Daisee68

Welcome to the group! I would make sure to do all your own research about the different options and be prepared to discuss / ask questions you go see the dr. Make a list of questions. It helps when you get in there. Good luck!

Congrats! I made it this week! So exciting!

That is frustrating! Did they (either surgeon's office or insurance) not give you a list of things to be completed before? I wonder if the other thing left is endoscopy or barium swallow and/or the final pre-op (i.e. I had bloodwork, lung xrays and some other stuff all at the same time at my pre-op appointment).

Ok I had bypass not sleeve and I am only 8 months out, so not sure I have great advice. I would probably start by asking have you called your NUT and your surgeon and seen them again? If they have no suggestions, have you seen an endocrinologist to check your thyroid and possibly other metabolic issues? And/or a gastroenterologist who could do an endoscopy and see if he finds anything? The "hunger" may actually be acid reflux so you need to have that checked and addressed. Don't give up hope. There is some reason you didn't lose more. Seek out those medical professionals to get their help and advice. Be sure to keep a food log and weight log for a couple of weeks before your appointments so you can show that to them and have some relative history to share.

@@NewSetOfCurves - You look AMAZING! You should definitely be on a billboard advertising Dr. Fisher's work! Not that I am taking any credit from the incredibly hard work you have done, but your previous posts about Dr. Fisher combined with these pics have me sold on going there! I can only hope I look half as good as you do some day and have even half as much dedication you have to this whole WLS journey! You are such an inspiration! Amazing work and dedication! Thank you for sharing!

That just SUCKS! I remember thinking there was NO way I could do what I needed to do. I remember how difficult it always was to lose when I had a special event like a wedding or something. That is ALWAYS when I would gain weight. Do you have a liquid pre-op diet? I guarantee you will lose on that. I lost 12 pounds in one week (starting it I was 308). Mine was purely liquid - shakes, broth and decaffeinated unsweet drinks only. Is your insurance requiring the loss or your doctor?

That is harsh! I have pretty much steadily lost at the rate if 2 pounds per week average (sometimes more sometimes less) and I am down 100 pounds since my surgery last June. If you are truly following the program (protein, water, vitamins, etc), then you will be fine.

I agree. You likely need more calories especially if you are working out. At 7 1/2 months post-op my NUT reviewed my food log and asked if I was fighting hunger since I was only getting 750-800 calories (and I wasn't working out). I wasn't really having hunger issues but still she said to go ahead and increase to 900-1000 calories. Even with that I am still losing (and still not working out - at least not like you are). I would call your NUT but extra calories do seem in order. So grats o. Your fantastic work!!

Yes. Same here. For any procedure I have had at least the last 6 years. It is quite daunting given moat of us have huge deductibles now.

I just ate a Quest Mint chocolate Chip bar. It was SO good. The texture wasn't near as chewy as the others I have had. I don't know if it with the new formula or the old. @@JamieLogical which ingredient is it that caused so much problems? It says it has "soluble Corn fiber" which I think is the one you didn't like. Anyway, this one will definitely be in my Protein bar rotation.

Maybe I am misunderstanding here, but while you can cut back on sugar (by the teaspoon or whatever) and sugar-added foods, there is still "sugar" in a post-op diet in the form of fruits and some carbs, etc. It takes a while before you can process those and perhaps isn't the best during the early weight loss phase for some if it derails their losing, but none of it is off the table forever. If your NUT is telling you that you can NEVER have sugar of any kind or fruit for the rest of your life, find a new program. Fruit is part of a healthy diet. Good complex carbs are part of a healthy diet.

You are welcome! On the lines of natural remedies, have you used a NetiPot or Saline rinse for your sinuses? This really helps if you are congested! Also, if you are coughing, there is the old remedy of putting Vick's Vapor Rub on the soles of your feet and putting socks over it and sleeping that way. I don't know if it really works, but it seems to. Hope you feel better soon!

Alka Seltzer has aspirin in it which is why you cannot take it. The issue is the NSAIDs which is why they say Tylenol products only. I break apart the ingredients and take only what is needed - ie decongestant only if stuffy, mucinex if lots of mucus (and will take it with steamed if also stuffy), Tylenol is only for pain or fever. If a sore throat Tylenol will help. So look at the active ingredients on the Alka Seltzer cold med that used to work for you and then buy those active ingredients separately.

I have Garmin Vivofit which I love

You look great! Great job!!

So I am going to have a differing opinion here. I have only watched the 1st episode and only because I stumbled across it and was prepared to hate it. And there were definitely things I didn't like. In the beginning when the trainer was gaining weight, he was saying things to his daughter like "is daddy getting fat?" I just didn't like how he was teaching his kids about the word "fat". And I did think how he didn't really get it that he could still shimmy up a rope and do pull-ups from the rafters the first day back to working out after not doing so for 4 months. However, what I did find interesting was the relationship he built with the guy he was training. Maybe he was just acting, but he did really seem genuine in his care and desire for the guy to become healthy. So no, gaining 40 pounds in 4 months just to drop it back off quickly didn't give him a real picture of what being overweight is, but if in some small way, it gave him patience or kindness and genuinely help overweight clients, then I think there is a lot to be said for it. My sister is uber-healthy. (She has always worked at it and isn't a nut or annoying but still healthy.) She does CrossFit, has taught fitness classes, etc. When she got pregnant with her first child, she gained 60 pounds and it took her a while to get it back off. But she said to me back then (10 years ago) that she suddenly had more understanding of the frustration overweight people face and the depression that goes along with it. With her 2nd pregnancy (8 years ago), she didn't gain as much and bounced back faster. (She was still teaching fitness classes when she was 6 months pregnant.) But she has been such a big support during my WLS journey. I'm lucky. She is 11 years younger than me and my best friend, but I think her having been through really working to get some weight off also gave her some compassion and then honestly she is proud of what I have accomplished and reminds me of that daily. Just my 2 cents...

So I finally tried this and clearly I did something wrong. It didn't taste very good but I kept eating it (no idea why). I must have eaten too fast or something because I have been vomiting it up for 3 hours! Ugh. NEVER. AGAIN....

I don't like milk. Never have. (Well chocolate milk but that's a subject for another time ). Because I was a Type 2 Diabetic pre-op, I stopped drinking my calories (mostly) so chocolate milk was definitely off the table. Having said that, I did find when doing Weight Watchers, I always lost had my daily milk (generally in the form of some sort of chocolate shake), but 6 cups is A LOT! Fairlife is really good. (Haven't tried Mootopia but I have seen it in our stores.) I use the Fairlife for cooking and sometimes in shakes (I will use 2 oz of milk and then 4 to 6 oz of Water with the Protein powder - makes it a little better). One tip re getting your calcium though is try the Premier Protein ready to drink shakes. They have 500mg of calcium per shake and 30g of protein. They have vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Plus it is only 11 oz and especially in the early stages when you cannot drink much, it helps to get that much protein in such a small amount of Fluid (takes less time to drink).

I just tried a Power Crunch bar today in Salted Caramel. It was delicious! 13g Protein and 13g fat, so you may feel it is too high in fat (everyone is different on that), but oh man it was so good! Like a candy bar. Something I will likely not be able to keep in quantity in the house. On Quest bars, my favorite is the chocolate cookie dough (Quest bars generally have around 20g protein). Oh and if you like hot chocolate at all, look at the ones in the Bariatric Pal store. They have great flavors with the hot chocolate and it is in individual pre-measured packages so easy to carry with you (where you can mix them with hot water) and only 80 calories / 15g protein.

I took my phone. Would have been lost without it.

I am getting ready to do same and often have to pack some snacks for times away with my nephews for soccer tournaments. So I pack my snacks I. Snack size bags and then put them all in one big ziploc. I pack 1 oz portions of beef jerky (love Leave brand as it is very tender), cashews and Quest bars. If I am going to have ability to refrigerate, I take the 2% Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar cheese bars (3/4 oz) and Premier Protein ready made drinks and yogurt. I will be going to Mexico on vacation soon and won't be able to take the liquids, so I am going to put a scoop of Protein. powder in ags to take with me to mix with water. It doesn't taste as great mixed with water but I know it will make sure to get my protein in. Will be interested to see others suggestions.

@@princesswarrior - I have and they are very good but they are much higher calories & carbs than the Quest bars, so I try to avoid them. The chocolate mint and chocolate Peanut Butter are the ones I have tried.

Did you have sleeve or bypass? You say "pouch" so I am assuming bypass? If so, I am 8 months post-op and just recently increased my calorie intake to 900-1000. Before that, I was closer to 800 for several months. As @@JamieLogical Protein, carb, fat makeup is more important really than calories. I am for 30g fat, 75g carbs and 105g protein (which totals 990 calories). Sometimes I am over in one category (generally fat) and lower in others but my protein is ALWAYS greater than carbs.

I am so sorry you are getting responses like that! I told everyone about my surgery (seriously, I am a talker and tell EVERYONE - 2 perfect strangers while shopping today for example). I have been very lucky not to experience negative talk. They may be doing it behind my back, but what I don't know can't hurt me. Having said that, my very first thought when I read what people have said to you is that I would have told them to F*(! off. Seriously do not understand why people feel the need to give their opinion on this rather than encouragement or just silence. "You're better than that" really ticks me off. How dare they?! I don't have any advice at all. I just wanted to say I feel righteous indignation on your behalf!

It could be acid reflux which can mimic hunger feelings. Are you taking a PPI? If not, try Zantac. It helps.