PdxMan

Wow, 20 oz in the last hour ... I can get about 8 oz ... maybe ... otherwise it sloshes around in my tummy ... and hydration is one of my issues. My longest distance is 14 miles at a 9 minute/mile pace. I have to continuously hydrate (I have a hydration belt) and start with some home-made energy gels and suck on swedish fish while I run. My digestive system pretty much shuts down when I am running, so I have to come to a complete stop in order to drink. I suck on the fish because I really can't swallow. If I force myself to swallow, then my stomach just feels awful as I get air in there. I just have to keep practicing. I've got 18 miles coming up this Saturday. Good luck with your half.

NICE!! Congrats. Did you feel you were nutritionally prepared for the event? This is an area that I have been researching and experimenting with as I train for a marathon. I would love to know about your prep. Congrats again and great job!!

My hair started falling out at about 5 months. At that point, I was doing what had been recommended by my NUT and others here on the board. I was finally getting all the recommended Protein (and then some), taking my supplements including zinc, Iron and Biotin. There must be some other component to rapid weight loss that adds to the hair issue. The hair I do have is also not the healthiest ... I know it is said tongue and cheek, but I would definately not recommend racing to goal with another member. The weight will come off. Doing it quickly is not healthy. You can Google all the issues surrounding rapid weight loss. Just because we were sleeved does not prevent the issues. Yes, you can take your supplements and Vitamins and get your nutrients, but you have to eat and I'm sure you would hate to find out the other person wasn't doing what they needed to do because they were in a race with you.

No, I think it is good to be aware of this. I think I lost too quickly as well. The consequence of it, for me, was a huge loss of muscle mass, lost 3/4 of my hair and have so much extra skin, it's ridiculous. But, as time has gone by, my extra skin has lessened, whether that is naturally being absorbed or elasticity, I don't know. I have been at the club working out lifting weights to try to regain my muscle, which has been coming back. My hair has just recently started coming back ... I think ... At least I don't have the handfuls of hair I used to have falling out. Yes, it was fun to get to goal quickly, but now on this side, if given a choice, I would have rather lost the weight slower. I was eating only 400-600 calories early on and running everyday. I should have focused on getting more calories in, I think. Just male sure you are getting your Protein in (I was not very good at that) and your nutrients. Just do the best you can.

Do a search on the site for hair loss. Lots of threads

You are not under feeding your sleeve ... believe me. I don't think that is possible. And yes, it is horrible. Only had to happen once for me to change, but I think some of us have to push the limits to know where they are. Search the site for slimes to learn more from people's experiences.

Like already mentioned, bananas contain a huge amount of carbs for the serving size. I think early out, when your activity level is still a little low, they should be avoided as Proteins should be the first priority. For myself, I run 20-30 miles a week and do other exercise activities. Bananas are a staple part of how I get my carbs in to maintain this level of activity. So, I think it depends on your activity level.

Nuts were one of my staple foods pre-op. I have tried them several times at different points in the past 8 months. Each time the result has been the same. My sleeve does not like them. It hurts. The stomach acts as the mechanical part of digestion and for me, I don't think my stomach can break down nuts well enough. I'm sure if I chewed them more I could handle it, but for me, chewing nuts down to a butter consistancy is gross. Can't do it. I like and can eat peanut and sunflower butter, though.

Well ... the hair loss question ... should you be worried about it ... and your previous hair loss experience was stress related? Let me summarize a quote from George Burns when asked his secret to longevity. He said: "I don't worry. If there is something happening in my life that I have no control over, I don't worry about it because I have no control over it. If I can control it, I don't worry about it because I have control over it." So, you are most likely going to have hair loss. Is worrying about it going to make it better? Probably not. Is there anything you can do to stop it from occuring or lessen it? Maybe, but from what I have read, the best thing you can do is to do the right thing with your program. Get your Proteins, Vitamins and Water in. Just do the right thing and know that you may have to wear a wig. I thought, at 5 months out, I was going to bypass the hair loss thing when, after putting gel in my hair, my palms were fuzzy with hair. Seriously fuzzy. It got to the point where I ended up shaving my head down close, as you can see in my avatar. If I was a woman, I would have had to wear a wig, for sure, but guys can get away with a close shave, so ... So, worrying about it isn't going to help, but having a plan will. It will cause less stress (and hair loss) if you have a plan in place and accept that you may have to put it in play. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Listen to Dooter. She is absolutely correct. I had this happen to me once when I ate too quickly. I did the same approach of taking smaller bites and then evaluating how I felt after that bite ... about a minute, then either took another or stopped. We can't scarf our food like we did before, nor should we want to. We just had 85% of our stomach removed, for crying out loud!! Just slow down and all will be fine.

Worthy of a read and one of the reasons I choose WLS: http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/obesity-linked-to-lower-paychecks-3

Are you battling the sleeve? Eating restrictions? Battling old mindset of making poor eating choices? Battling exercise? Emotions? Can you go into it a bit deeper?

Yarkered, I just checked out your site. Can't find the nutritional information for the products anywhere ... strike one. Almost all of your products contain caffiene ... strike two. I found an ingredient list and the first Protein listed is enzymatically hydrolyzed (predigested) collagenic protein isolate which, from my research on protein supplements, is known to be one of the lowest quality Proteins out there ... strike three. Sorry, but this doesn't come across (at least from looking at the website) as a product I would want to try. I don't want to hijack this thread with this offshoot topic ... you are entitiled to a public reply, but you can message me if you different information.

The 30 minute rule pretty much applies always. This is a new behavior we have to learn if we want to feel the restriction our sleeve gives us. While on the liquid/puree/mushy stage we are consuming liquids with the meal, you will be soon eating solids, so this is a good opportunity to transition to this new behavior. Drinking before, during or right after eating solid foods will allow that food to flush through your system quicker and you will not feel the restriction you would otherwise. For many of us with eating issues, this would allow you to eat more food ... more calories ... more bad choices.

Perhaps not. I don't know anything about the product. It may be good stuff. Can't blame a saleperson looking for business ... that is their nature.

Debly, check his first post on this thread. He is a salesman for the product. His only posts have been on this thread.

I absolutely love your post. Talk about inspirational. I think you have the best attitude regarding being sleeved. You get it. You have found what works for you and are living the life. Your life. You are not a slave to food, the scale or opinions. Congratulations.

Yeah, I will definately be checking this one out. Thanks for the review.

A bezoar is the word to search for on Google and the WLS sites. Raw coconut is fiberous. The skin of the corn nibblet falls into the same category. That is why you can see it, well ... after your body processes it ... sorry for the visual there, but ... http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/1550-obstructed-by-a-bezoar-has-anyone-else-heard-of-this/

Looks like some good stuff. Just make sure you are taking the correct amount for your purposes. According to the nutritional information, 3 scoops is 79 grams which contains 60 grams of Protein. Unless you are doing some serious weight lifting, your body cannot process that amount like you may be wanting. You cannot make a shake with three scoops and believe you have satisfied your WLS protein requirements for the day. There are a lot of articles out in the Googleverse that talk about the max amount of protein your body can actually absorb in a single sitting. It varies based on your activity level, but you will see 30 grams as an average. Depending on your story, your requirements may be higher or lower than 30, but as I mentioned, to be able to absorb 60, you have to be a serious lifter requiring serious muscle repair.

Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that you went through this, but I think it is one of those things most of us have to experience to have that understanding that things are different now. We can't drink and/or eat at the pace we used to. We have to slow things down which, for some of us, can only be learned by having an experience such as yours. I know I had to cross the line, but I didn't do it again!!

I have told co-workers that I am taking my wife out for a special evening later and I don't want to fill up on this food ... especially mexican!! If they continue to question, ask them in a non-confrontational way, "I'm just curious. Why are you so concerned about what I am ordering?" That will be the end of it.

Well, the good news is ... never. You have to find your new normal. By the time your stomach heals (~6 weeks) and you are able to eat solids, you begin to figure out what you can and cannot eat. This is a huge adjustment for some while others have been preparing for it. What do you mean I can't eat a plate of gooey nachos and a bag of Cheetos!! Yeah, well, those days are over for me ... I'm not returning to that 'normal' So, if you mean normal as not feeling like you just had surgery, I would say a couple weeks, but again, so much is going on with our bodies even then ... I never have felt the same way as I did before surgery, so ... again, you have to find your new normal. A month out, I was down a large amount of weight, my energy was rock bottom and I was still figuring out what to eat. A few calls to my NUT and increasing my carbs brought my energy up and I felt great ... but by no means did I feel like I did before, and at this point in my journey, I didn't want to go back to feeling the way I did. So, bottom line, you will be feeling better soon, but you have to do what your medical team advised you to do as far as eating properly though your stages (liquids, puree, mushy, solids). Take the Vitamins, drink the liquids and get your exercise. If you start cutting corners, you will not feel as good as you potentially could. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Follow up here real quick ... I made a post which summarized some research I had done regarding the mis-interpretation surrounding emails ... I link to my post, but the whole thread may be a good read and reminder for all ... but even still, I struggle ... http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/28313-can-we-get-back-to-support-and-stop-attacking-each-other-please/page__view__findpost__p__241161

Forensikchic, I totally hear what you are saying. I have taken a break from the board recently for this reason. A few people have messaged me and I have conversations with them, but that is about it.