Indymom

I'm almost 13 months out from surgery. My surgeon told me at my 1-year follow up appointment that he thinks that the sleeve is going to become the new gold standard for WLS, and certainly will likely replace the lap band. He also indicated that at a recent seminar, they indicated that sleeve patients may continue to lose weight 2-3 years post-op, where with bypass patients the bulk of the weight loss tends to be within the first year. As far as food tolerance, I still have restriction but would otherwise never know that I had 85% of my stomach removed. I have no intolerance to most foods (I don't eat a lot of fried foods, but those bothered me early post-op - they probably still would). I've tried to go off my PPI (reflux) medication and my reflux came back with a vengeance, so I'd say that is the only negative side effect I've had at all (no reflux issues pre-op). My capacity is, in my opinion, perfect. I stay around 1200 calories a day, and try to get at least 60 grams of Protein. I do watch my fat and carbs, but not militantly. It's hard to stay within 1200 calories and not make good fat/carb choices anyway - so it all goes hand-in-hand. At a given meal I can usually eat between 3-4 oz of dense protein (meat/cheese), along with a small serving of veggies and a small serving of starch (sometimes). For example, I made a chicken dish with mushrooms in a white wine sauce - I ate about 4 oz of the chicken, a nice serving of mushrooms with the sauce, and about 1 oz cooked Pasta. I was pleasantly full and felt very satisfied. I could have had a small green salad and could have reduced the protein by 1/2 to 1 oz and still been OK (I exceeded my protein targets for that day). I was out of lettuce though.

I'm with you. I'm stalled at almost 13 months and 18 lbs within goal. I've been stalled for a couple months now. I've figured out a couple truths: 1. If you eat too many "mini" candy bars, they will eventually add up to a full-size candy bar - and that is NOT GOOD. If you are going to eat something like that, be true to yourself and track the heck out of it on your nutrition tracker. If I go over by 100 cals in a day, I look over my food log and figure out where that 100 cals came from - it's almost always a snack food of some sort. 2. Avoid your "danger/trigger" foods. I can't keep potato chips in the house. Tortilla chips are OK - I can count those out and have one serving with my salsa (and log it). I'll keep dipping into that potato chip bag, though, so I don't allow them. If my daughter wants chips, she gets a snack-size bag from the convenience store and that's it. 3. Don't stop exercising! I am stalled at between 167 and 170 lbs, and have been for months. When did I stall? When my exercise stalled. I'm still staying right around 1200 calories a day, but apparently my body likes that amount of calories so I know that unless I get back to the gym, I'm likely going to stay here. 4. I don't do this, but it's always a good idea to have lots of healthy snack food prepared and ready-to-eat. Make sure your fruits/veggies are already washed and cut up, and ready to grab on a middle shelf of the fridge (right in your eyeline) - that way instead of reaching for something crappy, you are more likely to grab those items.

5-6 months for me. It started close to the 5 month mark, and didn't stop until about 2 months ago (I'm almost 13 months post-op). It is now growing back in. I was lucky to have a lot of hair to start with, but it was pretty noticeable at the end.

Chips are the worst for me. I can have tortilla chips in the house (I measure them out and track them), but potato chips are a huge trigger. I don't buy them anymore, period.

I waited over 3 months. I really worried about those little sharp hulls getting stuck in my staple line. Plus, popcorn is a really nasty slider food (at least for me). It's like my sleeve has disappeared when I get started on popcorn (usually when I buy it for my daughter after a trip to Target). Addicting slider foods = trouble for Indymom.

I only have a sip or two if I am eating something spicy and need to "cool the burn." I don't always wait for a full half hour after eating, but I also don't feel like drinking after eating is pushing food through any faster. If I ever got to the point where I was trying to drink + eat in an effort to eat more, I'd end it completely.

On mushies/soft foods I loved the hungry girl buffalo chicken dip (just google it!). Before I was able to do any chips or crackers, I would dip peeled sliced cucumbers.

If you're not overly carb-sensitive, you might find you can eat more carbs and still lose than others. I tried the very low-carb thing early out, but ketosis made me feel awful so I don't worry too much about my carbs at this point (nor do I worry too much about fats). If I stick to my 1200 calories a day and hit my protein targets, the rest seems to fall into place. That said, I have been picking/grazing a bit more lately, and not tracking very well - and I've stalled at the 168-170 mark for about a month. I'd say that just make sure you're tracking everything, and if you find your weight loss stalls with too many carbs, then drop back until you find your "sweet spot."

Can you eat them? Probably. Is that a great food choice? Not so much. At less than a month out, you can eat so little that it's generally best to focus on your protein and keep your carbs low.

Just measure everything, then you don't have to worry about overeating.

I agree with the others, the first few months are agonizing but you'll get through it and feel like a million bucks soon! I will be a year out in just a couple months and feel amazing.

I loved hot dogs pre-op, but they don't sit well in my sleeve now. I can do a bite or two, but they are generally too greasy. I don't care for the lowfat or turkey dogs, so I just pass on them unless I don't have a choice.

Early out (in the first months) I measured by volume instead of weight, but once I started eating dense protein (chicken/beef/firm cheese) I measured by weight. I made sure that I was getting at least 15 grams of protein for breakfast and 30 grams for both lunch/dinner to be sure I would hit my 75 grams per day. I always focus on my protein first, and then if I have room I have a little veggie or fruit, or sometimes a bit of carbs. Make sure you're tracking!

I think there's a pretty significant difference between 5 and 12 months out, actually. I think at 5 months I was still on about 2-3 oz Protein MAX per meal, and had difficulty adding anything else in (veg/fruit/carbs). I'm now at 10 months out (as of yesterday!) and I can generally eat 3 oz of protein, sometimes another oz of cheese, and a very small serving of fruit or veg with my meals. I generally eat about 1200 cals/day, with 75 grams of protein, about 40-50 grams of fat, and 60-80 carbs. Examples of meals: B ~ 1 scrambled egg, 1 oz diced ham, 1/2 oz shredded cheese with some sliced mushroom & tomato L ~ today I had a turkey sandwich with 2 slices bacon/slice of cheese (ate open-faced so only 1 piece of light wheat bread), and a few kettle chips. D ~ 3 oz brisket, 2 tbsps tzatziki, about 1/8 cup cucumber/tomato salad, 1 oz cheese. I have calories left so I might have a little fruit for a snack or a bit more cheese to get a little more protein for the day.

Sorry, I'm not sure about the stuck feeling - but the chicken finger - was likely the higher fat content that made you feel lousy. I still feel pretty crappy when I eat anything breaded/fried, and I'm almost 10 months out.

I was a social drinker prior to surgery. I waited until about 3 months post-op (my doc said 3-6 months, so I opted for the 3!). I have drank beer, wine, mixed drinks, etc. with no problems. I avoid too much fruity/high calorie options and prefer either vodka/diet tonic, light beer, or rum/diet soda. I know that it will likely slow down my weight loss, but just as I've learned how to eat differently and in moderation, I'm not going to deny myself an important social aspect of my life either.

I agree with using MFP to track your food intake. Early after surgery, it's also good to measure by volume rather than weight. For example, 1/4 of a cup is about 2 oz by volume - 2 tablespoons is about 1 oz. Once I was able to eat dense proteins like meats and cheese, I started measuring by weight - but for the first few months it was all volume measurements. That's what my nutritionist recommended.

Had my surgery on a Wednesday (early) - released from hospital Friday - worked at home on Monday and returned to the office Tuesday. Like others, I have a desk/office job and had schedule flexibility to work shorter days the first week I went back. I was pretty tired but otherwise didn't have much pain or other issues.

I am still taking my BP meds. Unfortunately because I'm so close to goal and still having BP issues, my doc thinks it is likely hereditary rather than weight-related. My mom, dad and brother all have BP issues too so that would make sense. Luckily I had no other co-morbidities.

Watermelon's a funny thing. It seems like it should really just dissolve and be easy to eat, but it was one of the harder fruits for me to eat once I was in the mushy/puree phase. Yummy though, especially since I was at the end of the summer at 1 month post-op!

Glad it resolved itself! For the record, I had surgery the same week as you and am eating at least 1200 cals/day (sometimes a bit more) and losing very slowly - currently in a stall because I've dropped down on my exercising. I think 1600-1800 cals will end up being close to my maintenance calories with regular exercise, so that's definitely not too off-base.

I've spent a lot less time here the farther out from surgery I am - especially since the weather has gotten so nice and the kids are busy with sports, etc. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just send another PM and ask her to check in with you. Chances are she's just busy!

That sounds awful. Have you asked your surgeon or nutritionist if that's normal? I haven't heard of that happening before, especially as far out as you are. Good luck!

I drank powerade zero a lot - the grape flavor - it wasn't too sweet, but it did make my reflux a little worse. I didn't like crystal light that much after surgery. I drank mostly regular water . . .

Congrats on the engagement and hitting goal!! Like some of the others, I can eat the meat from a 6-inch sub with veggies and half the bread . . . sounds like you are doing just fine.