FrankyG

I don't know why the doctors don't warn every patient about this... Fat stores hormones. When you start dropping fat, the hormones are flushed back into your bloodstream. So you can experience SEVERE mood swings, crying jags, anger, depression and elation. And this can go on for as long as you are actively losing weight... so over a year or two - until your weight stabilizes and your hormone dumps get processed and normal production resumes. Warn your family/friends that you may have a hair trigger because of this (if you feel like it may be an issue) and be prepared to do some serious self monitoring when you feel angry/irritated/depressed and remind yourself that it is likely hormone related, and give yourself permission to take a time out to deal with the feelings and do some self care if necessary.

Almost all the points mentioned above are temporary effects. Your stomach size is permanently reduced, but it is very, very easy to "eat around the sleeve" by consuming high fat/carb foods, drinking while eating, eating "slider" foods (foods that liquefy like most breads, chips, ice cream, etc... and are easy to overeat since they take up no real volume in the stomach and slide through quickly, so you never feel full). My doctor emphasized that anyone will lose weight for the first year or so after surgery, even eating total crap and going through the drive through every night. But those people will slowly stall out, and then start gaining within a year or so and likely blame their sleeve for failing when it's really their own fault. The sleeve just levels the playing field for those of us that needed the help to do the hard work of relearning how to eat and get active. It won't carry you if you continue to make poor decisions after the honeymoon period is over. While the feelings of hunger can disappear for some time, they do come back. It is hoped that if/when that happens, you know how to differentiate between head hunger and actual hunger, and you've learned how to eat healthy, whole foods by that point. The reason that VGS works is that you get about 1 year (can be up to 18 months) called the "honeymoon" sometimes, where you have both the restriction of the smaller stomach AND a lessening of the ravenous hunger that sometimes happens when a person tends towards binge eating. The quick dropping of a large amount of weight is so encouraging, most folks get really excited and that makes them work harder to preserve their success. Since you have to let your stomach heal in the first few months, you're on a reduced diet plan of high Protein, low carb foods, and as you add back in real food, you're encouraged to make better choices overall since you have so little room, and to choose healthy/whole foods instead of packaged crap and fast food garbage. It takes some time to throw out bad habits and relearn good ones, but the truly successful ones do this. Working with a counselor if you had issues with food (binge eating/overeating/food disorders in general) and working with a nutritionist to learn exactly what foods you should be eating, tracking every bite of food/drink and learning how to read nutrition labels and what daily macros you actually need, and using the new reduced stomach size to make sure you're learning proper portion sizes... along with increasing exercise/activity... that's how you achieve long term success. Skip any of those steps, and you're likely going to fail. But if you figure this stuff out during the "honeymoon" period, then in addition to losing a large amount of weight, you'll have the blueprints to KEEP the weight off for the rest of your life.

Creamed spinach is SUPER high in fat, so I would think even if you were cleared for spinach, you shouldn't eat that since it could make you very sick. Super high fat/high carb foods tend to give sleeve patients diarrhea and/or stomach upset. And since it isn't considered healthy either, you might want to consider not eating it unless it's a very special occasion. I make my spinach with a dab of real butter, and garlic (either minced in olive oil or garlic powder) and salt and pepper to taste.

Are you on any sort of stomach acid reducer? Many times the feelings of acid reflux/heartburn will "read" as hunger after surgery. I was on a PPI (Omeprazole which is the generic for Prilosec) for about 6 months after surgery, and still take an antacid occasionally 2 years out. And sipping flavored Water (I am addicted to no cal fruit punch) is really helpful to get in fluids and fill you up as well. Otherwise I'd suggest speaking with your Nutritionist/doctor about calorie levels and types of food and find out if you're doing okay or may be okay to up your calories at some point.

The reason they don't want you to drink during and for a minimum of 30 minutes after eating is so you don't end up washing through all the food you consumed too fast. If you drink while eating, you'll end up able to eat more since you're washing food through your stomach at a faster pace than if it had little extra moisture and was having to break down the (hopefully) dense Proteins and complex carbs without liquids (relying on stomach acids to do the hard work). If you drink right after or within a half hour or so, it has the same effect as drinking while eating; it breaks down the food faster since it's basically just turning the stomach contents into a slurry instead of letting the stomach do the work. The no drinking rule is both to help you feel full longer, and to prevent you from overeating. So yes, it's for life, unless you want to start regaining weight.

You're still filled with fluids from surgery - you likely gained several pounds just from that. The only thing you should be concerned about is healing and getting in Water and any liquid nourishment you're able to tolerate. Weight gain/loss is meaningless right now. Stay off the scale for at least the next few weeks unless you can accept that your body's priority right now is healing and that may mean lots of changes in weight - fluctuations up and down are really and truly pointless to worry about until later.

Well, I wouldn't say so since they're still roughage even if they are cooked. 4 weeks is still healing, so avoid anything that is on the no list no matter how it is prepared. Sticking with the diet plan your doctor gave you for the stage you're at is always the best advice. If any food/drink is in doubt, ask your doctor.

Just in case it wasn't clear: ONE-derland means you've reached a weight that begins with the number ONE... like 199 pounds.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but is it possible that the F in that class is a mistake? I can't help but think that it may be, and it surely wouldn't hurt to ask at this point. If someone was doing the grading by hand, it would be VERY easy to get things muddled if there were lots of students needing grading... So sorry no matter how it shakes out because it sucks to get a awful surprise/disappointment like that.

1. Veggies like okra, cabbage and broccoli/cauliflower. They all have carbs, but they also have Fiber and the carbs are good carbs. 2. Brown rice. I eat that pretty often with my 3rd choice... 3. Beans. I love kidney and pinto, but my current favorite are black beans. LOVE making a black bean and brown rice skillet - cook up brown rice in the microwave first so it tender (approximately 2-3 cups). In a large skillet, add in things like onion, broccoli/cauliflower, red/green peppers and whatever other veggies I have on hand that sound good and add about a half cup of chicken broth* and cook veggies until tender. Add in rice and 1-2 cans of rinsed black beans (I buy organic black beans for like 65¢ at Aldi), about 1-2 cups of chicken broth and spices like garlic, curry or sriracha sauce (and salt and pepper). Bring to a low simmer and stir until all liquid has been absorbed. Top with shredded cheese (I like extra sharp cheddar or pepper jack). YUM. And really cheap and fast too if I do it with the frozen precut veggie bags. * I make my own chicken/turkey/pork broths. I cook drumsticks and pork roasts in the crockpot about 3 times a month, and end up adding Water to the bones/spices and letting it simmer overnight after the meat itself is done. I even saved and broke down the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving and made a boatload of beautiful turkey broth. Once done (I like to simmer the bones/carcass/skin and bits of meat for a minimum of 8 hours), I cool, strain, and freeze in quart containers. It is way tastier, better for you, and less sodium than any canned stuff, but I have occasionally used canned low sodium broth when making lots of dishes and running out of the good stuff.

Whether you get stretch marks at all depends more on genetics and the rate you gained/lost the weight (slow gain/loss allows your skin more time to adjust, thus less chance of stretch marks and saggy skin happening). It also will depend on age too, since the younger you are, the better chance your skin may bounce back without too much damage. You can't get rid of or prevent stretch marks by using a lotion. If you stretched your skin too much too fast during weight gain, stretch marks will occur. They eventually fade so they aren't as noticeable, but no cream or topical ointment will remove/prevent them; these things only lessen the appearance temporarily. Do agree that keeping your skin hydrated is good for reducing the overall appearance of skin issues like stretch marks or saggy skin, but any decent lotion can do that if you're using it regularly.

Hormones will make you crazy. The hormones stored in fat flush out into your bloodstream and cause you to feel out of control sometimes. Depressed (serious deep depression), anger, bouts of crying and instant irritation (short fuse syndrome) are all possible, for as long as you are losing weight. Would have liked to know before for this and alert close family that sometimes I might blow up or start crying and might need to excuse myself (or ask for help). That the surgery is not the magic bullet you think it is. There is real work involved and it's not just healing from surgery - you have to use the honeymoon time to throw out ALL of your bad eating habits and learn what it means to eat healthy, whole foods. If you don't do this, you will lapse back into eating the old way, and likely regain most of the weight you lose in the first year or two. The surgery does help to reduce your portions permanently, but it mainly is a tool that helps you to lose a large amount of weight and reduce hunger and give you a fighting chance to replace the unhealthy eating habits. This is the most important part of this whole thing - and they just don't emphasize this enough from what I've read over the last couple of years. It is REALLY easy to eat around a sleeve if you go back to crap foods (high carb, fat, calorie foods). How important it is to face up to your unhealthy food issues/relationship (binging, eating for comfort, using it as an emotional crutch, whatever). And find healthy non-food ways to reward, comfort, deal with stress. It has been HARD realizing how much I used food for so many things beside basic nourishment.

I LOVE yoga. It's going to work all over, but many poses work your core (especially some in the sun salutation) and it's easy to learn. It will help build balance and basic muscle tone too. I found classes for free at my local library, but there are so many yoga places that allow drop-ins that you're bound to find something reasonable in your area. Look for beginner classes and go try some out.

I stopped mine around 4 months. The doc told me to make sure to not eat at least 2 hours before bedtime and to try chewables for relieving any daytime discomfort. I've also been more aware of certain foods that kick up reflux/heartburn. Mostly citrus for me, not spicy (thank goodness!) One of the big reasons the doc told me he wanted the PPIs for short term use only is the recent studies showing an Alzheimer's link and also kidney issues when taken long term.

35 pounds in 3 months is WONDERFUL. You should be very, very proud of that. I never EVER lost over 10 pounds a month consistently, and I imagine it is the same for you, so it is a great job there! Please don't feel so discouraged. Your body is going to lose weight exactly as fast as it wants and comparing yourself to others' loss or some arbitrary number you or even your doctor decided is no realistic. As long as you're doing things correctly - getting in your Protein, calories, Water, and moderate movement/exercise - then you're going to be fine. I also suggest you take a tape measure and check things like arms, waist and hips. The scale can't tell when you're losing fat and gaining muscle, and muscle is much leaner and less bulky than fat, so you may be exchanging fat for muscle and not seeing movement on the scale, but still making good progress. If your clothes are fitting differently, that is a great sign, but measurements are much more encouraging when the numbers on the scale aren't moving fast enough. Finally, slow loss isn't the end of the world. I was a slower loser and while I am seeing the hangy skin (darn it), it's not as bad as I would have expected since I lost slower and allowed my skin more time to adjust. The only things I'd suggest is watching things like hummus and other high fat foods. At this point for you, you should be optimizing everything you eat towards protein and then if there is any bit of room after eating your protein portion, eat high Fiber veggies. Small amounts of fat are good, but they shouldn't be the main part of your meal. And also, don't continue to eat over several hours and add larger portions because you can eat them if you take longer, that is eating around your sleeve's restriction. Meal time should be about 15-20 minutes total, and once you've eaten something like 3 ounces of protein and if there is room after consuming all the protein, go for 1-2 ounce of veggies, but stop if you get any type of full sign (mine is burping. Sigh). And no drinking for 30 minutes after eating (and no drinking during eating either - washes food down faster). If you need a snack in a few hours, then have a cheese stick or small yogurt, but don't eat more just because you can.