81Kellogram

BigBuc, You're not suppose to drink so close to before eating because the fluids fill you up and you won't be able to eat as much. After eating, the fluid will wash solid food into your intestines too quickly. I'm doing pretty well especially since I resolved a couple of issues. I was having problems with too much air in my stomach. As soon as I quit taking the acid reducer that stopped happening. I was also having a real problem with daily diarrhea. Low and behold, I'm now lactose intolerant. Cut out my morning half and half and now I'm fine. Cheese doesn't seem to bother me. That also helps me to not eat my favorite slider food - ice cream!

I'm a tummy sleeper and the first week of sleep was difficult but pain meds helped. I slept on a big club chair for the first three nights. Then on my back for about three weeks. Messed up my back pretty bad. I then could sleep on my side with a pillow supporting my tummy. Around a month out I could gently roll to my tummy.

Starting: 320 (Sept 2016) Surgery: 295 (Dec 2016) Current: 261 (Feb 2017) So that's 25lbs pre-surgery + 34lbs post-surgery (2 months) = 59lbs!!

I self paid because my very expensive gold plan on the exchange won't even remotely cover anything related to weight loss. I looked at going to Mexico, but even though I'm in Texas, I couldn't get over the idea of being so far away from home in the event of complications. So I chose a very good Dr. in Austin, 30 minutes from home. Total out of pocket was a little over $10k. Since my Dr knew I was self-pay, he was very cognizant of any extra expense so I didn't even stay the night in the hospital. Of course, if my after surgery recovery was slow in any way I would have stayed. But I responded perfectly, and was home by 2 in the afternoon. I've been complication free and so far, it's been the best money I've ever spent.

I was the same, but I figured there's no way around it - water is essential and I'm not going to work around it. So I set a timer on my phone and forced myself to take a sip every three minutes. My sips got bigger and now I can pretty much gulp. I get 64oz on the dot because it's still hard. However, I had a really hard workout this morning and 20oz. went down very well. Oh and here's a tip: Take a few gasX strips, wait a few minutes and try drinking. It's goes down much more smoothly.

My NUT said some Sleevers dump and I happen to be one of them. Sugar doesn't seem to bother me but rich fatty foods do. Basically leaves me miserable for about an hour. I'm still mourning bacon!

FYI: I take Celebrate chewables and they make me terribly nauseous if I chew them on an empty stomach. Unfortunately, I bought a six month supply!

Sounds like dumping. Try slowing down and take smaller bites.

I know this is going to sound really harsh, but if it were my family treating me so poorly, I wouldn't have anything to do with them. I had an abusive childhood and when I broke away from that in my teens (moved out on my own when I was 16) I vowed I would never allow anyone close to me to treat me unkindly. Not just abusive, but UNKINDLY. Negative and judgmental people eat at my soul and have no place in my life. I have no relationship with half of my family by my choice and it's liberating.

If you're not tracking what you eat, you really don't know how you are eating. I'm highly conscious of what I eat, have a great deal of knowledge about how many calories/macros a certain food has, but I still would be way off of my goals if I didn't log every bite. I weigh and measure everything. It's a pain but nobody said it was easy. In fact, all info is to the contrary. Surgery is merely a tool, without serious eating modifications and hard work it ain't gonna happen. You can't compare yourself to others. Some people can lose weight without logging, exercising and breaking the rules. It's pretty obvious to me that I can't. But that's okay. Following a "diet" is the least of my problems. When I'm feeling sorry for myself, I think about a friend who has diabetes. Or another friend who has to have a colostomy bag. That really puts my poor pitiful me feelings into perspective.

I'm only 7 weeks out and still figuring out my macros. My plan says nothing about grams or percentages, just stick with complex carbs. I found that I can't go too low because I get hypoglycemia even with eating all complex carbs. I have a hard time eating veggies so I've got to eat grains to keep my fiber up. 50 grams seems to be too little, I feel better around 80 - 100 grams. Plus I'm exercising like a beast and I've got to have me some carbs!

Not me. I'm puke-averse! I'll muster all my strength to not barf because it does a number on me. My throat hurts, my face swells up, I pop blood vessels. I'll even get a nose bleed. I think I've vomited twice in the last thirty years since I had morning sickness with my son. So no, I haven't but I wanted to a couple of times. My tummy hates bacon, my beloved bacon. And my chewable vitamins make me feel like I'm going to die if I don't take them on a full stomach.

You had major surgery 2 weeks ago and you are subsisting on very few calories. Your body needs time to heal and get used to the new normal. As long as you are getting all your requirements, plus walking every day, I say give in to it and get some rest. Good luck!

I've never been diabetic but I'm prone to low blood sugar when working out. I'm four weeks post-op and started going to the gym. Yesterday was cycling and today was kickboxing and I had the shakes and light headedness pretty bad both times. Yesterday, I drank a 1/2 cup of juice. It worked but not happy with all the sugar and it just creates a blood sugar spike. I'm looking for something that works fast but isn't a refined carbohydrate. Today I ate a Tbl of Peanut Butter and three saltine crackers. Worked fast, but still not ideal. Any ideas?

@@Dub, my parents bred Miniature Schnauzers when I was a kid. They are the smallest watchdogs I've ever seen. We had open horse stalls behind our house and they were always hunting and killing snakes!

So it's not suppose to feel like food is in my esophagus? Maybe hiccuping is the wrong stop-eating cue? If I sit up very straight maybe I can fit another bite in . . . Here's my vigilant food vacuum:

My team allows coffee right after surgery and I can count it as fluid. It was very bitter the first week, but now I look forward to it every morning. I used to drink three cups but now just one satisfies me.

It's so frustrating that the two things I MUST have, water and protein, are the hardest. I ate cheesecake and mac and cheese yesterday. It was so easy. Fortunately, I felt a little sick after a few bites of the CC. im only four weeks out, and I'm horrified at the realization that I had 80% of my HEALTHY stomach removed, yet it won't make a difference if I don't get a mental handle on this. Im still plenty restricted but it's getting easier every day. I'm looking for a therapist this week.

No bun. Now I get it. I'm four weeks out and taking notes!

When you don't know if you're hungry, full or have gas.

Yeah, but how much of that cheeseburger did you get down?

Congratulations Big Bird, losing 250lbs on your own is an amazing accomplishment! Plus you set yourself up for a great recovery. The exploitative nature of the show is another reason I can't stomach it. On the other hand, I watched one episode of the fat doc last night. It was educational, inspirational and brought me to tears a couple of times. I can't wait to watch more!

What does "back to normal" mean? Eating solid foods? I'm eating solid right now and can only do about 1 to 2 oz at a time. A cup of food per meal? I'm not even close.

4 weeks out. liquids (except water) go down very well, like 10oz at a time. I can easily put away 4-6oz of pureed - especially yogurt. Soft and solid food isn't going well. eggs, about an ounce at a time and I tried Cod last night - maybe 2 tablespoons. Please tell me this gets better soon. I'm so frustrated with eating, I just want to stay in the pureed stage. I know I need to progress, so will it just happen naturally if I just stick with it? I'm not getting sick, just very full very fast.