Bluesea71

This was one of those rules I found nearly impossible to follow pre-surgery and easy to manage post-surgery. I am now 14 months out at goal weight and have sipped water along with meals the whole time. I only take in enough to keep my mouth moist. I find it an easy rule to follow as its so easy to get stuffed on a few bites of food and drinking makes the full feeling almost unbearable. I don't puke anything up but I will start to get the hiccups!

You gals are very sweet. Funny... I just sent some nudie pics to Dr. Fisher to get my very first consult for a tummy tuck. I have never had a consult before, so I don't even know how much I need to save! I figure I have to start somewhere and he offers free consults to people out of town. I look like a beauty queen in that bikini compared to the naked ones! Ackkkkkk! ????????????????????????

I'm 14 months post-op and have tried them all. Unflavored unjury clumps up (and in my opinion, tastes horrible.). I ended up throwing out any food or drink I added it to. It's sad because its the only medical grade Protein out there used in hospitals. I feel 100% confident it has the 21 grams of protein it says it has in it... But what good is it if it is left unused in my cubbord? I am at goal weight but am wanting to find something to increase my protein to increase my muscle mass. I was curious about GENEPRO as I had never heard about it before a week ago. I will attach a recent link I posted to your thread. I ended up ordering some Genepro and posted a review at the end of the link. The powder is tasteless and mixed into my coffee and disappeared. As far as if it is "real" protein, I only have the testimonies on the BP users on this site. There are no studies on the product and its only available on Amazon and the company website. It seems amazing... But I have to wonder why gyms, nutrition stores and doctors aren't promoting it more if its so wonderful? Regardless, I will continue using it since it's an easy add to my morning coffee! http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/341782-Genepro--30-grams-of-protein-serving-untrue%3F/page__view__findpost__p__3850001

I am 150.6 today. My weight fluctuates so much that I know better than to think it will stay there though!

LOL,No Susan. It's @@stephh who does this now.Ack! I knew that! Sorry to call you Susan! At least I got the S right!!!!!

I went ahead and purchased a package of GENEPRO on Amazon yesterday morning. With the same day free Amazon Prime time shipping, it was delivered by 7pm. I was initially shocked how small the package was for $38. It holds one pound (30 servings.) For you visual types, this is about the same power volume you get in one container in

We don't have access. Place your stats here and Susan will enter/edit information for you. Isn't she wonderful? Big time suck and she does this all for us!

Thanks all - your responses are very helpful. I'm finding that just venturing out of my area is providing cheaper options as I live in a very expensive part of the country for plastics. I have contacted Dr. Fisher for a consult and will be curious to see what he says. At this point I don't have any ball park figure so it's hard to say how much I would be saving by going out of the city, state, country, etc! Regardless, I need to save money... so that's what I'm doing as I collect my research! ????

Amazon Review:

Hi everyone. I'm 14 months post-op at goal and looking for ways to increase my Protein intake to increase my muscle weight as I exercise. I came across recommendations for GENEPRO on this website but the claims of one scoop having 30 grams of protein seemed too good to be true. After a bit of research on Amazon reviews and searching here it seems others have caught on too. It seems the label is possibly misleading and never states what a serving size is. one scoop may only have 15 grams of protein. I don't have the product so I'm hoping someone out in Bariatric land can confirm the facts and let me know! Can someone also tell me how many calories are in a scoop? http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/330098-Genepro-Users-check-this-out%2E/page__view__findpost__p__3730842

I found the realself.com website helpful to find out about surgeons's fees across the nation. People typically list what they paid in their posting. There's also links where you can click on specific reviews on surgeons near you.

So many factors go into whether or not you will have issues with loose skin. Genetics and how long you were overweight seem to play a huge role. I also have noticed some warning signs, for example, if you have pockets of fat that start right above your elbows, you will likely be blessed with bat wings post surgery. If your starting weight is 310 and you lost 100% of your excess weight, you could possibly be down to a goal weight of 140-150 pounds or less. That's a weight loss of 160 pounds. I would say thats a pretty significant amount to lose and likely to result in some loose skin. Then again, you could have genetics on your side. I am 5'7" and was 226 the day of surgery (245 at my highest) and am now around 150. Most of my skin had snapped back except my stomach. I blame two pregnancies for the damaged skin on my belly more than being overweight. I look like I could whelp a litter of puppies when I bend over! While it doesn't look too bad in the photo below, I can grab handfuls and handfuls of skin. I would NEVER wear a bikini in public. I took that photo as a desperate plea to send to my Husband to show him how much my frowning belly needs a tummy tuck! Regardless, I try to remind myself where I started and I would much rather be a size 6-8 and HEALTHY (albeit a tad saggy) than the unhealthy obese mess I was before!

Congrats! You look awesome and should be so proud of your journey!

It all depends on your beginning weight. The higher your BMI, the more you will lose. Especially in the beginning. The closer you get to goal, the weight you lose each week will slow down. There is no "typical" in this process.

Thanks for the Genepro recommendation. I'm 14 months post-op at goal weight and have never heard of it! I'm trying to build up muscle weight so looking to add in some more protein to my diet. Can you tell me how many calories are in a serving? I also looked it up on amazon and came across this review. One scoop may only have 15 grams of protein in it, not 30 grams. Does it actually say on the container a serving size is one scoop? Many can be misleading. I know on my isopure you have to use two scoops to get the protein amount listed on the label.

Happy this is here!

The poster didn't say which stage she's in. I would say just be mindful of the calorie and carb content when doing this. This could easily end up being a 500 plus calorie smoothie if one isn't careful! Also blending things with ice adds both air an volume which can be challenging right after surgery. Not such a big deal the farther you get out, but if your struggling to get every ounce in, you want to make sure you ingest every ounce of protein in that smoothie! Keep in small!

Mixing it with jello tastes just like mixing it with Crystal light! I have a few unopened containers still lurking in my cabinets 14 months post-op. I guess I should probably throw them out at this point! Unflavored still has a flavor! Yuck!

I'm 152 today. My goal will be 149. Don't laugh, it will likely take me all six weeks to lose those 3 pounds! I just want to see the 140's!!!!! ????

That's a good point you bring up... A full body lift WOULD require surgery to both your front/back, so what are these surgeons talking about?!? Well, okay, there's still the point that with a lift there's not the issue of putting pressure on your bum like the other procedure would.

Good for you for planning ahead! I'm a planner too. Just look at the pic posted below. This is my freezer now 14 months out . It's hard to remember what I was having in the liquid stage. I ended up having the same soups I enjoyed pre-surgery and puréed down anything with chunks in them. The stage is so short-lived, so don't go too crazy planning. Your tastes may change too. Mine did. One thing I did make was individual size jello where I added unflavored protein. Note that unflavored protein DOES have a flavor to it though! I remember eating a lot of cottage cheese in the early stages. I guess I would have to look back at by early posts on BP to see what else I was eating!

I had a really easy recovery and by day 3 I felt back to "normal" and could have returned to my job easily.... But I sit for a living, so your job sounds much more physically demanding! The wild card thrown in was my surgeon found a hernia during surgery that needed to be repaired. I didn't experience any complications before surgery or after because of it.... But assume I got it because I frequently picked up heavy loads of stuff I shouldn't be carrying. I was extra careful about hauling anything for at least 6 months. I carried a rolling suitcase around with me instead of carrying heavy files. I still ask people to help me more with carrying things than I used to.

You can't heat up the protein powder. Assuming you're referring to the uninjury unflavored powder or something similar? It clumps up. I remember having issues with the chicken soup flavor too. It restricts how warm you can make the water and since I like my soups hot, I could never stomach the stuff. I still have 3 unopened containers in my pantry. I'm now 14 months post-op. I guess I should throw them away! I didn't note if you are pre-op. are you a big fan of chicken broth now? I never was and couldn't stomach the idea of it post-op either. If you can't tolerate it, know there's plenty of other alternatives. It really doesn't have that much protein in it.

Hi ladies - I was on the Realself website last night (my latest obsession) and was reading through questions people had posted and surgeon responses. There were a few that I came across that I wanted to get your thoughts on. I wish I could have saved the links so you could refer to them for reference. Someone (in the states) had asked a question about getting multiple procedures done and twilight sedation used vs. traditional anastesea (spelling? My iPhone can't spell it either!) Specifically she wanted to know if she could have a tummy tuck and butt grafting (I think that was the procedure name - when they inject fat into your back side) at the same time. The Mexican surgeons who replied said it was perfectly safe to combine the two procedures and raved about how their patients woke up refreshed, etc after using twilight sedation. They actually called it something different, but I assume its what people on these boards refer to as that. The American surgeons who responded (and there were plenty) said while this sedation wasn't used in the US much or at all, it would never be used during a tummy tuck because it doesn't sedate your stomach muscles and during surgery you need your abdominal region to be as inactive as possible during the surgery. They were appalled any surgeon would do it any other way and pointed to that as an example why medical tourism is never a good idea. They also mentioned what while several surgeries CAN be combined, a tummy tuck and butt grafting would never be combined as your working on opposite sides of the body. A tummy tuck requires you to lay on your back post-surgery. A butt grafting frequently leaves you sore and you want to avoid laying on your backside so pressure won't build. Having the two combined they said would likely lead to serious complications. I'm curious what you all think? I'm a researcher by nature, so I will find any and all information I can. I immediately discredit any review by any US doctor who says statements like, "we've been told for years not to drink the water in Mexico, so why would you have surgery there?" I travel to Mexico and abroad frequently, so I'm not afraid of other cultures or experiences. I value and appreciate hearing from other "real life" experiences. Please share.....

It's become my new obsession. Good luck! That website really has the most before/after pics and they are from real people vs. ones hand selected from the surgeon, so you get a good idea of their work. People also post pictures through out their journey, so you get a good idea what the incisions and scars look like along the way too. I may have also mentioned before, you can post pics of yourself with questions and a plastic surgeon will give you feedback. For free on what procedures they would recommend!