NoOrganicForMe

If you want an easy food plan to go on prior to your TT, follow the pre-surgery diet your doctor gave your prior to your Sleeve. Mine was liquid Protein drink 2X per day and a salad with lean Protein on top for dinner. All the broth and no calorie liquid you could drink.
Also - write down every morsel you are putting in your mouth and see what your patterns are.

I get hungry..and I'm 7 mo post op and started about 2nd month.

Also to those who are preop and concerned about bougie size. There is very little difference on size and the smaller the bougie the higher risk for leaks.

Well except for ole Louise up there,
All of us are hungry

Tell you what. At five years out (and 10 and 15 and etc...mother nature willing...), I will still be rocking this emeffing sleeve. No WAY I'm cutting out most of my stomach then just being a recidivist fat chick. I mean: NO. WAY. Stats can suck it.
ETA: I never lost my hunger anyhow, so I've had to learn to cope with that being present the entire process. So meh.
EATA: OMG, that is my bariatric clinic being quoted...! They are experts in this procedure, but I normally only see them quoted in academic literature...

3 months progress!!! sorry I missed month 2
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Yes Jessica,
I kinda wished they made me sick too. I often joke here that I was ripped off because I didn't get the automatic shut of valve with the eject button. But there is a seriousness behind that joke. I know that for the rest of my life I have to be extra careful and exercise self control.
Moderation works for some (I think) but I am a binger and certain feelings and foods tigger it still.
So I'm with butter on this one. Staying away from certain foods is best for me...

Vagus, baby! That's so money.

Any kind of firm Protein does the trick for me. Also, now that I'm further out, I find if I don't get enough calories in earlier in the day after the full feeling from dinner leaves I just stay hungry until I go to bed. I've taken to adding oil or cheese to lunch and dinner. Only need a little to do the trick.
Lynda

I had this surgery to live a normal life. I'm about 4 months out now and can eat basically anything. I've had fast food, I've had chips and candy, I've had alcohol. Nothing has caused me much problems.
Obviously it's all in moderation. I eat well, make good choices, and make sure my Protein levels are where they should be. I work out a lot. If, at the end of the day, I have a couple hundred calories left, I'll allow myself a treat.
I'm down about 45lbs now and have another 30ish to go. I still lose 1-2lbs a week steadily and I'm happy with that! I'm happy that I can eat what I want, but less of it. That's exactly what I hoped for from surgery.

I had surgery Nov 28, 2012. I have lost 82 lbs also. I would have lost more if for the past 3 months I didn't let the old habits back in. I am trying so very hard to get back on track. I still have very good restriction and I will get to goal. That being said it is 1 day at a time. But if I did not have the sleeve I would have gained back everything I have lost by now. I am lucky to have the sleeve and I am trying.

Give yourself a weight your happy at and weigh regularly, establish a eat/exercise routine you are happy with. If your weight goes above your top weight the IMMEDIATELY go back to basics of high protein/ low carb until you are below your top weight.

Peanut Butter is OK, but not really the best choice because peanuts are not really a nut. It is a legume and grows below ground. Nuts like walnuts, almonds, etc grow above ground. They have more Protein and have fats that are better for you. A better choice would be a nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter. You can usually find these in the natural section at a grocery store or you can make your own. Safeway has an area where you can grind the almonds or cashews and make a tub of nut butter to take home with you. Yummy on apples and bananas. Hope this helps.

I just purchased a box of these crackers .... or .... should I say "flackers"
They are soooooooooooo Yummy !
made by
Doctor in the Kitchen
naturally sweet cinnamon & currants flax seed crackers
raw, gluten free
high in Omega 3's, 4 grams of Protein and 6 grams of Fiber low in carbs per serving.
When my family is eating their junk food.... I grab a few of these flackers and put a slice of banana on top and pop it in my mouth. sooo good...
now when I want savory, I buy their rosemary flavor and put a piece of microwaved softened brie cheese on it... oh sooo yummy too.

Exactly..... How about a nice Chanel handbag !

I just made some chicken salad and chopped it up in my mini processor with mayo and some wholly guacamole. It is totally delish and has healthy fats!

Oh Yeah, Netrition is very popular around here. I even have one of their T shirts

I just purchased a box of these crackers .... or .... should I say "flackers"
They are soooooooooooo Yummy !
made by
Doctor in the Kitchen
naturally sweet cinnamon & currants flax seed crackers
raw, gluten free
high in Omega 3's, 4 grams of Protein and 6 grams of Fiber low in carbs per serving.
When my family is eating their junk food.... I grab a few of these flackers and put a slice of banana on top and pop it in my mouth. sooo good...
now when I want savory, I buy their rosemary flavor and put a piece of microwaved softened brie cheese on it... oh sooo yummy too.

I was LITERALLY just thinking about this last night! I have actually thought about just "telling" the dang waitress to avoid stupid looks & questions, because I am like 4 weeks out and I KNOW my husband and I can literally share 1 entree... (don't want to have to go OFF on someone for acting like they have an attitude because their "tip" will be less...... you know that's what it boils down to..... because I literally CANNOT eat more than 4-5 bites at a time!). I truuuuuly do NOT want to deal with servers constantly asking or bugging me....
Soooooo, I may just "say it" outright, which may cause less drama (for me) and allow me to enjoy my day without fear of bad service because they do not understand.

I went through this right around one year post op. I was down 92 pounds, wearing some size 8s and feeling pretty good about myself. Sure, I was still well overweight but I was so close to my goal (which was padded, anyway, to be easier to obtain) but I looked really good and all of my hard work was apparent to other people, too. Gotta love that validation. But some of the good things I was hearing were helping me to feel so complacent, too. People telling me I looked great as I was and to stop losing, etc.
I had a nine week stall ending somewhere around one year post op, too, and that was part of my feelings. I mean, my body was clearly at a happy weight and I wasn't losing anymore.
Eventually, I broke through that stall and slowly (oh so slowly) crawled to goal. I wound up losing another 15 pounds from 12-17 months post op. While that doesn't sound like much it was a pant and shirt size, a bra size and even a shoe size. In other words, a whole new wardrobe.
It's important to recognize that being content and happy with your achievements is a good thing. But complacency that makes you unaware of potential problems would be a bad thing. So it's critical that you walk that line and find the place where you are truly happy, not struggling to shed pounds and making yourself unhappy but also aren't engaging in behavior that will sabotage your success. I can only speak for myself, but when I don't have a goal in sight and I'm happy, it's actually easier for me to backslide in my eating. Have I experienced a regain? No - not outside of pregnancy. But I can see just how easily it could happen if I allowed myself to be so complacent that I forget I spent most of my life as an obese person with an obese person's habits and relationship with food.
Only you can decide if you want to push onward or stay where you are - I only urge you to be certain you don't get lazy.
~Cheri

where did you find them?

I just purchased a box of these crackers .... or .... should I say "flackers"
They are soooooooooooo Yummy !
made by
Doctor in the Kitchen
naturally sweet cinnamon & currants flax seed crackers
raw, gluten free
high in Omega 3's, 4 grams of Protein and 6 grams of Fiber low in carbs per serving.
When my family is eating their junk food.... I grab a few of these flackers and put a slice of banana on top and pop it in my mouth. sooo good...
now when I want savory, I buy their rosemary flavor and put a piece of microwaved softened brie cheese on it... oh sooo yummy too.

greenivy age is usually an important factor, the condition you were in pre-WLS - and how much weight you have to lose
i was 57 when i had my WLS
i had alot of excess skin while losing weight
i was pleasantly surprised that my skin "tightened" up a lot, so i don't have as much excess skin
it was really bad between my legs, and rear end
now its soooooo much better
don't know how to say this properly, so excuse my words.............
i never had "rolls" around my tummy et al
so lose skin was not bad around tummy
good luck next month
speedy recovery
kathy

Two years out.
Soy latte at 8 a.m.
1 slice whole wheat bread, 2 oz low fat ham, 2 strawberries at 9 a.m.
Soy latte at noon
1 slice whole wheat bread, 2 oz low fat ham, 1 slice velvetta cheese, small can V8 at 1:30 p.m.
2 3oz glasses of port at 5 p.m.
3 oz filet mignon, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup green Beans, couple bites French bread at 6 p.m.
3 oz port at 7:30 p.m.
This is my treat day this week. Hubby and I are celebrating 32 years. Tomorrow is my two year surgiversery. I have been at goal for 14 months.
Lynda