VSG AJH

I just saw Chris and Heidi Powell post a recipe for Protein Cookies using Protein shake powder as a primary ingredient. Might be an interesting way to use up some of that powder you can't stand drinking anymore, or just a different way to meet those protein goals. http://heidipowell.net/2790/cinnacocoa-frosted-protein-cookies/

I also found Raw Meal to be very gritty and hard to drink. I just saw Chris and Heidi Powell post a recipe for Protein Cookies on her blog (cookies made using protein powder). Maybe that kind of preparation would be best for this grainy shake powder. http://heidipowell.net/2790/cinnacocoa-frosted-protein-cookies/

Dumb question, I'm sure, but are protein drinks liquids or solids? My NUT suggests making them with frozen fruit and ice instead of water or dairy and ice, but that makes them very thick, and I can't tolerate that consistency. I don't drink milk shakes or eat ice cream for the very same reason. I prefer protein drinks to be very thin, much like a slushy or melted frozen yogurt. When they're thin like that, are they considered liquid or a solid? Does the "no simultaneous drinking" rule apply? Can I make an extra large protein drink and sip on it all day along with my water?

I'm not a smoker, but I honestly wish you well in your efforts to quit. My mom was a smoker for many years. She started smoking as a teenager, then quit in 2007 after being diagnosed with COPD. Her doc told her after seven years of not smoking, her lungs would essentially clear out and regenerate and function like those of someone who had never smoked. She was smoke-free for about three years, then began having a puff, then a cig, here and there with friends as they went out on smoke breaks. The little bit increased to an average amount, and in March 2011, she fell down at work. In hunting for the reason for the random fall, bloodwork showed unusual potassium levels, and one test led to another test that revealed she had Oat Cell Carcinoma -- a difficult to trace, inoperable, super aggressive, and always fatal type of small cell lung cancer found pretty exclusively in smokers. (4% of diagnoses are in people who work in as asbestos mines, 96% of diagnoses are in people who smoke, 0% of diagnoses are random.). She was so sure she'd never get lung cancer, but still, she was proactive about her care. Just the month prior, she'd initiated a lung x-ray to verify she was tumor-free. Unfortunately, Oat Cell Carcinoma doesn't show up on X-rays. I was her primary caregiver through radiation and chemotherapy as she worked so hard to extend her life, and it was her cancer journey that prompts me to have weight loss surgery now. Her grief in dying was so compounded by the fact that she didn't do enough to change her journey before she got sick. I want to now do WLS now because I don't want to get sick and die from issues related to obesity and feel that same compounded grief. It was unbelievably painful to watch. My mom died in my home on July 31, 2012, sixteen months after her initial cancer diagnosis. She was 56.

I should be a November sleever. I've finished all of my outside appointments -- psych eval was Tuesday, and EGD was this morning. Everything is ready to go, and all I have left to do is my last two (of four) NUT visits and one more support group. My packet should be submitted to insurance during the first week of November, so I'm hopeful I'll be booked for surgery before the end of the month. I have Cigna, and will have surgery in Grapevine, TX. Lots of Texans in this thread!

*it isn't carbonated. I swear, I cannot type today.

My drink of choice at Sonic is a Route 44 unsweet tea with a flavored syrup. It in carbonated, and the flavored syrup makes it a treat. There are several sugar-free syrup options available.

You all look so amazing! Seriously, it's astonishing how good you all look -- like the skinny person stuck inside each one of you broke free. I've never, ever seen my skinny person. Simultaneously excited and terrified to meet her!!

You look amazing! So inspirational.

Wow!! You look fantastic!

DeeJack -- you look amazing!! Way to go! You should be insanely proud of yourself.

Stunning!!

You look fantastic!! Your post is so encouraging!

I'm guessing between 30-35. Will you return with the answer?

Way to go!!

I've told very few people. At first, only my husband and best friend, and both were very supportive. Then I decided to tell a little trio of close friends over coffee. Two of the ladies were interested and asking questions, but the other was super critical and kept making comments about loose skin and how people who have WLS always gain their weight back. The crazy thing: this same lady has lost nearly 100 lbs. in four years with the lap band! She's thinner BECAUSE of WLS. She's not thin yet -- probably 75-100 lbs. overweight still -- so I think she's probably feeling threatened that she's going to lose her fat friend. Of all people, I expected support and excitement from her, but her reaction made me rethink telling anyone else.

I've heard of the jellybean test, and that might be more palatable on a tiny tummy. Also, an endocrinologist might have an alternate test for someone with WLS.

I'm still pre-op, but this is the very thing I'm looking forward to the most! I love the beach, and every visit since childhood, I've told myself that each year was the last year I would visit as an obese person. I should have my surgery in November, and we're planning the next beach trip in April or May, so THIS was the last year I visited as an obese person. I'm looking forward to walks in the sand without aching knees and feet. I'm looking forward to actually playing with my children instead of watching from the umbrella.

This thread is so concerning to me! My NUT called a couple of weeks ago to tell my iron and vitamin D levels were low. She said I needed to add a vitamin D tablet to the multi, but no additional iron. She said also the low levels wouldn't delay surgery, and the next recheck would be at my 3 month post-op visit. She didn't relay any actual values to me, but after reading this thread, I'm terrified this might be that random something that delays surgery, or if not completely corrected in advance, might be the thing that leads to complications. Pardon my ignorance, but if my levels don't get to that normal range before surgery, what am I looking at? Fatigue? Poor healing? Worse?

Dr. Matin, not Marin. Fumbly thumbs!!

I'm seeing Dr. Rivera at Baylor Grapevine, and though I'm still pre-op, he and his staff have been fantastic! Dr. Marin is also a surgeon in that practice, and I believe he's the Chief of Surgery for Baylor Grapevine. During my consult, he told me that they do loads of band-to-sleeve revisions, and said revisions are their only contact with Lapbands anymore. I'm not sure how many procedures per year that translates into, but it might be worth checking out. The office is well-run, never super busy, and I never feel like a number.

I've attached an image if a couple of really yummy vegan protein powders I have and use. the Amazing Meal brand also has a Vanilla Chai flavor, but it was so good I drank it all. . I don't have a dairy allergy, but I chose these because some of the ingredients in typical whey protein drinks were concerning to me, and the organic and/or grass-fed brands were super pricey. When I told my NUT about them, she said they whey protein is more complete and necessary for someone coming right out of surgery, but I'm actually searching the boards now to see if that's been the consensus, or if there's some kind of additional research I can take to her. Still, I think these would be good to use down the line as a snack, at least. In your case, the majority of your protein is coming from real food, so supplementing with a vegan protein seems reasonable. The Sunwarrior protein has 16g/scoop, and the Amazing Meal has 10g/packet.