KnowNothing

Thank you so much for your kind words chavrzmommy! I really needed to hear that and I'll follow you recommendations. Thank you!!!

Thanks for sharing! I understand and I have overate as well. My tips are - self talk, I tell myself "stop eating, I can eat more of this during my next meal." Or "it's not worth feeling sick and guilty." Sometimes I get up after I've taken that 1 or 2 many bites, and I spit it in the trash (out of the sight of others of course). Then I put what's left on my plate I the trash or in a Tupperware container. And then I focus on after meal cleanup. I also wish there was a brain fix too!! Congrats on being so close to goal!!!

Hey chavrzmommy and all Jan 2016 sleevers! I'm struggling with emotional eating from time to time! Sometimes I just want to keep eating and eating and eating and I feel so bad that I have to throw up! I wish there was a brain surgery as well for the food insanity. I've been active but I need to start prioritizing my training more. I've been in a stall for who knows how long, but at the same time in +/- 3kg from my weight goal. I'm continuing with a lchf/keto/Banting and intermittent fasting diet. Looking forward to hear how's everyone doing and if you have any tips for me!' Cheers, Ariana

Surgery Jan 18th, 2016 Height: 159 cm = 5 ft 3 in HW: 80 Kg = 12 st 8.5 pounds = 176.4 pounds SW: 76 kg = 11 st and 13.5 pounds = 167.5 pounds CW: 58 kg = 9 st 2 pounds = 128 pounds GW: 55 kg = 8 st 9 pounds = 121 pounds Struggling with food addiction and portion control.

Hey chavezmommy! I've mentioned on my previous posts that I stop losing weight after my fifth week after surgery and I have followed a low carb, moderate Protein and high fat diet since then with great results. Sometimes I overeat and I've been fluctuating between 60 and 57kg (my goal weight is 55kg). I have incorporated since last week a juice fast of four days that led me to an over 2kg weight gain but an amazing feeling of accomplishment. I stopped the juice fast and went for a 24 hour fast of non-caloric-liquids like tea, coffee and Water. After the fast I ate a bariatric portion dinner and went back to 57.5kg again. It had taken me a lot of trials and errors to find what is best for me and definitely I believe that this lifestyle is the safest and must correct for me because it prevents me from binging and brings me towards my weight goal. I also would like to add that my blood tests looks amazing: Vitamins, minerals, etc are all great, blood sugar, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol (the bad one) are perfect, so there is no reason that I'm wrongdoing. Let me know if you want to try this! Best, Ariana

Initial weight: 80kg Weight at time of surgery: 76Kg Current weight (on Friday July 24th 2016): 57.4 Goal weight: 55kg 2.5 kilos to goal weight. Stopped losing weight after week 5 after surgery. I have kept a low carb, moderate Protein, high fat diet after that and some days fasting with great results. I have no cravings and I lost my sugar and artificial sweeteners addiction. Also I stopped all wheat and Cereal based foods and I've got a life back. No more obsessions nor addictions, nor cravings!

Congratulations Tris!!! I'm only 4 (plus minus) kilos away from my goal weight (I was a low bmi sleever) but already on the normal bmi range. Congrats again ????????????????!!!

For me the surgery only worked the first five weeks. Afterwards I've been in a lchf/Banting/ketogenic diet in order to continue losing weight. Sometimes I combine it with fasting as well. Either way, I've been in a stall for around a month, even with the diet. I believe this is a trial of body biochemistry, patience, habit forming and physical change... Nobody said it would be easy. It's been a wonderful journey! But sometimes I get a little bit annoyed, and at the same time very thankful. Good luck , Ariana

Me as well! It's horrible! I've lost a LOT and it doesn't seem to stop! Looks like I'm sick!

Hey everyone! I stopped losing weight after the fifth week of the sleeve and I don't get a fullness signal until it's too late and I'm full to my throat. Because of this I've chosen to follow a ketogenic diet (in some places also known as banting or lchf or low-carb-moderate-protein-high-fat) which has helped me with my crazy cravings for food and sweets. I also had to cut all artificial sweeteners and hopefully I can reduce dairy and nuts as I can see that they cause me trouble with the food addiction and anyway, I'm lactose intoleranse and have nut allergies, so I shouldn't been eating those anyway. Because my diet is based on fats, for sure I consume over 1,000kcal. I don't weight anything. The only thing I do is the following rule: 1. Does it look like food? 2. How much it was processed? The only processed food that I eat now are cheese, heavy cream and butter. Also high cured ham like serrano or prosciutto, chorizo and bacon. 3. Drinks: tea or coffee with heavy cream and butter. Otherwise plain water. 4. Meat: all kind. 5. Veggies covered in butter. 6. Berries (occasionally) with whip cream, obviously no sugar nor sweetness added. 7. I've been trying to fast over 12 hours and eat only 3 meals. Goals: (Height: 159cm = 5'3'') Highest weight: 80kg = 176 lbs 6oz = 12 stones 8.4 lbs Surgery weight: 76kg = 167 lbs 9oz = 11 stones 13.55lbs Current weight: 58.9kg = 130 lbs = 9 stones 3.85 lbs Goal weight: 55kg = 121 lbs 4oz = 8 stones 9 1/4 lbs Unfortunately Orange Theory is quit far for me as I live in Norway! Best, Ariana

Hey guys! First of all, thank you for your replys! I really appreciate all of them! I need some insight on how you guys are winning your weight loss battles. Statistics: · Sleeved: Jan 18th, 2016 (exactly 8 weeks tomorrow Monday) · Height: 159cm (5’3”) · Age: 37 y/o (in 6 days) · Initial weight: 76kg (167.5 lbs) · Current weight: 64.1kg (141.5 lbs) · Goal weight: 55kg (121 lbs) · Diet: 3 meals per day, not counting calories nor portions as my nutritionist mentioned to eat only 3 meals, focus on Protein and I should be eating around 1000Kcal however I’m not counting them. I’m avoiding all sweet and bread/pasta/rice carbs as I’m fully aware that I’m strongly addicted to them. · Exercise: Haven’t done anything in a week because of a knee injury and lack of discipline. Hoping to start walking again today. It was recommended to exercise 1.5 hours per day 6-7 times a week. · Water: Goal Water is 1.5L per day (6 ¼ cups) and some days I reach this goal, some others I don’t but most of the days I reach it. · Past drugs: metformin for prediabetes, telmisartan for high blood pressure and atorvastatine for cholesterol control. All drugs are gone and replaced by bariatric Vitamins, Calcium and Iron. My struggles: 1. Ear infection: of course this has nothing to do with the sleeve but I’ve been struggling with my ears for over a year. I was told that most likely my ear infections were caused by high sugar content in the blood. My sugar is regulated now. My doctor prescribed oxytetracycline, polymyxin-B and hydrocortisone ear drops three times per day for 1 week and then I need to wait 4 weeks when I have the ear infections all the time! 2. Constipation: I go and poop 2-3 times per week. I have increased my amount of veggies with my meals. If I take Bisacodyl (Dulcolax) I only get dry hyves after 5-6 hours after taking it and glycerin suppositories do nothing unless I stick 2 (gross but true). 3. Head hunger: I mentioned before my carb addiction, but I do seriously want to binge all my cupboards and fridge! And I’m having a rough time coping with this. 4. Stomach acid: It started two weeks ago and I’m in pain around 50% of the day. I’m taking 40g omeprazole daily in the mornings (prescribed by my doctor) and I have to take Sodium Alginate, Sodium Bicarbonate and Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon in the UK) once or twice a day (prescribed by me) to manage the pain. I have tried Calcium Carbonate (Tums, I in the US) and I started to binge on them. 5. I haven’t lost weight in the last three weeks! That will be that I’ve not lost weight after 5 weeks of the surgery and I’m so frustrated. 6. I can’t feel full. I don’t have that feeling. My nutritionist has explained the hunger feeling over and over but I just don’t feel it. She recommended portion control but she didn’t recommend a specific amount of food as there are no guidelines. All ideas, suggestions and comments are all well appreciated and thank you!

Hey BabyNewYear, I'm also almost 4 months and doing great. What a fantastic experience I've been having all the way! Some things haven't changed: I still don't feel when I need to stop eating, so I pretty much overeat many times because my brain doesn't want to stop, so at least once a week I feel extremely sick because of course our stomachs can't handle the amount of food. As I mentioned you before I stopped losing weight after week 5, so I have decided to start a lchf/keto/banting lifestyle which is a lifestyle based on very low carbs, moderate Protein and high in fat; why this approach? I'm barely hungry when I eat fat, it allows me to fulfil my protein requirements and sugars (carbs) is what gave me the metabolic syndrome, weight gain and led me to surgery. I'm really happy with this approach and I really honestly hope that I can follow this the rest of my life. Many ask about my sugar and cholesterol levels with this diet and all of them are back to normal. I'm down 17 kg (37lbs 8oz or 2 stones 9.5lbs ) from 76 kg (167lbs 9oz or 11 stones 13.55lbs) to 59kg (130lbs 1oz or 9 stones 4 lbs) and I'm only 4 kg (8lbs 13 oz or 8.8 lbs) from my goal weight. Lately I've been losing between 0.5kg or less per week (around one pound or less). None of my clothes, underwear nor shoes fit. I've lost my ass, it's totally flat so sitting is painful because I'm sitting on my hips and training has it's ups and downs because I lost more weight from my right side of my body so my sneakers are loser on one side and I hurt my right knee quit often. I'm also trying to become stronger with weight lifting so that I can continue to lose fat. My stomach is still big compared to the rest of my body, but I can start seeing my neck, hands and hip bones. Lose skin on my ass, boobs and upper arms. hair loss, it's bad... but I've seen worst cases on instagram, so I still feel lucky about this, but there is hair absolutely EVERYWHERE! I'm taking Biotin for this. What an amazing journey!!! Looking forward to the next update! Cheers!

Hey Siege, Congratulations in your weight loss and what an amazing journey we all are in this boat together! About the demons: Oh! God!!! So many of them since I was a kid! Nowadays are less and less. I don't follow nor count nor measure what I eat, so the demons are away and I've been doing a low carb high fat approach and it has helped me fantastically with keeping the sugar demons away. How did I find that this was the right way for me? I was starting to get obsessed with all the types of food that I was putting in my mouth and specially foods or drinks that have artificial sweeteners where driving me crazy! So, after testing and retesting, I'm much better from the sugar cravings, even though I relapse at least once a week (this week however none), but I just follow real food rule: meat of all kinds, butter, olive oil, veggies that grows on the surface, nuts, heavy cream, cheese and berries. This approach has helped me as much as the sleeve! Don't fight your demons, just put them to sleep! Hugs, Ariana

Thanks for sharing your experience! I agree the high fat helps hunger. I'm still figuring this out but I think carbs and sugar are evil (jk sort of ) so I rarely eat them. I need to figure out which carbs will help my energy though since after a few days of no carbs I feel run down. What an interesting journey we are on. I was sharing with my friend that this really isn't easy and that we have to stick to a healthy diet high in protien and we have to exercise like everyone else who wants to be healthy and the helpful part of this tool is that it stops me from overeating so I'm thankful for that. Glad to hear you're losing 1-2 lbs per week!! Keep it up! Hey Chavez Mommy! About the lack of energy when you quit carbs that you mentioned in your post... It's carb withdrawals and it usually passes after three days. Afterwards (like a week) your mind will be so clear and you'll have so much energy and being able to concentrate. I suggest you not to find the carbs that you can tolerate, just eat real food that is low in carbs: meat, poultry, pork, beef, eggs, butter, heavy cream, veggies that grew up above the earth, occasionally nuts, occasionally berries, tea, water and coffee. Thats it! no artificial sweeteners, no magical cooking, no reading labels nor tracking. In a few days... you'll be free and the weight will come off immediately! Best, Ariana

Thank you for your kind words @@BabyNewYear How far are you in the journey? I'm two months out and have lost 12kg in the first month and only 1kg in the second one. Still not giving up but it made me obsess around food. Now I'm much better in this area and I know that as long as I follow the guidelines I will be ok and one day I'll reach my goal, which is not so far now... Only 8 kg ahead. (In general, 1 kg = 2 lbs) [emoji119]???? for beans!

Thank you so much @@Falecha ! How did you do in your surgery?

Hey guys! First of all, thank you for your replys! I really appreciate all of them! I need some insight on how you guys are winning your weight loss battles. Statistics: · Sleeved: Jan 18th, 2016 (exactly 8 weeks tomorrow Monday) · Height: 159cm (5’3”) · Age: 37 y/o (in 6 days) · Initial weight: 76kg (167.5 lbs) · Current weight: 64.1kg (141.5 lbs) · Goal weight: 55kg (121 lbs) · Diet: 3 meals per day, not counting calories nor portions as my nutritionist mentioned to eat only 3 meals, focus on Protein and I should be eating around 1000Kcal however I’m not counting them. I’m avoiding all sweet and bread/pasta/rice carbs as I’m fully aware that I’m strongly addicted to them. · Exercise: Haven’t done anything in a week because of a knee injury and lack of discipline. Hoping to start walking again today. It was recommended to exercise 1.5 hours per day 6-7 times a week. · Water: Goal Water is 1.5L per day (6 ¼ cups) and some days I reach this goal, some others I don’t but most of the days I reach it. · Past drugs: metformin for prediabetes, telmisartan for high blood pressure and atorvastatine for cholesterol control. All drugs are gone and replaced by bariatric Vitamins, Calcium and Iron. My struggles: 1. Ear infection: of course this has nothing to do with the sleeve but I’ve been struggling with my ears for over a year. I was told that most likely my ear infections were caused by high sugar content in the blood. My sugar is regulated now. My doctor prescribed oxytetracycline, polymyxin-B and hydrocortisone ear drops three times per day for 1 week and then I need to wait 4 weeks when I have the ear infections all the time! 2. Constipation: I go and poop 2-3 times per week. I have increased my amount of veggies with my meals. If I take Bisacodyl (Dulcolax) I only get dry hyves after 5-6 hours after taking it and glycerin suppositories do nothing unless I stick 2 (gross but true). 3. Head hunger: I mentioned before my carb addiction, but I do seriously want to binge all my cupboards and fridge! And I’m having a rough time coping with this. 4. Stomach acid: It started two weeks ago and I’m in pain around 50% of the day. I’m taking 40g omeprazole daily in the mornings (prescribed by my doctor) and I have to take Sodium Alginate, Sodium Bicarbonate and Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon in the UK) once or twice a day (prescribed by me) to manage the pain. I have tried Calcium Carbonate (Tums, I in the US) and I started to binge on them. 5. I haven’t lost weight in the last three weeks! That will be that I’ve not lost weight after 5 weeks of the surgery and I’m so frustrated. 6. I can’t feel full. I don’t have that feeling. My nutritionist has explained the hunger feeling over and over but I just don’t feel it. She recommended portion control but she didn’t recommend a specific amount of food as there are no guidelines. All ideas, suggestions and comments are all well appreciated and thank you!

I'm not so far from my journey as you are. I'll be two months on Friday, but something grabbed my attention. Some of my classmates (I'm an university student) got stomach sick a couple of weeks ago and I was dry-vomiting in the middle of the night, so it could also be the stomach flu. Try to get some answers from your doctor, but if it gets bad, I still recommend you the sodium carbonate so that you can hold on to your appointment, and please let me know how it went because your symptoms and mine are exactly the same. Good luck and wish you the best! Ariana

@@ArianaVoltairete (syracuse, ny) just want to say hi Norway - another, great country joining us good wishes for the rest of your healthy, happier, longer life good luck kathy Thank you Kathy!

I had my surgery on January 18th, 2016 in Tallinn Estonia and live in Oslo.

Surgery on January 18th 2016. Height: 159cm = 5'3" Weight at time of surgery: 76kg = 167.5lbs = 12 stone BMI at the time of surgery: 30 Current weight 64.1kg = 141.5 lbs = 10 stone Current BMI: 25.4 Goal weight: 55kg = 121 lbs = 8.5 stone Goal BMI: 21.8 No more meds for diabetes, high cholesterol nor blood pressure. Back problems are gone! I haven't lost any weight since three weeks ago nor lost any centimeters/inches from my body. Struggling with stomach acidity, lost muscle because of weight loss which had caused that my right knee is in some pain and therefore little training activity. I also overeat at least once a day because I can't feel full and I have head hunger often, plus my body is looking to cope with the acidity and the only way that my mind translate the word "coping" is with "overeating" Extremely happy with the results! Just I want to move away from this stall! Current foods: I haven't touched carbs. Those are the ones that put me in this place, so no bread, pasta, rice, fruit, soft drinks nor sweets. Basically protein foods, veggies and fats. This week I'm starting to reduce the consumption of nuts because I'm allergic to them and I tend to abuse them. What I want to achieve in the food area: remove dairy products and artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners because they act like sugar in the brain, I feel them and I overeat them while dairy I'm also allergic to them and I also abuse both of them. Water: 1.5L goal achieved pretty much every day!

Hey @@Marisa1972 , I'm trying to eat in tiny plates, like coffee cup saucers or creme brûlée plates and I divide my entirely plate in 3 and that is equivalent to 10 min. Then I divide each of those three in 5 so that I can accomplish around two minutes per food bite (grabbing-putting in the mouth-leave the fork-chew-swallow) and I try to check with a clock but still my mind wanders somewhere else like a conversation with my husband or the phone or something that I need to do later. I don't get hungry at all, but my head hunger and the looking for stomach acid relief make me overeat at it's the worst because it betrays me at least during one meal time every single day. Plus I never feel "full", when I feel it is a sharp and discomfort pain that means that I overate and I either have to puke or deal with the sharp stomach pain that you described. For the stomach acidity I take omeoprazole. I was in 20mg during the mornings but now my doctor increased it to 40mg. I was supposed to take those only the first two months out of the surgery but now I don't know for how long. During the day it bothers me this as well and I've tried Gaviscon (UK, looks like Milk of Magnesium) and something similar like Tums (which none of them worked) and those are the only things that I can find OTC in Norway, but I have definitely controlled it after trial and error and remembering my grandmother's words of taking Sodium Carbonate (which I only can find it in here as a food ingredient, in the US I believe is Arm & Hammer... NOT baking powder!) and that had reduced my grumpiness and bitchiness caused by excess of acid, plus the pain, of course! I also need to mention that I don't get any reflux, just the pain. Please let me know if you try any of this and how it goes. I feel sometimes that this site has enormous potential but after posting something, there are very few whom post back and if they achieved a positive result. My best wishes! Ariana