2ndSpring

HI Laney, Yes! Looking forward to it. Jack - sorry to hear you won't be able to make it, we'll miss you. I hope everything is ok with your parents.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Counseling can be a great tool for a lot of people and at during different times in your life. But I have never felt that MY food issues could be helped with counseling. I've been prone to overeating since early childhood and believe it is the dopamine high that I'm addicted to. Watch little kids, some just enjoy eating more than others. I do believe that cognitive behavior therapy can help us to learn new behaviors and overcome food addiction. check out the Beck diet solution. I've been loosely following some of her advice to keep my head straight.

i was eating fish at that point with my surgeons blessing, so no worries there. be careful with the clams though, they may be a little too chewy to digest. or.... you can order lobster I hope you have a great time.

My doctor/nut plan for the first 2 months was 3 oz protein + 1 oz vegetable. In month 3 i was allowed to add fruit. I was definitely in keto back then - I can tell by the gross bad breath!! It was in month 4 or 5 that I ate bread and pasta at a party and bam, I spent the next 3 days fighting head hunger. You have an open mind about exploring and inquiring so I know you'll do great and find what works best for you.

I'm only 8 months out and I can already see how it can happen if you aren't committed to your plan. The sleeve restricts how much you can eat at one sitting, but there is nothing stopping you from having 10 sittings in one day, or having all of your meals be ice cream. Its really important to use the first few months post-op to change your relationship with food and make new habits that you can fall back on down the road. Good luck on June 6th!

There's been a lot of great responses already about doing what is right for you and your body...ditto that. I am definitely not trying to talk you into anything or make any type of point, I just wanted to share the benefit I get out of low carb in case you were wondering why anyone in their right mind would give up bread! I'm not in ketosis because I eat fruit and beans, but I avoid grains, sugar and potatoes. When I eat like this, I do not have any cravings and am not tempted by anything and its smooth sailing. But, boy oh boy, one piece of bread, and that dopamine high triggers all kinds of cravings for a few days and I want to eat everything in sight. I can still lose while eating carbs, it is just so hard to stay on track. Since I can lose, I guess I am not carb-sensitive as I've heard others describe - I'm just a junkie! I'm quite jealous of you. I wish I could lose while eating carbs. enjoy

Me too!! Except, for me it was the post-op diet that I kept a low profile about. I was allowed to go straight to mushy food right out of the hospital. (don't get me wrong, it was not a free for all. there were a lot of rules, but he was of the opinion that the sleeve can handle very soft foods like scrambled eggs right away). BUT...the surgeon and the Nut are a united front on no starches until maintenance, which is stricter than most. so, I guess you win some, you lose some.

Hi Dave, Welcome to the forum. You are asking all of the right questions (not everyone does) and thinking about the small details and how it will impact your life. This is definitely something to go into with your eyes wide open. The better educated you are, the more successful you will be. I'm about 8 months out and I wholeheartedly recommend it. I wish I had done it years ago. I wasted so many years being overweight and waiting to do things until i was thinner. The surgery stopped my body from fighting me and allowed me to focus on changing my mental issues around food. It is much easier to adopt new mindsets when your stomach isn't screaming to be fed. There are foods I have given up permanently, but i don't miss them. I also don't miss overfilling myself. I am able to eat out in restaurants and no one has noticed i eat so much less than them. I eat slowly and put the fork down between bites, so I wind up finishing at the same time as everyone else. All in all, it has been a great experience. Best of luck and keep us updated.

@sjfink - thanks for posting this - you look great and I'm so happy for you. I'm in need of a little education....I've seen others post that they did their whole body at once. It is a personal decision or is it up to the doctor?

I'm using the fitbit app right now. Here is what they do well: each food is available in multiple measurements and can accept any fraction as the quantity: e.g. 1/16 cup, 1/2 ounce, 1 medium apple, 1/4 large apple you can enter new foods into database - entry screen follows nutrition label format your history can be exported to Excel (although it is limited to 31 days which is a bummer) you can tag favorite foods for quick access in addition to protein/fat/carb grams, it also tells you percent by calorie it tells you how you are doing towards the day's calorie goal - a protein goal would be a nice addition the database is huge! Here is what is missing: tracking if you took your daily vitamin inputting recipes copying a day or a meal - because we have so many leftovers! I would love to see other nutrients - like my ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 and vitamins.

HI - how much fluid are you getting? the kind of weakness you are describing can be from dehydration. Fluids are your number one priority right after surgery. I got dehydrated in my second week post-op and felt exactly like what you described - I couldn't get through a task without having to sit down. I wound up getting an IV in the doctors office at my next visit.

I'm just outside of keto because I've been eating fruit and beans. But I'm 8 months out. I was in keto for the first few months. I couldn't take the stank mouth bad breath from keto anymore!! When I first started on this journey, I read every study I could find in my search for the ideal eating plan. I was SOOOO frustrated. There is very little hard science out there about the right way to eat for the human body. Every blogger swears they know the answer...haha, have you ever watched a paleo follower and a vegan go at it?

Lots of great questions. My advice is going to be kinda wishy washy.... the right balance of carb/fat/protein really depends on what your body reacts to and what you can live with long term. It takes a little trial and error to hit on the formula for your body. For me, avoiding sugar, grains & starch, while eating plenty of fat and a moderate amount of protein has been the solution. I don't eat rice, bread, pasta, quinoa, potatoes, etc. But i do get carbs from fruits, veggies and beans. In addition to olive and coconut oil, I also eat cheese and nuts. Eating this way has kept me losing and also wipes out cravings. 1 helping of pasta or sugar triggers cravings and can screw up my mind or days. Applying my plan to the foods you mentioned, my plan would be ok with the fattier proteins, but I would stay a mile away from the chocolate, mashed potatoes and SF pudding (that is just a box full of chemicals, LOL). My best advice is to decide what guidelines you want to follow and then stick to them religiously. The psychological/behavior issues are super important right now while you are in the early months. This is the time to make big changes in your relationship with food, while your stomach doesn't care. Best of luck and I hope this helped a little.

Both surgeries can lead to long term success and both surgeries have pros and cons. Go through your needs and medical risk factors with your doctor and match them to the surgery and post-surgery lifestyle that best suits you. Ignore the weight loss statistics. They are misleading because they are averages and include people who are non-compliant. It is true that RNY loses faster up front, but over the years it equals out and an individual will lose weight in direct relation to how well they follow their program. My decision factors that led me to choose the sleeve were that I didn't want malabsorption and I didn't have diabetes or gerd, so there was no benefit to choosing the more complicated surgery. If I had more to lose, or had diabetes or gerd, I may have chosen differently.

this is such a good point about your tastes changing post-op. everything tasted different for a while.

2x a week at the gym. Monday is the official weigh in that I will log on my tracker. But I always do a mid-week peek, so that I'm mentally prepared for any fluctuations. There is nothing worse than being on plan all week and having water retention mess with your head.

That pre-op liquid diet is a killer. It is very very tough, both physically and emotionally. Headaches, hunger, crankiness, crying. Your body will adapt in a few days. and I promise that you won't feel like this once you are post-op. This is just the painful kick start to your journey. Staying positive is really important. Drink a lot of water to flush the toxins out, and have a lot of broth so that you feel like you sat down to a meal. Please follow your surgeon's instructions. My surgeon told me after my surgery that he could tell I followed instructions and that his job is so much easier when patients follow the pre-op instructions. (and making our surgeon's job easier means less risks and complications for us). Please think of it this way... these are pre-operative instructions from your surgeon and must be followed to the letter to reduce your risk of complications and improve your surgical outcome. It is not the same as cheating on a diet or ignoring your nutritionist's advice, which will just slow your weight loss. Hang in there. it won't always be this hard

Good one!!!

the tent sounds better than my endocrinologists's machine. I had to breathe through my mouth into a tube while making sure to keep my mouth firmly sealed around the tube, and with clips pinching my nose closed. not fun - lol. How often do you get retested? Not including the period of high weight loss, has it continued to change much?

I'm with you Jess. I order the full meal (and sometimes even an extra side of veggies) and then take most of it home. Leftovers so I don't have to cook for 2 or 3 meals are the way to go!

Laney - thank you for coordinating our meet-ups and keeping them going!! I'll be there - looking forward to seeing everyone.

Wow you guys - everyone is so happy and healthy!!!! I am thrilled for all of you. Its been such a life changer. Let's get together again!

this must have taken you so long to compile. Thank you so much for all the effort and for looking out for all of us.

I've been shoveling in spurts. The driveway is done, tomorrow I'll tackle the sidewalk. At least I can write down in my journal that I exercised!

Thanks for posting this. I think you tapped into a fear most of us have. You are about a month ahead of me. I can already see how those old bad habits are trying to sneak their way back in. Open the door a crack and there they are. I know I will have to be on my guard the rest of my life and I'm ok with that. And hey, it the zombie apocalypse ever happens, my old eating habits will help me survive!!! My strategy is that every time I feel myself rationalizing or deluding myself (oh, its a holiday...oh, it's just this once...oh, i had a bad day...oh, its not fair, everyone else gets to eat), I say my mantra, "I don't do that anymore". It's been really empowering because it reminds me that this was my choice. It has stopped me in my tracks a few times.