joatsaint

Around the 6 month mark, I noticed I could easily eat more and got hungry more easily if I stuck with my old 1/2 cup portions. I occasionally get cravings, but only if I see a particular food. I was at work and someone brought in cherry filled donuts, as I walked past I started obsessing about eating one. Up until then, I never even considered eating a donut. I don't keep junk food in my house, so it's never a temptation. I've also noticed that I get hungry after exercise OR if I don't get enough sleep. In the past, when I was sleep deprived, I was always hungry. Eating carbs gave me a temporary energy boost, but only for a few hours.

Around the 6 month mark, I noticed I could easily eat more and got hungry more easily if I stuck with my old 1/2 cup portions. I occasionally get cravings, but only if I see a particular food. I was at work and someone brought in cherry filled donuts, as I walked past I started obsessing about eating one. Up until then, I never even considered eating a donut. I don't keep junk food in my house, so it's never a temptation. I've also noticed that I get hungry after exercise OR if I don't get enough sleep. In the past, when I was sleep deprived, I was always hungry. Eating carbs gave me a temporary energy boost, but only for a few hours.

Post-op, if I hadn't hurt so much, I would have done a happy dance because I never wanted to eat. Pre-op, I felt so dominated by my hunger that the change was AWSOME!

One of the ways I was successful at losing weight was staying below 20grams of carbs a day - basically that Atkins diet. I never counted the Protein grams or fat grams, just kept very close watch on my carbs. When I had my pre-op diet, I only drank low carb EAS shakes and ate low fat meats.

And that my friends, is Jenga! Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I had a hard time telling my parents I decided to have WLS. And I only told one other person. So your feelings are perfectly normal. Your question comes up almost weekly on the board, so you're not alone. One of us, one of us, one of us...:-P You might want to watch the video I created on just this question: To tell or not tell. http://www.youtu.be/XBdwa_p35vA

I call it sliming when I'm about to puke and my mouth starts salivating and pouring out clear slimy spit like a faucet, usually caused by eating too fast and overfilling my sleeve.

Premier Protein and EAS carb control - both in chocolate flavore are the only 2 I still drink. You might watch my video review of both to decide if you'd like to give them a try. I get EAS at Wal-Mart 4/$5 and Premier at Sam's Club 12/$19

I have only tried 3 brands - Premier Protein, EAS carb control and Muscle Milk. Premier is my favorite for taste and texture. Here's my video review of my favorite Protein drinks

Welcome to the forum. We all try to help each other out around here. You might want to watch some of my videos. I started making them to answer the most frequently asked questions I see asked on the board. https://www.youtube.com/user/Frankensleeve/videos

Gather close young grasshopper and I will tell you the 1st secret of WLS. "Never trust a fart!" :-P The diarrhea stage is one I think we all go through, since you're basically living on liquids for several weeks. It does clear up, but for about the 1st 3 months, I could never trust a fart. After that, I went through the constipation phase and I had to learn go get in enough Fiber. And experienced the oh so lovely taste of Milk of Magnesia! At about 9 months my new stomach adjusted and I'm back to normal.

If people ask me how I'm losing weight I tell them that I'm eating less and exercising more. If they ask me if I've had WLS then I tell them, yes I've had the surgery, but only 1 person in 10 months has asked if I've had WLS. Here's my video on To Tell or Not Tell people you've had WLS

Everything I eat is in the 3/4 cup to 1 1/2 cup range. meats are usually 3/4 cup. Vegetables, Pasta, and rice are in the 1 1/2 cup range. You might watch my video on how the amount I can eat changed over the past 10 months.

I only had a couple of purees - cream of mushroom soup, egg salad, and chicken salad. I was eating so little that I really never counted it as a puree stage. It was well past the 4th week and into my "full foods" phase before I was able to eat more than 3/4 can of soup a day.

peanut butter is my slider

I only had to stay on each food stage for a week. So, week 3 was purees for me. :-)

I'm starting month 11 and can eat between 3/4 cup and 1 1/2 cups depending on the food. meats fill me up the fastest and I can't hold as much. Vegetables, I can eat more of, I think it's because they are mushy and take up less space. You might watch my video, it goes over the amounts of food I could increasing eat over the months post op.

You're not alone. Almost all of us have confilcting feelings about who or if to share the news with. Here's my take on it. To tell or not tell

You're not alone. Almost all of us have confilcting feelings about who or if to share the news with. Here's my take on it. To tell or not tell

I never got any recommendations from my NUT or doctor, but I started by substituting one pre-made Protein shake for one meal a day to get used to drinking my meals. Post-op, Frankensleeve wasn't in the mood to eat anything for almost 7 days, so adjusting to the clear liquid to puree stages was a breeze. My entire outlook and thoughts on food changed for the better post-op. Here's my review of my 2 favorite brands and flavors media] [/media]

Good luck with your journey. Maybe a couple of my videos will help you realize you are not alone with your doubts, fears and questions. I think we all had them when we considered WLS. What was the last straw? Why I chose the Sleeve

Yep, every doc is different and every patient is different. My doc wanted me to be off work for 2 weeks post op, mainly to let the pain medications leave my system and make it safer to drive. But I have read posts saying they were back to work 3 days post-op and some posts saying it was 6 weeks post op before they could return. It really depends on how well you recuperate from the surgery. Here's my video on How long before returning to work?

My doc wanted me to get in water first, minimum of 60oz a day. So I just sipped and sipped every day... I didn't always make it. And I never worried about trying to get in the recommended amounts of protein during the 1st 2 weeks. I could barely eat a teaspoon full of broth every 15 minutes. The doc said his recommended protein and water levels were goals to shoot for once I got into the puree and full food stage - around week 3 or 4 post-op.

Good luck with your surgery. I remember (as in, "it's burned into my brain!") the feelings I had as the surgery date approached. I found the secret is to stay in a state of denial - no kidding. I refused to let myself think about it, right up to the point where I was transferred from the gurney to the OR table. Here's my video on my pre-op freakout. :-P