BlackBerryJuice

Good to know - I was asked this same question by a friend a few days ago and couldn't give him an answer.

I don't think you'd make a great candidate for surgery. It wasn't that long ago that the "overweight" BMI cut-off was actually 27 and not 25. This little change is partially to blame for the "obesity epidemic" in the US - lots of people magically became overweight overnight. When I had a BMI of 27.5, I wore size 10 (I'm 5'5"), so if you are around my height, you are probably in the size 8-12 range, which is a perfectly acceptable size for an adult woman, especially one who's gone through childbirth. I think your focus should be on gaining muscle mass with weight training so you can speed up your metabolism and firm up, and getting quality dietary counselling from a nutritionist, as well as focusing on body image issues. I really don't think you are as fat as you seem to think. You certainly wouldn't have any medical indications for getting WLS.

I have 1 or 2 protein bars/RTD shakes a day; as far as whole food sources, I like sashimi, eggs, and cheese (including cottage cheese).

BTW, you can make it at home - they usually sell dry mix at Asian stores (might even be able to find it at a big Walmart in the International section), all you need is an egg. I like the Kikkoman brand: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MKauvxLQL._SL500_AA300_.jpg They also have a Hot & Sour soup mix. Very tasty and really hit the spot when you want something savory. Which brings me to my next point, which is that they do, unfortunately, have MSG, so if you are sensitive to MSG, it probably isn't the best choice for you.

Tempted to call BS on that one. If this really worked, Rogaine wouldn't have a market. And you can't really grow hair during chemo - chemo kills rapidly dividing cells in your body (aimed at cancer cells, but this includes hair cells as a side effect). Once you go off of chemo, you'll start growing hair again, horse shampoo or not.

I think it could definitely fly in a large city, where the clientele is big enough. I definitely wish I could go to normal restaurants and have a small serving - it seems the only places that serve small amounts are overpriced French restaurants. Something affordable would be nice.

Just wanted to update on my search - Zone bars sit well with me; they are bit higher in carbs than other bars, however. A good bar I found that has a decent nutrition profile (180 cals, 20 g protein) and tastes good is Myoplex Lite Chocolate Peanut Butter.

It could be also an esophageal spasm. On the upside, if you have a stricture, they should be able to fix it without having to cut you open again - just go through your mouth.

While I didn't experience anything like that, I would keep in mind that you are on your 2nd day out and your stomach has been cut, stapled, and burned multiple times only a little while ago. Sounds like the big picture is fine (i.e. no leaks), so just give it some time. How much do you swallow at one time? Maybe you are swallowing too much at once and putting pressure on your stomach. We all experience swelling at different rates, so you might just be one of the unlucky ones with more stomach swelling than most.

That's strange. I'm approaching 2 months and haven't had issues with fruit and veggies so far. Just today I ate some grapes, a pear, and a few slices of tomato, and all of them went down fine. I haven't had a large amount of salad, but can handle the small amount of veggies you'd find on a sandwich or crudites without a problem. Bread and some meats (like ribs) are the only things I've had a problem with.

Sounds like you need to start screening phone calls and take a break from family gatherings. It's one thing to be concerned and another thing to call you a selfish bitch because of getting the surgery. I'd tell your brother to go take a hike if I were you. Ask him how he got himself to the point of getting prostate cancer if you really want to give him a taste of his own behaviour.

PPIs reduce calcium absorption, so this would be a concern while you are on a PPI, but not after.

Don't worry about your blood pressure right now. I'm surprised your doc even put you on BP pills, considering dehydration (and low BP) is a concern when you are only a few days out. I had high BP on one occasion in the hospital and then once on day 4 after I got back - I had NEVER had high blood pressure before. Both the surgeon and my family doc here said it's likely due to pain from surgery. My family doc asked me to come in a week later to see if my BP was back to normal, and if it wasn't, then she'd consider a BP med. 1.5 weeks after the surgery, my BP was totally fine. I second not understanding going back to work at this point. I was functioning fine at home, but once it came to walking more than 4 blocks or even standing around/strolling at the grocery store for 20 mins, I'd be EXHAUSTED after. I can't imagine going back to work until about 2 weeks out, even if you have a desk job. I just wouldn't be able to stay concentrated for long.

Stop experimenting and follow your surgeon's guidelines. If he said you need to take pills for your gallbladder, then take them.

Great, now I want egg drop soup. Off to the Asian store before I pick up my boyfriend from soccer.

Any resistance training is going to build muscle - 15 reps is not that bad, although 8-10 reps is better. It's important to note that you won't build much muscle on 600 calories, so your trainer has a point. Building muscle is an anabolic (energy-requiring) process, so when you have a basal metabolic rate of, say, 1800, which would probably be average for an overweight person, you are simply not going to have the energy to build muscle on 600 calories. You also need a high Protein intake, as you need the amino acids to build the protein that your muscles are made of. You use up a certain amount of protein (I think, 40 g/day) just to keep your body functioning on a day-to-day basis, not for muscle growth. You'll find that women who are serious about muscle-building consume about 1 g protein/lb of bodyweight. With that said, I wouldn't plan to majorly alter your body composition on 600 calories a day with a modest protein intake. Just keep working on getting yourself in better shape and your gains will increase once you can eat more. If you are really clashing with your trainer, I'd find another one. But the odds of you finding one who's really experienced with WLS are very low. Just focus on learning the correct exercise techniques. I belong to the camp that considers trainers unnecessary unless you are a competitive athlete. You can learn everything about nutrition and exercises on databases such as Bodybuilding.com. I've also heard of Stumptuous.com being lauded for good weight-lifting info for women. Just use your trainer to correct your form on exercises and then go off on your own and save yourself some cash.

You should contact a surgeon to get a definite answer. Diabetes and thyroid disease are not contraindications, but I'm not sure about Crohn's, as it can affect other areas of your GI tract (including stomach) and is often accompanied by nutrient malabsorption.

Nina moderates the site. This is strange - I don't post on the Yahoo Group very much, but I get their messages all the time. I've definitely seen messages about complications. Recently there was even a "Dr. Aceves is not all he's cracked up to be" type of message. So I'm not sure if your experience was really censorship or just some sort of technical difficulty. The one time I wanted to post a question and it didn't go through, Nina e-mailed me back to say she couldn't approve it. I was looking for a plastic surgeon for a friend and she said in the past patients have recommended surgeons and someone went to a plastic surgeon and had major complications, so they no longer allow posts advertising surgeons who are not someone Dr. Aceves trusts and knows is competent. That said, I trust this board more regarding complications and the like. Even though I personally have not seen proof of censorship of bad experiences there, I'm obviously a bit suspicious that it could happen there.

How much have you lost overall (and how long since your surgery)? I was losing fast at first, but over the last 3 weeks it seems that about 2 lbs/week is the norm for me. I do 4-5 hours of moderate-high intensity exercise per week - think dance or weight-lifting, not cleared for running yet, and I make sure to walk about 30 mins every day. While 1-2 lbs/week is pretty much how I'd lose weight pre-surgery, when I look at the overall amount of weight I've lost since the surgery, I've definitely lost more than I ever could have without the sleeve - not to mention, I don't have to worry about hunger or resisting binge urges. Even if you are losing 1-2 pounds weekly, it's still a breeze compared to dieting pre-sleeve, IMO. There's 52 weeks in a year, so you are looking at losing 50-100 lbs in a year at this rate!

I had a few episodes of major nausea (as well as that annoying mild all-day nausea your post also suggests) right around the 2-3 week mark as well. I had one episode that was really bad and unrelated to food, so I went to the ER. A shit-show followed, and once they decided I didn't have a leak (my biggest concern at the time), they sent me home instructing me to double my Nexium. When I called Dr. Aceves 2 days later, he suggested the same, but also asked me to do an upper GI (barium) to rule out a diverticulum, which is a possible complication. I doubled my Nexium for a few days, but I didn't seem to notice any difference on 2 occasions when I forgot to take my 2nd one, so after a week, I went back to 1 pill/day. I haven't had nausea issues since. I never had that heartburn sensation you're describing. I postponed my upper GI to the 3-month mark as my symptoms subsided.

Agave syrup has lots of calories, so I definitely wouldn't consider it an artificial sweetener. I assume when your doc mentioned artificial sweeteners, he wanted you to go calorie-free. Stevia's ok, I find it bitter, but I'm generally sensitive to bitter tastes.

It's normal.

They stay inside. I was not told anything about avoiding MRIs, so I imagine there's no issue. The staples are made from titanium (at least if you go to a reputable doctor), so look it up.

What's a good BBQ sauce brand?

This is my favorite pizza to make at home. It's thin crust, so no heavy dough blowing up your sleeve, and there's lots of healthy fat from olive oil. Crust: 1 cup flour (I always use white flour - whole grain might be a bit gritty for this pizza) 1 tbsp olive oil appx 1/2 cup Water - just eyeball the amount, as you need to be able to roll the dough quite thin Toppings: cooked, peeled shrimp sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), drained and chopped some crumbled feta some shredded mozza (go easy on the cheese - this isn't meant to be a gooey cheesy pizza) pesto Pesto: bunch of fresh basil handful of pine nuts (I've heard of people using walnuts, as well) olive oil shredded parmesan Process the pesto in a food processor until it's the consistency of a thick paste I like to make this pizza on the barbecue - it takes only about 5-7 mins to cook that way. Roll the dough as thin as possible on top of a greased sheet of foil; transfer to the grill before you put the toppings on. Put all the toppings on, I usually put shrimp on first, then sun-dried tomatoes, then feta, then a sprinkling of mozza, and then drops of pesto all over. Grill on medium and make sure to check it after 5 mins and then again every 2 mins or so til the mozza and pesto have melted and the crust seems crisp. Don't go too far away, or it'll burn! Sorry for lack of precise measurements, I'm a play-it-by-ear kind of cook. Just eyeball things according to your tastes.