orionburn

And my all time biggest gripe with forums: all the others that have no idea how a search button works, because really, no one else in the history of WLS has ever had a stall. Seriously. You're the only one ever so please post about it endlessly. Or any other question you have because there is simply no way in hell a board with 68 trillion posts could possibly have had a similar question as you. This is an oldie but goodie:

Let's see you forgot the: "What type of surgery should I have?" peeps The "How soon can I start drinking again?" booze hounds The "I posted a question and it's been three minutes and nobody replied so I'm going to post it in 26 other sub-forums." The "I've weighed myself 349,821 times today and gained 6 ounces!" scale addicts. The "Halp Im not lozing wait" title with aboslutely no info about their diet in the body of the post. And before somebody's feels get hurt this is all in good fun. We've all made retarded posts on here so have a laugh.

There are a handful of flavored teas that I will drink once in blue moon. As to regular tea I can't stand it, though. Have never been able to get myself to like it no matter what.

They'll basically give you the standard speach on what foods you should have, what to avoid, etc. Also will probably be a list of foods to avoid altogether after surgery, the stages of what foods you'll be allowed to have, protein requirements, vitamins to take, etc. Journals really are good to see exactly how many calories are in certain foods/meals. Even some "healthy" options can be loaded with calories or carbs that aren't needed. I've always loved salads, but if I pile on croutons, use regular salad dressing, and other toppings my "healthy" salad just became as bad a Big Mac meal. It's always tough to look at a food journal the first time. Just remember the chances are they've seen way worse!

My doc's office was (somewhat) okay with patients having flat diet soda after surgery but I could never understand what joy would be had with it. I was a diet Mt Dew junkie prior to surgery and I had no desire to drink it flat post-op. Giving up diet pop is about as big a victory as giving up smoking years ago. Definitely better off without it in my life.

Dude didn't even change his profile picture between accounts...lol. Forums will always draw in trolls/spammers no matter what. To be honest this site manages pretty well given how many members it has.

I think the better way to approach things is to measure out your portions and go from there. Sometimes that full feeling comes too late and then you're in for some misery. As the others said try keeping track of time. If you're someone that likes to read take a bite, put the spoon down, read X amount of pages, take a bite, repeat. There are some simple things you can do to keep a pace of sorts on how often you should eat. Or like Tipps said have a clock nearby and actually track the time. Even though I had a sleeve I think the approach should be the same. If you're comfortable eating 2 ounces of food slowly increase your portion size as your plan allows. If you don't have a kitchen scale get one. They're not that expensive and it's a good tool for learning portion sizes. You'd be surprised at the difference an ounce can make with certain foods and it takes out the guesswork.

IMO, yeah, not a good plan. It shouldn't be too hard to find some protein powder while on the road if you aren't able to pack any with you. Staying hydrated is more important. While you obviously don't want it to become a habit sacrifice getting all your protein in rather than missing your hydration goals. There are better options out there. Starkist makes some single serve flavored packets of tuna. I like to have some of those around the house because it's quick and easy to pack. Otherwise try doing things like getting a protein shake right before a flight. My other go-to healthy options are usually some beef jerky and nuts, but I realize being at 5 weeks out that likely isn't feasible for you right now. The Quest protein bars are good to have around. They never leave me feeling full, but they're easy to eat and pack a good amount of protein.

I can see doing this in the early stages because of cravings, but for it to be a regular thing...no, not normal. I mean I've done this because I tried something, starting chewing it, and then realized "nope this is gonna be a bad idea." Either due to knowing it would give me heartburn or had too much of a fried taste to it knowing I wouldn't feel good after. While I get the idea of doing it and the reasons why it's something that could easily become an issue.

I've been having a rough time with this lately. Probably because I've been in a stall for a good while now and haven't been getting to the gym like I should. Even though I've lost well over 100lbs since I started my journey I still feel that I have the exact same shape. Just less of it. I seriously need to throw out some old clothes because they're too big and the way they hang on me give me a serious case of "fat days" where I just don't feel comfortable in my clothes. It also doesn't help that I'm still in between sizes. Some XL stuff fits me perfectly, other brands it's still too small. Days like that where something doesn't fit right coupled with having that same shape makes me feel as frustrated as I did prior to surgery. Honestly glad I don't have to worry about dating anymore because I'd probably obsess about it more than I already do. I feel so much better than I did 1+ year ago, but still fighting the same demons from time to time.

The first month is pretty damned rough for a lot of us. I had complications and the first 3 weeks were, well, hell. But, I'm a year out and can say I have no regrets at all. Can I eat a small plate of food? Yes and no. You'll learn how different foods will fill you up. If I'm eating some type of slider food I can probably get 1-2 cups of food in depending on what it is. Other times it's a single cup and that's all I can manage. The next couple months are going to be a learning experience. Some things will frustrate you initially, but you will learn to work through it. Drinking will get back to normal for you. I mean I can't pound down a 44 oz diet soda like I did in the old days, but I can take a pretty decent sized gulp of water now and it doesn't bother me. It's pretty normal to have some feelings of regret, especially if you're dealing with pain and difficulty in getting anything down. Try to keep your focus on the long run. I know this phase is pretty depressing but it truly does get better. Once you get past this initial hump and then can start transitioning to regular foods you'll see things start to improve quickly with your outlook and attitude. Hang in there. This will pass.

For that reason alone the surgery was worth it. My sciatica seriously destroyed my life for the better part of 3 years. I couldn't do much of anything for half an hour at a time before I had to stop and rest. Then to lay in bed at night was near impossible to get comfortable. Every once in a blue moon I'd have a good day, but so many things got ruined because I couldn't last long enough to enjoy anything. It didn't completely cure my sciatica, but I do honestly feel that it's 95% better than what it was. Some days I still get a bit of numbness if I stand in place for too long, but outside of that it rarely bothers me like it used to.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but no surgery is going to fix head hunger. In the early stages, yes, you're experiencing actual hunger. I've said this a half million times on here, but my example is this: I can eat right before I leave work and feel super full. An hour later when I get home I feel hungry again. Why? Because it's head hunger and old (bad) habits of always eating as soon as I got home from work. No different than my old smoking habits. Got done with a meal. Had to smoke. Didn't matter if I had a smoke five minutes before dinner. I always had to have one right after. It's the habit of it and my brain telling me I "need" it even though I actually don't. Studies will show differently, but on average water in an empty stomach can pass through in 5-15 minutes. Yes, there are a host of things to take into account but the point is people act surprised when they drink and don't feel a full sensation. Grazing is one of the hardest battles to fight. That can easily lead to weight gain and slow down your progress. If you aren't doing a food journal do one. If you aren't actually measuring your food get a scale and measuring cups. The mental side to WLS is something that (IMO) isn't stressed enough to many. My doc's office did a pretty good job of prepping us for it, but it's still difficult when it actually comes time to fight back against old habits.

There's not right answer on calories. I've seen people stay too low which hinders their weight loss. I've seen some go higher but lose because they keep carbs low. It's a combination of. Most doctors say that in time your meals should be approximately 4-6 oz. Density of food matters. Early on there's no way I could ever get down 4 oz of chicken in a single meal. If it was a soft food like yogurt I could do it no problem. Slider foods are much easier to eat than a dense protein. The other rule of thumb is that your protein source should roughly be about the size of a deck of playing cards. Use a combination of a scale and measuring cups until you get comfortable with portion size. My standard go-to chicken salad recipe comes out to 1 cup equaling 6 oz. Some days I could get all 6 oz in no problem. Other days I'll eat half and be completely full.

I'll have to find the recipe my wife uses. Basically once you rice the cauliflower you can make it up like fried rice. She'll put some eggs in and a few veggies, then we serve that with chicken. It gives me my Chinese food fix and is actually good for you! This is close enough to the one she uses. If you search for it you'll fine a host of different ways to make it: https://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/cauliflower-fried-rice

Yep...agree on everything. Salads are a mainstay in my diet for the fiber. I can't think of any veggie that has given me any sort of problem since surgery. I just followed my plan as to when I could eat certain things. As Creek said try anything new in small batches and see how it goes.

Rice is something I don't enjoy a year out so I definitely would not want to do it early on. We all tend to react to foods differently, but for many of us rice is a no-go food. It doesn't sit well with me and honestly you get nothing from it. My wife got me onto riced cauliflower. It at least has the constancy of rice and if you doctor it up can taste just as good. As far as the regular stuff goes I’d avoid it.

A coccyx cushion does help. Remember that the open part goes towards the rear...which my dumb arse didn't think of for the first while! The idea is to get get rid of that pressure point on your tailbone. I went through a terrible phase of it as well and then it eventually started to go away on its own. I still get uncomfortable sitting for prolonged periods of time but don't get the tailbone pain that I used to have. Unfortunately I have no real explanation as to why/when it decided to go away. It's just one of those things that eventually does. The surgery does some weird ass stuff to your body...lol

Exactly this.

Well, for me at least, when I'm down I want nothing to do with anyone or anything. I just end up sulking around the house. What works for me is to basically make myself go to the things I don't want to do. If I don't want to leave the house then I make myself find a reason to go somewhere. To my local hobby shop, book store, pet store...whatever. I just get my ass up and out of the house. I get what you mean about doing for others and not yourself. I'm pretty lucky on the whole as far as being a step parent goes, but yeah, it seems a really thankless job from time to time and it's tough. Add to that the usual woes in life, and then pile on everything you have to go through prepping for WLS and it gets to be a heavy burden. For most of us food is a coping mechanism, especially with depression, so taking that away adds to the frustration. Kind of like the times when I'd try to quit smoking (before finally giving it up for good). Never failed that something super stressful would happen when I was ready to try, so I'd use that excuse that there's too much giong on and I can't quit right now. Can be just as difficult with food. Part of me kind of embraces my down phase. I know it's a short phase for few days and then I'll get out of my funk. Pretty much ride it out and let it pass. It's when it gets to be more than 2 or 3 days that I start forcing myself to do something to get out of the habit of shutting down so to speak. Time alone is big for me so getting out of the house if only for an hour or two to chill on my own helps a ton.

Ummm...wrong thread? Or meant for a private message?

Eh...I think we all go through that from time to time. Life wears you down. I certainly have my ups and downs and times where I just want to be left alone. I used to suffer from some pretty bad depression when I was younger so it's still natural to have some bad spells from time to time. Now it's a matter of feeling down for a day or two and then bouncing back. Not weeks to months at a time as before. I was pretty worn down through my pre-op phase. It was a long six months, and yes, doing your journals and food prepping and worrying about the next doc appointment and everything else can take its toll on you. Plus I was dealing with ungodly back/sciatica pain so I was miserable most of the time. I know it always seems like a crap answer but things do get better. For me once I came to terms that life is just going to suck from time to time and you just have to ride it out made it easier to deal with the down times. Luckily I have enough hobbies to keep my interest going and focus on something other than life in general. Plus I stay away from social media a lot more these days. Not seeing how retarded people are on a regular basis helps keep my sanity...lol

You know it's odd that I haven't thought of it much this way before, but I honestly am not sure. My tipping point for deciding on WLS was due to severe sciatica that was ruining my life. I could only walk for about 5 minutes before the pain would set in and was murder just to walk around. The weight had crept back on and I couldn't work out due to the back issues. My choice was either back surgery or get the weight off, so I went with option #2. A year out I can say yes, I would do it all over again. Having shed over 100 lbs my back is 95% better and have gotten most of my life back. I've done more in the past year than I had the previous three combined. With that being said had I not had back problems would I have gone through with WLS? I honestly don't know. I had given it thought for years and years but was afraid of the surgery, and secondly insurance wasn't covering it at the time. Since insurance was out there was no way I could consider having it done. I don't have any regrets in doing my surgery, but this is a bit tougher to answer than I thought it would be.

Yep. Head hunger is still my biggest battle that I fight. I really don't crave the bad things of old, but that habits of feeling like I need to eat (like as soon as I get home from work, late evening, etc) are still there. I was a diet soda freak before surgery. Haven't had it since so that was a big acomplishment for me. Don't really miss pasta and breads. I'll have a tiny bit every once in a blue moon but I'm actually happier without it in my diet. I eat so much chicken I fully expect to sprout feathers one of these days.