kimbernada

I think it depends on your doctor's plan as well as your body. I'm almost 11 months out and bread really doesn't appeal to me much. I still follow the "protein first" rule, and by the time I done eating my Protein, there isn't much room left. (Except when we are talking about popcorn - and I try only eat the light stuff.) I still love the smell of fresh bread, but knowing that it will probably just sit in my sleeve as sludge keeps me from eating it. I do like the Special K Multigrain crackers. I can take 6-10 out of the box, put a little tuna salad on them and eat... but the box doesn't call out to me like, say, Wheat Thins. (I loved Wheat Thins pre-surgery.)

I do not like the word or concept of dieting. I look at it as a way of eating, period. I chose to eat Proteins first, veggies, etc. I work on staying away from high glycemic carbs. I love the concept of the Paleo diet (there's that word again). This is something I must do to retain my healthy skinny body. If I gain weight, I'm jeopardizing my health and letting my loved ones down too. Besides, eating 500 calories is not fasting. It's just cutting back for 2 days if I choose. It's like a reboot to my system and it shrinks our tummy.

I'm done with diets. I swore off diets.. out of my life for good and I'm officially a member of dieters anonymous. My body has suffered enough abuse over the years. It's eat healthy w/excercise all the way or it just wasn't meant to be.
Lol.. Ok, sorry, carrying on ( I just hate the word diet)

Oh no, I am SO SORRY to hear that this happened to you. I want you to understand something though, as heavy people, our chances of getting a blood clot are so much higher even if we DIDN'T have surgery. Anyone can form a clot, its just that surgery increases the risk.
As much as this sucks, this may have happened anyway. Focus on getting better, please don't regret trying to save your own life.

6 months out and bread is a no-no for me. If it's toasted it's not as bad but dense, spongy bread sits there like a lead weight and makes me feel vaguely queasy.

I think it's just something that maybe takes some time for the brain to catch up with the body. Did you take any "before" pictures? If so, I think you should have some "now" photos taken. I tell ya, that's what really helps me to see the changes in my body.
Jeepers, I held up a pair of Victoria's Secrets panties today and thought "Absolutely no way would these fit." Yeah, they fit. I think I say this with ALL of my clothes now. Jeans, shirts, etc. The hubs really liked the leopard print VS bra I have on.

Best thing: #1 - Feeling healthier. Being able to go, go, go without getting tired. Going up and down stairs whenever without getting winded. My knees don't hurt anymore. Buying clothes at the thrift stores for super cheap. Someone at work had gastric bypass surgery about 15 years ago and had gained back some of her weight. She's brought me in all of her smaller clothes and I've given her all of my clothes that are too big for me. (Size 20-ish)
Worst thing: My pants are almost always baggy. Seriously, there is NOTHING else that qualifies... I have had no problems what-so-ever with the surgery, etc.

I've had tons of fun buying clothes at the thrift stores. One of places is super organized by size and color. I can zip in and fill up a cart of stuff in about 10 minutes... pants, shirts, jeans, shorts. It's way too expensive to buy brand new stuff during the huge weight loss stage. (Specifically casual business clothes.) Shoes, however, I don't buy used. I dropped from a size 11 to a 9-1/2. My bra size dropped from 48C to 40C - still a C-cup but I'm sure that will eventually drop. For NOW, I'm enjoying the girls. LOL (I mean, they look HUGE now that the tummy is smaller.)

I guess one reward is that I switched to Clinique skincare. That stuff is amazing. My chiropractor keeps telling me how amazed he is that I didn't "age" with the weight loss. I think it's the Clinique working.

I've had tons of fun buying clothes at the thrift stores. One of places is super organized by size and color. I can zip in and fill up a cart of stuff in about 10 minutes... pants, shirts, jeans, shorts. It's way too expensive to buy brand new stuff during the huge weight loss stage. (Specifically casual business clothes.) Shoes, however, I don't buy used. I dropped from a size 11 to a 9-1/2. My bra size dropped from 48C to 40C - still a C-cup but I'm sure that will eventually drop. For NOW, I'm enjoying the girls. LOL (I mean, they look HUGE now that the tummy is smaller.)

I use Syntrax powder. They have a chocolate latte, chock truffle and my favorite is Cookies n cream. I mix that with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, add a little crushed ice and pop it on my bullitt. Makes a nice little dessert. My friend just told me about a banana pudding shake I might try from GNC.< /p>

Yes, whodda thunk it? Some of the places you would think would be post op suicide can actually be some of our best friends!
Starbucks for example, they have a egg white, spinach and feta breakfast wrap. Un wrap it from the tortilla and you have Protein nirvana! Yummy too!
McDonalds, grilled chicken ceasar salad, same exact salad, every time, every place down to the 4, yes exactly 4 cherry tomatoes. Great lunch, I eat the chicken and .5 oz of shredded parm, the 4, exactly 4 tomatoes and I am good to go.
Did I mention, they have 4, exactly 4 of those little cherry tomatoes in every grilled chicken ceasar salad, every day in every McDonalds? I think I want the job of Tomato quality inspector for them. I can count to 4!
I guess it goes to show if we look just a little, healthy stuff have been among us for sometime.

Best thing: #1 - Feeling healthier. Being able to go, go, go without getting tired. Going up and down stairs whenever without getting winded. My knees don't hurt anymore. Buying clothes at the thrift stores for super cheap. Someone at work had gastric bypass surgery about 15 years ago and had gained back some of her weight. She's brought me in all of her smaller clothes and I've given her all of my clothes that are too big for me. (Size 20-ish)
Worst thing: My pants are almost always baggy. Seriously, there is NOTHING else that qualifies... I have had no problems what-so-ever with the surgery, etc.

I'm past rewarding myself at this point, but I loved going to the mall either to get something new, if needed, or just to window shop!!!! I still like trying things on just because I can.

They should tell us to stay away from the scale for the first couple of weeks.

They should tell us to stay away from the scale for the first couple of weeks.

Good news, your marriage to healthy food was not registered with the clerk of courts so you were not officially married! However, mayor Bloomberg may employ the IRS to drag you to NYC, jail you, and feed you oatmeal and tiny slushies.
One binge does not a lifetime ruin. Mentally kick yourself in the butt and then resume your journey to Slim City.

Nope. Everybody is different

Here are a couple of days... My goal is to eat around 900 calories and at least 80 grams of Protein. Nothing is really "off limits" except for trigger foods (Wheat thins, etc.) I have a little fridge under my desk at work and keep Atkins Protein shakes and Greek yogurt available. Plus I like Luna Protein Bars and Quest brownie Protein Bars. (The Quest ones are AWESOME after you microwave them for 10 seconds.)

At 4.5 months out, I can order what looks like a normal meal (though it might be an appetizer), and eat it slow, take most of it home, or share it with my husband, and no one is the wiser. But as far as feeling different from other people, I felt like that before surgery because I could eat all of whatever it was. Now, I think I feel more like other people because I eat less.

Well done you for admitting you have a problem. Go back to the basics of post op - high Protein, low carb and plenty Water. Give yourself small intermediate goals to aim for instead of just looking for the finishing line (which may be far away yet). Is there a local support group you can join?
P.S get rid of the ice cream or any other temptations from your home.
Good luck

For me, it is a tool. Yes, it's major surgery, but if I don't work it, I will gain weight. At two years post-op, it's pretty easy to eat enough to gain every ounce back.
Lynda

I 100% agree that it's a major surgery and we should be thinking of ALL the possible risks and complications prior to doing it. So many lives have been changed because of it.
Still, I'm going to call it a "tool". Just like obtaining regular exercise is a "tool". Just like obtaining counseling will give you some mental "tools" to employ to help you make better food choices and avoid emotional eating. The point of calling it a tool is to drive home the point that it IS NOT a magic pill... and it WILL NOT lose the weight for you..... It is still only a tool that we can choose to use or not to use.... and getting the sleeve is only ONE part of the equation. Granted, it's a tool that we have risked our lives to obtain.... it's a tool that if used properly can add many years of health to our lives... but it's still a tool... and to me to hear it called that in no way detracts from the gravity of the surgery.
It's all about context.. if someone is saying.. "it's just a tool.. no big deal" when they're contemplating surgery.. then yeah.. they definitely are looking at it wrong.. but when you've got people saying "Remember, this surgery won't FIX you.. it's only one tool that will help you on the journey"... that's a completely different context.

I totally agree with Makemyownluck.
I call it a tool to try to explain to people that having surgery wasn't a magic fix-all.

I totally agree. While I do try to keep my daily calories around 900 (rarely less than that now), I still let myself indulge in the good stuff. Granted, most of my "indulging" has been within the last few months - with Christmas and Easter goodies. (Why are all the typically "bad" foods called goodies?) We didn't have any of that stuff at our house, but the in-laws and my parents did for Christmas and almost ALL of my co-workers had Easter candy. OMG... one of those Reese's flat eggs has 90 calories! After this bit of over-indulging, I have learned that I just cannot have chocolate readily available to me. I can't. I couldn't before surgery, so I obviously can't afterwards. Having the sleeve doesn't stop me from eating the high calorie slider foods. We do not keep ice cream in the house anymore. (sugar free fudgesicles, yes.)
We did have a pint of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough a few weeks ago. The hubs wanted the container for a photo shoot he was doing. We shared it. I scooped out the first inch or so and put it into a little glass condiment dish. He ate the rest. It was FABULOUS! (What's scary is that pre-surgery, we would get a large pizza delivered from the local pizza joint - split it - and then for dessert we'd each have a pint of B&J's ice cream.)
We still have pizza once a week. I can only eat one slice and I'm hiccuping. One SMALL slice. Picture a frozen pizza cut into eight slices and that's what I can eat. We've switched to making semi-homemade pizza with turkey pepperoni. I still can only eat one piece. Sometimes my head tells me to eat that piece really fast because then maybe I could sneak in another piece before the sleeve catches on that it's full. But that's a load of doo-doo -- but I don't because then I have to face the consequences of an angry sleeve. (Throwing up pizza is not a fun thing.)
I even still make myself a plate of nachos (well, tortilla chips with melted cheese). However, it's on one of my little plates and probably only has about 10 bite size tortilla chips. I log it in My Fitness Pal.
I guess to me, as long as I log it and I am hitting my calorie (900) and Protein (80 grams min.) goals, it's okay. The Easter candy? Er, yeah. I might have logged it all. Which... makes it not okay. The one good thing I learned is that sometimes cycling calories is good for weight loss. Having a couple of higher calorie days seems to help ME with losing weight. I still lost weight over Christmas... but around Easter, while I didn't GAIN, I also didn't lose. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence that the weight loss stalled. I know plateaus happen, but.... funny how it happened shortly after the candy appeared at work.
As to candy, I do have a HUGE bowl of Dum-Dums and Jolly Ranchers on a top shelf in my cubicle. Those aren't trigger candies to me. My co-workers like having some kind of candy to grab when they want something "lighter". I might have a Dum-Dum maybe once a week and I don't care for Jolly Ranchers. I intentionally bought stuff that is sort of "meh". Why do I buy candy? I like bringing something sweet to the meetings I run. We used to have a candy closet where I could grab a bag of mixed stuff to bring to meetings, but they are cutting back on expenditures, and the candy budget was cut. (The horror!!) So.. I first tried Tootsie Pops, but I found that they were still a trigger - so once those were gone, I switched to the Dum-Dums and Jolly Ranchers. (Ick, just thinking about Jolly Ranchers makes my taste buds recoil.)