BurgundyBoy

Congratulations!! Always space in life for happiness and love.

Miss B, and @Brattykid - I buy one of the in-house Costco brand of beef jerky - it has much less sugar added than most of the commercial brands, and is pretty good. Unopened bags can be stored at room temperature for quite some time. It is also not as salted as some (so doesn't make me as thirsty when I eat it). At my local Costco they sell 3 or 4 different ones, but this is the lowest added sugar one. If you just look at the Nutrition information label you'll see which has the least sugar. It's tasty too. My other current choice for a protein bar is also coming from Costco - they sell bars with 21g of protein, 15 grams of fiber, and 4 grams net carbs (1 gram sugar). They are 190 calories. I find these very useful when I need something to eat but want to stay protein heavy. One advantage to these is that they are tasty and have fiber. If I eat one of these each day plus add some psyllium to my morning high-protein shake, or have some beans with dinner, then my bowls remain regular. For what it is worth -- When I am in places where there is a lot of traveler's diarrhea (India, Ethiopia in my recent experience) I take a probiotic twice a day. And, since the airlines like to give you cheap food with lots of carbos like pasta, I have taken to ordering special meals on my recent flights. If you ask for the diabetic meals they are usually strong on protein and vegetables. Have great trips!! and Best for the New Year!!

Ah, Aussie, I would! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All, and Best for the New Year!

Also along lines of @CheeringCJ thread - drink lots of turkey broth if you are tempted! and remember, QUALITY over QUANTITY pick and choose what you eat. My relatives all know I am going to eat small amounts, and with them I have no problems with just eating what is right for me - and yes to walking, walking walking.

@Prattlebangs One of my downfalls is snacking at night, an old habit and hard for me to change. I try to keep things like seeds, dried fruit out of the house because I will snack on them at night - this is above and beyond things like crackers or potato chips, which are really gateway drugs for me . As per old postings I've made I sometimes just plan on my snacks and allocate a certain number of calories to that. Rather than beat myself up over the issue of snacking, I just plan on it and keep it bounded. I often do quite well with my calories/protein during the day but it is evening when I am at risk. I'm now in maintenance so my caloric intake is in the 2,000 - 2,400 per day range. One tactic you may wish to consider is the following: I will cook up a dinner with some form of meat, vegetables and beans in the evening. For example, a quarter pound of hamburger meat cooked with garlic and a little olive oil (gotta get your good oils in), herbs/salt/peppers of your choice, and then an entire can of Goya black beans. Adding some cruciferous vegetables bulks up the meal too without adding much in the way of calories. This kind of meal has lots of protein and fiber. I can't finish this meal in the one sitting we are supposed to have for dinner. Later on in the evening, when I am tempted to snack, I just go back to my dinner pot and have a few bites of the bean dish. I'm not advocating that you give up on having set meal times and amounts after surgery, which I think is a better course... but if you suffer from this malady of snacking behaviors/habits, this might prove helpful. It is easier to re-purpose an habit in a positive direction than it is to completely break the habit. {Calories in 1/4 lbs hamburger, 85% meat 15% fat, is 250; calories in one can of Goya black beans is ~ 450; so with a little oil and garlic this dish is ~ 800 calories total}.

Sssshhhh! Don't tell anyone!!

How is that protein intake going? Gotta keep that and the fluids up.

@Boho Rosy Thanks for all your smart, passionate contributions here. Congratulations and best wishes for yet more success on your Surgiversary!

Meadow - you will lose weight after surgery. You would have to have non-human physiology to not lose weight. Just because you have not lost weight before surgery does not undo what surgery will accomplish. Be of good cheer, every day you are closer and you are taking control of your future and are going to love being smaller.

@Kim M How are you doing today? Hope you are doing better.

@Cardamom77 <<< Empathy to you and your family >>> Fear not, you give by your example.

Yes, you can! (Like the others, would not sweat the dieting app ... hard to argue with success). Great job with the pre-op weight loss. This also predicts successful weight loss after surgery.

@CheeringCJ Great looking CJ! and like you, have memories from my childhood about wearing such stripes (good memories) and later bad associations! Definitely a NSV!

Exercise helps with the excess skin; but it is not a miracle cure. I lost about a third of my weight (300 -> a bit under 200 lbs) and have both folds and rolls. But not bad! Upper thighs, lower buttocks, a bit in the elbow, a roll around the belly. Neck is much smaller and a bit of excess there - most notably though I now have a distinct jawline and my cheeks are no longer puffy, and no roll at the back of the neck. Not contemplating any kind of surgery for this.

Many of us on the Forum did pretty well with the surgery, my experience was like yours, no problems with liquids. Would not be concerned, would be thankful. Suggest you just follow the rule book for fluids after surgery ... be sure to hit the protein target as soon as you can after surgery, using protein-rich broths, shakes, etc.