2ndSpring

Yes, plus you can also subtract sugar alcohols, like xylitol and erythritol . I avoid those now, but consumed them right after surgery because they were in the Protein Powder i liked.
@ayanna_vsg - Are you wishing to follow a ketogenic diet? or just limit carbs? or are you counting as a tool to make sure you are following the doctors plan? or are you asking because you are on pre-op prep diet? different answers to each.
For the long term, I find that staying around the 50g mark is best for me. I am not currently in ketosis, but I avoid all white carbs because they trigger bad things, both in my body and in my head. I get carbs from fruit, veg, & Beans.

I'm with you@Apple1. I use a food scale I bought at Walmart. What my nutritionist told me is...to use volume for meats and some veggies...and to use the scale for other veggies like lettuce, baby spinach, etc. because you get more out of your salad that way, and you get more veggies.

But I have decided to use my food scale for everything, meat included. It's just easier for me. I'm also from the camp that weighs and logs their food. I actually log it more than one way. I feel being accountable keeps me on track. I'm more than six months out and I still don't get hungry, so listening to my body won't work for me. I have to eat on a schedule, so that I get in my Protein and my fluids, and keep my carbs and fats down.

I totally agree that this is not a diet for me. This is a complete lifestyle change, and I will use every tool in my arsenal to be successful. The way I look at it...I will do whatever it takes to be and remain successful.

I use an inexpensive digital scale I got at Walmart. I am from the camp that weighs and logs their food. I feel like this is the best way for me to be accountable and I want to have this data.
I was lousy with Portion Control and by weighing my food I don't have to worry about over eating. I personally don't trust myself to be able to moderate portions without this tool. Maybe a year or two from now portion sizes will be easy and I won't need to do this as much, but for now it is piece of mind.
Not everyone needs or wants to do this. People should figure out what works for them and then stick with it. This is not a diet to me. It is a lifestyle change and the scale and food logs are just tools, like the sleeve, to help me be successful.

You are not alone. Many others have been through this and can help.
My take is the overall aim for good health trumps all!
The numbers are important but how you feel is much more relevant
I think your relationship with food will evolve quickly after surgery. You hopefully will not hear the sirens call for food all the time.... small amounts probably will fill you up.
What small amounts you CHOOSE will make a big difference in the long run .
That is the goal: the long run .... not a diet... a different lifestyle that evolves!!
Best of luck. Keep posting!
Us vets like to hear success stories!!

Sorry some of your questions werent answered.
what to pack
is there a special shampoo I can use for my hair:
I packed a ton of stuff and never used most of it. I wore the hospital gown and walked around in the little booties they provided even though I had brought my own stuff. You won't feel good, so you won't care. the biggies are a phone, charger, ponytail and chapstick. Make sure to ask them for the little mouth sponges and a cup of Water. You can't swallow, but you can swipe them around your mouth. I made good use of the little push button for pain meds and slept a lot in between the nurses taking me for strolls. You're out of there the next day and can shower when you get home.
I am worried I won't eat anything good again:
You will need to change your relationship with food and will need to change your definition of "good". Once you get past the post-op recovery and pureed stage, there are so many delicious foods that are also healthy - you never need to be bored. Also, your new tiny stomach won't be screaming at you to eat all the time. You will need to let go of junk food, sweets and white carbs - they were fake friends anyway.
Good luck next month!

Sorry some of your questions werent answered.
what to pack
is there a special shampoo I can use for my hair:
I packed a ton of stuff and never used most of it. I wore the hospital gown and walked around in the little booties they provided even though I had brought my own stuff. You won't feel good, so you won't care. the biggies are a phone, charger, ponytail and chapstick. Make sure to ask them for the little mouth sponges and a cup of Water. You can't swallow, but you can swipe them around your mouth. I made good use of the little push button for pain meds and slept a lot in between the nurses taking me for strolls. You're out of there the next day and can shower when you get home.
I am worried I won't eat anything good again:
You will need to change your relationship with food and will need to change your definition of "good". Once you get past the post-op recovery and pureed stage, there are so many delicious foods that are also healthy - you never need to be bored. Also, your new tiny stomach won't be screaming at you to eat all the time. You will need to let go of junk food, sweets and white carbs - they were fake friends anyway.
Good luck next month!

HI - welcome!

Agreed! I never had any of the horrible gas pain that everyone else described

Thanks guys and girls, the replies really mean a lot to me. The reassurance helps a lot. After doing more research it may have just been a pre surgery panic attack I guess to a certain extent.

I use the Roslyn office too. The doctors at the group are great. They have a ton of experience and super low complication rates. I saw Dr Angstadt and he is very kind and willing to answer any and all questions. The PAs are very nice as well and you will see mostly them post-op. There is also a good support group that meets there once a month on a thursday night. The next one is 7/13. It is open to pre-op and post-op.
I had my surgery done at St. Francis. They had me come in the week before surgery for a mandatory educational session with a nurse practitioner. I know Mercy also does the same thing. That session was really informative and went over everything in a lot of detail. You'll feel better after that and can ask all the questions you want.
The post-op diet is a little different than what I've seen described on this forum. Basically, we skip the post-op liquid diet and can jump into soft foods as soon as you get home and are ready. In the first week, focus on staying hydrated. Drink your shakes when you can, but your stomach is very inflamed and sore and it is hard to get in anything so you want to put hydration above nutrition. The nurse from the hospital will call you a few days after you are home to see if you are ok and to make sure you are drinking enough.
As soon as you are ready, add in soft Protein foods like scrambled eggs. Month 2 you can add soft cooked vegetables and will have 3 oz of protein with 1 oz of veg for each meal. After the 3rd month, you can change one of the day's veggies to a fruit. That's kind of it for a while. 3 oz of protein and 1 oz of veg/fruit, slowly weaning yourself off the shakes. We don't get white carbs added back in until maintenance.

Don't try it for the first time at your wedding! You don't want to feel sick on your special day! I am having surgery on Wednesday and know a couple of people who occasionly drink now after surgery but way after. I wouldn't risk it. Just have fun, plenty of time to drink later on!

I don't drink often but when I do I just drink hard liquor on the rocks or with Water.
I have never been a beer or wine drinker really. I will have a few sips of wine with a meal if it compliments the meal.

My alcohol tolerance is exactly the same. Insanely high. I couldn't get drunk if I tried.

There's been a lot of great responses already about doing what is right for you and your body...ditto that.
I am definitely not trying to talk you into anything or make any type of point, I just wanted to share the benefit I get out of low carb in case you were wondering why anyone in their right mind would give up bread!
I'm not in ketosis because I eat fruit and Beans, but I avoid grains, sugar and potatoes. When I eat like this, I do not have any cravings and am not tempted by anything and its smooth sailing. But, boy oh boy, one piece of bread, and that dopamine high triggers all kinds of cravings for a few days and I want to eat everything in sight. I can still lose while eating carbs, it is just so hard to stay on track. Since I can lose, I guess I am not carb-sensitive as I've heard others describe - I'm just a junkie!
I'm quite jealous of you. I wish I could lose while eating carbs. enjoy

Tazo makes Decaf chai teabags. It's really good - strong chai flavor.

I was always a big Water drinker, but after surgery it tasted really bad and I had to force myself to drink it. I drank a lot of warm Decaf tea in the months post surgery. the water taste is back to normal now, thank goodness.
In the first month after surgery, I also couldn't drink cold water. It constricted my stomach right up and further reduced what I could get in. I discovered this after getting dehydrated week 1 and needing an IV.
My best advice is to focus on Clear Liquids this first week - your stomach is really inflamed right now so you may not be able to meet both your Fluid goal and your Protein Shake goal until next week or so.

What I'm about to say is easier said than done and I don't want to pretend that I have beaten the scale demon down. I still struggle all the time with scale based disappointment and fighting the feelings of failure that can come along. But ideally......
The scale can be a great tool in our arsenal along with all our other WLS tools, but only if we change our relationship with it. We have to use it with the same emotional detachment that we feel towards blenders, measuring cups, food scales, etc.
The scale will tell us on any given day how much Water, muscle, bone and fat we are carrying that day. The scale goes up sometimes. That should be our cue to do some soul searching. As in.....have we stayed on our plan? have we been honest about quantities? If we followed our plan, then no worries, our bodies sometimes go through adjustments, especially with water retention. If we haven't followed our plan, then the scale is our cue that what we have been doing is not giving us the results we want.
I log my weight once a week, but peek at the mid-week mark, to minimize surprises.

Today I'm finally in the overweight category as far as my BMI goes. Very cool!
I feel as though my appetite has increased recently, so I was worried that I was eating too much. That's despite sticking to my macro goals and weighing my meals.
The strangest thing about losing 79 pounds is that I feel as though I look the same as I did 6 months ago. The mind is a dangerous thing!

Way to go Jack!!!!! congrats for the new lifestyle and attitude. You are living proof that if you stay on track, that the results will be there.

I chose to keep it private. I am proud that I had the surgery, but I know myself and I know it would get under my skin when people have to voice their opinions even though they are not educated on the topic. Like this....I knew someone who had the surgery and they gained it all back...or... weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out, have you tried dieting. grrrr... Or the people who will monitor you from now on..... are you allowed to eat that?

I chose to keep it private. I am proud that I had the surgery, but I know myself and I know it would get under my skin when people have to voice their opinions even though they are not educated on the topic. Like this....I knew someone who had the surgery and they gained it all back...or... weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out, have you tried dieting. grrrr... Or the people who will monitor you from now on..... are you allowed to eat that?

Not everyone cares to share their private medical information with co-workers. Many people are more introverted and just feel no reason to talk about their personal matters. There is not one right or wrong way. Just because we don't share doesn't mean we are going to slip up. I don't need my co-workers checking up on my weight loss. I have the support of my family.

No one but my husband and niece who had the surgery know I am having it. I just let a friend who has had the same Medical issues as me because she knew I was considering it and has been so supportive. She told me if anyone says any th hung about weight loss after , just smile and say thank you!
I decided to keep it a secret because when I talked about considering it with my neighbor, she said, you are awfully vain to even think about surgery, just eat better and exercise more , you are much too old to worry about getting skinny. To Say the least, I was floored. I am 57, with diabetes, one kidney, hbp and lymphedema in both my legs (genetic). Skinny...skinnyyy????? I want my health back!!! As they say on my600lb life " I am risking my life for a chance at a better life."
My surgery is in July, no date yet. I threatened my husband that I will kick his butt if he breathes a word of my surgery..lol..(he is 6'0 300lbs) he is going to do a 2 month juice fast and eat just like me. We both are dedicated to changing our lives.
Sorry for the long post, my advice: keep your mouth shut, smile and say thank you for noticing, I appreciate that.
This journey is hard enough without the nosy naysayers with their negative energy.
Huggs, see you on the losers bench!!





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If you aren't close to them, why tell them?
Do you share all your other medical decisions with them?
This kind of stuff shouldn't even be discussed in the workplace anyway.

I chose to keep it private. I am proud that I had the surgery, but I know myself and I know it would get under my skin when people have to voice their opinions even though they are not educated on the topic. Like this....I knew someone who had the surgery and they gained it all back...or... weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out, have you tried dieting. grrrr... Or the people who will monitor you from now on..... are you allowed to eat that?

I chose to keep it private. I am proud that I had the surgery, but I know myself and I know it would get under my skin when people have to voice their opinions even though they are not educated on the topic. Like this....I knew someone who had the surgery and they gained it all back...or... weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out, have you tried dieting. grrrr... Or the people who will monitor you from now on..... are you allowed to eat that?