franny

I have lost 56 lbs half way to goal. I was in the grocery store with my son last week and sent him to another aile to get something. When he didn't come back I went looking for him. When I did he said he walked down the aile about 4 times and didn't recognize me thinking "that is not my mom". Lol. That made me feel really good.

I have found also that my sleeve can change from day to day. I will be 3 months post surgery on the 18th and have lost 44 lbs including preop weight loss. I find that the restrictive feeling seems to come quicker when I am eating than it did 1 month out, if that makes sense. I also find that the worse thing I can do is eat too fast. I went to Costco shopping on Saturday. I hadn't eaten since lunch and I bought some pears. They looked and smelled so good. So on the way home I decided to eat one. I bit into it and it was sugar sweet and so delicious. I guess I got carried away on how good the pear tasted that I ate it too fast. I was only about 2 miles down the road and had to pull over and throw-up a few bites. This has happened to me a few times when I eat too fast. I don't know if eating too fast doesn't allow the sleeve time to adjust to the food that is being put in but I have to remind myself to eat slow. If I do that I don't have a problem. The funny thing is that I can't over eat even if I wanted to. I can eat the wrong things in small amounts but I can't just eat too much or it comes back up. Actually this is one of the best things about the sleeve because it keeps me from over indulging when the food tastes so good. The sleeve keeps me in check. I really can eat anything I want in small amounts so I have no problems if I chose to eat the right or wrong thing. I just can't sit down and eat a whole bag of potato chips or a big bowel of ice cream or 4 or 5 chocolate chip cookies (sweets are my passion). It is a great tool and if you use it wrong it will let you know.

You are not alone. Many stall after one week. Your body is adjusting to what has happened to it. Don't get discouraged the weight will come off. If you are not eating enough your body also can be in starvation mode and will keep you from losing weight. (survival mode). I upped my calorie intake and starting losing weight on a regular basis. Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Keep your chin up. I stalled at one week also and it was so frustrating. Your body is adjusting to the surgery and all the changes that are going on. Also, if you are only taking in about 500 calories your body is in starvation mode and is trying to keep you from losing weight. Since you are walking 1 mile a day you are burning the calories that you are taking in so you body doesn't have the fuel to keep everything going so it says "STOP". Try to increase your calorie intake and Water intake. If you are having a hard time with eating enough try drinking shakes with more Protein. nectar Protein powder is very good and has 23 gms per scoop. You can add it to yogurt, make a smoothy, shake, etc and this way you can increase your protein intake. I was having a problem with stalling until I increased my calorie intake and took my body out of starvation mode. It is worth a try. The weight will come off in time don't dispare. Best of luck.

Very informative. Thank you

I notice that a lot of people are eating red meat early, i.e. hamburger. My doctor said I can't have red meat for 4 to 5 months. Has anyone else been on a restriction from red meat this long?

I find that it depends on the manufacturer. The cheaper the clothes the tighter the fit. If I buy something at a high end department store I wear a smaller size that if I buy something at Target. So sizes vary as do patterns for making clothes. You just have to be flexible and understand the numbers don't really matter as long as it feels good.

Yes, I agree. You have to eat to lose. If you are not taking in enough calories you will not lose weight because you body thinks it is starving. Our bodies want to stay alive and it will do what it can to stay that way. Up you calories and decrease you exercise a little and I bet you see a difference. Good luck.

Dr. Alvarez has a video on youtube that is informative regarding the size of sleeves. Each individual is different and the size of the stomach can be different. Some people have bigger sleeves than others depending on the size of their stomachs before surgery. I think that is why you see that some people can eat more than others or can tolerate solids better than others. I understand that overtime you can eat more than in the beginning. Again I think this is individual by everyone. Is it that the sleeve has gone bigger, wrong food choices, or that the stomach empties more often to accommodate the extra food. No one knows for sure. I am sure the sleeve can stretch but I doubt it can stretch that much. I would think that most people who gain weight have gone back to old eating habits that increase calories with the wrong foods. As my surgeon said, if you drink 5 cafe lattes a day you will gain weight. So the choices in food makes a significant difference in how successful you are with permanent weight loss. I know that all of us have tried different diets. As long as you stayed on your diet and didn't cheat you were successful, but once you got back into the old food habits the weight returned. It is a total life changing experience. It is getting use to smaller portions and the right food choices. As I have said to people who know about my surgery, I couldn't over eat if I wanted to. It would either come back up or I am miserable. When I go out to eat with my husband we share a plate (he had RNY in April). We half the Protein and I usually take a bite or two of salad or a vegetable and I am done. I would never have done this before surgery. So you have to understand VSG is a restrictive surgery. It will keep you from indulging in all the bad food choices as long as you make the right choice. It restricts you from eating too much or reap the consequences. It isn't fun to over eat. It is uncomfortable at best or you windup visiting your meal (which is no fun either). It took me a couple of weeks to figure out when I needed to stop eating. I now know when my sleeve is full and I quit. I hope this info helps. Good luck with your choice. I find that the restriction the sleeve gives me helps me to make the right food choices and keeping my calories low, which is the reason for the procedure. Good luck.

I am no expert but I have been reading post for the last 2 months to prepare before surgery and encouraging and info after surgery. I have taken in all the info. I did get discouraged at a stall after 1 week but after reading all the post I have discovered it is normal. However, one thing I have discovered is that you have to eat to lose. i know the practice is low carb but when i increased my carb intake (still keeping calories low) i started to lose again. Since my stall I have lost another 15 lbs. I go several days without the scale moving and then 3 to 4 pounds are gone. I increased my calorie intake to 800 per day and it seemed to help. So I don't think protein, protein, protein, is always the answer.I still get all my protein in however. My surgeon also told me that drinking water will help to lose weight so I have tried to push the fluid intake more. Anyway, what I am getting at is if what you are dong isn't working, try something different. It worked for me. I know it doesn't work for everyone but it is worth a try. Your body needs carbs for energy and they are a necessary part of proper nutrition. Another change I have made is not eating the same thing every day. Shake it up. If I had fish for lunch I eat chicken for dinner. Vary your food choices that make s a difference also.

In the beginning I felt hungry also, but that seems to pass and after a while your hunger wains. I only fee hunger when I have gone a long time without eating. You might be eating too many carbs. The tomato juice might be irritating your stomach. I can't have tomatoes for 4 months because of the acid and increased acid production will make you feel hungry. Increased acid production tells your body it needs food. Also the apple juice has natural sugar and will give you a sugar surge and when your blood sugar drops you will feel immediate hunger again. If you stick with protein you will feel less hungry and it will stay with you longer.

I had my vertical sleeve on 7-16-11 by Dr. David Suh in Corona, California. I am 13 days postop and feeling fine. Lost 10 lbs the first 10 days but have had no weight loss this week. In fact, I have gained 2 lbs. I am following my M.D. protocol but nothing is moving. I even began walking as I did preop but no change. I am little frustrated. I didn't expect to stall at this point in time. I expected to at least lose weight the first month. I am quit frustrated and am hoping I am not the one failure! Any suggestions will help!