Jen2020MGB

This is one of the rules I found pretty arbitrary and weird. I have drunk through straws throughout as I just couldn't sip things, and it still helps me regulate how much I'm taking in. At no point do I accidentally swallow gallons of air just because I'm using a straw! However, people are different and surgeons are different, you know what they've advised and you know your body. I don't think there is any big secret to it, if you take in air when you use a straw then avoid, if you don't then it's probably fine.

At two months out from a mini gastric bypass I was just trying to get enough calories in to be able to function at work and the rest of life! I found it really hard to consume anything, even enough fluids. I was probably around 400 calories at that point, some days up to around 800. From a healing and metabolism point of view I am not sure much below 800 is very helpful, in my opinion. Could you get a second opinion from an independent nutritionist with bariatric experience?

Edited to add: in the UK actually it would be a dietician rather than nutritionist, I don't know if you have that distinction where you are from?

What I'm about to write has the caveat that I'm only almost a year out, and aware that my thoughts might change on this if I stop losing or even put on weight, but...

I now have a couple of Cookies when I fancy them, as opposed to the couple of packets I used to have. I don't feel deprived, and seem to be able to avoid overeating at the moment. I still don't keep much in the house to avoid too much temptation. I am however very aware that I may slide into wanting more! So having to be careful.

You will want to avoid heaving two weeks out. I was still on full liquid at 2 weeks, no bits. Don't be afraid to go back a stage on your food plan, not everyone can tolerate solid that soon. Take your time, it will get easier. Hope you are feeling better now.

Fat causes inflammation, which is linked to depression. While not 100%, I feel SO much better mentally now compared to before surgery, in so many ways.

However, when I couldn't get enough Water in, had to think carefully about what I was eating, was so tired all the time in the first 3 months after surgery, I didn't feel great.

For me, those weeks of feeling low were totally worth it.

I had zero motivation to work out, until about 5/6 months out when I'd lost a decent amount of weight and physically it was easier. Still didn't really want to exercise, but did some long walks.

Something strange has happened at almost 10 months out and I just want to run, all the time. I've never been a runner so I can't really figure out why, but sharing just to give an example of how things have changed for me.

It's very hard to work out when already in a huge calorie deficit, which is possibly why I feel much more up for working out now my weight and diet are more 'normal'.

I hope you figure out something that works for you, but don't worry too much if you're not feeling it yet. 😊

My tipping point was concerns about blood sugar, and being pre-diabetes. Some photos of me looking bigger than ever, I didn't even recognise myself and was in disbelief for ages, sealed the deal.

My date shifted due to covid, and because of a huge amount of stress eating I actually put on quite a lot of weight in the four months before surgery... I lost about a stone on the pre op diet, in the two weeks immediately before surgery. I was (irrationally) afraid I wouldn't make it through the op, and got obsessed with liver shrinking. I'm glad I took it as seriously as I did, I had a lot of mental preparation time due to the covid delays, and am 100% sure that's what's helped me make a success of the tool 9 months down the line.

I didn't consciously do food funerals, but I had read lots about restriction and dumping and scared myself half to death worrying! Turns out I can eat almost anything and have almost no problem working around the small stomach when needed like in social situations, but before surgery I definitely had lots of 'this is my last EVER x' thoughts! This all added into my worry and I just ate loads. Now I don't even enjoy all the same stuff, so like many things we worry about it was absolutely wasted energy!

Another great thread! This is the only place I go for advice or to share wls experiences. I joined a bunch of Facebook groups when I first had surgery, but they turned out to be dreadful places and I always came away feeling terrible about everything! The support and encouragement offered here has been invaluable for me and I'm sure many others. 🤍

I went for a round 150 as the 'main' goal, as I was that weight when I was around 17 and looked and felt great (not that I thought it at the time!!). Now I'm getting closer at 179, and when I look in the mirror there appears to be more than 29 pounds to go! So I may revise goal but will see when I get there or close. It's hard to imagine ourselves so light I think, after many years of being heavier. It's such a personal thing, and like others have said I do sometimes worry that I'll never be happy!

I love the 'weirdest none-scale-victory' thread for ideas of what to notice and Celebrate, and mentally I find it helpful to shift focus away from the numbers sometimes, particularly when experiencing a stall.

This is an interesting thread. When I first had surgery, I didn't feel I deserved to have a healthy and slim body, I just wanted to feel a bit better. Now much of my excess weight has come off, I am so sad for the pre surgery me, who was so low and underconfident she couldn't even dream of being a healthy weight. Funny how things change.

I have been feeling a bit fed up with my dietician saying it's not likely I'll hit my own personal goal (which would be a BMI in the region of 22-23). I hit 29 with little effort (beyond surgery, not eating much, and the challenges that come with a tiny stomach of course!) and am now enjoying exercising in a variety of ways. I am 9 months out, and while I appreciate weight loss will (and has) slow down, I didn't go through all of this to remain at an unhealthy weight! I may not get to my ultimate goal, but I'm certainly not going to give up before I've tried. We have gone through a lot to get to where we are now, and we deserve to succeed.

So I say go for it - set your goal and work towards it. Set smaller goals on the way (the first 25, the next hundred bracket, lower than 5 years ago, that sort of thing) and Celebrate each win. As you get closer to goal, you can always revise it if it doesn't feel right.

I found a few products I liked pre op, stocked up, and then post op absolutely hated the taste of them! Ended up with a lot of waste. Would recommend having a selection to try, but be prepared for your tastes to change.

For me, the best products were those closest to 'normal' food, like Protein yoghurts. At 9 months post op I still use those to top up when I don't manage to get enough protein in the day.

Hope all goes well for you, singerjoyce.

Six months out for me I think it was, when I could do it without thinking/noticing, made all the difference! Was tough to start with, but it really does get easier.

As many have said, I just regret not having it sooner. However, the year of covid delays actually were a good thing for me as I went into it totally certain it was what I wanted, and I was as mentally prepared as I could have been. If I'd had the surgery as initially planned, I might've felt some regret as I just don't think I was mentally ready and it was all a bit rushed for such a big decision (2 months from initial consult to first surgery date).

Now that I've had it and experienced good weight loss (although not done yet), I do have the occasional thought of 'why couldn't I just do this without surgery', but I always go back to having struggled for 20 years, I know I couldn't have done it without and my food addiction would've continued for the rest of my life. I regret needing it in the first place, but I don't regret having the surgery.

I can see the veins on the back of my hand (and elsewhere) now! A huge plus, before it was always really horrible having blood tests, noone could hit a vein apart from one wonder nurse. Straight after surgery I had two anaethetists struggling too! But now it's easy, and I don't have to be a human pin cushion for routine tests.

I felt like I had no life, and the little I did have I couldn't enjoy because I felt so self conscious, couldn't physically fit in, was too heavy to do the hobbies I used to enjoy, such low confidence I had zero chance of finding a partner. This hasn't all magically changed with surgery, but everything is a little easier and I can look forward to the future now. Health was a consideration, but honestly I didn't really care about myself/my health when I was so big that everything was a struggle.

I was the same, it got better! Someone on here gave me the suggestion of using an egg cup or shot glass for fluids, and setting a phone alarm to go off every ten minutes to remind me to drink. I am pleased to say I can now drink reasonably normally, it really does get better, but feels a bit grim at the time.

Yes! See this thread for a similar question and experiences

I wondered how everyone was doing with follow up appointment and how covid has affected this?

Since my surgery (UK, private) at the end of August 2020, I have had no blood tests, no consultant follow up, just a couple of dietician appointments. What would be considered normal in terms of tests and appointments?

I feel well generally, and have no problems other than a really slight niggling discomfort under where one of the incisions is, so don't *need* any appointments as such, but I'm starting to feel that I should have had something given the nature of the surgery and whether they are not doing it because of covid? I'm kicking myself for not finding out about this in advance, I was just so focused on getting to the surgery I didn't spend much time thinking about afterwards!

11 hours ago, Midearsweetheart said:

Hello all,

Does anyone know of an approved plant based/ non dairy Protein for phase 1 post op?

Thank you

I had silken tofu and added some flavour, but that was after about 2 weeks post op.

10 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Congrats on your success so far.

You could be experiencing real hunger. My real hunger makes me feel uncomfortable & restless. A lot of people have an increase in stomach acid which makes them think they’re hungry. Take an additional esomeprazole at night & see if that helps. I sometimes do if I feel my morning dose has worn off.

Are you only eating three meals a day? Speak to your dietician about a healthy snack you could add after dinner to tide you over during the night as you may need to be consuming a few more calories. Have a small piece of cheese, a carrot stick, a couple of blueberries or strawberries or a small piece of chicken or other meat you may have in your fridge.

Good luck.

My dietician said something about me not having much stomach acid after surgery, I don't really know why. I don't take any omeprazole or similar anyway.

I am only eating two meals a day plus a liquid meal like a coffee or thin Soup, so I do think it could well be real hunger. I feel similar, restless.

9 hours ago, DenverGirl88 said:

I have this exact same problem- I’ve learned that I just truly am hungry and cannot sleep unless I have something in there. I usually have flax pita, yogurt, or chicken on hand to consume on the fly. Lately because I know I’ll be hungry I’ve taken to drinking tea or Decaf coffee when I’d normally eat so I can save some calories for later when I’ll need it just before bedtime. My new years resolution is to start drinking tea- also helps to get more liquids in, keeps distracted, etc. still trying to find one I like.

That sounds like a good plan. I'm going to try having a yoghurt an hour or so before bed. Thanks!

I am 4 months post op, and pretty lucky in that things seem to have gone quite well so far. Something I've noticed in the last month or so though is how hungry I feel at night, and sometimes I feel like I really need to eat before I go to sleep, which is usually about 4 hours after my last meal. I often wake up feeling the same. Right now I am awake at midnight, not being able to sleep and and feeling like I need to eat. I don't think it is head hunger because I don't actually want to eat, it's more like a sensation of emptiness. Has anyone else had this? Am I actually hungry?! I am consuming around 500-900 calories a day. Pre op I was told I was prediabetes, so I wonder if my blood sugar might have something to do with it. Maybe I need to spread my meals out a bit more? Any ideas appreciated.

On 11/23/2020 at 8:00 PM, shellzuk said:

Hi Jen, it was really good to see this post. I’m also a teacher and thinking about how long I will need to be off. Currently 4 days post op and still in a fair bit of pain, although I feel much better today in general. My senior leadership team know why I’m off but I haven’t told anyone else from work so I’m sure questions will be asked when I return. I was signed off for 2 weeks but at the moment I’m thinking it will be longer. Good to hear your story so far 😊

Glad it was helpful. How are you getting on? Hope you're having less pain now. I'm losing weight quite obviously quickly now, and students have started to mention it (in a positive way) which was both a surprise and nice.

Iced latte with a milk that also has Protein, so cows or, as I have it, soya milk. That is my go to in the morning as I never want food until lunchtime, so I at least get in some fluids and protein. The coldness also soothed my stomach early on after surgery.