Webchickadee

It's a slippery slope. Sometimes it only takes the first "stray" and then you "give yourself permission", since you've already blown it........ Most important thing to remember is even if you go off track, the next thing you put in your mouth is totally up to you! You have the ability and control to get right back on track. One slip doesn't mean the day is lost........you can make good choices after a bad one! Learn from this and you'll do better next time. None of us are perfect, believe me. The most important thing is to do your best and not beat yourself up when you slip. Just to use it as a way to improve for next time and feel good about learning a lesson.

If you had swelling in ONE leg/ankle, I would say there is a chance you have a blood clot or vascular blockage of some kind. But with both legs, that seems less likely a possibility! I agree with Dorrie........please make sure your doc checks you out as soon as possible! Most common serious reasons for swelling of this kind (do not freak out when you read this list.....it's only a list!) is: - high sodium intake (not likely, you said) - blood clots/deep venous thrombosis - renal impairment - elevated blood pressure (could be due to renal impairment, or could be cause of renal impairment!) - liver impairement or failure - heart failure It may be something completely unrelated to any of the things I've listed above, and easily resolved! In the meanwhile, why stress yourself out worrying about the possibilities........get things checked and our remove the stress! Good luck and let us know how things are as soon as you can!

Wow, I'm lucky to get HALF your numbers in on a good day! I'm about 60g protein, 30 g fat and I struggle to get in 64 oz of fluids!

OMG! Only 7 weeks? What a difference! Keep up the great work!

As far as I understand it (and I'm no expert, by any means), stretching your stomach takes REAL EFFORT! liquids tend to pass through the stomach quite quickly and easily. In order to stretch your stomach out, you have to overeat to the point of pain and nausea on MANY REPEATED and closely timed occasions. Honestly, I think you would get tired of being sick and vomiting etc. before you were actually able to stretch the stomach enough to "fail" the VSG surgery. Of course that would all be LONG after the surgical healing is completed (can take as long as 8 months post-op!). If you put too much into your stomach in the first few weeks/months post-op you could cause life-threatening complications, leaks, rupture, etc. (Just pointing that out for those on the forum who are new and don't necessarily know......). To stretch your stomach significantly and permanently, you have to work at it...........and hopefully no one here on VST is going to self-sabotage that badly! Liquids are highly unlikely to do it........and the pain will make you stop when you've passed the "full" point.

Wow, that is a GENEROUS nosey co-worker!

I think the main reason for the "no drinking while eating rule" is manyfold. 1. Drinking during meals that are solid food will help "wash" some of the solids out of your stomach and into the intestine. This has a twofold effect. a) it moves the food out of your stomach and creates more space for new food to come in (bypassing some of the "restrictive" effect of the sleeve). b ) it dilutes the acids in the stomach that will help digest your food and reduce the work of the colon 2. As well, drinking during eating helps you swallow larger bites more easily and makes you less conscious of carefully chewing your food. 3. Drinking also washes tastes out of your mouth, reducing the sensory enjoyment of the food you've eaten and encouraging more food in your mouth to reintroduce the taste. Now when it comes to spicy foods, sometimes you WANT to wash that taste out of your mouth, because it's too spicy! For myself, I am reducing the spicy foods to prevent stomach upset and reflux (I already take Omeprazole 20 mg 2x per day, that's enough, thanks!) and also to prevent the need for drinking during meals. If it's an "emergency", I do take a sip or two, but I never drink more than 1-2 oz per meal.

Fantastic! I see a BIG difference! But the biggest change I see is the HUGE smile on your face now. You look like you're having a great time and happy. Isn't that why we're doing this? We want to enjoy our lives; be empowered to do whatever we want to do, and not be held back. We want access to our dreams.....and now you do, because you took control of your life and future! Keep up the great work!

It's amazing how surprised you will be once you start trying all your favourite old foods and cravings........there's a good chance you won't even like them anymore! I've tried a number of "old favourites" (usually just one or two bites), and I didn't even enjoy or like most of them! Your tastes change, your tolerance changes (I still can't do breads/pasta, etc. and probably have eliminated them for the most part for the rest of my life!) When you're more stable (8-10 weeks post op), you can consider trying a bite of the McMuffin (if that falls within your Dr.'s post-op eating guidelines, of course)....just don't be surprised or upset if it just doesn't have the same effect on you as it had before!

I had mixed reactions when I told two people very close to me (my Dad and my sister). My Dad was VERY VERY supportive. He has been prodding me to lose weight (both with positive and negative reinforcement) since I was a teenager. I've been obese since I was 10 yrs old, and I am now 42 yrs old! He said he was proud of me for taking control of a situation that obviously had control over me my whole life. He said that he understood why surgery was necessary and that clearly, diet and exercise weren't working long-term, even though I have had several successful "episodes" of substantial weight loss. I just couldn't keep it off, and I needed help with that. My sister on the other hand, was EXTREMELY worried that I was making a permanent life-altering change that I might regret in the end. She thought I should give the "diet and exercise" route another try. She's about 20 lbs overweight and has never been obese (even after having 3 kids!). She knows how hard it is to lose those 20 lbs and keep it off, but for some reason, she thinks I should be able to lose my excess 180 lbs and keep that off! Crazy huh? Now that I'm 3 months post-op and I'm down 62 lbs, she's very supportive and relieved that I made it through so far without complications. I think her reaction was more about concern for my physical and emotional health than about judgement. But at the time, I needed her support, and not getting it really hurt! I don't know if there's a good way to proceed pre-op with the ones you love, who may not support you decision at the time (hopefully they'll come around!). If you HAVE to tell them (to explain a change in diet, or if they see you every day, etc.), then go ahead, lay out the facts and try to keep emotion out of it. And if they don't support you at the time, try not to resent them for it. Their reasons for their reactions are complex (just like your reasons for your decision!). In the end, they love you and want you in their lives (overweight or not!), and that is probably what is motivating their responses. Let any negative comments roll of your back as best you can, and remember why you've made this decision and why you want to change your life for the better. You'll have plenty to deal with around the time of surgery.....there won't be any physical or emotional strength left in you to be managing their angst and negativity! Good luck, and keep us in the loop. We want to hear how things go and answer questions you might have down the road!

Fantastic job! The road ahead may seem long, but look how far you've come already! And it gets easier as you go, since you've now developed the good habits of your new lifestyle! Soon you'll be rounding the corner on the 300's........ Keep up the great work! We're all cheering for you!

You're probably going to be as thirsty or more! Your body needs Water to run, and especially when it's doing the extra work of breaking down fat! Not to mention that you will be taking smaller sips and smaller quantities of food (including liquid foods at first). So you will need to drink more often than before, because your intake will be smaller than it is now. You will definitely get thirsty......and it's really important that you address that right away when it happens. Dehydration is a big problem post-op and you can avoid it if you drink regularly (so much so that you can avoid the thirst by "nipping it in the bud"!). You won't be able to "guzzle" in the beginning. In fact, even small sips may be painful and cause cramping. But that will change over time. It's usually as a result of the swelling of the stomach post-op. It took me about 7-8 to be able to take even a small sip without cramping/pain, but it improved dramatically after that. I am now more than 3 months post-op and I can take several large drinks in a row without pain. Though I do fill up pretty quick!

[quote name=Lisa ' timestamp='1345483003' post='455620] I go through this cycle where I lose 3-5 lbs in a few days and then I stall for 3-4 weeks. This, I guess, is just how it goes for me now...this has been the pattern for about 4 months now. I truly believe my body has to adjust to the losses, especially now that I'm getting closer to goal. Hang in there...I think it would be really really hard to have the sleeve fail us!!! I was sleeve May 14/12 and I seem to go through a similar cycle! I lose quite well for about 3 weeks, then stall for 10-12 days. I've had this cycle repeat every month (right around my surgiversary), and at first it was very frustrating. Now I know it's coming up around the 14th of every month and I "ride it out". Almost like a menstrual cycle (LOL). I guess the only anxiety is in waiting to see if the losing starts again after the 10-12 day time frame is up! And so far, so good.........currently another 4-6 days to go and I expect to be back on that downward trend! I'm about 1/3 of the way to goal now (down 62 lbs and another 122 to go). Quite a bit further than you are.......but it's no race or contest! We'll get there, when our bodies decide it's time. In the meanwhile, I'm trying to reinforce my new good habits and kill off the old bad ones! No regrets at all in my case. And I too desperately wish I could have had this surgery 20 years ago! I've been obese my entire life (since age 10!) and there is alot I gave up so that I could have all that food. Time to get my life back and enjoy all those things I've put aside.

So interesting! I love salty things, but my real weakness has always been sweets! So recently I read that if you have a craving for sweets, you should eat a pickle! Perhaps you need to do the opposite....if you have a craving for something salty, you should have something sweet (just a bite, probably with artificial sweetener, or a natural sugar substitute such as stevia). It will probably change your whole "track" for that particular craving and "reset" you! As well, there is a good chance that you are craving the salty items because your new healthy eating habits have dramatically reduced the amount of sodium intake from your pre-op norm. I know that I was eating WELL in excess of the daily recommended max. of 2500 mg of sodium pre-op. Now I use MyFitnessPal to track ALL of my food intake and I see that I generally am about 1200 mg per day of sodium. And that's without really paying alot of attention to sodium in my foods! I focus on protein, carbs and fat...and finally calories. So perhaps your body is still working on "resetting" it's balance point for sodium levels in your body and is feeling a "gap" compared to what you had pre-surgery! Also, if you're exercising (that includes walking, btw!), you're muscles are using electrolytes (such as sodium, potassium and calcium), and perhaps you need a bit more of these to replenish what you're using up! If you must increase your electrolytes though, it's really much wiser to do it by consuming items specifically targeted for that, such as Gatorade G2, etc. These are just a few of my random thoughts..........take or leave as you please! Good work on identifying possible sources of weakness and bad habits. Being self-aware is the most important step we can take to keep ourselves on track and successful. Both now, during our losing/repatterning phase, and for the long-term!

Looks like we are EXACTLY on the same track! I was also sleeved on May 14 and I'm down about the same amount of weight! I go through a "stall" every month for about 10-12 days, but this is now my 3rd time going through it, so I don't feel upset by it any more. Feeling great.....much more active and able to exercise without getting too short of breath. I've given up all my asthma meds! Also enjoying getting into all the clothes I had kept from my last substantial weight loss (100 lbs!) back in 2006. Soon I'll be too small for those though....then some shopping (cheap!) until I get to goal (135 lbs). Hope everyone is doing well and happy with their progress and new lives!

140 g of protein per day? That seems quite high! I am currently in the 250 lb range and I'm getting between 60-80 g a day and even that is challenging without drinking shakes or eating Protein Bars every day. Naturally sourced protein for me seems to work better and I enjoy it more. But as it stands, I'm eating mostly protein every day and still not really getting more than 80 g. I also wanted to point out that you should double check with your surgeon that those high protein numbers are what he is advising. High levels of protein put extra strain on the kidneys. That is not a problem in the short term if your kidney function is healthy, but can become problematic in the long term. Also, high levels of protein require greater hydration (at least 1/2 gallon of fluids for every 100 g of protein), and you must be sure to make room in your calorie food intake for other vital nutrients. Protein is great but not at the expense of everything else your body requires! Carbs are "the devil", but your body needs "good carbs". These include fruits, vegetables, Beans, and whole grains. They deliver essential Vitamins and minerals, Fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients. I try to keep my carbs below 40 per day (occasionally higher or lower). Especially once you begin more strenuous exercise, the carbs are a vital part of your energy stores during exercise, as well as your post-exercise recovery. Common symptoms of excess protein in your diet include: - Weight gain (probably not an issue for VSG patients, but may be contributing to stalls) - Intestinal irritation - Dehydration - Seizures (a rare and extreme symptom!) - Increase in liver enzymes - Nutritional deficiencies - Risk of heart disease (with long-term excess protein intake) - Kidney problems Again, I want to reiterate, if your medical team is advising you to have 120-140 g of protein per day, you should follow their direction. I simply wanted to put "the word" out that this is quite a bit higher than what I have seen others discussing here on VST and is approx. 2x the amount my medical team has advised me to consume.

Many people that are obese or morbidly obese have a tremendous problem with blood sugar control. This is partly due to the fact that our fat cells when they are enlarged as they are when we are overweight, have a larger surface area and more insulin receptors on the surface area. these insulin receptors are activated by the introduction of sugar to our system and the corresponding response is for the body to secrete insulin to manage to sugar level. Since we have so many receptors the body floods the system with an excess amount of insulin which often actually causes hypoglycemia and a blood sugar drop following the consumption of sugars or carbs. As we lose weight and the size of the fat cells that we have are also reduced, the surface area for insulin receptors is reduced. Thus the insulin reaction to sugars is reduced and hypoglycemia becomes much less of an issue. it is also due to the increased insulin response that people who are obese tend to develop type 2 diabetes. The body constantly having to flood the system with insulin tends to cause the islets of langerhans in the pancreas to become exhausted by the excess insulin production to the point where it can no longer perform properly and is unable to provide natural insulin to the body. If the islets of langerhans are not completely destroyed by prolonged diabetes type 2, losing weight can reverse the effects, and patients are often able to reduce or eliminate the need for external blood sugar control of via medication.

As far as I can tell, the Propel Zero (nutrient enhanced) has added Vitamins (B + C) plus anti-oxidents. While those are great, they don't replace the important electrolytes you may be missing, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, etc. Gatorade (G2, has very little sugar, uses artificial sweeteners), has ingredients such as 110 mg sodium, 30 mg potassium and a small amount of carbs (5 g) to help replenish lost vital components that help you muscles work better without cramping and keep your kidneys functioning well. There are other choices as well to help with electrolyte restoration (I'm not a Gatorade stock holder!). - Propel Fitness Water is one of them. It has only small amount of sugar and 35 mg of sodium as well as vitamins B6, B3, C, E and pantothenic acid. - Accelerade - also has protein! But high in sugar (40 g!). 10 g of Protein, 380 mg of sodium and 1300 mg of potassium. I would only recommend this if you are really depleted in all your electrolytes or if you're working out really hard (later, when you're healed up!) - GU2O - is a powder you add to water. Is 100 calories and has 4 g of sugar (fructose). Has 240 mg of sodium, potassium (can't recall how much) and 26 g of carbs Those are just a few ideas you can try to get things straightened out. It won't be so much of a problem once you're into mushies and able to balance your food and liquid intake a bit better. Good luck!

Sounds like your electrolytes might need a boost. The all liquid diet can "wash" out some of your much needed calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc. Try drinking some Gatorade (G2) to rebalance your electrolytes. It should help.

Generally speaking, the recommended daily "amount" of sodium should be below 2500 mg. I try to keep it near half that, if possible. But it is VERY difficult as all processed foods are loaded with sodium and I don't have as much time to cook as I would like! Also, I love deli meats, pickles, etc. and they are also filled to the brim with sodium! I track daily on My Fitness Pal (not only for sodium, but more importantly for Protein and carbs, as well as calories).

That is incredible! 100 lbs gone! Woohoo! I wasn't sure where you were in your post-op, but if you're exercising, you can probably benefit from some carbs. As to the slow down, with the amount of weight you've lost, you are bound to slow down now. I see from your profile that you're less than 30 lbs from your goal weight. Now comes the hard part.......making those last pounds disappear! In the beginning, the calorie deficit between your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and your daily calorie intake was quite large. And you were losing fast. Now, the deficit is probably much smaller and the loss is slowing down dramatically. The best way to combat this is to increase your calorie deficit. Since you're already eating such a small amount, the only place left for you to make an adjustment is in your exercise. Each minute spent working out will pay off in the end and get you to goal. It may not be fast and it sure as heck won't be easy. But it will be satisfying.........and make you fabulously fit! Stick with it girl..........you're in sight of the goal line......keep up the fantastic work!

The first few weeks post-op you're battling water-gain from the surgery, massive inflammation in your stomach and the shock to your system from the general anaesthetic, surgery, etc. Once you've started recovering from all of that, your body suddenly says "hey.....where did all the food go? Are we starving here? Is there a famine? Might be....so I better hold on to everything I get until things look more plentiful!". It also depends on what your pre-op BMI is. The higher the number, the faster people tend to lose in the beginning. And then it tapers off as you get closer to your goal. The primary reason is the calorie difference between what your body needs to survive each day (basal metabolic rate or BMR) and what you're eating. BMR is based on the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day and did nothing at all. For example. 240 lb woman (age 40) 5'6" tall BMI = 38.7 BMR = 1821 calories Daily calorie intake = 600 calories Difference = 1221 calories = 0.35 lbs weight loss per day (under ideal conditions) Approx. monthly loss = 10.5 lbs 340 lb woman (age 40) 5'6" tall BMI = 54.9 BMR = 2256 calories Daily calorie intake = 600 calories Difference = 1656 calories = 0.48 lbs weight loss per day (under ideal conditions) Approx. monthly loss = 14.4 lbs As we lose weight, our BMR drops and our calorie deficit decreases, making it harder and harder to lose weight strictly with our eating. As you get closer to your goal, it gets harder and harder to lose those last few pounds! That is why exercise is a critical component of any weight loss program. It not only helps maintain muscle mass, but it also increases our daily calorie deficit and increases or maintain our loss over the course of our journey.

That sounds about right. I'm about 3 months post-op and I've noticed that I've gone from 3 oz per meal to 4 and sometimes 5 oz (depending on the density of the food). While corn isn't too heavy, it is remarkably high is carbs (though they are naturally occurring....). If you are trying to keep control of your carbs, take that into account, especially if you're not getting the results you are hoping for or expecting at your new portion size. Also, corn is quite difficult to digest due to the outer "skin" being composed of cellulose that can't be broken down by the acid in our stomach. The inner portion does get digested though, so we do get the nutritional value when we eat corn. But that includes the carbs as well (LOL). To give you an idea of the numbers: 3/4 cup (100 g or 3.5 oz) Calories - 88 Fat - 1 g Carbs - 21 g Fiber - 2 g Sugars - 3 Protein - 3 If eating corn is working for you, please don't let me discourage you or suggest you change anything! But if you're finding you've stalled or your loss has slowed down, perhaps try eliminating the corn for a bit and switch it to another veg that's lower in carbs for a while and assess how things are going.

Fantastic! I love your attitude about keeping it intact and adjusting it's place in your life as your size shrinks! You're totally right.....it can still have a precious place in your heart, whether it is on your finger (pick a size!) or on a chain around your neck. Enjoy this sweet NSV.

I'm just in the beginning phases of my post-op experience, so I can't give you my outcome yet, as it relates to my marriage. But I can give you some information about how things worked for us in the past, and how they are now. My husband and I are both obese, though I was much more so than him. My BMI was in the mid-50s, and his was in the high low 40s! He has been off and on an Atkins-like diet for the past 3 years, with mixed results (as long as he stays on the diet!). But he has a bad right knee (waiting on a knee replacement) and uses that and a number of other "excuses" to not be active. I myself used to be VERY active as a teen, but when I started university, I had to work a full time job to put myself through full time studies. No time for anything, especially exercise! I has always been obese, but gained over 150 lbs from age 19-42. Since I had the surgery (and even before), my husband was very supportive, but always made it clear that he wanted to manage his situation his own way (ie. don't tell me what to do, just because you're doing it.....). I have respected that, and tried to approach it by giving him gentle "feedback" on his portion sizes, letting him know why drinking with meals is not good even for those who have not had the VSG, etc. I also bought us TWO Fitbits to see if I could get him off the couch, and on his feet more often. So far, everything's worked very well and he's seeing benefits already. He has reduced his portion sizes (he now eats just one full plate of food at each meal, rather than 2 and sometimes 3 plates. He and I "friended" each other on our Fitbit profiles, and we have a little competition (purely for bragging rights!) about who's walked more each day or each week. He's probably walking 10x more than he did before the Fitbit! Remember, this is a guy who's favourite activity used to be spending 12+ hrs playing a single player video game, and watching TV for 6-8 hours at a stretch. He practically had to have the couch surgically removed from his butt! He's lot some weight (about 25 lbs) and is feeling more fit. I think he's starting to feel the benefits of having a higher activity level, without me nagging him. Nothing works as well as positive self-reinforcement! I really don't know how things will stand between us when I lose another 125 lbs. I have never been below 177 lbs in my life (not even as a teen), so I don't know how I will be feeling/behaving, etc. I never did the "flirting" thing.....didn't get hit on by men.....didn't want to dress sexy or show off my body at all. Who knows how I will feel when I'm at goal (135 lbs)? I've never been there (at least not since I was about 11 years old, and at that time, I was already obese!) I love my husband and he loves me. We are only 2 years married (on Sept. 12 this year!) and he's only ever known me at my 300 lb+ size (+/- 40 lbs). He is a wonderful man who loves me for who I am, inside and out! And of course, I feel the same way about him. But only the next year will show us how things will unfold. I believe (and this is a good general approach to marriage, I think) that the best way to avoid problems is to talk things out, as early as they start to appear and make waves. That way we're both on the same page and facing the issues rather than avoiding them and letting them build up into mountains. Mole hills are easier to break down and conquer! Good luck and try not to let any fear of "what will happen in the future" impact your decision now to get healthier. Above all, I'm sure your husband wants to have you in his life as long as possible and that is obviously going to improve with your weight loss. Similarly, he probably wants to be with you and in your life as long as possible and perhaps he will come to realize that somehow joining you in your new lifestyle will give you additional years together that are happy, healthy and a new direction you can share. Good luck!