fruitandveggies

I love all vegan jerky but the Louisville is my fave. Never seen the Unisoy kind, I'll have to check those out. And those Enlightened crisps are so good! Thanks for sharing!

Mine never said anything until I asked, and good thing I did! They said just one needed to be free though. I believe they can also use toes, so ask about that.

I'm developing a serious case of RH a year out. It seems like anything I eat will cause the reaction. I live with a bag of grapes nearby right now. I'm so thankful I work from home because I need to lie down about 90 minutes after each meal, like clockwork! I really hope this passes.

Sorry I never saw this thread before, but I've loved my time with Fitzer's office. Jenny the PA is gone though, sadly. Their NUT Suzanne is the best!

First of all, you're doing awesome!! Second, hi to another bariatric pagan!

Not sure what the pouch reset entails, but if it's the same as fasting, I have a lot of experience with that. If you're just water fasting, the only thing you should be doing is resting. No work, cleaning, driving around, etc. If you're doing juice fasting, just have some juice and it will bring your blood glucose back up and should stop the shaking. I also like seltzer water to make it more "filling." And remember, if you get lightheaded, take a knee so you don't pass out and hurt yourself.

Agreed with everything that's been said, but I'll just chip in that my bypass hasn't reduced hunger a year out. I started to get hungry again after about 6 weeks.

I've been there so many times. But remember, you CAN control your actions. Your brain is giving you faulty messages because you associate emotional pain with eating to feel better. I was a binge eater for years, but it's not because I couldn't control myself. It's because I didn't want to control myself because it felt like I'd rather die than not eat. You can tell in a sentence like that the brain isn't acting normally. The great thing about this is, we can change it. The brain is elastic and creates new neural pathways all the time. We just need to take the first hard steps to IGNORE the urge to eat out of turn. Check out more about this concept at http://brainoverbinge.com. The woman who started this was a binge eater too and this concept of just ignoring your urge to eat is totally life changing. And don't worry--the scale will move! It's physically impossible to not lose fat at such a low calorie level. Just take it easy on yourself.

You mean like capsules for vitamins and stuff? Yeah, take them every day.

It depends on your insurance. What I've heard is you need to be around 30 BMI, have skin below the public bone, and have maintained for over a year. Some of them need a record of having rashes under the skin that aren't treatable. You just need to check with your particular provider.

Just chew really, really well and have tiny bites. I had issues with cooked broccoli for about 6 months, but all is good now. Just remember to eat slowly and basically liquefy your food before you swallow.

Mine was fine with the surgeon confirming that you'd tried before. But he's the kind of guy who knows this is a last resort, so it was like "so what have you tried before" type on conversation. Ask your surgeon what usually happens for his patients, but it wasn't a problem with mine.

@Newme17 **hugs** So happy to share the knowledge! And you're doing amazing, by the way!! @LELH I had the same fears! I wanted to cram myself with nutrients. But luckily, plant-based sources of protein are filled with nutrients as it is. You can also sneak lots of stuff in without adding much bulk. Example: you could make your tofu scramble and puree some spinach and carrots to mix in. I add turmeric, black pepper, and nooch to nearly everything. I just got Dr. Greger's cook book (How Not to Die cookbook) and it's incredible! In it he reminds us that every time we eat is an opportunity to get optimal, life-extending nutrition. I try to make all my meals as nutrient dense as possible because the opportunity cost thing reminds me that eating crap is a big price to pay. And don't worry, you will be able to eat more and more as time goes by.

Don't worry! According to my surgeon and what I've read, it's next to impossible to stretch your stomach. What has probably happened is you're fully healed now and swelling has gone down, so you're able to fit more in. Also remember that a tuna sandwich is pretty soft food, so we can eat more. I remember at 3 months I had a really big tofu sub and I was surprised I could fit it all in! Just make sure you're taking small, slow bites (one per minute) and you'll be fine.

This is really interesting to me, I've never had a better relationship with my hubby than I do now! Me being obese was a huge strain on our marriage. BED and my lack of self esteem was my major focus in life, not him or us. Now I'm feeling so much better and he's loving it too. I think @momin2005 was right on this one. People get married for so many wrong reasons, especially people who are obese.

For about 3 months after I had trouble with broccoli. But nothing else different if I eat slowly!

Very true! I think this is a distinction Dr. Greger makes and boy does it make a world of difference. I was a junk food, binge-eating vegan for nearly 15 years and, well, I had to get surgery to lose weight!

I think this is why I see a lot of formerly heavy people try out for figure competitions. It's kind of like the ultimate victory over your old body/habits! It's a good point though, currently I get at least one compliment every time I go to the gym. One day that's going to stop. And I'll wonder--do I look fat again? Haha. I love the idea of making lists, @Little Green!

Plant-based was invented because people didn't like the implications the word vegan has (caring about animals=not eating them). Additionally, veganism is a lifestyle, not just a diet. We will try our hardest to avoid the exploitation of animals in any way, whether that be using their flesh for a snack or burning their eyeballs out while testing household products. Saying plant-based means you eat plants only. But seeing as there is no dictionary definition for the term (as there is for vegan), he can say whatever he wants and make it "true." It does seem pretty deceptive of him though.

Mine was falling out from around month 6-9, it's been growing back for the last three months. I'm glad but also the baby hairs are driving me nuts! Never had such frizzy looking hair. I bet the bulking diet will help your hair!

Yep I had the same thing happen to me. My doc had me drink full sugar Gatorade and restaurant wonton broth. I felt 100% better after that!

It's just water! Not possible to lose fat at that rate. This usually happens in the first few weeks of eating differently, you stop eating so much sodium (and so much volume) and your water weight just drops. I just lost 10 pounds in 3 days from water weight and I'm around 180 pounds. No worries. And awesome job getting back on the wagon after so much drama!

As you can see here, it doesn't have much to do with meeting your macros. No one is really sure why, but they guess it's because of trauma and hormonal imbalance--which happens any time there's a major incident like this (many people have it happen after childbirth). It's my guess that if we were able to eat a normal diet after surgery, it wouldn't happen. But 800-1300 calories is starvation level, so the body takes that on as a trauma. No need for hair when you're about to die of famine!

Whaat, I would so do this! I wonder what it would take it get one started. Anyone in the Northern VA area? PS--make sure you post pics!

I was told not to eat anything heavy like a burger for 7 weeks after surgery. I ate a lot of baby food, applesauce, tofu scramble, mashed potatoes, etc. You could probably get away with a mashed up veggie burger around week 4-5, but the Beyond burgers are really dense. I'd go with one of the actual vegetable burgers, not the trying-to-taste-like-beef burgers, Gardein has one that's really good, I also like the Foodie's brand burgers. Really yummy, but also can be nice and soft. Oh, and good luck tomorrow, @Monali!!