PdxMan

I had been taking fish oil. Only reason I'm not, now, is because I forget. It wasn't a problem for me and I had no issues surrounding it.

Just want to echo what the other vets (as you call us) have said. Over 18 months out and still have fabulous restriction. I just keep following the guidelines of eating my Protein first, then veggies, then starches. Been at goal for 9 months down over 130 pounds since pre-op. It works if you work it.

That's a good point. I have never measured my food, but rather let my stomach tell me my limits. If my bites are too large, I can feel it in my stomach and it is not good. So, my bites now are definitely smaller than they were 2 years ago when a bite was as big as whatever utensil I was using could hold. A fork, spoon ... whatever, would be mounded. Now, my bite would be about half to three quarters of that. Sometimes, though, depending on the food, even that will be too much. I hope this isn't TMI, but in those cases, I chew very well and will not swallow everything in my mouth. I would rather take two individual swallows and know it will all go down and sit in my stomach comfortably. Yes, the second swallow is a bit gross, but then my next bite is smaller and I learn. I think the bottom line is to start by taking bites smaller than we used to, chew it well and don't rush to take the next bite. Evaluate how you are feeling after each bite and join in the conversation at the table. There was 20 people at my table yesterday and only a couple knew I had surgery. Everyone else didn't even notice my eating and I didn't give it a second thought. Another reason for my post was to give hope that this is not a permanent thing, this pureed food and restrictions. Everyone will be able to enjoy their holidays and be able to eat food again. Myself ... I felt like I was never going to eat anywhere near "normal" again, but that was just my self-sabotaging mind attempting to hijack my happiness. Crazy people are like that ...

Oh, yeah, you radiate that cr@p from everywhere, it seems. And I mean from everywhere.

Once you are able to get your carbs back up to a better level, this goes away.

Yeah, what CoCo said. Even when you are on solid foods, though, early out, it can be difficult to understand what the new "full" is. I would take a bite, put my fork down and chew really well. I would evaluate how it made me feel and then take another bite. Seldom did more than 3 bites of anything early out. Even now at almost 18 months out I still do this routine. Yesterday, I made a turkey with stuffing ... gravy, mashed potatoes, green Beans ... you know the drill. I had about 4 bites of turky (first) then about 4 green beans, 2 bites of stuffing and 2 bites of potatoes. Gravy slathered across everything. I was one of the last ones to finish eating (guy across from me had 3 platefulls) and I was stuffed. Had ice cream and peanut brittle and a sliver of apple pie about an hour later. I ate about one fourth of the meal I would have had 2 years ago and didn't attack the refridgerator 4 hours later like I used to do. It was a great Christmas and no food hangover.

Check this out.

After awhile, once you get the eating routine down and able to eat any and all foods, your stomach feels normal again. But, if I try to eat like I did in the old days, then yes, there is a difference. It is uncomfortable if I do not chew well enough or take huge bites. But, this goes back to my own issues with food and how I engulfed it. Everybody's story is going to be different.

Go ba As he says, the link is in his signature. If you are viewing this from a mobile device, I believe you have to change something in your settings to display them. Here is the link: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html

After having bouts of low energy, my nut suggested I increase healthy carbs by adding veggies to my soups. It did the trick for me and I never looked back. The body needs carbs for energy. Increased energy translates to increased activity for me, and therefore, increased weight loss. It worked for me. As far as spinich goes, it is one of the most fiberous of veggies behind kale. I didn't eat it cooked, but I'm sure that would break it down more and make it more digestable. You are just going to have to experiment. Try just a bite, chew it well and wait 5 minutes before trying another. I re-introduced leafy green veggies slowly starting with iceburg lettuce, then adding romain, then spinach and finally kale. Started at about the 4 month mark and it took another 4 months before my stomach was able to handle kale. You have to remember the stomach is the mechanical part of digestion and you just removed 85% of that factory. You gotta chew more to replace some of that ability and re-introduce foods slowly. At least that is what I did and it worked for me. Other's milage may vary. I still avoid breads, rice, potatoes and Pasta. For me, they are just nutritionally irrelevant for the amount of space they take up. I'll have a bite occassionally if I am ahead of the game for the day nutritionally.

This is exactly correct. The great thing about the sleeve it the tool is always there ready for you to use. I am 17+ months out and I still have great restriction. I know that I can drop any weight I gain over the holidays by following the guidelines. My restriction will always be there. I control food now, not the other way around.

Oh yeah, very common after being sleeved. For me, it occured when I ate just a bit too much. Had to lay down and take a 5 minute nap.

Uhhh ... sorry. Things of this magnitude don't change in less than two weeks. I hope this is the result of working with a counselor. Otherwise, don't be suprised if/when this happens again. For things to change, there needs to be change. I can't believe this can be determined after a few heart-to-heart chats with your husband in the span of 2 weeks. I am seeing a marriage counselor with my wife myself to deal with relationship issues. I think I am in touch with my feelings and what's going on only to be suprised by new revelations as I dig deeper. This is not a simple process.

They will give you pain medication, so, I used that and stayed ahead of the pain, so no problem there for me. I was outpatient and was out noon. Took a 4 hour nap and took my wife out to dinner (surgery was in Vegas, baby!) We walked around downtown and I even played a couple hands of blackjack. The next day, we went to M&M, Venetian, Wynn and all over downtown again. Day after that was more of the same. Moving is essential to aid the body in getting the surgical gas, which is trapped in your body, out. This gas causes the most discomfort, but it's not a deal breaker. I froze all my prepped foods, too. I have many posts about using glass canning jars (jam jars). They're great. Cheap, reusable and pop right into the microwave. I can grab one on the way the door to work and it is thawed by lunchtime. I still do this today 17+ months out. The jam jars are perfect portions. I have soups, lasagna, german cabbage and ground turkey ... all leftovers. They're great.

My Protein shakes were the only "Processed" (Premier Protein from Costco) food I ate. I made lots of soups, too. All you have to do is listen to your body. You'll know what you can and can't handle and progress at your own pace. Eventually, you will be back to eating anything and everything, just in smaller quantities. 17+ months out here and I can eat anything.

17+ months out here. This is a common question. How do you fundamentally change your relationship with food just by having a surgery? Yes, you can limit your intake, but it takes awhile for the mind to catch up. Yes, there is some mourning which occurs after awhile, but then you see the scale move and the pants slip off your hips and things begin to just get better. There is a change, for sure, but for me, I wanted a change. Needed a change, so I was ready for it. I don't regret my decision in the least. It was exactly what I needed because I, too, loved to eat large quantities and snack constantly. I love the feeling of being full and that feeling is still satisfied with the sleeve. It just occurs much quicker than it did before. I can eat whatever I want. Last weekend I went out with the wife and had lobster tail, asparagus and scalloped potatoes. Very limited quantity, but I was completely sated. It was great. Had more for lunch the next day. When I am out with friends or co-workers, I ask for a to-go container when I order. As soon as my meal arrives, I quickly toss in no less than two thirds of the portion and spread the remaining around my plate. I gingerly eat my meal and nobody notices a thing. It has never been a problem. I no longer crave food and snacking is not a part of my life anymore. I know ... sounds crazy, but it is true. I eat to live, not live to eat.

I asked my Dr's nurse and she said whenever I felt like it, but just don't try any acrobatics. We waited 4 days and did the old scissors routine. I think that would work for either boy or girl.

Yup, 3 days. He told me I can yank it out when it deflates. I was like, "No way! You can do it when I see you." Crazy. He just grabbed a hold of it and yanked. Didn't hurt, but felt a little weird. You would think it would hurt, but it didn't. Abdominal pain lasted just a few days. I had a lower pain about 3 inches to the right of my belly button. Little bit of swelling and light pain to the touch. That lasted about 10 days. Never was explained. But I stayed pretty true to the pain meds. Never let the pain get ahead of me. No reason to. You don't win any awards for being in pain.

For me, the sleeve is a tool that helps me make better food decisions. I guess some people could call it self control, but I don't know. Here is what I do know. I can eat about 6 ounces of food at a sitting. I can do this about 6 or 7 times per day. I know that in these times, there are nutrients my body needs in order to function well ... stay alert ... concentrate ... those being Protein, healthy carbs, Calcium, Vitamins, Fiber ... ya know. So, when the rest of the family is eating: sandwiches with Cheetos stir fry with rice chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and string Beans I have 6 ounces of space ... I eat the meat and cheese with a cracker or two and a couple Cheetos at the end I eat the meat and veggies with sauce, no rice (or just a teaspoon) I eat the chicken with a bit of gravy on it and some beans, no potatoes (or just a teaspoon) For me, I do not want to waste the real estate in my stomach on what I consider nutritionally void foods. How much bang for my buck does rice or potatoes give me nutritionally? Not much ... certainly not enough. I don't know if I call this self control, though. I am just trying to get the most out of what I can get with the space that I've got.

Sure ... you have a tube sticking out of you, for crying out loud. If it is any REAL concern, call your Dr.

Get a MyFitnessPal account and track everything. One of the baffling aspects of addiction is not being honest with yourself. You are not seeing the trees through the forest. Track everything and I'm sure you will find your answer. Assuming you are not bedridden, it is simply not possible to eat 800 calories per day and not lose weight over 6 months. I don't care if you have a thyroid condition or what. It is just not possible. Be honest about your portion sizes and track everything. If anything, overestimate your portions. Chances are, the 2 ounces of nuts are probably more like 4 ounces ... things like that.

So, here's the deal with that. The first week or so, with such limited intake, your body is going to burn through the glycogen stored in your body. If you don't remember what glycogen is from high school bio class, Google it. Glycogen is initially stored in your liver, hence the reason for the pre-op diet most surgeons put us on, to shrink the liver. After the liver's glycogen stores are depleted, the body moves on to the glycogen stored in your muscles. In order for the body to store glycogen in the muscles, it must be bonded with Water in a 4 to 1 ratio, meaning 4 grams of water bonds with 1 gram of glycogen. When glycogen from the muscles is used, both the glycogen and water are taken. So, you burn through 1 pound of glycogen, you also use 4 pounds of water for a total loss of 5 pounds. Depending on how much glycogen your body has stored, you could drop 10, 15, 20 pounds very easily and quickly. Something I always did when doing an Atkins like diet. So, this is a bad news, good new kind of thing. The bad new is you haven't been burning very much fat at this point. Yes, you weigh less, but it's the fat burning that we really want to get to which leads to the good news. Once your body has depleted the glycogen stores, it must turn to your fat and muscle reserves and convert them to glycogen for your body to use as energy. Notice I said fat and muscle reserves. Your body will burn muscle as well as fat and this is one of the reasons why it is so important to get your Protein in. You want fat burned and muscle to be replaced. So, rejoice in the loss of 20 pounds never coming back, but this will not last. You are at the point, now, where the weight loss will not be at the same rate, so do not get discouraged. It will continue and you must remain steadfast following the guidelines your Dr laid out for you.

Well, like I mentioned in my post, my solution was to take smaller bites and to chew more thoroughly. That seems to be the common solution I have seen from others, too.

I had the same issue. I talked to my NUT who suggested I increase my carbs. She said I needed carbs for energy which, in turn, would help me burn more calories. She suggested adding more vegetables to my Soups which were a staple in my diet. I did and it totally worked for me. My energy went up and I was able to start an exercise program which catapulted me into a new way of life. Give it a try. See if works for you.