Search the Community

I had my surgery March 9th, then all the lockdown started. The surgeon did a brief tele conf, a couple of times. Was really abrupt. The office was closed to questions. I had shakes and soups for the first two weeks. The first month the scale hadn’t moved, except one day to go up two pounds, that stayed for three weeks. Very frustrating, to say the least. I got a free app for my phone, called ProTracker. Counts calories and nutrients. I found when I went to 1100 calories, things started moving. I eat very small portions of Greek yogurt, chicken, lean pork chop, tuna, garden meatballs, for main meals. Supplement with small fruit portion, or the bariatric bars and snacks. Absolutely no support. Need someone to tell me I’m doing this right.

I definitely understand that. When I started with my trainer I started cutting back. But I didn’t realize that i had cut back so much. I was literally eating OMAD and a protein shake after my workout. Now I am being more cognizant about what I’m eating. I am now using my fitnesspal to track my food. And now that I’m wfh it’s easier to tell myself hey you haven’t eaten anything in about 2 hours grab some fruit or something. So over the last few days I can say I have upped my calorie intake. Today I ate about 1400 calories but that’s because I was making sure that every other hour I was eating. Whether it was fruit or yogurt. After reading some responses I truly think I haven’t been eating enough and with working out 5 days a week my body was going into starvation mode and hanging on to the food.

**** ton of protein man. Yogurt has become my best friend. The 80 cal light and fits. 12 G protein. And they aren’t that filling. How are you making out with everything else?

Hey there! I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1/31/2020 and here's my story. I attended the free 12 week orientation classes June 2019 thru Sept 2019 at Kaiser. My insurance paid for everything and I had no issues getting approved. My only out of pocket expense was a $100 co-pay for the hospital stay. Wonderful insurance, I know. Luckily, I had no medical issues making me very low risk for the surgery. My surgeon recommended that I get the Bypass and I changed my mind on procedure the day of surgery and switched to the Sleeve. My reasoning is simple...I didn't want to reroute my intestines and I didn't want to chance vitamin deficiencies or dumping syndrome. I fasted on clear liquids the day prior to surgery and it was hell. I had an interview on fasting day and wanted so badly to stuff my face, being an emotional eater (i did get the job!). I went to bed super early the night before surgery because I had a massive headache and mood swings from fasting. My surgery was at 1pm and because of the fasting... I wish I scheduled a morning surgery. The nurse that prepped me for surgery was an idiot. Why on earth would I be able to pee for a pregnancy test after having no fluids since the day before?! I could barely pee and what I did pee didn't make it in the cup lol I got 2 tiny drops of pee in the cup and guess what? It was enough for the pregnancy test. The nurse stuck me 7 times looking for a vein. 7 times. Not just a poke either, like she was really digging. She tried my forearm, the top of my arm, and both hands before calling for help. I woke up in recovery in extreme pain, nausea and was thirsty. I said "I'm thirsty and my stomach hurts really bad" and the nurse said yeah you just had stomach surgery. I wanted to sock her in the face. They made me wait 6 hours for pain medication and water. The night nurses sucked and the day nurses were great. I used the call button every 1-2 hours for more pain meds which they could only give me every two hours. I called after 45 mins and said "did you give me a full or half dose?" lmao but I was serious. The built up gas hurt and my throat was sore. I tried really hard to push the gas out and ended up sharting in my bed. I walked often because I badly wanted to go home. Coming home was nice and I wasn't hungry but still thought about food a lot. I followed the rules and sipped my water and protein shakes and jello. I only took a week off from work because I wanted my routine back. The doctor told me it was too soon because of brain function is usually low this early on. He said "do you want to go back because you're bored or because it's a money thing" and I said "I'm bored as hell" and he said "then no, you can't go back yet." I didn't listen and have no regrets. I started taking the pill form of multivitamin early on because the the ones you eat made me gag. I slowly introduce foods as instructed and my staples are yogurt, protein shakes, salmon, cottage cheese, and veggies. I keep my meals simple. I had my 3 month check up today and I'm on track. I've lost 50 lbs total since surgery. I'm aware that weight loss with the sleeve is slower but I'm okay with it. Each week I can physically feel and see my body changing for the better. I exercise daily by walking 1-2 miles, I feel great, and I have more energy. This is the one and only time that I've had surgery. It was rough at times but overall a good experience. I am happy that I did it and have a long road ahead

I will admit my one addiction is having a baby banana 🍌 with yogurt for dinner. Manzanos I think they are called. Not always easy to find though. That and sugar free land o lakes whipped cream. peanut butter powder is probably the healthier option but will give the same flavor to the mix.

I’ve bought the enchiladas locally at Publix grocery, but recently placed an order online since they had a special offer to get free choczero syrups. Also if anyone uses the link I posted they get $10 off. It’s free shipping with $50. It seems like a lot but I shopped the flash sale and the special deal. I got chicken enchiladas, beef enchiladas and breakfast sandwiches. Plus You do earn rewards buying online. I’m trying to avoid the grocery too often. Check out their Facebook page they have a ongoing contest to win a gift card. I haven’t tried their ice cream yet. But it’s got great ingredients that I know wouldn’t bother my pouch. I just wish it were less calories. It would be more of a meal for me. Then again my dinners are plain Fage Greek yogurt with protein powder, a baby banana and some sf whipped cream.

18 months out from sleeve surgery, I'm still a pescatarian. Note that I wasn't able to eat some of this stuff for quite some time after surgery. Lost about 120 (gained a bit from my low, but have been maintaining here for a couple months). Some typical meals for me: * Stuff I ate in soft food stage (note YMMV because different docs have different rules. Might also be different with the RNY) **stuff i ate as I transitioned to real food (same caveat) Breakfast * Greek yogurt/cottage cheese (after soft food stage: add blueberries) *scrambled egg An egg and some veggies (scrambled, fritatta, crustless quiche, etc) Lunch/Dinner **crustless quiche (in early stages, be careful what you put in the quiche - I now do broc, but couldn't eat that until I was almost a year out) *Ricotta bake Baked sweet potato with black beans and some greek yogurt mixed with chipotle peppers. If I'm feeling fancy add soem avocado (*soft food appropriate if you cook the potato and beans really well and mash them REALLY well) Tofu and veg with some sauce **Tuna salad * Egg Salad **Fish with veg Shrimp with Veg *Hummus bowl or **falafel Breakfast hash (sauteed kale, roasted sweet potato, poached egg) Salad with fish or shrimp or beans Bean chili About once a month a pita pizza (small pita, tomato sauce, mozz, and veg) Curry chickpeas Snacks fruit (sometimes and apple w/peanut butter), veg, almonds, cheese, parm chips, guac, hummus

So, I guess since I hit 18 months post-op, I'm a vet. I've been thinking a lot about the surgery over the last few weeks. And since I'm stuck at home and don't really have anyone to talk this out with, I'm just going to put it here. I don't really think I have a question, just want to get it all out of my head. I really don't know how I feel about my surgery 18 months out. I had a ROUGH first 14 months or so after surgery. Well, I actually had a super time easy through month three, then I got really, really sick. Couldn't eat anything other than stuff that was basically yogurt consistency (after easily moving through the stages of food and eating shrimp/veg for dinner most nights). And the doc couldn't figure it out. To get more than about 300-400 cals a day, I had to mainline milk (protein shakes also made me violently ill, even though I'd tolerated them well the first few months). Anytime I ate anything moderately like food, I got an incredible pain in my abdomen. I remember at one point about 4 months after surgery being in so much pain I was in the fetal position sobbing on the phone to my surgeon's office begging for help). So I lost steadily, but felt like death on a stick because I was always in pain and wasn't getting enough nutrition. After about a year, I suddenly started feeling a bit better, but still couldn't eat most veggies or starches. I plateaued because I was suddenly able to eat more like 800 calories/day (doc/NUT rec at that point was more like 1000-1200). Then a couple months ago, I started to get to where I can eat most things (raw veg and some of the tougher veggies still hard) and I'm hungry all the time. I am SO grateful that I feel better, but I gained like 15 lbs in a month. I've been steady at that for a bit, but would really like to not be where I am. I feel like I eat healthy foods, and, frankly, I'm still not at that high a cal intake according to my NUT (1200-1500 give or take, she says most folks at my stage could be up more like 1800), but I just can't seem to lose,. Healthy BMI would be just under 170. I had gotten down to 183 (sustained - I got down to 179 for one day, but I don't really count that). I was fairly happy there. Ideally, I'd be in the 170s, I'd be happy in the 180s. The 190s is making me panicky. It kind of makes me sad that I'm still over 25# overweight eating roughly 1200-1500 cals. Would love to be about 15 lbs lighter (still overweight, but I feel OK at that weight). And, frankly, I am really afraid of regain - and I'm just not sure I can eat fewer cals. And I'm hungry a lot (legit stomach hunger, not brain hunger). I'm pretty good about what I eat (I keep a fruit/veg/healthy protein bowl near my work station to snack on. Eat protein/veg for B/L/D). Heck, since I'm home I really don't have much unhealthy stuff to eat. I suppose if I stabilize where I am, it is still better than where I was. But, frankly, if I gain much more I'm not sure that the cost/benefit is really worth it for me. So, that's where I am 18 months out from surgery. Not really looking for advice, just wanted to get my musings out there. Thanks! Edited to add - I'd started a C25K before this whole pandemic thing and got to the beginning of week 5. But now I've had to stop because I can't run with a mask on and, frankly, even if I could there are too many people out in my neighborhood to make social distancing possible/safe. I wonder where I'll have to restart when this is all over.

Yum! One of my favorites... I love fresh blueberries and slivered almonds + cinnamon, too. I usually have this several times a week. Also, love pineapple tidbits and banana mix. I am not a yogurt fan. So, Breakstone 2% low-fat - 45% less sodium cottage cheese small curd is a go to staple. What brand do you like?

First of all great news on beating cancer! Were you are are you currently on steroids or any meds that can contribute to weight gain? I had surgery 6 years post cancer, so it’s different than your experience. I went from 150 lbs at breast cancer diagnosis to 225 Lbs, 5 years later. I gained at a quick pace and while the (hardcore) treatment saved my life it zapped me for quite sometime. I’m only mentioning this so you can ask your Doctor, it’s frustrating and it helps to know what you’re up against. Here is what I would do. Talk to my Doctor Take vitamins Research any current meds and talk with your Doctor about any concerns. subscribe to a fitness routine or app at home Journal everything you eat in My fitness pal. Limit your calories wear a Fitbit or a comparable device Drink water until it’s coming out of your ears stock up on lean meats, fruits, yogurt and veggies. Acorn squash is my go to when I want something starchy. Keep yourself accountable. Congratulations again, You’ve proven your tough, you’ve done this before and you can do it again. It will probably take longer since you have less to lose but you’ll get there. Im rooting for you!

I am working from home and playing FV2 to pass the time. Still living on cottage cheese, greek yogurt, shrimp cocktail, protein shakes and filet mignon and asparagus. If I want a snack, that's cashews or raw veggis with my zero cal/carb ranch dressing. Really boring as far as diet goes, but I have lost 58 lbs without any exercising since the week before Thanksgiving, just modified my dietary habits radically, gave up carbs which used to be my favorite food group and any alcohol. I didn't go out much before other than to work, since I had my surgery, I couldn't eat in restaurants anyway so I wasn't going anywhere anyway so this stay home thing doesn't represent that much of a change for me other than no longer leaving to go to work.

I get up, shower and put on workout clothes in the morning, increasing my chances of working out later. I've been doing Pilates class via Zoom and then running my dogs around the neighborhood, which helps keep us all sane. I try to keep a lot of "good" snacks around like string cheese, Greek yogurt Built Bars, etc. so when I go for a snack it's not junk. My goal for the pandemic is maintenance. No need to put more stress on myself, but that's just the way my brain works.

I have made chicken salad with Greek yogurt, apple and celery. I found Joseph’s reduced carb, high protein pita bread at BJs (I think it’s just over $3/20 pcs) and each pita/wrap is only 60 calories. It’s got flax, oat bran and whole wheat flour and tastes good.

@BayouGirlMrsS this sounds like a well balanced plan! Thanks for sharing. I have an appointment with my nutritionist in May and I am going to discuss coming up with a plan that works for ME! Researching online, it seems like a lot of people implement their own plans because I see a variety of Keto, IF, counting macros. I haven’t tried the yogurt you mentioned but I will. I either buy Dannon Light and Fit or Chobani.

@BayouGirlMrsS on the paper I have it says that they have a high fat content, that’s the reason why. I managed to get a protein shake down yesterday so that was breakfast. They were making me nauseous after surgery. I’ve been eating the Dannon Light and Fit yogurt but I’ll have to try the one you mentioned.

did you get to ask your dr. why you can't eat those? It seems to me that all you use to eat, you should be able to eat. Except for the muffin. I would watch the halos, some times the skin is hard to digest... this is why i get them from the can or cup (no skin). Yogurt is good.... I don't really watch my carbs/sugar in the am and i will burn them off during the day.... this is why i have no worries about eating this yogurt.... I just can't stand the aftertaste in my mouth with the fat free or low fat ones.... https://www.liberteusa.com/products/

Hmm. It varies for different things for me. I've gotten nausea with some things. Stomach cramps with others. Gas. Diarrhea. It just depends. For example, I don't deal well with sucralose or fake sugars (though I'm okay with stevia) and it's way TMI, but you asked so... I get really REALLY bad gas. My stomach makes noise and EVERYTHING. And then it ends up with diarrhea so... no fake sugars for me! 😅 I was bad with dairy for a while, but I tolerate it better now than I did early on, which is good because I love my cottage cheese and yogurt! I haven't tried jello since liquid phase because it caused indigestion for me and it was painful and super uncomfortable! I tried it twice in the hospital and twice and home and was so done after that. On the bright side... I have yet to vomit. Everyone was telling me I'd for sure get sick and vomit and I'm almost two and a half months out and haven't vomitted even once. So I say HA to all those who told me I'd get sick!

@BayouGirlMrsS I like grits but not when they are really runny. I tried them during my soft food phase and they didn’t sit well with me, probably because I made them too thick, so I haven’t had them since but I may try again soon. Before surgery I would eat an English muffin and sausage for breakfast, or vanilla yogurt and blueberries, or 2 of those halos and bacon. If I had a heavy breakfast it would be on the weekends. That’s another thing I struggle with is eating at my appointed times. I start working and the next thing you know so much time has passed. Someone suggested I set alerts through my amazon echo so I may try that.

completely understandable... we all have our likes and dislikes..... what about grits? You may have to stick with smoothies.... Try the yogurt i suggested.... i hate all the others. This is the only one i like. What did you eat for breakfast before SX??

@BayougirlMrsS thanks for the feedback! I should have prefaced my message by saying that I don’t eat bacon everyday. I mostly do yogurt and fruit but it’s tough eating the same things over and over. I am determined to make this tool work for me and I am not veering off the track too far with lots of things I shouldn’t have because that’s how I got here in the first place. I know this battle is 95% mental but it has been tougher being at home every day and maintaining a routine. If I was at work I could only eat what I brought but I know things won’t always be easy. Just taking it day by day!

Hi! I had my surgery on 2/27/20. I usually have greek yogurt for breakfast with a piece of turkey bacon or real turkey breakfast sausage... no problems. I have loss 30 lbs since surgery.. all together 48 lbs counting 2 week pre surgery diet. I too was over 300 lbs.

i'm just curious as to why no meats for breakfast? Did he say why? I wasn't told that for either SX... Not the band or the sleeve. I eat bacon in quench. and i eat less than half a piece on the weekends. #1... sleeved 8/28/19... i averaged 2lbs per week. This is a revision for me, SW was 173.5, today im holding at 129 which is where i have been for about a month. I found that sometimes i would go a week or so at the same and then BAM.... loss... 2-3lbs.. #2... i do eat bacon and sausage and i eat ham and cheese roll-up sometimes for lunch. #3.. i wouldn't call it cheating. I call it a blip... Everyone has "blips".... it's all about recognizing them and stopping them. But i can also tell you the people that are just starting out eating chips, ice cream, candy from the beginning are the same that in a few years that will be on here saying....... My WLS didn't work..... I've seen it a thousand times..... I've been here since 2009... Start off correct.... and if your dr. says no bacon... he must have a reason. I don't like cottage cheese either.. yuck... I know you said NO eggs (most everything has eggs) or bananas.... how about oatmeal? I avoid pancakes and waffles... as they are not really good for you. How about peanut butter? How about pears? i eat them a lot. i also eat mandarins from a cup or can... I sometimes eat with ricotta cheese. I eat regular yogurt... not fat free, not low fat as i just don't like them. I love the Liberte' brand.... you have to look hard for them as they are not in every store... we have them in Krogers where i live. They are the best i ever ate....

I tried both.. because even lactose free milk will cause me to have diarrhea.. we mainly eat fish, goat and chicken.. those 3 types of meat don’t usually have much fat in them I forgot to add .. the only type of dairy I have is Greek yogurt and not on daily bases.. it’s usually added to salad (like in tzaziki) .. maybe once a week 

I had RNY rather than VSG, but 22 lbs down is about where I was at that point, and I also started out at over 300 lbs. there are so many factors that influence your rate of weight loss, and most of them are out of your control (age, gender, metabolic rate, starting BMI). The only thing you DO have a lot of control over is commitment to your clinic's plan. At almost five years out, I can't eat a lot in the way of fatty meat like bacon and sausage because it makes me feel like crap. I can have a piece now and then, but that's about it. I don't think I ate anything like that the first year or so post-op. I usually ate Greek yogurt for breakfast - but I know you said you're tired of that. some people eat non-breakfast foods for breakfast, like chicken breast or deli turkey slices with a cheese stick or something along those lines.

Hi all, I am 6 weeks post op and I am having a really hard time with breakfast. Per my surgeons guidelines, he recommends avoiding bacon, sausage (even chicken), ham etc. but my issue is that I hate eggs! So I am tired of having protein shakes and yogurt for breakfast. I also don’t want to eat chicken or seafood every morning. I’ve had some bacon and I’m wondering if I am “cheating” and messing myself up. I hit a stall at 3 weeks, had my menstrual, and went up! It finally broke last week and I lost what I gained but it just doesn’t feel like I’ve made any progress in weeks! I’ve lost 22 pounds since surgery on 2/24 and with my 2 months coming up I feel like I should have lost at least 30 since my starting weight was over 300 pounds! Here are my questions: 1. For those who’ve had a VSG what was your average weekly and/or monthly weight loss after the first month? 2. Do you eat bacon, sausage, or ham for breakfast? 3. Have you cheated and still lost? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give because I am going crazy!