You may call it NSV... I call it a crazy breakthrough...

I am a little over 1 month post op, and I have to admit that everything has gone pretty smoothly for me (sometimes I wonder if its going a little too smoothly).

Well, I began my soft solid diet last Thursday and let's just say that eating more normal foods is causing a lot of things to surface...

Yesterday I noticed I was eating for flavor and not for hunger.  I almost risked over-eating my new sleeve just because it tasted so darn good.  Once I caught myself, I even spit out whatever food I was chewing at the moment to prevent myself from swallowing another bite.  I got so annoyed at myself that I was just mindlessly eating and was ignoring the signs that I was full.

So about 30 minutes ago I decided to eat my lunch.  I have a doctors appointment later today so I'm working through my lunch.  Let's just say I inhaled my lunch in less than 10 minutes (all 4oz of stuffed salmon!!) by being distracted with my computer.  I didn't realize it until my lunch was gone and there was no more to eat (thank God I had pre-portioned and rationed it out). I am now very disappointed, upset and angry at myself for doing something so stupid.  Now I have to deal with discomfort and tons of noises and gurgling coming from my internal monster.  I'm lucky I am not dealing with pain right now, although part of me thinks I really deserve some pain.

I guess this is just another example of how they operate on your stomach and not your brain.  I have a lot to learn and a lot to change within me.  Too bad I can't change it overnight...

So my crazy NSV, is that I realize I am a serious work in progress -- more than I ever imagined.  I was feeling so confident in how well I was doing with my sleeve and thought I had it down, but I really don't.  I have much to learn and that is the beginning to making positive changes and progress with my new life.  It's not going to fix itself overnight and will be one of my greatest challenges to overcome, but I think I can do it...

don't beat yourself up too badly...I am almost 6 months out and threw up my dinner Saturday cause I ate too much too quickly and I certainly know better....I'm impressed you can eat 4 oz of fish @ 1 month out...I still can't do a full 4 oz of anything remotely solid....this surgery is definitely a challenge to the ol' brain....I have to eat while playing a game or something on the computer, that way I can measure my bites and keep myself from going to fast...I'll play a round of solitaire, take a bite, and so on and so forth....may not be the best system but it works for me...you will get it down...best of luck to you!

I'm sorry -- I meant to say 3oz of stuffed salmon.   Even then I think its odd that I am able to eat that much without issues.  I have a follow up appointment this afternoon so I will definitely ask the doc that question.

I've always been hard on myself -- its the only way I've been able to accomplish anything in life. I'm a hard-core type person, so if I don't buckle down and hit it hard I will never change.  :)

 What a great post!  We are all works in progress :)  Good luck on your journey!

I think that's a great NSV. This is all a learning process for us new sleevees. When they tell you during the pre-op period that this is a lifestyle change, it's pretty hard to wrap your mind around just how MUCH of a lifestyle change it's going to be.

It's one thing to say "lifestyle change;" quite another to start mushy foods and realize you're having to re-learn everything you thought you knew about shopping and cooking and eating. Just last week I cooked my "first" scrambled egg in a half pat of butter because I COMPLETELY forgot about the non-stick spray sitting 18" away in the cupboard. I remember wondering what the heck I was supposed to use and the first (only) thing that came to mind was butter. DUH. No, it won't ruin my diet that one time but I certainly won't do that again. I need to be much more mindful of everything.

Maybe that's it--being mindful of what we buy, how we cook it, how we eat it. Stop the mindless eating we used to do and rather than focusing on just FEEDING our hunger, we need to focus on feeding our bodies.

I'm not saying this very well but hopefully it makes sense.

It makes absolutely perfect sense!

It really is true that no one can ever really wrap their head around HOW MUCH of a lifestyle change it really is going to be.  You can sure try, but you are bound to be hit by quite a few curve-balls during your journey.  :)

Being mindful is a very good thing to begin your journey with.  If you aren't being MINDFUL, you are really being MINDLESS...  I've never heard of a lot of people accomplish something difficult by being mindless.

I have caught myself doing the same thing at less than 3 weeks!  Oy!  Like you, I haven't really had any difficulties so... mixed blessing, I guess. But I also think I'm glad it's this way, even if I have to work harder to learn to pay attention when I'm eating.

Yes, we are works in progress, but we WILL get there!

I am that hardcore type personality too. I told myself when I did this it was for real and I was doing this hardcore/strict as hell because I wasn't going to ruin the last chance.

Part of that for me has been slowing down my eating because that was always a problem for me. I knew people that did the set your fork down between bites thing, but that wasn't good enough for me. From the moment that I started soft/puréed foods I wait 2 minutes between each bite. I use the stopwatch on my phone and I wait until my 2 minutes has passed.

I realize that's more than most people are willing to do, but give it a try if you want. It keeps me honest. It makes me actually think about how the food is making me feel. And it gives my body long enough to send the message to my brain that I'm full.

 im going for pre-op Wed, 16-May-12. im very apprehensive. ANY ADVICE???

My advice: Take a chill pill.  :)

The decision to have WLS doesn't come overnight.  It takes time to research and learn about it before deciding if WLS is the way to go and what kind. It took me nearly 2 years to finally take the plunge.  I jumped through hoops to get my surgery approved.  I'm 4 weeks out and so far I feel like I have made a great decision.  

Its normal for you to feel nervous, scared, excited, anxious and a while wealth of other emotions.  But at some point you have to trust that you are making the best decision for yourself, for your future and for your health.  :)