Proud2BMe

If nobody has suggested them yet, nuts, especially peanuts. They are great. I know I have a problem resisting them.

So let me tell you about my holiday experiences. I will admit that over the holidays I ate some bad stuff. I had a few Cookies, a couple of pieces of candy, a small glass of eggnog and booze. I'm not concerned over that stuff. What concerns me is something that I would have never dreamed possible. You see, I was given a fruitcake as a gag gift. I always hated fruitcake. The smell, let alone the taste, was usually enough to make me gag. This was not a full blown cake but the rectangular slices sold in Walmart. Anyway, I found myself opening up the package and taking a bite. To my shock I loved it! I kept eating until I couldn't eat anymore. I repeated this for 3 days until I finished the entire thing. What the hell is wrong with me? The only thing I can think of is that it's because of all the nuts. Has anyone else noticed any wild food taste/preference changes post sleeve? I know that before the sleeve I loved cream of mushroom Soup but now it just tastes like dirt to me.

Sleeves are "sized" by using what is called a bougie which comes in different sizes. Most doctors shy away from using a smaller bougie because they are associated with greater risks of complications.

I was sleeved in Tijuana last May. I stayed at the Grand Hotel. It was great. As others have pointed out, it's just like being in the U.S. There are so many fast food restaurants that it does make you chuckle. The only difference I noticed was that a Dominoes pizza restaurant had it's drivers ride bikes. Going to Tijuana for the sleeve is perfectly okay. You will be fine.

Usually no food. Although my doctor allowed lean meat on a bed of greens for dinner for the first week. The second week was all liquids. Feeling irritable and dizzy are normal side-effects. They go away after a few days. You are basically in carb withdrawal. If you eat carbs now you will defeat the purpose.

You are still in the obese category with your BMI of 37. Plus your co-morbidities would imply that the sleeve may be good for you. I had a great experience and the sleeve saved my life, as far as I'm concerned. I would do it again in a heart beat.

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you as well.

OMG, not not normal. Yes, check with doctor and fast.

Losing weight will always be harder the closer you come to your goal weight. Just looking at your BMI tells me that you are just barely overweight and are almost normal weight. So you will have to struggle to lose the remaining pounds. Don't worry. It's something we all have to face. Just know that you have come a very far way and even if you dont lose another pound you are still a great success. It's okay to treat yourself. Remember the motto: "Everything In Moderation". You can treat yourself from time to time. Just make sure it's not an everyday thing and that you aren't over-indulging when you do treat yourself. Now you should feel no guilt at all about eating normal, healthy food. If this trend continues of feeling that all food is bad then I really think you should talk to a professional. Because if not checked this could turn into an eating disorder. Your dizziness may be from not eating enough calories. It's normal to experience it during the pre-op diet and on the liquid diet but after a year this could indicate that you are not eating enough. Not eating enough calories will actually slow your metabolism down.

Stalls and weight gains are not the same thing. Stalls mean no movement, no weight loss. I don't think I know it all. Far from it. However, when someone makes a post about gaining weight it's only natural for someone to bring up the topic of possibly eating too many carbs. Because that does happen. It may not be apt for this situation and that's okay. But it's a perfectly reasonable response. I'm not sure why people interpreted my post so negatively. It definitely was never meant as such and I would never attack or dump on a fellow sleever or even a person thinking of getting the sleeve.

Since I was self-pay I think I pretty much knew this was what I wanted. I didn't regret anything. I consider the sleeve and quitting smoking to be my two best decisions that I have ever made. I feel reborn.

Congrats! We are actually quite similar. We have the same goal weight and we both started around the same beginning weight. I was 10 lbs heavier than you though. I don't think I'll be at goal as fast as you got to goal though. Thanks for sharing. It's encouraging and will help spur me along in my own weight loss.

You are trying to argue against opinions when the article itself is an opinion. You are not the be-all of Bariatric advice. As we are all (former) fat people we should all know the ability we have to deceive ourselves as to what we are consuming and the quantity thereof. I'm not laying into this poster at all nor am I throwing blame on her. I am just stating that if the problem is weight gain then too many carbs may be to blame. It may not be. So what? You are not an expert anymore than I am. Opinions are opinions and nobody here should be claiming there's is fact while someone's else is mere opinion. They are ALL opinions. So back up and take some time to think before going on the attack.

@@Proud2BMe It is wrong that you assume I am sitting around eating crap. The only carbs I have eaten in the last week have been a Tablespoon of banana apple puree and 1 melon ball of honeydew, besides the carbohydrates that are in veggie broth, spinach, tofu, and other veggies (which are very minimal). I have been religiously logging my food and measuring for every meal. Fruit based carbs are the only high carb food in my home (and raw seed crackers that I can't eat at this point). That is the reason I am worried about the weight gain. When I came on this forum expected for people to be helpful and uplifting, but reading your comments is disheartening and very negative. Side note: After consulting with my doctor he said the culprit is constipation and Water retention. **************************************** I never said you ate crap and I do not appreciate your implying such. I have not once been negative to you. It's only naturally to bring up the subject of ingesting too many carbs on posts where people are complaining of weight gain. FYI: Fruit based carbs are no different from other carbs. Just so you know. The sugar in some fruits can be on the same level as candy and fruit juices are worse, about the same as drinking a regular soda. I'm not saying you can't eat fruit or anything like that, just keep that in mind.

With all due respect, no. Just...no. Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong. It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes. You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great! i completely disagree with your statements. You are entitled to your opinion but the surgery itself does not cause fat to melt. It's the severe restriction of calories. The truth is the scale doesn't lie but we can lie to ourselves. It takes like 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound (not including Water weight). So if someone is gaining weight they must be sneaking in extra calories and most likely through carbs. The poster in question has admitted she is a vegan and on top of that is not even able to eat vegan Protein. So I'm guessing her diet is mostly carbs at this stage. These are my opinions, of course, take them or leave them as anyone seems fit. The flaw in your logic is that you aren't accounting for water weight. We are advised to drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water a day. That's four POUNDS of water a day. Retaining any amount of that can cause large fluctuations on the scale that have nothing to do with calories or gaining fat. To gain 6 pounds of actual fat, the original poster would have had to ingest 21000 EXCESS calories in 4 days (PS: it takes 3500 excess calories to gain a pound, not 3000 as you said in your post). That's an average of over 5200 EXTRA calories a day at only a week post op. I don't know about you, but I was struggling to get in over 400 calories a day at 7 days post-op. There is no way the original poster is physically capable of consuming something like 7000 calories a day this early out. Unless she's hooked up to a milk shake IV or something. This is clearly her body responding to the trauma of surgery and retaining water. No, I actually addressed water weight. Drinking 4 lbs of water a day is nothing because most of it goes right out. Hint: You know you are fully hydrated when your urine is clear. I know what you are trying to communicate and I fully know about stalls as well. It's just that a stall means no movement, not regain. If the poster had edema or heart and circulation issues then this may factor in to the excess water weight. However, the poster has already admitted to her diet habits. In the long run 6 lbs is no big deal. However, if it is from consuming too much then it's better to catch it at the beginning.

The boyfriend of my friend's mom may be thinking of getting the sleeve. The problem is that he is vegetarian and nearly all of his food is carbs. My biggest fear for him is not being successful because of his inability to replace carbs with Protein. Are there any vegetarians and/or vegans here who have had success with the sleeve? If so, how do you manage to make the switch and how difficult has it been for you?

With all due respect, no. Just...no. Gaining weight this early out is COMPLETELY normal. It's not possible to gain 6 pounds of fat by overeating as early out as she is. You could be eating McDonald's shakes at this stage with chocolate chip Cookies and still lose weight. You are dead wrong. It's part of the 3 week stall. She is just one of the lucky ones that gains while the body adjusts. She will start losing weight again once it passes. You just stay the course and let your body do its thing. Don't get discouraged! You're doing great! i completely disagree with your statements. You are entitled to your opinion but the surgery itself does not cause fat to melt. It's the severe restriction of calories. The truth is the scale doesn't lie but we can lie to ourselves. It takes like 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound (not including Water weight). So if someone is gaining weight they must be sneaking in extra calories and most likely through carbs. The poster in question has admitted she is a vegan and on top of that is not even able to eat vegan Protein. So I'm guessing her diet is mostly carbs at this stage. These are my opinions, of course, take them or leave them as anyone seems fit.

I won't lie. I considered it. However, I've heard that unless you are super popular most people won't give much for such. Probably better to just save up money yourself.

That's actually a thing now. I know two Jewish families who do "Hanukkah Trees or Bush", which are basically Christmas Trees done in blue and white with a Menorah on top. lol I think it's cool.

Protein shake or eggs. The occasional piece of bacon or two.

You should have been given this information. Your post op diet will be roughly be the following: 1st week - Clear liquids (Water, tea, broth, sugar free Jello, sugar free popsicles) 2nd week - Full liquids (the same as clear liquids but adding soups, Protein shakes, etc.) 3rd week - pureed food (consistency of baby food) 4th week - Soft food (stuff like mashed potatoes, eggs, and the like) 5th week - Normal food (start slowly and don't rush it. Once you can tolerate chicken you are pretty much in the clear.) After week 5 your focus needs to be on protein first and then non-starchy vegetables. Only if you have any room left do you eat carbs. Too many carbs will sabotage your weight loss. As far as protein, you need about 60-80 gms a day. Take a Multivitamin as well.

It's up to you. I was sleeved in Tijuana and I loved the experience. Either waiting until March or doing it now is really just a matter of what you want.

I wouldn't recommend fruit juices at all. The sugar in fruit juice is comparable to drinking regular soda. Fruits should be limited. I know that many nutritionists allow fruits and juice but in reality I personally would not ingest such. If you ingest too many carbs (and carbs are just chains of sugars) then you sabotage your weight loss. As far as eating tomatoes and such goes, I love the cherry and grape tomatoes. I don't find them to be acidic at all.

You can see my stats to the right. I was sleeved May 12 of this year and in 7 months have lost 147 pounds.

No, that's not normal. Weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day but to gain 6 pounds back when you only have lost 10 lbs means you are consuming too many calories. I'm betting it's carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss and they can really sneak up on you. Log everything you eat. Talk to your doctor because this is not normal. ***EDIT: It's normal to gain some weight back when you are 2+ years out but not just a couple of weeks out of surgery. You should not be gaining weight this soon after surgery. You have just entered your rapid weight loss phase and the pounds should be flying off. If you consume too many calories they won't though.