VSG Maintenance Group
Monday, July 29, 2019
I feel like I'm in the same boat with most of you.
I have drank diet cokes (sometimes real cokes, gasp!), beer etc. the entire time post-surgery. But it's definitely increased as time has gone by. Now I can drink an entire carbonated beverage fairly easily. No doubt this corresponds with my increasing pouch size. But should this be any shock? Don't all pouches increase at some point? Or else I'd think it would be dangerous. At the same time, I need it not to stretch too much. And I'm sure that overeating, drinking with eating, etc. stretches it somewhat. How do you guys feel your pouch size is in comparison to 1, 2 years out? The first year there was a lot of changes, obviously. And even from year 1-2. I think it's increased in size since then, but it's been so slowly, it's hard to tell. There was a time when I could never think of eating a whole anything. Early out, I could barely eat 1/4 hamburger. Then I could eat not quite half. Now I can fairly easily eat a half, plus something. I do need to, at a minimum, get back to stopping at half. There is no need for me to eat more. Sometimes I think I can eat like I used to. Then I go out to eat with normal people. While it's true that some of my portions now resemble more normal (not overeating!) portions, I notice that I CANNOT overindulge in the way I used to. If I go to a nice dinner, whether I wanted to or not I cannot eat into abandon like some others choose to.
I should probably limit my diet soda intake but I sure don't care for water :(
I definitely need to get back into logging on MFP. Casual observation is better than nothing, but it doesn't keep me honest enough to know "why." And certainly for weightloss I must log to dial it down.
Still turning over the PS here in my mind. I feel like the recall was a sign, an out, for me. DH says "but you wanted them out anyway" or "you don't have that kind." But I guess my concern is the point that you just don't know about something until things start happening and you hope you're not one of the affected ones! Of course I think we take risks all the time with medical procedures or medications. but it should be a risk/reward calculation. But how absurd to take that chance, any chance, for something I didn't want anyway!! And it's not like the end of the world. Women have been gaining and losing weight, having babies, etc. and not getting implants for AGES.
I have thought about Cecily's experience more than once, though. For me the implants are a little different since at some point they'd probably have to be removed whether I wanted to or not. And the longer I wait, the more potential for rupture and toxicity.
The lipectomy, on the other hand, is an elective new surgery and unnecessary, though desired. I'm really torn. If I have that done at the same time, I could save myself a little money, and then I'm going under anesthesia only once and just add that to the total recovery. But it was sold to me as a fairly simple procedure and now that I"m asking more questions, I'm getting the feeling that it's more serious, almost as serious as my tummy tuck. I have not had lipo in the past so I don't know what that's like. Basically she'd be cutting out my love handles. And lipoing some excess fat in that area that didn't get cut away. There wouldn't be drains, so that's nice. But I would have to wear a binder for 3 weeks, some kind of compression garment for about 6 weeks. Swelling might be bad, and could take up to 6 months to fully resolve. There would be bruising. And of course I'd have a longer and fresher scar, at least on the sides.
My sleeve capacity has changed since the first year, and thank heavens, or I'd probably be malnourished. That first year, I really did not eat. My logs show me at 400-600 calories well into the 8th month post surgery. I began routinely eating 1,200 -1,400 around 15 months post surgery. If I stick to whole foods, it is hard for me to exceed 1,700 a day, my sleeve is pretty tight. Meat is still difficult for me, if you read my daily eats, you can see that a lot of my protein comes from dairy. If all I ate was chicken breast, I'd probably lose so much weight, because my sleeve would protest before I got 3 ounces down. But processed sweet foods like cookies, or treats like potato chips and dip can EASILY go down, and bring my calorie intake soaring. Sigh. I think I underestimated just how many calories are in some treats. For example, a mini blizzard, seemed like a virtuous choice right? Everyone else is getting a big one, mine is tiny. Until I logged it and discovered it was over 400 calories. Yikes. I still think there is room for treats in an overall healthy eating plan, but not as many as I was allowing. That was at first, a bitter truth I learned this year when I returned to logging with fidelity. As time goes on and I learn that I can be satisfied with healthier, whole foods, and that I actually feel better, it doesn't seem so bitter anymore.
I also don't think I've stretched my sleeve with soda. I actually don't think I've stretched my sleeve at all, because when I eat meat, my capacity is very limited. If anything is going to give me trouble, it is usually meat. What changed for me is healing from the surgery, so less swelling equaled more capacity, and hormonal changes. I had a lot of food aversion post surgery, over time, the return of some grehlin etc . made eating more a possibility.
The drinking rule is something I still follow pretty closely. I drink right up until I eat, but never when I'm eating unless I'm sipping wine, and I still wait at least 30 minutes before I drink after a meal.
