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This is a great idea. But for me, not so great in practice. I love to chew gum but if it's super flavored I will eat it like candy and keep popping new pieces in my mouth. By the end of the day, I might as well have had a 100 calorie snack! The only way I'll stick to one piece and chew it to death is if it's mint of some sort. Ah, disordered eating. I mean, who else eats gum like it's food? When I was a kid, I'd eat toothpaste, too. ~Cheri

Ah, thanks for the laugh, there. I could only cross my legs at the ankles before surgery! And I have to do it when I'm in the car or flying because I'm so dang short my feet don't reach the ground. I actually keep a footstool under the dining room table so my feet can rest on it when we eat meals or play games. I should put a more recent post op in there, actually. That was around 1.5 years out and I'm going to hit 3 in a few weeks. I'm still all curves and tats, though, so I guess I won't have much to worry about. Dr. Aceves is AWESOME and you're going to love him and Dr. Campos. I had a great experience and I hope that you come back and can say the same. Stage three isn't so bad, so I think you'll be fine. If you dine out, browsing the menus online beforehand always helped me avoid the stress of deciding on a meal at the table. Best of luck to you!

Excellent question - I'd get in to your doc because having this issue with veggies and with the symptoms you're describing sounds like a gallbladder attack, though I'm not sure how intestinal pain fits into that. But it's far better to be safe than sorry! I'm sorry you're still having trouble and I would definitely follow up with your general practitioner to make sure you don't have something more serious going on. ~Cheri

I flew from Germany to San Diego to have surgery in Mexico and back again just a few days later. It's not a problem. If you fly, keep moving your legs, don't cross them, drink plenty of Water and get up as frequently as possible. And definitely don't view travel as a reason to be sloppy about your food stage - stay on track because it's very important early out to heal completely and not skip ahead just because it's convenient. Good luck, ~cheri

It's not even real food. It's chemicals that are supposed to approximate real food so that we can lose weight and feel like we're not missing out. Don't do it. Seriously, a little bit of real food goes a long way. Unless you have a trigger food (which you should absolutely avoid) then a small amount of dressing or syrup or BBQ sauce (measure it and keep accountable) is a far better food choice. Real sugar. Real fat. Eat real food. If you can't eat real food in moderation, do not find a fake food substitute that is chock full of chemicals and terrible for your body and that may just trigger cravings because you feel deprived, anyway. Find a way to substitute that you can live with, instead. Whatever you want to buy, I bet you can find a recipe online to make it yourself and it will not only taste better, it will be more satisfying. ~Cheri

I use MFP and stay out of the forums entirely. It's a remarkably useful tool but I don't need to socialize with the people there. For one thing, everyone is on a different type of diet and yet they all feel like experts on their particular road to success. That alone is enough to cause you a headache. You get a tiny bit of that here, too, but I think for the most part it's a positive place to be. We're also all here using the same method of weight loss and that helps. ~Cheri

I wouldn't assume it will happen, but I also wouldn't assume that you can avoid/control it, either. Vague, I know. It does happen to most women post op and it usually starts around 3-4 months post op and carries on for a few months before tapering off and stopping completely. ~Cheri

Don't do it. Seriously. Drinky calories and carbs are bad, bad, bad. I indulge in a small soda now and again but I have to be very, very careful not to make it a habit. Some folks do fine with it. Carbonation isn't the issue. The issue is that you can mindlessly drink an extra eight hundred calories in a day if you don't pay attention and if it becomes a habit. I fully embrace the idea of moderation and not denying ourselves foods we really enjoy. But I also embrace sensibility and if you can't have just one soda once in a while I'd stay away from it completely. It's a trigger food for me and once I have it, I want it every day. If I bring a six pack into the house I'm going to drink one a day until they're all gone, and once they're gone I am going to feel a little sad that they're gone and want to buy more. Find a substitute that isn't filled with intentionally addictive substances. Good luck, ~Cheri

When I'm in loss (like right now) I either have to have my husband hide the scale or I have to remember that I'm only tracking my weight one day a week. Because my loss pattern fluctuates a lot and I can bounce as many as eight pounds overnight. It's maddening. So if the scale gets to you, put it away. In maintenance it's another story. I weigh every single day to keep myself on track. It's one reason I feel like I never had an issue maintaining. Now, if I could just shed these last couple of post pregnancy pounds, I could go back to having a better relationship with my scale again. You know, one where I'm not tempted to throw it out the window or break it into little pieces! ~Cheri

hair loss just happens. Mine resolved around six months or so. I was diligent about Protein, I took Biotin until I decided it made me too sick to bother and I got my Vitamins in (mostly). I just happens. It also gets better. I was on ferrous sulfate and it makes me ridiculously ill, but it's the most common OTC Iron supplement. I take a prescription - I've taken Ferralet and Bifera - I prefer the Bifera because it gives me no side effects but both are far superior to the plain old ferrous sulfate. Some people report that they prefer the liquid iron supplements, so you can also try that. Anything "ferrous" is iron, so it's a matter of determining which supplement she was steering you to. I did use Nioxin while my hair was falling out rapidly and I think it might have helped. I was shedding so much that my seat in the car would need to be lint-rolled each day because hair would just coat it...and my pillow...and anywhere I went. It was ridiculous for a while there but I do feel the Nioxin helped. I also suffered no additional loss when I stopped using it, so there's that. While my hair has not completely recovered (I keep a much thinner head of hair nowadays) the loss is not what it was. Do those small things you can do to minimize loss: don't wear ponytails, or at least not in the same place every time; don't use elastics that pull your hair out; don't brush your hair when it's wet, instead use a detangling comb to gently brush through your hair before using a thicker brush, etc. It should normalize in the next few months. Mine was worst between 4-6 months and tapered off after that. I also think good quality fats are just as important as protein when it comes to the condition of our hair. ~Cheri

I do not want to dismiss your very real question or upset you. But please excuse me while I laugh my @$$ off for a moment! Phew. Okay, now that my somewhat bitter giggles have subsided I'll chime in. I wish I could have lost more than I wanted. I think that you'll find the number of people that get too small is much, much lower than the number of people tempted to chop off a limb to lose that last five or ten pounds to goal. The good news? You really can stop losing whenever you like. You just transition into maintenance and a more balanced approach to eating with increased calories and carbs. You find what you can eat while not gaining or losing and you stick with that program. It's very easy, actually. And being a man, you'll find it much easier to add bulk and muscle weight if you hit the gym harder than usual. I also think that other people have no idea how to guess/estimate what another person weighs. I've heard everything from 120 to 160 for my weight (I'm 144 at the moment) and that's a pretty big range. Stop where you're comfortable. If you get too small, trust me, it's easier than you want it to be to pack on a few pounds. Congrats on your success - you've obviously worked hard to achieve your goal. ~Cheri

I greatly appreciate this post. I do not typically follow anyone's YouTube journey, so I doubly appreciate that you took the time to post this here. I am a SAHM to three kids. When I structure the day (and my food) at the start of the day, I find it very easy to stay on track and eat mindfully without having stray food thoughts or temptations. When I'm unstructured and "wing it" I find that I'm more likely to make poor choices or find myself with my nose in the fridge several times a day. When I'm flustered or bored and winding my way through the market with three fussy kids in tow, it's easier to pick up a bag of chips or a treat that I know is going to slide. While this journey is not easy for anyone, it's especially challenging when the refrigerator and cabinets are mere steps away the entire day. I have no doubt that if I could shut myself away in my office again I'd avoid many of these hurdles! When I'm busy, I forget to eat. When it rains for days on end and I'm trapped indoors with the kids, it's a different story. The way I stay on track maintenance is by staying accountable. This does not end with goal - it's a forever thing. I have to track my food, even if I'm sick of it after three years. I have to plan my meals at the start of the day, not once I'm already suffering from low blood sugar and craving chocolate. I have to remember that when I'm bored, I cannot eat mindlessly just because food is there. You've had great success in a very short time. I'm sure you've also worked very hard to achieve those goals. Congrats. Thank you for a realistic post. The most important thing for anyone to remember is that none of us are perfect and many of us have a lifetime of poor habits that led to obesity. Each day we get to start anew and make better choices than we did the day before, and each day we make those healthier choices is a victory. ~Cheri

I'm no longer distracted by my weight. Meaning, I'm not busy blaming my weight for other, larger issues in my life. I went into surgery truly feeling that the biggest problems in my life and with myself were solely due to my weight. I could not have been more wrong. So for me, the greatest benefit has been an ability to truly improve myself. Every other benefit listed is also true for me, so I get to enjoy all of that, too. But I'm not just better looking, better dressed and in better health: every day I'm becoming a better person. I think that's far more valuable because it's part of what's going to keep me on the right track. It was also a completely unexpected benefit of the surgery. ~Cheri

How are you doing today? If the discomfort faded overnight, it was likely something you ate. Have you had issues with dairy up to this point? For me (nowadays) I only have issues when I take in too much in one day. The symptoms are terrible pain and intestinal cramping and if I've had enough dairy that day, it will progress into bathroom troubles. Some greens can cause an issue, so if you hadn't already "vetted" the spinach, that could be the culprit, though in my experience that's an easier green to digest. Lettuces still bug me sometimes and I'm three years out. Rice would make your stomach hurt, not your intestines, if you'd had too much. It also sounds like you had quite a bit of Fiber yesterday - that could also be the issue, especially if you're pairing it with a supplement that has fiber in it, too. I also get similar discomfort when I overdo artificial sweeteners, so watch your intake of those. I hope you're feeling better. The best thing you can do is try to think back to when you started to feel poorly and try to pinpoint it there. And if you're still feeling crummy today? food poisoning or a stomach bug is your answer. ~Cheri

It took me months to achieve my daily Protein, calorie and Water intake goals consistently. Try new shakes - find one you like and can drink again without dreading it. I mix mine with coffee - and since I always look forward to my coffee, that helps me enjoy my shake more! This is the hardest part of the sleeve. It's not surgery, or recovery, or eating, or exercising. It's realizing that your weight was only a symptom of the underlying issue: your relationship with food. Take heart, you're not alone! Disordered eating is a part of this. I lost my most secret coping mechanism with surgery and like you, I was in denial about my problems before it happened. I had not realized how much I enjoyed overeating and how much comfort I derived from food. Coming here helps. Counseling helps. Talking to other people in the real world who are going through this struggle helps immensely. Reading books about other people that tackled this and overcame it can help, too. Find foods you can enjoy, yes. Branch out from your pre-surgery food habits. Your tastes do change, so get creative and experiment. You might find new foods and new spices very appealing. But also work on the other issues. The head work is the most important thing you can do for yourself to help your odds of long term success. Best of luck. ~Cheri

It's hard how much focus this takes. I mean, I really thought I'd reach goal and then just...I dunno...BE THIN and not have to work at it or worry about it. My stepkids flew in last week and promptly spread the plague around our house. It happens every time! A few of us got hit with bacterial pharyngitis and while I didn't go off the rails at all, I didn't pay much attention to the scale or to my tracking over the last few days. My scale is still in hiding but I had my husband dig it out for me. And WTH? I'm up again...every pound I lost is back on again. See Cheri. See Cheri curse and gnash her teeth. See Cheri beat her head on the wall in frustration. See Cheri throw the damn scale out the window. Uncool. Unfair. Very disheartening. I can only imagine the meds I'm on and our non-stop rainfall (and resultant humidity) are to blame here. I promise, there's no way I ate an additional thirty thousand calories over the last few days. I'm going to search out that 5:2 thread (I swear I saw one here) and start posting for advice there. I'm back on a fast day today (super easy, since this infection is still plaguing me despite the antibiotics I'm on) and we'll see what comes of this. If I had to guess, I'd say my calories have been too low. Or perhaps the way I've been eating with big dips up and down in my blood sugar is to blame. When I'm not structured about my food I tend to forget to eat and then overcompensate. "Oh, I missed breakfast and lunch? Well, let me just eat this rather large slice of freshly baked banana bread and have a big cup of creamy coffee to wash it down." It's the same number of calories, true. But the quality is lower and I'm doing what I did as a diabetic and letting my sugars spike after dropping. No good. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate maintenance? I need to find a more peaceful way to balance this or I'll make myself crazy trying to do this forever. Just get be back to goal and I swear I'll be fine, I swear! How's everyone else doing today? Has anyone heard from Globe lately? She was giving 5:2 a shot; hopefully she's had better luck with the scale than me! ~Cheri

Thirty two pounds from the day I got pregnant; three pounds while on hormone injections for the weeks leading up to our embryo transfer. ~Cheri

I keep seeing those same words repeated in different ways, "You're not trying," or "You're deliberately failing," or "You're just not sticking to the right diet." Do you know what this surgery does? ONE guaranteed thing - that's all: It removes 85% of your stomach. That means that temporarily, you can hardly eat. It means that in the long term, your capacity for dense protein is roughly a cup. Here is the long list of what this surgery does NOT do, and what it will not help you address: You will not feel better about yourself due to surgery You will not stop loving food (not forever, perhaps temporarily) You will not lose whatever food addiction made you fat You will not instantaneously love exercise You will not always make the right food choices Whoever you are - whoever the real you is, under years of obesity, whatever issues you have - all of that? It's going to be there post op. It's going to be your job to shed as much of that as you can while shedding weight at the same time. And this surgery may not even remove your hunger. So you might have a tiny stomach, but still feel hungry all the time. It's gotten to the point where these very flippant posts are starting to offend me. If you're less than six months out from surgery, let me tell you that you will eat your words about how easy this all is. We do not have to support or validate poor choices here and I'm the first to jump in line and tell a person the lay of the land. But at the same time, making sweeping judgments of the success of other individuals is not only unfair, it discourages and disheartens people who need help the most. Because guess what? This surgery is NOT going to be your magic cure all, and I say that as a woman in maintenance, staying near goal and more than a hundred pounds lighter than I was three years ago. I promise that I know what I'm talking about. ~Cheri

I developed lactose intolerance, too. First find a lactose free shake. I mix with coffee, tea, Water, soy milk, hemp milk, juice...just find something that works with your shake. This will help immensely. Then you just shift to a Protein heavy diet, and yes, it's a challenge in soft foods. Scrambled eggs...but you likely won't be able to hold much of them because they're dense. I ate tuna, refried Beans, soy yogurt, hardboiled eggs (and egg salad)...things like that. Some time before a year I was able to eat hard cheeses again. Now I only have to avoid ice cream, heavy cream (including sauces made with it) and a glass of milk. I can have small amounts of Lactaid milk on Cereal or in a sauce or something but I can't have it alone. You can try the pills and see if they help. You can also see if the Lactaid milk, cottage cheese, etc. will work for you. They don't work for me at all. Also remember that there's only a trace amount of dairy (or none at all) in fake dairy products made for vegans and vegetarians. There are options out there, you just have to find what works for you. ~Cheri

I was a bereaved parent at nineteen and couldn't function at all - for me, now way would the sleeve have been my cure-all and I would have been that cheeseburger eating post op that exploded her stomach, I swear! I say "preventative measure" but honestly I cannot see a good reason why anyone would really, really need the surgery before 21...19 at the very youngest, and even then, we're not talking fifty pounds overweight. I'd want to be sure that it was a big enough issue and that it wasn't easy to resolve on it's own. And certainly I'd never actually tell my kid surgery was even a thought in my head until I felt it might be a good choice or option. Because I remember being a teen/young adult and the easy way would have been my answer. No, the sleeve is not the easy way and I know that now. But at 29 when I was sleeved I was pretty darn sure it was, so I can only imagine if a teen knew that it was an actual option, she might not be as concerned about giving her all to Weight Watchers. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but between the two of us my husband and I have had ten children. My experience is that you have to be really careful about the incentive/motivation game. In any case, I think that I would want to have the sleeve help my child sooner if I felt she/he needed it, but frankly, I can't see myself ever actually doing it. I mean, I almost didn't pierce my daughter's ears...I didn't want to do something she'd be unhappy about later in life. This surgery is drastic and it's forever. I'd hate for my child that's slightly overweight as a teen to have it done and then be unhappy with their choice. And even worse, for them to not achieve their goal anyway, or to have a difficult time because maintenance is such a long path. I don't think I could ever talk to my daughter about her weight until she brings it up to me, anyway. I do not have a kid stuffing down Twinkies behind my back or refusing to eat anything but fries or pizza. My daughter is obese, true. But she is an active girl with a well balanced diet for the most part. The most damaging thing done to me as a kid was being told I wasn't good enough - that I was fat, that I wasn't smart enough, that I had a bad attitude, etc. I do not want my daughter to feel that my love for her is conditional in any way, and I think that no matter how I phrased it, that's exactly what she would feel. Deep down, do I wish she could have her Dad's metabolism (and my looks, naturally) well, sure I do. I do not want my kids to struggle in any way. Peer acceptance is the thing that stands out most in my memory as that thing that was hard about school, not the fact that I was terrible at math. We all want to fit in and there is no time where that's more difficult than the school years. It's also the time that shapes who you will become. So yeah, I've love for there to be an easy answer but in reality, this isn't a problem with my little girl - it's a problem with society and our emphasis on external beauty with impossibly high standards. When even the 110 pound models are photoshopped, nobody else stands a chance. And boys are growing into men that have no idea what real women actually look like. I saw comments on an article about mother's bodies the other day where men actually said things like, "Ugh, stretch marks are gross, I hope my wife never has kids." This is the world my kids have to navigate, and it's heartbreaking. I just hope that between my husband and myself we can teach our kids to love themselves enough and be outspoken and honest enough to call people on that crap. I'd rather my daughter be more like the woman I am today than the desperately unhappy girl I was as a teen, that's for sure. I suppose that sums up my pointless ramble of the day...carry on. ~Cheri

I think it could go either way. Teenagers are for the most part irresponsible and determined to fit in with their peers. So I could see it being a fight, much the way convincing my fourteen year old stepdaughter that she can't wear those shorts is a fight and that's not even getting into the serious issues kids can have. I also think it would make the binge drinking that many teens and college kids do even more risky. But at the same time, a few years of ingrained habits vs. a few dozen? Or what if like in my case, the child has a mostly healthy diet and doesn't have those terrible habits yet? I think that might make success easier. I think one unintended consequence of having this surgery on a teen, especially a girl, would be the effect on her social circle. I have an anorexic stepdaughter and three other stepdaughters that all have huge body image issues. Even watching their mom struggle on diet after diet and talk about her weight was enough to exacerbate he issues that young girls are already susceptible to having. Watching me lose weight was hard for them! The fact that I wear the same pant size as two of my teenage stepdaughters completely freaks them out - instead of being happy for me or rejoicing that we're all healthy, they see it as some sort of competition and feel they need to be smaller because they're younger or something. It's insane. So I can see that if one girl in the group starts eating next to nothing, even if the girls are college age and should know better, they're probably going to emulate or develop issues of their own, too. I'd invite any feedback from younger sleevers about this. I'm not saying I'd do this and I have no idea how my husband would even feel about it (having never been overweight) and I also worry about the implications of even suggesting the surgery to my daughter. What if she's larger and happy? I don't know, I wasn't but it could happen, right? Would I be reinforcing the idea that our worth, value and vanity has to be tied up in our pant size and the scale? I think I would be, even though I'd be trying to help her. It's a tremendously complicated issue. And I can't even tell myself that I would have had a happier time as a teen or young adult if I had been thinner; it was just a symptom of my issues that caused additional unhappiness, not the cause of my misery. ~Cheri

It took me several months to work up to the point where I could reach my calorie, Protein and Water goals consistently. I hated eating and I hated food and I hated that it took me all day to consume 500 piddly calories and 50-60 grams of protein. The only thing to do is just keep on top of things and gradually increase your intake each day. Or, try doubling up the scoops of protein in the shakes you do have - or do a combo of a higher calorie Protein shake mixed with a scoop of a powder with more protein. There have been discussions (both for and against) that say you may or may not absorb more than "X" amount of protein at once so that choice is up to you. Google it and you'll find articles that say it's true and articles that say it isn't. When I couldn't eat I boosted my intake two ways. One, I'd mix my shakes with half Syntha-6 and half Syntrax nectar. That way I got a big protein and plenty of calories in that shake, even if it took me forever to drink it all. I also made sludge. I learned about it from a bodybuilder friend. Basically, you mix a Tbs. or two of Peanut Butter (I used almond butter, hate peanuts) with a scoop of protein powder and just enough water to make, well, sludge. Then you can add a couple chocolate chips or eat it as is. I preferred to chill it and eat it cold. It sounds bizarre but it packs a punch and can boost those numbers for you. In any case, your sleeve is still new and this is a common issue early on. You'll settle into this eventually. Good luck! ~Cheri

Try to stick to the Crystal Light, fruit infused Water or flavor drops. For many of us plain water is an issue post op, anyway, but staying hydrated (especially in that first month or two) is critical. I'd stay away from things that have a diuretic effect like tea, at least immediately post op. Just keep a cup near you at all times and sip, sip, sip and you should be okay. ~Cheri

I think (and no offense to anyone) that it's easy to be kind of cocky about how easy it all is and how you'd have to be deliberately eating around your sleeve not to achieve goal. And I say that because I used to think that, too. The reality is much more complex and it's unfair that we, as people that have struggled with our weight our entire lives, are so quick to criticize or shout diet! exercise! to anyone that's struggling post sleeve. It's as if we're applying that same logic our family, friends and doctors had prior to our surgeries - it's not working because you're failing or it's not working because you have no willpower or it's not working because you're lazy. The end result being the message that of course losing weight is easy and if you really want to do it the weight will just fall off and you'll be on your way to happily ever after. Not so. The issue is something not even fully understood in the medical world. If weight loss were simple restriction and willpower, the very first time you tried a 1,200 calorie diet you would have lost that weight and made it to goal and you would not be here missing 85% of an organ. I have friends here that struggle and have struggled for years to either shed weight or stay on track for various reasons. It is not all willpower. I know folks that are the strictest eaters and most diligent exercisers that CANNOT reach goal and are still fifty or sixty pounds overweight. Naturally, some of these people might feel less than thrilled with their results. Now, for the original question: I am three years out. Today, I can say I am fully satisfied and love my life post sleeve. Six months out or nine months out you would have heard a different story. I struggled to lose at the pace I felt everyone else was meeting. I had two nine week stalls - one at six months and one between nine and twelve months. Now, I was still happy for my sleeve but I was also frustrated. I think you'll find very few people here (though you will find some, particularly those that had bad complications) that regret their surgeries even when things don't go as planned. And yes, the biggest hurdle most people that are disappointed have is that their initial expectations were not realistic, usually because they either thought they would avoid complications of any sort or because they simply did not research the sleeve diligently prior to surgery. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide. The wonderful universal of this surgery is that even those that are disappointed, frustrated or stalled have lost weight. Not as much as they'd like in some cases, but we all lose. ~Cheri

I got pregnant two years post sleeve. We did a FET because we had five frozen embryos in storage we wanted to use. That means I was on daily hormone injections for several weeks before conceiving and carried on with them through the first few months. I gained 3 pounds from hormones before the transfer and I gained 32 pounds during my pregnancy. Capacity-wise, eating was not a challenge. Since you'll be more than a year out before you even consider a baby, that should not be an issue. It was roughly around 14-17 months that my ability to eat settled at a nice amount that's about what I can hold now. That said, I was afflicted with food aversions and morning sickness. My lactose intolerance flared up to the point where I couldn't put butter on toast or scramble an egg in it. I couldn't stand meat for several months - I'd sick it up immediately. This meant that most of my calories came from carbs, which in and of itself isn't a huge issue but it did cause me to be concerned about weight gain. If I hadn't been diligent about my choices I could have easily packed on more weight than I did. I also needed additional Iron supplements during pregnancy and had to find a different way to get my prenatal Vitamin in because mine made me sick. Within just a few weeks of delivery I was within ten pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight and wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (albeit the roomier ones) though it has taken me the last several months to shed those few pounds. My daughter is now three months old and I only just got back under my pre-pregnancy weight. And my unsolicited advice is that you wait a few years after getting married to have kids. I have five stepchildren but they did not live with us. Those four years (three before conceiving) that we had with just the two of us were amazing and incredibly rewarding. Unless you've already been with your fiancee for several years, enjoy learning to be married before becoming parents. Once we had our children life changed - for the better, sure - but it was so nice to have that freedom of daily life without kids for a while before choosing to have them once we really wanted them. Good luck, and congrats on your engagement. I'd say that it's entirely possible to have a child and get back to goal it just takes work and getting back to those same principles you used to lose in the first place. ~Cheri