Catracks

It's a learning process. You have to learn what your full signal is. For some it's a sigh. For some it's picking at food. For others it's hiccups, still others a burp. The key is eating slowly so you have time to gauge whether you are full or not. Measuring your food is another way. At first use fl. oz. measurements like in a measuring cup. Later you can weigh things. Now I can eat 3 oz. of dense protein and 5-6 oz. of liquid or yogurt. I'm 6 months out. It was much less a two months -- maybe 1.5 and 3 respectively. If you overeat or eat too fast you can just sit there awhile or walk it off. It'll go away. Some people relieve it by doing the finger down the throat thing, but keep in mind that this could get habit forming for some. Not good.

I think swallow it unless EVOO enemas are your thing. I'm sorry. I get inappropriate and smart-assed when tired. Hope it made you laugh anyway.

I've been staying away from fast food places and haven't had any for 7 months. My daughter just HAD to have some so we stopped. Then I noticed: Lightly steamed vegetables with some crunch left in them, beef, chicken, shrimp ... Check this out. i got a two item combo and I am having half today and the rest tomorrow. Shanghai Angus Steak (this one is VERY good) 5.4 oz Calories: 220 Cal. from fat: 60 Total fat: 7 Sat. fat: 2 Chol.: 50 Sodium.: 910 Carbs: 9 Fiber: 1 Sugars: 13 Protein: 21 String Bean Chicken Breast (also one of my favs) 5.6 oz 160 50 6 1 0 35 770 12 2 6 15 Mixed Veggies (Side) 8.6 oz 70 5 0.5 0 0 0 530 13 5 4 4 The sugars and sodium can be a bit high, but for an occasional treat? Why not. Just meat and veggies.

I can eat one entree if I eat slow over the course of a couple hours. I eat about 750 calories a day so it seems to fit in. You know what I used to eat? Here was my usual 3 item combo: The whole side of chow mein noodles (490 cal.) Beijing Beef (the worst item on the menu) (690 cal.) Orange chicken (the second worst probably) (420 cal.) BBQ pork (360 cal.) Total for that one lunch? 1,960 calories. Scary I tell you! More like disgusting. Who was I?

Cost Plus World Market carries them. Good price and lots of flavors in sugar free.

Sorry, the salt thing wasn't weird. I can't top sardines and cottage cheese, but how about peanut butter spread on roast beef or chicken?

I used to salt almost EVERYTHING. I haven't picked up a shaker, but to cook with in 7 months.

You can add them to protein shakes, you can add them to unflavored yogurt, add them to coffee, make protein ice cream, you can bake with it. The uses are endless. Check out Theworldaccordingtoeggface.com She puts those in everything from pancakes to fat free whipped cream.

Yeah, it is weird. I wasn't on solids until the start of week 7. It worked for me. I never had any issues with any food except cucumbers early on. They didn't hurt, they just made my sleeve roll and bubble and squeak for an hour. Overeating does suck with the sleeve. I've done it twice and the reaction was to vomit whether I wanted to or not. I got what you would call the slimes.

One weeks out? Sakes! It's going to get better. All the sagging skin in the world is better than obese. You will be able to enjoy food again, but you will eat in portions that skinny people enjoy. You will feel so much better and look it. It's too late for regret. It's time to get to work. Just sip slowly. Suck on a popsicle. Try warm things or tepid things. I personally think that it is too soon for puree if you cannot tolerate them. Try going back to a least full liquids. Yogurt goes down especially well for me.

I had to add my 2 cents on the needy thing. I met a wonderful man some years back that seemed to adore me. He was well-to-do, had his own place in Costa Rica and treated me well. One thing. He was very needy and seemed to latch onto me immediately. He called multiple times daily. You'd think a single girl would eat that up. Well, if sort of freaked me out a bit. I felt horrible, but I had to say no to him. It was the hardest thing to do - to tell someone that you are not interested. My to be husband came on the scene and he was confident and fun. I guess needy scares me a bit personally.

I'm so glad I don't have to date anymore. I hated it. It's funny, but back when I was last dating I was not overweight, but on the high side of "normal." I still got rejected for not being skinny enough. One guy actually said, "Size 6 is a bit too chunky for me." Another guy said that he really liked super skinny Asian women. Real winners. Then I met my husband ( I met him on Love@AOL way back when). He loved me thin or fat. He supported me in this surgery only because we couldn't hike or do outdoors things. I was also getting sick. Now. This isn't hypocrisy. We know how we look and looked as obese people. We know how unhealthy it is. It would just seem to me that we are embracing a lifestyle that does not primarily focus on food. Dating for my husband and I was 10 mile hikes, bike rides, horseback rides and kayaking. Now it's finally that way again and I could kick myself for missing the last 6 years of my life. I don't think I'd want to go back to a food focused lifestyle. I wouldn't have anything in common with it. Is this small of me?

That's what the sleeve did for me. It was mostly about quantity control for me. Along the way I also learned how to eat healthy. Now nothing that isn't the best tasting or best for me goes into my sleeve. Did you ever eat Hot Cheetos just because they were there. I didn't even really like them. I can now eat a bite of cake and ice cream and push it away (oh well, birthdays happen). As I've said before on these boards: I am a total foodie still and love to plan and cook meals, but I'm not obsessing about lunch as I'm eating Breakfast, you know? To me there is no void. I actually enjoy my food and take time to taste it. Other have different experiences and find it a chore to eat, but that's not me.

Your weight loss is phenomenal. Your hard work shows.

I had some mashed fish and mashed potatoes one day and refried Beans and avocado another day. It was a matter of a couple tiny spoonfuls of each. I do not recommend this at all. I was supposed to be on Clear Liquids for that two weeks. I was good at getting the clear stuff in and that was my best Protein consumption (80 grams a day). That fruit Isopure stuff was great for that. Lost a LOT of weight then. Dorrie, you asked for rationale? Hmmmmmm. No excuse because it was not rational. I just felt incredibly good and had since day 2 post-op. I was just lucky.

My surgeon had me swallowing capsules 3 days post-op. Agreed it was just too much at once. There are some meds that you should not crush or capsules that you should not open.

First call your doctor if you are vomiting and voiding and not keeping liquids down. Dehydration is not good. After you get that under control, start by only sipping down a couple spoonfuls at a time at first. Use a baby spoon if you have one or a jam spoon. Now you are 5 weeks out? I didn't start pureed food "officially" until the start of the 5th week. Don't worry. The stomach heals and it gets better.

I thunk I shrunk again. I can wear 12s and even 13s. I'm also wearing some Hang Ten Jeans that looked like doll clothes 6 months ago. I even fit into a 34 x 32 BUTTON FLY 501 pair! I got 10 pair of new/old pants and 6 new/old tops. Funny about some of the jeans and pants I have. The ones from the 90s or so (I think) are high wasted and the denim is HEAVY. Don't like them at all. I gave them to Goodwill as well. The Hang Tens are acid washed. My daughter just rolls her eyes and puts on her skinny jeans. My dad saw me this weekend and he hasn't seen me since Father's day and he was flabbergasted and pleased. I don't notice differences so much because I see me every day. I also have to bless God that I can hike up strenuous terrain without even breathing hard anymore. I have old pants in reserve in size 10 and 8. I expect to get to a 6 and a small top. It will be wonderful to shop for things I won't grow .... in? of --- shrink out of? HAHA! I love saying that: "Shrink out of." I will probably do a combination of Ebay, Goodwill, Tilly's, Old Navy and American Eagle. I can't WAIT! When I got at my heaviest I was busting out of a 20 and I didn't want to by a size larger let alone buy anything my size. Now I have so many clothes I can wear that I can't decide sometimes.

I remember first posting and seeing that my ticker was all the way to the left when everyone was going strong or at goal. You hope that is going to be you someday and then quicker than you'd think --- you get there. The weight comes off slower now, but I'm still going. The inches seem to be disappearing when the weight doesn't.

Oh, like this? http://www.herroom.com/rago-801-thong-back-waist-cincher.shtml I like it, but wish it weren't a thong LOL! Otherwise, that looks like it would do the trick without a lot of material and over-coverage. I'm going to add that site to my favorites. Thanks! I don't mind the compression in a small area.

Makes me love my husband even more. Yeah, I know there is more than one side to a story, but even insecurity is no excuse to treat a person like crap. I wasted more than a few years with a person that treated me so horribly that I want to kick my own ass for putting up with it for so long. Whatever happens, you do need to surround yourself with stable, decently happy and supportive people. I wish you the very best.

I can't wear all that confining stuff under my clothes either. I have excess skin on my lower stomach, upper thighs and upper arms. My poor boobs are deflated too. I can live with all of it except the lower stomach or pannis or apron - whatever. I know exactly what you mean Kathy about having to stuff the skin in and then having pants with waists that are too big. I cannot tolerate uncomfortable or confining clothes so I will never be able to wear one of those Spanx like body suits - ever. Vicky, I do not know your age or how much weight you need to lose, but for most of us, the extra skin is a given. Working out will define the muscles underneath and help, but It won't solve it. Sorry to be gloomy about it, but it isn't so bad. Under clothes (even shorts and tanks) no one sees it. I do plan to have a pannelectomy (did I spell that right?) and get the insurance to cover it, but that's a ways off. I think most surgeons want you to hold to your goal for 6 months before plastics.

I never met a cheese I didn't like. The more aged, hard cheeses like aged provolone is very strong and sharp. It's better to buy those (provolone, caciocavallo, parmigiano) from a deli or Italian market. In fact, it's better to buy cheese from Trader Joes, Whole Foods (whole paycheck) and the like. Many specialty stores will cut you small amounts of cheeses since we cannot eat huge blocks before they go bad. Experiment. Some of my favorites are the above mentioned as well as Stilton, Irish cheddar, Wednesleydale, Camembert, Brie, Tilset, Asiago, Havarti, Swiss, fresh mozzarella (Sounds like Monty Python's cheese shop sketch now), Feta, Gruyere, Gouda, Edam ... I also do like the Baby Bell Light, Laughing Cow light and light string cheese. Gosh I do LOVE cheese. I do admit that goat cheese tastes off to me. I love sheep cheese, but goat seems off to me. Makes me wonder what camel cheese would taste like. I WANT CHEESE CURDS! Apparently they are not a California thang.

I eat 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado at a time. I'll do 1/2 if the avocado is small. I also like to blend it with Greek yogurt. It stretches it and adds protein. Good for a dip or spread that way.

I'm six months out and stall constantly. I stalled for about a month around 4.5 months. That is around the time that I started hiking strenuously. For me, it's the carbs that don't sit well with me unless I'm actually hiking that day. Be sure to read Benjammin's post on stalls, Good stuff! That explains the exercise, stall, gain a bit, lose inches, then lose more weight scenario I am going through.