Rev Me Up!

Yay for you!! You know I am a big fan of the bi-weekly weigh in. There is no way I wanted to put extra pressure on myself of fluctuations in the scale. I know for sure that I weight up to 5 pounds more in the evening than I do in the morning, so its only morning weighing and once a week AT THE MOST. Good for you - working through this is hard. It is so hard to change obsessive habits, isn't it? food, scale, work, etc. I was enjoying your post and realized I am a little too obsessed about my clothes size. You and I are the same height and I weigh less than you, but I am just squeezing into size 16 pants. I am excited about it because last week I was in an 18 - but in order for me to be a size 10, I would have to weigh around 150. We each have our demons, eh? Your scale does not define you My clothes size does not define me What else can someone add to this list, I wonder?

It seems that people have one or the other - either they have diarrhea or they don't poop for a week. Definitely, all the artificial sweeteners will do it to you. Good idea to move to more broth - it also has sodium which will help you retain a little Water. That sounds bad, but it is good if you are worried about dehydration. Once you get to mushies and you start eating yogurt and cottage cheese, you'll see it swing the other way. Glad to hear you are feeling better. The first month is tough, but the first 2 weeks are specifically hard. Physical and emotional changes are so intense in that time. Rest assured, you will feel more normal in a few weeks. Keep coming back to the board, we're all here for you! Lara

Yikes! I can't say much more than has already been said here. See if you can get a referral to an experienced VSG surgeon instead. I am a former lap-bander and my surgery was performed by an excellent surgeon who had tons of experience with the lap band and my band experience still sucked. I didn't have complications, but the band didn't work and it was not fun to have it in my body. DO NOT GET THE LAP BAND. That doctor has his head up his ass if he thinks the band is safer than the sleeve. Even Allergan admit that 25% of people have had them removed after 5 years. I think the real stats are much higher. Good luck in finding a supportive doctor-- Lara

Hi, What about cheeses and yogurt? I eat a couple of servings of cheese with a hard cracker every day. Also, ham is quite salty - can you eat pork in other forms like a pork roast or pork chop? I also eat a lot of chicken, but I make it in a lot of different ways. I also eat one small serving of oatmeal every day for Fiber. I will have a little whole grain toast with an egg to change it up a little. Good luck, Lara

Congrats!! It's great to hear about ypur progress. I know it is helpful for folks who are new in the process to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel with how they will feel at 3 months out. Lara

I was so weak and light headed, I didn't trust myself to drive more than a mile until 10 days out. But, I had significant exhaustion for several weeks. My body was healing well and I had little to no pain, but my head was a mess.

There are a lot of good examples of what it feels like. I do measure my portions so I don't feel the full feeling because it is really uncomfortable. You absolutely can not push through it. That feeling stays for at least 20 minutes until the food passes. I am most likely to feel full when I go out to eat because i am not measuring reliably. I can have about 4 bites of whatever I am eating and then I feel a bubbly pressure. If I eat more, the pain would be horrible and the food would come back up. It is a very good type of biofeedback :-) Most people feel it once and vow to never push it again. SOmetimes, I just stop eating naturally. It isn't a painful feeling, I just feel completely turned off by whatever I am eatign and I will stop - even if I haven't eaten a full measured portion. You wil learn to listen to your body in a whole new way. Lara

I was too tired to exercise through the first month - it was very depressing. I still can't do a hard workout. I can go for a long walk, but no running or extended weight lifting. I felt much better around week 6. I think it had more to do with eating more normal food. If your body is tired, don't push it.

Hi- That's a pretty long liquid phase. You should be able to move to full liquids somewhere around day 7 through 10. That will allow you to add milk, soymilk, cream Soup, drinkable yougurt (strained), and Protein shakes so you can get the necesary protein and some extra calories. Make sure you are drinking a lot of fluids. Also, in the clear stage, a lot of us ate sugar free popsicles. You shouldn't expect to drink more that .25 cup or 2 ounces of creamy full liquid at a time and it may take you 20 minutes to get it down - the tummy is swollen and will take time to accept new textures. Go slowly and if one of the new things doesn't agree with you, try something else. You'll feel better when you get more calories in. ALso, you may want to start your chewable Vitamins - multi Vitamin and sublingual B vitamins will help. CHeck with your doctor. I know I was looking very pale through the second week. Good luck!

Chipping away at it - bit by bit. 2 more down on Saturday!! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Revmeup..........175..................171.............155...............16

Isn't that the best problem?!?! I said I wasn't going to spend a lot of money on new clothes, but I am :-) I am so excited about the smaller sizes, I am spending money on some super-cute stuff. However, I am only buying a couple pairs of pants and a few shirts because I know I'll be shrinking some more. I like going to Kohls for bras - great quality and great prices. I don't like their clothes, though. Yay for you!!!

I don;t feel hunger as much as I feel "empty". I am eating so little at each sitting, I will start to get a headache and really thirsty after 3 hours or so. I actually eat every 3 hours just to get my daily intake of calories. If your body needs food, it is not bad for your body to let you know about it. Would you say it is the same hunger that you had before? Does it feel like a craving? Acid will definitely give you the tummy rumbles that feels like hunger. Since I switched to Zegerid I have completely lost all acid problems. No more rumbling and no more evening acid. Lara

Also a Dr A patient - however, even if there wasn't a guideline, I can only fit between 600-800 cals in at the 2 month mark. My carbs are in the 60 range because I added oatmeal and flax crackers to my diet for fiber. I make a concerted effort to get at least 600 in - I have to eat 5 to 6 times a day to get there. It makes it easy that sugary stuff makes my stomach turn. No craving for bread either. I eat primalrily low carb, full fat (yep - butter, regular cheese, full fat sour cream, etc) with the addition of oatmeal and flax crackers. I do not get close to the protein requirement - I never have. Primarily becuase I can't tolerate the protein drinks. I feel good and haven't lost my hair (yet). I have a slightly low vitamin D level which I am on a 4 week RX course of vitamin D capsules. Right now I am losing about 2 lb per week. Lara

Thanks, girls!! This board is a life-saver. It's great to be able to sare with so many people going through the same thing. Have a great week, everybody! Lara

I know I lost a lot in the first week and then extremely slow for the next 4 weeks. Still losing, but slowly. It started to perk upa little more after week 6. Don't worry - it will come off. I would say 4 oz is kind of a lot, but mushies go through really easily. Have you moved to regular food yet? You will find that eating grilled chicken is a little harder - 2 oz will fill you up really well. Lara

Hi- Yogurt, well-mashed refired Beans, well mashed potato or yam, well-chewed cottage cheese. Anything you can get to a pureed consistency. Just remember to measure so you don't get too ful and make yourself uncomfortable. Good luck! Lara

I cried every day for 2 weeks after I got back from the hospital - something about this sleeve surgery makes you so emotional. Hang in there and know that it does get better. Take care, Lara

I thought the recovery was MUCH worse for the sleeve than for the band. I didn't have problems with throwing up, but the whole experience is uncomfortable. I was in the hospital on "the good stuff" for 3 days. I came home and only used pain meds for 2 more days (I think). So, after day 6, no more pain meds. However, the gas-x is your friend. Much of the pain after that was residual from the drain, which wasn't too bad and then the gas. I has dissolvable nexium for the acid and i took it religiously. if it isn't enough, doc said I could take 2 doses a day, on AM, one PM. If you had a leak, you would also have a fever. The pain this early out is not an indication of something bad, but the vomitting will irritate the sleeve. I was barely able to drink anything that first week and I ended up drinking full-sugar gatorade to get my electrolytes up. This first week is all about hydration. I slept with a heating pad for at least 3 weeks even though I don't hink I needed it after 7 days. It was my security blanket. I had weird sleep patterns too - you may want to ask the doc if they can prescribe something for you. The "random" restriction is normal. Usually room-temp liquid is best but I found I would have something one day that went down fine, the next day it made me queasy. Bottom line: the first 2 weeks SUCK!! It reminded me of pregnancy with terrible morning sickness - everything smells weird, you have cravings, but can't bear the thought of eating, you are emotional - it just sucks. I felt more human once I moved to mushies and was able to eat cottage cheese. I didn't shake off the exhaustion / fatigue until 5 weeks out. You're not alone :-) Lara

Hi, I have been waiting for my stomch to catch up with the weight loss I have had. I've posted before about my top being smaller than my bottom, and it's all around the waist. It seems like my skin has finally started to get the message because my jeans just started to hang on me. I went to Kohls and tried some jeans there in a 16 - they did not fit. Way too small. I really need low rise jeans because they are cut more generaously in the waist. So, I went to Torrid ( which I love because of the designers, but they are pricey) and fit easily into all size 16 and even one size 14! Yes, I know this is a "plus size" store, but they carry great low-rise jeans in fantastic washes. Bought 3 pairs of jeans / two 16's and one 14 :-) I am so happy to finally see some movement in the pants-size department. Slow and steady wins the race!! Lara

In response about your concern with the liquid post-op diet: you really are not hungry at all those first couple of weeks, so the liquid is fairly easy to do. I thought the hard part as the lack of variety. The first 2-4 weeks after surgery is the hardest part - it is emotional, draining, and difficult. Once you get past that one month mark, you feel almost completely normal - except for your portions. You will laugh out loud when you see how little you eat compared to everyone else. Good luck on your decision - check back often, this is a great place for info and support. Lara

No laundry! I was a zombie through the first 4 weeks, even after I went back to work. However, getting to mushies and being able to eat cottage cheese is what turned me around. You will be tired for a few weeks, don't try to push yourself. Seriously, you will make it worse by doing too much. The first few weeks is emotional for that reason - it was for me anyway. It is true, you want to follow your doctor' instruction. You may want to stir in a little cream Soup with warm Water (strained) and see how it treats you. Also, get some liquid yogurt, strain it, and see if you can get a sip of that down. I little more substance will change things around. Beware, though, the full liquids will make your tummy make all sorts of bubbly noises :-) Take care, this will pass!! Lara

Hi, I ate sashimi (sushi without rice) as soon as I got to soft foods. Rice is too filling for me, so I skip the nagiri. Luckily, the sushi place I go to has a "no rice" roll wrapped in sliced cucumber. I can eat a half a slice of pizza without eating the top rolled crust, but it gives me heartburn, so I have only had it once. Not worth the pain. You'll find lots of things taste different after the sleeve and you may not like something you used to like. Lara

It is normal and, really, only time will change it. I don't weigh very often, so I am not sure exactly when and how long my stall was. I just didn't weigh myself week 3-5. And, in that time only lost one pound. Since then I have bounced back to losing 1 to 2 pounds a week. Seriously. it's normal. You'd be better off not weighing for 10 days and see what happens. I know it's hard, but you'll feel better. Lara

I am 2 months out and I can't eat more than 4 or 5 bites of anything. It does not worry me at this point. I had terrible exhaustion in the first month, but it has gotten better. I never tolerated the Protein drinks, so I get all cals/protein from the small amount of food I get. My secret, eat 6 times a day :-) Plus, I eat calorically dense protein like cheese. I lived on cottage cheese on weeks 2-5. Since then I was able to add some soft scrambled egg (with butter!), a little brie cheese on a thin cracker, a little oatmeal for Fiber, soft cooked chicken, etc. Just do the best you can. You can live on 600-800 cals a day, infact, most of us who had surgery in MX were told that we should be eating about 600-800 cals a day. It is literally impossible when your stomach is healing to get any more than that it. Just do your best with the fluids, try lots of mushy things, and wait a week in between trying new things: if chicken doesn't work this week, wait a week or so and try it again. Most of all - do not push your stomach!!! It will revolt!! Take care, Lara

Short answer - I can't eat that much. I am also a band revision, so we may have some similar issues. I'm not sure how far out from surgery you are... I am 2 months out and I can eat somewhere between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of food at each sitting - I can't really eat 1/2 a cup, but I can eat just a little more than 1/4 cup. Soft foods are more comfortable to eat, and I can eat more of them. It takes me between 5 and 20 minutes to eat my food. At 20 minutes, I am stuffed with the measurements I mentioned above. Examples of what fills me up: one scrambled egg with 1/4 piece of whole grain toast - VERY full 4 small pita crackers with flax seed with a Trader Joes mini-brie bite broken in 4 pieces - comfortably satisfied one packet of plain organic oatmeal with flax - sometimes i finish it, sometimes i don't. VERY full. My mothers Day treat: a quarter of a patty melt on rye - STUFFED. I eat about 6 times a day in order to get to 600-800 calories, I really have to work pretty hard to eat that much. Sounds like my capacity is less than yours, but your mileage may vary. My basic measure is that I can eat about 4-5 bites of anything and that's it. If I don't stop, I am VERY uncomfortable. I never drink within and hour after I eat. I have stopped counting my calories because I am consistenly eating the same things every day and I average about 100 to 150 per meal. I only lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, but I am a low BMI revision and I don't expect to lose faster. Ultimately, eating 1000 cals a day will not leave you in a stall forever. Having one day where you over-indulge is not the worst thing in the world. We all do it. Lara