cgp1204

So I was talking to one of my best friends who had RNY a year ago. She transitioned early to purées (which we classified as cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, yogurt, etc) because she was starving. I actually started doing cottage cheese and very small amounts of baby food (apples with no added sugar) two days ago, and yogurt yesterday. I also did a tiny bowl of creamed Soup. I was starving and even tried the homemade Protein Shake. I couldn’t get it down. I think my body is done with drinkable and fruit flavored artificial food (ugh) for a while. I’d reached out to my doctors office but haven’t heard back so just decided to listen to my body. I am feeling way better now and my hunger is better controlled.

I’ve also decided that because there is no one set of standard practices across RNY for post-op diet, then that means there’s no uniform BEST practice. Doctors have their perspective but it’s not tailored to the specific patient. My husband passed away last Sept after a two year battle with brain cancer, and the one thing I learned during that time is that every doctor sees things differently. I think RNY is no exception.

All of us newbies will make it 😊

I am five weeks yesterday. I’m down 20 lbs (plus another 12 from pre-op diet). I thought I’d lose more the first month. I’m 5’9 and was 297 on surgery day. Otherwise, I’m doing well. I’ve basically listened to my body and intuition on advancing my diet vs my doctor’s office. That said, I’m still eating primarily soft foods and gradually trying more. I love that I’m not hungry all the time like I used to be. Most difficult for me is eating slowly and not drinking while eating. Also, I am not doing Protein Shakes. I work to get my Protein from my food or Fairlife milk. 

I am five weeks yesterday. I’m down 20 lbs (plus another 12 from pre-op diet). I thought I’d lose more the first month. I’m 5’9 and was 297 on surgery day. Otherwise, I’m doing well. I’ve basically listened to my body and intuition on advancing my diet vs my doctor’s office. That said, I’m still eating primarily soft foods and gradually trying more. I love that I’m not hungry all the time like I used to be. Most difficult for me is eating slowly and not drinking while eating. Also, I am not doing Protein Shakes. I work to get my Protein from my food or Fairlife milk. 

Weigh yourself once a week. Take what ever it says. I had a 5 week stall at 2 months out. You will get there eventually if you keep with the program.

P.S. wanted to add that after the first month, this IS a lot like Weight Watchers. Unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life", you're not going to drop 30 or 40 lbs a month (or whatever). People typically have a big drop the first month, because that's mostly Water weight - and then you'll settle in to about 10 lbs a month, give or take, for several months - and then, as you approach your goal, it will really slow down.
the difference this time is that you have a tool that makes your efforts pay off. It actually works as long as you stick to your plan. The most I could ever lose before surgery was about 50 lbs - and then it would gradually come back on. No way I could have EVER lost the 200+ lbs I did - and keep most of it off (I did have a 20 lb rebound after hitting bottom - which is very common). The surgery was the only thing that made that possible.

Thank you for this perspective! It’s so helpful. I think the tool part is exactly the same for me. I need this in conjunction with better eating. I used to try WW over and over and could only lose about 15 lbs over months and months. I only lost weight when I used Phentermine. I am fine with losing slowly l, but seeing just -1.5 lb in a week made me have buyer’s remorse at first. I need to lose about 80-90 lbs total. Thanks for helping me off the ledge 🙃

I agree with everything liveaboard15 said. Plus you may have started your three-week stall a little early. I did as well - mine was weeks 2 & 3 (most of us have our first major stall sometime during the first month of surgery. We call it the "three-week stall" because it's usually the third week, but not always). Just stick to your plan and stay off the scale for a few days....

You are doing great. Not everyone looses a ton of weight quickly. Some are slower than others, some are faster. and remember you will hit stalls along the way where you wont loose much or any weight at all for a couple weeks or so. Just stick to the program and you will do great. This is a long process.

It’s easy to look at the small incisions and try to minimize the surgery, but it’s definitely Major surgery.

I had RNY on 3/3, so I'm two days behind you, but -- yeah, I still have plenty of abdominal pain, which seems to be both internal and external. It's major surgery, and I didn't expect healing to be complete in a week. If you're not having any other symptoms of trouble, just take your meds, the most important one being a healthy dose of Tincture of Time. Good luck!

March 1 here - one week out and doing well after a rough few days of liquid diet (which I’d done two weeks prior to surgery so I was starving). Knock on wood, no bad side effects.

March 1 here - one week out and doing well after a rough few days of liquid diet (which I’d done two weeks prior to surgery so I was starving). Knock on wood, no bad side effects.

March 1 here - one week out and doing well after a rough few days of liquid diet (which I’d done two weeks prior to surgery so I was starving). Knock on wood, no bad side effects.

new here.. I just had my surgery on Thurs so 5 days ago for me as well.... I wonder why everyones plan is different too. I was sent home with a list for week 1, 2, 3-4, 5-6, and week 7. Right now with week one its just the liquid diet but on friday I can start week 2 which includes mashed potatoes, yogurt, plain oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce and cottage cheese. Personally I dont like anything on the list except for mashed potatoes but man can I not wait until Friday for them! I had the gastric bypass rather than the sleeve so I wonder if thats the difference? I have no idea but I am curious why it varies so much.

I was on Optifast for 26 days pre op and had no problems. Actually enjoyed the shakes. Post-op, my doc didn’t supply the shakes so I bought some Protein powder. I mix my protein with milk and Greek yogurt for a hearty shake, however I’m only able to get down 3 shakes a day and I am soooo hungry. It’s keeping me up at night. Hoping I can transition to puréed foods on Thursday.

Yes, plans are different but there are similarities too. The plan for a staged return to eating solid food is given to you for a reason: to protect your poor healing tummy (remember all those internal sutures & staples holding your tummy together) & support your recovery. You don’t want to stress & strain your tummy & digestive system. It’s always best to follow your surgeon’s plan. They gave it to you for a reason: the surgery, any additional work that was done (hernia repair, etc.), your personal health history, their experiences, etc.
I didn’t enjoy shakes either (grainy & gross) but I literally just sucked it up for the two weeks. I added more Water to dilute them & warmed the chocolate flavoured one (tried to convince myself it was hot chocolate). I also found the bone broths unpleasant but cream Soups were fine. Try the broths in pho or wonton Soup - just strain them well to ensure you’re only getting the liquids. Or you can buy unflavoured Protein powder & make your own like @MiniGastricBypassDude suggested. You can also add it to any soups you are able to tolerate.
All the best.

😂 Thank you for a much needed laugh. I had the same thought today - this is all a psychological ploy to make patients miserable and then ultimately grateful for a small can of tuna or a piece of cheese when this is all over (and not taking food for granted which clearly we did). I decided today I’d rather just be fat, but I guess it’s too late 🤷🏻‍♀️

😂 Thank you for a much needed laugh. I had the same thought today - this is all a psychological ploy to make patients miserable and then ultimately grateful for a small can of tuna or a piece of cheese when this is all over (and not taking food for granted which clearly we did). I decided today I’d rather just be fat, but I guess it’s too late 🤷🏻‍♀️

So pre-op diet for me was 11 days of 4 shakes a day and 4, 1 cup servings of non starchy veggies. Then of course the day before was just clear liquids. That was it.
Then AFTER surgery it was 2 weeks Full liquid then 1 week Puree then 2 weeks Soft Foods and then finally, regular foods after that.
As more people post you will see some of our plans vary greatly and some are very similar. Strange how that is. LOL