnea.

I hope that Medicare does the right and smart thing in starting to cover the sleeve ASAP but I understand that you cannot wait forever in hopes that this will happen. Your psych test and nut eval will probably still be good later in the year if Medicares comes through. Blood work will be re-done I think.

My surgeon was up front that he prefers the VSG and thinks that it stinks that Medicare isn't covering it. Are you considering the gastric bypass? It comes down to how long you feel you can wait in hopes that Medicare will come around.

I am sorry that I couldn't be the bearer of better news. Hang in there and good luck.

Pennie

Thanks Tiff for your great post. I am 6 days out and cross-eyed at the thought of any more Protein bullets but I am grateful that I have been doing really well. I have got to take it slow and let my tummy heal. I'll be full liquids soon and am really looking forward to that. Actually, I am afraid of the point when I will expected to eat solids--I've gotten used to drinking every meal. I don't want to experience painful back-up.

Take care all.

Pennie

I had a three month wait for my surgery due to postponement for financial reasons. I spent a lot of that time stress eating because I was incredibly anxious about the operation. I had to spend January taking that weight off. I found a competent pyschologist and that helped me to work through my fear. I think that the important thing to remember is that you don't have binge on foods that you think you'll never have again in an amount that is emotionally comforting. You do crave them now but once you are sleeved that intense yearning will be gone and it is OK emotionally not to have them. People who have the sleeve longer than me can speak to this better.

Good Luck!

Pennie

Hi All,

I am feeling pretty good except for the burping everytime I drink a sip of plain Water. Crystal Light does down more smoothly. How long did it take y'all to rid of the awful gas?

TIA,

Pennie

Hi All,

I am on the losers' bencn now! Everything went well and my worse problem is the gas pains. Also, I can't drink plain Water too happily. Crystal Light goes down better.

Take care,

Pennie