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I was sleeved on 1/20/15. To date I have lost some 48 lbs in the 11 weeks since my operation. I hope this will inspire some of you that this operation is not something that will handicap you but will actually free you to a much more enjoyable side of life. One of the things my wife and I enjoy is cruising. Pre sleeve it was all about the food and the beer. Life has changed now as my 2XL body is just now adjusting to a “lumpy” but comfortable “L” size. My eating habits have become healthier and less the big part of my day. The thing is…. I couldn’t in all fairness to my wife stop vacationing (my wife is not overweight). Veterans of 23 prior cruises over the past 16 years, I had to see if it was possible, and as soon as possible. We booked a cruise on NCL Sun out of Tampa to coincide with my transition into stage 5 (solid foods). I learned a lot this week. And I like what I learned. BTW it was the best cruise ever. No alcohol, small portions…. I had my doubts. But I stuck to the plan. It was easy and doable. Here is what I learned, how I coped, what I did, how I ate and how I did weight wise. 1. I decided on day one that everything I ate would be quality….no bread or Pasta. I ate steak, shrimp, chicken or pork for lunch or dinner, no sandwiches , no sweets… I want to emphasize that there are and to my surprise always were good options on every buffet…..especially for sleevers! 2. Breakfast everyday was eggs, cottage cheese (yes the had it) and if I had room a little yogurt. After which we sent for coffee from room service to enjoy later on the balcony. 3. My day started on deck six everyday with my wife ….which has an open air walking track (on most boats ) for 8 to 10,000 steps….about an hour of leisurely walking. By day 3 I was actually jogging small stretches of the track. 4. Dinner every night was a small bite of an appetizer or a few bites of salad and about half the portion of meat. No dessert, instead I would treat myself to a single espresso after my wife finished her dessert 5. I drank ice Water, skim milk and occasionally made myself an ice coffee in my waterbottle everyday. 6. I drank no….yes zero alcohol!!! It did not bother me a bit. My wife did drink and I got all the exercise going to the bar for her….lol 7. At night we took in as much of the activities and shows as possible. 8. Late night occasionally we would get a small bite at the late night buffet. Most nights. 9. I challenged myself to do a shore tour ( I never liked doing things because of my weight ) We did cave tubing in Belize and snorkeling in Roatan Honduras. Which is “not” like me. 10. I think the toughest thing on the cruise is the looks the waiters give you when you don’t finish your meal….I got a lot of…. “you no like? I bring you something else?” I gave a simple “I’m fine…it was delicious!” which works everytime. 11. I think my smartest idea was though to bring a nice water bottle… it was very handy. 12. I bought a new T-shirt in every port in my new size “L” That was a great feeling. So what was the end result? I was never hungry, slept great, ate some tasty things, met a goal of at least 10k steps every day and still lost 3.2 lbs. It was the first cruise that I actually fit in the clothes that I came on the boat in. I hope this blog encourages you to get out there……but you have to follow the plan and be strong enough to stick to it. It wasn’t hard at all. LOVING MY SLEEVED LIFE John M

Oikos blended Greek nonfat yogurt triple zero has 15 grams of protein and yummy

I started one week after surgery. the first thing I had was about an ounce of pureed chix, Beans & potato with a dot of applesauce. Then yogurts, hummus, cottage cheese, ricotta bake, etc

It's not so much about the quantity of food you are eating as it is about WHAT you are eating. If you are eating 6 oz. of chicken breast three times a day, that's a lot different than eating 6 oz. of say... Pasta and potato chips three times a day. I personally still can't eat 6 oz. of anything solid at one time. I can do 5 oz. of yogurt because it's so liquidy. But I can't do more than 4 oz. of meat at a time. Anyway, weight loss is still all about calories in versus calories out, even post WLS. If the foods you are eating are calorie-dense, then you can gain weight or stall even if you still aren't eating very much. Make sure you are putting Protein first. Strive more for the 80 gram end of your current range. My nutritionist has me on 100 grams a day, but I get more exercise than you.

Only take 20 minutes to eat and put your spoon down between bites. Its sounds to me that you are eating too much. Are you getting enough Protein? How are your calories? I am only 2 weeks out and just starting on yogurt. I know I could eat a whole container, but I start to feel different about half way through, so I stop eating. Eat slowly and listen to your body.

I do greek yogurt, blueberries & spenich & a little liquid (protein shake, skim milk, water) blend it up in my ninja. You can add any kind of fruit to greek yogurt & I always put something green in them too. Just mix it up till you find combos you like.

I need some advice on weight loss, my surgery was December 4th 2014 and I have lost 50 pounds. For the past 2 months I have stalled at 180. Initially, when I was losing weight almost every other day, my diet consisted of 3 ounces of food 3 times a day, my diet now consists of four to six ounces of food 3 times a day with fruit infused Water. I had a hysterectomy March 6 so I'm not doing anything other than walking around the house and going up a flight of stairs a few times a day. I am wondering, should I go back to three to four ounces of food 3 times a day with my fruit infused water? I know stalls are normal but is it normal to stall for such a length of time? I think it would be a little difficult for the body to survive on what I did initially which was 3 ounces 3 times a day. But I think I need to do something any advice? I get around a hundred ounces of water per day, and my carbohydrate level is 45 grams and below. I am insulin resistant so my carbos have to remain low, my Protein is high, anywhere between 60 and 80 per day. Sometimes I wonder if I'm eating too much, if I eat yogurt or carbohydrate food I could get in 6 ounces and if I'm not paying attention or measure I probably just a few times since December 4th have gotten over six ounces, if I do pure protein like chicken I definitely can get 6 ounces in. Any advice? Should i re shrink my sleeve? Iam taking a multi-Vitamin, and two Calcium chews per day. Thank you in advance!!! :-) Thanks

I have like yogurt applesauce jello, it stills makes me feel nausea, I am 3 wks post op

Hi all! We are all hitting the 5 month point this month. Wow, how time flies! I've been doing well - weight loss has been very slow at times but then I went through a inexplicable time where I lost almost 12 lbs in 2 weeks after only losing 10 lbs total in the two months before. Then another 2 week stall. So, I just keep on doing what I am supposed to and hope the weight keeps coming off, even though it is more by "fits & starts" than any steady rate. The best part is that I overnight dropped from a 3x in plus sizes to an XL in ladies, which thrills me to no end! I had to haul a ton of clothes to Goodwill and go buy something that wouldn't fall off! I am also very happy that I don't seem to have any issues with any particular foods anymore. It was rough the first couple of months and I worried that I would never be able to eat meat, yogurt, cottage cheese, and a dozen other things. Now everything seems to go down fine, but that's also a bad thing or it could be. So far, I am still working very hard to eat healthy but I do understand I will have the potential to fall off the wagon if I don't make healthy my highest priority for the rest of my life. So, I am working NOW on any issues I have with food that could lead me to bad habits again. One of them in the past was the whole "all or nothing" mentality - that anything that tasted good had to be BAD and therefore I either would avoid it completely and feel deprived or I would eat it like it was my last time ever to have it on earth! Now, I am trying to find a really good balance of moderation that I can live with. My husband's birthday was this week and birthday cake always was a huge temptation for me in the past but I was very happy with a teeny sliver of it so I got a taste. I was pleased that I didn't have to deprive myself and feel resentful or eat a huge chunk and feel guilty - that there as a place in between that was healthy and satisfying and where I could feel really good about myself.

I think you are doing fine. I probably could eat more calories, but since I have quite a ways to go, my nutritionist and I agreed to keep my calories low. I don't however eat diet food of any kind. The closest I get is 0%Greek yogurt. Otherwise, cream, butter, etc.... are all eaten in moderation. You work out also sounds pretty good. You are getting your heart rate up and it sounds like you are working out at least 30 minutes a day. Part of this is learning our bodies and how it responds to the changes in diet and exercise we are making. Once you figure that out, the weight loss will happen.

I've wondered that myself. I've adventures with a few bites if turkey and a little stuffing with gravy. I have to eat very slowly and chew the heck out of everything, but so far I am able to eat everything I've tried. I cannot stand the sight, smell or taste of any of the protein drinks anymore so have to get some protein in somehow. Doing ok with the cream of wheat and yogurt though but I have been eating about one real mean (saucer sized) per day. Am still losing at a reasonable rate so I'm feeling ok. Just guilty about not following orders lol.

Just wanted to post an alternate experience, though I'm still relatively "young" in this process. I could eat a lot of food early on - within 3 weeks I could easily eat 1000 cals - and that of healthy foods (who knows what damage I could have done with cookie dough!). The folks who could only eat 1/4 cup or 500 calories for months on end completely befuddled me. I felt like I was a total outlier. I am now about 11 weeks out and I get around 800-900 calories per day, though it would be very easy to eat more, I can tell you. I do Protein first. Lots of Water. Low carbs, less than 50, usually closer to 30, and then only with what comes with yogurt, veggies, nuts, etc. No bread, Pasta, rice, flour, sugar, etc. Strawberries are the only fruit I eat at present. I try not to eat processed foods and I do eat a lot of healthy fat - full fat yogurt, macadamia nuts, avocado, cream, butter, mayo, etc, which I know not everyone does. I had a stall early on, but I started losing pretty well after the first month, slowly but surely. For the past 3 weeks though I've been losing like crazy and I can't figure out what the difference is. In any case, like one of the posters said, I think there's some trial and error involved, but I'm in general agreement that carbs make me hungrier and I try to stay away from most of them, esp simple ones.

Hi All! I'm checking in. I'll be two-weeks post-op tomorrow. I'm struggling a little with getting in water and protein. The past few days, I feel like I can only get in around three bites and boom, I'm full. I really don't want to get dehydrated so I always have a bottle of water or Isopure in my hand. I don't see the doctor again until 4/15 when I'll begin some meats and soft foods. My diet consists of Water, Isopure, a little yogurt, some scrambled eggs, and some baked ricotta for supper. I feel like I'm not getting enough of anything, really. But overall, I feel good, I'm not in a lot of pain. Today is my first day back to work and I'm taking it easy with a half-day. I feel like things use more energy now!

@@LisaDomalewski i love my Fage 0% plain greek yogurt 18 gr Protein 100 calories!!! i ate about 4-6 oz early out don't really remember how long it took to eat it was definately slow "later" you can mix it with 1/2 dozen fresh blueberries yummy i bought/used baby spoons put yogurt on little spoon then put my spoon down for a minute using small utensils (and plates) "makes"/help you eat slower not a bad idea at this early stage, and later too good luck kathy

hijack alert, hijack alert!! @@BLERDgirl did you eat the yogurt while you were watching the Biggest Loser, or my 600 lb life?? (couldn't resist ) sorry guys took an extra silly pill this morning instead of my vitamins!! ok, back to our regularly scheduled "program" kathy

I would slow the eating down, chew more thoroughly thinking this bite will stay down. Cause after 10 weeks, and it being Easter & having not eaten much.....I was excited for a meal other than yogurt. It's been a frustrating 10 weeks. I want to eat! I want something to stay down & not have pain.

hello, everyone! I go for my 6 week check up tomorrow. I think I'm down about 30 lbs? We will see tomorrow. Coming back to work really helped with speeding up my weight loss.I came back last week and I lost probably 5 lbs in just five days. My question to all of you is some suggestions to vary my diet up.. I feel like I am stuck eating the same things for my "snacks"... greek yogurt or cottage cheese. I typically have a smoothie for breakfast, lean turkey or chicken with veggies for lunch and about the same for dinner. I'm not worried about my meals, but the yogurt and cottage cheese is getting so old.... It's how I get in additional protein so I can't really have veggies or fruit.... Any advise? What are you guys doing?

I need this. Finding head hunger is at times out of control and I really want the last 10 lbs to come off. I admit to rarely hitting my Fluid goals but then my program always just says minimum of 48 oz per day. I hit that usually but can not seem to get more than around 50 or 55 oz. Sleeve still doesn't tolerate fluids too well. So it's just shake, Water til 1st fluid goal, yogurt, more water til 2nd fluid goal, Protein and then protein? I'm down.

How much yogurt could you eat on your full liquids phase? I am not sure how much or how long it should take. HELP

I was told to always weigh out my food..I am 3 weeks out and now on pure Protein...no carbs, no fruit no veggies, no grains. meats, no more than 2 oz eaten slowly at a rate of one oz per ten minutes..yogurts...4-6 oz and no add ins....soup 1/2-3/4 cup only....eggs- one only...cheese , one oz...peanut or nut butter...one tablespoon. Most of the time I can not finish any of these. Sounds like you are taking in way too much so soon...I would call your nutritionist for advice.

Maybe we could share what we eat., and what is sabotaging us. I live alone, so it's really hard for me to force myself to cook just for me. I need to cook a bunch of chicken or something that I could eat for more than one meal. I eat a lot of Greek yogurt, sometimes ham around a pickle. dinner there always seems to be to go boxes in my fridge. It's at night that I start with all the grazing. 100 calorie pack of almonds, a Carb Smart fudgesicle. I think they're 100 calories too. Sometimes a tangerine if I have any. It's non stop in my brain "what can I eat?" after about 7pm. I don't know why. I wish they could operate on my brain like they did my sleeve.

MOM worked tonight, I took 60ml And actually give me diarrhea so I should be good for awhile. I hope this is not going to be for the rest on my life. My only 3 weeks out surgery and I'm assuming is because Yogurt and cottage cheese.

Ok everyone. I am 18 days post op. I am in the mushy food stage. I am getting concerned because i read on here about ppl only being able to eat 3 tablespoons. That has never been my case. I was eating 1/4 cup jello day after surgery. Today for lunch i had a cup of chili and a side of mashed potatoes. No problem. For dinner 1 cup of Greek yogurt and some mixed fruit. Now I'm not hungry. Ever. And i do feel pain if i eat anything too dense. But during this stage is of normal? If it's s creamy smooth soup i can put down 1-2 cups. My friend who did this 2 months before me said the stricture won't kick in until I'm on full good. Is that correct?

The struggle was hard today. B 3 bites of Yogurt L 1/2 a bottle of Premier shake D 2oz of chicken broth S 1/2 a container of SF chocolate pudding 21 oz of Water. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Today was an emotional struggle, but Thanks to x0CheekzVSG, she helped me get past my blues. Today I had: -3 baby spoon full of Yogurt. (It felt like a ton of bricks each time I swallowed, so I stopped. -1/2 of a Premier shake -1/2 of a SF chocolate pudding - 2 oz of chicken broth - And I was able to get 21 oz Water. Ooh and I'm excited to say I went pottied twice today. Now if only I can do #2 soon. :-)