Jerzygurl

Welcome to all the new members..and good luck to all today's sleevers!!

Isopure has several other great flavors try alpine punch and the grape one!

The blue raspberry and the Apple Melon go down easy to me.

Thanks everyone!! I will follow through -- I may need a shot cause the fatigue is getting the best of me and hiatal hernia discomfort is no joke .... I can't imagine progressing to soft solids in 2 weeks the way I feel now but I need that energy --- it's a catch 22

I will focus on liquids cause god knows I don't want to make another visit to ER although I did feel great after those bags of IV fluids a few days ago ... Will officially be 15 full days out later today

My NUT keeps insisting I get Protein in even tho I tell her it's tough for me

Also, try the New whey liquid Protein. You can dilute them in your Water. Each tube is 42g of Protein and they come in different flavors. I call it a short cut because I can get my Water and some protein in by mixing them and adding some Crystal Light or Mio Squirts and just sip on the concoction all day long. You can also make a thin portein smoothie with some Protein powder, water and crystal light or Mio and sip on it. Just make it very thin. Add some Davinic or Torani sugar free Syrup for flavoring if you don't like crystal or Mio.

Hope you feel better soon.

I weigh ny food but suck when it comes to my liquid intake. I lost 13 pounds during my 2 week pre op diet and only lost 9 after surgery. I thought i would if been down 20 pounds after surgery by now.

My NUT told me, it is paramount to get your Water in because it helps breakdown the fat cells and shed the weight. I've made it so that I put liquid Protein in my Water, so I kill two birds with one stone.

Try to sip it all day long..and only stop when the required time before and after your meals.

It works for me. I start as soon as I wake up and sip all day..before you know it, you're over 64 oz.

Good Luck. If all else fails, call your doctor's office and asked to see the NUT, they may have some suggestions to get you moving. From what I've read here, for some, it just takes longer and then it starts to come off quickly.

Are you tracking everything you eat? Are you measuring? Getting in the prescribed amount of Protein and Water in-take?

Some people are slow losers which isn't a bad thing at all.

I'd prefer to lose inches than weight (luckily right now it's both) but I agree with Gmanbat--inches definitely trump the scale.

It is absolutely not healthy. You don't want to get dehydrated and end up in the hospital. Call your doctor's office and get some guidance. Every surgeon is different on how they handle it.

You may need a B-12 shot too.

Holy smokes--actually got in 836 calories and 144 grams of Protein today and only 55g carbs, 33g sugar and 8g of fat.

Still mostly liquid though--except for 0.25 oz of browned ground beef and a small banana--it was all liquid. But I'll take it because my calories just weren't high enough and I was beginning to feel draggy this week

NUT said this should definitely help. .

Best of luck to tomorrow's sleevers!

New update:

Surgery 12/02

HW 348

SW 330

CW 304

About to leave the 300's--Yippie!! Plus I've lost so many inches--8 inches off my waist alone!

It's going to be the Best New Year in YEARS!

This is so exciting Jerzygurl...almost into two-derland!

Yes, can't wait! Saw my ex-hubby today (we work together) and he said, oh my--I think I want to marry you..lol! Not.

New update:

Surgery 12/02

HW 348

SW 330

CW 304

About to leave the 300's--Yippie!! Plus I've lost so many inches--8 inches off my waist alone!

It's going to be the Best New Year in YEARS!

Oh cool ...I think the potential for conflict depends on how "religious" the religious person is.

Agreed. My wife is quite liberal in her religious views. Choosing to invest in the overall message, rather than the dogma of it all. She sees the stories in the bible as parables.....not as actual written history.

What a blessing...no pun intended..lol! If you question then you get that "look" like OMG I will not stand near you...heathen!

Btw, in the black community being agnostic and/or atheist makes dating difficult, or difficult to find someone that is equally "yoked" in that manner.

The community is quite mired in organized religion.

This is I know for sure.

Yes im black I am very aware I was raised C.O.G.IC.

Id need the patience of Job If I called myself waiting on an Atheist Black man lol:)

LOL...they are rare, but they exist.

Merry Christmas! As I wait for my teenagers to emerge from their beds to open presents (they sleep a little later than when they were little), I am overwhelmed by the opportunity I have been given. So many people long to have WLS and do not have insurance that will cover the cost or the resources to pay for it themselves. How lucky we are to have this chance to change our lives! Only 5 more days until surgery for me!

Wishing you a happy holiday today!

--- I was just thinking the same thing and texted my girlfriend about how blessed I feel to have all my quality medical and follow up care fully paid for by empire BCBS NJ

I think sleeve plus hiatal Hernia repair work costs over $20,000 in NJ/NY area -- not to mention the rx and potential ER, hospital stay, and routine follow up appointments and pre op requirements .... All that has to reach up to $50,000 or more in the first year .... Without lottery money or a wealthy husband in my life there is no way I could manage that on my own without adequate insurance

I'm very thankful and I want this surgery to work for me longterm .. Would hate to have gone through all this only to regain again and again and again

I'm 13 days out and can't wait to eat!!!! Lol

Indeed, we are very lucky to have the insurance that we do, to be able to get the surgery. So many others that would love to have it but either have no insurance, can't afford self pay and/or their insurance won't cover it.

I received the explanation of benefits from Horizon BCBC-NJ last week for all my suregery on 12/2, as well as all the pre-admission final testing on 11/27--the total bill was 53K. That doesn't include the cost for prior test that are also related to the surgery: a regular stress test, a nuclear stess test, an echocardiogram and a heart cath; Upper GI, Chest Xray, lab work, 2 visits to the NUT, 2 visits to the surgeon, 1 visit to psychologist, 2 visits to PCP. 2 visits to cardiologist. It also does not include a MRI of the brain, a CT scan of chest/abdomen/pelvis and other lab work--all ordered by my oncologist before he would sign off on VSG surgery. All of this took place between august 15th and December 2nd.

My grand contribution to the above was $120.00 (in copays). Yeah, indeed I am fortunate to have the insurance that I have..and very thankful.

Merry Christmas Sleever Family!

You will have to go by trial and error. Some things you will never be able to tolerate again.

It's the oxygen. You can get a humidifier or some saline based product and put some drops inside.

When I did chemo, the same thing would happen. What helped was the humidifier and distilled Water.

Good luck.

All, outside of getting in your fluids and Proteins how many calories are you getting a day?

I has always been told that it isn't about the calories...the focus is on the Protein (which I am still struggling with). That being said, I do use My Fitness Pal, so I checked and it looks like I am eating (or drinking rather) about 670 calories a day....tomorrow I move to puréed foods so I am assuming that number might increase by a few.

Yeah that's what NUT told me. Worry about the protein, it is the most important factor to help not lose too much muscle and to help with skin elasticity, healing and hair.< /p>

Btw, don't count on getting much more calories in with the pureed stage. Mine has not changed much. Pureed takes up more room than liquid, so you get full much faster.

I went to soft food on Saturday, was okay for one day, but been having difficulty with the food on the soft diet, so on Monday NUT put me back on Pureed til Friday..he said sometimes an additional week helps then you can go forward. So, I make a second attempt this weekend.

All, outside of getting in your fluids and Proteins how many calories are you getting a day?

Btwn 600-700 and that's really pushing it.

Btw, in the black community being agnostic and/or atheist makes dating difficult, or difficult to find someone that is equally "yoked" in that manner.

The community is quite mired in organized religion.

This is I know for sure.

Not dating, but definitely agnostic and a sleever.

Just curious...I am 11 days post-op and today I have been extremely nauseous when I am drinking my meals. It starts from the first sip, so I know I am not drinking too much, but just can't stomach anything today.

Anyone else having that problem? It seems to have just started today...really feel cruddy

I felt sick for the first time this past Friday. Everything had been going very smoothly since surgery. But on Friday, I ate a bite of pureed tuna and immediately felt a wave of nausea. I spit it out and waited for it to pass, it did. It's not like I hadn't had pureed tuna before so it was surprising. I did nothing new that day, it just happened. About 20 minutes later, I finished the tuna with no problem. I contributed it to--the healing process.

I guess our bodies will continue to do strange things because we are still healing and the trauma of surgery is still very close.

Hope you feel better.

All speedy recovery wishes and best of luck to you Christmas week sleevers! :-)

Man time truly does go quickly. It will be 3 weeks since my surgery tomorrow..

Btw, for dinner, I had 4 oz ounces Wendy's Chilli... very delectable!! Doc said it was okay once you hit soft foods and I'm there now..so when you are in that zone, definitely try the Wendy's Chilli... you'll love it. I added a little shredded fat free cheese on the top.. yummy.

Wow so glad your feeling better and doing better. I was worried about you. Happy the the nausea is better and your getting your Protein in. Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much! It was really rough. It stunk because I did so well the first 3 days. The numbing they do during surgery really does wear off. The initial pain, I could deal with. The new pain was unbearable and then to add nausea to it! Whew.

Anyway, hopefully all of that is in the past!

Glad to see you back in action!

Doctor told me to expect to be able to drink quite a bit more as my stomach heals. I'm almost 3 weeks post op and can now exceed 80 ounces of Fluid in a day, plus Decaf tea and diet iced tea too. It's all about the stomach and its healing. The further out you get from the trauma of surgery the more you'll be able to consume (at least that is how it was explained to me).

But it is quite different with food. I noticed that immediately. Even on pureed stage, no way I can eat as much as I drink.

Can't say I have felt true physical hunger yet at 9 days out but boy do I think, dream, miss my fave foods -- the aromas are the enemy .... We are human and all that is natural .... Can't wait when I can start introducing solid foods in bite size portions of course probably around early February

Lessofsarah on YouTube, pinterest & Instagram has some amazing VSG friendly recipe ideas I can't wait to get my paws on!!

Ie: cauliflower crust pizza, lasagna stuffed bell peppers, Zucchini noodles, crab cakes, etc

Yum Yum.. I start solids January 16th. I have a sleeve mentor close by. We met at the seminar in July, she accompanied her sister and we struck a freindship. She's been invaluable to me. She's lost 130lbs in a year..and she's given me some great tips and recipes. The two recipes I listed came from her stash. I'm looking forward to solids too. She has one for pizza too, but she said not to worry about that one right now because I can't have it. OMG. Before surgery, Pizza was my most favoritest food. I truly could eat it every single day. So it will be nice to have a replacement. I'll check out the YT channel you listed too.

For all my fellow December sleevers who are suffering or struggling trying to get your fluids and your Protein in...

Know this...

It gets easier, just hang in there. We are all in this together.

I have a history of cancer, my oncologist and surgeon both agreed the sleeve was the best route for me because the band leaves a foreign object in the body and there can be slippage and erosion, etc. My surgeon no longer does lapbands, but he is doing many revisions. In addition, they both agreed gastric bypass was not suitable to my health due to the malabsorption issues.

So the sleeve it was..