catwoman7

the first few weeks I was told to wait 30 minutes. Once I moved to solid foods, they said I should wait for 60 minutes. At one point during my first year out, the nutritionist said to try to wait 90 minutes if possible, but 60 was acceptable. So i still do that to this day (usually 90, but at least 60 if 90 isn't possible due to my schedule or whatever...)

it's not very common, but I've seen a handful of posts like that since I joined this forum six years ago. Hopefully one of those folks is still around whom you can connect with...

this won't be forever. I can eat any fruit and vegetable now - but the first few months my fruit intake was basically berries - and I could only eat cooked vegetables.

I don't think it's particularly normal with bariatric surgery, although some people have that issue (it's more common with the DS than the other surgeries). Can you just cut out those items that cause it?

I would think if they have to reschedule your surgery they wouldn't make you stay on the pre-op diet until January - they'd probably let you stop and then start up again before your surgery. Unless you're just talking a few days.. also, they probably have the COVID patients on a separate wing/floor than the rest of the patients. That may not be true in the ER, but then, you're not going to the ER...

could be either since stalls can last up to three weeks or so. But yes, it's definitely possibly to throw yourself in maintenance if bad eating habits have started to creep back in. If your weight loss doesn't start up again within another week or so, I'd start looking at my calorie intake and cut back a bit - and/or increase your activity level.

DS is definitely the strongest weight loss surgery, and most people who've had it can eventually eat more than those of us who've had RNY or VSG, but still, you can eat around any surgery. And you're right, very few people (fewer than 5%) can lose massive amounts of weight (and keep it off) without the benefit of surgery. But even WITH surgery, you still have to do your part and follow your surgeon's eating plan. I think of surgery more as a very strong tail wind - if you put in the work, it'll give you a huge boost and get you to where you want to go....and it'll be easier to maintain your loss than if you didn't have the surgery. I know very few people who've had DS (it's not a particularly common surgery), but most of them have bathroom issues when they eat too many carbs. And I'm not sure if that happens to everyone who's had it.

it definitely gets much harder - and slower - the closer you get to goal. I made it - but those last 20 lbs were a BEAR to get off! I probably lost like 2 lbs a month - and hit many stalls. Every time it happened, I'd think "well, this must be it", and then two or three weeks later, I'd drop another pound. the best advice i can give is just keep sticking to your program, and know that it'll take quite awhile to get those last few pounds off. If your body truly has stopped, you can always lower your calories a bit - or increase your exercise.

menstrual cycle, water retention, "bathroom backup" (i.e. constipation or full intestines) can all cause weight to fluctuate by a couple of pounds. And strength-training can also cause a slight gain (muscle weighs more than fat), but that's usually temporary, too. So to answer your question - a gain of 2 or 3 lbs here and there is not abnormal. As long as you're sticking to your program and the general trend is down, you're good!

a lot of people have had revisions from band to either bypass or sleeve. They're both good surgeries and I think you'll find people who are very happy with both! And either is supposedly WAY better than the band!!

yep - the pre-op diet is tough - like ChubRub said, the hardest part of the whole process. It does seem to get a lot easier by day 3 or 4 when your body goes into ketosis. I ate sugar free Jello and sugar free popsicles with abandon (as in - a whole box of Jello a day!). I was also allowed a limited amount of tomato juice/V8 and broth (I think it might have been up to a cup a day), and I did that every day, too, since I'm salt sensitive and retain water like crazy - the water retention made me feel fuller. but yea - it's tough. You mostly just have to white knuckle it. A lot of us can relate to what you're going through...

I didn't start eating oatmeal until I was a few months out. You'd probably have to puree it pretty well if you were going to eat it at this point. I know we were allowed Cream of Wheat pretty early on, but that's ground pretty finely right out of the box. I'd ask your clinic - but I stuck to whatever kinds of things they told me I could have at certain stages.

I didn't eat noodles for the first two years after surgery and still can't eat very many of them or I have a similar reaction. I can't handle much rice at one time, either (not sure about rice noodles, though - I haven't had those since surgery). I think you're pushing your stomach too much. i was eating pretty "gentle" foods - like Greek yogurt - when I was where you are. I remember eating shrimp early on - but not sure at what point. I haven't eaten ground beef in probably 20 years, but I know I had issues with certain meats the first few months. I think most people can handle the ground variety, though. I'd just go way easier on your stomach...it takes awhile before you can eat a variety of food without issue.

it usually lasts 1-3 weeks. Mine lasted two.

it's the infamous three-week stall - right on schedule!

bone broth is probably the stuff you make at home. It's just stock - i.e., broth made with the bones. The protein comes from the collagen - so you shouldn't need to add any extra protein unless you want it super high-protein. Regular broth isn't made with bones - it's made with meat and vegetables. Bone broth (or stock) is made with mostly bones, whatever meat is clinging to the bones, and vegetables... (this is how I understood it - and then I just looked it up to verify...). So it'll be pretty cheap to make your own bone broth - and it freezes well.

I slept most of the time, so some of the stuff I brought I never used. I did use my phone, though - and bring a charger. You can just wear whatever you wore to the hospital home - so make sure it's big, comfy stuff that you'll be able to get on easily.

fat will do that to me - or eating too fast. Or some meats just don't sit well sometimes. I ate half a reuben sandwich once and felt the same way. I eventually threw it up - and at the time I was at least three years out of surgery. BUT - those have a lot of fat, and corned beef may be one of those meats my stomach can't always deal with not sure that sounds like true dumping - that usually also involves racing heartbeat, sweating, diarrhea, chills. I think it either didn't agree with you, or you might have just eaten it too fast.

18 lbs in two weeks is a lot.

as long as you follow your clinics program, you'll lose weight. starving yourself is a terrible idea - your body needs the nutrition and you'll destroy your health if you starve yourself. Plus kill your metabolism. Just follow your clinic's food plan.

a lot of protein powders (maybe all?) do that when whatever you're mixing it with is too hot (I think over 140 degrees). I've never mixed them with coffee - so someone else may have a tip on how to do that (other than waiting for the coffee to cool down a bit, that is). I did drink a lot of Unjury chicken soup protein a few years ago, though - and I had to add hot water (although not too hot) other than boiling water - otherwise that would clump, too.

that's a question for your insurance company - they're all different. They can probably still tell you if you call them, even though your policy doesn't take effect until January. Mine required six months, but it could be any time within the past two years, so I was able to start it before my policy even went into effect - so I got it out of the way before I officially entered the bariatric program.

I'll have to try those - that's a serious amount of fiber. I bet one of those would fill you up for hours!!

I like Quest Hero bars even better than the regular Quest bars. Also Power Crunch and Robert Irvine's Fit Crunch.

I was cleared to do everything at eight weeks out, so you're most likely fine to do whatever you want at this point! I was still pretty heavy when I was where you are (e.g., at two months out), so I mostly walked, did water aerobics, and did the weight machines at my gym (again, at about eight weeks out for the weights. It was only four weeks out for water aerobics)