TheCurvyJones

I only REALLY concentrated on Protein and tried to keep my carbs around 30 Net (carb count - dietary Fiber = net carbs). My carbs were not bread, rice or Pasta or sugar... remember there are carbs in vegetables and sugar in fruit! Gotta count it all.

Most surgeons want patients to get in a minimum of 60 grams of Protein a day. I hovered around 65 most of the time unless I had more than one shake.

You might find that dropping the shakes and bars will help. Bars especially do NOTHING for me. If I wanted to maintain forever I'd eat nothing but bars.

First week post op was Water and watered down white grape juice and Isopure. 2nd week same but I added Protein shakes and Soups that I didn't have to chew. chicken Soup and what not.

Soft/puree- tuna with a LOT of mayo to soften it up, refriend Beans and cheese, chili with cheese and sour cream to thin it a bit, broccoli cheese Soup sent through a blender, ham and bean soup blended, beef stew blended (this is to remove any big chunks), mashed potatoes.

Then I graduated to meats, fish was less dense than beef, chicken or pork but everything went down fine. At the office we would order fajitas and I'd get a couple shreds of chicken, beef and pork, some refried Beans and cheese and mix them up. A few spoonfuls of that and I was good and full for awhile. I'll also take the insides of a taco or burrito and mix it with beans and have that.

I am nearly two years post op and my menu isn't that varied. I focus on Protein and produce. If it's a protein source and it grows, it's in my 'Box of food I eat'. I do try to steer away from starchy veggies and I don't eat a ton of fruit because it makes me crave. It IS high in Fiber tho so every once in awhile I have some.

I would drop shakes and bars and try to get your Protein from real food and also try to get in some Fiber... a supplement or some veggies or fruit or both. Bloating typically means not enough hydration so increase your Fluid intake as well and flush flush flush

You could also try some non meat sources of Protein if you feel like your body doesn't respond well to animal protein. Beans, for example are high in Fiber and protein.

I would not recommend stopping protein.

Nope you should be fine. My doc asks us not to stack pills like that but your stomach acid should make short order of them relatively quickly!

I think they're gross. /unpopular opinion

I know there are docs in Vegas who do the surgery for !11Kish A friend of mine had her VSG there but she lives in Vegas so she got to recover at home.

Increase your Fiber. Try flax or chia in your Protein shakes or whatever you're drinking. I take Colace a few times a month as I suffer the same fate from time to time.

Nope. No eating or drinking at the same time.

So... what were your expectations? Because... more than 2lbs a week is a pretty good loss. You're on a good track already, losing 3x's as much a week as someone on a lowfat diet alone would lose ALSO, take note of non scale victories, like your pants falling off and your shirts getting big and your feet flopping around in your shoes. You'll see TONS more of those than you'll see on the scale.< /p>

The sleeve works. Your body is burning fat. Might not show on the scale yet, but keep pushing and have faith in the process.

Also make sure you are...GOING... ... and that you're getting in lots of water!

It might shake out that you lose slowly.....but the loss will be steady. It took me six months to lose 50 lbs, but I never lost50lbs before. And I never lost 75 lbs before. And now I"m at over 100lbs down. It didn't all fall off but the VSG has provided a steady, consistent loss over time. it's not designed to be skinny tomorrow. It's designed to help you keep losing long past when you would have given up with dieting alone.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have been doing 2 premier Protein shakes a day and one low carb high Protein meal since Thursday and I weighed myself this morning and I was up 3 pounds. Who knows what my body is doing.

Push thru. You know it's not fat, you haven't eaten 3lbs of calories worth. Suck down some Water and push thru!

Have you heard about lapband with plication? That's what I had and it's awesome! Aka "Iband"...

I have a friend who had plication and she has done wonderfully, from 297 to 160, size 24 to 2. SHe is a workout FIEND though.

You can do it!!!

Exactly! Many of the doctors that practice in Mexico were educated and trained in the US!

I have never talked to my surgeon in the US since I had the surgery. Any question I have had has been addressed by his nurse practitioner. Apparently it is beneath him to talk to his patients once he performs the surgery and collects your money. My office visits have been scheduled with the NP. The dr. never said, during our initial consultation, that his Nurse Practitioner would take over my care after surgery. Not that I have any issue with that overall, but I fail to see how his follow up is better then surgeons in Mexico. Assumption that surgeons in Mexico or any other country outside of the U.S. are substandard is full blown arrogance!

And see, when I was discharged from the hospital I received my surgeons office telephone number and an email address that he only gives to his patients. As well, he's very social media savvy so I could speak to him on Twitter or Facebook when ever I needed to. One of my friends had her surgery under insurance and she has seen her surgeon twice since deciding to have weight-loss surgery… Once during the pre-surgery process and once post surgery.

I had my surgery with Dr. Guillermo Alvarez with Endobaratric in Mexico. I felt like I was in expert hands and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I wish Dr. Alvarez was my primary care physician.

From everyone that I've talked to that had their surgery covered by insurance, Aftercare typically comes with the cost of the surgery, meaning they don't get paid to provide aftercare for a surgery they didn't perform.

Also keeping in mind that surgeons tend to be a little bit behind the eight ball… Think about it, some of the surgeons are still handing out RNY guidelines to VSG patients. Bariatric surgeons can't even come to a agreement on post surgery routines, let alone come behind another surgeon and provide support care for some other doctors work. He's already missing out on nearly $30,000 of income from a surgery he's not performed.

Many surgeons just feel that the work done in Mexico is subpar and they don't want to be responsible for any complications. That said, there are innumerable doctors in the Seattle area. It should be relatively easy to find a weight-loss surgery friendly doctor to provide after care for your daughter.

*four days on

Start as soon as you are cleared to Exercise from your surgeon. Start slow and ramp up as your stamina and abilities improve. I lost most of my weight by just walking 2 or 3 miles a day sometimes only 1 mile a day. I didn't even join a gym until after I made my goal of 100 pounds down.

Currently I am on a schedule four days on and one rest day and then it starts over. I cycle between upper body cardio and lower body For a period of 12 weeks. Then I'll take a break for a week or so and start back up again December 1.

I am 22 months out from VSG surgery and 105 pounds down and still losing.

If you are two weeks out you should be able to transition to soft foods very soon, correct? And then it's only a matter of time before you are eating like "normal".

Follow your surgeons post surgery plan. My plan was seven days of Clear Liquids, seven days of full liquids, seven days of puréed foods, then 14 days of soft foods including scrambled eggs and tuna salad. eggs are more dense than they seem especially when you're fresh out of surgery. They are pretty filling and I would be surprised if you could get down more than a couple of bites.

As far as Constipation, you will want to go sooner rather than waiting until you're in pain or "need" to go. The sooner you go the less it will hurt. My surgeon recommended Miralax or Colace. I still use Colace from time to time.

Yes Constipation can slow your loss. Increase your Fiber with flax or chia or a supplement. I use co lace here and there to "move things" and I always see a drop after that.

I weighed every single day when I was in my weight loss phase. I began to see that number as a piece of data that goes into the overall puzzle of my health and well being. 'how you're doing' can be measured by much more than the scale. And for me, I looked more at the trend line. If that trend was still going down, I was doing fine. My loss was slow... I had a lot of days where I saw the same number for weeks.

If it's driving you crazy though, I suggest putting your scale in a spot that's inconvenient to just hop on in the morning. The garage, the back porch. I kept mine in the trunk of my car at one point. I knew I wasn't going out there at 7am to get my scale to get on it.

It's not so much junk I want to eat. I want to eat normal and I can't. My new normal is a fork full and that's it. But yet all day not really eating and the scale doesn't move. It hasn't moved since oct 12. That's insane. And as for a buddy yes I have this site but actually having an audience reading how you feel everyday can be a bit much. Plus no one wants to read how your struggling day to day that's negative energy I don't want to put out. I need a more personal buddy. Somebody I can vent to and hear and that understands. Someone that have the sleeve. And Being that I haven't told my friends it's really hard not talking about it. This process is so not easy. It takes more work than anything. Oh I'm just 25 days out

I think you're fine. These feelings are quite normal right out of the gate. Not even a month out.. it gets much better. Capacity will grow and you will be able to eat more than a spoonful of food at a time. Your hormones will also even out and you won't feel so emotional about the process. It does take time to acclimate yourself to this new lifestyle but if you're not trying to shove down junk and throwing it back up, you're doing well!

This entire site is about weight loss surgery. This forum is about the sleeve surgery. Talking about your experience isn't putting negative energy out there, it's commiserating with those who know where you are because we have been there.

Does your surgeon have a support group, or is there one nearby that you could visit?

Feeling discouraged today. I really wish I had found a buddy to go through this process with for support. The scale isn't moving. I'm hungry and want to eat but then I can't. I'm thinking well the scale isn't moving I still can't eat crap so why did I have this procedure. Drives me nuts.

Hey hon! Hang in there! I had this moment once a month for........forever. Until I hit goal! Seriously, I was like... why eat good, nothing's happening! And then my shoes were flopping off of my feet and my watch fell off. :/ The butt in my pants was sagging and all my shirts were hanging too low. I was dropping inches like mad but only watching the scale.

How far out are you, how much did you have to lose and what's your progress so far? If you are hungry, eat some food! There's no reason to not eat. This isn't starvation. If the issue is that you want to eat junk and shouldn't/can't, then lets find something to reroute your thoughts, something to keep you busy-- read a book, watch a movie. I actually chew gum when I get snacky. My mouth is busy and then I get away from whatever it is I'm tempted to eat.

Let us know how we can help! This whole site is your buddy!

Is that true? I pray that isn't the case for me. I have to do well with this. It's my second time around and thus weight has got to go NOW!

From what I have seen, band to sleeve revision patients experience a slower but steady loss. You won't drop 10lbs a week fresh out of surgery but if your band is/was failing, you will return to losing again.

Yeah I think you need to rest, especially after eating. For me it's very easy for food to come back up if I'm strenuous after eating.