LeaveItToSleever

Me too, I can eat anything. My appetite and tastes have stayed the same, I just eat very small quantities now instead of huge mountains of food the way I used to. My doctor advanced me very quickly through the food stages. He does that for most patients but even faster with me because I sailed through with no pain or complications and my weight loss has been good (stalls are normal- they happen when you gain weight too).

YAY YOU is right!!! Congrats!

"My dad says he doesn't know what you're talking about."

That sounds very good. It's not too much food, and it's not the wrong kind of food if your doctor said it's okay. I was okayed to eat soft foods very early too- that part is between you and your doctor. But, water is not a snack. It's water. But everything counts toward your water intake, including you shakes, because everything they contain mostly water.

I can't wait to NOT have to... put off travel because I don't fit in airplane seats. I can't wait to NOT have to... wait for other people to get out of the way on stairways and sidewalks, because I know both of us won't fit. I can't wait to NOT have to... look around for a sturdy chair without arms. I can't wait to NOT be the fattest person in the room where ever I go.

August 31st, how much weight have you lost since being sleeved, everybody? I've dumped 25 lbs of stubborn lard this month.

How do I know that my reflux doesn't feel like hunger? This question is perplexing because TO ME, it's like comparing night and day. Because they feel completely different. Reflux feels like caustic acid in my esophagus. Hunger feels like and empty stomach wanting food. There's zero ambiguity. Apples to oranges.

Really? I've never heard of this yet. I don't have reflux often, but when I do, it feels NOTHING like hunger. Neither does thirst (that isn't even controlled by the digestive system). But everyone is different!

... to have a car full of teenagers pull up beside me walking and say "excuse me, where is Dunkin Donuts?" then laugh wildly and drive away. ... to have a stranger casually mention how much I resemble (insert name of an old, unattractive, obese celebrity). ... to use any public restroom stall, NOT just the wheelchair one. ... do a double take when I see my own photo, reflection, or image in a security TV monitor because I can't believe my own eyes that it's ME who is that big.

I get it too. I thought (after reading what everyone else said) that I would have no more hunger. Well, my hunger has NOT changed; I still get hungry all the time. It seems perfectly reasonable, because my sleeve cannot store a huge amount of food the way my stomach used to; so now I get hungry and need to eat every 3-4 hours. The difference is that now it only takes a couple of ounces to fill me up and get me away from the table.

Amen, sistah! We've all been there, and it ain't pretty! Especially the airplane part- yikes. Best wishes on your journey!

I also noticed this in the paperwork they gave us at the initial seminar. I looked around and saw that every lady in the room had on sandals and painted toenails, so I made a comment, and the nurse quickly said toenails don't apply, just fingernails. Now having said that, nobody looked at my fingers while I was in recovery. I don't know about surgery but that seems pretty dumb to me because the anesthesiologist has every monitor in the hospital attached to you during surgery. In the recovery room, I had to call the nurses several times because of various alarms going off on machines. To the person who said this was the least of your worries, I AGREE! All the data they need they get from my blood pressure cuff and all the other machines. I doubt any hospital staff looks at anything other than machines and charts.

I had a couple of forkfulls in week 3. The sky didn't fall. It still tasted just as good, but it definitely doesn't digest well. I have found that fatty foods (this was from the hot foods bar in the deli, so I know it was loaded with fat) cause major indigestion. Of course, it's a poor nutritional choice, as has been pointed out; but the heartburn is an even bigger deterrent. My shrink and my surgeon both emphasized that after surgery, I would be able to eat ANYTHING, it is not a "diet". Junk foods will be nibbled occasionally, the challenge is to plan meals so we meet our protein / water goals FIRST, and make healthier choices about diet and exercise for the rest of our lives, not to feel deprived. So just be sensible. In my experience, junk food makes you feel lousy for hours.

I want to say about 2.5 wks, but the truth is my gut is STILL more flabby and distended than it ever was before surgery. I think it may have something to do with the fact that my ab muscles are still so sore that I can't engage them, so they have no tension or firmness yet (almost 4 weeks out now). I definitely need to do some sit-ups asap. Just waiting for the incisions to heal completely.

I envy you because I'm having the opposite problem. Almost like the surgery took away all my mojo. It's horrible. Like a huge part of me has died.Definitely not my normal, robust, lust for life.

Not really, but I'm very accustomed to outdoor physical labor anyway. Are you talking about exercise?

Most of my goals revolve around my career and my education (I'm always trying to further both). I take a top-down approach to goals: start with the biggest ones, and set smaller ones to help me get there. Meeting my weight loss goals help me reach all my other health and fitness goals. Reaching my health and fitness goals helps me reach all the other goals, like education and career goals.

I Love weighing myself. Is there some danger in having "too much" good news?

I don't think this is a strange question at all (but what a strange response). I crave the same foods I always did. For me, nothing has changed. I'm almost 4 weeks out and I can eat anything, just in very small amounts.

3 weeks. I'd eat them in a heartbeat. Already eating hotsauce on everything (since week 2).

I am 3 wks and 3 days out, and 20 lbs down.

Be careful of buying cheap protein. Check the source. Different types of protein digest differently, and may be less available to your body. You can buy soy based protein, rice based protein, etc. Still protein, but lower quality protein per gram. I think these are more popular with vegans. I make sure it says 3 words: WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE.

My surgeon said I could skip it because my BMI was already low enough by the time of my surgery that he was not concerned about blood clots.

Another vote for Unjury. I have every flavor they make.

I lost 18 lbs in the first 10 days, then only 2 lbs in the next 10. QUITE a let down, to say the least. Of course I loved the first weeks rate of loss, but now I feel stuck... and disappointed. I already exercise an hour a day, I really can't eat much, and I have NO IDEA why the weight is not dropping fast (like it should be, according to math!).