JamieLogical

Sip. Sip. Sip. All day long. I aimed for 1 oz. of fluid every 15 minutes, so 4 oz. per hour. For protein, the truth is I just never got anywhere near goal while in the liquids phase. I tried to get in 3 shakes a day. My favorite ready-to-drink shakes were EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control (Rich Dark Chocolate), which I bought at Target and Walmart. Some groceries stores carry them too. They taste a lot like Slim Fast if you've ever had that, but with way more protein and way less carbs.

If you are losing steadily and you are working out, why are you concerned about your calorie intake? Reducing your calories when you are already losing can result in your metabolism slowing down, especially if you are exercising. You need to make sure you are taking in enough calories to sustain your level of activity. If you really feel you need to reduce calories, cut back on fats. The foods you mention are high in fat and fat has 9 calories per gram, versus only 4 calories per gram of Protein. So if you stick to leaner Proteins, you will get more "bang for your buck" so to speak.

You really shouldn't be eating bread. It is high in carbs and doesn't provide any nutrition. You should focus on Protein first, vegetables if you have any room after your protein, and avoid starches and breads altogether. Eating foods that are high in carbs can make you hungrier and increase cravings. I don't avoid carbs completely, but I do always try to put protein first. If my protein comes with a few carbs (breading on chicken or sauce on meat), I don't worry about it. As long as I'm getting my protein in. A PPI is a "proton-pump inhibitor". The most common one in the US seems to me omeprazole, which is sold under the brand name Prilosec here. It helps prevent your stomach from over-producing acid. They are sold over-the-counter here, so they don't require a prescription from a doctor. Not sure where you live, so you may have to talk to your doctor about a prescription.

Pain for VSG is pretty minimal. You may have a bit of soreness in your abs and some pain around your incisions, but it is nothing compared to the pain of other injuries and surgeries I've had. I did have internal discomfort (not pain) when swallowing even the tiniest sip in the early days, due to swelling in my stomach and esophagus and some actual pain when overeating the first few times until I learned not to do that. Honestly though, as far as surgeries go, unless you have complications, this is pretty painless.

I've been thinking the same thing! I'll likely be moving to Ohio within the next year and when I do, no one there will know I was ever fat!

My surgery weight was 236 and my surgeon's goal for me was 165. So only 71 pounds. So far, I am down 55 pounds in seven months.

@@ssourgirl That was one of the things I really struggled with in the early months. Not being able to turn to food when I was down or upset. I found it incredibly frustrating and, of course, that just made me more upset. The good news is, I did eventually realize that I was just not going to get comfort from food the way I had in the past and I stopped trying. It's a process.

@@Babbs Really, any weight we lose at all is improving our health. Look at all the info on how losing just 10% of your body weight can improve health in all sorts of ways! I don't know how many of us are going to reach the epitome of perfect health eventually, given the damage we've all done to our bodies by being obese for long periods of time. All we can do at this point is our best. We can take comfort in knowing that we will never again be as unhealthy as we once were. I do plan to work hard to be as fit as I can be to try to make up for all the years I spent being a fat, lazy slug. I know that I love the feeling of being strong and fit. Knowing I could run a mile if I needed to, or lift a heavy box or something. Those are good feelings and I want to keep improving.

Glad to hear you are doing so well! I too am thrilled with my decision to have VSG. I am slowly approaching my goal weight and feel great (except for a head cold at the moment). I love being active again and feeling strong!

I do roller derby as well. I didn't play this season, since I had my surgery in September and that's when our season starts. I have every intention of playing next season though. I'll be a year post-op by then. If your seasons are similar, I don't think there would be any reason for you not to be able to play again in the fall. Your incisions will be healed up in a matter of weeks post op and I know I personally was cleared for all lifting and intense exercise at two months post-op.

You probably haven't stretched your sleeve. That's very hard to do. But as you heal up, you WILL be able to eat more than in the very beginning. Right after surgery, you have a lot of swelling that provides additional restriction. As you heal, you can gradually eat more and more, but never anything close to what you were able to eat before the surgery. What kinds of foods are you eating? How often are you eating? Are you getting in all of your fluids and protein? You mentioned pain in your throat. That could be acid reflux. Are you on a PPI? Acid can often present as "hunger", so if you do have uncontrolled acid production, that could be a big part of your problem.

@Babbs@B-52 I don't know if B-52's post was douchey. I alluded to the fact that it was disheartening that the upper end of the overweight BMI range is "average" these days in my original post. Maybe he just said it a little more harshly. In general I think he's right that BMI isn't as important as body composition. I'm sure we've all heard references to being "skinny fat". Where people don't necessarily weigh more than they should, but they aren't fit or healthy due to bad eating habits or substance abuse. My brother was always skinny as a rail and had a heart attack at 41 because he lived off of soda, cookies, and potato chips and his only regular exercise was walking his dog.

You'll get better at "eyeballing" it over time. That was one of the harder things for me once I started eating out and such. Trying to accurately guess how much I could safely eat without that tight esophagus feeling. But I'm really good at it now. When I go out, I look at what I'm served, say to myself "I can eat 1/3 of that" or whatever and then that is just about perfect.

One of my first meals out was Mexican as well. Our favorite place serves "Mexican Breakfast" on Saturdays, so I had eggs with some cheese and enchilada sauce and some refried beans. I think I got about three meals out of it with all the leftovers!

@@Cody's mom I used Dra. Laura Carmina Cadenas of Beauty Enhance. The recovery house is called Beauty Care Recovery House.

A "spit stitch" is when the internal, disolvable stiches pop out through the skin, instead of fully disolving internally, like they are supposed to. It can look kind of like a pimple until the stitch breaks through the skin completely, at which point it looks like you have a little bit of fishing line poking out of you. If you grab that end with a pair of tweezers, you can pull it out as far as you can under tension, then cut it very close to the skin with a pair of nail scissors. Once you let go with the tweezers, the end will retract back down under the skin and eventually dissolve like it should. A couple of times I had spit stitches that just pulled right out when I grabbed them with the tweezers, because the other end of them was already full dissolved.

Yep! I believe they have turkey chili and black bean Soup on their normal menu, so both of those would be good, high Protein options.

Are you allowed ground meats and legumes yet? If so, any place that serves chili is a good option, since they usually serve cups of it and it's high protein.

@@Robynne Hazebroek-Buzanko Did you surgeon warn you about spit stitches? Those can be a little disconcerting. But, don't worry, they won't affect your overall healing.

Yeah. I need to get under 155 (my personal goal) to reach a "healthy" BMI and I am not so sure about what that will mean in terms of my size and appearance. As it is right now, I can see my ribs above my breasts. Not sure how "sickly" I might look if I really lose another 26 pounds. I really want to focus on just lowering my body fat percentage and increasing my muscle mass and not worry about the scale so much. I'd like to at least get to my surgeon's goal of 165, but we'll see.

Welcome! Feel free to ask any questions or express any concerns and we will try to help you out and support you any way we can!

I read today that the average BMI for women in the US is 29. This is just two days after I heard that the average size for women in the US is 14. Well, I'm in 14 jeans now and I'm almost down to a BMI of 29, so I guess this means I'm average. I am not sure how I feel about this news. On the one hand, I am really happy that few strangers would look at me and see me as "fat" anymore. I love that I can buy my pants in the normal sections of normal stores, instead of having to hit up the plus sizes. But, on the other hand, I am *just* this side of obese from a BMI stand-point. I was thrilled to be merely "overweight", but find it a bit alarming that the upper end of the overweight BMI range is now the norm for women in the US. I guess, overall, this is good news for me, but bad news for the country as a whole.

I am on Seasonale, so I only get my period every three months anyway. When I was due for my first post-op period, it didn't come. I was terrified I was pregnant, because I'd read about how the surgery can make you more fertile and a lot of women get pregnant unexpectedly post-op. My husband and I even used back-up birth control for the first month or so post-op to be on the safe side. I ended up taking three pregnancy tests, all negative. I continued taking my pill and the next time I was due for my period, it came like normal.

The first couple of weeks are just so rough. I promise you it will get better! You will feel normal again! I remember those dark days in my early weeks when I was crying and uncomfortable and struggling, but they are a very distant memory now, seven months post-op. I feel normal 99% of the time and I have become used to my new life. You will get there. Just have faith and patience. Do everything you can. Sip, sip, sip. Walk, walk, walk. Get in your liquids and as much protein as possible. Stick to your nutrition plan, and you WILL get better and be successful.

You are not alone! And your surgery isn't broken. Hang in there and keep doing what you are doing.