JamieLogical

It's not physically possible to get 30 grams of protein from 15 grams of product. Their *claim* is that it's the equivalent of 30 grams of protein, because it is more fully absorbed and utilized by the body than other whey isolate protein powders. I never bought into it. If I were to ever use it, I would treat it as though I was still only getting 15 grams of protein and not count it as 30 in my daily total calculations. It is nice that it mixes so well into other liquids and is pretty flavorless. So I might use it for those advantages, but I'd only count it as 15 grams.

I think pretty much ALL of us went through that. I would smell someone's lunch cooking or see a commercial for pizza or Red Lobster or something and I wanted it SO BADLY. Even though I knew that if I actually tried to eat any of that crap, I would be horribly ill and possibly do myself real harm. The head hunger is a big issue in the early days. It DOES get better. Eventually your brain will catch on. Plus, once you are on to more satisfying food stages, you can kind of trick yourself. Like once I was in my pureed/soft food phase, I made myself Shelly's Baked Ricotta (Google it for that and other great puree recipes!) and that almost was like eating REAL food! Just hang in there. I promise you that it does get easier and eventually you'll be able to eat all your old favorite foods (though you may not want to anymore by that point).

There was a thread a while back where some people posted about cost. I described my procedures and costs there: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/333460-looking-for-plastic-surgeon-in-north-nj-or-mexico-cost/

Smoking impairs tissue oxygenation and therefore reduces your ability to heal. You will have a lot of internal healing that needs to be done post-sleeve so I would definitely try to quit ahead of time in order to pave the way for the smoothest possible recovery.

It's nearly impossible to predict rate of weight loss. It's so different for everyone. I highly advise against settin time-based goals for your weight loss. You will be setting yourself up for some serious disappointment. Stick to your nutrition plan, stay active, get your water and protein, and let nature take its course.

I didn't go through BariatricPal to book my surgery, but I did use the forums extensively when researching surgeons. I ultimately chose Dr. Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center, but there are MANY excellent surgeons both affiliated and unaffiliated with BariatricPal. I highly recommend reading through threads on these forums and doing your research.

There is actually a lot of info on Mexico plastic surgeons in the Plastics forum: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/393-plastic-surgery/ I've talked about my surgery and my surgeon (Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas) in several threads over there.

@@marfar7 I've had to resort to Zantac and Gaviscon a few times for heartburn. I had a VERY unpleasant bout of heartburn that would NOT go away the week before last. Sent my husband out for any fast acting heartburn relief he could find. He got me some sort of mint flavored liquid stuff and Tums chews. Still didn't help for more than like 2 minutes. Ugh, that was unpleasant. Not sure what caused it, but SO grateful when it finally went away after about a day and a half. I've been tempted to talk to my primary about prescription strength options, since taking two OTC omeprazole a day sometimes isn't enough.

Everyone goes through this phase. You have not failed. Stick to your nutrition plan, walk walk walk, sip sip sip, and the scale will start moving in the right direction again. I promise!

My main question here would be, why are you only getting in 40-50 grams of protein a day? What are/aren't you eating? Are you putting protein first with every meal? Are you supplementing your protein intake with shakes or bars? At 3 months out, I had no food restrictions and was able to get in the 85-100 grams of protein per day my nutritionist recommended.

Welcome! These first few weeks/months post-op will require a lot of patience and adaptation. If you run into any snags, feel free to post here with specific questions, worries, accomplishments, or anything else you want to share. One thing I'll warn you about right now is the dreaded "week 3 stall". Since you are 5 days out, within the next two weeks or so, you probably will see a stall or major slow-down on the scale. It's very very common. Most people's bodies go into a kind of "self preservation" mode after the trauma of the surgery and the initial rapid weight loss. So if you see the scale stop moving for a week or two, DON'T PANIC. Keep following your nutrition plan and walking as much as possible and drinking all your water and the scale will eventually start to move again.

Weight can definitely fluctuate a LOT from day to day. If you plan to weigh daily, make sure the conditions are as consistent as possible. I always weigh myself first thing in the morning, naked, after peeing. Even so, some days I'll be retaining some water or be constipated or whatever and my weight will fluctuate from the previous day. The key is to watch for TRENDS, rather than worrying about the differences from day to day.

Welcome! This is a great community and you will find so much information and support here. If/when you have any specific questions or concerns, be sure to post and people are usually really good about answering. I'd just advise to be a little patient, since most people on these forums are in the US, so the time difference may mean you aren't posting at "peak" times and people may be slow to respond.

How far out are you? I'm 9 months out so eating more than those early months at this point. A typical day for me is: Breakfast: Protein bar Morning Snack: string cheese stick Lunch: leftover meat from previous dinner Afternoon Snack: Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt with 1/2 ounce of Kashi Cereal or granola Dinner: the meat from whatever meal my husband cooks Evening Snack: Protein Bar For dinners my husband is the cook in our house and he has some standard meals he just rotates through. Meatloaf, poultry sausage, Italian sausage, turkey kielbasa, fried shrimp, shrimp in lemon garlic sauce, sesame chicken, Chicken Makhani, pulled pork or chicken in BBQ sauce..... He makes sides with for himself or serves his meat/sauce over Pasta or rice, but I don't eat any of those. I just have 3-4 oz. of whatever the meat is and save the rest of my share as leftovers for lunch later.

I'm definitely not perfect. I've been know to slip in some doritos or a muffin here and there. But what works for me the VAST majority of the time is to eat on a schedule. I eat 6 times a day: Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack. I eat a set amount at each of those time, I don't just mindlessly eat until I'm overfull. Since I'm eating every 2-3 hours, I really don't have TIME for unplanned snacking. I also just practice the usual trick of not keeping the junk food in the house. I definitely think having scheduled and defined Snacks is the way to go. I'm much less likely to sit down and eat some chips or something junky if I'm due for my afternoon yogurt in less than an hour.

@@Queen of Crop The recovery can be rough for some people. Just like with sleeve, some people have a pretty easy recovery and some people have a tough one. I had a VERY tough recovery after my tummy tuck. I had swelling in the soft tissue of my lower back that made it excruciating to sit up in a chair, lie on my back, or stand for any length of time. The only comfortable position for me for MONTHS was lying on my side. I missed about 6 full weeks of work and then had to work half days for a couple months after that. It was probably close to 9 full months before I could exercise regularly again. But, that is all a VERY distant memory now and I am still enjoying the results of my TT every single day. So, I guess what I'm saying is, even if you do have a rough recovery, it will be worth it in the end. And the chances of a rough recovery are pretty low.

May 19 was only two weeks ago.... you had MAJOR surgery two weeks ago. You are definitely being impatient. In terms of energy, you will feel better and stronger once you've had time to heal and once you are able to eat more. In terms of weight loss, this is your WHOLE LIFE we are talking about. It will take months or even years to lose all of the weight. It's not going to magically disappear overnight. Right now you should be focused on your recovery. Get your water in and as much protein as you can handle. Walk as much as you can. And take care of yourself!

Huge congratulations!

So happy for you! My plastics were one of the best decisions I ever made. Words cannot describe how in love with them I still am, even almost 4 years later!

I am very curious… why don't' you think you can get down to 155 or lower? Seems like you have been doing great and are still less than a year out of surgery? I have same stats as you btw and having surgery in a few weeks. The least I've ever weighed in my adult life was 165. That was when I was 22 or 23 and had dieted and exercised to lose about 40 pounds. And that was before I was on birth control. I probably *could* get below 155 if I worked VERY hard, but I honestly have no desire to. I think I would look too skinny. I honestly am very happy with the way I look right now. Losing more than 20 more pounds I would definitely look too thin, in my opinion. I work out a LOT and do a lot of strength training, so I think I'd also likely have to lose some muscle in order to get below 155.

Head hunger was the hard part for me in the early days. I would see a pizza commercial on TV or something and what it sooooo badly, even though I knew that if I actually ate it, I would make myself horribly ill. It does get easier, I promise.

It will be an adjustment pre and post-op, that is for sure. But with time, you will adapt. It might seem impossible now, but you will find a new "normal" post-op and you WILL be able to do it. Putting Protein first has been much easier for me than I thought it would be. I thought I would miss all the carbs, but I rarely do. It's crazy to me to think that pizza used to be my favorite food and now I wouldn't bother with it. If/when I eat pizza, I have to just eat the toppings and skip the crust. It just doesn't satisfy me the way it used to. There's nothing fulfilling about eating the cheese and toppings off of about two slices of pizza then feeling full and gross. I do occasionally still sometimes have some chips or a muffin or something, but it's sooooo rare and it never satisfies me they way I'd want it to anyway. So it's pretty easy for me to stick to my protein-first diet. It will be hard to get your protein in in the early days, just because getting ANY food in will be challenging. But once you are back on solid foods and fully recovered, it's not too hard to reach your protein goals. Here's a sample day for me so you can get an idea of how I get my 100 grams of protein in (some surgeons/nutritionists only want 60 or 65, but my nutritionist wanted me up to 100 as soon as I was able): Breakfast: Protein Bar (21g) Morning Snack: String Cheese (8g) Lunch: Leftover meat from previous dinner (12-20g) Afternoon Snack: Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt w/ 1/2 oz. of kashi Cereal or granola (15g) Dinner: The meat from whatever meal my husband cooks for himself (12-20g) Evening Snack: Protein Bar (21g) Obviously I'm eating a lot more 9 months out than you will be able to handle for the first couple of months, but you can see that by eating protein-heavy meals and snack, six times a day, I get in about 90-100 grams of protein a day.

You could try taking it before bed instead of in the morning. Or you could do what I do, which is get the 20mg OTC dosage (I take omeprazole, not protonix, so not sure if this is an option for you) and take 20mg in the morning and 20mg before bed.

Amazing! I don't think I will get there with my husband. He put on a couple of pounds over our vacation a few weeks ago, but I still think that only brought him up to 164. Right now, my nutritionist's goal weight for me is 165 and my "pie in the sky" goal is 155, which would put me JUST inside the "normal" BMI range. I suspect my husband will be back under 160 by the time I even hit 165.

Most of my meals and Snacks are the same each day with the exception of lunch and dinner. For lunch I usually have leftovers from a previous dinner. My husband is the cook in our house, so for dinners I always just have whatever meat he's having. He makes meatloaf, shrimp, various sausages, Indian chicken dishes.... He makes sides for himself or rice or Pasta, but I never eat any of those. I just eat 3-4 oz. of meat w/ sauce. For the days when I don't have leftovers available for lunch, I buy buffalo chicken pizza topping from my local grocery store, heat that up, and melt a little mozzarella on top of it to tone down the spice. If I'm in a big hurry, I just have a Protein bar. And I recently discovered Hormel Sandwich Makers (my grocery store just started carrying them): http://hormel.com/Brands/Hormel-Sandwich-Makers.aspx They are microwavable sandwich fillers without the bread. I can eat about half of one at a time and save the other half as leftovers. Some of them are high in fat, but the pork and chicken in barbecue sauce aren't bad nutritionally.