Miriam

Funny, because when I came in for my first doctor's / NUT's appointment pre-op, I was told to write down my goal weight (which is higher than my current goal weight - let's see if I can make it there) and was told by the NUT that that was unrealistic because statistically, VSG patients only lose around 75% of their overweight. Well - who cares about statistics??? I care about my body and will do whatever I can to reach MY personal goal - at the goal my NUT mentioned based on statistics (!), I would be around a size 12, and I'd like to hope that I can do better than that (obviously not right away but eventually). Of course, if I do end up a size 12 I won't be too upset - it's still way better than a 24, but the bottom line is that it's my body and I have to feel comfortable with it, not my NUT. So same goes for you in the opposite direction - you do what feels right for you, not what your NUT or surgeon thinks...

As others have said, if we could have lost all that weight and kept it off just by dieting, we would have done so previously... I, for one, had basically given up on dieting before making the decision to undergo surgery. I had already come to the conclusion that it was hopeless because even at my most motivated, when I lost 40 lbs. over half a year with a really intense low-carb diet and major exercising, I not only couldn't get beyond that, but couldn't even keep that weight off for long - eventually I gained it all back and then some, as I'm sure just about everyone on this forum experienced time and again pre-op. I had no doubts at all that surgery was my last hope. The only time that doubts emerged was actually AFTER the surgery, when I was trying to deal with all the pain and thinking to myself that I should have just dieted - that would have been much easier. But even then I knew that that was stupid, because there's no way I could have done it. Now, around 7 weeks post-op, I can say with even greater certainty that this sleeve has changed and saved my life.

Like cookie, I was allowed soft foods (fish, chicken, Pasta, etc.) in weeks 3-4 and full solids from week 5 and on. That worked fine for me. In addition, my doctor also told me at the 2 week visit that I could lift anything under 20 lbs. or so. But you know what? I couldn't and told him so! Even a tiny bit of lifting caused me terrible pain, and that lasted till about week 6 (even now, week 7, some lifting is beyond me). So doctors are not always right ... As for soda, is he serious??? Everything I've read suggests that soda will stretch the sleeve - why would anyone want to risk that?

My NUT also told me it was okay to have drinks with sugar (without going overboard, of course) during the liquid phase, and I saw that that a few cups of tea with a teaspoon or two of sugar, or a few cups of hot cocoa a day really made a difference in my energy levels. I was getting in so few calories that I figured that the sugar wouldn't make a difference in the weight loss, and I was right - both my doctor and NUT said that the amount I lost was well above average for someone my size. So I would give that some serious consideration, and yes, also the mushies as others have recommended (I was already eating mushies in my second week, as per my NUT's recommendation, with soft foods in my third week). Here's hoping that you feel MUCH better soon!

Hey, I was sleeved exactly a month before you (Feb 29) and went through the EXACT same thing. I was actually surprised by how hard it hit me because I thought that I'd prepared really well (read books on the subject, gone to forums such as this one, etc.). But I think that for all of us, food has been such a major part of our life for so long that it would be strange not to mourn. At this point, this issue doesn't bother me at all - on the contrary, my appetite is actually smaller than it was a few weeks ago, I think. So don't worry - this is absolutely normal and will pass.

Glad to hear that there's been an improvement - I think that while most of us are taking baby steps in our recovery, you're taking extra-extra-extra-small baby steps. But I have no doubt that you WILL eventually catch up to the rest of us - it may just be a longer journey than most...

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. But from what I've read, some sleeves do take more time to heal than others. So it may be that in a couple of weeks or a month from now, you will be able to hold down meat. Don't give up!

Yeah, four weeks out and still weak - some days better and some days worse. But if you've lost 25kg in 3 weeks - that's an awful lot and probably one of the reasons for your weakness. But the longer I am after surgery, the better I feel overall, so don't worry - there is hope!

I do both office work and teaching - was back to very part-time office work (as in four hours a day instead of nine or ten) ten days after surgery, and back to teaching two weeks post-op (which was too soon - should have taken off at least another half a week). Even now (four weeks post-op) a full day of teaching or office work is a bit of a strain. But because my energy levels are down, once I get home I'm pretty much wiped out and don't do much of anything. So I can certainly understand where you're at. Is it possible for you to ease into work part time for a week or two before going back to full time work? For me that was a very good solution, but since I'm my own boss, I could do that :-)

Hey, I had my surgery on the same day as you! (but no hernia repair) I think my sleeve is pretty restrictive, too (I can still only eat about 1 tablespoon of food a meal, 4 times a day (my nut wants 5), but nothing like yours. I did throw up a lot in the beginning, but once my nut taught me how to eat (not sure why they couldn't do that before I left the hospital - had to wait till my 2 1/2 week appointment for that), I've mostly managed to eat without problems. The funny thing is that although I was never much into fish (at some point I wouldn't touch most types of fish), that's about all I eat nowadays! For some reason, meatballs are just not sitting well with me, and chicken tastes too bland. (I used to eat 2 chicken / turkey / meat meals a day before my sleeve!) But other than that, doing fine. So I'm glad to hear they found the problem and doing better. Good luck with your weight loss!

Yeah, I feel the same way, especially after reading posts by people who are barely losing or who are stalled forever. I know it can happen at any point, but as long at the scale keeps moving downwards and I'm feeling good, I'm not going to run to change anything. Well, I wish you a continued and continual terrific weight loss!

Close to four weeks. And you?

Wow! Your story is really inspirational - congratulations!

I'm pretty much the same. I do get head hunger, but actual hunger, not at all. And yeah, the tiny amounts of food I eat are ridiculous. I generally have to remind myself that it's time to eat - something that's NEVER happened to me in the past! My NUT wanted me to eat 5 times a day, but I just can't get in more than 4 of those small meals a day. But so long as I'm feeling OK and losing, I'm not going to complain. I must admit that being a food lover, sometimes I do miss the experience of eating. But no regrets whatsoever.

I have to admit that I don't have this issue at all. I know that as a high-volume eater, I used to eat a lot more than any of my other family members (and sometimes more than all of them combined!), so there's no reason their eating should bother me. I just make jokes about how many leftovers there are nowadays with me pretty much out of the picture (quite true, it's ridiculous how much food I used to consume).

Thanks so much for this inspirational update! As a new sleever, this really strengthened my belief that I'll be experiencing at least some of the same soon...

I find that warm liquids go down much more easily than cold. Chicken broth, clear onion soup, tea, and even hot cocoa (I'm barely getting in any calories anyway so the little bit of extra calories and sugar from the hot cocoa doesn't concern me). I actually drink almost no plain water whatsoever - my sleeve definitely doesn't like cold water (at least not yet) and other temperatures don't appeal to me right now either.

Amazing! My beginning weight is pretty similar to what yours was, and I'm only an inch shorter than you, so your achievement is especially inspiring for me. Of course, being less than 3 weeks out, I still have a LONG way to go, but at least I know that there's a chance I can get there. Congrats and good luck with all your health issues!

Thanks for posting this - really fascinating! I'm definitely low on energy with the amount of calories I'm eating and would like to increase, but of course am not going to overeat my sleeve (when I do that accidentally, I just throw it all up anyway, so couldn't even if I wanted to). In the meantime, I figure that I'll do whatever light exercise I can and enjoy the weight loss as it comes.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one - I was beginning to get a little worried that this wasn't normal! Big sigh of relief here.

Wow - I'm in my third week post-op and can't even imagine eating 1,200 calories a day - at the moment I'm not managing more than around 400 calories which I know is too little, but just can't do more. Are you actually managing to eat a whole egg per meal?

I know just how you feel - I think it's very normal to mourn because hey, we're all here because of love of food, and suddenly we can't indulge that love any more. I'm in my 3rd week post-op and have up days and down days - some days the sight of food does nothing for me, other days I really, really, really want to eat all the good food that everyone else is having. But I'm going to keep battling the head hunger - good luck to you doing the same!

I absolutely adore Callanetics (and no, that's not a mispelling) - it's lovely to do (really!) and it takes off inches like no other exercise I've ever tried. I haven't done it yet post-op (I'm in my third week and my body's not yet ready for it, but I look forward to starting it again soon.)

Not a mom but I'm still pretty weak and tired in my 3rd week post-op. After a few hours of office work, I'm just exhausted. Obviously (as you can see from the varied responses), every person responds to the surgery differently. But if I were you, I would arrange for some full-time help for at least the first week after surgery, if not longer.

The main reason she gave me was that she didn't want patients to get too used to liquids and get into the habit of not eating real food. I tried to explain to her that I'm already eating soft foods with great enjoyment and have no intention of going back to liquids - I like food too much for that! I just want it as a supplement so I can get it more protein. And believe me that I'm not getting in anywhere near enough calories at this point, so that's certainly not an issue. Unfortunately, she was more interested in her own agenda than in listening to me... I'm not the type to just ignore directions but in this case, I think it's justified. Anyway, thanks very much for your input - much appreciated!