Search the Community

I’m also an ICU nurse and also off for 10 days! I’m only missing 3 days total though due to how I lined it up.

Its been a while since I’ve posted any OOTD’s on here…part laziness, part no new real shopping done in months. So…looking to wake up this thread and bring it back to its former glory when it was a trending topic for months (remember that??) As it is, it remains one of my faves threads on here (this and the Food Before and After thread!) Sooooo… here we go: for those who know me, I LOVe to try on wedding dresses (been trying to convince Mr. to marry me again for forever, but that’s another story, lol). On a recent mini-vacay a couple weeks ago, i did just that at nowhere other than Klienfelds, NY of Say Yes to the Dress fame! And no, Randy was not there, hahahha. I tried on maybe 10-ish dresses, but this one was my fave. Price tag: $6500 USD if you’re wondering (and no, i didn’t buy it, nor do i plan to, it was just for funsies!!). Now your turn!!! I wanna see some clothes please!

Yes! Shipping typically takes about a week, and I place an order every 4 to 6 weeks to buy enough to get free shipping. I also buy items on sale, and have points earned to take $5 to $10 off each order. I have used both the ProCare and Bariatric Pal vitamins with iron. Capsules one a day. Both great. Chewables nasty. Patches weren’t recommended by my nutritionist. Also Bariatric Pal calcium chews. They taste like chocolate caramel Starburst. They feel like a dessert. Also Syntrax protein powders. I have not had problems with items being out of stock. And one time, a protein powder arrived that had broken open during shipping. They sent a new one.

Mandatory Disclaimer: this is what i did, and the results/side effects are particular to me. YMMV. With that said: Im 3.5 years out. If I wanted to, i could forgo weighing and measuring food to avoid physical discomfort…i have long since learned what my stomach likes/dislikes and how much it can hold at a time. BUT i still measure/weigh because i’m a serial food tracker/logger cuz that’s just how i roll. Its not for everyone, but its just part of everyday life for ME. Beer and Coffee: I don’t drink beer (never did), but i do drink hard liquor. I had less than 10 partial drinks during my 7 month weight loss phase, but am now a regular drinker…some may say too much, but whatevs. Coffee, i served at the hospital, and i went back to my at least daily thermos of coffee at around 1 month post op. Also, i started drinking my fave sparkling water again around the same time. I probably drink about 5-6 litres of it a week. Fave food eating: I can honestly say there is nothing that I don’t eat IF i want to eat it. Alcohol? Check. Desserts? Check. Chips? Check. Fried foods? Check. Mind u there are alot of things that WERE my faves and ate alot of pre-op that just don’t register much anymore. I’m looking at you, rice and pasta. I barely eat (nor want) rice anymore…basically only if its sushi. Same goes for pasta and bread…i mostly only eat it if Mr. makes it, and we are talking like once every couple of 1-2 months. The volume of what i consume of my “faves” though is like a fraction of what I consumed pre-op, but thats just fine with me…its all about taste anyway, not about stuffing myself. —————— All this works for ME, and may or may not be your experience as well…you won’t know until you know. P.S. I’ve been maintaining below goal weight this entire time, so i must be doing something right! 😇

Thank you!!! I have my fingers crossed for you. I have PCOS and while I was able to conceive my son naturally, that pregnancy jump started my PCOS and I gained all kinds of weight and couldn't lose it, then I had 10 total pregnancy losses and had to take fertility meds to have my daughter (and was never able to get pregnant again after that no matter what). I'm thankful for my son (age 24), my daughter (age 15 1/2) and my granddaughter (aged 10 months). With my daughter, my weight absolutely exploded, l and so now not only do I still have my baby weight from my son, I still have it from my daughter too. And then bad eating habits (couldn't lose the weight so I just kind of gave up) added to it and now here I am. And I have MS, so the need to get the weight off and maintain my mobility is imperative. I'm really hoping you get your date soon and get to join us on this crazy journey asap!!!!!

My prediet seems to be a little bit different than everybody else's. My doctor has made it a little bit easier. I'm actually allowed a half a turkey sandwich, lettuce and tomato. Three protein drinks a day at dinner. I'm allowed white fish, chicken breast or pork chop. This is for the first 10 days on the day before surgery. It's all liquid. Just saying times have changed. Maybe your doctors need to think about that. Sent from my Pixel 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

LOL! Monday, Tuesday…🤣…whatever! Don’t question the ‘not scared’ part…just enjoy it! I agree with you about feeling excitement at taking back your life. It’s only the past 10 years that my weight became an issue. I was underweight most of my life…I was a long distance runner. Then fertility drugs, thyroid issues, etc., etc., and ⚡️100 lbs overweight. I can’t wait to get my life back. A close friend of mine had the sleeve in October. She’s down 90 lbs and says she has never felt better. And she looks amazing! I’m so ready! No surgery date yet, but 5/16 I have a visit with the surgeon and we should be able to set a date at that appointment. I’m hoping for 6/13 or after because school is out by then. Good luck to you on Tuesday! 🤗

I'm jealous!!! My copay with my insurance is $10 (still not bad, I know, but $5 is better lol).

Mine too! I am feeling nervous but ready. What time do you have surgery do you know? I have to be there at 10 and surgery at 12 they said

I never had issues with the store - but then, I'm several years out so I no longer buy bariatric-specific food, so it's probably been six years since I bought anything from there. I suspect they're dealing with the same issues everyone else is - shipping delays. re: vitamin patches - the jury is out on those. My clinic advises again them, and from what I've read here over the last few years, they're not alone in this. Patches seem to work well for some people, but not for others. I've never tried them since with my luck I'd be part of the latter group, although I've considered getting them for traveling since it would mean no vitamin bottles to lug around (and take up space in my suitcase). Since I'm almost never away from home for more than 10 days or so, even if they didn't work for me, no harm done.

I think 10 lbs is likely! I was told 12-15lbs on the LRD for my weight.

Im doing better with my liquid diet. Before the diet I had lost 22 lbs so Im hoping I will drop another 10 lbs (wishful thinking on my part) I have today, tomorrow Monday and then surgery Tues sometime. Surely I can make it 3 more days lol. But honestly this chicken bone broth is for the birds literally. What did anyone add to their broth to make it more tolerable after drinking do much of it?

My surgeon told me he wants me off for 10 days. I’m gonna try and get about 14 days off. I am a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse and work 12-14 hr shifts.

Hello everyone I am new here. I found this site and found it very helpful during this process. I got gastric bypass on 4/18. I was so scared before the surgery. Now I wish I had this done many years ago. I would say problems I had were constipation ( no bowel movement for 11 days. I always had constipation but this was extreme. I am on linzess and now lactulose solution 10 ml 3x daily. I also had problems consuming enough protein liquid. I got 2 flavors of isopure. Yuck… I hate it! I forced myself to drink at least 1 bottle per day. Now I am on purée food. I am still trying to figure out what to purée and not. I am not much of a cook so this part is very hard for me. So far puréed cod fish, yam, green beans. Cottage cheese, triple zero yogurt, premiers protein shake….( also yuck! ) I miss my Korean food! I have only lost 10 lbs. pre liquid I lost 13 lbs in 5 days. I am confused why I am not losing any weight at this point hopefully someone can give me some feedback. Thank you everyone for your posts and I am glad to be here.

My surgery for RNY is on 19 May, I start my pre-op diet on 5 May ... it's now feeling more real by the day

True, you could do a desk job after a week but a more physically demanding job would take several weeks because of the 10 lb weight lifting restriction and the bending over repeatedly.

Hi! Short answer is you ARE doing things right if you are comfy after eating AND are losing weight (however “slow” or “fast” you may think it is). Congrats! Long answer is there is ALOT of variation on what folks can and do consume that first month. As well as rate of weight loss, some lose/gain/stay the same based on a host of factors (air/fluid retention from surgery, genetics, medical conditions, etc). With that said, i was one of those who had a case of semi-serious food aversion that first months so i barely ate. So it prolly wont help u to compare what i ate (or didn’t eat) with your intake. For what its worth, in my opinion, a 10 lbs loss in a month is awesome. Good Luck! ❤️

Wow - What a week I've just had! Due to COVID, we haven't had our yearly work conference with customers since 2019. I've been with my company for 20+ years (and overweight the majority of that time) and haven't seen most of our customers post surgery. This past week was the first one and the reactions I had from co-workers (we work remotely so I haven't seen many of them since 2019 either) and customers was fantastic! I had folks who didn't recognize me at first and others who were just amazed at the transformation. I haven't been shy about how I lost the weight. Hell, I'll tell anyone how and why. I'd like to see the stigma of it gone. I waited so many years because intially I also believed I simply needed will-power to lose weight and keep it off. Like most of us here, I'd lost weight and gained it back plus some for a good part of my life. I tried everything and yup, I was still fat. This week I had several folks who were overweight ask me REAL questions about the surgery and life afterwards. It felt great to be able to explain the pros and cons of it all. I used what I've learned from both my experiences and this site (THANK YOU ALL!) to explain what it's like and how it affects you. Here are some of my thoughts and talking points: If you're an emotional eater, stress eater, or triggered eater, then this may not be the right answer for you. You definitely have to get that under control BEFORE surgery, Of 3 people that had surgery at about the same time, 2 of us have been successful (all sleevers). Another has only lost ~50 lbs. He simply wasn't ready for the changes and has managed to out eat the sleeve with junk food. If you're a social eater (that's ME) who has problems with primarily with portion control, you'll probably be more successful. You have to be prepared mentally for the changes (see bullet point 1). It's a roller coaster. The first few months are overwhelming. Hormones are out of control, you find you can do things you haven't done in ages as the weight loss, people are commenting, and sometimes you feel like your life will never be the same again. Many of us CAN eat anything we want after we heal- Just in smaller portions You will always need to be aware of this and try to make smart choices. I try to be smart about it. If I know I'm going to be tempted by junk food, I try and eat some heavy protein (chicken, beef, fish) FIRST so I really don't have any room left over for the temptation. Other times I just say F-it and eat the chips, crackers, dips, etc. I don't make it a habit, nor do I feel guilty when I do. You CAN out eat the sleeve. Yep, I drink. Sometimes to excess. Most of the time I don't. It's a social thing and I enjoy it. If I were doing to escape, I'd be worried. I get on the scale often. As in daily if I have it with me. This keeps me in check. If I don't, I find myself being far less conscience of what I'm eating or drinking. I know me, and if I don't I'll simply convince myself that the dryer must of shrunk my clothes! I have a 5lb threshold that I adhere to. If I get near that, I go back to tracking immediately so I can't lie to myself. If you're mentally and physically prepared for the restrictions and the lifestyle changes then this really can be the "easy way out" (I am fully aware that for many it is NOT easy so please don't take offense if you're stuggling). I'm one of the lucky ones. This surgery is life-changing in so many ways and I'll stress again, you need to be mentally prepared for those changes. If you're married or in a relationship, be prepared for how this affects your significant other (mine has been very supportive). Be prepared to take a good hard look at yourself and what you want out of this. People treat you differently - even ones you've known forever. I did this 100% for me. Frankly, a lot of it was for vanity and comfort. I was tired of being uncomfortable on a plane and not being able to experience things that had weight limits. I wanted to wear clothes that didn't come from Omar's tent factory. I find myself to be more confident and outgoing. This can be a shock to those around you. People may feel that you've changed (you HAVE). Be aware if you're becoming toxic and critical. Surgery is the right thing for some people, and the wrong thing for others. Don't be judgemental.

Called this afternoon to get my time for surgery on Monday. Have to be there at 10 and surgery at 12.

Hi PM2022, What kind of surgery did you have? I had a sleeve 10 years ago. Yes, with a sleeve I am able to physically drink coffee. I love my coffee, but it sometimes make my GERD worse. And , yes, I can drink beer too, but the carbonation is irritating to the stomach many times. But here's the deal. I can eat and drink anything I want (smaller portions)... I have also proven to myself that I can regain 30 pounds indulging on calorie-rich food and alcohol. (That doesn't feel good, trust me.) I would encourage you to hang tough Enjoy your new tummy and the restriction (even though it may be temperamental for awhile), follow the diet, log your foods , and enjoy the weight loss. "Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels." It will be worth the effort. Hang tough!

I’m May 19

I am having Gastric Sleeve surgery May 3rd and my doc has us do the modified liquid diet ( meaning, no food at all, no Jello, no strained soups, nothing) for 14 days. It is awful, I won't lie, but once you get past day 7 or so, you kind of become numb to it all ; ) I have lost 19 pounds though, and hoping that helps with the surgery. And, it's good practice for the rest of my life after surgery. The zero sugar jolly ranchers have been very helpful for me...I can have 4 of them a day and when it gets really hard they take me over that hump. Good luck, we can do this!

honestly, weight loss is about 90% food and only 10% exercise. I know WLS patients who lost a ton of weight even without exercise. That said, exercise is great for your overall health and people should do it - but an injury that causes a temporary pause in your routine is not going to be the end of your weight loss. also, you could be in a stall - they're very common. Just stick to your program and your weight loss will eventually start up again. Stalls usually last 1-3 weeks. and no, I doubt "this is it" as long as you're adhering to your program. Most of us lose for a year - if not more (20 months for me - but I started out much heavier than you, so I had a lot more to lose)

Anemia is becoming more common these days. I know several women who are anaemic & have regular transfusions. Rarely heard of it 10 years ago. Are you still eating a high protein diet? Have they looked for a possible cause of your anaemia? Infection, auto immune issue, absorption issue, etc. Make sure you’re consuming iron rich foods including: Red meat, pork and poultry Seafood Beans Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas Peas Increase your vitamin C as it aids iron absorption. As well as citrus fruits try: Broccoli Grapefruit Kiwi Leafy greens Melons Oranges Peppers Strawberries Tangerines Tomatoes Do you still have your dietician’s details? Maybe you can contact them for some advice.