Buddy Warren

I know that I feel the same way. I can meet both my Protein goals and Water intake pretty easily, so I feel like nothing has changed yet. Maybe when I move on to solid food next week??

I know that I feel the same way. I can meet both my Protein goals and Water intake pretty easily, so I feel like nothing has changed yet. Maybe when I move on to solid food next week??

I know that I feel the same way. I can meet both my Protein goals and Water intake pretty easily, so I feel like nothing has changed yet. Maybe when I move on to solid food next week??

Hi Betty-
You and I had surgery on the same day and I am also a Kaiser patient. I had my surgery at Kaiser West Los Angeles. You can do this. I know that it is overwhelming but we committed to this change and need to just keep taking each day as it comes.
As far as what to eat, www.kp.org/bariatrics/westla has information regarding what to eat at each stage including suggested calorie intake per day. Have you reached out to the Bariatric Dietitian/Nutritionist in your area? I have e-mailed mine and had a phone consult since surgery. Our Vitamins are a must for the rest of our lives. The consequences of not taking them may not be visible but it will harm us. My motivation for taking them is my hair. Though I am could still lose a lot of it even with meeting Protein goals and taking my vitamins, I have to do all that I can possibly do to try and prevent it. I am finishing up my chewable Bariatric Advantage Vitamins and then will move on to the pill form. I don't particularly like the taste of chewables but I do it all the same. The calcium citrate chewable tastes good so no issues with that.
Every morning, I have a Premier Protein shake, whether I feel hungry or not. It may take me two hours to get through it or 30 minutes, it all depends on the day. I then take my Vitamin, probiotic, and Prilosec. I track what I eat and drink with the My Fitness Pal app and use a food scale to weight what I am eating. I have toddler utensils and small dishes to help remind me to eat slow and to train myself about food quantities.
I am not an expert but I am willing to be here for you if you need support. I struggle too but am so grateful that I did the surgery. I am still working on getting enough Water, and am currently in a stall with my weight loss which caused me to have a meltdown earlier this week. I have tried everything to lose weight and could only lose the same thirty pounds only to gain it back. When I took this drastic leap, I promised myself that I would work everyday to change my habits and lifestyle for the better. This site is such a blessing to me. I don't feel alone because of the people here and their willingness to support each other. We are still learning how to do this. Each day gets better and one day we will look back and see how far we have come. Hang in there!
Staci

you may be tired and lacking energy because you aren't getting enough calories, Protein and Vitamins in to keep your body chugging along happily while still using fat cells for energy. Eating solids with your vitamins may make them sit better and not trigger nausea. Can you try recording your food in detail for a week or more on something like the MyFitnessPal app? It makes it so much easier for me to see how I'm tracking with both calories and macros through the day, and to make good decisions regarding my protein intake etc. I was sleeved on May 2nd too, and am trying for about 900 calories a day at the moment. I want to be sitting at 1200 calories a day soon so that when my body eventually wakes up to the fact I'm on reduced intake, it doesn't cause the metabolism slow-down that would happen if I was still at starvation level 800 calories or less a day. 1200 calories is quite a reasonable daily amount to maintain a weight loss deficit given our much smaller meal portions long term. (see some posts from Creekimp16 about their 1200 calorie post-surgery program)

I still have a coffee every morning, but I make it with Decaf coffee Beans, and high protein milk, and usually add a 15g protein scoop of peptipro collagen hydrolysate so that although I often don't eat anything until 3 hours+ after I get up, I at least get my first calcium&VitD chewable and a protein heavy drink down first thing (26.5g total protein).

I've been sick a fair bit these past few weeks with non-sleeve related issues (winter here and hubby has kindly been bringing home some really nasty viruses to share around) but I'm making sure I get plenty of protein supplements in even when I'm not eating much. Most days when I'm well I'm eating 4 small meals of solids with a lot of liquids throughout the day.

Just watch the fat and sugar content and you should be fine if you are ok with the spices that might be in that brat. It's meat, not the best meat, but as long as it's low on the fillers and added sugars and fats, you should be ok. Just be sure to chew chew chew!

Awesome! I'm trying to keep myself calm as it gets closer and think of all the changes I will have. We'll have to keep each other updated. Good luck on your journey :-)

Mine is May 23rd too!

That's perfectly fine to drink the shake in 30 minutes. The swelling in your stomach has gone down and allows the liquid to pass right through. However, you now have absolutely no excuse not to get your Water in every day! You won't really start feeling restriction until you start eating soft foods That's also when you start being able to feel "full".
One tip for the hunger: sugar-free Jello, DON'T CHEW IT WELL! It will be slippery enough to get into your stomach all right, but it will take your stomach a while to break it down, so you feel full for a while. The little ready-to-eat cup is the perfect size!
Good luck!
p.s. In my area, bariatric support meetings are open to everyone, even if you didn't have surgery at their facility. Maybe you can find one near you?

Hiya
Every surgeon has a different plan. No one is the only way. I was eating solids (chicken, fish) before I left hospital!!
That said, keep an eye on this period is my real advice. Part of the reason for a plan is to force you to change your eating habits. You haven’t gone through all this to get derailed, right??!! So just keep a good food diary, like in MyFitnessPal or similar, and keep an eye out for staying in the new eating groove that leads to long-term success...

I cheated a few times on the Pre-Surgery diet. Once I had a really low BG reading and so I had a party size butterfinger (the best candy bar I've ever had in my life). I also snuck some chicken in on mother's day and a small plate of food a few days later. It's not recommended but it's also not the end of the world. Just try to do the right thing most of the time and the liver is probably going to be small enough to do the procedure. That being said, I was warned that a patient of my doctor's really liked cream of chicken Soup. So much so, that when it came time to do her procedure her liver was too big and they had to stop her procedure. Like I said, I tried to do the right thing for the most part and I was able to get my sleeve. Just keep your eye on the prize!

almost All surgeries are elective if they are planned in advance: c-sections, joint replacements, heart surgeries etc. so your supervisors don’t have a leg to stand on. File FMLA and let HR handle it. You don’t have to tell your supervisors the extent of your surgery ever

In the same vein—my surgeon did 3 surgeries on the day he did mine; he told me that I was the only one who seemed to have been compliant for my preop diet. One of his patients had visible fajita tacos still in her stomach, and the other had evidence of a large meal the night before. It’s really hard but I watched a lot of my 600lb life and ate my weight in sugar free Jello and broth. You have time to recover from this and 6 days of “doing it right” can and will make a difference. I’m 7 days post op and on a bachelorette trip about to dance the night away again like I did last night. You can do it I PROMISE.

My pre op consists of three shakes a day plus 250 calories of specific low GI vegetables per day. It’s for two weeks. I have 4 days of this left. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done. I also now hate vegetables lol

I quit sugar and simple carbs 5 months before surgery. If I had any carbs, it was oatmeal, whole wheat and so forth. I also started counting every calorie I ate and keeping track. This because I knew I over eat and I needed numbers in black and white to keep me straight and honest with myself. I also quit caffeine and anything carbonated. Just let all that go. It really made the transition after surgery so much easier for me.
My tip for after surgery would be to cook "wet" dishes. Since you cannot drink during a meal time, you don't want to try to struggle with eating dry meat or veggies. I did things like make spaghetti sauce with ground turkey mixed in. No NOODLES of course. I make a lot of different Soups and I blend up a lot of veggies so they are easy on my stomach. Try exploring some wet dishes you can make now so you have some ideas for post surgery.

Just like there is a difference between War and Peace and Cosmo there is a difference between tracking your food and counting calories. Tracking your food provides Info. You cant make good decisions without information.
1 hydrate (i should learn to cut and paste this ****)
2. Protein
3. no added sugar
4. no simple carbs
5. complex carbs from veggies
6. No snacking - if you need Snacks for your mental health you need help with your mental health period.
Do not use food to self medicate- that is what got all of us here in the first place
Track your food - lots of free apps that do this
weigh your servings - package labels allow 20% variability
No less than 12 hrs between last calorie in for the day and first calorie in the next day. You will be asleep the vast majority of this time it should not be difficult.
You asked so do with it what you want.

I eat this all the time. We haven't fried traditionally in years though, just an air fryer. As a huge fan of fried chicken since I was a kid, I can honestly say that that the best fried chicken I ever had was fried in lard in a cast Iron skillet, 2nd best was air fried with pork rind coating. Seriously that good in my opinion.

My wife and I split a two-piece meal from Popeyes a few months ago. I ate the chicken and drank the drink, she ate the red Beans and rice and the biscuit. dinner for two, $7!

I ate a fried chicken strip in my salad.
It did not bother me nor was I led down the road of eternal food damnation.

Hey everyone! I have been a part of these forums for awhile now, but haven’t posted yet. I was getting a little discouraged waiting for my approval from insurance and waiting to get my surgery date. So I was using these posts to get me through! I’m so thankful for everyone who told their stories and asked their questions! I finally got my surgery date yesterday!!!! Whoo whoo!! July 2nd it is!! I’m so excited! Also shocked to know that i don’t have a pre op diet however I will be doing my own version of one for 2 weeks! I can’t wait for this new life! Anyways, thanks for listening!! Any great advice for what to expect would be great! 😄

This is my very first post and I need to THANK each of you for sharing your journey. I have watched and read for months each of your posts. I GAINED so much from your truth and it helped me to decide to GO FOR IT!
I am here in the hospital bed and felt I had to stop just watching and finally post and share my own experience. I was sleeved 5/30/18 by the most talented doctor. I am currently a 35 BMI woman. I have had some health issues due to my weight.I had a stroke when I was pregnant with my last child. When I gain weight I suffer from high blood pressure and back problems, and numbness at night when I am trying to sleep... I am that girl... I go from a six 6 to a XXL/16 - by being a compulsive eater. I over eat when I'm happy, bored, to Celebrate each day of life. I have been known to eat an entire container of vanilla bean ice cream. YIKES....
I won the largest stomach taken out award today in surgery. I was actually given a medal. No wonder I was always hungry.I knew this was the TOOL that I needed. I have been looking into gastric sleeve surgery for 2 years but more seriously this past year. I researched so many doctors and I always came back to Dr. Alvarez. I was way to scared to go to Mexico. I had heard the horror stories. I knew my insurance would not pay for the procedure and I am impatient and wanted it done right away once I made my decision.
I flew to San Antonio Monday with one of my best friends for support. We were picked up by Rosy in a nice Endobariatric van to travel a mile into Mexico on Tuesday around noon. It was actually 2.5 hours from the hotel to the hospital.
We drove to the new hospital prior to going to the hotel for the night.I was literally shocked at the beautiful hospital. It has only been in operation for 3 months. This hospital is by far nicer than most the hospitals back home that I have been to. We met the staff and doctor upon arriving. Everyone was friendly (spoke fluent English) and graciously welcomed us. I was with three other patients. I meet another surgery friend on the van and loved her. We talked the entire van ride and it helped calm the nerves.
I paid a 1,000 deposit when I set the surgery date and gave them the balance today. Everything is covered for $8,900.00. There are no hidden cost. (there is financing I was told for patients who want to make payments)
I loved his super friendly staff. They go out of their way to make you feel safe and pampered. They did the same for my best friend who came to support me. You can bring a person if you like to support you but it is not necessary.
So today at 9:00am I was sleeved. I was super nervous. I prayed a lot. I was just so excited so it helped and I could not stop smiling.
POST OP:
.I woke up and couldn't believe I had actually had the surgery done. They give you a relaxant and it really did help. I remember nothing and drifted off to sleep.
I had done the 5 day pre-op diet starting last Friday to shrink my liver. I didn't enjoy this part but it really did make me feel better after the third day. I weighed in today at 217 lbs. I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life.
I came out of surgery very tired and just wanted to sleep. I was feeling the pain but nothing too crazy. Hey, I've done natural child birth so I know pain. They put their patients into their own private large hospital suite. It's top luxury. I was so impressed with the cleanliness and modern decor. They gave me pain medication immediately, more warm blankets since I was cold and nausea medication. The nurses and doctors check on you all day. Dr. Alvarez came in personally around 8pm to check up on me again.He gave me my award necklace and answered questions.
The pain was exactly what I have read about on this forum. The pain medication covered my pain and I have zero complaints. They want you to walk when you can. I walked the halls later in the day and slept most of the morning and afternoon. I am so happy I did not chicken out. I was given nothing to eat today. I felt ZERO hunger. I have a dry mouth and took anti nausea medication.
I cannot recommend Dr. Alvarez enough. I honestly would recommend him to everyone considering surgery. I wanted to post for the first time and show my honest thoughts on having surgery in Mexico with Dr.A. I only wish I had done it sooner. Tomorrow they are taking us to the local Market to shop and to sightsee. Of course, I will see how I feel, but I feel confident it will be good for me to walk a bit. We also get to go to their ENDOSPA that Dr. A owns if we choose. I am getting the Swedish Massage for an hour. The cost is so affordable at $40.00
I have two meetings tomorrow. I meet with the nutritionist and the weight counselor. I will be in the hospital for another night and return back to San Antonio on Friday via their van. They is all inclusive. You pay one price for everything- $8,900. No hidden costs or trying to sell They like their patients to wait the to fly home so the hotel room is also covered for your last night here. This is like a pampered surgery. I cannot stress enough how personalized it is and how you will be treated. I called my friend tonight who has been thinking about this surgery and he immediately emailed Susan to get the process started.
*truth- he has like a gazillion reviews online and everyone praised him with 5 stars. I was skeptical and thought maybe they were paid supporters. TRUST me... they are not and I am getting NOTHING by posting this. I'm so happy I did it. I never post so this is a big thing for me to do and share so I hope I have helped someone. Thank you Dr. Alvarez and team. This is life changing.
225 HW
217 Day of Surgery

I plan to keep it from as many people as possible. I have told 3 people, my husband, my mom, and my sister and that was out of pure necessity as I needed help from all of them either for financing (husband) or child care. The information was not very well received. Nobody is "happy" for me. They all pretty much think it is an unnecessary risk "when I could just work out and eat right." This probably sounds terrible but if I could have kept it from my husband I would have. Unfortunately I couldn't because I had to finance the surgery so he would have found out! He even said to me, "But you won't get to to take credit for the weight loss, you're going to have to tell everybody that you had surgery". I said, I don't have to tell anybody anything and if I do decide to tell people then their opinion on whether I get to take credit for it or not doesn't matter to me. My husband has been the least supportive which is really discouraging. From what he has said to me it sounds like he doesn't want the changes I will be going through to affect HIS life. So because the people that are literally closest to me didn't have very good reactions it has really turned me off to telling anyone else. I won't have to tell my boss anything at all because I am utilizing time off that I had already requested.