lml32937

Congrats! if there is 1 peice of advice I can offer (taking with a grain of salt of course) don't get yourself worked up or obsess on fixating on a specific weight you want to be at this time. From personal experience- Your surgeon knows what's best for you and your body type- You cannot go by the charts in doctor's offices.. Take 1 day at a time and take into consideration all of the inches, healthier choices you are making, smaller clothes, NSV's (non scale victories) etc. I did not set out with a certain poundage in mind- NEVER owned a scale until after my procedure and am very happy with my results. I have surpassed my surgeon's goal for 1st year out and am continuing to loose and feel so much better about it, my other goals and where I want to be in a year, 2, 3 etc... Good luck! you wont regret it!!

My surgery was on a Friday- by the time I came home on Sunday- I was on my side- I had my drain out that Weds and Weds night I was on my stomach and havent "turned back" since.. lol.

This is 1 of the processed foods I indulge in since becomming a vegetarian. I buy the little easy macs (small cups) it will last me at least 3-4 sittings and by that time I'm over the craving- I can only eat 3-4 bites and then I'm done- Pasta does not sit well in my sleeve.

I tried to put CHEX into my magic bullet then a little bit of milk to make it "mushy" it was really gross... BUT I did it--

Liquid diet does not only mean shakes, YOu can do jello, jello water, soup, broth, shakes, water, juices (no sugar or juice your own fresh fruit) some even allow yogurt. It is 2 fold- 1 to get a jumpstart to your weight loss and to shrink your liver and also an indication to the doctor to see how you will adhere to the rest of the program. I know several physicians that have opted NOT to do surgery if they patient is not able to do pre op as they ordered...

I have to have an endoscopy every 5-6 years due to other medical issues in my upper esophagus unrelated to sleeve/band. I REFUSE to do the barium because it is unecessary- My doctor and GI know what they are doing and I have NEVER had a problem either pre or post sleeve with any of the endoscopies Ive had..

I am now doing great.. I had a rocky post op for about 4 mos- I had a hard time increasing from liquids to mushies and soft foods- My body took a longer time to heal. Looking back I should have done the band removal and sleeve in 2 seperate surgeries and NOW I understand why but I was stubbborn, didnt want to take time off etc and waited and did it all at once- Having said that I LOVE my new life, my sleeve - TOTALLY regret the time and effort I put into the band- My sleeve feels natural- I feel like I eat like a normal person- I have gained a greater respect for my body and what goes in it- It has completely changed my life for the better....

When my band was "deflated" as I call it- I gained about 30 lbs in the time until my sleeve date- However I lost about 18lbs pre op and have kept loosing since my sleeve- so No gaining has not been an issue for me- I do not exercise as much as I should- but I attribute my continual loosing to a strict vegetarian diet I now follow.

I eat a vegetarian "diet" now. If by diet you mean watching what I eat, counting calories etc. then NO I dont because I can eat as much or as little fruits and veggies as I want/need and still be under my physicians reccomendations on most days. I love my new lifestyle.

My body rejected the band due to auto immune problems- I never had problems with the acutal band HOWEVER after being sleeved I wish I would have NEVER had the band and just done the sleeve in it's place a loooong time ago- I Love my sleeve and wouldnt go back/trade it for anything.... Also with the band- everything got stuck and the weight loss was not consistant. WIth the sleeve- I eat whatever I want within reason of course- and dont have to worry about getting stuck, getting fills etc... it's so low maintenance...

I was only advised NO coffee 3 weeks post op- I have about 2-4 cups a week. ON off days I either have tea or a instant cappacino.... Once that is done i'm on water the rest of the day... but to drink a 4-6 oz coffee now is about 2 hours- it gets super cold before i even make a dent in it- so Ive grown accustomed to cold/iced coffee instead.

I'm almost 1 year out and YES you get drunker/buzzed faster- 1 glass of wine will do me in- 2 Jello shots will be a good buzz... Mixed drinks depends on how strong they are and I stopped drinking the frozen drinks because they are a) full of sugar and fill me up too fast- I prefer now to just drink at home because when I go out I rarely will finish the drink I get and to me that is a waste of money- at home I can make whatever size I want... I have only gotten "drunk drunk" 2 times since surgery and it wasnt fun- I needed to throw up and was afraid of doing so- it eventually came up on its own and then there is the peeing factor- with such a small tummy I swear it goes to the bladder twice as fast henceforth once you open the flood gates and go 1 time you are in for the night (for me anyway).. TMI sorry... But I reccomend to try it and see how you do- but it will DEF be WAAAY different and waay less post op than pre op... GOod luck--

I ate cold cereal with no problem during mushies and Rice Krispies were one of the better ones because they got very mushy very quickly- Although I didnt/couldnt eat a lot it was very filling. I would ask your dietician if that is acceptable on your particular doctor's plan. "You can't drink while you eat, so that's why they say no" having said this and using that logic- one would NEVER be able to eat any stew or Soup... The reference to this is drink WHILE eating... as in take a bite wash it down with liquid. NOT liquidy foods that have to be chewed..... That's like saying I'm going to mush a bananna into a Protein shake but that's a nono because I cant chew the bananna and drink the shake...

I love watermelon and LIVED off of this post op. and Now I eat it almost every day- NO problems.

I have a card and I avoid buffets like the plague- They actually disgust me now. If/when we go out- I get an appetizer NO more.

McDonalds = unsweet tea and that is ALL!!

After sleeve- Peanuts gave me very bad heart burn as did peanut butter however- Almonds and cashews are no problem neither are macadamia nuts. I eat almonds almost every day and started at about 4 mos post op- I drink almond milk exclusively. Popcorn for me is an absolute no no- my tummy does not like it at all- every time I try it I throw it up- and to be honest anything with corn has the same reaction- even corn chips- it is weird.... sad because I Love it- Even tried creamed corn and woops came right back up- so who knows.. maybe a few years from now i'll try it again... A LOT of the foods post op are trial and error- its like a baby- you dont wan to try too much in case you get a reaction (vomit, get stuck diarrhea etc..) but you wont know till you try because we are all different.

I am on several forums/blogs etc for vegetarians and vegan's alike- Including on FB as well. This particular item was on the FB page for Vegucated (the movie).

As a vegetarian I eat mostly veggies and fruits (salads) but this chart I came accross shows that there are PLENTY of alternative Protein sources that DO NOT require you to eat animal meat, dairy and the like- It was more of an FYI for previous nay-sayers... I agree the morningstar things are very good as are the boca and other brands- Great things have come to fruition on the world of vegan/vegetarianism....

There have been a few times that I had a WTF did I do moment but for the most part I don't miss it and actually now totally get nauseated looking at the amounts of food people eat when we go out and think about how much I consumed absolutely disgusts me.

True story- when I was in the hospital after my surgery I was stupidly watching the food channel- my favorite one... and they had a sandwich show on that showed a hamburger that was krispy kremes as the bun- it was the most amazing and worst thing I could have seen at the same time... I craved sandwiches too- I had a hard time and still do with bread and this may sound gross but in the beginning when I wanted something I took 2 saltines and put a peice of cheese and or meet and made like a sandwich because crackers were waaay easier to eat. Now I use whole wheat pita pockets and they are thin enough that it isnt a problem. GOod luck but your not weird- we all go through it and dream it too!!

Tonight I completed my first Yoga class!!! 1 hour and 45 minutes of amazing energy, relaxation and stretching- I even "impressed" the instructior- She assumed I would not be flexible o limber but I am very (thanks to Zumba) and I am so proud of myself.....

Rome was not built in a day and this lifestyle cannot be managed on diet alone- you need to exercise somehow- even if you walk- It should be a goal to get in at least 8-10k steps a day to have adequate caloric burn and get your metabolism reved up.. But I agree with most others.. you should be happy that you have lost what you have- you cannot compare yourself to anyone else's journey...

I LIVED off of watermelon after my surgery for both band and sleeve- It not only helped me quench my thirst but filled me up very quickly- NEver had any problems- just dont eat the seeds.. lol