As soon as I wake, I MUST have water- problem is, if I am going to have a "solid" Breakfast, I simply don't have the time to wait so I go for a Protein shake or Soup in the morning.

I also find myself unable to resist coffee in the morning- my husband drinks it, and I love it (black, no cream or sugar).

What is everyones take on substituting what should be a "solid" meal with something that is healthy but truthfully a liquid?

I don't find myself uncontrollably hungry 2 hours later, but I've heard that allowing yourself to "fill up" on fluids it potentially going to stretch out the sleeve. I'd like to call BS on that one, but I don't know enough to say for sure. All I know is I'm far happier having my coffee, Protein Shake, and Water in the morning vs. eating eggs and no fluids.

I also work out immediately after I leave the house, and I think I'd die if I didn't get water in!

You can't fill up or stretch your sleeve on fluids...they go right through the pylorus valve into your small intestine. I have coffee each morning about 7:30 as I have never been a big "eat right after you get up" person, even when I was fat. I eat "breakfast" about 10 and have no problems hitting my protein target for the day. I say do what works for you as long as you are keeping to the protein requirements.

I think it's semantics, myself. You need something in you to fuel the workout, and a Protein shake is probably a good way for you to combine the fuel and some liquid. Do you get your full protein and Water requirements every day? If so, then you are doing fine.

I don't drink many Protein shakes these days myself, but I start on water early in the day. I don't eat "breakfast" until 11 or so either. I just can't handle the thought of food that early. If I'm working out that day, it's usually mid-afternoon, so I try to eat my biggest meal close to that time and give it half an hour before I work out, so I can drink water while I'm on the bike or treadmill.

I usually "hit the ground running" most mornings. If it weren't for protein shakes, there's no way I'd get all of my protein in most days. I usually drink my shake from about 8am to 10am, and it always keeps me full until lunchtime. I've been doing this for several months now, and I'm pretty certain it hasn't hurt my sleeve because I still am still only eating about 2oz of solid food at a time.

To reiterate many posts, you cannot stretch out your sleeve. You can call BS on that one.

I start each morning with Water and Protein shake. After waking and after workouts are the two best times for your body to absorb protein. You body will use it best then.

Grab a cup of coffee, a protein shake and a hard boiled egg and head out for the day. Eat the egg half an hour after you finish your beverages.

The thing you have to remember is the reason for not drinking is it can be too easy to overeat. You won't feel the restriction as the pyloric valve will open and empty everything into the intestines. The sleeve is a tool. Use it wisely and you can eat and drink at the same time. Just don't do it so you can eat the whole burrito.

When I was preparing for the 5K I ran, I drank while eating Pasta the night before because I knew I couldn't get the amount of carbs into my body before the race. I was able to eat a lot (relatively) It worked for me for a purpose.

I think too many people can get their heads spun around too many rumours of what they should be doing. It can be confusing, for sure, but what I fall back on is, "If I eat like a normal person, I'll be fine." It is when I eat for the wrong reasons or I am not 100% honest with myself or motivations that I get into trouble.

Great post PDXman!

Great for you on the running- coming from where you were to where you are now is no small achievement.

I feel the Protein shake in the morning is important, because I do do cardio and light resistance first thing, and morning (to my knowledge) is the best time to get your higher caloric "meal" in.

The stretching theory I heard was that part of the reason you are not supposed to combine food + fluids is that it can stretch out your sleeve long term.

This does not make sense to me because at proper portions food on it's own will not stretch it out permanently on it's own, and Water will not stretch it out on it's own..why would the combo somehow result in genuine damage? I hope it's not true, as I'm admittedly not always perfect about avoiding fluids for an hour before/after eating.

I asked my Dr specifically about stretching my sleeve and he laughed and said no. It would be near impossible to stretch it and it was utterly ridiculous to think it could ever be stretched out to the size it was before. In its previous state, pre-surgery, yes, the stomach could distend because there was stretchy material there. 85% of the stomach has now been removed. %15 remaining, most of which is not the stretchy material. So, he said, yes, after the swelling goes down, the stomach will size to the size it is going to be. To stretch it like I was asking would take a long strenuous effort which he just didn't believe was realistically possible to maintain.

He told me not to worry about it, so I am not going to. I don't think anyone else should either, but it is on the forefront of everyone's mind. Makes me crazy.

Makes me think of golf. You worry so much about putting the ball into the Water that you end up driving the ball right into the middle of the pond instead of walking up to the ball and hitting it like you know you are supposed to ... like you have been trained to do. I know I had difficulty not hitting the ball into the middle of the pond pre-surgery with my food choices, but now with this new tool, I can just relax and take the shot! I don't always put it on the green, and it has gone into the water, but far less than it did pre-surgery.

I think it helps me enjoy life with my new sleeve instead of having my head spinning all around.

@PdxMan, I love your attitude. Very refreshing! We all get so wound up about minor stuff that we forget to relax and just enjoy our life with our new tool.

I think you have a great outlook on it PDXman, I really think sometimes we get caught up worrying about things people say too much to enjoy the fact that we are no longer capable of overeating.

I am so happy with my sleeve. I was able to enjoy two small hor dourves and get full at my Christmas party for work last night, I took off my jacket and everyone went "damn!" when they saw me in my (size SMALL!) new dress. No one knows I have a sleeve and thats the great thing- it just seems like I've cut my portions down. I'm not forced to avoid certain foods, and I'm 138 lbs. I haven't been 138 lbs since high school!

Wow! Size small. Nice. Congratulations.

I know what you mean about hor dourves. When I go to costco, I don't call it shopping ... it's dinner! Crazy.

Yes, I used to stress so much about my weight. I wasn't happy. So, I decided to take what I would call drastic steps ... have 85% of my stomach removed. I did this so I could take control back and not stress out so much about what I was eating. Now, I have a few rules that I have to follow: Get Protein, take Vitamins, drink Water, get carbs & exercise.

This is what I do as best I can. I eat until I feel restriction and stop. I drink until I feel restriction and stop. I exercise until I am tired and stop. If that isn't good enough, then too bad, it is the best I can do. But I am going to keep trying. Before it was easy to give up and fail. Now, it is easy to succeed. But only when I try. I can guarantee that if you don't even try, you probably won't succeed. I am trying and I am a much happier person.

I don't know what that says about me as a person. I know there are a lot of people who are perfectly happy being overweight and I applaud them. I truely do. Perhaps it is vanity, maybe not having control or a concern for my health ... but I had to get real about this and I am not going to pussyfoot around being politically correct trying not to offend someone.

Congratulations on your loss. Just keep doing the best you can do. If you can, do a little extra every once in a while. Push yourself. See where it takes you. If you don't succeed, learn from it and move on, but don't stress about it. That is not why we did this.

LET'S ENJOY OUR NEW LIFE!!!

I feel the same way! What I eat affected me emotionally every single time- I would get a tremendous sense of guilt from indulging, and I'd get a sense of accomplishment followed by a sense of deprivation when I would be "good".

The sleeve allows me to "let go" of this entirely- I am no longer capable of over overeating, I am no longer compelled to make a row of Cookies into a meal. I do not get rewarded or punished emotionally by the food I eat. The sleeve has changed my outlook altogether- if for some reason this does not work to get me to where I want to be 100%, I have done all I can to be as healthy as possible and I'm fine with that. This is a tool to get me to exactly where I can be at my best, and I'm going to use it to the best of my ability without obsessing over it.

Part of VSG was absolutely about "vanity"- most of my friends are other young women, but they were all at a healthy weight eating whatever they wanted while I was the obese friend. I saw my weight getting higher and higher with age, and I didn't want it to result in health problems. Being overweight is not something that gets better with age. It's in human nature to want to be accepted and attractive, and I don't think there's any need to apologize for that.

I was actually excited to find out my holiday party was hor dourves! Everyone else was upset it was not a sit down dinner, but I really enjoyed getting drunk off my one glass of wine and nibbling without anyone noticing I was eating far less than everyone else.

PdxMan I LOVED your last post!

I'm going to jump back on my soapbox here for a second since I am on a rant.

Actually, I think there is a rant section on the forum. I'll go post there.

You all have a great day and congratulations to all who have embraced their sleeve and are honestly trying to make it work.

Heading to the rant section.