PdxMan

They know what they are doing. I had a lean and green pre-op diet. Protein shake for Breakfast and one for lunch. For dinner, lean protein with green veggies. As much as I wanted. My usual fare was a salad. My protein was either tuna, shrimp or chicken. Ah, and ground turky with taco seasoning, ala taco salad. I would pile on the cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower. Whilst most of those aren't green, I asked my NUT about them and she said that was fine. And I'm not talking about a salad bowl size, either. Full on humongo bowl. Did this for 2 weeks, was pretty much always comfortable. I was allowed an additional shake if I got hungry. Lost 10 pounds and the Dr said my liver looked great and was easy to work with.

I believe you can tell them about special diets. I'm sure you are not the first WLS person they have had on board. I'm guessing you won't be the only one on the ship! Let them know what you are able to eat and I'm sure they will be accomodating.

Neil, I think you may have completely missed my point. You are so obsessed with being "right" and with the populous. If you really want to have a p!$$ contest, then go add the "likes" on my posts and you will see the nubmers even up a bit more. You still have not responded to my lasts posts, either. Can you do that without being a smart @$$? Your pride and ego have gotten the better of you in this discussion and blinded you to the points being made. I don't know how I can get this across any clearer, but I'll try one more time. I completely agree with your original post. Even the one you had before you edited it and softened it up. People should not obsess about falling off the wagon. But you were suggesting that they do not need to follow the Drs guidelines, and I disagreed. I do believe that is irresponsible and to tell people otherwise could have negative consequences in their lives. Can you not see this? It is my opinion, from my personal experience and reading thousands of threads over the last 17 months on this and other sites, that you are in the minority as far as the foods you are able to eat so early on. I am amazed at what you are able to eat and know that because of this, you will have an easier go with this journey. Since you state that you have read all of the pre- and post-op threads, what do you think? I tried to progress to what you are doing and there was just no possible way. You were able to drink more the first week of surgery than I was after the first month. Am I saying everyone is like me? No way, but surely you don't expect everyone to be like you, either. You got your back up when I said that if you were saying all this stuff for the sole purpose of stirring the pot, you were a troll. Believe it or not, there are people like that. I've been on forums and bulletin boards since before the WWW existed and have come across many. They have nothing better to do with their time. I was merely saying that if that was your intention, to get everyone riled up. You were a troll. If that wasn't your intention, then you were not. Please don't read my posts so defensively. As stated in my previous posts, my intention on this forum is to share my experience as I know it. I worry about the person researching the sleeve and reading a post like this and think they do not have to follow their Drs guidelines.

Wow! Nice job! Glad to hear you are meeting your goals. Congratulations!

I'm glad you found something that you like. As the GNC guy said, casein is a slow release protein and with our new system, protein absorption is one of our challenges. Confirm with the nutritionist on your medical team, but I would suggest you have this before bedtime, so it can be in your system while you sleep. When you first wake and after your exercise, your body really needs a quicker source of protein to prevent the body from cannibalising itself. Whey is suggested for that.

I started around 300# and began jogging, if you call it that, at 2 months post. I started by walking between two telephone poles, then running between two poles. Couple days later, I would walk to a pole, run two poles ... week later, walk a pole, run three poles. You get the gist. Like Butter, I had always hated jogging, but I found myself enjoying it, so I bought the C25K program on the iPhone. It worked for me! I also bought the Brooks Beasts. Great shoes as they have very firm soles. Any running store will also do a gait analysis for free to confirm pronation/supination and make shoe suggestions. Then you can go online and buy what you want. Good luck!

At no time did I say you were full of SH)##@. As a matter of fact, if you read my first post, I said I agreed with you, so, uh ... What I disagreed with was that people don't need to follow their Drs guidelines. I just don't agree. I put myself in the shoes of someone researching the sleeve, coming on here, reading and thinking, "Oh, I really don't have to do purees post-op, then. Cool!" Then, they get the sleeve, do their own thing and get in trouble. This is the person I worry about most when I read this thread.

Wow, is that how you have interpreted my post? Or my posts on other threads? My intent on this board is two-fold. To learn other people's experiences and to share mine. Nothing more. I don't want anyone to turn into a health nut or go out and run a 5K, if they don't want to. I don't want you to be like me. I want everyone, whether pre or post sleeve, to have the best information they can to fulfill their goals. Some people are looking to only cut back on the quantity of food they eat, as is evidenced by the post asking, "I'm three days post-op, what can I order at Dairy Queen?" While that did make me go, "WOW", it is their choice and their own personal goals. That is fine. Other people are looking to change their lives completely. That is also their choice. I try to share my experience and answer whatever questions are posted honestly as I can. Have I avoided judging people on here? I'd like to say, "No", but alas, I know I, too, have been guilty. I'm human. I am trying to improve myself. But, look at the threads. Not just the ones posted in the past day or week. The OP says they have read ALL the threads (tongue in cheek, I know) in pre- and post-, which would encompass thousands of threads. If even 10% were read, you would see the common topic of people sliming, throwing up, in terrible pain. What would you suggest to them? "Come on! You're 3 weeks post op. I could eat meatballs by then ... what's your problem?" Real people are having real problems on here. Real people are researching the sleeve and using this site as a reference. I don't think it is responsible forum membership to give the impression that you don't have to follow your Drs guidelines. No matter what your goals are. That is the jist of I interpret from this thread. Now, just know, the OP has edited his posts and the content has changed, but I am not able to follow each of those edits. BTW, I define a troll as someone who come on a forum and kicks the hornets nest for no other reason that to create a buzz. That may easily apply to me as I do seem to attract controversy at times. But it is funny, I really don't think I am THAT controversial by suggesting you actually follow your Drs guidelines and call out someone who tells people not to worry about them ... Curious ...

Yeah ... this ^^^ surely isn't troll behavior is it? And you passed the psych exam? Hmmm ... definately troll.

I also can't imagine a Dr telling his sleeve patients its OK to be eating a meatball within 2 weeks of having surgery. Sorry, but I think I am calling BS on this. I'm not just talking from my personal experience. I tried eating eating ground turkey meatball 1 month post-op ... no way. Too painful. 2 months post-op, same thing. I believe it was at 3 months I could handle it, and tried a ground beef one and it, too was painful. 6 months before eating beef was OK for me. At our nutrition seminar, our NUT told the story of a man who had a steak 1 week post-op and died. I don't think she was making the story up to put the fear in us and after having been there, done that, I could see how having a steak post-op would have killed me. I don't think I am the norm, nor was I atypical, but I just can't fathom ANY Dr suggesting the kinds of things you are saying. Now, if he is just directing these things at you, that is something else altogether. To suggest that others should throw caution to the wind and do it too is just irresponsible. If this is what you are suggesting, then I gotta mark you as a troll and not a true VSG recipient who wants to come on a WLS board and f*ck with a bunch of people's heads. Maybe I'm in left field, here, but ...

I recall reading this can occur if the sleeve is too small. Maybe research from that angle.

Well, you are not the first person to basically post this exact same thread. In each case, I have written the same response and in every case but one, the person wasn't pregnant. They were freaking out over nothing. You don't have to be a woman to point out that there is a population of women who will begin stressing out over something that doesn't exists. I'm a father of two and have been through the whole, "OMG, I'm late!" thing more than once. Each time, I just grab the car keys, go to the store and pick up a test. Our first test was so not evident. "Do you see a line? I think I do ... maybe ... well, no. Wait." Had to go to the Dr to confirm we were. Next child the line was as dark as all get out. No doubting that one. Good luck and I hope it all works out the way it supposed to.

I don't know if 15 months out qualifies as being a veteran, but I'll offer my opinion and hopefully won't be too long. I totally agree with you for the most part ... but only after you have some time under your belt. I got this surgery so I didn't have to diet anymore, and I don't. But I also knew my relationship with food was not healthy. I needed to change that, so I changed. But there are reasons why the "Rules" are there. First off, this is not a one size fits all process. Not everyone comes out of surgery pain free. I'm a sweller. I swell up with any type of injury. Post-op, I couldn't swallow hardly any Water. It was an effort to squeeze down 20 oz of water a day. I have read some posts, like the OP, who could drink a glass of water immediately. Again, we are all not the same. There is no way on Earth I could have even dreamed of having tuna in any shape or form within two weeks post-op. Half a spoon of cottage cheese was painful at two weeks out. Being careful isn't so much about the pain either, I think. Is every surgeon going to sew a nice, straight, uninterrupted staple line? No, you are not going to break a staple, but what about putting some unnecessary pressure on a gap between staples that was part of a stop and re-positioning? I don't know about y'all, but I couldn't really even tell when I was full for the first couple months. I didn't measure my food, but I knew that after a couple bites, I needed to stop whether it was due to hiccupping or feeling food coming back up. So, why do the Drs give us the rules? They need to know what has been going on behind the scenes when you call them with an issue or complaint. (patient one week out) "Dr, my upper abdomen feels really warm and the skin is reddish. BTW, I had tuna on crackers last night." (Dr) "Well, you didn't follow the guidelines I gave you so, it could be dozens of things. Meet you at the ER." Eating slowly ... Hmmm ... go ahead. Don't follow this one. Inhale your food like you used to do. Just post your results here. BTW, good luck with that one. Since you've read all the post-op posts, you'll know what to expect. Alchohol ... careful of cross addictions. Yes, it is very real. All I know is I followed the rules and I am at goal. It worked for me. If y'all have read the post-op posts, you will see hundreds of posts complaining about not losing weight while admitting they don't eat the foods they are supposed to be eating. So, go ahead. Don't follow the rules. But don't complain when you can't get to goal, either. You know why. And that is fine, too. A lot of people get the sleeve to lose 75% of their excess weight and it works out great for them. It all depends on what your personal goals are. My advice ... listen to your Dr and follow the rules as best you can.

Have you taken a home test? Don't worry about something until you have something to worry about.

I'm in the same boat ... insurance won't cover anything bariatric related. Can't even go see a nutritionist/dietician and have it covered. But, like mentioned above, my Dr orders the tests anyway as they are needed for general physicals. Haven't had to pay out of pocket for one. Just talk to your Dr and I'm sure everything will be fine. If your Dr is obstinate about it, then it is time to find a new Dr.

I believe you can lose as much weight as you need to ... but with a twist. It really is up to you, how compliant with the rules you are willing to be and the exercise regimen you are committed to. I am 15 months out and been at goal since last March. I have lost 120 pounds and still have excellent restriction. I know that if I wanted to, I could lose more, but at this point, I am afraid that would mostly be muscle. If you read the boards, you will see posts from many folks who will complain about not losing weight, but will also say that they are not exercising or they are not eating the right foods. As far as the foods go, I think we all probably started out with a poor relationship with food and the sleeve doesn't really address that. So, unless you are willing to confront and correct that, this may be an issue for you, too. Exercise can also be a challenge for us as it may have never been a part of our lives and starting it now is difficult. Bottom line is, you will get out of the sleeve exactly what you put into it. If you can be compliant and do the right thing, I don't believe there is any limit to the amount of weight a sleever can lose.

Ah, yes ... good. If they put you on a pre-op diet, be diligent with it. If the surgeon gets in there and finds your liver larger than they are comfortable with operating around, they will either abort or do an open surgery.

Why do you believe the lap is best for you? Not judging ... just curious Others, please do not judge the responses, this is a personal decision.

We have to change our habits. For me, I'm sure it was one of the reasons I was overweight. I inhaled my food. If we are going to make a change, we have to make a change. Change is hard and it takes time, but just keep trying. I force myself to put my utensil down after each bite. It slows me down.

I had Dr Umbach in Las Vegas (Baby!). I was self-pay for $10,400 and was out-patient. He was awesome. I am 15 months post-op, at goal and still have excellent restriction. He also did a hiatal hernia repair on me. I had terrible reflux prior and haven't had one bout since surgery. Highly recommend Umbach.

Sleeved on Friday, back to work (desk job) on Wednesday. Worked 'til 2:00 Wednesday, Thurs & Friday, but then back full time on Monday.

You're fine. What you did is called sliming. Do a search on this site for it. It happens when you eat too quickly, take bites that are too large or don't chew enough. I had it happen to me once after eating a peach, too. Went back to the old habit of inhaling my food and whoosh! The foam started flowing. Not an experience I wanted again and that re-enforced the need to slow down. You have to remember, the stomach is th mechanical part of digestion. It churns food around with the stomach acids to prepare it to enter the intestines. 85% of it was just recently removed. The staple line hasn't even fully healed, yet. Take it slower that you think ... don't push it. Help out the mechanical part by chewing well.

I am 15 months post-op and I have lost 100% of my excess weight. I have been at goal (180 #) since March. I attribute my success to following the rules explicitly. Eat lean Protein first Don't drink with meals Exercise I did not do low carb. I believe in the whole calories consumed vs calories burned. In order to have the energy to exercise, you need carbs. If you have energy to exercise, you burn a lot more calories ... you lose weight. When I am talking about exercise, I am not referring to walking around the block 5 times. I'm talking about getting your heart rate up to 80-90% of your target and maintaining it there for at least 30 minutes. Do that, and any sleever will lose. I'm sure of it. Do that, and you, too will lose 100% of your excess weight. Don't be a slave to the scale. You are going to stall. It is a natural and necessary part of this journey. The best way to beat a stall is to not weigh yourself but once a month. That way, you always see loss and are not discouraged. The scale measures weight, not fat.

So, 1 pound = 3,500 calories. If the scale says you are two pounds heavier than yesterday, does it mean you ate 7,000 calories more than you expended? No. There are other forces at work here. Water weight being one of them that can fluctuate so quickly. If your glycogen stores were depleted when you weighed yesterday i i, and are fuller when you weigh next, that alone can account for several pounds. Weighing less and burning fat are two different things. Know this and don't let the scale get you down. A continual defecit will result in fat being burned and permanent weight loss with the sleeve. Just keep doing the right thing and you will be fine.

What is your carb intake? Are you trying to do low carb? That may be your problem right there. You can't run a car on Water ... it takes gas. Carbs are fuel you body needs for energy. Increase your carbs increases your energy which increases your activity which increases your weight loss. At least it worked for me. Are you tracking in MyFitnessPal? How many grams of carbs are you getting?