PdxMan

You almost sound like you are disappointed you didn't get sick post-surgery ... How much did you think you were going to be able to eat post-surgery? What was your surgery date? Are you following the basic tenants of post-surgery life? No drinking 1/2 an hour before/after eating or during Lean Proteins first then veggies If you want to cheat, the sleeve is not going to stop you. You may have to do a little work upstairs to help the downstairs do what it needs to do. Are you willing to make a fundamental change with your relationship with food?

I sure don't want to sound "holier than thou", but for me, it was just the opposite. After I made the decision to get the sleeve, for me it was an acceptance that I was going to make a fundamental change with my relationship with food. I did have a "last meal" at my favorite german restaurant (which turned out to be sooo disappointing). But I think it was like an alcoholic. Once you admit you have a problem, you can't go back to drinking the same way again.

Don't get a scale. Weigh yourself at Walgreens once a month. Or better yet, do it at a friends house once a month. It will keep things in perspective. Don't make yourself crazy by having a scale in your house. Trust me on this one ...

When you say your carbs and protein are fine, what does that mean? Someone who works out needs higher amounts of both. How many calories are you getting in? I talk about this a bit on my blog. I work out alot and get about 120 carbs and 140 protein. On days before a race, my carbs are up towards 200. You needs a lot of carbs for energy if you are working out a lot.

Wow, take a look at the saturated fat and sodium in that ... not good. We have to make better decisions with our food choices now. Pre-op, I would have been all over that, but now ... Oye!

Two weeks out, so you are still on liquids ... correct? Maybe purees? Just take your time and slow down. Pour yourself smaller amounts into another container and drink from it. Take a couple minutes between drinks. If you are on purees and using a spoon, put the spoon down in between. Evaluate how you feel after each bite. If you are past these two stages, then ... wow. Two weeks out?

At 5 weeks, I was eating pureed Soups. My favorite was ham and lentil with veggies. I tossed it into a blender which made it look gross, but it tasted wonderful. It had a bold flavor which I needed at this stage. Other soups I made were chicken veggie and turkey chili. Blended them and they were wonderful (at this stage).

Did your medical team have a nutitionist available for you? You should try working with them first as they know your story far better than any of us here on an Internet forum. Where did you read 45-50 grams of Protein daily to lose weight? Was that for people having a sleeve gastrectomy or another WLS surgery, or is that for a non-WLS individual? I think it would depend on whether or not you are willing to lose muscle mass as part of your weight loss. Reducing protein intake to that level will NOT help burn fat, if that is the goal ... I am a very active person with exercise and weight lifting. I get probably 120 to 140 grams of protein in daily. I do not want to lose muscle and am trying to regain the muscle I lost early out. As far as doing this forever ... well, yes. "Normal" weight people get far more protein than that, so there is no reason we shouldn't as well. You really need to talk to your medical team and figure out what your goals are with the level of exercise you are willing to commit to and where you are at now.

5 miles through Vegas in July ... yeah, it wasn't easy and most was inside the casinos, but when you start experiencing the gas pain, you want to get rid of it as fast as possible.

I started doing elliptical and light weight lifting a month before surgery. I was able to do 30 minutes at a pretty high intensity. I know this helped with my recovery. Having a higher level of endurance can only translate into quicker recovery. Day of surgery (I was outpatient), I was discharged at 11:30, went to hotel and took a 4 hour nap. Got up, took my wife out to dinner and walked all over downtown Las Vegas (Baby!). Next day, went to M&M, MGM, Venetian ... walked over 5 miles. Next day, same thing. Before flying home, I met with my surgeon and he was amazed at my recovery. He also believed my fitness played a large part. I think what you are doing will pay large dividends in the long run, for sure. I don't think there is any way to completely avoid muscle loss, but building some up before hand will at least give you some reserve. Post-op, when you are able to get your Protein in and get back to the gym, you won't have nearly as far to go. Good luck and keep us posted on how everything goes.

Search the site (upper right hand corner) for keyword straw. It is a much belabored topic. Quick story on it, though, is there are some people out there who do not clear the straw of air before swallowing the liquid. They also swallow the air with the liquid which adds gas to the stomach which can be painful. Then burping ensues with stomach spasms and ... well ... I am an air-clearer myself, so I loved my straws, but not all of us are professional straw users, so the medical profession advises not to use straws. If you find you are like myself, then straws should be OK, otherwise, don't use them.

Well, there is a whole forum on here dedicated to Pregnancy. Thankfully, the uterus and stomach are two sepatate organs, so one should not affect the other. You will have to pay more attention to your nutrition, for sure, and eat more often to get your calories up, but that is because of the restriction. Search the site (upper right hand corner of page) for the topic stretch. It is a much belabored topic. At some point, everybody wonders if they are going to stretch their stomach. Short answer ... yes, it will stretch a bit, but not much at all in the grand scheme of things. Tiffykins posted a lot on her pregnancy last year. Search for her (using same search box, opting for members in the dropdown) and check out her posts.

So, I have the extra skin issue, too, so I wear the Under Armour compression shirts. It keeps every loose bit from bouncing too much. I talk about it a bit in my blog (link below). To start training for running, I started by walking, then moved to a slow jog between telephone poles. I was still quite large at the time and didn't push myself too hard, but I got out there and worked on moving. As they say, before you walk, you have to crawl. If you want to run, don't think you have to go out and run 3 miles on your first outing. It took me over a month before I could jog a mile. Don't try to bite off too much. There are no medals, here. Just fitness. Take it easy, but as they say ... just do it.

Yes, I, too, was quite suprised to find that I enjoyed running. I've been doing races now and am doing a 10K at the end of this month, half marathon in July and a full marathon in October. Check out my blog for some of my thoughts on being a VSG runner. Congrats!!

I went to a local seminar, not by my surgeon, about a year ago. It kinda felt like a sales pitch for the band. The surgeon probably has a better profit margin on bands. Someone asked about the sleeve and she said she does them, but there wasn't enough long term studies on the outcome ... eesh.

Well, my first thought when I am reading this is ... why are you eating mashed potatoes? Assumming you are not eating them for Breakfast ... you should only be eating them once you have eaten your Protein, so, seeing you are not getting enough protein, mashed potatoes shouldn't even be touching your lips. Mashed potatoes are, for us, basically nutritionally void. For me, if a food felt like a rock in my stomach, it told me I was not ready for it or for its consistancy. You may need to take a step back in your food progression. Why the break on shakes? Try another brand. I use Premier, which are great. Give them another try. Congrats on your weight loss so far and thanks for sharing your experience.

Do a search on this site. Keyword regret. You will have lots of reading. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1 I can echo only what everyone else has said, I only regret not doing it earlier.

6 to 8 weeks is a general guidline. I believe it is to ensure that you do not injure your staple line in any way and cause a leak. There is a whole forum on exercise on here.

I don't eat very much processed foods getting a lot of my nutrition from natural sources which, they say, have more nutritional content. I am hoping that this will help me not be a slave to the Vitamin regimen, but as many non-sleevers take daily supplements, I suppose I can too. I believe the one thing that separates us, though, is the B12 issue. B12 is one of those Vitamins that is absorbed through the stomach and with 85% of it gone, I know that I will need to be a slave to that one. I am going to ask my PCP for shots at my physical next month. I will monitor my blood test results and go from there.

Vegas, Baby!

My surgeon did not do a leak test. He said it really doesn't do any good immediately after surgery. If I were to truly have a leak, it wouldn't show up for a week or so once the swelling went down anyway, so what good would a test do immediately post surgery. That made sense to me, so I didn't worry about it. I think if you read the boards, I can't say I have seen anyone with a leak at surgery time. They only present themselves once the swelling has gone down. Folks who have had the leak test immediately post surgery and had a leak, please post your experience on this thread.

$10,400. Outpatient. Everything covered and in writing. No hidden fees or undisclosed costs.

I started driving once I was off pain meds, about a week out.

Well, I'm 45 and started with a BMI right around 40. My first goal weight was 200 as I had been 190 about 18 years ago and it was crazy difficult to get to an maintain that weight. I looked great and had a 6-pack, but I knew I could not maintain that realistically. I blew through the first weight goal and before I knew it, I was floating around 190. I reset my goal to 180. Couple months later, I am bouncing around that weight. My BMI is 24. So, I reset to 175, but the bottom line for me is ... I still have fat around my waist. So, I would like to get rid of that and be whatever weight it is. So, what do I do? I work out a lot. I run around 20-30 miles per week and cross-train with high intensity aerobics. Do some weight-lifting a couple times a week, too. I am currently taking in about 1,400/1,600 calories a day. I basically eat all day long to do that. It is not easy. (crazy, huh?) I think I look good, but I KNOW I feel good. Energy, stamina and just all-around attitude have all seen new heights. What is realistic for us? I think it is what our schedules can handle. My wife has been supportive of my efforts which affords me time to maintain this routine. Sometimes, the whole family will go out for a jog (my warmup) or go for a bikeride. It's not easy, for sure, and I don't know for how long I can maintain it, but I am making hay while the sun shines!

You know, when I first read your story, Candyman, that is exactly what I was saying to myself. "He should just jump on a plane and do it. Deal with the aftermath later." It's not their life, it is yours. Good luck and if they still don't support you afterward, then screw 'em!!