clk

I'm not your age but I was close to your starting weight. I always enjoyed seeing people around my starting stats and their progress. Maybe you'll feel the same. I'm almost 5'2" and started at 242 pounds. Now I'm 16.5 months out and down to 138 pounds.

I have a reaction post op to both lactose (I'm highly intolerant now) and artificial sweeteners. What I would do is pull one of those from your diet for a few meals and see how you react. For me, it was immediately clear what was causing the problem. If you're having trouble even with things like Crystal Light, the issue is clearly the sweeteners. If you suspect it's lactose intolerance, try swapping out for soy milk or rice milk for a day and see how it goes. The big offenders with lactose intolerance are milk (even Lactaid, in my case), yogurt and cottage cheese. I didn't start to have a problem with soft cheeses until later on. Try cutting out some of those items to see how you feel.

Sugary things still make me feel sick. I just can't eat them and don't enjoy them. I get a sick feeling if I overindulge so it's easy to avoid these things now.

We all worry about being a failure, I think. I'm a slower loser than a lot of folks and there were times when I wondered if 60 pounds was all I would lose. It's very hard not succeed at this surgery. If you aren't trying your damnedest to suck down milkshakes and force down bacon double cheeseburgers, you're going to lose weight. Your stomach isn't going to make smart food choices for you, but it IS going to keep you from eating half a pizza, I promise.

So this early in the game you should be focusing on first, figuring out the nausea so that you can improve your day to day life. Then, follow the rules. Expect to be human, expect to slip occasionally. But follow the rules 99% of the time and you're going to reach goal in no time. I'm a horrible role model. I follow the rules about 60% of the time but guess what? I'm going to reach goal in the next month...and in the long run does it really matter if it took me 17 months vs. 10 months? Nope.

Enjoy it. Learn to live with this surgery and learn to love it, too. You're going to have to make changes but you'll do just fine if you're prepared for that.

~Cheri

You're making a great decision. There are a couple of folks here that used their bands to get started and finished up with the sleeve, and while a number of folks are anti-band (especially those that had awful experiences) you'll find there are a handful that had a decent enough experience but still love their sleeves.

Do as much of the head work as you can beforehand. Ultimately, to be totally successful this is something all of us really need to do. It's an ongoing process, and you'll be in a totally different place in one year. I think that the more you do upfront in discovering why you do things the way you do the easier it is to maintain once the weight is gone. And a lot of us close to, at or beyond goal have to stop and evaluate what we're choosing to eat and why because it's absolutely true what they say - this operation is on our stomachs, not our brains. Whatever causes you to overeat or make poor choices is still going to be there when you're at goal, so know that and work at it and you'll be just fine.

In a way you'll be relying on your sleeve for control but there's a big difference. It's going to remain pretty much the same once you heal - there's no unfill or fill, no good days or bad days. You heal, you eat and you learn your limits. Yeah, you can still choose to eat around your sleeve but I think you'll find it's not as easy as it sounds. Try as I might a binge is still two Cookies for me. Anything else and I'm going to be seriously ill. You'll be able to eat a bit more around one year out but I'm not seeing much more capacity at 16 months than I had at 10 or so.

I'd go into this thinking of it not as a diet or deprivation but a life of moderation. I eat whatever I want...in small portions. And I'm careful to balance my indulgences with healthy eating. There are certain things I can't eat due to lactose intolerance, but I've found substitutes for most of those foods. And I'll be honest - while I sometimes miss eating until I could burst, eating and food in general do not have the power over me they used to have. It's just not the fun experience it used to be, so moderation is a lot easier, especially when I hold myself accountable by logging my food. I think that once you're sleeved and totally healed you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm just not hungry so I don't need to eat all the time and I don't live my life focused around pizza or dessert.

You're going to do just fine. Keep that positive attitude and you can't help but succeed. I wouldn't trade my surgery for anything.

~Cheri

Glad you found something that works for you. I couldn't live without Protein shakes. I just don't get enough Protein from my limited local food sources to make it without them.

Stick with it and hang in there. Stalls are part of the program and this one will eventually end.

I'm sure you'll be in onderland soon.

~Cheri

Most people can get their Protein all on their own around five or six months without the shakes. I've never really been that great at hitting my Protein goals without a shake a day, and now I live in a remote location where I don't get much meat or cheese to eat. So right now, at sixteen months out I'm still having a shake a day, sometimes two if I'm tired of tuna or eggs (my main protein sources at the moment).

The trick to the shakes is to keep mixing it up. By the time I'm done with the 3 pound tub, I'm burned out on a particular shake so I switch flavors. I also try to make them different each time - sometimes I add in some SF Syrup, sometimes I mix with coffee or tea instead of soymilk, and sometimes I add in fruit or Peanut Butter. Don't force yourself to chug the same vanilla or chocolate shake day after day or you'll hate them.

~Cheri

I just joined so it's only polite to introduce myself!

I'm Cheri and my husband is Army. We're currently working at the Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. Don't feel badly if you need Wiki to tell you where that is - I did, too! I'm all the way over by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China's westernmost border.

I self-paid for my VSG with Dr. Aceves in July of 2010. I flew from Germany to have it done because Tricare was insisting I have a band or bypass instead and I wasn't willing to pursue either option.

I see nobody has posted here in a while - let this be a motivator to get the conversations rolling!

Take care, ladies,

~Cheri

I was going to say that if you're price shopping, Dr. Aceves isn't exactly the cheapest Mexican surgeon. He's just the best one!

I could have chosen to have surgery anywhere in the world. I'm lucky enough to have great credit, and my bank was willing to grant me an unsecured loan up to $20K.

I was living in Germany and couldn't find a doctor experienced enough with sleeves to do it there (where it would have cost a fortune in euros vs. dollars for self pay), or I would have had it done in Germany and saved myself the two days of travel back and forth.

I chose Dr. Aceves after carefully researching three other stateside doctors, all of them good, all of them experienced and all of them good choices. But as someone self-paying and flying 11 hours to do this, I wanted the BEST care, with the longest possible hospital stay. Dr. Aceves fit the bill and I cannot complain at all.

I urge everyone, regardless of where you're having surgery done, to DO YOUR RESEARCH.

Do not assume that just because your doctor is American that he/she is automatically a great choice. Review statistics, look up as many reviews/recommends as you can. Do the leg work. This is your LIFE on the line if you choose an inexperienced doctor. And sometimes, sh*t happens and even an experienced doctor can have a leak and you can suffer complications. It's a hazard of choosing a serious surgery. So do your leg work and be prepared.

Finally, I would like to comment on the notes about Dr. Rodriguez. While I do not discount that this person had legitimate reasons to be concerned, I'd say that when you choose to go to a hospital out of America you can't be upset if they're not 100% to American standards. This issue is on the patient for not researching adequately, though I do appreciate that she shared her experience for everyone else. Word of mouth is very important. If she had an allergy this could have been a fatal operation.

I have had two operations and countless medical appointments outside of America and can honestly say that even top notch care in another country can seem outdated or not as safe to us because we're so incredibly used to American care. I was amazed to see old school glass bottles and plastic tubing were going to be my IV when I was in Kyiv for a procedure, but they broke out clean, sterilized tubing and a sterile needle without my mentioning anything so I felt comfortable. Sometimes you have to go with the flow, but above all, try to be prepared.

~Cheri

I was going to post that nobody had a stall from hell like thinoneday! Not to diminish your personal struggle, but whew - I haven't seen a worse stall yet!

First things first when it comes to breaking a stall:

LOG YOUR food.

Do it. Religiously. Every day. Several times a day. DO IT.

It is the most important thing you can do to keep yourself accountable.

I stalled at right around the same weight for a few months and guess what? I wasn't tracking my food. And I was totally in denial about what I was eating. chips here, jelly Beans here, popcorn and soda there. No Protein. Carbs all day long. Ugh, forgive my rotten grammar, I'm starting to freak myself out!

In any case, log your food. Set a reasonable post-op goal for yourself and stick to it. Lock that carb monster away again (it took me about three days to "detox" from the cravings) and jump back on the program. You can do this. I promise that if you sit down and try to eat four ounces of steak right now you're going to find that you have restriction. The sleeve has not failed you, it's still there!

I've had to "reset" myself like this twice since surgery. I'm a slow loser to begin with (never as slow at thinoneday, poor thing) so it's always been easy to get discouraged and jump off the program. As soon as I got back on the weight melted off again. Okay...maybe that's an exaggeration. The first ten pounds or so always melt and then I go back to slow and steady.

But a loss is a loss and in the long run it doesn't matter how long it takes to get to goal, just that we do our damnedest to get there.

Do not give up. I challenge you to hold yourself accountable and make this sleeve work for you!

We're all going through the same process and you aren't alone. Come back for support (or a smack upside the head if you're doing the wrong things!) and there will always be someone here to help you along.

~Cheri

How are you doing now? It's been more than a week since your post. Sometimes a few days will change your entire perspective.

Right now you're in regret mode because of your complicated healing process. It will get easier. We ALL struggle with liquids in the beginning, you're definitely not alone there.

Update and let us know how you're feeling, so we can help with advice or support.

~Cheri

Congrats! You worked really hard both pre- and post-op so it's not surprising you met goal so quickly. Great job!

I know what you mean about being smaller than ever before, too. I couldn't remember the last time I was a small anything and it's completely mind boggling to realize that even without reaching my goal weight yet (I'm almost there!) that I've far exceeded all other goals I had set for myself.

Enjoy this, lady! You look fantastic and will surely be an inspiration to people preparing for or considering surgery.

~Cheri

Holy smokes! The numbers are great on their own but you look fantastic, too! Enjoy it - I'm telling you these last few pounds have been SO slow in coming off but it's happening and that's all we can ask for, right?

You'll get there soon enough and if you're anything like me those last few pounds make a huge difference. I swear, five pounds ago I was a size bigger and now I'm smaller all over. Unlike in the beginning where it took 20 pounds to see a difference, it only takes five or so now.

Enjoy it, you've worked hard to get here!

~Cheri

Oh yeah. I had minor issues prior to surgery, especially when pregnant. I would stick to Lactaid and I'd be fine.

Post op all milk is a no-no. I've said sad farewells to soft cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc. I can handle VERY small amounts of say, light cream in my coffee, or eat one cheese ravioli. Anything else makes me sick. I can eat hard cheeses but unfortunately cannot find vegetarian versions of them here in Bishkek so that does me no good!

I drink a lactose free Protein shake and so long as I mix it with soy milk or coffee I'm fine.

I think Tiffy had an issue, too. Basically find ways to work around it. It's hard but you can do it, especially stateside with lots of options like soy yogurt, coconut milk, coconut ice cream, Tofutti products!

I have to make my own soy milk here (I actually like it better than the packaged stuff but it's not fortified) and my own tofu, but other than that I'm on a pretty limited diet out here in the wilderness.

You are not alone!

~Cheri

Edited to add: I can use goat milk in cooking, though, and I make a mean chevre from it, so try that if you're really hankering for cheese. Goat milk still has lactose but something about the amount of fat makes it easier to digest. I still have to stick to small portions to avoid issues but it's something!

Shanny,

I'm glad that you and your gal reconciled. Sometimes we don't realize what the people around us are going through and I'm glad you guys were able to talk about this and share openly. My husband was incredibly frustrated and insecure and I had no idea until his little comments annoyed me to the point that I confronted him. He needed to talk about what was bothering him and have his say before he could be more comfortable. It's taking some time but he's slowly accepting that this is my body, even if he liked the old one, and that I'm not going to gain the weight back. It's amazing how the people we love can be so supportive in some ways but so scared and resentful in other ways. I hope you two will continue to talk and keep your feelings about this open so you can avoid problems later.

I will encourage you to talk to a counselor about overeating. I am no professional but it sounds like you have classic overeater habits and use food for consolation and to numb painful emotions. Talk to someone, or at the least join an online forum with overeaters that use the same coping skills.

A big part of having the surgery is to lose weight. It's to be all those things we weren't before - thinner, happier, healthier. But another thing this surgery gives us is the chance to work through all of the emotional garbage, bad coping skills and ugly life events that helped us get fat in the first place. You will be a much happier person overall if you work on these things, slowly but surely.

I recently read a short book - a quick and easy read - called "Hungry" by Allen Zadoff. He's not pro-surgery at all, but it talks about the emotional attachments we have to food and how he dealt with them. You might like it if you pick it up at your local library. He doesn't prescribe a diet plan or a way to live your life, though. He just shares his experiences. I related to parts of the book and disagreed with others, but I think that overall there is something useful to be gained from this book if you try to eat past your emotions, something I'm guilty of, too.

Best of luck to you guys. Really. Relationships take a lot of work and a lot of communication and if you guys just keep communicating the good and the bad I'm sure you'll be just fine.

~Cheri

I'm glad it's going easier for you. There are a number of lactose-free shakes out there to try if you continue to have issues or if they worsen post op. Some folks have their minor intolerance worsen considerably after surgery (me!) so it's definitely do-able. Yogurt should be okay as far as meeting your nutritional guidelines, but for some folks (me!) it's just as bad as milk. It depends on how bad your intolerance is so if you notice an issue lay off the yogurt and see what happens.

At first, my only issue was milk. Over three months post op it developed into full blown intolerance of anything but hard cheeses. So watch it and pay attention to your body if you experience pain or discomfort in the months after surgery.

I'd also check into artificial sweeteners as a large increase in your diet can cause the same discomfort. I have this issue, too, because prior to surgery I mostly avoided artificial sweetener and went for the real deal. My body just can't tolerate all that fake stuff and I get sick when I have too much - even drinking too much Crystal Light can give me trouble. Yuck. Anyway, I have to buy a Protein shake with natural sweetener and no lactose, but it definitely can be done!

Best of luck to you, and keep up the good work with tracking your food. You're building one of the most important habits you can have post op, so don't worry too much if you don't lose weight before surgery. Focus on how much it's going to help you in the future. Most of the time when I stall it's due to a failure on my part to accurately track what I'm putting in my mouth. Stay accountable and you'll definitely succeed.

~Cheri

I was logging my weight this morning and realized that on 4 November of 2010 I weighed in at 193 pounds. Today I weighed in at 139 pounds, just four pounds from goal.

WOW. What a difference flipping that 3 and 9 around made in the way I look and feel!

I remember very clearly being absolutely thrilled last November that I could wear an XL shirt and size 14 jeans from a standard store - I didn't have to shop plus sizes anymore. A huge accomplishment and one I was very proud of.

And yesterday I received six sweaters in the mail, all size small and a pair of jeans in a size six . I'd been fretting since I ordered them that they wouldn't fit because goodness knows that I've lost a lot of weight but actually considering myself a size small? That seemed plain crazy.

They all fit, though. Even without my ultra-mega-suck-that-gut-flap-up Shapewear, too.

Life is truly wonderful and I am so incredibly thankful that I had this surgery and that I've made my slow but steady progress.

Goal is going to be just as wonderfully rewarding 16 months out from surgery as it would have been at 10 months out. I cannot complain.

~Cheri

Congrats! It's a huge milestone and I just passed it myself so I remember how awesome it felt to realize I'd lost so much. You're doing a great job - enjoy it!

~Cheri

Great work! It's a huge milestone, isn't it? I'm happy for you - you look really fantastic!

~Cheri

Congrats on the loss so far. I had two pretty long stalls where I was pretty sure my body was done. There were a few factors involved.

Log your food. Do it, and do it religiously. Set goals and meet them. When I stalled out and maintained at close to the same weight for several months, I wasn't logging my food. And guess what? I was back to old habits and totally in denial about how much I was eating. I was up to 1200-1500 calories a day, and DUH the scale was hardly moving. I was grabbing a handful (or three) of jelly belly Beans throughout the day, eating almost no Protein, enjoying a soda and popcorn late night snack...just bad habits that I can't allow if I still want to lose weight.

I started logging, dropped those calories right back down to where I was when I was losing and BAM! I'm finally closing in on my goal. I also had to retrain myself and lock the carb monster away again, which was tough for about three days but now I'm fine.

So log that food.

Here's where a lot of folks will disagree with me, though, because nobody can deny that exercise is great for us and helps us to stay fit and fight off cravings and reshape our formerly flabby bodies. But exercise alone isn't going to just jumpstart your weight loss. Look to what you're actually putting in your body first because that's usually where you can find the solution.

Do exercise. You want a nice, toned body when you get to goal and you want a healthy heart so you can live a long life and enjoy your goal weight! But don't think that throwing yourself into the gym for an extra hour each day is going to miraculously get you to goal all by itself.

Look into the external factors. Got stress? I mean, more than usual. :smile1: Did you change any medications or so something different? Make sure you eliminate the possibility that something else is impacting your slow down.

Finally, stop comparing! We inevitably get stressed and frustrated because our scales move slower than someone else's. Well, I had surgery a year ago July. I admit, I haven't been as great about tracking my calories the whole time and I hate exercise. But I've been a slow loser the entire time, no matter what I tweaked or changed or cut out. Sometimes, our bodies just need time to adjust. Sometimes, we're just different than other people and lose at a different rate. I was so happy for my friend that got sleeved at the same time as me when she hit goal after only 9 months - and she had more to lose! But I was also jealous and frustrated because I wasn't there. But I'm almost there now, and that's what matters.

Honestly - take a break for a second and put your expectations and impatience aside. If you got to goal and it took two years instead of nine months would you really care once you got there? I was in such a rush to hit goal by 10 months out, but you know what? Victory is JUST as sweet at 16 months out.

So keep plugging away. Log that food and see if you have a problem. But don't fall into bad habits or give up because you feel like you're not going to lose anything else. If you keep doing the right things you WILL reach your goal.

Good luck!

~Cheri

Try to relax and let it all happen. It seems like things are all coming together for you, and yeah, it's a lot to handle at once and it's stressful but it's all working out.

So breathe!

Stay positive about the job interview - hopefully that will come through for you! If they make you an offer, you simply have to let them know about the surgery. But there's no need to worry until that point. There's absolutely no benefit in it, either! I doubt it will be an issue.

It seems like you really are on your way. Best of luck to you. This has clearly been a long journey for you to get approved, so just a little more patience won't be so hard.

Take care,

~Cheri

Start with the head work now. You'll have to do it at some point. I didn't do it prior to surgery and I'm doing it now that I'm steps away from goal. I just read a really great book called "Hungry" by Allen Zadoff. No, he didn't have surgery and he's even a little opposed to the idea. The book doesn't contain a diet plan or a how-to, but it does talk about the emotional issues and our attachments to food - if you're an overeater, this is a great book to pick up and it's a quick and easy read. If you're not, it will be less useful for you.

Try to figure out what makes you eat, what exactly keeps you from losing weight on traditional plans, etc. I didn't realize I had so many emotional triggers. I was also in denial about being an overeater. All the way up to surgery I was convinced that it was purely a metabolic issue with me, and while to some extent that's true, I was totally denying the fact that I loved to stuff my face with food that was bad for me. Try to understand yourself. You're going to do this work at some point if you want to be totally successful with this surgery, so you might as well start now.

Try to cut out your most harmful foods now. Try to make tiny steps towards how you will eat post op. Don't go whole-hog into a diet plan (unless you want to) because if you've made up your mind to have surgery you're just going to make yourself crazy trying to do a diet now. But focus on healthier eating. Once your surgery date is booked you'll likely have a few food funerals. Most of us do. But make new habits now to get your head and body closer to where you'll be post op. It will help, I promise. Make one meal a day a healthy pre-op portion of something you might eat post-op - like tuna salad with whole wheat crackers, instead of a big sandwich and chips. Or whatever - I'm trying not to make any assumptions about your eating habits since I don't know you. Drink those eight glasses of Water a day. Try adding in a Protein shake at night instead of a cookie. Do little things to help ease the transition.

I did none of these things and was surprised by how emotional and honestly distressed I was after surgery, when I couldn't use food for comfort or to socialize. It took me a while to learn how to work this new me into my old life without falling back into bad habits.

I self-paid and went to Mexico. I can tell you that you simply are not going to find negative reviews or comments about Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. He charges a bit more than some of the other international surgeons but you get top notch care from a doctor with NO leaks and NO deaths. He's strict - that 20 day liquid diet post op was h-a-r-d but is really important for safe healing.

I took out an unsecured loan through my bank with no problem. The only bill I have that I'm happy to pay is that one! I never complain about it and I never resent it. I'm just thankful I could get it done.

Good luck to you. I have to things to say that are sort of contradictory. One, every doctor has to gain experience some time - so the guy with the most (complication free) surgeries under his belt is always a good option but don't discount someone with less experience if you trust that doctor. Two, I trust world-of-mouth reviews more than anything else. I watched this board for a year before having my surgery, and Dr. Aceves inspired a great deal of loyalty from his patients. I contacted his office and all of my interactions with Nina and Gaby were wonderful, so I had no reason to feel any concern about using him. And once I met him, I completely understand why his patients love him so much. He's a really fantastic surgeon and a great guy who will tell you the truth about what to do to lose the weight.

I recommend him very highly, so if you don't find anyone in Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic, there's always Mexico!

~Cheri

All grumpity-grumps aside, thanks for sharing. It's hard enough to get this surgery done at a MTF right now, so women considering it might want to jump on it quickly.

~Cheri

Whatever, just another excuse to cut our benefits! But you bet your bottom every time I went into my doc prior to surgery I got a huge lecture on my weight. Military docs think the BMI chart is the end-all and be-all of the universe. The military paid for me to have the nutrition class four times because my doctor was convinced I just needed to know how to eat properly for the weight to fall off. They paid for countless hormone panels and even paid for my metabolic testing.

I self paid for VSG because military insurance is great in some ways but really bites in other ways. And guess what? I bet "the taxpayers" are relieved that they're no longer paying for the six medications I was on prior to surgery, including diabetes meds and test strips, huh? They were shelling out hundreds a month for little old me.

In the long term, the expense of insuring overweight people is far more than paying for the surgery in the first place.

Anyway, this piece was likely done because America wants to be mad at everyone for money right now and play the point-the-finger game - as though the expense of even a thousand surgeries done in military hospitals somehow outweighs the expense of having our troops involved in five different conflicts right now! Let's rile the taxpayers up over pennies so they won't start complaining about the dollars!

Sorry I sound so crabby and bitter. I'm a grumpy Army wife that self-paid for my surgery and flew from Germany to Mexico to have it done. I've been continually denied good medical benefits and even good medical care - every minor issue I ever had was blamed on my weight, to the point of ridiculousness. I can very honestly say the only thing Tricare has ever handled for me without an issue was the pregnancy and delivery of my twins. In eight years, I've had one really great thing handled without headaches, letters, and fighting for approval.

Tricare can bite it, and so can the news networks riling people up over stupid things like this.

~Cheri

How exciting! She's absolutely beautiful and you guys are so blessed. I'm happy for your family. Enjoy these early days!

~Cheri

GNC is where I got mine. I got tired of them and gave two boxes away recently or I'd send them your way! I picked up four boxes when they were BOGO free - and I do believe they do the same sale online. You'll save even more if you have a Gold Card and shop the first week of the month when it's 20% off everything and free shipping.

~Cheri

In case you haven't yet, check with your doctor. I think you should be 100% sure there isn't an issue with your sleeve.

I'm 16 months out and I still get pain if I eat the following foods, even if it's just two or three bites:

Flour tortillas

bread - hearty bread like a dinner roll or a bagel

Rice

Any amount of Pasta or any shape or size - three or four bites and I'm in pain

So clearly, heavy carbs freak my sleeve out! I think they just get bigger and heavier in my tummy and it aches, so I avoid these foods as much as possible.

I'm also completely unable to eat dairy unless it's a hard cheese, but this is a different type of stomach/intestinal pain and doesn't seem to be what you're talking about.

Get checked out. Seriously - get an allergy test and an upper GI if you can afford it or your insurance will cover it, just to be sure there isn't a real problem.

~Cheri

Edited to add: When I say "pain" I do not mean rolling around on the floor in agony. I mean discomfort, a stretched and uncomfortably full feeling and once in a while a sharper pain directly where my sleeve is located. Enough to make me not do things that hurt, but not serious enough to feel like I have a major issue.

I didn't have a pre-op diet so I can't really relate to having a doctor's orders to follow a specific plan. However, I did notice that I did the whole "food funeral" thing a bit, too.

I think in the long run, cutting out those foods that trigger cravings (for me that was fast food in general, especially french fries and soda) is for the better. The liquids phase post op is TOUGH and the more "clean" your eating prior to surgery the easier I think it is to get through it.

But regardless of anything else I'll say that you shouldn't beat yourself up if it's hard or challenging. If losing weight were easy for any of us, we wouldn't be here. If I could just wave my magic wand and stop craving bad food or feeling hungry or hating exercise I wouldn't have shelled out ten grand for surgery!

And I hate to sound like a downer or worry you, but some of those foods that I loved before I can't eat at all - even now, 16 months out. So enjoy this time - start slowly making better choices because later on you won't have a choice if you want to be healthy and not hurt your sleeve, but relax about the whole thing.

~Cheri