M almost four weeks out. I've lost almost 40 lbs. love the weight loss side of things but am frustrated about how slow I have to drink and eat foods. It's driving me nuts. Don't know how I can get any real protein going even when I can finally start to have some fish this Thursday. Am I just frustrated because it's been over a month since I've really chewed anything? Anyone else have this problem and get over it? Any help? Gum is okay but just wanting to bite into a burger or something.

That drinking slowly will pass... I'm two months out and I drink not morally I jus can't gulp a whole bottle of water anymore lol

M almost four weeks out. I've lost almost 40 lbs. love the weight loss side of things but am frustrated about how slow I have to drink and eat foods. It's driving me nuts. Don't know how I can get any real Protein going even when I can finally start to have some fish this Thursday. Am I just frustrated because it's been over a month since I've really chewed anything? Anyone else have this problem and get over it? Any help? Gum is okay but just wanting to bite into a burger or something.

I can viscerally relate. I'm one week out from my surgery and I keep thinking to myself, "What the hell have I done?" I feel like I'll never be able to enjoy food ever again. I'm so sick of broth and Water and those awful Protein shakes that I want to pull out my esophagus and strangle someone with it.

But I've been reading these posts as well as other message topics, and it would seem that virtually no one regrets having the sleeve. I suppose it'll be worth it in the end, but it does make me crazy when I think about it all too much. I really, really enjoyed eating. But I guess that was part of the problem...

Either way, thanks for sharing everyone. It has helped.

I can viscerally relate. I'm one week out from my surgery and I keep thinking to myself' date=' "What the hell have I done?" I feel like I'll never be able to enjoy food ever again.[/quote']

Don't worry about this my friend. I'm not even 10 weeks out and I just got through grilling some ribeyes, shrimp, ham steak and chicken sausage. Yum yum yum. I ate a very small piece of each, along with 3 shrimp and I'm stuffed. But I got plenty leftover and I love that stuff out of the fridge the next day. You will enjoy food again. Just not as much food.

That's feeling of missing food and will slowly fade away and that connection will disperse. Trust me 2months out the psychological difference will be your prude, joy and greatest asset.

So true about the mental stage... I've had to come face to face with my food issues... and I guess I never thought I had that many. It really made me depressed and now finding other ways to deal with it rather than food. I'm 3 weeks out & 27 pounds lost. My 10 year reunion is the 28th of this month, I hope to have lost more by then!!!! yay!

even still, no regrets hang in there!!

Maybe I am one of the few who never had doubts, even in the immediate time afterward. I am just a week out but I am already loving my sleeve and feeling like it is the absolute best thing I have ever done. I have had an incredible recovery, am losing weight and am full of energy. I'd do it again in a moment. Now, I AM getting a little bit tire of the food choices, but I know they will soon increase, so I am ok with that.

It's been almost four months since my surgery, and the only thing I really "hate" about it all is the ability to "not" gulp water after working out. I'm just now starting to add working out back into my life and you have to be careful. Gulping hurts, and gulping ice water hurts alot more. I think when I originally wrote this post, I was just going through some typical emotions that most people go through. I was beginning to grieve the loss of my relationship to food. Now that I can eat anything I want (mostly) again, it makes things much easier. I can enjoy food again, but I just can't get much in. I have to be much more selective, focusing on proteins first, then maybe a bite or two of something else. Thanksgiving will be tough, because I LOVE to try all the different foods, and this is really making me not even look forward to meals as much and focus more on the time between meals. I love that I don't get hungry, and instead am only eating because "it's time to eat", which makes it much easier to not slam food down, but instead make smarter choices easier to make. It's a little frustrating still to go out to eat with others and not be able to enjoy alot of food choices, because I do a lot of social eating with friends, but as my wife keeps telling me "Thin feels better than fat tastes". Keep your head up everyone! It was tough at first, but I think you'll all get through it!

...but as my wife keeps telling me "Thin feels better than fat tastes". Keep your head up everyone! It was tough at first, but I think you'll all get through it!

Yeah, I agree with your wife. Before I got the sleeve, I'd sometimes look at the food in front of me and think, "Is this worth being fat for?"

I'm only a week into the sleeve, so all I can think about is eating a huge bowl of macaroni and cheese, but I just have to keep telling myself that I'm still "in mourning" here.

I go through weeks of nothing I try working well. No kinda mexican food, not the tortillas, not fajita meat, just some of the charo beans. No ribs, No chicken cooked any way, no whole milk, it is all too rich and makes me feel sickish. It is soups most of the time, or cooked veggies, and all the tuna I can eat, even with real mayo, it does not make me sick, But anything remotely fryish makes me sickey,. But oatmeal and raisen bran with 2 or skim. When I want to eat what I used to love, it makes me sick. But I am loosing, and it is working. I never followed any of the rules, I skipped the whole clear liquid thing, and only ate mushey all the dang time. Fish Chowder is my basic favorite, no mater how you make it, it comes out great, and loads me with the protein I never seem to get enough of. I hate not being able to go have a beer and ? chips, food or anything. I can only have a beer or have dinner.

_{Honestly .... I kinda wished they hadnt taken so much of the stomach out....}

_{it's very embarassing to dine with others ....}

_{I was hoping .... to really just be "normal",....}

As far as dining with others, it gets better. As has been suggested on many threads here, as soon as my food arrives, I say that I ate a late breakfast/lunch and am really not that hungy. I immediately ask for a to-go container and put at least half of the portion in there. I eat what I am going to eat, very slowly and then pack the remaining away. Believe me ... nobody notices.

We would love to think that everyone is staring at us and as soon as we get back to the office everyone goes off to the corner and whispers, "Did you see how much food he ate? Oh my gosh, I wonder what is wrong? He must have cancer or something ..."

Well, I have a little secret for you. Nobody is talking behind your back about the portion you ate. It is all inside your head. It's not that big of a deal.

Really. Don't make it into one.

As far as dining with others' date=' it gets better. As has been suggested on many threads here, as soon as my food arrives, I say that I ate a late breakfast/lunch and am really not that hungy. I immediately ask for a to-go container and put at least half of the portion in there. I eat what I am going to eat, very slowly and then pack the remaining away. Believe me ... nobody notices.

We would love to think that everyone is staring at us and as soon as we get back to the office everyone goes off to the corner and whispers, "Did you see how much food he ate? Oh my gosh, I wonder what is wrong? He must have cancer or something ..."

Well, I have a little secret for you. Nobody is talking behind your back about the portion you ate. It is all inside your head. It's not that big of a deal.

Really. Don't make it into one.[/quote']

Well said.

19 months since surgery 210 lbs lost. I lost 175 lbs in the first year. I don't regret my choice to have the surgery. The first 4 months are feeling out and getting use to your new life in the world of food.

We would love to think that everyone is staring at us and as soon as we get back to the office everyone goes off to the corner and whispers, "Did you see how much food he ate? Oh my gosh, I wonder what is wrong? He must have cancer or something ..."

Oh well,.... just shaved my head for Cancer

Anyway ... stalls over ... weight loss is good....

But still feeling miserable ....

Started seein a shrink and I'm on wellbutrin ... seraquill .... xanax... and some other benzo... and another SSRI.... (cant remember the names of the 2 drugs)

Still no difference....

Ugh, that first month was such a b***h. I hated it! I couldn't stand pureed foods..they grossed me out. So I stuck to my protein shakes until I could get to solid food at 6 weeks and they started grossing me out, too. When I got to solid food, it made me nauseous. All I can say is thank god that's over!