MidwestGirl

I didn't care for the strawberry mousse at all! Pre-op I liked the chocolate Truffle flavor, and post-op I didn't like it so much. But now I will drink it if I make it with skim milk (I hate my shakes with Water, it really does make a taste difference) and add a tablespoon of PB2.

Also, there are soooo many supplements out there it's just about finding which one's right for you! I drink Gold Standard 100% Whey in Caramel Toffee Fudge, and that works for me. I loved it pre-op, now it's just okay but I got sick of testing powders. :w00t: BUT, what is okay with me might taste like crap to you. And it really does make a difference for some post-op as far as taste goes. I thought the chocolate truffle tasted like chocolate milk pre-op but now it's a little too sweet for me without the PB2.

Get a bacon bap without butter and don't eat the bun :lol0:. Sounds sooo good right now! If you're not going to be eating out much you wouldn't have a problem finding lean cuts of meat and fresh produce. And lots of cheeses to choose from! I'm not sure how rural you will be, but there's no shortage of Subways and Chinese restaurants if you must eat out. You could just eat the fixin's at Subway or order some Soup or chicken with veg at a Chinese restaurant. Not sure what's healthy Indian-food wise but that's quite prevalent as well. I would also think most places would have a plain old grilled or marinated chicken breast. Have fun!!! Whereabouts in England are you going? I studied abroad in Bangor, Wales, for a semester.

I was advised to eat 2oz of Protein at each meal. When I first started, this was a bite or two too much, so I would deduct a bit from that portion. Now, I've been eating a consistent 2oz.

While I won't say it's really like hunger (at least pre-surgery hunger), I don't seem to stay full as long as just a week ago. I even contemplated having a non-planned snack. To be honest, that scared the crap out of me. Here I am a little over a month out & I'm thinking of snacking?!??!!?!?

My plan says I should be eating 4-6oz a meal now. 6oz sounds like a full banquet, but I was wondering if I should go to 3oz??? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Anyone have any suggestions of when you started increasing your portion sizes? Thanks in advance.

Hey Mini-me! I agree that 6 oz. sounds like A LOT right now!!! My plan still has me on 1/4 c. per meal and I am full with that. I maybe add a little here in there occasionally as I'm not measuring as much anymore (eye-balling it), but then other times I can't even eat a whole 2 oz.! I would say increase them when it feels right to you. As long as you're chewing well, eating slowly, I would say eat an amount that you are satisfied with. I know that if I eat too much at a meal my sleeve tells me so! So I would say you are better off eating what your sleeve is happy with than the 4-6 oz. the dr. recommends. So if you're ready for 3 oz. per meal, I say go for it! And if not, that's okay too! :lol0:

And by the way, I must admit I've been having the occasional snack as well here recently (and they're not on my plan...) but when I think about snacking I drink more Water & that helps confuse my head I think, LOL.

My ~$20,000 was before it was sent to insurance. Post-insurance was around $1,500 that I had to pay.

Hi there! :welcome: Good to have you with us. Sounds like you have been through a heck of a lot!!! I think the anxiety is something we can all relate to but we're here when you need us! I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery! :001_tt2:

I think mine was about $20,000 which included cost of surgery, overnight stay in the hospital, all my pre-op appointments & testing, and aftercare (dietitian, surgeon, and physical therapist appointments) for 9 months post-op.

Woot!!!! :crying: Congratulations, lady!

Sounds YUM!

I pretty much lived on Soup during full liquids. My dietitian didn't want me to worry about carbs at all on clear & full liquids because there is so much restriction in what you CAN eat.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! After reading your posts about worrying whether or not you'd be cleared for surgery, it makes me super happy to hear that you got your date! Looking forward to having you join us on the loser's bench!

I third chapstick, LOL! Maybe make sure whoever takes you home from the hospital brings some kind of liquid to drink. I was SO thirsty when I got out. I took a book and ended up reading about two pages, but I was only there overnight. I took comfy-sized pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt to wear home. The iPod would have come in handy but I had misplaced mine at that point in time!

I live in Illinois (permanent address). I have BCBS Federal through my mom's work (I'm 21 & a student). They paid for almost all of it. I think we have to pay like $1300 of somewhere around $20,000. :thumbup:

I was the same way, but you get used to it! Now I don't even think about it unless I'm eating out and have a glass of Water sitting right in front of me/everyone around me is drinking. It's a little tough at first, but very doable! :confused1:

So I tried on a pair of Old Navy size 20s last week. They fit! But two pairs of 24s I have (one stretch, one not) are so comfy that I just want to keep wearing them...So I didn't wear the 20s last week. Yesterday the non-stretch 24s were falling down down down. I put the 20s on today...they're baggier than when I used to wear them all the time! I couldn't believe it! I only lost 2 lbs from last Monday, but I'm going to have to go jeans shopping this weekend! That means 2 1/2 sizes in 7 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (The 1/2 is because the 24s were tight pre-op, the non-stretch ones didn't even fit, and these are baggy lol). I even felt bad last week because I had a couple Chinese dumplings at our Chinese New Year party :blushing: and I only had time to do cardio twice instead of the usual 5x. Wow. Feels so good.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. My favorite thing to eat is vanilla or Honey OIKOS greek yogurt. And that comes with a whooping 18 carbs a day. It will SERIOUSLY pain me to cut this back. Maybe I will need to half it or something. Are there any yogurts that have less carbs?

Also, when you work out- do you all still keep your carbs as low?

I must admit, I thought this surgery would be a break from 'counting', so I am a little disappointed. But I guess I have to suck it up.

I don't count my carbs, I just make sure I get my Protein in first and then as my dietitian says, "it'll all work itself out after that." I try not to eat things high in sugar and limit myself to small, occasional amounts of non-vegetable/fruit/dairy carbs. And as for the yogurt, I would think you could buy the plain stuff that Lee mentioned and add vanilla extract? I haven't tried the yogurt yet, so not sure on that. Or you could always add truvia to make it sweeter (it's one of the sweeteners my dietitian recommended).

HA! Just realized one of the possible symptoms of a B12 deficiency is losing weight........................ :001_tongue:

Here's the deal with Calcium carbonate vs. calcium citrate. The carbonate requires stomach acid to break down. The citrate does not. Therefore, it's much better to take the citrate post-WLS because our bodies absorb it much much better. I was told to take between 1200-1500mg of calcium citrate a day, but you must split your dosages and do it in two doses; your body can only absorb so much at a time.

B-12 is important because a B-12 deficiency could potentially cause (from WebMD):

What are the symptoms?

If your Vitamin B12 deficiency is mild, you may not have symptoms or you may not notice them. Some people may think they are just the result of growing older. As the anemia gets worse, you may:

• Feel weak, tired, and lightheaded.
  
• Have pale skin.
  
• Have a sore, red tongue or bleeding gums.
  
• Feel sick to your stomach and lose weight.
  
• Have diarrhea or constipation.
  

If the level of Vitamin B12 stays low for a long time, it can damage your nerve cells. If this happens, you may have:

• Numbness or tingling in your fingers and toes.
  
• A poor sense of balance.
  
• Depression.
  
• Dementia, a loss of mental abilities.
  

Definitely one of the most important post-op Vitamins. Hope that helps. :001_tongue:

Hi Sarah!

Sorry you had some issues, but it sounds like you are dealing with everything GREAT! And I think most of us have that feeling during the early stages of recovery of "OH MY GOSH! WHAT DID I DO?!" But it gets easier every day! :001_tongue:

I was more of a salt-craver to begin with and still am. :tongue_smilie:

Midwestgirl, If you can share...what are the exercises you're doing? Have they helped so far (I know you're not that far out yet)?

Each of these are 2-3 sets, 15-20 reps in each. Supposed to do them 2-4 times a week, but never target the same area two days in a row, that way the muscles get a little rest.

Abdominals: 1) Arms crossed over your chest, tighten abdominals, raise shoulder and upper back toward ceiling. Keep head & neck in line with spine. Keep low & middle back on floor.

2) With feet flat and knees bent, flatten back into bed (I do them on the floor). Tighten stomach muscles (think sucking it in, like sucking your belly button to your spine). Hold 20 seconds.

3) One ankle across other knee, tighten abdominals, twist upper body to touch opposite elbow to knee (I reach toward my knee, but am not near flexible enough to touch my knee).

Legs: 1) With feet shoulder-width apart, 12 inches from the wall and back & bottom against wall, slide down wall & back up. You will feel a burn in your thighs, but it shouldn't be painful. (Squats)

2) In shoulder width stance, holding onto a chair for balance anchor a resistance band around the bottom of bed. Step inside the band loop, facing the bed/parallel to the bed. Pull leg back, keeping knee nearly straight. Do the sets with each leg.

3) In shoulder width stance, holding onto a chair for balance, tie resistance band around bed & step into the loop, perpendicular to the bed. Pull leg out to the side, keeping knee straight. Do the sets with each leg.

Arms: 1) Sit or stand, resistance band in both hands, arms out in front. Keeping arms straight, pinch shoulder blades together and stretch arms out. Try not to shift your wrists too much.

2) Stand with your back against a door, arm overhead. Knot the resistance band & shut it in the top of the door. Pull the band down to your side, keeping your elbow straight.

3) In stride stance, resistance band anchored under back foot, grasp handles behind head (knuckles should be at the nape of your neck). Thumps down, straighten arms, rotating to palms forward.

Most important part is to go slowly. Start each exercise with 1 set of 15 or 20, then work your way up. Also, especially when using the band, YOU control it, don't let it pull you or you're not getting any benefit out of it.

I've been doing these just two weeks, twice a week. I'm trying to work myself up to three times a week. I definitely feel them working as I'm doing them. And I think my arm muscles are getting a little more defined. Hope this helps! I typed up the sheets I have (they also have drawings) with a little commentary from me. If they don't make sense let me know & I can try to explain a little better. I'm generally pretty crappy at giving directions!

It's free to enter the contest. Did you mean what does the bento box usually cost?

Hey everyone enter the I heart @Eggface giveaway! theworldaccordingtoeggface

This week Eggface is giving away a Super Cool Bento Box. If you don't know what that is, check out the link! They are indeed Super Cool. :001_smile:

Tried logging out, rebooted, tried IE and Firefox. Not sure what the deal is. I guess my computer is conspiring to make me do homework! :blushing: LOL. Well have a good night everyone!

This is frustrating...everytime I try to get into the chat, it tells me "unable to connect" and yet I'm having none of the issues it says - I AM connected to the internet, I obviously have the correct address...so confused!

I am stocking up on stuff..I got sample packets of various Protein samples (there is a link on this forum, I think it is Oregon Daisy's?) I was going to taste them all be decided I would just try them after my surgery. I read some posts where tastes changed. I don't want to buy a crap load of something than hate it! I have my costco Protein drinks I know I like, I have one every morning, warm it up at work, good start for the day! I am on the lookout for clear protein drinks, bought a few of those for the clear liquid stage. I am not going to use collagen protein, going to stick to whey. Most of the protein bullets have collagen (made from boiled cow hide-thank you for that info OD!) I also read that whey isolate is more bioavailable . I did try the Injury chicken Soup, kinda salty, but I they sent me recipes with the samples, think I might use it w/mashed potatoes for the mushy stage. I also tried the Chike, really good might order more of those orange cream and banana. I also stocked up on Tomato Soup (sure hope this is ok concerned about the acidity? I love Tomato soup!!!) and some other organic kinds. I am going to do my best to eat normal whole food when all this is said and done (I know that I will still have to use protein drinks) Going to buy me some bottles of Isopure (at GNC) I did try the orange, nothing I would drink on a regular basis but for the clear liquid stage it will give me protein.

I plan on taking clear injury protein with me for the plane ride home. Figure I can buy some clear drink at the airport.

I am off work for two weeks after surgery so I will have time to share my experience on this forum.

I have my own shelf in the pantry that I am stocking this stuff (In fact organized it today!)

Hope this helps some. I get sleeved a week after you. Who is doing your surgery?

D.

I know some Dr.'s say different things, but I was allowed to do whatever protein drinks I wanted on clears as long as they were mixed with Water. Then I started using skim milk when I got to full. And you will be so thankful for the tomato soup! Just make sure it's not very thick. I had a lot of cream Soups during full liquids, though the sodium count was kinda high. I got the lower fat ones and just strained out the chunks of whatever was in there. Others have said they pureed the soup so they didn't have to strain them. Hope that helps. :blushing:

For full liquids definitely sugar-free popsicles (I like the Crystal Light ones), sugar-free pudding (I was told the boxed kind not the refrigerated kind) and/or sugar-free Jello. Watered-down cream of wheat was good but has higher carbs if you're worried about that.

I had surgery on Monday morning, no nausea until the middle of the night my first night home (between Tues. and Wed.). I woke up dry heaving, about 1 a.m., had to sit up in bed with a bucket and every time I started to nod off, I'd dry heave again for another couple minutes. This lasted til 4a.m., I got up when my fiance was getting ready for work and sat up in the desk chair until 8a.m. when I called my bariatric clinic. Then Dr. prescribed two different nausea meds ( a suppository & a tablet). I took a dose of each that afternoon and didn't have nausea again after that! :blushing:

Stupid chat won't work for me tonight. :thumbup1: