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The water amount was just a recommendation from my team. They seemed to have a more relaxed attitude towards my goals. I drank what I could. I was only thirsty the first few difficult weeks. Now I just drink what I want, when I want. Before surgery, I detested eggs and just looking at them would make me heave. Now my body craves them. Isn't that strange. We cook all our meals from scratch and I decide on the weeks menu so I adapt them too suit my diabetic husband and my low carb life. If I fancy Thai food, I have it but with a Tom Yum soup vibe with a few fork full of noodles. It does satisfy my craving. If I want lasagne, I eat around the pasta as I can not tolerate it. I eat all the crispy burnt edges though I log everything that I eat and drink so if I want a biscuit and I have already got my protein in, Then I have a biscuit Food should not be boring. I just do not live to eat it anymore.

I’ll start with your water issue. Our bodies need water/fluids. Keeps our blood flowing & therefore blood pressure lower, aids flushing toxins out of our bodies, aids brain function, reduce headaches, boosts energy levels, flushes bacteria out of our bladders & therefore reduces chance of infection, benefits your skin (dryness & wrinkling), eases constipation, etc. All because you didn’t drink that much fluid before doesn’t mean you weren’t doing the best for your body. In time your body gets used to the amount of fluid you are consuming & you won’t pee quite as often but again peeing is important. Remember feeling thirsty is a danger signal that you are in great need for fluids. You can add herbs & spices to your cooking to help boost flavour if you find that lacking. The period you are losing weight is an opportunity to try different foods, cooking styles, new recipes, etc. & to get used to eating foods that are not high in fats, sugars & salts, synthetic additives & generally eating more cleanly. You could try making your own sauces too so you control the ingredients. It can be helpful to remember the way you ate before did you no favours & lead t you choosing the surgery. Being on your current diet doesn’t mean you can’t go out or socialise with family & friends. It’s about making the best choices you can with options available. It’s not something you do every day but if once in a while you aren’t able to eat 100% of what you should is okay. I went to a Chinese restaurant with my mum & old family friends at around 4 months. I chose chicken & cashews & picked at the chicken & vegetables to my appropriate portion draining off what sauce I could. While everyone was sharing all the dishes I stuck to just mine. I took the leftovers home & we ate it the next day or two. I went to restaurants (casual & fine dining), birthday parties, reunions, general social gatherings,… all while I was losing. If I had to contribute food, I made something I could eat. For example at the reunion I made a zucchini bake. All cause you can’t eat something like Christmas cookies, doesn’t mean you can’t still make & share them with your family. You don’t have to eat them. This will be something that happens after your weight loss too when you work out how you will eat to maintain. I don’t eat cakes, biscuits, sweets, desserts yet today I made banana bread with my nieces & nephew. We had lots of fun & they all ate some & took the rest home. I didn’t care I didn’t eat any & neither did they (more for them 😁). Socialising isn’t only about eating & drinking. It’s really about spending time with people you love & care about. You don’t have to give up on your life.

I'm having a food slump! I in no way get the water in each day I'm supposed too.. I'm not thirsty and to be honest I really hate going to the restroom 20+ times a day IF I do get close to the required 64+ oz a day. Plus, I don't understand why I need to, I didn't drink that much beforehand, so I don't understand why suddenly having a smaller stomach requires a sudden huge mandatory increase in water consumption!? Plus, I am sooooooooooooooooooo burnt out on the same foods over and over and yes over. I detest eggs (always have) and have always preferred something like avocado toast for breakfast and a cup of coffee. I detest cooking so I tend to eat the same thing every single day - something I can cook in quantity. Lately its been turkey chili with added protein powder. Chicken breast with veggies is boring/bland... Then there's the chicken of the sea - white fish with veggies..again just not my thing. So, I just eat the same thing over and over. I have to admit, I miss sauces, thai noodles and pizza and foods I can dip! I have a food texture problem so it leaves quite a few things off my plate..plus I'm hypersensitive to carbs - racing heart feeling jittery so I eat very low carb (under 25) low sugar, low calorie in other words low taste (to me anyway). I do what I have to to lose the weight and become healthy.. But its taken a lot of joy out of life, the holidays just plain suck now...all the family traditions came to a stop because of me (we used to all get our favorite restaurant dishes and share pot luck style for New Years), bake cookies with a Cookie exchange (no one wants my healthy protein balls - I eat them because I need protein, not because they're great tasting). I know I'm suppose to eat for fuel, but, we all eat for joy - if people didn't there wouldn't be different foods, cooking styles and spices, we eat at get togethers, social times, celebrations - I can't and don't want to inflict my eating restrictions/requirements on everyone else. I fight that siren song and battle it every week, anyone else? Anyone have any reasonable suggestions? (I added reasonable because my dietician suggests things like - " you want crunchy "eat a celery stick" you want noodles try palm noodles..etc. NOT even close. I think dieticians in bariatric clinics should have been a bariatric patient themselves so they'd understand their suggestions suck. Perhaps I'm asking if anyone else is or has gone through this...slump.....I find its easier to just not eat than eat another healthy bland boring food. Sorry for the rant.

I’ve been fortunate in that my family has been quietly supportive. No one really says anything & in some cases will offer alternatives. Whenever others are hosting, I don’t make a fuss about what I can or can’t eat just make the best choices I can from the options. I’ve become adept of putting a little taste of a variety of food on my plate & saying thank you but I’m fine or this is plenty for now, maybe later. I happily sit there with my half empty plate while others’ are overflowing. I do allow myself a little more flexibility at Christmas: it is only one day a year. What’s funny is that I make most of the Christmas desserts yet I very rarely eat sweets any more. This is really the only day I do & choose a little bite or two of the things I enjoy most. So many equate socialising with eating & drinking but really socialising is about being with people you love (or tolerate in regards to certain family members 😉). Instead of eating, talk with those you’re with.

Just wanted to follow up on a few things from the post above: 1. DS patients do not typically experience dumping syndrome. We maintain our pylorus valve during the sleeve part of the surgery, so we dump at the same rate as the non-surgical population. 2. Bypass patients have about a 30% chance of dumping, lower if they avoid the food behaviors that trigger it. For all but a few it is a manageable phenomenon. 3. Diabetes goes into remission MUCH more frequently with Bypass and DS patients because of the alterations to the small intestines. As do most other co-morbidities. 4. I don't personally view my DS surgery as "punishing". My body has done nothing wrong. I feel no need to punish it. I personally don't have emotional eating issues but I don't judge those that do, nor do I think it is a reason to punish the body... Having my small intestines rerouted was not a punishment. It was a BLESSING! My fasting blood sugars normalized within 24 hours of surgery. So did my high blood pressure. I'm not on medication for either one. I'm currently 7 weeks post op. I consider remission of those two conditions to be a modern medical miracle... I didn't choose the DS to be harsh to my body. I picked it because it had the best chance of restoring my health and keeping the weight off long term. My surgeon put it best "You have a metabolic disorder. You need a metabolically potent surgery. The DS is the most potent one available..." My bowels habits have changed, but nothing unmanageable. I have to watch my carbs, that's no different than before surgery. I no longer have to count calories because I malabsorb a portion of them. I'm at risk of vitamin deficiencies if I don't take my vitamins, that to me is no different than risking a blood sugar or blood pressure emergency from not regularly taking my meds pre-surgery. Nothing about this process is free. There are always trade offs. Any GI issues that occur with the DS can also happen with Bypass, including vitamin and protein deficiencies. But protein and vitamin deficiencies are also possible with sleeve patients. They may happen at different rates, but they are unusual across the board. As are serious complications. Gallbladder failure can happen with ANY surgery. It is caused by the rapid weight loss and low fat diet many adhere to post surgery. It is not unique to the DS or Bypass. I don't think DS and Bypass patients are choosing to punish themselves because they pick these surgeries. They pick these surgeries because of their own individual medical challenges and what they need out of their surgery. Most of us are working to heal various dysfunctional relationships with our bodies, or with food, or both. None of us are exempt from that. These surgeries are ALL support tools, not a punishment for past misdeeds.

Easy? Ha! Weight loss surgery is not easy. People who say this are speaking from ignorance. The diet, the psychological work, working out a new way of eating that suits you & your needs, introducing more activity into your life, … And there is the life long work to maintain your weight loss - it’s much easier for an obese person to regain weight than it is for someone who was overweight or who lost a few pounds. Obesity is a disease for a reason & those demons that lead us down that path are still there. We just learn how to understand & manage them better & change our relationship with & dependence on food. Many of the benefits of the surgery, which kick start our weight loss, fade over time. We are able to eat more, our restriction weakens, our appetite returns. That’s when the real work begins. To me the most important benefit of the surgery was that during the time of no appetite, strong restriction, etc, I had the time to do the head work about my relationship with food, eating behaviours, & work out a new way of eating, I never worked as hard with losing weight & then maintaining my weight as I have since my surgery. It is so very much worth it though.

I see you consume most of your calories from processed and ultra processed foods. They tend to flow straight through us and don’t help with feeling full. I am also very tempted when my spouse brings junk food into our home, and sometimes I give in but I always try to eat only non processed foods. Chicken nuggets ultra processed, ramen ultra processed, cookies ultra processed, soda ultra processed and empty calories. It was really hard to start but it’s been over a year now and has become second nature now. Best of luck, don’t feel guilty about slipping once in awhile we all do every once and awhile, we just don’t do it every day.

I just made an account to answer this. I am two and a half weeks post op from gastric sleeve. I too have PCOS. I am 37 years old and my highest weight was 330. At surgery and after the pre-op diet I was down to 305. I'm currently 289 today. My comorbidities were hypertension, high cholesterol, newly onset GERD, and insulin resistance. (never made it into the diabetic range). I watched a ton of videos on youtube after I decided to have surgery. I watched the testimony of patients ranging from a few weeks out to twenty years. I also listened to bariatric surgeons discuss the process, pitfalls, and successes. My PCP had been talking to me about this surgery for three years and at first I declined because of all the people I knew of that experienced full weight regain. I only decided to have the surgery when I had determined that not being able to eat as much and what I want all the time was a small price to pay for my health and quality of life. Some things to consider between sleeve and bypass. Myth: Bypass patients are much more successful at keeping weight off. The sleeve is a newer surgery and was discovered as the first part of the duodenal switch. The 5 and 10 year outcomes for weight loss and regain tend to be around the same with the bypass slightly better. The sleeve is less punishing and is easier to 'stretch' out with poor eating habits but it can be done with the bypass as well. Overall, a change in relationship with food is a higher predictor of sustained weight loss than either surgery. The Switch is the surgery with the most rapid weight loss and sustained loss without regain but it is a heavily malabsorption procedure, carries the most risk of post operative complications, including dehydration and vitamin deficiency and requires a very strict regiment to sustain a healthy lifestyle. It can also result in some interesting bowel changes. Too rapid weightloss can also result in gallstones. Quite a few bariatric patients have had gallbladder removal after surgery. It should be noted that actual operative complications are low for all surgeries but not zero. Another controversial topic of sleeve vs gastric bypass is that the bypass is better for GERD. There are contradicting experiences for both surgeries. One thing is for sure you can certainly still have GERD with the bypass, although it seems revision from sleeve to bypass has worked to cure GERD for a lot of people. My GERD was very mild before surgery and so far I have not experienced any after. I am on a daily dosage of omerprazole but that's nothing new to what I was taking before. My triggers for GERD were fried foods and canned tomatoes. I know to stay away from that now. Keep in mind that the bypass is reversible in most cases while the sleeve is not. Also, the sleeve can be converted into a bypass or switch if complications arise or you fail to lose or sustain a meaningful amount of weight. There are very few options for bypass and switch if regain occurs outside of dietary changes, exercise and will power. Bypass patients can no longer consume NSAIDS, steriods, and possibly other medications after surgery for life. Switch and Bypass patients are more likely to experience dumping syndrome but Sleeve patients can also suffer from it. Constipation, diarrhea, and blockages and strictures can occur with all surgeries. Very minimal risk for long term serious complications. I have read quite a few posts that spoke about pain after surgery with the sleeve. Speaking for myself the only pain I experienced was gas after surgery from the surgeon introducing it into my abdomen during the procedure. I was given liquid pain meds but never took any, and no otc pains meds either. I felt discomfort from the surgery port sites for maybe a week. After that I was good. My surgery team has stayed on top of any side effects that could occur after surgery and I was very lucky. They gave me medicine for nausea before surgery, put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear also before surgery and discharged me with anti-nausea dissolveable meds. I took the meds for about a week though I never experience sickness and still luckily have not. I was a water drinker before surgery and can still easily drink water without any pain or nausea. Cold or hot temps don't seem to upset my stomach though some have reported either can cause pain. I am on the puree stage and things are going well. Really, experiences vary. I'd choose a doctor carefully and if possible speak to prior patients to get their experience pre and post op. I was lucky my Aunt had the procedure done the year before and could report on her experience. We chose the same surgeon. He had a 98% success rate. So after this long-winded wall of text I choose a sleeve because: I wanted a slower and steady weight loss. I did not want to re-route my insides. Had a co-worker suffer a bad bowel blockage with a bypass and had to have part of his intestine cut out. I did not want restrictions on not being able to take certain pain or treatment options should they become necessary in the future. I did not feel I have a dependent relationship with food. I ate too much of it. And sometimes the wrong things because they were easy and accessible. But I also enjoyed a lot of healthy foods. My kryptonite has always been lack of exercise and even skipping meals so that I overate when I did eat. I'm from the finish your plate generation, but I did not and do not rely on food for comfort, bordem or pleasure. Therefore, I felt and still feel that the more punishing procedures were not right for me.

I've had 2 holiday seasons with family (who don't know I had surgery) and just coming up to my third! I've handled them all differently. The first was really tough because it would have been less than 6 weeks after my op so I just didn't go. Last year I made sure my partner was sitting next to me and then put most of my food (we get a huge loaded plate each) onto his, in small increments. I also ate 'in reverse order' - carbs first, then veg, then a tiny bit of meat (which halts everything for me, LOL). This year I will be able to eat like half a normal dinner (so a quarter of the massive dinner we seem to get served). I'll push the rest about on my plate and feed some to the dog. Like lots of the *always thin* people have done for years. At various times over the last 2 years I have disposed of food - into bins and occasionally wrapped in serviettes into my handbag, LOL - and hidden food (eg ordered a chicken salad where I eat the salad and then hide all the chicken under the last few leaves). Just to deflect attention. People who can be open about the fact they have had surgery just quote the surgery. If you're telling folks you're on a strict weight loss diet for your health that works too. I do (really do) understand the special pressures of a family Christmas and I hope you get through it well. It gets better, I promise.

I do this too! I've found that if I just have some food in front of me, it doesn't matter and no one really notices. Also, I second babysitting a mocktail and chatting most of the time. If I get tired of the adults, I go hang out with the kids or teens for a bit and check in on their lives, too (because they're not as mean or pushy as the grown-ups! lol).

Hello! I just got my surgery last week on the 13th. At my last appointment at the weightloss centre I was 252 pounds. That was about 2 and a half weeks before surgery. But, at my pre op appointment, a week and a half before surgery, I was down to 247. On the 18th, 5 days after my surgery they weighed me at 240 I believe. This morning, my scale said 229. My doctors office is going by my last weight with them, but I'm going with my last preop weight. Either way it's almost 20 pounds in one week and two days! It's crazy! I don't see the 20 pounds gone yet, but that's okay! I am missing crunchy foods though! But the sugar free pudding, chili and mashed potatoes have been rather good to eat over that clear liquid diet!

Hey all, Thought I'd check in. Had my sleeve and hiatal hernia repair done on 12/13. Most of it has gone pretty smooth with no nausea and little pain aside from one spot. This one spot is about two inches to the right of the right side incision and its deep. Like when they did the incision they did it at an angle and it has done nothing but burned and stung horribly from the beginning. It was the only thing that held me back from getting up and walking more during my overnight stay. Even once I got home it still took me way to long to get moving. The hysterectomy pillow I got has helped but the ab binder had been a life saver. It still burns and pulls and stings, but I am actually finally able to walk two houses down and half the block width now instead of just barely able to run laps in the house. I think its honestly the stitch they put in that incision. ugh. But bearing through it. As far as food, Full liquid until my follow up next Thursday and then I should be able to move to pureed at that point. Had a slight sensation in the base of my throat the first 3 days or so but after that haven't had any issues drinking 20 oz for lunch and breakfast and dinner and another 17 oz through out the day. Getting in almost 90g of protein and hitting my 70 oz of water/fluid intake in. Oh also went from 309.4 morning of surgery to 322.8 after. I finally was back to 310 this morning! Hope everyone else is doing well!

Ahhhh yes the food pushers!! Honestly what I do is, take a little bit on my plate and just baby sit it all night. and if someone asks did you try "XX" I say its on my plate Im just not there yet. Honestly my entire family is overweight to and as long as I have a plate and at the table no one even notices what I am and am not eating. I baby sit my mocktail and just chat and enjoy the night.

Not food related but physical limitations? yesterday was day 6 post op and I’m not driving but I needed to get some stuff done. I was out a total of 3 hours. Sipping water along the way. Well I get home and got a little protein shake in and crashed out.i slept nearly 7 hours.woke up in a lot of discomfort, nauseous and even coughing up mucus . I guess my body told me too much too soon

Well - it's here. This will be my first Christmas since I had my gastric sleeve. That means " food fest 2023" . 😬 Our whole family gathers together and brings tons of food. Our whole family is mostly overweight,too. I know I'm going to get the "you look skinnier since the last time I saw you " and "oh you have to try this- it's a new recipe " and "is that all you're having ?" I don't have a problem controlling what I eat - it's handling people who are trying to control what I eat ! I'd love any advice or tell me how you navigate a food based party. Thank you so much

Yes, same here! Today is day #7 for me so HELLO PURÉED FOODS!! I woke up in such a great mood! These hormones really are all over the place! Lol. I put on some makeup for the first time in a LONG time and got dressed in normal people clothes. I made myself a protein shake with sugar free peanut butter powder and it was so yummy! I’m attempting my first trip out today with my mama to the grocery store. I’m in much better spirits and hoping this is day 1 of happier spirits to come!

You are not going to fail! You are so strong!!! You have alreay made leaps and bounds toward a better you. Dont worry about one fry. Did it taste good? Has your taste changed since your surgery? I am a huge pasta and pastry lover. To make matters worse, I made a human just like me and have married and man who can eat all day and night with no weight gain. Since I was loosing so well on my own, I wanted to schedule a Spaghetti night prior to surgery but felt guilty even thinking about it. I was going to my last nutrition appointment and told my nutritionist about my plans. She said so it! If we deprive ourselves, we will only want it more and then end up over doing. That night, I came home cooked a huge pot of sauce and boiled the noodles. I did walk that day to make myself feel better and that night settled in for my last big bowl of pasta. The anticipation was far better. It did not taste as good as I remembered and did not provide the comfort I had anticipated. I felt like I had cheated myself but at the same time, glad I got it out of my system. Surgery is tomorrow and I am down 55 lbs since I started. Morale of the story - you are human! Eat in moderation, exercise daily, and enjoy the ride! Don't have off limit food! But when you do have the not healthy kind, think about the taste, texture, and how you felt before, while, and after. Best wishes to you.

Wow! There are so many things to unpack there. let me start with you are not going to fail!! We will be able to eat in moderation. That is the whole goal of the tool. Instead of eating a large fry eating a couple like 4-5 instead of eating a whopper maybe half or less. Nothing will be BANNED! Your body will tell you though if it doesn’t like something you ate. You will get dumping , cramps, nausea or all of the above. So the key point here is not to get upset. now as I say that, I am struggling too but I am preop still. But I have had a couple of slips. As I don’t know what the situation I’m not sure why your husband brought home McDonald’s? Knowing your current condition? If possible could he eat in the car before coming in the house? Just for the next few weeks as you adjust to your new eating habits. we do need to learn to navigate when those around us have food that we so badly want. I went through that last night with potatoes. We will have to remove ourselves from those situations sometimes. Like I should have. im sure your husband will understand. Well, I hope anyway.

Why would he eat something like that in front of you. Sounds like you need to set boundaries with that until you get to a point where you're fully healed and allowed to eat solid food.

If you could see your internal stitches or staples then you would not be pushing the boundary so soon. Imagine food stuck and rotting in the staples. Can you imagine how ill you would be ? What should be inside your stomach could end up on the outside. It could kill you. Will this dissuade you from the dark side ? Try to stick to your teams plan. Its worth it in the end

Almost a year out, how are your goals going?! I am going to have my last appt next Thursday and I am starting to eat like crud, mostly because of the holidays but this post seriously helped with my mindset. I want to get back into HIIT workouts, running, things I did before I got this big. This is so encouraging! I am dreaming of the day where I coach my kids sports teams and I am running with them. I am so hoping that I can obtain this goal by end of next year. My daughter is starting to have weight issues and its my fault. I am encouraging good food choices and exercise but she sees me so how is that a good example? Way to go!

No nothing wrong. The antibiotics is just as a precaution against any potential infection. I mean I know the office girls are rather flaky but I was just pissed that he didn’t even say I’m sending this ,this and this to your pharmacy. I mean I know the pain meds but he didn’t tell me about the nausea meds. I don’t know maybe it is just me. I was just so stressed. my surgery is a go and I am more nervous then I was before. The closer it gets. thankfully I live alone and I don’t have to deal with others to feed regular food for.

Oh my gosh @MLC3409 why the 360 with the doctor? And I don't blame you with the food because this is very hard work (especially for myself with a husband and three kids). Did he find something wrong yesterday? Is he going to keep the surgery date? (I think you said yes) and they wouldn't be ordering meds without telling you. Keep on plugging along!! And remember the why and keep telling yourself that...Reach out whenever...my problem is I am also looking at stuff for the purees stage and so on lol because I want time to fly by. I been adding "bullion" to my broth as a treat.

Congratulations so far! I had that same food scale and I loved it. Your meal prep looks like it’s working for you so keep up the good work ❤️

It doesn't sound like it. I know that the amount sounds like a lot compared to the can-only-eat-three-spoons-of-pureed-food-and-even-less-when-solid crowd but the amounts is not what strikes me odd. If the foods you're listing are fairly typical for a day of eating you simply might be lagging nutrients. No fruits at all, only a little bit of vegetables. I'm not surprised. The sodium content of the foods you listed seems to be fairly high. Quick weight loss or weight gain usually almost includes some water retention. My weight can swing up to almost 1 kg within one day because of how much water I hold. You say you want to start tracking. Are you a person who likes to track food, a person who abhors it (raises both hands simultaneously here) or a person who is not a fan but in the end doesn't mind it? Tracking foods/calories/macros can help people - however, it could be that you can benefit from a different food selection without even having to write everything down you eat. How far out of surgery are you? Are the stats you're listing in your profile still correct?