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It depends on your plan post-op. Each plan is different. Mine was full liquids (yogurts, soups, shakes) the two weeks, then purees, then soft foods, then full meals all at 2 week intervals. So by 8 weeks out I was eating "normal" food. I have two teen daughters and a husband and I am a planner too. Generally before shopping each week I plan the protein for each night so I'm not scrambling with the what to cook or make with this issue when I get home. I just kept up my normal routine for them. During my first 2 weeks, I ate lots of greek yogurt and soup. Sometimes the eggface ricotta bake. I fed my family the usual stuff we would eat. In purees, if I made them meatloaf, I'd just mash mine up more - same with chili. By the third phase - it was lots of chicken and fish. For work, I don't have access to a fridge, so I pretty much pack the same thing on my office days. (I work from home a few days a week.) Chicken salad, romaine lettuce, yogurt and a cheese snack. Sometimes an apple (but I'm 1+ year out.) I didn't freeze stuff before surgery and I'm glad I didn't - my taste buds were off for a few weeks after surgery.

I have a similar story to yours and can very much relate to what you are saying about higher education. I have my BS degree in Exercise Science and am about to graduate in December with my Master's in Public Health. Here I am at nearly 300lbs and I feel I am discredited or looked over bc "how can someone obese know anything about public health,health prevention, and being healthy" I eat organic, gluten free, and dairy free (most of the time), don't drink soda, love water, making protein shakes, and juicing!! My diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease makes it nearly impossible for me to see quantitative results, which got very discouraging. Then I gained 25 lbs in the last 4 months and saw a full length picture of myself and yikes! Like you said it was the combination of events that led me to my decision. Best of luck to you on your journey!

Is there any evidence to suggest that this actually works? Sounds like BS to me I'm sure they could help you feel better and stuff and maybe less pain post op. But I don't see how a binder is gonna make your skin healthier and more elastic or change your genetics or the amount of weight you lose

My Dr told me either for both to take care of each other Bc fertility will be high and or one of us to take care of ourselves. Condoms are fine so don’t worry about it girl.

Saying prayers. It sucks. Now what everyone doesn't want...duh duh dunnnhhhhhh--yes, that's right! It's time for the "Advice from a Pre-Surgery Newbie" Show, starring? FluffyChix! Ok, so now for some practical advice. You are a medical professional--so you must be aware of this stuff--if not, get to know it! 1. Take baby steps. Begin again. Today. Right now. Only focus on the next bite. Today your one job is to dump the carbonated diet drinks. Dump em baby. Use LaCroix as a sub if you must. 2. Tomorrow or when you feel you can, work on the next step...make your snacks healthy and filling: 2oz of protein, or PB3s, or 2oz of GS apple + 2tbsp peanut butter (I'm presurg and this snack right here fills me for 3 hours). 3. Next step, STOP drinking while eating. You can do this. It's actually the easiest step. Make it the first step if you want!!! 4. Next step, go back to eating protein first with every meal. Follow the baby step meal order: protein, non-starchy veg, high carb bs, dessert. 5. Next step, get rid of all the sugar and carby nonsense. Lose the desserts and high carb nonsense. Dump all the sugar from your diet. Tighten up your daily food intake. REALLY this is the fish or cut bait time. It may take several days...get rid of the CRAP. 6. Go back to planning your meals for 1 day. Weigh and measure everything. All. The. Things. Each day, recommit to weighing and tracking (and planning--don't forget the planning) for that day and that day only. Each day. Every day. Recommit. 7. Start walking every day--just around your house, inside your house if necessary...just 5 minutes if that's all you can do. Work up every day to more. And that's as simple as it gets. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bedtime. Sleep elevated. Make low acid choices. Chew the crap outta stuff and makes notes on what makes the GERD and your esophagus feel worse. Take your PPIs. Treat yourself kindly and with respect. Congratulate yourself on getting through some serious ****. Congratulate yourself on graduating and improving your life. Go back to basics. Each day plan and log your food. Only focus on taking the very next BEST bite. Don't forget to surrender to your higher power. Read about CBT and food addiction. It's an awesome tool for overeating or eating with abandon. And lastly, don't put off a revision if it's called for with the GERD. Just jump in and get it done. Don't waste any more of your life on this. But you do need to get the overeating/eating off plan stuff together cuz as you know, you can eff any surgery if you're determined to do so. Do OA or Greysheeters. Go to therapy. Just concentrate on changing one thing at a time. Take baby steps and you can turn your life around. This is exactly how I backed into starting my new life on the pre-surgery plan. Before I could even do my plan, I had to slowly and gradually back into it until I had strung together so many successful days that I'd built momentum and resolve. Resolve and commitment grow exponentially with success. The more you see the scale move (or whatever your marker of success may be), the stronger the resolve to stay on plan. Good luck. If I can do this, you can do this. I'm the queen of recidivism. I practically wrote the book on it.

I don't wait a half hour after drinking to eat. (I try not to drink while or immediately after I eat though!) I drink through a straw all the time and have since nearly immediately after surgery. I very occasionally have carbonated drinks... but never pepsi or coke bc I know those were my addiction before! I got back to my swimming routine before I had my 6 week checkup with the surgeon.

I do the sugar free cookies. My doc said it was ok. I only allow myself the serving size when I want a treat. It has helped me tremendously bc I will not deprive myself of everything. It just doesn't work for me. I do not eat anything that has regular sugar such as cakes or pies. If I do decide, I will take one bite only. This surgery for me was about control. I don't over due or over eat like I used to and for that I am very happy. I already do not eat pasta, pizza or bread. But one cookie isn't going to derail me and I am with not eating the whole bag. We have to find what works for each of us. A lifetime of denial of everything is not living. HW 274 SW 263 GW 125 GASTRIC SLEEVE 7/21/17. Height 5'1" instagram: K_aane_VSG

I had BC/BS of Texas at the time I was sleeved more than 2 years ago. Keep in mind that each insurance policy has differing requirements even though they all may carry the BC/BS name. Thank goodness I didn't need to display 5 years of problematic weight history. I weighed 128 pounds the year before I qualified for the sleeve, which would have been a huge red flag. I qualified with a BMI of 37 and one comorbid condition (elevated cholesterol).

I had the band surgery on 9/14. I’ll get my first fill on 11/1. This, like any other weight loss efforts, is difficult BC I’m deprived of my drug of choice...FOOD. The liquid diet, as many have posted, gets boring. But I researched best places to get soup here in Chocago and have gotten quite an assortment of delicious cream soups that keep me very very satisfied. I’ve also asked my family to save leftover juice from meals they prepare and that helps tremendously too. The internet provides really cool ideas for soups, too. Pillsburry.com has some really great soup ideas with the cooler weather coming soon. The protein drinks are a drag for me too. So I mix the 2 scoops of protein powder (the equivalent of the 2 daily shakes I’m suppose to have) with skim milk and ice cubes and it makes the best chocolate or strawberry milk. There’s a website that sells Bariatric products that sells different protein powder flavors and soups. I didn’t care for them though. Two weeks post op (long enough for my incisions to heal), I see a trainer 2x/wk and I do 20minutes of some kind of cardio daily. As of 2 weeks ago when I weighed in, I had lost a total of 22 lbs lost 30lbs so far. Also, during the first 2 weeks post op, I would get these random unexplained stomach cramps similar to charlie horses. I would have to position myself into a good stomach stretch and it would go away. Beware though. During the first few weeks your band isn’t full. I don’t get my first fill until Nov 1. Ive read a post where someone could actually eat as much as they wanted of whatever they wanted. The problem with that is the stomach above or below the band can move or shift which cans cause a prolapse in the band soon or later on. Post op and pre-fill time and the liquid diet allows the stomach and band to get to know each other, bond, and become a perfect union before your first fill. The tension and work of digesting harsh food is absent so that they can live happily ever after. Tee hee. Finally, I’ve organized a support group on an ap called Meet Up also. Support, whether it’s from a group, friends and family, co-worker where you can share, vent, fill mental time with is trendously helpful. This is a SUDDEN life change that I couldn’t transition into alone. Let them know in the beginning that, like any addiction, in the beginning you will withdraw. Bug for us, it’s like quitting cigarettes while living with smokers. I got moody and snappy at times in the beginning. I cried a lot and felt much regret. I’d go to bed feeling awful after having to cook for my son. Trust me, that all gets easier with support, positive self-talk, exercizing, and whatever u need to do for yourself in a given moment to get by. This site helped a lot for me too. Connecting with those that have been there done that, agreeing with some and agreeing to disagree with others, sharing victories, meltdowns (I’ve had a few while here) and setbacks, ALL THAT, helped me too. Forgive me but that was a lot but it was all I could think of to share. The journey is not easy but more than possible. Great luck.

My surgeon gave us a stern warning about this -- its not uncommon, evidently, because fat is free birth control hormonally, and when it goes, so does the free BC. Best wishes to you and baby -- you'll be fine!

Victoria secret. Never been able to shop there. I’m going to Disney in December should be able to fit on rides by then. But VS, is something I’ve always wanted to buy myself and never could. Was embarrassed to even go in there Bc I new they had nothing for me. I have other types of pieces but not the same

I had gastric sleeve almost a yr ago. I didn't lose any weight for 7 months! Ppl kept telling me to hang in there and stick with my program. It's better for the weight to come off slow they said. I call BS! And I was right. My NUT had me eating [emoji506] pasta and [emoji500] all brown of course. She had me eating 1500 cals a day which I thought was too high, but she was the Dr. I got a new NUT and she said to cut out all breads for at least the 1st year. So here I am 10 months out and starting all over. Once I cut out the breads, it was like I did a reset. I lost 16 lbs in the 6wks with my new NUT. Also you might be sabotaging yourself by not eating enough and working out too hard. I did the same thing. When the scale stopped moving I was at the gym for 3hrs straight feeling like I'm about to pass out. Did it 3xs a week and still nothing. Got depressed and started eating my feelings again. Therapy also helps. Hang in there and keep pushing. Sent from my LG-TP450 using BariatricPal mobile app

Are you supposed to count your protein shakes as your 64 oz/day of water? Someone said I could but that doesn't really make sense BC its not a clear liquid.

I experienced the pain on my chest and not my shoulder, they did tell me it’s Bc of the Gas that was used for the surgery but the Gas went away little by little after drinking Gas X. That helped me out a lot! It took me about a week in a half to have the pain away. I had hard time farting it out but I would burp it out. Try Gas X.

I agree, the pain on chest in between breasts was horrible, I still have trouble with eating Bc I tend to feel like I can take one bite and when I do I suffer Bc I’m over stuffed. I have to work on that.

Hello, first of all congratulations on your decision. I recently had my surgery Sept 15. It is a challenge but your body won’t let you eat as much, support is key, well at least for me, hang out with positive people, everything you eat after surgery will be a hit or miss, you will figure out what your body will tolerate. However remember that just Bc you tried something and it didn’t settle, it might be too soon so it’s ok to try it later on. Good luck [emoji4]

That's funny bc every day at dinner now I say to husband, do you want the rest of my plate, I can't finish it. Its a good feeling.

So I had the metal taste also. Narrowed it down to one of two things bc they both changed befor it wrong away. Either my iron level was too high (it was double the normal high level) or it was my calcium chews bc I switched to tablets artound the same time a stopping my iron supplements. I don't get that metallic taste anymore though.

My doctor allowed caffeine at 3 weeks. Caffeine is a diuretic and he wanted to ensure that I avoid dehydrated In the first few weeks. I still limit my caffeine intake. This is a personal decision, as I was highly addicted. Once I got it out of my system, I'm careful bc it can be a trigger for me.

I bet the Sahara is low fat, since it's not in the over-fed U.S. (Sorry, couldn't resist). One of the best ideas I've heard is putting protein shakes into an ice cream maker. Eggface has some excellent recipes for those. I love slicing up an apple, putting a bit of cinnamon on it, and nuking it (microwave) for a couple minutes.

I am 2.5 weeks post op and I have heart burn or acid reflux. Idk how to tell the difference BC it rarely happens. But am I able to take tums to help it??

I was nervous - but the anesthetic they give you makes it a breeze. You might have a slight sore throat and be thirsty as heck afterwards... I had no erosion or inflammation - but the biopsy came back with the h.pylori bacteria in my gut. And that means 10 days of these 2 vile antibiotics. I hope you don't have that, but just know you are in good company if you do - lol. For the stress test - wear workout clothes, etc. Do not let them tell you that you have to run on that treadmill w/o your sports bra - that is just plain laziness on the technicians part. The very first time I did a stress test they did that - bunch of bs - I was soooo mortified doing that, and it was a young guy and he made me wear a gown on backwards and I was so close to tears. The second time I had one I found out that is pure bs. They can put the sensors on under your sports bra.

So I absolutely love water. It has always been my favorite drink to drink. Before surgery I would drink like 6-8 water bottles a day. Now that I have had surgery, it is a lot harder to drink that much water BC my stomach won't really hold that much at a time, and sipping water all day seems that I can't get 64 oz in because it gets warm so fast, and sometimes I just need to taste something lol. Does anyone think that I can count Powerade zero as my intake for some water? Like maybe 15 oz or less a day.

Well I'm 1 year post op and actually just do my best 1 small egg w cheese and onions./1 think breakfast steak ribeye or a turkey sausage.Lunch)small salad with chicken Supper) 1/8 piece of chicken roasted stir veggies.1/16 cup of pinto beans . 64 iz of water / Powerade 0 thru out day .lol the tricky part for me is I cook the food make the plate but still throw a lot out good luck every one bc Also I use a lot of fish ex.) If I open a can of salmon eat off it practically all week for 2 or 3 meals Sent from my LG-K373 using BariatricPal mobile app

Insurance might require a 6 month program but I have never read in any insurance policy that you are required to lose weight. Dr Offices set that requirement. if someone has a super high BMI over 60 and it is unsafe to do surgery until they lose weight, okay. However there is no reason to drag it out and require a lower BMI person to lose weight. If people could lose weight on their own they wouldn't need surgery. Obese patients are still discriminated against to get services, in ways that would not apply to other medical treatments. This to me is complete BS. My weight can fluctuate by 5 pounds just based on where I am on my menstrual cycle. I also bloat/hold water in the summer. I barely lost anything on my pre-op diet because it was 105 degrees every day of my diet and I was bloated the whole time.