BlackBerryJuice

I agree re: stevia and agave nectar. I do find that both are a tad bitter, though, so don't add too much. I wouldn't bake with them, for example. Don't forget that honey is also an option. Regarding no veggies and fruits on the first stage - you can still have fresh-squeezed or organic juices. For the clear phase, apple or white grape juice works, and then afterwards any kind would be ok. When I was on to soft foods, I started having canned vegetable puree (mostly eggplant - you can find these in ethnic stores, it's quite good). You can also have bananas, baby food with fruit or veggies, etc. I also try to avoid aspartame and the like, but it's very hard with Protein supplements. Most supplements will have sorbitol or something like that. Some Protein Bars don't have sorbitol, but then it's a battle to find one that has a reasonable amount of protein without a ton of fat and calories. I went shopping for protein bars yesterday, and saw a couple that had 320-380 calories and 22 grams of fat! :thumbup: If you are really against that, you can give it a shot and browse bodybuilding.com for a bar or shake without artificial sweeteners. Alternatively, add pasteurized liquid egg whites to your drinks, they are a good source of protein. You can find them in any big grocery store. They have a slight scent, but seemed to be tasteless in a 1:2 dilution with juice or warm broth (not hot, obviously).

I haven't found anything that I used to like that I vehemently dislike, but I have noticed that I'm a lot more indifferent to sweets. Before the surgery, I was all about milk chocolate, ice cream, and other extremely sweet things. But these days, I prefer the kind of sweetness you'd find in a fruit yogurt or fruit-flavored licorice. I had a teaspoon of halva (a tahini-based Mediterranean sweet) and it was just too much, so I put it away and had some yogurt instead. I remember once before the surgery, I made chocolate-dipped strawberries (more like, chocolate garnished with an occasional strawberry :001_tongue:), and my boyfriend wouldn't eat them because they were too sweet. Now I understand where he's coming from!

Delicious....that's what kind.:001_tongue:

There's a lot of other factors beyond the amount of calories you take in and pounds you lose. People are more likely to lose hair after WLS because of the potential for malnutrition, but it's common to lose hair after any surgery. People lose hair from C-sections, having their gallbladder out, etc, even though their weight and calorie intake are unaffected.

Raw fish (sashimi) is great, too. Raw salmon, tuna, yellowtail, scallop are all very soft and high in protein.

I wondered the same. I ran a few 10Ks and a cross-country 5K series earlier in the year before the surgery, so the idea of going on the elliptical to "protect my back and knees" is pretty funny. I understand where he's coming from with heavy lifting, abdominal work, and running (shakes things up a lot), but some of these are perplexing. He didn't mention stationary bike, so I'm gonna consider myself cleared for that. I've become terribly out of shape when it comes to cardiovascular health - I mentioned my pre-op regimen earlier, and today I had to take a break climbing up 3 flights of stairs, lol. I really need to do something more challenging than swimming and walking.

I've also developed quite an aversion to my chewable multi - I feel nauseous just thinking about it. I'm heading to the pharmacy right now to get gummies, lol. The 5 grams of sugar are worth it if that's what I need to take my multi - I get so sick at the thought of my current one, I've been avoiding taking it.

My boyfriend and I go out to eat WAY too much (5 times a week, at least). I find that I rarely have problems with eating out. Sometimes whatever I eat takes a few minutes to settle down - I find that it's more likely to happen if I don't painstakingly chew everything. I just avoid fried food, bread, and creamy sauces. I do particularly well at Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants - I'll order sashimi and take leftovers home (if you cover it in a plastic wrap, it should be ok for one day in the fridge), or miso or some Vietnamese Soup and then pick out the pieces of chicken or beef from the soup. Any sort of stew-type of dish works well, too. I had some lamb curry at an Indian restaurant yesterday and it was nice and soft. Pasta is pretty easy on the stomach, too. I've had a few bites of lasagna (both vegetarian and with meat) before, and it was easy to eat; ravioli with ricotta and tomato sauce are another thing I've tried that worked well. There are definitely lots of options that should go down easy, just be prepared to either share an order or take a LOT of leftovers home. P.S. Oh, and re: feeling guilty....like I mentioned above, I avoid bread, fried foods, and creamy sauces, and of course no dessert or drinks, so there's not much to feel guilty about. No one gets fat from 2 bites of pasta.

Make sure you are taking B12 and iron, as exhaustion could be a symptom of anemia.

There's some stomach cancer in my family, so CA was a particular concern for me. The surgeon said that this surgery actually diminishes the risk of getting stomach cancer, as there's less tissue and so there's less room for a tumor to start. My greatgrandmother had an 80% gastrectomy due to stomach cancer about 20 years ago, and for a 91-year-old, she's doing pretty well. She has trouble tolerating some foods (rather random, e.g. no mashed potatoes but ground beef is fine) and she has major reflux. However, as mentioned earlier, she's 91 years old, and it's common to have digestive problems at a very advanced age, so I don't know how much of it is from her gastrectomy and how much from aging. I also don't know if she's on a PPI for her reflux or not, she lives abroad and I'm not sure how widespread PPIs are over there. Her stomach cancer has not come back since the surgery.

I didn't have the boots, just regular bandages.

I had several episodes of dry-heaving and vomiting (nothing but saliva and bile) last week, seemed to have no correlation to food. My surgeon requested an upper GI to rule out a diverticulum. Maybe you could mention that to your surgeon. He should've done an upper GI/barium swallow already, anyway, as it sheds light on a lot of potential issues. Also, my dry-heaving seems to have vanished *knock on wood*, so yours may eventually subside, as well.

I'm thinking of buying some protein bars as I seem to get unpleasant sensations from my protein shake for some reason. I used to be obsessed with Zone bars, but I feel like they are not high enough in protein and a little too coarse in texture for me at this stage. Can someone recommend a softer high-protein bar? Doesn't have to be low-carb.

I seem to want salty things a lot more. I was always a sweets person before, but the other day I went and bought a huge tub of stuffed olives and have been eating a couple every day. I'm starting to crave them as I type this, lol. The taste is so intense, it makes me cringe, but I can't stop eating them! I'm also making a soup with pickles tomorrow. I think it's just because I eat so much less now, so I must be low on sodium or something. I've never craved salty things before.

Often, BEFORE I eat something I like, I wish I could eat more. Then I sit down and have a little bit and feel completely satisfied. It's just like if you ate a lot before the surgery - once you're stuffed, the food kind of loses its appeal. Went to an Indian restaurant tonight, and was super-excited for the food. Had a tablespoon of butter chicken, a tablespoon of lamb curry, and a bite of naan, and was ready to head home, lol. No desire to eat anything else at all. I got my buffet meal to go, so now I have about 10 meals in the fridge.

Ah, I miss the 4 am Denny's runs after those "19-year-old male with profuse vomiting, alcohol ingestion" 911 calls! These days, when I'm away at school all day, I pack hardboiled eggs, small yogurt containers, Protein shakes, and a couple of wheels of Babybel cheese - Gouda is my favorite, it's quite soft. I don't know if you are doing a low-carb thing, but I also like fruit. Right now, I've got plums and persimmons in the fridge.

I don't know what exactly you mean by "horrible," if it's literally the worst headache you've ever had and, in particular, if you are feeling weird (vision problems, weird sensations or weakness), you need to go to the ER because there's a small chance of you having a blood clot after the surgery, and it can travel to the brain, among other things. If it feels pretty manageable, it's probably some sort of sugar withdrawal or a reaction to anesthesia.

I asked my surgeon to clarify the post-op exercise guidelines and got a pretty detailed list, so I thought I'd share it for everyone's benefit, as some of the stuff was surprising to me. I used to be quite active before the surgery, so this is kind of depressing to me, I was really itching to start weightlifting and running again! Bowling is kind of random, haha.

I'm suspicious of this, as well. I remember we covered bone disease in class last year and I feel that it was the small intestine, not the stomach, that played a role in bone-building as far as the GI tract is concerned. We are covering the stomach now, and I have yet to see anything to do with calcium/vit D absorption. I will review that topic and post my findings later today.

I've heard both "no drinking from a straw!" and "a straw may make drinking easier." LOL. I don't seem to notice any difference whether I'm drinking with one or without.

Also, to add to some of the positive effects of this surgery. I know people talk a lot about post-surgery depression, but I've been very lucky so far *knock on wood* in that I feel a lot better mentally. I used to have these huge mood swings, largely fueled by self-hate - I'd always become very angry and depressed as soon as I binged and/or began regaining weight. I'd be so angry at myself for not being able to control myself around food, and then it made me miserable for days on end. I've even wondered if I was bipolar! Now I feel a lot more "even." Things don't seem to irritate me as much and I feel a lot more relaxed, which makes functioning during stressful times a lot easier. Re: food, I went on a road trip with my boyfriend this long weekend, and one day I had 2 butter Cookies, and then the next day we bought a bag of mango licorice (which I'm OBSESSED with). I only had 3 pieces; 3 more the next day. I left it in the car so I'm less tempted to mindlessly eat it now that I'm home, but this is a HUGE difference from how I'd react before. I'd scarf down an entire box of cookies, feeling out of control at the time, and then guilty after. Same with the licorice. Now I feel like I can actually enjoy these things like a normal person - take a few pieces and just CHILL. As I alluded above, I'm not going to test myself by actually having any of this stuff in the house, but I definitely feel like I'm in control of my choices when I'm eating out or buying Snacks.

I'm one of those "60 lbs to lose" folks - although 60 lbs is my very conservative goal, just to hit a normal BMI. Realistically, one day I'd like to end at about 70-75 lbs off, which would be in the 130s for me (I'm 5'5" with a large frame). I think my issue was that I just felt completely powerless with food. I had lost 50 lbs the year before my surgery. It took me an entire year of obsessing, and then I put it back on in under 4 months. Unfortunately, I'm in a relationship with someone who has the metabolism of a chickadee - I've tallied up his daily calories and it's usually about 5000, and he's slim and only works out once a week. His eating habits were really rubbing off on me, and as someone who has issues with controlling her food intake, it was a terrible influence. I'd NEVER have an appetizer AND an entree AND a drink AND dessert when going out before, but he eats all that, and then I couldn't resist and would partake in it - except for he wouldn't put on an ounce and I'd pack on a couple of pounds a week. I basically looked back on my history of lifelong yo-yoing since I was a preteen - and gradually ending up at a higher and higher weight every time! - and realized my future was somewhere in the 300-lbs range. Genetics don't help, either, everyone in my family is overweight or obese. My mother really wanted me to postpone the surgery until I was done school and it was gonna be less of a financial burden (she probably also hoped I'd change my mind by then!), but I KNEW I'd gain a lot more weight by then. I'm starting my clinical years next fall and I knew that the extreme workload (80+ hours a week, every week), high-stress work, and junk food everywhere would result in my putting on a good 50 lbs, as I'm a total stress eater. Then add to it the lack of time to exercise, and there you go. It was a now or never thing for me! To sum it up....I had to lose 70 lbs AT THE TIME of surgery. If I waited a couple of years, I'm sure I would've ended up having to lose 100+ lbs, anyway, so why wait? Regarding the safety...my greatgrandmother had a 90% gastrectomy due to stomach cancer about 20 years ago, and she's doing alright. Yeah, she has osteoporosis and once fractured her arm after falling on the bus, but 1) she's in her 90s 2) *I* have fractured my arm after stumbling and falling and I'm in good health, so I'm not really concerned. I'm a lot more concerned about the bone damage I've amassed during my formative years because of fucking starvation diets.

I just stocked up on ingredients for something I realized is also for the brave of the taste bud - my beloved pickle soup with chicken hearts and livers. Mmmm!

I wouldn't eat grilled chicken, it's dry and tough on your stomach. Try meat that's been cooked in a slow cooker, boiled chicken, or fish baked in paper/foil instead. You will probably be able to eat more.

Oh, and I took liquid calcium throughout the clear liquids stage. Right now, I'm consuming enough dairy that I don't feel it's necessary.