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Agreed! The reason I skipped the band and went with the sleeve was the possible complications with the band! You've already made it through a very similar surgery if you have a band and you already faced the complications and restrictions of life post op. You should be an old pro! As with the band, maintenance is all up to how much you learn and apply during the loss phase. For some it is an ongoing struggle because the food demons just won't go away. Oregondaisy has always been up front and open about the challenges she's faced but she has maintained her weight within a reasonable bounce for several years now. Maintenance was easier for me, but there are still the ups and downs and the ability to slip up and fall off the wagon for a few weeks is there for any of us. I'll see how well I'm crowing about easy maintenance when I'm back on the loser's bench after this pregnancy! I'm only 2.5 years out but never ever would have reached my goal weight and hung there without my sleeve. You won't find a huge number of vets beyond 3 years out - they're out there but seldom visit the boards these days. I only visit the boards so I can try to help other people! Most of us reach goal, maintain and move on. The only advice I can offer is to research. I was sure I wanted a band until I saw how hard it was for people to reach goal and maintain with one, and once I saw how many people were having them removed or revising I knew it wasn't the choice for me. At any point you could have an issue that requires surgery from the band already in your body. Get it out of there and move on to a surgery that can actually help you achieve and maintain your goal. Good luck whatever you decide. Be thankful your insurance covers the sleeve, too! So many of us self pay. I don't regret it for a minute but I wish my insurance would have covered my procedure. Having a new lease on life AND not paying a monthly payment for it? That's like winning the lottery in my world. ~Cheri

Yes. This is true. I have a deeply troubled stepdaughter that has used her vegetarianism (and for a while, veganism) as a socially acceptable excuse for her anorexia. By claiming a restrictive diet she avoided eating and when she shed weight she blamed it on her diet. I'm not saying this is what the OP is doing. But always consider every angle. My stepdaughter was convinced that her behaviors were based in a disgust of meat and the animal industries in our country...but those arguments lacked a little something when she was wearing leather shoes and a fur-trimmed jacket as she spoke them. She's still vegetarian now but it took her several months with a therapist to accept that she started this particular food journey because of her disorder. ~Cheri

As I've gotten farther out from surgery I've also considered a return to at least a vegetarian lifestyle. I spent the years from 15-21 & 26-28 as a vegetarian and really only resumed such a meat-heavy diet due to my choice to have the sleeve. It was the easier option, and I live overseas where there aren't mega-marts with a plethora of vegan/vegetarian food options/substitutes. This entire pregnancy meat has completely disgusted me to the point where I can hardly stand to be in the room when it's cooking...and I'm the family cook! The first thing you need to do is get yourself a few books. The biggest mistake vegetarians/vegans make is not educating themselves about a properly balanced diet. It's very easy to be an unhealthy vegetarian or vegan if you're not careful! It's not as simple as avoiding meat. And in America, it's so easy to be a vegan that relies heavily on processed "fake" foods that are intended to sub in for foods you've given up - when these are no healthier (and in some cases less healthy) than the alternative. The more of your food you make yourself, the healthier you'll be and that applies to any style of eating. So get to your local library or bookstore and get some reading materials before you jump into this. It's more of a challenge than just skipping the cheeseburger. Everything from medicine to your Protein shake needs to be considered. One of the biggest and easiest books to read is The Veganomicon. I refer to it pretty frequently. I enjoy quinoa (an easily digestible seed that is a complete protein), lentils are almost as good as meat and I prefer seitan over tofu or tempeh any day. Limit your soy intake and don't trade in a life of meat for a life of soy. Moderation in all things! Go slowly. This is not a lifestyle you can adapt overnight. Transition slowly or you'll burn out and don't expect to live perfectly right away. It's hard to stick to a strict diet and you'll see very quickly how other people aren't as accepting or understanding of the challenges it presents not only to you but to them. Good luck. It's possible to do this but I recommend a slow transition to vegetarian and the on to vegan over the course of several months to a year. ~Cheri

I think it's important to confront it directly. I have four stepdaughters (13, 15, 19 & 22) and one daughter (5) and can say very honestly, first of all, do not blame yourself. I've been through this struggle over and over again through the years with these girls, long before I ever even considered surgery. It's very sad and unfortunate, but the first time my youngest stepdaughters told me they were fat they were seven and nine years old. Girls are mean, girls compare with each other and girls mimic what they hear their older sisters, mothers and favorite celebrities say. So this could have come from anywhere. And let me add that not one of my girls has a weight problem. My daughter is a little stockier but not overweight, and every one of my stepdaughters has a thin build and they're all undersized for their ages. That said, address it immediately. When living with us recently between high school and college, my stepdaughter (18 at the time) immediately started rationing herself to my portion of food. I had to very directly confront her on the topic. I addressed her smaller portions. I told her about my surgery and what it does. And then I did her one better. I asked her to log her food with me on myfitnesspal so she could see how much she should be eating and how much she was eating, and asked her to compare it with my food chart. She was restricting herself to about 400 calories a day. And despite the fact that my meals appeared tiny, I was consuming closer to 1,200 calories a day. We talked about health, our bodies and the detrimental effects of this type of behavior. In her case, I can't honestly say that it helped. She has a host of other issues and one of the ways she tries to stay in control is through controlling her diet. She's seriously underweight right now and struggling with anorexia. We noticed the first indications she might have a problem when she was only 15 and I really wish we had realized how serious it could become and had addressed it directly. A few months later the 13 & 15 year old girls came to visit and the SAME thing happened again. I'll say that they'd already built in habits of skipping meals or overindulging one day only to fast the next day. It's unfortunate that their mother has a history of dieting and negative self image - these girls grew up criticizing their own bodies and the bodies of the girls around them, and seeing mostly poor examples of how to eat. This time, I think I was really able to get through to the kids. I pointed out consistency in a good diet vs. the ups and downs they were using. I showed them how to track calories and really be aware of what they were eating. By the end of the seven week visit, they'd stopped skipping meals, stopped overindulging at meals and were eating more reasonably while not saying anything critical about themselves or their bodies. In my case, I can only do so much. They don't live with me and my example comes from short visits - the rest of the year they're 8,000 miles away. I hope that you can sort this with your daughter. I can honestly say that I started hating my body when I was twelve. By no means was I overweight. One cruel girl made an offhand comment about how I looked pregnant, when if anything, I was underweight. It didn't matter - it triggered self doubt because I already lacked confidence, the next eighteen years of my life were spent yo-yo dieting. As I got bigger and bigger and developed worse and worse habits I got to the point where weight simply wouldn't come off and I was diabetic from my poor eating over the years. With my five year old, we do not talk about body size as anything other than an identifier - no more positive or negative than saying someone has blonde hair or brown eyes. She's a stockier build than her brother, but we're trying to do what little we can to show her that beauty really does come in all shapes and sizes, and that being healthy is the most important thing she can do. In any case, I finally had to tell my older girls that I'd had surgery. They couldn't understand why I eat the way I eat otherwise. My five year old has no clue but if it comes up I'll address it. I'd rather tell her I had an operation than have her feeling like I'm hypocritical when I tell her she should eat normally! It's hard enough getting a teen girl to listen to her mother and I don't want her to dismiss me immediately if she hears me saying something that seems contrary to what she's observing. Good luck, sorry to ramble. ~Cheri

On the one hand I see where you're coming from. I also wish the years of dieting had gotten me to my goal (even just once, even just temporarily!) but it never happened. I was miserable and unhappy and each new diet left me in worse shape than the one before. But on the other hand, I really felt a sense of relief when I decided on the sleeve. I, too, had been asked before by my doctor about WLS and felt that there was no way I would ever need that. But after six months of researching the band and a year of researching the sleeve before actually having surgery, I was absolutely ready to make the step. What I felt was relief. I felt like there was finally an end in sight. I would have this surgery that would be the tool I needed to lose the weight, and for good this time. And while my journey was more complicated emotionally than I expected, and while it took longer than I might have liked, that sentiment was exactly right. It was a tool. Sure, a drastic one that involves surgery and the risks that accompany it. But after the hundreds of dollars and wasted effort I was pouring after various diets, memberships, pills and weight loss remedies for years, not to mention the time I wasted unhappy, depressed and unhealthy...well, it seemed like it was time for a change in approach. In the end, once the surgery is over it's very similar to the old approaches I took to food. All of those things I rolled my eyes at before, like "learning moderation" and "developing a healthy relationship with food" and "ending the emotional dependence on food" were things I was FINALLY strong enough to address. Because I can't speak for you, but I know that I never stopped feeling hungry long enough when dieting to focus on anything except when and what my next meal would be. I was never able to do any head work, the REAL work the sleeve helps you accomplish, because I could never hang with the diet long enough to even make real headway on my obesity. I never stuck with it longer than four months. I was never able to, despite really trying time and time again. Even with the sleeve I had to stay within 700-900 calories a day to lose, and it still took me 17 months to lose 107 pounds. It would have been impossible to lose the weight without surgery in my case. I think that the only issue with feeling so much negativity now is that you could carry it with you post op. It's possible it will color your experiences and make you feel things are worse than they are, especially if you're resentful of the fact that you're considering the sleeve at all. But it's normal for us to have a range of emotions and to deal with things differently. Do I wish I could have kept my stomach? Sure. I miss eating big meals sometimes, even if I don't really miss the role food played in my life. And the fact that I can admit this is the ONLY reason I miss part of that organ speaks volumes to me. I didn't need it, and it was getting in my way. I achieved my goals without it and couldn't be happier. If you do choose to have surgery you'll go through an entire spectrum of emotions, good and bad, in the following year. Accept it, work through it and despite how you're feeling right now you'll still see success in the end if you put in the effort. ~Cheri

Why would you not be able to at least taste the food to check seasoning? I am the family cook and the only time I avoided this was immediately post op, but you're more than a month out. Don't make yourself crazier than you need to! Listen, steak isn't likely to go over well at this point. But it's not gone forever. Depending on where you are in your post op diet (I'm assuming soft foods) there are options out there besides beans! Food is an addiction for many of us. Having the sleeve only controls the portion side of the equation but never addresses the emotions, habits and rituals we have tied up in food. It takes a long time to sort through all that and get a normal, healthy relationship out of the mess. The frustration you're feeling is normal and it will pass more quickly than you think. In the meantime, focus on introducing foods you might not have eaten prior to surgery. Make spices work for you. Get creative. This phase is short, but it will still be some time before you sit down and enjoy what will be a normal meal for you from now on. It takes a while but in just a few more weeks you should be able to sit down and eat a few bites of whatever you made for your family. You'll just have a much smaller portion. And why not prepare part of the meal as something you can enjoy with them now? I made about half of my meals to my family's tastes but half again to suit what I was able to eat. Including a nice, tasty Soup or some soft grain/seed salads each evening could enable you to feel like you're part of the ritual that your family enjoys. At some point you'll be there and able to eat as much as you'd like, but for a long time you'll find that you might pass on a dish they eat or skip over certain foods. So I guess what I'm saying is not to deny yourself this time with your family because it may be a long while before you're eating everything they eat. It's a hurdle you'll have to tackle at some point, so why not now? It's normal to feel frustration but I think that this doesn't need to be as difficult as it is for you right now. If all else fails, you'll still only be in this phase for a short while. Good luck, and congrats on your sleeve, ~Cheri

On the skin - I hear you. Trust me again when I say that no matter your age that you should still see some more rebound in the next year. I know, it's a long ways to go. For me it was a HUGE improvement. My thighs were so saggy baggy at one year out I refused to wear shorts, skirts or dresses but now they're fine. And yes, I'm just over 5'1" and my doctor would love to see me in the one-teens and I think that's insane. It's not going to happen. At age twelve I weighed 120 pounds and there is no way I want to be that small. My husband would trade me in for sure! He already complains I'm too skinny. But I could EASILY wear a four, possibly smaller, if my panni were gone. I'm not entirely sure because I am an hourglass, so my hips might keep me in a larger size, but yes, even with today's vanity sizing I'm a small lady. The skin stinks and I'll eventually remove it, but it really is much improved over one year post op. And for me, the extra skin kept me from developing even more stretch marks with this pregnancy. Ha! Not that hearing this makes you feel better. But hey, I have to look at the plus side. As for the little one, we're pretty sure we have her name but I'm not thrilled. Between my husband's kids, our kids and my late daughter, this is the tenth child, the seventh daughter. And of all those kids, none were ever named after my mother in law and she really feels we need to do that. In his family, that's a tradition they follow but in my family it's simply not done. Number one, we'd consider a list of names before the child is born but never name it until after birth. And beyond that, you'd never, ever name a child after a living relative! But hey, I'm pretty sure we're going to have to buckle on this or her feelings will be hurt forever. I'm a huge planner in every other aspect of my life. But superstitions are hard to break and I haven't purchased anything yet or done any planning. Weird, I know. I'm already getting gifts from the international community here and trying to accept them gracefully but it's so odd to me to celebrate a birth before it happens. ~Cheri

Plus sizes have a much larger weight range than "regular" sizes. It's about ten to fifteen pounds between sizes in the smaller sizes but anywhere from 20-40 in the larger ones. I really don't recall exactly anymore but I don't think I really dropped a size until close to fifty pounds down. And I have no doubt that part of why it took so long is that I was absolutely squeezing myself into those 18/20s and XXL shirts because I refused to size up again. Think sausage casing. So naturally it took a bit longer to take sizes off than it might have otherwise. And the weight loss wasn't really noticeable until sixty pounds were off. From that point, though, I flew through sizes and there were times when I lost less than five pounds but lost an entire pant size, and I skipped one entire size (10s) without wearing them at all. ~Cheri

I think the idea of using food for fuel doesn't mean you don't enjoy what you're eating. I think it means it doesn't control you. The fact is that for many of us, it takes a long time post op to enjoy food again. For months I ate because I had to, not because I wanted to eat. During that time I got to the point where I could eat in moderation and food no longer had the power to make me crazy. It's just food. Yeah, I enjoy eating but I very seldom ooh and aah over a meal. I don't feel guilty, I don't feel the desire to consume more than my set aside portion and I don't think about food between meals unless I'm preparing it. It's enjoyable, but in the end it's just food. And I'm more of a food snob than I ever was as a big girl. My tastes have changed and my standards are higher. Just pouring a heavy sauce over food doesn't make it tasty, and using less than quality ingredients shows. If I'm only going to eat a few bites of a food, they had better be very tasty and very healthy or I'll be displeased! I agree with the other posters that if you're eating bland and boring foods that you don't like, simply because you feel you're supposed to, that you need to change things up. Quickly, too, or you'll burn out and fall completely into bad habits. It's far easier to stick to a healthy lifestyle if you don't feel deprived. Branch out with spices and try to introduce foods you didn't eat regularly prior to surgery. Your tastes have likely changed and it's possible you'll find new foods to love. In moderation, as fuel. ~Cheri

First, congrats. It sounds like you've done a great job! Honestly, it takes a long time for the mind to catch up. And if I'm not careful, I can still forget and my mental image of myself will slide back into how I looked for so long. Even now, seeing a picture of myself at goal weight is really odd sometimes. I can't believe how SMALL I am. And it's ridiculous but I still worry every time I order clothes. I measure myself and use size charts but I always manage to work myself up about the fact that I'm ordering size small in anything. I live overseas and buy everything online - that wait to try clothes on is always a little stressful for me. I always worry that I'll need to send things back. It took me a long time to realize that I don't need the biggest in everything. When I'm able to shop in person I don't let sizes or labels bother me like they used to, either. Once upon a time I would pass on a shirt that looked great on me just because I had to buy it a size larger. Now I accept that I'm anywhere from XS to M depending on where I'm shopping and the material used in the clothes. And there's nothing wrong with that. My husband was ready for me to stop losing weight about twenty to thirty pounds before I was done. To him, I'm skinny. I can honestly admit that while I see myself as a much smaller person, the word "skinny" has never been something I'd apply to myself. So some things never change. But the longer you maintain at goal and get used to your new body, the more comfortable you get and the more in sync your mind gets. Good luck and congrats! ~Cheri

The surgery will help immediately and forever with overeating. You simply will not be able to do it with a sleeve. And even though it's possible for you to stretch your sleeve (through constant overeating to the point of pain and vomiting) your sleeve is only going to have a tiny bit of stretch, anyway. You will never sit down and consume a massive meal again. That said, many people transition from overeating to grazing because that's what their sleeve will allow. As with any surgery, the sleeve really is only a tool. It will help you control your portions while (in most cases) taking way your desire to eat and your hunger. This in turn gives you the time to work on breaking bad habits permanently. That's the hard part - learning how to be satisfied with smaller portions and a different way of eating so that you can maintain long term and still be happy. meat is a tricky one. For some people they can eat it fairly quickly post op. I had issues with any dense Protein for a long time. Beef, in particular, bothered me for a long time. I could only eat a bite or two of steak and would feel terribly frustrated. But anything beyond that would make me sick. There simply wasn't room for more. I was sure I'd use tuna as a staple protein as soon as I was on soft foods but again, it took me a very long time to be able to eat more than a bite or two. In fact, I was more than a year out before I could eat more than an egg scrambled with cheese in a sitting. That said, after a period (several months, in all honesty) of feeling pretty frustrated by food and forcing myself to eat around the clock to hit my nutritional goals it did get easier. Now I still eat small portions but I enjoy them more than before. I can eat 2-3 ounces of dense protein in a sitting and that's plenty. Be prepared that this is something you might also experience and there's absolutely no way to know until you're sleeved and healed. You could develop lactose intolerance. Many don't, but you could. It's important to be mentally prepared for any of the potential outcomes so that you can cope if you have those issues post op. It's when people aren't prepared that you see the incredibly frustrated posts by people that feel they made a mistake. I love my sleeve. I couldn't have lost weight without it. It changed my life and gave me the opportunity to really understand my relationship with food and improve it forever. Good luck with your decision. Hang around and read stories - I'd hit the exercise/fitness board and see how people maintain an athletic lifestyle post op, because there might be something there that interests you. Many people transfer their food addictions to exercise...I'm not one of them, but they're out there. ~Cheri

Artificial sweeteners or yes, dairy. There's a huge amount of dairy in your diet if you're drinking two or more shakes a day - between the shakes and the fact that most people mix them with milk you can have a real issue. You can try finding a shake that has nothing artificial in it and see if that helps, or try mixing with a different liquid like Water, hemp milk, tea or coffee to see if that helps cut some of the reaction. Too many artificial sweeteners can cause dumping, especially if we're not used to eating them. ~Cheri

It stinks, doesn't it? I mean, we had surgery so we could eat less but I think deep down, we expect that we'll eat less of things we enjoy the same way while reaping the benefits of the weight loss! I wish! There are some folks that never have the taste change or have finicky sleeves but so many more of us go through exactly this phase. And iegal is exactly right: hang in there and it will pass. I did not really enjoy a meal until more than a year out. But before that I did get to a point where eating wasn't such a chore. I hated eating. And I developed lactose intolerance, so my "easy" Protein foods like yogurt and cottage cheese stopped being options early on. It was miserable. But it does come back. Your tastes change and your standards get higher but you'll find yourself genuinely enjoying your tiny portion of a meal at some point. I can't say when, but it really will happen. There are a few things you can do in the meantime. One, keep trying new Vitamins. Gummy vites are not the ideal but if that's what you can keep down right now, take those (and your other supplements) until you can handle the other ones. The multi that finally worked for me was a chewable prenatal Vitamin that I started taking more than a year before I got pregnant. I think it was the sixth or seventh multi I'd tried and it was the first one that didn't give me hours of nausea after taking it. Two, do not force yourself to drink a protein you hate. Keep trying new ones until you find the one you like. There is one out there if you try hard enough! I cannot even begin to count how many times I changed protein powders. The only brand that has hung in there the entire time and tasted good to me is the Syntrax nectar - I like the chocolate, vanilla, Cappuccino and unflavored versions. It's the only unflavored I've had that I really cannot taste or smell once it's mixed. Find what works for you. Find a site that sells samples so you can try many different things and track what you like. The Syntha-6 drinks by BSN have a higher calorie/carb profile but taste very good. You might find that in order to get to your protein goals you need to compromise with yourself and eat what works and keeps you happy. And mix with something other than milk - try almond milk, hemp milk, Water, tea, coffee...keep trying until you find what works for you. Make your diet as varied as possible. Eating the same, boring foods day in and out, choking down unpleasant Protein shakes and feeling exhausted by eating will only make you feel run down, discouraged and depressed. If you're having Soup, make it spicy or different in some way. Introduce foods you might not have eaten prior to surgery to liven things up. Do you like quinoa? It digests quite easily and is a complete protein. If you don't use it already, it's easy to use it in place of rice in dish you used to enjoy. Get out there and find foods that you can eat and enjoy, or at least not hate. This is a very normal part of the journey. It really does get easier. ~Cheri

Bah, what days of losing five pounds a week? I missed that stage entirely. I think that first of all, our bodies just have happy weights they don't want to leave. I had a heck of a time getting out of the 190s and the 160s (those were my two nine week stalls) because they were previous stopping points for me. I desperately wanted to hit the 120s because I'm not even 5'2" tall. My body had different ideas about my happy place. After a ton of work I could get down to 135 but to maintain there took real effort. I had to count every calorie and keep restricting myself. But if I just let the scale bump up two measly pounds I was able to maintain effortlessly. I didn't have to measure food, I didn't have to track calories, I didn't have to do anything but make sure I kept away from really rotten habits like grazing all day. In the long run, the two pounds affected only me - my pant size stayed the same and nobody else can see the difference two pounds makes. So I relaxed and let it go. But yes, the loose skin has to factor in somewhere. Mine isn't as bad as it was at one year post up but there's no denying that there's a significant amount of skin there. I often wonder if I'm going to finally achieve that goal of living in the 120s after plastics. But after hanging at goal for a while and being two and a half years out, the numbers really do bother me less. What I want is to fit in my own clothes and to continue enjoying my life. And after this pregnancy, I'm not aiming for a scale goal as my ultimate success. I'm aiming to get back into those adorable dresses I was wearing before I got pregnant! In any case, those last pounds came off so slowly for me. And while I can say I was six months to lose 20 pounds, there were months in there where I lost one pound the entire month and five the next. It's really hard to do. If you're absolutely certain you have to get there, the best thing I think you can do is check out a gym class that includes strength training. Add in different exercise to shock your body, because at this point, I think you've done all the diet work you can. Good luck, ~Cheri

I don't know that a taco is a terrible food choice, even if it's not a spectacular one. I ate them and still do on occasion. They bother me less than super fried foods. Anyway, I chimed in to say that I discovered after the first time I ate one that I had to order them without lettuce. Iceberg makes me feel terrible every time I eat it. So, if you ever do feel up to trying it again, try it without lettuce. They'll think you're nuts when you order but who cares? Anyway, I also tried to eat the whole thing the first time or two but in reality, I have to leave two or three bites behind or it's too much. ~Cheri

All the scale will do in the early months is drive you crazy, unless you have a very relaxed and reasonable expectation on what you'll see each time you weigh. You cannot expect to lose weight every time you step on the scale. You can even expect the occasional bump up in weight! Most people think they understand this until they're in it - and then they panic, post that they hate their sleeve, start screwing with their diet and basically...lose their minds. On the other side, I feel that you NEED your scale in maintenance. For me, that daily weight check is what keeps me in line. I no longer log my food daily so seeing a number on the scale, and reassuring myself that I'm within my allotted four pound window means a lot to me. If I see those numbers rise steadily for more than a day or two, I know I'm slipping somewhere. I have a tool that can immediately help me get back on track, with small changes like drinking more Water or avoiding food that could be the cause (sodium gets me every time). But outside of that? The best thing you can do for your sanity is weigh weekly or monthly. Your clothes and physical appearance are going to tell a more accurate tale of success in the early months, anyway. At one point I really did have my husband hide my scale and only bring it out for a weekly weigh in, because I was driving myself (and him) crazy. Seeing the scale go up, or seeing it stay in one place for weeks at a time really is a normal part of the process, but it ruined my day every time it happened. Good luck, ~Cheri

Thanks for sharing the study. If you haven't yet, it'd be nice to see it cross posted to the pregnant after sleeve board, as many people chime in there to see how long they should wait. I agree that 12-18 months is when people should start considering it, but that's based upon my own experience. I was nearly two years out when I got pregnant and honestly had a hard enough time eating and keeping food down even being that far out! I had such restriction it was very difficult to eat enough for myself for a year. I didn't really get everything together and really cement in those good, strong habits until somewhere in the 12-18 months post op window. I know it's possible to get pregnant earlier out and I know it happens and can result in nice, healthy babies and uncomplicated pregnancies, but why take the risk when you do have the choice to use some form of birth control and completely heal first? And yes, I am amazed and appalled that more surgeons do not discuss birth control with their female patients because I can't begin to count the number of "accidental" pregnancies on the boards here. It's complicated enough to learn a new way to live and eat post op and I really feel that more women should be taking control of this part of the conversation and asking the questions to avoid a high risk or unwanted pregnancy after surgery. Thanks again for the post - ~Cheri

I'll be a different voice here. I think that while your husband may not understand where you're coming from, he's trying to help you keep a more normal approach. There could be a number of issues here. One, he may not want to be alone in his enjoyment of food now that you're sleeved. Food was likely part of a ritual you shared as a couple and he doesn't want to lose that, simply because you lose weight. But two, he also may have seen you do all-or-nothing diets in the past and wind up failing, not to mention being angry or resentful because of what foods you're avoiding. Right now, the goal is to build healthy eating habits. But the way to successfully maintain long term is a balance of your approach and his. It means enjoying the food and yes, the social rituals we build around it, without losing control, feeling guilt or going overboard. You're a ways from it yet, but there will come a point where you SHOULD be incorporating a more normal diet. You'll need the energy, you'll function better with more (quality) carbs and you'll need to learn moderation so you don't fall on your face once you hit goal. You'll likely also find that you feel a better sense of control around food when you do incorporate a more balanced diet - not feeling deprived helps you avoid the binge and graze behavior that most likely helped contribute to your obesity. So - try to be more understanding of him while also trying to help him understand that your sleeve is not temporary. This is a big change for us, yes, but we underwent it and have new limitations that almost force us into compliance (at least early on) while he really cannot understand how big a change this is for you without undergoing it himself. Good luck! ~Cheri

I was type 2 and the last time I took anything to control my diabetes was the day before surgery. My surgeon did have to give me one or two doses of insulin immediately post op because of how the anesthesia can affect your blood sugars, but other than that I've been fine. Within a matter of weeks I was testing high normal on my sugars. I stopped testing completely around nine months post op, because my sugars never left the 90-110 range. I'm pregnant and recently had my glucose tolerance test. It turns out that my normal blood sugars stay around 67-75 and my one hour postprandial is normally between 120-140, but by two hours out I'm back at 67-75 again. It's absolutely amazing, honestly. I was worried I was running low but after a few days of monitoring recently my doctor said there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I'm doing better than I ever could have hoped. My A1C just came back as a four - perfectly normal. For many of us, the diabetes is completely resolved with the sleeve. Before I even lost weight, the drastic post op diet had my diabetes under control and it stayed that way. Here's hoping you have similar results! ~Cheri

Great job! I'll say from experience that you're about to get slammed with tons of congrats from everyone, but also many requests for how you're eating, how maintenance is treating you, etc. So be prepared to share a bit more about how you're doing and your method for success. Everyone always wants to know how you did it. You've done great, enjoy the results of your hard work! ~Cheri

I was never a cake person but yeah, you should have no trouble post op. The previous posters are exactly right - how much you can handle will be up to your sleeve. And be warned that if you've been low-carbing you might have a reaction from too much sugar if it's a seriously sweet cake and frosting. So take it easy until you know how it will settle. The idea is to get to the point where you know you can eat whatever you want, but you're capable of keeping it in moderation. food shouldn't control you - you should control your desire for food. So I frown upon abstaining completely from entire food groups, because in my opinion, that leads to binge and graze behavior, not to mention a feeling of deprivation when you're constantly denying yourself food. This is especially true in social situations where partaking is expected and you'll can feel out of place or resentful if you're not eating. So, long story short: stop at a few bites and enjoy your cake. Odds are good you'll find it's not nearly as delightful as you remember, though. Try not to be too disappointed. ~Cheri

You know, until you said this I hadn't thought about how revolting it really is to be in a public place (like a mall or just driving down the street) and completely surrounded by the smells of greasy, fried foods. Even Krispy Kreme (which I used to love) just smells like sugar and grease to me...completely unappetizing. I sat there with my family and drank a cup of coffee while they each ate a doughnut and would have had one myself if it hadn't smelled so awful to me. It's really weird how much we change post op. I chalked it up to living overseas and not being around it all the time, but when I was back in the states over the summer I felt nauseated all the time when we'd pass restaurants and that heavy, greasy smell. I used to love fried foods, so I try not to be too judgmental here - but sometimes it really is hard for me to understand how people can eat that stuff. Even my husband, who didn't have surgery or need it at all, is completely grossed out by the way people eat back home. ~Cheri

Fries were my most beloved food prior to surgery. And if I indulged one day, I had to have them EVERY DAY. I would crave them. I loved fried foods. I doubt they'll always affect you so strongly, but yeah...they aren't so fabulous post op, are they? As your tastes change your standards will get higher. I no longer want greasy, quick foods - when I was back in America over the summer the first thing I wanted to do was eat some fast food. Within my new better habits, of course, not like I would have done pre op. Ugh. All I can say is YUCK. If you go without eating that garbage for any real length of time, you'll be amazed by how disgusting it is after a while. Sure, some foods are still enjoyable no matter how bad I know they are. I love soda, so I keep my consumption to a minimum. I love popcorn, but I pop my own on the stove and ration myself so I don't overdo it. But most of those old trigger foods? They're gone. They taste like the garbage they are, and that's not a bad thing at all. You might find that later on you'll enjoy a real, homemade french fry every now and again. I'm okay with them if I make them myself. They taste a thousand times better. But I still only eat four or five before I've had enough. It's nice to know you CAN eat them, even if you don't want to do it. ~Cheri

It's kind of amazing that despite the overwhelming failure of dieting for America at large, how everyone from people on the street to doctors to celebrities can just act like it's the only answer to obesity. First and foremost, if dieting were as simple as willpower and a 1,200 calorie diet we'd see a lot more success with Weight Watchers. I had willpower like a madwoman...in four month stints. But after four months of restricting myself, not losing weight and not seeing results it's awfully hard to keep going. Beyond that, I'm sure you've dieted before. All of us have. We don't get up one morning twenty pounds overweight and opt for the sleeve as our first way to lose weight! We're all here as obese and morbidly obese adults that have spent a good portion of our lives dieting. I know more about eating a healthy diet than any of my friends that have never had a weight problem, for sure! This is about you, your body and living your life the way you want to live it. Make this choice for yourself, not for anyone else. That said, the pre op diet will be hard, but I encourage you to give it your best. Because pre op, your diet stumbles will only make you feel guilty. Post op, they can cause complications. Knowing that you can stick to a restricted diet simply because your doctor ordered it is important. I think that the pre op diet and your ability to stick to it can really show how mentally ready you are for the post op phase. Because yes, your stomach will be smaller and you're not likely to have any real hunger after surgery. But the mental game you'll play is the same one you'd play on the pre op diet. You'll want food, even if you aren't hungry. At some point, you'll be tired of tiny sips of shakes and warm drinks and you'll wish you could chew. And you won't be able to. And you'll be risking your health if you break the doctor's ordered diet. So try to think of this as an extra tool to have under your belt before the surgery. You'll know you can hack the post op diet if you can make it through the pre op one. Good luck to you. We all have naysayers or unsupportive people somewhere in our lives. They'll come around once they see your success in most cases. But otherwise, try to ignore it. This isn't about anyone but you. ~Cheri

It's a proton pump inhibitor - like Nexium, Prilosec or Protonix. Prevacid is a PPI but for many of us it simply doesn't work at controlling the acid post sleeve. Taking Tums or Pepcid will address the symptoms of too much acid (usually poorly) but a PPI will reduce the acid production until your body learns to make less on it's own. Most people are on their PPI for roughly six months to a year, though some need one long term. It is the single most important thing (outside of diet) that you can do that will improve your quality of life post sleeve. Acid is a problem for nearly everyone post op, and having a PPI in your daily routine makes a world of difference. ~Cheri