Puja

Hi, guys! I started a social group on the forum called "Indian Sleevers". Please join, and invite other members! The group allows you to post articles, and start conversation topics. Hopefully it will be helpful to current and new sleevers joining VST!

Did your nutritionist say to avoid gluten because you have a sensitivity to it, or because of the carbs? I don't think there's ever a point so far that I have forgotten I have had surgery, despite living like a normal person. I can eat up to 1 cup of food, depending on the food type, and try to make sure I don't go beyond that point. Eating mindlessly or overeating is something I want to avoid at all costs! Yes, my plate looks more normal now than is used to, because I have added more variety to it, but I am still very conscious of what goes into my mouth. It's very easy to eat too fast or too much. It's great that you have kept yourself informed about nutrition! Your health is of utmost importance, and your diet is key in maintaining that. I don't track calories on my phone anymore, but I do a mental tally of my Proteins and calories throughout the day. I still focus on a minimum of 60 gms Protein, and 1200-1400 calories. It will become second-hand to you, with time. Aside from food challenges, you will inevitably find yourself with other challenges related to your new body and your new lifestyle. It is a wonderful journey! There is a veteran's group within this forum that may provide you with insight to the emotional challenges many people face during their weight loss journey. How is everyone else on here doing? Have you found WLS support within your respective social circles or cities?

Srushti, I'm glad to see that you've got a good hold on your nutrition and dietary requirements! Eating fish and chicken will definitely help you keep your Protein count up. How are you managing solids so far? We face new challenges every day with the sleeve, whether it be before or after reaching goal, so thank you for your encouragement!

Hi, Indiangirl! I somehow missed your post. Congratulations on your weight loss! I hope you are recovering well! Are you vegetarian? I've heard that many of the nutritionists in India aren't doing an ideal job on meal and nutrition planning. When I was in Bangalore, I had a few staples of daal, dahi, paneer, and milk. All of those have a good amount of Proteins, carbs, and fats. If you eat eggs, those are great, too! In your initial food stages, you might want to stick to these items, because they are all very easy to digest, easy to prepare, and can me thinned down (or thickened up) according to your needs. Peanut Butter is great, too! Try to stay away from kidney Beans or black-eyed beans initially, because those cause more gas. I had my surgery on August 31st of 2011, so I am about 18 months out. I have been maintaining for about 6 months!

How are your bowel movements? How is your Fiber intake? Do you remember what you ate before it happened the first time? I have had similar aches, and it turned out to be gas. I was having regular bowel movements, but during that time period I noticed my stools were rather dry and hard (they did come out, but reminded me of rabbit poops!). A lot of the pain was from pressure and gas build up. What antibiotics were you given? Have you had any diarrhea since then?

Wannalise, I am sorry to hear about this! Proudgrammy brings up an interesting point about her dosage... the side effects from too high of a dose can also affect multiple aspects of your physiology (including sleep), which can trigger episodes if lack of sleep is an instigating factor for you. Most epileptic meds are metabolized by the liver, and higher doses can actually induce further metabolism. Perhaps your doctor can try to combine the medication with something that slows down its clearance. This topic is always brought up in these forums, but how are your electrolytes? Imbalances combined with insufficient sleep, added to the stress of pending attacks, sounds like the perfect recipe for a seizure. Good luck to you!

You are doing this for your health to PREVENT future problems (obesity can increase your chances for some cancers, by the way)! Your stomach may be healthy and cancer-free, but the rest of your body is not. Be thankful for taking that step towards your future and having the opportunity to reverse many years of damage!

128 oz!! Oh my, how do you manage that?

Thank you, Susan and Pdx, for your replies and for helping to clarify the situation. I really appreciate it! You're absolutely right, that I should not have called out on Laura for taking the thread off topic. I apologize for that, and did not mean to upset you, Laura. I also did not want to make you feel singled out in any way, even though that is precisely what happened. Oregondaisy and Susan, I definitely feel the topic of overeating and vomiting (or contemplating forcing yourself to vomit) is something that applies to everyone, and would love to hear view points about it in the vet's forum. I apologize if I implied that it was not a veteran topic, that was not what I meant at all. Butterthebean, good point!

Susan, that's not what I was trying to say. I can see I was not clear in my explanation, but anyways that's beside the point. You are an admin, and you started this forum, so I respect however you decide to moderate it. Thank you for responding and explaining.

Wow, I can see I hurt some feelings. Really, that's not my intention. You guys are correct in saying that it's hard to define who is or isn't a vet. Laura, the original topic was about the regulations within the vet forum, not about throwing up after overeating. And when have I implied before that I don't want you here? I'm not trying to be confrontational, just pointing out that even in a vet forum, there will be crossover that eventually takes the topics and points back to something concerning new sleevers (not necessarily people who are almost at 6 months, or whatever the forum views as a vet). Anyways, I am far less active than most of you, and only recently starting posting more when I started reading topics in the vet's forum. It's not such a big deal to me who does and does not post, but I'd rather not come here to read a thread about the consequences of eating while drinking. I don't think that's what Oregondaisy was posting about. I hope that makes sense.

So, I suppose this is why Pdx started the thread in the first place? I really don't mean to be rude, but just wanted to point out that the thread DID get hijacked after all... and when it came back to topic, Laura-Ven took it back off-topic. That led to a discussion which many of us know about, have experienced, and dealt with. It also led to other new sleevers joining in. (I'm not trying to single you out, Laura, but just pointing out that this has happened, and will continue to happen) She brings up really interesting points, but is not a vet, after all. I do still believe this forum should remain open, but needs better moderation regarding who can and cannot post.

Pdx, you're right. I went through some of the threads and took a glance at how far out people were from surgery. There is a huge difference between the people that are less than 6 months post-opt, and those that are at least a year post-op! I'm still not sure how I feel about a closed forum, but I definitely agree that there should be an implemented rule regarding who counts as a veteran (aside from the number of posts). I am 15 months out from surgery, but only had 90-something posts when the vet forum was started. I actually worked my way up to 100, so that I could write in this forum. Many of you on here, though, are regular posters. I've been following you since before I had my surgery, and would not consider myself a vet when compared to you. Ack, I don't actually know what point I'm trying to make. I love this new vet's forum, but I hate that some of the threads have started to sound just like the threads in other forums.

Pdx, I did actually get that feeling (not from your post, but from a few other posts on this thread and within others in the vet group). I'm surprised at how much negativity and sarcasm I have seen in some of the threads, considering how few topics there actually are within this new forum. Perhaps I'm just reading into it too much?

I don't really think a closed group would stop minor arguments or tiffs from occurring. What would be the difference between this open forum and a closed one? The people allowed in? What if there are lurkers who gain information and insight from reading these vet topics, but don't want to post? If I wanted the opinion of a certain select few, I would PM just those people, I'd imagine. I post publicly, so that anyone with an opinion or advice can give it. Am I missing something? What exactly are we upset about that is warranting a closed group?

Ahhh Lissa!! How do you remember these things?! I didn't do it pre-op, but had done it a few years ago, in attempts to lose weight. Life with the sleeve is something else, though. I'm living a beautiful dream where I can eat like a normal person, look forward to my meals, and consider food as my friend rather than my enemy. You were sleeved just before I was, and following your journey to health and happiness has been wonderful. I've just recently started posting again, but have always been lurking around and reading your updates.

Lissa, that's so wonderful!!! I initially became interested in surgery because an acquaintance of mine was open about her WLS on facebook. It helped so much to be able to talk to her, and her openness helped me realize this was something to be proud of, not ashamed of. I'm much happier telling people about it, rather than keeping it a secret. You are an inspiration!!

Yes! I hated getting advice from people on how to lose weight - especially when it came from someone who had managed to lose weight. It somehow made me feel worse, and like more of a failure. Of course when someone personally asks me, I open the gates and let the information flow! (Along with the support, of course)

Something very interesting and puzzling happened to me today. All my life, until the surgery, I had always looked at "normal" girls, or even slightly chubby girls and thought that if I could look like them, I would be happy. I never wanted to be skinny, and would have been very happy with being a voluptuous size 12 or 14 - a large. I looked at other overweight women, and compared myself to them. Am I heavier than her? Do I look like her? Today, I was in the library, and there was a table with 2 very obese women, around my age. One of them kept shifting around, and adjusting her clothes.. and I was reminded of how uncomfortable I always felt before I lost weight. I was uncomfortable in my own body, and it affected the simplest tasks like sitting and studying. Then, I was standing just behind one of those girls in the restroom, while waiting to wash my hands. She stepped over to let me use the sink, and quickly took a glance at me in the mirror. Was she also having the same thoughts I used to have less than 2 years ago? Could she be thinking that she would like to look like me? Imperfect, but relatively normal? I initially looked at her and almost had to catch myself from passing judgment on why she may be overweight. Why wasn't she doing something about her health? I immediately felt guilty and confused on why I would think such a thing, considering that was me. That STILL IS me. I have to work on the new me every minute of every day. After that, I almost wanted to let her know that I understood... that I was her once upon a time, and still fight the same battle. I kept quiet and went about my business while she went about hers, of course. I felt guilty and anxious, but extremely proud of myself. I was her once, and I made a change. I worked to find a solution, and then worked even harder to become that girl I wanted to be. I'm not perfect. I have loose skin, and I've got saggy boobs way before the age to have them. But I'm healthy. I'm in control of my weight, rather than my weight being in control of me. I am victorious.

Fitinmumbai, all the best! Hospitals can be scary, but this weekend is going to be a great start to a whole new and healthy you!

I do a few things with it: 1. Blend it with a glass of milk and half a banana (I don't do Protein powders anymore) 2. Sprinkle the regular version over apples, or the cocoa version over strawberries 3. It bakes well. There are lots of PB2 recipes for Cookies and muffins

YES! I have gone on an all-natural food craze since having surgery. My body and mind feel so much better when I don't eat all that processed food. Of course, I do have some weaknesses and indulgences, but I try to avoid that stuff for the most part. I quit protein powders, too, after I saw the long list of ingredients that were just chemicals. Now, I sometimes give in to the temptation of snacks and chips, but immediately feel my body go low on energy. It's amazing. I whole-heartedly wish you all the best on your non-processed foods journey!

I'm on several different forums (non-sleeve related), and get super-irritated when people message me with questions that have been answered a million times all over the board. If the question is unique, and perhaps I can offer some specific advice, I always answer it. Otherwise, I tell the person that the best way to find their answer is to use the "search" option at the top right hand corner of the page. That way, they get lots of different viewpoints, and not just mine!

I'm a medical student that will be applying for residency at the end of this year. I was wondering how all the nurses and doctors on this board manage their eating and drinking routines while working? If there are any medical students here, how did you manage taking the USMLE board exams? How did you plan your food and drink with the short break periods?

Thank you all for your tips!