Indymom

Way to go!!

I like soda (regular, not diet) but it was never a trigger thing for me nor did I ever overindulge. Honestly I usually only drank soda when I had a hangover (preferably a fountain Coke from McDonalds!). Therefore, post-op it hasn't bothered me to have a few sips here or there - I'm staying away from caffeine but occasionally I'll have a few sips of my daughter's root beer or sprite. Doesn't make me want more or make me want anything else sweet. Pre-op I was a sweet tea JUNKIE. I could drink 2 of those gigantic sweet teas from McAlister's, or a half&half sweet tea from McDonalds with at least a couple refills. I made some decaf brewed tea at home and mixed with some Splenda - and realized I've lost my taste for tea almost completely. Totally weird. I love Water so that's what I drink primarily - I can't stand the artificial sweetners in Crystal Light or any of the other drink mixes.

I waited a while before putting on jeans - I think it was at least 2-3 weeks. I had a couple pairs of black maternity pants that I wore when I was pregnant - they were a 2X maternity so they fit my swollen belly perfectly and I could hike the elastic front way up over my incisions and under my bra strap! I rotated them for work for weeks because I went back to work very quickly post-op. I don't know if anyone noticed I was wearing the same pants over & over again but if they did, they were polite enough not to mention it!!

I too have found that fried foods seem to bother my sleeve, as do really fatty foods. I took my stepson to the NFL experience yesterday (we're hosting the Super Bowl here this year!) and we grabbed some lunch at one of the concession places - I had a hot dog with no bun and felt like vomiting afterwards. YUCK. I also don't eat much fast food anymore, it's like my sleeve knows that it doesn't want anything that high in fat and low in nutritional value. Thanks sleevie!! I was never a huge sweets person pre-op, and even less so post-op. A little bit of something here or there doesn't bother me, but I definitely can take it or leave it. We made chocolate chip Cookies today and I had a tiny blob of cookie dough and it made me want to puke. When the cookies were done baking, I had one bite and was fully satisfied . . . . didn't even consider another bite. It's so weird!

I've heard a lot of good things about sparkpeople - not sure if it costs $ or if it's free, but you might look into that too. I always had success for a period of time doing WW, and their food program really fits a sleever's diet because it focuses on high protein/low fat/low carb eating, with lots of healthy fruits & veggies. I am starting to use a lot of my old WW recipes (with some modifications) to keep myself at my calorie targets, since my capacity is starting to increase. Good luck with getting back on track!!

I did have a "last meal" before my surgery - we went to Outback and I had a big ribeye, bloomin' onion, salad, and a gigantic beer. I didn't think of it so much as eating foods I would NEVER be able to eat again, but I wanted to have something that I knew I wouldn't be able to eat for a while post-op. I knew steak, salad and beer were on my "off limits" list for at least 3-6 months so I enjoyed the heck out of them. At nearly 6 months out I am enjoying all those things again, but obviously in much smaller quantities.

Way to go on 70 lbs! I'm sure you'll be ready for some new clothes soon - in the meantime, consider yourself lucky you don't have to spend the $$ yet!! I went pretty quickly from a 24W to a 14/16W - but the problem I'm having now is that the 14/16W are getting to be too big but the misses size 14 are WAY too tight.

If you are voluntarily vomiting after eating poorly, then you definitely need to seek medical/psychological help right away. You can do major damage to your body by vomiting frequently.

You're not going to see the result from one day of exercise on the scale the next morning . . . I'm sure it's just the normal day to day fluctuation. I would keep a weekly weigh-in day and try to stay off the scale otherwise. (I'm certainly not one to talk though, I get on the scale every morning - but I don't track it except for my Monday "official" weigh-in). A day-to-day change of a pound or so can be the result of so many things, including Water retention, too much sodium the previous day, etc. Good luck with the C25K! I was doing it last year before I got sick late fall - I've decided to stick to classes at the gym until spring, because I hate running on the treadmill. I'm going to get back into it once I can walk/run on the trail again.

Yep, I agree with everyone else - it's the fluids. They had me weigh myself the first night I was in the hospital and I had gained 14 lbs!!! By the time I got home 2 days later I was back to my pre-op starting weight.

I had to have an upper GI. The stuff you have to drink is gross but otherwise it was no problem . . . I was in & out pretty quickly.

Looking terrific!

This is exactly why I am tolerating the minor hair loss I have right now. I already have to do some serious waxing and plucking on my facial hair, I am not about to take any supplements that will cause MORE.

I feel the effects of alcohol more quickly than I did before surgery, but I also sober up more quickly. Not sure why from a chemistry perspective, but that's what I have noticed. I waited until I was about 3-4 months out from surgery (my doc recommended between 3-6 months before drinking) and I do it rarely due to the empty calories. I think the liver thing has to do with your liver being strained during the weight loss process . . . if your liver is already working hard during weight loss, excessive drinking can put extra strain on it. I don't know all the particulars, though.

Every doc/nutritionist is different but I was told after surgery to avoid any pills larger than an aspirin for the first few months, but capsules/softgels were OK. My ulcerative colitis meds are capsules and I've been taking 8 per day starting 4 days post-op.

If you don't like the chewables, my nutritionist allows me to take a softgel multivitamin that I swallow (made by Nature Made). It's a complete multi that includes iron, so I also take my calcium separately from my multi (I take 2 multi a day and 1000 mg of calcium citrate - 500 in a.m. and 500 at bedtime - I take my one multi at lunch and one in evening).

I track my carbs because my food tracker calculates them along with everything else, but I don't stress over it too much. By default I'm not eating too many carbs (because there's not room for them after the protein and veggies!) but there are days when I am hitting 60-75 grams of carbs. In general I'm probably at 50 or below, though, which I am OK with. I have continued to steadily lose so I am not going to worry about it unless I stall.

2 lbs this week . . . slow & steady wins the race! I may not hit my goal, but as long as the scale keeps moving down and not up, I'm not complaining. Indymom ~ 263 SW . . . . . 190 CW . . . . . 175 GW . . . LBS to GOAL: 15 January 9 ~ 195 (-3 lbs) January 16 ~ 192 (-6 lbs) January 23 ~ 190 (-8 lbs)

Maybe I'm overstepping boundaries here or being a little too deep, but I always get concerned when I see newly post-op people talking about "cheating" on their food/meal plan. We've had major, invasive surgery, people - the term "cheating" to me makes me think of being on Weight Watchers and deciding to eat a medium pizza by myself with breadsticks and a 2-liter of Pepsi, and not count the points. "Cheating" after VSG surgery means the possibility of causing infection to the newly-made staple line, which is a good-sized healing incision inside your body. The same "cheating" can also cause leaks. If I can give a short piece of advice . . . . the first couple months just plain SUCK. Eating applesauce, refried Beans and string cheese every day for 2 months is terrible. I had more than one breakdown. However, I also kept reminding myself over and over again that these foods were needed, required even, to allow my body time to heal. Sorry if I've offended anyone, I just feel like sometimes people take this surgery too lightly from the standpoint of the healing that needs to take place both inside and outside the body before you can be 100%.

I am 5'4" and started out at about 260-265. I wore a 24 pants and a 3x in shirts. I'm 5 1/2 months post-op and at about 192 lbs. I'm wearing a size 14-16 in pants (still women's sizes though, I tried on size 14 regular jeans today and WAY too tight!!) and shirts are L or XL. I'm hoping to be at about 150 lbs at goal and I hope that equates to about a size 8.

Christin, it is SO hard. I was miserable for the first 6-8 weeks . . . I had multiple crying breakdowns to my husband, and wondered if I had made a bad decision. I even did the "chew & spit" thing with a few bites of different food just to get a different taste/texture in my mouth.

How far out from surgery are you? I am almost 6 months out and typically I am between 800-1000 calories a day. I get at least 75 grams of protein, and I try to keep my carbs and fat below 50 grams.

I wanted to add to my post regarding "clean eating." I believe I read this in Cooking Light magazine (or somewhere similar) - but it had to do with shopping at the grocery store. The directive was to stay to the outside walls of the store for the majority of your shopping - think about your store, the outside walls have fruits/veggies, meats and seafood, and dairy. If you are getting the majority of your groceries from those areas you're avoiding TONS of processed, pre-packaged foods.

Please understand, I'm not condemning anyone or talking about 'cheating' in the normal sense (like not tracking my food very well and splurging on Christmas treats during the holidays, when I was 4 months out, and stalling for a month!). I am concerned when people are less than 4 weeks out and eating nachos or as the other poster said, popcorn. I think one of the best things about the sleeve is that truly, most foods aren't off limits once you are at a full, normal diet post-op. I like that if someone brings treats into work, I can have a bite or two without worrying about dumping or discomfort. Do I always eat those things? Nope. But I can if I want to. I just had to keep reminding myself when I was newly post-op and struggling with the blandness and monotony of the pureed/mushy foods diet - I would be able to eat normal things again, and enjoy many of the things I did pre-op (just in more appropriate quantities). I eat very little fast food anymore because it makes me feel icky and the fat/calories isn't worth it, but it's not truly "off-limits" to me, just not the best choice.

I'm not Lissa, but I'm almost 6 months and typically have about 4-6 oz per meal (depending on what I'm eating). I usually have about 3 oz of meat (chicken, beef, etc.), a very small salad or serving of veggies, and sometimes a small serving of carbs.