Josey Quinn

You are doing really well. I know it's hard to see it from your vantage point, but trust us. Keep going!

Food cravings can derail your weight loss efforts. The next time a craving hits, try thinking about your smaller stomach as a set of training wheels instead of a set of restrictive rules. In the forum, I've seen a lot of concern about cheating on the pre-op diet and eating certain foods too soon after surgery. I understand these temptations. (Oh, boy, do I understand.) It is natural to crave what we can't have. Foods like pizza and pasta suddenly seem preternaturally delicious. If we give in and eat something that's not on our diet plan, we react with guilt and shame--and we usually realize that pizza is not as awesome as we remembered. Unfortunately, cravings come back again and again, promising a taste explosion. If we don't learn to resist most of these cravings, we can derail our weight loss efforts. The next time a craving hits, try thinking about your smaller stomach as a set of training wheels instead of a set of restrictive rules. Your current body--your bicycle--is functional, but you have your heart set on that sleek racing model or muscular mountain bike. You yearn to zip down the street or take that rugged path through the forest. Before you can master the better bicycle, though, you have to learn to balance on the one you have--under all road and trail conditions. You have to be ready for the challenges ahead. Training wheels are boring, but they help us avoid the worst of the bumps and bruises that can happen when we lose our balance and fall off the bike. We can still slip up and take a spill, but it's likely to be much less painful than if we were careening down a street unchecked, with no extra wheels to keep us upright. Our smaller stomach does the same thing for us: it helps us maintain our balance while we're learning to nourish our bodies again. Before surgery, most of us had the freedom to eat a large variety and amount of food. We lost our balance repeatedly, and we paid for it with increased weight and medical problems. We injured our body--and mind--over and over. We've already invested a lot of resources in our weight loss surgery, and we have a limited amount of time to make use of these training wheels. If we take the extra time and effort to learn the fine art of balance, we will be better prepared to handle the freedom that comes with the new, better models of our bodies. The excitement and adventures waiting for us down the road are worth a little boredom with the training wheels now.

"Some people look at those photos and think that I hated myself because I suffered from obesity. The truth is I suffered from obesity because I hated myself. The moment I learned to start loving myself and finding myself worthy, I started making healthier lifestyle decisions." This is a profound truth. Thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you for letting me know about your experience with C.diff. My doctor put me on metronidazole. It definitely makes me nauseated. :-( I would much rather be in pain than be nauseated. In fact, I just got back from the clinic at CVS, where I was begging for more Zofran to get me through the weekend. I also picked up a probiotic with saccharomyces boulardii. I'm trying really hard to keep eating and drinking water, but I know I'm dehydrated. I was still losing half a pound a day until today. I have a feeling it's the beginning of a stall until I increase my intake again.

First, a bit of advice: If you have symptoms that concern you, please call your doctor sooner rather than later. After my VSG, as I transitioned from liquids and "mushies" to solid food during weeks four and five post-op, I thought my bowel movements would become more normal. They didn't. I had VSG rather than a gastric bypass, but since I had problems with dumping before surgery if I ate too much of the wrong foods, I thought it could be dumping syndrome. I started experimenting with my diet, hoping to eliminate any foods that were causing the supposed dumping. Finally, I realized this wasn't dumping. It was unrelenting diarrhea. At the nine-week follow-up appointment with my surgeon earlier this week, I told him about it. He said I most likely have Clostridium difficile (C.diff) colitis, and he prescribed a targeted antibiotic. The C.diff overgrowth can be caused by the broad-spectrum antibiotics used after surgery. I'm pretty miserable right now. My tiny tummy doesn't tolerate the antibiotics well, so I get nauseated every time I eat. My guts are still quite unhappy, so I can't stray far from the bathroom. I'm dehydrated because I'm having trouble drinking enough Water. I'm super tired. (Thank you for attending my little pity party.) If I had called my surgeon a few weeks ago, I might have avoided some of this gastrointestinal misery. :-)

I use art and writing. I channel my desire to consume into producing works of art. Before surgery, I was the queen of comfort eating, but creating something is far more gratifying than eating myself into a food coma.

We all deal with "head hunger," that insistent little voice that tells us we really need a bacon double cheeseburger, even though we had a full lunch two hours ago. Coping with head hunger is a fact of life, even for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. We all deal with "head hunger," that insistent little voice in our mind that tells us we really need a bacon double cheeseburger, even though we had a full lunch two hours ago. Sometimes, it tells us it's all right to keep eating after we've reached our fill line because the cookie bag is not yet empty. Other times, it tells us that mint chocolate chip ice cream really will relieve our emotional pain. Anyone hungry now? Head hunger happens all the time, often with the slightest provocation. It has little to do with our body's immediate need for fuel. It has everything to do with our sense of smell and the abundance of savory and sweet foods in our environment. It's a habit we've reinforced over the years. For some of us, it contributes to obesity and other health issues. For others, it complicates mental health conditions. Head hunger promises to make us feel better, but it often delivers misery instead. Coping with head hunger is a fact of life, even for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. Our surgery has given us a physical tool for our weight loss journey, but we need to supplement it with mental tools. I didn't fully understand this need before my vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Yes, I believed my head hunger would magically disappear with the majority of my stomach. It didn't. The voice still comes and goes, usually reaching top volume on stressful days. It lies to me, insisting that I want food I could not possibly digest at this point in my journey. How do I cope with my head hunger? How do I keep it from derailing my weight loss or jeopardizing my health? I'm going to answer with a cliche: I take it one day at a time. This is not intuitive for me because I am not a "one day at a time" kind of girl. I've learned, though, that the harder I fight head hunger, the harder it fights back. Brute force won't stop the intrusive thoughts of food. This is why I must take it one day at a time, with compassionate self-care. When head hunger hits, I have many options for taking care of myself without reaching into the refrigerator. I can exercise for half an hour to see if the cravings pass. I can spend time with my kids. I can lose myself in a good book or movie. I can learn a new crochet stitch. I can start a new art or writing project. The actual activity isn't important, though. The important thing is to understand when hunger is mental hunger and not a physical need for food. Understanding what head hunger means to you and what triggers it is the first step in coping with it. After you know this, you can create a personal plan for the day-to-day activities that will help you avoid overeating or eating when your body doesn't need fuel. Keeping a journal can help you sort out the different physical and emotional feelings associated with head hunger. Talking to other people who understand these feelings can help, too. Giving yourself time and space to deal with the feelings instead of beating yourself up for them is crucial. Above all, showing yourself kindness every day is the most effective way to minimize the influence head hunger has over you.

Dropped two sizes in jeans. For the first time in almost a year, I wore a pair of jeans comfortably all day.

(((Hugs))) @bellabloom. Please keep us updated.

I, too, had a hiatal hernia repair during gastric sleeve surgery. I haven't had one hint of heartburn since then. It's lovely.

Wow, @@jess9395, awesome muscles!!!

I'm five weeks out with gastric sleeve, and I've had dumping issues for the past week. I thought it was the cheese I tried, but I haven't had any cheese today, and I'm still going. Of course, I had dumping problems long before my gastric sleeve surgery. It just took a lot more food to make it happen before surgery. If this continues, I'll be calling my surgeon.

Your taste will continue to change over the coming weeks and months, but yes, food will taste good again! Five weeks out from surgery, I find that simple food tastes best, and I appreciate the taste of food much more than I did before surgery because I eat very slowly.

My last straw was falling down at my brother-in-law's funeral. It was the first time I'd worn heels (short ones, at that) since gaining more weight, and I couldn't keep my balance on the grass. I fell down, and even with two people helping me, I could not get up. I spent the entire graveside service sitting on the ground. Afterward, I had to get on all fours in my dress and stand up like a toddler. It was humiliating, and I felt horrible for causing a scene for my husband and family.

I use two of the

Me, bursting into my daughter's room, "Look, I can fit into my smaller panties!" Daughter: "That's great, Mom. I'm on FaceTime with David."

I think the person who said that meant to say they don't know why they are so miserable. (((hugs)))

I had my first post-op period recently. I did have cravings, but they were muted. I didn't eat anything off my plan, and the cravings faded quickly.

(((HUGS))) I'm sorry it's been such a hard day.

I wish I had some good advice. I'm sorry you're going through this. I know it's incredibly frustrating to have your body fighting your efforts to be healthy. (((hugs)))

Thinking of you. I hope it's nothing serious. (((hugs)))

Well, I guess I should have expected it, but 16 days post-op, someone very close to me just said something hateful to me and then left the house. He was out the door before I even fully realized what he'd said. This makes me very sad.

The worst of my head hunger is gone 15 days out from surgery. I can't say it will never come back, but I think a few things are helping: 1. I limit artificial sweetener. It tastes too sweet, anyway, and for me, it just perpetuates cravings. 2. I make a high-Protein "dessert" with non-fat, low-sugar (but not artificially sweetened) yogurt, regular soy milk, unflavored Protein powder, and cinnamon. I use enough soy milk to make it liquid. (My fave yogurt is Siggi's.) 3. Instead of chocolate Protein shakes (which now taste disgusting to me), I use the

If it's financially feasible, you might consider doing it at separate times. That way, each of you can take the time to heal in the way that makes most sense for you and your different jobs.

Congratulations! Super high five!