dianemar

Yes, you are all singing my song, so glad you are all here to encourage each other

One thing to remember is that after surgery your stomach is also swollen and that makes the volume much less than what your stomach will hold once your healing is complete.

Thanks, I'm struggling losing, 6 mo out. Great facts about too low calories. I too have gone to high Protein ,low carbs, and am starting to lose again, I also joined a senior membership at a local YMCA, which has a great pool and Water aerobics, exercise is essential. To me, the surgery is a life saving measure initially, but the rest is up to us.

I'm post menopausal, and I had no symptoms to speak of, hadn't even thought there would be a problem, but it would make sense.

I agree, I don't know how one could get all the Protein in with just 3 meals, I have 3 meals a day, 3 Snacks. usually snacks are cheese stix, or Protein Shake. I don't have anything in the house that I can graze on. I only eat at prescribed times. at least an hour and a half to two hours after a meal.

They helped me , I went through about half of the box, before everything settled down. Mostly stomach gas.

It is a tough place to be in, BUT it does not last forever. Know that, and know that your head may say you are hungry, that real food is all you obsess about, but you also know you wanted change , so allow that to happen. You can only hold so much right now and you want to heal correctly, so it is to your long term benefit to follow the rules for your own sake and health. We all got in this position because we couldn't learn to say no to our wants and desires for the most part. But it is a new day, and you will not die from hunger, your body will adapt and so will you. Good Luck.

On ‎4‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 5:27 PM, Mandybb said:

Can I be honest? I said the same thing before my surgery, that I needed the restriction to lose weight so that's why I was getting surgery. Honestly my restriction is there, but you can cheat the system after surgery. Carbs do not fill up your tummy like Protein and you can slowly munch and graze every hour on high carb high fat food if you wanted. Some people don't have much restriction at all so be prepared that it might happen that way. You have to resist those foods and change your eating habits before surgery. That's why the preop diet comes in handy because it is a real reality of what your life will be like over the next few months. Why not just try low carb/sugar free (that's essentially the diet you will be on after surgery) while waiting for the surgery? See what it's like and make sure you are committed to this lifestyle change because temptation is unbelievable and you can slide so easy back into old habits without even realizing you've done it.

That being said, this was the best decision I've ever made even with the complications. I knew that I needed to save my life, and without this surgery giving me the kick in the butt to get it done, I would still be 255 lbs and hating my life.

Amen!! I was just saying this to someone, Surgery saved my life , (like an appendectomy) and helped me lose the weight that helped my borderline diabetes and High Blood Pressure. But as I can eat most anything, I still have to do the hard work of changing my 60+years of bad habits. No snacking , eating on schedule, sticking to a low carb diet, Getting my Proteins in. It is amazing how much food you can nibble and get in all day. You will be able to cheat , but you are just harming yourself. Take a good look at a lb of butter then look at the mirror and see how those lbs of butter look on you. It is worth sacrificing to get rid of them and one lb is worth it!!

On ‎3‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 9:37 PM, dianemar said:

I am 7 mo post op, I cannot take a Calcium Vitamin without being sick, and I detest the liquid Calcium, it tastes like vomit to me,(sorry) I am going to look for the above chewable calciums, maybe that would work. My dr told me no on Gummy Vitamins, will check again.

I found a calcium chewable, 2x a day, they don't taste bad at all , only 5.98 a bottle of 60. Finally, got that taken care of. Going to look for b Vitamins next, I take a multiple chewable so I get most everything else.

I am 7 mo post op, I cannot take a Calcium Vitamin without being sick, and I detest the liquid calcium, it tastes like vomit to me,(sorry) I am going to look for the above chewable calciums, maybe that would work. My dr told me no on gummy vitamins, will check again.

I deal a lot with head hunger. Lets face it I have had 40+ years of bad habits due to overeating, and I cannot wish it away, I have had to face my demons and know I am eating what is adequate to lose weight and stay healthy, so I just yell at myself ' I can wait till my meal time.' I keep mints on hand If I must put something in my mouth. So much of this is a culmination of bad habits, and surgery is a life saving procedure, but we still have to do the real work that we ignored most of our lives. You can do this!!!! you have shown you are willing to sacrifice to be healthy so keep your head up and your mouth shut. lol, just kidding.

I've had to wake up and realize I had been grazing, MY solution is to only eat at prescribed times, and preplan the Snacks. I do not keep nuts and such in the house because it is my grazing temptation. I cannot have 2-3 almonds or cashews. So I plan all snacking. Good luck, and it is a good thing you are facing this hurtle, you will succeed!!

I got the Patches esp after the surgery pre eating phase, worth it for piece of mind. Looking back I would not be able to have eaten much for the first month, so it was a good fit , better than taking nothing.

I was told by my dr not to take gummies at all, stick with the children's chewable vitamins, they work for me. BTW I just bought a size 18 pants, down from size 28 a year ago.

Hi, I had the surgery aug 18th 4 mo ago. I have been learning many lessons and do not regret my decision. But there are many realities you must face to be successful and to overcome them one by one. Having the surgery gives you a great head start, you lose a significant amount right away, which leaves you feeling very positive, esp with all the applause of friends and acquaintances. But after you navigate your post surgery diet , and everything is healing fine, there are other battles to consider, my main one is realizing , for me at least, I can eat and tolerate almost all food. So 60+ years of bad habits are still lurking in the background just waiting to rear their ugly head. So to make this short and concise, this is where I am today.

no snacking, I mean, nibbling snacking. even if it is good for you. eat at specified times, even your Snacks.

I am staying on my very low carb, pre surgery diet, only vegs and fruits for carbs, very minimal bread( I use one slice under my poached eggs.)

I can eat whatever I want now, but I got this big for a reason, and it was by not taking 1 lb seriously. One lb, = 1 lb of butter, that is significant, gaining that volume is not to be ignored

So as I continue this journey I have a good 60-80 lbs to go, but I am going to be in control of my addiction and not let it control me. Everyone has issues contributing to our weight problems, so learn to be honest with yourself, attack them one at a time. and Good Luck!!

oneyearout, that is exactly how I gained weight, in my late 30's and early forties, quit smoking and all the bad habits came to roost, never had even entertained the idea of dieting before that. Was always able to bounce back to my weight after pregnancies. Until my last of 4 at 37, and as I said, I quit smoking. I had no clue , thought if I ate healthy, I could eat how ever much I wanted as long as it was whole wheat and Healthy, I guess not

I had mine in aug of this year, I am mindful the surgery itself was a life saver, it gave me a start to get on the right track, but surgery in of itself will not have long term success if you don't learn the lessons we all should have learned earlier, be aware you have 60 yrs of bad habits and you still have to be mindful each and everyday, esp when you are back to being able to eat most anything. I have to constantly think, remember how you got to this situation. should tattoo it to my forehead!!! I started at 333 and am now down to 240, I was at 294 at surgery, had cut carbs about 2 months before surgery and lost 25 lbs, realized I was insulin resistant, so it is a lifestyle change now as well. of all bp meds except htcz, for Water build up. I feel great can easily walk over a mile now, and loving it, down to size 20 pants and seeing size 18 soon. My life will be changing with twin grandboys in the near future that will keep me busy as well, Good Luck!!

not much to add to above, but I love cheese stix with a slice of turkey or ham wrapped around it. one would be around 12-15 gm of Protein, great snack. I can eat nuts too, that is very satisfying. Faya yogurt is 23gms of Protein per cup. If you get peanut powder, and add that to your smoothies and other foods, that adds extra protein as well. I have to have my Protein shakes over ice as well. cottage cheese is great as well.

wow!!! so sorry, that is difficult to go through on top of the usual problems with getting used to the sleeve and its aftermath.

It definitely is not normal, and I don't think I could have put up with it as long as you have. Follow drs orders and I hope they can take care of it asap. Good Luck!! And Happy New Year!!!

_{Never had a problem, I started wearing under wires about 3 weeks post op with no issues.}

^{I'm shedding like you would not believe. But my sister who is 4 years older than me, she is 66, has had thinning hair for around 10 years, so I am just catching up with her. She has not had this surgery either, may be genetic. Will look into supplements to see if it helps .}

Boy, I remember those days, just keep doing the best you can, it will come together, I struggled with Water, and as you said, waiting to eat after drinking it was difficult for me. But now I get around 70-90 Protein in a day, so if I get low day I am not too worried. Fish is lighter on your tummy and is packed with Protein, canned tuna with a little mayo is good too. Peanut Butter also goes down well. Like the above said, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, all help. Keep a scale handy, to keep track of oz's as protein goes up with larger amounts, eggs as well , hard boil them to have on hand.

Since I am losing since my surgery my feet have been even colder than normal, I cannot seem to get them warm when I go to bed, and I cannot sleep till they warm up, and it takes at least 2-3 hours. (cannot wear socks) I finally bit the bullet and got an electric warming pad to put above my top sheet, under my blankets and that did the trick, I now am getting at least 8 hrs sleep at night. I am feeling so much better.

I'm 3 months out, and cooked for two days as I was hosting, tasted more than I should have, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I ended up with more food on my plate than I could eat, my dog Shiloh, had a very good thanksgiving dinner.

So sorry, how frustrating. I have heard about people re-setting, just going back to Protein shakes for a week and blended or soft foods, to get back into the groove of things. You have to keep retraining yourself, old habits try to take over and having surgery is nothing I want to do again, and I am sure you do not either. Are you under any underlying stress? take time to reevaluate why you are doing what you are doing. I know I am insulin resistant, eating carbs, though I like them, never makes me feel satisfied, and more does not help. High Protein meals make me feel very satisfied and that makes it easier to resist carbs.