I haven't eaten....

[angel96049 1]

FRENCH FRIES in over 6 months...yaaaaaaa!!! They used to be my absolute favorite...mmm, especially from McDonald's! But now since my surgery, they don't sound good at all to me.

I'm not trying to be too strict on my diet, or depriving myself from anything that I want, but my hunger has simply disappeared. Nothing sounds good to me anymore, so I choke down my shakes just to make sure I have enough Protein. Even when I want to eat, or think that I should, I can't think of anything that sounds or tastes good. This is soooo crazy, I went from wanting to munch all the time, to now trying to force feed myself. I must say this sleeve really does wonders for me in that aspect.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? And if so, does it last forever? Someday I would like to enjoy the taste of my food again, just not as much as I used to, or in the massive amounts I used to!

[Mary Gordon 3]

wow.....good for you.....i tried some like about 3 weeks ago and they were good but my stomach didn't like the feeling of fried food. so i will definitely follow your plan of not eating them...........besides they are not good for us.:001_tongue:

[BJean 16]

angel that is music to my ears! I sure hope I feel that way about food after my sleeve.

Congratulations on your fabulous weight loss!!!

[lmmore 0]

The pure Protein frosty shake comes in a can (like cola), is that not allowed for medical reasons?. if they would allow that then you don't have to shake, they are premade and tast pretty good.

[youknowit 11]

I wish I had your problem... nothing sounding good. I'm happy for you! I still get pretty strong hunger sometimes, but it seems to be getting better. Overall, I do still crave the "crap" stuff no one should really be eating, and I'm not going to lie... when out with friends, I've tried a bit of stuff like a fry, etc, but I don't order it, I don't cook it, and I really don't feel like I HAVE to have it, so that's a victory for me.

I've resorted to 70 calorie packs of apple slices (w/sugar free mini-caramel), as my current go-to, or turkey Jerky. These two "snacks" are really helping me a lot.

[angel96049 1]

BJean-Thank you, and I wish you the best of luck with your upcoming surgery, keep us posted!

Immore- I've never heard of a Protein frosty shake, where can you get it? How much Protein? Have you tried it?

Youknowit- I'm so sorry to hear that you are still feeling hunger, are you on an acid reducer? I too indulge every once in awhile, I just wish it tasted better when I did!! Maybe not...because then I might do it more often...lol!! So how does that turkey Jerky taste? I have been wanting to try some.

You all are doing great with weight loss!! And BJean you will be there in no time...keep up the great work everyone! Thanks for all the support!

[Sassie 0]

I just had the PrueProtien banana Cream shake, not bad, little after taste. For me doable. I am going to try and find the chocolate, that tends to be my go to flavor. For an 11oz can it had 35g Protein 2g sugar 4g carb I think. I found it at my GNC. Make sure you drink it COLD.

I hope my tastes change I have 1 and a half weeks it surgery. So I am having the shakes for pre-op diet. The banana was kind of sweet, FYI.

[Tiffykins 672]

YAY for no french fries. They were definitely a favorite of mine pre-op, but they've lost all appeal.

I dealt with the food not tasting good, or nothing "sounding" good. I would have to say it lasted for me until the 4th or 5th month then my tastebuds went back to the way they were before surgery. Things tasted good again, I think they tasted better because I was eating slower and enjoying the food. The only solution I was able to find was to pretty much over season my food with various spices, and started really getting into cooking new recipes that challenged my tastes.

I'm still dealing with the force feeding thing since I'm trying to maintain. It's definitely hard for me to switch gears from losing to maintenance.

Congrats on your results, you're doing fabulous ! ! !

[BJean 16]

angel, thanks. I'm getting kinda freaked. Didn't sleep at all last night.

Tiffy, I know you had a really rough start. But after the 4th or 5th month mark when you got your appetite back, was it hard to make yourself stay on the diet? I think those of us who are getting ready for surgery have as one of our biggest fears, that for some reason we won't be as successful as everybody else and we'll be back to our old really stupid eating for emotional reasons thing and potentially, like with the band, only lose weight initially and not be able to get 'er done - goal wise.

[Tiffykins 672]

Tiffy, I know you had a really rough start. But after the 4th or 5th month mark when you got your appetite back, was it hard to make yourself stay on the diet? I think those of us who are getting ready for surgery have as one of our biggest fears, that for some reason we won't be as successful as everybody else and we'll be back to our old really stupid eating for emotional reasons thing and potentially, like with the band, only lose weight initially and not be able to get 'er done - goal wise.

I actually had a really difficult time adding in more calories, and more carbs because I was so strict with carbs and what I put into my body for the first 4 months. I still find it difficult to eat more Snacks, and other off the program foods. I essentially have to graze to maintain my current weight. It's a total mindtwist, and I have to make more of an effort to not overindulge. I still eat Protein first 85-90% of the time, but there are occasions where I eat veggies and carbs only. I typically make up for the lack of Protein in that meal with a protein filled snack later in the day. I have actually found that I'm eating my last "snack" past 9pm just so I can hit my target calories. It's definitely a slippery slope for me.

Foods that aren't supposed to be sleeve-friendly are completely slider foods for me. Foods that a lot of people completely avoid are the only foods that seem to help me maintain. I still have amazing restriction with only 4-5oz of dense protein with a couple of bites of veggies. For more mushy foods, I can squeeze in 8oz if I take my time eating.

[BJean 16]

Well the closer I get to my surgery date, the more petrified I become. I'm not worried about the pain from surgery. I'm not actually worried about missing any foods at all. I'm worried mostly about the first month or two. I am beginning to figure out that it is going to be a very painful process of learning what works and what doesn't and what will happen as a result of doing something that doesn't work. I have visions of lots of pain and nausea dancing in my head.

After going through all the pain of having the band I am worried that going through this is going to be just as bad and take just as long to figure out. I'd like to think that I can be smart enough going into surgery that from the first moment I begin to ingest Water or ice chips or anything, I can prevent the nausea and I can use a tiny baby spoon and prevent the spasms. Am I being totally naive? Don't worry, I can handle the truth!

What are considered "slider" foods by most people? I've noticed that some people say they can't eat anything in the morning and others say they have a harder time eating at night. You're 9 months or so out from surgery so you may have fogotten these things. Or since you had some complications, your situation might be different than what I will go through. But I appreciate any help you have for me Tiffy. You must have helped dozens and dozens of people through this by now. You are one of the very best at supporting people here. And trust me, we all thank you so very much for sticking with us as we face the very scary unknown!

[pnw218 14]

I just had the PrueProtien banana Cream shake, not bad, little after taste. For me doable. I am going to try and find the chocolate, that tends to be my go to flavor. For an 11oz can it had 35g Protein 2g sugar 4g carb I think. I found it at my GNC. Make sure you drink it COLD.

I hope my tastes change I have 1 and a half weeks it surgery. So I am having the shakes for pre-op diet. The banana was kind of sweet, FYI.

I also prefer chocolate shakes. I have used Atkins Lo-Carb shakes for a few years. (Amway) Quixtar Nutrilite Chocolate is good too. The best for Protein that I have found (without spending a fortune) is the Premier Chocolate Shakes at costco. They are 11 oz, 30 grams of Protein, 160 calories, 3 fat, 5 carbs (3 Fiber, 1 sugar). They have also been a comfort food for me. I have one almost every morning - takes about 2 hours to drink it, and sometimes another one later in the day if I won't be home for dinner.

[BJean 16]

Have you ever blended the costco Premier shakes with ice? Anything canned sounds more user friendly than the Protein Powder. I always have to worry about what I'm going to mix with my whey Protein powder. But I was told by my dietician that I can't use skim milk because of the sugars in milk. She says that it messes up the enzymes in your stomach and keeps good things from happening. Have you ever heard that? I don't mean to question her knowledge, but isn't whey protein a form of milk?

[Tiffykins 672]

Well the closer I get to my surgery date, the more petrified I become. I'm not worried about the pain from surgery. I'm not actually worried about missing any foods at all. I'm worried mostly about the first month or two. I am beginning to figure out that it is going to be a very painful process of learning what works and what doesn't and what will happen as a result of doing something that doesn't work. I have visions of lots of pain and nausea dancing in my head.

After going through all the pain of having the band I am worried that going through this is going to be just as bad and take just as long to figure out. I'd like to think that I can be smart enough going into surgery that from the first moment I begin to ingest Water or ice chips or anything, I can prevent the nausea and I can use a tiny baby spoon and prevent the spasms. Am I being totally naive? Don't worry, I can handle the truth!

What are considered "slider" foods by most people? I've noticed that some people say they can't eat anything in the morning and others say they have a harder time eating at night. You're 9 months or so out from surgery so you may have fogotten these things. Or since you had some complications, your situation might be different than what I will go through. But I appreciate any help you have for me Tiffy. You must have helped dozens and dozens of people through this by now. You are one of the very best at supporting people here. And trust me, we all thank you so very much for sticking with us as we face the very scary unknown!

First things, first, you gotta clear your mind of those negative thoughts. I truly feel like we (band to sleevesters) kind of have the learning curve beat or cheated a bit. I didn't have spasms when I ate or drank. For the first couple of weeks, when I drank, I would get the little air bubble flipping feeling, it resolved and was not painful. The only time I had any type of spasm or sleeve pain is when I ate something that my body wasn't ready for. One bite is all it takes, then I didn't try that particular thing for several weeks. It was not difficult for me to learn to drink and eat with the sleeve. I didn't get nauseated until I was put on antibiotics. It wasn't food that made me sick, it was the drugs. When I was hospitalized in July, I ordered Chinese take out and ate it for a couple of days because the hospital food, SUCKED ROYALLY. I ate on beef broccoli and chicken skewers for a few days until I got burned out. One of the nurses kindly shared his wife's homemade burritos with me. I just ate the meat, cheese, and Beans, but it was heaven compared to was being offered by the hospital cafeteria. So, for me, I didn't have a difficult time eating until I was put on meds. Then, they prescribed meds to help the nausea and everything started getting better.

Slider foods for me didn't happen until a few months ago and I was already at goal.

Slider foods for me now are chips/crackers, rice, potatoes and Pasta. Early on, these things did hurt. One bite of stovetop stuffing had me bent over at the waist, and I had to walk around for a few minutes to find comfort. Lesson learned, and didn't try it again for several months.

About the morning time eating, I hate Breakfast, I need to be awake a couple of hours before I eat. It's just how I work. I have coffee, and then I eat around 9:30-10am. I have found, just like when I had my band, that if I drink something warm, it relaxes that very muscular part of the stomach that is left. This helped tremendously early on, as we're swollen for several months post-op, and our stomachs have to get acclimated to taking in dense food again. Some people don't have this issue, but I did. I still drink warm fluids before some meals. I eat usually 6-7 meals/snacks a day now, and I often eat up until 10:30ish pm. So, I don't have a problem eating at certain times of the day, it's just I hate Breakfast, and am a slow mover in the mornings.

You'll figure it out, I promise. I'll be here for you, and I'll actually shoot you a message with my phone number, you can call or text anytime (I have unlimited texting).

[BJean 16]

OMG Tiffy, your message was so helpful it made me cry. Who me, emotional?

You know exactly how I'm feeling and you couldn't have said it better. Thank you so much. I will print your post and keep it handy for when I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong if I hit a low spot.

I've read a couple of people say that getting the sleeve was actually easier than the band surgery. I've not allowed myself to believe that it would be the case for me though and you telling me to get rid of those negative thoughts was a real wake up call! Why have I decided that I'm going to experience the worst case scenario? I'm going to focus on your very positive words and other positive posts instead of worrying about the negative possibilities. After all, I know I can actually handle any hand I'm dealt. Why not assume I'm going to get a Royal Flush?!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.