LumpySpacePrincess

Yeah, have your surgeon remove it. It should have been removed the week after your surgery. I had the same thing. Its usually if one incision site won't stop bleeding with just the surgical glue.

My stomach was loud for months, too! Sometimes it still sounds like Chewbacca having a loud political debate with an elephant seal!

It gets better. I'm 6 months out and I think I pay more attention to my Bialetti stovetop espresso pot than I do my boyfriend some days! By the way, if anyone likes Cappuccino but don't want an expensive machine, get an Aerolatte battery operated milk frother. I'll probably be buried with mine at this point. lol

Cereal is a slider for me so I avoid it. I have been guilty of finishing off the last few bites of my son's Frosted Flakes from time to time, but its too carby for me to justify eating a whole bowl.

You're fine. I'm 6 months out and I only get in about 600 on a good day.

I have one. Its good for that stage when the amount we can eat would just look depressing in the bottom of a regular blender. I do feel bad that my boyfriend bought it for me and I haven't used it since I switched to all solids. One hint: if you push down and turn the wrong way it will lock in place for continuous blending and it can be hard to get it out of that mode. Other than that its a fairly good machine.

I can understand how that would be rough. Maybe just tell them your stomach hasn't been feeling great lately so you don't want to eat much? I usually just order off the appetizer menu when I go out.

I was D deficient, but my nutritionist told me unless you live in a very sunny place like Florida and you're outside a lot, you're probably D deficient. She has me taking BioTech 50,000IU capsules once per week. One of the best affects of taking that so far has been that it really pumps up your mood! Noticeable difference between before I started and now. Even my boyfriend, who was on antidepressants for years, was able to stay off them as long as he was taking his Vitamin D every week with me.

Target sells a very small 2 quart crock pot. Buy one and a crock pot cookbook because there is nothing easier than tossing a ton of ingredients in that thing and leaving it all day. Plus that means you can eat off it for quite awhile. You can buy pre-cooked, pre-sliced chicken breast near the salad section at most grocery stores which you can do lots of stuff with. To be honest, I've always loved cooking and at 6 months out, I find myself cooking far less than I used to. I live off greek yogurt, tuna, Protein shakes, and crock pot meals. You'll do just fine!

Hide your scale! The scale is nothing but an instrument of torture, to be honest, especially in the first few months. Only weigh in at your surgeon's office so you're not focused on that number daily. Also, if you weigh in at your surgeon's you'll have others there for emotional support if the number is not what you were expecting or wanted. I gave my therapist my scale before surgery and I only weighed twice per month for the first five months, now we're only weighing once every six weeks. Its more important now to focus on your nutritional choices, movement, and your healing than the number on the scale. I think in a lot of ways when people step on the scale daily they are saying that they don't trust themselves to make the right nutritional choices. You MUST trust yourself in this process, let go of the number, and relax for a little while. Work your sleeve and it will work for you, regardless of what your scale says!

My best advice to everyone is to find a good therapist, not just for eating issues, but someone you can talk to when your emotions go haywire, when relationships change, and your mindset about so many things changes. I can't stress enough how important it is to take care of your emotional self as well as your physical self while losing this weight. None of us got to where we are because we have healthy food behavior, and its important for success to address this as early on as possible. My other advice is to always under-eat your sleeve! You will have better restriction at 6 months, 10 months, a year out if you do this. The reason many people feel they can eat more after 6 months is because they have been eating to capacity, which causes the stomach muscles to relax to allow more food in at a time. The stomach is a muscle and it will do what you tell it to do, so if you're always eating to the point that you're full, it will remember that and adjust itself so you can eat more without pain next time. This will become more important around the second month when solid food suddenly start going down a lot easier. Lastly, do not put moral labels on food. Do not label food as something you can't have. When you do this, you give the food power over you in a very real way. A lot of people talk about "eating clean", so then what happens if you eat something that's not "clean?" Does that make you dirty? You may not think so on a conscious level, but subconsciously these thoughts can run rampant and derail your progress with thoughts of "I'm a failure." I see that so much on here! Make your weight loss about forever food, not diet food!

The issue I have with labeling obesity as a disease is that it undermines goal pursuit for many people. When we believe something is beyond our control, we are less likely to try to change it. Here is a very interesting article from the British Psychological Society that details a study that was recently done concerning the psychological impact of labeling obesity a disease. http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2014/05/if-obesity-is-disease-is-labelling-it.html

Cold Water soluble Gelatin has a ton of Protein, no taste, and you can stir it into pretty much anything. You can order it off Amazon (Great Lakes brand). I used it in a variety of things post-op because the shakes were too thick. Also, the stuff that tastes good to you before surgery may not taste as good after. My mom bought me a ton of this one brand of Protein shake that was really delicious pre-op, then I went to drink one two weeks out and it tasted awful! The only protein shake I've been able to stomach both before and after in terms of taste was the EAS Carb AdvantEDGE carb control shakes. I get them from Target by the supplements. Their vanilla actually tastes like a McDonalds vanilla milkshake! I know a lot of people like Isopure but it always had an aftertaste of vomit to me.

If the blood is red, its probably a scratch or hemorrhoids as others have said. Red blood comes from close to the end of the digestive tract. If, on the other hand, the blood is dark or sticky, then it signals a problem further up in the intestines or stomach. Its always good to check with your doctor, but just thought I'd try to put your mind at ease a bit.

Sew a few things in different sizes so you have something new to wear when you start to shrink. You will definitely need clothes during the "inbetween size" phases!

Refried Beans and cheese with hot sauce was what I ate almost every day during soft phase. I also ate tuna with light mayo smooshed up really well and pureed roast chicken. If you like them, try Underwood Deviled meats that come in the can. They're not too high in calories but have some good Protein and are easy to get in. Plain yogurt (add your own sweetener) is also fairly good, but to me it got old really quick.

Not dumping. Just sounds like your sleeve is still really tender and maybe the egg got stuck a little. If you had dumped you would have had a racing heart, sweating, feeling like you're going to die kind of thing. Just remember to take bites about a quarter of the size of your thumbnail for awhile.

STOP GRAZING! Add a little more fat to your regular meals and you'll probably find the urge subsides. Also, look at the food you are grazing on and think about what you're really hoping to get out of the food. Stress relief? Comfort? Control? Whatever it is, the food won't give it to you. If you are craving comfort, do something else that brings you comfort; call a friend, take a hot bath, etc.

The first two weeks are a period of huge psychological adjustment, so I totally understand! We know full well our tummies don't want the food, its just our minds and mouths that want it. Every time you're hungry for something, or you're craving, stop and think about what you're really hungry for. What will the food give you? You can't be physically hungry right now, so what is it you're looking for? 6 months out and I still do a little exercise when I crave something. I sit back and think about what it is I'm really hungry for, then write down the phrase "I'm hungry for ____, not ___." Today one of my exercises read "I'm hungry for control and comfort, not cookies" since my life has been a bit hectic the last few days. Some days it looks like this "I'm hungry for the feeling of a family bbq, not a sub sandwich." Look at what you're really hungry for and try to fill it. I promise it will help tremendously!

Jane, who did you go through? I live in NJ now but am from WA and might consider having my plastic surgery out there so I can stay with my mom for a few weeks during recovery.

As a Counselling Psychology PhD candidate, and someone who is recovering from Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia (exercise type), it really saddens me that so many people who suffer "food addiction" aren't aware there is a lot of very good psychological support available out there; or they are ashamed to come forward and talk about their food issues. I really honestly can't tell you how much seeing a therapist has changed my perception of food and portions over the last year. I no longer have to choose between avoiding or altering my favorite foods, but can enjoy them in moderation without the psychological backlash that would either lead to over-restriction, binge behavior, or exercising until I was out of my mind. Thank you so much for writing this article. I really believe it will help a lot of people.

I think the reason you're not eating is very valid. Who would feel like eating after all that? Is it possible to switch from the Slim Fast to something like Enusre that has more calories? Anything liquid that has more calories would be great to keep you from losing more weight. I hope you start to feel better soon!

Thanks for the reply. I saw my doctor today, and she told me its actually a fairly common result of me stopping my benzodiazapine medication I had been on for two years. Apparently withdrawal can cause some nasty side effects but she said they would go away on their own after awhile.

LOL, luckily the Bay Area is quite delicious in July/Aug. It's actually sometimes the hottest in Sept/Oct, so HHD's can be rough...I don't know how our cantor does it!! By Neilah he can sound quite croaky! This year will be interesting, I think, since I don't eat much now anyway. Though, I am wondering if I can get a heter to drink a little bit on fast days since keeping hydrated is so important for us post-ops.

You'll be fine. I did the same thing. My surgeon told me as long as there is no pain, there is no problem. If there is pain, its most likely that its just stuck a little. Take a sip of water and walk around and you will be just fine.