SMO

I picked up some roasted edamame. It has the texture of peanuts (sort of). A handful is a wonderful snack. Lots of protein.

I had surgery in order to avoid diabetes. My A1c had been climbing for a couple of years to a high of 6.7. I changed my eating habits and was able to get it down to 6.2 before surgery. I was sleeved February 4 and have lost 55 pounds (pre and post). My most recent labs show my A1c at 5.5. I am thrilled. I still have almost 70 pounds to lose but I feel like I have conquered the main enemy. So happy.

Are you getting in some sodium? It is hard to hold any fluids when you are dehydrated unless you also have some electrolytes. Water and protein drinks will not give you sufficient sodium.

That will be awesome, John. The doctor had started me on metformin but it caused my liver function tests to go wacky so I begged him to let me stop and promised dietary changes and WLS. He let me stop taking it and I kept my word. It appears that the sleeve is working for both of us. I hope you conquer that last .2 percent so you can leave that medicine behind forever.

I am nearly 18 weeks out. I don't burp all the time anymore. That ended after 12 weeks or so but my stomach continues to gurgle whenever I eat. I don't see it as anything to be alarmed about.

I can totally relate to the "one extra bite" thing. Usually, I just feel full when I am done. After 3 or 4 ounces, I feel like I ate a holiday dinner. But once, I was eating refried beans at a restaurant and I took that one bite too many because they were soooooooo good and BAM! Nausea, sweating, sliming. I was afraid I was going to have to bolt for the bathroom. I sat still and continued to breathe. After a minute or so, it passed, but it was a close thing. I am going to be wary of those beans in the future.

Also, you have permanently lost the part of your stomach that does most iron absorption so you may not be able to get enough from supplements. I could not effectively absorb iron through my stomach pre-surgery and have had several iron drips over the years. Don't be afraid of that if your doctor recommends it. You just sit in a recliner for a couple of hours with an IV and you are good to go. None of the risks associated with blood products.

That is where my gas migrated. Right to my forearms. They swelled up like sausages and hurt. It lasted about 3 days. When the pain got bad, I held them above my head for a bit and tried to keep them propped up above my heart.

I absolutely think that you don't want to put anything new in until the old comes out. That is how I know I am constipated. A constant feeling of fullness. I almost get nauseous when I try to eat or drink.

I refuse to eat any low fat cheese other than ricotta and mozzarella. I also refuse to eat margarine. I eat butter and olive oil. I just don't eat much. I eat nuts and avocados. I am eating almost no carbs. And absolutely no sugar and a gal has to eat something.

If your number one goal is just to lose weight as fast as possible without regard to consequences you are being a bit short sighted. If you are doing this for health and you accept the weight loss that comes along with it, learning to pay attention to your body and it's needs along the way, you will be much happier, I think, with the results. I am 5'2". My HW was 257 about 18 months ago. When I decided to pursue WLS, I began changing some eating habits. My SW on February 4 was 241. Today I am 202. I have lost 55 pounds and I still have 70 to go. Since you really cannot fully control how fast you lose, my advice would be to keep an open mind, concentrate on good overall health habits and avoid the pitfall of disappointment if it all doesn't go the way you planned.

My husband is 6'1" and weighs 185. If he doesn't eat 4000 calories a day, he drops weight. He is perfectly healthy and is living, breathing proof that life is totally unfair! I am fascinated to watch someone blessed to have that metabolism. I don't resent him. It is such a true struggle for him to eat enough that sometimes I even feel the tiniest bit sorry for him. But only a teeny tiny bit.

I try to eat 5 times a day. Breakfast at about 7am, a snack at about 10am, lunch about noon, another snack at about 3pm and dinner about 6pm. I don't always get it in for one reason or another, but I cannot get sufficient protein in without the snacks.

Don't look at it as 64 ounces. Look at it as 1 ounce every 15 minutes as long as you are awake. Get a one ounce medicine cup or a shot glass and make that your mission for the day. Nothing is as important as staying hydrated right now.

The vast majority of people have uneventful surgeries. I did. You will get through the next few days and in a couple of months, won't remember the discomfort except vaguely. Just stay positive and be excited about the new you coming soon! I an 4 months out and down from 257 to 202. ( that includes pre-surgery loss). I feel awesome and I am not hungry. This was the smartest thing I ever did.

I was off the CPAP at 8 days. It started waking me up blowing air with too much force. Maybe you need to see if you need a lower level now.

Hourglass, thank you for getting it.

How wonderful, Kramer! That is huge. I hope your daughter has a beautiful wedding.

I was so sick of liquids at that stage. I cried and shook my fist at the unfairness of not being able to chew anything. I think this is normal and something you will get through more quickly than you can imagine. Good luck to you.

Perhaps I am a little emotional myself. I took the original post as blanket criticism of the rest of us who are fat because we cannot control our fork and the poster's dislike of being lumped in with the rest of us since she is different. It is entirely possible she did not mean it that way. I had a hard day and I perceived that everyone I dealt with was trying to pick a fight with me. Hmmm. I may be PMSing. Someone pass over that unwanted Milkyway.......

Hi, my name is Sandy and I got fat because I ate a whole bunch of truly delicious food over an obscene number of years. I ate whole pizzas and multiple tacos and butter, cheese and cream. I ate loaves of bread and pasta with cream sauce and steaks with butter. I ate pies and cakes and cookies. I ate everything I wanted anytime I wanted to. And all my friends said, "we don't know why you are fat, you hardly eat anything". What a load of crap. I can see now that I was eating huge amounts of food. And I was eating all the wrong food. I had a good run, but it had to end and I had the sleeve so I could not be tempted to go back. I really think that people who say they are not fat by their own hand are in denial. Denial will never make a problem go away.

An update: I was sleeved 2/4/13. HW. 257 (18 months ago) SW. 241 CW. 202 I have had a remarkably easy time of this. The first couple of weeks were very hard, but I have had no issues with vomiting. I am losing about 2 pounds a week and have lost nearly 40% of my excess weight. I am down from a size 24 to a 16. This was the smartest thing I ever decided to do.

I am 15 weeks out and I can eat a crispy taco, minus lettuce. I cannot eat flour tortillas at all. Very painful. I agree that the side of beans would be best or as Laura says -- eat whatever is on the inside -- except lettuce if it bothers you. I was not cleared to eat raw veggies at 5 weeks out.

I was allowed to add raw fruits and veggies, including salad, to my menu at 12 weeks. Lettuce is the only food, so far, that has made me want to vomit. I cannot eat it. I can eat raw fruits and all other veggies I have tried but lettuce is not my friend. Bread rice and pasta have also been voted off the island. So there is balance in the universe.

You are losing nearly a pound a day. What does he expect of you? I would ask for some clarification. And then, I confess, I would keep drinking the protein shakes. I am 15 weeks out and I have lost 55 pounds total, 39 since surgery and my doctor told me I am right on target.