Lizzziee

@Midnightsun but that is different from what you first said. That they told you that it's only the Liquid Protein that counts towards your Protein count. And that is just not true.
That yes, we might absorbe liquid protein (first I have ever heared that though) easier in the beginning, sure, It's easier to get down than food, but all protein counts. I still drink a shake every singel day, and I'm 2.5 years post op. It is to make sure I get the 120-150g of protein that my body needs. The food I eat, counts equally to the shake. It's not like you push a button when you reach goal, that suddenly turns the absortion from food on. It's there all the time. In the beginning you just get more protein from liquids because it's easier to get down.
And especially for Gastric bypass, they have discovered that the malabsortion is less than they thought in the beginning.

@Midnightsun - honestly I had similar thought as Fluffy in that...your nutritionist said "what??".
This is not to demean or take away from your team that you are working with. But I honestly was..shocked..I haunted these forums for 2 years prior to having surgery and no, this does not make me a nutritionist, a surgeon, etc. but one thing I think we can all agree on is that when you've hung around and paid attention to things for a long time, you get a feeling for many of the basics or even many of the variations we can expect to see that may change based on who your surgeon is and what they believe is best in their practice.
Example - for some their dr's want 4 weeks liquid diet, some want 2 weeks liquid diet, some have just a few days, some do low calories including mostly liquids but maybe a lean cuisine meal at X meals a day. Coming here taught me that even post-op phases could vary but in general, there was a liquid stage, a pureed stage, soft foods, etc.
I cannot speak for anyone but me but when I read your post my first thought was 'WOW, that is a new one!". I also felt frustrated FOR you reading that you were upset (and TOTALLY getting why) abt how things were not clarified for you and/or that you didn't understand it - paraphrasing here, not meaning to twist your words. My gut reply was surprise at something I simply had not heard/encountered before as well as FRUSTRATION for you/on your behalf. I read Fluffy's reply as TOTALLY coming from a different place...one more that I can state I felt - concern about what you had been told, worry that you felt frustrated, surprise at the suggestion, knowing I personally have never encountered that recommendation before (NOT saying it is WRONG, but it was for me..a bit startling)..and a desire for hopefully clarification on why they feel the way they do/recommend what they do.
NOT that your team needs to justify anything to ME, just always interested in new/different info. Now ALL of that being said, one thing that frustrated me with my parent's generation was an over-reliance on believing that just because a person is a doctor, a lawyer, or lets say..even a nutritionist, that they were ALWAYS right. Well, some ALWAYS right dr's almost killed my Dad once in the hospital until I got rid of them and he lived another 7 years. This is an EXTREME example and does not mean you have bad/wrong dr/nutritionist but I have personally become very LEERY of information that is different. You did exactly what I would have done - you called and asked for clarification.
I liked my surgeon and nutritionist team very much but....I'm a 'trust, but verify' person now. You called and got verification. I truly truly think that ppl were concerned for you and not meaning to...come from a place of being all-knowing. I've learned that the older I get, the less I know. I pray you receive this post in the spirit that it is meant and that is for you to know that I feel...we all posted because we were worried and we cared. You went and followed up. I think that is a good result in the end??

3 weeks out and healing! Seems like 80 to 100 g for males is pretty normal. Get your Water in and heal. I concur i stair stepped my weight. Up a bit then a drop then nothing then up a bit then a drop.... repeat Also many years post op and I try to keep my food pretty clean. My rule of thumb is a couple ingredients that I can pronounce!!! Best to you

There is no shame on her, I'm sorry, but because it goes against what everyone else has heard, it sounds like a made up rule.
Now replacing a meal with shakes it's different. And no I don't care what your nutritionist said, it's not the Protein Shakes that drives the weight loss, it's the calorie deficit you are in. Protein helps you feel full and retain some muscles, but it doesn't drive the weight loss.
Follow your doctor, but question things that goes against every other doctor.
I have lost over 100lbs and I started food 4 days after surgery. Food and shakes to get enough protein. I still drink a shake a day, but as a supplement to get enough, which is 120-150g a day. I drink it on top of all my meals.

in defense of Fluffy, she's a respected member of this site and a really good resource for us. It's just that what your nutritionist told you is wildy different than what the rest of us were told. It's....unusual advice. I've been hanging out on WLS forums for about five years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of anything like this.

You're a male, right?
To be 3 weeks PO and already eating things like beef sticks and Jerky are not optimal. That is very new from surgery. At that time, I was only on soft foods stage, which a beef stick is not.
I think if you're a dude, 100g is fine. Most are in a range from 80-100g per their docs.
There is not usually a HUGE problem with Protein malabsorption for RNYs and you had VSG, so even less issues. My surgeon said that the new bypasses don't have nearly as much malabsorption as previously believed...maybe 10%. But of course, there are outliers in all of us.
Some of your stair stepping might be aggravated by the salt content in your food (beef sticks).
But stairsteps are totes norm.

I will honestly confess that I was totally embarrassed by my shopping cart the other day. I had lots of healthy stuff - no junk and no processed food. Then my husband catches up to me and throws in his bologne, pot pies, hotdogs, cheap pizza, and boxed mac n cheese. AGHHHHHHHH! Kind of funny and sad all at the same time.

Interesting thought I just had...

In general, we are all our own worst critics. Lord knows I hated on myself more than my fair share of times for bringing home less than the best of choices.
It could be we are projecting our own feelings of self-flagellation onto others.

At the end of the day, I do very much still remember what it’s like to have people move aside before I could even reach them, or see the look on people’s faces whenever they had to sit next to me on a plane, or other form of public trans.
Just physically taking up less space now makes me so happy (hello, my seatbelt snap thingie doesn’t dig into my hips anymore and I can fit into a public restroom stall) and it makes me sad when I see people in obvious physical pain out and about.

I think there is another side to it .... I am so grateful to be free from the judgement I felt as when I was MO.
I like not being judged for what's in my shopping cart. No one bats an eye when a skinny person orders a double cheeseburger.
When you're MO it's like you can't win. You have a shopping cart full of kale and people think, "who is she kidding"

I don't think anyone is telling you NOT to listen to your surgeon. I'm 10 months out and at goal weight. I think medically it is important to listen to your surgeon and Nut but most of us that have lost a lot of weight know that our surgeons tell us what we want to hear when it comes to hair loss. I started with a thick head of hair, got all my Protein in, took all my Vitamins and still lost about half my hair. Our doctors MUST know that no matter what we do, Hair loss is part of the process for most. I think maybe your upset is coming more from the fear of the possibility of losing your hair. Unfortunately, no matter what you do, you will probably lose some. I was devastated at the amount of hair that came out of my head daily. Seriously like someone who was going through chemo. Fortunately I had enough hair that it never seemed to be noticeable to anyone but me. The good news is, that the loss stopped at about 9 months and I have little sprouts of new growth coming out everywhere. My dermatologist (who really is more knowledgeable about skin,nails,hair than my surgeon) told me that no amount of Protein would have stopped the hair loss. His feeling is that mine has stopped falling out and started regrowing because my drastic weight loss has slowed. Best of luck to all
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm no "warrior", I'm no "expert" and I definitely have NOTHING in common with a certain member linked with me up there.
I can only speak on MY experience. I've lost hair' with every rapid weight loss diet I've gone on from Atkins to WWs to my sleeve. Once I incorporate fat back into my diet, the hair' loss (and nail breakage) slows.
High protein', high fat does much more to slow hair' loss IN MY OPINION than any supplement.
But again, that is just MY opinion.
Hair' loss seems to hit 99% of us, but that is also just my opinion based on what I've read here.

@@katie09/21/2016
I've seen hundreds of posts from people (including me) who have eaten all their Protein, taken Biotin, Zinc, Omega 3, stood on their heads and did a rain dance, and NONE of it prevented hair loss. So a surgeon patting someone on the head and telling them to just eat their Protein and take their Vitamins and they won't lose any hair IS FULL OF CRAP. Believe it or not, they don't know everything. Most of the time they know NOTHING about what happens to us after they operate. I mean, just the fact that none of them even mention the 3 week stall tells me that. If they spent the hours and hours on these forums like a lot of us do here, they might actually learn a thing or two, lol.

Dearest Katie, there is no war here or need to attack. Step back and realize I can be your grandmother, aunt, or Mother. I feel really bad that you think people are here to attack you but I assure you it is not true. Please embrace the knowledge, leadership, guidance, and love here. It is priceless. Please relax and learn. Big hug. Linda Davis

Yup. Yup. and Yup. And I've also seen literally hundreds of posts from people being on these forums for over 2 and a half years who have also gotten plenty of Protein and took all of their Vitamins and still lost hair. 99% of people lose some. Some more than others. It's really not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Those things may reduce hair loss a bit, but it certainly won't prevent it.
People lose some hair at around months 3-6 post op, so you may as well get used to the idea. Don't kill the messenger.

He's full of crap. Most have hair loss no matter what we do.

Sometimes I tally the percentage of OW or MO people in a room or in a store. Sure enough - right at the national average of 2/3. I never really noticed the numbers before - mainly because I was so worried about being the fat girl in the room. But actually, 2/3 of the population was right there with me. What a gift we have been given in WLS. Such a second chance at life. May we never take it for granted.

I know what you mean. I was at the store this evening around dinner time. As I walked past the fast food kiosk in the store, the line waiting to be served was entirely MO folks. It's such mixed feelings, isn't it? I never want to be judgmental or condescending, because I have walked in those shoes. But you can't say anything and do anything, but oh, sometimes I just want to hug a MO person and tell them there is an answer.
What is getting interesting now, is that sometimes I will offer information to MO patients that come to my department. This is only when they initiate the topic, like "I'm really trying to lose weight," or "I've lost 30 pounds," or "I just don't know what I can change." When I empathize or offer some suggestions, I've actually had people look at me and say things like, "You wouldn't understand," implying that a thin person could not relate to their situation. THAT is when I tell them that I've lost over 100 pounds and do indeed understand the struggle and the work it takes. I usually have a rapt audience at that point. But so strange to be on the "other" side with MO people making assumptions about me based on MY weight (which is now normal.)

On-topic.... going to grocery stores and looking at everyone's carts sickens me. I want to be like NOOOO DON'T EAT THAT ****. Especially since my State has the highest rate of obesity in the US.

@Sheribear68 Ouch! So sorry to hear about your friend!!! ((hugs)) TG you are escaping that fate with every day of your lifestyle change!!!
I know how you feel and can relate! And for anyone who is genuinely interested in hearing my journey and not just a rubbernecker, I will discuss the specifics. But for anyone else who looks at me, there is no doubt that I'm somewhat fanatical religious about making good choices--cuz like you, we have some big strikes we deal with.
But sadly, no one likes reformed smokers or reformed alcoholics. So we do just have to live our lives. And sometimes the best testimony is through action rather than words. Live your life hon. Let your friends feel safe, coming to you when or if they are ready. ((hugs))

Oh gosh I hear you. But unless they have known "fat" you, (& even sometimes then too) it's still going to come across as another skinny person giving them shame.

Because my head still hasn't caught up to my size, I'm constantly looking at people trying to assess (privately) "am I bigger than them?" "was I bigger than them before the surgery?" Etc. I was almost always the fattest person in a room and I'm still shocked at not being that way anymore. And I want to go up to them all and tell them there's hope. But I don't of course because that wouldn't help. I'd have HATED someone to do that to me.

Ageee!

Although my grocery cart back in the past would sometimes look like a health guru, and sometimes it looked like a 30yo bachelor planning a super bowl party loaded it up

I’ve tried almost every fad diet known to humanity and then I’ve had periods where I got despondent and didn’t even try. I shudder to think what my cart looked like during those dark periods. To the average onlooker, it wouldn’t have seemed I would’ve been able to do this lifestyle, but the truth was that I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired in that moment.

Luckily I never stopped searching and refused to just lay down and die. I kept fighting and came to know that WLS wasn’t just for the “my 600 pound lifer” it could be for “normal” people like me who honestly needed the metabolic reset and I knew in my heart if the metabolic reset was real instead of being a myth, then I had a great chance at making this work.

Yes it’s VERY hard work and always will be, but so is being 100 pounds overweight.
My heart aches now when I see people in actual physical pain from merely walking in their own body.
Last week I went outside my pharmacy to give a lady her flu shot because she came through the drive Thru and when my tech asked her, she said she couldn’t get around very well and didn’t think she could make it inside to stand and wait.
I knew who the lady was (EXTREMELY MO) and told her I wasn’t going to let her miss out and that I would go to her.
I desperately wanted to have some kind of dialogue about my WLS, but just couldn’t figure out how to open it.
At the end, I simply gave the shot (had to use a 1.5 inch needle and I pray that was long enough to get in her muscle) and moved on with my day.

I talk about WLS when someone is genuinely interested.
My first year out, I had to realize my enthusiasm about bariatrics is not at everyone’s level. Learning the basics was eye opening and life changing. IDK. I would be offended by someone approaching me about WLS when I never asked about it.
Grocery shopping - When I see a cart of unhealthy stuff. It’s a sad reminder that I used to shop and eat like that.

Had my sleeve done on 10/7, six weeks ago today. I'm happy with my loss so far and all my blood work is completely normal. No more risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and other such obese issues. I have a long way to go, but I know I'll get there in time. Keep it up everybody!!!

I am about 6-7 hours post op, so may still have some Meds in me, so take this for what it’s worth.

The day started with 6-8 inches of snow (I live in the Denver area) and had to check in at 530AM. Amazingly everyone on my surgical team was on time and very bright eyed and enthusiastic.

Operation started right on time at 730, work up in post op with some discomfort in my diaphragm area....and that’s it. Incision’s don’t hurt, and the diaphragm may may have been has, because that it slowly going away.

Pretty exhausted, dozed most of the afternoon but doing shockingly well. Hoping that’s not just the meds talking, but so far a very pleasant experience!

thank you so much!