PdxMan

When you are doing the liquids, remember the pyloric valve will open and empty the stomach often. No, you won't be able to drink the 10oz container like you would have before, but you will be able to get it in. By the time you are on your third drink, the first drink is already moving out of the stomach.

Hey all, sorry I am late to the party. I haven't read all the posts, but I thought I would share some of what has worked for me. I, too, use the energy gels or squares for runs over 45 minutes. I've tried GU, Roctane, Cliff, Hammer ... they all have pretty much the same effect on me and that is to keep me from bonking, something which was common before I used them. I thought it was cheating, but I discovered it helped me have better, more rigorous workouts. We are already challenged nutritionally, so we need every bit we can get. As I was running almost daily with runs in excess of 15 miles on the weekends, I started searching for a way to make my own gels: Blackstrap molasses (half Tbs) Honey (half Tbs) Brown Rice syrup (1 Tbs) Salt (couple shakes) Yes, it is sweet, but it does the trick. Have a bottle of Gatorade handy to shoot it down. On race days, I would crush a caffeine pill in, too. It opens the blood vessles for better circulation. Nope, it's not cheating, either. Look at all the other racers with their Starbucks in hand ... I talk about clothing on my blog under the Equipment section. I still think the information is relevant any time of year. I would caution against running without a shirt as the moisture remains on the skin. Stay away from cotton, too, (Shirt, socks, shorts, underwear) as it doesn't wick the moisture away as well the performance-wear. I hope to get back to running in the next couple months as I recover from my second back surgery in 3 months. (Ruptured disk) I get so jealous when I pass other runners on the road. I have been able to maintain my weight, though, through it all by falling back to the basic guidelines of sleeve eating. Remember to do active stretching before running and static stretching after. Roll your IT Bands and wear proper footwear, clothing and reflective gear ... even in the day. Don't run at the same pace for every run. Muscle memory is a bad thing for runners. Mix it up. Get training guides online. If you're not sure ... ask.

MOM is what worked for me, too. And just because things start moving doesn't mean you should stop taking it. I was on it for at least a week.

Yes, you are being paranoid. There are risks in every surgery, but hopefully you have done your research on your Dr. It is your job to ensure they do their research on you. You must be forthright in all of your information regarding your medical history. Holding something back because you are embarrassed can only do you harm. There are complications associated with this surgery, so be sure to ask your Dr what their track records is. How many leaks have their patients had? What do they do for follow-up to check for leaks? You're going to wake up, don't worry.

You just had major surgery. Your stomach tissues are still WAY swollen. Once the swelling goes down, you will be able to drink the liquid and get the nutrition you need. It just takes time, but it will get better. Even for those with major complications, over time, it does get better.

Well ... stalls happen ... they are a necessary part of the journey. This is not going to happen according to your calendar, so pitch the scale. It measures weight, not fat, which is what I was looking to lose. When you are doing Zumba, are you the sweatiest person in the room? If not, you should be. If you are, good job. Keep it up. The weight will come off, trust me. It took a while to put it on and it will take a while to take it off. Breathe.

I guess I would wonder why you are doing a pouch test at 4.5 months out? I don't understand why any sleever, for that matter, would do a pouch test. As I understand it, it is designed for bypass patients who have stretched out their pouch a bit. Their pouch is made out of the fundus which is still part of the stretchy part of the stomach. Taking in liquids and other foods that quickly move through their pouch so it can shrink back a bit and they can feel more restriction. Since our sleeves don't really stretch that much, in no way near what a bypass pouch does, we are not going to get the benefit of doing this. My guess is you are currently frustrated by a stall. Correct? Just follow the guidelines laid out by your Dr and it will break. Don't drink before, during or immediately after eating, eat your lean Proteins first and exercise. When you exercise, don't just go through the motions ... get a sweat going. The weight will come off if you follow these guidelines.

Mango cabbage slaw/spinach salad and tri-tip chili

I'll be 20 months out Friday and just finished my chocolate Premier protein shake. It is a great breakfast for on the go. And they taste good, too!

Just keep breathing, just keep breathing ... Woo Hoo! My best advice would be to ask to walk as soon as you remotely feel up to it. That is the quickest way to start the gas absorption and get the anesthesia moving out of your system, too.

I see this has been here for an hour since posted with no comments from the ladies, so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in. Of course, I did not have a hysterectomy, but we all have our reasons for getting the surgery. Weight gain after any surgery is just one of them. Does it really matter if it was after hysterectomy, knee replacement, spinal fusion, _____ ... fill in the blank. I would guess, like me, the surgery for 99% of us has been a fabulous, life saving procedure. If you have tried conventional methods (notice plural) of losing weight and have struggled, it doesn't really matter. I can come up with about 6 reasons why I was morbidly obese, but it all circles back to my poor relationship with food. Good luck with your research and keep coming back!

You sound exactly like me at this stage. I did this until about the 6 week mark as I had a lot of fear about progressing to the next stage. Any time I tried even the smallest of bites of "regular" food, it did not feel comfortable. My stomach had gotten so used to not performing its mechanical function, that anytime I introduced something other than puree, it just wasn't comfortable. Bottom line, I had to get over my fears and take baby steps re-introducing "real" food. I started with cottage cheese, then did the baby bell cheese. Added tuna SEVERELY mixed with ranch and then lessened the amount of ranch daily. Doing this got me through this initial phase and I was able to progress from there. Good luck!

I told my mother a few days before surgery. "Just thought I would let you know, I am having a bariatric surgery this Friday. Not looking for any dialog on this, but I know you would be upset if I told you about it after." She had no choice but to accept it. If she were more extreme, as it may appear to be in your case, I probably would have waited and told her the first time I saw her, which would have been 3 months later with significant loss. She would have had no option but to see the results and be happy for me. Sounds like you are in a no win situation. Get yelled at for having the surgery or get yelled at for not telling her about the surgery. Any way you look at it, you're going to get yelled at, so, I would prefer post-surgery b!tch session.

And I quite love the woman I married. There is a reason why the divorce rate for WLS patients is so ridiculously high. I don't want to be on that side of the statistics. Leading a selfish, ego-centric life was taking me there fast. Entitled thinking is for sports stars ... and everybody who thinks they have been wronged in life ... Right? Yeah. Uh huh.

Nope, not insinuation that whatsoever. Furthest thing from it, actually. Just because I am seeking attention from the opposite (or same, depending on the team you play for) sex doesn't mean I want to have an affair with them. It usually stems from something missing from your relationship or something within yourself. Self-esteem issues or things like that. It could be a number of reasons which I am not going to iterate here. Only one of those reasons would be to have an affair. In my previous post, I was not motivated to have an affair for my behaviors. It was something far deeper.

SummersGirl, being true to ourselves is the best we can hope for. I have failed in this department more than once, for sure. But as long as I am able to be honest with myself and make corrective actions to my character defects, I will have no reason to be concerned about what other people think. Even my spouse. I know, personally though this journey, it is easy to get sucked in to the attention from others. I had always been the fat kid never being noticed by anyone. Women never approached me, I had to gain their attention by other means, which worked somewhat. We all try to use our assets as best as possible to be validated in this world. I didn't have boobs, so ... When I started losing weight, I started getting attention from people, including women, at a level I had never experienced. It was intoxicating, I have to admit, if I am being honest with myself. I wanted more. This led me down a path of ego-centric behaviors which could have easily destroyed my relationship with my spouse. It was only when I reflected honestly on my motivations for doing what I was doing that the root cause was revealed. I don't think I am a unique case in this community. I'm guessing a few folks may have experienced the same thing or will be soon. Being honest with ourselves and looking at what motivates us in our behaviors is critical. If the answer is innocuous, fabulous, but if it isn't, then do the right thing. That's all I have been trying to say here. Good luck to all

Wow, now I said or implied she was looking for an affair? You are really reading a lot into my posts. Amazing how they can be so mis-interpreted. Have you even read my posts or just gave them a quick glance? Try re-reading them without cynicism. I'm really not trying to be negative but supportive. Especially in relationships, it does everyone good to examine your own role in a disagreement. Pretty much in EVERY situation, each party has some culpability.

She is around, last active 25 minutes ago. Here is a link to her profile. You can also search for her. She is a great member of our community here.

Sliming occurs if you eat too large of a bite, don't chew well enough or take bites too quickly. As NurseGrace says, your saliva glands go into hyperdrive. I had it happen once and it wasn't a vomitting sensation for me. It was closer to choking. Not fun. I stood over the sink while this foam just poured from my mouth. I wasn't able to swallow for a few seconds and then it passed when my throat brought up the poorly chewed peach bite. It's one of those things that teaches you a lesson, for sure. Small bites, chew well and don't hurry the next bite.

Wow ... must have struck a nerve. Re-read my posts. If you can argue that each person doesn't have a role in a disagreement, then ... god bless you. All I said was to take a look at the motivation behind your own behaviors. That is all any of us can do. We cannot and should not attempt to read the other person's mind as I am not trying to read your. I didn't say you were wrong whatsoever. All I said was to look at root causes.

Almost 20 months out, here. I can eat anything and everything, smaller quantities and takes me awhile sometimes. I CHOOSE my foods as well as I can, but sometimes ... The other afternoon, I found myself without a lunch and starting to feel burned out. Knew I had to eat. There was a McDonalds a block away, so I went in and ordered 1 cheeseburger. I was able to eat it all except for the last bite. I went into the trash. I was completely full. Took me about 10 minutes to eat it. About once a month, I will get a 6 inch tuna sub from Subway. I can eat about half of it in half an hour. I will then finish the rest about an hour or so later. I used to mourn not eating the way I used to until I started watching other people eat. Shoveling down huge quantities of food. I began to be so grateful that I didn't have to do that anymore. Love my sleeve.

Hmmm ... not sure exactly what the question is. Plain yogurt has a very neutral flavor. Yes, you can add anything you wish to it as a lot of people will add fresh berries and the like to it. I suppose you could blend in a slice of red velvet cake, if you wanted to ... If you purchased yoplait red velvet cake fat free yogurt, then it is not a 'plain' yogurt. But even with that, you could still add anything you wanted. What is your concern?