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It's normal. Your body will slowly realize it doesn't need so much acid and slow production. In the meantime, you should be on a PPI, such as Nexium. I had to switch what I used twice until I found what worked best for me (Prilosec - I bought the generic). By 4-6 months out the issue resolved itself. Since 6 months out I haven't needed anything but the occasional Tums for immediate relief. ~Cheri

My BMI was higher than yours but my diabetes resolved itself almost immediately post op. Do a search for diabetes and you should find several threads about this. At the very least you should expect lower doses of your medications but I think most people are able to stop their meds completely and control with diet and/or exercise. Mine is gone, though the doctor did tell me that it would likely return with old age, and that the insulin-resistance will always remain. I'm not really sure what causes the change in our bodies, because before I even lost a single pound my blood sugars dropped to the high-normal range. As I lost the weight I found that I don't even need to test and I no longer have spikes - I remain constant around 90-100 all day long, even in my postprandial measurements. I hope you have similar results! ~Cheri ETA: And I almost wish dropping to a seriously low weight was a real concern but I find it unlikely! Losing was slow for me and my body absolutely refuses to budge out of the 134-138 range even though I'd love to see the 120s (I'm only 5'1" after all) but it's simply not going to happen. I wouldn't worry about getting too small - I'd worry about getting to a healthier weight! Maintenance is actually very easy if you do the "head work" on your eating and food issues as you're losing.

I did the same thing more than two years ago. I was researching the band and started seeing a trend of unhappy patients and surgery for complications. Too many people weren't getting to goal and a lot of folks experienced a swift regain if they had an unfill. I noticed a lot of people doing revisions to sleeves and I opted to research this option. I researched for better than a year before finally having my surgery and I am incredibly thankful I opted for the VSG over any of the other surgeries. Some advice while researching: be realistic. Don't only read the perfect tales of folks that get to goal in nine months and have zero complications. I think most of us tend to do that when researching surgery. We want to be in the minority that reaches goal with no problems within the first year. Be realistic with your expectations before surgery. Stalls are normal. You will not lose your weight overnight. You will not have surgery and wake up a size two tomorrow. You might not reach goal in your first year. You might lose your hunger but some people do not. Read the complications and struggling sleevers boards and know the whole story before making this choice. With the sleeve you can reach your goal. You can maintain your loss for life. You can and will lose weight with this surgery, and it will most likely be easier than anything you've ever done before to shed the weight. You can eat like a normal person and finally put whatever food issues you have to rest if you're willing to focus on yourself and be a healthier person. I do not regret my surgery. The sleeve finally got me to goal and life is fantastic here. It's a long journey, so be prepared before starting out. Best of luck, ~Cheri

Yes, clearly your NUT is right and everyone here that opted for surgery is simply lazy and lacking in the willpower department. Either that, or she's an opinionated idiot that acted totally unprofessionally. I'm going with this one. First and foremost, report her. It is not her job to talk you out of surgery using scaremongering tactics and negativity. The surgeon that referred you to that NUT office has a right to know how his/her patients are treated by this supposed professional. Secondly, relax. We all run into at least one person that feels that we're using a magic bullet or taking the easy way out without thinking. These people are sometimes medical professionals, and sometimes they're our overweight "friends." If you didn't have doubts before the appointment, you shouldn't have them now. You'll be fine. Too many in the healthcare profession simply parrot what they've been taught: that weight loss is a simple matter of willpower, diet and exercise and that a 1200 calorie diet is one-size-fits-all. If you aren't losing weight, a lot of them assume you simply aren't trying. If you know that you've tried in the past and haven't seen results do not let the opinion of one person, medical professional or not, dissuade you from your choice. Your life will change post sleeve and sometimes you'll be frustrated and you might even have buyers remorse if you hit some rough Patches. But overall you are going to be thrilled with finally achieving your goals and the sleeve is going to help you do that - AND keep the weight off as well. Best of luck to you. ~Cheri

Why does everyone have this one year time limit in their brains? Honestly, it takes a lot of us longer than a year to get to goal and that's perfectly OK. It's not a race and it's not a freaking contest. Besides that, your sleeve stays at about the size it is one year out so you've still got awesome restriction if you're eating properly. I refer more to your eating order than what you're putting in your mouth, BTW. Protein first, always. Otherwise you can fill up on junk. As for your nutritional guidelines I'd say that for me, those are very close to my daily nutritional guidelines in maintenance, but not what I ate while losing. You're the only one that really knows what works for you to lose the weight. I stalled out twice for nine weeks. My body didn't want to move out of the 190s or the 160s. I hung in there and keep going (okay, I stumbled a bit, too) and eventually shed the extra pounds. I'm the oddball that doesn't believe that we need to be carb Nazis to lose weight but there is no denying that the folks that follow the drastic diets do get results. If you track your food, look back to when you were losing best and see what's changed. The answer might be, "nothing much." If that's the case, just keep going and it will come off. If it's changed a lot, do some backtracking in your diet and see if you get results again. You're not done losing weight until you quit trying, regardless of how long it's been since your surgery. Good luck! ~Cheri

THERE IS NO HONEYMOON!! Sorry, had to get that out. The first thing you need to do is shake the idea that you have a time limit or you're a failure. The reality is that even at six months out you still can't eat but a fraction of what you ate pre-op. Your sleeve is there and it's in perfect working order. Once you're about a year out your sleeve is going to be as big as it gets. I'm 19 months out and can only eat a few ounces in a sitting. I get stuffed on one egg scrambled with cheese or two ounces of steak. Prior to surgery I was certain I would hit goal in nine months. After all, I only had 107 pounds to lose. I didn't realize it at the time but I was intentionally ignoring all of the posts about people that lost weight more slowly, had months long stalls or felt discouraged about surgery. I hit goal in 17 months. The reality is that we all love the folks that make it to goal in 9-10 months but many more people actually reach goal sometime in their second year post op. I lost an average of just over 6 pounds per month. Is that discouraging? Maybe. The difference is that I GOT TO GOAL with the sleeve and never, ever got even remotely close on any diet. I never lost even close to 6 pounds a month on any diet I tried, and even if I had maintaining said diet for the 17 months it took to shed the weight would have been an impossibility prior to my sleeve. Yes, it's discouraging. We want goal weight now. We had a drastic surgery and we want drastic results. We want to be skinny. Yes, we know in our heads that we didn't gain the weight overnight but darn it, we really want to lose it more quickly than we do. The reality is that you just have to accept that your body is going to lose at it's own pace, no matter what you do. The good news is that your sleeve is going to stay restrictive and it's going to help you get to goal, even if it takes you 17 months like it did me. Goal is just as sweet when you reach it after nearly a year and a half, I promise. As for your eating and exercise habits only you know what works for you, but I've posted a number of times about diets today and I think that if it's stressing you out you need to reconsider what you're doing. We want to be happy about ourselves and just being skinny isn't going to do that - we have to be healthy mentally and physically. Best of luck. It's tough, I know. I had a journey twice as long as I wanted but I am thankful for every minute of it. ~Cheri

I have mixed feelings about your post. On one hand, yes, you're falling into old habits. You're trying to eat like you're a pre-op person and you're not. You're repeating the habits that helped you gain the weight in the first place. Knowing that and admitting it here is a big step, and I applaud that. You need to figure out your new limits. It's natural to test boundaries and see how far we can push ourselves. With the sleeve, you'll find the answer is, "Not very far!" I'd start examining what helped make you gain weight in the first place. Are you an emotional eater? Do you overeat? I think a lot of us are totally in denial about our food issues until we're forced to face them post op. I was convinced my issues were purely medical and while to some extent that was true, I discovered post op that I had a real problem using food to cope, to comfort and to hide myself. The part of your post that I don't like is the idea that you've done "BAD" or that eating certain foods is naughty or not allowed. I know I'm in the minority but I've been on this journey for nineteen months and feel I'm in a good place both mentally and physically. In my opinion, telling yourself that you're never allowed to eat those foods again, that you have to stay low-carb for the rest of your life, that there's only one acceptable way to eat - well, I think those are all more manifestations of the unhealthy relationship with food that got us fat in the first place. I respect that we want to change for good and use the sleeve as a tool to help us live those healthier lives we dreamed of. But I think that the notion that healthy eating is an all-or-nothing equation is silly AND dangerous. It makes falling off the wagon into self pity binges a bigger risk, just like yo-yo dieting does. I can only tell you what I did. I started out eating like a carb Nazi. And within three months I was unhappy, depressed, had low energy and felt like I was on...gasp! A DIET. I'd had VSG to AVOID diets and now I was subjecting myself to one for life!! I had to stop. I started eating like a normal person. You know, someone without an overeating addiction or food issues. And guess what? Normal people use smart food choices about 90% of the time, but they do indulge occasionally. They don't binge and purge. It's not all-or-nothing...it's just FOOD. It doesn't control them or make them feel guilty or disgusting or out of control. So I think that all of us need to find that middle ground. We need to teach ourselves to eat in moderation. We need to learn to be responsible, healthy eaters - and not just eating health foods but learning how to have a healthy relationship with all foods. Because one day you'll reach goal. And then you'll need to eat more than 800-900 calories a day, and you'll realize that it's not easy when you sliced 85% of your stomach out. You'll need to increase your intake without binges on junk food or giving up those healthy habits you learned in the first few months post op. You'll want to have a slice of birthday cake with your family instead of feeling left out. You'll want to be NORMAL. So pick yourself up, shake it off and keep going. You can do this. You need to do some exploration of yourself and your eating habits to figure out what's going on and fix it. ~Cheri

It's an unfortunate reality that the scale isn't going to go down every single day. Sometimes, it even goes up! Everyone experiences this. The faster you get rid of the expectation to lose weight every time you step on the scale, the happier you'll be. It's a long journey to goal and the scale is an important part of the journey, even if it's an evil contraption that can ruin our entire day within seconds! Stalls are normal - some last a week, some last months. Just keep doing the right things and you will get to goal. You aren't going to fail, you didn't waste your time or money and there's no reason to regret surgery. ~Cheri

I hit a few Patches where I was so frustrated it was making me nuts. I stalled out for about nine weeks twice. I really thought I'd be at goal in nine months. I got down to 165 pounds, yes, about that size 12 and I was just..burned out. It's hard because we spend all that time pre-op and post-op daydreaming about being at goal, being thin, being able to do the things we couldn't do as seriously overweight people. And it's frustrating and disheartening to see that we still have SO far to go, to watch other people reach goal much more quickly and to have to readjust our expectations. The reality is that you'll get past this hump. You will lose more weight if you keep trying. I fell off a bit for about four weeks while stranded in the 160s. I didn't gain anything but I stopped trying to lose. I had to get to the point where I realized I was still a success and that a year earlier I would have daydreamed about being a size 12, not whining that I wasn't as small as I wanted to be! It stinks but the closer you get to goal the longer it takes for those last pounds to fall off, too. It took me six months to lose the last 20 pounds. Once they came off I quit trying to get smaller immediately and went right into maintenance, even though I had previously entertained the idea of dropping my goal down ten more pounds. It's a hard journey! You only have forty pounds left, though, and you've lost that more than twice over since surgery! Keep on going. It's too late to beat yourself up for letting yourself get heavy in the first place. You did something to change it, and you still have the power to do it. I've said it about half a dozen times in the past few days, but there is NO magic window of weight loss with this surgery. Your sleeve is getting close to it's final size and unless you put a lot of effort into it that thing isn't getting much bigger. It's still restricting you. The rest is up to you - making those good food choices and doing the right things, even when it's boring and feels like you're not getting anywhere on the scale. I never would have made goal if I hadn't kept on trying. There were weeks where I didn't see any change in weight at all, so if I had allowed myself to get discouraged and quit I'd still be in those twelves. Chin up. Keep going! ~Cheri

Pre-op or post-op? Some people are put into a program before their insurance will approve surgery and yes, sometimes that includes a weight loss goal to prove that you can handle the limitations of life after surgery. Post-op there is no magic window of time to lose weight with the VSG. There isn't any limited window of malabsorption like with the bypass. Your sleeve capacity will increase. It will become easier to choose to eat absolute junk food and therefore not see results. However, your restriction will remain such that you'll have to actually put effort into eating poorly to really gain weight. At least for most of us this is the case! I've seen a few people post here and there about having one heavy carb day and gaining on the scale the next day. I think the average result for VSG is 50-60% of excess weight lost. Please, someone correct me if I have that wrong! That said, I see very few people here on these boards (and I've been hanging around since early 2009, even though I didn't make a profile until late that year) that have lost less than 80% of their excess weight. With a sleeve, from day one you still have to choose to eat in moderation and to make good food choices. The only thing this surgery guarantees you is a drastically reduced stomach. Most people lose their hunger and desire to eat post op, but not everyone. But the sleeve stays restrictive, so the ability to lose weight beyond one year out is still there. I'm 19 months out and still can't eat more than a scrambled egg with cheese in one sitting. If I wanted to lose more weight I'd simply have to scale my calories back to the 800-900 per day range and it would happen. In fact, it took me 17 months to get to goal. While you'll see a number of people making it to goal in about 9-10 months, a larger number of people achieve goal sometime in their second year post op. I hope I answered your question. If you'll clarify, I bet you'll get more answers. ~Cheri

Even if you don't like it hang onto it until post op and try it again at that point. The shakes I loved pre-op tasted awful to me afterwards! I would get samples of a bunch of different flavors and keep them around so you can see what you really like. And even once you find something you love don't stock up on it too much because you might get tired of it, anyway! I still have a Protein shake each day to push up my protein levels and I've gone through three or four different favorites in the past 19 months. From the start I've liked several of the nectar flavors. My favorite unflavored protein is Integrated supplements because I can't even taste it in my morning coffee or chai latte. If I had more than a Tbs. of unjury in my Soup or drink I could taste it and smell it - I hated that stuff! Keep trying and don't feel obligated to go with a particular brand or force yourself to drink something you hate because other people do it or it has a good nutritional profile. Protein Shakes help A LOT in the first months post op, so you want to find something you like. A lot of sites offer sample packs and variety packs so you can try a lot of flavors, and Vitalady also sells samples - there's a thread somewhere on VST about protein samples that should give you a few places to try. ~Cheri

Keep up with the process and jump through the hoops. Either you'll come to terms with the idea of surgery or you won't, and it's easy to cancel or reschedule the surgery if you need more time. The entire process with insurance can be a long one, and I'd hate to see you drop out only to restart the process again in two months! I can't tell you what to do and I wouldn't know what to say to make you feel like this is the right choice, anyway. It's a deeply personal thing. A lot of people are scared of surgery in general, on top of their fears about VSG. My mom is one of them. She would benefit immensely but is too scared to have VSG be her very first surgery. I can tell you that it changed my life. I was scared to do it because I didn't want to leave my husband or my two year old twins to fly across the world for my surgery. I was scared that I'd waste my money. I was scared that all those failed diets in the past *could* have worked; maybe I just hadn't tried hard enough to do it on my own yet. It's frightening to know that you're not only making a life-changing decision, but that you're also risking your life to have the surgery in the first place. All surgery comes with risk, even if you choose a great surgeon with no leaks or fatalities, like I did! I cannot express how much I have changed, inside and out, all for the better. It was the very best thing I've done for myself. It's the only thing I've ever done only for myself. I'm happier and healthier and I wouldn't change a thing. Either you'll get there or you won't. If you opt not to have surgery, that's okay. Keep thinking on it and eventually the right choice will become clear to you. Best wishes, ~Cheri

You're lucky to be able to eat like that! Honestly, any dense dumpling type food (like gnocchi, spaetzle or knodel) are really hard on me, even now. My sleeve doesn't seem to care if it's made of flour or potato. Pasta is still hard on me and I mostly avoid it, though I have noticed that I don't have as many issues with rice or glass noodles so I eat some Soups that include those when I really want my pasta fix. Lucky you! Thanks for sharing with other people that might want to try this, though I'd caution them to do a few small bites first just in case they're like me and don't tolerate it well. And I still freak waitstaff out because they worry that I didn't like my food. It's a regular occurrence for the manager to visit my table just to be sure I enjoyed my meal because it doesn't look like I ate anything! ~Cheri

Sounds like you're doing a great job. I hit some Patches where I thought I'd never lose any more weight but like you, I kept plugging away and finally got past the plateaus. Keep your chin up if the last few pounds take longer to lose. It's normal! Enjoy your loss, you've done a great job so far. ~Cheri

Congrats on choosing the sleeve! It will certainly improve your life once you can get past this rough patch. If you're not on a PPI, you should be. And if you are on one, it sounds like it's not working and you need a new one. I started on Nexium and it wasn't working for me so I switched to Prevacid (OTC). That wasn't working, either, so I finally wound up on Prilosec (generic omeprazole) and the relief was almost immediate. I had the same issues you're describing and it was terribly uncomfortable. The good news is that somewhere between 6-8 months post op I was able to stop taking the acid reducer and the reflux/heartburn resolved on their own. I hope you have the same results. I had a lot of problems in the beginning with my bowels. TMI, but hey, you're asking, right? At first I had nothing like a normal movement. Turns out I had lactose intolerance. Once I cut out the dairy, I couldn't go at all. I've found that two things work like magic: either a cup of coffee each morning or a dose of Miralax every other day does the trick. I buy the generic version of Miralax, too, because it's a lot cheaper. Now that I'm 19 months out this is not an issue at all because my capacity has increased and I can eat natural sources of Fiber along with my Protein. Good luck. You're having great results so far, and I hope that once you get these two minor issues resolved you can keep on going until you reach your goals. I can't wait until your wife can join you on this journey. You guys are going to live longer, happier, healthier lives together and there's nothing in the world better than that. Best wishes to both of you, ~Cheri

Poor thing! I didn't have this post op but I did have it after I delivered my twins. I had so much swelling in my calves that I actually got stretch marks because they had me on a darn IV for nearly three days. I think it's totally unnecessary and I hate that doctors do it because it's convenient for them. It's overinfusion and it's not good for us. I left the hospital after delivering my twins weighing MORE than I weighed going in. In fact, the pants I wore to delivery were too tight when I went to leave. It was horribly upsetting, so I understand your fear and frustration. What worked for me? Exercise (lots and lots of walking), elevating my feet and taking a diuretic. I just used an OTC one for about four days until I was back to normal. If you're terribly concerned, call your PCP (not your surgeon) and see what they say. Best of luck, I hope you feel better soon. It's horribly uncomfortable to have your skin feel close to bursting. ~Cheri

I looked at your pictures and I would say the loss is significant. Yes, they're trained to look for facial features but in my opinion, you look like you're the sister of the girl in the first picture! If you have time and it's not too much trouble, I'd get the new passport done. If not, I wouldn't fret and I'd chance it. I sincerely doubt you'll be turned away from any country. At the worst I expect you'll have to explain that you've lost a lot of weight and show an additional ID to verify your identity. Enjoy your trip either way, and congrats on such a great loss! ~Cheri

The long post op liquid diet is hard. I had a reaction to sugar substitutes and don't bother with sugar free anything. At this point, I figure I eat so little at a time I want to make it count. I don't do low-fat, either. The diet link you were given is a good one. What are your surgeon's guidelines? I went to Dr. Aceves and he advocates a full three week of liquids before you can move on. It was really hard for me to make it that last bit - I wasn't hungry but the meals I was eating were boring and I just wanted to CHEW, even if I wasn't hungry. However, the guidelines he has are one reason he hasn't had any leaks. It may not seem like it but in just one week when you're on mushies and soft foods your complaint will be that you can't possibly eat the food you're supposed to be eating and that eating is a hated chore. You feel like you're starving now but wait until all you can get in is three bites of scrambled egg! ~Cheri

You know, I never worried about pepper or any other spices and I didn't have an issue. But if you're really concerned, shoot a quick email or make a call to your surgeon's office. ~Cheri

I'm with cattracks on this one. There is no magical window of time with the sleeve. Seriously - we do NOT have the same limited window of malabsorption that bypass patients have. Your sleeve is going to stretch but not enough to make losing a problem. You'll have to work at it to gain a real amount of weight. I stalled out around the mid 160s for close to nine weeks. I was sure I was done and would never see goal. I kept with it, fell of the wagon for a bit, and jumped back onto the right track after a while. And after plugging away I finally got a drop. A small one at first, then a big one. And here I am, sitting pretty at goal when I had been so sure before I couldn't lose anything else. Make sure you're not in denial about your food intake. It happens to us when we get lax. Exercise is important but unless you really bring it every day you're not going to lose weight from exercise alone. It will make your skinny, at goal body look better, though, and it's great for your heart and overall health. Keep with it. Some of us are slower losers. And let me tell you it took me better than SIX months to lose that last 20 pounds. I had two really long stalls and I'm glad I didn't give up or I'd still be wearing a size 12 instead of a size 6 - so please, hang in there. Best of luck, ~Cheri

I'd take it really slow on those eggs. In the beginning it could take me TWO hours to eat a single scrambled egg. It's a far denser food than anything you've had in your sleeve so far. I'd start with one or two bites of egg - with nothing else. Then I'd wait a bit and go back for more. You overdid it and it's totally normal until you learn your limits. I toss my food back up if I overdo it, too. Soon you'll learn those full signals (which are different than they used to be) and stop before you get sick. ~Cheri

Relax and wait for mushies. We all worry about this until we're faced with eating an entire scrambled egg and it takes two hours! Oh, those dense Proteins are HARD in the beginning. But liquids run right on through, even if we have to sip them all day long. You'll be fine. Stick to the plan and don't worry. ~Cheri

Yep, lesson learned, right? Bread took me forever and I still only eat a tiny bit of it when I do have some. Pasta and rice are my real no-nos, even 19 months out. I can only eat a few bites and I swear they swell in my stomach and cause me discomfort every stinking time. I always overindulge, forgetting that my limit on these foods is only a Tbs. or two, not half a cup. Guidelines are there for a reason, cheater cheater! No, it won't be this way forever. Eventually you'll be able to eat pretty much whatever you want but not in nearly the quantities you used to eat. Once you heal, it's a different story. I'm in the minority but I advocate eating a normal diet without restricting carbs or sugar down to Atkins levels. I suggest if you wish to eat this way to accept that 1) you'll have slower loss and 2) you'll have to track your intake religiously so you don't exceed your nutritional guidelines. I think too many of us approach the sleeve like a diet and get burned out. Restricting our diet drastically builds the expectation that we'll see a drop on the scale every single day. Not so - this is a lifestyle change. You removed most of your stomach. Be responsible and healthy and you'll reach your goals. But for now? Heal! Follow those guidelines and drink as much liquid as you can each day. ~Cheri

I think you're being too hard on yourself. Hold yourself accountable but don't be extreme about it. A variance of +/- 2 pounds is normal for me each day. So long as I'm not over 138 I don't beat myself up over my weight. Anything could affect us: pressure, humidity, salt intake, Water intake, time of the month. In fact, I regularly gain about 3 pounds during my cycle. So, I applaud your accountability. However, I think you shouldn't worry about the minuscule gain unless it becomes a habit. I'd also like to add that I really don't feel there is a "magic window" where weight loss becomes harder. We do not have the limited window of malabsorption that bypass patients have. Our sleeve does stretch a bit but certainly not enough for us to just start gaining weight or eating a ton of food - not without us really jumping off the wagon and running in the wrong direction! It took me 17 months to get to goal. Loss closer to goal weight is slower but it's just as easy to lose as it was in the beginning: you just keep on doing the right things and the weight comes off. I think this misconception people have is part of the reason half the posts on these boards are from people freaking out about a two week stall or a slower loss - they have this idea that if they don't drop the weight in nine months they'll be failures or have wasted their money on VSG. This isn't the case! You're doing a great job so far, and should have no trouble reaching goal. ~Cheri

Everyone's surgeon has different guidelines and many allow soft foods within just a few weeks of surgery. So long as you're following your particular surgeon's food guidelines I wouldn't worry. Eating was my most favorite thing in the world, pre VSG. Honestly, I think I enjoyed food more than my husband! (Kidding!) Post op it became a hated chore that required work and planning on my part. I had to make a food plan at the start of each day and log it into myfitnesspal to be sure I'd meet my nutritional goals. I often failed - at least for the first 4-6 months. Slowly but surely things will get more normal for you. Not only will you be able to eat more, but you'll start to lose that expectation that you'll clean your plate or eat at the same pace as the people around you. It's a hard mental adjustment to make but it really does get easier with time. As for how long it will be before you can eat that four ounces of fish more quickly? Who knows? You might be like me and have ridiculous restriction at more than a year out. I can tell you it would take me about thirty minutes to eat that tilapia, but if it were salmon I wouldn't be able to finish a whole four ounces as it's a denser fish - more meaty. Or you might be like the average sleever and be able to eat that four ounces along with some vegetables and maybe even a few bites of rice at one year out. Life will be easier for you if that's the case, I think! Enjoy it. It's hard at first and very frustrating. But honestly, I love that food no longer controls me. Once upon a time I'd have eaten twice as much fish along with a plate full of rice and vegetables and been hungry for dessert afterward. ~Cheri