PdxMan

In 5 days I will be 2 and half years out, so ... Of course you can eat and drink at the same time, but why would I want to? So I can consume more food? When I was early post op, the thought of never drinking with a meal seemed like an impossible challenge. I loved having a glass of milk with a really spicy Mexican dinner, or back when I did drink, a glass of wine with a big steak dinner was magical. The first 6 months post op, I basically "learned" how to eat "properly". I learned how to slow down putting my utensil down in between bites. I learned to chew more thoroughly. I learned how to take smaller bites. I also learned that when I do not drink with my meal, I get the feeling of restriction sooner and I stay fuller longer. For me, that was the bottom line. I loved the feeling of being full and if I drank, that feeling would be removed. So, now, 2 and a half years out, I have developed a new habit of not drinking with meals. After all, for me, the only reason I would NEED to drink with my meal would be to abuse food as I did pre-sleeve. I did that to get morbidly obese and I was ready to move on to a new life with new habits.

I did not use Turnquest, but HERE is a link to go to the search functionality for the forum. 49 threads are here with their name in it, so perhaps reading these or reaching out to the folks who went to him will be what you are looking for. Good luck with your journey! http://www.bariatricpal.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1

So ... ye old puree stage. Basically, anything you can whip into a baby poop consistency is open game. My go-to meals were Soups. Turkey chili with veggies and smoked ham with lentils and veggies were my favorites. As I progressed, I pureed them less and less. I also ate tuna whipped up with ranch dressing. I would put this on a small square of sharp cheddar cheese. eggs caused me problems after one bite, so, I have one occasionally now, but, not too much. You will have to experiment. So, grab the foods you like, add some broth and puree them. I have a hand immersion blender as well as a magic bullet. Worked for me.

Like you, I had an exclusion in my insurance. I had two children under 10. My doctor was wanting to put me on meds for cholesterol, blood pressure and type II diabetes. I told him to give me 6 months to straighten this out. 6 months later, my tests were the same. I told him that I was going to have WLS and he agreed to wait and see. One month post op, all my levels were excellent. That was 2 and a half years ago and I am happy to report my levels are all still excellent. I feel great and think I look pretty great, too. I battled my brain for a long time, too, before I finally had to admit that I needed help. My demons were stronger than I and went ahead and had VSG surgery with Dr Umbach in Las Vegas (Baby!) for $10,400. It was outpatient, which I prefer. Good luck with your decision. Keep reading and searching your soul. The answer will come.

Simply put, yes, I think most successful sleevers follow that type of lifestyle without realizing it. I know I did. I didn't really know I was until someone else pointed it out to me after seeing my plate with just meat and kale. But I'm a person who, having been haunted by the word diet in the past, have decided I am not going to do anymore "diets". That is why I got the sleeve. But, if you have looked at the recommended meal plans, you can see it is weighted heavy on the protein and good carb side of things. If you want to follow this and say you are on a diet, you can do that. I just know it is all I can do just to eat my meat and veggies before I allow myself a cookie or something which may be considered "non-paleo".

Are you selecting your "slider" foods during this time? I know when I am mindlessly grabbing for something during an emotional crisis, it is pretty much always something which is going to go down pretty easy. You are not going to see me grabbing for my Turkey Jerky or a piece of chicken breast. Nope. Crackers with Peanut Butter or some Cheetos. I can eat a ton of them. But, usually, I look down at my orange fingers and say, "WTF am I doing?" and then I grab some jerky and breathe.

Hello Mistyn and welcome to BariatricPal. I would say the best advice I could give a newbie is to read, read, read. This forum is a great resource for information relating to any WLS. There are many sub-forums here, too. I find that using a mobile device is good if I know where I want to go, but if I am just browsing around, I find the web browser experience better. It is just easier to search using keywords and review the results. As I just mentioned, there is a search function here, so pretty much any topic or thought you may have has been posted and you can immediately get a wealth of responses. Of course, if you are not able to find what you are looking for, post a question. Again, welcome to the board and congratulations on your new journey!

Moved over to the General discussion as the Vet's forum is meant to be reserved for members over a year out. To answer your question, though, I bought a bunch of compression shirts, shorts and pants. When I exercise, they help to keep everything from moving. Under Armour was the brand I choose, but there are many other options out there. I was also able to pick up a few from Goodwill, so you may want to check them out. I have heard of folks using Spanx, too. Do a site search for compression garments. I'm sure you will find a ton of results as it is an oft discussed topic.

Woo Hoo! NIce job. Congrats

I just couldn't stomach Water early on. It had to be Gatorade and room temperature at that. It does pass, though. I have me a big glass of water in front of me right now.

When I asked my surgeon about the 'full' feeling, he assured me I would figure it out. He just told me to put my utensil down after each bite and evaluate how I felt. If I was remotely feeling any form of restriction, stop eating. I can always eat more 30 minutes later. Don't push it. Ensure you are chewing more than you ever have done before and take smaller bites. As far as the back, I never experienced that, but you are still very early. You are still doing a lot of healing. I'm not going to lie to you, the first 6 weeks are tough and full of discovery. Just keep following your prescribed guidelines and call your Dr if anything seems totally out of line. Just remember you just had 85% of your stomach removed. As it relates to eating, nothing is going to be the same as it was before, nor do we want it to be ... right? After all, that is what got us in trouble in the first place. Pay attention to what your body is telling you and take it easy.

Ketosis. Do a search for it here on the forum and the GoogleVerse. Quite common. I'm sure you have also noticed that whatever you are eating doesn't taste quite right ... perhaps a metallic tint to it? Ketosis. I told my wife my mouth tasted like a cat's butt. Don't ask me how I know that. Once your carbs get up, you will be fine.

Hate to look like a smart Alec, but Google should have your answers: http://bit.ly/19vna7b

Like others, I had the patch and never experienced any nausea. I believe most people don't, especially if they have a patch to help prevent any issues with it.

Congrats!

Why? Is the Bible the sole text of religion on this planet or is the sole text of religion for you? I got 13 correct.

I think I pretty much abandoned what my previous definition of what a meal is. I just had 85% of my stomach removed ... how could a meal possibly be the same pre-op as post-op. And if I tried to define it the same way, well, isn't that what got me in trouble in the first place? I had to change everything including what my definition of a meal. So, instead of feeling the need to eat a 'meal', I realized what I really needed was to meet the nutritional needs of my body. Whatever way I can. If this means I eat a piece of turkey Jerky every 10 minutes for 2 hours, then that is OK. If I nibble on edamame for 2 hours, that is OK, too. I tracked everything in MyFitnessPal and then looked at my daily totals ensuring I was hitting my nutritional goals. The bottom line, for me early out, was to be as compliant as possible to the guidelines my team set for me. I do not need to finish any 'meal' in 30 minutes. I just need to meet my body's nutritional requirements. Now, what does 'nutritional requirements' mean? That is highly individual as everyone's activity level and basic needs are going to be different. My surgeon told me my body would tell me what it needed, if I paid attention. I agree with that advice. It is difficult to filter out the noise the demons of my food addiction, but down deep, I believe each of us knows when we are not doing things the right way. "Really, my body NEEDS those Cheetos!!" Yeah ... right. So, to answer your question ... what is a meal. For me, it is when I meet my body's nutritional needs for what I have done and what I intend to do. There are no time constraints on meeting this need.

Did you have a hiatal hernia repair? I did and what you describe sounds like what I was feeling for about the first 10 days post. As suggested, call your Dr.

Well, you just had 85% of your stomach removed. Where before you had a vast expanse of space for air and whatnots to move around in, you now have a tiny little space smaller than a banana. As it moves, (digestion) it is going to create air pockets and when those open, grumble, grumble, grumble ... I am over 2 years out and my stomach still makes noise. It is one of the side benefits of having the sleeve. Something to talk to me when nobody else is around. I am being glib, but this is quite a widespread thing. Your stomach is not the same size anymore. Imagine if you will, a large balloon with 3 oz of stuff in it. Move it around, compress it ... do all the things you might think your stomach does. Now, get a balloon 15% of it's size. Do the same thing. It's going to be different and the little pocket of air are going to be released more frequently. Grumble.

You are not in the minority here. I'm guessing 90% of the folks who enjoyed pizza pre-op will enjoy it at some point post op. There was a ruckus on this thread because having a piece less than 3 weeks post is COMPLETELY different than having a piece 1 year post. Not following the guidelines early out can cause serious complications and we have a lot of passionate members here. Nothing wrong with that, and the OP, from what I have read, can see that. I believe the bottom line is if you ever have to question yourself as to whether you did something questionable, then there is a VERY good chance it wasn't a good choice. If you find yourself asking, "Hmmm ... maybe I should post on the forum and find out if it is OK ..." Then I am here to tell you that it probably isn't. Deep down you know the right thing to do, but our demons sometimes yell so loud in our ears, it is difficult to think straight.

Well, then, since you work in the business, then you know WLS procedures are merely tools to help us with our decisions. Just because you had the 6" sub doesn't mean you have to eat the entire thing. You don't have to eat until you are "full". Next time, just try eating half of it and evaluate how you feel. If you are still hungry, stop and question what it is you are feeling? Why do you feel you need to eat the other half? That is what I have to do to truly understand how I have abused food in the past. Seldom did I eat because I was actually hungry. I was either bored, rewarding/punishing myself or eating out of habit. "It's 6:00 so I have to eat dinner now." I've stopped doing that and for the most part, I eat when my body says it is nutritionally deficient. It hasn't been easy, but it was part of the work I needed to do on me.

Get walking, stair stepper, elliptical, lunges, squats (though they can be tough on the knees) It looks like you are less than a month from surgery ... correct? Oh, just wait, honey. You'll be losing from all places, soon. Don't worry. Lol!!

Congrats and your weight loss and on making the decision to give yourself a great Christmas gift! You look great!

Well, you are over 18 now. I felt no obligation to tell anyone. I told my wife and my sisters-in-law as they were watching my children as I traveled for this procedure to Las Vegas. A couple days before surgery, I told my Mother. That was it. I felt it was nobody's business as to the decisions I make as it relates to my body. I did this because I did tell one other person. A neighbor, who then went on and on asking why I couldn't do it on my own, why I was looking for the easy way out, I wasn't fat enough for WLS ... on and on. I decided she didn't need to know the details of my personal battle with my weight and neither does anyone else. After I got to goal, I did start telling a few people who asked that I had a VSG because I figured they wouldn't be able to criticize since it obviously worked for me. Plus, at that time, I was so much more informed about the whole process and what it meant to me, I could better answer any comments they had. Do what you feel is right in your heart. Trust in yourself. You will find the answer that is right for you.

This is a tough one for a couple reasons. So, first off, please don't read my tone wrong. This comes from a place in my heart where I trying to help. I just don't have the literary skills to express myself and not come off like an a-hole, so ... here goes. When I started reading your post, I was like, "Woa! Why would you even TRY to eat a 6 inch sub let alone add chips into the mix?" I'm over two and half years out and like MonteGirl, I can only eat about half of a 6" tuna sub and I am stuffed. It goes back to the whole thing of just because we CAN eat something doesn't mean we SHOULD. Are you eating slowly taking time in between each bites? When I eat now, I always put my utensil down after each bite and assess how the last bite went. In the case of Subway, I put the sub down, chew about 40 times and wait a few minutes before grabbing the next bite. I might have one or two Cheetos from my kid's bag. I will eat the rest of the sub later. But then, I continued to read and saw that you are training for a half marathon. Well, two years ago I also was running and exercising a lot. I put in no less than 35 miles per week and was running at a fairly decent pace around 8 minute miles training and 7 minute miles for races. When I was in this mode, I could eat a lot more than can now. I attribute that to my body just being able process food far more efficiently. I didn't worry about the quantity or the amount of calories I was consuming because I knew I was training hard and my body needed it to be able to maintain the level of energy I was expending. So, I guess the bottom line is only you can tell whether this is working for you. I don't know the level of training you are doing. I don't know if when you get halfway through that sub, does your body give you a signal that you are full and you are ignoring it because, out of habit, you finish the food in front of you. I know this can be a problem for me sometime where I eat out of habit, not out of hunger. Do you know what your "full" signal is? Do you stop "before" you get full? Why do you eat all of the 6" sub AND the bag of chips?