_Chonk_

Hi everyone! I sincerely apologize that I didn't update you sooner, but I wanted to take a little more time for healing before I came here to share how things went, and my outcome. My surgery in Mexico went very well, and Dr. Illan & his staff are truly amazing. I can tell you 100% that the experience in terms of surgical skill, and post-op care, was as good as, or if not better than what I have experienced in the US. They are true healers and I am so blessed for having found them. I was literally terrified, even going over my account numbers and password with my son before being wheeled off into surgery, and redoing my will & ensuring all financial directives were in order before heading to Mexico, in case something terrible happened. But I can report to you that my experience during the immediate postop, and since then, in the almost two weeks since I got home on July 20th, has been uneventful in a wonderful way. The day after surgery was the most painful day, and I did vomit a little bit of blood. I also experienced a low grade fever and high blood pressure for the first 4-5 days after surgery, as well as the continual gas pains from the CO2 that you are blown up with during surgery, and overall dizziness and exhaustion. But those are all normal reactions to a major surgery. Dr. Illan told me that he used a 36 french bougie on me, rather than the 34, maybe due to my low BMI (?), and dissected my antrum 3-4 cm from the pylorus to help negate after-surgery GERD, and was careful to remove all my fundus & tightly oversew the staple line; but my son said that the photo he took of my stomach was surprisingly small, although I never saw that photo. I will see after time how large my stomach is, and hope it remains tiny enough to restrict food and hunger for a long time. My 4 incisions are healing well, and the worst gas pain which occurs right under my sternum and radiates to my left shoulder, is almost gone at day 13. That type of pain can be a late leak, so I watched it carefully, but it has abated, so I think all is well. I never experienced the dehydration I was afraid of, because I have carefully drank electrolyte enhanced beverages sip by sip as soon as I was out of the hospital. I also surprisingly did not have the expected Migraines except for the first few days after surgery, because I have been a nazi about liquid intake. I graduated to smooth Soups and low fat greek yogurt a few days ago, and even tried some pureed hamburger today, and was able to get that down after burning it to a crisp in the microwave. My diet staples have been sugar free pedialite popsicles, 0 calorie Vitamin Water, chicken broth and several brands of pre-mixed and self-mixed Protein Powder. I was dizzy and exhausted into the second week, and on day 7 added in liquid vitamins, as well as half of an Iron tablet chewable, because my hematocrit and hemoglobin was low & I felt I was becoming anemic. Within a day or so, my energy came back strongly. I am always careful to take some Protein Drink or greek yogurt with my liquid Vitamins, and take the acid reflux meds away from the vitamins so they can be absorbed. At almost two weeks, I feel like the swelling in my stomach has gone way down, because I can drink liquids quite easily again. I have lost about 17 pounds including the pre-diet, but I was not a super-high BMI to begin with, so I expected a slower weight loss. I have to say that it has been surprising that many days I lose 1/2 pound or less when I am eating 300-500 calories per day. I have had no sense of hunger since the day of my surgery, and pray to God that continues. The head hunger has not been an issue while I am awake, but only during sleep, when I have strange dreams involving food, wherein I obsessively dream about food, chowing down on thousands and calories, and then awake in fear I have destroyed my new sleeve, before quickly realizing it was all a bad dream. Those dreams have subsided somewhat over the past couple of days, and were the most intense on the night of surgery and first week of post-op. My unconscious mind was coming around to the realization that something had happened to my body, and was trying to process the loss of food as a comfort tool.
I am struggling now with lots of fatigue, and alternating between feeling so much better that I want to get out and exercise again, and having no motivation to do anything. I am attributing this to the low calorie diet, and hormonal or neurochemical changes that happen after extreme dieting imposed by a surgery like this. My period came a few days early due to the surgery, and was extremely painful with cramps, etc, which I learned through research is attributable to "hormone dumping" which happens when estrogen stored in fat cells is released quickly into the blood stream after quick fat loss. I've been tracking my blood ketones with a meter and I am solidly in ketosis each day, which I expected with a low carb, high Protein & low calorie diet. I wish I could exercise again, to try and improve my energy levels, and improve my mental fog, but am afraid of causing a leak, as I have read stories about people who opened their incisions, or developed an abdominal leak from exercising soon after surgery. I am walking every day, and did some heavy yard work yesterday, but look forward to getting back into a sustained and vigorous exercise routine, if for nothing else my state of mind, as it feels odd to have days of exhaustion and no motivation to do anything. I'm sure that's serotonin/diet related, and surgical healing related as well, as the body works very hard to repair itself after a surgery like this.

That's about all I can think of to report on right now, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about Dr. Illan, my experience in Mexico, or my healing from the surgery.

take care!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

Hi everyone! I sincerely apologize that I didn't update you sooner, but I wanted to take a little more time for healing before I came here to share how things went, and my outcome. My surgery in Mexico went very well, and Dr. Illan & his staff are truly amazing. I can tell you 100% that the experience in terms of surgical skill, and post-op care, was as good as, or if not better than what I have experienced in the US. They are true healers and I am so blessed for having found them. I was literally terrified, even going over my account numbers and password with my son before being wheeled off into surgery, and redoing my will & ensuring all financial directives were in order before heading to Mexico, in case something terrible happened. But I can report to you that my experience during the immediate postop, and since then, in the almost two weeks since I got home on July 20th, has been uneventful in a wonderful way. The day after surgery was the most painful day, and I did vomit a little bit of blood. I also experienced a low grade fever and high blood pressure for the first 4-5 days after surgery, as well as the continual gas pains from the CO2 that you are blown up with during surgery, and overall dizziness and exhaustion. But those are all normal reactions to a major surgery. Dr. Illan told me that he used a 36 french bougie on me, rather than the 34, maybe due to my low BMI (?), and dissected my antrum 3-4 cm from the pylorus to help negate after-surgery GERD, and was careful to remove all my fundus & tightly oversew the staple line; but my son said that the photo he took of my stomach was surprisingly small, although I never saw that photo. I will see after time how large my stomach is, and hope it remains tiny enough to restrict food and hunger for a long time. My 4 incisions are healing well, and the worst gas pain which occurs right under my sternum and radiates to my left shoulder, is almost gone at day 13. That type of pain can be a late leak, so I watched it carefully, but it has abated, so I think all is well. I never experienced the dehydration I was afraid of, because I have carefully drank electrolyte enhanced beverages sip by sip as soon as I was out of the hospital. I also surprisingly did not have the expected Migraines except for the first few days after surgery, because I have been a nazi about liquid intake. I graduated to smooth Soups and low fat greek yogurt a few days ago, and even tried some pureed hamburger today, and was able to get that down after burning it to a crisp in the microwave. My diet staples have been sugar free pedialite popsicles, 0 calorie Vitamin Water, chicken broth and several brands of pre-mixed and self-mixed Protein Powder. I was dizzy and exhausted into the second week, and on day 7 added in liquid vitamins, as well as half of an Iron tablet chewable, because my hematocrit and hemoglobin was low & I felt I was becoming anemic. Within a day or so, my energy came back strongly. I am always careful to take some Protein Drink or greek yogurt with my liquid Vitamins, and take the acid reflux meds away from the vitamins so they can be absorbed. At almost two weeks, I feel like the swelling in my stomach has gone way down, because I can drink liquids quite easily again. I have lost about 17 pounds including the pre-diet, but I was not a super-high BMI to begin with, so I expected a slower weight loss. I have to say that it has been surprising that many days I lose 1/2 pound or less when I am eating 300-500 calories per day. I have had no sense of hunger since the day of my surgery, and pray to God that continues. The head hunger has not been an issue while I am awake, but only during sleep, when I have strange dreams involving food, wherein I obsessively dream about food, chowing down on thousands and calories, and then awake in fear I have destroyed my new sleeve, before quickly realizing it was all a bad dream. Those dreams have subsided somewhat over the past couple of days, and were the most intense on the night of surgery and first week of post-op. My unconscious mind was coming around to the realization that something had happened to my body, and was trying to process the loss of food as a comfort tool.
I am struggling now with lots of fatigue, and alternating between feeling so much better that I want to get out and exercise again, and having no motivation to do anything. I am attributing this to the low calorie diet, and hormonal or neurochemical changes that happen after extreme dieting imposed by a surgery like this. My period came a few days early due to the surgery, and was extremely painful with cramps, etc, which I learned through research is attributable to "hormone dumping" which happens when estrogen stored in fat cells is released quickly into the blood stream after quick fat loss. I've been tracking my blood ketones with a meter and I am solidly in ketosis each day, which I expected with a low carb, high Protein & low calorie diet. I wish I could exercise again, to try and improve my energy levels, and improve my mental fog, but am afraid of causing a leak, as I have read stories about people who opened their incisions, or developed an abdominal leak from exercising soon after surgery. I am walking every day, and did some heavy yard work yesterday, but look forward to getting back into a sustained and vigorous exercise routine, if for nothing else my state of mind, as it feels odd to have days of exhaustion and no motivation to do anything. I'm sure that's serotonin/diet related, and surgical healing related as well, as the body works very hard to repair itself after a surgery like this.

That's about all I can think of to report on right now, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about Dr. Illan, my experience in Mexico, or my healing from the surgery.

take care!

So, i decided to take on this challenge as well, and i am extremely happy with my results so far. I really struggled at first. I wasnt getting any stronger. So i sat down with my nutritionist because i figured i wasnt eating enough. And well bingo. I was eating 1200-1500 and it wasnt cutting it. Slowly she worked me up. Its not easy and i have to eat 6 times a day because i try to eat extremely clean, but i am able to now get 2500-3000 depending on the workout for the day. Ive put on about 15 pounds, but my waist has gotten smaller. So im guessing its mostly muscle. I weigh once a month now, only because its more about what i look like now, and even tho the scale has gone up a little, ive never had abs in my life. Hard work does pay off. I know i have a long journey ahead of me and hope i can maintain like you guys. Thanks for the inspiration!

Most of the weight loss was pre-op. I started my surgeon's bariatric program at the beginning of February. I lost 78.3lbs pre-op and have lost 33.8lbs post-op.
As for ricotta bake, it's a VERY easy recipe that falls squarely within the soft foods category and tastes a lot like lasagna without the noodles. https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1793517
It's also very versatile because you can make additions to it. I made a big batch tonight and added in some seasoned ground turkey to up the Protein content.

So, to me, that does seem like it's a bit more than one would expect from an immediate post-op diet. That said, I only have my own experiences from which to speak and if this is the diet that your doctor prescribed, then they may have a reason.
For comparison, here is the diet I am on currently (I hit 10 weeks post-op tomorrow), which is not really standard for most programs that I've seen:

2 times a week:
Breakfast - 9am - 2 scoops of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (185 calories)
lunch - 1pm - 1 scoop of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (115 calories)
snack - 4pm - 1 Protein Bar (18-20g of Protein -Think, Pure Protein, or Built Bar) (160-230 calories)
dinner - 7pm - 1 protein bar (18-20g of protein -Think, Pure Protein, or Built Bar) (160-230 calories)
60+ ounces of Water (usually Crystal Light) (40 calories if all Crystal Light)

1 time a week:
Breakfast - 9am - 2 scoops of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (185 calories)
Lunch - 1pm - 1 scoop of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (115 calories)
Snack - 4pm - 1 bottle of Premiere Protein protein water (20g of protein in 16.9 ounces of fluids) (90 calories)
Dinner - 7pm - 1 protein bar (18-20g of protein -Think, Pure Protein, or Built Bar) (160-230 calories)

4 times a week: (up from 3x/week as of this week)
Breakfast - 9am - 2 scoops of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (185 calories)
Lunch - 1pm - 1 scoops of Celebrate 4-in-1 in 8oz of unsweetened almond milk + 2 tsp Benefiber (115 calories)
Snack - 4pm - 1 protein bar (18-20g of protein -Think, Pure Protein, or Built Bar) (160-230 calories)
Dinner - 7pm - 3-4.oz of allowable soft foods (I've had ground chicken, ground turkey, pureed chicken salad made with hummus & greek yogurt, ricotta bake, baked/steamed whitefish, scrambled eggs) (210 - 250 calories)

So I think there would be room to make adjustments to your diet plan, as long as you would still be hitting your protein goals, but that is definitely a conversation you would want to have with your doctor. Simply be upfront with them about your concerns about the slow weight loss and ask for guidance on how to make changes to your diet plan to facilitate better results. Some times you have to make those changes to the diet plan in order to keep your body on it's toes!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

That's such a great idea, thank you for sharing

I'm not sure this kind of thing would be too helpful, because people lose at all different rates for all different reasons - age, gender, metabolic rate, starting BMI, activity level, whether or not they lost weight prior to surgery, how closely they stick to their plan, etc. I was a slow loser from day 1, which some very insensitive medical resident pointed out to me - showing me a chart of where "most" patients are at point X, and pointing out how far behind the curve I was. It really bothered me because I stuck to my program about 99% of the time that whole first year. What else was I supposed to do? Change the fact I was female and post-menopausal and had a pokey metabolism rate? Luckily, I resolved to prove the jerk wrong and ended up losing 100% of my excess weight, blowing pretty much all the other patients in my co-hort out of the Water. But I could have responded the other way - thinking I was a failure, and thinking that he'd just confirmed it.
as long as follow your program and your weight trends downward (allowing for the occasional stall along the way), you're good.

Hi just got a happy planner fitness edition and im loving it for tracking everything. Nurse said have to give data at post op appointment. Anyone else got a log going? Heres a pic of mine.

Once you get to your goal weight I think you can explore eating most things within reason. The key is balance.
I looked at my weight loss period as a time to re-examine what & how I ate & to break habits & cravings. Once I reached maintenance I added more things to my diet to work out how I could maintain my weight while still living & enjoying my life. There are foods I avoid but others I limit or reduce how much I consume.
Yes, there are times when I see others eating certain foods & I think that would be really nice to have but I’ve found that ‘missing out’ feeling has decreased. Likely because the desire to keep the weight off is stronger now. The other weekend I had friends over for drinks & supper. We shared the catering & I made sure no food was left behind in my fridge. I neither wanted the temptation nor to waste food I don’t eat anymore. When I have to ‘bring a plate’ now I bring something I can eat so I don’t have to worry about what to do with leftovers.
I’m 15.5 months out & still very much a toddler on this journey compared to others. I know I’m still learning & think I always will.
Good luck on your journey.

I'm super interested to see how others reply to your post. And I appreciate how honest it is. I'm three months out, and I'm at the point where I can pretty much eat anything. Certain I'm not supposed to, but everything feels tolerable to me. The problem is now that I can eat anything I've really slipped back into some of my bad habits. I'm a big stress eater and I've had a lot of stress the past couple of weeks. That's when I really find myself eating mindlessly, late at night, and just feeling so sick. It takes a lot less "bad" food to make me feel ill now, but I'm frustrated with myself that I'm even doing this kind of thing again. So, I guess my feeling would be that getting used to a new normal is the better choice. And somehow finding a way to be really happy with the new normal. I've lost about 40 lbs and that has made me extremely happy. But not using food as a coping skill is not something I've learned yet. Oh, and lastly, you will definitely be able to eat two ribs in the not too distant future. I think that is really when I'm feeling on top of things. When I have a small portion of something delicious and it satisfies me, and doesn't make me sick, and I don't throw the whole day away because of it.

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since I had my bypass surgery. Over this period of time I've lost about 15 lbs, including a 10-day stall in the middle where I lost nothing a week after surgery. This corresponds to the 3-week stall, as I started shedding pounds at the beginning of my pre-op diet which was two weeks long. Glad that it's over- I've been steadily losing since then. Here's some stats:
I've found that I still struggle to tolerate eating more than 2 oz of food at a time, so introducing vegetables back into my diet has been limited as I'm full up on my Proteins. I average anywhere from 550-650 calories/day, which has usually included three 100-150 cal meals and a Protein Shake. Protein is about 55-70 grams/day. Go-tos have been ricotta or cottage cheese with salt & pepper, sliced ham/sliced prosciutto, smoked salmon with a little bit of lite cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning. Getting used to tossing those 1 or 2 bites of food left on my plate was hard at first, but became much easier after I stopped throwing it in the trash and switched to scraping it into my dogs bowl. Feels like I'm not letting good food go to waste!
Mentally, I've had some tough days, but now I don't even think about eating to distract myself. Recently I've been unable to prepare a meal for myself without trepidation and discomfort. My stomach physically gurgles and turns as if I'm already going to experience rejection... has anyone else felt this? Its the worst when I'm heating up something hot... smelling food that used to appetize me causes this reaction. Usually as I begin to eat this feeling passes, but there is always some anxiety at the beginning. The most crazy thing about this is my mind still loves good food and cooking and I think about meals often, only to find that I'm repulsed by the idea of eating them. I've spoken to my therapist and hopefully we can find strategies to help, but so far this has been my primary source of concern post-op.
I've been reading all of your posts and the comfort that they bring me as we go through this journey together is invaluable. Hoping for the best for everyone

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

I won't miss needing to turn the lights off in the bedroom because I am so disgustingly fat, or strategically trying to hide my rolls in bed with sheets or pillows; or having to drink 3/4 of bottle of wine to feel comfortable about my body in bed, and then waking up sick & hungover the next day.
I won't miss having to buy new clothes every few weeks or months because none of my clothes fit again.
I won't miss having multiple size wardrobes depending for what stage of fat I am. I look forward to wearing one size for the rest of my life,
I won't miss having to wear two underwire bras at all times, because my breasts are so enormous and heavy.
I won't miss the backaches, neckaches and shoulderaches that go with enormous, fat breasts.
I won't miss not being able to wear cute, attractive clothes, and having to wear tents when I am in public.
I won't miss pretending to be sick and not going to events or parties, because I am afraid that people will see how fat I got. I will not miss the disapproving looks of my husband's family when they see my weight gain, when we fly home to see them.
I won't miss people saying that they did not recognize me (because I got so fat again - my weight fluctuates by around 100+ pounds)
I won't miss the acid reflux that was part of being fat (and hope that my sleeve does not cause it to return!)
I won't miss peeing every time I laugh/sneeze/cough. Stress incontinence is 1,000% worse for me when I am obese.
I won't miss developing herniated discs & sciatica because of the pressure of the weight on my back (I had disc surgery right before my sleeve, and hope that the weight loss helps me not reherniate)
I won't miss being exhausted all the time, and not having the energy to work out, or not being able to physically handle working out. I won't miss not being able to do active, fun things like hike, mountain bike, swim, snorkle and ski.
I won't miss getting winded after two or three stairs and having to catch my breath.
I won't miss ducking out of photos, because I don't want there to be a record of how fat I am.
I won't miss seeing my HA1C going up every time I get blood work, along with lipids, etc, and knowing I am developing diabetes and heart disease.
I won't miss my joints hurting when I walk, and waddling down the road as my thighs painfully rub together.
I know there are more thing's I won't miss about being fat, but can't think of them now!

Folks, do the site and this thread a favor and click the "Report Post" link in the upper right hand corner of New&Improved post.

I don't know where you are weight-wise now, but if that 30 lbs you mentioned you still want to lose will get you to a normal BMI, then yea - the last 20 or 30 lbs are a BEAR to lose.
it's not unusual for people to fill up fast on dense Protein (like chicken), but be able to inhale snacky things like there's no tomorrow. That's why they recommend we focus on dense protein and low cal, highly nutritious things like fruits and vegetables. And that's what people should be focusing on anyway if they want to stay healthy, regardless of weight or surgery status.
if you aren't tracking your intake, I'd start doing it. I still track everything I eat at five years out. I've learned I can maintain my weight if I stay between 1500-1700 calories a day (and that range it going to vary for everyone - you may be able to eat more or less - but if you're still trying to lose weight, then probably less....). It's really easy to go over your range and start gaining weight if you're not paying attention. The only time since surgery that I didn't track (other than a day or two here and there) was when I spent a month abroad last fall. I didn't THINK I was eating too much but....TA DA!....I came back a few pounds heavier than when I left. Easy to do.
if you want to continue to lose weight, you'll have to focus on dense Proteins and vegetables. They're filling and will give you the most nutritional bang for the buck. And maybe small servings of fruit, too (I could eat fruit with no problem - but some people limit it because of the sugar). If you focus on those things but STILL aren't losing weight, then you'll have to cut back on total calories, too. I didn't consistently go over 1000 per day until I was about a year out.
btw....I do keep some "safe" things around for snack attacks when I get them - SF Jello, SF popsicles, Light & Fit yogurt, baby carrots, celery, costco roasted seaweed, lots of different types of tea, lots of safe and fun things to drink, like flavored waters.
I know it's really hard sometimes - but it's the only way to lose weight - or avoid gaining it. It's a daily struggle...

WOW !!!!!!!!!! Hope you don't have to EAT (no pun intended) your words..... .This line of conversation is so not right …...Wow! Good luck you ….

A lot of people on this forum have trouble with regain and head hunger.
Yours truly does.
I suggest you dig around you may find some posts that help you.
I have an eating disorder. I have lost and gained weight numerous times.
I found that welbutrin (an antidepressant) helped me with a lot of my compulsions.
I got down to 200 lbs.from 350 after rny but regained after moving in with my mom who had food in her house. Part of my way of dealing with my eating disorder was to not have food in the house. So I gained back 70 lbs.
Then when I moved out I lost about 30 lbs. Just going back to not living with food.
I have plateaued at 240. And am trying Optifast. So we will see how that goes.
One suggestion I have is to continue to plan your meals. Just to keep from obsessing about food.
Good luck!
And for weight loss you may try to up your calories if they are still low. Then after awhile go back to dieting. I have heard that that tricks your metabolism into returning to weight loss mode.

∆ all great suggestions so far ∆
Also please consider returning to the original Surgeon) practice (or find a new surgeon) to run adequate testing, if met with resistance consider this advice (even if only to create a paper trail):

I would not put a number on your "expectations" - instead focus on getting stronger post surgery, and getting in all your fluids that you need. You CAN expect that you WILL lose weight. Even weeks 4 to 8 are considered post surgical recovery. Bodies hoard calories to heal themselves post traumatic injury - and having surgery is a traumatic injury to your body. Be good to yourself, and follow what your doctor says is right for you.