Hi guys,

I'm so scared and ashamed of myself. I was sleeved December 10 and here it is December 27 and I already cheated. I am not getting my protein in (maybe 20 g a day) I hate the taste of my protein shakes already and I'm so tired of soup and cottage cheese, grits and oatmeal. I ate 2 deviled eggs today ( chewed them to mush ) but I just felt like I had to have them. Now I am scared a piece will get stuck in my staple or something and I feel like a total failure. I can only eat about 3 oz at a time which I know is correct but I get hungry so fast, within an hour. I know some of it has to be head hunger, but I'm trying not to be a failure at this and just keep thinking if I failed my full liquid diet already, am I just setting myself up to fail at it all? I wasn't supposed to start puréed foods until 4 weeks which will be on January 7th. I lost 27 pounds the first 2 weeks but now I haven't lost anything for the last 4 days. Can anyone help with any advise? I'm not going to cheat again and am praying so hard I will be successful at this.

dansacha,

Okay, you cheated. That’s bad.

That doesn’t mean you need to cheat again. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean you’re the only person who’s ever cheated.

If nothing got stuck in your staples, consider yourself lucky and move on. And don’t even worry about whether you “can do it” for the rest of your life. You don’t have a choice, since surgery’s done. And, you don’t have to think about your life. Think about today. Then tomorrow. One day at a time. It may sound cliché, but it’s so true!

And about that “stall?” Don’t even start to worry about it unless it’s longer than a month. Seriously! It seems like almost everyone hits a stall around week 3, and you can expect a big one because you lost SO MUCH (27 pounds!) weight in the first two weeks.

So…you’re doing fine! Head up and keep going!

You should get some unflavored Protein powder (like Unjury) and mix it in with EVERYTHING you eat. It is SO IMPORTANT to be getting in at least 60g of protein each day. You HAVE to focus on getting in the protein.

This is all about perspective. Don't be so hard on yourself that you spiral down because of a cheat. What is done is done. Learn from it, change direction and move on. Think about the consumption of all these liquids and mushy goo like this: ALL of your life you have consumed everything you have ever wanted in copious amounts. Right? That is why we are all here: the over consumption of food. So, since the majority of you life has been spent consuming what you want, what is a few weeks of having to sustain a limited diet? You have already had it all, so a few weeks cannot be that bad.

Everybody's sleeve reacts differently. Some get chest pains or feeling of food being stuck, some have "slime" or vomiting, and some don't get any of that. This is a process and journey, everybody's story and path is different. Some of us share some of the elements, some of us are on opposite ends of the spectrum. The main thing is that you start teaching yourself how eat right and live. Use your sleeve as a tool to control the quantity of food that you consume, but teach your self about quality. You will fall and stumble. But you have the capacity, integrity and will power to get back up. We usually learn best through our failures anyway.

I'm rooting for you. Good luck!

Don't be so hard on yourself. Learn as you go and move on to what helps. Right after I had my surgery, I craved foods, not to feel full, cause I was never hungry...but for taste, flavor and texture! I went to McDonald's, bought a $1 cheeseburger, chewed it up, spit it out. Took another bite, chewed it up, spit it out. Best cheeseburger ever! It saved that need to have a normal food taste and texture over pureed and liquid foods at the time.

As far as Protein, I rarely got what I needed initially. I spoke to the Dr about it and he said those numbers are there as guidelines, not set in stone numbers you have to reach every day. I felt so much better about it after that. Even now, I strive to meet that goal, but know I don't come close. I still lose wt so I must be doing something right.

Hang in there. You'll get there!

Thanks to everyone for all your advice!!! its so wonderful to have so much support from people who have been there! i have been back on track and when i spoke to my nutritionist she actually said the 1/2 an egg was totally fine. it was a great learning lesson though...i realize MOST people do have struggles with this and some even regret it...which i don't..i'm so excited i did this and i know I WILL SUCCEED!! i have been getting in most of my Protein and over 1/2 of my liquids i'm actually down 37 POUNDS IN EXACTLY 1 MONTH TODAY!!! and 48 since my pre-op

anywhooo...thanks for all the great advice!!!! i'm sooo excited to be on this journey!!! struggles and all!!!!!

You are doing great and off to a super start.

It gets much easier to live with the sleeve as you go.