Creekimp13

You will encounter a lot of plans then encourage high animal protein and few carbs. They work for some people and some people are comfortable with them. I prefer to balance my animal and plant protein, eat whole grain carbs, beans and lentils, fruits and veggies, and eat a diet more similar to Mayo Clinic Diet and Mediterranean Diet...since they're correlated with lower instances of cancer and more longevity....than high animal protein diets. My group's plan works great with these diets.

We count them as calories. We also count their protein content. We don't count carbs. We count calories 1000-1200, and Protein 60-80g+ We are discouraged from eating carbs that are high glycemic and have simple sugar that causes insulin spikes. Hummus and lentils are staples in my diet...they are low glycemic, and paired with brown rice protein make a complete amino acid. I also eat a lot of oatmeal, greek yogurt, and will be eating more nuts and seeds next week:)

My plan is to grab either side and clothespin it behind my back. LOLOLOL

Man, I hear you. I hate to vomit. I think whether you vomit or not is the luck of the draw, sad to say. Some do, some don't....for both procedures. They do have really good meds to help control nausea now. I had sleeve and have not had any nausea. No vomiting. But I know plenty of sleeved people who have. Talk to your doc about getting good anti-vomiting meds. One that I particularly recommend is called Emend. By some miracle my insurance covered this drug (that we were advised we didn't have to pick up if the insurance didn't cover it...cause it can run over $200 for the single dose you take before surgery) But I did notice that the people who took it seemed to do better. (that could be purely coincidence....too small a sample) But yeah...I was stunned that I never suffered nausea.

Stuff you can drink: Very low calorie (less than 20 calories a cup) fruit juices. Look for the word "diet" and read the lable. Water flavor enhancers like Mio. I was a soda drinker...and I love Mio. Decaf coffee and tea. (one cup of regular is thought to be ok by most plans) Herbal tea. Sugar free hot cider I make my own hot cocoa by heating almond milk, cocoa powder, splenda and vanilla...use real milk if you'd rather. Hot broth. Ice water with lemon. lemonade with splenda Chrystal light sugar free Kool Aid Try the Mio...there are a million flavors. They have an orange tangerine that might work. Also, give herbal teas a chance. Ginger lemon is awesome.

The other day I wrote a post about being on a stall....and finally having my stall break. On the day of my surgery 12/5....I weighed 230 At the beginning of this week....I was down to 220....where I'd been stuck for two and a half weeks. My luck changed on Tuesday when I lost a couple of pounds, and then Wednesday, I lost a couple more. I'd had my period....so figured I was retaining water. But that got me down to 216....which made me pretty happy. 14 pounds five weeks from surgery seemed very reasonable to me, since my excess weight on the day of surgery was 60 pounds. That was like a 23% excess weight loss. (average is 18% for the first month) SO HERE'S THE SURPRISE... At the doctor today, I weighed 212. Which is four pounds less than I thought I weighed....and a far cry from the 220 I thought I weighed on Monday. LOLOLOLOL! I was so shocked I asked my nutritionist to weigh herself to make sure the doctor's scale wasn't wonky. It wasn't. I came home and replaced the battery in my home scale and guess what? 212. Good grief! To anyone stuck on a stall....it might be a longshot....but if you have any doubts....replace the battery in your scale!

According to the old tried and true programs.....early calorie restriction is the best bet. You'll find a lot of folks who will say that's too much. HOWEVER... My group would say you're on target. We do 1000-1200 calories as soon as possible after surgery. I made it to 1000 calories per day at 3 weeks and have been happily eating 1000-1200 per day since. Newer long term research is showing people who eat 1000-1200 calories per day sooner in the process don't lose weight as fast, but do lose just as much weight over time as their calorie restricted counterparts. Additionally...there is evidence that they regain less of their lost weight over 10 years. In my group...you'd be congratulated. In another group...you'd be scolded. Bariatrics is an emerging field. I put a lot of thought into choosing my group. My deciding point....was that it's using a protocol developed by a research hospital I trust.

Losing weight releases estrogen from your fat...so it can kinda kick up those symptoms. I had the migraine from hell with my period this time. Haven't had one since my 30's. Boo!

This is yesterday's. Tofu chili and a whole grain wasa. Sleeved 12/5

The answers are as varied as the people here. My team expects us to eat 1000-1200 calories as soon as possible. I met this goal during week three. Some people are on low calories long term. Some people have doctors that advise three meals, no snacks.... with tiny quantities to eat. My group does three meals and three snacks....which you could just as easily call six little 200 calorie meals. I'm satisfied, tolerate most foods now, and drink fluids freely. Most programs want at least 60-80g of protein per day.

Yes, I can eat it all:) And that menu is from soft foods a couple weeks ago. Now, I'm eating tons of other things...almost a normal diet. Still waiting on salads, nuts and steak...but next week Friday I get the green light for those. I had an appointment with my dietitian and doc today...5 week check up....everything is going great...and I had a fun surprise that I'm gonna write a post about. LOL. Here's a pic of my lunch yesterday...One cup of tofu chili and a whole wheat wasa. Yep, I ate it all....and had three snacks and two more meals:) For dinner, we had protein pasta (made with chickpeas and legumes added to the wheat....tastes just like normal spaghetti and you get 10g of protein for 150 calories! Had some chicken and marinara sauce on it and a little mozzarella cheese. For breakfast, I had an egg, half a whole wheat english muffin, and a strip of turkey bacon. Snacks were greek yogurt, a protien bar, and half a caramel premiere portien in a big cup of decaf coffee (tastes like a latte). I eat well...I'm never hungry...and my surprise today was that I lost a little more weight than I thought!

I hit the three weeks stall...and had been stuck for almost two weeks. Was making me crazy. Totally empathize with those hitting one. Man, it's frustrating! Got my period yesterday and lost two pounds...and woke up this morning another two and a half pounds down! Not an ounce for two weeks....then, BOOM!...four and a half pounds. The legends are true! Be consistent, be patient. Your hard work IS counting...I promise. Scale just needs a minute to catch up:)

We do 3 meals and 3 snacks totally 1000-1200 calories and at least 60grams of protein. Old school standard for weight loss surgery was to have people eat low calorie as long as possible, and keep them on three meals to teach this habit. What you're describing is very much how it's always been done. My group is part of a larger group of bariatric doctors who are following a protocol developed by a research hospital (University of Michigan). This protocol has been impressing the bariatric community and is being picked up this year by Cedars Sinai and Bethesda. One of the things they've learned is that you get one chance to reset your metabolism...and that resetting it at a starvation level is probably not the best idea. So the new protocol is to get people eating as close to maintenance level as possible...as soon as possible...for the best metabolic reset. Exercise is stressed, too. You want your new metabolism to be a hot burning furnace that can handle normal calorie loads. They've been looking at ten years of data, and have found that people who eat very restricted calories do lose weight faster...but that people who eat more (1000-1200) will lose just as much, but at a healthier pace....and at the end of five years have less regain. Bariatric endocrinology is an emerging science:)

Happy to....here's a sample from my nutritionist from a couple weeks ago.

You look like you're having fun! Love your videos:) Keep em coming:)

It's not your mouth...it's your actual breath that smells odd with ketosis. When you start eating carbs again after surgery, it'll go away:) Part of the smell is a release of keytones in your breath (that smell sickly sweet, almost maple syrupy), part is the breakdown of high protein (that makes your breath smell of ammonia like yesterday's litter pan.) When you start carbs again....you'll spill fewer keytones. Reducing protein in your diet from super high liquid stage levels will help with the ammonia part. This, too, shall pass. You can mouthwash all day, but you're just gonna have weird breath. That said....mouthwash anyway, and take care to clean your tongue...cause oral health issues can spring up when bodies are stressed (like during major surgery)...and the last thing you need is a sore tooth or gum, or case of thrush, etc.

My dietitian said that new ten year research is linking a low calorie diet for too long with a starvation metabolism reset...that hurts weight loss and loss maintenance long term. It's also associated with more hairloss and malnutrition. We were advised to eat 1000-1200 calories per day as soon as possible at our one week appointment. I made it there at 3 weeks. We also eat low glycemic carbs, and are expected to be as active as possible and walk daily until it's safe to work out. We eat three small meals and three snacks a day.

BCBS has been really awesome with my surgery. I really expected to have to fight, appeal, etc. But nope...they were on board from day one. They did require 6 months of dietitian appts, etc... But when it came time to approve the actual date...they were right on it and sent a hard copy letter within 10 days. Billing has gone smoothly, too. Am owing less out of pocket than expected so far....though I expect a few bills might still trickle in.

I do know of one lady who had a bad anxiety attack while on the liquid diet. She freaked herself out enough to believe she might be having a heart attack and ended up at the ER needing a xanax shot to calm down. I think some of us can have a lot of big emotions as we inch perilously closer to the actual act of having surgery...and that can set off some weird physical reactions. OR... You could be coming down with the flu...so keep track of your temperature. LOL. OR... Maybe you drank too fast and gagged a little....or who knows? Wish I could be more help, but nope...haven't heard of that.

it's awful, and it's hard. Take it a day at a time. You can do this:)

Nice work, Beautiful:) There is nothing easy about what you accomplished.

Mini trampolines..."rebounding" is supposed to be amazing for circulation, particularly if you carry a little fluid in your legs. Yep, I've got one:)

I feel the three week Stall pain....been there the last couple of weeks. Stall broke and I lost four and a half pounds in the last two days. Just suddenly. It happens...the legends are true:) I'm 5 weeks post op and eating 1000-1200 calories a day, tolerating more foods, and have a lot of energy. Feeling really good:) Wishing you all a quick end to the stall:) It'll happen. (someone asked for my stats on another thread...don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but figured it was on topic.) Started at 270 in June. Lost 30 pounds in 6 months of pre-surg diet visits using the Mayo Clinic Diet mostly. (240) Lost 10 pounds in 2 week pre-surg liquid diet. (230) Lost 14 pounds first month after surgery. (216 today) So, I lost 23% of my excess body weight the first month (60 pounds excess weight on day of surgery)....which beats the heck out of the 18% that is the average first month weight loss. Feeling positive!

I'd use the money for a Fitbit and start with walking. So many fun places to go on campus and you might find a friend to do challenges with.

Have never had an issue with Quorn...digests great and tastes great. If you have mushroom allergies, I'd use some caution. I have a ton of mushroom recipes similar to yours cause I have morel mushrooms in my woods. Short season, but they're amazing:)