Diana_in_Philly

At six weeks out, 1000 calories seems like a lot. I don't think I went to close to 1,000 until about 6 months. I understand wanting to see where the lines are, but the sooner you leave the carbs and sugar alone, the better. Let your body forget them so that when you do eat them, they don't taste as good as they used to. I was out with my daughter the other day and she got an apple dumpling from our favorite Amish bakery - I had two bites and felt like I was going to die because for the most part for the last year, I haven't eaten sugar. On two occasions when I've gotten ice cream while out with my family - I have five or six spoonfuls and have to throw it out because I feel gross when I eat it. Is is physical or psychological? I don't know. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Here are some shake ideas I still use - the key is getting a few bottles of the sugar free syrups that coffee houses use - I order from Torani - they are amazing and have lots of flavors. Frappucino - 1 cup of coffee, 1 scoop of protein powder, a few squirts of chocolate sf syrup, a few squirts of caramel syrup, ice, blender. Snickers - 1 cup fairlife skim milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein power (or sf choc syrup and reg protein), couple of squirts of caramel sf syrup, 1 Tb PB2. Ice. Blender. Tropical - 1 cup fairlife skim or unsweetened coconut milk, 3/4 cup frozen tropical fruit mix from the freezer section of the super market, 1 scoop protein powder. Couple shots of coconut sf syrup. Ice. Blender. Really - it's amazing. I do shakes about 4 days a week and I'm almost a year out.

OMG - I am one big purple and multi-colored mess. Add to that I have taken up fencing (en garde!) and I look like a domestic violence victim - so much so that when I had my mammogram last month the tech asked if I felt safe at home. I find that the bruises last longer, too. I smacked the wheels of my fencing bag (about the size of a big golf bag) against my shin about three weeks ago putting it in the car. Hit the same spot two days in a row. That bruise is just now resolving. Maybe we bruised easily before but didn't see it because there was a layer of fat over it?

I have both a Cuisinart and a Ninja - but I purchased the Ninja well before surgery to do shakes with. There is no reason you can't use the Cusinart, but you may want to puree slightly large amounts than you would eat to justify the setup and clean up process. So if you are at the 2 ounce stage, I'd puree 1/2 cup of chicken or whatever and have the left overs at another meal. For what its worth, I use my Ninja daily. Either my husband or I make protein shakes almost every morning. This morning mine was coconut milk (10 ounces), scoop of protein powder, 1/2 cup of the Wegmans frozen Cranberry mixture (cranberries, blackberries and blueberries) and a couple of shots of sugar free vanilla syrup. Tossed in some ice and into the Ninja it went. On days I'm in my office (rather than working from home) it is so much easier for me to do a shake for breakfast. That shake was 200 calories and 25 grams of protein. I also use my Ninja to make cauliflower rice - usually because it is on the counter, unlike the Cuisinart which is in a cabinet. I've been happy with it. But if you don't plan on continuing shakes once you are on "real" food, its probably not a good investment.

What phase are you in for foods?

My before pictures were in a t-shirt and workout leggings. I did not keep any of the size 22 pants but I have some 2XL shirts still- I sleep in them. But I'm almost 1 year out and I drink wine and every once and a while I have a slice of pizza. I stocked up on what I needed for post op according to my plan - which in my first 2 weeks was full liquids - greek yogurt, creamed soups, protein drinks, Vitamin Water Zero, Crystal Light, Fairlife Milks, protein powder, sugar free jello and pudding, sugar free popsicles and fudgesicles. I made sure I had enough stuff to make dinners for my family on hand so I didn't have to go to the grocery store.

What I say: I'm working with a medical team. I log every bite I eat in My Fitness Pal and weigh and measure everything I eat. I eat anywhere from 70-100 grams of protein a day and drink at least 64 ounces of water. I do not eat bread, pasta, rice or sugar. I exercise at least 5 days a week for at least an hour a day. I'm working with a personal trainer. I do classes, lift weights and other things. It's very hard work. None of that is untrue. It is a sin of omission, as Sister Mary Patrick would have said, because I am not telling the whole truth, but I have no obligation to tell the inquirer anything at all. By the time I get to - I don't eat bread, pasta, rice or sugar - their faces have fallen and the first reaction is - "I could never do that". Well, you asked how I'm doing it and this is how.

5'3" High weight - April 2016 271.5 (there may have been times when it was higher, but that's the highest recorded.) Surgery Weight 246.9 on August 23, 2016 Current Weight 172.3 - 99.x pounds - I want to get into the 150s. I've been stuck for about 2 months, but I'm putting on a lot of muscle - I'm down from barely fitting into size 22 pants and 2XL tops to wearing size 10 and 8 pants and L and M tops. I am about a week from my surgiversary.

Does tuna salad or very finely chopped chicken salad count as puree in your plan? Egg salad? Sloppy joe? Mashed up meatloaf. Also the ricotta bake from EggFace - those may help. Good Luck.

DO NOT LIE. Tell them in language they understand -- the younger ones just need to know that mom is going to be in the hospital so the doctor can help fix something that is broken in her tummy. Let them know what your limits will be once you get home - you won't be able to pick them up for a week or two and you will need to eat special foods because your tummy will hurt. You don't need to say its surgery - but answer any questions in a way that they can understand. They won't know to be scared that you are in the hospital unless you tell them to be scared. If you tell them you are having the doctor help you get better, just like when they see the doctor - no problems. My kids are older - they were 13 and 16 when I had my surgery last year. But I was very upfront with them. When one asked I even showed them a video of the procedure.

I was back on coffee 3 days post-op, but that was with my team's blessing. We talked about it - alot. Until about 6 months out carbonation hurt to drink. Now, I can drink seltzer with no problem and every once and a while, I'll have a diet coke. Rice - I'll put a tablespoon or two on my plate and nibble just to get the taste. I eat the high protein Barilla pasta, but am full after 1/2 cup cooked. I have a glass of wine or a cocktail a few nights a week, but keep them within my daily calorie intake and only after I have met my protein and water goals for the day. Sometimes I'll have half of a small baked potato. I eat everything, but it gets logged and I don't go over my budget of calories - so if I have a slice of bread its going to be a damn good one because I'm not wasting those calories on a stinkin piece of white bread! Today, I had a small piece (about the size of my thumb) of an Amish soft pretzel at the farmer's market. My daughter ate the rest - but that small piece was enough to scratch the itch I had.

I've not had trouble with the Premier blending improperly. My fave is a Premier caramel shake, a cup of coffee, a couple of squirts of sugar free caramel and chocolate syrups (l order Torani coffee house style syrups) and ice for a 30g protein frappucino. I like to take chocolate protein powder, fairlife chocolate 2% milk, caramel SF syrup and PB2 and ice for a snickers shake. Lately, I've been using coconut milk, frozen tropical fruit (about 3/4 cup) and coconut syrup with a scoop of vanilla protein powder for a tropical shake.

Is there a gym or a Y nearby with a pool? I have really bad knees (as in I should have them replaced) and when I was at my heaviest, water was my friend. When I had my ankle rebuilt after surgery about 10 years ago - I could only do stuff in the pool for the longest time. It was very helpful. I'm a mom. I get it. I was sleeved 8/23/16 and am half a pound away from 100. My daughters are 17 (leaving for college next week) 5'1" and 180 pounds and 14 - 5 feet and about 170. I am now giving things that I grow out of to the girls - e.g. I wear size 8 or 10 jeans and they are wearing 12s. I have modeled good behavior since my surgery and slightly before and I cook healthy and try to limit portion sizes without saying anything (I plate everything rather than serve family style). My older daughter made the decision to lose some weight so she set up an account on My Fitness Pal, has been tracking her calories, exercising more and worked with my personal trainer to develop an exercise routine she can take to college with her. Not having as much luck with the younger one - she stopped fencing in March - I tried on her gear and when I fit I used the remaining five lessons she had and now I'm fencing - wearing the pants of a 14 year old! I'm not pushing her. My mother called me fat, ugly and stupid my whole life. I won't do that to my girls. She'll get there. I can't make her lose weight. I can model good behavior around food. I can hope that she finds an exercise she likes. I can hope that maybe one of her friends who is more athletic will nudge her in the right direction. Let go of the guilt. But do try to find a pool for your daughter - that will make even water walking way less painful than an after dinner walk around the block.

I had not heard that - my understanding was to cut fat to shrink the liver and not protein. My team was fine with Premier - which I use premixed occasionally. In terms of mixing it up - I like the Premier pre-mix caramel mixed with a cup of cold coffee and a squirt of sugar free chocolate syrup (Hershey's makes one or you can get the syrups coffee houses use - which is what I use.) In the blender with some ice and you have a 30g protein frappucino. Mostly, I use the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey - I get the big bag from Costco. I use vanilla for the most part. Lately I've been going tropical - today was 1 cup coconut milk, half a mango, scoop of powder and some ice. I just finished it - having been working on it since about 8.

Didn't tell my mother or my sister. Mom was 93 and had dementia. She spent 55 years telling me I was fat, lazy and stupid. She didn't want me to attend my own father's funeral because she thought I was too fat and was going to embarrass her. My sister, while I lover her, would not have understood. My husband, two daughters and two friends knew. I had surgery 8/23/1. Mom died 10/1/16. Neither she or my sister know.

I'm bone on bone in both knees and very active after 99 pounds lost. I was using multiple Vicodin 7.5/325 per day pre surgery. I take one every once in a while now after a hard night fencing to help control pain and have no problem with the standard 5/325 or 7.5/325 handling pain. I'm now almost 1 full year post VSG. I've had no absorption issues. I also take meloixicam (mobic) daily for the arthritis in my knees - its a Cox-2 inhibitor and can be tolerated where an NSAID cannot.

Call after August 7 - give the scheduler a day to get back in the office, listen to the 700 voicemails and emails and start to respond and then give a call on the 8th. If you're lucky, s/he will answer the phone and say, oh, I was just about to call you. . . . .

The incisional wounds on the outside are closed and Ok about 3 weeks after surgery - at that point I was cleared to swim or take a hot bath rather than shower. Internally, you are looking at 6 weeks to 3 months to heal completely. Generally, you are limited to lifting 10 pounds for 3-4 weeks after surgery. Similarly, your body is going through a major shock, recovering from anesthesia and will take roughly 3 months to start to come back to your new normal.

Chocolate protein powder, 1 cup Fair Life Skim milk, 1 tablespoon PB2, few squirts of sugar free caramel syrup (Torani - like the coffee shops use) ice and blender - welcome to the snickers shake. Almost 40g protein. 1 cup cold coffee, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, couple squirts of caramel sugar free syrup, ice, blender - caramel mocha frappucino Torani has so many flavors of sugar free syrup - hershey's also makes a sugar free chocolate sauce. Your imagination is your limit. My current fave is 1 cup of coconut milk (unsweetened), 1 scoop vanilla powder, sugar free coconut syrup and a handful of frozen tropical fruit (less than 1 cup - mango, pineapple, etc.) blender - Around 240 calories and 24 grams of protein - that's breakfast for me a few days a week. Pinterest is your friend.

Consider using a powder and toss it in the blender with Fairlife Skim milk and some ice to make it like a milkshake. That was one of the things I did. Optimum Gold Whey protein is 24g of protein in a scoop and 1 cup of FairLife Skim is 13g - so that's 37 grams of protein in 8 ounces - give or take with the addition of the ice.

Check with your team. I was given a cup of coffee in the hospital the day after surgery! Granted it was supposed to be decaf and the tray was wrong, but my RD said if I kept it down, I could drink it - she knew I was a major coffee drinker. I've been drinking it since. My favorite way to do it in the morning is three shots of espresso over ice and add a Premier Caramel pre-mixed protein shake - Yummy!

Surgery Tuesday. Home Wedensday. Drove Friday to give my self a full 24 hours without narcotics in my system. Climbed in and out of my Ford Expedition no problem. No pillow, no nothing. Went grocery shopping for the family. Made teenagers carry the groceries in and got one of those nice kids at the market to load them into my car.

What illnesses have I developed in the last year, since starting down this path as I stand here 99.5 pounds lighter than I was in April 2016? 1 - I've developed an expensive illness called chronic shopping for clothing. I hated doing it before and do it all the time! And I buy really nice stuff and it fits beautifully! 2 - I have a case of acute fencing expenses - I started fencing (en garde) 5 hours a week and now spend hundreds a month on club fees, lessons, training, equipment and planning travel for tournaments. 3 - I have vacation adventuritis - on this last vacation I went zip lining, hiking, river tubing, horseback riding and sailing. My knee arthritis and asthma are both greatly improved. I have more energy. I'm just slightly taller than you but went from squeezing into size 22 pants to now wearing an 8 or 10 and leaning more toward 8s every day. This was the best decision I've every made. (Other than marrying my wonderful husband and having my two great daughters!)

We have a Withings. Expensive, but very accurate.

My husband and two teen daughters were told along with two friends I knew would be supportive. I didn't tell my mother or my sister. And when I went to my mother's funeral six weeks after my surgery, all anyone could say was how great I looked. I pushed the food around on my plate and talked alot during meals. Made sure I had Oikos Triple Zero yogurt and my shakes in the fridge at the hotel and ate as I could. Mom died without knowing and that's fine with me as she was very judgemental. My sister still doesn't know and we're very close. I knew she wouldn't understand. If you want to keep it secret you can. When people ask how I've lost the weight, I say that I log everything I eat, eat a high protein diet with almost no added sugar or flour, drink 64 ounces of water a day and work out for about an hour a day five of seven days a week. I tell them I am working with my doctors to do this and it hasn't been easy. All of that is the truth.