PdxMan

OMG! That is hillarious. Thanks for sharing that!

Everything will come in time. Just keep doing the best you can. You're doing great. 2 oz of coffee, though ... Any chance of trading that with Protein shake? Cafine is a diuretic and at this point in the game, you would probably be better servered by replacing it with the Protein Shake. Don't worry, you're not giving up coffee, but which is best for the 2 oz at this time. A month from now you'll be able to drink coffee like a champ, but in these early days ...

If you're wondering, then you are ready. Just hold off on the trapeez act. I believe it was 3 days, here.

Healthy and as natural as possible, IMO. Your stomach is the mechanical part of digestion and it has undergone trauma. Let's not test it by giving it processed, difficult to handle foods. I ate a lot of baked fish (Tillapia baked in butter with sprinkles of parmesan cheese) Chili (Still eat a lot of that for lunch) Salads with Tuna, blue cheese crumbles and honey mustard dressing. (Nothing low cal or low fat) Have you been to eggface's blog? I, like you, needed bold flavors coming off 2 months of blah. Blue cheese and parmesan cheese provided that along with chili. Sharp cheddar cheese was also a mainstay in my diet, too. But, of course, everything in small amounts. Stop when you begin to feel the restriction.

I want to echo what Christin said. 85% of my stomach was removed. What the heck am I going to have to do to regain the weight back!!!??? I just don't think it is possible. I would have to really be out of control, FAR more than I was pre-op. I paid $10,400 and had it done in Las Vegas (Baby!) Borrowed against the house to do it, which is a 3% loan. Will have it paid off by my 1st surgiversary with all of the savings on food and health care I am not spending now.

Rice is one of those foods that actually expands in the stomach. It has little to no nutritional value, so it is taking up such valuble space which should be occupied by proteins and healthy carbs (veggies).

No problem, happy to help. That is what we're here for ... each other. The first month is difficult, no doubt. There is a lot of confusion and fear. Your body is going through a drastic change and nothing tastes right. You're all a jumble. Just know it does get better. Just keep to the rules and you will do great. I promise you. Protein first priority No drinking any liquids 1/2 hour before/after eating Exercise - whatever you can do. Walk, run, stairs, rubber bands ... whatever you can find that works for you and do it in the amount that works for you. This, too, will get easier. Keep us posted on how you're doing. Sometimes it helps to be accountable to something and that can be us!

Frumpy, the 2-4 oz is lean Protein, not creamed Soups. I can easily eat 12 oz of chili at a setting, but that, like the creamed soup, is mainly liquid and the pyloric valve opens, lets it through and their is room in the stomach for more. That is not what we're talking about. In a few weeks, when you get on solids, you will feel the restriction when you eat a 2 oz piece of chicken or fish. You will eat that and be full. But ... if you drink Water while you eat this, you run the risk of your pyloric valve opening and draining your stomach allowing you to eat more, just like with the creamed soups. As I mentioned above, I'm 6 months out and could only eat 3 bites of a Subway sandwich and I was STUFFED for a couple hours. If someone cheats the tool by drinking with the meal, then they run the risk of not feeling the restriction and being able to eat more. The other thing is not starting with the protein. Protein is going to help you feel your restriction. Starting with a piece of German chocolate Cake is a great way to get a lot of calories and "cookie carbs" (as I like to call them), but it isn't the right choice. So, with the tool, you can still make bad food choices, but if you follow some basic rules ... eat protein first, get your liquids in 1/2 hour before/after eating, exercise ... I believe you can eat what you want. Just know, that in conjunction with following these rules, your "wants" most likely will change. I know it has for me. I think the only way to gain weight back of any significance is to break the rules I mentioned above. Do I break them? Occassionally, sure, but for the most part I stick pretty tightly to them. SmallGirls, I started with a C25K program on my iPhone. It was a big goal for me and I was determined to be able to run a 5K once I had lost enough weight to where I felt I could run enough where I wasn't killing my knees. Suprisingly, I have stuck with it as I am amazed at how good I feel after running. I exercised on elliptical machines pre-sleeve, but never felt as good as I do now. Perhaps it was that bag of cheetos I ate afterward ... hmmm.

This is funny because I was just telling my mother how I don't feel like I am on a diet. But, for those who haven't read any of my posts, I do exercise quite regularly at pretty high levels, so I am probably an exception, not the rule. But, that being said, I pretty much eat what I want now following some basic, easy rules. I get my Protein in. I start the day with a 30 g Protein shake, have a high protein lunch (chili or turkey soup) another shake and still more lean protein at dinner. I eat Pasta now regularly and have very limited exposure to bread. I think not eating breads for so long has pretty much turned me off of them and to be honest with you, I really don't miss them, so I don't really plan on having them in my regular diet. As I said above, I eat what I want and there are a lot of foods which were my favorites which I have no desire for anymore. So, yes, I am bad at times. Watched the Rose Bowl and ate 4 chicken wings during the course of the game. Did I want more? NO! I was stuffed! Yesterday, the family wanted Subway. I used to have the footlong Tuna 3/4x a week for lunch, so I split one with my wife. I ate 1/3 of it there, ate 1/3 about an hour later and threw the rest away. Tasted great, but a Tuna sandwich has a short lifespan in my books. So, yes, for me I do believe the "Diet" ends, but again, I am exercising no less than 5x a week. I ran 4 miles yesterday, did an hour high intensity aerobics the day before, 45 minutes spinning the day before that, ran 2 miles the day before that ... So, I try to earn my right to be bad, but let me tell you, I feel great! I can feel my body burning my food so much more efficiently now. The sleeve is a tool that lets me eat 4 wings in 2 hours instead of 20 (or more). If I didn't exercise, then I am sure I would have to limit my selections, but now that I have lost enough weight were I can MOVE, I'm working the tool and eating what I want.

You're doing fine. What a lot of people don't understand is that you actually want stalls. Yes, I typed that correctly. You want to stall. It tells you that your body is progressing through this process. Let's take a look at what your body has gone through lately: 5 incisions in your belly Removal of 85% of your stomach Hiatal hernia repair ... ? Reduction of calories by about 2/3rds Reduction of liquids by about 1/2 How should the body react? It is going, "WOA! I just lost a lot of incoming resources! I need to remap how I am going to deal with this and start using some local reserves." Everyone goes through this. It is a good thing. You want your body to figure this out. This will not be your last stall, either, and again, it is a good thing. This is part of the natural progression.

Congratulations and welcome. Does your Dr have you on a timer or is this your idea? I would say whatever works for you, but I, myself, wouldn't want to be slaved to a timer. As I just posted to another noob, just keep sipping your Protein shakes and Water. Walk and sip, walk and sip. Just do the best you can. I see too often on here people beating themselves up because they haven't hit their 'required' liquids. It is important, don't get me wrong. A lot of folks have ended up in the ER with a bag of fluids attached to their arm because they were dehydrated. But I have to believe there is a middle ground. Somewhere between the Pavlovian response and an IV. If you keep sipping all day long, you should be fine. If you find yourself forgetting, then yes, set the timer. As the swelling in your tummy goes down, you will be able to sip more. Good luck and keep us updated.

Congratulations! liquids are difficult early on. Your stomach is swollen and restricted. Just keep sipping and walking. Protein, then Water. Water, then protein. It will get better, I promise you. Don't stress if you don't hit your quotas, just keep trying. Jello was a good friend to me, too.

Hmmm ... liquid diet getting 60-70 g of Protein but not doing shakes ... interesting. I would love to know what their plan is. For me, it was very tough and I fell short daily getting my protein in and I did use protein shakes. I agree, the first few weeks not meeting goal didn't cause me to suffer, but I do know I have lost A LOT of muscle mass which I'm sure has to do lowering my overall protein intake. Why are they anti-protein and what is their plan to get you protein in the early days? Unless they are OK with your body feeding off of itself for the protein. Sure, you'd have more weight loss and perhaps that is all they care about. Ask questions. Make them give you answers you understand. Just because someone has a "Dr" in front of their name, doesn't always mean they know what they are talking about or aren't looking out for their own best interest.

I use the compression garments when I exercise. It helps keep everything from bouncing too much. I worried about the extra skin, but I figured I would rather be baggy and alive than fat and dead. (High blood pressure, cholestrol, pre-diabetic, sleep apnea ...) I'll deal with the extra skin later. One thing at a time.

Yes, they do put this down your thoat. But, you're sound asleep and it isn't down there that long. They all do it. That is how they ensure the size and getting a good sutre line.

For me, slimes occurred while eating, not an hour or two after. I believe that is pretty much the case. Sounds like something else going on.

You can see my progress in my signature, but I would say you are on the fast end of the spectrum. How far away from goal are you? How would you rate your program? Are you strictly compliant to your plan? Do you have an exercise routine you follow? For me, these are the basis of my success. The scale will take care of itself and I should not be suprised if it doesn't if I can't rate my program very high.

How many carbs are you getting in? My guess is not enough. At 6 mos out, depending on your activity level, I'm thinking you should be somewhere between 75 and 100 g/day. How close to goal are you? And I'm talking about good carbs, not cookie carbs. Cooked veggies, fruits and whatnot. I went through a fatigue phase early on and this is what my NUT told me. Increase my carbs. Have you consulted your NUT?

sleep early on is difficult. My DW made a pocket of pillows that I nestled in which kept me resting at about 60 degrees upright. I have heard of some people living out of a recliner for the first few weeks. I started laying flat after about 3 weeks, not on my back, but not on my side, either. Wife stuffed a pillow behind me. I think I was back to side sleeping at about 6 weeks.

Do a search on this site for ketosis. Basically, when your body is in a state of carb deprivation, acetone builds up in your saliva causing everything to taste funky. I talked to my NUT, who relayed this information to me. She told me to up my carbs by adding cooked veggies to my soup purees and it really did the trick. Things tasted better, my energy level went up and my weight loss continued. Talk to your NUT and see what they say.

Surgery on Friday, back to work on Wednesday. Went home a couple hours after lunch Wed, Thurs, Fri, but then full time from then on. Two weeks should be fine.

Well ... salads and food, as far as quantities go, are two different things. Once chewed, salad scrunches down to mere nothingness. That one cup of salad, I think, relates to about 1/16 of a cup of food. I regularly eat the equivalent of two Cereal bowl size salads with about 3 oz of Tuna and about 2 oz of diced up cheese. I started that around the 14 week mark, though. IMO, you're fine with the cup of salad at 6 weeks, but you do need to be getting your Protein in first. I'm guessing what your Dr wants is 1/2 cup of lean protein. chicken, fish ... that kind of thing. Once you do that, eat salad until you feel the restriction.

I don't know of any studies as it relates to WLS, but I do know that adding back carbs really helped me. Good carbs, not cookie carbs, as I like to call them. The weight will come off. Once you get into the stride of the program, your body will begin to tell you what it needs as far as carbs go. I adjust mine to the energy level I am feeling. Dragging a$$, grab a bowl of oatmeal or Pasta (or whatever higher carb thing you CAN eat at your stage). I find when I am tired and low on energy, it makes it more difficult to be compliant with the meal plan and exercise routine. If I have everything ticking ... then so am I!. I, too, am/was a carb addict. The sleeve has allowed me some semblance of control. Test it out and see what works for you.

I was really low carb in the beginning, but I had no energy. I could sleep 10 hours at night and still be dragging a$$ by 2:00. I talked to my NUT who told me to increase my carbs by eating cooked veggies. This was at about 5 weeks out and in the pureed stage. I was eating pureed Soups, then, so I added carrots and other veggies and it did the trick. Getting 70-90g helped get my energy back and as you can see from my ticker, my weight loss has been good. But I do have to mention that I am pretty active getting to the gym and running, which I was only able to do once I upped my carbs. Now, at almost 6 months out, the only thing I count is Protein. I'm guessing I am somewhere between 150-200 g of carbs a day now, sometimes more depending on my running schedule ... and I am still losing.