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You will have plenty of time. My sister, who met me in TJ, had a 12 o'clock flight and she made it on time. I originally had a 3:30 flight, but since we got there so early, I flew standby on an earlier 2:00 flight.

I lost 22 pounds in 16 days. My preop consisted of 3 protein shakes and unlimited green veggies (lettuce, spinach, Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli). I could add protein powder to broth as 1 of my shakes, so I wasn't stuck with just sweet stuff. Maybe try something like this if the south beach diet isn't working. (Besides, if South Beach really worked we wouldn't need surgery ???? )

There's no way around the hungry. You are taking in a lot less calories and nothing solid in your stomach to make you feel full. Liquid runs right through a sleeve as well as a full sized stomach (I know, I've done barium swallows on myself and timed it). It is what it is. I was hungry my entire preop and on liquids for a total of 34 days. It's just a matter of commitment and knowing it's well worth it. I'd trade more than just a month of hungry for the 100 pounds I've lost anyday!

4 for the surgery and 1 for the drain. I can only actually see 3 of them faintly at this point.

Oh yeah, speaking of crunchy, I also love seasoned pumpkin seeds and roasted soy beans.

If you are looking for protein, almond milk has the least amount of all of the "milk" options. If you are looking to lower calories, both rice and soy milk have better protein/calorie ratios. As for me, I stick with the real thing. I'm not a counter, so calories don't really figure into my food choices now that I'm well below goal. I was a little lactose intolerant for a couple months postop, so I used Lactaid. Then I did skim milk for awhile but then switched back to 1% which is what I've always drank. And of course, good ol' 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee.

My go to Snacks are jerky, mixed nuts, apples and Peanut Butter, edamame, and plain Greek yogurt flavored with Protein powder or Torani syrup. But last week I found a new favorite snack..... Prosciutto and cream cheese "roll ups". Mmmmmm......

Ditto to what everyone is saying, just because what you are choosing to eat isn't "bad" for you, it's still an addiction. When you can't stop yourself from doing something, it is an addiction. And to not care about your own health and safety by doing it makes it even worse. Everything you consume should be about Protein and Water at this point. If it's not, then your body is suffering. Sounds like you are coddling your head right now, not your body. It should be the other way around. This is a lifetime process, and you can't even make a 2 week commitment. Makes me worry for your long term health and success. You reached out for help, so I think you should seriously consider taking some of the advice offered. Healing and eating healthy and learning new habits should be your focus right now, not satisfying a crunch craving or trying to have a "normal" social life. Slow down, talk to a counselor, and take this process seriously, or surgery will just end up being an expensive waste of time.

Hey, I'll be here waitin for you! Good luck with everything. Seriously, just trust the process, make good choices and enjoy the NSV's! My rings fitting again was the first of many for me....what about you? (And, BTW, I had small weight gains and some pretty long stalls along the way, but the overall trend was obviously weight loss)

You are approaching the famous 3 week stall. Happens to everyone. The best advice I can offer is to stay off the scale. I only weighed like 3 times in the 1st month postop. Eating healthy and creating new habits are more important than the scale at this point. Just concentrate on AT LEAST 60g of protein, 64oz. water and your vitamins. I've never counted calories, so I can't help you with that silly "numbers game".

I fell in love with celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra tea after surgery. Not only did it help me sleep better, but the warm tea soothed my new tummy. Not sure about the melatonin, but I don't see why not.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 140 TPL 98 TGP 88 Found a new favorite snack this week....prosciutto and cream cheese roll ups.

140

Discovered a new flavor today. Banana nut muffin.... 1 scoop Muscle Milk cake batter protein powder. 1/2 scoop banana protein powder, 1 scoop Raw Fiber, 1/2 banana, 1 squirt Torani hazelnut syrup, 8 oz water, 8 oz milk, and enough ice to bring it to 24oz. Mmmmmm. I'm almost 11 months out but still have a protein drink everyday. It's fun coming up with new flavors.

Check out the Syntrax nectar and Muscle Milk powders. Between those and Torani syrups, the possibilities are endless. I'm having a strawberry lemonade smoothie today....Syntrax lemonade, fresh pureed strawberries, fiber supplement and Water. Oh yeah, and the Muscle Milk red velvet cake with Torani caramel syrup is to die for! And if you like Peanut Butter....Syntrax matrix vanilla with PB2 powder. Like I said, I've been doing this awhile..... ????

I don't think I've read a more hypocritical post on here. If there is anyone on here that is not an expert in bariatric surgery, it's someone that hasn't even HAD bariatric surgery! But here you are offering all of your "expert" advice. Sounds like you have all the answers. But If you are such an expert on nutrition and know exactly what works for weight loss and what doesn't, why are you bothering to have surgery? Just practice what you preach. As for me, I had surgery 11 months ago. I've done the preop diet, I've done the postop restrictions and struggled with the dehydration and the diarrhea and the constipation and the trying to get in enough Protein and fluids when plain Water hurt and I had no appetite for 4 months. I've LIVED it, not just read about it. And I've also lost over 100% of my excess weight and I've maintained my loss for 4 months. And I did all this while EATING SUGAR! I drank 100% fruit juice in the early stages. I've always added bananas, peaches, berries and mangos to my protein smoothies....starting a week after surgery. I snack on pineapple, strawberries and craisins. I eat apples. And sometimes I eat cake and Cookies and ice cream and yes, even a donut. Oh boy, I even have a cocktail a couple times/month. But then there's the 60-100g protein, 64+oz of water, Vitamins and oodles of veggies I get everyday. My bloodwork is perfect and I feel fantastic. What part of this is a failure? So don't preach about things you don't know. There is not just one way to be successful at weight loss. You go ahead and stick with your way, and let us know how that works out for you. In the meantime, don't call me an idiot just because you don't agree with what I've PROVEN works.

I can't particularly relate because I took my doctors orders very serious. The preop diet is designed to shrink your liver so they can better visualize and isolate your stomach. Not only are you putting yourself at a higher risk for surgical complications, but your surgeon may just close you back up if he feels it's too risky to proceed. My surgeon actually refuses to do the surgery if the patient doesn't lose the appropriate preop weight. I had to lose 5% of my body weight on my 2 week preop, which was 12 pounds. I lost 22 just to be safe! Find a way to stick with it. Besides, the preop diet is nothing compared to the months of eating right to lose the weight and then years of maintenance. Don't get in the habit of cheating. It will make it very hard to be successful in the long run.

I was so excited I started my preop diet 2 days early. What an idiot ????

Are you an attorney?!

I was supposed to arrive the day before but my original flight was cancelled and I had to drive 5 hours to another airport to catch the last possible flight into San Diego. And of course that flight was delayed so I got in at 1am....too late for the OCC shuttle. So I (and another OCC patient and her husband) stayed in San Diego and went back to the airport to meet the OCC van at 7:30am. And yes, they took us straight to OCC. The other 3 patients of the day were already there and had completed their preop labs and consults and exams, so the other late patient and I were the last two surgeries of the day. My sister had arrived the day before and was already at OCC when I arrived. She had stayed at the Marriott the night before. We just kept my stuff in the lobby while I did my preop stuff and we brought it back with us when we went to my room. I pulled out the stuff I wanted for overnight (which was pretty much just my iPad, phone and toiletries) because I wore the same clothes home the next day that I came in. She took my suitcase back to the Marriott when they took all of the other travel companions back there around 6pm. All I had was a carryon so it wasn't a big deal. You will do great! And ask any questions you want. That's what we're here for.

But you got this.... Just stick with the program, and it will work. I lost 22 pounds on my 2 week preop and then took another 3 months to lose 30. What worked for me was upping my water and calories. Broke a month long stall doing that. And I've had other stalls along the way, but I just kept eating healthy, getting all my protein, water and vitamins and the eventually would lose a little more. Have faith and enjoy your NSV's.

And Quest makes a banana nut protein bar!

What's up with my avatar randomly changing one or more times a day? This has been happening over the last week. Sometimes it's actually my profile picture, but right now it's some strange woman wearing glasses. It's been 5 different things that I know of, including cartoon characters. WTF?

So how are you feeling these days? I just thought of another thing....how are you doing on carbs? I know everyone promotes the sugar free-low carb thing, but I never totally jumped on that bandwagon. If you are active, you need carbs for energy or you will feel run down. Of course I don't sit around eating donuts and Cookies and ice cream everyday, but I never got too crazy with the no carb thing. In fact, artificial sweeteners hurt my sleeve, as did plain Water, for the first 3-4 months. So I was drinking 100% fruit juice and regular sports and energy drinks with real sugar. I did have to dilute them 1/2 and 1/2 because everything tasted too sweet to me. And I always felt better on the days I added fruit (peaches, mangos, bananas, berries) to my Protein smoothie. Glad you aren't dehydrated (although that would have been an easy fix). Hope you figure out what's going on and feel better soon.

@@GreenEyes604 I think your friend's reason for being so open about his surgery is an unusual one. But good for him...whatever it takes for him to be successful. I'm glad he's out there educating people about the process. People should know weight loss is not always as simple as diet and exercise and that WLS is nothing to be ashamed of. I also know some people that really need the pat on the back thing for everything they do, so I can see where he's coming from. I had a co worker that got all upset one day because no one told her what a good job she did organizing the exam room drawers. Seriously, it became a big issue and we ended up having a staff meeting to talk about "supporting each other" "respecting others feelings". Thank GOD I don't work there anymore!!!