meltingaway

You are all full of such good advice and things I haven't thought of. Looks like you are all doing great. That is what I like about this board. We all encourage each other. Good luck to you all and thanks!!

I was wondering how long you have to go without losing pounds until you convince yourself that you are not in a stall but instead have lost as much as you are going to lose? I have not even lost 50% of my weight and have slowed down SO MUCH. I know that I am not getting to excercise like I would because I am a CPA in the middle of tax season and working 12 and 13 hour days. I am very careful with my diet and nutrition and track carbs, calories, and proteins constantly. Do you think that when (in a couple of weeks) I start exercising more I will start losing again? I am a very positive person and have not thrown in the towel, but probably just a little tired and let down slightly (probably just because of tax season). I just wanted to know all of you sleeve buddies' opinions.

Yes I too would like to know what a five day pouch test is. I have reached a stall but am trying not to get frustrated. The only thing I probably am doing wrong is not exercising enough. I am going to start a zumba dvd soon. (I have it ordered).

I have been trying to push the fluids. It is harder for me now that I am eating more solid foods. I have been getting in plenty of fluids but it is not straight water. I add things like hot tea (no sugar), crystal light, life water, etc. Does this count as my water intake? Does the 64 oz. goal I am trying to reach daily mean only plain water? I am not as good of a water drinker as I should be. Also, right now, I have reached a stall on my weight loss. I know that is part of this journey, but was wondering if my drinking habits are helping me stall. Can anyone shed light on this?

What artificial sweetner is safe to eat? I hear all kinds of pros and cons on each one. What do you all think? How much in a day is safe?

Do any of you sleeve buddies get a runny nose when you eat and get full or nearly get full? Every time I sit down to eat I have to have plenty of napkins handy. After eating about 2-3 oz. my nose begins to run. I do not have allergies and have no cold right now. I just started noticing this about a month ago when I started on more solid foods. I have watched this and realize that it is not just coincidental. It happens every meal that I take in 3-4 oz. of solid food. Let me hear from you if you are the same. And--can anyone explain this? What does my nose have to do to with my sleeve?

My parents gave me a Keurig coffee Maker for Christmas. I used to love all coffees and flavored teas. I haven't drank them much lately and went for about 6 weeks without any caffiene. I have set this machine up and ordered various k-cups and am now drinking this through the day. Coffee in the morning and tea later in the day. It has helped me get my fluids in because I am constantly sipping all day. I don't drink the cups that have sugar in them. I also am using a sugar free lowfat creamer with some of the coffee and sometimes just skim milk which has Protein in it.. My question is this.....should I be doing this? I really love this new machine and it is so handy for getting my fluids in. But am I doing more harm than good? Just wondering what you think. I think since I am enjoying all of these drinks, I am feeling guilty like I shouldn't be doing this.

I have been so faithful to write in my food log. I count calories, Protein, carbs, and Fluid ounces. However, I am getting extremely tired of this. I have an iphone and was wanting to start doing this on my phone instead. Does anybody have a suggestion for a good app that would do this? Happy New Year to you all!

Well from all your responses it does appear that this is part of it. Glad to know some others are affected. After rereading my post and your answers, I was thinking that this is alright and I will deal with it. At least we are still losing weight. :-)

I was just wondering if any of you have had this same experience and if you think it is "female" hormones causing it or something about the sleeve. I have times where I sit down to a meal or am in the same room where a meal is being prepared and I get sick from the smell. I was having grilled shrimp which I truly love, and couldn't eat because of the fishy smell. We were at a very nice seafood and steak restaurant so the food should have been apealing. Another time recently I was eating the inside of a taco and had put a little mild hot sauce on it. This smell made me sick as well. Is this normal? I have only been eating solid foods for nearly 2 weeks and have started experiencing this. Therefore, I cannot eat. I haven't gotten sick from the too full feeling because I am scared to get to that point. But I have gotten sick from just the smell of foods. This is weird and was just wanting some of you who are further out than me to tell me if this is normal. Seriously at this rate, I think I will continue losing weight forever because it totally ruins my appetite. I am going through a time which food seems unappealing to me and I have never been like this before. I have always loved food!!

I had my surgery on Monday and went back to work the next Monday. I probably could have gone back on Friday but chose not to. I am a CPA and I sit at my desk most all of the day except to go to the printer, fax machine, etc. I made it fine that first week but was extremely tired each evening. I would collapse at 6 after getting home. I pushed my walking that first fews days after surgery. I would just walk laps around in my house in my housecoat and I think that helped with my recovery. Now my stomach and incisions still hurt some until probalby the third week, but not bad. I am now towards the end of my sixth week and I am feeling better and better each day and am getting more energy back. In fact I am going to start a more strenuous workout this Monday and do something in addition to just walking. I think my first week was easier than some because I was in the hospital longer than some. My surgery was 5:30 am on Monday and I went home around 6 pm on Tuesday. I do know that this recovery for me was a little harder than when I had my gall bladder out several years ago.