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So I don't always track what I eat in fact I rarely do. In the beginning ( nearly 14 weeks ago) I was so in tune with what I was having. Gradually that has worn off. The weight was coming off slowly so tracking didn't seem to matter. Then started the bit n pieces of "slider" foods. I had read about this in others stories and would think "oh never would I let myself be like that".... how wrong I was.
The potato chips and small biscuits seem to go down with no issues. I wasn't sick and it didn't fill me up so what was the problem. Peanut paste then started to become a favourite snack straight off the spoon. It's ok it's protein!!.. Icecream was another easy food to go down and it seemed to help my sweet cravings as I was only having a little so what did it matter?..
A bit here and there soon became more and more!!..
Today i decided to track what I had eaten as best I could.. to own what I was doing.. the damage I was doing.
You see like most of us here that decided to get this procedure I have a food addiction. Something that is NOT fixed by having a sleeve. They take some of your stomach not the part of your brain that controls this. I have really no clue how to fix it but maybe the best I can do is to some how control it. That's hard!!..
Nope I didn't have counselling before my sleeve to help me. I honestly thought I could do it alone.
I feel now I am more consumed with "food" then I ever was. What a shit position to be in.
So today I was so over my Carb intake it was terrible. My Protein intake low... and my fats should of been more. If I was counting calories I'd say at 1400 Cals was too much for me.
But from now and into tomorrow and beyond I shall be accountable for what I put into my mouth. Yeah I'll stuff up a little but mostly I shall be on track.
Food addiction is a hard one as we need it to survive and can't get away from it..

I think losing the hang would probably boost your confidence and also lead to you being more active, thus losing more weight in the end.

I like xylitol in my black tea - just a little sweet and it doesn't make me crave sweets all day. My husband went hardcore Keto when I had surgery and giving up his honey was tough - he used my xylitol for a week or two and then discovered pastured cream. He tried new (stronger) teas until he found a combo he likes and doesn't use any sweetener at all any more. The fat seems to help him with carb cravings, too. He's lost about as much weight as I have, btw.
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I don't know if anybody said this yet but what you do is you try hard to reach your goals but understand these first few weeks it's very difficult to actually achieve them.
Don't over eat ( it's practically impossible to anyway) try the puréed foods, drink your Protein shakes and Water. Just as much as you're able, and keep track just so you can see that it keeps increasing. By small measurements of course.
I wasn't able to eat more than 2 ounces of puréed food for my entire time. I was on the regular food stage (8 weeks) for a month before I was able to eat 4 ounces at a time. It was after 10 weeks I was able to hit my full Water and Protein goals.
So get as much protein as you can thru your puréed foods ( won't be much but you're teaching your new stomach) then have the Protein drinks. If you have any difficulties with discomfort swallowing or pain in your stomach go back to the liquid for a day and or then try it again. You will be OK, I promise !

Here's what my soft food diet looked like:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Morning Snack: String cheese
Lunch: scrambled egg or shredded meat (pulled chicken or tuna salad)
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt
Dinner: same concept as lunch
Evening Snack: Protein Shake
In the very early stages I couldn't fit in the morning and afternoon Snacks, but I worked my way up to them.

Um, at a month out your nutritionist already wants you at 4-5 ounces of food at one meal!??! That's nuts! I was at 2 oz. a meal for ages. I am well over 2 years post-op now and I would say 5-6 ounces is my absolute max, depending on the density of what I'm eating.
You should be able to meat your Protein goal even if you can only do 2 oz. at a time. Especially if you can handle your Protein shakes and Greek yogurt. I would say about a month out my day looked something like this:
Breakfast: Protein shake
Morning Snack: string cheese
Lunch: leftovers from a previous dinner or a scrambled egg w/ cheese
Afternoon Snack: Greek yogurt
Dinner: 2oz. of some recipe (like Shelly's baked ricotta, some sort of tuna salad, pulled chicken in sauce, etc.)
Late Snack: Protein Shake
That right there is 90 grams of Protein a day, assuming my Protein Shakes had 20 grams each and my lunch and dinner had about 15 grams.

Check your surgeons office. Mine has a closet, tons of different clothes, as you drop the weight or sometimes before. I plan on donating clothes to it once the I grow down and out of the clothes I currently have. My surgical hospital also have an entire office of clothes!
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Had surgery on 8/22/12 at 270 lbs I am now 7 mos out and down 111 lbs since then 142 total weight loss from start of program and feel great current weight 159 lbs

Don't know if they are inspirational but I have come a long way. Lost 182 lbs. starting weight 340 current weight 158. Surgery 02/21/2012

January 9th
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January 9th
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January 9th
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I will fully admit that I had an easy recovery but I want to add.
You are never going to better until you are getting some nourishment. So you should sip on broth with unflavored Protein powder all day. You are always going to feel sick and ill until you get get over 600 calories a day. The longer you go without eating and the less you eat, the harder it is going to be to eat and the worse you are going to feel. You are just going to feel weaker each day.
Drink Protein that is a Water consistency all day. Options are broth with Protein Powder, Protein2O Water, Syntrax Nectars.
Even someone with a stricture should be able to get down liquids that are of a watery consistency.

You are not a failure. You hit a tough spot. You made it this far you will be able to knock it off again.Turning it around is a very good possibility. It will depend on your life. The more you dwell on the "failure" the harder it can be mentally to do it. You need to decide and commit to change just like you did when you decided to get the surgery. I'm still fresh in my post op so I can't identify exactly with this struggle at the moment. Commit to changing. Do it in steps. You are not a failure. You hit a tough spot. You made it this far you will be able to knock it off again.
One more bit of advice: talk to your surgeon, nutritionist and or mental health professional. If they (surgeon and nutritionist ) are truly patient oriented, they will see you as a follow up and help you find ways to get back on track.
You can do this!

January 9th
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Yes. And, FYI: If you've got an "inny" navel, do yourself a favor and clean it out with Q-tips before your surgery. Dip them in alcohol or something. Then use dry ones to dry the navel. Get the crud out so no one in the OR comments or glances askew. The nurses and staff will be so impressed.

So I got approved and hoping I get a January date...anyone else starting their new years on the right track??? If so when??? Drop those dates
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They look amazing! like reading these recipes make me look forward to all this cause to be honest for the longest time i was literally upset thinking that nothing was every gonna be good again for me and that because ill only be able to eat a small amount that everything would be so plain but these all sound so flavorful and good! The book is over 300 pages so a whole ton of recipes!

I too started my journey over the 400lb mark. 2 months post op and I'm at 334lbs. I wish you the best of luck. Just do what they tell you and you will be successful.
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Congratulations you look amazing
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Congratulations you look amazing
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Congratulations you look amazing
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I had to increase my calories because I was too low too. I was 450-550 calories a day. I changed up my diet to have bacon or sausage for Breakfast and the higher calorie meal first thing really helped my energy. I also set an alarm on my phone for 4pm daily to have a snack. My snack is usually 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and a tbsp of sugar free jam. I feel much better and I'm still losing at a steady rate.

100 lbs, gone forever. I still have 5 months til the end of my 12 month loss grace period. Really looking forward to seeing how far my sleeve can help me go!
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
HW: 293
CW: 193
GW: 185
Sleeved 4/14/2016