OutsideMatchInside

Cucumber slices are the best cracker

Since Dr Umbach is actively selling it, he is biased, so his opinion isn't really valid. You wouldn't be able to use him as a source on a college paper without a lot of explaining... Excluding patients with diabetes and all metabolic issues, a common co-morbidity to obese patients seeking WLS, also doesn't seem to provide much use either.

Actually it might be kind of a blessing. You can learn to chill out and relax prior to surgery. I still haven't been to that indoor water park in the Dells. I need to put it on the list of things to do.

You basically need nothing. They give you everything. The less you bring the better. I had surgery in the middle of summer so I wore a summer maxi dress. I purchased a wire free leisure bra that fastened in the front.

Drinking Complex Carbs when you are on a liver shrinking diet/trying to drink your liver is counter intuitive. It might be fine for a normal surgery but not a bariatric surgery. Plus no nutritional information on their site or on Amazon. No thanks. I won't touch anything that won't tell me what is in it. Found the nutrition information. It is only available on the medical version of the site. 50 carbs, no thanks. I was a diabetic prior to surgery, this would not have been an option for me at all. Not worth having surgery cancelled due to elevated blood sugar and it would make it seem like I wasn't following my pre-op diet as instructed.

The first year, weekly. As soon as clothes were too large, they were out of my house. Keeping larger clothes subconsciously gives you permission to regain. I know now if I regain not only do I have nothing to wear, I gave away a bunch of things I love. So there is no going back. Get those fat clothes out your house ASAP. They are not helping you.

https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ That is the one with the pie charts and projected weight loss Here are a few others so you can compare. https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/

This is why my hair shed so bad, my iron got way too low. I have been taking a massive amount of iron twice daily for months and my hair is filing back in. Still it is going to take years for all the new hair to get as long as the rest. So wigs are the solution for now, plus wigs are fun!

I really wish you a speedy recovery. I hope you get some resolution soon. Keep us updated. We care.

Take it slow, 1 ounce at a time. Do not mix foods. Try one thing alone, wait see how it sits, then eat more.

Purchase a human hair lace wig. Have it customized by a stylist, cut to frame your face, and the hairline plucked. I wear wigs and you can't tell.

That is normal the first few months, just drink all day.

Caffeine won't bother your stomach, acid will. So early on post-op, cold brew or espresso are the best options. Their roasting process of their beans is very high acid, so brewed coffee is a no no.

I had vitamin deficiencies before surgery. Anemic, and prone to low vitamin D due to race as @Introversion mentioned. I don't need a multi if I am eating normally but I am going to have to take Iron and Vitamin D forever. That is just how it is. Most people don't seem to follow up a lot with their blood work so I would be really hesitant to suggest people skip vitamins, also post-op bariatric diets vary greatly from person to person. If not taking vitamins work for you, keep it up. It isn't an option for me and I am not willing to risk the side effects at all, having experienced them. Never again.

If your surgery date is right, the first 6 months the sleeve is healing, that is why people lose the most in the first 6 months. The swelling and healing creates more restriction than a normal healed sleeve has. Walking was boring for me at first, once I made it a habit by doing it every day even if I did not want to, it became very normalized. Also, I got a dog one month post-op and that forced me to be active and outdoors, even though he is a total lap dog and would never leave the house left to his own devices.

@sleevedshereen Oh I know all about LA traffic. I work for myself though so I set my own schedule. I drive 45 minutes to an hour now just to kayak a couple times a week. My friend lives on a lake and we won't even kayak every day when we are there, but still... A girl can dream. What I meant about maintaining your weight loss is long term, post-op VSG is boring AF. Once the weight isn't dropping you are just watching what you eat and your macros with no active new rewards (like weight loss or losing a size). You just had surgery aren't fully healed yet, you have a lower BMI and might get to goal fairly quickly. Maintaining your weight loss is the boredom of knitting/scrapbooking/quilting X100, and I don't even find those that boring.

True, but it doesn't seem like insurance is the issue, but her program. Her BMI is over 40, most insurance doesn't require you to jump through a lot of hoops with that kind of BMI.

I used to think I was super lazy. Then I realized I was just super fat. I used to ride my bike, swim and all kinds of things as a child. Now that I have lost weight those are my new hobbies. Swimming, Kayaking, Rowing, Biking, Hiking. I love being outside. When I used to get bored in the middle of the afternoon at my desk I would have a snack, now I take a walk and have a snack. I am not trying to be rah rah exercise, but it just kind of happened. I had a ton of excess energy and that is what I ended up doing with it. Other than that, shopping is my cardio. I have spent a lot of time over the past year learning my new body and that involves trying on A LOT of clothes. I had to learn my new body shape, and adjust my personal style. Shopping can be a serious hobby. Last year I started with bargain shopping trying to dress my changing body for the cheap. Now it is more about getting high quality wardrobe pieces. If I lived in LA, I would be swimming, surfing and kayaking every day. OMG Personal question, if you think you are lazy and can't stick to things, how do you plan on managing your weight loss long term?

Switch Drs. I went from first visit to surgery in 8 weeks. I didn't have to play all these reindeer games with my program. A lot of these programs are just milking people for money.

That is how I felt pre-op. I had a pretty good handle on my food but I still really struggled with portion control. I would have an 8 or 12 ounce steak when I was low carbing before surgery. A proper portion for everyone, not just a sleever is 4 ounce. I was over eating all the time and I had a hard time stopping. You kind of have to decide for yourself what you want to do. Like for example early on the first 6 months. I did not waste calories on chicken salad. I had baked fish with Ghee. I picked foods that followed my bariatric plan in the first 6 months but I used real fat and full fat items, within reason. Even now most of my fat come from half and half in my coffee and the cooking oil I use for my protein and the fat in my protein (I like pork chops). I don't have to add a fat like MCT Oil. I feel like MCT oil for a sleever is kind of a hack that isn't necessary. If you really like MCT Oil you can use it, but I wouldn't use it on a healing/new intestinal tract. MCT can be hard on a normal person. I try not to waste calories on mushy things. I love Avocado but is it fairly high in calories, doesn't trigger restriction and when you eat it with things it makes them moist and turns them soft, and possibly into a slider. Not worth it. I try to avoid sliders and accidentally turning things into a slider. Although there is no real reason not so use mayo instead of avocado but long term, the calories for chicken salad are not worth it. In the short term healing it might be a nice way to help you get protein in because it has more moisture and get your calories up because it is higher in calories but long term, just eating a chicken breast cut into cubes will be more physically satisfying? Confused? It is confusing. You learn as you go along and you have to do what works for you.

You were going to be on a liquid diet no matter what so it doesn't matter that you didn't have surgery. Keep doing liquids and try to get a surgery date next week. There is no reason to quit this close to the end. If this makes you want to give up your first post-op stall is going to send you over the edge.

Haven't seen you in a long time! Nice to see you again. We are going to have to agree to disagree on the band. Sure lots of people eat around it but, the human body rejects foreign objects. The band is also know for eroding stomachs and it can slip. I think the whole point of it was residual income for Doctors. Glad to hear you are doing well! Wishing you the best of luck and continued success. And yes it is the same questions over and over in an echo chamber. I always wondered why no long term WLS patients were active on boards and I completely understand now.

There is no normal, everyone is different. Have you been for your checkup? What did your Dr say?

Good Luck and thanks for the update!

I used to use MCT oil prior to surgery for energy. Post-op I have so much energy I do not need it. I have an almost full bottle I purchased after surgery that I have not used once I think. The first 6 months you should follow your bariatric plan. The stages and foods allowed are a prescription for healing and to lessen complications, after you are healed at 6 months you can do what you want. I used a keto calculator to create my macros, and I followed them very closely for a long time. A lot of the things that people that are not WLS patients do with keto are not necessary for WLS patients. The whole first year I had no physical hunger so I didn't have to do a lot of the popular tricks that people do. Like the whole purpose of bulletproof coffee is to extend your fast in the morning so you even up intermittent fasting, at least how it was originally intended by the Bulletproof guy Dave Aspey (been a fan of his for years). It is easy to fast for extended periods post-op WLS with no hunger. People online really bastardize the whole bulletproof coffee thing. If you are used to low carbing, life post-op WLS is not really much of a change at all. The only difference is smaller portions and you have to eat more often. A person that is used to being Keto adapted and knows what to expect has the advantage in the WLS world. It made most of it pretty easy for me, I wasn't whining about missing crackers and other crap I didn't eat before anyway. Bariatriceating is always trying to sell their BS shakes so I am not sure they are the best source. Their NO NO List is I used heavy cream in my coffee when I struggled to keep my calories up. Unlimited bacon as a no no is only because I don't have the room and can't meet my protein goals with it. I only use FULL FAT everything. The rest of it is fake and has additional carbs. Their ratios on how to eat are not Keto at all, they have carbs almost equal to protein and that is not keto whatsoever. I hate that website so much, ugh. Anyway... I set my macros goals by setting my protein goal first. My protein goal has been 120 grams a day, at first post-op it was 90, then I raised it to 120. My protein goal is based on my muscle mass. Here are my keto goals as they progressed. 2 months Post-Op 4 months Post-Op This is my current bare minimum calories for the day. I can lose like this but I can lose eating more calories also. This is my baseline to function without being dizzy or tired.