McButterpants

Nate - welcome! I commend you for taking this step - I wish you good things! I'm going to address the next 2-3 months before surgery - this is a great time to prep for your surgery, recovery and life after surgery. Take advantage of this time and the words of wisdom headed your way from other members. Here are some things I did to prepare for surgery - I had a month to do these things and they helped me greatly. * Start walking/exercising. Do something to move your body every day. Being in good physical shape with help you recover easier and quicker. * Start incorporating a shake or two in your diet every day. Play around with different flavors and textures - add some sugar free Torani syrup or some berries, try different temperatures - iced, cold, hot. Find a shake you like (don't overpurchase, your tastes may change after surgery and you don't want a lot of something you're not going to drink) * Practice eating slower and without distractions. Turn off the TV, radio and don't read during your meal. Sit down and taste your food. Pay attention to how your body feels as your stomach starts to fill up. I downloaded an app called Eat Slower and set it to one minute intervals - it will chime when it's time to take a bite. * Practice taking smaller bites - I started using small appetizer size forks and spoons. And chew your food 20-25 times per bite. These are things you'll need to do post-op and it takes practice. * Start limiting your Snacks and soda/caffeine. My doc required me to to be caffeine free before surgery - caffeine withdrawal sucks. Best of luck to you, Nate. I look forward to reading more about your journey! Take good care.

I didn't feel "full" until I was eating food and a few weeks after surgery. Full feels different now for me than it did pre-surgery. I try not to get to full because it's uncomfortable - my goal is more about making the hunger go away. You have to be aware of your signals while you're getting to full - sometimes my nose will start to run, sometimes I do a hiccup/burp thing, and other times I feel a poke in my stomach. Those are my triggers to stop. If I take even a couple of bites after that, I'm full and uncomfortable. When you start adding foods to your diet, you need to weigh/measure your food. When you eat, take your time (I downloaded an app called Eat Slower - it chimes once per minute and that's when you take a bite), eating slower will help you be more aware of your body and it's signals.

You are an inspiration! Congrats on your surgery and I am glad it worked out OK. I look forward to watching your journey thru this. Take good care!

I am 3 months out yesterday. My life has changed in so many ways - FOR THE BETTER. Your apprehension is normal. I waffled back and forth during my waiting period and almost backed out the day before surgery and the day of surgery. I was scared to death!!!!!! If I had known then what I know now, I would have saved a lot of anxiety. First, the big meal thing...I loved to sit down to a big steak dinner with all the sides like a loaded baked potato. Give me a pizza and I was in heaven. And, I loved my sweets. Now, I can still have steak, I just eat much, much less. I might have a couple of bites of potato. I can have pizza, just not 2 or 3 large slices (my favorite pizza is one I make with a tortilla shell). Sweets - I really don't want them any more, but if I do have something, it's a couple of bites. I, like you, thought I was going to feel deprived - not so. After 3 months, I'm back to being fairly normal, can eat out at a restaurant and eat the same things my family does, just in much smaller quantities. It's not all sunshine and lollipops...I get frustrated that I can't eat faster. Sometimes my brain wants more food than my tiny tummy can handle. But, the energy I have, the pain I don't have and the increased quality of life, totally trump that other stuff. Best of luck to you!

I chose unjury and have been able to stick with it since surgery - I drink the vanilla, chocolate Spledor and strawberry.

It's counterintuitive, right? As you know, I've been working out a lot lately and I've also been in a 12 day stall...Ugh. So, I ate more (added about 250 calories more per day) and miraculously, I'm down 2 pounds in 2 days. Go figure. It is so against what we've been told for so long. And CARBS????? OMG - the "C" word. How many people are afraid of carbs?!?! We've been told for so long CARBS = BAD. Here's what I'm learning - for me 50-60 carbs per day makes me feel good. I can function quite well at that level; I'm not tired and don't need to take a nap mid-day (unless I'm being self indulgent and take one). I reduced my carbs a few weeks ago down to 20-30 and felt horrible. Yes, some carbs are bad. Complex carbs are good and you're body needs them. Is it like having a secret in your writing class??????

Are you confusing hunger with acid maybe? That happens quite ofter. There were times in the beginning I thought I was hungry, but it didn't make sense - I had just eaten or maybe I just had a shake, so I shouldn't feel hunger. You may want to talk to your doctor - he may tell you to try an acid reducer or a proton pump inhibitor. I find if I feel hunger when I don't think I should, it goes away with an acid reducer.

I can tell you I couldn't function on what you're allowed. I restricted my carbs in the beginning - on my own, not dictated by my doc/nut. I felt like crap. I had no energy. Then I started exercising and it got worse. I was down in the 20 range for carbs at that point. I burn between 500-700 calories in a 60 minute cardio work out, depending on what I'm doing. After going to my doc and explaining my situation I let her know I increased my carbs to about 50-60 and she agreed that would be good and to concentrate on the Protein. She asked how I'm getting in more carbs - I told her I was adding low-glycemic fruit to my shakes (berries or peaches) or I added 1-2 tablespoons of fat-free refried Beans to a meal and I started adding 1% milk to my shakes. She said these were great ideas. Right now, I'm taking in 800-1000 calories per day. I'm getting about 50-60 carbs per day and meeting my protein gold of 80 grams of protein. I exercise 5-6 days per week - mostly cardio right now, 60-75 minutes. I have lots of energy and I feel great. My suggestion would be to go to another bariatric nutritionist to get a 2nd opinion. I think the theories here are correct - you need more. 500 calories is not enough to sustain you.

You're still very soon after surgery - your stomach is still healing so you may not feel that "full" feeling yet. That's why it's important to follow your doc's instructions with regard to measurements of food you're allowed. My doc reminded me - "measure your food and remember, you don't always have to eat it all." Take small bites and slow down your eating (I use the Eat Slower app on my phone and set it to one minute intervals - you take one bit per minute). Also, "full" may feel differently than it did pre-op. My full feeling is very uncomfortable - I try to avoid "full". Sometimes my nose will run or I do a hiccup/burp thing while I'm eating or I feel a poke in my stomach - those are my signs to stop. If I eat past that point, I can get uncomfortable. I read something interesting on this site - rather than feeling full, it's better to eat to the point of ridding yourself of the hunger.

I will add to my post - I'm exercising on a regular basis...5-6 days per week, 60-75 minutes at the gym. Exercise is an important part of this journey to be sure. I started walking the day of surgery and haven't stopped since! Butterthebean has a great article in his signature line regarding stalls, why they happen. It's worth the read: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.Uv5a3xZCddg

You look fantastic! What a great success. Keep up the good work. Congrats!

Hi and welcome! I had a try a few shakes before I found one that I liked. Some were just plain horrible and I couldn't finish. Others I thought I could tolerate, then decided after a couple more times that it wasn't going to work. There are things you can do to change the texture and flavor - you can add some fruit (I whiz in some low glycemic berries or peaches) and you can add some sugar free syrups (I use Torani). You can try different temperatures - I will mix chocolate with some 1% milk and heat it up in the microwave (careful to not exceed the recommended temp on the label) for hot chocolate and I might even add some sugar free peppermint syrup. Or you can whiz in some ice cubes for a thicker, colder shake. One thing I would caution you on - when you do find a shake mix or drink that you like, don't over purchase. Once you have surgery, your tastes may change and that shake you loved pre-surgery makes you gag post-surgery. Best of luck to you!

I'm 13 weeks and your weight loss is similar to mine - I consider myself a slow loser, but I've come to terms with that. Comparing yourself to others will lead to unhappiness/disappointment, so I've tried to stop. I am just coming off a 12 days stall...It sucks, but it is what it is. I can't control what my body does, I can only control what I put in my mouth and moving my body. I figure my body will catch up when it's ready. I actually increased my calories by 200-250 the past few days and, surprise, stall is over. I was getting 800-900 calories per day. It could be a coincidence, but this is the 2nd time it's happened. I call it "feeding the stall". I also take my measurements - it helped with this latest stall to know that in the last month I've lost another couple of inches on my hips. Measurements will tell you you're getting smaller when the scale isn't budging. You're doing great - keep working your plan and start that shred; exercise will do your mind wonders as well. You got this!

Hi, I'm McButterpants and I'm a coffeeholic. I was self-pay, so I have a surgeon and what I call my local doc that is a bariatric surgeon that is providing my aftercare. The two are polar opposites when it came to reintroduction to food - the local doc being much more conservative than the surgeon. My surgeon required me to be caffeine free when he operated. I struggled with caffeine withdrawal, but go thru it and 2 weeks before surgery I was caffeine free. My local doc said no caffeine for 2 months, then we would address it. The reasons she gave me for no caffeine directly after surgery is the diuretic affect of the coffee, so you can get dehydrated quickly - a real issue right after surgery. Also the acid on caffeinated coffee can upset your new tummy. I honestly had one cup of real coffee per week before my two months was up - coffee helped me with some mild constipation and it always worked when other things didn't. At my two month meeting with the local doc she approved ONE cup of real coffee per day and made me pinkie promise to not go back to my old habit of 3-4 cups per day. It was a good compromise. Most days I only have one cup of real coffee. Best of luck you to you my fellow coffee-lover! Bean on.

I got dehydrated on Day 3 - I really struggled in the beginning with plain Water. It was like drinking liquid sandpaper. (Pre-surgery, I loved plain water - drank it all day with no issues.) I talked to the surgeon on Day 3 and he suggested drinking Vitamin Water Zero, Propel Zero or Powerade Zero - all zero calorie alternatives to plain water. I did Vitamin Water Zero and Propel Zero (couldn't stand the taste of the Powerade) and it helped greatly. I'm 3 months post-op and still can't do plain water, so I drink Propel Zero or water with Just Lemon or Just Orange mixed in. As far as drinking, I set the alarm on my phone to chime every 5 minutes in the beginning as a reminder to sip. In the beginning I didn't get anywhere near 64 ounces of water...I just did what I could. You'll do fine - you got this!!!!

For your job, 3 weeks is probably good. I work a desk job and telecommute full time, so I was able to rest during the day - you don't have that luxury. I was sleeved on a Thursday and worked 1/2 days the following week, again, a desk job from home. The following week I worked full days, but got tired easily - I was also walking about 30-45 minutes per day. By week 3 I was fairly normal, but got tired easily.

I have a sleeve of steel. The only thing that bothers my stomach is my bariatric Vitamins on an empty stomach. It bothered me at first that nothing bothered me. Does that make sense? I was scared that seemingly nothing is off limits for me. I would hear people say, "I can't eat steak, it upsets my stomach." Not mine. "I can't eat salad." No issues there either. "I can't tolerate sweets." Nope, no problems. It worried me because I wondered if I could control myself rather than my sleeve controlling what I put in my mouth. If I can eat anything, will I in fact, eat everything. The answer is no, I don't eat everything. The sleeve is doing it's job - it controls the amount of whatever food I'm eating and, for the most part, I've made good choices. I'm not eating crazy things or crazy amounts of things. So, while I used to be fearful of my sleeve of steel, right now, I'm thankful. I can enjoy all kinds of foods - while on vacation in San Fran last week I ate Chinese, Italian and a steak. I just didn't order my own entrée - my husband and I split every meal we ate out. It was wonderful and a little romantic.

You just had major surgery. Your body is in shock and trying to figure out what you just did to it. Perfectly normal. My suggestion is to stay off the scale for a while - let your body and new tiny tummy recover. There's not way with what you're taking in that you're gaining fat - it's not possible (a pound of fat is something like 3500 calories). You're losing inches, I guarantee. Relax, sip and walk - be gentle with your body and new tummy.

I LOL'd at that!!!!! Thanks for the laugh.

I understand your concern. Rest assured, you're going to be OK. Consider yourself lucky. I had no real issues drinking and thought, "did they really remove part of my stomach?" I felt like I should be having more issues than I was. I had no issues post-op - no nausea, very little pain, and was able to take in fluids immediately. When I started on soft foods, same thing - nothing made me feel bad and was able to eat the approved amount of food with no issues. I kept reading about the issues other people had and thought I was the weird one. I'm 3 months out today - still nothing bothers my sleeve. But I have plenty of restriction - I can still only eat 2-3 ounces at a time.

Invite me when you do it - I'll be there to cheer you on!!!!!!!!

I've been losing...A LOT. It's horrifying what's coming out of my head on a daily basis. My hairstylist says she can see new growth - I hope so because this is getting old. I haven't seen any changes in my eyebrows. Thank goodness!!!!!!!

As a testament to Motherearth's post above...I haven't lost anything since 01/31/14...that's 12 days. I will add that while on vacation for the past week, I logged 35 miles walking up and down the hills of San Francisco. I walked every day. I was sure the scale was going to tell me I'm finally in Onderland. Not so fast....I'm the same weight as when I left. What the hell????? So this afternoon, I took my measurements - I've lost another 9.75 inches since mid-January, the last time I took them. My footprint on this earth is becoming smaller, even if the scale doesn't say so; I'm taking up less space. My husband started hiding the scale from me around Week 2 - I was weighing every day, sometimes multiple times during the day. I was obsessed. Then came the dreaded stall, a week earlier than expected. It lasted two weeks. I was glad he hid it and only brought it out on Thursdays. I've asked him to do the same now - after weigh-in tomorrow, it's gone for a week.