BigViffer

Tracking your food & macro's is very helpful for more than just weight loss and maintaining weight. Since I also track my weight training and BM's, I can draw correlations from my diet to my gym performance and or constipation.

Over two years out and I still weigh everything. Either by weight or volume depending on type of food. I also log every bite and keep it in spreadsheet form. I can keep track of my weight trends compared to my macros that way. For me, it is the only way to be accountable.

This is most definitely something you should ask your surgeon and not a bunch of strangers on the internet. There are very good reasons not to be drinking alcohol that have nothing to do with the calories. A blood thinning barbiturate is not the best thing for someone who just had surgery on their digestive system. A bleed or death is not unheard of because of alcohol consumption. After you hit 6 months or a year, you'll have the rest of your life to drink. Is it really worth it to have a drink now?

C. Diff. is a possibility, but from personal experience I think you would know if you had it. It is more than just loose, runny stool. It was extremely painful and miserable. Probiotics help, but there is no getting over it or lessening the symptoms unless you are given a very specific antibiotic after giving a stool sample. If they gave you a Z-pak or amoxicillin, it would actually make C. Diff worse. For gastric bypass the foul gas and BM is normal. As I understand it, it is because of the partial or incomplete digestion of food that causes it. I'm sure it seems bad now, but it get better over time.

Well, since I was the only one who offered anything that could be construed as "criticism" on your peep thread, I can assume this thread is about me. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I honestly only had your best interest in mind. I did not have any subtle jibes at your expense in any of my posts. For those unfamiliar with the posts: That being said, I will no longer post on your threads because now I am judging. I do not deem you worthy of my time nor experience. I have a rather respected reputation on this forum for a simple reason. I don't belittle people on this forum, I don't talk down to them, and I don't do passive aggressive conversations about them. I am upfront about what is fact and what is opinion. I clearly state that whether or not they take my advice or not is perfectly fine with me. Many of the vets that were banned were very harsh, I'm more apathetic. If you have a problem with me, contact @Alex Brecher or any of the other admins. If I am in the wrong, they will no problem telling me so.

I think this is an extremely important fact. Accountability is the most important thing I have learned since surgery. My wife used to make me huge plates of food and I would eat it so she wouldn't think I didn't like it. Or my parents would want to feed me whenever I came over and I felt obligated to eat it. Now I know that it was my choice and I should have said no. At first, I told them I just couldn't eat because of the surgery. Now I tell them that I really just don't want something because I am taking responsibility for what I put in my stomach. On the subject of treats, I still have them. The only difference is that now I only pick something that (to me) is truly a treat. Candy that is available at any gas station is not a treat. They are as common as dirt. But a homemade Tres Leche cake? Hell yes I am having some. A 16 year old scotch? Yep, I'll have a little of that too. Someone is making prime rib? Count me in! My point is simple, we should not deny ourselves food that brings us pleasure. But don't settle for a slim jim and a baby ruth; make sure it is something actually special.

I was just going by what you said. Fluid is of course different.

Don't get me wrong @jfcajr, it does not affect me at all what you do. I am only pointing out what could be a recurring issue to help you identify a problem before it starts. Good luck.

So far you have had two "slip ups"; hard candies and now the marshmallows. You admitted to eating fast and larger volumes than just about any 5 week post op patient in another thread. Even though you are still losing in the honeymoon phase, this does not bode well for you. You need to get this under control before you cause yourself serious harm. This is the time when it is easiest to establish new habits. Don't squander it on something as trivial as hard candies and peeps.

This guy looks like a fool, but he is actually very knowledgeable and incredibly strong: He's also pretty funny. That being said, he reiterates several points I have made on here and thought you guys might get a chuckle as well as some insights.

Ugh... this again. I understand the fear, I truly do. Failure happens all the time. But it is not from a stretched sleeve or a stomach that somehow grows back to enormous size.

God, I know, right?! He actually has a video explaining why he has the beard. Because he can. He was a Marine for a long while and they have strict rules about it. It's pretty much the same reason my dad has had a beard for the last 30 years, because he wasn't allowed to have it in the military. Still hate those big ugly face curtains.

You should talk to @bayougirlmrsc I think she is like 10 years out and still kicking ass. You've identified your problem behavior, now you just need to take the steps to correct it. Stay busy late in the evening so that you don't think about eating.

I think I found your problem. The band is working as designed. You are not maintaining the lifestyle change. No surgery will change that. If you were to have another surgery, you would most likely have another honeymoon phase. But if you do not make the change in your lifestyle, it will only be temporary again.

It is not generally associated with the sleeve, but it does happen. It is far more common (hence the association) with bypass. If a sleeve patient drinks something high in sugar and/or fat, say something like chocolate milk or milk shake, dumping is a strong possibility. I have not personally read or heard of any band patients experiencing it though. It wouldn't make much sense either since the food stays in the stomach after seeping through the banded portion.

This close to your surgery date, I would seriously doubt your surgeon would recommend it and I'm also pretty sure your stomach wouldn't like it. Also you should be focusing on maximizing the protein intake at this stage. There will be plenty of time for sweet potatoes the rest of your life. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet potatoes and eat them frequently. But you need the protein now more than the carbs. Not because of weightloss, but because protein is the building blocks for healing and muscle tissue. And at almost 2 months out you are still healing and building reinforced scar tissue where the fundus was removed.

If you are talking about social or business functions, try going back to the classics. Cosmopolitans, old fashions, sours, white/black russians etc... If you are talking about ending the day with a drink, can't help you. Most of the "convenient" drinks that come in cans, bottles, or mixers are just corn syrup and shitty quality alcohol one step from diluted isopropyl alcohol.

Nope. You just had major surgery. 80% of your stomach is now gone. You are going to have reduced sensation, numbness, and just generally weird feelings. Eggs are a maybe, but I cannot believe your surgeon cleared you for chicken already. I don't know what diet your surgeon prescribed, but follow it to the letter. Do not deviate from it, do not "listen to your body" or "test" your new tummy. You risk infection, a bleed, or far more serious, death.

That's not too much protein. Too many calories turns to fat; whether it comes from carbs, fat, or protein. If you are getting 150 grams of protein, you are doing well. Unless you are eating 3000 calories to hit that much protein, then that would be bad. 2000 calories and 150 grams of protein is my average day.

How much is too much? How do you know you are getting too much? Are you tracking? Are your blood panels coming back skewed? Is there protein in your urine? Details are kind of important.

@OutsideMatchInside pretty much hit all facts for me. As I said in my post, correctly formed sleeve, fundus removed, no stretch. Healed sleeve is more pliable than a fresh scar tissue sleeve. Add to that surgeons speaking lay terms to people and it perpetuates a myth. Honestly, it means nothing to me what anyone else believes or does. If someone wants to believe they can stretch their sleeve back out into a normal sized stomach, it affects me not at all. However; I only notice the people who are failing at post op life talking about stretched sleeves/pouches.

Don't really care about the rest of the rant, but this needed to be addressed (yet again). Depending on the surgery, the stretchy part of of the stomach (the fundus) is removed (sleeve) or bypassed (bypass). Therefore it is not possible to stretch the stomach again. However! Once the scar tissue has fully healed, the stomach that remains does regain some pliability. I would liken it to a garden hose in the winter versus the same hose in the summer. On a properly performed surgery, when people say that their stomach has stretched, most likely what has happened is that the pylorus (for sleeves) or the created opening to the intestine (bypass) has been weakened and/or stretched and food can move from the stomach or pouch into the intestine quicker allowing for more food to be consumed. To make the myth worse is the fact that doctors/surgeons will put the above into "laymans terms" for their patients. Thus perpetuating the belief that you can stretch your sleeve by eating poorly or too much or drinking carbonated beverages.

The problem with that though is that many times these personal trainers have gone through maybe a week long certification. Not on fitness or anatomy, but on machine use. It's not just the leg extensions that many trainers teach and recommend, but several other exercises that are flat out wrong. Lat pull downs that go behind the head? Pec station with the stops beyond the plane of the back? Preacher curl machine? All of these are terrible for the shoulder and they are almost universally recommended by trainers in the fast food of gym's. (Planet Fitness, Gold's, etc...) A sports medicine physical therapist would be the best choice for those just getting into the sport. I should have mentioned them earlier. They are a little different than a normal physical therapist.