JavaKnut

I have not had a flare up since surgery. I felt one coming on, but I was letting myself dehydrate with trying to move houses and wasn't getting all my fluids in. I just got back on the liquids again heavy and it went away the next day. I haven't been on any meds since surgery.

It will pass - give it time. I was frustrated that I couldn't chug a bottle of Water to catch up to my hydration goals, but it just takes time to get used to taking smaller sips over time.
DO NOT PUSH to get back to big chugs - you will just stretch yourself back out again, negating the surgery you just had.
I cannot eat a whole sandwich (just over 3 months out), but I don't care anymore. I used to worry about that, now I love the fact that I don't eat it all. I eat a couple bites with the bread, then pick out the Proteins and eat as much of it as I can. I love that I have a few chips with a sandwich now to get the crunch...but I cannot eat a whole bag with a meal.
The fact that every week I take a new photo, and see my body changing - that is my motivation! Every day I find myself feeling my arms, legs, neck or some part of my body and finding I can feel bones and structure to my body that I never have felt in my life. I can see definition in my cheek bones now, shoulder blades, etc. I used to be into body building in my college years, and was at 2-5% bodyfat, but at over 300lbs. I was a hulk, and loved that look then...but it is different now. I don't want that look, because I love the fact I can go into a normal store, and buy normal size clothes...and I couldn't even dream of that 3 months ago. Well slap my ass and call me Sally - I will take that any day!
I too had days of regret and thinking to myself, **** I could have eaten less and not had all this pain - yeah right. I have been kidding myself for years with that one.
It just takes time, and over that time, whether you want to or not, you will be losing weight. Take weekly photos and measure yourself weekly like I do. You will be SHOCKED at the difference. It is not that noticeable trying to look day by day, but go a week or a month and you will be motivated.

Yes, mine were.

So I had my 3 month visit today and am officially down 70 lbs . My surgeon seemed kind of shocked. Did anyone else’s surgeon/nutritionist seem surprised by your weight loss?

Are you snacking? Grazing? Or are you still doing designated smaller meals 5-6x a day? Are you drinking when you eat? These are all factors.
Healthy fats? Carbs? Eating Proteins first?
Need more info here to be helpful.

Are you snacking? Grazing? Or are you still doing designated smaller meals 5-6x a day? Are you drinking when you eat? These are all factors.
Healthy fats? Carbs? Eating Proteins first?
Need more info here to be helpful.

Quite frankly, tell your dietician to suck eggs! None of my medical care staff - surgeon, doctors, nurses, dietician, general practice - have tried to put a number on my goal. They have asked me if I have one, and I do not. My body will decide what is right, and the natural pace at which it will happen. I am not going to remain so strict to burn myself out on some unachievable diet again...that is what put me in the place to need surgery. I am still maintaining my losing streak, but I am enjoying the new tools at my disposal and learning a new life style of being thinner. I eat at my designated times during the day, drinking all my fluids, and getting all my Proteins. I am also getting some carbs now as well. Sometimes I have a bit too many, and I pay for it because I cannot eat as much (bread takes up a lot of space). I have even had a few bites of dessert. I do not do snacking outside of my meal times, no sugary drinks, and pretty much no added sugar of any kind if I can help it. It is all about the balance and what is achievable with my schedule. It is working for me, and I could not be happier.
I also had surgery on Nov 10 - sleeve and duodenal switch. I am down 75lbs including the 20 I lost in the 2 week liver reduction diet before surgery. For the first 2 months I was insanely strict with myself and it paid off. I am a little more relaxed now, but still losing week by week. I still weigh in daily, but I do not get scared when I go up a lb or two or stay even day by day. At the end of the week, I am losing inches and lbs.

I was told 3 months initially, but then was cleared at 2 to have the pastas and rice, etc. No food restrictions. I still don't eat rice as I have heard of so many people having issue with it, and frankly, I am not a huge fan of rice anyway. It was just a vehicle to get the sauce from some other food down instead of slurping it like Soup. heheheh. Carbs take up space, and I want to get my Proteins in. I have been guilty of eating chips and salsa recently, but I make sure to eat proteins, then go for the chips. I try to get some whole grain chips and keep the carb/fat content down as much as I can. I can order a sandwich, but really only eat a bite or two for the mouth feel before i just pull out the innards and eat the proteins.

Are you snacking? Grazing? Or are you still doing designated smaller meals 5-6x a day? Are you drinking when you eat? These are all factors.
Healthy fats? Carbs? Eating Proteins first?
Need more info here to be helpful.

I have a simple answer for me - before surgery I was on 9 different pills and a shot a day to keep my blood sugar, blood pressure, gout, and cholesterol under control. My doctor was ready to put my on insulin. Since surgery - not a single pill or shot. NOT A SINGLE ONE!! All of my numbers are normal or below normal - and have been that way since about a week after surgery. Enough said. I plan to be around to watch my son grow up and grow old with my wife...previously, I doubt I could have made that reality.

High Protein, low Fiber, low liquids, pain meds - all = Constipation. Make sure to get plenty of liquids, and walk! Walk walk walk walk walk! I would stay away from meds to help you, unless your surgeon approves. Mine told me to stay away from everything but colace and milk of magnesia. Colace first try - if that doesn't work, then go with the milk. Thankfully I only had one real bad day and I won't go into the details on that.

I was just getting ready to post asking a similar question. Today I am exactly 60 days post surgery (sleeve & switch done on 11/10), and I am down 60 lbs. Not sure why I have seen more loss than others, but I think there are other people that have lost more than me. I have not touched carbs since before the pre-surgery diet - including sugar. I do not go to the gym, but I do try to walk at least 30 mins at least 3 days a week or more. I adhere to my soft foods diet strictly.
I have stopped weighing myself every single day, but do at least every other. I seem to go a couple days on a stall, then will lose one or two. The longest stall so far has been 4 days so far.
My routine: get up between 6am and 8am (depending on the day). Have a small cup of coffee and use Fairlife chocolate Milk as the Creamer (about equal 50/50 coffee/milk). I take my first Multivitamin with this. Not long after that I will have a Premier Protein drink. Then go about my morning routine. 9am is my first food. Usually homemade yogurt using Fairlife low fat milk as the base, and add a tbsp of raw honey to give it some flavor - or a spoon of mixed fruit jam. I will also have a stick or two of weight watchers cheese (colby jack or mozzarella). I usually have 2 calcium chews after my food. I take my second Multi-Vitamin 30 mins or so before lunch. Lunch is 11:45/noon - get some kind of Protein and steamed veggies and Beans if I can. I have a decent cafe at work with usually some good options. Worst case scenario I get a small scoop of egg salad and small scoop of chicken salad. Eat half for lunch, other half for dinner. 3pm have a snack and have my last 2 Calcium chews. Usually a protein crunch bar, or a sugar free pudding made with Fairlife milk (protein helps for sure) and some cheese sticks. Dinner at 6pm, usually the same type of thing as lunch. My last multivitamin is sometime after that and before my 9pm snack of yogurt or pudding or cheese, or some combination of them.
I do not count calories. I just make sure that the fat and carb numbers per serving fit my advice from NUT. For the meals - I make sure I take as close to 30 mins to eat as I can. The slower I eat, the more I can eat. If I get something I have been craving or tastes good, I tend to eat a little quicker and get uncomfortable after about 10 mins and have to give up the rest of my time. I have not eaten anything fried in almost 3 months.
I stop drinking 30 mins before food, and do not drink again for 30 mins after.
I primarily drink Water. I usually will have one 20oz Vitarain (Costco brand version of Vitamin water zero that I like better than Vitamin water) per day. Sometimes I will have a Bai instead of Vitarain. The rest of my liquids from the day are all water and the Premier Protein I usually have early in the morning. I set my water goal as 70oz/day and want it to primarily be water instead of fake sugar substitute drinks.

Javaknut, appreciate the tips and your success, changing the behavioral aspect of things will be the biggest challenge for me... but practice makes perfect!

I love this! Thank you so much! I'm hanging in there and already 2 weeks post op my pants are falling off! So excited

Sincerely, Johanna

High Protein, low Fiber, low liquids, pain meds - all = Constipation. Make sure to get plenty of liquids, and walk! Walk walk walk walk walk! I would stay away from meds to help you, unless your surgeon approves. Mine told me to stay away from everything but colace and milk of magnesia. Colace first try - if that doesn't work, then go with the milk. Thankfully I only had one real bad day and I won't go into the details on that.

It will pass - give it time. I was frustrated that I couldn't chug a bottle of Water to catch up to my hydration goals, but it just takes time to get used to taking smaller sips over time.
DO NOT PUSH to get back to big chugs - you will just stretch yourself back out again, negating the surgery you just had.
I cannot eat a whole sandwich (just over 3 months out), but I don't care anymore. I used to worry about that, now I love the fact that I don't eat it all. I eat a couple bites with the bread, then pick out the Proteins and eat as much of it as I can. I love that I have a few chips with a sandwich now to get the crunch...but I cannot eat a whole bag with a meal.
The fact that every week I take a new photo, and see my body changing - that is my motivation! Every day I find myself feeling my arms, legs, neck or some part of my body and finding I can feel bones and structure to my body that I never have felt in my life. I can see definition in my cheek bones now, shoulder blades, etc. I used to be into body building in my college years, and was at 2-5% bodyfat, but at over 300lbs. I was a hulk, and loved that look then...but it is different now. I don't want that look, because I love the fact I can go into a normal store, and buy normal size clothes...and I couldn't even dream of that 3 months ago. Well slap my ass and call me Sally - I will take that any day!
I too had days of regret and thinking to myself, **** I could have eaten less and not had all this pain - yeah right. I have been kidding myself for years with that one.
It just takes time, and over that time, whether you want to or not, you will be losing weight. Take weekly photos and measure yourself weekly like I do. You will be SHOCKED at the difference. It is not that noticeable trying to look day by day, but go a week or a month and you will be motivated.

My wife threw chicken in a pot, with chopped carrots and celery, some salt, and some whole peppercorns (makes them easier to filter out). Once boiled for a while, she let it cool. Then took all the fat that solidified off the top, strained the broth out, then we would rewarm it for me to drink. It was so nice to have a savory type of flavor. It was just a nice change of flavors more than anything.

I was told the Protein numbers were a minimum with no max. Also no counting calories.

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Liver reduction - no, post op Clear Liquids - no, post op full liquids - yes, as long as you strain out all the solids. Once i was on full liquids - Miso Soup was a welcome change to flavor town with the liquid diet. I strained out the tofu and seaweed, but had the miso and other floaty bits in there (not solids).
Liver reduction is not a ton of fun, but just remember - if you cheat it, you could risk having your surgery cancelled.
My reduction was 2 weeks. First week was 3 Bariatric Advantage liver reduction Meal Replacement shakes a day, 2 bariatric advantage Snacks, and one "green" meal (basically a salad with some chicken). Week 2 was 5 shakes a day.
I didn't tend to be too hungry, and if I did have some sort of craving, I removed myself from the situation that caused it and did some sort of distraction. One of the best choices was to not sit and eat with my wife and child (it sucked to do that, but it made things a whole lot easier on me). Occasionally I would sit with them for 5 mins while I chugged my shake, then would go once it was just me watching them eat.

Agreed - full liquids was awesome to get normal Soups and just throw them in the Vitamix to get rid of the chunks.

Agreed - full liquids was awesome to get normal Soups and just throw them in the Vitamix to get rid of the chunks.

Liver reduction - no, post op Clear Liquids - no, post op full liquids - yes, as long as you strain out all the solids. Once i was on full liquids - Miso Soup was a welcome change to flavor town with the liquid diet. I strained out the tofu and seaweed, but had the miso and other floaty bits in there (not solids).
Liver reduction is not a ton of fun, but just remember - if you cheat it, you could risk having your surgery cancelled.
My reduction was 2 weeks. First week was 3 Bariatric Advantage liver reduction Meal Replacement shakes a day, 2 bariatric advantage Snacks, and one "green" meal (basically a salad with some chicken). Week 2 was 5 shakes a day.
I didn't tend to be too hungry, and if I did have some sort of craving, I removed myself from the situation that caused it and did some sort of distraction. One of the best choices was to not sit and eat with my wife and child (it sucked to do that, but it made things a whole lot easier on me). Occasionally I would sit with them for 5 mins while I chugged my shake, then would go once it was just me watching them eat.

Hey all!
I wanted to post and update my progress and share my journey for newcomers.
I’m three years out of VSG surgery, start weight 240 lbs at 5’6.
 
My lowest weight after surgery was 114. Scary scary thin. After my surgery I could barely eat for an entire year and had malnutrition and many mental and physical barriers to overcome before I began eating again. It took a year to get my stomach straightened out to where I could eat solid food, and another two years to get my mind straightened out to where I was eating enough food.
Surgery like this is a big deal, easier for some, harder for others. Because we are a population that struggles with disordered eating behavior and many of us eating disorders, it’s hard to predict how it might affect you. For me, it leveled my life for awhile- but intimately put me into a better place.
My life before surgery consisted of constant dieting and deprivation with periods of intense binging on thousands and thousands of calories when I failed on the numerous diets I tried. Surgery was for me a last resort that I believed would stop this cycle and make me effortlessly thin forever or really just take away my ability to eat, because eating was a huge source of emotional pain.
Here I am at my lowest weight.

That’s some scary ****! I went through some very dark times after surgery that forced me to get super real about what I needed to be happy and healthy.
This past year I’ve been consistently rebuilding my health. I began doing this by saying no to dieting and calorie control. No counting, no obsessing, no weighing myself. My life now three years out consists of taking care of my health in a more holistic way. I eat in abundance, and I’ve recently began to be super inspired towards fitness and weight training. My calories average around 2500 per day although I don’t know exactly as I don’t count them. I’ve been able to go a lot of time without reading a food label or thinking too much about what I eat.
For me at this point weight has become something that I fight to be at peace with. I try to keep my mind off numbers and I’m focused on just feeling great and strong in my skin. I no longer believe being super thin is the path to happiness. Being able to eat and enjoy food, socialize without worry about food, and be in a healthy body is more important to me. My weight will always be secondary to those things.
I’m posting this to give you an idea of what’s possible long term. Surgery is a great tool in some ways but it comes at a high cost. It’s taken me years to rebuild my health and I’m still trying to get my metabolism and muscle mass back to wear it should be. But even without surgery I would have faced a hard road and surgery gave me the push I needed.
These days I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time and also I think, healthier.
 
Best wishes on your journey! And remember- you are beautiful right now. Weight doesn’t determine a persons beauty or worth!!!

I'll chime in...
First, I abstained from alcohol for the entirety of my six month pre-op diet program and the first 3 months post-op. I just wasn't willing to derail the progress I wanted to make on the front end of the surgery (where I lost 100 pounds by surgery day) or the first few months post-op.
I took my ex on a monthlong tour of SE Asia at the 3 months post-op point. I spoke with my surgeon about alcohol on the trip, and he told me that I would be fine. His only recommendation was to take it easy and test things out at home before I went out in public with it.
I am now 16 months post-op, and it has been 22 months since I started this journey. I follow a Keto way of eating and am really particular about what I put in my body. I have lost 225 pounds, am below goal, and have maintained beautifully for several months now. Do I have alcohol? Yes, I do. I mostly have red wine and I mostly only have it when I am traveling for work or on the weekends. Drinking has always been a very social thing for me.
Yes, there are statistics about WLS and alcoholism just there are statistics about losing more weight with a bypass than a sleeve. But, I'll same the same thing about the alcohol as I did about the bypass vs sleeve weight loss issue in a thread the other day. It depends on the person. If you were inclined toward alcoholism before, you will be now. If you are eating and exercising like you should, a few drinks (especially with low- or no-carb mixers) probably won't cause you a problem. I had a sleeve and have been more successful than many bypass patients. It just depends on each person's story.
But if your alcohol calories outnumber your food calories, that is an issue. Something to think about.
To each his own. I have no issue with it, and never have gained one once from it, but I am also crazy obsessed about what I eat and how often I imbibe. It's all about balance, in my opinion.
Good luck!

I went into surgery having lost 20lbs on the 2 week liver reduction diet. I came home from the hospital 3 days later, and 11lbs heavier!!! It took a good 3-4 days to shed those lbs before I started losing new lbs. You have a ton of swelling, Water weight from the IV's, etc. The first week is rough and starts getting better in week 2. You will see the weight come off, do not worry!