NinaX

I wasn't given any restriction on alcohol from my surgeon after the first healing period was over. I can drink wine and beer just as before surgery, however - I don't get as effected by it now. My husband and I had a couple of moijitos when in Thailand and while he was clearly not sober from the experience I felt nothing! :-)

I haven't felt physical hunger at all since my surgery, growling willl tell me it's been to long between meals but other than that I need to eat by the clock, basically every two hours. Head hunger or what I would more describe as cravings, I will get sometimes and I know when I will have them; when I haven't eaten enough Protein for my main meals or when I'm bored / sad / happy i.e exactly the same as before surgery. The big difference from before is that I can handle them in a sensible way now. If I crave something, I will have it...BUT in moderation! Late night in front of TV I might crave chocolate; one small piece and then I'm happy. Before surgery I would finish off a whole bar and then go onto something else and then on.. The sleeve is "forcing" me to have a natural relationship food and I love it! I Im at goal weight since about 2-3 months and very comfortable in my maintaining at the moment Best wishes and good luck on your journey!

I told my Manager and my direct report, other than that everbody else was just notified that I was signed off sick at the time. After loosing the weight I have told some other people as well, the ones who have been genuinly happy for me and asking questions about how I've been doing it. I have no problems talking about my solution, as I know for a fact I would never have done this without the surgery. Good luck and best wishes!

I haven't felt real hunger at all since my surgery (which was 10 months ago). However I do feel my blood-sugar dropping if I miss a meal. To avoid this, I try to make sure to eat every 2 hours as I was instructed. For me, it's more a case of eating by the clock rather than my body telling me. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack is my plan every day and it works fine for me. I'm at goal weight now and have managed fo find the balance of not loosing any more and not gaining again. But hunger? Nope.....

Now, take a deep breath and then start calculating how many weeks it has taken you to pile the weight on? Two weeks? Most surely not....so the weight WILL come off, but it will come off in a time which your body and mind can handle it! Deep breath and relax is my only advice. It took me 7 months to reach goal-weight, but considering it took me 20 years to put it on - I'm happy! :-) Good luck and best wishes!

I was told to cover my scars with surgical tape when I went to Thailand just a month after my surgery. I used skin coloured tape (which has more sun protection than white) and my scars are looking fine now (7 months post surgery). Good luck and best wishes!

Yep, my husband has never dealt with overweight and therefore does not understand the problems related to it. His comment when I said I was having surgery was "I don't understand the problem, you just have to eat less!" Yeah, stupid me - for not thinking about that solution earlier... :-S Anyway, we went away for a weekend and I tried to explain the complex psycial and psochological issues behind being obese and even if I didn't get his support and fully understanding, I told him I was having the surgery for me, with or without his support. I told him that this was an investment I was about to make in myself, just as well as he might spend money on a new car or computer - this was my present to myself for my 40th birthday. Today he is happy with the change I've made and can say that it seems like I picked a good surgeons office (based on the follow-up program) but I don't think he still fully understand WHY I had to do this.... :-)

Hi Lola, I really don't want to step on your toes or minimize your concerns, so please take whatever I write with the best intentions. At 16 you still have the opportunity to make life changes and stick to them, it won't be easy but you still have the psycial and mental ability to do it! Also, your body isn't fully grown yet and still develping, which is why this is your absolute best time to make these changes. You will need the support of your doctor, personal trainer and dietician and of course your family and friends, You need to brake bad habits and create new, good, ones which you hopefully will be able to carry with you for the rest of your life! I wish that I hade done the necessary changes and had the full support of my family to do so when I was 16. If I had, I most certainly hope I hadn't had to have this surgery at all, 24 years later. The surgery isn't a quick fix and it is for life, it imposes and forces changes on us that I'm convinced you, at your age, can do on your own! I wish you the best of luck with the weightloss and I hope so much that you find the right way to do - without surgery at this stage!

I'm about 7 months out and for the first 2-3 months I eye-measured amounts on the plate, but ususally got a signal before it was empty - a hic-up! I can eat slightly more now but still get the same signal from my sleeve; a hic-up which sort of puts the lid on! I can eat one or more two bites after that, but then I will start to feel sickly so I've learnt not to push it after the "lid is on" :-)

This has been aired a lot of times on this forum;people who have just had surgery and a couple of days or weeks out stall in weightloss, IT'S NORMAL! Take a deep breath and please reflect on how long it's taken us all to pile the weight on?! It's not realistic and / or healthy to think it's ALL going to fall off in three weeks! You've put your body through major surgery and it needs time to recover. Please be kind to yourself and your body and give it the time it needs! Stick to your dietary plan and the weight will come off, hopefully in a healthy way and in a pace that you can mentally handle. Best wishes and good luck!

I was sleeved on 1st November 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden and this is my experience of my new life; I was completely freaked out with the whole surgery business, convinced I wasn't going to survive the actual surgery. I did of course and even though the the first couple of weeks post-op where tough (getting used to my new life and new way of eating) I felt great from day 1. The clinic and staff where great and I felt so professionally taken care of all through the surgery and after care. My surgeons clinic offers a dietary plan which is extemely flexible and non-strict (if I compare to what I read a lot of you other people on this forum get); basically I was told to never, ever think I'm on a diet again! No more calorie counting, no more diet-products and just to focus on quality food with lots of Protein. I was adviced to eat 3 main meals and 3 Snacks per day and that means i'm now eating approx every 2 hours throughout the day. I don't count calories and today I have a relaxed relationship with food and eating! (first time in over 20 years!) I told some of my friends and co-workers beforehand, but as time has gone by I've told more people. If they ask about my weigh-loss I have no problems telling them about my tool. The only two people I have decided to keep out of this, are my two daughters (7 and 9 years old). The reason being I do not want to pass on my own messed up relationship with food and weight to them. I told them a "white lie" that I was having my gallbladder taken out and since they have seen me everyday the weight-loss has not been a big thing for them. May 1st I will be 6 months out of surgery and the day before yesterday I hit BMI 25 (also for the first time in over 20 years) - an amazing and hard to believe feeling for me! Mentally I'm still not quite there; I never saw myself as obese (which I was) and I cannot see myself as normal weight today either - I'm counting on time to fix this issue. I feel I have about 5-6 kg left until I've reached goal and then starts my next challenge - to maintain! I'n now going to a gym once to twice a week and I do it only to get stronger and feel better, this is also a new experience for me. Previously when I have forced myself to exercise it has only been with the aim to loose weight - now I don't have to worry about that! This is a mental change in me which has made all the difference, I actually really enjoy the exercise today! So, for me the decision to have the sleeve is absolutely the best thing I have ever (apart from having my daughters of course) done for myself! I hope all you people out there who are at the beginning of your journey to have a relaxed and happy trip on your way to your new life! If anyone has any questions - fire ahead! Best wishes and good luck to you all! Love my new stomach and my new life!

You've just put your body through major surgery, it will be in shock at this stage and need the time to heal. Take a deep breath, put the scale away (seriously, stepping onto the scale every day will only add frustration because at some point you WILL most likely stall - that's normal!), stick to your surgeons dietary plan and the weight will come off. And the best part; once it's off it will not come back again! I'm six months out and I know first couple of weeks can be both hard and frustrating, but please take the advice from others and try to relax about the process. It took us all a while to pile the weight on, it will take some time to take it off as well. Best wishes and good luck!

At 9 days out of surgery all you need to focus on is to stay hydrated. Relax about the protein until you can add mushie food later on. If your body reacts to protein drinks, then stay away from them for a while. The most important thing is to get drinks and energy in to stay hydrated, water, juice, soups etc. Best wishes and good luck!

Your body is in shock after surgery and is now trying to heal, give it a chance to do so and keep following your guidelines. You are only 2,5 weeks out and have lost 17 lbs, so celebrate those lost and be confident that you will loose more once your body has "forgiven" you for putting it through surgery. :-)

Where are you going to have the surgery done? Living (and having been sleeved) in Sweden I can only speak for this country specifically but I can assure you that we have a fairly big selection of protein products. You can get them in normal grocery stores, pharmacies and health stores, so not a problem really. For the mushie stage I was adviced to eat things like cottage cheese, scrambled eggs etc so all things found in the stores. Best wishes and good luck with your surgery!

Guidelines are guidelines in my world. It's impossible to say a specific number of calories per day which will work for everyone. Woman / Man, sitting at desk all day/moving about in job, exercise or not, current weight? These are all things which will affect the amount of energy each individual will need on top of the basic calories needed (to keep your heart beating, breath etc - just sleeping requires 2 cals per minute! :-) ) I don't count calories at all since my surgery and have been regularly loosing the weight, other people need to have the calorie control for it to work I'm sure. However, if I where you I would try to eat more (healthy choices) to up the energy going into your body - what's the worst that can happen? Try it for a couple of weeks and see what if anything happens. Good luck and best wishes!

I'm with most people above; you need to increase your calorie intake. You're male and you are working out 5 times a week, around 1000 calories isn't enough. Speak to a nutritionist to get some guidance, but my guess is you need to get to at least 1800-2000. Best wishes and good luck!

You are only 3 weeks out and still healing, your body is in recovery so don't be so hard on yourself regarding the weightloss. It will come as long as you stick to the plan. My guidelines are 3 meals and 3 "snacks", so to eat 6 times per day. I was told that with the small amount of food we are able to eat each time the only way to get the necessary nutrion I have to eat approx every 2 hours. I know every surgeon gives different guidelines, so I can only tell you what I was given. Focus on getting your Water in and at meals focus on Proteins. My "snacks" usually consists of cottage cheese, ham, egg and other Protein rich stuff. Protein will keep you satisfied for longer. Good luck and best wishes!

My nutrionist never mentioned and cals, quite the opposite, she said; "from now on you don't diet, you don't count calories and you stay away from light/diet-products!" What I relief that was for me to hear! :-) So, I refuse to count calories and stick to simple eating plan of high quality foods; 3 main meals and 2-3 Snacks per day. At every meal I try to stick to 50% Protein, 30% vegetables and 20% carbs, I eat the Proteins first, then vegatables and lastly carbs. This usually means I'm full before I can finish the carbs. :-)

About 3 month out now and no regrets so far. The only thing I might regret is not being able to treat my body right from the start, if I had stuck to a sensible diet 20 years ago and managed to find the joy in exercise back then I wouldn't have have had to have the surgery. After 20 years of yo-yo dieting and feeling miserable about myself I realised I needed a psysical tool to help me keep the weight off, hence the sleeve! Anyone needs to find his/her own decision about having surgery, it's not one to take easy. Once it's taken it is for life. For me it feels like the start of a great life ahead! Best wishes and good luck in making your decision.

Please get in contact with your surgeon asap, if you at 3 weeks out are not able to keep any fluids you will quickly dehydrate. It doesn't sound right to me and I hope you get some help from your surgeons office. Good luck and best wishes!

As they are so generous with "good" advice, maybe you should return the favour? You know; tell them how to dress, how to style their hair, how to do their job, how to raise their children etc. Maybe that will get the message through? Best wishes and good luck!

I think it is important to remember that the different post-op diets we are given for the first 4-6 weeks are NOT aimed at loosing weight, their sole puropse is the allow the stomach to heal and to give it a smooth start again after the surgery. You will gain weight from the IV fluids, some bodies will be in chock after surgery and therefore hold on to weight or even gain. In a perfect world, none of us would step onto the scales at all for the first 4-5 weeks, so much stress would be avoided. :-) The weight will come off, give it time and stick to your doctors plan to let your stomach and the rest of your body catch up. Best wishes and good luck!

My husband (not being overweight himself) was not fully supportive of my surgery ("just eat less and exercise more!) but still hasn't been actively unsupportive as your husband seems to be. Your husbands behaviour says more about his own self-esteem and feelings concering his own weight than it does about his feelings about you! When I go through rough Patches in my relationship I try to remind myself that "ALL I can take responsibility for is my own life and my childrens life!" I.e. I'm the only one who can take responsibility of and be in charge of how I feel and how I react to situations. I cannot in any way or in any given situation be responsible for how my husband react or feel. Weight loss surgery is a lot of times called the "divorce-surgery", because it is quite common that relationships take a blow when one of the parties goes through such a big change, If the relationship isn't healthy and stable to start with there is a big chance it will end in such a process. I'm not saying yours will, but I would encourage you to focus on what is important right now: your own recovery and your own health! If your husband doesn't want to be part of that or doesn't have the ability to support you - then you are worth so much more! My very best wishes to you in your recovery and in your new life!