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Good for you! Congrats! I'm sure you will be to goal in no time.

Your bridal showers must be a lot more wild than the ones I go to! Sounds more like a bachelorette party toast...lol

I would have taken plenty of time off of work if I could do it over. I am self-employed so was working really the same night I had surgery (answering emails on my iPhone from hospital) and sitting at a computer working a few days later. If I had a job with medical leave/sick time, I would have tried to take at least 3 to 4 weeks off and I don't think I would have been so exhausted the first couple of months.

Yours are great! congrats on the ones you've already met!

I love it too. Like to drink them over ice with leftover morning coffee.

I thought the same thing at a couple of weeks post-op and posted here--over time, I've seen a pattern in many people posting wondering why they don't have enough restriction. Everyone said--wait until you are on solids, you'll definitely feel the restriction, especially with dense protein. They were absolutely correct. That is what happens. Remember that you are still healing so your nerve endings may not send the needed signals yet. So as someone else said, be sure to measure. You should be fine with the 4 oz of chili but I wouldn't go over that. Things like yogurt will always slide down pretty easily but later when you are on dense protein and fibrous veggies, you'll definitely know that you had surgery. Be grateful that you can get in your water--I'm sure that you are. I was always happy that I didn't have issues getting in water or protein shakes early on. I feel awful for people who do (sometimes I wonder if it's GERD and their throats tightening that is the issue if they aren't on a PPI).

I think I'm just weird about my food. Things like potluck with food prepared in people's kitchens whom I don't know freak me out. LOL! I like having my own little lunchbox that keeps everything cool. It's so easy to throw it in the freezer too. I don't really even need the ice packs in the bottom. It's a Rachael Ray lunchbag and they make neutral patterns. My husband bought it for me for my bday a couple of years ago and it was one of those things that I didn't know I needed until I had it!

The part of your post where you said the young woman who answered the phone "sounded skinny" made me laugh....LOL!!!

-how many VSGs he/she has done -complication rate -average weight lost -amount of time in hospital -what does pre-op testing involve -what about post-op testing...leak test? -post-op care provided by surgeon's office (dietitian, PAs, surgeon, primary care) -what kind of pre-op diet -what kind of post-op diet -is VSG right for you or would he/she recommend a different procedure -does he/she correct hiatal hernias if needed during surgery? in what percentage of patients? -do all patients go on a PPI post-op (gastric protective agent)? -will you get a drain and when does it come out? -will have an abdominal binder post-op (loved mine)? -will you have a catheter in the hospital -how long after surgery can you drink

oh yeah, way better getting it over with first thing! Sending you good thoughts.

good aversion therapy, right?

I had to wait 4 months to eat non-fruit or veggie seeds. Biggest risk of getting caught in a healing staple line. I love chia seeds! They are so good sprinkled on yogurt.

Those are cute! I use little Farberware bowls from my pattern (Pistoulet) that are just right, or sometimes a wide-mouthed mug with a handle. I use teacup plates and the smallest spoons and forks in my set (I never used to use the salad forks in my set and now use them all of the time). My mom and I were at Anthropologie and I saw teeny tiny salt cellars with a teeny tiny spoon and joked that I should get one to eat out of! LOL

Even though they may say microwaveable, I wouldn't make a habit of microwaving food in plastic. The plastic molecules infiltrate your food and are not good for your health.

If you have more abdominal obesity, it's more likely that you will have a fatty liver, because it means your body tends to deposit fat in that region--both subcutaneous (under the skin/visible) fat and fat on vital organs.

My surgeon palpates your abdomen in the pre-op appointment and has you go on the liquid diet if he feels a fatty liver is going to be an issue (in my case, I didn't have to do it--I think it's more common for people who have a lot of abdominal adipose tissue, which is usually genetic as related to some people having more of an "apple" shape). However, if my surgeon had told me to do a liquid diet--I definitely would have followed it religiously. Two weeks pre-op is not really the time to be doing food funerals (I didn't do that bc I didn't want to have to work harder after surgery to take off weight I would have surely gained). I don't agree that it's the surgeon's "opinion" that matters--it's the evidence-based medicine that matters, and hopefully we all have surgeons that follow the EBM. Mine did, and that's one of the reasons I chose him.

are you getting in enough protein?

The 15/10/5 is a good idea, but does your RD include a snack too? Bc that would only be 45 g of protein/day, which isn't a lot. My RD recommends 20 g of protein per meal and if you have 1 snack, to make it something like a 10 g protein snack....

The liquid diet is more complex than the amount of weight it causes you to lose. It's to help shrink your liver immediately pre-op so that the surgeon doesn't have trouble visualizing your anatomy.

don't beat yourself up--there is obviously a congenital/structural issue at play, too, bc lots of people have weight issues and don't have these same types of back problems. Congratulations on doing the surgery and I hope that you find some solutions soon to your back issues and start feeling better.

I also got a UTI from the catheter at the hospital and it took 2 months and 3 rounds of antibiotics to knock it out. Now I have chronic kidney stones. My doctor (the kidney stone specialist) told me to drink at least 100 oz of water a day. Are you getting plenty of protein and low carb? that will help you pee more too and will help you lose some of the water weight. Hang in there.

I have a lunchbag that I can freeze in the freezer and then I also put freezer packs in the bottom--keeps my food cold enough that I don't have to put it in the yucky communal fridges.

I was so happy when we were on vacation that we were at a condo with a full kitchen. We only ate out twice I think. I went to the grocery store as soon as we got there and I stocked up on all of my VSG essentials! As an added bonus, the rest of my family ate healthier, we had more time for active stuff like extra swimming, and we spent a lot less money than eating out all of the time.

As others have said: You are at risk of getting anesthetized and getting incisions and waking up without the surgery if you don't comply with your surgeon's instructions. There's no need for "food funerals"--you will be able to eat everything that you eat now at a certain point after surgery--but most likely, your weight loss will be so great that you will want to keep it going and will eat healthfully instead. It sounds like you might need to tackle "head hunger"/emotional eating issues. It might benefit you to see a counselor before and after surgery. Hang in there and try to find ways to keep busy so you aren't thinking about food. You can do it!!!

I've been lactose intolerant most of my adult life and can tolerate cheese and yogurt but not milk or much ice cream (now I don't eat it at all). I have been drinking the Premiere shakes recently and haven't had an issue. Your mileage may vary. You may want to try some protein powder in your yogurt or mixed with crystal lite. That's a bummer. Hope you feel better soon.