Kittymappus

Thanks so much to everyone for the thoughtful discussion on this. It definitely helped remind me that very little sugar is the goal, especially in weight loss mode. I think I saw quinoa and Peanut Butter and Protein and forgot that LOL.
I know that some people can lose weight eating carbs and I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea that all carbs aren't bad, but it's hard after a lifetime of having carbs wreak havoc. I think, like others said, that for my body to do its best, I am going to need to avoid them as much as possible while in weight loss mode. I don't mean completely, but I do think that limiting them (and not having them as main part of Breakfast, etc.) is crucial for my body type. I already know I'm super sensitive to them, so why risk it?
I do agree that having carbs can jumpstart a stall...not a lot and definitely not the bad carbs but I have had that happen in the past.
I didn't see a negative effect on weight loss. I broke a longish stall last week and my weight is still dropping this week, so yay for that. But I do feel like I was hungrier after eating the oatmeal than I would have been eating something else. That alone should be the signal I need that this is not for me.
Maybe when I reach my goal, I will feel like I can try it in limited amounts, but for now I am heeding your excellent advice and sticking to Protein and no/low sugar.

@@Dub completely agree. I never ate grains when I was in weight loss mode, and still don't when I need to drop a few pounds. For me, grains and weight loss are not a good match. Now when I am in maintenance mode, I will have oat groats or oat bran for breakfast, but that's about it when it comes to grains.
I don't eat super low carb in either weight loss or maintenance mode -- I eat modest amounts of dairy and fruit, for example. But I certainly never needed oatmeal for energy! I exercise just about every day -- vigorous exercise -- and work a full time job and always feel good and energetic, no grains needed. But I do think that if people are bound and determined to eat oatmeal while trying to lose weight, it's better to eat the kind that isn't processed and doesn't have sugar or fake stuff added to it.

I completely agree with @Dub.
Carbs are what got me to 333lbs in the first place, and I sure am not eating them now while I'm in my weight loss phase.
I had my surgery in January and have lost over 160lbs and don't eat any carbs...except for those in the occasional Protein bar.
Once I hit maintenance I'll start adding fruits, but until then, I avoid carbs like the plague.
This has been what has worked for me. Good luck
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I have mine scheduled for May 17th. I'm a college student who wanted to wait until my semester is over so I have a nice long recovery time.
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My Protein shakes are 160 cal and 30grams of Protein. So 3 x 160 is 480 calories w/ 90 grams of protein. Believe it or not it is possible. This is not the only thing I eat. Drinking mostly Water and eating very small portions of other things I can eat 800 cal and feel comfortable. At this stage I'm still not ever hungry but feel sick if I force myself to eat more.
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There is not a single lean cuisine out there that is not loaded with carbs. I'm not as familiar with weight watchers but I imagine they are similar. Protein costs too much to put very much of it in frozen dinners. The Atkins meals may have a little more protein, but even with those you are getting a sh**t ton of sodium, binders, fillers and other not so healthy ingredients.

Milestone #3: 265 pounds - Achieved!
I am beyond emotional at the moment. I have hit my third personal milestone tonight!
265 pounds is what I weighed entering my freshman year in college in September of 1993. I went on to lose another 30 pounds or so (my next milestone) using weight lifting as my phys ed requirement and running 3 miles a day twice a week throughout that school year.
Looking back, it took me 5 months to lose 35 pounds from my second milestone at 300. And most of that was in February when I lost nearly 20 pounds!
Man, I'm so proud right now! Overall I've lost 160 pounds (including my 6 month pre-op diet) and 104 pounds since my surgery.
Just simply amazing!

I had this same thought for probably two weeks. OMG, what did I just to do myself?! I literally remember being on the phone with my best friend crying that I had destroyed my life..who in their right mind cuts out their stomach?! I was also very sick the first few days after surgery, the anesthesia made me feel terrible for over a week, my arms would fall asleep randomly, I was nauseous, and I was convinced I had just destroyed my life.
I am now three months short of three years from surgery. I have maintained at goal weight for 14 months and I am SO glad that I had the surgery done. I can finally feel like my life is about something other than losing weight. In the end, every bit of misery those first few weeks after surgery is worth it. You might be freaked out now, but a few months from now, maybe a year from now, you will look back on today and think...ha, all those people were right, it was worth it!
On a medical note, ask your nurses if they are using both Zofran and Phenergan and ask them for Transderm-Scop (it's a little sticker that goes behind your ear). The only thing that got me past the nausea was to tell them to stop the IV narcotics. I got exponentially better after that, so if you think that might be the problem, they can give you liquid OTC pain meds instead. I had no need for heavy drugs after surgery and the vast improvement in my nausea only started when they stopped giving me the IV drugs.

I just smile and tell people flat out that I had WLS. I am so excited about the weight I have lost with this great tool that I want to share with everyone that asks. If they have a problem with my choice, so be it. It's my life and when all is said and done, it doesn't matter what they think. But if my experience can be helpful to even 1 other person, than I will continue to share. All of us here have said we wish we had done this years ago, so I think being upfront about WLS and sharing our experiences can give others the info and courage to take this step for themselves. I will not tell others that I did it by dieting, exercise and following Dr's orders. That route never worked for any of us here. I am not ashamed of my choice. It is just as valid a tool as dieting and exercise.
I am not to the point where someone might tell me I'm too skinny....but if that happens, I will smile again and say "thanks for your concern" and leave it at that. Their opinions and thoughts are theirs and I don't have to take them in.

Buy a slow cooker and chuck everything in, switch on in the mornings and it's ready for when you get home. Split into meal sizes and freeze them for another time.

You can "guarantee" NO SUCH THING.
==and to give the example that "surgeons in Mexico" do more surgeries than those here at home--the USA therefore are more experienced is not only ridiculous but an extremely dangerously misleading statement.
"Assembly line surgery" (not my statement, but that of the Bariatric Surgeons of The United States), does not make surgery better. It just makes it fast. Is "fast" really what one wants when one is out cold and having someone in a rush cutting into their guts?
Home here in the USA, we have Bariatric Centers of Excellence with many surgeons with more than 20, 30 years of board certified successful bariatric surgeries.
I truly believe that the above statement of "Henry's" is totally misleading, nonfactual and extremely dangerous.
Please, also consider ---what if one has complications having surgery in Mexico??? Where do you go? Who do you see? The Mexican government historically has NOT "gotten involved" with medical malpractice situations. Ever try suing a doctor in Mexico?? Good luck with that.
Read some of the horror stories. One case where a man had bariatric surgery in Mexico, had complications. What was done for him? He was driven to the US border and left in a motel! --or the woman who paid for bariatric surgery in Mexico, just to find out years later that the Mexican surgeon cut into her, but never did her sleeve. Ask her how her suit is going against that Mexican surgeon. The stories go on and on.
I know there are many folks who went to Mexico and had a successful surgery. I'm just not sure whether it's worth rolling the dice. I would hope that one has enough love for one's self to wait until the money is saved to have the surgery here, at home, in the USA, where if there are complications the chance of a successful recourse is attainable.
just think about it. Do your research. EVERYTHIING you can find to read. Only then can you make an informed decision.
On this day, this is my own personal opinion.
God be with us.

I have learned that I must take all my Proteins in daily , I have learned to take in all Vitamins and Calcium as the plan tells us to. I am on a stall for 5 weeks now and I know it's okay. I have learned that so what I'm stalled but they have taken me off blood pressure meds. So my health is getting better. So all in all I have learned that just because the weights not coming off as fast as I'd like it to my health comes first.

To all the people in post op... what have you learned about your sleeve....

- i have learned (tonight)... don't let yourself get too hungry.. cause you will eat too fast and puke!

- i have learned that you do feel actual hunger

- i have learned that stalls do break

- i have learned that i really have more willpower than i thought


Now over to you.... what have you learned?

I just friended you so that I could join the group.
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I am three days post op, surgery was on Tuesday, and I know how swollen and bloated I am just from the shock of surgery so I can only imagine you are too! Given how puffy my hands are I have the expectation that I will not have lost any weight by the time I have my first post op follow up with my surgeon. Remember they pump us full of fluids to prevent dehydration and gas so they can see what they're doing. It's going to take a few weeks for all of that to work out of our system.
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My favorite pureed food was........two scoops of Protein powder over ice and Water.......shake, stir and enjoy.
Sorry....I didn't do pureed food stage. I was scared of it. I needed the extra time on shakes to get me further away from food, in general. I need those extra weeks to simply stay the course and redefine my thoughts and responses to foods.
I had to approach it this way for my own well being. Glad I did.

I am three days post op, surgery was on Tuesday, and I know how swollen and bloated I am just from the shock of surgery so I can only imagine you are too! Given how puffy my hands are I have the expectation that I will not have lost any weight by the time I have my first post op follow up with my surgeon. Remember they pump us full of fluids to prevent dehydration and gas so they can see what they're doing. It's going to take a few weeks for all of that to work out of our system.
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I am three days post op, surgery was on Tuesday, and I know how swollen and bloated I am just from the shock of surgery so I can only imagine you are too! Given how puffy my hands are I have the expectation that I will not have lost any weight by the time I have my first post op follow up with my surgeon. Remember they pump us full of fluids to prevent dehydration and gas so they can see what they're doing. It's going to take a few weeks for all of that to work out of our system.
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I am three days post op, surgery was on Tuesday, and I know how swollen and bloated I am just from the shock of surgery so I can only imagine you are too! Given how puffy my hands are I have the expectation that I will not have lost any weight by the time I have my first post op follow up with my surgeon. Remember they pump us full of fluids to prevent dehydration and gas so they can see what they're doing. It's going to take a few weeks for all of that to work out of our system.
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I've never used this product, but I can tell you that I absolutely love cold press coffee versus a regular drip or americano. I think it's a lot smoother and less hard on the tummy, and I really can't be the type of bariatric patient that completely gives up coffee!

Not to be too personal, but how are your bowel movements? When I've stalled there was always a direct correlation to that...
When I addressed that, weight and other "things" started moving, too.
My best,
Daniel
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I'm about two days out of surgery, just came home last night. Today I've been able to get down about 40 ounces mixed with 2 tablespoons of GENEPRO medical grade Protein which means I've gotten 60 grams of Protein today! I've also been using a timer on my phone set for every 7 minutes or so. My problem hasn't been getting enough Water but drinking too fast.
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The process of Calcium conversion to bone is not something you can feel in your femurs in a day, lol, so don't worry. However, if you're concerned that your sugar intake is higher due to milk, try Fairlife milk instead. It is reduced sugar and fortified with Protein, so it's much easier to keep your carbs low!

I feel you! I had surgery on Tuesday and I can a still feel all the Fluid in my arms, etc so I won't weigh myself. I am going to just wait til I see my doc for my one week post op.
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