SerendipityHappens

Did you get the idea from reading my MFP diary with that half a banana and quarter cup of PB2? Sorry if I triggered a craving Also I have not researched it fully, but Vitamin Water zero the "Revive" flavor has 25% of the RDA of potassium... Regular multi Vitamins only ever give 3% so to find a non perscription non-caloric source of potassium is not easy to do.

Talk to your doctor and see when you can take capsules. I was cleared to take them as soon as I wanted and I have been taking Bariatric Advantage capsules since one week out. You take six small capsules a day. I can swallow two of them with just my own saliva.. and I just take them throughout the day with my Calcium pills. I can't STAND chewables YUCK.. even as a kid I wouldn't even chew flintstones and insisted on swallowing a "proper" Vitamin. Also usually the swallowable kind generally have more good stuff in it that they can't get into the chewable version due to palatability. I got them on amazon for around 40.00 for a three month supply (540 capsules) ALSO, since we're having the sleeve which provides full absorption, my unprofessional opinion is that we probably don't NEED all six pills each day once we're eating a full diet again. I'm planning on cutting down to four pills a day once I start eating more veggies again.

I like 110 calories per 25 grams of protein. (that's 30 grams of powder usually) JayRobb and Isopure both fit the bill for me.. Isopure actually has 105 calories per 25 grams of protein!

I was a total of four months with the super low carb like this (3.5 months preop and 2 weeks post op) and I did lose a lot of weight (for me) I'm now on regular "low carb" keeping my carbs under 70 and I have to say that even though I have been stalled for the past two weeks, It feels great to give my body a little break from ketosis. I think I'll go like this for another month and then consider returning to the ketogenic approach.

I LOVE the magic bullet.. You are not on pureed for long, but it is a great machine for a healthier lifestyle well beyond the puree stage. If you can afford it, I'd recommend the nutribullet over the magic bullet as it is more powerful, but still the magic bullet is awesome for pureeing foods, chopping veggies and making basic smoothies.. I also use it for frozen coffee Protein shakes. YUM! I did buy a lot of protein because I do like to supplement with a Protein shake daily even before surgery, and I forsee that I will continue to want to. I bought several 24 ounce Jay Robb bags of various flavors and a huge vanilla Isopure. I use the vanilla isopure almost every day 1/2 scoop in my coffee.. and I use the Jay robb here and there, to add to my Vitamin Water or another "fruity" liquid though I get most of my protein through my foods. Once I start juicing again, I'll be putting a scoop of protein in my green juice so I know I'll use what I have and will need to buy more as needed. I made sure I had some jell-o and pudding. I also bought PB2 and torani syrups. I made sure I had everything necessary to care for my incisions as well as gasx strips, colace, laxatives and immodium. I purchased all of my Vitamins in advance too.. I bought a nice new set of measuring cups with round bottoms to make it easier to scoop food with. I made sure I had some compression stockings since I had to fly home from my surgery.

The Mexico doctors I spoke with specifically asked about smoking too.. Even though I had checked "no" on the questionnaire, I was still asked again by the doctor at the hospital and warned not to smoke post surgery.

Smoking inhibits blood flow and healing. Before any elective surgery the doctor will require quitting smoking for a period before and after the surgery until you are fully healed.

Waking up from anesthesia was hard for me. Once I was fully aware of my surroundings and what was going on it was much better. My surgery was in the morning. By early afternoon I was walking. I had small bouts of nausea, mostly when I'd walk, but I didn't vomit. The first few days I'd have spasms in my stomach... felt like period cramps but in my stomach instead of uterus! The spasms were not constant and not unbearable, but if I was walking when I got one it was enough to stop me in my tracks until it subsided. The day after surgery I had my IV removed because my veins weren't cooperating. I had my leak test and was cleared to drink. Drinking was no problem for me and I was able to get myself hydrated. Once I didn't have my IV anymore, I had to take my medications orally. No problem swallowing pills at all. I didn't get any more pain medicine except for a sublingual NSAID that I could take as needed. I took some on the day after surgery and the third day and after that no more pain meds. On the third day, I had my drain removed.. I felt a little pinch when he was cutting the sutures around it and then he had me take a deep breath and blow out.. Didn't feel a thing as he removed the drain. Recovery from this surgery went WAY better than I expected. Several years ago I had my gallbladder removed and I felt like I was run over by a truck. Any time I moved I felt like all my organs were going to fall out of my vagina. It was horrible... With the Sleeve surgery, I didn't feel any of that. Yeah, I felt some tenderness and I couldn't sleep on my side and there was some pulling where the incisions were but it was all quite mild compared to my gallbladder surgery.

Meh, I've been so fortunate as to be able to tolerate EVERYTHING I've put in my belly.... I drank 80 ounces of Water the day after surgery and at 4 weeks out I am eating generous portions (1/2 cup satisfies me.. I definitely could eat more but I feel satisfied with 1/2 cup so that's how much I measure for myself) The only things I haven't had yet are hard fruits, Breads, seeds and citrus. The breads, I'm not going to eat because I don't eat wheat and wheat free alternatives are loaded with high glycemic junk and the seeds and citrus are listed for introduction week 6 so I'm waiting for that. I recognize that I've been very fortunate in my recovery and my tolerance. I've always had an Iron stomach, so I guess I also have an iron sleeve! I never had much inflammation and I've never slimed or thrown up since surgery. I'm THRILLED that I've been fortunate but I DEFINITELY understand that not everyone is so fortunate. There are some who struggle to even take in water early on. There are some who become lactose intolerant. There are some who just have a sensitive sleeve that won't tolerate certain things until months and months later. We're all different and going to have different recoveries.

Super hero type? No thanks.. I've always had a thing for Jimmy Stewart....

Staying away from home cooked foods???? I just enter my recipe into MFP and it gives me an accurate calorie count.

I am four weeks out and I am averaging 700-900 calories per day. Yesterday I had 849 calories, 64 carbs, 33 fat and 75 Protein. I'm not even trying hard to be low calorie right now.. If I wanted to work at it.. I could get 70-80 grams of protein with just 600 calories but I want to see what my body can do in the 700-900 calorie range. If you want to consume fewer calories you definitely can do that and still hit your protein goals.. Here's an example of my breakfast 1/2 cup cottage cheese 80 calories 13 grams of protein -vs- your honey yogurt 190 calories 12 grams of protein. Or take my dinner 1/4 cup chicken and 1/4 cup green beans- 67 calories and 12 grams of protein. -vs- two spring rolls with 173 calories and 8 grams of protein.

Happy Birthday! I celebrated my birthday on liquids too! Best present I ever gave myself!

I was at Mi and I didn't have the third test where I drink the blue stuff, but the doctors ordered that test for other patients. I even asked the nurses about it and they checked my charts and said "oh no, you don't need to do that one". So it seems it can vary from doctor to doctor and even from patient to patient. I suspect they didn't give me the test because I was off the IV the day after surgery and getting all my hydration from drinking my liquids... I drank 80 ounces that first day.. I guess if I had a leak something would have shown up in my drain!

I had a great experience at Mi, but I need to correct you on the "call buttons in every room" bit.. Mine didn't have one (4th floor) and there was another woman on here who didn't have one either... yet there are other patients who did have call buttons. Personally it wasn't an issue as the nurse's station was so close to all the rooms anyway.

10 pounds in four weeks (it was 14 pounds, but I gained after week 2 and have been stuck ever since).... So if this is a competition for who is the slowest... I win

I filled out the questionnaire and booked surgery. If indicate some problem on your questionnaire they might ask for more details.. for example, if you have Hypothyroid, the doctor may want to see your most recent thyroid panel... but that would just depend on what conditions you indicate on the form. If you don't have any out of the ordinary conditions, they just schedule you and you do all your blood work and ekg prior to surgery in mexico and it is all included as part of the cost of surgery. I paid 4,500 and that included hospital stay, hotel stay and all medicines and tests except the acid reducer which would have been 20.00 extra if I hadn't brought my own.

Before I learned I was wheat intolerant, I'd do both the flat out and the joseph's products. I liked the ingredients and taste.. I'd use the josephs oat bran and flax to make toaster oven pizzas with veggies, diced tomatoes mozzarella and feta.. I'd just brush the pita with a bit of olive oil put on my fixins and pop it in the toaster oven.. BEST THING EVER... I'm REALLY going to miss those

32 and the doctor did an oversew of the staple line... Remember also the length of your stomach affects how much you can eat. My stomach is a bit longer than average so I will be able to consume more than many... I am exactly one month out and I've never had much inflammation and was drinking relatively normally even in the hospital. Currently I can eat 1/4 cup of diced chicken and 1/4 cup of beans.. That's a half cup of very heavy food.. I could eat more if I wanted.. but this leaves me satisfied without being "full" At a year out I should be eating 6-8 ounces or a cup to a cup and a half of "fluffier" food.. Less restriction than some, but a far cry from the enormous portions I used to eat.

I'm only 1/3 of my way into my journey and my belly and thighs are already starting to be wrinkly. some people just have more elastic skin than others.. Sine I was well over 300 pounds and have been obese for 40 years, I knew I'd for sure need plastics so there's no wondering for me... For you there might still be hope.. the skin sometimes will retract a bit after a year or so.

I SO feel your anxiety! You can go to seatguru.com and look up your flight and aircraft and know how large the seats are. The plane I flew on had 18" seats. I was 290 pounds at 5'5" and a size 26 pants and I fit with the arms down and was able to buckle the belt without an extender.. (I wore a loose shirt and stretch pants and buckled the belt UNDER my tummy then let my shirt drape over so nobody could see how ridiculous that looked)

LOL.. I traveled to Mexico alone to have major surgery... my biggest worry? Not being able to buckle my seatbelt or fitting properly in my airline seat!

Meh.. My experience was excellent. I knew the doctors I used were new at treating american patients and I was well informed of this by Mexico Bariatric center before hand. I had surgery with Dr's Cabrera and Valenzuela.. who were both well trained and well qualified. My surgery was quick and I had very little post operative pain which I believe is partially due to the skill of the surgeons. I was well cared for by Everyone and have had good response from christy who got ALL the answers to the questions I asked. As for all the crazy backbiting and rumors and all that, I really don't care about all that drama... Could be true,, could be part true.. could be just someone bad talking the competition. My Advice to anyone considering surgery in mexico is to talk to people who actually used the service and the doctors you are considering rather than listening to what amounts to gossip from people who have NOT used those particular doctors or service.

oh lotti, lotti, lotti, patience my dear.. This is all part of the process. you're not going to do anything to break the stall, just keep following your diet, drinking your water and doing whatever exercise you've been cleared for. I was 290 on surgery day, 290 at 1 week...276 at 2weeks, then at 3 weeks I shot up to 282. Today at 4 weeks I'm 280. It's all good.

week 2 I weighed 276 week 3 I weighed 282 I am now at the end of week 4 and I'm 280- still four pounds higher than week 2! I'm not worried. March was a huge month for me so I expect April is going to be bad.