ChavaBling

I've had 2 tiny sips of ye olde sodey pop since I arrived in Sleeveland, and they were both strange experiences. The sensation was odd, tingly, and I felt immediately that I should not take another sip. One was diet Dad's root beer, YUM! The other was Coke Zero, which was delicious, I'm not going to lie. It might not be a coincidence that so many obese people are "addicted" to diet soda? I know skinny people are too, but skinny doesn't equal healthy! I've heard some evidence that diet soda is still pretty bad for us in a number of ways, I'm not a health professional though.

I feel you. I have a really, really hard time getting my 60 grams without using a supplement. Since surgery, I am having a very hard time tolerating any of the bars or powders- even Quest. I can taste the "chemicals", as insane as that sounds.

@@Hilary Epstein Cohen I was only in the hospital for one night, a total of about 27 hours. I was ready to leave! Everything went extremely well though, and I had no pain at all- but I also used every single possible push time on my PCA pump. I was flying so high, my husband took my iphone away from me so I would stop sending nonsensical text messages to people (including my boss- whoops!) I didn't lose much the fist month- maybe 7-8 lbs, but the weight started coming off very quickly after week 4 or 5.

@@polavsg I am going to send you the same DM I sent @@bpbqueen last week- we are actively trying to put a meet-up together! The reservoir is great! We were actually talking about some ways to maybe exercise WHILE we support one another & gab it up!

Mah nishmah, achoti?! It is important to have realistic expectations of what this "tool" can do for you! That's why you may want to ask your surgeon about their goal weight for you, because it may be different than the one you have for yourself. As someone who had not previously had any kind of surgical procedure, I wanted to know everything about the process- from check-in to waiting room to surgery prep to recovery. Check this site for a great list of things to bring with you to the hospital. I DEFINITELY wanted to know what, if any, tubes would be coming out of me when I woke up. My surgeon does not typically place a drainage tube or breathing intubator, and I was VERY happy about that. PAIN MEDS. Ok, I was shocked when in Yerushalayim, I had to explain to the pharmacist (in detail) why I wanted to buy some Immodium (LOL). I know sabras (and olim) are tougher than tough, but you may want to have that frank discussion with your doctor/anesthesiologist to let them know exactly what type of pain relief you expect. I wish you the best of luck! Please dm me if you have any other questions. Shalom u'vracha!

@SMO @nsquared @@dansgem Oh man, peeps. I feel ya! I'm 8 mos out. Since I was 2 months post-op, I have not been able to stomach fake food/chemical food. I can taste the fakeness. I have taken a bite of a Protein bar, chewed once or twice, and spit it out. Premier Protein, the shakes I used to love, taste like drinking a "melted Frisbee"- hella plastic. I don't see how it is better for us to eat super-processed, unpronounceable ingredients. I WILL USE REAL (greek yogurt) CREAM cheese ON MY MORNING PIECE OF HIGH Fiber, HIGH PROTEIN TOAST! And, I would rather drink something totally plain that use sugar substitute. Note: I LURRRRVED SPLENDA pre-op. Now, I can finally understand what all those people were telling me all those years about the "fake taste". I honestly never ever noticed it before. My NUT definitely encourages supplement use and sugar-free beverages, but there must be alternatives for those of us trying to "eat clean". My go-to sugar free drink is Water or unsweetened tea. The side effect of me eating only "real food" has been that I rarely make my protein goal. I could supplement with shakes but it makes me gag. Any ideas for an easy-to-digest natural (plant based?) protein boost?

@@BLERDgirl Could you give me specifics on your preferred plant-Proteins? I am having a hard time hitting my daily Protein goal (60 g), even at 8 mos out. I am so, soooo tired of dairy. makes me farty and bloated ALL THE TIME. I do eat lean meat, but I am struggling to consume this much meat to get in my 60 g of protein. I was veg for 6 or 7 years. Prior to surgery, I ate chicken & fish, but not frequently. Now I dabble in red meat as well, but I don't want to rely on meat!!

@@BLERDgirl you are the SHEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOLZ girl!! YAAASSSS!!!!!

@@polavsg @@bpbqueen @@FitnFabfor2014 @@IcanMakeit East Bay (WC)!! I am young n fun n looking for some compadres to be on this journey with. I find it absolutely unacceptable that there is only ONE WLS SUPPORT GROUP in the area, and it's on a Tuesday morning in Concord- not really great for people that are employed!! I have a private meeting space in a public building that we could use for free to meet- I just need some peeps! I have had a lot of trouble locating "bay area" support groups on this website. Also, the Bay Area is HUGE and we probably need separate EB, NB, SB, and SF groups. Please send me a message if anyone is interested in getting something going. Even just 2 people can get together for exercise, support, shopping, whatever! It would be so amazing to have a friend/person who understands! And who doesn't need every single thing about your new lifestyle explained... I can organize/host in WC.

oh man... i didn't poo for 9 days after surgery. It was cray cray. I started adding A LOT of Sunsweet Suprafiber to my smoothies AND takling 2x dose of Miralax for days 6-8...then on Day 9 the miracle happened. Now that I am 8 mos out, I make sure to include a lot of high Fiber foods in my diet...or it somes back REAL QUICK. Something about super-high Protein diet...it's binding (much like our decision, lol).

I love adding chia to yogurt, granola, smoothies, whatever- they are amazing little seeds with incredible health benefits! I always make sure to consume them immediately or they get pretty gross (I find the swollen seeds to have a very unpleasant consistency). I have never had a tummy ache or any digestional issues from chia (or flax).

OH STALLS! Soooo frustrating. I has a BIG stall the first few weeks after surgery. No weight loss happened for the first 3 weeks, then I lost about 12 lbs in 2 weeks. Additionally, I had a stall at 2 months that lasted about 10 days. AND!!! After I hit the 6-month mark, my weight loss screeched to a halt. As I understand it, the "rapid weight loss" phase lasts about 6 months. Well, I didn't lose ANY WEIGHT for about 7 weeks. I was exercising, eating right, and I was literally fluctuating between 183- 181 for almost 2 months. Then I busted through that and have lost 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I think the stalls are normal and a way for our bodies to adjust (I am not a medical expert, though). It seems like the early ones are simply a biological function and unavoidable. It does seem like after you have a handle on eating & nutrition post-op, you can figure out ways to "shake up" your routine/body and kickstart the loss again. In my case, I was reallllyyyyy tired of the 7 week stall so I got super-duper strict about my calorie intake & walked an extra 20 min each day. It worked!

I FEEL YOUR PAIN AND FRUSTRATION! I am 7 months out, I still throw up once or twice a week from food, and maybe once or twice a week from Water (boo). I'm soooo sick of barfing. Ugh. Also sick of round the clock burping, gurgling, and tooting (yes. that's right, constant). I don't even know what I am eating that is giving me this crazy gas, but it sounds like I swallowed an old, creaky pirate ship that's sailing the high seas. Yes, it sounds like there is a wooden yacht of some sort sailing around my tummy with all that dang creaking. I know (I'm 100% sure) that my food coming back up is due to eating too fast and taking bites that are too big. Look, the way I see it, it took me 30 years to build up these terrible eating habits, and it is going to take a long time to completely change the way I ingest food after all these decades! I have found that I can eat almost anything, if I take it slowly enough. Then again, bread, Pasta, and tomato-sauced foods just do not agree with me anymore. This half- Italian girl from NJ is crying inside. I have found that no matter what I try at a restaurant, I throw up. I don't know if it is the added fat/sugar/salt, or the fact that it is greasier than home-cooked, or simply that eating at a restaurant is still "new" to me and I can't focus on eating slowly- it might be all of those things. However, I'd rather not eat out than get sick again in a public bathroom. Again, ugh. Water- esp. cold water- is still very difficult to keep down unless I take tiny, controlled sips. It is still hard not to chug water, esp. during exercise. I can pretty much guarantee if i sip water too quickly, it will "come out through the in door." I am trying to give you some honest feedback. The vomiting has been the most frustrating part of this experience, hands down. It has led me to be a lot more careful (even though I was already being extremely careful!). It has gotten much, much better over the months. I'm hoping it eventually resolves completely as my new choices become "habits".