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You seem to have a really cynical outlook on all of this. I, too, am a scientist by profession, and I've always been a bit of a pessimist, but I think sometimes, it's worth giving people the benefit of the doubt. It looks like you don't think your bariatric team has your best interests at heart. I know you've been burned before, and I also know what it's like to be constantly judged as stupid, lazy, noncompliant, untrustworthy, unworthy, etc. because of my weight, so I can understand your feelings about this, but don't forget that these are people who have devoted their careers to providing weight loss surgery. I'm not saying that they all genuinely care about alleviating the plight of the obese, or that they're sympathetic toward those of us in a position of needing this surgery, but I doubt there are very many medical professionals in the bariatric surgery field who are out to punish and criticize fat patients just for fun (or out of personal dislike of fat people). If for no other reason than their own self-interest, chances are that they want patients to succeed with weight loss surgery, and they are probably doing what they believe will contribute to their patients' success. Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes people can be right for the wrong reasons. I've run into this in my own job, where someone has told me something that didn't seem to make sense, and I (as someone like you with an inquisitive mind) have gone looking for the real story, only to find that what I was told was correct, even though the reasoning was not. In this case, your dietitian might be giving you good direction even if she doesn't actually understand what she's talking about. Just because that dietitian (or even the whole bariatric team) doesn't know or understand the reasoning behind the rules, it doesn't necessarily mean that the rules are incorrect or arbitrary. Finally, if you hang around this forum for long enough, you will see that many patients want and need a lot of hand-holding. Some people would rather be given strict but arbitrary rules than loose guidelines. People are constantly on here posting questions like, "I had surgery X days ago; can I eat Y?" And honestly, considering that, I can't blame surgeons at all for wanting to make things as black and white as possible so they don't have to spend all their time answering these incredibly specific questions, tailored to each individual patient. Most patients are not medical researchers, and many want definitive instructions from their doctors. Many people would be paralyzed with indecision if they were told, "Some studies say X and others say Y; you figure it out." Ultimately, it's up to you to decide how closely to follow your surgeon's directions, and if you do your own research and believe you have found a better way, you can make that decision. But I would venture to say that you will likely have a better experience if you have a mindset of working WITH your bariatric surgery team instead of taking an adversarial approach.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if there's one thing you'll here on this site perhaps more than any other it's this: don't compare yourself to others. There's nothing good that can come of it. Even if you found someone that was your exact same starting weight, height, and even had surgery the same day, there are still way too many other variables that could impact your progression. Just some examples: age, physical fitness, %body fat, basal metabolism, diet, bougie size, surgical complications, etc. Honestly, it sounds like you're doing fine. If you're not happy with your loss so far, talk with your bariatric team. They may have suggestions for you such as increasing the amount and type of exercise and/or changes to your diet. Best of luck!

Valid, very valid! My entire family is obese, immediate and extended. Literally every single person... I have fault it my entire life and never remember seeing the "100's" on the scale. I am 6ft tall so I don't know if I ever will but I would like to see 199 just once so I can say I officially weighed under 200 lbs. I just posted about this earlier today. haha Obviously I didn't go from toddler weight to over 200 lbs but I guess I was over 200 once I was at the age to weigh myself and remember. Regardless, I have struggled with loosing and gaining over 100 lbs multiple times through my life. That is what brought me to surgery. I hope it helps me maintain my weight loss this time.

Thank you Kim. That's nice that you have options. Yeah if I do eat anything it will be low carb for sure. I think for at least the first week I'll do just liquids then add some low carb food.

If you look in the heading banner, find Forums and use the drop-down arrow. You will find 14 pages of Pre op diets. In the Uk we have different diets so my help would be unhelpful. I can say that by being on this forum for over a year, I have picked up some knowledge of the US diets. I believe the norm is 4 shakes, sugar free popsicles and maybe a fat free yogurt. This lasts about 2 weeks. With a bit of luck someone will chip in who actually did your pre op diet. Nobody on here will call you a failure, we are a kind bunch. Please give yourself some love. You have gone through so much and you didn't mention Covid. That alone made me pack on another 30+ pounds. I was doing the best I could, so did you. Don't be a stranger anymore. Pop in whenever you can

I'm 4.5 months out from my surgery and at 5'2" I've lost 65 pounds so far. I've gone down from a size 22/20 jeans to a size 14 or in some cases even size 12. To put in perspective, my older sister who had the same surgery (RNY) a few years ago, also 5'2, had lost 45 pounds at the point I'm at. This shows how different weight loss is individually. In my case a lot is probably from nutritional issues and losing weight too quickly. That's an ongoing issue my team is still trying to work out. It's hard to get enough nutrition when you are full for the day after literally one bite of something in the morning.

Unbelievable and love the timing! Here's to a healthier and lighter life for the rest of your life.

That is very vague. haha I was on 2 week phases, 2 weeks full liquids, 2 weeks pureed, 2 weeks soft foods and then slowing transition to solid foods. I did not have to wait to see my surgeon before each stage but we were advised if we had any issues to reach out. I was lucky enough to have a smooth recovery and had no issues transitioning into different stages. When we started trying foods again, we were advised to try ONE thing at a time so if we got sick we knew exactly what it was from. Then, we could try that food again a few weeks/months later as our tolerances change as we progress.

I look at this whole process in that I am the customer and they are providing a service. I will lean on their experience but will always question if I do not understand and then I fully expect as a customer that they will explain. This is a paid transaction and they are there to make money just as any business does and I am a customer seeking a paid service of the highest quality. Luckily, my Bariatric team has been nothing but professional and accommodating. Remember, it is a 2-way street of respect and communication for this process to work. BUT, IF I had encounted a Bariatric team that I did not feel comfortable with, then I would look into a different service provider.

I have BCBS of Illinois and they covered everything but $1500, and my secondary covered $1200 of that. So I only had $300 out of pocket. They approved my surgery within 48 hours of my surgeon's office submitting everything. From my 1st appt to my surgery date was 2 1/2 months. BCBS only required 1 pre op and 1 post op nutritionist appt, 1 psych eval, approval letter from my neurologist (because I have MS), approval letter from my PCP, having tried at least 2 methods of weight loss in the past (my PCP knew about me doing keto and also low/no calorie and put that in the approval letter). So it was a fast and painless process. My surgeon's office wanted the blood work and EKG before surgery. BCBS approved every test with no issues.