newat52

Sugar alcohols will do it, and not in a good way. That being said, I have a confession to make. A few years back while I still was still working, I used to keep a jar of jelly Beans on my desk. This one man that worked in the office was not only a jerk but pretty much cleaned out my jar each week. I enjoyed people helping them selves but most people would take a few but this guy would take huge handfuls and put some in his shirt pocket for later.I let him know one time that he was welcome to bring in a bag every once in a while to fill the kitty. He looked at me and said "why would I do that when you will do it?" Wrong thing to say to me. Next day, I went and bought 3 bags of the sugarfree jelly belly beans. It says on the bag not to eat more than a few because of the of the high content of sugar alcohols in them. He was all over them by 9am. I made sure I got up and left my desk area when I saw him coming. The warning on the bag is true. That's all I'm saying. To add to my delight, I let him know after the fact that those were sugarfree. He never ate another one of my jellybeans.

Did you see the post a while back where a poster said that a woman from her support group gained all her weight back in 6 months because she used a straw? Seriously. It was the funniest thing I have ever read on here! Um....no I'm pretty darn sure something else was going in her mouth besides a straw!

Don't let your sleeve change your life, let it make it better! I am 3 months out and go to happy hour and meet friends for lunch and dinner often. I just make smart choices, I order a glass of wine or ice tea if it's lunch and just sip. food is actually easier than I thought it would be, no one is really worrying about what you are or are not eating or drinking. I will order off the appetizer menu or if it's dinner will get a healthy entree and enjoy it for a few days with the leftovers. I have found I enjoy socializing even more now because all the guess work is gone. No more voices in my head asking myself am I being good today or am I eating crap? No question anymore. Doesn't even bother me to have the tortilla chips right in front of me on the table. I can have a few but I just choose not to. It's so freakin awesome now! Go forth and happy hour it up!

Giving up the carbonation was not as hard as I feared. Pellegrino Water and diet pepsi are my exes. We have been broken up now for over 4 months and don't look back. Caffeine, whoa! That was going to be a whole new problem. Me and my morning coffee, well, as Forest Gump would say, we go together like pea and carrots. 2 cups. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I took it slow. Caffeine withdrawl headaches are the worst. 2 days of caffeinated for the first cup and half caff for the second. 2 days of regular for the first cup and decaf for the second. Then 2 days of half caff for the first and decaf for the second then decaf from then out. About 2 weeks after surgery, would have a cup of decaf but could only drink a bit of it. 3 weeks was cleared for caffeine so started a few days of half caff and worked up to it. Now I'm back to 1-2 cups of regular coffee. If you have a coffee system that lets you do the pods, it will be worth it to get a couple boxes of half caff and decaf to save the sanity.

I went on a trip exactly 6 weeks post op and was just released to normal foods. It was a bit scary because I didn't really want to be trying new foods if some of them didn't sit well. Turns out I was way over thinking it. For dinners, I would order fish and steamed veggies, lunches I got sandwiches and ate the meat and cheese. I did take some Protein shakes with me and some nectar powder to make sure I got my protein in. It was easier than I thought it would be. Who knew healthy choices have been around us all this time? Good luck and have fun!

This is one of those things that vary from surgeon to surgeon and NUT to NUT. Sleeve patients are told everything from you can never, ever drink again to 4 weeks post op. My surgeon and NUT said 6 weeks then we were released from all food restrictions. Only thing my surgeon and NUT say forever banned is carbonation and frozen margaritas. Margaritas because of the sugar content. Carbonation is another thing that varies, some say never some say a few months. I have been drinking red wine since 6 weeks. It must be accounted for in my daily eating plan so I only have a glass or two on the weekends. The first few sips I feel but then after that its just like it was prior to surgery. Some people say it really effects them, others, not so much. I would tell you talk with your NUT and make your own decision. However, should you choose to have a drink of something, I would highly recommend you try it at home first since it may affect you differently. You may get tipsy very quickly or it may go right through you. It may not affect you any differently. Lots of people say it effects them differently. Let your common sense prevail when choosing or not choosing to partake.

Hey all the cool kids, B) What' up and what's going on this Father's day weekend? What are we making dad grill? In celebration of Father's day, I am having the hubster old grill up some bacon wrapped Omaha filet mignons. With some steamed broccoli. I will eat about an oz and a half of it and be a happy camper. Going to open a good bottle of Cab and spend the afternoon floating in the pool! :) Oh, and thanks for all the smiles and laughs this week, it's been a fun one on the VST!!

If it is not adversely affecting you and it is helping you get your liquids in. I say go for it. It will not stretch your tummy so no worries there. Every surgeon and NUT seem to have a different opinion on this and MANY more subjects regarding VSG. I get they are trying to make as many patients succeed as possible. That said, I think we need to do what is best for us with the advice we are given. But the reality is, they are speaking from first of all, medical fact, then medical opinion, serving the lowest common denominator and lastly, covering their as**es. I think the medical fact part is all pretty clear, the medical opinion part is why we take most of their advice, the rest is a whole other subject. That's my story and I'm stickin to it!

Don't you guys have this rather large lake up that way? Gotta resort to swimming in the quarry?

I've been using them since about 4 weeks out and should have sooner. I drink twice as much with it and it keeps me from gulping. No extra air and my stomach has not exploded. Enjoying a nice cool cucumber Water in my Tervis tumbler with a straw as I type.

I am down 1/2 to a whole depending on the shoe. I'm so upset that I have to now go out and buy new shoes! :D NOT!!!

I endorse this person for assistant table leader! B)

I was cleared at 6 weeks from both surgeon and NUT. PROVIDED you do not have issues getting all your needed water.

Are you getting enough calories per day. Could your body be in starvation mode? Have you lost inches? Just a few thoughts. Sorry you are having a rough time.

In what world did you ever think you would be proud of yourself because you actually got in 350 calories before happy hour? I'm happy for you, I know you've had rough time. Now keep it up!!

Ha! All are welcome at my house! Heck, the 5 oz filet would more than feed ALL of us! Just take a bite and pass it around! Probably be leftovers for the lunch the next day too!

You'll be fighting them off with a stick!

Duh...it makes sense now! Sometimes us older folks are not up on the abbreviations!

I am 3 months out and my surgeon and NUT say it's ok after 6 weeks. I used to have a glass or two of wine every night. Now, I have a glass or two on the weekends and only red. The first few sips, I feel but it passes after a few minutes. After that, its the same as it was before. It's different for everyone. If you have not had a drink since surgery, I would recommend you try it at home first. You don't really know if you can tolerate it or not. It may send you running to the bathroom quickly.

What the heck is an HRM I thought Don might have been using code for harem?

For me, I couldn't agree more. That is part of what got me in trouble in the second place. The first part was getting to the point where the dieting became necessary. I am done with "diets." Period. One of the things that my surgeon and NUT stress and why I thought I was a good fit with this thinking is that life is not a diet, it's a way of eating. Getting to goal in 4-6 months is NOT the goal. What happens then? I have to "transition" to the new normal. It may take longer to get to goal, or whatever my body deems goal, but I will have had 9 months, a year or whatever it is of lifestyle change under my belt, not having to start over the the dreaded transition. I don't track my food and won't unless I see bad habits sneaking in. If that happens, (I'm only 3 months out so I realize the hardest part is yet to come but so far, so good) I will track faster than you can say myfitnesspal! I don't limit my carbs. My carbs are naturally low only because of the normal eating practices of the sleeved person, Protein first, veggies/fruits second and starches and carbs last. I have not yet consumed any breads, chips, crackers, refined sugars or rice. They are out of my system and I am going to see if I can go to the end of the year before trying them. Those are the things that are a slippery slope for me. I don't crave them any longer so it's not really giving anything up. It no longer bothers me to go to a Mexican restaurant and not have chips. I won't say I'll never have them again, all I can say for now, is I'm more than happy not to have them. I enjoy wine on the weekends, only red though and only wine I enjoy and not nearly as much as pre surgery. I am not feeling like this is a diet, I feel like this is a plan I can be on board with. Down the road, my goal is to eat well 85% of the time, eat fine, 10% and eat goooood! 5%. I just know for me, I had to change, my mind had to change and I could no longer continue to lose 30 pounds every year, just to gain it back. Dieting just has to be a thing of the past for me. I know this doesn't work for everyone and my motto is: Do what works best for you! We may all be on the same journey with the same goals but everyone's path is different. Here's to us all reaching our goals, whatever path we may take!

Thanks, I really do feel great. I have to say, I have had a really, really easy time of things. From the surgery and recovery to being able to tolerate everything I have tried so far. Have not puked or had any adverse reactions.The only things I have not eaten is bread, Pasta, rice, refined sugar anything and salad. Going stay away from all that except the salad though. Better for me. Although tonight's dinner poolside is spinach salad so taking a leap. Let's hope I have not spoken too soon.

13 weeks out and feeling great! The scale this morning saw me at 169! Have not seen a 6 in the second number in, well, I can't remember when, I think the decade was the 1980's!

I know how that is. My father has always been absent. Now that he is old, he doesn't understand why his kids don't make him a priority. It's sad, but it is what it is, right?

Yo, Hathery, Fix your signature line girl, according to it, you haven't had your surgery yet!