TheGamer

Jerky is a good snack, too.

I took shots for two weeks post op to reduce blood clot risk. I believe there's risk for up to six weeks.

Wow, I've never heard of that before. Only milk? o.O I mean, I love some dairy, but I dunno if I'd love 8 weeks of it.

That depends on what your pre-op diet is, I suppose. There are lots of different kinds, and some people get to eat food while others... not so much. Mine was two weeks of BA shakes with fruit and a little veggie once a day.

Give it a week. It took me about that much or a little longer to get rid of all the fluid they pumped me full of post-op.

Go back to your basics is the best advice I have. Eat simply - poultry, fish, etc., watch for carbs, get in your Water, and always take your suppliments. Track *everything* you put in your mouth, accounting for every last bite or nibble. Up your exercise above and beyond what you're doing. Over time we get acclimated to things and it's very easy to add a little here or there and over time, that adds up. And then, there's simply waiting it out. If you're eating less than you need to sustain your weight, it will eventually come off. Stalling and plateauing are going to be a part of what we do as our bodies adjust to the massive amount of weight we're losing in such a short time.

Yeah, vomiting is bad, especially right after surgery.

I prefer to use liquid sucralose. It's generally not available in the store, but you can order it online in several places. On Amazon if you look for EZ Sweetz, you'll find a 3 pack for around $20. Yeah, it's pricy, but every bottle is equal to about 6 cups of sugar. Every drop replaces 2 teaspoons of sugar. They last quite a while. The advantage to liquid over powders like Equal or Splenda is that when used in liquid form, there are no carbs, whereas every packet of splenda equals 1 carb. The bottles are also small enough to carry around in a bag or purse so you've always got it handy.

That's a very good attitude to take

I don't think it's unreasonable. It may take a while, but as long as you're eating fewer calories than you're expending, you'll lose weight. I was told to expect to lose 60-80% of my excess weight (I started at 383). I've already lost about 90 pounds, so am about halfway to my first goal of 220 from a sleeve date of 10/22.

Wow, seriously? It's one question. One. Yet here you are, attacking this person for an honest question and pulling in all sorts of personal attacks that aren't relevant in the least. It's not disrespectful for someone to ask that things be kept on topic. If there's another topic someone wants to start, go nuts, start it. We've all been a little neurotic when it comes to life post-sleeve sometimes and the first eating out excursion was, for me, a pretty big deal. Good gawd, lay off.

I did a two week liquid pre-op diet. I had a higher starting weight, so they made me go the full two weeks. I found that while it was difficult initially, the longer I did it, the easier it got until near the end I was forcing myself to drink 3 shakes a day. I was allowed Bariatric Advantage shakes with a little fruit added in for flavor. My favorite was to make a vanilla shake with blueberry tea ice cubes and frozen blueberries.

VSG started out as step one of a two step procedure (the second step being RNY, usually) for patients who were otherwise too heavy to undergo traditional WLS, so generally being heavier isn't as much of a detriment as it would be otherwise. That said, the lower your weight is, the better it will be when your surgery date arrives.

I would go with just the chicken, personally. Heck, even just ask them if you can buy a chicken breast or something. Just go slow and you'll be fine. Personally, I'd avoid the yogurt parfait as it's really just a faux-healthy desert that's loaded with sugar.

I don't know if you're much for tracking what you do, but it can be great to be accountable in some way. Planning out what I'll eat ahead of time means I can make sure that I'm getting in what I need to and helps eliminate the mindless eating (I'm a sucker for the 100 calorie cocoa almonds) that I would do otherwise.

You could try ginger tea, or flat ginger ale to settle your stomach. Also peppermint (like Altoids) can also settle your stomach.

Give it time. While my stomach still prefers rather bland things (sensitive, like many are post-op), I am finally starting to eat a little more adventurously now. For the most part, though, what I eat is relatively plain. I eat a lot of chicken, fish, and dairy like cottage cheese and yogurt. I drank Water religiously before surgery, but found that after surgery, I can no longer tolerate the taste (or lack thereof). I exclusively drink tea (mostly herbal fruit tisanes) now and will only drink water if there is absolutely nothing else.

Yup, Geri is right. It's not about the calories. The caloric restriction will come on its own if you follow your plan. By the time I get my protein in for the day, I'll have somewhere between 600-800 calories in on average.

Ultimately, you determine the outcome of any WLS. Sleeve, RNY, band, it all comes down to what you make of it. Even resorting to these measures, it will all depend on you. If you are able to follow the restrictions that will come with this choice, make good decisions, and follow through with what will be a lifetime change, then this will work for you. While we mostly get success stories here, there are enough posts where people are either self sabotaging, not following plan, or letting things go and are honest and helpful enough to let us see that this is not an easy fix. The issues that we carry in to surgery do not disappear the moment we come out of anesthesia. Once you can get back to eating "normally", that's when the real test starts. You still have to choose what you'll do. But if you choose to do things the right way, then yes, this will work. It may not always be easy, it may not always be fast, and there will be lots of frustration, but it will work.

It's the internal stitching, most likely. Mine got so bad at one point that I went back to my pain meds for a day and took a nice, long nap. A good six to eight hours later, it was fine. Unless your pain is accompanied by any other symptoms that would indicate infection or other serious issue, it's probably just the healing process.

Yeah, the talking stomach doesn't really go away >.> I notice mine the most when I drink.

Depends on the guidelines you were given. Everyone is different. Some are super restrictive, others (like mine) not so much. I was told no more than 100g a day, no more than 20g at a single time. Given that I eat protein first, there's really no time where I'm just eating carbs. Most of my carbs (if any) come from dairy that I consume like yogurt or cottage cheese.

I did not have to have the six month diet. My insurance company (UMR) gave conflicting information on if it was needed or not, so my bariatric center just went ahead and submitted my paperwork for approval to see what would happen. After a month of processing, they came back with approval, no diet needed. I should note that I had a very high starting BMI, weighing about 380 at the beginning of the approval process.

My guidelines were no more than 100g a day, no more than 20g at a time. Do I ever come remotely close to it? Nope. Most days I'm in the 20-30 range on a daily basis, most of that from dairy sources (cottage cheese, yogurt).

Try fruit (herbal) teas. That's pretty much all I drink these days. I love Celestial Seasonings True Blueberry and Berry Zinger flavors.