Berry78

Almost 5 months post op. Berry78 vs. 4oz wild Pacific salmon.

I had seen where you mentioned collagen earlier, but didn't know that that can't go towards muscles... thank you very much!!

Oh wow, y'all will have to pick my jaw off the floor. I had no idea those things had protein in them! Still not sure they are all that healthy, but they are slightly higher on my food opinion-meter. Thanks! Love learning something new!

I went with Dr. Illan. (He is advertised all over this site). I had my sleeve on March 20 of this year, and had a great experience. I healed well, and am halfway to goal! Feel free to PM me for more details about my experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Preop my period would cause 5-8 pound fluctuations. The first couple months postop, it was about 3 pounds. The last 2 months there was no upward fluctuation at all! This has really surprised me, and so I wonder why we retain fluid, and whether it means something...

I think 40lbs in 2 weeks has to be some kind of record. Congrats! How much more have you lost over the last 6 weeks?

Super awesome! Can you share your diet/exercise routine for maintenance?

Your body has reached its new set point. Losing more weight will be as difficult as losing weight preop, and as difficult to maintain that loss. Others have discovered that (for example), to maintain 130lbs, they had to eat 1100 calories a day. To maintain 150lbs, they could eat 1800-2000 (they were also exercising). So, you need to decide how important those last 20lbs are to you. You'll have to restrict your calories and exercise more to burn them off, then figure out how to eat/exercise to maintain.

You may be able to advance to swallow-ables. Soft gels are easiest, then capsules, then pills. Try pills first since they are easier to come by... look for small ones, or break large ones up. I still take my powdered vitamins from GNC, but they are disgusting and I'm switching to pills when they're gone. They are an option if normal vites don't work for you.

Oil that is used to fry foods becomes damaged, particularly if it is reused. Pork skins have zero nutritive value, and with the potentially damaged fats, becomes a big negative in my book. Why not eat hummus on cut up fresh veggies? If we think of food as meeting requirements beyond "it tastes good, it's fun, what is the harm in just this little bit while I watch Netflix" then we've started to understand what food is all about, and we can make the right choices. Are pig skins the wrong choice? On a day to day basis, yes. BUT, if you went to a pig-sucking festival where all things pork are celebrated with special regional dishes ... at that time and place, pork rinds are a great choice!

I paid a $500 deposit through paypal, and the remainder with a cashiers check at the hospital in Tijuana. If the place requires full payment first, I'd be leary.

I live with my MIL, who is heavy. She bounces between being jealous (sticks her tongue out at me when I mention losing a pound) to celebrating ("I can see your cheekbones!") The first thing she said 8 weeks out was.."I thought you'd be at goal by now!" MIL's are psycho!

22-35 pounds of fecal material is no joke! Since your belly is getting distended, it's clear this is a continuing problem. It sounds like an exploratory surgery might be in order. They could find the source of the bowel trouble and go from there. It would have to be an open procedure, and potentially very dangerous. That's probably why your docs aren't wheeling you into the surgical suite as we speak.

Ditto. I had read a book about, oh, 11 years ago that talked about how wonderful organic whole foods were. MSG was the devil, etc. So I went to the grocery store and didn't know where to start. I was afraid of everything, and when I left the store I had 3 small bags of food and had spent $50 (which was a lot in those days). I get home, and there is nothing to eat! All those single ingredients, and I didn't know how to make a meal of them. Went to McDonalds for dinner. Surgery has truly given me a reset. Since I'm not starving, I can take my time and think about what is a good thing to eat, look up a recipe, try things out. Before, I just needed to fill my belly as quickly as possible, the hunger overrode any other thought processes.

My first couple had me stay in bed for a day or two. They can be tough. Keep up with your nutrition as best you can.

Take everything 1 day (hour, minute) at a time. Write down all the reasons you wanted to do this, and revisit it as your journey progresses. Buy a few little bowls and spoons. I love my little (8oz) Fiesta bowls from Kohls. They also have demitasse spoons and forks (Food Network). I use them for every meal at home. I never had use for small cups. Make sure you have a digital kitchen scale. They are around $20.

I am the same way.. can eat anything. But, it's a great thing because we get to learn how to exist from the very beginning.

Lol! Biotene is a mouthwash.

Do you have type 2 diabetes? If so, how long have you had it and are you on insulin? Do you have GERD? Do you have a food addiction? What is your BMI?

Beef, anyway you cut it is not going to be soft enough. Wait on that until you are 9 weeks out. One exception may be chili. Soft solids is like tuna salad, pinto beans, hardboiled eggs, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese sticks, etc. Mushy veggies are ok, but concentrate on protein sources.

Sure! By 9 weeks out, usually we are on a pretty much regular diet so unless your program states differently, there are lots of foods you can try. 3oz should be what you can eat. Less of dense meat.

Surgery messes with Aunt Flo's schedule big time. It may be early, late, heavy, light, painful, not painful, and sometimes nonexistent. Good luck!

Oops..sorry.. vegan-ish doesn't equal vegetarian. My bad. Double oops.. no counting! Lol!

Have you tried something as substantial as eggs that aren't eggs? Tuna salad or cheese? How do they go? Eggs aren't always well tolerated, so it may be the eggs themselves.

We seem to have 3 vocal camps running around. Low carb keto. Low carb non keto. Vegetarian. Everyone counts calories.