PdxMan

How often do you weigh yourself? Don't do it daily, you'll drive yourself crazy watching the scale bounce around. For some reason, a lot of people believe every day should be a loss, but the body just doesn't work that way.

I didn't have a revision, but as far as hunger post sleeve goes, it truly is amazing. I was the worst snack-monster you could ever find. After eating a huge stir-fry plate, an hour later, I was eating 20 crackers and cheese and then a peanut butter sandwich and then ... Now, after dinner (a medium tuna salad), I may have something of a snack, but that is mainly to try to get enough calories in. It is not my mind or body telling me, "FEED ME!!". It may be 3 crackers and cheese, or 1/4 of an apple. I still get hungry, but it is a different hunger ... a good hunger. As my surgeon explained to me, the body will learn the new signals in absence of the gherlin, but it will take some time to learn them.

I was told 6 weeks from my surgeon for the staple line to heal. But I have heard of people having a leak after 9 weeks. Do a search on the site for leak or leaks. If you smoke, I understand that time could be double.

I was merely pointing out that you have stores all over your town, with one even called Complete Health Services Ideal Protein Centre. But you don't even want to try those options. As is noted in several other posts on this topic and echoed in my initial post, what works for one person is not necessarily going to work for another. My cousin loves isopuke. Everybody's tastes are different. It is going to require a search. But, if you feel your taste buds won't tolerate the best of what Saskatoon can carry, then by all means, go online and order samples. But it may be beneficial to you to have something local because you truly will not know until after your surgery. Will you have something you can tolerate? How long to ship more of it to your home? As long as you find what works for you, that is what is important. As with any endevour, to have success, one must set themselves up for success. It wasn't so much of having a bad day as it was straw breaking the camel's back of posts stating that a person can't handle protein shakes, but has tried only one and isn't willing to go around searching for what may work for them. The boards, including OH, are littered with them. I struggled with protein, too, early on. Having one I loved pre-op and couldn't stomach post, I finally found one that worked, but it was still difficult to get the required amount in. It was probably week 3 before I was able to do so, but I kept trying. I can see how it could be an easy trap to fall into and I sincerely want us all to succeed in this. Maybe some are luckier than others, but I do believe we can help create our own luck with preparation. If you wouldn't mind, could you read my post here? Thanks: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/28313-can-we-get-back-to-support-and-stop-attacking-each-other-please/page__view__findpost__p__241161 I wish the best of luck to you in this.

Well, as I said, I knew I was going to come across as judgemental, but I really didn't mean to, but I don't see where I was rude. Quitting smoking is very difficult and stressful, which adds to the difficulty. Going through the first weeks after VSG is difficult, stressful and scary at times. For me, even having a few puffs would make me crave it even more back when I was quitting smoking. Some may say, "A few puffs won't hurt", but I think it can. It made it more difficult to make that total separation which I needed to finally quit. Stress, eating and smoking are a viscious cycle for some and was for me. I just want you to be successful with your VSG and to do that, we have to set ourselves up for success.

Yup ... that would be a perfect description of slimes.

I want to second what Lissa says. Protein, liquids, carbs. In that order. For the first few weeks, you'll be lucky to get to the recommended amounts. The calories will take care of themselves.

You just want to be very compliant with the meal plan they laid out for you. Don't over eat, don't drink with meals. Let you stomach heal.

From what I understand, smoking can really impede the healing process. Big time. You are talking about your stomach here and you are OK with it not healing properly or taking twice as long? I'm sure your surgeon talked to you about this, assuming they knew you were a smoker. Oh, boy ... I'm sure I'm going to come across as judgmental, but, I just have to say ... if you are not going to be compliant in this, how do you think the meal plan compliance is going to go? Sorry, but you may be in for a rough road, then. BTW, I am an ex-smoker and I know the demons. If you got this surgery to make a change, then make a change. If not, then I don't know what to tell you.

I would shoot for about 60 g a day. I was able to do this by eating cooked veggies. Soft cheese was good, too. It may mean undercutting your protein by a bit, but try to find the balance as you are able to eat more as the days pass.

You are in ketosis right now. Search the site for some great posts concerning it. Once you get your carbs back up to where they need to be, taste will be back.

Was this person you spoke someone reputable? Have they researched the sleeve enough for you to trust them? Is it your surgeon? Who is this? Why have you let them occupy so much space in your head? It is obvious to me this person has no idea about the finer details of VSG and you should not give weight to their advice. My guess is this is a family member or someone who has an emotional attachment to you who is a bit jealous of your decision to take back control of something you had lost. People are intimidated by someone who can do things they can't do. They feel the only way they can feel better about themselves and their decisions is to sabotage the other by getting inside their head. Indymom is absolutely correct. The fundus has been removed. Your sleeve can stretch a bit, just like your wallet can, but by no means is it going to regain the 85% that was removed. I asked my Dr this directly and he told me that I would really have to put forward a concerted effort to stretch my sleeve. Besides, it would be quantity, not quality of the food. Fried, greasy food is not going to stretch it anymore than a chicken breast would. Evict the tenant in your head, yes. But also stop eating the bad foods. It keeps you from your program and puts a "For Rent" sign on your head. If you wanted to make a change by getting sleeved, then make a change.

For me, I had lost 35 pounds and all of my clothes still fit the same. It was frustrating, but I knew that everything would work out. It had to. I wasn't going to lose 100 pounds and remain the same size, for crying out loud. Sure enough, soon I was able to get into size 38 jeans. About two weeks later, I was in 36 and about two weeks after that, I was in 34s. There was nothing and then whoosh!

Yes, a few years ago, post shoulder surgery, I was on a band exercise program and I was surprised at what a great workout it was. My heart rate was up and I was sweating!

There are many exercises you can do right in your home sitting on your couch. Pick up some hand weights and one of those large rubber bands at Target and you can do a TON of stuff. Yoga and stretch are also ways you can get a workout in. Search the web for stationary exercises or band exercise. There are always options for any person's situation. Cheap, too! http://www.band-exercises.net/

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear that everything went well.

I have been running about 15-20 miles a week and am starting a half-marathon training program with a local running group here next month. I did a 5K earlier in Dec with a time of 26:23. One thing I have noticed, though, is how much more aware I am of how even the smallest of meals affects my body and my run. I have started eating Pasta now and what a difference it has made. It will be interesting to see the modifications I will have to make as my distances increase.

You should definately consult your Dr, but from what I understand, your staple line is healed after 6 weeks, so at 4 months, I seriously doubt your issue is leak related. So, yes, you are too far out for this to be leak related.

Sounds to me like you are doing everything right ... except for one thing ... searching the forum! This is part of the 3 week stall and is a good thing. Really. Pretty much everybody goes through it and it is a necessary part of the progression. You've just had major surgery, lost 13 pounds in less than a month, and your body is going WOA! It just needs a few days to get things in order as to how it is going to start feeding off of itself. Search the forum for stalls and you will see. There is lots of advice. I think you will find that cutting calories is one of the last things you want to do, BTW. Congrats! You're doing great.

Commitment For me, that is what it is about. Whatever I approach, I make a decision to commit to it. I put things in place to help me stay committed, too. What does this mean? Let's take a look at my committments thus far. Protein: I really struggled with getting required amounts in the beginning because what I had been using pre-op, all of a sudden I couldn't stomach. My tastes changed. But I knew my body needed it, so I committed myself to finding what worked for me, going to The Vitamin Shoppe and getting samples, Trader Joes and costco. Found one that worked; 30g Premier shakes. $24 for 18. I have two a day. Eating: I am committed to following my surgeon/NUT's program. I don't drink with my meals. I progressed through the liquid/pureed/soft/regular food stages pretty close to plan (Not perfect, I won't kid you, but I stayed pretty close) When I had fatigue issues early on, I contacted my NUT to get advice and followed her guidance to add more good carbs solving that issue. Excercise: I had always wanted to run a 5K. I had friends who had done it. My 70 year old Father-In-Law runs them constantly (and wins his division and most of the time beats the 40+ divisions). With my weight, my knees could never handle running. But I knew I was supposed to get exercise and like Lissa and coffee, I walked a lot. There are many folks on this forum who have done one of the C25K programs (couch to 5k), so I bought an app for my iPhone, bought a $50 compression shirt (loose skin flopping while running doesn't feel good, I learned) and progressed to running. I followed this program and commit to run 4x a week. I have found there is a hump that once crossed, makes committing to running easier. I also am doing weight training and cross training (tabata and spinning classes once a week). I have committed to an exercise routine. How long can I sustain this? I'll let you know. For me, it also works in the above order. In order to eat the right things on my program, I first need to be sure I am getting my Protein. With that, it is easier to eat normal meals, albiet a fraction of the size they were. When I sit down to dinner with the family, I can feel OK having a bite of potatoes first, because, with the fish also on my plate, and the chili I had for lunch, I know I have met my daily protein. With my diet on track, my exercise is easier. I have the energy to run or whatever. I feel good. And when I feel good, it makes everything else so much easier to stay committed to. It is a cycle. One begets the next. I have lost an amazing amount of weight in a short period of time and have never felt better. But it has to start with a committment. Commit to your program. Start to lose weight and feel good. I think the next commitments will come easier. But you have to commit to it. BTW, I am now running about 15-20 miles a week and just spent $120 on a half marathon training program to be run on the 4th of July. This is one way I am helping myself to stay committed to running.

Yes, Rev Me Up is correct. The ads are based on your Cookies so they can be directed at what you have recently searched for. For me, I see reflective running hats and shirts, which is what I have been Googling lately. Last week, I was searching for toy helicopters and guess what? They were all over my ads. What have you been Googling lately? Is this a shared computer? Who else conducts searches on your computer? I think if you clear your cookies and history, it should reset them to basic ads.

Have you researched or asked your Dr/surgeon about the possibility of stretching your sleeve? From what I have been told from my surgeon, your new stomach is akin to a wallet. Yes, you can stuff it and it will stretch a tiny bit, but really not much at all. The fundus has been removed and that is the stretchy part what distends when we used to gorge ourselves. That is gone now, so ... It was explained to me the reason not to drink carbonated bevs was that it takes up space that should be saved for "real" liquids and food. There are dozens of reasons for gassyness. Too much sugar or other fermentable foods. I wouldn't worry about stretching your stomach, but I would discontinue carbonated bevs. Stick to your surgeon's program and all will be well.

hair loss is a big topic on the board. If you do a search (Upper right hand corner of page), you will find a lot of hits. I thought I was going to pass this phase as I, too, for the most part, took in all of my Protein and then some. I was very diligent about my Vitamins as well. I have (had) very thick hair and never had a history of losing hair, even with previous weight loss. But ... just before the 5 month mark, it started coming out. I added Biotin to my regimen, and so far ... still losing hair. I would say I have lost about 1/3 of it. Maybe a bit more. I know some people are able to dodge this bullet, but I think it a crap shoot.

Just make sure they understand that tomorrow!! Don't let them touch you until everyone on the team knows what procedure you are having.

I feel the same way, Juli.