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Okay, I have a question. My surgery is the 8th of December and I'm on my pre-diet. I'm doing great but I have a question about eating on T-giving. My diet now consists of : Per day 3 Protein shakes 1 lean cuisine with <300 calories,<45 carbs, >14 Protein 5 ounces of lean protein 2 cups of salad 2 tbsp. dressing 1/2 cup green veggies Okay, my question is do you think instead of the lean cuisine, I could just substitute turkey and a salad? I would think it would be okay but I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize my surgery and my Nutritionist is off today. Help please.

I went to all of my follow-ups with the Bariatrician, Nutritionist, and Psych through to my two-year point in December. There was nothing they did there that my primary doctor could not have handled. As a matter of fact, my two week appointment got cancelled because of blizzard conditions, so my primary saw me a week later. Unless you have complications, your primary may be an option for follow-ups in a pinch.

I was told the hair loss is from the shock your body took to have surgery. It has to do with the chemicals in your body it switched to say its time to shed. That's why it isn't permanent lost. But yeah I think to help new hair growth is to take your vitamins and up your protein.

it is hard to not eat when everyone around you is -even when you aren't hungry - your head is saying - hey you should be eating - FEED ME!! - but your new tiny tummy is saying no! i am not hungry don't listen to to your head!! LOL!!! - it is so hard and even now - i am a year out i give in to head hunger at times - we are human - but learn to eat those high protein things and trick the head hunger feed it good stuff! drink lots of water - eat high protein food high protein snacks - find a good high protein shake - i like Syntrax shakes - take a walk - but you can do this!!! Good luck!

Glad to hear it! Enjoy that diarrhea, in another week or so you will wish you had that instead of the constipation that will come and stay. All that Protein and so little Fiber in the beginning makes things not want to move. Good luck, it sounds like things are going fairly well for you!

Please notify your surgeon and let him/her know this is happening. Wish I could give better advice... .but at three weeks, depending on your plan, you should be able to keep hydrated and work towards your protein goal. Please call them.

It's much easier for me now that I'm on day 7 of my pre op diet! 3 Protein Shakes, broth, sf jello and sf Popsicles oh and Greek yogurt. What about you?

So I'm not so great about sharing my journey or talking about myself. I am always the advice giver, caretaker, and listener... so you'll have to bare with me through out my long winded discussion of my massive lifestyle changes. I've yo-yo'ed with weight since I was about 18. Between stress, depression, anxiety, and life... I managed to pack on 330 pounds at my heaviest (as seen in my largest photo!). In 2012 I was diagnosed with Pseudotumor cerebri (Intercranial hypertenstion) which also caused Papilledema. What is Pesudotumor cerebri and papilledema, you ask? (Well, I'm gonna tell you even if you don't want to know.. mwahaha!) Pseudotumor cerebri is a condition common in women of child bearing age (and women with a long history of birth control as was in my situation) that causes the body to create excess spinal Fluid. Why is extra spinal fluid in the head so bad, you might ask? Well, your sinuses, eyes, brain, and skull are already full.. in fact, your head is already full of spinal fluid. Adding MORE pushes everything in your head together causing horrible pressure and forcing it out of your skull in the most painful way possible.... here is where the patient would get regular SPINAL TAPS AND/OR A SHUNT TO RELIEVE THE EXCESS PRESSURE! There is no real cure for this and being overweight makes it worse as your body compensates by creating even MORE fluid due to the excess weight. Papilledema is the pressure that the excess spinal fluid from this condition puts on the eyes causing blindness and other serious eye injuries. Fast forward to 2015... I broke my foot at work and was rather sedentary for a few months, gaining about 30 lbs. This set on my pseudotumor and issues with papilledema. I was back up to about 320 and miserable... OH SO VERY MISERABLE. This condition just about caused my death twice in 2015 and my doctors told me I needed to lose a massive amount of weight quickly. The neurological medications I was on to treat this sort of negated losing more than a pound or two per week, and that wasn't enough weight loss to help the condition and pain. So I began changing my entire diet, went to counseling, and also decided to pursue RNY Gastric Bypass after a great deal of research, classes, and educational information about various options and long term benefits/downfalls of doing such drastic procedures. On January 27th, 2016 I went in to St. Luke's in Phoenix with my amazing and steady surgeon, Dr. Rob Schuster and was up walking to dull the pain as soon as the anesthesia wore off that day. My recovery was really best case scenario all around because I binge watched "My 600 lb Life" before going in and didn't want to be miserable while in the hospital for a few days and also wanted to kick my butt in gear to get on with this second chance at life. It was a massive lifestyle change. To anyone that thinks or feels surgical weight loss is an "easy way out" or in general isn't difficult has no idea the months and months of work people must go through, the hoops insurance puts you through, plus the amount of will power and motivation someone must have through good and bad to ensure they stay on top of all of it both before, during, and after surgery. You are forced to change your entire lifestyle, you change your relationship with food permanently, and learn to make far healthier and wiser choices as you can literally only put 4 oz of anything in you at any time and it MUST be seen as fuel or your honestly doing it wrong and hurting yourself in the process. I've dropped close to 90 lbs so far with another 50-60 to go to reach my goal. I feel better now than I have since I was 18. I am so much happier, healthier, and in general just more motivated to take on life. My life in the past two months has literally crashed into perfection. I can't think of a better way to sum it all up. My goals in life are to live simply, be happy, love honestly, and just be myself. I'm extremely blessed and grateful for how my life has crashed into perfection recently and wouldn't change it for the world, even with the nuances and odd things life may bring my way. I'm all smiles these days!

Hi all...... Everyday I include the following throughout the day: -Chai Latte (Non Fat)--if I have it in the morning, I include vanilla Protein powder. But, I too have a Starbuck's habit.....I have at least 4 Vente Non-fat Chai Latte's a week from there -2 Kellogg's Special K Iced Tea Protein Water Mix (mix it in my water)--sip throughout the day (adds 10 grams of protein) -2 Yoplait Plus Yogurts Here's todays menu Breakfast: 2 Oz of 50% Reduced Fat Cabot cheese Fuze Slenderize fruit juice Snack: Yoplait Yogurt 10 almonds Lunch: Scoop of tuna salad FF Jello chocolate pudding Snack: South Beach High Protein Cereal bar Dinner: Tossed Salad with Salmon & Feta Snack: Yoplait yogurt I do try to vary my menus so I can't give an exact day-to-day menu. But, I try to get in "normal" foods that my family is eating. Judi

I work in an office at a hospital so I had to get a flu shot ( non medical personnel). I think I did get a mild case of the flu combined with the time of the month. I had aching in the the bottom of the stomach area and nausea but no vomiting . I went a week where I really had to force myself to eat something because I just wasn't hungry. I was eating maybe 1 meal a day and maybe a protein shake if I could force myself to do it. I've been banned did for a while but this is my first flu episode.

I can eat about a 1/2 a cup at a meal and feel satisfied, then get hungry after about 2 and 1/2 hours; and I'm on my 13th day of my first stall. My NUT said to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day...I've added an extra protein snack to keep the hunger away.

Try some shrimp or crab meat. Scallops are great and yummy! Find some more savory soups. Do you have a Whole Foods by you? They have some fantastic soups there that will make you happy happy happy! Don't eat the carbs!! They will slow your weight loss down and you have worked so hard! Go to www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com she has some wonderful foods on there also on pintrest you can find some other stuff. Google high protein recipes there is a wealth of recipes out there. Make some egg muffins those are terrific also!

I was banded in Sept 08 back east when I was married to my EX Husband. Initially he was against the band because he felt it was going to be too expensive and he didn't understand why I needed to get surgery he felt I should just diet and exercise,exercise,exercise and I could become the 105 lb girl that he wanted with the legs up to her neck. Mind you the body size he had i mind for me and I am 5'4 was the type you see with the women who are 5'7 or taller, longer legs, no butt and pretty much straight up and down. I did advise him that for me it was an unrealistic shape because I would never be 105 lbs nor would I want to be. I was a size 16 when I met him anyway, so he knew when I met him that I was meaty. My goal was to become healthy because I had lost my Father in 05 to Cardiac Arrest, and My Mom had been diagnosed with Colon Cancer months before my surgery and passed away about 4 months after I had my band. Not all Partners will be supportive and try to think of things that they do or things that will help. Right after my surgery I had to deal with the eating of super sized GIANT hershey bars, not the one's you get that are big for one person but the ones you break apart for Smores! He would sit down and eat it right in front of me while watching TV and eat the entire thing. He would bring home the gallons of Ice Cream and sit right there eating away. It was not after I got settled into my routine but RIGHT after surgery when I was even in the liquid phase both pre and post op. Now I did not expect him to stop eating the junk food, but when someone is prepping for surgery or in the liquid phase one could limit the exposure in the house especially if you had to hear how much I needed to exercise and diet in order to give him the figure he thought was the right one for me. Anyway I dropped back down to a Woman's 16 and some 14's in Jeans. There were other issues that came into play into it that could fill a whole other blog on another type of site. I went through the banding, then lost my job, went to school fulltime, my Mother passed away and with all the changes I left and filed for divorce. That was April of 09 and even though it was a very tough year, I moved back home to California. I have backslid because of losing insurance but still about 10 lbs less than my original weight and a size 20 in Women's Jeans. My new insurance paid for a fill, I am back seeing a new doctor out here and got my first fill since 09 last week. I am letting people know that good things do happen and come true, because I also had met a Guy January 1st 2010 who was from Texas. We did the friendship thing first, ended up doing the long distance thing then he moved to California and we have been living together for over a year and a half. We never fight, or argue which my sister finds to be amazing and are best of friends and lovers. He went with me to my fill appointment, which was a first for me and could hear what the doctor had to say about meals, fills, etc even the fearful number on the scale! He makes us Protein drinks and wants to help me find the best foods for US to eat. He even did the liquid diet with me post fill and then pureed things after the fill to make it easier so he joined me in that. This was the type of relationship that I have always hoped for (not meaning food wise), but had evaded me, maybe I had looked too hard. Maybe I had to learn some things about life and experience two bad marriages. He fixed us each a nice Salmon dish tonight, and Loves to cook and is now looking for Band Friendly receipes. I guess the biggest thing is that he Loves me for me whether or not I am a size 20 or a size 2. You hear there are stories where Relationships break up over Lap Bands and Gastric Bypass, I guess I am part of that story however I wouldn't change it for ANYTHING. So to anyone who has a Relationship that is having a hard time stick with what you need to do for you! Don't do it for anyone else do it for yourself. If they want to keep you down, don't let them... Live your life! Look forward to the next adventure! You might just fine what you hoped for all your life!

Never heard of that before. Did you get it from your surgeon? I will definitely have to see if that's an option for me. Thank you for the suggestion.

My doc only gives protein goals and carb maxes... No calorie help at all... I could use some guidance because I feel stalled and dont know if I am eating enough... I am almost 10 weeks out and average 650 calories per day...

Mine gave me a calorie goal of 1500, with 85g protein. From what I've been reading, it seems like a lot compared to other people. I'm about halfway there on a daily basis already and just over 2.5 weeks post-op, though - so it may not be as far fetched as I think.

Yes, I agree with Tracy, i was told that i'm supposed to concentrate on protein and fluid intake right now, but i still don't get alot of calories in maybe 630 if that on a good day, and about 73grams protein. . . today was really bad, i helped my daughter move back into her dorm so didn't eat or drink properly, couldn't eat my dinner either, just about 2 oz, but at least it was something huh?

Hi all! I am 4 weeks post-op and I LOVE my sleeve. It takes some getting used to but once I figured things out it seems to be going pretty well. If given a choice I would choose this option over and over again. I think it takes a while before you get your energy level back to where it was but everyday gets better and better. I think we just need to give our body the chance to recuperate after all this is still major surgery. I just had to share something that happened to me today - need to vent I guess. I am 56 years old and was a chubby child, and always overweight most of my teen and adult years. I don't know about anyone elses experiences but I have been discrimated agains for my weight many many times as a child, teen, and even as an older adult. Many months ago before I started this weightloss journey I had a co-worker who embarassed me in the breakroom at work by pointing out to 3 other co-workers at a table behind me that she couldn't sit with them because obviously there was not enough room between my chair and the chair behind me that she would have to sit somewhere else. Now I heard this with my own ears. Talk about discrimination! I figured hey I know I am a big woman 300 #'s at that time but I sure thought they could look at me and see I was a big mama, I didn't need anyone to point that fact out Right? But what I want to know is how come ignorant people like that can be so quick to point out the negatives but when a person does something positive to improve their health and way of life they don't say anything. Since that time I have lost almost 100 #'s and I see this same co-worker after returning to work, I say Hi and she never even acknowledges my weightloss while other co-workers are saying wow you look great! Go figure I guess. But what I figure is Karma will get her someday!! LOLS. Thanks for listening just needed to get this off my chest I guess.

My name is Richard I live on the central coast of California My wt in dec was 360 by surg I was down to 295, I was able to go home in about 24hr. Thing have gone well my issue is getting enough Protein in my discharge order said to drink no more than 30ml per 30 min and to drink 1.5 litters of Water and most Protein drinks have about 42grams in 500 ml I don't think the math works, not sure what to do and I do understand that the Protein Drink count as part of my intake Any suggestions Thanks

I was never given a calorie target, but at my last office visit I told my surgeon's nurse that I was eating around 500 calories a day and she said that was great. My protein target its 45-50g a day, which I am having a lot of trouble with lately as I transition away from shakes before Jan 1 by my surgeon's direction.

Not knowing more about you (Do you eat alone or with family? Are you diabetic, so you control sugar? Do you have high blood pressure? Do you have something you are being treated for? Etc?) If my questions are not a factor and you are cooking for others I would eat with the rest of the family and just cut the quantity in 1/2. If you are alone I suggest boiling a doz eggs & chopping fresh veg & a variety of fruit, etc. to have in the refrigerator. Think of skim milk, chicken breasts, unsweetened apple sauce, and then look at some low cal recipes for baking something you like. I just tried to think ahead to have things on hand. Sometimes I opened a can of beans & rinsed them for my protein. Beans go down good and add flavour to a salad too. Onions, carrots, celery, broccoli are good, but I found I felt better if I blanched them or put them in microwave a little bit to ease my tummy. If I ate them raw they didn't digest well or else I wasn't chewing long enough. Maybe this is more than you ever wanted to know, but you will do great, just listen to you pouch it will tune you in to it's likes & dislikes! :wub:

For the first month I wasn't given any carb or calorie limits our goals, just Fluid and Protein goals. sent from mobile device

Hi I just had the procedure 12/15 and things have been going great so far. Its a lot to adjust to but I'm feeling pretty positive about starting this new chapter for 2017! My question is about people's calorie and nutrient goals to maximize weight loss. I was only given a Protein goal (70grams) to hit, told to drink enough each day and warned about not eating more then a certain amount etc. But I wasn't given any thoughts about caloric numbers I should be hitting or carb or fat goals. I'm using Myfitnesspal to track everything and they use these and I don't know what I should put those figures at. Would love to know what other people where told or what they have done that has helped them lose weight and feel energetic at the same time. I want to make the most of this chance!

I find I only eat the protein, as I don't want added carbs

What does your eating plan say? How many days out are you? What kind of protein are you speaking about?