Trinn

I wouldn't add berries for the pre-op diet. The intent of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver so you have to avoid sugar and carbs.

1. Losing friends who are opposed to WLS and don't know I'm having it.
2. Being unhappy about loose skin.
3. General anxiety about IV's, which I hate.
4. My school semester being negatively impacted/not being able to get to class/difficulty commuting for longer than I expect.

I'm a costumer and SF fan. I am looking forward to costuming "Doctor Girlfriend" from the Venture Brothers series. *grin*

*laugh* It's a very Northern California term, and I think really, what I meant here was "They're all very northern California people." I'm a student and a peer educator, and a lot of what my friends and peers educate about is body positivity. So, when I say "sex positive" I mean, "I have fat friends who do things like dance burlesque, teach other fat women hip-hop, teach intimacy skills for bigger people, and for them, WLS can be a hot button issue, because they're putting so much effort into teaching and leading and modelling happy healthy sexy body image as big folks."

Wow, superinteresting question! I don't have a surgery date yet, but I've been doing a lot of medical stuff, and for two months, I've been on a mostly liquid diet (shakes, with one small Protein only meal a day). This has caused a fair amount of attention, because I spend a lot of time in spaces where there aren't healthy food options for me, and where my dietary habits have been really noticeable. (Lots of Jewish retreats and events, where I can't bring in food and the food is all "dairy", which means mostly carbs.
And what I say when someone pokes at it a lot is, "My doctor and I are trying to get to the root of a digestive problem I have." :-) If they push me, I say, "I am trying to finally resolve a problem that's been bothering me since I had my gallbladder out."
And after that, I don't discuss it. If someone says, "Oh, so you eat Atkins? " or "Oh, are you gluten free?" I just smile and say, "Oh, right now, I'm eating what's healthy for me, until we work out what works better. You don't don't want to hear the details!" And then I make a little face, that ever so slightly suggests it would be TMI.
This, is, in fact, mostly true. I have had a problem since I had my gall bladder out after acute pancreatitis over 10 years ago -- I have "bile salt diarrhea." And you know what? My BSD is completely gone when I just eat Protein. :-) I'm not interested in discussing my weight.
But other than that -- I am basically surrounded by fat-positive and sex-positive friends, and I am more concerned that one of them will get upset and feel a need to tell me I'm being a "traitor" or something else for having WLS. I also don't want to hurt the feelings of people I know who are too sweet to ever say that, but who are at my weight or higher. So, I have told 3 friends I'm doing this -- the ones I will probably need support from when first have surgery. I've told my children. But other than that, I am just "working on a health issue."
I know at some point, I will have lost enough weight that someone will be like, "Whaaat has happened?" in which case, I'll just say I finally addressed a health problem that was bothering me. I don't want to hear "you're looking better" and stuff like that. I look great now. I will look great then. I am more than the number of pounds I'm carrying. :-)

Hey, thanks for writing this. I see what you're saying. In my case, people don't see me "dieting" because I don't "diet" -- I have tended to eat very low carb, but just all the time. And they don't see me working out, because I'm disabled (arthritis and injuries). I don't expect anyone will think I'm engaged in some miracle diet. My honest concern is that I am just not interested in having people say things I'm personally going to find offensive that they think are compliments. Like the other day, I was leaving the house and my partner said, "You look so cute in that dress, and you look cuter every day!" He was trying to compliment me on my work at sticking to my eating choices and losing 20 lbs over the past two months, but I stopped him and asked that he not frame this like that, that language doesn't feel good to me.
And really, my weight and my health choices are my business. My disinterest in sharing is part of my enforcing that boundary. If someone were to suggest to me that it was some "miracle" diet that changed -- though I don't know how they would -- I would just say, "I have been working with my health care providers to address concerns I had." And I'd give them my sweet-but-firm "Not your business" look. *grin*

Wow, superinteresting question! I don't have a surgery date yet, but I've been doing a lot of medical stuff, and for two months, I've been on a mostly liquid diet (shakes, with one small Protein only meal a day). This has caused a fair amount of attention, because I spend a lot of time in spaces where there aren't healthy food options for me, and where my dietary habits have been really noticeable. (Lots of Jewish retreats and events, where I can't bring in food and the food is all "dairy", which means mostly carbs.
And what I say when someone pokes at it a lot is, "My doctor and I are trying to get to the root of a digestive problem I have." :-) If they push me, I say, "I am trying to finally resolve a problem that's been bothering me since I had my gallbladder out."
And after that, I don't discuss it. If someone says, "Oh, so you eat Atkins? " or "Oh, are you gluten free?" I just smile and say, "Oh, right now, I'm eating what's healthy for me, until we work out what works better. You don't don't want to hear the details!" And then I make a little face, that ever so slightly suggests it would be TMI.
This, is, in fact, mostly true. I have had a problem since I had my gall bladder out after acute pancreatitis over 10 years ago -- I have "bile salt diarrhea." And you know what? My BSD is completely gone when I just eat Protein. :-) I'm not interested in discussing my weight.
But other than that -- I am basically surrounded by fat-positive and sex-positive friends, and I am more concerned that one of them will get upset and feel a need to tell me I'm being a "traitor" or something else for having WLS. I also don't want to hurt the feelings of people I know who are too sweet to ever say that, but who are at my weight or higher. So, I have told 3 friends I'm doing this -- the ones I will probably need support from when first have surgery. I've told my children. But other than that, I am just "working on a health issue."
I know at some point, I will have lost enough weight that someone will be like, "Whaaat has happened?" in which case, I'll just say I finally addressed a health problem that was bothering me. I don't want to hear "you're looking better" and stuff like that. I look great now. I will look great then. I am more than the number of pounds I'm carrying. :-)

I am a shake newbie, but I got some Premier Protein and I've been happy with them. I initially had the chocolate flavor, then tried out the vanilla. I don't think of myself as liking plain vanilla things, but it's become my favorite, in part because I use it as a base for other stuff. I also got the strawberry flavor because I heard it was amazeballs, but I am not that impressed.
The best price for them is at Costco; I don't have a membership but a friend got them for me. $25 for an 18 pack. Safeway had a sale for a while, $20 for a 12 pack, but now it's back to being far too expensive.
I have the chocolate in the morning. I have not given up caffeine yet -- I may be months away from a surgery date -- so I make a mocha shake using Starbucks Via. I take a single Via packet and add an ounce of hot/boiling Water (maybe a shot worth?) You have to do this because the Via doesn't dissolve in cold Water. Then I open up my icy cold PP chocolate, take a big swig to make room, and add the Via shot. I seal it back up and shake it well. MOCHA! :-)

For the Vanilla, I add Mio drops to change the flavor sometimes -- orange Mio drops added gives me a creamsicle flavor. I have also blended the vanilla with fresh blueberries I put in the freezer (the whole container, just popped it right in and let them freeze!) and a little ice. It makes a great smoothie.

I admit to not having tried other brands because I've been happy with these. I do prefer them cold; I carry some with me when I go out in a little insulated lunch bag.

I am a shake newbie, but I got some Premier Protein and I've been happy with them. I initially had the chocolate flavor, then tried out the vanilla. I don't think of myself as liking plain vanilla things, but it's become my favorite, in part because I use it as a base for other stuff. I also got the strawberry flavor because I heard it was amazeballs, but I am not that impressed.
The best price for them is at Costco; I don't have a membership but a friend got them for me. $25 for an 18 pack. Safeway had a sale for a while, $20 for a 12 pack, but now it's back to being far too expensive.
I have the chocolate in the morning. I have not given up caffeine yet -- I may be months away from a surgery date -- so I make a mocha shake using Starbucks Via. I take a single Via packet and add an ounce of hot/boiling Water (maybe a shot worth?) You have to do this because the Via doesn't dissolve in cold Water. Then I open up my icy cold PP chocolate, take a big swig to make room, and add the Via shot. I seal it back up and shake it well. MOCHA! :-)

For the Vanilla, I add Mio drops to change the flavor sometimes -- orange Mio drops added gives me a creamsicle flavor. I have also blended the vanilla with fresh blueberries I put in the freezer (the whole container, just popped it right in and let them freeze!) and a little ice. It makes a great smoothie.

I admit to not having tried other brands because I've been happy with these. I do prefer them cold; I carry some with me when I go out in a little insulated lunch bag.