NMJG

The OG soups are too rich for you right now. Try again in a month and stick with Minestrone, which is not as rich as Toscana. Despite the word Cream in it, soups with a lot of fats will be rough on you right now. Milk based cream soup will be fine, but avoid real cream. For now, keep with Campbell's cream soups, like cream of chicken, etc. they are mild enough for your new tummy. After a few weeks it will be better.

I like dry roasted and salted soy nuts. Good protein and they do the salty crunchy thing for me.

yeah, you need to figure out what makes sense to you! and what works best for your body and your sleeve. i feel like crap when i am in full blown ketosis (no carbs). some people swear by a keto diet, saying they feel great on it, lots of energy and very clear brain function. i am a b***h and feel sluggish and foggy. my brain needs more glucose. but thats what works FOR me. when anyone, doctor included shoves a particular eating plan at you, ( my doc recommends paleo, btw) say, "wow, that is so great you found something that makes you feel so much better. i would love to learn more about it. thanks for the info." (then smile and change the subject. lol) then, check it out. a lot of people have found they really do feel better without wheat. my husbands stepsister was talking yesterday about going wheat free yesterday. she's had stomach issues her whole adult life and just had a horrible 4 month bout of intestinal dysfunction due to overuse of antibiotics. i told her, it cant hurt to try. same for you. but, and that's a big but, you have to feel like the plan you are following makes sense for you personally. Moon, out of curiosity, when was your surgery and how much have you lost? And no, I do not have wheat issues, I just feel that none of us are qualified to go off on our own for diets when our bad judgement got us here to start with. I don't believe in using our "good judgement" because I doubt many of us have any regarding food. Just IMHO.

Thanks, Laura, this is a good time to remind people. It's so sad when you see the same posters first start off with "i cheated on my pre-op," then "I think balance and moderation are the key and I can't deny myself or I will fail," then you see "I'm not losing much anymore and gained a little," etc. it never ends and we can never act like naturally thin people. We have our own "normal," and it looks different than other folks.

To the OP: you trusted your doctor to get you this far and got great results, so continue to trust him and stop looking here for permission to eat differently. None of us are doctors. Stick with his plan and continue to lose well. He has a lot of patients and obviously has seen good results. Trust him!

111 lbs in 5 months!?! Way to go! Not sure you need to change anything with progress like that. Everyone stalls, it's completely natural. My nut has us on 60 carbs max per day and no more than 20 per meal. Like the others, I try to use healthy carbs like nuts, vegs, dairy, etc. and tend to avoid breads, Pasta, rice, potatoes. I read people on here with ranges from 40 to 60. 50 works for a lot of people. I'd probably lose faster if I stuck with 50.

A number of people will tell you that sleevers don't dump. However, some sleevers do dump and you can find info on VSG and dumping if you google it. It isn't just Rny. It is caused when food hits your digestive system too fast, often with high carb foods like dessert, but not always. Personally, I dump occasionally when trying new foods (had one memorable experience with frozen yogurt and fresh strawberries), but it has gotten much better after 4 months. Pretty rare now.

Common issue, dear. Keep in touch with your doctor. It may be the patch is not a good med for you, so you might discuss an alternative with him. The nausea eventually goes away, but it is hard right now. I feel for you. Stick with it and that this too shall pass. The first month is so sucky. Good for you getting fluids in, that is the most important thing right now. You'll get your protein in soon. Few people get much protein in a week out.

This is all common stuff, honey. You are not alone and it does suck. Luckily, the next month will be much easier. Lots of people have the Water thing. Try zero calorie Vitamin Water, Crystal light, Powerade, and water with a touch of juice is fine. Do everything you can to get in 64 oz. Personally, I find warm drinks like tea much easier to get down than cold drinks, so try that. I drink a ton of herbal tea. For Protein, try nonfat cottage cheese, kefir, Greek or Icelandic yogurts. These are all very high protein and go down easy. Tuna salad with fat free mayo or Miracle Whip is good. Skip the celery, tho. Try some soft cooked eggs. Look up Gamer Girl's recipes, she has lots of good soft high protein ideas. Also try sample packs of different brands of protein. What you liked presurgery may well make you nauseous now. Try hemp or pea protein, well as whey and soy. Just try to stick with protein isolates at this point. The protein is much more available, which is what you need right now. Try

So here's the deal, and you may not want to hear it. After surgery it is HARD. You feel sick, you feel nauseous, you want to eat then you think you hate food. The sleeve is a tool, not a cure. The real battle is in our heads and it is very easy to screw it up by eating the wrong foods. Many many people lose at first then stop losing, then gain it back plus more. Why? Because they cheated. They ate slider foods (if you don't know what that is search it on this forum), they drank with meals, they didn't get their protein in and grazed on carbs, they drank caloric drinks, kept their Starbucks habits, and basically did not keep to their program. Some of the worst cases seriously damaged their sleeves. They overate consistently and stretched them. They had leaks. They ate foods too early and caused complications, they didn't get their fluids in and ended up in the ER due to dehydration. So if you can't stick to the presurgery diet, you should seriously consider if you are ready for this surgery, because it is a lot worse afterwards. It's not a game, and when you cheat, the only one you hurt is yourself. Rethink it, dear, and good luck to you.

Santa is fat because he is jolly! Aren't all fat people jolly?

What Butter said. Doubtful you did harm today, but not a good habit to get into.

You are freaking out. A 15 lb loss in a month is great! Stop comparing. Also, a good tool is to calculate what % of excess weight you have lost instead of lbs. It is much more accurate. Happy Christmas!

Went on a bike ride for three hours with hubby today! I have not been on a bike in 10 years. I was pretty wobbly for the first half hour, but after that it was smooth sailing (or riding). Who woulda thunk?

Well, I will state that IMHO massage is good for sleevers, so there

Am wondering about the effects of massage on our weight losing bodies. I am not a massage therapist or a doctor, but I have some thoughts about the benefits of it, particularly for WLS. Would love to hear others's thoughts on this topic. Of course, I am trying to justify as many massages as my pocketbook can afford, but it is an interesting topic. My thoughts on why massage is beneficial for WLS (again, purely conjecture here, no data to back any of this up) It gets your blood, lymph, circulation etc. moving, which can only be beneficial in aiding weight loss It smooths out fat lumps and helps you lose more evenly The moisturizing oils smoothed into the skin helps with sagging and loose skin Makes you feel good and less stressed so you are better able to stay on plan, eat right, and avoid emotional eating or drinking and junk food Gives you more body awareness, helps you to learn to love your body, improves self image and esteem So what do y'all think?

Honeymoon is typically known as the first 6 months after VSG. In this period you tend to lose the fastest, your hunger is the most controlled, exercise has the greatest effect on fat reduction, and the quantity you can eat is much more limited. You can certainly lose after this period, but it is a time when you can drop 50% + of your excess body weight relatively easily compared to later. You still must work during your honeymoon, keep your carbs down and protein up, get your fluids in, and start exercising. The payoff is big, so patients are advised not to waste their honeymoon. This is info from my doctor. Others may have a different definition.

Here is a wonderful craft idea for the whole family that's green and lots of fun! Save all those Protein powder envelopes. The multicolor fruit flavor ones are the best! Fill them with packing peanuts or tissue from packages you receive. Tape the top closed. Attach a hook and hang your ornament! Bahahahahahah.......

I had my 4 month check up yesterday. I'm down 40ish lbs. since surgery, which I thought was not great, but my surgeon was thrilled. He said pounds are irrelevant, it is the percent of excess weight that is a true measure. Mine is 40% of excess weight gone since surgery and that is apparently right on track. For someone with a higher BMI, that might be 80 lbs., but the % is the key. Gamergirl has said this a number of times, and it is really a good way of looking at it.

Lesson learned: Don't compare your rate of loss to others

I had the full run of tests, ekg, bloodwork, psych eval, etc. My insurance paid all of it. I am glad they did all the tests, just my opinion. I felt very well taken care of at all times. At the end of the day, not everyone comes away from this surgery doing well. I'm just glad I had the surgeon and clinic that I did, especially reading others' posts.

I have UHC too. They were great all along. It's really good that they send you to a Center of Excellence for WLS. You read some surgeon horror stories on this board. If you have to travel for your surgery, they will pay for hotel, etc.

Great article! Frightening...

These reviews are hilarious!

Revs, that's a pretty dodgy article. I guess the Mail is like our National Inquirer.