TheSkinnyCow73

Hey Amy ! I was sleeved 2/13 and I'm doing great - I can eat anything I want, just not a lot of it which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. I have to be careful to eat the right things and it does take some thought and planning to get enough Protein in each day but all in all, this is the best "dieting" experience I have ever had - I don't feel deprived, I'm certainly not hungry, and I CAN'T fail ! Very cool

Wow! I wish my post op instructions would have been full liquids right off the bat! This just goes to show you how different the plans can be depending on the doc.
My surgeon has them broken into phases.. I hope this helps...
Phase I: Clear Liquids (Day 1 - 7)
• Clear liquid Protein drink
• Beef or chicken broth
• sugar free jell‐O
• sugar free popsicles – less than 15 calories per serving
• Crystal light, sugar free Kool‐aid, Decaf tea – no herbal tea
NO coffee, caffeine or carbonated drinks
Daily Protein GOAL:
WOMEN: 40‐60 grams
MEN: 60‐80 grams
Phase II: FULL LIQUIDS (Days 8-14)
• 1‐ Protein Drink = 40 grams protein daily
• Skim milk, soymilk, other low fat milks
• Low fat cream Soups – can add 1 scoop Protein powder (no potato, on corn soup)
• Fat free (artificially sweetened “lite”) yogurt such as Carb Freedom or Dannon’s Light n Fit
• Low fat cottage cheese
• Any phase 1 liquids
Phase III: Soft Diet (Days 15-28)
Protein Foods:
Baked fish, canned tuna, salmon, crabmeat (well picked); soft, moist, baked, boiled or canned chicken or turkey, sliced chicken/turkey deli meat; peanut butter; tofu or other soy based meat analogs; liver, cooked Beans, low fat cheese, eggs.
Vegetables:
Vegetables must be soft, well steamed or boiled. Good choices are: carrots, beets, mushrooms, spinach, squash, green Beans, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, onions
Fruits:
Fruits must be soft, peeled and cored and non‐citrus. Good choices are: apples, peaches, pears, bananas, and cantaloupe
Starches:
AVOID all starches including: rice, potatoes, bread, corn, crackers
Fats:
Limit the amounts of the following: Small amounts of margarine, olive oil, or cooking spray (Pam); low fat mayo or salad dressing. Avoid GREASY, FRIED FOODS
Phase IIII - NORMAL FOODS (Day 29 onward)
you may transition to normal foods slowly. Make healthy/smart choices, read your labels. You want the protein/ carbohydrate ratio to be smart. The smart ratio is to eat 4 times more protein than Carbohydrates.

I am 3 weeks post op and just wanted to share this item that is helping me through the liquid and pureed part of the post op diet. Texas grocery store HEB has a milk brand Mootopia that had 12g of Protein, 40% less sugar than regular milk per 8 oz and is lactose and fat free. I was really struggling to get my protein in right after surgery and using this in my Protein Shakes, Soups and hot Cereal really helps up the protein content. I also drink on its own when I just can't stomach anything else.

I'm 2/12 weeks out and can only eat 1/2 egg but after about 1 hour I can eat the other half. Is that two much

Isn't it great! I can see my wrist and collar bones. What a beautiful sight! Congrats to you. Here's to further success in our anthropology project...digging up bones :0)

I have wrist bones! Granted they are still covered with fat but they are starting to show! and I can almost wrap my fingers around my wrist!!!!!

I administer FMLA for my work site and agree with the others. A formal diagnosis is not necessary as long as the doctor gives them your recovery time/return to work expectation. I would also warn them not to discuss your information with other employees including your supervisor. Your supervisor only needs to know that you will be out and for how long so they may make suitable arrangements.
Your supervisor is not allowed to ask you anything about your absence other than having you train others in preparation for your absence.

There is a diabetic sweetner called diabeti Sweet that is wonderful! No yucky aftertaste, but be careful not to use to much because it can cause loose BM! Also try skim milk in your coffee!

Yes, my surgeon told us at the pre-op seminar that the sleeve absolutely does stretch. But slowly and over years and years. Even when it does stretch, it only goes from holding 3-4oz of food to 3x that, at best 9-12oz of food. In fact, another sleever posted a great image of this a little while back:
http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/31265-sleeve-size-after-surgery-and-4-years-later/page__fromsearch__1
My doctor said it may feel like the stomach stretched in months 2-3 merely because swelling is going down from surgery and the lining is healed. But it's actually becoming the size they want it to be. Remember, a normal stomach can hold up to 60oz!! Which is why that stupid show "Man vs. Food" exists, though it's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen.

For the first time in my life I ran outside in the real world, with the intention of running, and with a running buddy! It was amazing, we really ran, this wasn't just some slow walking, we kept up a steady jog pace up and down grades AND talked! I felt great and the only part of me to conk out were my lungs and throat which felt like they were sucking ice shards, otherwise I felt good. And ... we did 2.75 miles!!!! The most I've done alone on a tread was 1.5!!!! My running buddy is a former personal trainer and is in excellent shape and she said that I did really well. yay

I'm 56 lbs down and am noticing a LOT of loose skin! I am a member of a gym and exercise regularly so I'm hoping to firm some of it up....if it doesn't....I'd rather be skinny with loose skin than fat and fluffy!

I'm always being asked how or what I did to get to where I am now. I'm always happy to answer any questions anyone brings to me, because I completely understand. I mean, I've been through it - the ups, the downs, the in-betweens... and I had even considered writing up a huge novel-like post to spell it all out.
But life got in the way, and here I am today.
Time got away from me and my project fell off the map. That's okay because I think that made the picture in my mind that I was trying to canvass a lot more clear. I'm seeing the forest for the trees now - and I have to tell you, the secret of my success is far more simple than I ever thought.
Finally early this morning as I was getting ready for work I started to simplify all the things I did that worked for me, and here is what I came up with:
The 5 P's to my success: Positivity. Patience. Persistence. Push Fluids. Protein First.

Minding my Q's: Quit the Salt. Quit the Sugar. Quit the Excuses. Quit the Denial.

Avoiding the C's: candy, Crackers, Cakes, chocolate, Cookies, chips, popcorn, iceCream.

When it comes down to it, these are the things that got me to where I am today. Seriously, nothing more and nothing less. I mean sure, I worked out and a lot - but I've got that covered with Persistence AND Quit the Excuses...
Blessings to you all. You'll get there, just keep doing all the right things!! I know, I say that all the time, and you ask - "well, what's that"?? Now, I've got "All the right things" written out on your screen.
THE KEYS OF SUCCESS.doc

So... it's almost with a heavy heart that I make this announcement. BUT I don't want to get ahead of myself, so I'll suppress those feelings for awhile.
Let me cut to the chase here. Ever since I've been working for my current employer and I've discovered a certain position, I've had my keen eye on it. Always hoping, praying that when the day it comes available, I would stand half a chance of it. It turns out that day has come. I've found out through the grapevine that as of September the person who holds the position will be retiring.
Anyhow, here's how the Lord really works in mysterious ways... I was curious to find out if this rumor was true. I didn't want to be rude about it so I went to ask someone if they knew of this, someone I talk to often. He responded "Yes!! She's retiring in September!!" Don't get it twisted, that's just his demeanor and not out of the ordinary for him to speak this way. So, I was immediately excited! Then he says, "She works for me, I'm her boss". I immediately felt a little embarrassed... I really had no idea!! So, I guess I had no other choice so I just blurted out that I would definitely be interested in that position if / when she does retire.
He just looked at me and nodded. Mmmhmmmm he says... now before I go on from here, know this... this man is a true character. I would never mind having him as my Supervisor. He's so crass and funny, very down to Earth. After this, he just smirked and said, well they really want someone with a background in Education. I immediately felt so let down!! I really didn't realize they wanted someone with that many credentials as I certainly don't have that. However I didn't let that stop me. I knew her classification and I know we are the same exact classification. It would be a simple lateral transfer, I wouldn't even have to apply for this job.
So I told him, hey! I can take the position and GET those credentials at the same time. I can go back to school and get an BA in ECE. Okay so there! What's four years worth of education for a position I'd retire with? I still will work another 20 (maybe more) years... I can do that!! This is my absolute dream job!! I would be traveling all over the State of California speaking to K-12 Teachers and educating THEM on materials regarding Forestry and Trees. I would provide them with fun facts and materials they would then pass on to their students. O...M...G... you know, I've always been called to do something like this. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a child. It just never came to fruition. I think this might be where my path has lead to all these years. Teaching Teachers about the beauty of Gods Creations. Of course I can't say it exactly like that, I work for the Government. That's okay though.
Back to the conversation with my co-worker: He seemed pleased that I really spoke up for myself. He seemed interested and impressed. I did tell him I was very interested and I asked him exactly what she does, and he explained it all to me. He also said she does a lot of telecommuting, also know as working from home. She travels a lot and makes a lot of contacts. She also sets her own schedule, pretty much is free to come and go as she pleases so long as the program is always up and running efficiently. I can so do this!!
He suggested I speak with the nice lady who runs the program, I said I would. She came in later that day and he told her to come talk to me about it... WOW!!! That's awesome right there! He was thinking about me in regards to filling her position. He did say she wanted to hand pick her replacement (of course she will never truly be replaced...) and she came right over to talk to me. Then later while I went out for a break and came back to a stack of materials on the program.. What does this mean? I don't know, I won't count my chickens just yet, but I surely won't back down until the bitter end!!
So, why is this my best NSV to date? Because if it weren't for my sleeve and my diligence in losing all my excess weight, and keeping it off I NEVER would have had it in me to go after this job. I never would have put myself out there to the extent I did with such courage and confidence to go get what I wanted. I don't know if I'll get the job or not, but I sure want it and I'd say right now it's looking good!!
Be blessed everyone. Dreams do come true.

I really like this Sara! One step at a time, SLOWLY!! Thanks!

Try Pork rinds next time you have a mexican night. Tastes wonderful in a taco salad or to scoop up a refried bean casserole. Per serving,,100 calories less as well as 0 carbs versus 27g in a single taco shell...and a whopping fabulous 8g of Protein per serving which is 1/2 ounce.

I had surgery on 1/31/2012. I have had a dream recovery. I've lost 45lbs so far (from my highest weight).
I've a few NSVs along the way already... not the least of which was having all of my work clothes, which were fairly expensive, taken in because they were falling off.
But, my NSV for today is a bigger deal to me because I've NEVER in my life been able to do it before. Not only can I cross my legs comfortably, BUT I can do it while sitting at my desk working. I can't believe my thighs are finally small enough to cross my legs under my desk and not get wedged in!!!
I LOVE the sleeved life!

Phewie! I am SO afraid that this horrendous, horrible, never-ending stall is not really over and the scale is just teasing me.....I'm afraid to hope, since I lost so much hope over these last 8 weeks!
On February 4, I hit the 50-lb lost mark, after only 3.5 months out of surgery. I hit 252 from my high of 302. I was so ecstatic, but I wanted to get to 249 so bad....that is SUCH a major mental marker, to be under 250 - the lower half of the 200's and on my way to onederland.
Then, my body betrayed me I was literally STUCK at 252, 253, 252, 251, 252 for EIGHT FLIPPING WEEKS! The worst part was, I wasn't losing inches, either!!! I kept getting on here (but not contributing much, I was pretty down), and everyone's response to everyone else's stall was "but wait, measure yourself, I bet you're losing inches" and most were losing inches, even though the scale wasn't moving. But not my body, no way, no how. It was a nightmare. All the momentum and excitement and hope I had since way before the surgery depleted a little bit more week by week. I kept logically telling myself, 'you know this is temporary, you know this happens, you know you're not done losing weight, you know you will break this.' But no matter what, it still sucked me down into the vortex of self-doubt and blame. I kept telling myself 'you need more Protein, more Water, more exercise, less carbs, stand on your head, try the cabbage Soup diet, try this, don't do that, etc, etc,' back into the world of diet failures and worrying 'am i doing enough? am i eating too much, am I not trying hard enough?'. I kept checking on here and reading about stalls, thought I knew it all, used to tell people to 'relax, you know you'll lose, we all do - stalls don't last forever'. Kept reading about people's three day, four day, one week, two week, and even *gasp* FOUR week stalls. They just made me feel even worse since no seemed to ever hit a EIGHT week stall after THREE months of surgery. Criminey...what the hell was wrong with my body!!?? What have I done to ruin my surgery so soon! Yes, I don't always eat right, and yes, I don't always get my protein or water in, but dang.....EIGHT WEEKS! NO pounds and even more devastating, NO inches, either. All under 1000-1200 calories a day....is it even physically possible??
But fast forward to late last week. The scale went to 250.8. Had been at 250 before, no biggie. Then 250.4, then 250.6, then 250.2, then 251, then 250.0!! Are you kidding me!! Really!! Then 250.0 for THREE MORE DAYS....it hovered there, hovered, taunting me, laughing at me....not even an ounce to help me along....
I had even stopped weighing daily during this stall, only doing so once a week, which hurt even more, cause I was sure after trying with all my might to not weigh for a whole week I would lose....but no, waiting until Monday didn't work, only disappointed me worse.
Then, miraculously, this morning.....got up, went pee, stood on the scale. 249.8. Off the scale, rub eyes, step back on. 249.8. Repeat 8 times. Same reading. Could it be?? Finally? Broke the stall? On my way to onederland? Finally below 250!!
So scared to get excited and hopeful again. What if it's not over?? It did this once before. From 252, I got down to 250.8 once in late February, but then shot up to 253 the very next day....and never saw it again. Till last week.
Now......249.
So scared....but excited, but scared to be excited, too. Wish I could see just a week into the future to know if I really finally broke my stall or not....actually, scratch that....If I have a wish, I want to see a YEAR into the future to see if I ever even get to onederland!!
Sorry for the negative post....those that know me know I'm not usually like this...which is why I've been so absent lately.
Love you all.....and SO glad you are all here, and we are here for each other!! :wub:

The hormones during pregnancy and while breastfeeding help our stomachs stay more relaxed. The body is an amazing machine and it adapts especially since we have altered guts. I breastfed Tatum for 4 weeks and almost no restriction. Within a week of having to quit nursing, my restriction was back on full force.
The pregnancy did NOT stretch your stomach. It's not physically possible. There is not enough tissue to stretch. What is happening is your stomach is relaxed and it's mushing the food more efficiently, moving it to the intestines faster, thus allowing you to eat more because your body needs more while pregnant and nursing.
This is NOT uncommon among VSG and RNY patients. I read about this for a year on obesityhelp pregnancy forum, didn't believe it would happen to me, but low and behold it did. Here I am with Tatum being 5 months old now, and I'm 12 weeks pregnant again, I still have the same restriction I had around my 9 month post-VSG experience and my hunger hasn't returned yet, but I know it will all happen again sometime in my 3rd trimester.
The best advice I got was to eat as much dense Protein as possible and avoid sliders and super soft foods to give the best restriction.
Edit to add:
Awww crap, I forgot you had plication. Totally not the same, hmmm I've read a few topics about the tummy stretching out at your point post-op. But, it could be the hormones contributing to stretchiness and lack of restriction.

I was the same, drinking relatively fast and easy, no problems! even after I was eating some normal foods I still felt like I could eat ok just way smaller amounts. Now I'm 8.5 weeks out and feeling more restriction even when drinking... like last nite I drank about 8 oz of my high Protein milk before bed too fast and I had to throw up alittle. So it definitly evolves over time!

It's all a game of mathematics, really. Relative proportions. The more body weight you have to lose, the more quickly it will come off. (That's not a guarantee, by any means.)
Your body has what's called a basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is the number of calories you need to do nothing other than live. I'm 5'10, so if my BMI were 35 I'd weight about 245, and my BMR would be about 1880. In reality with my weight my BMR is about 2315. That means I automatically have to eat about 435 calories more than you just to keep myself out of the deficit zone.
There are some other ways to look at it too. I.e. 5% of your EWL may be about 5 lbs, while 5% of my EWL might be about 12 lbs. So even if we both lose 5% right away, you've still lost fewer pounds than me. (I don't mean that in competition, just in terms of the relativity).
Or think of an onion. You peel off the first layer, there's not much difference in the overall size of the onion. Peel off another layer, and there's some difference but not a bunch. But eventually you get to the point where each layer makes a huge difference, even though the layers are about the same thickness. It's all about percentages and relativity.
(Like how as a kid your birthday takes FOREVER, and nowadays they seem to come up every time you turn around!)
HTH

I applaude her for all of her trials and going public but the lapband. Come on......that thing sucks and she will end up having that taken out. I do not know anyone who has been happy with their band. It was the happeist moment in my life when mine was removed. Do not miss the vomiting at all. How about any of you other former band patients.

Ha! Ha!
As I am sitting here at my desk (constantly fidgeting making sure "everything" is tucked in, covered and looks appropriate) I realized something..... my stomach isnt sticking out further than my boobies anymore! I dont know when this happened but woooohooooo anyway!!
It might be raining in Houston today but not on this NSV parade! It's definitely the little things that keep me going!! LOL

I am a slow loser too..... almost 2 months out and only lost about 16 lbs. Disappointed doesnt describe how I feel sometimes. I have to admit that I am not exercising as much as I should or could either. But, life goes on and a loss is still a loss, right? The 16 that I have lost will never be again is how I think of it!
I too have been told that they see it in my face (i would rather hear someone say, wow! your ass has gotten super thin! A girl can dream right!! ) and I can tell in my pants and shirts too. My work pants actually fit nicely and I am not having to stretch out the XL tshirts anymore to keep them from clinging to my belly area.
I will take the slow over nothing.. and with that, I am going walk the puppies for 30 minutes!
Keep your head up and Keep Rockin' your Sleeve!!!
Amy

Ha! Ha!
As I am sitting here at my desk (constantly fidgeting making sure "everything" is tucked in, covered and looks appropriate) I realized something..... my stomach isnt sticking out further than my boobies anymore! I dont know when this happened but woooohooooo anyway!!
It might be raining in Houston today but not on this NSV parade! It's definitely the little things that keep me going!! LOL