Grandma

Just remember that while 250 cc's is only 8 ounces of food, the act of chewing can reduce 8 ounces down to 2 or 3 ounces. So effectively, if we're not careful a person can eat a lot of food. Imagine a cup of say, macaroni and cheese - chewing reduces what goes into your stomach to 2-3 ounces (if we're chewing our food to mush like we've been told) - you could eat 1000 calories of mac & cheese pretty quickly. Remember Plication is simply a tool - we must all watch what we eat, chew slowly and enjoy each bite, eat quality high Protein foods first - they are slower to digest and keep us full longer. And stay well hydrated - this is to key to preventing long stalls and keeping the weight coming off.

Hi all, I had an incident that I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced. I haven't vomited at all since my surgery (7 weeks) but last night I had a chocolate Sundae from Sonic. I couldn't finish it and immediately after eating it, I hurt (I guess I ate too much) then as I was getting ready for bed, it all came back up. Ice cream should go down pretty well, even with possible overeating - I'm wondering if it was all the sugar that my body isn't used to. Has anyone else had this type of reaction to excessive sugar? A small treat went very wrong... :-(

Needless to say, I'll be very careful how much sugary treats I eat from now on. Ice cream was the only thing that came back up but other things I've had problems with are rice (I think it just takes too long to digest and makes me feel like I have a lump in my stomach), popcorn (I love it but I can only eat a cup or so), anything whipped (like whipped cream, marshmallows, even the Protein shakes made in a blender) - I think they just have too much air and it sits above my stomach and makes me feel bloated. I've also experienced the first stall, sort of. I was at the same weight for a couple of weeks, then all of a sudden 4.5 pounds came off. It's strange how this happens, I've seen posts from others who've experienced this. Weird.

Hi all, Glad to have found this forum prior to my Plication which will be done on Monday, July 25th in Dalton GA. Dr. Ponce at the Gastric Band Institute will be perfoming the surgery and I'm excited to start my journey. After much research on WLS's, I decided on the Plication for all the same reasons ya'll probably did - no staples, no implants, less risk of corrosion and leaks, and minimal food restrictions post-op. I'm a little discouraged to read some of the posts about slow weight loss and long stalls but everyone is still showing losses, even at 2-3 lbs a week, it's better than I can do right now. Anyway, glad to meet everyone and I look forward to reading about all your successes and struggles - and sharing some of my own. Grandma Age 52 Weight Loss Goal - 130 pounds.

Hi all! It's been 4 weeks since surgery and I am still doing well. I'm back on a mostly normal diet and haven't found anything yet that has given me problems. I have had a couple incidents where I ate too fast, didn't chew thoroughly, or ate too much and I felt totally miserable for about an hour afterward!! I've learned not to do that! I am also having a hard time learning NOT to drink anything with meals and for an hour afterward, that is a difficult habit to break. I go back to Chattanooga this week for my 4 week check-up and hopefully I'll get fully released from all restrictions... Oh, and I lost another 2 lbs this week!! Still on track!

And now three weeks have come and gone and I'm ready for a more normal diet. I actually cooked a nice Sunday dinner yesterday with Ribs, Fried Potatoes & Onions, Baked Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and a salad. I fixed my plate with literally two small bites of everything except the ribs - I had about 3 ounces of meat on my plate. I was able to eat it all, very slowly, chewing everything to mush - it was about a cup of food total - and I felt full, very full and satisfied without feeling overly stuffed. I can eat this way for the rest of my life I think. For the person who was asking, I went to Dr. Ponce in Chattanooga (Surger Center in Dalton, Ga) and the cost was $9600 plus the $250 consultation fee. Worth every penny to me. So - lost another 4 pounds this week - for a total of 14 since surgery and 21 total. I'll take it!

Actually this is good news for those of us who have chosen some type of bariatric surgery! It says that we have chosen to lose weight the most effective way for the severely obese - we are on the right track and WE WILL SUCCEED!!

Excellent!! You're doing great!

Hi all! Week 2 has come and gone, my how time flies. I have lost another 4 pounds this week and did well on full liquids. I've found that I'm getting full with 6-8 ounces of liquid/soup/yogurt. I bought a VitaMix and have been puree'ing lots of things to get my nutrients and trying to maintain about 1000 calories. I've heard that the trick to avoiding long stalls is to stay hydrated (64 ounces of water) and get 900-1200 calories every day... so far this is working for me although it is sometimes hard to get it all in. I started taking a chewable multi-Vitamin and walking 30 minutes a day this week - I feel like an old lady when I'm finished but I'm hoping it gets easier. It seems silly to walk 30 minutes just to come home and take a nap :-) but I'll keep at it. Also this week, I went to my Primary Care Physician to look at my incisions - they were itching and burning like crazy and I was afraid they were getting infected. He gave me 7 days worth of antibiotics and took a blood test. They look much better after 3 days and are not itching as much. So on to week 3 - finally get to eat semi-normal foods (soft, easy to chew, mashable), had a scrambled egg this morning for breakfast! Yummy.

The first week has come and gone with very few issues. I didn't start to get hungry until Day 5 but I stuck with the Clear Liquids until my follow-up with Dr. Ponce yesterday. I must say, clear liquids were easy the first couple of days, but by the end of the week I was sick of Jello, popcycles, juice, and broth. So now it's on to full liquids! Yogurt, milk, pudding, puree'd Soups - Yippee! 8/1/11 -6 lbs this week!

Thanks all for the well wishes and thoughts. It's done! I didn't chicken out! The surgery went well. They talked about the nausea so much before the surgery that I was a little scared. I HATE, HATE, HATE being nauseous. But I wasn't nauseous at all - not at all! The nurses were amazed that I did so well - they said they wished all their patients came through so well. The surgery was completed by 11am and I was released from the Surgery Center by 2:30 and back at my hotel. Today is Post-op day 2 and I am home and feeling fine. Other than some pains from the Gas - which for some reason landed in my shoulders and upper back - I am feeling quite normal. liquids are going down well and I don't feel hungry yet. So on to the journey - here's my stats: 284 - Starting Weight 274 - Pre Surgery (lost 10 lbs on pre-surgery diet) 44 - BMI From what I see on the posts, most folks are losing 7-10 pounds a month, so I'll make that my goal and see how it goes.