Shan

I don't have time to read all of the replies so forgive me if this is repetitive. I had an epiphany at one point, and discovered that if I even so much as take a sip of liquid while I'm eating...my food comes right back up. I can drink as much as I want before that first bite, but once I take a bite, I can't take another sip until 30 minutes after the last bite. At 6 months out I can eat pretty much whatever I want, but the no sipping while eating rule is still absolutely necessary or up it comes. There's nothing wrong with eating cheese, whole milk, and peanut butter at this point. If you can't tolerate meat, don't eat meat. Your number one goal needs to be getting at least 5 - 600 calories a day. After that you can work on meeting your protein goal. If you're not able to keep anything down, I'd definitely check with your doctor to make sure you don't have a stricture. Good luck, girl! The first couple of months are rough, but once you figure out how your sleeve works...it's so rewarding!

I had my sleeve on Nov 2, 2010, and I've lost just about 70 pounds now. I've gone from a jean size 20 Lane Bryant to a 8 Old Navy. Yesterday at church I had a lady ask me if I eat anything and told me I look like I'm about to blow away. I still look in the mirror and see myself as pretty darn fat. I have HUGE arm wings and a fat/skin apron on my gut that makes me have a huge bulge in my stomach area no matter what I wear. I don't think I'll ever feel particularly thin until I have surgery and get that excess stuff removed. Won't be doing that until at least the beginning of next year, and even then it will depend on my husband's bonuses. Don't get me wrong...I do feel like I look thinner...but still fat. If that makes any sense at all.

I've been overweight, obese or morbidly obese since I was 10 years old. I've never weighed in the normal range in my entire adult life. So for me, normal is my first goal. For my height I would need to get to 136 to hit a BMI of 24.9 which is just inside of normal. I think 130 would keep me to a point where I could fluctuate 5ish lbs and still stay in normal range. So 130 is my goal. I don't want to be teeny...just normal.

I don't think there is a normal or not normal for VSG. Everybody varies. I've found that if you just keep doing the right things through the stall...your time will come. I'll have weeks where I don't lose a thing, but when I look back over the months I have consistently lost between 10 to12 pounds each month after the first month (20lbs the first month). Sometimes it's frustrating to see that some people lose 100 pounds in 4 months, but you know what...this is me. Gotta say...I'm QUITE pleased with my 67 pound loss! I've gone from a size 20 pants and 18/20 shirts from Lane Bryant to a size 8 or 10 depending on the fabric pants and medium or large shirts depending on the cut from Old Navy. If you do what you're supposed to do...it will happen. It might not be as quickly (or as slowly) as someone else, but you will be successful! Chin up.

You should start a blog! Your writing deserves to be read on a wider scale. Pretty soon, life will be more normal...I promise. Hang in there for a few more weeks, and you'll have this down pat.

I'm 5 months out and 65ish pounds down and mine is almost completely gone. It was quite substantial so I'm happy, happy!

Honestly, chips and salsa are my appetizer weakness as well. The bread doesn't tempt me, and I can avoid other appetizers by simply not ordering them. But the chips and salsa...ughh! Sometimes I can just skip them, and it's fine. Then other days (today for example) I just can't stop myself. My little trick is to pick through the basket and get the smallest chip I can and load it with as much salsa as possible. I also chew really slowly and wait a couple of minutes before going back for another. I do try to offset the rest of my day by eating hardly any carbs at all.

I really like Powerade Zero. I've been drinking that to replace the sodas. Before it started getting hot where I am (90 yesterday) I loved drinking green tea, but I don't like cold tea, and hot tea is not for hot weather in my humble opinion.

I think I'm going to give it up again at least until I get to the maintenance phase. After I posted this I got to thinking, and I haven't lost ANY weight in the last two weeks. I think the diet coke might be the beginnings of a slippery slope back into old habits for me. Don't get me wrong...I still don't eat a whole bunch or anything like that, but I've been more lax for sure. Had a cookie the other day. Haven't been monitoring protein at all, etc, etc. I think I needed a mental health break from the all sleeve all the time channel, and I've had that, and I'm ready to get back on plan. I REALLY appreciate all of your input, and I'm definitely looking forward to maintenance when I can treat myself. Just don't think I'm quite there yet. :decision:

I had my surgery on 11/2/10. At an appt on Sept 21st my surgeon told me that I'd not be able to drink diet coke at all after surgery. So, I gave up the DC cold turkey as of that day which means I hadn't had any for a little over six months. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to test the waters again. Now I'm right back to my old habits of drinking 1 or 2 a day. Sometimes that's a can...sometimes it's a medium from McD's (never ever eat the food...just the diet coke). Now as habits go, I don't suppose this is the worst one to have as far as weight loss is concerned, but I have to admit that I feel really guilty. As of yet, I haven't seen any negative effects from drinking it. I REALLY like DC so it's how I treat myself. Other people get a starbucks, I drink diet coke. With all of that said, what did your docs say about drinking diet coke after surgery. I realize now that I never asked my Dr. what the problem is with drinking it so I have no idea what the ramifications may be. I can't imagine that it would stretch the sleeve as I don't drink with food ever, and so I would assume that it just goes on through. I am concerned that the sweet drink is causing me to crave carbs, but I think the Powerade zero that I drink would do the same. At this point I'm just trying to make a decision for myself. Am I or am I not going to drink the diet coke. I've enjoyed the heck out of my diet coke for the last couple of weeks, but I think I could give it up permanently if I thought there was a really good reason. What's your take?

I eat peanut butter all the time. ALL THE TIME. A lot of times when I'm crunched for time 2 TBS of PB is my go to breakfast. It's real food, fast, delicious and has a nice amount of protein. I don't limit fat or protein...just carbs. Now, I don't eat a meal and then 30 minutes later go for the PB for dessert. It IS the meal. Works for me!

YW! It really is so good. And if you want to get REALLY tasty, marinate the chicken in lime juice, salt, garlic and cumin before you cook it. Mmmmm. Now I'm making my own mouth water. Guess I know what's for dinner tomorrow.

I actually avoid chips and salsa, specifically because it is so EASY to get down. Those chips chew down to nothing and are a major slider for me. Salsa on the other hand, I eat often...spicy, not so spicy, it all goes down well. My favorite thing to eat is a chicken breast sauteed with olive oil in a pan until just browned on both sides. Then while the chicken is still in the pan I put a nice big spoonful of fresh pico de gallo on top with a slice of monterey jack cheese on top of that. It goes in a 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes. I eat it with a little gaucamole, and I usually can only eat about 3/4 of a small breast or 1/2 of a large one so I have leftovers. Yum! Another thing I really enjoy is to cook up some lean ground beef with taco seasoning. I freeze 1/4 cup servings of seasoned meat in snack size ziplocks to heat up whenever I want taco salad. When I want some salad I just put some greens in a kiddie bowl and throw on my 1/4 cup of meat, some grated cheese, whatever other veg I want, a big spoonful of salsa and my dressing of choice. Quick, easy, low carb, and delicious! When I'm at a mexican restaurant I usually just eat some of my husband's fajita meat, or order something similar to the chicken with pico dish I make myself. I think that as time goes by, you'll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is to find great WLS friendly options just about everywhere you go.