Inner Surfer Girl

It will get better.

I will order some of the ProtiDiet.. they seem to have some great reviews.. anything that tastes like Water, but yet sweet will help me get through this phase. Do you know if they are only available online? Thank you! Yes, I think I got mine from Bariatric Choice. My surgeon's office also sold them. I don't know if the BariatricPal Store has them or not but you can look.

Did that week 1 - they're still so disgusting to me even diluted. I only tried the Alpine Punch, but it's too expensive to buy a whole case if I don't like it. :\ If you have a GNC you should be able to buy single bottles and/or return unopened bottles of you buy in bulk.

Single serve packets of nuts, Mr. Cheese O's, cheese sticks, turkey/cheese roll ups, Greek yogurt.

Awesome! I love that your smile got bigger as you got smaller.

This is a great strategy.

I just stayed over night. I took (and used): An extra pair of undies to wear home. I just wore home the clothes I wore to the hospital. Lip balm My cpap. My phone and charger. Heating pad. (I actually forgot mine so my sister got me one at a nearby drug store. It helped with the gas pain in my shoulder, plus I was freezing.) The hospital supplied toiletries, no slip socks, etc. The best thing I took was my mom. She went with me and stayed the whole time.

If you can drink the Protein 20 then by all means drink it. Don't wait for your stomach to "growl" or you may be waiting a very long time. Keep sipping on what you can get down. One thing that really worked for me immediately post op was the ProtiDiet liquid beverage concentrates. They are clear and I didn't detect a protein taste with them. I ate them undiluted with a spoon over a little bit of crushed ice. Have you tried something like bone broth? It has more protein than regular broth. It will get better!

This is great to hear. Glad you didn't get hit with a tornado. Keep sipping!

I don't use premier powder, I buy the ready to drink. Try Walmart, Sam's Club or costco. You can try some samples of the GNC shakes at a GNC store. I like the orange cream. You can try different shakes at GNCs and stores like The Vitamin Shoppe.

Possibly. I happen to like yellow but have never had a yellow bathing suit. I haven't worn a non-tankini two piece since junior high and I have NEVER worn a bikini in my life. Anything is possible!

This is something you probably need to run by your NUT. I didn't have watermelon until a few months post-op. I know it tends to have a lot of fibers that some people have difficulty with.

I like Premier Protein and GNC Lean Shake 25. What does your surgeon or NUTS recommend?

Sounds like everyone is doing great. Keep sipping!

It may not seem like a big deal, but this week I stopped in at Target and bought a bathing suit top off the rack. I didn't try it on but I got one size smaller than the one I have been wearing. Today, when I got to the pool I tried it on and actually looked at myself, in my bathing suit, in front of a full length mirror. The suit fit, and I looked pretty good all things considered.

If you have time and room to nibble a ritz cracker you have time and room to be sipping a Protein shake or another liquid, Your priority should be protein and fluids. A ritz cracker has neither.

What are you looking forward to? A grand adventure and a whole new life. An opportunity to learn a lot: about obesity, nutrition, and yourself. The opportunity to practice positivity, patience, polite persistence, and perseverance. Write everything down and ask lots of questions. Keep asking questions until you understand. Be prepared to do everything your team asks you to do, even if you think you can't. Best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

I probably didn't save any money because I stocked up on Protein supplements, Vitamins, etc. But, a year out and I am still using some of the things I bought last year. I spend less at the grocery, but I am spending more on clothes, and living life (a lot of my money is currently going into my garden).

I can't help you with your current issue related to insurance, but reading your comments I have a few suggestions. Please consider talking with a counselor or therapist, attending bariatric support groups and/or 12-step recovery groups (like OA OA.org), and/or read books related to food addiction and eating disorders. If you are in the habit of stress eating and needing to control circumstances and people, addressing these issues will be a great help in determining how successful you are with WLS. This whole process is a great opportunity to practice patience, persistence, perseverance, and positivity. Some books I recommend often are: Eat it Up by Connie Stapleton, When Food is Love by Geneen Roth, and The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie. Another book, not food related, that I found very helpful is: The One Life Solution by Henry Cloud.

Once you are cleared to get in the water, swimming and water aerobics are great for the core.

Yes, it is possible. But humans are very complex creatures Are you working with a counselor or therapist? Many folks find that it helps to have professional deal with many of the emotional and social changes after surgery.

Glad you are home. Keep pushing your protein and fluids. 20 grams may seem like a lot but it isn't. You need a lot more. What are you allowed on this phase? Premier Protein has 30 grams of protein per 11 oz. What is your protein target? Keep sipping!

You are doing really well on the weight loss and in becoming a label watcher. Very, very important habit to get in. Staying under 50 grams of carbohydrates per day seems to be very reasonable to me. The carbohydrates are almost always displayed on the labels in a way that even breaks down the carbohydrates into sub categories. Fiber is one of these. Sugar is another. Embrace those wonderful fiber grams. Shun the sugars just like you are. Fiber carbs can be removed from your totals. Our bodies don't process fiber carbs and they provide great benefits to us, both short term and long term. I supplement with fiber powders every few days. The orange flavored Metamucil stuff works great and tastes really good, too. Using your app.....and using your own savvy when checking those labels is a POWERFULLY helpful tool in your future life. I would submit that it may even be the MOST important tool any of us could add to our post-op arsenal. I'm only 6 months out and I feel that the constant awareness of exactly what I eat and how it adds up every day is a tremendous part of this war on the fat that has collected in my body over the past several years. You are doing great and approaching things with a good battle plan. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App I use MyFitnessPal.