PdxMan

I haven't experienced any heartburn since being sleeved. I did have a hiatal hernia repair, so I would like to know whether those suffering had a hernia repair. As far as the spag sauce and the fact that you make it yourself, what type of toms do you use? Some can be quite acidic and that could be the issue. Are you experiencing this with other types of foods? Have you noticed whether you are eating faster or not chewing as thoroughly as you used to?

As self-pay also, I was decision to table in 4 weeks.

Well, instead of re-posting, I will put a link to a thread HERE that tells how I had to change how I ate, not just what I ate. Another thing to research is ketosis, which you may be in right now. In this phase, your mouth secretes acetone which makes everything taste like a$$. Once you get your carbs back up, you get out of ketosis and taste returns. Don't worry ... everything DOES return to normal.

Well ... utilize this time to start new habits with food and lifestyle because the good/bad news is ... it doesn't last. All your taste buds and old cravings will come back and you should have your new habits in place so you know how to combat them. If you spend time reading here, you will see sooooo many posts from people who are a year out and have not come close to reaching goal. One thing you will see in these posts is the comment, "I know I am not making the best food choices and not exercising." This is the time to teach yourself and your body how to be fed with what your body needs, not what your head wants. Good luck and make the best of it.

I think, for me, one of the toughest things was to change how I ate. To get rid of what you are describing, I had to slow waaaaay down. Depending on what it was, it could take me 10 minutes to eat 3 bites. I would chew my food to what I felt was a ridiculous consistency (at least 40 chews) and I would put my utensil down in between bites (something I still do). I would not take another bite until I had swallowed and felt the food 'settle' in my stomach. This gave me time to evaluate how I felt. I used to just inhale my food, swallowing before I had thoroughly chewed and taking another bite before the last bite had been swallowed. When I drank liquids, it was also large and fast. I could drink a 12 glass of Water in a couple seconds. My kids loved watching me do it. I guess the bottom line is I had to change how I ate, not just what I was eating. You have to remember the mechanical part of the stomach has been reduced GREATLY. It cannot process food partially chewed like it used to. It will complain. Perhaps give this a try.

I don't know the answer to this, but if it were true, I would think the Far East population would be a little larger up there ... both women and men ... right? Hate to generalize, but ...

Hello fellow Oregonian! 1. Quitting smoking is hard, no doubt about it. I quit 10 years ago. Does it make much sense trying to get yourself healthy and smoke at the same time? If you are looking to make a change in your life, then make a change. The VSG journey can be stressful at times as you confront some of the unknown demons with (possible) issues with your relationship with food. Consult your PCP about smoking cessation options now. 2. I was told 6 weeks. That is when you get our of the 'possible leak' window. You want your staple line in your stomach to heal completely. Don't do anything to risk this. (which includes smoking as that can delay the healing process) 3. You have youth on your side. Younger skin is more elastic and stands a better chance at bouncing back. As far as worrying about it ... what options do you have? Is this something that would prevent you from having the surgery? Just start exercising once you get the all clear and you'll be fine. 4. I have tried dozens and settle on Premier Protein. You can get them at costco in chocolate and vanilla. Love 'em. Just know your taste buds will likely change from pre- to post-op. I had a Protein powder I loved pre-op that I couldn't stomach post-op. Too sweet and gross texture. So, don't go out and buy 6 months of your favorite Protein Drink because you like it pre-op. 5. Everyone is different here. One person's experience is not going to be yours. I had a relatively easy time with recovery. I attribute this to beginning a rigorous workout regimen a month prior. I did this to get my endurance up. I was able to go on the elliptical machine for 45 minutes at a pretty good pace when my surgery came around.

I found it quite common, so I stopped telling. Other people do not know the depths of my story. WLS is a highly personal decision and journey. I know there are a lot of people here who want to shout it from the mountain top. If that is what you have to do, go for it. Just know that there is potential for a backlash of opinions. I didn't realize it was such a polarizing thing until I did share it with someone and I got the, "Why can't you just eat less and move more?" responses. My wife and young children knew about it and I told the rest of my family a couple days prior to surgery. "Just thought I would let you know that I am having VSG on Friday. I've already researched it so if you would like to know more, Google it." I think it is a bit much for us to expect others to have understanding about something they could have no possibility of comprehending. That is why this forum is so great. We have gone through it. We are here to support each other and share our experience, strength and hope. I see a lot of posts from you today and it seems you are freaking out a bit. Have talked to a professional regarding your relationship with food? Everyone has a different definition of what VSG success is, so I cannot know what your goals are. I know you have rescheduled many times. Personally, I would advise not going forward if have lingering doubts. This is a drastic procedure which does forever change your relationship with food. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Do you follow the guidelines closely? Eat lean Protein first Don't drink just prior during or within half an hour after a meal Exercise I find the closer I stick to these guidelines, the less I deal with the issues you mention, even at +2 years out.

I'm a recovering alcoholic ... do the meetings often. It is easy to get your head spinning with all the changes. It helps to have a program of recovery in place. There is a forum here with cross-addiction threads HERE.

Just remember, whatever doesn't come out before surgery, will come out after. You will have just gone through stomach surgery ... are you really ready for a firm BM? Your option.

Hey, you're not going to be sleeping much, anyway, so ... It will give you something to do. I did not have to do this, but I was on all liquids, so, there was nothing in there, anyway ...

With the exception of the Brown's jersey, you look great! Congrats! If you want to look better, get a Broncos jersey. The women have inundated The Man's Room ...

I wear the Under Armour compression shirts. I can usually find a $10 off coupon at d**k's Sporting Goods. They keep everything, no just the moobs, from jiggling too much while exercising, too. Well worth the investment. ** Edit ** Ha! The auto-censor made asterisks out of the reference to the sporting goods store ... I guess they need to change their name to Richard's Sporting Goods.

For me, it was a culmination of many things. I was easily out of breath doing the smallest activities with my young children ... Used a CPAP for 10 years ... Hated walking past mirrors or reflective windows where I could see my profile ... Knew I was crushing my wife during ... Borderline diabetic ... Knew my morbid obesity was killing me ... My doctor was going to put me on all kinds of meds ... I convinced my Dr to give me 6 months to try to straighten things out on my own. 6 months later, after my labs came back with no difference in my labs, I knew I had to take a drastic measure if I was going to have any quality of life. You don't see too many morbidly obese older people and I planned on living for awhile, so ... VSG it was. When you add it all up, for me, it became an easy decision, and one I don't regret at all at over 2 years post. Good luck with whatever you decide. ** EDIT ** Sorry, ladies ... I try to check the forum before posting, but missed it. I'll remove if you like ...

So, my instructions were similar. Cooked vegetables are not the same as fresh vegetables, from the perspective of the stomach being able to digest them. Don't go near a raw carrot for a couple months, for sure. But a cooked, squishy one? Fabulous. Go for it. I lived on soups the first 6 weeks. French onion was the first. Ham/veggie lentil and chicken veggie soon followed. Then ground turkey veggie chili got added. I pureed them less and less as I progressed. Avoid celery as the fiberous strings are not good. Makes me think ... Asparagus can be fiberous, too, so be sure to dice them well prior to cooking. Of course, contact your medical team for confirmation, but cooked, fresh veggies, as long as they are mushy, should be fine.

How would the system discern whether their post added value or was some off-thread pondering? The system would need to be based off of values that it can make decisions off of. Number of posts is something which is easy to track. Using the forum join date, would be another. These are metrics the user cannot change to circumvent the system. A user-entered surgery date in the profile should also be able to be used, but, a user could change that to gain entry to post. Agree, it should be available to read for everyone. ** EDIT ** Also, I don't think proximity to goal has anything to do with being a vet. I think some great lessons can be learned from someone, over a year out, who is having difficulty getting to goal. Also, this would again be a field a user would have control over making whatever adjustments to gain entry.

Yes, that is what I was asking for, too. Adjust and enforce the posting guidelines. In the thread, I believe Susan said she would be monitoring people's requests in this regard and make adjustments, but alas ...

Y'all remember THIS thread? I don't think there is a plan to try to "police" the forums, which, is too bad. There are many threads with this request, yet ...

I agree ^. I always regained it faster than I lost it. I guess, for me, it has been relatively easy to maintain. I attribute that to the fact that, for the most part, I pretty much still follow the general guidelines. I eat my lean Protein first. I chew thoroughly and put my utensil down between bites. I stop eating when I feel the restriction. I don't inhale my food like I used to, which for me, was a big issue. I was able to form these new habits by following these guidelines from day 1. If you remember back about a year or so ago, there was a thread about why you don't need to follow the "Rules", which I argued was a dangerous topic to propose. I believe for long term success, we need to change our fundamental relationship with food. I never treated them as "Rules", but more as guidelines. Like you, Jane, I can't go back ... won't go back.

I just wanted to add that pretty much every diet I tried worked. Worked wonderfully. I lost 30 pounds on Slim-Fast ... then went off of it and gained back 40. Lost 40 with Atkins ... stopped and gained back 50. Did the caveman with lots of exercise and lost 20, but then winter came and ... well ... gained 30. So, the diets worked for me. I lost weight. I just couldn't keep it off. That is not the diet's fault. This is why I went with the sleeve. It forces me to not abuse food the way I used to. I have lost my excess weight and not regained.

I avoided flour things until about the 6 month mark. I could have probably had some sooner, but you really need to take advantage of the first 12 months as that is your best window to lose weight. Don't jeopardize it by feeding your taste buds only. If you are getting the surgery and wondering when you will be able to eat cake, you may want to take a closer look at your relationship with food.

Why eat out? Because it is a fun, social thing to do. Sushi with rice will need to be avoided for awhile as rice is one of those nutritionally irrelevant foods that occupies WAY too much space. It is also a food that will expand more once it gets into your stomach. If you are still in the window where leaks could happen, this could potentially be dangerous. When I went out early on, I would get Soups and ask the waitress to have them pureed. No problem. As I progressed, so did my selections. When I am out with my wife or family, we split. We still have doggy bags, too! So ... why wouldn't you eat out?

I think to summarize what a lot of people have said (and was true for me) ... be sure to exhaust every means possible before VSG. This is a drastic, life altering procedure. I'd say somewhere between marriage and having children, for me. It makes me crazy reading posts from people who say they regret the surgery and wish they would have tried a diet instead. (You mean you haven't tried that a dozen times already? ... Really?)

I also have a desk job. My surgery was on Friday and I was back to work the following Wednesday. I worked half days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but was full time that following Monday. Never had a problem. Brought my protein shakes (premier) to work. I could sip and walk just as easy at work as I can at home.