joatsaint

When I get head hunger, and just can't escape it's nagging, I eat meat, chicken or pork first to fill me up and retrain my brain to associate meat with head hunger. After eating protein, and I still have that nagging little voice, I will allow myself a small portion (remember I'm physically full from the protein), about 1/2 a coffee cup (a real coffee cup, not a Starbucks Grande!) of whatever I'm craving. I'm normally satisfied after that.

When I get head hunger, and just can't escape it's nagging, I eat meat, chicken or pork first to fill me up and retrain my brain to associate meat with head hunger. After eating protein, and I still have that nagging little voice, I will allow myself a small portion (remember I'm physically full from the protein), about 1/2 a coffee cup (a real coffee cup, not a Starbucks Grande!) of whatever I'm craving. I'm normally satisfied after that.

Was this it?

1st, always call your doctor if you need medical advice, he's in the best position to know your situation. Having said that, During my 1st two weeks post-op, I don't think I went to the bathroom once. There just wasn't enough food in my system, after years of handling 3 - 4 thousand calories a day, I had plenty of storage space in there! :-P It took a few months to adjust to my new "normal". And I went through the "never trust a fart!" phase, and then onto the constipation phase, then finally, a new normal of going every 3 or 4 days. The few times I've needed "help", I used Milk of Magnesia. I took a double dose and that did the trick. Others have recommended Smooth Move tea, but I am not a tea drinker. So you might ask yourself, have you eaten enough to need to "go"?

For me, feeling full when eating soft foods or liquids is difficult. They are just slider foods for me. The way I went about eating soft foods was to divide up my calorie limit by four or six meals (whichever number I planned to eat that day) and portioned out my food into the same number of containers. For the 1st year, my calorie limit was 800 calories a day. I planned on eating 4 meals a day and tried to limit my meal to 200 calories. There was no way I was going to eat enough to stretch my sleeve in one meal. I get a tightness or an uncomfortable stretching sensation when reaching my sleeve's limit. For a while, I'd get a runny nose when getting close to the limit. Or if I really went "one bite" too far, I'd get a poking sensation in my chest at the base of my throat - where the throat joins the stomach. P.S. I've pushed Frankensleeve to his limit a few times. You WILL know when your sleeve is at capacity! :-)

He pops open that chair....LIKE A BOSS!!! :-p

I started at 375. My doctor's goal weight for me was 235. As far as I was concerned, that was just a suggestion! :-P I really wanted to be below my high school weight of 224. When I hit 235, I didn't feel satisfied, so I went for 224 - my high school weight. I hit 224, and decided to go for 205. I hit 205, now I'm pretty satisfied. :-)

I went completely into denial. Seriously, I convinced myself that every day leading up to surgery was just another day of the week, that nothing special was going on. I did that right up to being wheeled into the O.R. :-)

I was never told I could never drink again, but not to drink for the 1st month. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, so I didn't try alcohol for 6 months. I've had no trouble drinking wine and tequila, or anything with carbonation - like Mike's Hard Lemonade - I pour over ice to get rid of some bubbles and I sip very slowly and carefully. At 30 moths post-op, I drink wine with my girlfriend on a regular basis - 1 or 2 glasses, 3 days a week (our date nights). The good news is that I'm a cheap drunk. :-) 2 glasses of wine - sipped slowly over 2 hours - keeps me feeling happy all evening.

Definitely go with the eating plan supplied by your doctor, he's in the best position to know your needs. But just because you CAN start puree foods, doesn't mean you have to. If you feel more comfortable, stay on liquids a few more days and just try a spoonful of puree food here and there to test your new tummy. My goto foods when I was on purees was refried Beans and Cream of Mushroom Soup. That's almost exclusively what I ate for about the 1st 2 months. Frankensleeve was very cranky and wouldn't tolerate anything else. You might also try yogurt and soft scrambled eggs, the make good puree foods.

About once a month, I would take a pic of me - front and side - and I tried to wear the same shirt each time. Just do it, cause you can't go back in time if you regret not doing it. :-) You are going to want to go back and see your progress, even if you don't want anyone else to see the pics. I know that I wish I had made more videos and pictures of my progress over the 1st year.

Finally! I know how to pronounce your last name. :-P Is there a limit on the time length of each video?

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)

Here's a typical day's food for me. I've been eating pretty much this amount everyday since my 1 year surgerversary. :-)