Cheer Mama

Never having had this experience, I can only offer clinical experience. But the answer is simple, take in a few more calories. My experience as a nurse is to have you add a few calories by adding a little dry milk to Soups, add some Protein Powder to foods, have one extra snack like a cheese stick, use full fat dairy, or add a little healthy fats to foods. It's easy to add calories, but the trick is to add them with the appropriate nutrional value. And if all else fails, a little ice cream every day isn't a bad plan

I had to add carbs and high calorie foods to stop losing. Sigh.... I am forced to eat ice cream every day...

Yes good luck! I just had my surgery.. Wiping your mouth a tongue with a wet rag is a savior keep that in mind! Thiose lemon swabs make ur mouth Water a bit but then they are dry and taste ten times worse! Wipe your mouth and I sides with a very wet rag! Even suck some water out and gurgle it, just don't swallow

I'm almost 24 hours post op and I'm not in any pain! The gas is subsiding. I'm just a Lil sore and achy. Hope all my other Sleeve Sisters are recovering well!

A lot of the things that cause us to be obese aren't really about food. It's not about always sitting down and overindulging in a massive meal, though many of us do that prior to surgery. It's more about our emotions and our heads. The issues many experience post op with head hunger, cravings, binges, grazing, emotional eating, etc. are all head issues - not stomach ones.
The sleeve is a tool. It's a tool that will help you control your hunger (most likely - very few people still struggle with hunger post op but some do) while you fix your head. You'll lose weight in the process. If you do your job and shed the emotional triggers and baggage and build new habits, you'll find that maintenance isn't all that hard.
That said - we are who we are. We have, in most cases, spent most of our lives building bad habits, coping poorly and hiding our feelings in food. We have fallen back on eating poor choices in times of stress and eating far too much. We love food. It's our addiction. It's particularly difficult to control that addiction and "stay clean" so to speak, during hormonal times and stressful situations.
And while we can learn to control it and while it really does get easier, that part never goes away. I'm not saying you're going to crave pizza a year out. Goodness knows, I hardly crave anything any more and when I do it's something off the wall like chickpeas or lima beans!
I'll be three years out in July. My hunger hasn't come back. But while I've maintained very easily (I just had a baby five weeks ago and need to shed the final nine pounds but otherwise have stayed in my "maintenance window" without issue) I can say that it would be easy to slide off track. No, it's not the constant willpower struggle for me that dieting was, but for some people it is a constant struggle. It's all in your relationship to food and how you redefine it - because everyone's journey is different and we can't speak to how you'll experience yours.
I still have to make the right choices. I really do best on a Protein coffee every morning. I still need to eat Protein first but I have to incorporate enough good carbs and grains or I feel the urge to graze. It's a balancing act. I'm pretty firmly centered and not likely to fall over, but I worked hard to get here.
We are not fat because of food. Accept that and make an agreement with yourself to work on it and you'll have a much better chance at long term success. Goal isn't a number on the scale. Goal is getting to a healthier size and weight and maintaining it happily for life.
And for goodness' sake - everyone comes out of surgery unable to eat and it's easy to treat the sleeve like part B of your Atkins diet for the first six months. But after that point I urge everyone to really explore their eating choices and learn how to eat more normally and in moderation. A huge issue you'll see in your time here has to do with people that fly to goal in half a year on a seriously low calorie, low carb diet...but then they disappear and flounder on their own, because all they learned to do was diet. They didn't learn how to live in maintenance, eating moderately and making healthy choices when happy with their body. It's far harder to maintain than it is to lose the weight, I promise you, and most people fail to see that. Getting to goal is the easy part. Staying there and being happy and doing it without a lifelong diet - that's the tricky part.
Good luck. Do your research. Accept that you will hit hurdles and stalls and maybe you won't lose as quickly as you like and you might even still want a dang Snickers bar when you're stressed. Don't let those things toss you off the wagon forever (stumbling and picking yourself up again a time or two is pretty normal) and you'll make it.
~Cheri

Awesome!! I'm waiting now to go into surgery!!

There is no wimps on this page. Change your mind set. On this page are men & women of courage, heart, determination, strength. If you feel this is what you need and is necessary then do it. We are here for you. I have no regrets. I hated what I looked like but love the new me. This changed my life because unwanted it as well as needed it. I was nervous as well and that's natural. No Wimps in here. This is nothing but something else in life that u gotta handle. NOTHING BUT WINNERS IN THIS FORUM. Good Luck and stay in touch with me. Here's something for you to shoot for, look at my before and after pictures.

it does seem to be.
My husband said, "Why can't you just exercise?"
I couldn't even get into all the reasons why exercise isn't possible for me, between swollen, Fluid filled feet, arthritic knees, a compressed disc with shooting sciatic pain, and I'm only 31! Exercise = dangerous and painful. He thought I could just zumba for a few months and be fit. Uh, no!
LOL

Unless you have dumping, I think protocol for a low is about the same as it was pre op. I used to have to get an immediate sugar source to initially get it back up (honey, sugar, piece of candy, etc) and then eat something with more complex carbs (fruit, muffin, etc) to keep it up. The only difference now would be choosing a healthier complex sugar. If you have a drop, a spoonful of sugar certainly won't ruin your diet or sleeve, but it does wake up the part carb craving part of your brain. My mom would often do honey and a banana and it worked well for her. I'm allergic to latex so bananas are a no go for me, but I've met lots of people in support group and just in life that eat Peanut Butter then a banana. It's healthy, peanut butter has some Iron and lots of protein!
Unfortunately my drops/dropped fast so I need a quickly absorbed sugar. Either way, it's not a huge deal post op. My number of occurances has dropped tremendously. But I do keep glucotabs and glucopacks just in case

WLS Do’s and Don’ts

DO remove the word ONLY from your vocabulary. Ex: I’ve ONLY lost 10 Lbs in 2 weeks… Now let’s look at this again without the word ONLY: I’ve lost 10 Lbs in 2 weeks!! See what I mean? Perception is reality folks!!

DON’T assume you’ll never eat all of your favorite foods again. This is just an excuse your brain has designed to allow you to indulge. You WILL eat all your favorites again someday, just much less but find it to me more enjoyable. Which leads directly into the next:

DON’T do the “last meal” syndrome. You will only sabotage your weight loss you might have pre-surgery or set you back further from your ultimate goal post-op. This surgery is very serious and is for the serious minded. Use this time wisely to get the feeling of how life might be like post op.

DO learn all of the rules pre-op that you will endure post-op. Such as, no drinking with meals, using smaller utensils and plates, engaging in some type of workout routine, limiting your sugar and sodium intake, joining as many WLS support groups as you can.

DO Celebrate every single pound lost! Imagine one pound of butter. Yeah… that’s gone from your body forever. It is noteworthy and worth every bit of a pat on the back as any others that may go along with it.

DON’T compare your successes and losses to others. Chances are very high that you will only come out on the short end and only find yourself disappointed. Everyone’s journeys are their own…

DO keep track of your losses in many different ways than just the scale! Examples:

DO keep one set of your largest clothes you’ve ever worn. Make it a point to try them on, especially when you’re having a down moment. You will find this will really pick up your spirits! This is a real rollercoaster of a ride, and anything that will keep you positive is what you should do!

DON'T keep any other fat clothes around. Get rid of them ASAP. You're never going to fit them again, right? So... off to donations they go.

DO take photos of yourself just before your surgery. Keep them close. Again, having a bad day? Look at them and compare them. As a matter of fact, take photos of yourself often. You will also find that the more you lose, the more you will want to take pictures. Nothing wrong with that!!! That goes with celebrating your losses.

DO take measurements of yourself often. Keeping track of all your inches lost will really keep you on the right track when your scale is being stubborn!!

DO reward yourself every time you hit a mini goal. Make some more worthy than others. I like to go shopping when I hit a goal, it is my favorite thing to do now.

DON’T let the scale define you. Great majority of us will endure many fluctuations and stalls in this journey. It is what it is… patience is the key here. Meditate and envision yourself months down the road at your goal. Smile, then move on!!

DO find out about measuring body fat! It’s more than just weight loss, FAT LOSS is the real goal here. Keep in mind that the BMI scale is greatly inaccurate and most Health Studies do prove this. According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE) our body fat % ranges should be average: 25-31% for Women and 18-24% for men. Any higher is considered obese. However it does go more in depth, according to ages and more. Everyone has different genetic make ups, frame sizes and fitness levels... even a different ethnicity can post differences.

DO have many goals in sight. Having only one, especially a simple weight goal you will find can be difficult. Have many MINI goals along your journey, and more than just ones that involve the scale. Such as, clothing size goals, body fat% goals, fitness or workout goals, dietary goals, etc…

DO challenge yourself always!! Whether it’s a global challenge with others, or personal challenges... It will keep you motivated and always willing to go further than you ever thought you could!

DO have a mentor! Find someone that you can trust and confide in, and that you know has “been there”. Preferably someone you know in person. You will find many folks in your life who have been there, for obesity is worldwide now and there are so many who have been able to defeat this demon. It’s not easy! It quite literally is the toughest feat I’ve ever had to endure. I can say this too, my job will never be done. This is for life!
DON'T believe the myth that your tool has an expiration date. Yes, it's true you will lose the most weight in the first year and it's also true that the further out you are and the closer you are to goal, the harder it is to lose. However, as long as you keep up with your healthy eating and fitness routines you will continue to lose weight and / or keep it off in the many years post op. It all boils down to calories in vs. calories out.
DON'T believe the myth that having WLS will keep the weight off forever. That is our individual responsibility.

And finally…

DON’T ever beat yourself up! We all make mistakes, and dare I say not one person on this Earth is perfect. I try hard to be, no doubt! I always admit that I’m a perfectionist – but I’m far from perfect. I just try to be… The only thing you can do is pick yourself up, give yourself a pep talk, perhaps contact your mentor for reassurance and move on!!! Again, this is for life. Every day you wake up is a second chance.

DO look for solutions to your problems. Otherwise they will just become excuses.


DON’T EVER GIVE UP! I don’t think any explanation is necessary here.

DON'T expect the scale to post a loss every single day. As a matter of fact, don't expect it to move that much even weekly! Just keep doing all the right things and the scale will move in the right direction when it needs to.

DO expect to see fluctuations on the scale, both down AND up. DON'T lose your head over it either. This isn't a miracle cure and the weight isn't going to magically disappear in a few weeks. You have to keep pushing with healthy eating, some type of workout and getting plenty of Fluid.

DON'T let the scale define your journey when there are so many pieces to that puzzle!!!



Good luck to all of you. This journey is a tough one, but if you are here, then you believed in yourself enough to give yourself the life you’ve always dreamed of. YOU WILL BE successful. Always keep that in mind.

Add-ons by other experienced sleevers:

DO keep a list of NSV (Non scale victories) to reflect on when times are getting hard. Can you walk up 2 extra flights of stairs before getting winded? Cross your legs?" and

"DO NOT be afraid to change things if they aren't working. Stalls happen even gains happen. If you are on a long stall look at your eating and decided if changes need to be made. Utilize your tool!" -- Southern Sleever

DO: Keep a food diary of what you eat and drink. This is a great learning tool as to which foods have what amounts of fat, Protein and carbs that add up to your daily intake goals. There are many ways to diary your food - from old fashioned pen and notebook to many options via smartphone apps. Keeping one is the important thing - however is right for you. I use mine now to look back for meal ideas when I hit a blank as to what to prepare for a day or a week.

DO: Realize this is not a diet to be followed for a while then set aside. This is a permanent lifestyle change. Yes, the amount of food you eat will increase as time passes, but your relationship with food will be forever altered. How you Celebrate your joys, successes and holidays will be different. How you mourn your sorrows will be different. Some people need outside help to get through the sometimes overwhelming mental changes this process brings. If you need help with this part of the deal- reach out and get it. -- SKCUNNINGHAM

DO roll with the punches!! -- fern

Pack?? I go in to any surgery with gym shorts and a button up shirt and flip flops. Put them in the little bag they give you...... Leave in the same. Done. (Guy simple.)

I'm just bringing the wife.........and she can get me whatever I need........ I call her the Pit Bull........if anyone gives me a hard time or drags their feet, I turn her loose on them.

I brought cute night shirts, Chapstick, mp3 player, makeup, book... I didn't use any of them lol I didn't see anyone in the hospital ever change out of their hospital gown, there is too many tubes, shots, drainage bag, catheter bag. I was so tired, I never thought of listening to music let alone read. And... makeup, ya right lol My surgeon uses a blue die during the surgery, which, of course leaks down the side of your face, I was more concerned with washing my face to get the blue off then applying makeup. I suggest you keep it simple, stay in the gown, just bring real baggy clothes, with a very loose waist band, slippers to wear home, hairbrush and toothbrush and paste. Once I got home, not much changed for a few days other than I could shower. Stay comfy.

QUESTION:
"I'm having surgery soon, what will I need for my hospital stay or for shortly after???"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this question comes up here so much - I felt it would be a great idea to start up an official thread. My plan is once I think the list is great enough, I'm going to create a checklist for all the folks out there that will be sleeved shortly and have the above question. Then if you are around long enough and as much as I am, and someone has that question you can just lead them to this thread. Fair enough?
Sometimes it's just nice to have everything all in the same place, kinda following the Walmart rule of thumb. They are very successful, aren't they?
Anyway, please start with your suggestions and I'll get my MSWord fired up. I'll also start with the first suggestion:
Comfy Pajamas, underclothes, and slippers or warm cozy socks...
Hospital Stay Checklist.doc

My surgeon prescribed 2 large bottles of liquid hydrocodone for me after surgery. I must admit that they made me sleep like a baby, and I used up every bit of it even after the pain was gone...oops!

I'm just changing my mentality about food. I approach it a lot differently now

I find the nighttime the hardest as well. I think it may be be boredom. I have tried to going back to the basics, but the carb monster starts rearing its ugly head.

I deal with that from time to time and two waffles with Peanut Butter get me right back up. I talked abt it with my NUT and she thinks its ok since I can't do OJ

I was hypoglycemic pre op. I had very random and very severe lows. Since the day I had my sleeve (leak and all) I've only had 2 lows and those were both times I was sick with the flu. When I had a low with the stomach flu, I ate a regular (not sugar free) Popsicle and a few sips of full sugar Gatorade and it went back to normal fairly quickly. The swings time I had 2 tablespoons of honey and was just fine.
My mom had type 2 diabetes. HAD. She had a DS just a few weeks after my surgery. And a week after her surgery she was off all medicines for her blood sugar.
The sleeve actually helps me keep my sugar regulated. I have no idea how, and I don't care to know. I just want to enjoy not feeling like I'm going to faint out of the clear blue

I recently had a follow up appointment with my doctor and he said im doing great. As of today I am 5 1/2 months out and have lost 76 lbs. But I told him my weight loss seems to be slowing down. He asked if I am getting my Protein, which I am. Then he asked how much I'm exercising to which I responded everyday thinking that it was a great thing but he said no you have to take 2 days a week off from exercise. He said no one should exercise 7 days a week. Muscle is built during rest. He strongly recommend I start strength training. More muscle will speed up my metabolism and help burn fat more efficiently. His advice was that I spend two days of cardio, two days of strength training, and 1 day of interval training with 2 days of rest per week. I haven't strength training before so I set up appointment per his recommendation with a trainer for her to set up a program for me that I could do at home. She was very nice and gave me great advice she said you should never strength train two days in a row. Always drink your Protein Shakes after you exercise on your strength training days so your body will not take from the muscle you've already built. She also said that my rest days I could practice stretching or I could do yoga or palates if I wanted to do something. So I stared all this 5 days ago and have lost 2.5 lbs since then. I never thought I would say this but I really like the strength training and look forward to learning the palates and yoga. I am learning about my body and I was greatful for all the help and advice so I thought I would share the advice I received. Hope it is helpful to someone.

The only difficulty is in my head; panic over not getting to eat Snacks like everyone else and my frantic desire for chocolate. Regarding the amounts though, it's amazing, today is day 6 of the reset, tracking every one of my 700 or less calorie intake, cardio and strength every day and it is actually getting easier to eat less. Whatever science is involved, a week ago I probably could have eaten an entire cheeseburger with only a small half time break. Now, I eat 3 forks of an egg white omelet and I'm done. So long as I see results, I'm going to keep doing this, as soon as I hit a stall I will take that as a cue from my body to switch it up.

Update: I have been livin' la vida post-op for 5 days now - and am down 5 lbs! Whether that is the infamous "water weight" that isn't a *real* loss, I don't care, it's numbers heading south and that's what I like to see .

Every day/week/month there is an influx of posts raving about these amazing Protein Shots and how awesome they are, you can chug 42g of Protein in a second and it's all good, right? No, I'm afraid not. If you notice, many of the protein shot companies are no longer around. What does that mean you ask? Well, that means some supplement company or big box store bought a **** load of protein tubes for a freakishly low price, and are passing on the great savings to you for your health!!
Actually no, bubble burster ahead. It means they're making a killing off of these because they cost nothing to make because they're all made with such a low quality of products. What happens when BCAA and Proteins sit on a shelf in liquid form? It all becomes chemically unchained, making the product worthless to you. As they are manufactured, sure I'm sure they have MAYBE 42g of protein, but after it's sat for a month? Not anywhere near that much and the BCAA's in there are pointless, the main chained amino acid becomes stale and breaks down, so the vessel that transports the rest of the amino acids no longer exists, so no amino's get anywhere where they're needed.
Actinase [Patent Pending Blend Of Enzymatically Hydrolyzed (Predigested) Collagenic Protein Isolate, whey Protein Isolate, Casein Protein Isolaate
Ever drink any protein that has ^^ that in it? Congratulations you just drank ground cow parts, bones, hair, hide, teeth, and at times even organs if they're not separated at the mill.
Gelatin dessert, and although it might be a fun food, it was not designed to build muscle mass and it won't. This protein has a PER of almost 0. It contains little or no tryptophane, one of the essential Amino Acids necessary for the formation and utilization of all the other Amino Acids. It is a lot cheaper for a manufacturer to purchase hydrolyzed gelatin than the special whey American Body Building uses, which is a natural milk protein naturally extracted during the processing of cheese, after which the lactose, a milk sugar, is removed.
When using hydrolyzed gelatin, the nutritional information panel on the label is supposed to make the statement "Not a significant source of Protein" next to the word protein. But they usually and conveniently forger to include it. Have you been using a product like this and not gained the mass you thought you should on a high protein supplement? Well, you're not getting any protein for it. Whenever you see hydrolyzed gelatin anywhere on the label, even if the label says the product contains whey, check your rear view mirror. Gelatin can cost 75% less than soluble whey, and whey is much more difficult to process. Given these facts, how much quality protein do you believe they are actually giving you in their products when gelatin is listed on the label.
THINK ABOUT IT! For these and other reasons of increased processing costs, some manufacturers opt to go the easy way, and put low quality, low biological utilization proteins in their products.
Your body cannot even being to absorb the protein inside these tubes because of the incomplete BCAA profile. You're literally crapping this protein right out your rear end, might as well just throw your money in the toilet, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
http://www.getbig.com/articles/faq-drnk.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolyzed_collagen
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10460913
http://etd.uthsc.edu/World-Access/ymi/stabilizationreviewright.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18661536
http://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(13)00223-3/abstract

I stumbled across this great website via pinterest. The website is called Skinny Mom. She has great skinny versions of recipes, fitness, and health and beauty tips.
It's not a website gear towards bariatric patients but if you are anything like me and want to eat foods you still enjoy but healthier versions this website is great. The recipes are especially great for those that prepare meals for the entire family.
So far I've only tried the skinny chicken enchiladas and the skinny chicken parmesan. She gives the nutritional facts recipes. The recipes I’ve tried all taste so good. I’m really looking forward to trying more recipes as I progress into maintenance, which is still a LONG way away.
http://skinnymom.com/

I regret that I didn't take the 6 month pre op diet very seriously. I wish I would have taken that time to practice eating slowly and thoroughly, along with getting in lots of fluids, familiarizing myself with high Protein foods, and detoxing from certain things like sugar and carbs. I think that would have made the first month a lot easier, both emotionally and physically.