Jaelzion

13 hours ago, butterflywhisper said:

Hello,

I’m new here, I’m having the procedure in April. I’m starting before the surgery to eat the way I will after the surgery. I was advised by my surgeon to eat mainly Protein, vegetables and some fruit if I wanted it. He was telling me to be successful I’ll need to give up most carbohydrates all together. I’m having trouble with this thought ill never have pizza or chocolate again.

I understand in order to be successful I need to adapt a complete new way of thinking. I need to let go of the unhealthy foods and just eat only healthy foods for the rest of my life. But even normal dieting people still eat some unhealthy foods as a ‘cheat day or treat.

Do you still enjoy the occasional slice of pizza?

I also understand that what I’m sacrificing is nothing compared to the better life I will have afterwards. I will have my health and quality of life back. That is priceless! So I’m prepared to eat only certain things for the rest of my life. I’m more then ready to have this surgery. I just need support with the fact as a foodie I’m leaving so much food behind for good!

thank you

Lisa

Yes, now that I'm in maintenance, I do allow myself a treat now and then (special occasions). And my day to day diet is not as strict as it was when I was in weight loss phase. You don't have to commit to NEVER having any of your favorite foods ever again. A total abstinence approach works for some people, but it's not realistic for me.

But you will need to be mindful of how and what you eat, if you want to maintain the loss. I weigh myself regularly and I adjust based on what I see on the scale. Like a lot of us, I have a redline weight limit that tells me it's time to buckle down and follow my plan more strictly until I lose the pounds I have picked up. Hopefully, I will never again eat recklessly and mindlessly on a day to day basis. But I still enjoy old favorites (just less often and in smaller portions). I hope that helps!

On 12/11/2021 at 11:18 AM, SleeverSk said:

Exactly, which is why the op and many others feel like this. My observations and experience on this journey has lead me to believe to succeed long term with this surgery you need to be the type of person who would succeed with normal diet and exercise programs and if you can do that why would you need surgery.

Before surgery, I had been obese since the age of 8. I was 54 when I had the sleeve done. In all those intervening years (decades), I was never able to lose significant weight and keep it off for more than a year (usually 6 months). After surgery, I lost 130 pounds and reached a normal BMI for the first time since I was a little girl. I'm coming up on 3 years since my sleeve and my weight is within 4 pounds of my lowest weight. I had 45 years of trying to lose weight and maintain the loss. If I could have done it on my own, I would have.

Quote

Surgery is a kick start caused by the early after surgery effects where you physically cant eat and your body is forced to survive on a low calorie diet. But once the body heals and you can start bringing in "normal" foods that is where you need will power and commitment and this is where it fails as some of us are lead to believe that the Portion Control side of things is what looses the weight. I have been very surprised by the amount and types of foods i can actually eat ! I feel that perhaps the op may experience the same. Its not the fault of the op for being disappointed and to have feelings of being misinformed. My dietian told me prior to surgery and again after surgery that I could eat as I did pre surgery and loose weight because of the Portion Control side of things.... false.

To a certain extent, you're right. No surgery will allow you to eat unhealthy food on a regular basis and maintain the weight loss. The part you are missing is that for some of us, the surgery alters our appetite and reduces cravings. That makes it much easier to stick to a desired eating plan. Prior to surgery, my appetite beat me up like it was Mike Tyson. Now, it's more like a toddler. It can make a lot of noise, but it doesn't overpower me anymore. I'm not consistently relying on raw will-power, where I'm constantly struggling not to eat. That wouldn't be at all sustainable (as my 45 years of diets demonstrated). Sure, sometimes I want something bad and I have to tell myself "Not right now". But it's a heck of a lot easier to do that now than it was before surgery.

It's really unfortunate that you were told you would be able to eat as you did pre-surgery. I honestly don't know ANYONE who completely went back to their old diet and maintained their weight loss. Now that I am in maintenance, I'm not as strict as I was during the weight loss phase. I eat more carbs (in the form of fruit mostly) and I allow myself a treat now and then (Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, Passover, etc.) But day to day, I eat a maintenance diet that is very different from how I ate pre-surgery.

Quote

My surgeon told me AFTER surgery at my 3 month post op appointment that the effects of the sleeve last 18 months to 2 years at the most and what happens after that is entirely up to you. So yes if you look at it like that why are we cutting pieces off a perfectly healthy vital organ for short term benefit.

Your surgeon is simply wrong. 2 years and 9 months after surgery, I still have significant restriction and my appetite is still about two-thirds of what it was before. The restriction is not as intense as it was in the early days/weeks/months after surgery, but it's there. I am satisfied with a fraction of the food I used to eat at one meal. It will always be possible to "eat around your sleeve" by eating unhealthy food in small portions, but all day long. No surgery can stop you if you are really determined to over-eat. That's why it's important to get to the root of the psychological reasons you depend on food to help you cope. Because surgery doesn't eliminate those issues. It's very unfortunate that your bariatric team didn't prepare you for that aspect of things.

Different people have different experiences of what post-surgical life is like. Not everyone gets the long-term appetite reduction that I enjoy. I'm aware that it may not last forever. But almost 3 years later, the sleeve is still helping me maintain my weight loss, WITHOUT a constant will-power battle. It takes commitment sure - I can't eat everything that comes to mind, whenever I want. But for the first time ever, I feel like on any given day, I can CHOOSE how and what I eat, rather than being a prisoner of my appetite.

16 hours ago, LouLouM said:

It's the nature of online forums to complain or worry, right? Most of my posts have been worries, so I thought that I'd post something positive. food. Tastes. So. Good. Now. OK, I'm only in Stage 3, but with so many more options and flavors, I'm stoked! I feel like everything tastes better than it did pre-surgery and am satisfied with so little of it. No feelings of being deprived. I do get pretty hungry in between "meals", but the meals that I'm having, I enjoy so much.

That is all.

I'm the same way, even after all this time (my surgery was almost 3 years ago now). After surgery, even the most basic things taste so good to me! Like I can heat up a can of Soup and I'm like "This is amazing!" LOL, pleasant surgery side effect.

4 hours ago, TheRealPennyD said:

This may be an unpopular opinion, and I may be biased because I am 5 days post-op, but I wouldn't get this surgery to lose 50 lbs. This is my opinion I know everyone is different and has their own health considerations, but I am just wondering why I went through this horrible traumatic event to lose a smaller amount of weight (60 lbs or so). I paid out of pocket and should have spent that money on a trainer and food program. Idk. Take this with a grain of salt as I have said I'm fresh out of surgery.

Had you never tried diet and exercise previously? If not, you're right, it might have been premature to leap right to surgery. But most of us who have had WLS have tried for years to permanently lose weight via all kinds of eating plans and all kinds of exercise plans. And many of us HAVE lost hundreds of pounds over the years (or decades), only to gain them back, plus extra. You know the quote about the definition of insanity? There comes a point where you know in your bones that "one more diet" or "one more workout plan" is not going end any differently. If you really believe you can lose the weight on your own, then it might be too soon for surgery. Most of us were long past that point by the time we had our procedures.

11 minutes ago, SleeverSk said:

wow, its just not in some peoples nature to track, journal or keep a diary and for those of you who this comes easily good for you but there is no need to be little those that don't. Maybe people should be looking at these surgical teams that approve the non trackers/ meal preppers/ planners and ask the question why were they approved if it is such a crucial part of the "journey". some of us encountered sleeve and leave surgeons with no support and it is bullshit. the OP is right some of you people need to get down off your high horses and stop looking down your noses at people who's road they travel on for this "journey" is different to yours

If you read through the thread, it HAS been stated that the OP was not a good candidate and shouldn't have been approved for the surgery if s/he was not willing to work at adopting the habits that lead to success. We're not focusing on that point because it's not helpful now. What's done is done. As I said in an earlier post, if the OP just wants to vent and isn't really interested in advice, then all we can say is "I'm sorry you're having a hard time."

But the OP isn't even 6 months out from surgery, so it's much too early to say the surgery has failed unless the OP is unwilling to make changes. People on BariatricPal are disposed to help, so when someone posts "I don't know what to do", we will jump in and try to help with analysis and advice. From the OP's reaction to that advice, it's become clear that this thread was just intended to vent the OP's frustration and anger. Those feelings are valid, but we can't really help with them except to say that it would be a good idea to seek therapy. Beyond that, almost no one on BariatricPal is going to say "Yes, you're right, the surgery is BS." because too many of us have had it change our lives for the better. So if that's the only thing you and the OP would consider to be supportive, you're both likely to be disappointed. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I'm not sure what that person meant by "listening to your sleeve" but this is how I would interpret it. The restriction in your tummy will tell you when to stop eating. The feeling of being "full" can be very different post-op, so you have to learn the signals that indicate you are approaching being full. One time, shortly after surgery, I overate because I didn't recognize that I was full. It was a miserable experience, I was in severe distress until finally I threw up. After that, I learned how to identify when I've had enough to eat (and honestly, I rarely eat enough now to test my restriction).

Also, your sleeve can educate you in terms of WHAT you are eating. My new tummy does not do well with red meat. Regardless of how prepared, red meat is uncomfortable for my body to digest. I could keep trying to force it but I've chosen to "listen to my sleeve" and just leave red meat out of my diet.

Your body will give you signals about what it does and doesn't like and they are worth paying attention to.

The liquid pre-op is tough. Mine was just 10 days, so yours is longer than what I had to do! Try to keep busy, distract yourself, if allowed eat sugar-free Jello or sugar-free popsicles to give the illusion of eating solid food, drink broth when you want something savory and just hang in there!

I weighed 238 on my surgery date and I needed to get down to 132 for a normal BMI. So I had 106 pounds of excess weight. I lost all of that, plus 11 more pounds after surgery.

Before the pre-op liquid diet I weighed 250, so that's what listed as my starting weight. But just counting from after surgery, I lost 117 pounds, which was all my excess weight and then some.

The statistics are based on averages and you can do better or worse than average based on many different factors. Some of those factors you can control (motivation, compliance, exercise, etc.) and some you can't (age, gender, medical conditions, etc.)

3 hours ago, JenH38 said:

if you still have to stick to a diet of low carb and high Protein diet or at least follow a strict diet, how do you do it with the surgery, when you couldn't without? Is there a big difference in hunger, even if before you weren't really eating because of hunger but feeling?

I have good news and bad news.

Good: for me, there really WAS a big difference in hunger levels. For most of my first year, I had next to no appetite and when appetite returned, it was much more management than before. Even 2.5 years out, my appetite is about 65% of what it was pre-op. And that's a good thing.

Bad: WLS doesn't completely fix emotional eating. You will still need to be mindful of what you eat and why you are eating at any given time. It is possible to "eat around your sleeve" just by eating small amounts of the wrong things, all day long. So if emotional eating has been an issue before surgery, you'll need to keep working at that after surgery. Therapy can help with getting to the root of why you use food as a coping mechanism.

Overall, I have no complaints about the surgery. I had no major complications, I lost all my excess weight and I'm still maintaining. So I don't want to discourage you. Just be prepared to continue working on your mindset and emotional health.

49 minutes ago, goodmanje said:

I have been following the advise of my physician. I don’t write everything down but I’m only eating low calorie food. I never drink anything with calories, never eat out…. I don’t even eat what the rest of my family has for meals. I’ve always got my own food to eat. And I’m not losing weight…… like I said, I don’t know what else to do.

@goodmanje, if you're just wanting to vent because you're angry and upset, that's fine. We've all been there at some time or other in our lives. But if you are interested in help with troubleshooting what's going on, you'll have to engage with us and provide more specific information. Like post an example of what you eat on an average day. And you have to be willing to change - for instance, you can't just say "I'm not a disciplined person". Losing weight requires discipline with or without surgery. There are lots of food tracking apps out there and you may not be able to figure this out without making use of one of them.

If your B12 is on the low-normal side, it can't hurt to try supplementing it more. My doctor told me that there's very little risk of toxicity from getting too much B12, so there's no downside to increasing it. Honestly, I felt very much like you describe when my B12 was low: out of it, depressed, angry, tired, weak, confused. I say give it a try. And don't be discouraged if you don't see a change right away. As I said above, it can take a while for the symptoms to go away (I'm still working through my last symptoms).

Are you getting enough B12? I had a scary B12 deficit that left me with many of the symptoms you describe, plus some others. Not getting enough B12 causes all kinds of neurological problems, including mood swings, personality changes, fatigue, brain fog, tingling and/or pain in arms and legs. I even lost my voice as my vocal chords became paralyzed. The bad part is that even after your B12 levels are back to normal, the symptoms don't resolve immediately. I still have the tingling, pins and needles feeling months later, despite supplementing my B12 back to normal levels.

Everyone has covered the mental aspects, so I won't repeat. But I'm curious...

1. Do you feel restriction when you eat? At six weeks out, it should be very apparent. What happens if you overeat?

2. What kind of food are you eating? Are you following an eating plan? Or just eating whatever?

3. Do you eat meals? Graze? Both? What is your style of eating?

4. Are you hungry all the time? Or do you eat out of boredom, as a coping mechanism, etc?

The folks on this site are super-knowlegeable and might be able to help you figure out what's going on if you provide more information.

A 3rd vote for ketosis. Drinking extra Water can help, but that's not so easy when you're one week post-op.

On a day to day basis, no. I don't eat potatoes, rice, bread, etc. But at Thanksgiving dinner for the last two years, I allowed myself to taste everything (which was enough to fill me up). So potatoes are not part of my regular diet, but a rare treat.

I tried it - The taste wasn't bad, not as good as Splenda, but acceptable. I had to give it up because it turned out I'm allergic to it. It took me a while to figure out what I was reacting to but once I put it together and ditched the Truvia, my allergic reaction went away.

I'm so sorry you're going through this! Prayers for a quick and complete recovery.

This is something that the surgery really changed for me. Somehow having most of my stomach removed cured my food obsession (maybe due to reduction of ghrelin production). I no longer find myself focusing on when I can next eat. I still have the occasional craving, but they are manageable now and not overpowering. Not everyone has this experience, so I'm not predicting it will be the same for you. Just saying that things may change post-op. Best of luck!

The pre-op diet is the hardest part for some of us. Staying away at mealtimes helps. Also distracting yourself. Don't try to restrict your liquids, you can sip on broth or have clear Protein Drinks whenever you feel the need. sleep a lot if you can, LOL. If sugar-free Jello is allowed (it was for me), that can give the illusion of eating solid food.

And generally just hang in there! It's difficult but worth it in the end. Hugs. 🤗

The good thing is, you're addressing it now rather than letting the gain get out of hand. 10 pounds in one month is a lot, are you sure there are no health issues that may be contributing to that?

As everyone said, there are as many different eating plans as there are surgeons. My doctor's plan was lowish-carb (not Keto low, but controlled). It emphasized Protein first, then veggies and not pushing my restriction. He said if I did that calories would take care of themselves and it did work out that way. I tracked (and still do) everything I eat so that I am aware of how many calories I am taking in and what the macros are.

I actually also eat about 6 mini-meals per day rather than 3 "big" meals. But if eating that way isn't working for you, try the more traditional 3 meals per day approach. Low-fat has never worked for me as it leaves me hungry, but your body might react well to it. Different bodies thrive on different approaches. At 6 weeks out, you are still very early in the process. Ask your bariatric program what they recommend and then adjust as needed to accommodate your body's needs.

16 hours ago, Cynkentayjus1 said:

I'm on the full liquid pre- op started officially this morning. Surgery on the 30th November. I was doing so good good today creamed Soup n all(no chunks). Took a nap woke up and grabbed Peanut Butter on a piece of bread I threw half of it in toilet because I feel like I've failed. Can I get through the next two weeks like this? Anyone else have mess ups and turned them around?

Cyndi

Sent from my SM-A125U using BariatricPal mobile app

I strugged with the pre-op liquid diet and I did break down and have a yogurt on day 4. Just get back on track and keep pushing. The pre-op is the hardest part for some of us.

13 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Hope they don’t have the same narcotic effects as in Greek mythology (Odysseus & the lotus eaters). 😂😂😂

Ha! Maybe that's why they are so good, LOL 😀

10 minutes ago, Sunnyway said:

I'm sure they are very tasty, but they are junk food. Keto junk food is still junk food and should be avoided.

I'm in maintenance and there are times when I'm going to eat snack food. So it's important to me to find less destructive alternatives. But that's a personal call we all have to make.

Kind of like flavored popcorn. And they come in a decent sized bag for 100 calories and 17 grams of carbs.