careya123

@@ridingrae That is inspirational. I just had surgery a few days ago and am feeling a little, "What on earth did I do to myself?" I'm so glad you are a year post-op and having lots of success.

I'm going to tell people I was abducted by aliens, and had tests performed on me. Just for fun.

Ha! Never again will I believe someone when they tell me how they are losing weight.

Wow, that is very motivating to stay on the pre-op diet! Just what I needed as I sit here eating yet another Jello cup. The other day I was watching a YouTube video of a woman (Clusie L) who had the surgery. Before she went under the knife, she interviewed a bunch of people who said they had little or no pain after the surgery. She cheated on her diet and at a bunch of wings (20?) a few days before surgery, and she had a lot of pain afterward. No idea if it's a causal relationship, but it does make me eager to be strict on the diet.

I've never been so jealous of someone eating a Lean Cuisine.

Uuuuuugggghhhhhh. I'm on day 11(?) of what was supposed to be a 6 day diet. My surgery date keeps moving because of my $#%! insurance company. I just pray the surgery will be next Monday, instead of getting moved out another week. 3 weeks on this awful diet? Hopefully just 3 more days. I'm not hungry anymore, maybe a little weak, but I'm just really sick of Protein shakes, broth, and Jello. I tried the popsicles, but they are so so sweet.

Long term results of sleeve gastrectomy are just starting to become available in the last few years. Here's one study: sleep apnea syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms occurred in 83.8%, 59.7%, 75.6%, and 64.7% of patients, respectively." So at 6 years, I can hope to have ~70% of my excess weight gone. And more than likely, my co-morbidities will be gone. Take that, Weight Watchers!

Have you had labs since then? I use it as my main protein source, and I'm curious too.

Your Dr didn't give you info on what you can eat? If not, just Google whatever s/he did tell you and you'll find more info than you can deal with. A lot of Drs have it on their website. I was starving for 2 days, with the 2nd day being the worst by far. This happens when your body is running out of carbs to burn, and it's trying to force you into eating more carbs. You may also have a headache and feel light-headed. It's important to stay on the diet at this point. The hunger will get worse and worse, until suddenly you realize you are not hungry and you actually feel pretty good. This is ketosis, where your body is starting to burn fat instead of carbs. It's kinda fun, because you don't care nearly as much about food. For me, that's a novel experience. From here on out, you should drop weight pretty quickly, if you stick to the diet. Staying on the diet from this point forward should be fairly easy, as long as you plan well and have the right foods on hand. If you cheat and have a bunch of carbs, you will probably have to go through the miserable hungry stage all over again. Don't do it.

UPDATE: Okay, so after the first 2 days on the liquid diet, it was totally fine. No big deal at all. No hunger, didn't care about food. Then my surgery was postponed (long story) and then I got sick. I only needed to do the liquid diet for one week, so I decided to go off the diet while I was sick. I had a terrible sore throat and the usual cold/flu symptoms, and I wanted crackers. Anyway, I stuck mostly to the diet for a few days, then went back on the diet 100% a week before the new surgery date. And now I'm doing the hunger pangs all over again. Ugh. But at least now I know that tomorrow night I won't care about food again.

It's all relative. It may be higher Protein than what you've had in the past, but it's not necessarily a typical high protein low carb diet where you are limited x number of carbs per day. In fact, my surgeon and my nutritionist haven't recommended a carb amount at all. Most surgeons do recommend 60-80 g protein a day, or even slightly more. Most surgeons do emphasize protein first. (Dr Weiner's book, A Pound of Cure, is an exception and he recommends vegetables first, starting 6 months after surgery.) Because of your stomach size, you will have to prioritize your food intake. Before surgery, you may have had a steak meal with rolls, salad, and potato followed by dessert, but after surgery you can't fit it all in. It's more of an either-or situation, especially during the first few months. If you don't concentrate on protein/veg/fruit first, you may be at risk for malnutrition, especially if you don't take your Vitamins.

I bought GENEPRO unflavored Protein powder from Amazon. It changes the color, consistency, and taste of liquids very little, so you hardly know it's there. You only need to use 1 scoop for 30 g of protein. There are no fillers or Vitamins. I mix it with 1 cup of 1% milk or unsweetened almond milk, and 2 tsp of Jello sugar free dry pudding mix. My current favorite is banana cream, but I've also had chocolate and vanilla. They are all great. I also mix the Genepro with homemade chicken broth, which is amazing because it just tastes like homemade chicken broth.

1.5 lbs per day. My diet consisted of low carb, low fat protein shakes made with 1% milk; sugar free jello; homemade chicken broth; and sugar free popsicles. The first day and a half was miserable because I was so hungry, but after that was no big deal.

Maybe sit down and have an honest conversation about the damage she is doing to you and could she please be supportive. If it doesn't work, put some distance between the two of you. Move away, if you are geographically close to her. Only talk to her on the phone if she is being supportive. Once she gets negative, say goodbye and hang up. Either she'll learn to be nice or you won't spend time with her. It's awful but your life will improve without all the negativity in it. Or ignore everything I said, and see a real therapist. That's probably the better course of action.

I'd rather be balding and malnourished than have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes.

Oooh, I'll try the ice. I'm not normally an ice chewer, but I'm desperate. I know I'm being a baby, but seriously--this sucks! Oh, please please please

I need to whine. Why did I not realize that I would be hungry on a liquid diet? I have no answer. My surgeon allows me 3-4 Protein shakes a day and Clear liquids. I'm starting to be really jealous of the people whose Dr allows them a real dinner. I took a nap and dreamed about food. I'm on day one. I feel like the cat in the Sad Cat Diary. "Dear Diary, my food dish is now only half full. It is obvious I shall soon starve to death.... This may be my last entry."

Amen

Totally agree. Go by body fat percentage, although an accurate percentage is not always convenient to get. I have a scale that varies within an 8% range in a single day! Obviously my fat does not change so much that quickly; the number is greatly influenced by hydration level. Even the calipers aren't very accurate: someone has to be well trained in their use to get an accurate measurement. I suspect that "they" came up with BMI as an easier, if less accurate, substitute for body fat percentage. My Dr had me use a weird breathing contraption that measured my metabolism. The printout from it also included my body fat percentage, although it boggles my mind how they came up with that.

Whey they say it, look shocked and grab a piece of paper and a pencil. "Diet and...what was the other one...exercise? I want to write this down in case I forget."

Lol, I think this all the time!

I just bought a box as a gift to a friend with Crohn's who had a bunch of intestine removed. For years I have wondered why no one made a vitamin/mineral patch for people like her (I searched online, but couldn't find anything). And on this site, I finally see a promising product! I'll post when she reports back to me on the outcome.

Here's another review of the literature: Surgery for weight loss in adults concludes that "surgery results in greater improvement in weight loss outcomes and weight associated comorbidities compared with non-surgical interventions, regardless of the type of procedures used."

Unbelievable! When I was researching WLS, the first thing I did was go straight to PubMed. Here's one article that states it pretty well: The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of bariatric (weight loss) surgery for obesity: a systematic review and economic evaluation compares conventional methods of weight loss to WLS and says, "Bariatric surgery was a more effective intervention for weight loss than non-surgical options. In one large cohort study weight loss was still apparent 10 years after surgery, whereas patients receiving conventional treatment had gained weight."

I considered a therapist for eating issues in the past, but never went through with it. Mostly because I didn't think I had eating issues, aside from really liking food! But after researching bariatrics, now I'm convinced that it would be a good idea. I found someone I really like, but my insurance doesn't cover her, and she charged $250/hr. Ouch! I guess I'll keep looking.