gustavo52974

Remember though, the surgery isn't for everyone. Some people wouldn't be able to have it because of already existing medical problems. And you have to be psychologically ready for it, which some people clearly aren't. This has been very obvious to me as I have seen on this forum. I still can't believe the reckless behavior people admit on here. It's not a quick fix and people need to realize this before they commit to the process. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for spreading awareness. I, too, have seen people on the street who clearly need some intervention and wanted to proselytize to them the benefits of surgery. But I stop myself because I know a lot of people don't have the strength of will it takes to make this a successful and positive tool. And that's all it is, a tool. Having the sleeve done has really opened my eyes to the unhealthy relationship people have with food, especially in this country. I don't think I was fully aware of this even in myself until now. I no longer crave the food I did before. I look at bread and dessert and think to myself how little I want it now and how much I "needed" it before. I consider myself lucky that it seems to be working for me. I had doubts. Many doubts. Paralyzing doubts. Not so much anymore. I know I'm not perfect, and I may slip, but I'm confident now I can make this work. Hopefully others will too.

I have often thought that lettuce would make a good bread substitute. I'm not at the solid food stage yet, so I haven't tried it, but in what other recipes could you substitute lettuce for bread?

This diet looks like utter garbage. Pure snake oil. How long could you possibly eat like this for? Just follow the diet your surgeon and NUT gave you. Why would you want to do anything other than what they recommend?

Genius!

Um, throwing his food, or anyone else's food, in the garbage isn't going to help the situation. Just my two cents, speaking from years of experience.

Obviously, he's insecure and jealous. He probably thinks that if you become more desirable to other men he'll lose you. He's probably starting to feel inadequate.

I have noticed how badly women treat each other in my office. Since our HR department has nothing to do and needs to justify their existence somehow, they call a lot of staff meetings for no real reason. And then they tempt us all to come by providing lunch. I always find the pre-meeting buffet line and endless source of amusement. I went to one of these meetings the other day with my friend Joy and we went to the buffet line before going into the conference room. HR had decided on an Italian theme, so there was pizza, lasagna, manicotti, salad, and Italian bread. I noticed that the first people in line were some of the larger women of the office. Now, my friend Joy isn't runway-model thin, but she is by no means overweight. And she's normally a very sweet person, but I saw her flash this evil grin to herself as we approached the buffet. She walked across the buffet line looking at the food, and in full stage voice she said to me, "Oh, pizza...yeah...too many points! I'm doing Weight Watchers and fattening food has a LOT of points...Oh, lasagna...WAY too many points! Yeah, I'm doing WEIGHT WATCHERS and lasagna has TOO many POINTS for me...You know I CAN'T have that many points..." Needless to say, the women in line all threw her dirty looks and gnashed their teeth. I was shocked that Joy would be so catty and obnoxious. I even heard one of the women in line say, "She does this EVERY time...why does she always have to ruin it for everyone?!" Then Joy moved up to the salad and said, "Oh, I think I'll just have some salad. You know, salad so good for you and it fills me right up! Salad doesn't have a lot of points...you know I'm doing WEIGHT WATCHERS..." By this point, I was mortified. I thought the other women were going to start beating her with the lasagna spatulas! I'm still at a loss as to why Joy behaved this way. It seemed so juvenile and catty. And then she wonders why none of the other women in the office like her...

Wow! I know I haven't been on here very long, but I have found nothing but the most amazing, jaw-dropping love and support on this site. I can't imagine making this journey without this kind of forum and the people on here. My experience on here makes me think of the time before the internet and how much different my life would have been without being able to connect with people in this manner. I'm shocked and dismayed that you feel the way you do. I've never seen anyone say to someone else "you are an idiot" on here. Where did this happen? Who said this?

I started waking up with extreme dry mouth as well. It started about the time I began taking Nexium. I don't know if it's connected, but I bet it is.

I'm 20 days post-op and I've explained as much as I could to my friends and family what this surgery is all about. But no matter how much I explain it to these people, they keep asking me the "When can you have ____?" questions. You know, "When can you have ice cream again?" "When can you have hamburgers again?" "When can you drink alcohol again?" It seems all they're interested in is when I can start eating/drinking certain foods again. They just don't get it. I've tried to be patient and explain to them that it's not just a surgery, it's also a lifestyle change. But they seem to fixate on the whole "timeline" aspect of it. And they never stop to consider that the last thing I want to do is think about all the foods I can't have yet (or can't have anymore). And god forbid I tell them something like, "I can't have soda anymore," they respond with that wide-eyed "No!! Oh wowwww!!!" in a tone that clearly indicates galactic doom. It's just not what I need right now and I've had to brusquely tell them to stop talking to me about it. I feel bad, but I can't take it anymore. Has anyone else encountered this phenomenon?

Why are some post-op diets so liberal and others do constrictive? My sleeve was done on July 9th and I can't even have puréed food yet? Is there a reason for this? Is it just different surgeons' opinions? What gives?

You were allowed to have alcohol 12 days after your surgery?

I like the Hello Kitty! tattoo.

I started getting told that I look younger almost immediately. I've only lost 30 pounds so far and the more I lose, the more I hear it.

Look at it this way: if you could lose all the weight and keep it off without the surgery, you probably would have done so already.

My surgeon said no more alcohol. Period. I tend to agree with him: it's empty calories and bad for your health. This whole process is about making lifestyle changes to get you healthy. And despite what the advertisements and the "studies" will have you believe, alcohol is no health drink.

I don't like to say I'm an atheist because I don't like to refer to myself in the negative. But no, I don't believe in god concepts. I find the whole idea illogical and rather silly. However, since I'm surrounded by it all the time and I try to be positive, I've decided to find religion charming.

My NUT told me not to have baby food. I'm not sure why exactly, but I think it's because baby food is really just for babies. Besides, most of it is disgusting. Just my two cents.

It's funny...I'm only 3 weeks out and I had a small spoonful of what I thought was just cottage cheese, but it turned out to have small chuncks of pineapple in it. The super-sweet taste of the pineapple was almost too much for my mouth. It tasted really cloying and made my face scrunch up. I never thought I'd react negatively to a sweet taste, but there you have it...

I totally agree with you on the word "sleeved". I know it's common business practice these days to "verb" nouns. For example, my boss said to me this morning, "You've been tasked with this project and I need you to action it immediately. You've been goaled at 78%.". It drives me crazy for some reason. So the word "sleeved" makes me bristle as well for this reason.

You can have sandwiches (with bread?!?) at only 3 weeks out? I'm 3 weeks out and I still can't even have pureed food.

Yes, I'm experiencing that as well. I can only eat about a half cup of anything, but 30-45 min later I'm hungry again. It's bizarre. I'm experience more hunger pain now than I was before surgery.

I actually haven't been using it for very long. Although my NUT suggested I use pro-biotics pre- and post-op, I didn't begin using it until about a week ago. My NUT didn't specifically suggest this brand though. She actually suggested a brand that is no longer made, so I chose this brand myself. There are much cheaper probiotics out there that are just as good, I'm sure. Green Vibrance has a lot of "extras" in it that drives up the price. Have I noticed any positive differences? Not yet, but I've only been using it for a week.

My NUT suggested probiotics pre- and post surgery. I do Vibrant Health Green Vibrance powder. I just throw it into my protein shake.

Trust me, you will.