ShelterDog64

This! When I do order an entree, I always ask for vegetables in lieu of the starch. Or if there's something that looks really good but is clearly too large and won't reheat well, I ask if they can do a smaller portion. I was at a favorite restaurant the other day that does a gorgeous salmon sashimi appetizer, and the server remembered that I've ordered it several times as my meal. When I ordered it this time, she asked if I wanted it made as an entree with vegetables and rice...I said yes to the veg and no to the rice, and the restaurant didn't immediately go out of business

Just spent an hour of my life I'll never get back reading in the Pre-/Post-Op Sleeve forums and I'm amazed by what people will still, even as they're undertaking MAJOR SURGERY, say to justify their behavior. There are people about to have most of their stomach removed who say "I don't have a problem with food". Say what?? I'm pretty sure the Fat Fairy didn't put all this weight on any of us, right? "I couldn't stop myself". Yes, you could have...you DIDN'T. "Everyone does it". No, they don't. YOU did. As I'm typing this out, it's clear that I'm fed up with the lack of ownership of behavior. It's odd to watch fat people trying to float the same justifications here that they've used for years with other people. Walking into a group of fat people and saying "I don't have a problem with food" is pretty ridiculous...that dog just won't hunt here. If you can't be honest with yourself and a group of people much like yourself, how can you succeed with WLS? The non-ownership of our own actions and capabilities is what got many (most?) of us to where we are and it kills me that there are people STILL wallowing in the 'I don't control myself' pool who are getting WLS. What a waste.

Are you walking? That's the single best thing to keep your bowels moving, honestly, as long as you're getting your fluids. Probably TMI, but I walk almost every night after dinner...by the end of 2 miles, I usually need my bathroom

Does your surgeon think you've already stopped smoking or does he/she know that you're still smoking?

I put GENEPRO into everything....coffee, lemonade, milk, refried Beans, cottage cheese, yogurt (if it isn't greek), Soup, etc. Pretty much anything soft/moist. The key to getting Genepro to incorporate well is to sprinkle it on the surface of whatever you're trying to mix it with, then use a FORK to mix it in. I have it in a cup of coffee every morning by pouring my half and half into the cup, mixing it with the Genepro then adding coffee. No lumps, just undetectable Protein.

I'm currently obsessed with finding the perfect pair (or 2/3/4) of cute flat-ish shoes to wear in the rain. I know, it SEEMS trivial but I live just outside of Seattle and shoes for rainy days are needed from October until May. Suede is out, and I want a slip-on that I don't have to wear socks with (I grew up in FL and have a deep-seated hatred of the way socks feel on my feet). And they have to have arch support...I like my shoes cushy. I wear lots of skinny jeans (and they're not such FAT skinny jeans anymore!) and slim-legged ankle pants, so my shoes really show and I need to look GOOD, darn it! The struggle, it's real, y'all!!

Damn...I waited tables for years and never got peeved because someone ordered soup and salad vs a full meal. I should have been mad at the elderly, kids and non-drinkers, too, eh? And not ordering apps AND dessert?? How rude, while filling all those seats intended for $40 meals. The nerve of them. Maybe restaurants should have a dollar limit that you have to reach or you get charged that much anyway. I think I'll keep ordering my soup and a glass of wine, tipping 50% and ignoring the fact that opinions like yours exist.

Sagging can happen with either surgery, so that really shouldn't be a point of consideration. What does your surgeon think is the best surgery for you? You don't mention any co-morbidities, like reflux, diabetes, PCOS, etc...all of those should figure in when you make a decision. Any of the surgeries can be successful or fail...it truly depends on you and your commitment to changing your lifestyle. If you don't feel that you can control your ability to eat or not eat certain foods, you may want to talk to a therapist to develop some techniques for when those cravings come crashing in. And they do...I had a VSG in June, and although I don't have any hunger, I still have cravings. Nice, huh?

@@Candygyrl We're both June surgeries, I think, and I do understand what you're saying. I've gained and lost the same 50/75 pounds over and over and over and over...and this is the first time the weight has come off the way it's happening now. I usually lose weight in my face, arms and stomach, with my butt and legs grudgingly releasing a few pounds, but never an amount in proportion with the rest of my body. THIS TIME, the first thing to go was my upper back fat, then my belly, but also my thighs, calves and butt. I've always had a generous, high-profile butt and it's disappearing. I'm not as pleased by that as I expected to be...it's nice to hear from someone else that they're feeling the same. And my upper arms! I have wings now, and I think if I'd lost that weight a bit slower maybe they wouldn't be so, flappy?, for lack of a better word. I had to have an unexpected shoulder surgery in September and it's really impacted my ability to go to the gym and do strength training. I really think that's key for us women who want to keep our butts/thighs looking healthy. I just got cleared to start doing leg and ab machines, I'm hoping some weighted squats and leg presses will help build more prominent muscle in those areas so I don't end up with a pancake butt Otherwise, congratulations to you...it's been fun being on this trip with a few names I see over and over, watching us all get healthier and more confident in ourselves

@@Dairymary **It is not an FDA approved product and Until this company proves their claims with clinical trials, she considers it just snake oil.** NO Protein powders or supplements are FDA approved. The FDA won't test protein supplements because they don't regulate them. And 'in situ' means 'in place' or 'on the premises'. I'm married to a physician and have access to an entire department of bariatric surgeons who have extensive real-world experience with patients using GENEPRO and they have no issues with their patients using it because a) it works. My personal 'proof' that it's effective is over 60lbs of weight loss in 5 months, with no loss of muscle and great healing from my sleeve surgery and a subsequent orthopedic surgery.

I set interim goals or objectives for myself to keep me motivated! For example, I want to lose about 100 lbs total with this surgery. Together, my surgeon and I came up with some time related weight loss goals that would help me get there, and striving for those goals gives me things in the near future to reach for vs looking waaaaaaay down the road at my largest, final goal. The celebrations design themselves...if I lose weight, I get new clothes. If I follow my exercise plan, I get stronger and can advance to new exercises/types of exercise. If I eat properly, I feel better and don't have any stomach pain/nausea. If I get my Water in every day, I don't get constipated

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.

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.

@@Butterflywarrior How are you feeling today? I hope the gas pains have subsided and your pain management is doing it's job. The second post-op week is LOTS better than the first!

Absolutely! I'd completed menopause, so had been over a year with no cycle...I've had a light period every month since my surgery. All the fat-stored hormones are wreaking havoc as I burn that fat. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@LisaMergs advice has been true for me as well. I started in a snug 16/1x, skipped 14 entirely and am rapidly heading out of 12s, too. I have to have some nice, properly fitting clothing and I'm not a dress wearer, so it's been essential for me to have 2-3 pairs of well-made, well fitting pants and maybe 6 tops. I went straight from a 1x top to mediums, so I purchased some sale and clearance items at Ann Taylor and banana Republic to get me through for a while. Luckily, I have a friend who will likely have a VSG in January and she's starting at about the same height/weight I did...she'll buy my lightly used items from me for maybe half of what I paid. That works for me! What she doesn't want I'll consign at a nice second-hand resale store to recoup some of my funds.

@@eso GENEPRO is my favorite. If you buy it, make sure you go to the Musclegen Research website, they have great instructions for how to best blend it into different temperature foods.

@@LisaMergs You go! That's awesome!!

@@LipstickLady **My second "issue" is that fact that there is still the thought process that food is a "treat". That's a road directly back to Fatty Mcfatpants, a place I never want to revisit. A treat is a concert tickets and fitting comfortably through the crowd and in your seat. A treat is a new pair of skinny jeans in the single digit sizes. A treat is newly found collar bones and hip bones. A treat is fresh flowers on the kitchen table or a new trashy novel to enjoy on the next rainy day. A treat is a session on treadmill or a hike up a mountain without losing your breath immediately. You aren't a dog. Food is no longer a "treat" and what exactly is it "rewarding"?** THIS is what I hate reading here. Food, post-op, really needs to be relegated to 'fuel' status and language calling food 'cheats', 'rewards' and 'treats' needs to leave our vocabulary. Most of us got fat because we used food for everything in our lives, for fun, for comfort, for socializing, etc. Just stop it. The surgeon can only remove part of my stomach...I have to do the rest.

@@ppressey24 Your gallbladder is on your right side, tucked under the lower portion of your ribcage below the sternum

@ Are you doing a low-fat diet? I've been doing pretty much full-fat everything and I'm happy with my weight loss. I'd love for some vets to weigh in on this, I'm wondering how this will go in the future if I use regular cheese, etc in maintenance?

Don't forget you can mix some unflavored Protein powder into your soup. It really helps you get your grams in and lets you rely less on sweet protein shakes!

I definitely think if you *know* it's a problem food, to skip it. But there are people who didn't live for ice cream (I am NOT one of them, thankyouverymuch! I'd cut you for Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk) who could eat something like Halo Top and do fine. It's really not much different than a yogurt, which I can eat without going overboard. I dunno, I guess in my newbie brain, I hope to be able to eat most normal things in moderation and have a bite or 2 of the 'better' version of an old favorite, like a little high-Protein Pasta or low-carb tortillas instead of my old flour friends. I may be wrong, of course!

@@Dairymary Very well said. I do things/eat things that aren't on plan for me, but I'd never advise anyone else to do same or give them the 'permission' so many seem to be looking for when they come here with a chicken bone hanging out of their mouth on day 5. I continue to be blown away by the number of people who have seemingly had little to no education as to what this surgery entails both physically and emotionally. If you're eating fried chicken on day 5, you have no bloody idea what just happened to your body.

I love quinoa! I like the red and/or black kind, and I toast it a little before preparing it. I also cut the Water down so that it doesn't get mushy. It's a complete Protein with all nine amino acids present, so it's a pretty good dietary choice, despite the carbs. It's great stuffed into the baby sweet peppers that you can get at the grocery, as well as mixed with vegetables and chicken for a nice salad.