PatliPriya

LOL...Ok Pointed noted, I won't devour a steak before surgery!!! - OMG you just made me feel a whole lot better... thank you...LOVE your sense of humour!!!!

A lot of people are talking about the 5 day pouch test to get back on track. I personally think that is a bad idea.
There is no reason to be hungry and miserable like you would be on the first 2 days of the 5 day pouch diet which consists of going back to liquids, I believe for 2 days.
This is the diet I use when I need to get back on track after a bad day ,or weekend, or vacation:
BOOTCAMP:
For 5 STRICT DAYS I will eat only:
Proteins: Seafoods, Poultry and eggs, Dairies, nuts/seeds, including a small amount of Peanut Butter.

Veggies: Green only. salad with vinegar and oil dressing
Fruits: None. fruit juice none
Breads/Cereals/ Rice/ Noodles/ Pasta/ Other Carbs: None.
Fluids: between 64 to 128 oz of Water (not coffee)
Protein drinks (RTD or Powder).
Avoid: Sugar and Sodium
You will lose weight after 5 days and the carb cravings should be gone , unless you mangaged to eat some carbs during this time

I pushed my dinner off until almost 7 so I'm going to hopefully have nothing more tonight outside of
liquids...
Like I said before, night is always hardest after my children and husband go to bed..

I used to be on here all the time - back when I first had my surgery and a few months post op. I've slowly started coming back due to the realization that I haven't lost anything for at least 5 months and it's because I haven't been in the game at all. I am seeing posts from people that had surgery around the same time as me or much later, that weighed more than me at date of surgery, and they have reached far and beyond my wildest expectations for myself. I just wanted to get below 200 and if I had stayed on plan, I would've accomplished this. The thing is, I can eat almost exactly like I used to and I do feel hunger and I am addicted to sugar/carbs. It is nothing for me to put away a donut and not have a single feeling of fullness. This has been the case for a while now and I know that the same obstacles that prevented weight loss for me prior to surgery still exist post surgery - mostly head hunger and telling myself that I will "get back on it" tomorrow. It's a terrible cycle that perpetuates itself over and over as I give in to a craving or deceive myself into thinking that it's ok because I did lose "some of the weight". I just realized that the only goal I set for myself was to get below 200 but maybe breaking it down might make things a little more doable and I will feel less like a failure. To those who have accomplished their goals, great work and let me know if you have any tricks or tips that you could share. For those who might be in the same boat as me, I feel your pain and maybe it's time today to do something about it. Yesterday was yesterday and tomorrow is a long way off so for now, I am focusing on my actions today.

Ok. Rules are SOMETIMES meant to be broken. So, Here's the deal. I am 2 weeks post op today. I am one of those who had zero issues and had a smooth ride from recovery room to date!! This post is not intended to mean I am sure I will have a long term good go at this! It also doesn't address the future, but really ONLY the many threads that I have read regarding the preo op and post op liquid diets and the Pre and post few weeks Do's and Dont's!
I have read almost every post on here before and after surgery, lol. Here is the point that I will explain. Your/Our obsession over following diet rules is what got us here in the first place.. isn't it?? I mean, it's great to have black and white rules.. Do's and Don's. can and cant's.. That's why we were ALL great on Atkins (remember the carb counting obsession), and South Beach (remember how carefully we chose the meals), weight watchers, low cal, grapefruit, slimfast , yada yada yada......RIGHT?
Sure, it worked. THEN WE WENT OFF THE WAGON and got sick of the rules and restrictions and put weight back on (and then some).... That's because it was a DIET.. Why do so many of you do that on here? I'm not judging, but trying to help! Yes, it's easier for me, since I have had no issues. I come from a strong medical family (i had bio as a minor,4 docs and 2 nurses in immed family) and I always love to understand WHY the rules are in place. If something doesn't make sense, I want to know why and not just follow a rule because it was put out there.
My surgeon told me that "rules" are on here for the lower end of reaction spectrum. meaning, many need not follow them, but since 30%, for ex, will have issues with some things, they want to make a general rule......
As EVERYONE says on here, as well as EVERY doc, ALL OF US ARE DIFFERENT! We heal differently, We tolerate pain differently, foods differently, weight loss differently, etc..... EVERY SINGLE ONE So, the rules need not be applied to the T!
Now, as a caveat and from feedback so far on this post, this is not an excuse to eat junk NOR stay on bad habits. I don't mean to enable anyone. here is what BUTTERTHEBEAN wrote:
"The only reason I say "enabling" is because I think there are some people waiting in the wings to hear someone tell them it's okay to eat whatever they want. They haven't tackled their food addictions and they are hoping for "permission" to go back to their old ways. I know there are some that can learn to eat "all things in moderation." I have no problem with that. For me, I chose to embrace my inner health nut. It's not fear or weakness or lack of self control...it's the desire to live a long, healthy and active life. I'm not depriving myself, or sacrifing. The things I'm doing and the life I'm leading now feel way better than eating pizza and cupcakes ever did (even in moderation). By that I mean that food did not give me pleasure (never did, I just thought it did), so I no longer look to food to satisfy my needs, except nutritionally."
Ok... Back to the post. Specifically, here is what I have had debunked by my brother (Anesthesiologist for bariatric), My mom (nurse and nutritionist), my bro's good friend and bariatric surgeon, and my surgeon..........
* Yes, the liquid PRE OP diet is not to be messed with. It sucked, but we need the liver to be soft and looking like liver in a supermarket. That will happen in most cases with one week.. Many docs do one week only and many do 2 weeks..... So, if you have a 2 week doc, don't worry if you cheat a little and wants some low calorie food.. It's OK!! have the Soup... etc. I didn't cheat as mine was only a week and I did not want to have a lifetime of liver issues if it was frail and broke a bit/injured while being moved for my surgery....
* Most docs on here POST OP put you on liquids for 2 weeks.. Why?? NOTHING medical. Really? Many docs, including mine, put me on Clear Liquids only day 1 in the hospital and then put me instantly on pureed foods (tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, greek yogurts, ricotta cheese, etc).. Yes. DAY 2! He does this for EVERY patient.. He has had NO MORE COMPLICATIONS than anyone else ever.... It is NOT true that eating this will cause a leak.. It can't get caught in you stitches, lol, as they are on the outside and you can't see them even in your stomach.. The ONLY risk is a)that you eat way too much and thus can cause leaks, so don't do that. and that is WAY too much. Meaning you go out of your way to test the limits. As any surgeon will tell you, stretching the stomach to break the staples is no easy task.... easy enough to follow that rule .. and the risk is that you get nauseated.. Ok.. we are all different. Some take 90 minutes the first time they eat to get down 4 oz of chicken salad.. I didn't . I got it down in 15 min and could have done it in 5..... But the point is, listen to your body. start slowly and if you tolerate it, then screw the rules.....
What does this mean? It means so what if you doc put you on 2 week post liquid. That is soo hard.. so, do it mostly, but don't obsess about cheating. have a friggin plate of tuna salad.. It will taste yummy.. Add some great yogurt. If you can handle it, you are good to go! I did.. They also want you on this liquid to max your weight loss for motivation up front? do you really need that?? I don't care if it takes me 1 more week than you to hit the same goal? Frankly, I decided to keep my calories around 800ish anyway for my first 2 weeks. It was a little hard, but nothing like your liquid nightmare and i lost as much weight... I'm now on 1200 cal full diet plan (less hard carbs and hard veggies) as of last night.
I've heard people say they are craving one Dorito chip.. Then the advice replies were "lick the cheese off" or "take a bit and spit it out...." LOL. Really? This is your diet/lifestyle for the rest of your life. HAVE A CHIP.. See if you get a lot of gas.. Chew it well.. If not problem, then enjoy the one chip. You got here because you at a half bag . One or three chips won't kill you! You need to find a way to eat what you will do.. The docs want you to build your healthy habits now.
*The first year is where you get your max weight loss- Ok. For sure,, so, as noted, build your healthy habits now.. but make it last. So, if I want a Dorito chip. I have one or two.. On my pureed phase, my kids had pretzels at a game. I took 2 small ones....I had a qtr of his hotdog meat.. The point is, if we can seriously lower the number of calories we eat (which, for me, they figured i was eating between 3500-4000 per day and needed to be at 2400 or so.. Now, with 1200, which believe me, with the sleeve is a mini feast, I will be eating half the amount and will lose a lot of weight. So, yes, build good eating habits and i'm working on good food choices that I can live with! Can I eat white bread. Damn right?should I// nO?? it's a waste of calories and spikes your sugar and appetite. But, I sure will if i want a hamburger or great sandwich. A month ago i would have had 2 cheeseburgers and 2 hotdogs at a bbq. .So, guess what, i'll lose weight. Can't make it a daily thing.. But, again, stop obsessing..
*Eating and drinking slowly eating- well, you don't HAVE to eat slowly, but as we have been told our whole lives, eat slowly so that when you are really full, you know it! Also, you need to see what your bod can tolerate and if you eat too quickly, you may not have realized you were about to puke. If you can tolerate it, you can eat and drink quicker than others, but not a good idea for reasons mentioned. so work on it, but don't obsess.. At the hospital, they told me I had to drink in in little tiny medical cups a few cc evry 20 min. I laughed, as Water went down easily in recovery even. ALL NURSES TOLD ME NO. When I saw my doc, i asked why I can't just drink as I can tolerate it at home and get my 64 oz is. HE said dont' chug, but do whatever you can do without discomfort. So, 8 oz bottle of Water went down in 5 minutes... etc....
*Chewing your food- ALL true... We have that banana sized stomach.. So, the doughy breads, and stringy veggies and large pieces of non chewed enough food INDEED often get stuck! Not stuck like a lap band, but rather, they move toward the pyloric valve and are too big to pass through it, since there isn't as much acid, etc in your stomach and, well, the route to the valve is now MUCH shorter.. So, it sits in front of it and as soon as the next item goes there, it waits in line. your body puts out gas and then knows there is a problem, so will signal you to vomit it up. not fun... So, chew! All true! Also makes us take longer to eat and thus enjoy the tastes more than ever and have the full signal sent to our brain while we are still eating or pretty close to that!
*Caffein is bad... Ok. Google whether it's an appetite suppressant or stimulant.. It's hysterical.. You'll get equal replies from GREAT sources that say the opposite. I WANT my one cup a day. I'm not an addict. I asked. I am now sipping on my first REAL one. It is indeed a diuretic for some. So, drink a half cup more water than a day! If you feel it makes you hungry after you have it and you don't want to hold back, then stop the coffee.. It doesn't for me. It does for some... But what will you be doing in a year from now??/ There is NO medical reason why you can't have caffein after a few weeks
*ALCOHOL is a no no for 2 months. NONSENSE.. Again, just there so we don't put empty calories. BUT what if I WANT one drink or two on a date tonight?? I am told, go for it, but just know you will have ingested 400 wasted calories. Ok. I get it, but I WILL drink in my life, although never drank a ton and that was not the cause of most of my weight.. Watch the calories and don't do it twice most weeks.. Or if you will, then cut back a bit on your Snacks, etc. Anyway, looking forward to a martini with my date tomorrow at dinner.. Oh, most people on here for a while, will tell you since there is less food to bind with alcohol, it goes into your intestines/blood stream much quicker and you get a nice buzz faster with less! way cool!
* Most other rules and comments on here are just not universal and again, if you feel the NEED to cheat, then well, cheat! How can it be cheating if this will be your new life! WOrk hard at right food choices and don't make this soooo hard. The harder you make it, the more YOU WILL revolt and end up going off the wagon like the good old days... Since I have had no pain, etc and pretty much eat what I wanted (and cheated on my puree period even), I feel this is just toooo easy. I hear so many of you struggling (not because you have pain, but because you want to break a rul) and so many of you "supporting them" to stay strong, that I just wanted to add this post! Also, again, much of the medical advice that our well meaning friends on here provide, just isn't true. Sorry, but it isnt.
I hope this helps some of you enjoy your Pre and Post diets much more than you may be now!
Best, my friends!

Yeah I had sweet corn crab Soup a little over 1st week at a chinese restaurant...
Eating too quickly is a BIGGIE!!! and eating ENOUGH are both issues for me...
Also POOOPPPPP..... IT CAN GET PRETTY CRAZY...
and painful...
NUT told me to take Panadiene twice a day to control the fluidity of poop and add fibre (like benefibre) to drinks... I'm going to get fibre tomorrow..
I'M SO OVER Protein shakes its been a week since I touched 1... ERK...
but otherwise, happy with my body so far!!! wooooo!!!...

I like Decaf iced tea sweetened with Splenda w/ Fiber. Fiber is sorely lacking and hard to come by with high protein/low carb diets. Especially when you're still on mushies and blended.

Thanks for keeping me in check xxxoo

Ok!!! Gonna have a virgin Bloody Mary

Start weight: 246lbs
Current weight: 196lbs
I have a long way to go but I'm feeling good today. I bought this dress to Celebrate being in the 80kg range woohoo

I remember once when Oprah had lost a lot of weight...she heard that people were saying things like "Well, she's rich, it's easy to lose weight when someone cooks all of your food and does everything for you." She was talking about it on her show and basically said...she was the one who had to make healthful dietary choices every day and refuse her beloved Ruffles potato chips. Her wealth didn't do that for her. And she is the one who had to get her butt on the track and walk every day. She couldn't pay someone to do that for her.
I think it is so similar when people say that VSG is "the easy way out." We are the ones who have make sure that every morsel we put in our mouths is good fuel for our bodies and resist head hunger. The surgery doesn't do that for us. We're the ones who make special holiday meals for our families and then don't partake in most of it. The surgery doesn't do that for us. We're the ones who go to the gym even when the weather isn't good or we feel like going to bed early instead. The surgery doesn't do that for us. We're the ones who keep drinking (and drinking and drinking) Water when part of us would rather hang out with our old friend Diet Coke or Frozen Margarita. The surgery doesn't do that for us.
And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, the surgery is a tool, but I still feel that we own and deserve every hard-earned victory we see on the scale and every NSV. If others don't understand that, it's okay. I know that I haven't taken the easy way out, but I also know that what I'm doing is an investment in something very important--me. And that's something that money definitely can't buy.

Guys - I started having a small amount of creamy Soups - laksa and creamy curry Soup ... And O M G .... Poop is like diarrhea - is this dumping? Is it normal? I hate eating at the moment - it's only pleasurable as far as my mouth - after that it's awful - and that's great ... But I'm woundering in I'm alone in this Diarrhea on free fluids? This only started happening after my laksa soup from a restaurant - so outside food ... Food poisoning? On a positive - feeling really light and happy with shrinking body!!!

Guys - I started having a small amount of creamy Soups - laksa and creamy curry Soup ... And O M G .... Poop is like diarrhea - is this dumping? Is it normal? I hate eating at the moment - it's only pleasurable as far as my mouth - after that it's awful - and that's great ... But I'm woundering in I'm alone in this Diarrhea on free fluids? This only started happening after my laksa soup from a restaurant - so outside food ... Food poisoning? On a positive - feeling really light and happy with shrinking body!!!

I am not a doctor but I can encourage you to take their advise. Ride it out.
No need to scold you about the mistake, you are doing that yourself as I have to myself for the times I have messed up.
One essential skill that comes with successful sleeving is concentration. I have trouble with distractions: TV, conversations, movies, etc. can dull my senses and trick me into eating wrong. I have to purposefully force myself to think about what I am doing. It becomes a habit if you do it long enough.

It takes awhile but you will start feeling better Ive done that a couple times and finally learned my lesson

Hi all.
Sleeved 12/10/12, lost 32 preop and 48 post. Here a little before and during update
Thank you too all who have helped me make it this far with you advice and words of wisdom! Can believe how far I've come in such a short time.
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Wow, thank you everyone, what a wealth of information, I'm going for a walk now and keeping the Water with me... I can't thank you guys enough for helping me, my eyes are actually welling up typing about it, I'm really really thankful... This is really difficult but really empowering at the same time...
Thank you for helping me through this all of you..
Right, I have work to do!!

Hey guys I was sleeved yesterday - had swallow test today but no liquids til tomorrow... Just ice... All sorts of weird gurgles in my tummy some cause a bit of pain some dont ... Feel out of breath in some positions... Wounds are good... Anyone had the same - or am I unique??

Day 2 is definately a "get through it" day. use the meter to practice breathing, walk, get your ice in. It gets better.
But yay you! Your on the loosing side now!

Walk walk walk..

PS--do you have an incentive spirometer or pickle to do breathing exercises? Definitely use that 10x/hour (not all at once--as my surgeon says, "that's hyperventilating"). It definitely will help. The breathing issues were one of my major discomforts after surgery. Felt like I couldn't take a full breath, and made it harder to walk, but I forced myself. The respiratory therapist and nurse told me to concentrate on taking deep breaths from my abdomen even when not using the breathing devices. Also, make sure your bed isn't reclined too much when you are in bed, bc that can affect your breathing too.

I'm getting SLEEVED on the 26th!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you that are a little further out. Had a new salad at Sumo Salad today. Firecracker prawn. Looks to be their lowest cal salad. 10.4g of Protein in the small for 130 cals.

You will be fine. I could barely finish the pre-op diet. And I really messed up because two days before my surgery I had a whopper jr and large fries. I was totally out of control but it all worked out in the end.

Thanks everyone.... I still feel so full from yesterday - which is testament I guess to how focused I was prior to my daughter's birthday!!!
Anyway today I'm back on Proteins and I'm more positive... confessed to the nutritionist too on email... hopefully all will be ok - I'll find out on Monday if they care or not!
Thank you everyone for the comfort and reassurance, all of you girls are fab .... lots of love to you all... you are all an inspiration.