JamieLogical

No one can be perfect all the time. All you can do is your best for THAT day. One day your best might not be so great, because of all the other factors involved. Just do the best you can and move onto the next day. Yesterday I was feeling sorry for myself because my ears are infected and hurt a lot and I wasn't able to exercise and so I had some ice cream. Oh well. One bowl of ice cream in the grand scheme of things isn't going to make much difference. All I can do is move on and do my best today.... whatever my best is considering my ears still hurt like hell. The point is, as someone else said, sometimes you just get tired of being strong and that's okay. The important thing is to not spiral downwards and let your "failure" serve as an excuse to "fail" some more!

I switched from protein shakes to bars once I was allowed solid foods. I am hesitant to drink my calories and don't find the shakes filling. If I have a bar for a meal or a snack, it makes me feel full until my next meal or snack.

Everyone loses at different paces. So it's impossible to compare one to another. If his surgeon is not distressed about his rate of loss, then that's all that really matters. I lost 11.2 pounds in my first 3 weeks. But. like I said, everyone is different. It can depend on age, gender, starting weight, how much weight was lost prior to surgery, genetics, recover time.... It really is impossible to predict. His surgeon will know best.

The shoulder pain is trapped gas. It will go away with time. Honestly, everything you describe will improve with time. The first few days are rough. There's just no way around it. Sip, sip, sip. Teeny tiny sips. Aim for one ounce of Water every 15 minutes. I found it a *little* easier to get my water in while marching in place. The good news is, everything you are experiencing will get better with time. Just hang in there and try to manage as best you can.

Stalls a re pretty normal. They are frustrating, but you have to trust in the process. Keep up with your Protein, Water, and exercise. I agree with @@beachgurl84 that you may need to work on consuming some more calories. It seems counter intuitive, but you need to convince your body that you aren't starving in order to get it to let go of the fat, so bumping you calories up by a couple hundred may be just the kick start you need to get the scale moving again. Once I was exercising 5-6 days a week, I worked hard to get up over 1000 calories a day and even added a few carbs on my workout days.

I agree with @joatsaint. If you are losing the head hunger battle, then try to eat something high Protein. Nuts usually help me cope when I feel "snacky". I don't know how far you are out from surgery, but for me the head hunger significantly diminished over time. I still get it every once in a while, but once my body and brain finally understood that I was never going to derive the same level of "satisfaction" from food as I did pre-op, the head hunger died down a lot.

This is exactly what I do. I eat 6 "meals" or Snacks a day, 2-3 hours apart and I rarely get hungry. Even a small snack like a cheese stick or an ounce of peanuts can tide me over to my next "meal".

You're caught up to me now! I fell a bit behind this week because I have ear infections. Hoping to finish my Week 6, Day 3 long run tonight!

I know exactly what you mean about the sour taste of greek yogurt, which is why I was really happy with the Dannon. It tastes more like just normal yogurt to me, but has the higher protein of greek yogurt. I've only tried the fruit flavors, not the dessert flavors, so I can't make any claims about those. I usually go for key lime, strawberry, or raspberry. A word of warning if you aren't far out from surgery, the strawberry and raspberry both have small seeds in them, which you aren't supposed to have immediately post-op.

Are you on a PPI for acid? What you describe sounds more like acid than real hunger to me.

So glad to hear you are doing well! Sounds like you've made a big improvement in your eating and it is helping you get back on track. Putting protein first really does help keep you full and energized. And like you said, if you go out or have something not-so-great for you one day, there's no reason you can't get right back on track the next day or even just the next meal!

I had a bowl of ice cream tonight! No one is perfect and if I thought I had to be perfect every day for the rest of my life, I'd completely lose it altogether! Do I want to be eating ice cream every day? Obviously not! But I if I have a bowl once in a while to stay sane, I don't see the harm in that. Feeling completely deprived all the time would just make me rebel and lash out at some point and go way off the deep end with my eating.

I'm sitting here at my desk at work with my space heater blowing right on me. I have to sit under a blanket on the couch at home. It's especially bar after I've cooled down after working out. Then I feel like a popsicle!

Ha! I can't advocate eating candy bars, but it's definitely nice to be satisfied by just the mini ones and not eating a king sized one anymore!

How long a period of time were you given to lose the weight and did you stick to the plan?

Definitely ask your surgeon about a PPI long term. Most surgeons prescribe the for at least the first couple of months post-op. Edit: As someone else on these forums often points out, you had surgery on your stomach, not your brain. So the head hunger will be a real struggle for the first little while as you adapt to your new relationship with food. It's a tough one for sure!

Family can be touchy. It really depends on the people involved. If you do decide to tell them ahead of time, the important thing is to stand your ground and don't let them try to dissuade you. You have made this choice for yourself. Try to approach it with a very positive outlook, instead of immediately being on the defensive. If you bowl them over with how happy and excited you are about this opportunity, they might not try to bring you down with their negative thoughts.

That is so amazing! Congrats!

Could also be acid. Did your surgeon put you on a PPI? I had a lot of "head hunger" in my early days post-op. I would see a commercial for pizza or something and think "man, I want that so bad!" even though I wasn't actually hungry and there is NO WAY I could have actually eaten it.

You will find thousands on this site who have lost weight with the sleeve. Now, your case is unique and there may be some issues with scar tissue from your RNY and the reversal of it that make your sleeve surgery not as straight-forward as it would be for someone who had never had RNY. I've read some accounts from people who went from lap-band to sleeve not having as much restriction because scar tissue from the band effected how small their sleeve could be and the shape of it. Sleeve definitely provides restriction. I would argue that it provides more restriction than RNY, because with RNY, your pyloric valve is bypassed, meaning food can pass straight through your stomach into your intestines. With sleeve, the pyloric valve is intact and continues working as normal and hold food inside your stomach for longer so it has proper exposure to your stomach acid to break it down before allowing it to pass into your intestine. Also, with sleeve, the fundus is removed. The fundus is the top part of your stomach that is very stretchy and stretches to accommodate more food as you eat. With RNY, the pouch that is made includes some of the fundus, so your pouch is able to stretch more as you eat than a sleeve is. The main thing you will be "losing out" on with sleeve versus RNY is malabsorption. Since none of your intestine is bypased, you will fully absorb all of the calories and nutrients from your food. Edit: In terms of diet and food consumption, the two surgeries are very similar. You will always want to put Protein first. You will eat several small "meals" and Snacks per day to get all of your protein in. You have to avoid eating and drinking at the same time. You have to avoid carbs and slider foods. You have to avoid drinking your calories. It sounds like you were doing well with that with your RNY, so there is no reason to suspect you would have any trouble once you're sleeved.

Welcome! You can have caffeine during the pre-op diet (I was allowed to at least), but not for a while post-op as your sleeve is healing up. I went ahead and quit caffeine on my pre-op, just so I wouldn't have to be dealing with the withdrawal right after surgery. I was allowed to reintroduce caffeine at 30 days post op. One cup of coffee per day with lots of milk or cream mixed in to make it easier on my stomach. Now I'm 8 months out and drinking 3 cups a day.

Yikes! My sister works in an ER and a patient once told her the same thing (sad part is, she isn't even overweight!) and I though that was terrible enough coming from a stranger. But coming from someone who is supposed to be your friend?!?! Really?

Wow! You really do look a lot alike! Both beautiful!

I'm so glad you came back here! Hopefully you will get the advice and support you need to get back on track. I find that participating in the forums provides its own kind of accountability and keeps my WLS at top-of-mind still. Posts like yours are a good reminder that this is a life-long process that requires commitment and dedication. The good news is, it's never too late to get back on track. And look at the plus side, you are still down 75 pounds from your highest weight! Think of the difference that has made to your overall health and longevity!

I prefer Dannon Light & Fit Greek. The Yoplait has that "greek yogurt" flavor and texture that I never liked when I had tried it back when greek yogurt became very popular. But the Dannon tastes more like normal yogurt to me. Plus with only 80 calories and 12 grams of protein, you really can't beat it! I am addicted to the Key Lime and Raspberry flavors., although the Raspberry only comes in a 4-pack and the lids on the 4-pack options tear really easily and I'm always fighting with them to get them open.