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Yeah, I can pack away a lot of bacon too if I want. That is why we only make it once in a while and I don't care how much of it I eat. And once cooked (as long as you don't fry it in its own fat), it is not AS bad as one would think. My lettuce wrap with 4 pieces might have had around 200-250 calories all together, at the most (4 slices bacon=170 calories, lettuce+tomato=almost nothing, 1 tbsp light miracle whip=30 cal, which I did not put a while TBSP on). So it is not that bad when you look at it!
Yes, I am below target. I actually never thought I would get to my target as my weight loss really slowed down. I actually did not reach goal until 18 months post op and the last 2 months I have been losing and have lost around 5 lbs, so it is true that you can continue to lose for the first 2 years! I am proof!

I am thinking its your hormones, not your stomach. When I ovulate, I crave food like there is no tomorrow, especially carbs. There is actually studies done that women not on birth control eat more during and right after ovulation (women on hormonal birth control do not change).

You said it yourself, and I will reiterate, please, please, please do not compare yourself to others. It will only end up making you frustrated and depressed if you are not losing as fast.
Just to shine some light on the subject, a lot of people do not lose anything the first week, or even gain. Why? From all the Fluid they pump into you during surgery and all the swelling. It takes time for your body to get rid of all that. I didn't lose anything after my first week, in fact, I had gained 10lbs right after surgery, and when I got home 6 days later, I was still a pound heavier. I didn't start losing until into my second week.
I was also a slow loser. It took me 18 months to reach my goal. But I got there and have been maintaining for the last 3 or so months. Everyone is different and everyone's weight lose is different. If you do what you need to do, which it sounds like you are, it will come.

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

You said it yourself, and I will reiterate, please, please, please do not compare yourself to others. It will only end up making you frustrated and depressed if you are not losing as fast.
Just to shine some light on the subject, a lot of people do not lose anything the first week, or even gain. Why? From all the Fluid they pump into you during surgery and all the swelling. It takes time for your body to get rid of all that. I didn't lose anything after my first week, in fact, I had gained 10lbs right after surgery, and when I got home 6 days later, I was still a pound heavier. I didn't start losing until into my second week.
I was also a slow loser. It took me 18 months to reach my goal. But I got there and have been maintaining for the last 3 or so months. Everyone is different and everyone's weight lose is different. If you do what you need to do, which it sounds like you are, it will come.

You said it yourself, and I will reiterate, please, please, please do not compare yourself to others. It will only end up making you frustrated and depressed if you are not losing as fast.
Just to shine some light on the subject, a lot of people do not lose anything the first week, or even gain. Why? From all the Fluid they pump into you during surgery and all the swelling. It takes time for your body to get rid of all that. I didn't lose anything after my first week, in fact, I had gained 10lbs right after surgery, and when I got home 6 days later, I was still a pound heavier. I didn't start losing until into my second week.
I was also a slow loser. It took me 18 months to reach my goal. But I got there and have been maintaining for the last 3 or so months. Everyone is different and everyone's weight lose is different. If you do what you need to do, which it sounds like you are, it will come.

You said it yourself, and I will reiterate, please, please, please do not compare yourself to others. It will only end up making you frustrated and depressed if you are not losing as fast.
Just to shine some light on the subject, a lot of people do not lose anything the first week, or even gain. Why? From all the Fluid they pump into you during surgery and all the swelling. It takes time for your body to get rid of all that. I didn't lose anything after my first week, in fact, I had gained 10lbs right after surgery, and when I got home 6 days later, I was still a pound heavier. I didn't start losing until into my second week.
I was also a slow loser. It took me 18 months to reach my goal. But I got there and have been maintaining for the last 3 or so months. Everyone is different and everyone's weight lose is different. If you do what you need to do, which it sounds like you are, it will come.

You said it yourself, and I will reiterate, please, please, please do not compare yourself to others. It will only end up making you frustrated and depressed if you are not losing as fast.
Just to shine some light on the subject, a lot of people do not lose anything the first week, or even gain. Why? From all the Fluid they pump into you during surgery and all the swelling. It takes time for your body to get rid of all that. I didn't lose anything after my first week, in fact, I had gained 10lbs right after surgery, and when I got home 6 days later, I was still a pound heavier. I didn't start losing until into my second week.
I was also a slow loser. It took me 18 months to reach my goal. But I got there and have been maintaining for the last 3 or so months. Everyone is different and everyone's weight lose is different. If you do what you need to do, which it sounds like you are, it will come.

Yeah, I can pack away a lot of bacon too if I want. That is why we only make it once in a while and I don't care how much of it I eat. And once cooked (as long as you don't fry it in its own fat), it is not AS bad as one would think. My lettuce wrap with 4 pieces might have had around 200-250 calories all together, at the most (4 slices bacon=170 calories, lettuce+tomato=almost nothing, 1 tbsp light miracle whip=30 cal, which I did not put a while TBSP on). So it is not that bad when you look at it!
Yes, I am below target. I actually never thought I would get to my target as my weight loss really slowed down. I actually did not reach goal until 18 months post op and the last 2 months I have been losing and have lost around 5 lbs, so it is true that you can continue to lose for the first 2 years! I am proof!

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

I had posted before in a separate topic, but will post here too! I love seeing other pictures and find them inspirational, so I will post mine too!

OK, so I have seen commercials lately for mayo and it is all about a BLT. I love BLT's, but rarely eat them. I eat a lot of lettuce wraps, and decided, hey, wouldn't that make a great BLT. So I got a piece of iceberg lettuce, diced some tomatoes, spread a little low cal miracle whip on the lettuce and added 4 slices of bacon, and, TA-DA a BLT. All the taste without the bread. I cook my bacon in the oven on racks so the fat drips off and then drain on paper towel. One slice of bacon has 42 calories, 3 g of fat and 3 g a Protein.
PS, I am 20 months post op, not for the newly sleeved and not something to eat everyday, but boy oh boy, did it hit the spot!

They have a line if syrups (regular and sugar free) that a lot of coffee houses use to flavor specialty coffee. They are a sleevers best friend! Here is their site...
http://www.torani.com/
There are other brands too, but this one is most available to me where I live. You can order directly from them, or on Amazon I think. I use them to flavor shakes, in Protein ice cream, to flavor plain greek yogurt, you name it! I used it in place of oil in the popcorn recipe..sweetens as well!

Stalls are normal. Just revisit what you are eating, is there anything you would change?? Also realize that after 6 months, weight loss also tends to slow down, but it is not the end! I didn't reach my goal until 18 months out, so you will still continue to lose!

Stalls are normal. Just revisit what you are eating, is there anything you would change?? Also realize that after 6 months, weight loss also tends to slow down, but it is not the end! I didn't reach my goal until 18 months out, so you will still continue to lose!

Technically, you are not eating a lot, most of it is liquids. It does seem like more than a lot of people can get in at only 7 days post op, but I would not be too worried. I think some people swell a lot more than others. Wait until you are eating more solid foods and see what your restriction is then. You should really not be able to be able to eat more than about 2 oz of dense protein in the beginning (of course this is a little more the further out you get, I can probably eat about 4 oz). The only concern I have that someone else said is eating soft foods already. I know my plan was not soft foods until week 3. But I do know that everyone's guidelines are different.

My mom has MS, so I can partially understand your situation with that. She also cannot be in the heat and gets tired very easily.
I have never exercised regularly since I have been sleeved. I am active with my 2 young children, housework, and yard work, but I have never went to the gym and I have never made a point of doing regular aerobic exercise. It may have taken me a little longer to reach my goal (18 months), but I reached it, and dropped below it. I have been very careful with what I eat and have made significant changes to my eating habits.
So to answer your question, yes, it can be done without exercise. If you can be active in some way, I encourage you to do that as it does help you feel better not just physically, but emotionally as well. Best of luck with your surgery!

I tried it the other day. It was excellent!!!! Thanks

You are doing great! I am glad you posted about "Gollum after the ring"...awesome quote by the way! I think that is where people begin to fail with the sleeve. They think it is a magic cure and they can still eat everything they were eating before and lose weight. Of course they will lose in the beginning, but it will catch up with them...just like a Bypass patient gains back their weight.
I am like you with chips, so if I do buy them, I end up eating some and dumping the rest in the garbage (I know if I just rolled up the bag, I would literally dig them out and eat them...they're still good). Oh, and just so people know, I have literally eaten chips less than 5 times since I had my surgery almost 2 years ago. They are one thing I can't eat in moderation...I eat them until I am sick, so I will not keep them in my house. Hence the sleeve is not a cure, its a tool!

I know it can be disappointing, but be proud of yourself for getting back on track. I do find it much easier to get back on track with the sleeve, and imagine before, that 14lbs may have easily been 30lbs. Sometimes it helps people to go back to the pre-op diet or follow the 5-day pouch diet to get back in the mode (just google the 5-day pouch test and you will find information). In my eyes, the biggest hurdle so many of us have to overcome is the shame and the guilt around food and mistakes. OK, you went off plan, but now you are back at it. When we continue to shame and guilt ourselves it just begins a vicious cycle of binging, guilt, eating more, more guilt. Good luck with your plan, you can do it!

The people that say "I eat whatever I want, just in smaller portions" are going to be the people that struggle to maintain. Yes, the sleeve limits proportions, but you have to adopt healthy eating habits to make it stick. Like the first response, you can't expect to eat all the same junk and lose the weight and keep it off.
As for eating anything, I am almost 2 years post op, and I can eat anything. Do I?? Nope. Not saying that I NEVER have ice cream, chocolate, or [insert treat/unhealthy for here], but I eat it occasionally and in moderation. And I know my trigger foods and I do not keep them in my house. I have never counted anything, have never went low carb, and have never followed a restrictive diet. I changed my eating habits, eat a lot more veggies, stick to high Protein meals, cut out the white stuff, and still basically follow post-op guidelines. So far I have been maintaining fairly easily on a diet that I can live with for a lifetime.
Like others have said, the sleeve is not a magic cure, just like a bypass is not a magic cure. It is a chance to do better with lives, a second chance at a healthy, normal existence.

I eat anything I want... Aka. Normal, healthy well balanced with an occasional treat. I made goal at 8.5 months out, almost 13 months out now. Maintaining without a problem. I eat 1500-2000 calories a day.