Hi All,

Today is day 5 post op and I am feeling ok. First couple of days were tough but they seem to get easier.

As I sit here and recover, all I keep doing is thinking about this journey and how I got to this point. I keep questioning myself on did I make the right decision. I have struggled with weight my entire life, had many losses and gains. Did every diet there was in addition to diet pills, and even the band. So all roads lead to me gaining more weight than I have previously lost, and it just gets harder as you get older.

I want to get healthier, I want my clothes to fit and I want to be happy with the way I look. I have 3 children and I want to be here for them for a very long time.

So with all that said, I think I am a little depressed or regretting what I have done. I guess with the holidays coming all I see is food on TV and social media and I have to wonder if I am every going to be able to be normal again. I know I have to make better choices, and I want to do that, but I just can't stop thinking I'm sad it had to get to this point of no return. Like why couldn't I do this on my own??

It doesn't help that I do feel hungry. I am hoping I will feel much different in a few months.

Appreciate your feedback.

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I can understand your sadness. It's very normal, due to hormonal changes post op. And, probably more significantly, you are coming to term with the fact that your relationship with eating is forever altered.

First, I can pretty much assure you that the hunger will go away. I was fearful that I would be hungry and have cravings forever after surgery. But by week three, I lost those cravings and am now hungry only when my body needs fuel (good foods). I did not know that being hungry after surgery for a few weeks was actually normal. I found out. But as many pros here will tell you, most of that "hunger" is head hunger. It takes some time for that to relinquish.

As for the holidays, and every other occasion that comes our way revolving around food (seems that in this country every singe event is celebrated with food, right?), I know it seems tough now, but you will stop paying as much attention to the bad foods as you do now. It's a natural process that happens once you start fueling your body with healthy foods.

I was thinking yesterday about the upcoming holidays. I already have parties and get togethers on my calendar. I know that everyone else will be indulging in those high calorie bad party and gathering foods. The best thing I can do, and advise, is to think to yourself, look how well you are treating and being to your body. While all these (friends, coworkers, family) are eating foods that will put weight on, you are losing weight and making your body feel good. Put your body's well being ahead of the metal urge that is telling you that you are missing bad foods and overeating.

Another thing I've been doing is whenever I see an ad for something scrumptious but fattening, I challenge myself to make it with healthy ingredients!

The holidays will certainly be a challenge, but I bet that the crap that is being passed around will NOT look appealing to you .

Good luck and congrats!

Edited November 12, 20169 yr by The New Kel

I think your feelings are pretty normal for where you are...5 days out my stomach was a confused, rumbly mess, I was still sore and not entirely steady on my feet and just kind of OVER being a post-op patient!

By Christmas, you'll be more than 6 weeks post-op and life will be feeling more like normal. Depending on your program, you may be on a full diet, which was a HUGE turning point for me physically and mentally. And you'll probably be down 20+ lbs, which is usually noticeable and that will be a great incentive

Like The New Kel says, you can take those party temptations and turn them into victories for yourself. I was at a cocktail reception the other night, very fancy with waiters walking around with trays, offering hors d'oeuvres. I said 'yes' to 2 gorgeous jumbo shrimp, skipped the cocktail sauce both for my cute dress and to avoid the sugar, said 'yes' to the harisa meatball and 'no' to the sweet and sour, and 'yes' to the bacon wrapped date with blue cheese (did a quick think in my head about the sugar content of dates but decided it was worth it with the bacon and blue cheese). I also turned down mini egg rolls and some other fried thing. And I was full, didn't have the urge to give in to the Pasta buffet later on, and I was proud of myself.

I worried in the beginning that being around other people eating that old, awful food was going to be a huge issue for me, but it's much, much easier to stay away from than I thought possible. When you have such a tiny space for food, you really have a huge incentive to put fuel in (which means Protein and some fats, not carbohydrate-laden food) instead of eating poorly. And this is a mental game as much as anything, I think the sleeve gives us the lack of hunger and restriction, but we have to use that boost appropriately to get the full benefit.

In the end, it's true what so many people say...nothing tastes better than thin feels right now. When I feel like just giving in and eating whatever I want, I think of how much I hated always being the fat, sweaty woman in the group, eating the egg rolls. I don't want to be her again, and there's not an egg roll in the world that tastes good enough to get me there.

Here's what I had to say to myself because I was where you are not long ago (sleeved Nov 1st) I had to say "Welp, ya done did it now, girl. Might as well make the best of it. Can't go back and add your stomach back so quit ya bitchin' and dust yourself off and start SHINNING!" I know that sounds harsh, but I had to be honest with myself. Whats done is done. No sense is worrying if I made the wrong choice because the choice has been made. Also, I was wondering if I'd ever feel "back to normal" but I thought that "normal" wasn't working for me so i need to start paving the path to my new "normal." Hope this helps. Good luck to you! ❤️

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I had my surgery Monday and I began feeling the same way yesterday. I'm tired of the post op liquid diet. It's not even that I want the bad food like pizza and Pasta...I just want something real. A small piece of grilled chicken and vegetables sounds amazing. I keep telling myself it will get better as I move through the diet phases/weeks, but when you're in it it's hard to believe. My husband and daughter are so supportive- they don't want to eat in front of me because they feel bad, but I keep telling them this is my issue and they can't not eat just because I can't. I went into this thinking it was pretty easy. I survived the 14 day pre-op diet pretty easily, but now that the surgery is over I'm discouraged and want to be more normal and healed. You are certainly not alone. And I am happy to know that I am not either. Good luck on your journey!! I'm really happy I found this forum- it's helpful to read others experiences.

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I had Sleeve surgery yesterday and I don't know if I should try to eat or when I can? I tried a few bites of Jello, herbal teas, Water and Gatorade so far and no pain or nausea. I'm on Full liquids now. I'm just afraid of overdoing it.

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I kind of wish I can just fast forward a month or so and feel normal. I spent some time reading my nutritional,packet this afternoon (which I have previously read before..multiple times) and am thinking what the hell did I do this for - is seems so restrictive forever.

I don't think it helps that my wife and kids are not super compassionate about the whole scenario.

One day at a time I guess. Thanks for the positive comments

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I am 2 weeks out and am also just kind of sad. I want chicken breast and broccoli, not even crap food, I'm just tired of Soup. I'm so sick of cottage cheese I could barf. I'm so tired of soup I could cry. Popsicles make my teeth hurt.

When I'm on purées I know I'll feel better, right now it just really sucks.

Do any of you have the book "Your Complete Guide to Nutrition for Weight Loss Surgery" by Sally Johnston? It is my Bible now and I find it very helpful. I'm in Australia and it's got great tips and recipes for pre and post op. It even has a troubleshooting and common complaints section. It cost me $45 Australian, but I think it has paid or itself already, especially with all of the recipes. Because the recipes make around a Litre, I've been freezing the rest in portions for use on other days. The Zucchini, Pea and Bacon Soup is to die for, so is the Mexican Beef Soup.

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What you are feeling is normal. I am almost 14 months out from having my sleeve done and after I was approved I got very depressed at the reality that I faced in that I let myself get so far gone to need surgery to help me try to get to a normal weight. After surgery it was very hard for the first few weeks but as I healed and started to eat normal foods I felt better. Now being this far out and losing 165 pounds so far all of those negative emotions are just a distant memory and I am so grateful every day for the new lease on life I have been given. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

@@shelly.s The best thing to do is advance your diet only as quickly as your plan allows. On full liquids, you can have Protein shakes, I used the Premier Protein ready-to-drinks and also made my own with Isopure low-carb chocolate Protein powder. It was a little scary to go from Clear Liquids to full liquids, but you need to start advancing to full liquids when your doc wants you to. The goal is to get you back on a solid food diet so that you're getting all the protein you need. Take your time, sip slowly...I absentmindedly gulped about 8 oz of Water taking my meds when I was 5 days post-op, the pain was unreal and it came right back up. Try to keep that from happening

Try the stuff on your full liquid list, just go easy and remember that you can always go back to clear liquids if none of it sits well. You only need protein and fluids right now. Good luck!!

Today is day 6 for me. I understand this so deeply today. I have had the hardest day since I arrived home. Have you gotten into better spirits in the recent days

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