youknowit

Can someone PLEASE cite a source for the various "facts" about protein intake and absorption? I've tried to dig up the information with no luck... And, I'll say if you read through these discussions, there are any number of people saying contradictory things... as low as 20 grams at a time, as high as 50 (from what I've seen over the months I've been reading and writing here). Just wondering if anyone can get some facts on this? I certainly don't want to waste money or energy trying to choke down more than I can tolerate in one sitting. :thumbup: thanks!

Also, have you considered trying the brown rice protein? It's not made of milk products and is totally vegetarian, but still has 25 grams of protein per serving? I'm going to try it!

I also just discovered Jay Robb (my personal fav) has unflavored protein as well... I'm going to try it, and will let you know how it goes.

My trick for getting down the protein bullets was to mix it with Water... that tones down the flavor and sweetness. Plug nose and get it down. Having been through three bariatric related surgeries I can say with certainty, the protein is one of if not THE most important post-surgical element. It sucks, but everything functions around that... healing of wounds, internal healing, skin, hair and organ function, etc. The first couple of weeks are VERY hard, at least they were for me... but now, I'm holding on fine. Once I was able to get to the "full liquids" phase, I was MUCH better off than Clear liquids... Hope this helps! :lol0:

My "hunger" progresses as the day goes on. It's very bad at the end of the day and at night. This is why I have now decided to try taking a second Prevacid at the end of the day. It hasn't started helping much yet (I've been taking the second one for two days), but I'll let you know how it all pans out if it does start to help me. At first I craved the "old standbys", food that is TERRIBLE for anyone... but that has started to subside. I even tested myself once, and tried a "fast food" I would have totally loved before. Two bites in, I threw it away. It just didn't do it for me... Anyways, maybe we should start a thread about hunger issues with the sleeve? Perhaps more of us talking, and sharing, would be helpful? We might also be able to help each other determine our "head hunger" versus tummy? Anyone with me? Best! :lol0:

Yes, there is a pill (chewable)... But I've never tried it, I don't know if it's terrible (guessing it might be) and it's expensive. (And not a lot of Protein per tab.) Anyways, you can check out the different ones here: BariatricChoice.com - Bariatric Surgery Diet supplements, Bariatric Foods, Bariatric Vitamins for Bariatric Eating There are OTHER Proteins you can try that are medical grade as well: Bariatric Advantage - liquid Proteins

I had an inkling that the family members giving you the hardest time are themselves overweight. I've heard my 350+ (educated guess) mother make fun of a lady where she works that had gastric bypass. It's a defense mechanism, which I personally believe many of us "fatties" have built up, because of societies treatment of us... If I were you, and I was going to share with them, I would EDUCATE them. I would ask them to join me! (Of course, as I've stated before, I haven't told my family, just one friend and a brother, so my situation is different. BUT - I do keep reconsidering this choice, and may change my mind in the future.) Nonetheless, if you are insistent on their support, you have to be ready for the fact that you might not get it... and you have to decide if you want to proceed WITH their support or retreat WITHOUT it. Perhaps, as one poster here already mentioned, you might want to look into more than just the "local doctor" where you are, as $22k is a pretty penny for this, or any weightloss surgery in this day and age (sounds really high - where are you in the country, and have you research other options?). I know here IN Las Vegas you can get the sleeve done for around $12k. I went to Dr. Aceves in Mexico and have never had a better medical experience in my life (and at less than $9k, what can I say - I got the best of both price and care). On the education front, for both you and your family, I would encourage you to check out this website and videos - this great lady and her brother went in for the sleeve TOGETHER and you can see their lives transformed before your very eyes. They are VERY honest and upfront about their experiences, from before, during, and after the surgery and the process. If any one personal testimony had the most affect on me in my research, this was it (on the youtube videos, start from the BEGINNING and then move to now... it's incredible): YouTube - GastricSleeveReviews's Channel Gastric Sleeve Reviews

So I was cruising the Target grocery section tonight and came across these yummy little finds! Green Giant Just for One... these are small pre-portioned veggies, some in light sauces, some not, that you can micro in less than 3 minutes, and they are like 40-80 calories per serving (per one small individual package). I tried the broccoli with cheese, 40 calories, and they follow WW points too. DELISH! Thought someone might be interested! (Scroll down the page to Just for One.) :smile: Green Giant - Frozen Vegetables - Nutrition

Tiff... Can you direct me to where I can get some coupons? That would be great. I'm in love with these things!

Thank you for saying that you're hungry all the time... I am as well. Not as badly nor ferociously as before, but it's there. So, this is harder than I had imagined, but I'm making it work... I've been waiting for meds for the H.Pylori I've been diagnosed with, and hoping this will help with the hunger... One of the side effects I read about for H.Pylori bacteria is hunger. So, we'll see. You're doing great! :smile:

I like the Jay Robb shakes... with MILK. You can get in 33-35 grams of Protein (depending on the protein in the milk) with ONE 8 oz shake. The Jay Robb has 25 grams in 6 oz serving, with the milk, it's a steal on protein for the amount you have to ingest. Here's a link to the website for this guy... I buy it at Whole Foods here in town (and I've heard they have it at other places too, but I haven't look). Hope this helps! Jay Robb whey protein isolate, egg white protein, and brown rice Protein Powder - Official Site Fruit Flush 3 Day Detox PS -- I do the "regular" protein he offers, haven't tried the Egg White or brown rice protein... if anyone has, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! :smile:

I had surgery on February 1, and have lost, as of today... 25 lbs. I'm very happy with this, and am feeling very good. In fact, compared to my lap-band (and band removal) surgeries, I feel GREAT! Have been trying to exercise (I'm not consistent, but am working on it), have been watching my protein mostly, and water... but not paying super close attention to everything else. This seems to be working for me... Sounds like you're doing great, and I wish you (and all of us early 2010 sleevsters) the best! :smile::smile::smile:

double-posted. oops...

You need to do what is best for YOU. :smile: Perhaps you can try showing your family the statistics on long-term weightloss and regain that is very clear on the subject? Also, you might show them the benefits (short and long-term) for your LIFE, and your health reasons for doing this... You WILL exercise and you WILL eat right and you WILL change your life with this procedure. They need to know that... Perhaps expressing those things will help? As an aside... I don't feel like I know enough about your situation to make more specific comments, like, is your mother and other family member overweight? Do they not sympathize, or do they sabotage? Do they not know your history of trying, and failing? What is your start weight, comorbidies, etc? And most important, do you really care what they think and feel, more than what YOU think and feel? If you read through many of my posts, you'll see I have chosen to keep my surgery to me and one friend, mostly for the very reasons you have expressed (non-support, intrusive questions and comments, etc, etc), and, because I don't want to hear the negativity. Some on here experience great support, and I wish you (and I) had those people around us... but if we don't, again, the most important vision, support, and wish is OUR OWN. You can do it, and we will support you... if you choose not to do this, we will still support your decision! Best to you! :smile::smile::smile::smile: AND NOW... here's some research, SCIENTIFIC AND FACT CHECKED, for your own edification, or to share with others: Be alert to the silent but serious comorbidities of obesity | Bariatric Times The History of Sleeve Gastrectomy | Bariatric Times The History of Sleeve Gastrectomy | Bariatric Times Five Minutes with… Rebecca Puhl, PhD?Taking a look at weight bias and the stigma of obesity | Bariatric Times Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy | Bariatric Times Promoting a Physically Active Lifestyle in Bariatric Patients | Bariatric Times Conveying Empathy: Why Are We Still Struggling? | Bariatric Times Gastrointestinal Hormones and their Relationship to Bariatric Surgery | Bariatric Times I?ve Got a Secret: Nondisclosure in Persons Who Undergo Bariatric Surgery | Bariatric Times Exercise? The Key to Weight Loss Success | Bariatric Times The Value of Support | Bariatric Times They Didn?t Staple My Brain | Bariatric Times Ok, hope this is a good start... Best!

thanks all! i know i must tell myself these things, to keep motivated and moving forward... being that i had the band, lost 80% of my goal weight, only to lose the band, gain almost ALL of that weight back... i just have to tell myself "this is it, you can do it!" and move forward one step at a time! we're on our way! best to all! :smile::smile::smile::smile::smile:

Here's a sticky of the things Dr. Aceves recommends that we do before surgery, what to bring with us, etc. I hope you find this helpful: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-op-post-op-diets/1822-dr-aceves-information.html

I am so glad to hear everything is healing up in your arm, and that you're on the way to 100% recovery! Thank you for the update, Barbara!

Hey all. Thought you might find this article interesting... it's from Harvard Health. Being that many of us are on proton-pump inhibitors (Prevacid, Nexium, etc), this was very insightful for me. FYI... Do PPIs have long-term side effects? :smile1:

Hi all. Ok, so today I was out with a couple of friends, cruisin through the new City Center here in Vegas (shout-out: it's AWESOME). I thought things were winding down, but then one guy suggests we eat. Everyone chimes in, yes, yes, yes. So, I was feeling kind of stuck. None of these folks know about my sleeve, and I plan to maintain my silence with them. So I went along... and it was a VERY good experience. (Yahoo.) I was starting to melt down in my head, as they wanted to go to the bar/grill near the Sports Book. I was thinking, "what will I eat?!" Well, thankfully they had Soup, chili, and some other light things I could nibble on that were acceptable. I ordered the chili... unfortunately it came with a massive amount of cheese and sour cream on it, but I worked around it for the most part. I was always a slow eater, so no one said anything when they were done, and I was still eating. I ate some of the "broth/sauce" on the chili, a few of the Beans (they are allowed on my mushies stage), and that was it. IT FELT SO GOOD! I felt "full" but not stuffed. I felt good. And, I was able to maintain my "cover" of the sleeve. I'm not even to the regular foods stage yet, and I have to wait til first of March, however, I feel like I'll be able to make better choices now, and be happy and still healthy going out... This was quite a revelation and made me very happy as well, knowing that on March 5, I will be going on a "work trip" out of town, where some co-workers will be there, and I think I'll be able to pull this off on my trip as well. Just wanted to share with you all, as this was an emotionally scary and then happy day for me with my new sleeve! Best to all! :001_smile:

I'm glad this thread and info is helpful to you... I've discovered in the last 6-7 weeks (since being sleeved) that no one has even noticed that I've lost weight, nor said anything about my eating (with the exception of one friend). Having the H. Pylori has given me an out on the eating... I told my friend that they FINALLY figured out what has been going on with me and my anemia and my stomach, and I need to chill on eating and take my meds and heal. She bought it... And, I doubt it will come up again. I have a very close friend with the band who told EVERYONE about it, and she has experienced similar things to the person you know... people are always asking, or worse for my friend, they feel like they can comment on her weight, and that it's ok to do that... My friend lost ALL of the excess weight with her band at one point (it was too tight, and she was kind of sick for a while), and people started calling her Bobble-Head because she was so thin. It was mean, but for some reason they thought it was ok. It really upset me when they would do this, and I even told a couple of these "friends" perhaps they should keep it to themselves... Of course, they just say it behind her back now, but that's better than hurting her feelings I guess. UGH. Anyways, I support anyone who tells or doesn't... I just know for me, my personality is to keep things to myself. And, sadly, I don't feel like I can trust people with my secret (having seen what they did to my friend), so I'm glad it's only me, the friend with the band, and my brother who knows... It feels good to know I can control who does and doesn't know... Just as I'm sure it feels good for many to tell it from the rooftops. best to you in your journey! :smile1:

I will say this... knowing that I've probably had this bug in my stomach for YEARS, kind of pisses me off... my doctor's here in the US (even when I got a colonoscopy and endoscopy last year) NEVER CHECKED FOR THIS. I've complained of problems like "always feeling hungry in my stomach" and have had other serious problems like severe iron deficiency (they thought I had leukemia last year, my hemoglobin was so low), which are ALL side effects and off-shoot problems of H.Pylori. It's a shame. Additionally, I think this nasty bacteria might have something to do with why my band eroded so severely, at the bacteria eats into the lining of stomach. Ugh. Anyways, I'm getting started on the prescription meds for this, which are pretty tough to get down, but hopefully it will kill the bug and I can move on... Will keep you guys posted! :smile1::smile::smile:

Has anyone been able to find, and try, the SKYR yogurt yet? This stuff is by far the thickest and most high-Protein (and DELISH) yogurt I've found, besides the FAGE (Fa-Yeh). I have discovered that in both, I like the "plain" but it gets a bit boring, so I've decided to add a smidge of low/no-sugar added preserves for taste, texture, and to change it up... Good call. :smile1: Best to you all! - a http://skyr.com/products.html

I think the before pictures is a great idea! Also, I do have a few "skinny" pics from when I was down below 150 with the band... I might break those out as well. Visual stimulus is a great idea! I think walking my dog and listening to the IPOD is the best I can do to get my ass in gear for the moment... I'll keep it up and will keep you guys posted... :smile1:

No problem. Speaking of "different" kinds of jerky... I saw BUFFALO jerky at Trader Joe's yesterday, too. I guess this Bison/Buffalo thing is becoming popular? I will try it in the future and report back. Figured, I have plenty of this stuff in the house right now, so I'll wait... Let me know how the new stuff is that you try! :smile1::smile:

Hi all. I'm eating "real" foods now, which is SO nice. Haven't had many problems, though at times I have a hard time determining when I will get that "UGH" full feeling, which can be very debilitating (temporarily) if I get over-full. I have to keep telling myself this is a learning process. In that spirit, I'm wondering if anyone has tried to utilize beef or turkey Jerky as a good source of Protein? I only ask because my brother was eating some last week, and I thought "high protein! try it!" ... so I did. Chewed it really well, and had NO problems. One individual packet, which is WAY too much for me, is less than 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein (that's for the beef). Similar stats for the turkey jerky. Just wondered what you all might think about this? I really want to do my best to get Proteins in via food, as the shakes and drinks just make me feel ravenous... Best to all!