joatsaint

I'm right there with you. Frankensleeve didn't like most vegetables - especially fibrous stuff like lettuce. I believe it was around 5 months before the growling stopped, when I tried to eat things like lettuce, squash and green beans. I thought it was very ironic that processed foods were the things that went down the easiest with my new stomach.

Here is the video I made. It might help you make your decision.

I'm a guy of simple tastes, so I've never bought a cook book. BUT! Many people rave about the sleeve friendly recipes at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

I haven't completely proven this to my satisfaction, but going no carb (less than 20 grams/day) for 7 days "sometimes" seems to kick start my weight loss again. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

My favorite premixed shakes, I get from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club - EAS Carb Control chocolate fudge and Premier Protein chocolate. Premier slightly edges out EAS for my tastes.

I grew up being the target of bullies. So I am very guarded about giving my enemies ammunition. I didn't tell anyone but my best friend and my parents. Remember, you can tell people about the surgery anytime you want, but you can't untell them. Here's my video explaining my stance on to tell or not tell.

I would venture that there is a different diet for every WLS doctor because each doctor gets a little different training and experience. If they have lots of experience, then the doc knows what combination of diet and recovery plan works the best for his patients.

Just wait till your knees start bumping against each other when you lay on your side. I liked it when my legs got thinner, but now I have to sleep with a pillow between my knees. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I watched it obsessively for the 4 months before I decided to have VSG. Since surgery, I don't really watch TV anymore. I'm watching DVDs of movies or TV series. I have basic cable and I just can't take the tidal wave of reality shows on food and celebrity wives fighting.

I was hurting for the 1st day after surgery, then it eased off a lot. It was just a feeling of pressure in my chest and shoulder, not really pain in the sense of the word. By day 7 the gas pain was gone completely.

I lived on this recipe for weeks and weeks till I got burned out on refried Beans. One of my favorite Mexican foods. I got all the ingredients at Walmart. It cost about $4 for 2 days worth of meals (4 - 6 meals in my case). It's very filling and sticks with me. 1 lb of chicken breast. 1 pkg of Taco Bell Taco seasoning. (I tried other name brand taco mixes and the store brands, Taco Bell tastes the best and is just as cheap. There is a Taco Bell chipolte version as well, but I liked the regular version the best. ) 1 can of gebhardt refried beans w/fat. (I tried the non-fat version and I like the fat version better. It only has 2grams of fat per serving.) Salsa or Picante or Taco sauce to taste 1 pkg of your favorite shredded cheese. I grill the chicken breast and run it through my food processor. Mix the taco seasoning with about 1/2 cup of Water and mix it thoroughly. I mix it in my Protein shake shaker. Toss the chicken into a pot or pan and add the taco seasoning. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix the chicken and beans in a bowl. Add some salsa if it's too thick for your taste. Spoon some of the mixture into a bowl and top with cheese and salsa.

That sounds about right for the amount I was eating. My capacity at that time was about 1/2 cup of dense food, like chicken or ground turkey meat. Vegetables always took up less space than the meat. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Here's the video I made describing how much I could eat after VSG surgery.

Chicken was one of the hardest things for my stomach to tolerate after surgery. I thought it was kinda ironic that processed foods were so easy to digest, but my stomach had to adjust to the healthy stuff.

I was allowed to eat lean meats - pork loin, 97% lean ground turkey and skinless chicken breast. I ate only meat and the Premier Protein (chocolate) shakes for a week and lost 10lbs.

Me too, it was about 3 weeks before my energy levels came back. It took a few months to get back to my total energy level I had pre-op.

Really liked the recipe. I haven't remembered to eat my cauliflower in a while. I've got bags of it in the freezer. I'll have to break it out and try your recipe.

I've never felt a sense of fullness when drinking. It takes real food for me to feel my restriction. So I think your as normal as me! P.S. Don't read too much into that... it'll just make things worse.

Oh, yeah, feel free to join the nervous wreck club! I was full of doubts and anxieties pre-surgery. What if I was the one WLS does not work for? Do I really want to have my stomach cut out? How are people going to treat me when they find out? How am I going to adjust to being thin after 46 years of being the biggest guy in the room? I had all these fears and doubts, but I finally committed and have never regretted having WLS. Here's my "last straw" video that made me make the choice. The 2nd video is my pre-op freak out. :-P

Congrats on getting off to a good start. I chickened out my 1st attempt to start the process. But the 2nd time was the charm! I haven't regretted my decision for a moment.

I've not done any real exercise beyond walking since surgery. But I was cleared for light weight training at 6 weeks post-op. After 6 months, I was told I could do whatever kind of weight training I wanted.

Every Saturday night, I have my cheat meal. I know that I'm going to put on a pound or two because of the processed foods and the sodium in them. To drop the Water weight quickly, I go back to eating my own cooking, no processed foods and I stick to lean meat (pork loin, 97% fat free ground turkey meat, eggs, or chicken breast) and low glycemic vegetables (yellow squash, eggplant, Beans, lentils). After a day of that kind of diet, I shed the extra water I picked up the night before. On Saturday night I ate out at my favorite Mexican restaurant. On Sunday morning I was 3lbs heavier. Now there's no way I ate 3lbs of food on Saturday. All day Sunday, I stuck to my beans and pork loin mix and today (one day later) I've dropped the excess water weight and I'm back down to what I weighed on the previous Friday.

When I wanted to lose weight fast, I went on a strict low carb diet. Only eating meat, eggs and cheese. I did my best to stay below 20 carbs a day, which is tough to do even when you're only eating meat. I was able to lose 8lbs in a week. I didn't count calories, just carbs.

If I wanted to stop losing, I'd just stop exercising and possibly increase my calories. Here's my video on why I chose the sleeve over the other 2 popular WLS options.

I am eating the same amount and at the same intervals as you are. I stick mainly to lean meats and Beans as my primary diet. I walk 4 to 5 miles a day and I'm still losing weight. As long as you are happy with your progress, then you're doing okay. If I were to suddenly stop losing for more than 2 weeks straight, then I'd reexamine my diet and exercise routine. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

Congrats. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!