I had my surgery on the 4 th of October and so far, I've lost about 20lbs. However, I ve had a really hard time following the diet directions. I haven't been eating devil dogs or anything but I was eating watermelon and mango my first week out. This week, I have just started to eat small portions of protein(ie. Chicken and fish). I don't have any appetite for protein shakes or broth and for the first three days, I only got about 16ozs of liquid in. I know that I will receive much criticism from this post and that's fine. I am trying to figure out if this will damage me later on. I need to reiterate that I am not eating bad food or drinking soda but just trying to give myself some nutrients. I feel very weak most of the time.

I had my surgery on the 4 th of October and so far, I've lost about 20lbs. However, I ve had a really hard time following the diet directions. I haven't been eating devil dogs or anything but I was eating watermelon and mango my first week out. This week, I have just started to eat small portions of protein(ie. chicken and fish). I don't have any appetite for Protein shakes or broth and for the first three days, I only got about 16ozs of liquid in. I know that I will receive much criticism from this post and that's fine. I am trying to figure out if this will damage me later on. I need to reiterate that I am not eating bad food or drinking soda but just trying to give myself some nutrients. I feel very weak most of the time.

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WOW I thought I was the only one.. I was done on 9/24/10.. I followed ALL the post-op diet for 2 weeks but went off after that. when I got my Vitamins on Tuesday I started to have more energy. I added a cup of coffee and had no acid reflux...i added carbs and still ok.. my portions are small and I eat often ( every 3-4 hours) but I feel WONDERFUL!!! I do go to the gym and drink Water..I don't eat devil dogs but I do eat FOOD.. every post op diet is different..I also lost 21 lbs since My sleeve.. BTW.. I would love a wedge of lettuce with Blue cheese... I will wait one more week.... i am almost at 4 weeks....

I'm not sure what you want us to say - clearly you're going to do whatever you want to do, if you won't even follow your doctor's directions.

I think it's good to be honest, if what you want is some advice, and helpful hints. I think if you're just posting this to see if you can rile people up, that's a totally different thing. I don't think that's what you intended, but it's really hard to tell from your post if you're asking for advice or just wanting to let everyone know what you've been doing? Anyway, congrats on your loss so far, and I'll offer some advice even if that's not what you had in mind.

My advice would be to really work on getting back to following your diet. Try first by getting in your Protein and liquids. Try to always eat protein first, sip on the liquids all day if you have to in order to get them all in. It's important to stay hydrated, and the protein will give you more energy. You can't change what you did at a week out, but it is risky to push your guidelines like that, and especially so soon out. I hope you'll get back to what your doctor recommends. I'm not surprised you feel weak if you've been having trouble with both Proteins and liquids, but I didn't feel fully back to my normal until about 4 weeks out. I was really weak still at 2-3 weeks out.

You should definitely check with your doctor as far as being concerned about possible damage. I started mushies a week earlier than I was supposed to, but not on purpose. When I went for my week follow-up, my surgeon told me that it would be okay to go ahead with that. However, I was still really nauseous most of the time so I didn't really do any eating. Maybe one or two days of trying cottage cheese and grits but because it wasn't working for me, I stopped. Also, I talked to my nutritionist who told me I should still be on full liquids, so I went back to that (so I've been doing 2 weeks of full liquids, as opposed to 2 weeks of clear and 1 of full).

I should be starting mushies on Monday, but yesterday I had less than half of a meatball. I'm sure it won't kill me, but I'm also not trying to push it for the rest of this weekend. My two pieces of advice would be 1) check with your surgeon and 2) listen to your body.

I chose to use the post-op period to really break some bad habits, and ensure success. I could have easily eaten around the sleeve, gone off program, and just "ehhhh the surgeon/nutritionist don't know what they're talking about" and eatwhatever I wanted. BUT, I trusted them to cut on me so I figured I need to trust them and let them guide me through this process since my efforts in the past obviously failed.

You can choose to take a different path, but don't be disappointed if you don't see the results you were hoping for. Don't get discouraged with stalls if you experience them, and hold yourself accountable for your choices. Essentially, it's more about what we choose to put in our mouths and our bodies that determine our success than it the mere fact you chose to have 80+% of your stomach removed so you couldn't eat large portions anymore.

I'm not saying that you will fail, but the little "honeymoon stage" doesn't last forever. Now that I'm 16 months out, I can eat triple the amounts I could at your stage, and it takes effort to steer clear of the dessert cart, and keep my hand out of the bag of chips. Because those foods are wasted calories, and nothing but junk, they're not going to do me any favors, but I sure can eat a helluva lot of them. If I didn't make changes, I could easily see a regain, I could easily suck down a 2000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to, but I chose to have surgery to live a healthy life, and not have food control me.

The post-op diet isn't there to torture you, it's there to protect your staple line, and putting things in your stomach that are not on your surgeon's approved list can prove dangerous. You're not only going off program, you could be risking a leak or other complications considering you're only 12 days out. Especially, high cellulose fruits can get lodged in your sleeve since those foods are difficult to digest.

Time to regroup. This is your golden opportunity! You have people here who have been where you are, it is time to be humble and take the surgeon/nut advice. They are initially just trying to keep you safe. The food stages were each a training ground and a confidence boost for me, where I was able to prove to myself that I could do harder things then I thought I could, and you can do. Start now. Even if long term you choose not to follow the nutritional goals for yourself the first few months you remain at risk for complications, that can be physically and financially catastrophic. Please take them seriously!

Anna

Well YES you can totally do damage by not following your surgeon's instructions and progressing on to dense foods so early out. They have their plans for a reason...mostly to protect your stomach which was just surgically altered and is trying to heal.

Know what? Tough titties that you don't have an "appetite" for protein shakes....I mean what is that? Do you WANT to cause a leak in your sleeve?

And with getting in so little fluids, do you WANT to get dehydrated and end up in the ER for IV fluids?

Why would you go through the trouble and expense of getting the surgery if you're just going to sabotage yourself so soon?

I don't understand that.

Please get your head in the game and get with the program before you hurt yourself.

I bet the reason you feel so weak (not counting the fact you just had surgery!) is that you aren't getting in enough fluids. 16 oz is NOT enough. You need to drink more. If you don't like water, drink tea.

I had my surgery on the 4 th of October and so far, I've lost about 20lbs. However, I ve had a really hard time following the diet directions. I haven't been eating devil dogs or anything but I was eating watermelon and mango my first week out. This week, I have just started to eat small portions of protein(ie. chicken and fish). I don't have any appetite for Protein shakes or broth and for the first three days, I only got about 16ozs of liquid in. I know that I will receive much criticism from this post and that's fine. I am trying to figure out if this will damage me later on. I need to reiterate that I am not eating bad food or drinking soda but just trying to give myself some nutrients. I feel very weak most of the time.

1) I found this post very ironic because last Wednesday my dietitian gave me a list of absolute no-no's that people had tried testing their program and one was watermelon. You know those almost clear seeds, the ones that have not yet become black seeds. Those can be very dangerous while still healing. Unless you used a magic bullet on the watermelon, you're probably not getting those chewed up. (This list was meant to apply to the first 30 days after surgery. Chunky Peanut Butter was on the list too. I can't imagine but someone's done it.)

2) What does the comment "don't have any appetite for protein shakes" mean? Do they make you ill? I understand it being an issue for those who say they feel sick by them but if you mean they're just are not something you desire to eat, I really do think that's a bad sign you should take note of. I think you're being told that your desires are still in full control. I am pre surgery so I can't say for sure, but I imagined this time as being one where I think of myself as still healing and, for right or wrong, as someone who is still "post op". While that may make me sound sort of sissy like, I think it might be the way to go on this one.

I'm not saying that you will fail, but the little "honeymoon stage" doesn't last forever. Now that I'm 16 months out, I can eat triple the amounts I could at your stage, and it takes effort to steer clear of the dessert cart, and keep my hand out of the bag of chips. Because those foods are wasted calories, and nothing but junk, they're not going to do me any favors, but I sure can eat a helluva lot of them. If I didn't make changes, I could easily see a regain, I could easily suck down a 2000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to, but I chose to have surgery to live a healthy life, and not have food control me.

Hey, Tiff! I'm a little nervous after reading what you said above. If you can now eat three times what you ate in the beginning then it sounds like you can eat normally now? If that's the case and doctors say that only 1% of obese people can keep their weight off...what is the advantage of having the sleeve after "it" relaxes? I'm now nervous that I might get to my goal and then fight the same battle I did last time I lost the weight and gain it alll back. I know that you are the most knowledgeable person on here and I just thought that I would never be able to eat as much as I once could. Please tell me I misunderstood...I'm feeling a little defeated already.

I'm not saying that you will fail, but the little "honeymoon stage" doesn't last forever. Now that I'm 16 months out, I can eat triple the amounts I could at your stage, and it takes effort to steer clear of the dessert cart, and keep my hand out of the bag of chips. Because those foods are wasted calories, and nothing but junk, they're not going to do me any favors, but I sure can eat a helluva lot of them. If I didn't make changes, I could easily see a regain, I could easily suck down a 2000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to, but I chose to have surgery to live a healthy life, and not have food control me.

Hey, Tiff! I'm a little nervous after reading what you said above. If you can now eat three times what you ate in the beginning then it sounds like you can eat normally now? If that's the case and doctors say that only 1% of obese people can keep their weight off...what is the advantage of having the sleeve after "it" relaxes? I'm now nervous that I might get to my goal and then fight the same battle I did last time I lost the weight and gain it alll back. I know that you are the most knowledgeable person on here and I just thought that I would never be able to eat as much as I once could. Please tell me I misunderstood...I'm feeling a little defeated already.

Triple the amounts I ate at 1 month out is simply 3-4oz of dense Protein. I, by no means, eat like a normal person, or like I did pre-op. I can eat 1 slice of thin crust pizza before surgery I could eat an entire large by myself. So, there is absolutely zero way for me to "normally" or like a "non-sleeve" person. I can eat a lot of junk food like chips, pretzels, popcorn, Cookies because those foods just slide right through, but that's true for any of the surgeries. None of the surgeries stop slider foods.

My capacity is the same today as it was at 7-8 months post-op. So, I can eat triple the amount today that I could at one month into the post op diet. I could barely eat 1-2oz of dense food at that stage and mainly stuck to mushy food to get in my protein and calories. I can now eat 1 cup of chili, back then I was lucky if I could get in 1/4 of a cup.

I'm sorry that you're having troubles. I'm not sure what to say about all of your post, but one part that I can relate to is not having an appetite for protein shakes. To me, it's like saying I don't have an appetite for (insert your least favorite food here). Protein shakes (to me) are gross, they are disgusting, hard to get down, and really just ....ew. With that being said, I'm drinking them like I'm supposed to, I'm drinking them with a gross look on my face, but I'm drinking them. You've been through so much, you've gotten this far, you can make it a few more weeks until you can have those kinds of food, you can do it, You can drink those protein shakes, you can. You won't HAVE to drink them forever, and maybe even down the road they will seem better to you. But for now, I know you can do it! You will be so proud of yourself!! And we will too

Thanks for the detail Tiff! I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach and thought maybe I wasn't going to be as successful as I originally thought I was. Thanks for all your support :-). ~Heather

As far as the watermelon goes, I'd steer clear of it. My post-op diet was pretty liberal but I wasn't allowed watermelon until well over two months post op. I too didn't have a taste for Protein shakes post op, but I kept trying until I found a Protein Drink I could tolerate. Isopure did and does the trick for me when I don't want something milky or creamy. There are other fruity type drinks and protein bullets that you can dilute if you need to. Also, try drinking plain milk when you're craving some food but don't want to go off diet. It's much more satisfying than Water and has protein.

It's not too late to get back on track and establish some good habits. To be successful you're going to have to be able to pull back from times like these. We all have days where we snack all day or eat cake or Cookies. But, you can't do that stuff for days at a time. You have to get back on track quickly and nourish your body properly. Now's a good time to start practicing that. Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

wow is all I can say. I'm 6 days out with terrible gas pains and all I've had was juice, broth and crystal light popsicles. I hope you can find away around to make a change so that you dont hurt your body. When the family is eating the foods that I cannot eat, I jsut go in the other room. It's hard but I distract myself with somethine else. Good luck to you.