DebiC

I only weigh in every two weeks and so I was convinced I hadn't lost any weight the past two weeks with the holidays and all. I was super shocked when I weighed in today and found I had lost 12 lbs since my last weigh in. At my weight this loss isn't visible (not even to me)-but I can feel it in being able to move easier. I'm so excited. It hasn't been easy-but not really hard either. In spite of the several small issues I'm really glad I did this. I only wish I had done it years ago!!

Beth-You say you are on stage 3. Stage 3 is usually mushies so you should be able to eat some things that are "real" food. Like refried Beans, puddings, pureed Soups and chili's, eggs, cottage cheese, tuna, Peanut Butter etc. I can't believe you are getting to eat mushies at 5 days! I thought my doctor was liberal and he made us wait 2 weeks for mushies and 4 weeks for stage 4 full regular diet.

Indymom-Share Greek Salad dressing recipe? Please?

I had been to this site before-but forgotten. Thanks for posting it. She has tons of good recipes.

Everyone I have told has been excited and supportive (but then again I need to lose 250+ lbs). I live in a very close knit community where everyone knows everyone else's business. People know I had surgery-but for those I chose not to tell the truth to-I just said I had exploratory surgery. I have an issue with telling thin people-I feel like they then watch everything you eat from then on and love to monitor you. I did share with most of my heftier acquaintances just in case they too were considering WLS and had questions. I have had family members say "Are you allowed to eat that?" and I explain AGAIN about my eating plan and let it go at that. I would have gone ahead however with or without their support, but thankfully I have their support. They knew that my weight was killing me and how many other times I had lost and gained.

You can't wait to wear? Besides a swimsuit, what is the one thing you most like to picture yourself in once you are at or near your goal. For me it is a dress (I have recently been looking at wrap dresses) with nylons and strappy not too high heels (I'm 6' tall barefoot) and I have always wanted to have a blazer to wear with jeans (a pair of jeans is the first thing I'm buying when I lose a little more!!)-Goodbye polyester stretch pants!!!!! I have not been able to just go to a store and buy clothes for probably 20 years. Not only am I big, but I am also tall so tops especially have had to be custom made (so they are long enough to cover my belly and hips) because we all know that if our fat is covered with clothes no one will know we are fat underneath!! I lost enough weight to actually buy a dress for my daughters wedding 10 years ago (I still have it) but that is the only regular store purchase I have made. I am so tired of being limited to what I can order from LB and Roaman's and besides how can you tell what it will look like on you when their models are all a size 10 at the most? Anyways, I just thought you might want to share your innermost clothes fantasy with those of us who can relate.

It will get better. There is no standard amount that you need to consume at this early stage. Right now the most important thing is to stay hydrated. Your body can live on the stored Protein for a little while until you are able to consume more. Some people make up Protein shakes and just sip on them all day. My doctor wanted us to have 3 shakes (or full liquid meals) a day. These first 4 weeks or so are the hardest. You are trying to change a lifetime of eating habits into completely new habits. So just take it slow. Keep coming to the boards and ask all the questions you want. Everyone's journey is unique, but you are bound to get some suggestions or advice that you will find helpful. So for now just worry about getting liquids in. Sip Sip Sip. Water, popscicles, tea, broth. Whatever makes your tummy feel better. Try to get your shakes in, but just make sure you are staying hydrated. Good luck.

Not that I really eat the same thing every day. But always looking for new ideas. It's only me most of the time so I don't have much interest in making casseroles or anything with more than about 3 ingredients! I'm not really watching carbs-I allow myself 1 bread/starch max each day. Love the sandwich thins/bagel thins (can only eat 1/2 at a time) Today I Pam sprayed a corn tortilla and grilled it. Top with 1/4 cup fat-free refried Beans, onion, fresh salsa and 3 Tlb Fat free cheddar cheese. What quick, easy things do you make (outside of shakes of course)? Share some ideas????

I have to agree. If you weigh yourself too often (One person on here was weighing herself every hour!) you are bound to get concerned. Our weight just varies too much. As hard as it sounds try to just weigh in once a week. Same time, same day. You will get a much more realistic picture of your progress and much less stress in your life. Hang in there. It would be almost impossible to gain REAL weight when you are consuming about 600-800 calories a day.

I have a very similar habit. I feel like I have to have something to eat just as I'm going to bed. Even it is usually 5 or so hours since dinner, I don't think it's real hunger. My doctor is a strict 3 meals-no Snacks. so I feel like I'm cheating, even if I only take 1 bite of something. I have halfheartedly tried to stop, but not made a real effort yet. I guess it's time.

I too had a laproscopic hysterectomy and that was much worse than my VSG. I had no pain from my sleeve. Didn't even take pain meds in the hospital. While I know that is not normal-it was my experience. I also was much more tired after the hysterectomy. I was able to do normal activities much sooner with my VSG.

7 weeks out. I can manage 1 egg and a slice of bacon or a sausage. I hear that people are able to eat more as time goes by. The drinking with meals causes the food to flush through your sleeve faster. Some people purposely drink so the food will go down so that they can eat more. I have to admit that this is one problem I still have and on occasion I forget and just take a drink. I don't think that it will "harm" you. But it's probably something you don't want to make a regular habit. It's the one thing it seems ALL the doctors and clinics agree on.

7! But my surgeon also said that my surgery had been particularly difficult. I figure with all the sagging skin I'll have I'll never notice the scars!!

What a good attitude! I wish you all the success you can have in this coming year. 2012 will definitely end differently for all of us than it started.

I notice a lot of people setting short term goals (i'm sure most all of us have the long term goal of achieving a "normal" weight). Is this just a number you "hope" to meet by a certain date or do you actively work towards reaching that goal? I'm curious what you do extra to achieve those goals? Do you eat less? Eat less carbs? exercise more?

I have not-but more because I am a Pepsi addict than anything else!! My doctor takes a hard line on soda-but I know some people handle it OK. Personally, as much as I crave it-I don't dare take even a sip. Every one I know that has regained weight attributes it to soda. I know that I can't handle just one sip. I see no redeeming value to soda. In addition to just losing weight-I'm here to learn healthier eating habits and for me that can't include soda. My doctor says that the carbonation can contribute to stretching your sleeve. Others in this forum say that is not possible. Not willing to take that risk. It was hard enough to give it up pre-op.

Your soup looks so good but I have never seen the Progresso Enchilada soup around here (Utah). Do you have it at any stores besides Walmart?

Sounds delicious! Have you ever tried it with chicken pieces (breasts). No one in my family eats dark meat. Since you are rubbing the spice into the skin-is the flavor there when you remove the skin to eat? Thanks so much. I wish more people would share recipes-Hint Hint to everyone reading this!!!

Wow. Look at the difference. Keep up the good work

The shoulder pain could be gas-have you tried taking any anti-gas medications or walking it off? I have also heard that excess acid can cause hunger like sensation. Did your doctor give you anything? My doctor did not-in fact he was surprised that I had taken Pepcid on my own (I was having horrible heartburn at night after surgery). Be careful about what you take bites of. As your stomach is still healing you don't want to do anything that could cause it to leak or not heal properly. I was allowed cream Soups, cream of wheat, things like that starting the day after surgery. Maybe a few bites of something filling, but liquidy would help with the desire to eat. Hang in there. In a few weeks you'll be able to eat more normally and this will be nothing but a memory.

Thanks PdxMan for the advice about salads. It's hard for me to get used to the Protein first-I have spent a lifetime training myself to eat my veggies first. It's that upside down WLS food pyramid! The "Treat" things I talk about are usually just a something before bed. A longtime habit I need to work on kicking. Not really much of a trigger since I am eating it just before bed. The problem is that I generally have had my dinner meal about 4-5 hours before bed. Not really wanting a protein snack just as I am heading up to bed. Unfortunately I can't have any artificial sweeteners, otherwise Feedyoureyes suggestions would fit the bill. I just need to retrain my old habits (afterall, look where they got me in the first place!) thanks everyone for your advice. I was just feeling kinda down today. I don't believe in weighing yourself everyday. That can be frustrating. But it would be nice to be able to weigh myself once a week so I can have some positive feedback. When I lose 15 more pounds I'll be able to weigh whenever I want on my doctors scale.

6 weeks out here and on normal foods. I still get a little nausea sometimes for the first few bites (or even drinks). But I also get a little nausea if it's time to eat. Nothing major. I kind of chuckled when I read "looking forward to day of being normal with my eating". I'm not sure if that ever really happens after being sleeved. While I can eat almost anything I want-it is a far cry from normal eating. Eating slow, small bites, thorough chewing, eating Protein first (instead of veggies as I've done all my life), not drinking with meals. It's a new "kind" of normal.

6 weeks out. Have been on regular foods for 2 weeks now. I worry that I eat too much. Not so much wrong things, just too much. For instance if I have a salad with my meal I can eat a cup or more of that, yet my doctor wants me to eat 1/2 cup of food or so at a meal. No more than 4 oz. I only eat 3 "meals" a day. But at night I still have that habit of wanting something sweet. So I might have 1 bite of ice cream, 1 cookie or 1/4 of a cupcake. I know he would disapprove, but yet I feel that is something I enjoy and I don't think I'm over doing it. I only have the opportunity to weigh every month-I weigh more than my regular doctors scales so have to wait until I have appt with surgeons clinic. Too far away to go to just to weigh in. Because I started out with such a high weight-my weight loss is much less noticeable. A few years back I lost 100# on WW and still wore the same size clothes. So I don't expect to SEE any difference for several more months. Just hard to gauge if i am on the right track. I keep reading how much everyone else is losing and just don't feel like I'm having the same success.

Like Meg I get more of an irritable type thing. Not really hunger, but I can tell when it's been about 4 hours since my last meal. 6 weeks out and my doctor is one who stresses 3 meals and no snacks. I have no desire to eat between meals and if I try to eat before 4 hours have gone by, it is uncomfortable. Still having to deal with the head hunger tho. Seeing something that looks good, or more often feeling full, but still seeing a few more delicious bites on my plate.

The only day you will ever be a failure is the day you give up. Thanks LilMissDiva-I needed that today. Thanks Debbie for posting this. I just finished my first non-program Breakfast since my surgery. Visiting family and my niece made packaged muffins-something I would never eat at home. And I ate 3! I am only 5 weeks out so not only no protein-all white flour and white sugar, but way too Much food for my sleeve. I feel sick and hope that I learned my lesson. but as everyone says, it was one meal (or one day) and as long as we get up and get back on the horse-we should look at this slip and think about how to handle this better next time-as there will surely be a next time. Good Luck-