mcipanda

great input from all of you- thank you! I’ll lean heavy on the Protein Shakes and do veggie dinners. I appreciate the reminder that it’s connected to the surgeon’s ability to do their job with best outcome…team effort. Thank you again…

There are these little Protein packs called P3 at the grocery stores that have some cubed lean meat and cheese plus some nuts like cashews or peanuts. Some of the nuts are covered in chocolate for a little sweet. Each one has 11g of protein. My hubby is really picky, but he loves Quest protein chips. Each little bag has 20g of protein! He says the nacho cheese ones taste better than Doritos 😊
Also love Good Culture cottage cheese cups with fruit, Oikos triple zero yogurt and hard boiled eggs, egg bites etc.

Love that you can have any/all non starchy veggies. Sounds like it isn’t much but it really is!
For the shakes, I treated them like mini meals.. At Breakfast, I made a coffee shake using latte flavored Protein Shakes and sipped slow. At lunch, I made a Peanut Butter banana chocolate milk shake with banana extract, a chocolate Protein Shake and PB2 peanut butter powder. For dinner, have a Protein shake and some fajita seasoned sautéed veggies. For a snack, try having a strawberry banana shake (Fairlife) blended with ice.
I was really afraid of the 2-week diet, but it flew by. The key is to keep it interesting. Have cauliflower “rice” with veggies, for example. My biggest worry was the doctor opening me up, seeing my liver covered in fat, then closing me up and saying “nope.” It happened to others on these forums, so the fear kept me in line. It was also a great prep experience for the weeks after surgery when you can only have liquids.
Hope some of this is helpful

It does! Thank you! I think I'm the same with sugar free drinks...

I wonder if it’s an internal switch. I believe some surgeons use one to help tether the tummy. But keep ringing your doctor until you get a response. Pain is never okay.

After my sleeve surgery on 3/13, the biggest issue was dealing with severe pain on my right side about six inches under my right breast just above one incision by about three inches. I rested with a heating pad for several days in a row and was able to get through it. Doc said it could be the abdominal wall healing through a small bleed. Haven’t had any issues in over a week, but last night as I reached up into my pantry I felt a sharp pain in the same spot. I tried to breathe in, but that made it hurt worse. Now it’s tender to the touch... I can sit and stand without pain, but if I try to stand upright AND breath in deeply I will feel a sharp burning pain (like stabbing) that takes my breath away. To be clear, I can breathe fine when sitting.
Left a message with my doctor’s nurse, but she hasn’t returned my call yet. Thought I’d check in with you all to see if this is common? Has it happened to anyone else? Thoughts?

One thing that has really helped me is a set of scales at home that read body Water, body fat and muscle mass. I can watch the trend of water over time (always want it to be going up) against body fat and muscle mass to make sure I’m actually losing fat compared to muscle or water. If you lose a bunch of pounds but your water also decreases significantly, it could be a sign that you lost water vs fat. Just a thought. Good luck!

Yay! Your hard work and patience are paying off. Well done! Can’t wait for you to get there 😊

I've not lost any significant weight over the past two months or so. The scale barely moved down from 83 kg but I noticed some changes on my measurements. The clothes that I bought three months ago are loose now but not to the point that I have to buy new ones.
I didn't weigh myself for almost 10 days and you can imagine my excitement when I saw the number on the scale

I can't remember the last time I was below 80 kg. Maybe in my early teens. I'm now 9 kg away from my target and I can't wait to shed those. Fasting certainly helped break the stall for me. I hope to lose 5 kg more in the remaining 20 days of the fasting month.

Hi all, I'm back home and beginning the recovery process. Surgery went well and they were able to fix the hiatal hernia as well. There are 5-6 incisions with the left being the worst since they had a tougher time getting things through there. Overall, my care team was excellent.
Right now, I'm trying to get fluids in. Lol. Using those little medicine cups. There is a lot of grumbling in there...😅 But, so far the gas pains aren't as bad as I feared. I'm also walking as much as I can. I'm sure I'll be back with questions for y'all later! Thanks for the kind words. 😊

I agree with what everyone has said. You are doing so well in regards to meeting Protein & fluid goals. Many of us take weeks to actually reach them regularly. I wonder if you are doing a little too much physically this soon after surgery? It’s a pretty major surgery & while walking is great 30mins is a lot in one hit. It may be stressing & pushing your body too much while it’s trying to heal & recover. Try spreading the 30mins out over the day: 2x 15 or 3x 10. Everyone is different of course. Personally if I walked for 30 minutes the first two weeks (or longer) I wouldn’t have been able to move for the rest of the day.
All the best.

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

Yay! Welcome to the other side 😊 Let us know how it went when you get a chance.

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

Looking at some of your other posts, it looks like you had surgery 3/20, is that correct? Regardless, as others have said, its far too early for you to have significant loss post-op and you may need to reassess your expectations. Those first few weeks immediately after surgery your body is putting all its energy into healing from major surgery. You need to be patient and consistent above all else. The right will come off in its own time.
I know its frustrating - we have all struggled with the "hurry up and wait" of weight loss - but truly, this is a marathon not a sprint. Stick to your plan and give it time.

If I did the math right, you went into surgery weighing 190. I’m not sure what your expectations are regarding the speed of weight loss after surgery, but it’s safe to say they might be a bit unrealistic. Your anatomy was just rearranged, your body is in shock trying to heal and all of this is happening while taking in very few calories. The hospital will pump you full of fluids that can take a days to release, plus you’re inflamed and probably haven’t had a decent bowel movement yet if it’s only been three days. Take a step back, breathe and remember that surgery isn’t a switch that turns on fat release. It’s much more complicated than that. This entire process is life altering, so take it one day at a time and read up on the posts provided by @GreenTealael. It’s gonna be okay! You WILL lose the weight because it sounds like you’re following the program. Just give your mind and body more time. 🧬

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high Protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs.
Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help.
First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two.
The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods.
If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands.
Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark.

I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high Protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs.
Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help.
First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two.
The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods.
If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands.
Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark.

I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high Protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs.
Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help.
First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two.
The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods.
If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands.
Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark.

I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

Im two weeks post op. Started thinking about surgery a few years ago, but actually acted on it in late January if this year. Wrapped up my pre-reqs in a single week and cleared with insurance in one day. After that, had a week of food funerals (fun times eating things I wouldn’t be able to for a while), then started my two week high Protein low carb diet. It was tough, not gonna lie. I weaned myself off caffeine during the same two week period and BAM it was suddenly time for surgery. By this point, I’d lost about 6 or 7 lbs.
Rolled into surgery at 6am on 3/13, started on time at 8am, only discomfort afterward was nausea from anesthesia. No vomiting; they took great care to relieve the nausea immediately and sent me home with medicine to help.
First few days, I felt hungry. Dreamt of food. Realized it was just gas in my tummy causing a “hunger” feeling. The gas went away within a week and so did the faux hunger. I tried to go off pain meds too soon, and that sucked. When they do the surgery, they will go through the abdominal wall with the scopes. I had pretty strong abs (yay…) and the scope caused a bleed that healed very slowly. Caused me some pretty serious discomfort especially without the pain meds. Went back on the meds and rested for several days, all the while working to get all my protein and fluids in. Lost 9lbs the first week and then stalled three days into week two.
The stall just broke today, one week after it began. Total of 16lbs lost since the start of the pre-op diet. I’m three days into week 3 and just started soft foods.
If I had to choose one hard thing, it would be the emotional response I had post surgery. I realized “omg, I cannot eat those things…” the choice was no longer mine. I was scared at first, almost grieving. And then I felt light because the pressure of making the “right” decision was out of my hands.
Yes, I could still make a bad choice… and when I made brownies for my daughter the other day I was tempted, but I don’t want to hurt my body or deal with the backlash from eating so much sugar after barely having any for the last month. I can just imagine the sugar rush and terrible feeling I would get… it would suck. Not to mention, with VSG (my procedure), the first six months are critical. You’ll lose the most weight if you can just get through with as much discipline as possible. I’m thankful for my family and therapist; they’ve all helped me find my way in the dark.

I’m so glad I did this. Even as I just ate my first egg in weeks, I still wouldn’t change a thing. It’s like experiencing food again for the first time but with a coach in my body helping out 👌😊 Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

I started my journey in January 2022, between all the appointments and getting approved for insurance my surgery date was August 2, 2022. The 2-week liquid diet wasn't too difficult up until day 10 ish I started to get a little over it, especially on the day of my birthday. I drank a lot of Protein Shakes (fair-life chocolate is still my favorite to this day) and ate a lot of applesauce, berries, sugar-free pudding, and Panera Soup broth along with V8 & grilled veggie kabobs. I lost about 13 lbs on the liquid diet but aside from weight loss, the main goal is to shrink your liver.
Day of Surgery I was scheduled to be there at 7 am and surgery at 9 am. I didn't go back till about 2 pm. My hospital stay wasn't bad at all. I actually was able to get around just fine with very little pain the entire stay. Getting in liquids was quite difficult but when you have nothing else to do watching the clock and drinking your liquids wasn't really that bad in the grand scheme of things. I only stayed one night and was discharged by 11 am the next day.
First week home I was completely drained, and starving. Especially those first couple of days. I basically stuck to everything I had on my liquid diet aside from the berries and veggies. I got around just fine with very little help from my daughter. I was down about another 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks.
3 months out I was "only" 30lbs down from my surgery weight. I was really disappointed at the time but now looking back Averaging 10 lbs a month is pretty healthy. By that time I was eating pretty normally in the sense I wasn't as restricted. Exercising regularly. Had taken a week's trip to Disney World and had my energy back. On the downside, I got sick often. meat of any kind never sat well with me or anything Tomato based. I would end up purging often. I also had a lot of issues with Constipation. I became slightly reliant on ducolax (would take every other day to avoid being bound up). I was very reliant on Protein shakes, Water, and v8. I remember thinking at one point if I knew it would be that bad Idk if I would have gone through with the surgery because I was so miserable (but so glad I did).
6 months out I was 45.9 lbs down from my surgery weight. I was low on Iron and high on copper (pretty abnormal about the copper and they think there was a possibility that was inaccurate). I was completely drained and was blaming it on the cold and the weather, not really thinking my Iron was a possibility for how I was feeling. I didn't talk to my doctors about it sooner and I wish I would have. I was still sick often. Meat of any kind still not sitting well with me or anything tomato based. The doctors were kind of unhelpful and just kept encouraging me to keep trying, which was kind of frustrating because I felt like I wasn't being heard for the first time. My issues with constipation weren't as often and was only taking ducolax about 1 or twice a week compared to the months before. I became a lot less reliant on liquids.
8 months out I'm 55lbs down from my surgery weight. 83 lbs down from my highest. I work out 5 times a week and my eating has been dang near spot on, with a few occasional indulgences. If I feel drained I know it's because I missed a few nights in a row of my iron. I can eat pretty normal without the sick feeling but it still happens every once in a while. Constipation is super rare
I feel like I hit a lot more stalls than probably most. Eating and physical activity def. go hand in hand and It can be really frustrating. Consistency is your best friend. Between logging your meals, protein & water intake & some sort of physical activity you'll get where you want. I don't think you will ever be fully prepared for what's ahead of you after surgery. I did the research for months to prepare myself and feel like it still wasn't enough.
I feel so much more confident now, Clothes fit great. No worries about fitting into booths at restaurants or seats on roller coasters or seat belts on airplanes. I love to put on clothes that once couldn't fit and now are way too big on me. It helps me remember how far I've come even if the scale is disappointing. The biggest compliment I love to get these days isn't how great I look, but how happy I look. I get being nervous, we were all in the same storm as you just different boats. But rolling into that surgery room was the best decision I could have made. I feel like I got my life back.

I think it’s fine, I eat them all the time. I’m 4 weeks out.
I can eat 5-6oz in a meal w/out issue.