newme1

19 days post op.
shakes make me gag. Have tried sooo many brands....
Sick of being hungry & thinking about food
I just want to sleep & wake up in 3 months....

You are so right, Tisa. Eating is VERY much a social issue. And, like you say, very often a cultural issue. Since you are only 5 days post op, this feels much more overwhelming to you than it will actually really be once you are all healed and back to eating regular foods again. You'll certainly be eating more than "2 bites." When you're ewith friends, sure your portions will be smaller, but after awhile no one will pay attention and you'll learn little tricks to draw attention away from yourself. Eat slowly so food on your plate lasts longer, push it around on the plate, TALK A LOT instead of eating, and when everyone's done and it's time to go, if there's still food left on your plate--oh well, you're full--let's go. No big deal.
But at first, especially in maybe the first 6 months or so, to take pressure off yourself, you might want to keep eating out to a minimum as much as you can. That's a hard sacrifice to make, but if you can find things to do with friends that aren't food related, it just makes your life so much easier.
The cultural part is a lot harder. Hopefully, if you are talking about family members, you can just be totally honest with them that you had this procedure because it was necessary to protect your health and that you are not going to be able to eat the amounts of food that they expect you to eat. Maybe talking gently and keeping open communication will work? Just a suggestion. . .
Hang in there. You are not alone in your thoughts and feeling about this. You feel very different right now, but you will find a comfortable routine that will become your new and forever lifestyle and you'll be fine. Congratulations on your surgery. Heal well and fast!

I pureed alot of tuna salad. Fish goes down really easy for me. I still eat alot of Tuna. It used to give me reflux but not anymore. My dietician said fish is more easily tolerated because it doesn't have the connective tissue that beef and chicken has. If you mix a can of tuna with a little bit of pickle relish, low fat or fat free mayo and some hard boiled egg and put it in the Nutra Bullitt for a spin it comes out smooth and tasty.

Something I just tried - and I am well into solid foods, is the mashed cauliflower substitute for mashed potates, I served it with Swiss Steak and it was a huge hit with the entire family. Simmered the cauliflower in chicken broth until tender(soft) and whirred it in the food processor with a little butter and milk, added salt and pepper to taste. It is all gone! Family loved it and I have two kids who love Mashed Potatoes, neither of them have an ounce of fat on them by the way - I am the only one in the whole family on a diet LOL

I posted a thread about having this for dinner and got responses about people trying it so i figured i would post the recipe for all to try!
these pizzas use a portobello cap for the 'crust' and you can put anything on them you want. super easy and really good.
First off, you need to remove all the 'gills' from the mushroom. i found if you leave them on, it becomes watery and murky looking. i use a sharp knife and just run it along the caps in a circle to remove them. also remove the woody stem by cutting through it. i learned early on if you just pull, the mushroom cap will likely break.
Rinse the caps and place on a baking sheet. sprinkle with salt and place in the oven to start cooking (i use 375). meanwhile...
Brown up some ground turkey sausage, hamburger or whatever meat you want on your pizza. i have always used turkey sausage. brown it and scramble it until done.
i also use shaved ham, cut that up very finely.
lastly, cut up your veg to whatever size you want. i pre-cook my veg in a saute pan for a couple minutes to soften. unlike a crusted pizza, these will only bake for a few minutes and if you like your veg crunchy, you could skip this. i like my veg a little cooked on my pizza. I use green pepper, onion. you could easily add hot peppers, olives, whatever...
now it's time to assemble. i use a tiny bit of canned pizza sauce for the pizza, and if i don't have it i will use a sliced Tomato instead. take the caps out of the oven, they should appear to be cooking at this point and look softened. if not, you can wait to assemble until they are cooked. layer your toppings however you want to, i sprinkle with a bit of dried italian seasoning too. place back in oven and warm through, then top with whatever cheese you like. i use low fat mozz and a little fresh grated parm. finish in oven until cheese is melted.
DONE! so Gummy and super filling. one smallish cap is enough for me now, hubs can eat two bigger ones. no carbs there to worry about. enjoy!

19 days post op.
shakes make me gag. Have tried sooo many brands....
Sick of being hungry & thinking about food
I just want to sleep & wake up in 3 months....

Same thing happen to me about a week post-op. I actually gained 3 pounds during the two weeks after that, all while eating about 800 calories per day. It straight up ticked me off. But I have lost 16 pounds in the two and a half weeks since then.
Be patient, it will pass and the weight will come off.

Please don't obsess about it. there is no way you will eat like you did before. I am almost 15 months out and just have about five more pounds to get where I want to be, but I don't even think about it anymore as far as calories or pounds. I still cannot even get close to the number of calories I will need to maintain my weight! At first I kept track on MFP, and that is Ok while you are learning what you can or cannot eat, but then I thought to myself that this is not a diet, this is a new way of everyday eating. When I stopped that (MFP) and stopped even counting calories, I lost faster, because my mind was set and I knew what i can or cannot eat. I do watch my carbs though, and while I am still losing the 5 lbs. I try not to go over 30 g a day, and that is easy. but I know if I want to, I can and I will be OK. To maintain I can go up to 150 g per day, and I can't see that happening! I also watch my sugar and try to eat as litle sugar content as possible. Also, you must remember, don't freak out if you don't lose pounds once you get a little far out. You most likely are still losing inches and going down in sizes. The more you excercise, your fat is turing into muscle, so you may not be losing the pounds, but you are still being successful. You will not lose weight everyday. I weigh myself everyday, and always have, and always will, because I want to, but you should stay consistent for several days, then you may go down another pound or two and then you will stay consistent with that. Don't get impatient. You will get to your goal. Don't obsess and just start to enjoy your new life and don't worry about the calories and the word "diet". This is not a diet. You are finished with dieting! Good luck to all of you. LOVE my sleeve!

A request to the veterans here, please give me ideas to deal with head hunger. It gets so depressing at times. I am on the 12th day after surgery, progressing smoothly. Lost about 20 pounds, but more than the weight I seem to be loosing my patience and getting angry and irritated. Any suggestion will really help. Thanks .

I agree with the above statements the only thing I will add is when I was struggling I bought a snowcone machine the shave ice mix with the Protein Drink made me feel better, it is very important to get your Protein in because it helps you heal. It takes 6-8 weeks for your incision sights to heal although the outside May look heal the inside is not. Congrats on your choice to be healthy I know how you feel because I hated Soup broth after during the week prior to surgury to shrink my liver but trust me it is so worth it, I'm 8 weeks out and feeling great also remember sugarfree crystal light and sugarfree pop sickles good luck my friend and keep us posted. Welcome to the losers bench.

Hi Amanda - I too had terrible hunger (in my case, right from the start) - definitely NOT head hunger. My doc said it's the brain getting used to the new anatomy and it happens to around 1 in 10 patients. It was so bad that I wished I hadn't had the surgery - very unpleasant and a little scary. He told me I just had to grit my teeth and bear it and it would go away eventually. It did! Took about 4-6 weeks but by the time I was on soft food I started to feel "full" and not have hunger all the time.
Be very careful to follow the diet plan so you don't delay the healing process. I know it's tempting to eat more - but it doesn't help anyway. Carefully go through the stages of liquids only - pureed food - Soft foods etc as directed by your doc. So sorry this has happened to you too - but honestly it will get better with time.

Had my surgery July 14. Hoping to get out of hospital today. On Clear Liquids only for a week, no Protein Shakes. I always thought people struggled getting their liquids and Protein in initially because we fill up so quickly, but mine is more of the ache that happens as the Water hits my stomach. Does that happen to anyone? When does it stop?

Hey there. Glad you are feeling better. Hope the nausea has gone. My first week after I had to choke down Isopure clear Protein. They wanted me to get 40 grams of protein so that was like getting one down. I hated it. I would have died without the broth, sugar free Jello, and sugar free Popsicles. For week two I've gone to the milk based Protein Drinks. The Premier Protein has been good. I think they want me at like 60 grams of protein now. Two of those takes care of it. I've also had some Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. My mainstay has still been the broth and Popsicles. Get the best you can buy. It's worth it. Hope you continue to feel better.

Usually an Ng tube isn't something that is placed in an emergency situation such as if you are unconscious, and when placed they measure from your physical external dimensions so not to place too much tube... It's a procedure that is not done with a scope!