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Hi everyone, so i had gastric sleeve on 23/09/2023. my current routine is usually protein shake in the morning, breakfast/lunch around 12-1 PM, then i go to the gym for my workout and have my BCAA during/post workout, and then my dinner when i get home. However, i got told by many people that i should actually keep my protein shake for later on and not in the morning and instead just have breakfast. What do you guys usually do with arrangements of meals and protein shake and so on?

So loveies, week 1 post op down 7 lbs went in at 227 started my journey at 247 lbs. I find the post op liquid diet is frustrating just sipping fluids all day until go to sleep. It really does tale all day to get those fluids in. I belch alot not sure why. The past 2 mornings I've woken up extremely nauseous. Anyone else have/ had these issues. On a good note Dietician called scheduled appointment for next week to hopefully upgrade me to puree/ soft diet

So loveies, week 1 post op down 7 lbs went in at 227 started my journey at 247 lbs. I find the post op liquid diet is frustrating just sipping fluids all day until go to sleep. It really does tale all day to get those fluids in. I belch alot not sure why. The past 2 mornings I've woken up extremely nauseous. Anyone else have/ had these issues. On a good note Dietician called scheduled appointment for next week to hopefully upgrade me to puree/ soft diet

So loveies, week 1 post op down 7 lbs went in at 227 started my journey at 247 lbs. I find the post op liquid diet is frustrating just sipping fluids all day until go to sleep. It really does tale all day to get those fluids in. I belch alot not sure why. The past 2 mornings I've woken up extremely nauseous. Anyone else have/ had these issues. On a good note Dietician called scheduled appointment for next week to hopefully upgrade me to puree/ soft diet

So loveies, week 1 post op down 7 lbs went in at 227 started my journey at 247 lbs. I find the post op liquid diet is frustrating just sipping fluids all day until go to sleep. It really does tale all day to get those fluids in. I belch alot not sure why. The past 2 mornings I've woken up extremely nauseous. Anyone else have/ had these issues. On a good note Dietician called scheduled appointment for next week to hopefully upgrade me to puree/ soft diet

I’m on day 10! The pure liquid diet is so hard but I found it got easier after day 5!! You’ve got this!!

I had the sleeve surgery 9/26/16 and did well with it till I had my gallbladder removed in 2018 then I developed severe gastric reflux. My surgeon found that my bile duct got stuck open after they removed my gallbladder. With the bile constantly running in my sleeve it eroded it causing some precancerous changes. Once my insurance approved for a second surgery we went with changing over to a bypass in June of 2020 to fix the problem. I was very happy that we ended up doing the revision because I no longer had to sleep sitting up and my stalled weight loss finally started back up again and I was able to continue my weight loss journey. Fast forward to the present of this year I have been holding a good weight of between 137 to 145 lbs and no health issues really I just still struggled with dumping a lot cause my new pouch didn't always like food but I maintain weight with the help of shakes. Then in August of this year for some reason I just started getting where I didn't feel well and I dropped like 17 lb like it was nothing. I contacted my surgeon because I was concerned because of how weak and tired I had felt and I've noticed like vision changes my muscles or shrinking rapidly I was becoming dehydrated and all kinds of new things that I wasn't prepared for. My surgeon ordered a upper scope and a lower which come back very good. My lab showed that I did have a couple vitamin deficiencies so I increased my vitamins I actually have to go redo my labs here because I also ended up getting sick and went in the ER in my liver counts were high and they never been high before so we're checking those this week. But now I'm having a harder time eating and getting my body to absorb my nutrition even the protein shakes aren't helping maintain my body weight I am dropping weight still pretty rapidly I'm down to 124 lb now and my immune system seems to have been weakened because I get sick super easy and I try to stay away from other people otherwise that makes it harder on me and I guess get wiped out. I am currently waiting for my surgeon to call me back because I'm getting more concerned about how we come getting it's getting harder to do every daily things such as washing my hair folding my clothes and putting them away my muscles hurt and they're tired and weak and they get all cramped up. I'm blessed to have this surgery but I was never expecting that I would get this new very weird complication of just not being able to eat very well and to maintain weight. I trust my surgery team he's wonderful I'm hoping they can figure this out I'd really do not want a feeding tube or a PICC line I work with the public and that's even getting hard to do and I've almost thought about applying for disability until I get this figured out so I can quit losing weight by exertion. I'm just wondering is anybody else going through something like this or they just out of nowhere started losing weight again and they just can't seem to get it to stop. I'm worried not only for myself but for my family because my kids are still pretty young and I'm not ready to leave this world yet I still have a lot to live for. Hw: 268 SW 221lbs LW 124lns Height 5'2

The first three weeks - I won't be coy here.... were really really hard. Having bones sawed off, and replaced and drilled into place is really painful; at any weight. However, once I got to being able to move around more - once the 34 staples were removed after just over 2 weeks; I was able to start moving around more. I totally gave up on the narcotics by the end of week two. I couldn't hold them down well, and the only thing I could eat was.... basically toast with a bit of jam. I finally at about the middle of week three could start walking a bit outside instead of around my dining room table - and progressed from taking 300 steps a day to over 1000 in that third week. At week 6 I am now able to walk for about 10 minutes with a cane, twice a day, and am able to take care of myself, the house, a flock of chickens (less any heavy lifting), the dog, parrot and reptiles. I weigh basically almost half of what I did at my heaviest. With this surgery,.... right before it, I was very limited in my ability to walk. I had gained 8 pounds from my lowest. After surgery at week 2 I was up another few pounds - Surgeon told me this is normal from how much IV fluids I was getting to keep me going. I am frankly eating A LOT of healthy foods right now. On dr's and nutritionist suggestion to build back muscle, nerve and bone loss. I am told that in another couple weeks I will start to lose the weight again. I am not worried, and I can hang with the process. I am walking about 4,000 to 5000 steps a day - over what I should be for my age and where I am post op.

Cool....will check these out as I love me some mexican too! Lol! I do have some pinto beans to make refried beans and ground turkey and low fat mozarella. Thanks again! Thank you Shanna....I realize I won't be able to eat much of it, just right now still on this liquid diet and all I can think of is my PR food! I am looking at other healthy recipes too. I'm hoping that cauliflower rice will be a good subsitute. Not a big bread eater but I do like to have a toasted bread with butter and an egg for breakfast at times.Mini zero carb tortilla....never heard of that one? I suppose I'll find things as I go on my new journey! 🙂

I had VSG November 30th, and I’m over the liquid diet😩I’ve tried to get creative but really how creative can a girl get! I still have another week until I can add pureed foods but sheesh! I had a calcium citrate caramel chew today and it was everything 🙌🏼😩😭 just the fact I got to actually chew something was the highlight of my day!

I had VSG November 30th, and I’m over the liquid diet😩I’ve tried to get creative but really how creative can a girl get! I still have another week until I can add pureed foods but sheesh! I had a calcium citrate caramel chew today and it was everything 🙌🏼😩😭 just the fact I got to actually chew something was the highlight of my day!

These are street taco size so perfect bypass size lol. 25 cals for 1 - 7g carbs but 7g fiber so it equals 0 net carbs. They have them in whole wheat version as well as a sundried tomato version. In due time, your food palette will expand again. It’s just a matter of portions and balance. I’ve definitely had a maduro and a mini pastelito, but they aren’t things I have often or have in the house.

Thank you Shanna....I realize I won't be able to eat much of it, just right now still on this liquid diet and all I can think of is my PR food! I am looking at other healthy recipes too. I'm hoping that cauliflower rice will be a good subsitute. Not a big bread eater but I do like to have a toasted bread with butter and an egg for breakfast at times.Mini zero carb tortilla....never heard of that one? I suppose I'll find things as I go on my new journey! 🙂

Thank you Shanna....I realize I won't be able to eat much of it, just right now still on this liquid diet and all I can think of is my PR food! I am looking at other healthy recipes too. I'm hoping that cauliflower rice will be a good subsitute. Not a big bread eater but I do like to have a toasted bread with butter and an egg for breakfast at times.Mini zero carb tortilla....never heard of that one? I suppose I'll find things as I go on my new journey! 🙂

Croissant w/ turkey bacon and cheese I’m always surprised (and annoyed) at how many calories are in the foods I make at home. I won’t be repeating this meal for a while. 🫠 😂

Maybe it would work swapping around the food. Like save your shake for later in the day and have your meal at lunchtime or around like 3. Then maybe your sugar will be more stable and if it does start to drop you have the shake and it brings it back up. im glad you’re able to work with your dietitian on figuring it out. i am on the same diet starting next week.

Hey Alex! I’m so glad you took the steps towards a healthier life at 31. I have been struggling with weight for my whole life. I have raised two kids, limited with things I could do with them. Ji feel days I have robbed them of memories that we could have made together. Now here I am at 55 and I ,reading your post, feel everything you’re feeling. I now have two grandchildren and the first time I took them to the fair and I was not able to go on the rides with them. It was a flashback to not being able to do things with my kids. So I took the leap too. My surgery is 12/27. sorry got sidetracked, yes the liquid diet is hard. Don’t be so hard on yourself for a slip of having a piece of cheese. The important part is you didn’t binge! That slip up is in the past. What you do today is what is important. Start over. I have taken a new thought on food. Everything I ate yesterday is done. My choices and decisions today is what is important. Find something to keep you busy. If you feel like “slipping “ take a walk then come back. Take a drink of water, shake, or make a smoothie. I have downloaded some mind games that take a lot of thinking. I will sit and play the game and before I know it time has past and it is either meal time or bedtime. I am focusing on the restrictions are only for 8 weeks. Two pre and 4-6 post. I keep reminding my self it is 8 weeks out of the 8+years I have to enjoy my new life! sorry for rambling. Wishing you the best with your surgery

Hello, My name is Alex and I am scheduled for the gastric sleeve procedure on 12/18/23. Growing up I never had a problem with my weight; as a matter of fact I was very thin. Due to changes in life and past trauma, I used food as a coping mechanism. I ballooned from 160 pounds at 18 years old to 475 pounds by the time I turned 31. I was "content" being overweight because I refused to deal with it. At the behest of my wife, I begrudgingly scheduled an appointment to be seen by a primary care physician for the first time in years at the height of the pandemic. At this appointment, I weighed in at 475 pounds and was diagnosed with high blood pressure... extremely high blood pressure. This made total sense as I couldn't walk very far without being out of breath, I couldn't go up steps without sweating and having my heart pounding, and I couldn't play with my nieces and nephews. I was prescribed blood pressure meds at 31 years old and told that if I didn't make significant changes and lose weight, I was staring down an early death. That was the kick in the ass I needed. I immediately got a gym membership, downloaded a calorie tracker, immediately made improvements in my diet and dove in head first. Over the course of the next year and a half I lost nearly 100 pounds through diet and exercise alone. I knew that to get to my goal weight though, that I needed more tools.... or a more powerful one. So I was seen by a bariatric provider and over the course of many months was approved for sleeve gastrectomy and was scheduled for surgery. I am currently on the liquid diet and I am struggling. I am dying for flavor... the protein shakes, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and jello that have been my diet for the last three days are not cutting it. I've made a few mistakes... a piece of cheese here or a nibble of chicken there. I am striving for today being a good day.. but it has been hard. I am constantly cold, I'm less tolerant of daily B.S. than I normally am, and am just now starting to not feel as irritable as I have the last few days. I am looking forward to having this procedure done, but I am nervous that I won't lose enough. I'm nervous that I'll ruin it or some other nonsense I keep telling myself. After being overweight for so long its hard to imagine not being as large as I am. I am looking forward to a healthier life, the ability to play with my nieces, nephews and daughter, and being in more control of my life. Thank you for reading this very long post and I look forward to chatting with you on this journey!

I too am Puerto Rican so I understand the attachment to rice. I am 8 months post-op. I personally have had rice on a few occasions. It does not cause me any discomfort, but I haven't had it in any large amounts. I had about a tablespoon of arroz con gandules and a tablespoon of stuffing for Thanksgiving. I still follow protocol of concentrating on protein first and foremost and then veg and carbs. A small taste is fine once in awhile especially for the holidays or special occasion as long as it's not a bigger trigger for you to keep going. Even before surgery, I was used to substituting cauli rice for reg rice. It took me a long time to try bread again and when I did it was a keto bread just one slice. It sits fine, but i don't eat it often at all. I prefer a mini zero carb tortilla when the mood strikes. A pack of 12 tortillas can last me a month and I've yet to go through more than 3 slices of bread from the entire loaf. Some plans can differ, some people's preferences will differ, and sometimes your tummy chooses for you as things won't sit well. I like to live in the middle ground, where I follow my plan the greater majority of the time, but don't demonize any food. I make the choice to choose foods better for me - leaner proteins, veggies, hearts of palm pasta, little to no sugar added foods, high protein low carb snacks. Fortunately now there are many more healthier options so you don't always have to go without.

I agree. Yes your relationship with food is supposed to change but the surgery doesn’t do this you have to do this work. The surgery just gives you the time to reflect on your relationship: the how, why, when & what you eat. Many find the support of a therapist helpful during this time. The pain in your tummy you feel is likely stomach acid not real hunger. Much like a rumbling tummy is often called hunger pangs/pain but usually is that excess acid & just your digestive system working & again not real hunger. There’s a lot to learn about your body & your signals. My real hunger signals are restlessness. I feel like something is wrong but at first I don’t know what & there is a reason I feel hungry - I haven’t eaten in a few hours or I only ate part of my earlier meal.. I never want a specific food, flavour or texture (that’s head hunger) just food & I choose protein dense food. I’m 4.5 yrs post sleeve & have basically maintained. Things I found that helped include eating to a routine. I don’t eat unless it’s time to eat. I eat slowly. I ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it. I watch my portion sizes & never eat more than the portion. (Don’t mind if I don’t eat all my portion.) I consider the value of the food I choose - nutrient dense, predominantly low processed foods. Highly processed food is know to suppress your satiety hormone & stimulate your hunger hormones. (Recently I read that an easy way to judge how processed a food is, is to read the ingredient list. The more synthetic ingredients or ingredients you don’t recognise as real food the more processed it is. Ingredients in traditional rolled oats are just oats so low processed. In Quakers instant oats, as an example, there’s oats, sugar, flavours, salt, calcium carbonate, guar gum, pyridone hydrochloride, etc. so more highly processed.) Just some things you might want to consider.

This is a weird thing to bring up, but I am curious if anyone else has experienced this: I had a gastric bypass back in February and for the past 2 or 3 months it seems like I have been having large and frequent bowel movements. I often go 2 times a day and sometimes even 3. It feels like I am going more now than I did before my surgery even though I am eating less than half of what I used to. I'm guessing this is due to the bypass, but it just seems like there is too much coming out of me for the amount of food going into me, it doesn't make sense.

I was always ready for the next phase after the monotony, though I was discharged from the hospital on the pureed stage. I did not have any liquid only phase post-op. I was on yogurt, ricotta (ricotta bake was a lifesaver), pureed soups. The shakes were hard to get down. I couldn't manage 2 a day. Protein water was a good option to change up the flavor and not just the creamy stuff. Half applesauce and half greek yogurt was a decent changeup. When I was first cleared for eggs, I couldn't stomach one scrambled egg. I found the soft boiled egg far easier to tolerate. I don't typically have protein shakes now, but I do still like them as my base for coffee every now and again.

The food addiction is real, and combining that with surgery not being an instant cure all that fixes your problems, while still allowing you to eat as you did before is a double whammy. I'm dealing with missing the food I used to eat, and it stays on my mind constantly still. I'm only 2 weeks out from my procedure, but not regretting it so far. As @ChunkCat and others have said, basically kissing diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol goodbye is what makes the compromise worth it to me. Five years or so ago, before I started having debilitating problems with all of those, I probably would've regretted it, but since my health declined significantly in the last year, to the point that I was a burden on my wife and family, I had to make this change. I don't know if this will help anyone that is on the fence or regretting having it done, but take it from me, if you can avoid having the uncontrolled blood sugars issues even with meds, not knowing if I'm going to pass out or have my heart feel like its going to beat out of my chest from hypertension and tachycardia, it is worth it. My dizzy spells and stroke-level blood pressure have already subsided thankfully. I'm already off my diabetes meds, just on a reduced dose of my blood pressure medicine, which my primary care thinks I can wean off of by March. Not trying to sound condescending, because you are going through a lot of trauma in this process, but consider yourself lucky that you can avoid this happening to you. It came out of nowhere and slapped me, and if this helps you from having it happen, I'm glad you had it done. Yes there's limitations after surgery, but you can live without that constant fear of death hanging over your head. Please seek the therapy you need to at least get things off your chest, but also to help learn new habits to replace the ones you spent a lifetime building. Just venting to my therapist helps me a lot. Sorry, rant over. Just wanted to help reframe things if I can.

Yes, your relationship with food is supposed to change. How you view it, how often you eat it, what you eat, etc... Also, having a specific meal plan to follow helps a lot while you navigate your new normal. Definitely slow down your eating, start looking at what you're eating and what your calorie/carb/fat/protein intake is, look at your activity levels and adjust them accordingly, and look into speaking with your nutritionist and a bariatric therapist. This is all stuff that should have been gone over with you long before you actually had your surgery.

@SleeveToBypass2023 was my relationship to food supposed to change? I do think I can usually tell the difference between head and real hunger. real hunger usually causes physical symptoms down in my gut like an ache. while head hunger is just that desire for more or for something specific. I can't say I never have head hunger and I deny it all the time and sometimes do give in. But when I say I eat and I don't feel full. I don't believe that's head hunger. Though I could be wrong. You're right that I do eat fast or normal speed. I just eat until I guess I feel full. but it seldom ever comes. Thanks for your lovely advice.