Belly B. Gone

I had surgery on 10/9. I'm still struggling with what feels like "full/sated" vs eating/drinking enough to not be starving myself. Sometimes I feel the restriction, sometimes not. I think it's pretty common in the first month. As for stalls and weight fluctuations, yeah.. they're real. I've been hovering around this same weight for about a week or two now. I even told my wife I thought I broke my stomach because I couldn't feel a restriction.. until I tried something that felt like it scraped the walls of my sleeve going all the way down. ouch!
I think a healthy dose of patience is the key. We are having to relearn what it means to eat all the way around, from taste to digestion. It's not going to happen overnight as we know. I have to keep reminding myself of this, too. Like the old cliche saying goes "Keep working the plan. It works.. if you work it"...

Exact same thought crossed my mind shortly after surgery. I was hungry a lot and I would follow my instructions but it never seemed like it was working right. I was scared that it didn't work for me. But it did, and it got better. Keep following the plan and it will fall into place. As for the stall, pay no mind. It picks up and next thing you know, you're down 25lbs. Stay away from the scale. It's hard, and everyone will tell you not to weigh yourself too often right now. If you do weigh yourself, be prepared for anything. Could be 0 change, a few pounds gained or lost, but it will work!

Please add me @ thefavoritedouglas@gmail.com Had surgery 10/09. The hernia repair slowed me down a bit, pain wise but now I'm doing pretty good. Feel great! It gets better.

I had an "argument" with my surgeon at my 4-week post-op visit. I told her I was hungry all the time. And when I ate something, the hunger would go away and I would get full, but the hunger would return anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours later (depending on what I ate).
I am a very analytical person so at first, I suspected this was "head hunger" but when the hunger was waking me up at night - I knew it was real. My surgeon claims it is not real, but only head hunger. After going back and forth with her, I finally said "You know what - I don't care if it is real hunger, head hunger or toe hunger. I feel it, and the only way it goes away is to eat something". That ended the argument.
They say you can be distracted from head hunger - but I think you can be distracted from real hunger too. If something exciting, overwhelming or different happens - for a few minutes or longer, even real hunger goes away.
So, I don't see the point of differentiating between the two types of hunger. Our bodies are still taking in many fewer calories than it is used to, so of course something is going to say "I'm hungry!".
Having said all this - how we respond to hunger is what is now different.
I am now 8 weeks post op, and the hunger feeling is a normal part of my life. I don't always act on it. I simply accept it. And it isn't painful - just annoying. So, like any other annoyance that might be in your life (like my whiny cat), I've learned to "tune it out" when it isn't meal time.
I don't think I could have done this with a "normal" diet. I would have caved and eaten a huge meal, to get rid of the hunger. But now, eating is much less satisfying (because of how little I am actually eating at any given meal) and I know my hunger will be back in a short period of time. So, this keeps me from snacking every time the hunger starts back up.
I guess this is all good - I am staying pretty much on track. But, I really wish I had been one of those lucky ones who had no hunger at all...

@@thisfathasgot2go we had our surgery at about the same time, it appears. I was looking to see how far off or on track I've been with my Protein Drinks, etc. Meh, I'm slacking. I need to get in another shake. I had a hernia repair though and I think that pain is slowing me down a bit. Good info though!

Everyone loses at different rates. Having patience and faith is a struggle, I know. The weight will come off as long as you're following your plan.

It's certainly a balancing act!
When I first had surgery, I set a timer in my phone for 1 minute. Everytime it went off, I would take a sip of Water. I would do that for about 20 minutes several times a day. I also did it with Protein shakes. Staying hydrated is important so keep working on it!
Refried Beans, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese and yogurt are really what I ate during the mushy stage.

Thank you for your input, but no i have not been getting my shakes in. I just mixed up some Protein with sugar free pudding.I also wonder how you get all your liquids in if you need to eat every 3 to 4 hrs. i find myself going for a drink and trying to think if i'm going to eat soon or did i just eat . It get's very confusing and then i don't get my fluids in. what am i doing wrong.

I skipped purees. I would rather starve than eat pureed food. I have always been a picky eater and food texture will make me vomit. I did not want to vomit that close to surgery so I just did another week of full liquids instead of purees. I tried really soft scrambled eggs and I made very thin cream of wheat with unflavored Protein powder in it. just to have a little something that was more than liquids, then I went to very soft foods.
Ask your doctor what else you can do

I got sleeved Oct 16 I'm 5 days post op, what helped me with liquids was to use a teaspoon to slowly drink my broth, lemonade, chamomile tea and iced Water up until I got discharged from the hospital, right now I'm drinking all 64oz + without any problems. Best of luck on your recovery.

I'm day 3 post-op and feeling pretty good!

Taco Bell uses lard in their refried Beans, or at least use to. Pork may be too harsh on your pouch right now as it is a food that is hard to digest for some ... Like me.

@@thisfathasgot2go we had our surgery at about the same time, it appears. I was looking to see how far off or on track I've been with my Protein Drinks, etc. Meh, I'm slacking. I need to get in another shake. I had a hernia repair though and I think that pain is slowing me down a bit. Good info though!

Today marks exactly one year since I started my preop diet and I was reminded of all the wonderful things I've learned from this site so I thought I'd share a few.
1. Never knew about the 3 week stall until I read it on here.
2. salad Bar-Someone else had posted this tip. I now go to the Salad bar at Safeway right down the street from my house and load up the container with all sorts of veggies and do not add any dressing. Then for the week I just use my precut veggies out of my box. I waste so much less and it's super easy.
3.Powercrunch bars...they are my favorite.
4.Genepro unflavored Protein. Love this stuff heard of a new one called Piping rock that I will try when I run out of GENEPRO.< /p>
5.If you stall keep measuring as you're probably losing inches
6.Healthy options at fast food places, recipes, snack ideas
And now I've ordered a new moisturizer cream. So much wonderful information on here. I am sure there is more that I am forgetting. How about the rest of you what have you found to be the most helpful?
~LA

I tend to take a long time drinking mine. I tend to drink half in 1 - 2 hours.
Then I will drink the rest later in the day.
I do get through two of the 30g, 11oz Premier Protein drinks per day.
When I get to my limit, I feel like a could burp or gag, so I know my stomach must be close to full.
I am also taking sips of Water, Soup, tea and clear Isopure, as well as biting on my SF popsicles throughout the day spread out. I am tracking my input on myfitnesspal.
I am one week, one day post-op.

It depends upon how much inflammation you have in your stomach which leads to how quickly fluids pass through it - you may have only the equivalent of a soda or cocktail straw sized passage going through so things may go fairly slowly, or you may more of a passage the size of a marking pen where Fluid pass fairly quickly. My wife, when she went through this years ago could only move her nominal stomach capacity of 4 oz of Protein shake through in a sitting of a half hour or so, while I could pass a cup and a half or more of fluids through in that time - both were within the "normal" range of expected results that first week or two according to the doc.
Sip as much as you are comfortable drinking for now - guidelines from different docs vary from sipping an ounce every five minutes to an ounce every fifteen minutes; even at that lower five minute guideline, that would take you an hour to drink that shake. If you can do it quicker than that comfortably, that's no problem, but likewise it's no worry if it takes longer for now.