Well, tomorrow is a month out for me. I had a really rough start. The first two weeks were just me getting sick, the third week has been a gradual improvement. And now I feel like I am finally on my way. In hindsight there are a few things that were very specific to me that I wish I had known, and I appreciate all of you for educating me:

During those first few weeks I felt more like a patient still, not someone who was headed in the direction of life change. I felt almost guilty considering my weight loss as an accomplishment, because I was throwing up all the time, not hydrated, and getting 200 calories a day max. It felt like saying thanks for a compliment after getting the flu.

I think even if you are worried that you are naggy or annoying to them you need to call or email your surgeon anytime you feel unsure of what is happening. This is a risky time period and most medical offices are happier to answer questions, then deal with complications.

I wish that I would have started exercising immediately. I know that I didn't feel well and wasn't super hydrated, but the mind set of knowing that you are moving just for the sake of your health does a lot for you mentally. I wish that even on the roughest days I would have atleast walked around the block once.

Don't be ashamed about what this does to you emotionally. And parts of it can be a rollercoaster ride. The day that I finally came home I spent eight hours of that day pacing my hallway and took 5 hot showers in the hopes that they would relax me. I was incredibly anxious in a way I had never experienced. I was super blessed that my PCP called in an anti anxiety for me. I only had to take it three times, but in hindsight and after doing a little homework I realized: I had been having my period, was on super high doses of reglan which are known to cause severe anxiety, and still had anisthesia medication in my body.

Do your best to follow all the guidelines of your surgeon and to take care of yourself, but use this board as a support, not as a means to compare your progress to others. I was so frustrated that when others were starting to work out hard core I was getting out of bed for work, then coming home, putting my jammies on and falling asleep again. I had to realize that our bodies all cope with trauma differently and it wasn't a character weakness on my part that my body needed more to recover.

And today I can finally say what I have read others say, I am feeling good. I am still learning so much. I have to measure my food because I am horrible at eyeballing it, I have to set timers so I remember to drink enough fluids. And as I track my nutrition I have realized that I am far better nourished at 600-800 calories I day then I was with my daily Wendy's fix.

Thanks to all of you for answering my millions of questions and for dealing with all of my frustrations. Your support has been invaluable!

Edited April 21, 201016 yr by wannalise
Error in explanation

Well the soup is diluted with Water so it isn't exactly gourmet, but it's a far cry from broth. I know I'm lucky. I don't get the egg until day 8. Tomorrow is day 5 for me.

What's your diet schedule like?

Interestingly the dietician before surgery wrote down that I need 1200 to 1400 calories a day. I am sure not getting anything close to that. I think I'll start keeping track of what I'm taking in so I will have a better idea what it takes to keep losing weight. I thought everybody else was saying that they were only getting 300 to 800 calories a day post-op. Could that be right?

I don't get to have to eggs until week 6!

On day 10 I can add thin creamed soups, pudding, and yogurt.

Right now I can only have clear liquids and protein drinks/shakes.

Today I had 3- 6 oz shakes...one scoop of powder in each. One scoop is 110 calories, 2 g of fat, and 10 g of total carbs.

The only other thing I've had today is water.

Wow our plans are very different! How many grams of Protein does your 6 oz shake have. One scoop of my stuff has 24 grams of protein so they really want me to have 3 of them a day too. I'm just having a hard time getting it down. I can have some yogurt already too. I have found some all natural cran-grape juice that has no sugar that is really refreshing. I don't care for apple juice or many other juices at all. I'm such a wuss.

One very positive thing about you getting a much lighter diet than I'm getting is that you'll undoubtedly lose much faster than I am. Sigh.

Wow our plans are very different! How many grams of Protein does your 6 oz shake have. One scoop of my stuff has 24 grams of protein so they really want me to have 3 of them a day too. I'm just having a hard time getting it down. I can have some yogurt already too. I have found some all natural cran-grape juice that has no sugar that is really refreshing. I don't care for apple juice or many other juices at all. I'm such a wuss.

One very positive thing about you getting a much lighter diet than I'm getting is that you'll undoubtedly lose much faster than I am. Sigh.

One scoop has 14 grams of protein.

I haven't tried any juices..they said I could have some diet cranberry juice which I don't like so.

What brand of Protein Powder are you using?

Well the Soup is diluted with Water so it isn't exactly gourmet, but it's a far cry from broth. I know I'm lucky. I don't get the egg until day 8. Tomorrow is day 5 for me.

What's your diet schedule like?

Interestingly the dietician before surgery wrote down that I need 1200 to 1400 calories a day. I am sure not getting anything close to that. I think I'll start keeping track of what I'm taking in so I will have a better idea what it takes to keep losing weight. I thought everybody else was saying that they were only getting 300 to 800 calories a day post-op. Could that be right?

Is your dietician part of the surgeon's team? My internist, who is not part of my surgeon's team, recommended I see her dietician and she was agast that I was only eating 600-800 calories per day (Dr Aceves' recommendation). She wanted me to increase to at least 1200 calories, but it was clear that she did not "get it". We are not supposed to be on a "normal" diet plan here, this is a WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. So I am not following her plan. I am following what my bariatric surgeon recommended. My wt loss is as it should be, my lab tests are good, and I feel great. Once I reach target, I will bump it up to 1200-1500 calories to maintain.

I agree that it will allow me to eat more veggies and fruits once I can do that, but for now, I am working on my wt loss goal. If your bariatric surgeon did not recommend a diet to you, I'd say contact him/her and find out what they recommend.

I just realized I was supposed to have 3 Protein shakes today and I haven't been able to get one down. It's all about the protein. I sure don't want to lose my hair, but it's hard to get the stuff down. I think I'll just keep it by my chair and try to take little teaspoonsful off and on.

Good luck with the tea. I've never been a tea drinker either. It is one drink though that I can do with a tiny bit of sweetner and it tastes fine. I'm just awful about artificial sweetners. I'd usually rather just not have anything than eat something with sweetners and fake flavorings. Hope this doesn't keep me from losing like I should.

And btw, my doctor's instructions do say that something a little warm in the morning is soothing. Good luck!

I've been trying out different protein combos for a while now, trying to find something that is 'ok' so I'll have something I can get down after surgery. I'm like you, I don't want to lose my hair and I also know it helps with healing...well, I have a friend who has not and is not having WLS but she drinks protein drinks! Her mom got this recipe years ago in some sort of weight loss program, and so far it's the best I've tried. I use 8 oz of skim milk (in a blender), my friend uses Water, but I use skim to get the extra protein, 1 scoop of soy unflavored protein from GNC, it has 13 grams, 2 tsps of vanilla and 1 'stick' of propel lemonade. Add 3 or 4 ice cubes and blend. It's pretty good believe it or not. My friend will also add different fruit occasionally, but in the very beginning we cannot do that, and although I have tried it, i really prefer it 'plain' without the fruit! You can use any of the unflavored Protein powder but I hate the whey and the soy is just what I have worked my way to at this point!!! :thumbup: Good luck and congrats!!!! I can't wait to get this over with!!!!

I have been following your posts for a while, actually a few of you on here! I finally bit the bullet and joined! I am not sure when I will be approved for my final surgery date, however, the more I read, the more I realize that the sleeve is the right choice for me. I wanted you to know how encouraging it is to know that everyone here is willing to discuss their progress and keep posting!!!! It helps those of us in the decision making process to come to terms with their choice and know there is support out there outside of their surgeons office! So, THANK YOU!

Welcome aboard Pammi....:thumbup:

I have been following your posts for a while, actually a few of you on here! I finally bit the bullet and joined! I am not sure when I will be approved for my final surgery date, however, the more I read, the more I realize that the sleeve is the right choice for me. I wanted you to know how encouraging it is to know that everyone here is willing to discuss their progress and keep posting!!!! It helps those of us in the decision making process to come to terms with their choice and know there is support out there outside of their surgeons office! So, THANK YOU!

Hi Pammi!! Welcome to our little corner of the world!! If you're like me, you'll find a ton of information, I found this forum last December (I think) - it's been so long now I can't remember! I started out thinking I'd get banded, but after realizing that traveling out of state for surgery and needing fills etc....and then after some research, like you, I decided the sleeve was the way to go. I want something permanent, I don't want 'a way out' - and there are many, many on here that have had revisions. Since I'm a self pay patient, I don't think I can do this twice! =) Good luck, I hope you get your date soon!!! I'm counting down the days now! Yay! Have a great week!

Thank you! I am hoping for the end of May or Beginning of June so we will be around the same time! I appreciate the encouragement!!! I am a musician and I have to play guitar and sing on the weekends, so not knowing my date is killing me for bookings...and it is all I can think about and talk about!! I am driving my Family Crazy!! :lol0:

One scoop has 14 grams of Protein.

I haven't tried any juices..they said I could have some diet cranberry juice which I don't like so.

What brand of protein powder are you using?

I get it through my doctor but I could order it online if I wanted to. It's called "Peak Nutrition" and it is bio-engineered whey protein powder. When I got the band, I asked the dietician then if I could use some of the commerically available things (like Isopure, Muscle Milk, etc.) and she said no. She said this stuff is the best thing on the market for what we need and it honestly tastes better than any of the stuff at the super market or GNC. Of course taste is a matter of individual taste, right?

I can hardly stand diet cranberry juice. But the cran-grape, with no sugar added is really good. I'm sipping on some now. I actually had 3 oz of applesauce this morning. It gave me shooting pains but I got it down over the course of about 25 minutes. I tried drinking some green tea but it REALLY caused some pain with only 2 or 3 sips.

It sounds to me like you're doing great, goodlife!

BJean, do you find it has that "proteiny" taste?

The one I use PrescriptFit lactose free chocolate tastes just like brownie mix to me...I really like it. I don't have to force myself to drink it all!

Is your dietician part of the surgeon's team? My internist, who is not part of my surgeon's team, recommended I see her dietician and she was agast that I was only eating 600-800 calories per day (Dr Aceves' recommendation). She wanted me to increase to at least 1200 calories, but it was clear that she did not "get it". We are not supposed to be on a "normal" diet plan here, this is a WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. So I am not following her plan. I am following what my bariatric surgeon recommended. My wt loss is as it should be, my lab tests are good, and I feel great. Once I reach target, I will bump it up to 1200-1500 calories to maintain.

I agree that it will allow me to eat more veggies and fruits once I can do that, but for now, I am working on my wt loss goal. If your bariatric surgeon did not recommend a diet to you, I'd say contact him/her and find out what they recommend.

Yes, my dietician is on staff full time with my doctor. Although he recently made a change because (I think) his former dietician was not very good encouraging his patients. She was way too critical instead of encouraging. Simply her personality type, I think. But I digress...

The dietician gave me the diet in a 3 ring binder and at the top she wrote my particular caloric, liquid and Vitamin requirements. It says that I should have 1200-1400 calories a day. Of course I am certainly not taking in that much yet and I'd be surprised if I'm getting 600 to 800 at this point. I have started to keep track today. I think it is an important learning tool.

I don't know what you weigh but 1200-1400 calories will suffice for an obese person to lose weight at a rate of 1 to 2 lbs. a week and to stay healthy. She stressed that the weight will come off, but if it comes off too quickly we definitely compromise our health, i.e., hair loss, loss of muscle mass, dehydration, loss of skin elasticity, etc.

My surgeon (not just bariatic, by the way) is obviously motivated like Dr. Aceves for us to lose a lot of weight so that we become another one of their success stories, but our GP has a vested interest in having a healthy patient as a primary goal. But my surgeon is doing a great job treating us as more than just obese patients. He has a nutritionist/dietician and an exercise physiologist on staff who works with us to build muscle mass and make sure that we are on an exercise routine specific to our individual needs. Of course that starts once we recover from the surgical procedure itself.

I respect your choice to stick to a low calorie diet but (and I'm no expert) I hope you will keep your overall health in mind and do what is best for your long-term wellness on this journey to becomming thin.

NtvTxn, your 14 lb. weight loss prior to surgery is a great start!

BJean, do you find it has that "proteiny" taste?

The one I use PrescriptFit lactose free chocolate tastes just like brownie mix to me...I really like it. I don't have to force myself to drink it all!

That artificial taste? No, it doesn't. Honestly the thing it reminds me of is a nice Nestle's Quick drink - a little thicker though. I like the chocolate. I have used the vanilla before and mixed it (upon their recommendation) with a little sf/ff pudding mix and it makes a really delicious concoction. But I like the idea of not having to use the pudding mix and I like the way the chocolate tastes.

brownie mix?? yum!!