KristenLe

@@markiealex I'm on mushy foods and have been experimenting. My favorite so far was Mexican Dip - brown hamburger in frying pan, add can of Beans and packet of Chili mix. In bottom of pan - slightly melt cream cheese and spread. Add cooked hamburg mixture and top with Mexican cheese (shredded). Bake at 350 for about 30 mins until bubbling. I ate right off spoon. I also made meatballs (without bread crumbs) and heated up with beef gravy. I'm going to make an Italian bake with broken up meatball too. I have cottage cheese and a little bit of All fruit for Breakfast. I tried egg salad. I will try ham salad, seafood salad, chicken salad and tuna at some point.

GENEPRO claims to make 30g of Protein bioavailable in a 1T scoop. 1T is 14-ish g of weight, depending on what the item being measured is. People don't believe the electrophoresis process can refine the protein into a more bioavailable form. I have access to enough science-y people who say that it's quite possible and actually very likely. It's up to each person to determine whether they are Genepro fans or not, but what it boils down to for me is that it's at the very least 15g/T and it's the only Protein Powder I can stand the smell/taste/texture of, so I use it. I've lost 63 lbs since the end of June and am on track for my interim goals to my larger goal, so I consider it a good product FOR ME and will continue to use it unless something changes.

Post-op, I just couldn't do Protein Shakes anymore - ordered GENEPRO based on recommendations and it might be just what I needed. I've been enjoying my mushy foods but couldn't get enough Protein and Isopure Protein Drinks are somewhat disgusting. I just added a scoop of Genepro to roasted butternut squash and it's delicious. I'm hoping my stomach agrees with me.

Yes I agree. I am supposed to be on clear & full liquids until 11/7... & I was finally feeling good so I decided that I would be brave & kick it up a notch & try the oatmeal. & it def did not agree with me. at. all. I had to hit rewind... & realized I am def going to take it a lot slower than I thought. But I am OK with that lol thanks for the input

I think Day 5 is too soon for food. Take it slow.

I've been using it for a few months now, and I've done great. I've considered the concern about grams of protein/grams of powder and count it as 20g instead of 30g, just in case. I use it every morning in my coffee, and mix it into most of my soft food when I need that extra Protein. I've been VERY happy with it, despite the concerns about the science.

With me, I get wrapped up in thinking about something else, and before I know it, I have let an hour go by and I haven't drank anything. I've done that 2 or 3 times over the past week or two. When I go back to work, I'll get my mind in what I am doing (or in the endless conference calls that consume so much of my day), and I know I risk that happening all the time. That's why I am going to have to use the alarms or something...
To be honest, I eat about 8 different times over the course of the day, and I haven't gotten close to filling up my new stomach. (I'd say 2 oz at one time is the most I eat.) So, I don't have restriction issues after eating (with regard to drinking). I just don't because that is what I was told to do.
Today, I get to add salmon to my diet. I am cooking a 6 oz filet and I'll eat 2 oz of it at three different times this afternoon and tonight. We'll see how I do with that in terms of stomach space...

@@markiealex I'm on mushy foods and have been experimenting. My favorite so far was Mexican Dip - brown hamburger in frying pan, add can of Beans and packet of Chili mix. In bottom of pan - slightly melt cream cheese and spread. Add cooked hamburg mixture and top with Mexican cheese (shredded). Bake at 350 for about 30 mins until bubbling. I ate right off spoon. I also made meatballs (without bread crumbs) and heated up with beef gravy. I'm going to make an Italian bake with broken up meatball too. I have cottage cheese and a little bit of All fruit for Breakfast. I tried egg salad. I will try ham salad, seafood salad, chicken salad and tuna at some point.

@@emardee Lmao! I feel the same way!

Post-op, I just couldn't do Protein Shakes anymore - ordered GENEPRO based on recommendations and it might be just what I needed. I've been enjoying my mushy foods but couldn't get enough Protein and Isopure Protein Drinks are somewhat disgusting. I just added a scoop of Genepro to roasted butternut squash and it's delicious. I'm hoping my stomach agrees with me.

You need to be cleared for exercise. Other than walking - you probably shouldn't do anything for at least 4 weeks.

Are you doing you incentive spirometer? Be sure that you're moving your lungs so you don't get pneumonia. If it doesn't get better - call your surgeon.

That's a significant amount to lose - I don't think your surgeon will recommend the lapband. I would recommend Sleeve or RNY. Good luck!

How much weight do you have to lose? I went to the surgeon with Lapband in mind - he doesn't do them and told me that 50-60% of Banders need a secondary surgery due to complications. I decided on the Sleeve. There are many successful Banders on here though. I have 120+ lbs to lose so sleeve was a better long term option.

Are you due on your monthly?
Are you constipated? I know I tend to gain when I don't go to the loo for a while.
Are you logging everything you eat down?
Are you drinking enough fluids (and the right ones)
If you are sticking to your teams advice you are doing good. Put the scale away for a while and keep on track.
Congrats re the surgery btw

This was your experience. It was definitely not the hardest thing I've ever done and I don't think most people have as much trouble as you have so it might be irresponsible to recommend to others that they not have surgery. I also doubt anyone on this board is/was happy with their weight or else why even consider it?
My recovery was no big deal and I've always been able to get down Protein and Water since day 3 and tolerated every food I've tried. My laparoscopic hysterectomy was worse. The first few days suck, but that's any surgery. It's not easy when we're still adjusting to the new diet and lifestyle but for me it has completely changed my relationship with food and finally made it easy for me to not pig out on garbage.

Hey! I had a similar pre-op diet allowance, however I went to the extreme and did almost completely liquids with the occasional solid. I'll be honest, the first 3-4 days were really hard, but then it was like my body and mind kinda snapped together and I was fine.
I used Muscle Milk as Meal Replacements. I know it's more expensive than just buying a thing of Protein powder, but they tasted so good and I just couldn't handle the consistency of Protein Powder drinks after the third day. Plus they have a pumpkin spice flavor that tastes amazing!
Back on track, maybe have chicken and veggies once a day and do a replacement shake for your other two meals? In between meals, you can have sugar free Jello and plain Greek yogurt (bleh. Tasted gross but it curbed the hunger a little so can't really complain).
And broth. I also couldn't stand chicken broth, so I just stuck to beef broth. But if you want more options, you could strain chicken noodle Soup and get that broth, or buy a bunch of ramen (whichever flavor you want) and just use the seasoning packet it comes with in hot Water.
You can do this if you want to. The hardest part for me was fighting the hunger sensation. At first I felt hungry ALL the time, but then after a few days, it was like it went away over night. Now people are all different, so I won't promise it will be the same for anyone or everyone else, but when I felt like I was going to cheat or something, I kinda made a rule that I would just sit still and I wouldn't move until I knew I could get past it. The whole point of the pre-op is to shrink your liver, and I was determined to not self-sabotage. You just kind of find your anchor and stick to it.
Also, and I know this sounds silly, but I have never used Twitter before, but I started one that I didn't share with anybody and would use it as a mental journal/outlet. I was honest, so when I was hungry I would complain about it like a child on there, or when I was feeling better, etc. I think that helped me mentally
Sorry this post was so long, I got carried away... hope something somewhere in all this was helpful to you!
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Yes 64oz and I'm not on meds other then multi Vitamin and B12 Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

How much weight do you have to lose? I went to the surgeon with Lapband in mind - he doesn't do them and told me that 50-60% of Banders need a secondary surgery due to complications. I decided on the Sleeve. There are many successful Banders on here though. I have 120+ lbs to lose so sleeve was a better long term option.

How much weight do you have to lose? I went to the surgeon with Lapband in mind - he doesn't do them and told me that 50-60% of Banders need a secondary surgery due to complications. I decided on the Sleeve. There are many successful Banders on here though. I have 120+ lbs to lose so sleeve was a better long term option.

candy was never my thing (although I would cheerfully blow up a busload of nuns for a bag of potato chips). So around here, the bag of candy from costco is still in the trunk of the car and it can/will stay there until Monday late afternoon when the trick-or-treaters come out.
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I make an eating and drinking schedule for every day. It really is a full-time job. I still have 2 more weeks of medical leave before I go back to work, but when I do have to go back, I'm going to have to set alarms on my phone or something to prompt me when it is time to drink or stop drinking to help keep up with it when my mind is focused on something else.
I haven't had the need or urge to drink while eating or right after, but keeping up with everything is a huge organizational task. I feel like I am a pretty organized person, but it is a challenge even for me. (That's why I don't see how these people who talk about going back to work after a week can do it all in such short order...)

I would be clear that the 'expectation' is 60-70% but there will be many who lose more (just look around this forum) but equally if that's the average and some lose more, then there will be some that lose less. It's really down to you.
Face your 'demons', use it as a tool to help but don't rely on it to do everything. I see this as my 'emergency brake' for life - if I rely on it too much, it will 'wear out' and stop working but if I do my best most of the time, it will kick in when I need it (and I definitely still need it at times as much as I try not to). That may not be scientific but it's my analogy and it seems to be working so far !
Good luck.
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Thank you for your feedback and support. I will try all of those things you suggested. I am desperate, and hopeful. Sent from my SCH-I545 using the BariatricPal App

@@chobits81 That is the book I was going to recommend as well. Definitely worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054RXXS0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1