Swiftflow

That realy is a big one... along with doing away with all of those negative feelings assoiated with the repeated failure.

Excited this morning to finally cross the 300 lbs mark and hit 299 on the scale. 21 lbs since my surgery date 4/28. I also updated my youtube vlog--so subscribe if you like. (link is in my signature) I am loving my sleeve!!

She is in Maintenance--big difference there, but its something to look forward to! Everyone is different too in sleeve sizes etc. She probably needs to eat that much to keep from loosing.

I am in that learning stage now--right now I measure the food amounts and don't push it. I can now guess about 1/2 cup worth. As I am moving now to more dense foods I will have to slow down and feel it more. My only episode so far was eating a tuna salad that was too dry and chunky during my mushie stage--it was unpleasant but it came up pretty quick and I was fine. Today I had tuna salad again--same brand--I added low fat mayo before hand this time and took my time--no issues. You really do get a feel for it.

Here is a youtube poster that shows pictures of what she eats now. Good info. [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uTV-pOxCNI]YouTube- Wk #47 - Pictures of food portions I eat now[/nomedia]

I started chewables at 1 week post-op per my doc.

If food is something that gives you comfort or that mentally you link to happy events then there will be some pain and remorse in giving it up. I was ready to give this up to finally succeed in this area of my life--BUT that does not mean it has not hurt to do that. I have sat and cried realizing I could never be the same again, it may seem silly to some but food has been a major part of my life for so long. You have to be completely ready to change your relationship with food as you are now realizing. It is a good thing that you are coming to this reality now--now you can make the decision based on the knowledge of what you are really giving up. Of course you are trading up to a better lifestyle in my opinion, but you are not choosing this lightly there is a cost. Best of luck to you in your decision--we are here to help support you!

Talked to my surgeon today and he said 6 weeks before incorporating any muscle work--also walking until then for the most part. I can do a little uphill on treadmill as long as I am not over working it. I am so ready to run again...

Probably feels great to have some answers after all this time! Happy for you and wish you the best.

Wonderful news! thanks for the update!

Awesome news! It sounds like you are taking a great approach to this lifechange--your gonna Rock that sleeve!

That is a big difference--let us know how tomorrow goes with the new meds.

So exciting to know you are newly sleeved--can't wait to hear from you again! Best wishes for a smooth recovery!

:tongue_smilie:gee um thanks Tiff, I did not have any cravings until you mentioned Chicken and Rice caserole... mmmmm.

On that note, I had picked up some white chicken chili (Hormel) and noticed it was a little too chunky for my soft food stage, so I pureed it. It looked like baby food--but it was so freakin good!

In the meantime you may try to sleep on an incline or in a recliner if you feel acid coming up your throat. Also see if it might work best to take the PPI just before sleeping too. You probably know this as well, but they say not to eat right before bed--drinking is ok.

just my opinion here so take it with a grain of salt.. I really don't think they would risk using non surgical grade staples--my belief is that their cost savings comes more from doing so many procedures each day. I won't restart the debate on that topic here as to what risks that adds--My point is that I think you will be OK on the staples.

In the meantime, if you get that feeling of too much acid you can probably suppliment a non ppi acid reducer like pepcid etc.

Also when in doubt I have started to puree some foods, then I can get my protein in or whatever. On that note I just had a fabulous White chicken Chili by Hormel--it was very chunky so I pureed it and it was so good. I use the Magic Bullet I got at Wal-Mart to puree foods for me.

no crackers for me, even with the added softness I only got about 2 ounces of that down. I can eat 6 ounces at least with yogurt--its weird when the food doesn't just slide through. Starkist now makes a premade bag of tuna salad in 3 ounce packets which should be just about right. Eventually I will try to add some low carb crackers of some sort to that.

Sprinkled? I thought it was sustained release and needed to not be crushed. I have been able to swallow them fine myself--but not sure if that makes a difference.

The gas is normal from my experience, but no hunger. Are you on a PPI as well?

My soft foods and liquids go down very quick too. I tried some tuna salad and bam I felt restriction quick. Got that stuck feeling in the back of my throat and out of instinct I try to wash it down a bit with water--well that all came back up pretty quickly-(gross!). Went back and chopped everything a bit smaller and added more low fat mayo and then I could eat some.

Most doc's wont go much smaller for risk of Stricture. My doc metioned that he uses a 30 but does not go real tight against it for staple line integrity.

Welcome from a fellow Texan. You seem to be doing the right steps in the process getting ready and being fully informed going in. Best of luck to you beginning this journey!