SleeverSk

Someone I know developed an intolerance to Protein mostly in meat form after surgery maybe this has happened to you too and that in turn has turned you off eating because you now associate eating with being physically sick. I agree woth the others stick to food you can eat without reaction until you get it sorted. I think its perecftly normal for you to feel the way you doing given what you are experiencing. Hope you find answers and feel better soon

I use to have badly cracked and dry heels, I looked at them today which was also easier and only 1 small crack remains, Yay!! I can also comfortably reach my toes to cut and paint my nails,and it wont be long before i can tidy up my bikini line myself !!!!

I use to have badly cracked and dry heels, I looked at them today which was also easier and only 1 small crack remains, Yay!! I can also comfortably reach my toes to cut and paint my nails,and it wont be long before i can tidy up my bikini line myself !!!!

I use to have badly cracked and dry heels, I looked at them today which was also easier and only 1 small crack remains, Yay!! I can also comfortably reach my toes to cut and paint my nails,and it wont be long before i can tidy up my bikini line myself !!!!

I'm so, so sorry you're struggling. Please know we are rooting for you and want to see you healthy and well. I think first and foremost, you should stick to what you know you tolerate well and do not feel aversions to. Eat as much and as often as you can to help stabilize your caloric intake. Try focusing on what you CAN eat and try to enjoy it as much as possible. Secondly, I would definitely suggest getting in to see a therapist who specializes in disordered eating. Yes, VSG changed your anatomy, your bodily needs, and maybe even your tastes, but this is not normative and getting support will likely be a game changer for you. The sadness, depression, and frustration are all completely valid given what you're going through, but you don't have to stay in this place and there can be improvement. Lastly, I'd say you might want to get in to see a GI or bariatric surgeon to discuss. I also had surgery in Mx and had a wonderful experience and have a very supportive PCP at home, but something this severe might warrant a face to face visit with a specialist. If there are any physical factors they should be addressed along with the mental/emotional pieces.
Wish you the very best of luck!

I really need some advice for the last three months I’ve really fell off the wagon how do I get that mindset back I’m only 8 months post op 90 pounds down I’m not sure if I should go with a meal plan or what please no judgment

Protien shakes or flavourless protien powder to add into Water and food

Protien shakes or flavourless protien powder to add into Water and food

Stuff happens and we all spend time refocusing, congratulations you made the first step by reaching out! Then just make one more step like remembering your Water. The act of drinking water reminds me I’m taking care of myself, replenishing my emotional fuel. I agree with Jaelzion, call your team. Add one step at a time so it’s not overwhelming.

I had surgery on 11/10/20, but started my weight loss efforts on 7/5/20. If you’ve been here a while I’m sure you’ve seen me lurking about the forums.
Stats: SW 339. CW: 165. I am a 5’10 woman in her 40s. I work full time and have young children. My current BMI is 23, I started off with it closer to 50.

I knew it was going to take me a while to hit goal- I had 174 lbs to lose. I did all the calculators pre-op that said I would be lucky to get under 200 lbs, but I decided that just wasn’t going to apply to me (haha). My plan was to focus on fruits, vegetables, and healthy Proteins while ramping up exercise. I eliminated Cookies, pastries, and candy but that’s about it. I don’t do low carb, because that isn’t how I’m planning on living the rest of my life. I focus on calorie reduction, which sounds like oh if that’s so easy why did you need surgery? Well cutting calories is possible if you aren’t hungry all the time no matter how much you eat, and if you can fill up on the healthy things without it being like flash paper into a volcano. I honestly did need the surgery, and I’m not going to pretend it did the work for me, but it gave me the help for the work I wanted to be able to do.

Six days a week I do a split between running and rowing for a half hour. I’m going to run in a 5k this spring, which has been a dream of mine for years. I exercise on my lunch break every day.

Yes, I have some loose skin. It’s nowhere as bad as people make it out to be. I am not exactly planning on running around in a bikini so it’s not like it limits my life at all. It’s not visible in my clothes, not even tight fitting ones. I might get it removed some day, but if I don’t I’ll still be happy.

This weight loss has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me. Life is difficult when you are morbidly obese. It’s difficult physically, emotionally, and socially. This weight loss hasn’t fixed every problem in my life, but I didn’t expect for it to. It fixed my weight related problems, and I had a lot of them.

This surgery can be life changing, but it’s not a magic bullet. You still have to make huge life changes. But if you feel sabotaged you your own constant hunger, cravings, and binges, this can really be the tool you use to dig yourself out of the seemingly insurmountable weight you need to lose.

This isn’t a finish line for me. I am still working on hopefully losing another 15 lbs, and I’m never going back to my old eating habits. I know I signed up for a lifelong change, otherwise I’ll be right back where I started. But finally hitting goal was a nice early Christmas present to myself. Sorry for the essay, but I don’t really have anyone in real life to share with who gets it!

This is really helpful. I've had dreadful upper backache for the last couple of weeks and I never thought of muscle imbalance but of course there's less of me now so that makes sense. Also definitely investing in some new bras. Thanks all!

The weight loss back pain is real! I had a heck of a time for a few months. I fully believe what was said earlier about sudden shift in how you hold yourself. Once my stomach started going away I’m sure it messed with my center of balance. I started exercising more and it eventually went away.

I just checked, and my heart rate is the same or higher than it was before surgery. I don't feel tired, just I don't have MORE energy, like everyone else says. My back hurts when I drive, no matter how I adjust the seat. I do drink enough most days, but since I don't like plain Water any more, it's harder. I feel weak in my upper body strength, not just like I have to lie down. I guess I wasn't explaining it well.
I didn't have hypertension or diabetes before surgery, although I was headed towards being prediabetic.
The things that bothers me most is the discomfort after every meal (I'm probably STILL eating too fast), the hunger, and the loss of upper body strength.

Perhaps ask your surgeon? I have been using chia seeds frequently since 3 months post-op. I think they were ok once I reached a normal food diet.

Now that you are logging your intake, can you post a sample of what you eat in a day? Between all of the folks here, there are decades of experience with post-bariatric weight loss. Maybe someone will be able to spot something that could be derailing your progress.

You might need more than 800 calories. I was supposed to get a minimum of 1200 as soon as possible after surgery. I've found that hard to get to sometimes and when I can't get there my weight loss stalls. It's entirely possible you are eating too little and that is sabotaging your efforts.

Several people have mentioned that at this point 800 cal/day is too low, your body is probably in starvation mode. Try to increase to 1000 cal/day, same type of food but slightly larger portions. This will help you feel fuller while hopefully kickstarting your metabolism again.
Drink a LOT between meals to fill up your stomach too (but wait at least 30 minutes after eating before drinking anything). I personally hate drinking Water so I drink lots and lots of crystal light lemonade. It has almost no calories and is still 99.99% water. Try supplementing your Breakfast with a Protein Shake. That will help you reach your Protein goals while also filling you up. I drink one Premier Protein every single morning after breakfast (Chocolate flavor!) It feels like I'm treating myself and I'm adding 30 grams of protein every day. That usually keeps me satisfied until lunch.
You said you're logging now - are you also weighing your foods? If not, you are likely grossly underestimating your portion sizes. My wife made a chicken stir-fry for dinner tonight and I decided to have some - I weighed out 4.5 oz into a bowl and it looked like a VERY small portion - she was shocked when I told her how much it was, it was actually a little more than I've been eating lately (3-4 oz per meal). It was actually really filling though, but if I just eyeballed it I almost definitely would have eaten too much and not even realized it.
The "surgery is a tool" can mean several things. For some (most?) it provides an automatic restriction so that you physically can't eat as much as you used to without getting sick. For those who had gastric bypass, it also provides an incentive for what you're eating to be healthy in order to avoid dumping syndrome. Bypass patients also get the benefit of malabsorption. For others, it's the knowledge that you underwent major permanent surgery as a last ditch effort to get healthy and that can help change your mindset about eating.
I'm in the position to have gone through both major weight loss surgeries. I had the sleeve in December 2016 and lost about 120 pounds in about six months. I was a regular on the forums here, I tracked every single bite (my personal recommendation is My Fitness Pal - I also weighed myself every morning (which is not always recommended) and took a full body photo with the app once a week to see my progress), Then I had some personal/profession issues which screwed up my schedule and my mindset and slowly began to gain weight back. I stopped tracking, stopped eating healthy, and all of a sudden a few years later I realized I had regained almost all of the pre-surgery weight. I was depressed, upset, embarrassed, ashamed, but I decided to do something about it and I went back to my doctor (I had stopped going to appointments too) and he said I was a good candidate for revision surgery to gastric bypass. It's been just over 4 weeks since that surgery and I'm down 36 pounds so far - not losing as quickly as the first surgery, but still losing.
I still track religiously, and follow the meal plan exactly the way it was given to me (first month, soft high-protein foods with no fruits and veggies, no sugar, no bread, Pasta, etc.), just starting my second month by adding some veggies to every meal. I had a couple of brief stalls but I kept with the program and they went away. I've been slowly increasing my daily calories and that has helped as well (still below 1000 most days but I've gone as high as 1200). In order to feel like I'm not depriving myself of sweets, I have one or sometimes two containers of sugar-free chocolate and vanilla swirl Jello every day.
Last time after a few months I added a small portion of Halo Top ice cream as a daily dessert - very low calories, low or no carbs, and delicious. It's important not to feel that you're depriving yourself.
Another thing to look at is your sleep - are you getting enough sleep? When I get a good night's sleep I lose about a pound over night. The times when I don't get enough sleep are the days I notice a stall or even a slight increase in weight. Given your starting weight is there a chance you have sleep apnea? I was diagnosed with sleep apnea several years ago and started using a CPAP, my sleeping improved dramatically.
Ultimately, the surgery is not a magic bullet, although when things are going well it can seem like magic, but that happens when you put in the work. It's not bullshit, or useless, it has helped many many people who have tried everything else (myself included). You said you lost 30 lbs so far, that's great! That's 30 lbs you probably wouldn't have lost without the surgery. Now you have to figure out how to kickstart the rest of your journey.
To summarize, here's what I would do if I were in your place:
1 - Increase your calories - same healthy foods for larger portions
2 - Increase your protein - add a protein shake after breakfast if necessary (wait 30 minutes after eating first)
3 - Increase your liquid intake - drink water if you enjoy it, or mix up some crystal light lemonade or something similar, drink ALL THE TIME
4 - Get a good night's sleep
5 - Keep tracking everything - make sure you WEIGH everything you eat, never eyeball. You can get a basic food scale for 10 bucks
6 - Don't give up! I know it's frustrating but based on your posts you're in a tough headspace right now. If you keep going on about how the surgery is bullshit, useless, etc. it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Good luck!

well I am 5 months out, would i do it again? No I wouldn't. I hate it, I wasn't ready and the reality of it is nothing like what I thought it would be.

Don't feel bad you weren't ready and what you did was the right thing for now. I wish i had have listen to my instincts.

I wish I had have had the balls to do that.

The cream Soups & cream of wheat may be a little too heavy for your tummy at the moment - we all had different things we could or couldn’t tolerate at each stage. I agree with @ShoppGirl: don't be afraid to go back to clear fluids stage for a few days. We all heal & recover at different times & there’s nothing wrong with going back a step or taking longer to move to the next stage.
My surgeon was ok if I didn’t meet my daily Protein & fluid goals at first as long as I was actively working towards them. Remember all liquids count towards your Fluid goal - broth, Soup, shakes, etc. Try room temp Water or herbal or green tea. I found warm drinks much easy to drink & more soothing. I even heated some of my shakes.
All the best.

I agree with @ShoppGirl. You may have transferred your addiction back to food. Seeking a therapist who specialises or is experienced with bariatric patients, disordered eating &/or eating addictions. Your surgeon should be able to recommend someone to work with you.
Unfortunately many anti depressant meds increase your appetite too so you they could be adding to your battle.
Congratulations on being a year sober.
All the best.
Sorry, just read your response above & I’m glad you’re seeking help from therapists all ready. Definitely see a dietician. Sometimes little things have a, big impact on losing or gaining.

@ShoppGirl
Hi! Thanks for your response. I have seen a nutritionist but the new dr wants me to work with hers. She (the dr.) was very positive about the whole situation and was extremely helpful. I just want to feel well. I have been watching everything that I eat and exercising 5-7x/ week since August and I’m not losing. This is why I decided to see a new dr. I need help and I know it. I have an addiction therapist and psychologist. I hate feeling defeated.

I am only 8 months out so I can’t speak about regain but if you haven’t seen a nutritionist yet you could learn some things that will help you to lose weight. Is the doctor saying they won’t do a revision unless something is wrong?? I was told that they do revision because of heartburn even if you aren’t that overweight. Have you considered seeing a bariatric therapist? Maybe since you experienced addiction transfer and you are sober, you transferred back to food again and need to get to the root of the addiction before you will be able to lose the weight.

I got RNY 04/2017.
HW: 226, LW: 150, CW: 195
I did all of the right things until I had transfer addiction in 2019 and started drinking daily. It escalated and I was a full blown alcoholic. I have now been sober a year and I’m depressed. I’m almost back to my pre surgery weight, I’m working my butt off to lose the weight and it’s not coming off. I never feel well and my chest always hurts. I always have heartburn and I’m always hungry. I need help so I went to a new surgeon the other day about a potential revision and she wants me to see a nutritionist and get a endoscopy. I got my results from my upper GI testing today and there’s NOTHING wrong. I feel like everything is wrong and I’m not okay. I’m on antidepressants, I’m now sober, I’m exercising and eating properly but I’m still fat and I hate myself so much for it. I feel like the biggest failure at 30 years old and it makes me so sad.

Has anyone else been able to lose regain?