Globetrotter

As you may know I have been struggling with the dreaded horrors of protein powders this first week post-op. Struggle no more! I have finally found the combination that works and that is so tasty it would be happily slurped by a non sleeved person. 1 packet beef boullion protein powder - 15g's 1 can french onion soup - 2g's 6oz low sodium beef broth - 2g's I strained out the onions from the french onion, heated the liquids, then added them to the powder, et voila: 10 ounces of a tasty satisfying broth with 19 g's of protein. It took over an hour to sip it all but for once that time was a pleasure and not a cruelty. yay! I will be cleaning out the shelves at the grocery tomorrow for french onion!

I am 9 days post op; bending of any kind hurt a lot when I left the hospital but that has been fading ever since. At first I was frozen in a side position when I slept, propped up with many pillows, because sleeping on my back caused the gas to pool painfully in my intestines. I have pain in the form of hiccups if I drink too quickly/too much. These are not your regular hiccups, very painful. I am still struggling to get in the quota for liquids. I don't know if I am having acid reflux right now but I'm drinking warm tea and have a sort of icy burning sensation at the base of my throat. I've taken two chewable pepcids and they don't seem to be helping. I started out strong with energy when I left the hospital but I think that is because the hospital drugs were still in my system. A few days out I saw a marked change in energy levels and fatigue set in like I've never experienced, even after only 3 hours of activity. At nine days out I am walking around every day but in short bursts. Hope this sheds light.

I went to livestrong and began a profile for myplate but it won't let me put in the calories I want, it red flags me and tells me that is too low and won't let me post it. I'm in 2nd week pre-op on clears and am only supposed to reach 600 (ha, most days I barely make it to 250) but livestrong won't let me put less than 2000. plus there isn't a spot to track protein grams which is what I really need. I'll keep my profile but wouldn't it be great if there was one that allowed people like us to put in our very low cal requirements and tracked our protein and liquids?

LOL Timmy, you should check out my thread called "gonna pimp slap the peson who invented protein powder". I'm 9 days post-op and am in the depths of Protein powder nastiness. I guess we just have to suffer through, make it to soft food stage, and find a shake doe supplemental use that just doesn't suck too badly.

if you omitted the flour altogether you would still have a decadently delicious treat, maybe even better, it would be like gooey choco-lava, droool!!

Thanx Jane, as a matter of fact I am at this very mo drinking an atkins dark chocolate royale shake. though I find it lacking in the royale it is so far the best chocolate-adjacent bev I've tried. I'm also sipping on some miso broth. I must confess though that I am doing HORRIBLY in regards to protein and liquids consumption, I'm barely making 50% on the 60oz water and maybe 60% on the 70g's protein. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day or ounce space in my pouch. Not to mention the excruciatingly gross taste of the protein powder that ruins broths instead of being disguised by broth. I wonder if this lack of calories/protein is why I have yet to lose...

Have you heard of aioli? It's flavored mayo and you can get it in most supermarkets, my favorite is garlic. I have two favorite chicken salad recipes; the first one is shredded chicken, aioli, mustard (your favorite style), garlic salt, & pepper. The second one is tiny dice chicken, regular mayo, lots of fresh cracked black pepper, tiny dice celery, a little crushed walnut, and chopped red grapes, maybe some mustard to taste. It's a modification of Sonoma Chicken Salad and due to the hard ingredients would obviously only be for a person way out from surgery totally cleared for all foods. Me, I'm on day 8 post-op so I'll just go back to sipping my disgusting Protein shakes. =( Oh! I just thought of something else, lamb is a wonderful source of protein and if you make a roast of it at home and have leftovers, cold lamb salad instead of chicken could make an interesting change.

I don't think our psychological frustration has anything to do with not understanding how this all works, I think one of the first respondents to this thread had it right; we've yearned for this for so long that any length of time in achieving our goals feels really long. I'm one week out post-op today and I haven't lost a pound. My clothes do not feel remotely loose, nor my bras, nor my rings. I am not yet able to get in my quota of liquids or protein, no matter how hard I try. Most everyone who has the surgery is pretty well informed on how things will work, even before they have the surgery, we can be logical and sensible. But that does not stop the heart from secretly wanting ourselves to be the exception to the rule and lose wild amounts right off the bat. My surgeon expects me to lose 75 lbs by the end of my first three months!!!! I wish!!!!

Um, sellout much? Does anyone else find the new addition of all these ads bothersome? So much has been given away to adspace it's like a NASCAR vehicle in here! And that hot corner in the top right, every time I accidentally go past it with my cursor it flips to some ad page for lap-bands. WTF - this is a sleever's forum!!!!

update on the crap-powder situation: thank you THANK you to everyone who gave me suggestions, such as using the flavor packet from ramen noodles. Today I bought lime shrimp ramen and drank the flavor packet - yum!!!! And hello campbell's beef consomme! At 10g's of protein it isn't high but the concoctions the surg sent home with me are only 15. So ... is french onion a clear liquid? If I take out the onions?

Thanks everybody for your encouragement. It is now day 6 and I believe I am just now beginning to feel the full brunt of this event. I'm very tired and the littlest effort poops me out. Today I've decided to get in the full 60oz of water, even if that means coming nowhere near my proper protein amounts. Dehydration is scary. I will also shuffle over to the market and see if they have any of these sugar free syrups you guys mention, something to reduce the nastiness of my proteins. For now I will sit on the couch in my pj's, wrapped in blankets, and read while staring out the window at the lovely foggy ocean view. It would help if I could get some kind of nsv here soon tho ...:crying:

I'm 5 days post-op and everybody keeps saying walk walk walk. So today I put on a sunhat, packed a little bottle of water and a little bottle of protein drink, put on my sunglasses, and took off. Leisurely stroll with plenty of stops to browse in shops, sat on a bench and knitted awhile, sip sip sipped. This was not a workout powerwalk by any means and yet after 3 hours I am finally back home and utterly wiped. Before anyone freaks out, at least 45 minutes of those 3 hrs was spent sitting on a bench knitting. I haven't had enough protein today (25gs) but a call from my nutritionist today convinced me that for right now #1 important is to be hydrated so water got ahead of protein. Why am I so tired? I'm not sleepy-tired, but I could fall into bed and stare out the window for a solid hour I think. I think I've also hit the wall of disgust and frustration with this nastier than possible protein powders. =( =(

This crap is DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 5 days out from surgery and have been living off Protein powders blended with Water and whoever invented this crap was an a$$h013. I choke down 80g's worth of protein every day and try to keep up with the water but I feel like I am being punished for every pleasure I've ever had from food. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!! I need real food with real flavor, not this gritty paste water that tastes of a$$. I don't mind that I'm on liquids, but anything but this!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH. PS - yes, I've tried a variety of the brands, all a$$. And I'm only getting in about 300 cals a day, the doc wants me at 600.

Thank you Papillon, we WERE talking about Bento boxes, lol! I think taking the time to arrange a bento is not for everyone but for me I think it will be an outlet for the focus on food that I (and I'm sure many of us) still have. Some of the finishes bentos I've seen are so impressive, tiger faces on deviled eggs, bunnies made from squid sushi, little sumo faces carved into vegetables. A common complaint here on the forum is the worry over feeling left out at mealtimes and at the dinner table, I say have fun with your food, there's so little of it now we might as well make the most of it!

so here I am, four days post-op. I'm mouthing around a cold sf popsicle, propped up by pillows. I've had 80g of protein thanks to the powders sent home with me by my surgeon. I hope Im done taking the liquid vicoden as it tastes horrible and gives me trippy dreams. Painful hiccups, seriously painful, and more pain with plain water than with anything else. Thank goodness for popsicles. Haven't begun taking my vitamins yet, any thoughts on that? I have a gummy multivit and a B12 complete. I went out to dinner with family tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them eat and smelling the aromas, felt zero emotions of being left out etc. Am now sipping very cold lemon squirted homemade chicken broth, yum!! Surgeon used glue instead of stitches so that pulls and scratches a little, hurts after I stand up as things fall into place, painful hiccups, and can't sleep on my stomach which is turning out to be the most difficult thing of all. Any word on when we can do that? Haven't weighed myself yet, don't see a point, it's only been 4 days and any weight loss right now will just reflect the fluids and gases from the surgery. When I get back to work I will have an opportunity to weigh myself. I can wait a month! I am still wrapping my brain and emotions around the fact that I did this, it seems unreal, and then all too real. I've had the emotional tearful "what have I done to myself" moment, haven't had any NSV's yet - rings aren't loose yet. Just taking it day by day and trying to rest. Think I'll go chew a pepcid. Thank you everybody for letting me speak!! And where to I go to get one of those ticker thingies? :tongue_smilie:

So I am about to be sleeved and I am thinking ahead to my full liquids phase; I have some unflavored protein powder to add to my broths and I want to know - what is the rule on cream soups? No chunks, nothing to chew, just cream soups. I have a lobster bisque that is very smooth and creamy and absorbs the protein really well, is it okay??

So here I am in the hotel room in San Francisco; all pre-op is done, I'm starving, and I report to the hospital at 6AM. Since I can't eat anything but clear liquids I am of course watching the Food Network! Now I see why we call it food porn!=P I have no fear regarding the surgery however there is still a part of me that is disbelieving, that wonders if this will actually work. It isn't rational or logical - I've read the forum, I know it works! But still ... So, the next time I get on here I will be post-op, gulp!! Ciao for now!!:thumbup1:

Thank you so much for understanding everybody!! I am getting ready start the travel journey that will take me home for surgery and journey it is; four planes, maybe a helicopter, buses, and four days straight of travel. Once I get there I am going to fall into my Mother's arms, take a deep breath, and focus on getting myself into the right mental, emotional, and psychological space to prepare for this leap for which I have assiduously prepared. Total weight I hope to drop from surgery to goal, 160 pounds, but I think that first 10 pounds is going to mean a whole lot.

Oh, an addition to my Farewell to Food meal, bruschetta on crunchy toasted garlic rubbed bread with heirloom tomatoes, basil, and fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt. drooooooool!

no pun intended, lol! Seriously, can all those threads from that account be removed?

Wow, this never ocurred to me. Medic alert bracelets. No blind NG tube?

Okay, you guys are freaking me out big time!!!! I am 8 days away from surgery and I believe in this decision and I am going to do this, but you guys are freaking me out! This is my nightmare regarding this surgery, that I go through all the pain and expense, that I follow the diet faithfully, and then lose nothing at all or just a few pitiful pounds. A stall of 6-8 weeks?!! That's not a stall, that's a full on stop! WTF! How can one not lose weight with this?!! 700 calories a day ... protein ... exercise ... hydration ... how can one not lose weight?? this makes me feel rather bleak.

I am very glad that one of the perks of working for the Army is that I have access to free mental healthcare. I will definitely make use of it, along with keeping in touch with my surgeon and sharing here on the forum.

Yes, I have access to good medical care here and my surgeon has said that I may contact him every single day if I want to. I will only be here for a couple more months after surgery anyway. Also I'll have a month to recuperate before heading back. My imagination runs away with me sometimes and I picture losing barely 5 pounds a month, basically what I could have lost on my own without the surgery. I know we aren't supposed to admit that the speed of weight loss is a nice bonus, but I'm admitting it. I think it would be a real blow if the weight came off pound by very slow pound. How will I stop myself from eating reese's Peanut Butter cups? I may be panicking.

I actually wish I was on a pre-op diet, I hear so much about them on the forum and how important they are for shrinking the liver and I wonder why I'm not on one, and I'm not a "lightweight" either! I think I'm going to voluntarily go on a liquid protein diet the week before surgery.