JamieLogical

@@mBig If you do try Genepro, I would just caution that you should still only count it as 15 grams of protein. It's not physically possibly to fit 30 grams of protein into 15 grams of powder. Their argument is that your body absorbs their protein better, so it's the "equivalent" of 30 grams of protein. Since they aren't regulated by the FDA and there have been no third party studies to prove or discredit their claims, you should take them with a grain of salt. If they are right and your body doe utilize and absorb more of their protein, then all the better. But if they are wrong and you are actually coming up 15 grams short every day, that could add up to a large deficiency over time.

Physical hunger, yes. Head hunger, no. When you see a commercial for delicious-looking food and it triggers a craving for that food, that has NOTHING to do with physical hunger. That's all in your brain. Surgery does nothing to change that.

As they say, they perform surgery on your stomach, not your brain. It's crazy that even though eating a slice of pizza would have literally put me in the hospital, every single time I saw a commercial for pizza in those early days, I DESPERATELY wanted one! It takes a while for your brain to catch onto your physical limitations, but it does happen eventually.

I am so so sorry. My insurance wouldn't cover WLS at all and I ended up being self-pay. Fortunately, I was in a position that I could borrow money against my retirement account and basically just pay myself back with a very low interest rate. And I traveled to Mexico for my surgery, where it was considerably cheaper. I would have been devastated if I didn't have any options at all to be able to afford it. My heart goes out to you.

Did you increase your calorie intake to compensate for your increased activity? Could be you aren't eating enough. Similarly, if you are heavy on the cardio, you will need more water than you were drinking before.

You definitely need to keep eating! So you aren't losing weight as quickly as you'd like. So what? You aren't GAINING weight either! It sounds like you know what you need to do. You need to increase your protein, cut out the carbs, and get active. I know that if you do those things (plus get all your water!), the scale will start moving again. It's not always immediate though, so don't expect immediate results. A new workout routine can actually cause you to gain weight in the very beginning, because your muscles will retain water to heal themselves when you start working them for the first time in a while.

Welcome! This is a great community and I am certain you will be able to get a lot of great info, advice, and answers to your questions. I'm excited for you! March 28th is my birthday and it sounds like it might be YOUR new birthday too!

I was instructed to wait 3 months post-op before drinking, though I think I was actually closer to 4 months out when I actually did.

When you say that you "feel like you are starving" what are you actually, physically feeling? If it's rumbling or gurgling in your stomach, it is more likely acid than hunger. If it's not a physical sensation, then it is most likely head hunger. Every single food commercial was doing that to me in the early days post-op, even though I knew there was no physical way I could actually eat any of those foods at the time.

Welcome! Know that you are not alone. This community is fantastic for getting info, asking questions, sharing concerns, and just generally venting to. Please feel free to post if you have any questions after your appointment today.

I agree with them 100%. As long as you follow the plan, get your protein, water, and vitamins in and gradually increase your activity, you WILL lose the weight!

Everything will go great!

It's not as uncommon as you think. Especially if you had a pre-op liquid diet. Hang in there. I promise you, the weight will come off. You should be 100% focused on HEALING and making sure you are getting all your protein, water, and steps right now. STAY OFF THE SCALE!

Love this story! I really hope this guy ends up figuring out a plan.

My discomfort while drinking lasted about 2 weeks. Once the internal swelling went down, it became much easier. Every single tiny sip set off this whole chain of events.. .a constriction in my esophagus and painful spasms, then like a gurgling in the back of my throat, and then ultimately usually a burp. No matter how tiny the sip, it happened every single time. But it got much much better. At 2 days post-op, you are right at the worst of it. I was crying a lot in those first 4 days or so, wondering what in the world I'd done to myself and wondering if I would ever feel "normal" again. You will!

That's great!!! I feel the same way. I am 6 weeks out and only down 15lbs. I thought I would drop 20 like nothing. I started at 215lbs, so I figured I may lose slower. Hoping by the 2 month mark I can be down 20lbs. If I can average 10lbs a month I will feel secure in my weight loss! You won't average 10 pounds a month with a starting weight of 215. You are setting yourself up for disappointment if expect to lose that much that consistently. You may average 10 pounds for the first 2-3 months, but it will slow way down as you get closer to your goal. I was down to losing about 2 pounds a month towards the end there. I totally understand that. That is what I meant... since I am smaller in weight I would not lose as fast... within 5-6 months, 40 lbs is amazing.. I know eventually (and even now) it will be very minimal and slow. Like I said I am only down 15lbs since January 25th. 10 of those were lost in the first 3 weeks and the other 5 have been lost in the 4th and 5th week. Nothing at all for this 6th week! Okay, good! Glad you understand. I see so many posts on here from people who really do expect to lose 10-20 pounds a month, month after month, all the way down to their goal and I worry about those people being really down on themselves when that doesn't happen. The message I really want EVERYONE to understand is that the rate of loss doesn't matter AT ALL. As long as the scale keeps trending downward, you will eventually get to your goal. And 10 years from now, when you are living your happy, healthy life, you aren't going to be looking back thinking "Damnit! If only I'd reached goal two months earlier!" It truly does not matter!

I promise you that once you are onto more solid foods, you WILL feel restriction. You aren't supposed to have restriction with liquids. I wish more surgeons would do a barium swallow test and let their patients watch it live. Mine did one and it was plain to see that the liquid passed through my sleeve immediately. It didn't sit in my sleeve for even a second. The "restriction" that some people feel post op is all due to swelling or, in rare cases, stricture.So while on full liquid phases is it necessary to wait with drinking water if I have something like Soup Sent from my SM-G900R7 using the BariatricPal App It's probably still a good idea to get into the habit of waiting to drink after eating, but if you are atruggling to meet your water goals, it might be better to use that time to get in more fluids. The real reasons you aren't supposed to drink after eating are that it can make you overfull and can flush food out of your stomach too quickly. Neither of those are issues when what you are "eating" is actually liquid.

That's great!!! I feel the same way. I am 6 weeks out and only down 15lbs. I thought I would drop 20 like nothing. I started at 215lbs, so I figured I may lose slower. Hoping by the 2 month mark I can be down 20lbs. If I can average 10lbs a month I will feel secure in my weight loss! You won't average 10 pounds a month with a starting weight of 215. You are setting yourself up for disappointment if expect to lose that much that consistently. You may average 10 pounds for the first 2-3 months, but it will slow way down as you get closer to your goal. I was down to losing about 2 pounds a month towards the end there.

I promise you that once you are onto more solid foods, you WILL feel restriction. You aren't supposed to have restriction with liquids. I wish more surgeons would do a barium swallow test and let their patients watch it live. Mine did one and it was plain to see that the liquid passed through my sleeve immediately. It didn't sit in my sleeve for even a second. The "restriction" that some people feel post op is all due to swelling or, in rare cases, stricture.

I'm moved that people have thanked me for this post. Thank YOU for you support and understanding.

@@mBig Had your nutritionist not mentioned a protein goal for you before? 60 is still pretty low. I was told to try to get up to 100 as quickly as possible post-op.

Some people have more issues with carbs than others. I think it's very important to stick to your surgeon and nutritionist's guidelines I the early months as you are healing. But ultimately you need to figure out what is going to work for YOU long term. Only you have to live the rest of your life.

There's no reason you can't have them down the road. Just have to be mindful. They are a good source of protein and healthy fats.

I was told to do a total of 60 minutes of "brisk walking" immediately post-op. That was supposed to be broken up into many walks throughout the day in the beginning, of course. I wasn't allowed to increase my intensity or do any strength training until 3 months post-op. At which point I started doing Couch to 5k. Now I'm 18 months post-op and training for a half marathon!

Yep. I always weigh mine on my food scale. Soooo easy to overdo it with nuts and they are so high in calories. You have to be pretty careful with them.