faithstar

Thanks so much for those comforting words! It makes such a difference to be able to talk to those who have the same experiences. I think I have been a bit too diligent with my guidelines, as I was not eating enough the first week and was worried I would get ill. But I think I will go back a stage tomorrow and have soups and give the mushies a break for a bit.

I know for a fact this is not hunger, as it happens even when I have eaten and feel full. I get this awful empty, rumbling tummy and it travels up to my throat and I feel sick. My brain tries to tell me I'm hungry, I better eat but I know it's probably acid reflux or heartburn as it's after I eat mostly and can last all day. I take my acid reduction tablets twice a day and my gallbladder is fine...it's just annoying as it keeps me up at night. Before the surgery the same thing kept me up at night and I always thought it was hunger...now I know, it's not authentic hunger...I can feel very full after a meal and have this sensation. weird.

I'm on something called fast tab but I don't regulate when I take it. I don't think I always take it on an empty stomach and sometimes I take it right before food so I'm not sure if it will be as effective that way. Will make sure I take it on an empty stomach next time. I haven't got it every day but last night I had cramps due to pms and it made it so bad.

something resonated a little with me and it was when you indicated he had sabotaged your past attempts to lose weight and became jealous/insecure. I really think that needs to be examined closely because, I have learned, you can't let ANYONE sabotage your attempts to be happy. YOU come first with your health. If you're not happy/healthy, how can you be the person you want to be? I totally disagree with how you are being treated by your husband and even if he didn't like the idea of the operation, point blank refusing to care for you and be your emergency contact is worrying.maybe the problem lies a little deeper than the operation, maybe he is scared and insecure of you changing. However, all of that needs to be examined and talked about, or it will eat you up and more importantly you will eat on it.

The main reason for the liquid stage is to preserve the staple lines, as the new stomach is still healing. You shouldn't feel guilty in regards to wanting real food but I would say that you should move on from it and just continue with your fluids now. It's not there for us to feel deprived, even though most of us do at the start, its for our safety, as eating solids to soon can cause a leak. I wouldn't overly worry as noodles are quite soft but do talk to your Dr about it. Please try to refrain now from the mushy foods as this part isn't a regular 'diet' as such, it's there for your safety, so when you feel the urge to eat just remind yourself of how your new stomach is still healing. And don't beat yourself up about this or think you're not doing well. Your perfectly human. We aren't meant to be limited to specific foods long term, it's just the short term, so just carry on and remind yourself that your doing well.

I had my sleeve two weeks ago and so far everything has been great but I keep having these memories popping up of my past. I just remember my CONTINUOUS dieting failures and how every time I said it would be different, sooner or later I pull up a chair next to the vending machine at work, whilst I gorge myself on chocolate. I was a secret binge eater, a comfort eater, someone who could and WANTED to eat when I was stuffed; an addict. I remember walking into a shop after feeling an urge to stuff my face and feeling so full yet feeling compelled to pack my trolley with sweets and chocolates. I sat at home crying, feeling so hopeless, I actually wanted to die. As I stuffed myself, I would research help groups, more diets, anything to get me out of this horrible pickle. I felt I had no control and the food was controlling me. So much as one craving and the urge was massive; I felt like a junkie on heroin, it was so bad. Sometimes my fiance would sit in the car with me for a whole hour pleading with me not to give in and binge but I'd get angry and go ahead and get it anyway. I was angry because not only could he not convince me, I couldn't convince myself. Sometimes I thought I was just stubborn, other times I thought something was after me and was diagnosed with clinical depression at this time. I felt hopeless until I found the sleeve. I am fighting my way through to get my emotions out every day but sometimes the memories of binging haunts me. I worry that it might happen again and my mind plays tricks on me. I'm going to a support group, seeing an eating disorder specialist, my nutritionist and psychiatrist so I have a LOT of support. I know the negative voice in my head doesn't believe I can lose weight and it likes to see me fail. And I want to fight that voice. It would really help to hear how all of you have coped with similar feelings and maybe to hear similar stories.

I'm thinking a little ahead of myself here, I'm only 2 weeks on and thinking about week 8, which is the last stage of the 'diet.' I'm in the UK so, possibly they might have a different set up. There's no calories or weighing things out, simply things like 'one scrambled egg, one tablespoon of blended pasta and one blended tablespoon of mash potato' for lunch written on a sheet by my nutritionist as part of my suggested meal plan for each stage For me this works well as I used to OBSESS with writing everything down and counting calories obsessively. This might work for some, even most, but give me a pen an paper and I'll be constantly writing every tiny thing I eat, then obsessing over calories. I would like to keep on track of food though, just in a more healthy way for me. So I thought I may devise a suggested eating plan for week 8 onwards, which I can substitute for similar food groups and same portion size. I will look at the right portion suggestions and get a good balance in; 3 meals with 2 small low fat snacks in between meals, and write this down before The idea is, when I get round to the meals or snack point, I have the suggested or similar item of food and will later move on to the next meal. This should help me stay on top of not grazing throughout the day with this plan, while allowing me some freedom of not having to count calories. Now when I say I won't count calories or weigh food, I don't mean I'll be blind to it. I am going to look at the calories, of course but my nutritionist has already told me what the portions will be for say chicken or carbs and I will go by that. If I want a small cup of custard, instead of a yogurt, I'll have low fat and check the amount I have is similar to that of my usual low fat yogurt. I hope this makes sense...I'm running it past you all to see how this sounds, if you have any ideas or suggestions that worked for you, it would be great to hear about it. Thanks. xx

thank you SO much for these responses, you've really given me much needed encouragement and I'm so so grateful for this. I have so far now lost 17.5 pounds in 16 days and feel amazing. Today I had a chocolate mousse, low fat, which tasted like heaven and I felt guilty! I am allowed to have it but it tasted too...chocolatey! And I'm a chocoholic. So I felt like I was sort of cheating. I know this comes from years of denial and binging and if I don't watch myself, I'll feel guilty for eating anything and that's not right. I am an extremist and have a very addictive personality, so just as easily I can develop an eating disorder. I want to make sure I can eat a low fat chocolate mousse and not shout at myself because it tasted sinful but I must say, I felt full a few spoonfuls before I stopped and that made me feel out of control. I'm going to discuss those issues with my eating disorder therapist and make sure I don't go either way with it. But I'm happy I'm aware of my mind set and short comings and know it's not logical to be guilty about a low fat mousse. I think it might be linked to the fact that when I let anything tasty and sweet enter my lips, I lost control, so I'm scared to lose control again. One day at a time though, I'm doing well and thankful.

I think what is happening here is she is scared you will be successful and she won't and then she will be out of her familiar comfort zone with you. Perhaps, subconsciously, she likes you being as overweight as her as it doesn't challenge her or make her feel bad about herself. When you start to lose the weight, it will make her insecurities rise and she will either have to be encouraged to lose weight herself or start to feel jealous.

Ok so tonight I sat down to watch The Biggest Loser, whilst I sipped on my yummy chicken stock soup. There was a bit where the trainer got a bit heated with 2 contestants because they were under eating; having 825 calories instead of 1400. He went on to say they were destroying their bodies by dropping their calories so low and the body will only hold on to their fat, they won't lose it but they will lose muscle and they will go into starvation mode etc.... Basically he was saying they won't lose weight, they will lose muscle and destroy their bodies... Now I've managed about 600 calories on liquids today and even that was a bit of a mission! I'm wondering how our bodies react with the little calories we take in and whether it's different with us because we do have smaller stomachs and that may send different signals to our bodies. However, I've never (on a diet) had less than 1200 calories so this is a bit to get used to. Any thoughts on this topic? I do trust the bariatric team around me and know they wouldn't let us under eat. However, that trainer scared me a little!

I had my sleeve done two weeks ago and lost 13 pounds in the first week. I weight myself today and I have put on 2 pounds, so it's an 11 pound loss in two weeks. I'm sure it's either water weight or a stall but I'm just wondering if that's something fairly typical this early on?

My whole life has been a story of fat and thin but one thing that has been consistent is my self image. I have ALWAYS had a complex about my big thighs and for some reason felt more comfortable wearing longer skirts that hid my tree trunks. Now, granted, when I was 21 and weighed around 150, I was not adverse to wearing tight black trousers and the occasional bikini on the beach but this didn't stop me thinking my legs were fat. As I got to about the 200 mark, I began to feel a little 'chunky' in my trousers and switched for flattering, or what I though was flattering skirts. So I am now 2 weeks post op and sitting around the 270 mark and guess what? I put on my black floaty trousers today and I feel fab. I do know I have a long way to go but I'm starting to see it's not as big of a deal whether I wear skirts or trousers and the only person who feels insecure in trousers is me. This might sound very silly but I think being of a greek origin, my family has always distributed most of the weight in the hips and thighs. But I'm trying to move away from the way of thinking that inhibits me from living how I want to live. I don't want to feel confined to a life of long floaty skirts, I want to feel happy in denim jeans. I think as the weight piled on, I just began to feel uncomfortable in the clothes I used to wear and subconsciously swapped them for 'fat frumpy' clothes when I didn't need to. I've started adding more colour to my wardrobe and wearing the things I WANT. I mean, if I don't start feeling good now, I'm not going to suddenly wake up and want to wear jeans or trousers. The weight might have changed but my mind set wouldn't have...so I have made a deal with myself to start dressing the way I WANT to dress NOW. I'm not going to wait any longer until I look good enough to wear fashionable clothes; the time has come to put me before my weight...and hopefully the rest will follow. thank you if you read this all and I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. x

I think the key thing to remember is, we can all lose weight on our own BUT keeping it off is where we all struggle and where the sleeve will come in handy.

I'm on the liquid phase of the diet, 11 days in and on around 300-400 calories a day. I'm just wondering if this seems a bit low, obviously I can't drink loads of calories but I'm a bit worried that this might send my body into starvation mode because my weight loss seems to be slowing.

I agree...6 months out 800 is a little on the low side. 1000 calories sounds to me much healthier. I'm also looking at this from the aspect of what our bodies need, as well, with extra physical activity we will need more than 800 calories to feed our bodies well and get in all our nutrients.

That's true there is a lot of work involved and we still have to watch what we eat and exercise. The sleeve just offers a great tool to aid weight loss but we are the ones that have to steer the wheel and drive the car, so to speak. I used to feel the same way when my sister had a band years ago, because I lost my weight dieting and exercising. Then I put on a ton of weight and ate my words... The reason why I couldn't diet at the mass weight I was, was because my big stomach let me down on the hunger side EVERY time. I am still exercising and watching what I eat now and doing all the work but the sleeve is there to make the outcome possible. Good luck x

Ok so I am only a week out but I thought I would share something here. For the first few days after the operation I had terrible head hunger. All I kept thinking about was cheeseburgers and I was so so scared to be thinking about them as I knew I wouldn't be able to have them. I thought the feeling would never pass and in the past, this urgency made me feel like I had to eat the food or I'd somehow have a panic attack over it. This was my food addiction and compulsive eating in action... A few days later, I began to feel a massive reduction in head hunger and noticed that, by not feeding my mind with the food it wanted, it allowed me to think clearly about what was actually concerning me. If I ate the food, I would have felt numb and unable to identify my emotions that caused me to over eat...which in effect makes me feel like it stunted part of my emotional growth, much like any addict will profess. It turned out to be anxiety I had related to the fear of the unknown. I didn't know if I would lose the weight, I was feeling frightened and that's when the head hunger attacked. It can be mentally so so strong to the point where you feel you've failed before the food has touched your lips. I felt as though I'd never be able to go without the food. But I did...I DISTRACTED myself and went for a walk and slowly kept alternating different things to do to take my mind off it. A few days later, I wondered why I wanted the food. I realized that every time in the past I gave in and this taught me that I was unable to go without food during a craving. It's much like a child crying and a mother giving in every time; which teaches the child to cry and expect the mother to give in. The first time she doesn't give in it's tough and it will keep crying and maybe get scared but soon it will learn a new habit and realize "hey, there's no point crying now." But now I feel stronger and realize I CAN go without the food I fancy. I'm not going to die, I'm not going to have a panic attack and the craving will go. There is a degree of willpower involved with head hunger but more than anything, distracting myself by doing something else that makes me feel GOOD did wonders. I certainly didn't want fatty meat in me after a long walk. Just thought I'd share my first week experiences with you all. Good luck on all your journeys x

yeah that does sound a lot; it's not impossible but I would have thought the Dr wouldn't set it that high because then if you don't reach it that soon it will only make you feel a bit bad. Plus it's not a speed competition; sometimes losing the weight slower has benefits on keeping the skin a bit tighter. And also keeping cals as low as possible could mean anything! You should be eating the recommended amount but certainly not dropping MORE. I'm not sure but I wouldn't want to go TOO low because the body needs nourishment. Yeah, the body can go into starvation mode but more importantly you want to keep the body fed the amount it needs. I disagree a little with what the doc says there. If I were you I'd keep doing what your doing and let the weight do its own thing...setting goals that seem really big can lead to feeling disappointment if you don't reach them. Say you lost 40 pounds, which is AMAZING, if the doc set me a 50 pound loss, you may even feel a bit like you failed to reach your first goal because it was set too high!

I had this procedure done a week ago and I'm 24. I'm grateful I was able to have this operation available to me at such a young age. Saying that, I had a lot of psychological support and therapy before the op and am continuing to see an eating disorder specialist now. This is a great tool; all we have to make sure is that we are mentally recovering now as well. I've known for a long time my bout of depression and bullying at school triggered comfort eating for me and I know have to change the way I view food. It's not supposed to be there to comfort me or reward me when something even goes right, it's there for me to survive each day. Good luck on your journey and I hope everything goes very well for you

I too have heard that the metabolism stays revved up if you have 6 smaller meals. Your nuritionists idea of snacking might mean eating your meals +extras, so when you explained to her you meant breaking the meals down into smaller meals, that probably doesn't constitute as snacking. I think snacking for me is the idea of just having things in between meals that aren't thought of as meals...a bit like grazing...like having a bite of cheese here and a bit of toast there. But the fact that you are actually recognizing each part as a small meal, that's not the same as snacking in my book. Hope that helps!

I had my surgery a week ago and I decided to do 15 mins on the treadmill today, just walking slow pace until my wounds heal. My idea is to increase every week 5 mins and just keep up the walking, moving the incline and mixing it up. The thing is, I hate exercise but only when it seems like a chore. Walking on the treadmill is ok and I figure it's better to do that than nothing. I'm hoping to do that for 3-4 months until I'm fitter and weigh less and then I can start out on some slow jogging but I think it's more important to introduce new habbits when you are an exercise phobe, rather than overwhelming yourself. There have been MANY a time in the past, when I have been on diets and said, "I HAVE to do LOTS of exercise to shift the weight. I have to raise my heart and sweat." And I would do 2 hour work outs every day for...about 2 weeks. Then stop. My legs would ache, I began to dread it and I left it for over a month. So for me...nice and easy does it. I like to compare it to the turtoise and the hare story...more about perserverance that quick bursts of rapid exercise. Just my thoughts. x

Ok so I have to admit, around a year ago I was sitting around 50 pounds lighter and getting ready to lose weight through another diet and the thought of loose skin worried me somewhat. Now I'm heavier, I'm more concerned about my health and getting the weight off so I've put loose skin to the back of my mind. I was just watching The Biggest Loser and happened to notice how fast everyone lost weight and how their skin seemed to be fine! The plastic surgeon who gave a talk to our support group said exercise can help very little but that can't be right with the results seen on those contestants. Possibly it's the strength training... anyhoo, I was just wondering how everyone here feels about loose skin? Did you find the reality different to the idea of it in your head and did it bother you less or more? I'm not too sure how I'll feel but I have to admit, I'm worried I will have to pull up my legs to see any shape in them (I'm sooo bottom heavy!)

I am sure this question/point has been covered many times, however I wanted to see what the main consensus was on the issue of 'starvation mode.' I am undecided as I have heard many different things...I also heard if you exercise too much and take in little calories, it doesn't speed your metabolic rate up either...can anyone shed any light?

The good thing is that when you get round to having the pizza, if you eat it slowly you WONT lose control and stop when full. Just have some faith at the moment, it's hard on liquids as you have to contend with the idea of not eating and you can often wonder if you feel hungry or even had the surgery as the restriction is not SO obvious. Solids wiill be another thing altogether

Hey everyone, I hope what I am about to say makes sense. I am currently at 288 pounds and seem to be losing pretty quickly and I keep getting flashbacks to a couple of years back when I weighed 199. I remember thinking at that time, I have to go to weightwatchers and even when I was attending the meetings, nothing clicked. I didn't see myself losing the weight, going down on the scale and I didn't see it happening fast. Possibly because weightwatchers advocates a 1-2 pound loss a week, I estimated it at 6 months, however it seemed like a loooooong time and felt like it was NEVER going to happen. And now I'm almost 90 pounds heavier and my head is changing. It's like I just know the weight will come off. My only concern is, I will reach that 199 mark and have those same feelings come right back to me from the past....if that makes any sense? Also it's so strange how I'm heavier but more positive that the weight will come off. I'm not sure if this is making any sense but did any of you have those times where you were lighter than now and realistically would only take a few months to get to goal but the mind just completely blocked that off and made it all negative, making it seem like it would never happen. It's so strange how I'm at my heaviest but I'm positive the weight will come off...