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1. When you are dehydrated.. your urine smells BAD! I almost gagged the first time I went to the restroom and couldn't believe what I was smelling.. (yeah so I make sure to get those liquids in!) 2. You don't use the restroom as much.. I only go maybe twice a day. 3. Acid Reflux! I've noticed when I swallow something too quickly or if I eat that soup too fast! I get hiccups or I burp a lot. (Never had this issue before). 4. I am always cold! This drives me crazy! (I'm a little dramatic) BUT!.. I literally have to sleep with my pajamas, snuggie with the covers over my head to keep warm. (And yes I take all my vitamins). I am freezing as I am typing this now 5. Waiters/Waitresses will assume you think their is something wrong with the food when you ask for a TO-GO box. I went to BJ's the other night and ordered a soup and had just a few bites and I became full. I asked our waitress for a TO-GO box and she went into apologetic mode and asked if she could offer me another dish and so on and so on.. very nice of her.. but long story short and lesson learned.. stay away from restaurants as much as possible.. it can be quite annoying dealing with the pressure of not eating your meal. 6. Do not purchase a new wardrobe after you lose those first few pounds. You are losing weight every single day and if you buy jeans today, I promise.. they will be too baggy just a couple weeks later. 7. My advice is to not tell people you are getting/ or had the gastric sleeve surgery. I made the mistake by telling my friends and I get asked a lot of questions such as; "So are you happy now?" "Well.. when are you going to stop losing weight?", "Are you going to act different when you lose all the weight?" It's pretty annoying and people act weird for some reason when you lose weight. I swear people weren't sweatin' me at 330 pounds. 8. I still have cravings! I thought my cravings would go away.. but nope! Still there! The sleeve is really a tool to help you lose weight and it doesn't solve all your problems. I almost had a nervous breakdown because I was craving Taco Bell and I couldn't do nothing about it. But the Good News is.. once you put something in your tummy.. you are full after a few bites and the cravings goes away. But it's a struggle everyday. 9. It takes people awhile to get used to the new you! So in my case.. a lot of friends were still inviting me out to Wine Festivals, Clubs, Brunch and Pop Up Bars. Just recently, my friend invited me to go with her to a Star Wars themed restaurant and I couldn't go because I can't have alcoholic drinks and all they offered were fried comfort foods. My new phrase is "no, sorry I can't go.. I can't eat that stuff remember?" Then it's "ohhh yeahh.. I forgot.. so when will you be able to eat/drink again?". Listen. I have come too far to let ANYBODY sabotage my weight loss journey so I am quick to distance myself from ANYBODY who will sabotage my journey and my advice is to anyone reading this is to stay CONSISTENT. People will catch on and know you mean business. 10. Regret. I did experience some regret after having the sleeve because I would use food to cope with issues I dealt with. And when that was taken away, I had to deal with my issues head on. That was difficult and I wanted to reverse the surgery (which you can't) but now that I'm over that hurtle, I have no regrets at all. I have my good days and bad days. My food addiction was real. And I take it one day at a time like I am in a12 Step Program. I used to socially drink every weekend, I was a heavy marijuana smoker, I DJ on the weekends- so I would get free drinks while I'm at the club. And I stopped everything cold turkey. It's tough, but I can't deny the way I feel. I have more energy w/o caffeine, I get 8 hours of sleep, before I was only getting 4 hours, I am in a much better mood, my skin is glowing, my depression is gone, before I was taking anxiety medication and I have completely stopped that. I look and feel like a new person.. and I never want to back to my old habits. Good luck to everyone that is on this journey. You will go through physical and mental challenges but stick to it! You will never have to start over again, if you never give up. Keep at it!

I didn’t get to the point of needing this surgery by cheating on a diet one time, or eating one piece of candy at a time, or whatever etc. I’m trying to avoid that thinking because for me once leads to twice leads to a week. Everyone has their own stopping points I suppose but it reminds when I quit smoking for good...I never had that one more cigarette. I’m determined to stick to my preop diet to prove to myself that I can and will stick to the post op diet.

85 pounds gone forever Great advice from@Berry78. Hunger changes and weight loss slows down as you get further out from surgery. Seems to be a normal experience. You still have restriction, but, you can also take in more volume. It will take a bit of trial and error to find what fills you up and what macronutrient ratios (protein, fats , carbs) keep you in weight loss mode. Volume for me at three years is a bit over 8oz of food. I just had a salad 4.2 oz peppered turkey, half a piece of bacon, 4oz dole salad and lite dressing. I ate half of it..took a break..then finished the rest. I agree, The fiber and bulk of your vegetables will help you feel more satisfied. Changing foods to have more variety may help quite hunger. Keep healthy salty sweet snack options on hand. Something to try for exercise, rotate what you do. Don't do the same workout over and over. You are right. increase the intensity. Try intervals. Walk a song five mins. push the intensity five mins repeat the process for the whole workout. You will get stronger and your pace will increase over time. Hope you find what works for you.

I'm on day 4 of my 10 day liver reduction diet and have had a bit if food each day. Usually more veg, some lean protien, or cottage cheese. Mine is very strict (3-4 protein shakes and 1/2 c. Non-starchy veg each day), and I'm confused why I'm even on it, as I am getting a revision that is altering my intestine where the large and small connect, at the opposite end from where the pouch and liver are. I'm going to call the dietician tomorrow to ask about it. All the liquid is killing me, and I'm a teacher and can't just go to the bathroom whenever I want. :-( (Also, this diet is making me whiny. Please excuse my mope.)

This takes crazy to a new level for me. This past weekend I completed the runDisney 2017 Infinity Gauntlet Challenge as part of the Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend. This was the last runDisney event scheduled for the Disneyland Resort as all future events have been canceled/postponed while construction work happens in and around the park. The event is 19.3 miles. It's two days running that combined the Thor 10K plus the Super Heroes Half Marathon. I have ran plenty or 10Ks and only one half-marathon, but never back to back. My game plan was to take it "easy" on the 10K and save myself for the half. However anyone that runs in these types of events knows the adrenaline/thrill of a race and cause you to abandon any planned strategy. You can train, train, train but there is always that part that is nervous. This go around I had completed a lot more training versus my first half-marathon. However I still remember cramping up the last 1.5 miles and being miserable after. This time I felt as good as one could after running 13.1 miles. I was fatigued but still felt great without any cramping or other pain(s) This will be my last running event until May for the OC Half Marathon as I am going under the knife in December for my "plastics"

I was sleeved 11/7/17 and I feel the same way. I have a ton of gas. I even tried sipping water, holding it in my mouth for 10 secs and still it hurts. I don’t know what else to do

Goal is almost there. Hope you have celebration plans or a goal reward.

I'm pretty much eating similar to what I have been. I'm 7 weeks tomorrow. I have a shake with double protein in the morning, then throughout the day, I'll eat a few ounces of deli turkey, some kind of 2% cheese, a crunchy protein snack, soup or a little bit of something I make for dinner for family. Ground turkey, beans, cheese goes down okay. Maybe an egg. Usually some SF popsicles

Let's try this. What are you eating? If you are eating lean protein and veggies, then the amount really shouldn't matter. I haven't thrown up, dumped, or found a food I couldn't eat at almost 4 years out. This surgery isn't supposed to be a diversion from food, but a reset for food and your life. Eat nutritious, non processed food 90% of the time, drink lots of water, and move more, and you'll do just fine. If you are really concerned about how much you can eat, weigh and measure your food so you won't overeat. The tool itself is really only temporary in the grand scheme of things. Over time it becomes less effective, then it's all on us. Practice good eating habits now and take advantage of the honeymoon period while you can.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll be happy with the results