Lissa

Amazing transformation!! You look awesome and I bet you're feeling wonderful! You go girl!!

bean, I think that lots of us have issues with eating too much food. Many don't go all the way to "addiction", but it's a common problem for bariatric patients. I suggest seeing a therapist to help you deal with the issues you have with food, both before and after surgery. It will definitely be money well spent. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't think the sleeve can help curb food addiction. I do. But you are going to have to do the head work. Our tummy is sleeved, not our heads. You simply cannot eat the volume of food after surgery that you could before surgery. It's not possible without doing great physical harm to yourself. You'll have to re-learn how to eat, both smaller amounts and healthier foods. It's definitely something that can be done, but you'll have to put in the effort, too. Good luck with whatever route you choose.

I've been to Golden Corral a couple of times since surgery. The one near my house will only give me the senior discount, which is fine. I don't mind so much because I know they lost money on me for many years! LOL I figure I'm just paying it back now. I usually have baked chicken and some kind of Soup. If the seafood salad looks fresh, I may have a bite or two. If I'm feeling really adventurous, I'll put a teaspoon of different kinds of food on my plate. Since surgery, many of the things I liked before don't sit very well. My local GC has installed a chocolate fountain. I sit FAR away from that temptation. Although, since most of the kids that visit it don't really take care to keep their hands out of the flow, it's not that big a deal.

go to the bar to watch the game and order Water or tea. There's no rule that you must drink alcohol. I went out last weekend with friends and had no problem ordering a non-alcoholic drink while they had beer. Nobody even noticed. If you go to dinner, then just order some Soup. Claim you had a big lunch if he asks why you're eating so little and you don't want to share about surgery yet. Enjoy the date!!

I think spinach and greens might be a little too tough on mushies, but they would be fine once you hit solid foods. I eat cooked spinach and cooked collard greens at least once a week. Be careful if you're still on blood thinners, though. The greens increase the actions of the blood thinners.

What are you mixing the Protein with? If it's milk, the milk could be causing your issue. I became lactose intolerant after surgery, even though I never had problems with it before. Keep trying other liquids besides milk and see if that helps. You can put Protein powder in decaf coffee, or anything else that you think sounds good with the flavor of protein powder you have. unjury makes an unflavored powder, but I've never tried that one. I just add protein powder to my decaf when I need a shot of protein. I also drank lots of chicken and beef broth when I was very early post-op. Good luck!

Glad to hear that you are now on the loser's bench and feeling pretty well for someone who just had surgery! Congrats and Good Luck!!

So glad that you are home and doing much better now!! So sorry that you had that experience! (((Hugs))) and good luck from here on out!!

Pookey, I just want to know if it keeps perfect rhythm?? Seriously, I agree that some kind of compression garment is probably called for here. I'm gonna have the same problem, so please post what does and doesn't work for you.

You already sound like you're feeling better! Here's hoping that things will go better from here on out! Good luck!

Holly, Are you still on liquids/mushies? If so, you need to be getting some more Protein into yourself. My doc recommends 64 oz of Water and 70 g of protein a day. What you posted looks pretty low on the protein scale. I'm not sure what 2 stones 7 pounds equals in straight pounds (35 pounds?) but that's amazing for under 1 month if I have converted it properly! My only suggestion to you would be to add more protein, because your weight loss is amazing for 1 month!!!

I'll lay a lot of it on your period, but you're eating a good bit of carbs for only 3 weeks out. That could be contributing to the head hunger you're feeling. Are you tracking your intake on something like My Fitness Pal? I have days where I feel like I could eat and eat, too. Almost always I've had too many carbs (for me) that day. And, although I don't really track carbs, I find that a little is okay, but over 50 is not, for me.

jasleeve, Easy Mama!! You just got through one hurdle! I kwym about OJ, though. I love it. Too bad you aren't in FL, I'd share some of my favorite with you. It's bottled by Indian River Growers, but it's not sold outside of this area because it's not pasteurized or processed, so no preservatives in the juice. My aunt's ex-BF works for them and sometimes brings me by a bottle of the extra pulpy stuff they can't sell. I LOVE it! I need to call Wayne, now that I've posted this!

Here's my most recent NSV! Went out with a "friend" the other night, and wanted to dress to impress. I think I managed it! Oh, and the shoes are the first heels I've worn in years! I wore them till 4 in the morning without too much pain!

Try Mio drops in your Water. IMO the orange tangerine tastes just like sunkist. Lissa

I was walking from the minute I was sleeved, including from the recovery room bed to the hospital bed, although I skipped the bed and went to the chair instead! I've been walking ever since, even if I could only walk up and down my hallway at home before I got winded. Now, I can walk 2 or 3 miles on the treadmill without being too out of breath. My doc gave me permission for weights and other strenuous exercises beginning at 6 weeks out.

I predict that, in a few days, you'll be posting about how you can't eat much of anything. Dense protein fills me up SO much faster than mushies ever did! I ordered a steak for lunch today and even I was astounded at how little I could eat!!!

Well, I certainly hope I don't come across that way!! THIS is my support group, because my IRL one stinks. Actually, just the moderator of the IRL one stinks, the people in it are great!

Mine is my nickname. Lissa

My doc does a leak test on the table and then at the first post-op visit. The one post-op involved drinking blue contrast, waiting half an hour, then he pulled my drain because mine was clear. Lissa

I think a lot of eating meat after surgery involves getting past the hurdle that it might hurt. I make sure that I have some kind of sauce/moisture for meat and that I cut it into small bites and chew well. My sleeve (Rex) still won't tolerate anything remotely spicy, but I can now eat almost any meat without issues. As Meg said, there are many alternatives for Protein without eating meat. We have quite a few vegetarian sleevers around here. I love to check their group for new ideas. I personally eat a lot of cheese to help boost my protein intake, and I like a babybel in the morning before my Vitamins so that I don't get nauseous. SleevedMom, if you're getting nauseous from just putting the meat in your mouth, do YOU think it's a head issue or do you get sick once you chew up and swallow the meat? If it's a head issue, it may be time for a chat with your nutritionist or doctor about whether you're really ready for meat. It might even be a good idea to talk to a therapist about the meat issue. If it's a physical issue, for instance your tummy gets upset when you eat meat, you may just need to eat more vegetarian for a while. I've seen people who have continued with only protein bars/shakes long-term, and they do lose weight. IME, though, those people are the ones who never transition back to "normal" life. My late friend's sister in law is one of those and the sister in law ends up in the ER regularly because of malnutrition and dehydration. The sister in law says it's "too hard" to get in her Water and to eat normal food. Each time she goes in the hospital, they work on getting her into a routine where she's eating regular food and drinking water. She will comply long enough to get out of the hospital, then she's right back to only eating protein bars and drinking very little. Personally, I think the woman now has anorexia or something similar. It is really important to try to transition to getting your protein from food, but you may need some softer Proteins and some guidance from a nutritionist or therapist to get to that point. I think that is a very natural reaction since we've had such restricted diets before and after surgery. Add in that none of us want to damage our new sleeves and leaks are a terrifying complication, and it's a wonder that any of us ever manage to transition back to "regular" food after surgery! Good luck!! Please let us know how it goes.

No real tips, because it looks like you're doing things right. However, I wonder if you're not just at a weight where you spent a lot of time before? Also, are your clothes getting looser and are your measurements changing? I've been "stuck" for about 3 weeks, but I know I spent nearly 10 years at the weight I'm at right now, so I expected this plateau. I've been almost literally watching my body change in the last 3 weeks, though. I have lost 2 pants sizes, gained muscle in certain areas and even discovered a couple of bones that I had forgotten about! Just keep working your plan and the weight will come off. I think we're both out of the honeymoon period where it gets tougher to lose weight and we have to work harder...and it sounds like you are working hard!