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I just had my one year surgery anniversary yesterday, and had my one year post op check up today. I didn't quite hit the 100 lb lost mark that I wanted to, but I can NOT complain one bit! I've lost 97 pounds, and 12 inches off my waist, 11 inches off my hips, can't even believe it!! Now unto my real question, I'm not really sure how much is a normal amount for most people to be eating at each meal at this point? I know everyone is going to be a little different. Has anyone had experienced old habits coming back? I've been stalled for the last few months I feel like, going up & down the same 3-4 lbs. and just can not break that 100 lbs mark! I know I need to give myself a swift kick in the rear to get back into working out more regularly again, and really need to get back to tracking what I'm eating. What motivates you to get back on track when/if you've gotten off track? Just really curious where others are at that are at 1 year (or more) post op!

Hello, I recently came down with a bad cold (congested and very sore throat/bad cough). I am a little over 2 months out from having been sleeved. Just wondering if anyone knows what is safe to take as far as cold medicines go? I'm assuming maybe a children's cough syrup, but not sure.

I just called my bariatric nurse line and verified with them what I can take. There's nothing I can't really take, but have to be careful with anti-inflammatory medicine and I might be extra sensitive to the sugar and alcohol in some of the cough medicines, but was told to dilute it. Thanks for the suggestions =)

That does help, it's just hard to know what is safe to take with such a small stomach, because I know ibprofen is out. There's a lot of crud going around my son's school right now, so I'm just praying it doesn't turn into the flu. That's my biggest fear, having to throw up and damaging my stomach. (knock on wood, I haven't had any sleeve related issues with that). Thanks for the tip with the Mucinex, might be having to make a run to Walgreens or CVS!

I feel the same way. I'm now down 46 lbs and my clothes are getting loose on me, but some people lose 20 or 30 lbs and are down a couple sizes. It's weird how we can all be so different. I would imagine you might be closer then you think to being down a size. I have a friend that was sleeved a year ago, and I remember her telling me at one of her appts, a few months post op, one of the bariatric nurses asked her "why are you wearing clothes that are 2 sizes to big?" She didn't think she was down any sizes yet either, but she was. I think we have a harder time seeing/feeling the changes in ourselves, we're just so used to being overweight. Congrats on your 43 lbs, that's awesome! The smaller clothing sizes will come soon =)

I was told by my bariatric nurse that the number of grams of protein you need in a day depends on how tall you are (i.e. 64 inches tall = 64 grams of protein a day). I know all doctors are different though. If I remember right, the reason you need protein is to help keep your muscles when you're losing weight, so you lose more of the fat instead of the muscles. I to am struggling with getting in all my protein in each day. I have to find a protein shake I like again, I can't stand any of the ones I drank on the pre-op diet, because there's no way I can get in the proper amount of protein with food, since I can only eat so much right now (I'm 6 weeks out now).

I'm 6 weeks out too, and down 41 pounds now, but have not gone down a size in clothes yet, they're getting loser, so it's getting close. But how amazing for you to be down so many sizes, that's awesome!! I feel your pain with the boobs though. I'm a 46DDD and I'm praying to get to a full C or even a D when I'm done losing weight. It is a pain to have such large breasts, not all it's cracked up to be sometimes. I say give yourself some more time, they're starting to "shrink" a little I'm sure, if your band size went down. Just give it some time. Congratulations on the weight loss so far though and the sizes you've gone down!

OK, jennrus - sounds like a deal! My goal will be to get in my 64oz. of liquid in, and to get more protein in! (I have been doing terrible at getting in even 50g a day and I need to be at 64 g, minimum). So, back on the wagon, lets check in tomorrow!!

I've been doing the same thing this weekend. I'm only about 6 weeks post op, had my 1 month follow up last week with nurse & NUT. The nutritionist didn't really tell me there was anything I couldn't eat at this point, other then no hard, crunchy taco shells, chips, etc. So, I've been doing things I know I should NOT be doing. Snacking on things here & there in between meals, like crackers, made some banana bread today, tried a little of that, etc. I'm wondering if I'm one of those people I've read about on the boards here that have the "sleeve of steel", where nothing you eat seems to bother your sleeve. While it is nice that I haven't had anything yet that's made me sick, or feel like I'm gonna be sick, I almost wish I would be more bothered so I'd stop doing things I know are bad habits, and just stupid, after everything I've gone through to get to the point I"m at now, and it's only the beginning of my post-op life. So, I totally understand about old habits coming back, guess it's time to just get back on track!

I haven't experienced the sleeve being sensitive, but the first period I got after surgery, it was heavier and longer then usual, but it was my first period post birth control pills, since I had to stop taking them before surgery. Now I'm waiting to get my next period so I can get back on my pills and hopefully have a more regulated cycle again. I know for me that every since I gained a lot of weight (back when I was about 15 years old), my cycle was not regular anymore and was always super heavy and lasted 7 days. So I think as we lose weight, our bodies are trying to get back to a more "normal" cycle, so it might be all over the place for a while.

I didn't have my first BM until about 1 week or so post op, once I started drinking "full liquids" and not just clear. But I do have to say, I read somewhere on a different thread here, someone joke about "sharts", or to never trust a fart, it made me chuckle at the time or sounds gross, but it's no joke! Be careful, and never assume it's just gas! lol Sorry if that's too gross for anyone. Also, I had my first post op appt one week after surgery, it was scheduled before I left the hospital. My next appt is tomorrow for my 1 month post op appt.

So I was was sleeved on Oct 2, and I'm now on the "soft foods" stage, have been for a week or more now. I'm having a hard time getting into a daily routine of what to eat, when to eat, etc. and getting in all my liquids still each day. I'm not sure how many grams of Protein I should get in each day at this stage, but I do have my 1 month post op appt with nurse & NUT on Tuesday. I would just like to know exactly what I can eat that's considered "soft" vs. the "Easy to chew" stage, which isn't for another month according to my binder of information I was given. They have a basic list of foods in there, but I need more variety. This weekend I've tried eating 2 tortilla chips with plain (non chunky) salsa on it, I chewed them really well and seemed to go down fine, I also ate a few cashews (I just couldn't resist, dang it!), they tasted SO good, and I again chewed them really well, and didn't seem to bother me. Did I do something terribly wrong?? Like I said, I just have been feeling so lost and want to be "normal" again (or whatever my new normal will eventually be). I know it's a process, but it's such a challenge, more then I think I imagined. I haven't lost my desire for things like others have talked about, and I just keep waiting(and hoping) for that day to come, but no such luck yet. I haven't been able to even attempt to have a Protein shake since surgery, because I was so sick of them on the pre-op. Any help/ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

TakeCareGirl - that's so nice to "meet" someone else who had that same surgeon and only a week ahead of me! How has everything been going for you? What are you doing for exercise? I know I was eating things I shouldn't, and I do need to stay strong, it was a moment of weakness (not making excuses). I know better then to eat stuff like that because I certainly don't want to do any damage. Like I said, I was/am just feeling a little lost in the process, but trying to push things along isn't going to help me any either. I tried eating tuna salad and egg salad, but neither of them went down really well. I did have salmon the other night for dinner, and that was super delicious! I guess I just struggle with getting the routine down at work, etc. Anyway, thank you for the advice, I will get my act together!

Glad I'm not alone in my feelings, I was sleeved 10/2 and feel the same way. One question, what does ppi mean? I do pretty well with my liquids, but somedays I only get in about half of what I need to. I know for hunger and cravings it doesn't make any difference if I get in all my liquids or not though. I have a friend that had the surgery done a year ago, and she used to LOVE sweets, especially cake. Now she says she could care less, and things she used to love are actually too sweet for her. I haven't gotten to a point yet where I could even try to eat that kind of stuff, but I sure do crave it, and a lot of other things I used to love to eat. I knew this wasn't going to be a "magic" fix, but from what I read on here, I sure hoped I'd have less of the cravings and hunger then I do.

I was sleeved on Oct 2, so I'm just over 3 weeks out now, almost 4. I have now been able to be on the puree stage for a week now, and able to move to the soft foods stage tomorrow. The good: Surgery went great, no complications. I've physically healed really well. Another good, I'm now almost down 40 lbs! (15 lbs of that was on the 2 week pre-op liquid diet, the rest is post op). I am starting to see a difference in the way my clothes fit, they're finally starting to get a little loose on me. The bad: I work hard at getting in my liquids everyday, but I still struggle with that. I do have a little more energy (which is good), but it's not as much as others seem to have experienced early on. I do know everyone is different though. The other "bad" part for me, I struggle with what to eat, I just want to be at the "normal" stage. I'm starting to notice the difference of the full feeling when I do eat, but I don't have the "not hungry" feeling like others talk about. In my mind, I'm still "normal" like I was pre-op, but I know that physically I am not. I struggle with having patience with myself on this journey and remembering this is only the very beginning. The ugly: I would say the emotional/mental side of this journey is ugly. I don't think I could've ever prepared myself for how I would feel post op. I struggle when the people around me can be "normal" and eat normal meals, etc. I would kill (not literally...lol) for some crunchy or soft shell tacos, or for a piece of pizza, or a burger. I know that eventually I should be able to have those things, it will just be smaller amounts. Last night we went out with some friends for dinner (first dinner our since surgery). Our friends all know about my surgery, and they picked a restaurant where I could at least have Soup. (I had french onion by the way, just ate the broth, and man was it good!). However, it was difficult sitting at the table, watching everyone being able to order a drink (alcohol), and eat appetizers like spinach dip and chips, and then having their meals of Pasta or burgers and even one really good looking salad. I know if I could've handled all that kind of stuff in a "normal" fashion before, I wouldn't have been in a position where I needed the surgery. I know this gets better (or so I'm told from those that are much further out then I am), and I will adjust and it takes time. But, that is my "ugly" frustrating part that I'm at right now. Just had to vent, thanks for "listening".

I would say it's normal to be able to eat more at 6 months out then you could within a few weeks or a month or 2 post op. I'm only 3 weeks post op, so I don't have much "experience" yet, but I do have a very good friend that was sleeved 1 year ago now, and I know she commented that she has to be careful and really pay attention to when that full signal hits. When she feels satisfied she stops, even if she thinks she could eat a little more, because she's worried about reversing everything and stretching her stomach out again, because I've read/heard that can happen if you're not careful. We'll always have to be careful of that, the sleeve is just a "tool" not a "quick fix" or anything, we will always still have to do the work (exercise, eat right, etc) BUT, if I remember right, what my dr told me is that when you're first sleeved, the new stomach is about the size of a pencil (right after surgery), but over time (not sure how much time), as you heal and eat normal, the "final normal size" of the stomach should be about the size of a medium banana and the normal portion of food at meals will be about 1 cup maybe 1 1/2 cups. I was also told just the 3 regular meals a day and no snacking, other then maybe milk or a protein shake, or your other liquids. Since we can't drink with meals, we have to be sure to get in our right amount of liquids in between the meals. I may be telling you things you already know, but that's my 2 cents! lol

The buffalo chicken one sounds AWESOME! I used to make a Franks Red Hot Buffalo Chicken blue cheese dip, and that sounds like it would taste pretty close to that. I'm def. gonna have to make that! Thanks for the recipes!

I've only noticed in my face a little bit so far, but I notice my clothes are starting to fit a little better too, but I don't see that I really look thinner yet, but it's still early, it will take a while to see it myself, after so many years of being overweight.

My husband has been doing his best at being supportive, but he just doesn't think sometimes, so I "kindly" remind him

I'm having cravings too! It's so hard to know what's "head hunger" and what's real hunger. My stomach sure feels like I'm hungry. I had surgery on 10/2 and I'm still on "full liquids", been on them for 2 weeks! Tomorrow I get to have puree food for a week. It's really hard to avoid cravings when I have a husband & son who still need to eat, but they've been eating some of my favorites, like pizza (from my favorite take out place too)! I know this is only temporary and in another 2 months, I'll be able to start eating "regular" foods again, it just seems like such a LONG time from now. Anyone that dares to ever say WLS is taking the "easy way out" can take a hike!! lol

Well, from what I understand, they've been doing the "sleeve" procedure for a LONG time but not for weight loss, it was for patients that had stomach cancer, and/or bad stomach ulcers, and I'm not sure at what point they started doing it as a procedure strictly for weight loss, but from what I understand they haven't been tracking it for research purposes until the last 5 years. It takes that long to see how successful people really are with it, and what makes it successful, etc. I know my bariatric nurse that I saw after surgery (she has the sleeve as well), told me that she had a "dumping" incident, and it surprised me because one of the "pros" to the sleeve vs. the rny is that we weren't supposed to get that, but now after paying attention to sleeve patients for research, they find it can happen. So, I don't know if I"m just rambling, or making any sense at all, but I think they try and keep some of it the same as far as diet goes because they are learning new things all the time I'm sure. We as sleeve patients of course have to be careful what we eat for sure for the first 6 weeks and some times longer because of the risk of leaks.

I agree, it's crazy how many different plans there are depending on who the surgeon is. Some people go home from the hospital eating puree food or some I've seen say they're eating "soft foods", I was on clear liquids until my 1 week post op follow up appt, then I could go on "full liquids" for 2 weeks, (which is up this weekend). I've never been told anything about tomato based products either. One of the recipes in my binder of info is for ground turkey pureed up with chunk free spaghetti sauce, or chicken breast pureed up with bbq sauce. I guess we just all need to follow what our own surgeon says and have to have the faith that they know what they're doing! lol

Well, I'm only 3 weeks post op right now, so I'm not even on puree foods yet. I can say that it's hard right now, not just diving into to a large pizza right now because I still feel "normal", I haven't gotten a true feel for my new stomach yet, etc. This is such an emotional/mental roller coaster, and I"m not sure if it will ever completely go away. I would say I'm probably a food addict, and the hard part about that is food is always going to be around, can't ever completely avoid it. My advice would be to remember where you were when you started this journey, and look at how far you've come. 127lbs lost, that's amazing!!! There isn't anything that's worth risking being back to where you started. That's a lot of hard work you've done to get to where you are, be proud of yourself, and keep going!! You can do this, struggles happen, life happens, but that's our challenge on this journey, to find healthy ways to deal with those things. Congrats on the amazing weight loss so far, and good luck as you continue the journey!!!

Everyone is so different, I think some of it depends on how much you need to lose total (how overweight you are at the start). I lost about 15 lbs on my 10 day liquid only diet, and I was about 150 lbs. overweight. I think the average is between 10-15lbs, but like I said, I think it partly depends on how much you have to lose to begin with.

Ditto to what others have said, take your pain meds, and as much as it might hurt or be uncomfortable, be sure to get up and walk around a little bit every hour or so if you can. It will help you later. Also, my stomach muscles hurt quite a bit (of course), and I thought the heating pad was the answer, but at my 1 week follow up appt. the nurse told me to use a cold pack as it would help reduce the swelling/inflammation, which is why my stomach muscles were hurting. Not sure if heat or cold is the answer for hip/back pain, but just keep moving as best you can every so often, the rest of the time, take your meds and rest up!