SpartanMaker

Well at the end of the day, you have to follow their recommendations I guess. It's a shame, as I think they have some unsupported beliefs about certain types of protein. I'd love to see the research they are basing this on, as I'm not really finding anything other than internet lore.

Oh no, sorry about that! Just remember it's for your safety in the surgery. We all just have to grin and bear it I guess. I definitely don't want to be one of those people that my surgeon starts working on, only to be told they couldn't do the surgery because my liver was too big!

I find this really odd? Premier Protein is Milk Protein, meaning it contains both Whey Protein, and Casein. Both are considered complete proteins, so I'm not following the comment about it being blended or unable to be fully absorbed. Both are present in all mammalian milk, including human, though the amounts can vary from animal to animal. In cows milk, Casein makes up ~80% of the protein content. Milk Protein actually replicates that. Typically Casein is slower to metabolize, meaning it should help tide over the hunger longer. Whey Isolate is quicker to metabolize, so would be great as a recovery drink after a hard workout, but may leave you feeling hungry sooner.

Agreed. The study I referenced above is older, but even that one suggested this: Healthy Body Fat Guidelines*: Age Women Men 20 - 39 21% - 32% 8% - 19% 40 - 59 23% - 33% 11% - 21% 60 - 79 24% - 35% 13% - 24% Those BMI based calculators also don't take age into account.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've looked for, but have not found a "definitive" guide as published by the ASMBS. To some extent I think these guidelines develop over time as the doctors adjust to their own preconceived ideas, as well as what their patients are telling them about their experiences. Some doctors (like mine), are very conservative in this regard, and others have looser standards based on what they've seen in their practice. In the end, I think they all work to accomplish the goal of shrinking your liver for surgery. Post-op is the same. Some plans are much more conservative than others, but long term loss shouldn't really be impacted by how soon you eat solids, for example. .

I'm not even allowed the yogurt preop! The one thing they said I could have is one cucumber or pickle per day if I needed something to crunch. I bought a huge jar of pickles this week. 😁

I understand, but the problem is that for most obese people, the number these simplistic calculators spit out is way too low. None of them take into consideration that obese people have things like enlarged hearts, denser bones, more blood volume, extra skin, etc. in addition to the fat. While some of those things will eventually change over time, it's not nearly as quick as the fat loss, especially for bariatric surgery patients. I've seen way too many people shoot for weights that are unrealistic and frankly would be unhealthy for them. That's why I said pick a higher number and reassess there.

To put it simply, Ideal Bodyweight is a crock. These are all based on one of 3 things: BMI, population studies like the NHANES survey, or body fat %. None of these can tell you what YOUR ideal bodyweight should be, only what an average range of weights might be. Why? Let's look at these individually: BMI: Frankly the fact that this psuedo-science is so widely used is downright scary. This is all based on a formula created almost 200 years ago by a mathematician (not a physician), trying to determine what an "average" man would look like. It does not take into consideration muscle mass, frame size, or any thing other than height and weight. As an example of just how messed up this is, consider that some professional bodybuilders fit into the morbidly obese category even though they may only have 5-8% body fat. Population Studies: Studies that look at large populations have the same flaws in that they only look at averages. They are good for understanding population groups, but are not instructive to know what YOU should weigh. Body fat: In general, these formulas are going to be better than the above (as an example, see Gallagher et al., "Healthy percentage body fat ranges: an approach for developing guidelines based on body mass index." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72 (3): 694.), because they are at least based on your stats (% Body Fat), but they have 2 fatal flaws: First, they rely on BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis), but BIA is not that accurate overall. Second, Lean mass is also is lost as someone loses weight, but if the estimate is based on body fat alone, it will be wrong. My point is the best way to know what your ideal weight should be is based on how you feel and look once you get there. If you need a goal to shoot for, aim high when looking at ideal weight charts. If you're not happy once you get to that weight, you can always adjust downward.

You might like "This American Life". If you asked, I'm not sure I could explain what it's about, but based on your likes, I'm guessing you might enjoy it.

Same here. Sleeves can often make this condition worse.

I think it came back from insurance in a couple of weeks, but due to the backlog at the clinic, it took them about a few weeks to submit it. The biggest delay was just getting on the surgical schedule. I think they are still running at a reduced schedule due to COVID, so the delay to even get on the schedule can be a month or two. Also, based on previous experience in this area, most facilities only schedule out a couple of months at a time, so like clockwork, I got my date exactly 2 months prior. I trust the surgeon, she is very experienced, but I think the hospital and staff are just swamped with a huge backlog.

Hopefully it doesn't take you as long as me! I had all the pre-work done by May and it took 4 more months to get insurance approval and get on the surgery schedule. Now some of that I suspect is because I'm going to a large teaching hospital and their schedule is still massively delayed due to COVID.

Ah, got ya. Not sure about how your procedure differs from other sleevers, but they may be better able to advise on how they are on sugar. I wanted to suggest you try the monk fruit sweetener (with erythritol), and see how you tolerate that. I find it's a little better for me in terms of taste and side effects compared to many other sugar substitutes.

I sincerely mean no disrespect, but I'm honestly a little confused? You said you did the surgery to change your relationship with food, but here you are a few days post-op and already asking if you can deviate from your prescribed plan? This seems incongruent to me. If you're really serious about changing your relationship with food, why deviate so early?

I took the first thing they offered, but was given the opportunity to reschedule if that didn't work. I took it because there's never a "good time for it", and I wanted to have it done as soon as I could.

May depend on the insurance. Some may want to see the person you spoke with have a US credential like RD, or RDN.

It's entirely likely they will tell you to go to the ER. This may or may not be related to your surgery, but is definitely serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER to get checked out.

Would also love to know how the preop diet is going for you? Struggling? Any tips for the rest of us? How's the hernia and GERD doing now?

So let's set aside the actual weight loss part for a moment... I'm curious what improvements folks have seen in their overall health as a result of the weight loss. For example, Normal A1C without meds, normal blood pressure without meds, improved cardiovascular health, no more need for a CPAP, etc. Care to share?

I think you may be being to hard on yourself. I say this because you know it's water weight, but you still find that discouraging. This is why lots of people encourage those on this journey to use additional tools like BIA scales & body measurements in addition to just tracking pounds. Weight alone is not an accurate representation of health, or even of how much fat you're carrying.

I'm right there with you. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the more severe form: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), are both pretty common for obese people. Note that about 25% of people with NASH develop cirrhosis. Thankfully weight loss surgery is pretty successful in reversing NASH, as well as a host of other issues like GERD, sleep apnea, diabetes & heart disease. At the end of the day, only you can decide if surgery is the right thing for you. If you do go the surgical route, you'll find lots of supportive people here.

Tough one. I've not had to deal with this in a long time (my kids are grown), but here's some things I thought of: Make stuff your kid likes, but you don't, chew gum and keep your water close by and reach for that instead. You could also start now and reward yourself (non food, of course), whenever you make it through the day without doing this. I think ultimately it's just a mental game. You have to convince yourself that your goals are more important than this habit and consciously tell yourself not to nibble as you cook. Try to be more aware of when you are doing it and why. Knowledge may help you overcome the urge.

My surgery's not till the 20th, but I'm not really planning anything special? A "last meal" makes it sound like I'm dying or something, but I think of this as more of a re-birth. Is that weird?

Please, please talk to your doctor. Some issues with vitamins is normal, but the rest of what you're describing is not.

I actually bought several different vitamins, from several different companies, and in a few different forms (capsules, chewables, soft chews). I've heard some people have issues with one or the other post-surgery. I'd rather have them now so I have choices if I end up needing them. I figure eventually, I'll be able to use them, even if I can't stomach some of them early on. I doubt I'll waste entirely them unless they are just really terrible. One thing I have not done is compare standard off-the-shelf vitamins to these supposed bariatric ones. I really want to know if there's a difference?