Ray92

Well I had a glaring problem with portion control before the sleeve. Furthermore, the surgery has completely changed my appetite. I am the hungriest in the morning. At lunch I don't feel hunger pangs and at dinner time I feel very minor hunger pangs but a lot of it also could be acid reflux. I eat my 3 meals a day and almost never snack in between because I am not hungry. My 3 meals is where my lifestyle has changed the most. The sleeve first and foremost helped me with portion control. I can eat very small amounts, get full and feel completely happy and satisfied. I have also come around to loving fruits and veggies. I have the choice to eat unhealthy stuff but it never occurs to me to make an unhealthy meal or eat an unhealthy snack. My appetite and cravings are no longer the same and I think part of it is that the surgery also motivated me to do a complete lifestyle change. Also I log everything on to myfitnesspal. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Piece of halloumi cheese light, sometimes a piece of deli meat and one clementine. Edit: I should add that this technically is my dinner which I have reduced to a snack like meal. I am currently in a place where culturally, the main hot meal with Protein is eaten around 2-3 in the afternoon as opposed to 6-7 dinner time. So for me, we have a super early "dinner" or a complete lunch and then after that, my "dinner" around 7 is a snack. Traditionally, where I am at right now dinner is supposed to be light cheese, fruits, veggies, olives ( Mediterranean middle east) because its close to bed time. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I am in my second month now and have been released to all foods except fizzy drinks. Of course when my nut said all foods she didn't mean that I should go ahead and eat whatever I want but I can eat all types of food as long as I avoid as often as possible: fried, salty, fast food, sweets etc. I have found that I have 0 restrictions. I can eat fruit, rice, bread, cheese, chips, nuts, lamb, chicken, raw vegetables, crackers etc. Now I do NOT eat chips or bread at all because I don't want to get used to them but its alarming the types of food that I can consume without pain. I kind of have an obsession about portion control. I am always worried about eating too much. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I think that it sound like you are doing great. The energy levels and meeting Protein and Water goals are very important. Definitely more important then rapid weight loss!! You and I did the surgery at the same time and I can tell you from my personal experience, I would trade 5 pounds of my weight loss right now to be able to get in more water/protein and have more energy. Unfortunately I faced a complication 2 weeks ago which eventually lead to many tests, IV fluids and general lack of energy and malnourishment. I lost 40 pounds in 5 weeks which sounds great but I wouldn't mind trading some of it in for some more energy! Thankfully I am now finally recovering from the complications and eating more but my doctor was alarmed at my weight loss. So be proud of your progress! Especially the non scale related ones! Scale is not everything as I learned from my personal experience Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I have developed a nasty case of GERD due to gastric band revision related complications and I get that feeling on occasion. It happens too close after meals so I know that it's just acid rising into my esophagus. My solution is to take Nexium 20 mg once in the morning and evening. Secondly, when I feel that way, I get a mug of hot Water, throw in a slice of lemon and drink it. It makes me feel instantly better. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I wanted to give an update on here about my personal experience with band to sleeve revision. I have been absent from the site because I have been taken ill by a complication related to the revision surgery. First 2 weeks, I was fine. Not long after I started to develop serious stomach aches, especially at nights. My situation only became worse from then. I found myself very averse to eating food and I would have gagging and wretching spells during the day but mostly early morning and late night. Obviously I became very concerned and went to see my surgeon. I had a gastography done which came back clear. I was treated for h.pylori and my symptoms did not get better. At a certain point I was so dehydrated and malnourished that I was given IV at the hospital. My bp was 80/60. So my doctor decided to do endoscopy. The endoscopy revealed as did the gastography that my sleeve was completely healed and in great condition. No ulcers, no stricture or stenosis, no leaks. The sleeve part of the surgery was a success So what has been the cause of all my woes? It turns out as the endoscopy showed that I have GERD as a result of the gastric band removal. Somehow the band created a wider opening at the end of my esophagus causing acid to make its way up and down. Added to that it spasms and contracts causing my stomach upsets. I am now taking Nexium and Zofran to control these problems. According to my doctor, I should be back to normal in 3 months but all these problems are caused by the left overs of the band. P.S. sorry if some of the details seem vague, my surgeon and surgery were done in the Middle East so a lot of the terminology I had to translate from Arabic. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I have been thinking a lot lately about all the habits in my life that in a way aided my food addiction and really bad eating habits. Now obviously the ultimate activity was eating for the joy of eating but now that I think about it, there are a lot of activities that I participate in that were in a way always affecting my eating habits. So I decided to make this post in order to list those activities and remember. In a way this is just a personal way to gauge what activities are bad for my new lifestyle as well as to keep in mind that I did pair these activities with food so that in the future when I do participate in them, I have that mental note. Can anyone else think of any activities that were partnered with excessive eating and in general a sedentary lifestyle? For me the primary ones were: 1. Video games. There were days were I would sit for HOURS and play online video games on my computer chair. In the mean time I would order large amounts of take out twice. Once for lunch, once for dinner. Sometimes I would also snack in between. Pair this with sitting in a chair all day, I started packing on pounds. 2. Same routine as video games but with TV and movies. I cannot watch TV or a movie without eating something. Popcorn, dinner, Snacks, beer, large coke. All kinds of unhealthy stuff. Now I am trying to re-train myself to not watch TV while I eat. 3. Pub crawling, going out excessively in the evenings with friends. Now this is an activity that almost everyone partakes in to some extent. Going out is just a natural social process but it was what I associated going out with which was damaging. VERY heavy drinking, decadent dinners, midnight mcdonald and snack runs. Typical college lifestyle only supercharged and would happen at least 3 times a week and included LOTS of eating. 4. I know I kind of mentioned this in my other post but drinking beer/alcohol EXTREMELY often. I lived in Montreal for a while, big drinking city, big college city. People in Montreal LOVE to drink. 2 beers with lunch, 5-7 happy hours, long nights of binge drinking. Buying packs upon packs of beer any and every time you went to a friend's house. It was very rare that there would be an occasion without drinks. As of now, after my weight loss surgery, this is something that I will hugely reform. I will not partake in 95 percent of the drinking that I used to anymore. Anyone have any they would like to share?

Wow guys these responses have been pretty great! I can relate to many of them including the ones I already mentioned. The vacation one was big for me. Whenever I went to visit mum or grandma during the holidays (away from college) I would ask for all my favourite meals. Now the home cooked meals weren't unhealthy per se but I used to eat LARGE quantities of whatever was being served. I had the ability to keep drinking beer without really taking a break. Being overweight helped in that I had a higher tolerance than the average female my age but of course beer has a lot of calories. It's good to let all these things out in order to realize what we were doing that had set us up to get that unhealthy.

I am exactly 2 weeks away from being released to all foods and I already have in mind what I would LOVE to have. I wouldn't mind a nice, big juicy... CLEMENTINE. That's right, for whatever reason, my body is seriously craving some citrus. Now I am not planning to go nuts or anything and I know that fruits have sugar etc etc but I wouldn't mind a couple of pieces. The other thing I will definitely be having is some nice Norwegian smoked salmon because I just love that stuff. I hope to god my stomach will be able to handle these two things.

Thank you for the comments guys! It was tough and because it was a vacation, there was lots of food. However I wasn't gonna pass up the opportunity to stay at a REALLY nice hotel, enjoy some pool time for a day and get my hair done and put on a party dress. I think every single one of us has the will power to get through things like this. I feel this way because coming to the decision to get the gastric sleeve takes so much will power and commitment and we wouldn't have gotten here if we didn't have it. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Quick update. Went to a doctor today who is a gastroenterologist which means he specializes in the digestive system. I had to go to him because my surgeon is in another city. He said that the anti acid I am taking is not even close to enough He prescribed me new medication that is spaced 3 times a day. He also said that reflux is a sign that the surgery is a success as this is a very natural result of the healing process Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I am just over 2 weeks post op and wasn't planning on posting this as I thought this feeling would go away but I just can't tolerate it anymore. At night before bed I get a rumbling hunger feeling in my stomach which I have attributed to acid. I go to sleep and at some point I wake up with a massive stomach ache. You know that messy feeling you get in your stomach when you eat a huge fatty meal and then go to bed? That's what it feels like. I wake up, sit up in my bed and have some Water. Eventually I go back to sleep. Once I wake up, the pain is still there. I get out of bed, go to the bathroom, have some water and take my anti acid. Eventually the pain goes away. I also constantly have a lump feeling in my throat. Anyone experience this? This happens to me every night now. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I went on a mini vacation with my family this weekend. We were going to attend a wedding and stayed at a very swanky hotel. In terms of cravings and watching others eat, it was hell. I watched them eat: A full Breakfast buffet at a 5 star hotel which served every delicious breakfast food under the sun. A juicy tenderloin steak with potatoes, beer, daquiris Then at the wedding was a full 5 star buffet, the majority being Middle Eastern. Things like Ouzi lamb and rice, meat pies, Pasta, grilled meats, hummus, salads, red velvet cake etc. Then the next day they dragged me to the newly weds lunch which was a fully catered fancy BBQ lunch. It was kebabs, ribs, lamb chops, baked potatoes, middle eastern meat pies, spring rolls, salads, hummus. All the works. And oh my the fresh bread and butter. They then proceeded to eat a billion kinds of dessert. Meanwhile I had to watch all of this go down. It was very difficult because they ate a lot of my absolute favourites but I somehow managed through all of it. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Hello all, I really would like to share my feelings about my experience so far with the gastric sleeve! Just to introduce myself, I am a 23 yr old female, 6 days since my operation. 6 years ago I did the lap band but I did not manage to lose the weight, mainly because even with the band I could still eat whatever I want with practice and eating slow. As such, after long consideration, I decided to do the gastric sleeve. I am also a very health paranoid person and go through multiple mini anxiety episodes for just about anything and everything. As such, a lot of my experience does derive from that place. So as I mentioned, I was sleeved 6 days ago. The surgery went smoothly, I passed the swallow test and after 1 day at the hospital, I was released. The first couple of days were quite painful. Even now, it is difficult for me to sit in certain positions, sleep on my side and I feel like I have done 100000 crunches. In other words, I have random aches and pains around the trunk and stomach, I feel gassy here and there but that is it. Other than the pain and discomfort, as of day 2 I started having major mind (not stomach) food cravings. I would imagine myself eating all the junk food I ate before and still desperately think about stuffing my face. However, with that being said in no way does my stomach feel hungry. In a way, I know that I am going through a weird mental food addiction phase and it is honestly bringing me down. It is making me so scared as well that it could cause me to fail the surgery once I can go back to eating solids. I am so worried that I will let myself slip and indulge on fatty foods because my mind keeps spinning the same tale of food addiction. About 4 days after I was having buyer's remorse. Today that feeling is fading away and is being replaced with anxiety about failing the surgery in the future. I don't want to go back to my old habits ever again but I am worried that my mindset is not in the right place. Did anyone go through episodes of food cravings at first? I find myself thinking about what Soups I am going to eat while knowing that I will only manage to have 2 bites. So far I have lost 13 pounds and I want to keep going. Other than massive food cravings I am going through a weird depression. I feel tired, lazy, sad, pointless etc. I am hoping those feelings pass. EDIT: I would also like to add a shoutout to my surgeon. I did it in Jordan in the Middle East. I went there for a short vacation to attend my cousin's wedding, next thing I know I was being sleeved. This guy does about 30 surgeries a day.

. Omg your not lying I'm Jamaican and Puerto Rican my family had arroz con pollo last night I was mad as hell since I'm only hitting 4 weeks out today. Middle Eastern person here. Almost all our food has some sort of rice with it. You know how in thanksgiving, people stuff the turkey with well, stuffing? We have a similar dish that is a chicken literally stuffed with rice and minced lamb. Even roasted chicken has rice with it. The most famous food of my home country? Big a** rice dish with lamb and laban. Want to eat a squash? It's stuffed with rice. The struggle is real EDIT: OH also we have these tomato sauce stews with some sort of vegetable that we eat with rice. People pile the rice, sauce and veg onto a piece of pita like they are going to town on some hummus!!!! Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk ...... Omg I know all about it my husband is Palestinian and Egyptian I haven't even gone over my in laws house since surgery cause I already know the temptation is to real lol Gotta stay strong!! I went out to dinner with my parents to a very nice place with delicious temptations, deIicious salad and fish entrees and i just had my sad sad soup. But this is just temporary!! Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Other than the really bad acid reflux which I am going to see the doctor about in my appointment in a few days, I feel pretty good. My resting heart rate is now 70. It used to be around 80-85. I used to have the band and had a revision to gastric sleeve. Whenever I used to take deep breaths, I could feel the band and it felt like a stricture. Not having it in my body feels great just because I was always aware that it was there and it was always bothering me. I huff and puff less when climbing the stairs.

Thank you for the response. I really want to take more of the PPI but this was the prescription given to me. And it said to take it in the morning. I know that my doctor prescribes more Nexium for people who suffer from severe reflux. Thankfully I have an appointment in a few days so we shall see what happens. I do hope it's just bad reflux Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

So?How'd your doc appoint go? **Grabs popcorn...err I mean glass of Water. Where you at OP? Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

. Omg your not lying I'm Jamaican and Puerto Rican my family had arroz con pollo last night I was mad as hell since I'm only hitting 4 weeks out today. Middle Eastern person here. Almost all our food has some sort of rice with it. You know how in thanksgiving, people stuff the turkey with well, stuffing? We have a similar dish that is a chicken literally stuffed with rice and minced lamb. Even roasted chicken has rice with it. The most famous food of my home country? Big a** rice dish with lamb and laban. Want to eat a squash? It's stuffed with rice. The struggle is real EDIT: OH also we have these tomato sauce stews with some sort of vegetable that we eat with rice. People pile the rice, sauce and veg onto a piece of pita like they are going to town on some hummus!!!! Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I am now 2 weeks post op and the food grieving does get better! I still think about it sometimes but not as often. It gives me great comfort to remember that this will all be over soon. As for the age thing, I am 23 and I think that doing it at this age was the best decision I have ever made. We still have years of life ahead of us and why drag along with us all that excess weight. Honestly it would be exhausting. I want to have kids one day and be able to play with them without huffing and puffing. Furthermore, our bodies now are capable of handling the excess weight because we are at our prime. Who knows what could happen 10 years from now? I definitely don't want to know. Our bodies will not rejuvenate in the future as they do now. We should actually feel extremely lucky that we had this opportunity at a young age. I am sure there are many who would have jumped at the chance to do this in their 20s if it was available. Stay strong! I just try my best to preoccupy myself with other things. I also watch a bizarre amount of dance videos on YouTube to keep my motivation up. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I struggled with the liquids too! Congratulations on passing the week mark. I found that hot tea for me is very easy to consume as a liquid. As for Water, I have brought this up in previous posts but I use a teaspoon of orange blossom water/orange flower water in my glass of water. It tastes good and its soothing to the stomach. Try out different temperatures of water. You might find that one temperature is easier to have than another. Others have mentioned using flavours for their water that were approved and suggested by the nutritionist/surgeon. I personally don't because it was not mentioned to me and I do not wish to defy the plan that was given to me. Can't help you with the Protein question unfortunately. My post op diet is a little different from the norm.

Congratulations on taking the decision to have the surgery! I am only 2 weeks out so I am feeling the effects in full force but here I am plodding on. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions, concerns or hesitations. I was very against VSG when it was first suggested to me because I was very scared. I was quickly convinced otherwise and made the decision and had it done in the span of 2 weeks! As such, I might relate to any feelings you are going through and can tell you how I dealt with them. Also everyone here is pretty helpful and pretty great so ask away if you ever need to. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Feeling the same way. Been bored out of my mind today and this thread was very very entertaining. I know I should be ashamed of myself but I just can't help it.. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Thanks. Just your average....horny, little devil. Just kidding....I'm far from little. Sheeeeeeiiiiiiiitttttttt. I should forward you the PM's the OP sent me. She was not feeling the straightforward straight shooter vibe. She was cussing me and hissing over my initial comments about her creamy bacon cheesy potato soup friendship. It's understandable, though. She's at that point a couple days prior to surgery.......all sorts of stuff must be bouncing around in her head. She'll probably chill out quite a bit in the weeks ahead. Bacon cheesy potato soup? Did I miss that comment? That sounds so decadent though.. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

@@forgetit The rumbling and grumbling is acid. It took me a few days to figure it out but you will find that it will rumble and grumble and eating something will not make it go away and you will feel too full to eat that thing anyway. I find that herbal tea and yogurt really helps with that sensation. Also people on this forum are EXTREMELY helpful, positive and supportive. I wouldn't write this place off so quickly. What you are feeling is natural, heck there are some moments in the day when I feel pretty down about not being able to eat carbs, fried food etc. But this is a choice I made and I am not going to take risks with my health which is why the surgeon's nutrition plan is essential. When I am craving sugar, in my mind I also secretly think the diet is BS but that is just a silent mini tantrum moment. The feeling passes very quickly. We are human, we get emotional and now more than ever you will feel that way. You are melting away hormones that were stored in fat and you also have to in a way, let go of a crutch or comfort if that is what food meant to you. We all have a weakness for food, this is why we are on this forum and this is why we did the surgery. It is natural to feel angry and sad in these early days but let's have a reality check moment here. The surgery is already done, its irreversible and there is no point in getting yourself worked up about it. Instead focus on the positive things. Everyday things get better and soon you will find yourself 6 months down the road and all these feelings will be a distant memory.