Little Green

Think of it this way - you ARE losing weight. It's just not showing on the scale yet. There are so many factors at play - water retention, bowel movements, etc. You're not not losing (lol). You just can't see it yet. Hang in there!

I think you're okay. I've wrestled with this on and off. The last 3 days before my liquid diet started were, uh, not days that I'm proud of. But, I don't know, the thing is that none of that food was really satisfying. I ate it mostly out of fear of never being able to have it again. It didn't really live up to the hype I'd given it in my mind. And there are still things that I wish I ate instead... and if I'd eaten THOSE things, there would be other things I'd wish I'd have eaten. We don't have to have everything sorted out before surgery. I've been in weekly therapy discussing food and eating for over six months and, as you saw above, I still had "food funerals" before my liquid diet and wrestled with my emotions. The main idea, in my opinion, is to keep trying. When we've failed in the past it's been because we give up. But if we dedicate ourselves to giving this process our all, occasional foibles won't cause us to fail. My advice would be to start each day with the full intention of eating healthy foods. If you get overwhelmed by emotions and end up eating some crap, okay. Just wake up the next day and eat healthy foods again. Even if you have a crappy dinner you can have a healthy breakfast and lunch. And don't worry - even with indiscretions right now, you will drop a ton of weight on the liquid diet. I'm currently losing 3 lbs a day... the fat around my liver does not stand a chance against this awful diet, lol.

I've been watching this thread with interest... based on the below post, it definitely looks like @Creekimp13 was right and Jelly Belly is a sock for Peaches. The speech pattern and unique capitalization on "9/11 First Responder" seems pretty Peaches-esque. Or maybe it's all my Forensic Files bingeing causing my imagination to run away? Also I found it weird that Peaches didn't mention being called a fat pig in the OP. It was only several posts into the argument with Creekimp and it was sort of an afterthought. You'd think that would be at least in the first post if not the TITLE! 2:30am... we're focused on the hard-hitting stuff tonight!

Today was the easiest day so far. I slept around 11-12 hours and that wiped out my headache. I think having a smaller window to eat also made it easier to deal with. I've decided to include the Premier Protein shakes for the rest of the diet. It's not that the fact that it's whey protein instead of soy/pea protein, but the fact that it's ready-made, it can be served really cold, and much less gritty/powdery that makes it a lot more satisfying. I think it's more important to meet my surgeon's requirements while staying sane than insisting on a totally plant-based diet at this point. These are temporary measures to get ready for surgery. So I'm happy with that. I'm also "cheating" a bit... not really sure if it's cheating or not, maybe just getting creative lol. My sweet husband found some protein veggie broth at Walmart today, made with soymilk and lentil protein. It's 90 calories per cup with 9 grams of protein. Well. If I double the servings it's 180 calories and 18 grams of protein. Well lookie there, that meets the "protein shake" requirements! .........almost. The soymilk they use is sweetened, so in two servings there's 6g added sugar and 10g total sugar. Our protein shakes are supposed to be 8g of sugar or less. So... hmm. After some thinking I decided to do around 1.75 servings (1 and 3/4 cups) and call it 160 calories, 15g protein, and 8g sugar. Bippity boppity boo, now it meets the requirements. Tastes much better than mixing the powder protein with regular broth. So, is that cheating? I'm not sure. But again... priorities are meeting the requirements and staying sane... I think it's all right. Ended up at 850 calories and 109g of protein today. Whew, that protein! My poor kidneys lol.

Thank you, for the compliment and the book recommendation! I know I checked this one out of the Kindle library but can't remember if I read it or not. I will go and download it again for sure!

Stats for yesterday: 855 calories, 92g protein. Stats for today: 910 calories, 94g protein. Feeling extremely nauseated for the last couple of hours. It started right after I had my "last" protein shake at 11:30pm - I say "last" because once I started feeling sick I chased it with a Premier Protein premade (unfortunately non-vegan) shake to see if that would help the nausea. It did for a bit but now it's back. Have had around 16 oz of water since then with no relief from the nausea. Could be from the weird temperature of the protein shake (mixed it with warm broth but took awhile to drink it so it was kinda lukewarm and gaggy toward the end), could be coincidence, could be from the 36+ hour headache I've got going, could be anything really. I remembered I had some dramamine in my purse so I took one of those and I'm going to eat a couple sugar-free popsicles to give my belly something small to do. Still not much hunger - hardly any hunger today. If I hadn't had that Premier Protein shake & these popsicles, I would have only been at 720 cals for the day. Brain fog is worse, moods are more stable but generally lower than yesterday (had some good highs yesterday that upped the average lol). I enjoyed talking with my therapist but unfortunately she's not available 24/7 for the next 12 days. Can't imagine why not! I've gotten lots of good support from my 2/15 RNY buddies @TexasGal40 & Misty (I can't recall your exact username, Misty, sorry!) as well as my non-WLS friends and my mom. My husband has been a bit less supportive, not on purpose, I just think he's mystified and doesn't understand what I need. I'm usually excellent at telling him what I need - but as I said 100x to my therapist today, this just sucks and there's nothing to do about it. (He's also forgotten about the liquid diet a couple times... the ultimate betrayal when it's consuming my life LOL.) I've tried distractions but I'm not interested in anything. Netflix, reading, YouTube, even BP (sorry you guys, I still love you!), none of it is really holding my attention. In better news, I was watching some of Dr. Weiner's videos earlier today and commented on one about the pre-op diet. He replied and told me good luck on my surgery! *swoon* Celebrity status, y'all! Now if only I can get a shout-out from Dr. Greger and Dr. Barnard, I'll be set for life! LOL

Yay! February 15. I'll be a wizened WLS veteran by the time you go under!

Congrats on both counts! I got my braces off (after 2.5 years) in Dec 2016. Like you said, this is not a bad time at all to get the braces - it's so hard to eat at first, so eating liquids, purees, and soft foods will be perfect while you get adjusted to them! Woot woot!

Did you get scheduled???? I must have missed that post!!!! Thanks for the encouragement - and yes I do need to stop whining, actually! Not that I can make it better through the power of positive thinking or anything but I can certainly stop making it worse with the pity parties!

Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I'm definitely anticipating my pureed food stage. I had therapy today and spent at least 10 minutes cataloging all the stuff I would be able to eat during that stage for my therapist LOL. You're so amazing for being able to make it 3.5 weeks so far - you rock!!!!

Yes to the red! I feel totally glucose-deprived. And I have huge dark circles under my eyes which is a known side-effect for low-carbers lol. I want to give in and eat fruit, reasoning that it can't possibly be UNhealthy, but I really want my surgery to be as safe as possible and I know this diet will drop the most amount of weight the fastest. As to the purple... my MIL had to do a 2-day liquid diet prior to a surgery she had. She kept telling me the other night that you don't feel hunger, it's not that bad. Of course I didn't say anything because she has been so sweet and supportive (we do not have the best history so her support is extremely refreshing and welcome!). But in my mind I was thinking... Two DAYS compared to two WEEKS????? Hush up!! Lol! But she is right that I haven't had much hunger. It's just the other side effects, particularly the constant headache.

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad I can't even imagine doing this diet while grieving. My emotional resilience is absolutely nil at the moment. You're getting some big hugs from me across the miles!

And you know I did!!!!!

Actually, Little Green is a reference to a Joni Mitchell song, NOT a comment on my size - but I thought the title might be funny So I'm 2 weeks away from surgery and just started my liquid diet. I thought I'd officially start one of these "tell your story" posts so that I have a place to keep track of all my stats and thoughts. My highest weight is 381.25 and that was 6/14/14. After that I lost down to around 300-ish in about 18 months doing calorie-counting on MFP, but regained nearly all of it after my husband became disabled in a motorcycle accident. About a year after the accident - last March - I visited the bariatric surgeon for my first consult and I weighed 367 pounds. I've gone up and down since then but I started my liquid diet (today!) at 350.2. I am a classic story of overweight-since-childhood along with a rapid weight gain starting in my late 'teens after getting a job and my driver's license, giving me full access to fast food morning, noon, and night. I'm not sure of all my milestones throughout the years but I know I weighed 180 pounds in 7th grade at age 12, and more than 220 when I graduated high school. I'm 5'8 so BMI 25 is 164 pounds and my goal weight is 150. About six weeks ago I decided to go vegan and I've been transitioning into that diet ever since. I'm relying on plant-based protein supplements during the liquid phase but I hope to move to getting protein from whole food as soon as possible. My post-op diet will definitely be a lot higher in carbs than most people on this board are used to, but I'm confident in my choices and really excited about the health benefits in addition to weight loss. I am going to try my darnedest to weigh myself only once per month after surgery. I did the obsessive daily "don't drink anything, have a bowel movement, get naked, and weigh myself" routine during my MFP days and it was really harmful to me mentally. I'm also logging my food in a physical journal and I won't be weighing anything or measuring beyond the standard 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc. meal sizes for post-op guidelines. Measuring food definitely works and I think many people can benefit from it. But again, it ended up being bad for my mental health. My ultimate life goal is to eat and enjoy an abundant amount of healthy plant-based whole foods without weighing or measuring portions. I know it will be awhile before I get there, but that's where I'm going and how I'm positioning myself for long-term success. So that's a little about me! I'm going to post random crap in this thread, like musings on diet stuff, numbers, feelings (I have a lot of them), my appointments, etc. Thanks for reading!

Thank you so much

Thank you! I'm using Huel unflavored protein and MRM Veggie protein in a couple of flavors. It's not that they taste bad, but they're protein powders. It's just how they taste lol. Contrast that to some delicious black beans and baked sweet potato... OMG lol. Stopping there before I go any further with that fantasy...

Oh ****. When I originally read the post I thought it was a PHOTO she sent you. I had no idea she actually mailed you all that crap. OMG! I think even with the filters on these posts the word I want to call her would get me kicked off the boards, but yeah. That is unbelievable. The best revenge will be living life as a happy, healthy, active, trim individual.

Also I have therapy tomorrow and my poor therapist is going to be getting an earful

Sorry, I know it's the same old liquid diet post that everyone puts out there, but I just need to vent. Today is the first day of my liquid diet. I'm not necessarily feeling hungry but I am already so frustrated with the food options that I am feeling extremely depressed and reckless. I really hit a stride starting in December when I began eating a plant-based diet and it's so upsetting to go from a healthy, delicious diet I was REALLY enjoying to artificial tasting protein shakes and bars. They don't taste BAD - they're not gross. But they're not delicious. The fruits, beans, hummus, nuts, veggies I was eating were delicious. And they were healthy. I lost 15 pounds in just over 4 weeks (including Christmas!). I just wish I could keep doing that. I get the logic behind it - a controlled VLCD will help reduce the risks of surgery and is easy to regulate. 5 servings of protein shakes per day with nothing else except no-calorie liquids is easy for patients to tell if they are in compliance with. A low-calorie healthy diet is not controlled or regimented enough to achieve the same thing. So I get it. I just think it sucks. I've been all over the place today. I delayed getting out of bed because I didn't want to face the reality. When I did finally make my first shake, my husband asked me what kind of "smoothie" I made and I nearly burst into tears. Would that it were a delicious banana and berry smoothie! After that first shake was down, I felt better. I talked to some friends and made a list of things I'm looking forward to after surgery. Now 8 hours and 3 protein shakes/bars later I'm feeling depressed again. My husband went out an hour or so ago and I know he's getting fast food for supper. I don't blame him at all, and fast food isn't something I would even eat on my plant-based diet, but it set me off again. Feeling sorry for myself and craving Chick-FIl-A and feeling like I might jump out of my skin. Thanks for letting me type all this out. I'm sure if I reread this post after surgery I'll be like, "Oh you were so silly for being upset!" But it seems super intense right now! My plan for the evening is to enjoy my last protein bar and maybe some herbal tea while watching My 600-lb Life and then go to bed early.

I had high platelet readings for several years and always bugged my doctor about it. Finally she was just like IT'S PROBABLY FROM INFLAMMATION YOU DON'T HAVE CANCER, OK???? And now I feel better. Hee hee! Sorry doc!

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I am the same way about my blood work, wanting explanations for things that are out of range or don't look right and I have definitely annoyed my saintly doctors by asking! However they have always treated me with respect and answered my questions, so I am sorry you are feeling brushed off. Do you have a PCP/family doctor that you could see and ask them to repeat the labs or give you some better explanations? And, are you supplementing with B12? That is one of the required supplements on my program, so that could explain the high reading. I have dealt with weird TSH readings for years. Omg. Up and down and up and down. When I was a teenager (16 I think) my endo put me on Synthroid, at 20 my ob/gyn took me off. I changed ob/gyns when I was 23 and she put me back on it. Almost 5 years ago I moved and found my current PCP and she repeated the labs twice with normal TSH levels and took me off. (I go to PP for my annual and birth control now, so they're not evaluating my labs.) SO...... I really don't know what the f-ck is up with the TSH tests and why they are so wonky for people. To be honest unless you decide to visit your PCP and get the labs repeated, I would not worry about it - you will get new labs at 6 months or shortly thereafter and can compare then. I know it's frustrating not to have answers! If you have symptoms then certainly ask for more help but I'm honestly not sure anyone, medical professional or not, can be confident in what that test reading actually means. Honestly. I was told as a teenager the thyroid never recovers function and you will always be on Synthroid. Soooo... yeah. *shrugs* Good luck, ladybird!

So far I'm liking MRM Veggie protein, but it's only available online. Someone recommended Orgain to me which is available at Costco. Are you allergic to cow's milk or does that include plant-based milk as well? My favorite is soy but there's almond, rice, coconut, hemp, flax, etc. - all kind of milk!

Clothes: I'm bringing overlarge pajama bottoms and sweat pants in case I get cold, a lightweight robe, and a loose-fitting dress for discharge day. (I wear dresses almost exclusively so I didn't buy it special or anything LOL.) Entertainment: I'm bringing my phone, headphones, and Kindle along with necessary chargers. Toiletries: I'm bringing my standard travel hygiene bag. It's small and has everything I need for overnight, including chapstick and lotion. I'm also bringing my own box of tissues because I blow my nose constantly and can't handle the rough hospital tissues (husband has spent a loooong time in hospital so I already have experience with this!). Supplies: I'm still building this list. I know I'll be bringing a heating pad. I'm asking my surgeon's office for opinions on an abdominal binder and might bring that. I might bring an eye mask - historically I haven't been able to sleep with them but the meds might be strong enough to overcome that. So I'm kinda in the in-between in terms of level of packing, lol. Not going with nothing and not going with a whole suitcase. We stay a minimum of two nights in my program so if I really need something I didn't bring, my mom can grab it for me and bring it the 2nd day of the hospital stay.

It's a great point, BigViffer. Yikes. I'm not sure that personally I'd want to remain married to someone whom I had to convince to stay with me using financial incentives (or threat of disincentives). Just the thought of having to say this to my partner would make me want to leave.

(It's day 1 of my liquid diet and I shouldn't be arguing due to increased risk of cutting a b***h so I may bow out! LOL!)