MegInNOLA

WOW! you look amazing! Congratulations on surpassing your goal and moving into maintenance!

Congratulations! Sounds like everything is looking up--and you look beautiful.

AMEN! :-) I hadn't kept up with "underwear styles," either, and have definitely been enjoying the options--and the cute factor in smaller sizes is way up there, too!

I do feel hunger, but it's different--it's less a physical sensation and more a sense of irritation and/or "being at the end of my rope." I never had "head hunger" issues, and now I really don't have physical hunger issues, either. I can just tell from my mood and mental fuzziness that it's time to eat. The sensation of fullness is radically different now, too. It comes VERY quickly. If I get truly full, I get the sensation that food won't go all the way down--ick! I tend to undereat my sleeve to prevent that icky "too-full" feeling.

I can't eat most meat or chicken now, either. Beans are my friend. Try Greek yogurt for great Protein. I also really liked soups--try some Soup that you zap in the blender (it will eliminate the chunks of chicken or whatever in there)--favs for me included broccoli/cheese, chicken/veggie, and lemon/chicken/orzo, all zapped to smooth texture. You might also get some hot and sour soup at a Chinese restaurant and add extra tofu for more protein... Don't worry about eating small amounts. That's normal at first. Your capacity will increase as your sleeve heals. Hang in there!

Wow! Congratulations on your new house!

Congratulations! You're doing great!

So yay! After eight months, I think my sleeve is finally getting more tolerant of wider types of food!!! I used to eat eggs daily pre-sleeve. Since surgery, I have been unable to eat them without experiencing serious pain and the dreaded slimes--no matter how little egg I ate, it would give me the grumbles. I've been trying them off and on through the last months, and I noticed that it was not quite as rough, but I was still not interested in eating something that would cause me pain. Well, today at a restaurant, I ordered hambone gumbo (like ham Soup with collard greens in a rich broth--really tasty, I have to say). It came with a deviled egg in the middle of the bowl--you know, half a boiled egg with the yolk mashed and mixed with something creamy. I decided to give it another try--it was DELICIOUS and it was perfectly comfortable and I ate the whole half egg and some of the soup!!! I know it sounds sort of stupid to be so excited about an egg, but I feel so relieved that my sleeve allowed me to eat that--after months of not being able to eat them without repercussions! Can it be my sleeve is "maturing" FINALLY? Oh, it still restricted my volume, have no doubt of that--couldn't finish the soup!! But the food I did eat, egg and all, stayed comfortably in my tummy and felt GOOD. YAY!!

Well, now I've hexed myself by posting this, LOL! After I enjoyed that half an egg on Tuesday, I have had some very unpleasant days where sleevie totally rejected food--including the two bites of soft, dark-meat turkey that I tried yesterday! He is just the pickiest thing ever.... it's frustrating but okay, if you know what I mean. I would love to be able to get my protein from meat/poultry, but it just doesn't seem to be working out.

Oh congratulations!!!! I'm SO wanting to get to onederland! You're rocking it!!

Well, I'm not having an easy food holiday, not from overeating, but from eating food that I don't typically eat--my sleeve really, REALLY doesn't like turkey! I thought my sleeve was getting a bit more tolerant, as I have been able to eat foods recently that I couldn't eat comfortably before, but these last two days have been really rough; that's what I get for posting it as an NSV! LOL I actually had to throw up twice, yesterday after eating a couple of small pieces of beef fajita meat (very tender and well chewed, but still not enough, evidently) and today after having two bites of turkey (dark meat, very tender and well chewed). It's kind of depressing to be eight months out and still be unable to eat particular, fairly common foods. On the flip side, I guess that price is an acceptable trade-off for being healthy and not overweight. I'm really thrilled with how things have gone overall. I'm just frustrated that I can't seem to eat meat or poultry with reliability. So I've been "on program" but not because my discipline has been fabulous. I did eat the guts of a sliver of sweet potato pie later this afternoon, and it was delicious and comfortable. Won't overdo, though--too much sugar to feel good!

Hey, are you on an acid reducer? I'm asking because it sounds like you need one. I, too, threw up every day for the first 2 months! When I started Prilosec, in about 2 days, I stopped throwing up and things normalized. I was able to stop it at 5 months, too, so now, no problems. I'm so sorry that you're having such a hard time--I completely understand about that feeling of being unable to breathe from the spasms! Ask your surgeon about a PPI (Prilosec, Nexium, whatever)--if one of them doesn't work, try another, or try them in combination. Different acid reducers work in different ways, and if the first one you try doesn't help, definitely don't give up!! Hang in there--hope things stabilize for you very soon. Happy holidays to you, as well!

I eat 5-6 "mini-meals" a day. I don't really count anything as far as calories or Protein or whatever--I guess if I did pay attention to that, I might be losing faster, but I'm pretty cool with things "as is." I do eat a protein food at each mini-meal, sometimes only the protein food, depending on what it is. This might be one of those things that's pretty individual--but you should follow your doc's instructions. Mine didn't give me any. :-)

That was the slimes. Ick. If you had thrown up, you might have had a bubble of slime that preceded the rest of the stuff that came up--sorry if too graphic, but trying to let people know what to expect. I was pretty surprised the first time that happened. Hopefully you won't have them again!!

I eat 5 to 6 "mini-meals" through the day. I think it actually helps keep me satisfied and keeps my blood sugar level. I drink when I'm thirsty--I never worried that much about when I drank, but I noticed that drinking immediately after eating was not a good idea, since it made me overfull (and that is NEVER a good idea, LOL!). If you're within your prescribed limits for calories, I'd say you're golden.

Way to go, Sharon! What a great holiday gift you've given yourself!! Congratulations.

I still struggle with eating too fast. In the first few months, I used baby spoons. Now, if I'm hungry, I really have to be mindful (so multitasking won't work for me!)--it's too easy for me to gobble if I'm not thinking about it while I'm eating. That being said, I do eat at my computer frequently, and that does help me slow down sometimes, because I can't type and carry food to my mouth at the same time!! LOL

Hi Rachel: My plan said I could eat solid food at 5 weeks out--had a week of clears, 2 weeks of full liquids, and 2 weeks of mushies/softs. I stayed on mushies/softs for a while because I had big problems with acid, and texture was a big deal for me. You'll be able to tell you're full through a couple of signals, and those differ with different people. Personally, I know when I feel like I need to burp and almost can't, I'm full. Also, my nose runs. Strange, isn't it, but I know other people on this forum have the same symptoms. You will definitely feel the sleeve's restriction when you're able to eat more "regular" food. At this point, my plan says I can eat whatever I can tolerate, keeping in mind my continuing weight-loss goals. I don't typically eat sweets (despite the last two days' lunch desserts!). I aim for Protein foods (Beans, cheese, milk, shrimp/scallops, nuts) and bites of veggies/salad. Really, the only foods I avoid are those that my sleeve doesn't seem to like: beef and chicken, although I "can" eat those in certain forms, raw onions, pasta/bread/flour products, excess sugar, fried stuff--just can't seem to handle the grease. Eating got a lot easier lately; I really feel like our sleeves hit a point where they kind of chill out--I still most definitely have restriction and can only eat around 1/4 to 1/2 c. at a time by volume (and that volume depends on the type of food)--a little more liquid volume if I take it slow. But I definitely get full and get that sensation of food that isn't quite all the way down if I take one bite too many (and I HATE that feeling!). I tend to try to undereat my sleeve, trying to stop when I'm not hungry as opposed to when I'm full--there's a big difference there. You'll do fine. Listen to your body and pay attention to measuring for a while. I still use my 1/2 c. containers every day, because I can't "eyeball" volumes very well, so it's easy for me to overdo by a bite or two, and then I'm in pain and feel icky. Best wishes!!

I'm so sorry that your family doesn't understand or support your decision. Can they come onto this board to do some research and read people's stories for themselves? I think a lot of times, families worry about the consequences of surgery and don't realize the consequences of not doing the surgery--this isn't something one does on a whim--it's because the health risks of staying the way we are pre-surgery outweigh the risks of surgery! I hope you're able to receive some support from someone; I imagine that when they see you start to have results, things will get easier. Hang in there!

At first, I just ordered soup and didn't eat much at all. Now, sometimes I order a cup of soup and can finish the whole thing (barely). Sometimes I order an appetizer like shrimp remoulade or scallops or spinach dip, all of which my sleeve loves and all of which are mostly going home for leftovers! I can't eat much Protein from animal sources at one time, so I eat what I can and then take the rest home. The last two days, I've eaten out for lunch. Yesterday, ordered a cup of soup (ate half of it) and an appetizer portion of shrimp remoulade for my entree (ate 3 small shrimp and some of the lettuce); because our meal took a while to eat, I was able to have a couple of bites of my husband's bread pudding and a few sips of coffee for dessert. PERFECT meal, and I don't think anyone realized I wasn't eating much. :-) Today, lunch with the girls. Started with hambone gumbo (which was served with a deviled egg half). I was able to enjoy the gumbo, EGG AND ALL!! That's the first egg I've been able to comfortably eat since surgery--as recently as yesterday, I was posting how I loved eggs but couldn't eat them any more. So if something doesn't sit well on your sleeve at first and it's a good protein food that you'd like to incorporate in your diet, keep trying--I'm thrilled that the egg worked, since I love them and they're great protein. Anyway, after I ate the soup, I was too full to eat the "entree" part of my meal--shrimp and grits--so I had the server box it all up and I brought it home. Again, because our meal took a while, the dessert (sweet potato tart) was fine--I just ate some of the filling, skipped the crust and the whipped cream, and enjoyed it thoroughly! I also had a glass of wine with lunch today. I have to say, I'm feeling more and more happy with my decision to be sleeved. I have, for the last couple of days, eaten exactly as I think "normal" people eat--and it was easy, delicious, and comfortable. If you're early out from sleeving, hang in there--your sleeve will mature, and you'll be able to enjoy your food, but your sleeve will keep you from over-indulging.

Congratulations and welcome to the Century Club! You're really flying along! Keep up the great work!!!

Agree with Diva--yes, always cold. My husband was sleeved a year ahead of me, and he now is more acclimated and doesn't feel cold all the time. I can't wait, because I'm freezing my buns off here (in south Louisiana--so I really feel for y'all in truly colder climates!). Extra blankets, jacket, and fuzzy socks are the norm now. food smells were INTENSE for the first few months. Now, they've slacked up a bit. I still have a fabulous nose, always have, but it's calmed down a bit. My tastes have totally changed pre- and post-sleeve, thank goodness. I can't tolerate the same foods I ate before, which is good, since I weighed 306 at surgery--I don't want to eat those same things any more! Even foods that smell and look good don't lead to the same sense of "I really want that" that I used to have. I'm able to say "no thanks" and mean it! I never did the chew/don't swallow thing--I just hate to spit. Hang in there--your whole body is changing, and it's gonna take some time for it to become used to the "new normal." But it's healthier and slimmer and much more fun. :-)

I'm so jealous!! I ate eggs almost every day pre-sleeve, and since surgery, my sleeve hates them! Enjoy your eggs for me, too!

I know it may seem like you've done something bad to your sleeve, but I'm betting that if you focus on eating Protein first and then green veggies, you're going to be dropping those unwanted pounds like hot bricks--and be right back where you want to be and feeling healthy and proud of yourself. Use that tool! When you say "nothing is being restricted," do you mean you can eat unlimited quantities like you did pre-sleeve? I imagine that's not the case. If it's that your sleeve allows you to eat whatever types of food you want, yeah, that I can see, which makes it so much more important to do the protein-first, then veggies eating plan. You can eat whatever type of protein food you enjoy, and tasty veggies, so go for it!! Make your health and fitness a priority to yourself--YOU matter, and your needs matter. Hugs to you!!

Congratulations and welcome to the Century Club!! I have around 13 pounds left to goal, so a similar number after losing 100--it does seem both right there and far away! Best wishes as you continue to goal!!