PdxMan

Ah, you beat me. I was 4 days. As long as nothing hurts and you're OK with it, go for it. Just no swinging from the trapeze. (at least for a week or two). ????

Hmmm ... A tube should only have two dimensions, length and diameter, so I don't know which it is, assuming the 7.5 is length. Not much they can do on that one. It is what it is. Do you follow the rules explicitly? Not drinking before, during or after? Do you start with the lean Protein first? As long as you are doing that, you'll be fine. The difference between an once or two will only amount, on average to a few dozen calories, assuming you are eating healthy. So, let's say you are then eating 100 more calories per day than the sleever next door. That means that after 35 days, you will have lost one less pound than them. (3,500 calories = 1 pound) Calculate it like you want to, bottom line is you are going to lose weight if you do the right things. An inch here or there in stomach size really isn't going to be that impactful.

On my longer runs I have energy gels or the like for the same reason.

Hey all, look who stumbled in ... I detail a recent experience HERE. The whole thread is a good read. All I know is that I would bonk during my running. Some days, I could run 4 miles, other days I couldn't get past two. The difference was with the amount of food I could pack in. I am quite competetive in my races and was soooo irked that I knew I could run at a certain pace, but would fail miserably at times. I threw caution to the wind and starting at about 36 hours pre-race, I try to carb up. I also drop my protein consumption down to as low as possible. Basically, no protein shakes, no meats ... carbs. They quickly get converted and stored as glycogen. Well, it worked for me. I was able to run consistantly 5 or 6 miles, but then ... Bonk How am I ever going to run a half marathon? My only other solution was to try to get in even more. So, I starting drinking with my meals 36 hours pre-race. As is detailed in the link above, I was able to increase my intake by double. I don't recommend this for sleever unless you are doing some serious exercise to expend it. I definately can eat more when I drink with my meals. BTW, it didn't affect my weight loss, either. With the extra exercise, my body needed the calories. As you can see in my signature, I lost until I reached my goal weight and I am now at maintenance.

Wow! Nice job. I'm so jealous. I've been down with IT Band issues, going to PT twice a week. I'll have to live vicariously through you. Congratulations!

It was a few months before I was able to eat salad. Started with iceberg, progressed to romain and then finally adding spinach. Actually, I just recently added kale, which is waaaay hardy. It takes awhile, but it comes back.

My wife made an embankment of pillows in bed for me. Slept and relaxed there. I couldn't imagine sleeping on my side or stomach early out. I am a 3/4 side to stomach sleeper, so it was a little odd for me. Couple weeks post op and I was back to sleeping that way.

A lot of folks have issues with milk products early out. You may be one of them. Just try non-cream based things for awhile. I pureed ham and lentil soup. Also, chicken veggie. It worked for me.

I have popcorn at the movies ... Just not as much and only after being at goal. This is not the end of our lives ... it is the new beginning.

Is there a registration page? Tried searching the GoogleVerse for 5K races on the 28th of Sept. Notta.

Huh?! I don't think chickens would make a good cutlery set. Gotta love mobile devices and their auto correct. Gerber is pretty high end. I have a Gerber cleaver ... can't find it after my last move, though. I think the most important aspect of a *good* knife is how it feels in your hand. Is it balanced well? As far as utencils, which I'm guessing you're referring to since you mention taking smaller bites, just get a good steak knife. Do you have a honing blade?

Since we're changing behaviors with our sleeve, it might be time to change behaviors ... I'm not saying ... I'm just saying ... If we want to change our behaviors, then we have to change our behaviors. Know what I mean?

My pre-op was a lean and green diet for 2 weeks. Protein shake for Breakfast and lunch dinner was lean protein with a large salad. I usually did tuna, but occassionally had shrimp or chicken. My salads were large and had all kinds of veggies in them, too. If I got hungry after dinner, I was allowed to have a Protein Shake. I lost 10 pounds on my pre-op diet.

I never had a stall on my way to goal. Never. Not one. You know why? I weighed myself once a month. What is a stall? Who gets to define the parameters that make up a stall? Weight doesn't change from: Hour to hour ... day to day ... week to week ... month to month? Your definition may be different from someone elses. I like my solution best. Weigh yourself once a month and you never see the small periods where your body is adjusting. You're never discouraged. Don't be a slave to the scale. Isn't that one of the reasons why we did this?

I have been at goal for several months now. I am 14 months post. I still have excellent restriction and can not see myself overeating at this point or anytime soon. The sleeve is different from the band and RnY. The stomach is smaller and you really can't stretch it back to a point where you can overeat. You still have to make good decisions, of course. I could eat a bowl of ice cream 5x a day. If I make bad decisions, I will have problems with weight loss for sure, but for me, one aspect of this journey was being able to examine my relationship with food. Everything has changed with the sleeve and that includes my thinking. Good luck!

Sorry, I don't understand. Your surgeon's letter says weight/BP and your PCP only collected weight. Why can't you drop by your PCP's office and have a nurse take your BP and add it to the letter? Just would hate for it to be an issue.

Lia at The Portland Clinic in downtown Portland. She is awesome! BTW. I also tried orthotics, custom as well. Couldn't stand them. The above mention therapy and MBTs did the trick for me.

I had severe PF as well. Some mornings, I had to crawl to the bathroom the pain was so bad. I bought 4 pairs of MBT shoes just so I could function. Highly recommend them. After a year of doing PT, I still had the issue, so my Podiatrist suggested a new PT method called ASTYM. Basically, it is the most painful, ticklish thing you have ever experienced. The premise is the tendons have attached themselves to the surrounding tissue which is not as nice and straight as it could be. So, the therapist uses a hard plastic tool to scrape the plantar, the calves and all the surrounding tissues to dislodge the tendons and straighten them out, thereby lengthening them. 8 sessions later I was a different man. Check it out and see if your PT can do it or recommend. It takes special training and whoever *invented* it gets a royalty each time its performed, so it is not a widespread practice. 2 months after the therapy, I got sleeved. I have absolutely no pain in the foot at all. I still do where my MBT shoes, but not when I am running or exercising. They are not meant for that. You really need shoes that support your specific level of pronation for those activities. Again, it is ASTYM. Google it. It works.

Wow, your smile says it all. Nice job!

I think BrokeMyHalo is spot on. I hope I don't come across as a know it all or judgemental ... I'm not trying to be. But we can give you all the recipes and ideas in the world and it is not going to help resolve a poor relationship with food. You know what you need to do. We know the foods we shouldn't be eating, but we did it anyway. We have choices between a carrot stick and a candy bar, but the candy bar makes us *feel* better. Why is that? I think each of us has to answer that in our own way. The sleeve is a tool to help us eat less, not make food choices. Bottom line is, it's up to you to make this work and if you *truly* want it to, you may need to delve deeper into your relationship with food, whether that be professional or self-help. Good luck and keep us updated on your journey.

Nah, don't worry too much about the Protein at this point. You won't end up in the ER with an IV in your arm because of low protein, but you will due to low liquids. Increase your protein as best you can.

Drop by and have the nurse take your blood pressure ... no worries ...

I was laproscopic and was outpatient. Worked for me. There's a bunch of sick people in hospitals ... no thanks!

Do a search on stall. This is very common at where you are at. The initial loss is fluids and now it is time for the fat to start burning. You are right where you are supposed to be at. Just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing.

BTW, I've been poking around over at LapBandTalk lately just to see what the folks over there say about the sleeve. The most negative comments I see are from people in the first month post-op complaining about being hungry and having issues eating/drinking. Have no doubt about it, the first month is difficult as you begin to eat after having 85% of your stomach removed. If you think about it, though, it does make sense that you have to take things easy. From what I read over there, their expectations are higher than the reality. After 6 weeks or so, things smooth out nicely and you begin enjoying "eating like a normal person". That is all I ever really wanted and that is what the sleeve has given me.