JenWith

I am an early Phase 3 sleever and I need to return my "Clean Plate" club membership. I made myself 4 mini chicken meatballs (smaller than ping pong balls) and I chopped them up. Topped with 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a tiny pinch of mozz cheese. Cute little "casserole" and quite tasty. I left behind about a meatball and a half in my ramekin and I am FULL. Like you overate on the holidays and need to roll around on the floor for relief full. I ate slow but I missed my "WHOA! you are FULL!" signal. I kept going because there was food left. Stupid. Now I'm paying for it. It's not bad. Just tight and uncomfortable. I need to roll around on the floor. LOL. So. Who is collecting "clean plate" club memberships? I don't need mine anymore. I'm going to start learning that leaving food behind isn't a bad thing after all.

You are going to be your own worst enemy after surgery. Your head will play games with you. STAY STRONG! I will say that I struggled during my 2 week liquids phase. I wanted to EAT. Not binge but just chew something. I wanted pizza, steak, burger.... anything and everything. I wasn't hungry but just wanted to chew food. Now that I've started Phase 3 and can have soft/pureed foods - my head stopped talking to me. Just stay strong and you will make it through. Good luck!!

My surgeon told me the same thing like @@alwaysvegas because I too was worried because I wasn't feeling full. Phase 3.... That's when you will feel full for sure!

I need to start listening to myself or like @@Elode, just stop eating after a few bites. Just because I make 1/2 cup of something, doesn't mean I need to finish it. baby steps and re-learning. I get it soon enough.

@@*Lexie* Me me me!!!

Welcome! What a great start to your journey. I'm only 3 weeks post op but excited for my journey as well.

Compression binder for sure. I woke up from my sleeve surgery wearing one. Surprised the hospital didn't provide one for you. I don't think I could have moved around comfortably after surgery without it. Wore it for 9 days straight. I was only out of it when in the shower. I've been working from home for the month of November (I had my surgery on 11/5) so I've been living in yoga pants. I think now that my incisions have healed and swelling is down, I can wear jeans but I plan on wearing Spanx. Just so that the jeans don't rub. One of my incisions (the big one) is still a bit tender.

So, today I got the go ahead for Phase 3 - soft and pureed foods. I made a small can of tuna (2 ounces) with a tiny bit of mayo. I sat down at my computer to continue working and noticed that it took me well over an hour to eat an ounce of tuna. I myself need to work on eating slower since I am a very fast eater but I think I took this one a little too far. I read that eating TOO slow isn't good either. You never stop and get that "full" feeling because of the slowness and the food getting the chance to move through the sleeve while you're nursing your food for an hour. I did stop at 1 oz and put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow. Nice thing is, I'm not hungry. 1 oz of tuna with a tiny bit of mayo filled me right up. I will see how I do at dinner. I think I'm going to set a timer for myself.

Thanks all! I did much better at dinner. 25 minutes. Small plate too. And no beverage even though I really wanted some water. I think I am getting it.

@@dashofsunshine - I did that. Just make sure you thin down the beef stew puree. My first time making my beef stew puree was a little thick. Oh my sleeve told me so and quick! It was 45 minutes of pain and various other stuffs going on. Once I thinned it, I was good to go.

Ugh! I had the same pains in the hospital after my surgery. I know how you feel. They are terrible and so, so painful. Mine went away after 24 hours. I hope the pains go away for you soon.

I wore mine for 9 days. I liked it but I took it off for a shower and never put it back on. Still hanging on to it though.

I did pretty darn good! I'm 3 weeks post op (this Wednesday) and still on my liquids phase. I meet with my surgeon for my second f/u tomorrow morning and hoping for a green light to start soft/purees. Anyway - went to my cousin's son's 1st birthday party yesterday. food all over the place. I had a mini bowl of Soup. YAY ME! Cake and Desserts haunted me. I stared them down and didn't even nibble to get over the temptation. I ate my lunch before going to the party so that I was "full" and I brought a Greek yogurt with me. I had a very mini portion of soup so that I can feel like part of the gang at the table and I didn't even want my yogurt. In fact, it's still in my cousin's fridge. I forgot to grab it. Overall, I think I passed with flying colors. Bring on Thanksgiving! I can do this!!

WOW!! Congratulations!! I did zero measurements before my surgery 3 weeks ago. Now I wish I did. I went out "in public" for the first time yesterday and saw family and people I knew. Lots of "I can see it (the weight loss) in your face" and some "I can see it in your waist" so it must be coming off.

@@nprcowboy - I am 3 weeks post-op.

I made some Soup for myself this week and I ate around the noodles as best as I could. A few snuck in, I did okay with them. I didn't consume them all, of course. Left lots in my bowl but the few that I ate by mistake didn't cause me pain.

I will say from my surgeon's standpoint - yes. He would for sure cancel surgery and has done so to people the DAY OF surgery. My pre-op nurse in the hosptial confirmed that. I thought he was just blowing smoke but she confirmed what he told me. She said that she has see and heard him cancel surgery on people in the pre-op room because they didn't follow the guidelines and lose the required weight for surgery. I was very nervous because I only took off 4 pounds pre-op but he went forward with the surgery. Good luck! I hope it all works out for you!

Not really. I had my husband bring home a pizza one afternoon for lunch and I indulged and felt ill after that. I did have a steak and some ice cream but I didn't go crazy. I was too scared to gain. My 2 week pre-op diet was right around Halloween so I had free candy and chocolate in my face during this time too! I didn't lose much; 4 pounds but my surgeon was okay with that. I stuck to my 1000 calories a day as best as I could.

Awesome!!! I'm 14 days post op and 14 pounds down. I can see the loss in my face. I'm happy I took a pre-op picture in the hospital - at least of my face. Your month post op is really visible. Congratulations!

I am a scale junkie. A scale addict. I need a scale intervention. Always been that way. I don't know if I can handle only once a month but maybe just weekly.

Throw me in there too! 12 days post-op and I'm ready to CHEW. I know it's total habit and I'm trying to work through it. Certain times in the day are much harder than others. I am able to have blended soups so I'm not stuck just having Protein shakes and greek yogurt. I have my 2nd f/u appointment with my surgeon next Monday and I'm hoping he will give me the green light to move to soft/pureed foods. Fingers crossed!

I was told pretty much the same as others. If on pain meds, no driving. I wasn't feeling up to driving for about a week. My incisions were a bit tender and getting in and out from behind the steering wheel, I didn't want to deal with. I did drive myself to my first follow up doc appointment with un-tied sneakers. You forget how much you bend to do things when you really can't.

My surgeon would not do the procedure if i was still smoking so I quit in late June with the help of Chantix and I didn't look back. I didn't gain and had my ups and downs with quitting but totally happy about my decision. So is my wallet. Had my surgery a little over a week ago and down 13 pounds since surgery day. So worth quitting. My little or is happy her Mama quit smoking too and she likes to tell me so. . Good luck!!