Dub

I occasionally supplement with Metamucil powder. It tastes great.....like orange Tang. Every couple of days I'll have a Quest bar for Breakfast, too. As James said, they are surprisingly high in Fiber and the apple pie flavored version is truly tasty. I've found that getting lots of fiber is a challenge with the sleeve diet. My surgeon recently admitted this and said I was perfectly okay proceeding as I said above. Good luck.

All of the Chike brand shakes were great to me. Excellent flavors without aftertaste.

Eating a salad for lunch at work right now, in fact. Small $2.30 side salad from the salad bar. I use spinach leaves as the base....thin layer. Hard boiled eggs, ham, cheese, sunflower seeds, bell peppers, some pepperoni and a couple cucumber slices. I'm almost 7 months out and have been enjoying salads again for the past month or so. It does feel good to get these back. I fully agree with everyone in that iceburg is a waste of time and space. I wish they had kale on the bar, too.

Outstanding !!!!!!!

Lindsey, Congrats on your decision to move forward. I'm 7 months post-op from my sleeve and very, very happy with the results thus far. I have a long way to go....but I've never been more sure in my life that I'll get there. It's a wonderful certainty. One that makes me grin at awkward times, crack jokes in serious moments and otherwise go through life in a more upbeat way than I ever have. Ever. The really cool thing about that last paragraph is that I'm just one of many around here on BP that can say the same thing. We are living proof that things can get better. I say all that to say this......it has been a process. 7 months ago I could begin to see how it would unfold....how I would feel.....what size clothes I would be wearing.....what I would be eating, etc. All I had 7 months ago was the very straightforward plan that my surgeon laid out......simple and easily done. I had to trust & believe that I would be able to grow and develop my menu later on as my stomach capacity moved up to 1 full cup of food per meal by the one year mark....as my surgeon promised. I trusted. I believed. It's been very simple and straightforward. I learned that I could always kick the weight loss up a notch or two by doing a Protein shake only diet at any time I cared to do so. Every so often I'll bust through a stall with a 2-3 day liquid only reset. I learned that I could get in the needed protein with my 1/2 cup meal sizes that I was doing at the 6 month mark. My surgeon then encouraged me to increase to 3/4 cup sizes for the next few months and to continue with current protein amount but to add green vegetables to fill the new capacity. The last few weeks have found me adding broccoli, kale, spinach, grilled asparagus and the like to my meals. I love the Fiber increase but know there are other menu refinements in my future. I love grilling and for the most part I've been able to enjoy this hugely during my weight loss. Now, though....I'm also enjoying getting that crunchy food satisfaction from the vegetables. Good stuff. I watched the Forks Over Knives movie and the related Engine 2 Diet movie yesterday. Good stuff. Very thought provoking. There are certainly meal ideas and themes that I can adopt to my way of eating. My stomach capacity is never going to allow me to eat the volumes of plant based foods that these two suggest.......but it does open up the realm of making vegetable smoothies to get in more of these into my system. It's a process. It's been initially about getting the weight off my frame. Certainly that's been a healthy thing. Now it's about refining my diet and enjoying taking it to knew healthy levels. Hoping to get more heart healthy, too. I never could have seen the myself drinking Protein shakes, low sugar vegetable juices and enjoying packs of flavored tuna this time last year. Then....I was all about shoving down pizza, Pasta and other similar garbage. I was sedentary and running on polluted arteries and my body was telling on me. Now....I'm reaching for a better life through improved health. I want to be off of as many medications as possible. Just the amounts and frequencies of NSAIDS intake alone has been hugely decreased. Co-morbidities are slipping away......slipping away in small doses.......good stuff. Take the small steps you can see now. They will lead you to other steps....other possibilities, some that you can't even begin to envision now, but they will be clear later on......Trust & Believe.

BMI of 58 when I started the pre-op process. Now it's 36, 7 months postop. 180+ lbs lighter now with much more to go. Feeling great.

It would take a lot for me to ever completely give up meat. I'm intrigued by many aspects of this way of eating, though. For instance, the author makes a Breakfast Cereal mix for a couple who are trying it out. He put all sorts of stuff in their bowls and it really looked great. They seemed pleased with the flavor and the crunch. He said each bowl has 30+ grams of Protien and 25+ grams of Fiber in addition to many nutrients. I could use such a breakfast idea. I'm sure there are other high Protien meal ideas to be found, too.

I did. I used then and still use now, Splenda and sometimes Stevia. I used pre-mixed vanilla or chocolate Protein shakes as the creamer. Sure was a great way to get past the hunger. I did. I used then and still use now, Splenda and sometimes Stevia. I used pre-mixed vanilla or chocolate Protein Shakes as the creamer. Sure was a great way to get past the hunger.

I did. I used then and still use now, Splenda and sometimes Stevia. I used pre-mixed vanilla or chocolate Protein shakes as the creamer. Sure was a great way to get past the hunger.

I've never watched the show......but am laughing my butt off at that pic of her shirt.

Third time's the charm, right ? I have no regrets about my sleeve surgery....none. It would have been nice to have done so much sooner..... The benefits have been awesome !!! I wish you the best and know you'll see the best, too.

I watched the Forks Over Knives movie yesterday.....and then watched the Engine2 movie....both on Netflix. Very compelling stuff. I'd like to learn more about it and how I can meet my Protein goals with this. I'm getting the Engine2 book and will read it. Once I'm done....I'm thinking that I may try the Engine2 28 day challenge. What have I got to lose, right ? My concerns are will the diet be sleeve friendly and will I get enough protein. I'm certain that I'll learn more in the time ahead. I'm intrigued by this. That is a big deal, too, by the way.....as I've been a tremendous fan of grilled meats for as long as I can remember. I'm not saying that I'll totally give up the meats.......but then again who knows. I think I may even go see my PCP and have bloodwork done prior to any diet change and then if I do the 28 day challenge and stay on it....I'll go back and have it checked again. Nothing to lose, right ?

Being dehydrated always makes me feel like crap. I couldn't imagine that crappy feeling on top of the respiratory infection. You've got to find a way to get your Water and Protein in. I wish I had a great suggestion as to how....without feeling nauseated......but I'm guessing it will be easier once you feel better and that will occur once you get your water and protein in.

My starting weight on July 1, 2015 was 478 lbs. Sleeve surgery was on October 13, 2015. My weight today is 294. I've still got a long way to go. The sleeve has been working really well and is very easy to live with.

It's good that already understand the importance of the pre-op diet. It's for your safety. You are taking an active role in your success. I selected amoung the allowed Protein powders and pre-mixed shakes. I chose to drink the Pure Protein Shakes because they were more thick and satisfying. I pounded down the Water in between and all went well. Sure it's not a heap of fun......but it's just two weeks. Stay focused on other fun stuff and get your mind off food.

It's really not so difficult once you get past the first month or so. Everything, in fact, became much easier for me by the end of the second month. I've got 99 problems but Water intake is not one.

I don't either.....usually. I guess we are lucky that way. I'd hate to give up on hot sauces and spicy rubs.

Oh yeah.....son's are good for "helping" us out, right ?

Sounds like that ice cream sandwich is a bad choice then if you are trying to lose. Snacks, in general, may be a bad idea. Just my opinion and I reserve the right to be wrong.

Thanks. If this helps you our your loved ones pass the word. I will. Watching it right now, in fact......

I think that it'd be a horrible thing for me to eat. I say that because I'm in weight loss mode with a long way to go remaining ahead of me. I looked over at your starting weight of 277 and your current weight of 130 pounds and I say....."Heck yes.....roll with it !!!" You've kicked arse and if those are what you want to eat.....then all things in moderation. You've lost 147 pounds. Only you know whether or not you can eat something like this and not trigger bad eating habits. Congrats on your weight loss results.

I suppose at some level, most folks have a bit of judgmental views about wls. At some level. It's been a learning experience for me. Sure...learned lots about nutrition and such.....but learned heaps more about myself. I was one of those who was ill informed over wls....even though I have a close family member who has been highly successful with it after their surgery 15 years ago. Highly successful. It took a unique set of circumstances to stack up in my life for me to seriously consider wls. I't temporarily lost the ability to "just go to the gym and diet and get the weight off" as I'd done in the past. The health issues mounted....and it became abundantly clear that losing a huge amount of weight would be the first step towards addressing the issues. Here's the bottom line for me.....I've done well in losing and getting temporarily fit before. I can kick into gear with the best of them.....until I couldn't. I became interested and focused on the wls as an aid.....educated myself on it as best I could......went through a couple surgeons and found the right one.....and took his advice on the optimum surgery for me. Everything has unfolded as he predicted. I'm very grateful. The coolest thing about all this is that I've already passed the point where I've stopped in the past. I'm more fit now. I'm more lean. I feel better. My health metrics are much better. I'm in a great place.....yet I am not satisfied. I will continue to get to my goal fighting weight and live there. I look at myself and do so much differently than I have in the past attempts when I'd gotten 2/3 this far. Then I was happy and ready to enjoy myself. Now....I'm grateful for the progress, sure.....but it's just a pleasant observation on the way to where I'm really headed. I couldn't see the intricacies of wls.....couldn't really understand it.......did pass judgement on it.......until I lived it and my eyes were opened by my own experiences. I'd always kept my opinions to myself....glad I did as they were based on ignorance. I feel that on balance, there is insufficient mental preparation for patients prior to surgery. The nutritional part is fairly straightforward.....but the mental game is one that must be the foundation and build on solid ground. I am tremendously grateful for Dr. Stapleton. She works with the patients in my bariatric center and is a vital resource. Her pre-op training is thought provoking and really helped me prepare. I'm being educated in wls each and every day and have been humbled by the experience. I now see my back injury some 13 months ago as a gift. It was the final straw that gave that last push I needed. WLS followed 7 months later and I'm significantly lighter now and can see maybe hitting my goal weight prior to my one year surgiversary. Cool thought.......

I don't get it either. I've never known eggs to be foul. Burnt popcorn, though.......horrid stuff. Happens all the time where I work. The break area has pair of microwaves....each a different size and wattage....one has rotary feature....other does not. People are always goofing up the cooking times needed between the two. The struggle is real.

Well sir......your results and health improvement are excellent. You have me intrigued. I'll be giving this a look on Netflix later today. Thanks for the suggestion. Glad you are getting back to where you want to be.