NtvTxn

I've had good luck with Wendy's chili, as long as I take small bites and chew a lot. I've finished about 1/3 of a small in one sitting. Enjoy!

A third of wendys chili??? I cannot wait until I find a satisfying portion Being that size, So hard to believe the yall r full of this little bit of food... Can't wait I hope the surgery helps me

Refrained Beans (fat free) are on my list...I just had mashed potatoes with a shake of Mrs Dash that tasted like Heaven!!! Can u tell I just started soft foods today?!!!

This is hard. Was it fear of surgery or fear of weight loss (and food-love loss) that made this decision? Keep talking to us. We'll help if we can.

I do the same. I've lost 90, but I look "the same" in my head. Aren't heads funny?

Wow, 54lbs, that's awesome! I cant see how you don't see changes after 54lbs? Maybe take some pics and compare them with pics before the surgery. Seeing pics should show you the differences. Are people commenting on your loss? If they are then you have changed but your brain must be foggy and still seeing the "old" you in the mirror. Maybe its just hard for you to accept the changes. I don't know how I will feel after surgery when the weight is coming off. I am so used to being heavy I probably will still feel like a heavy person too!

So far I have lost 54 pounds and couldn't be happier. But I don't see the difference and I am still buying the same size I wore before surgery. It looks too big for me but its my security blanket. Not sure if that made sense lol. I hope my brain catches up quick so I can truly enjoy this.

first off, congrats on 54lbs! that's wonderful! you must be feeling so good! but in regards to seeing a change ourselves, my best friend actually has lost about 60lbs in the last year and finally i couldn't take staring at her baggy jeans and i was like "kayla, you need to buy smaller jeans, you look like you're homeless". a lot of the times we don't notice the changes, it takes another persons perspective. maybe go into a store and try on different sizes and see which one you are most comfortable in? try thrift stores and consignment shops too so you're not spending a ton of money on clothes just to go down a size again in a couple of months. just don't look like you're homeless! haha.

congratulations!!! Do NOT poo poo 5 pounds. Celebrate every pound, not everyone will reach goal as fast as I did, we are all different and I really was very rigid with myself!! In my very humble opinion, changing behaviors, mindful eating.....planning what we'll eat and not just eat on the fly. Logging, weighing ourselves and our food, none of it is too time consuming and it all keeps me aware of how far I've come and I don't ever want to get complacent or forget what it was like yo yo dieting and failing for about 30 years! You can do this, it IS possible, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd weigh in the low - mid 140's. I definitely underestimated what can be done with our new little tummy!!!!
Like I said, Celebrate each pound, each non scale victory. My favorite one is waking up and realizing I have a collar bone!!!!
Good luck and feel free to ask me anything!

If you're two months out, you are slowly but surely incorporating regular foods into your diet. My 'go to' foods back then, and to some extent, now, over three years later are:
* eggs
* 1% cottage cheese
* canned tuna in Water
* deli lunch meat
* bagged frozen shrimp
That said, I ate nothing that I didn't deem "good for me" - no bread, Pasta or rice. Nothing sweet or fried. fruit, my dietitian said to consider it a 'treat', only a couple of times a week. I would eat a third of a small banana or about a fourth of a small peach, every so often, very seldom. My caloric intake was low, a couple of months out, maybe 400 calories and could eat a little more each month, therefore my calories went up. Month six, when I hit goal, I was getting between 700 and 800, never more than 800 calories. I maintain at 1300 per day.
I like grilled chicken, pork chops, hamburger and steak, but inside, I will cook chicken, lean pork chops or round steak in a can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom or cream of chicken Soup. (and a can of water) You have 'gravy' and cooking it in the Soup, makes the meat softer, easier to eat. I weigh and/or measure EVERYTHING. I know how much I can hold and I make sure to try and under eat my sleeve. It's good for weight loss and good to ensure not eating 'one bite too many' and being uncomfortable.
I will have a bite or two of a veggie, and try and include cottage cheese, as a side, for dinner most nights. Many times I will eat cottage cheese for Breakfast. I call it the REAL Breakfast of champions!!!
I hope some of this helps!!! Good luck and welcome to the loser's bench!!!!

Keep in mind, your gut has a staple line in it. There is this progressive diet for a reason. Be very careful, besides, from day one, we need to put into affect, lifestyle changes, self control, make wise choices. A couple of months ago we made home made pizza. Several years ago we'd have eaten the entire thing. I ate 1.5 thin pieces, my husband ate three and a half, the other three went into baggies for 'later'. I put them in the frig and then decided that I DID NOT NEED or WANT to eat pizza again that week.
I did the 'recipe' in MFP and realized how much cheese was on there and even though it was 2% mozzarella, it was still HIGH in calories. Sooooo, I did something that I have never done in my life, I got the pizza out of the refrigerator and threw it in the trash.
You may not understand a non-scale victory yet, but you will at some point realize what a big deal this is!!!!! I have never felt so in control. This would not have happened prior to surgery, it makes it easier for me to make wiser choices if I need or want to!!! Even at three years out, I still have new and exciting things happening!
The point is, be careful, leaks are more common the first five or six weeks, hence the different stages. Now the real work begins, the doctor did his job, now it's your turn. There is no end date, this is forever! You have a new normal, and it's great, it's life altering. You will not believe how different your life will be a year from now!!! Good luck!

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

Thanks so much! I started st 253 and am at 196 right now. I'm almost the same height and was just curious to see if it was even possible for me to reach goal that early. I'm 3 months and 3 weeks out and my weight loss has slowed considerably this month ( I've only lost 5 pounds in three weeks). I eat between 700-800 calories, 80-90 grams of Protein and less than 50 grams of carbs. I log everything I eat on MFP. . I have the same philosophy as you do about exercise. I only want to do what is sustainable for life. Any advice?

I haven't be sleeved yet, but I must say this is the most influential, inspiring thread I've read.

For me, it doesn't feel like "white knuckling" anymore...anytime I used to diet, I felt hungry all the time, and it was perpetually frustrating.
Now, when I'm hungry, I eat! And since it's only a small amount of food, my total food intake for the day stays very low. But when I eat, it feels extremely satisfying, even though it's much less food than I used to eat per meal. So for me, the biggest difference is that this doesn't feel like "white knuckling" anymore.

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

I have a seafood fork that I eat with when I'm at home. I have several, I should carry one with me!! I also eat off a smaller plate, either a salad plate or a bread 'n butter plate. You'll eat sooooo little in the beginning, even the smaller plates will look empty, but a year, eighteen months out, it will look 'full' or more full. It's like tricking your mind. It is weird, at three+ years, I will some times ask my husband, "did i eat a lot?" My little plate will look full.

Yes! I bought baby spoons and also a electric coffee cup warmer to keep soups/food warm, it works great!

I, too, use baby spoons still and I'm already 7 weeks out. I find that if I don't, I sometimes hurry WAY too much (busy life, and all that) and find myself in pain by the end of the meal. Baby spoons both regulate and remind me to slow down, take it easy, and enjoy each bite.

I've been using what we used to call "iced tea spoons." They're a bit smaller than a regular spoon & have a longer handle. I have some others that are even smaller. Considering I used to use the big tablespoons to eat, it's a big difference. It probably takes me 15 minutes or more to eat what I used to eat in one spoonful!

Ok.. Day #5 of my pre op diet... This may sound a bit silly, but I've started using one of my daughters toddler spoons for my broth/Greek yogurt/sf Jello. It makes me eat slower and obviously take smaller bites. Just an idea I thought I'd share

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

Thanks for starting this thread & also for all the great replies. Off the top of my head, I was thinking about that hormone or neurotransmitter, Gherelin? It is produced in one area of the stomach and is essentially removed from the equation once that section of your stomach is removed. This was an added benefit and a surprise to doctors after the fact. It's my understanding that Gherelin levels are high in people with obesity because it sends hunger signals to the brain. So chemically and physiologically, we should be less hungry... Having my surgery on October 15th... Excited for my future and wish the best for you regarding yours!

Pookeyism has pretty much said it all in her post. Everyone has a "why". Why did I do it? Why couldn't I do it on my own? I am not sleeved, yet. And that being said I have no long term advice I can give. But I can give you what my heart believes. The sleeve makes it possible. If it were possible to a healthy weight without the sleeve, then all of us who have been here would not be. Obesity is not a choice anyone wants. I truly believe the sleeve, as a tool, makes us stay true to what needs to be. Weight loss is just as much of a mental battle as it is a physical one. I feel the sleeve gives you a break on the physical fight, so that we can spend our energies on the mental one. The struggle is redefining our relationships with food. What it means in our lives. The sleeve covers the physical aspect of hunger and over indulging. We have to work on the "why" we are eating and "why" we are choosing what to eat. And as far as struggles with gaining back weight... I believe that, once a healthy weight is obtained, we are much more likely to want to keep it than let it slip. I think most people who write about struggling to keep the weight off long term mean in excess. Even naturally thin people struggle to keep off the pesky extra 10-15lbs. But people who fight obesity have never had to worry about such low amounts, it is all new. I honestly cannot imagine at this point what struggling to just lose 10lbs to be a healthy weight would be like! I think long term sleevers are describing that, not the amounts of weight we face pre op. I do not believe I will EVER be able to get as heavy as I am now once I have the sleeve. I have no intent of it. Because at the end of the day we do go through a LOT of pain, money and possible side effects to get where we need to be. It should serve as a reminder and a testament. I have surrendered myself to the fact I cannot do it alone. It is all about personal choice, and this is mine.