kulita

Janice, somewhere on this site I read that you are shorter in stature. Is this correct? If so, then maybe 1200 was too much for you based on your activity level at that time. Your sleeve maybe shorter than others, which could account for how you were able to eat on 1200 cals for years and not loose weight. For me I KNOW I ate way more than this, but I am taller than most girls, and at rest my body needed more than 1200. When I was running... good Lord I think I consumed around 3000 cals!!! Now, that you are sleeved and with respect to those who have shorter sleeves, it is much more difficult to get in 1200 calories unless it is by liquid or "slider" form in the beginning. Once you start adding in real meat the calories do go up, but for many of us so does our bodies needs are we are exercising far more than we ever did.

I eat with a shrimp fork, and a baby spoon. It helps me a lot. Before I used to eat really fast too. I swear someone would have thought that I served time in prison (never did). Using the smaller utensils helps a lot. I also eat off of smaller plates too.

I am around 800 a day and I feel fine. I am losing weight and I eat with my family. I pretty much eat what they eat but I am still on soft foods so some things I have to substitute. If you eat too much at one time all of the time you can stretch your sleeve but it will NEVER be the same size that it was prior to surgery. I actually have videos of what you can expect a stretched sleeve to look like here http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2407/entry-6050-the-size-of-your-new-stomach/ Something to keep in mind is that not everyone's sleeve is the same capacity longer stomachs will become a long sleeve and this may allow for one person to comfortably eat a higher than normal caloric ratio when compared to others. If you are eating healthy, the calories consumes should not be a problem. Keep following your DR & NUT's guidelines.

^ She was!!!

Does your mother live with you and your husband? If not, then how will she ever see that you have done your research, have dieted, have a Dr's approval, and need the surgery to benefit your health? She may or may not see it, but keep reminding her that you are going to try to seek approval because you are doing what is best for your health right now and don't want your health to get worse. Also, remind her that you would like her support in your adult decision. If she starts complaining or tries to talk you out of the your choices that you have made let her know that you do not want to discuss it anymore and change the conversation. Soon she will realize that if she wants to talk to you she must do so in a respectable manner that will not cause your undue stress.

^ VERY TRUE... You may need to take more PPI than are taking right now

^ I am going to look out for this flavor.. thanks!

Mamamareli, try eating much smaller meals every 2.5 hours. I have done this and it helps me out a bit. Breakfast shake 4 oz lunch shake 4 oz dinner shake 4 oz

eat some bananas and drink coconut water.

"Problem..I find that I can eat almost everything without feeling badly." Why do you think you SHOULD feel badly? I am a month out and I feel fine. I eat until I am full and that is that. When you write that you have no restriction are you saying that you have eaten around 1lb of food or more? Try this bariatric test to determine what your capacity size is and to find out what your restriction size is. http://www.bsciresourcecenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=A4 Basically you measure the cottage cheese in weight. Eat until you are full. Weight the remaining amount left over. Subtract the original weight from the remaining weight and that is how much food your sleeve can hold.

I had it on my clear liquids. It was a tad salty but I could adjust it by adding a slight bit more water. Also pay close attention to making sure you don't add it to water over 140 F.

For those who are looking for an alternative to the powdered whey or just want something a bit more natural, this recipe is for you! Prep Time:10 min Cook Time: 30 min Inactive Prep Time: 3-4 hours Ingredients: 1 Gal Pasteurized 2% Milk (grass fed is best) 1/2 cup white vinegar or fresh lemon juice 1 ½ tsp salt (for the curds) ½ cup of half & half Kitchen or tea towel Any flavoring or spices you want Directions: Get your milk to slowly heat up on med to low heat. Watch for this so it doesn't get too hot. Heat to 120 degrees F. When you notice a lot of bubbles around the rim of the sauce pan gently add the vinegar or lemon juice and stir it around. The mixture should separate pretty quickly into curds and whey within 2 minutes. If it doesn't separate just add a little more vinegar or lemon juice a Tbsp at a time waiting 2 minutes between each Tbsp until it begins to separate. Remove from the heat once they start to seperate. The curds are the solid looking things and the whey is the liquid. Cover the pot and allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Get a strainer and place a tea towel/kitchen towel in it. Below the strainer place a bowl or other container that will allow you to catch the whey and keep it separate from the curds. Allow to drain for 10 minutes. Gather up the edges of the cloth and rinse under cold water for 5 minutes, squeezing and moving the mixture the entire time. Once it has cooled, squeeze the cheese into the cloth as dry as possible and put into a mixing bowl. Combine the salt and break down the curds into bite sized pieces. Add the half & half and store in a tight lid container in the fridge. Place the whey in a tight lid container in the fridge. Once it has completely cooled add any flavoring ingredients. Some suggestions for flavoring: Nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, chocolate… just test it out and see what works for you. The taste is a little different for some people, and it can be diluted with water, or juice. It has a slight tang to it and many who enjoy yogurt, kefir, and buttermilk will mostly enjoy the fresh whey. Additionally, this can be used to make mashed potatoes. These are the same products many of us buy in the store except the whey is not dehydrated and both the whey and cheese won’t have any weird additives in it. Yields about 13 cup of whey and about 3 cup of curds Whey is about 3.3 grams of protein per oz Curds is 2 grams of protein per oz.

LOL.... OK well as a marketing director I have to point out that there must be some sort of sponsorship or donation in order to keep advertising these Dr.'s These ads aren't entirely free. Maybe to lower overhead for maintenance this site included the ads. Also, it was amusing to read "I do not and WILL NOT exclusively recommend my doctor unless I am on the payroll for marketing on his behalf. LoL" and yet in your signature you are inadvertently advertising for him. I am not picking on you... please do not see it that way, I just thought it was amusing, because all of your great accomplishments post op could be attributed to your surgeon, Dr. Davidson.

I think your NUT is trying to set you up for success post op. After surgery you will understand why you shouldn't eat and drink at the same time. You are so full from food that if you dare drink you will most likely vomit, but, if you wait about 30 minutes you can start drinking Water without ease. Start eating the right foods that they went over during the seminar and log it down in the food diary. When you are post op, you will find what what you can eat with ease and what you can't or don't tolerate anymore.

^ me too!!! Anything that is VERY rich has always made me satisfied/content with small portions. For me that is ice cream, cake, brownies... and even chocolate.

No, No disrespect taken... I was commenting on how many of us Celebrate with BBQ on memorial day but not Veteran's day, and to make sure that no one forgets the meaning behind today. As for the actual BBQ's there are so many in SoCal that I swear the state is on fire. LOL

Isn't it sad that Memorial Day (a day where we are supposed to honor and remember those that have fallen fighting for our country) is often remembered for BBQ's... while Veteran's Day is to thank all service members for the commitment and duty for serving in the military typically isn't? Probably because it is too cold in many states come November. As a veteran and a wife of a husband who is still active duty, we went to cemeteries to visit our fallen heroes and replace old flags with news ones, and give flags to those who may have been forgotten. BBQ's are great and give plenty of us Post Op'ers time to graze on tidbits here and there, but please don't forget those who are still fighting who can't come home, and don't forget those that have passed so we can remain at home to have a BBQ. I wish my brother could be here with me today.

ATT has towers that go into TJ. I know this because when I come close to the border it lets me know that I will be charged int'l rates. I confirmed with ATT to let them know that I hadn't crossed the border but I had a message come up via txt. A lot of people use skype. Skype has a mobile phone feature too so you can get calls on your skype # fwd'ed to your cell.

The smallest I have is 1/8 of an in, and the largest is about 1 in.

^ EXACTLY. I love good food and I really love GOOD chocolate. The truffle I had was $3 for 2!! Indulge every once in a while. My daugther picked the milk chocolate with orange mint grenache and I picked the dark chocolate with lemon rosemary. Our truffles got mixed up, so that is why it was so sweet (I think).

Go here to find out. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2407/entry-6079-what-is-a-slider-food/

PGrams, you could have had worse sliders! LOL I am a month out and I KNOW that I shouldn't have done it but I ate a chocolate truffle. Oh it so so smooth and creamy, and oh wait!! Sickeningly sweet, ew. Despite that last bit I still swallowed it down. I mean it had 4 gram of Protein so why not Yeah Yeah, I know it will slow down my weight loss.... But I have never been one to limit the types of food that I eat. the reason I got to the point where I needed the sleeve was because I ate way to much all the time. Well, after I ate it, it felt like a lump was in my belly for the next hour. NOT the best decision. If I choose to have another it will most certainly be a few months from now. I think that is about all of the sliders I have had. I seem to be pretty full on shakes, soft Proteins, and Water

^ It was like that for me on Obesityhelp too. That is why I moved over here.

ya know what is weird my "after" pic will not show up... there should be some instructions pinned to the forum on how to add these features for people that may not be a tech savvy as we think (ahem.... me!)

Are you or have you started the b12 yet? If not, and your Dr. approves you should start taking this. It will help with your energy levels and hopefully will lift your spirits a little.