My surgery was on Nov. 8, 2010. I had to attend all kinds of classes prior to surgery to learn how to live with the sleeve. Although the classes were basically geared for the full bypass, I still feel like I'm getting away with murder. I can basically eat anything. I do take smaller bites, especially with red meat. But the chew, chew, chew thing just doesn't apply to me. I don't have to sip, sip, sip. My portions are a lot smaller, but I don't see all the drastic life style changes I was taught about. Is it just me?

I'm finding that the plication hasn't had too much impact on me either (I can eat a lot more than I thought I'd be able to).

Surgery 12/6/10 has pretty much decimated my appetite and I find that stuff I want or think I want tastes good for maybe 2 bites and I have to force the rest of it down. I'm having a tough time getting more than 600 calories in and not quite enough Protein. I hope it will be SOME better in days and weeks to come.

To answer your question, the sleeve is more of a physical restriction than a dietary one, if you can tolerate it you can eat it. It's still advised to go for more protein and less carbs though as this tends to help lose weight. The chewing is really necessary as we now have a limited stomach capacity for acid to help break down the food before it enters our gut. It also helps us to eat more slowly so we feel full sooner and NOT overeat.

If you are still loosing weight then you are a success, however if you are "eating around the sleeve", that is eating too often with too many calories then it s most likely YOU are failing the sleeve, not the sleeve failing you.

I wish you the best.