Lily2024

You look great! Good progress, for sure and definitely a noticeable difference. I just started looking at photos I took on the first day of liquid diet, on the day of surgery, and next will be monthly, on the day of surgery. It's a weird feeling in that I can clearly see the difference but I don't feel very different yet. I'm sure I'll catch up soon.

Hi Vanessa, I'm also 5'9 and started at 262. I had a 2 week liquid only diet, and a couple of days of that were pretty rough but I made it through without any slips. I'm 3 weeks post op now and the things I thought would be hard don't seem to bother me, watching others eat my favorite foods is not an issue. What's been harder for me is the expected emotional roller coaster, probably hormonal, and the changes that have happened so quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm tired and emotional because I had a big surgery, and I'm eating very few calories. So when I walk on the treadmill and go too fast, too long, I have to rest for a day and I don't like that. I know it's temporary, I'll start feeling better soon.

Best wishes to you, hope all goes well, and welcome!

I have isopure unflavored powder, I put that in creamy coffee or in my chicken broth, specifically I have Knorr chicken broth powder, 1.5 cup water to 1 tsp broth powder with one scoop of protein powder. That really worked well for me and warm liquids feel better than cold right now.

Lark, I'm sorry you're still feeling so unwell. I would like to encourage you to see it as part of recovery, your body is in the driver's seat right now, and you are not failing in any way. The only way for you to fail at this point is if you stop trying and I don't think that is happening. I think you should probably cross post in post op, that would put it out there for more people to see it and offer help and support.

Hi Jenna, I think it would be helpful if you were to disclose what the side effects are that you are having? There are a lot of people here that have had surgery many years ago and are generous enough to chime in and give assistance to try and help figure out what is going on and maybe how to make it better. Of course that is after you've explored all options with your surgical team, they really should be your first call. Hope you get some answers, and start feeling better.

Hi Helen, glad you’re on the other side of it, should get easier every day from here. I also found that my new stomach does not like cold, room temp water and warm liquids for now.

Today is 11 days post op and I’ve had serious cravings over the past two days. I started having a protein shake again which also helps the leg and foot cramps, then added a 4th meal a day. I also had a cup of broth in case I just needed salt. Yesterday it got so bad and I realized that I’ve been eating only yogurt and puréed cottage cheese so I got some smoked salmon and ate one ounce of it, that has set me back to rights again. Woke up feeling so much better this morning. It’s been an adventure, we live in the Midwest and lost power Friday evening, we’ve been in a hotel since Saturday. I brought my scale and a small container so I could portion out yogurt or cottage cheese but didn’t have any meat or fish. i don’t really feel hungry in my belly anymore, just a vague feeling of alarm that I need something. Most of the time I can just reassure myself but yesterday I knew it was hunger and that I needed something more substantial. The smoked salmon is very soft and I chewed it for forever, and I loved every moment of it🙂. (Note: I’ve been on purées since the day after surgery, tomorrow is my 2 week post op appointment, and I would have blitzed the salmon but I’m just making do the best I can with the snowy adventures. I also ate scrambled egg at Denny’s, I measured out 2 ounces and just fork squished the heck out of it and that went well too.)

Hmm, it seems like you lost more than half your excess weight already, and have about 25 pounds to go? I could be wrong but it seems like your progress is good? Most people lose half the weight in the first 6 months, then it can take another 6 months to a year to lose the last portion of it. Does this make sense? If you lost approximately 50 pounds already, and you have half that amount left to lose it should be another 6-12 months to get to goal weight.

Had surgery on the 3rd, I went home after two days, I took one pain pill that evening and not again. I stopped taking Tylenol a few days ago and I’m feeling decent without it. It was rough for a few days especially because of the hernia repair, that’s still uncomfortable to wear a bra.

I’m glad you posted this, I had a few moments like this when I was just angry about having to go through all of this. I still have my moments but I think now it’s more related to being angry with my body, having to go through all of this because my body and brain don’t want to work together to keep me well. At those times I indulged myself, allowed myself to just feel it for a few moments, however long it took to let some of it dissipate, then go through my inner dialogue. Can I stand it? Yes. Will I be damaged by it? No. Am I sad and feeling sorry for myself? Yes. Is it valid? Yes. Can I distract myself?

I’m glad you posted this, I had a few moments like this when I was just angry about having to go through all of this. I still have my moments but I think now it’s more related to being angry with my body, having to go through all of this because my body and brain don’t want to work together to keep me well. At those times I indulged myself, allowed myself to just feel it for a few moments, however long it took to let some of it dissipate, then go through my inner dialogue. Can I stand it? Yes. Will I be damaged by it? No. Am I sad and feeling sorry for myself? Yes. Is it valid? Yes. Can I distract myself?

Hi Lark, I'm sorry you're feeling lousy. I'm 9 days post op, gastric bypass with Hiatal Hernia repair. It was rough the first couple days, it hurt and I couldn't stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. And I couldn't pee. It was a rough go for the first couple days, but I got better by halves it seems starting 4 or 5 days out. I went home on Friday, took one pain pill friday evening and then didn't need anymore, yesterday and today I haven't needed any tylenol either. It will get better, sending you healing thoughts and hugs.

Oh I remember those days so well, each semester felt like torture, worried that I would fail something, then passing, graduating, and post grad licensing. Always something to worry about coming up, and worried about not being able to do a job that I was already doing, lol. I had a very helpful therapist ask me if I had a precedence for failure. Every time I started torturing myself with "Can I really do this? Will I be good enough?" I would run the new tape that reminded me that I work hard to ensure I will accomplish my goals, and if I'm not able to, I will be flexible and go at it another way. For some reason that really helped me. However, a good antidepressant/anti anxiety medicine along with new tapes for my thoughts, and life is much better.

AmberFL, we are pretty close! I lost 26 pounds from August (Consultation visit) to preop in December, then about 10 pounds on the liquid diet. I've lost another 6 pounds since surgery last week. You've lost about the same and you haven't had surgery yet, way to go!!! I wonder what size I'll end up at and what style I'll decide I need to wear now.

So my 2oz food containers are tuna fish with light mayo, then I add a splash of pickle juice to it for flavor. I also whipped up some Jell-O Sugar free Chocolate Fudge pudding, with 2 cups of Fairlife (extra protein, lactose free) skim milk and a scoop of Isopure protein powder. I've also mixed tuna with cottage cheese, and salmon with light cream cheese. Today I pureed ground turkey with some broth, ate it with taco bell mild sauce. Seems to be doing just fine in my belly. Oh, and Chobani Zero Greek Yogurt, the flavors are great, very low calories, lots of protein and goes down so nicely. I do feel cra**y some too, just keep trying to keep moving. Mainly I've had a lot of gas pain and cramping, moving really helps that. Yesterday when I made breakfast I had my family finish it, I got tired and wanted to just sit and eat.

So my 2oz food containers are tuna fish with light mayo, then I add a splash of pickle juice to it for flavor. I also whipped up some Jell-O Sugar free Chocolate Fudge pudding, with 2 cups of Fairlife (extra protein, lactose free) skim milk and a scoop of Isopure protein powder. I've also mixed tuna with cottage cheese, and salmon with light cream cheese. Today I pureed ground turkey with some broth, ate it with taco bell mild sauce. Seems to be doing just fine in my belly. Oh, and Chobani Zero Greek Yogurt, the flavors are great, very low calories, lots of protein and goes down so nicely. I do feel cra**y some too, just keep trying to keep moving. Mainly I've had a lot of gas pain and cramping, moving really helps that. Yesterday when I made breakfast I had my family finish it, I got tired and wanted to just sit and eat.

This is so exciting. I already purged my wardrobe and shopped through old smaller stuff that I never got rid of. That's what I'm wearing now but I've dropped so fast now, I think I'll go out and get a few new things for work? Maybe I'll look through thrift for now until I stop changing so quickly?

I was very nervous for the same reasons. I started a modified bariatric diet a few months before surgery as part of the preparation, also stopped any caffeine or sugar. I have gastroparesis so eating before strenuous activity is never a good idea for me but I would feel so nauseous and lightheaded. After I started the bariatric diet I realized that even if I was hungry when I started my lap swim, I could still do a normal work out and feel good. The diet allowed me to maintain a consistent level of energy that I had never experienced before in my life. The 2 week liquid diet was not my favorite, days 2 and 3 were the worst for me, day 4 was better until the day of surgery. I didn't like it, but I still was able to exercise daily. I had one episode of woozy..reviewed with my nutritionist and found I was not getting enough sodium, added a daily broth and that took care of it. I know we're all different but this may be same for you and if it is, I'll be happy for you. I feel so much more free now. I don't have to worry about scheduling activities around food/hunger/etc anymore. I can plan my eating around my activities, if that makes sense?

Today is 8 days post op. It seems like my innards are awaking and they don't like me right now, but that's nothing new. Yesterday I made breakfast, took a half hour brisk walk on the treadmill, went grocery shopping and made my little 2 oz food containers, baked a cake and made dinner, then folded the laundry. All told, I'm feeling much more normal again, feeling antsy to get moving and I'm having more difficulty limiting myself than motivating myself. Before the surgery I was used to either a one hour lap swim with drills, or a one hour fast walk on the treadmill with hand weights. For the liquid diet I shortened both to about 40 min and slowed a bit, no hand weights. My body still wants to move but I know that I can't get too worked up right now, I need to heal more first. I have my first Post-op appt on Tuesday, hoping I can go back to swimming next week if my incisions are healed enough? 🤞

I started the same liquid diet on Dec 20th, surgery on the 3rd. I was down almost 4 pounds on day 2, then no change for a few days. In total I lost 9 pounds on the liquid diet, but I had already lost 26 pounds over the 3 months prior. I've seen some people lose 2 pounds or more, some only 2 or 3. That doesn't seem to speak to a person's overall success though I'm sure it's frustrating for those that don't see a real change. I weigh myself daily because my weight fluctuates so wildly really, it's better for me. But I'm able to just look at the weekly averages and feel good about it. For most people it's better to only weigh once a week or less.

Day 4 post op: Able to drink fluids, it's uncomfortable if I go too fast, as I knew, however I now know how fast is too fast for me. I'm walking on the treadmill fairly easily, slow pace, no incline, limited to 15 min at a time. I walked 5 times yesterday, only once so far today and only 5 min according to how I feel. I'm able to eat up to 2 oz at a time, so far I've had Chobani Zero nonfat greek yogurt, tuna pureed with light mayo with pickle juice, and a sugar free pudding mixed with protein powder. All of it has gone fairly well. I haven't vomited, very little nausea, and every day I'm more awake and thinking more clearly. My only issue so far has been a sketchy bladder. I guess of all things that could happen, it's pretty benign, but I had to have a catheter placed to allow my bladder to rest from being stretched too much. I think all the angry innards caused some shifting. In all likelihood it's just a temporary thing that will resolve when some of the swelling goes down. I have some nerve damage from many years ago so it isn't as far out of left field as it could be.

I had bypass on wednesday, home today. The pain has lessened significantly , I'm able to drink liquids the way I need to, and able to eat. Lots of walking, and slowly waking up from the anesthesia. Del75 I felt the same way, I had lost 25 pounds in the few months prior and thought maybe I just keep doing that but I'm glad I did it. No regrets.

Good news, I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad you won't have to go through any new requirements.

Me too, I'll be thinking of you NickelChip.