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I want to make something very clear before i start. This is just a one day test .. a test to see what my sleeve can and can't handle at 16 weeks. I do not condone anything of what i am about to share. This is a test and should be used only as a source of information. I am doing this so you won't have to! So at 16 weeks out i want to see what my sleeve aka "Bananaman" can handle in terms of type and amount of food. Two tests: Sodas and fast food ** NOTE: My findings are short and to the point ... If you would like more details about each test please send me a private message and i would be very happy to share it with you. Test 1: Sodas I had three 330 ml diet cokes throughout the day. Of course i could only drink about a third each time before feeling full. Verdict: It was not uncomfortable. On each try the soda went down fine and stayed there. It felt "fizzy" on the way down but after a few seconds it was okay. It tasted a lot sweeter than it used too before VSG and that to me was a big turn off. Although it was fine on the sleeve i'm not going to want to have anymore. This finding was based on Diet Coke. Other brands and flavours could have a different outcome. Test 2: Fast food- McDonald's chicken McNuggets + KFC + Burger King's Junior Whopper At about 2pm i had some chicken McNuggets. Verdict: I could only eat four pieces with BBQ sauce. I was surprised because it felt normal like any other day only quantity was effected here. I didn't have trouble swallowing the chicken or acidity issues with the BBQ sauce. At 5pm i had KFC. I ordered a dinner Box (three pieces of regular chicken). Verdict: Horrible! The worst feeling ever! I couldn't finish one piece. It was oily and i had major acid re-fluxes! The food wouldn't stay down and had slime for about 15 mins after eating. At 8pm it was time for Junior Whopper from BK. Obviously, to try and make this test as realistic as possible for sleevers i had to remove the bread on top but left everything else on it. Verdict: Couldn't stand it. It was so heavy i couldn't keep it down. I was full from the first bite and it took me ages to chew. It really wasn't pleasant at and as with KFC i also had acidity issues and slime. I know there is a ton of information and many testimonials on this forum about the information i just shared with you but i just wanted to contribute my personal experience. Many members might say "you shouldn't have done this test" or "why put your sleeve through all this .. not worth it" etc... Well they are right but i think it is well worth it if it could help people answer their questions.

I'm glad you did the test! I've been wondering about chicken nuggets myself! Lol! I'll be 5 weeks out tomorrow & my only cravings are sushi & salad! Those are my favorite foods and I hope my sleeve & tastebuds like them! Sent from my iPhone using VST

I can drink a lot in a small period of time. I have to really make myself slow down. I drank 8 oz of Fairlife milk last night. It went down super easy. Probably 15 minutes with no ill effects. I’m 2 weeks

The band to sleeve surgery was the most painful experience of my life!! I had soooooo much pain day two and three! After the first week it was all better and no pain. Just discomfort from the drain! It gets easier!

1 Week Post Opt. Band to Sleeve. I too have been very emotional and crying. I think its just the emotional journey we have had to endure. For Me it has been high anxiety of fear of the Sleeve Surgery and losing a big portion of my stomach. Maybe its your body expressing emotionally the loss of a organ? They say when you loose a limb that the opposite limb will express grief by pain. I feel Great now, and don't regret the sleeve at all. I too had severe scar tissue to my Liver. Just hang in there and remember the purpose at the beginning of our journey was and still is to be HEALTHIER AND FIND HAPPINESS WITHIN OURSELVES.

I lost over 100lbs with the band. I was 257 went down to 149 then I had a tummy tuck and one year later was pregnant (good planning right) I weighed 166 at 8 weeks pregnant. My band was loosened a about 1/2 way at 2 months pregnant. I was gaining weight really rapidly so I asked my doctor to put more back in. I was partially restricted for most of the pregnancy but still gaining weight at above the recommened amount. I was completely unfilled last week due to bad, bad heartburn and even thought that is helping me I am hungry all the time and gaining weight really fast - I am now 33 weeks and am up to 212! I am totally freaked that after all this hard work I will never be able to lose the weight again and that I will gain even MORE in the next 1 1/2 until I have the baby. Any tips/ideas/support? Thanks in advance!

i started out confined to a motorized chair or wheelchair....due to 2 back surgeries & doctor "wanting" to replace both my knees and one hip because of arthritis... i had been wheelchair bound for years... i was 328 pounds...diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, asthma, and chronic fatigue to name a few issues. talking to the psych doctor he asked me "what do you want to achieve by having WLS ? ... i said "better health, talk a walk with my husband" when i started the process in November 2011 until surgery on May 2nd...i lost 34 pounds... so surgery date i weighed 294... about a month ago, i started walking around my kitchen island ... then added down the hall and back... i have up'd my out of chair time til almost 7pm... as of this morning i weigh 249....so down 45 pounds since surgery (13 weeks) and overall total of 79 lbs... i also went for a walk down the driveway this morning with my husband !!! <3 ... a short walk but a walk none the less... life is great and getting better every day!

My doc said I could swim once the scabs fell off (around 2 weeks). The first few times I couldn't last more than 15-20 minutes, so I'd say wait about 3 weeks before trying water aerobics and don't be surprised if you need to stop halfway through the class.

I went back at 6 weeks and it took me a couple of weeks (at least) to get back into it. now at 12 weeks it feels like I`m flying in comparison! I can get a little dizzy for a couple of seconds if I get up quickly. I have all the energy I need.

You have had a life change here girl! Start off slow, don't expect to be able to handle the gym right off. . . i started off with 10 minutes on the treadmill and 5 to 6 minutes on the ellipitical, slowly increasing the time by 1 minute each week. . . now i'm up to 30 minutes on the treadmill and 20 minutes on the ellipitical. . .i've added some weights in there too. . . but i haven't gone in a while, life is too demanding and there are priorities beyone the gym. . . good luck!

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.

Yes, I my surgeon was Dr. Stephen Burpee in Tucson. His office is helpful. The surgery was very successful with no complications and didn't take long in the OR either. The best part is the affiliation he has with Northwest Hospital in Tucson (a walk from his office). The weight loss program they have there is great. Tons of infomoration and informational classes to take before the surgery so you know what to expect. An RN by the name of Gail is the head person for the weight loss program and supplies you with a great binder including what to eat at every week, and lots more information like vitamins, protein, exercise, etc. etc. She also visits you after surgery and the day after that. She makes frequent calls to check up after you and tell you what you should be eating, I guess in case you haven't read your binder. I like Dr. Burpee as well. I didn't have a lot of questions for him at all, so I just didn't converse with him much. The seminar he conducts gives you lots of information too. Office visits post surgery are at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and yearly after that. He just makes sure you are where you need to be and checks out your blood work. After reading some people here that don't know what to be eating or what they should be doing after a couple of weeks, I realized how fortunate I was to have Dr. Burpee and Gail. If possible, they provide you with TOO much information!!

I was banded Wednesday July 6th and today I am 4 days post op. I spent 2 nights in the hospital due to elevated white blood cells which went back to normal a little slow. I did also have a hernia repair. I feel like my recovery is a bit slower from everyone else's I've read about. I am exhausted and very weak. I feel like I should be moving more which would help with the lingering gas pain but the little bit I move around wears me out. Yesterday I wanted out of the house and rode out to the lake and sat in a chair for about 2 hours while my son played in the Water, and I couldn't get home fast enough on the way home. I was in crazy pain and felt like I could barely move! I came home and slept the rest of the day and night. Today I woke up feeling a lot better and decided to take my dad to walmart (only walked to toy section to get a gift then to register) then took and my son to a birthday party where I walked in and sat for nearly 2 hours. By the time this was over I came home and slept nearly 5 hours. I probably didn't walk even 30 minutes total for the day and felt completely worn out. On top of being so tired, I am having the weirdest dreams ever! I keep dreaming of sneaking food, being mad at my husband for not letting me eat, and dreams of being in biggest looser temptation rooms and binging. I'm not even hungry at all! I'm doing everything I can to drink all my water and feel water logged. (only got in 40 oz today which is my best yet since surgery) I'm suppose to go back to work Wednesday but can't imagine having enough energy to get through a day at work. I keep reading people who are cleaning house, going walking, and feeling great their first week out. Should I be worried something is wrong??...

I was in my bed on day 1, I usually sleep half on my side, half on my stomach. I think it was about a week before I could sleep normally. I was in my bed on day 1, I usually sleep half on my side, half on my stomach. I think it was about a week before I could sleep normally.

I'm almost 14 months out now, and I still track every single bite of food, probably will the rest of my life because I like the accountability. I hit my Protein target every day. I might have some days I go over on fat or carbs, but they are rare. I now exercise 6 days a week, walk/jog 5+ miles a day (today I did 9 miles total) and do yoga and bodyweight routines 3x a week as well. In the summer, I'll swim 5+ days a week and go biking. I actually enjoy exercise now, and I get antsy and sad when I can't go out and hit the trail. So weird! I never thought I'd be at the point I'm at now, but I worked hard to get this far. It sounds like you expected your sleeve to all the work for you. That's not how it works. You get a limited amount of time where you don't feel horribly hungry all the time, and the restriction helps you adjust to eating small portions. But the main thing you should be doing after surgery is relearning how and what to eat - healthy stuff - but protein first is the mantra. With the weight loss, you should start feeling more energetic and able to exercise and also feel good enough to get a decent exercise routine established before the honeymoon period of about 12-18 months ends. After that point, the weight loss will stop as your body will have adjusted its metabolism to your smaller portions and activity level, and if you didn't get healthy eating habits and exercise figured out, you will possibly regain weight. And while exercise is great for overall health, it has a small effect on weight loss. The way you lose weight is controlling how much and what you eat. It is the most important thing to figure out and really pay attention to, because while exercise will help build muscle, stamina, increase your bone strength and make you feel better... it is almost impossible to exercise enough to counteract a consistently poor diet. You definitely need to go back to the beginning. Protein first, then veggies, and then if there is any room complex carbs. Find an app to track food and exercise. Log every single bite, and get a food scale and measure the food until you get the hang of it, so you're not guessing. Find out from your NUT what your calorie goal should be at this point. Set up goals to drink 64 ounces of Water, get at least 80 grams of protein (unless your NUT tells you more) and keep your carbs under 100 grams/daily. Try to start a basic exercise of some kind 2X a week that you actually can enjoy and slowly work up to doing more. Once you know what and how much you are eating and see where you might be eating wrong things, you can come back here and get help on food, recipes and other specifics. It will be hard since you will be starting over, but if you can get all of this going and get yourself back on track (and tracking) then you will be well on your way to losing weight and getting, but more importantly staying healthy for the rest of your life. Good luck!

I had VSG on 10/20 , and haven't lost any weight since Thanksgiving. What gives? I've only lost 21 lbs total.

I keep posting pics bc I'm so proud ! I figure this is a great way to share my progress- I'm one month out the 4th of March and I'm down 45lbs including the 2 week pre-op diet! [ATTACH]9959[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]9960[/ATTACH]

Fluff is right on...You may not feel restriction right away. I didn't. I'm still trying to figure out what full feels like and I'm almost 2 months out. I measure and weigh religiously. Another thing is wet food vs. dense food. I was surprised to find out a couple of weeks ago that I ate 1/2 cup of chili (I was allowed to eat as much as a 1/2 cup, but had not done so to that point). I panicked - did I eat too much? How could my sleeve allow me to eat that much? Then I realized, the chili is wet and some of it probably slid thru the sleeve. The next day I experimented with chicken - I ate only chicken and could only get 1/4 cup down before feeling the restriction. The chicken was much more dense. You're probably seeing the same thing with yogurt - you'll probably be able to eat more yogurt than say scrambled eggs. My doc made of point of saying, "Eat what's on the plan in the portions you're allowed. Remember, you don't have to eat it all. Stop if you feel feel or restriction." I have found that there are times I will do a hiccup and burp at the same time, that's a clue that I'm getting full. Other times I my nose will run. Sometimes I feel a "poke" not a pain, but a feeling in my stomach. Once I feel any of these things I stop eating. You guys are doing great - it's all a learning process. Just listen to your body and stick to your portions.

Count me in...I'm 3 weeks post op and I have experienced the same. As my food options increase, I just keep measuring. I do find that as I combine foods (2oz egg whites with 1oz cottage cheese), I find that as I get closer to finishing, I am starting to feel a little "fuller" and by fuller it doesn't really feel like that. More of like a stuck/blocked feeling in the lower chest/upper ab area. I was getting paranoid though thinking the surgeon made kinetic too big or that after all I went through I would still fail but countless ppl told me that a lot of it has to do healing, swelling internally and decreased nerve response. Some people said the whole full restricting feeling came at about 2 months post op. So I think your pretty normal for those of us who are really lucky to have an easy recovery . Best of luck to you.

This might be a weird one, but I'm looking for some advice. After my fill this week I was restricted to liquids for a few days. I was meeting a large group of people at a coffee shop and brought a Protein drink. The waitress informed me I could not have an outside beverage in the shop. Now, my plan was to ask for some ice, have a coffee after my Protein Drink, and tip very well. I've been a waitress -- I know what it's like. I was so taken aback and annoyed I ended up ordering a "smoothie" which had calories but minimal protein. And I left her a very small tip. And then later gave her what for. Any similar experiences? How should I have handled it? I generally don't like to be b*tchy or mean, but boy did she piss me off. OK, I'll admit I'm pretty cranky when restricted to liquids.

Everyone is different so it's hard to tell. Some people lose a lot, some lose a little. Some have complications, some don't. I will be at my two-months mark next week and have lost 33 pounds since my surgery but have been fortunate enough to have had no complications.

My surgeons offfice told me when I hit a stall to change my routine up, whether it is increasing or decreasing calories,changing exercise routine, or changing fluid intake

congrats you are on the loosers bench now sounds like your surgery went great.i lost 19lbs during the first 2 weeks post-op. thank goodness i was not hungry i was suprise myself.wishing you a speedy recovery. sil.