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I usually drink if I'm thirsty and wait 5-10 minutes to eat, but if I eat, I need at least 20 minutes to have a sip of water again. So I always start with water before my meal.

14 Days to go until my surgery. Starting weight 122.5kg I've lost 10kg (22lbs) since I started the pre-op diet. The doctor wanted me to get down to 111kg so with 14 days to go, I think it will definitely be possible. 10 weeks ago, even losing a pound seemed impossible! I know the hard part is still to come with actually keeping it off, but I'm still proud of how far I've come! I haven't weighed this little since 2017! I don't know if anyone has started a group for October 2024 Surgery buddies, but if anyone is also having surgery that month we can be buddies! I'm looking forward to the surgery, but I'm also going back and forth between having doubts and anxiety about it to looking forward to it!

Hello, in 2020 I had a sleeve did well lost 100lb. In 22 I got sick and ended up with prednisone shots which made me gain weight. 50/100 that I had lost was back but any how now I’m scheduled for the sedi on 10/24 . Just wanted to get everyone’s intake in there experience

Hi, I’m a sleeve revision from 2020 gained back 50 of 100 lost and I’m scheduled for the sedi on 10/24.

Just finished a Half Marathon in ~2:10. Not too shabby for an old man that had a total knee replacement and open heart surgery, and that used to weight >330 lbs a couple of years ago. That's all, thanks for indulging me! 😀

When I was a size 5x/30, I was basically wearing moomoo's because there wasn't much else. At 3x I finally found a couple of things that were ok, but still not great. Size 2x started to get better. Then a whole new world opened up for me when I hit XL lol And now I'm size large/size 10 and I honestly forgot what it's like to go into any store anywhere (in person or online) and find cute, well fitting, stylish, flattering, pretty clothes to wear. Now it's a matter of "do I love this enough to spend my money on it" instead of "hey, at least it's not a moomoo" when I'm shopping now. I'm still convinced size 10 won't fit when I look at it. I mean, it looks so dang small!!! Then I put it on and OMG it fits perfectly!!! I wonder if I'll ever get use to it....

Ok...so...when you have a food allergy, even a "mild" one, take it seriously. I'm allergic to peanuts and shellfish. With shellfish, it's literally life and death. I can't even be in the room when it's being cooked because the proteins in the air set me off. It's really that bad. I go into anaphylactic shock and I was told if it happens 1 or 2 more times, I could very likely die. So...no shellfish, which breaks my heart because me an crab legs...omg. Love affair for the ages. But peanuts.....that's not bad like shellfish. My mistake was comparing it to the shellfish. I was told my shellfish allergy is the worst case my doctor has ever seen. So comparing anything to it is not smart. But that's what my stupid a$$ did. I forgot that every time I eat something I'm allergic to the reaction gets worse. Well, I'll never EVER forget it now. I ate 2 Kind bars. I bought them because there was no mention of peanuts (ordered them from the Starbucks app). Only mentioned almonds. YUMMY!!! We love almonds. WooHoo!!! Hubby goes to get my Kind bars and my drink and comes back and tells me there's peanuts in them. I think "well, there's not a huge amount because there's more than 1 kind of nut, and my reaction has always been fairly mild, so I should be ok" (tingles in my lips and tongue, slightly nauseous and mildly light headed, but over in 15 or 20 minutes) so I figured I could eat them and deal with the reaction for maybe 30 minutes or so and then be on my way. WRONG!!!!! To be fair, hubby said I shouldn't eat them but I did anyway. Within 10 minutes of eating them, my usual symptoms set in. Ok, I was ready for that. Within another 10 minutes, the nausea got worse, I got super shaky, and the light headedness increased. Sucks, but still not the end of the world. 10 minutes later, the absolute sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach started. It hurt so bad I couldn't catch my breath and I couldn't stand up straight. It increasingly got worse and worse. I couldn't sit, stand, or lay comfortably at all. It took 30 minutes for it to get this bad. I dealt with it for an hour, then the throwing up started. And throwing up. And throwing up. OMG... Once I was done and brushed my teeth, I went and laid down and fell asleep until now (3:30am). I slept for about 6 hours (not peacefully, but still slept). I feel a lot better except I'm weak, tired, and a little nauseous still. Hoping to go back to sleep soon. But let this be a reminder that even MILD food allergies can escalate out of nowhere and become major ones. Anything peanut related is like the devil as far as I'm concerned. Now I know I have a major peanut allergy and will NEVER even think about testing it out again. Hoping to feel better soon because OMG this is absolute bull$%#t!!!.

I went to the thrift store late this afternoon (Saturday) and bought a few things because I only have XL clothes and they don't fit anymore. I was sure I was in a size 12. NOPE. I'm in a size 10!!! I was absolutely FLOORED. I was a size 8 in the senior pic above. And I'm a 10 now. Ok WHAT??? I'm absolutely STUNNED. It was a pleasant surprise, I'll tell you that. But I'd be really happy to stop losing now lol I was at the same weight for a bit and thought I was at my body's new set point. Nope. Apparently I was in another stall. When it broke, I was down a few pounds again. It's like my body has a total mind of its own and likes to lose weight now no matter what I do. But either way, the fact that I can absolutely, literally go into any physical or online store and find something in my size, and have that something be cute and in-style and not just any random thing that fits.....that brings tears to my eyes for sure.

Yeah covid was a bit of a kick haha, but I started to feel a little ill out there, but just kept pushing on! My cats definitely did miss us, and we are glad to have them home! Yeah I didn't even imagine I could do that many! It now feels weird being home and not out walking, but I thought my body could do with resting and recovering 😂10-15k per day is amazing - I need to be doing that!! Hahaha, I love that you call them dogs too! You're gonna love it! Definitely somewhere cold...that is my ideal too 🤣 Oooh okay I am glad I am not the only one literally feeling nothing from alcohol! I agree that I just feel it's a waste of calories and money, so I doubt I'll try again! Very strange. Don't get me wrong, he was enjoying all the extra food 😂 But he was excited to come home where I could control my portion sizes and he didn't feel the need to eat my leftovers haha. Thank you!

Sorry you have Covid but so glad to hear you had a good trip. I bet your cats missed you too. Wow 25,000 for multiple days good for you. I have been doing like 10-15k average just around the house and neighborhood and the one day I did almost 20 and boy oh boy my dogs were barking as my Dad used to say. I am so looking forward to being a little further out and being able to truly do whatever I want in terms of activity. Told my husband I’d like to do a trip when I reach my goal weight and if he been asking people for suggestions. I don’t want anywhere hot. Someone suggested Iceland. I’ve gotta research that. After my sleeve, alcohol was the exact same for me. I used to drink the flavored rums with my Coke Zero so I tried it post surgery with crystal light and margaritaville mixes and it tasted okay-ish but I was expecting this super fast buzz that everyone talked about and it did the opposite. Tried it a few more times over the years and even two or three in a night and I still felt nothing. I decided it’s a waste of calories and money for me and I haven’t drank since. I mean I never did it to get trashed but the point usually was a little bit of a buzz at a party or occasion. Your poor boyfriend who gained a few. Tell him he was taking it for the team, lol Seems like men usually can drop a small amount of weight pretty quick if they really want to 🤞. For future you may want to remind yourself that when you’re in a situation like that it is okay to waste a bit of food. I know it’s hard wired into some of us that we shouldn’t and I have been freezing things and having leftover nights at home to try and avoid it but it is okay if you don’t even have a refrigerator to put it in. It’s better than you or someone else having to overindulge. Now if he was secretly was looking forward to your leftovers that’s a different story. 😉 I hope you feel better really soon!!

Okay so I will remind you yet again that my surgery was a revision and they did not operate on my stomach so I’m probably quite a bit further along when it comes to food tolerances but when you get there you may want to try these spring rolls. The rice paper is kinda hard to work with so the first ones looked pretty bad but I got to the end they looked a little better. My guess is next time they will be good. I still don’t know what to do with the leftovers. I made 8 instead of 10 because I didn’t ration the chicken well enough but it just increased the protein which btw is kinda low in this as well. I am thinking I may add edimame next time. This time I just supplemented by having a shake for my snack. Ooh and the peanut sauce is super salty. Maybe because I used 100% ground peanuts and that doesn’t have any sugar but next time I may try reduced sodium soy sauce. Anyways, here is the recipe if you like spring rolls. The hardest part was trying to figure out the mandolin to julienne the veggies. https://www.bariatricfusion.com/blogs/recipes/bariatric-recipes-chicken-and-veggie-spring-rolls

this was pretty obvious to me too. ( i noticed the original question was posed in june, and almost 3 months later, the objections remain) so here's a different angle: maybe just accept that traditional/dedicated exercise just isn't for you? i know lots of people who don't partake in dedicated exercise (who, may i add are "normal" sized) and seem to lead perfectly happy lives. exercise isn't everyone's cup of tea, sure its definitely an added bonus if one does it regularly for both mental and physical health, but you are not going to do it unless you actually want to do it. so why force it? just like the decision to get weight loss surgery, you are ready when you're ready....you just need a compelling enough reason to do it (which u don't have at the moment, it seems) maybe you'll feel differently next month, next year, maybe in 10 years , or maybe never. and thats ok, it is what it is. BUT... if you ever decide to get on the exercise train for reals, there are alot of us on here who would be ready and willing to help! good luck! ❤️

This is good advice. Not everyone knows this, but calorie estimates in food, even prepackaged ones are not super accurate for a couple of reasons: The USDA allows manufactured foods a 10% variance. In other words, if a packaged food states the calorie content is 500 kcal, it can be anywhere between 450 and 550 and still be within the allowed variance. The USDA simply does not have the staff to check that every pre-packaged food even meets that 10% standard, so manufacturers are given wide latitude here. They can be a lot further off and it's extremely unlikely anyone would know. It's even less likely anything would be done about it. Setting aside processed foods for now (those with nutrition labels), it's not all roses for unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Even these calorie counts can be way off due to the simplistic way we estimate calories. I'm simplifying a bit here, but to get calorie counts, we traditionally use something called a bomb calorimeter. Basically we burn the food in an enclosed space and measure how much heat is given off. Obviously, this is not how our bodies process food, so saying a particular amount of a food has "200 calories" as measured by a bomb calorimeter does not equal how many calories our bodies actually get from that food. Obviously I'm being a little US specific here, but I'd guess most of the above applies to other countries as well. In short, don't get in the habit of thinking calorie counts are as accurate as they might seem. They just aren't. Use the calories as a tool if you need to, but don't get overly dependent on them.

So I have a work around! You will need: 1. vanilla protein shake 2. sugar free pumpkin spice syrup (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 3. sugar free pumpkin spice sauce (Jordans skinny syrup as a yummy one) 4. pumpkins pie spice Recipe: 1 vanilla pre-made protein shake (such as premier or fairlife) 10 pumps of sugar free pumpkin spice syrup mix them in a jar together and you can use it as a creamer. Then I take a pre-made protein shake (about 1-2 oz) and use my frothier to make the foam THEN I assemble. 2oz on the bottom of the glass jar, ice to top it off, sugar free pumpin spice sauce, add decaf cold brew, then add your foam and sprinkle some of your pumpkin pie spice. ITS DELICIOUS! I drink one almost every day and its 36cal!

Did anyone had to lose 10lbs in 10 days? I'm on a liquid diet and my surgery is set for 10/1/24.

*raises hand* warning: this may get long.... now, for me, replace 'whiskey' and 'cognac' with Vodka Sodas or Red Wine or Espresso Martinis. i looked it up and according to North American AND European "standards" i would be considered an alcoholic in North America, as well as partaking in "harmful and hazardous" drinking if I were in Europe, based on my average daily alcohol consumption. I started drinking regularly during Covid, and basically never stopped. I too, consider myself a high-functioning alcoholic...i don't get black out drunk, i dont drink and drive, operate heavy machinery while under the influence, make bad decisions that would harm or embarass myself or others, etc. etc. since surgery i get affected much quicker, and on a lot less than pre-surgery. i'm pretty tipsy just after a single drink...legitimately drunk after 2. BUT.....i sober up really quickly too. the alcoholic buzz lasts me maybe 30-45 mins tops. then it's like i didn't drink a drop....which probably contributes to why i drink the amounts that i do. i am a boredom and social drinker (i.e,. i don't need it to sleep...i am a lifelong insomniac and need very little sleep all my life anyway *shrug*). so if i am busy doing stuff during waking hours that doesn't involve food, friends and sitting around, then i wont drink. i also have a chip on my shoulder, so often when somebody (i.e., Mr. or the Kid) challenges me that i couldn't stop drinking, I totally would just to prove him wrong. I've probably gone cold turkey 9-10 times for about a month each time in the past 5 years just to be right. Mind you, i never actually STOPPED for good, so maybe HE's right, ha. As for my current state of health, I am probably in the best shape in my adult life. I have maintained below goal weight since reaching it at 7 months post op. I am 5'2", 52 yr old woman, and this morning weighed 115.8 lbs. My body fat percentage hovers between 18-20% All my labs since surgery have been satisfactory, the last one being last fall. I don't take any medication any more (i used to take blood pressure and cholesterol and adhd meds). but I do have to take pesky PPIs i continue to need to keep my reflux under control. I have endless amounts of energy, bad moods and bitchiness are a rarity now, i am patient, calm, less stressed since losing the weight. I exercise (yoga, pilates, running, rock climbing) 20+ hours a week. I also dabble with swimming, hiking, volleyball, and dance for funsies. I consume over 2300+ calories a day so i'm definitely not starving myself (mind you, 400-500 cals are from alcohol...) soooo....sometimes i feel like i SHOULD worry about the amount of alcohol i drink, but really, if i'm honest, i don't, really. but if/when i do i feel like its becoming a problem, I can re-evaluate then (though this probably sounds like the alcoholic's battle-cry, no? ha!) p.s. may be worth noting here (not sure why) that i am also an ex-smoker at the moment. i smoked for 20 years, then quit cold-turkey for 10 yrs, then took it up again for 4 years, then quit cold turkey again last summer (am currently 14 months smoke free this time around, yay, me!). p.p.s. DISCLAIMER: i am in no way advocating nor opposing my M.O. to drinking to anyone who reads this. I am merely describing my own experiences. take or leave from it what you will ❤️ ...and scene. lol.

I'm killing it, body fat down below 10 percent, I'm working out at least 4 times a week, am lean and strong. But I've found solace in whiskey. I drink it neat, no mixers. I don't drink during the day, but need to quiet my mind. Good quality whiskey does that, after 35 + years of total sobriety. I'm in Texas, so pot is largely illegal- and the illicit vapes make me paranoid. Crazy thing is I don't wake up with a hang over- I take Pharma sleep meds but am careful about the combo. I did talk to one guy who lost a crazy amount of weight through surgery and told me that heavy alcohol consumption is not uncommon. I was not fixated on food before surgery, but gained a lot during Covid sitting on my ass without serious exercise. I'm now working hard at the gym with a good trainer, and the results have been impressive. But the alcohol is an issue. I don't drive or go out when I drink, I'm home. I'm a high functioning boozer, but still. I hate being dependent on any substance, but I need to turn down the noise in my head. There are some legal CBD outlets in Texas which I can explore. I know the volume of whiskey I'm consuming is not necessary good for long life, but it definitely chills me out. Would love input from others who have had the same experience. Physically I'm in amazing shape, and generally, my mental attitude is quite positive. TIA!

So glad to hear your checkup went well and everyone’s plans a little different depending on their surgery their age, their activity levels, their medical conditions so you’re probably gonna get a lot of answers. My team doesn’t give a calorie goal either but once I showed her my Fitness app which logs my level of activity as well as my food blog she told me I needed to increase my carbohydrates and protein, which has been really scary and hard to do especially because I went three days without losing and then actually gained a pound after I increased it but I’m trusting the nurse practitioner that she knows what she’s doing and hoping it will work out. I haven’t had my three week stall yet so maybe that’s what’s going on. I mean, I’m eating probably a third of what I did before surgery and I’m exercising 10 times more so there’s just no way that I would be gaining. Oh, I should add that. I weighed myself this morning and. I lost that pound plus another one so I really lost 1 pound in the three days well in four days I guess. I do remember from my sleeve, but it does slow down quite a bit at a certain point. I just don’t remember when and how much. I am also trying to focus on the fact that I feel healthier and have more energy and I’m in a better mood than I have been in years.

Hello ladies x Had my one month post op appointment today with the surgical team and he told me that all is well and should keep doing what I am doing wnd I am ready to start REAL FOOD and exercise! He did transfer me to a dietician immediately tho because he expected a higher loss than 10 kg for the first month but he did say 10 kg is still good and wanted me to speak to the dietician to understand more. And it turns out I am under eating and avoiding all sort of carbs which is effecting me and could possibly mean I am not retaining nutrients. I have been to scared of eating that I know for sure I was under eating. So she went over my plan and told ne to eat 8 well cooked meals! And to check back in 2 weeks with how I am feeling. She told me not to be too worried about calories now and we will talk more when I reach 80 kgs. I am wondering what your dietician have been telling u guys about carbs? R they part of ur meal plans?

No problems, I did see a doctor about 10 years ago because I had hurt myself in the gym that caused my band to feel awkward, but it was fine. I still have had no fills and my weight is still down 100+ pounds, I am today at 265. I love my band. Still and I still have plenty of restriction and occasionally I find myself in the kitchen sink chucking but I’m OK with that. I signed up for it. I don’t feel fat. 💯🥰

Finally getting round to putting on my measurements 🤣 01/05/24 - Just before I started my liver reduction diet. HW: 20 stone 1lbs = 281 pounds =127.4 kg Neck: 16" Upper Arm: L: 19.5", R: 18" Chest: 53" Waist: 45" Thigh: L: 32", R: 33" Calf: L: 17", R: 18" Stomach: 56" Hips: 56" 26/08/24 - not the MOST recent, but close enough. Weight as of 13/09/24: 15 stone 6.3 lbs = 216.3 lbs = 98 kg Neck: 14" (-2") Upper Arm: L: 17" (-1.5") , R: 16" (-2") Chest: 45" (-8") Waist: 36.5" (-8.5") Thigh: L: 28" (-4"), R: 29" (-4") Calf: L: 16" (-1"), R: 16" (-2") Stomach: 47.5" (-8.5") Hips: 49" (-7")

One suggestion in terms of your bra is to buy a bra with the correct cup size, but one that actually fits you on the biggest hook. That way you can use the other two or three hooks depending on how many are on it as you lose weight still because usually when they fit you, they aim for that middle hook so that you can gain or lose 10 pounds and it’ll still fit, but you know you’re not gonna be gaining anytime soon. Another option that I thought about doing myself because I had the sleeve and I know that I don’t lose much in my cup size. It’s just the band size is to buy one that fits in the cup, but it’s actually a size smaller in the band and use a bra extender, so it’ll last longer

Yeah, it was awful. At least I could keep water and chicken broth down. I'm been working slowly to building back up to more purees again, but I definitely didn't want to risk it last week. Otherwise, I'm doing okay. Been struggling with hitting my goals the last couple of days, which I assume is because I feel not great still. But I'm listening to my body. Eating and drinking until it feels like I can't and then pausing for a while. (Obviously, not eating and drinking together, but you know what I mean.) I go for my next post-op appointment on Wednesday. That will be my 1 month check-in. I can actually feel more weight loss in my legs and places around my stomach. I'm curious to see how much weight I do end up losing after all this. Like, I noticed my weight loss in how my clothes fit before my 10-day post-op. But I can actually feel it in places on my body when touching them now, so that's going to be interesting. We go on vacation 10/6 and we've already talked about my clothing situation. Even my bras need to be replaced at this point. But since I don't go anywhere except the doctors appointments right now, I'm going to make what I have currently work for the next couple of weeks. And then on our way down to our vacation spot on the 6th, we're going to stop by the outlet store and get me some new clothes and get properly fitted for the correct size bra. That way I have the most accurate fit for clothes for a couple of months. lol I still need to catch up on reading the forums. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend.