Swiftflow

Glad to hear about the specialist coming in to help, it sounded like the other guy you talked to last time was doing something like bad used car salesmen do--he saw you were distressed about the changes and tried to sell you on the car they could get you in today.... No judgement here, you have to do what is right for you and I am glad that surgeons are learning and moving from the quick buck lap band into the sleeve--sound like this practice is trying to get started with the sleeve, so it is great they have someone coming in with experience.

Yeah its a tough one at first, but you really do get used to it and feel it. Granted if you gulp something fast you may go to overfull without catching that feeling. I kinda have a feel for it now, but when I got overfull in the past I always would sneeze or start producin mucus ( meaning If I ate more the mucus production would lead before my body started throwing it back up). Since everyone does differ a bit and even differ on food types, you are best to aim for the 4 oz mark generally and then go real slow and feel the fullness. Example for me is I know I can eat more mexican food that other types due to the mushie refried Beans or chips and salsa being sliders--so I can eat comfortably after setting that portion in my mind and stopping there. now it is a rare occasion where I push it to feeling uncomfortable--its like any other habit that you just adapt to over time. Until then I would shoot for the 4 oz then go real slow and see if that helps. To add one more thng--before VSG I always ate to get full or as much as I could. It does help if you can get to just eating a certain portion and not needing to feel full. Full and satisfied are two different things for me now--If I am feeling like a thanksgivng meal full then I am not comfortable. Or if pushed myelf until I started sneezing then I have gone too far for my comfort level. Sunday I had 4 oz of Ribeye and a bite or two of veggie. It was tender and I might could have had 6 oz--I don't know because I was satisfied at what I had set asside. And felt great the rest of the day while watching the Mavs sweep the lakers!

I think the hardest part is the waiting. I think I spend hours on all the forums reading and chatting all I could. It all seems long ago now and worth the wait. You will get there! Its like your getting off the non stop diet-gain-diet-gain treadmill once and for all and you want i all to happen fast because it seems like you have spent years trying to make it happen and deserve it to happen now ( at least that was my mindset) I was one who was on the scale everyday and watched every stall impatiently. Trust me it all does pay off in the end, and I go days now without getting on the scale and worry more about my golf game and why I am not getting better at golf faster

It was around 5-6 months before I could comfortably eat steak or pork without chooping it into tiny pieces and going real slow. Don't fret though, I had nice 4 oz of ribeye just this week and don't have to worry eating it in any special way--pretty normal now just able to split 8oz with the wife and feel nice and full.

I have had that with very sweet foods in the past--really for me it was the equivalent of dumping syndrome where I had too much of a milkshake one time and another time it was a frosty and things went just like you said--Im not saying it is the same based on the foods you listed, but the symptoms seem what you described. The main point it is that the occurance seemed to be intestinal too me--too much hitting my intestines that it could not handle at the time. So it could be a seasoning maybe common between the foods, or something you drank with it. It is very different than just overfull though, just try to watch for patterns and check with the doc if it keeps up. Mine was very cause and effect and I knew better than to down that rich ice cream that fast--and I paid for it!

Hey man, Great to hear about Hawaii, I had the same thing happen on a trip to Curacao last Fall-- I have not been around the forums much as it seems my latest addiction is playing golf and reading golf forums Offically down 100 lbs post op, and I stopped even thinking about trying to lose a couple of months ago, It just seems to happen a little at a time now with all of the activity. After the Curacao trip I stalled at around 235 until the new year--then it has just started falling off again. Was at 219 this morning. I try to make better choices on food and always keep low quantity, but I am known to grab bad foods now and then especially when I am active outside all day and just need some callories. I will have to do my 1 year update soon! Take care an keep up the great work!

I hit another goal of mine today and completed a 5 mile run today. I only did 3 one minute walk breaks during time and was able to complete it in about 47 mins. On another note-- last week, I did my own 5k using my GPS to measure the time and distance with no walk breaks and got it done in 26:50. Not my yet beating my previous goal during one of my past weight loss journeys--but I am building up speed as the weight drops. All of that said I am struggling to do anything but run now... I really need to mix in more strength training. I seem to eat more when I am running regular and tend to use it as an excuse to not make great choices. The good thing about the sleeve is that it keeps portions in check. If I could ever get the correct allignment of Strength training, cardio, and eating I am sure I would be loosing much better. Pre-sleeve I would get to where I was going 1 step forward and 2 steps back, at least now with the sleeve its 1 step forward and only 3/4 step back

Thanks all for the kind words--you guys keep me inspired!!

As of today I am down to 250 lbs which is 70 lbs lost since my surgery or 80 lbs total with pre-op included! I also updated my vlog on youtube if you want to check out my channel it is at YouTube - VSGswift's Channel

Keep in mind the only guarantee of the sleeve procedure is that it will physically limit the volume of solid food you can eat in one sitting. It is a tool. EDIT: some people also get the benifit of not feeling hunger due to reduced ghrelin production, but some get feelings of hunger back and some report not loosing hunger--however they can now feel full with just a small amount of food. If you graze all day or choose the wrong foods when eating, the tool is not helping you at all and not being used properly. The stalls are a whole different story--everyone looses weight differently, does not matter if you are on a diet or have any of the weight loss surgeries available--if your body is going to stall it is just going to stall and adjust. There is frustration and impatience that stalls cause, but if you keep using the tool properly the weight will come off. Look at the studies and percentages with WLS some may have as high as 85% success rate--that also means that 15% of those in the study did not stick with the program and choose not to use the tool the right way. You will do well with the VSG if you use it as a tool in your diet and exercise program. Diet and exercise alone has a 90%-95% failure rate so I like my chances much better with the Sleeve in my tool belt.

Just wanted to stop in and say that this seems common at this stage to slow down. Last month was 10 lbs with a big 3 week stall in the middle- so 1 week of great loss followed by 3 week stall and then another half a week of great loss. Then, I thought I blew past it as I quickly dropped 8 more lbs and was expecting to be on track for 10 lbs in 2 weeks, then this last week @$&*)BLAM!@)#! I hit a wall and woke up 3 lbs heavier than the day before and have stuck there again this week. I am not saying this to vent really--just that its a common theme regarless of the level of exercise. I am up to 4 miles on my running every other day and I am adding in weights a couple of times a week too. I mention this to say that its not just the level of exercise that plays a part. The body can only take so much weight loss it seems and then it has to adjust. I guess I am fortunate that even with the adjustments I was able to drop the 10lbs last month--I hope to at least get in 10 this month too.

If your stalling now with the sleeve you would also be stalling with the bypass. You would be getting less calories absorbed and it may in fact be worse--the common thread you see with all of the weight loss surgeries is stall threads, same threads you see on extreem low cal diet threads too. With all the exercise I am willing to bet your calories are way too low and your body is in starvation mode. If your really working out all the time you may need to get 1000 calories or more in.

Hello from a fellow Texan. I can relate to much of your struggle as I just had my VSG at age 40 and I have been failing at diets since age 15. I was always one who saw some early success in dieting before I would fall off the wagon even after 50lbs or more loss. So in a way I thought I could do it on my own if I could somehow just stick with it this time... Luckily I had a male friend of mine who went through wls and this broke my macho man attitude of doing it all on my own. As I have studied obesity and seen such a high diet failure rate for the morbidly obese, I finally decided that the sleeve was the tool for me. The sleeve is awesome indeed! I don't have real hunger anymore. In fact, just last night I had one of my episodes of "I should eat something while watching TV" again no physical hunger just old habits.. I was able to eat something very small with protien in it (just 100 calories) and get past it. Before VSG this would have been a time where I downed half a bag of chips or leftover pizza etc--so the tool has helped me both in regular eating and during my "I just want to eat" phases. Anyway, glad you are here! I think you will find the sleeve to be just the tool you need to have long term success.

As someone mentioned before, the real issue is pain meds and driving. If you are not on pain meds then mentally you can handle it. If you are driving a long period of time it is recommended that you stop and walk often just so you are not in one stationary position that could lead to blood clots.

Congrats on onederland! You are working your sleeve!