Birdy18

You need a "Dislike This" button so I can push it.
I also don't think it's strange. I lost 40 lbs before surgery, so I had cravings all the time. Much easier to deal with the cravings after surgery.

Divorcing food is as difficult and emotional as divorcing a person. I am serious. I don't regret having this procedure done because I've lost 30 pounds and I'm 1 week post op. However, seeing delicious food in front of you and knowing you can't eat it because you're fresh out of surgery really burns. In fact, knowing I can't eat it because it'll make my stomach hurt and I'll probably throw it up is what really burns.
I've been watching videos of food recently because I haven't seen solid food in pretty much 2 weeks. It's probably not a good habit but its already a habit so the way I see it, I can't eat but I can at least look at it. I thought that my stomach is healing fine and faster than usual, so the other day I had some tuna. It was about 1 spoon full of tuna. My bodies reaction wasn't pleasant. Long story short, my stomach is 100% not ready for solid food or even soft food but that doesn't stop food from looking good. I want to lose 100% of my excess weight. At this point in time, The reason I want to lose weight the most, is so I can eat. Is that weird? I want to eat lasagna one day and with absolutely no thought of my weight in my head. I want BBQ porked. I want to have Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean, Italian and more in my regular life. Obviously, not all at once. I'm very scared by love of food. People say you have to reset your mind with this surgery.
I feel that, although i don't mind giving up sweets things like soda, candy, Cookies and deserts (not a fan of sugary things), I don't want to give up meat and carbs. After I reach my goal weight, I'm really hoping that I can find the perfect balance of eating things I love and maintaining my weight loss and health. This has just been on my mind all day. I think this is my initial shock to realizing that the sleeve is permanent. Unfortunately I have been feeling hunger as of late but It's definitely a lot more manageable than in my pre-op diet.
How do you people feel about food? How has your day to day diet changed? What do you eat when you eat out? What foods do you find affect your weight the most? I know the VSG allows one to eat what they like in the end but I know many people cut things out completely because of the fear for weight gain. How do you guys feel about food?

You can check out my signature below to see how I am doing...pretty good I think! I have not been able to start any exercise yet (I had PLANNED on walking daily as well as a free areobics class offered at my school) - but I have a very bad knee! I had hoped the weight loss would have helped improved this problem, but I was dancing in the sand at the beach in June, and reinjured an already bonky knee. I have already had surgery on it once - and it is very frustrating. I am going to go to the doctor this week - hope to get some relief!
Anyway - at 2 months out, I pretty much CAN eat whatever I want, so there is definetly the need for making good choices. I am back at work now - (I am a teacher) - and the regular schedule is helpful. I try to get my prottein in, and limit my carbs! A typical day for me is a greek yogurt for Breakfast (15g protein), a tuna kit for lunch with only 3 of the crackers (19g protein), a string cheese for snack (4g protein), then Protein and veggie for dinner....I am loving Boarshead Bratwurst (18g protein) or Turrkey meatballs. I also LOVE shrimp and fish - so I have a lot of choices.....
Going out is still a little of a challenge - my family went to a chinese buffet - and I ate some chicken and broccoli, a few spicy shrimp and one crab ragoon. ABout 4-5 oz total......I was stuffed! WAY different that what I used to eat! Had about 1/3 of an omelet at Ihop the other day - the spinach, mushroom cheese one - yummy! My friend ate the rest!
I DO struggle to get liquids in - and I make myself drink at least ONE G2 gatorade each day - I think that helps. I take a sublingual b12 once a day and a Multivitamin.....I sometimes forget, but do good most of the time.
I started this journey in tight 22/24 clothes - I am now in an 18. This weekend I cleaned out my closet - and it was amazing to try on some old favorites and have them HANG on me. New underwear are in my future! I have lost over 27 inches all around (neck, waist, thighs, arms) and am looking forward to more.
This surgery can seem so sureal. I never imagined I would wear an 18 again. I did not think it would work for me. I am making good food choices and I am ot starving. I feel good (except for the dang knee) and am so glad I chose this for myself. Prior to the surgery, I would get on this forum and read everyone's experiences - so I wanted to make sure and add mine. I am not on here near as much as before due to work - but if anyone has any questions - I will answer them as I check back in.
God Bless!

Well, it sounds like he is a very understanding guy. So that makes it easier from the get go - and I think he would probably be happy you were willing to try.
As far as where to go, anywhere that has Soup is pretty much fine as long as you leave the solids. Off the top of my head i'm thinking you'd be ok with some smoothie places - you could ask them to leave out syrups maybe picking a place that uses good fruits and some low fat milk. Hmm...there's not really a lot out that you can eat at puree. But! You could have him cook for you. He could make some kind of chili and you could puree it (I did that and it was sooo good), any kind of chicken/tuna salad, egg salad, maybe light heartedly challenge him to make you the best puree meal he can think of =) If you help him out in the kitchen with it you guys could end up having a great time and he will get to show off his cooking skills. Or make it into a running challenge - whoever can come up with the best puree meal by the time you move to soft foods gets to pick the first restaurant you go to or the next date place or next movie, etc. I think it could be a lot of fun. Plus, it will place more emphasis on the making of the food if you spend the time with him doing it, rather than just on the eating of it.
Really though from the way you described him, I doubt he will be offended at your just a couple bites. Just be clear ahead of time (which it sounds like you have been) about the amount you can eat and hopefully that will be no issue.
Have fun and congrats on finding a great guy! It's funny how life is always sending us curve balls when we least expect them =)

I don't mind. I run a foundation that does work all over the world. I travel over 300,000 miles a year (10-12) times around the world. Sometimes I find myself in Bali, other times in Beruit or a conflict zone in South Sudan. I make Anthony Bourdain look like a lightweight. It seems glamorous, and has its wonderful moments, but it is a brutal lifestyle that would have killed me if I had not gotten the sleeve. There's zero time to pamper yourself and you eat what you can when you can. A sleeve was a big gamble since I could not afford to make the focus of my life the 6-inch tube that used to be my stomach.
I am fortunate to have had a tolerant sleeve and a fast recovery. I think it also helps that I have steadfastly refused to make this operation the center of the universe. You can create your own reality by choosing not to make this a big deal ( or you can do the opposite).
Over the next 3 months I am traveling to .Montreal, Mallorca, London, Jordan, Santiago, Taiwan and Panama. If this information helps reassure people, or helps them better manage their own journeys, I will drop the occasional post. Now I have to get ready for another 16-hour day on 4 hours sleep (again).
Thanks to all for the support.
Sent from my iPad using VST

"anything" I want is different than it used to be. I truly do. I have changed very much. I do not eat junk food all day. But if I want ice cream on a Friday night with my boyfriend, I have a half a cup. Or if I want popcorn at the movies with a friend I have some. I eat like a normal healthy person, not like the obese girl before that at 3000-5000 calories a day.

I started soft foods today, too..YAY....I just had eggs and a string cheese...it filled me up..I tried a little meat..but it felt REALLY WEIRD going down...I didn't like it...I think I'll be "Eggin It" for a while until I am a little more healed.

Please don't let this forum scare you from having surgery! Sometimes we need to whine, cry, vent but I promise 98% of us wouldn't trade it for the world. Do some medical research, don't just come to an opinion forum and get scared off! All the stress is completely worth it at the end of the day. For myself i decided i would rather be scared and do it than heavy and unhealthy and unhappy about my apparence and depressed.
It's your decision but please don't base it on just some posts on a forum!

I love when sleeve vets come back to post!
How much are you able to eat? Do you still have pretty good restriction? Do you eat "no-no" foods?
Sorry for the barrage of questions.

Seems normal to me. The "cheats" are what get me. It's a lot easier to eat 6oz of something healthy than 6 oz of something questionable.
One example is when I got a cheeseburger..don't criticize, I HAD to go for it, just a test.
I had a few small bites and everything was good. A bigger bite, and at the point I was through maybe 1/4-1/3 of the burger. And one more bite just felt like it stuck right at the top of my stomach. And then I was fairly uncomfortable for the next hour or so.
But, when I eat what I'm supposed to. Say, chicken breast, I may feel full, but I don't feel too full or uncomfortable.

I asked my surgeon if somewhere down the road (I didn't give a time frame) if I could have Bulgogi (Barbeque beef) and his answer was "maybe". Since he is Korean, I thought he'd know when and "maybe" was his answer. I HATE maybe, say yes or no. I love Korean food.

Most slider foods are pretty easy to tell. First off sliders are high calorie/carb
If it melts or turns into a liquid while eating (ice cream, Jello, popcorn)
If you smash it up and find that it takes up very little space ( potato chips cheese doodles)
It's really kind of amazing. Take a bag of Cheetos and put them in a blender then measure them. You'll completely understand why you can eat so many of them.(this works for chips too).

I also forgot to mention I love handbags tooooo! I bought a LV speedy 35 when I reached goal LOL! YAY!

You look incredible!! Huge congrats and can I say, I applaud your reward purchase!! I'm obsessed with handbags. Thanks for being my inspiration.. coming from someone 1 week post op today.
Can I ask - any issues with loose skin? It doesn't look like it!!

highest weight 234 (that I'm aware of LOL) 18W
lowest weight 144
today at 2 years out 149 (still below goal weight) AND it's tom and currently have some water in my left knee ouch!!


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Just took some 2 year anniversary pics today! I bought a new LV to celebrate



I huge thank you to all of those that have inspired me and encouraged me along my journey! ((((HUGS))))

Enough with the negativity.. there's no room for it in this forum
Thx

oh me gee I would kill for a cheat right now..... not even one week post op!
*i can do this! I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!*

I just finished a business dinner in Singapore 5 weeks post op. I could only take a small bite of the 5 Chinese courses. I got plenty of Protein from seafood that is very easy to handle. I am giving up on shakes. I can't step out if a board room with my shaker bottle. I am doing 1 or 2 good Protein Bars with 20 mg protein. I am having no trouble getting 100 mg protein with 900 calories.
I am heading out for Hawker food tomorrow night. This is a peice of cake. My travel advice is to try to get your nutrition from real food and keep supplements to a. Minnimum.
Sent from my iPad using VST

Hi everyone! My surgeon asked if I wanted to have my VSG with a single incision vs. the multiple small incisions. He said there was a slightly higher risk of a hernia with the single incision through my belly button, but that it was up to me. Is anyone else having this? Or, has anyone else had this with success? I'd love to know if you had complications, how you felt, etc.
I did a search and found a few people who had it done, but didn't see a ton of comments about it. Any help would be appreciated!

Glad to hear all is well. The hardest part of exercise is starting. So just have your cannon ball moment and get to walking. Everything you do exercise wise...do it. It's only going to help you. And I know we are here to lose pounds, but so long as I am losing something (pounds, inches, emotional hang ups, etc) then who cares?! Progress is progress regardless of the increment used.
Take care of you!!

I was sleeve on July 12th and have lost 40 lbs with preop diet and postop. U can tell the biggest difference in my face. I can yell that all my clothes fit different but I am in a dreaded stall and am not losing like I was!

This is currently my daily motivation. The dotted line is the projected weight loss progress someone without VSG would probably have if they were dieting and working out. The solid line is my actual progress. I've got to say, im very happy. There are you few setbacks however, such as the other day I only lost 0.3 lbs and since yesterday I lost 1.2 lbs. i know im not supposed to weight myself everyday but im an inpatient person. Im still on liquids so im excited to see how ill progress once i can have soft foods bc im sorry, Protein shakes are disgusting and i love fish, mostly sashimi. Also, I bought a hot pink sketchbook and put pictures of HEALTHY bodies from workout magazines, and clothes that i have never been able to fit (so excited), and Im going to use it as a journal to get me psychologically ready, as ready as can be with other ancillary program, for the weightloss. I also put motivational before and after pictures of women from the magazines too. Not the famous people, real people, real women:)
All in all, im very proud of myself:) Im endeavor to be an inspiration to my mom and dad to finally eat right and workout bc i want them around as long as God will allow:)
How about you guys?

I started my 10 day pre-op diet yesterday...Please pray I don't kill anyone in the next couple of weeks!! LOL...it is SO boring.........

You're not alone in feeling that way. I have gone through questioning every little thing, being almost TOO addicted to these boards. However, I recently posted a question that received three pages worth of responses. I simply asked, did anyone have a normal recovery? The responses were overwhelming. Several people smartly pointed out that not many post saying, "having a normal boring day feeling like myself!" when of course the bad stories stay in your brain.
No one can answer for you whether it's right or not, but if you want additional perspective to balance out what really are the less common complication stories, I'd check out this thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/47767-anyone-have-a-relatively-easy-recovery-story/

You're not alone in feeling that way. I have gone through questioning every little thing, being almost TOO addicted to these boards. However, I recently posted a question that received three pages worth of responses. I simply asked, did anyone have a normal recovery? The responses were overwhelming. Several people smartly pointed out that not many post saying, "having a normal boring day feeling like myself!" when of course the bad stories stay in your brain.
No one can answer for you whether it's right or not, but if you want additional perspective to balance out what really are the less common complication stories, I'd check out this thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/47767-anyone-have-a-relatively-easy-recovery-story/