Tootles1975

Finally hit the 50 lb loss mark at 110 days out. It's going a bit slower than I'd like but trying to be patient as I lost 45 lbs before surgery too and my nutritionist says I'm doing good. How's everyone doing? I still get the foamies a few times a week when I eat dense Protein -- not sure if it's because it's too dry or I eat too fast, so trying to slow it down further.

Other than that, no complications though.

I think that my problem is that I'm simply not able to eat as much quantity of food. In the example above where someone starts the day with a greek yogurt (and thus gets 10-15 g of protein), I can only get down about 1/4 cup of yogurt, or half of a container. With the best yogurt that I can tolerate, that gives me about 7.5 g of Protein. The same with any of my meals. 1/4-1/2 can of tuna is 7-13 grams. Even if I can force myself to eat that 5 times a day, that is only 35 grams of Protein a day. Quite often I can't get 5 meals in. I don't see that forcing myself to eat more is a good solution, particularly when it is really uncomfortable to eat more than that.

Well you have to get the protein in somehow and until you can tolerate more food....liquid's pretty much the only option. It's just a necessity. If you really hate the sweetness of the shakes, adding unflavored powder to Soups, Hot drinks, puddings, yogurt is also a good idea. If you can only stomach 1/4 cup of yogurt, then mixing a half scoop Protein Powder in with it will give you an extra 10-15 grams on top of the 7.5.

(At two months out though, you should probably be able to eat a little more than you are--did you check with your doctor to see what he or she says about only being able to tolerate so little?)

should share some recipe I'm really having trouble with Protein I can't get enough may nothing at all

For the slow cooker? You don't need any recipe at all. Just put a beef roast or pork shoulder/butt roast in there with a cup of Water and any seasonings you like and after 8-10 hours, it'll break down really tender and make its own juice/gravy.

Also check out The World According to Eggface for lots of Protein powder-heavy recipes.

I'm at 13 weeks out and most days I don't need to have a Protein shake and can get my 60 g from food.

I eat a lot of fish or shrimp, rotisserie chicken, ground beef, eggs, ricotta cheese (I don't care for cottage cheese), PB2 or even regular peanut butter), cheese, nuts, low-sugar greek yogurt, and lunchmeat. The greek yogurt is really the best option because it has the most Protein for the lowest calories; sometimes I have those twice a day.

For those having trouble with solid meat, try a slow cooker/crock pot preparation--they make the meat super tender and much easier to digest.

@@ready2B -- Thanks. It's comforting to hear others' responses, even though intellectually I know this is probably pretty common. I do generally end up having one Protein Shake a day to supplement meals. Maybe I'll try some softer foods the next few days too. dinner tonight was cut up turkey meatballs with sauce and some ricotta cheese and that one gave me no trouble thankfully!

Anyone else having issues telling when they're full? I'm just over one month out and eating mostly "real/normal" foods at this point. I felt no real restriction up until this stage but now my plan calls for 3 oz of fish (or ground beef, or turkey, etc.) and even if I eat slow and chew lots it seems like it becomes a problem if I eat the whole thing. I don't get any cues as to when I'm full really, so it's only after I finish that I feel really distressed for a while. It's more of a feeling of pressure/stuckness than dumping. I feel like I have to burp a lot and can make a lot of foam/saliva, though it doesn't make itself exactly.

Any good tips on telling when you're getting full? I know we're not supposed to stretch meals out past 20 or 30 minutes, and if I don't eat the allotted amount, I'll be missing out on some Protein. It also seems a mistake to let myself backslide to liquids or mushies.

If you don't mind me asking, how has the weight loss been for all the no complications folks? I've been losing about a pound or so a day. I'm 9 days out and down 9 pounds, which seems on the lower side of what people report (I know, I know--don't compare!). Though I lost about 20 pounds on a 2 week pre-op semi-liquid diet and 25 pounds on my own before that. I'm eating about 400-600 calories and walking 30-45 minutes a day.

@@Rovobay Sorry to hear that! I'm very surprised a federal insurance plan doesn't cover it. I have BC BS of Massachusetts through my husband's company (a private engineering firm).

Just got approved by my insurance for this and wondering if the liquid vitamins that Insure sends are all-encompassing or if you have to take additional Calcium, B-12 ,D, etc.

I currently use Bariatric fusion chewables (2 in am, 2 in pm) that I buy from my surgeon, and I don't need any addiitonal calcium or other pills with those.

Just wondering as there isn't much info about the liquid Vitamins on Insure's site.

So glad to see this thread! I just had surgery two days ago, went home yesterday afternoon because I had very little pain (just some gas discomfort the first night) and could drink all my Water and Protein Shakes. I'm actually sort of worried I'll forget I had the surgery because I feel so normal!!

My surgery went great and I had very little pain at all. Some gas discomfort but even not much of that thankfully. I also seem to be able to tolerate Water and Protein Shakes just fine. Drank all that they gave me in the hospital and got discharged late afternoon yesterday!

My biggest fear right now is actually forgetting I had the surgery! I don't feel very different at all. I visited my mom's last night where they were having thanksgiving dinner/dessert and though the food looked and smelled good, I didn't really have any desire to eat any and that was a nice change.

Getting ready to go to the hospital in 15 minutes! So nervous/excited to get started. Wish I could already be in recovery!

Was just in the "Most positive post" thread where we all are talking about what we're thankful for. It made me think of this first post I made 6 months ago and how encouraging and knowledgable everyone was. I'm now 6 days away from surgery and really thrilled with this choice and very excited for the future.

So thank you, everyone!

I'm thankful to be having surgery the day before Thanksgiving! My thanks also to @@CowgirlJane, @@LipstickLady, James M. (whose exact handle I've forgotten), and tons more vets for always having such sage advice.

I'm 5 days away too! (Can't believe it!) The nerves haven't hit me yet, and I'm hopeful they won't at all.

A positive mindset is your greatest asset, I think. I try to keep my goals in mind and think about how much I've already worked and changed and had to do to prep for this surgery. The thought of backing out now is just not an option. I'm on day 9 of a 14-day mostly liquid diet and it hasn't even been very hard! Nothing has changed physically in me to make this diet easier yet, but I'm doing it anyway! This is proof to me both of my desire for this chance to change my life for the better, and my capability of meeting these challenges and succeeding. Months ago, I don't think I could have imagined me being able to do what I'm doing already, right in this moment.

It's just setting that positive attitude and refusing to dwell on any other outcome except success. Staying in the NOW is very important too. Don't worry about what might or may happen. Deal with what you have to do right now--drink some Water? Have a shake? Go for a walk? You can do that. All manageable. One step at a time. You got this.

Glad to hear everyone's updates on how they're doing! Sounds like it's going well for most of you! On day 9 of 14 for the liquid diet, and proud that I've followed it to the letter! Interestingly, I've been trying to time my drinking Water to stop 30 min before/start 1 hr after shakes or meals and one of the certified bariatric nurses at the hospital orientation last night said that was unnecessary! I told her I thought it was so the Protein would stay with you longer and make you feel fuller, but she poo-poohed it and said "You're trying to get back to a normal way of eating. Do most people time when they drink and eat or not drink with meals? NOPE!" That was interesting. She also said she wouldn't recommend more than 60-65 oz of protein because you don't need more than that and it will just constipate you. And they don't really watch carbs I guess because the shakes they use in the hospital are just Carnation Instant Breakfast which I would think have too much sugar/not enough protein. It was kind of surprising.

She was great though and very smart and down to earth about everything. I was glad to hear they don't use catheters and they let you drink water the same night of your surgery. They also make you walk a lot and do some sort of heavy breathing test every hour to help get the anasthesia out of your lungs/system. She told everyone not to expect to do a lot of sleeping in the hospital!

Can't believe there's less than a week to go!

@@Rogofulm Oh those are really nice. That holiday penguins one might have to become mine. A bigger tumbler is probably a good idea as I often will get caught up in something at work and forget to go get a refill throwing off my timing! Thanks!

@@lisacaron That's a fair point about temperature. I just wish they had taken a minute to explain why, instead of just saying "No, just stick to the diet." It left me with the impression that they just were being dismissive for no particularly good reason.

Right. It's technically not required to wait, but it seems like a good practice to put in place because I believe you are supposed to stick to that after surgery to keep the Protein in you longer and make you feel more full, etc.

I'm on day 2 of the pre-op liquid diet and switching between blended shakes with Vega Protein powder (veggie-based) and powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury choc/vanilla and pre-made Premier Protein Shakes. All of them seem to have little-to-no aftertaste and are pretty good.

So I'm on day two of the 2-week pre-op diet (3 shakes a day, 1 lean cuisine, 64 oz+ of water), and wow, it's hard to fit all this liquid into my day. I'm trying to time it correctly with Water consumption so that I'm not drinking water 30 min before or 1 hr after a shake, but...time is running out on me! It's a good thing that right now I can gulp a whole bottle in 15 minutes, but I know won't be able to do that after surgery. So what are your great tips on how to fit in all the shakes/water/etc?

Bonus question: I'm also a little annoyed that my doctor's office is being super inflexible about the pre-op diet. I'd like to substitute some Unjury chicken Soup flavor Protein instead of a shake here and there because all the sweet stuff is a lot, but they said no--just drink the three shakes, with no real reason why. Blegh. Also can't have sugar-free popsicles, they said, again with no justification. I might switch in a few Soups and make some popsicles anyway. I mean, does it really matter if I'm drinking or licking my crystal light? I don't think so! I don't want to subvert their instructions, but these substitutions seem perfectly reasonable to me as long as protein levels and water levels stay high.

First day of the two-week pre-op liquid diet and I can't get this out of my head: "Ya know, it's all about the shake, bout that shake...no trouble..."

Hee.

Just got my date of November 26! (The doctor only had day before and day after Thanksgiving open and nothing else till January!) Mostly-liquid diet starts 11/12. Can't believe it's almost here finally!

I'm in pre-op stages and hope to have surgery in late October/early November possibly. I'm on my husband's insurance plan (Blue Chip/MA), which is much better/cheaper than my own company's insurance. However, he'd really like to change jobs early next year. After the surgery is done and insurance has paid for the bulk of it, I can't really see this being a problem. Obviously I'll have to see if my surgeon is on the new plan, but just from a surgery coverage perspective, anyone see any problems with changing after it's all done?

I'm not on the pre-op liquid diet yet but I've been slowly adding in Protein Shakes for Breakfast or Snacks into my diet sporadically. I've tried both plant-based powder (Vega original) -- 15-22 g of Protein -- and also a generic CVS-brand whey powder packet (26 g). I use almond milk and lots of ice, which makes them thick...but I've found that they're not very filling for me. I'm hungry for "real food" 30 minutes to an hour after I drink them. This doesn't bode well for when I have to do the real pre-op diet of 3 shakes and a lean meal a day.

Any one also have this problem? Any tips on making it more filling? I need to keep the calorie count below 200 so I can't add too much to these shakes. Thanks!