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Finding a reliable dietician who is knows a thing or two about bariatric surgery is hard to do in my area. I went to Carmel, Indiana for my surgery.

@Judes76 this is on no way a small feat. I have Bipolar Depression and it took over a decade find the right meds just to get me into intensive therapy (IOP Program) and then bariatric surgery to really get my life back. The IOP program got me out of the house. It started with just one day I went to a crochet group that meets at the library. I had been locked inside my house for so many years I developed tremendous social anxiety and it’s was possibly the scariest thing I have ever done. It took me weeks to work up to it but I did it and it went well. The ladies weren’t caddy or judging me for anything. They were only there to talk about crochet and excited for me that I was learning. I have been at that group meeting every week since aside from being sick or something. I have added other craft groups as well to my agenda and now since surgery I also do group fitness classes at my community center. It’s is amazing to be out of the house and at these fitness groups. Sometimes the women will exchange text numbers if you want too so you can let them know as little or as much as you want but you can tell them you won’t be there if you want. In the past I wouldn’t want to exchange numbers with anyone because I was thinking ahead of the times when I would fall off the face of the Earth and I didn’t want to disappoint them but my therapist taught me that sometimes being accountable to others is enough to pull through a milder depression and it has worked for me. I didn’t share with them anything about my mental health in the beginning, but after about a year, I started slipping small hints and eventually told a couple of them about my mental health. They all know about my surgery and they are some of my biggest cheerleaders. That’s another thing I learned through therapy is that for me trying to do big things like that on my own and keeping the secret just doesn’t work. Everyone’s different but I strongly encourage you to get involved in something at your local library and look into fitness programs at the community center or the library if you want to continue having positive experiences outside of the house. The ones at my community center are very reasonable and we don’t have any at the library but we used to so you might and they should be free Congratulations on your HUGE steps so far and keep it going!! The endorphins from activity are amazing and my depression has lessened tremendously because of this. Also, consider an in person support group if you team has one and keep posting here. The good and the bad (if that comes up). Don’t be embarrassed as all of us have been there if you have an off week. Better to get it out in the open and figure a way to get back on track than to feel bad about it and let it spin out of control. There are so many people here eager to help. You’ve got this!! 💜

So glad to hear you are doing well. Yea when the cravings come back it sucks. I have been doing okay. Tomorrow is my last day of the infused chemo. Surgery on 3 weeks then radiation in five. I will be on the immunotherapy another year and maybe oral chemo depending on the pathology from surgery. 🤞 I don’t need the chemo because that may mean I’m immunocompromised still and I’m so sick of the isolation of trying not to get sick and miss treatment. I got a tiny little cold that made me septic and spent 10 days in hospital which made me miss two weeks of chemo so I’ve had to be super careful to not get sick again and all along they have told me once I get to radiation I won’t have to be so careful. I mean sick would mean I would miss treatment but only for a day or two while I had a fever or felt really crummy and it wouldn’t be life or death. Anyways, I only read about the oral chemo on the patient portal tonight so I will ask Dr more about it this Friday when we chat. Maybe it’s not a big deal. I have pretty much maintained my weight till recently. I’ve gained a few pounds. I’m still on the heavy steroids and the immunotherapy caused thyrotoxicosis I think it’s called. I was hyper thyroid to start but then like 3 weeks later it went back to normal and then to hypo thyroid and apparently it usually stays that way. I reached out to my bariatric team and asked him if I could start on with Govee to help get me off of some of these processed carbs and he acted like I was being crazy to be worried about my weight at a time like this. I said I’m not trying to lose weight. I know I’m not supposed to and I haven’t Since December when I started the Chemo, but I don’t think that if you’re so concerned about me, maintaining my weight to fuel my body and help myself recover that the foods I’m eating in order to sustain an overweight body weight are really helping me recover from anything. I said all I want to do is be able to stop eating the garbage and start eating healthy nutrition again and I would be willing to log all my food again and check in with you to make sure I’m not losing too fast or anything, but he says no way not until I get the all clear cancer free from my oncologist. But I’m helping my oncologist can reach out to him and tell him that I’m not gonna get that for another year and if I wait that long, I’ll probably be as big as a house again without any help. Or I may just have to go through an endocrinologist or my family doctor or something. Anyway, anyways, trying to not worry about it too much but I didn’t appreciate that. He acted like I have some kind of eating disorder or something and I have like a death wish. I mean, I wasn’t saying that I wanna take something that’s gonna make me starve myself to death. I was just saying that I want to change what I’m eating and eat healthy obviously if the medicine made it where I couldn’t eat anything. I would stop taking it. I’m not insane. 🤣 but it is very discouraging to see the numbers on the scale go up even if it’s only 5 pounds.

Bariatric fusion.com has quite a few recipes that look like they may actually be good when we get back to normal foods. And lots of protein shake and purée recipes too. Just FYI

Yet another holiday post 😅 My bariatric nurse has given me the go-ahead to try a small amount of alcohol whilst I am on holiday next week - I will be 4 months post-op on the 14th when I fly out! She has suggested trying a white wine as they tend to be dry and therefore low in sugar. Any other recommendations - such as type of alcohol, and how to go about trying it again etc ❤️

I was 330 lbs in 10/2019 had the sleevectomy. Since day one massive pain in my stomach. Never healed. Kaiser Dr. Edward Zane Southbay medical center. Was in hospital 2 days went home with a bottle of hydromorphone. I’m 56 years old, 6’1 and weigh 195. In 2021 I was as high as 220 but taking daily opioids and now I’m weaning myself off of them switching to cannabis gummies. Even on cannabis with the munchies I can’t eat anything. I never healed and I’ve struggled for 5 years. I was prescribed hydromorphone since 2019 and I need it at every meal or drink. If I drink water I cramp and bowl over in pain. I eat anything cold or hot I bend over in pain. I had ultrasounds endoscopies etc. I have serious GERD and been on proton pump inhibitors for 2 years. I can’t eat protein of any type without massive pain and opioids from a hamburger white fish pork steak chicken turkey it all hurts all of the time. Carbs and minor fat also hurt but not as much as protein. I switched to BCBS the new bariatric Dr says I either have a stricture or I need the bypass surgery now. current weight is 195and I’ve been losing weight this past year and really hate all food. It doesn’t matter if it’s carbs fat or protein it hurts my stomach. I also get nauseous and throw up if I eat too much regardless and have massive cramping 5years later. Also have burning sensation with bowel movements but was tested negative for crohns/ulcerative colitis. after 5 years addicted to opioids I went to BCBS and they said Cedars Sinai surgeons can look at stricture correction surgery or just go for the bypass. They want me to eat nuclear egg salad and barium drink during an mri to see what is wrong. Last endoscopy was 10/24 and my esophageal ulcer was 90% healed. I had an untreated ulcer since 2019 that also contributed. Current medication metoprolol 100 mg x a day lisinopril20 mg 2 x a day, Amlodipine 5mg 2 x a day, omeprazole 2x a day, gummies and Vicodin daily with every meal. I can stop opioids once the pain stops. after 5 years of losing weight and my quality of life has deteriorated I’m leaning towards bypass surgery. please help group. I also have massive starvation and nutrition issues and take vitamins but still can’t get even 2k of calories in my body and have low energy all of the time. sincerely, Mark

Learn2cook I am a nurse so I work a busy job as well. I have many goals such as becoming financially free, living a more sustainable life and finding a life partner at some point to name a few. As far as my health and fitness goals, I want to be strong. I want to be able to hike, and raft rivers and adventure. I dont want to be hindered by my weight anymore. I dont need to be skinny but i do what to be somewhat a normal weight. Before surgery I did try waygovy and was working out a lot so I was pretty optimized prior to surgery however i didnt lose a ton of weight with waygovy despite tracking and trying to be really mindful. My bariatric surgeon basically told me the indicator of my success is how much i can shed in the first year so i am determined. I am just hoping to get some feedback for people who have had a band before and went for revision. Thanks for your sincere reply Brittany

Okay. I don’t know that much about it, but it’s still appalling that any medical professional would just leave you to figure out some silly app while you were having any kind of blood sugar issues that they should’ve prevented to begin with. My guess is they probably have some kind of protein right next to the orange juice if that’s what people need. They have a little refrigerator with stuff like that in it. Stuff that they don’t want to have to go to the cafeteria for. It’s the same place They put the sugar-free ice pops for people who had bariatric surgery. I know because I didn’t like the flavors that they had and they asked if I could have my husband bring me a box and they said yes they were just put my name on them. And even if they didn’t have anything the Least they could do was order it for her. You learn a lot about things when you spend five days there walking laps around the halls

@AmberFL I must have missed that you are recovering from surgery. While I probably wouldn't recommend a significant fat loss diet while healing, I'd also be a bit cautious about using Google AI recommendations. The idea that you need 15-20 calories per pound of current body weight to heal just doesn't pass the smell test. If this were true, none of us would have properly healed from our bariatric surgery. Keep in mind that 15-20 pounds for you right now would be roughly 2500 to 3400 calories. At your starting weight, that would have been about 4500 to almost 6000 calories a day! Looking through the scientific literature, I couldn't find a single reference that this level of calories was needed to promote healing after surgery. There were some references to additional calories being helpful in the event of significant wounds, thus your calorie needs may be somewhat higher for more involved surgeries vs simple ones. I apologise, but I have no idea what "PS surgery" is, so that doesn't really help narrow things down. I think my recommendation would be to base this more on feel. If you are feeling really rundown, that's probably a good indication you may need to up your calories. You're always going to feel somewhat tired after any major surgery, so I'm talking about feeling excessively tired. If you do feel the need to add more, my recommendations above regarding macros still stand. We do know that wound healing requires adequate protein (thus 1.6g/kg is a good minimum target). We also want to make sure you're getting adequate essential fats, so shooting for a minimum of 50g is still good advice. If you are more like 70 to 80g, especially when not on a fat loss diet, that's just fine. I wouldn't necessarily recommend going much higher that that on fats because if you do, if will mean you would likely be subtracting calories from carbs. Good whole food sources of carbs like whole grains, vegetables and fruit have tons of nutritive value that you really shouldn't be skipping right now. In short, protein first, essential fats next, and carbs for the rest of the diet.

Sure. She was concerned that I was eating too fast when I told her that I was eating my meals within like 5-10 minutes. She said that I can't do that with the surgery because not only will I be miserable with vomiting and diarrhea and nausea and the like but I likely would undo the gastric sleeve surgery. She said I should aim for eating my meals in 20-30 minutes preferably 30-40. This seems like an impossible goal for me especially when I see her again in just 2 weeks. She also wants me to savor each bite and focus on the food or something like that. I don't really understand it to be completely honest with you. Mostly I just wanted to work on eating slower over the next two weeks so that when I do get the surgery I don't get sick and undo the surgery and "pass" with her so I can get the surgery. I can fake my way out of the mindfulness part of it or just tell her that it won't work for me and if it's a crucial part of the surgery than maybe bariatric surgery isn't the right option for me.

Ooh. I have been on the bariatric multi for a few years since I am a revision Although it is a different brand currently since I needed chewable for a while immediately post surgery plus we do have new allergies post surgery sometimes. I will definitely keep it in mind if it continues to happen. Thanks

My face sometimes turns red when I feel a "flush" and other times I just feel it without the visual red it jus feels hot!. Niacin is in your bariatric vitamins, some ppl are just more sensitive to it. I don't think its one of the lab tests though they look for. Good luck!

@Hey Man - I feel your pain here. As others have stated, it's really a mental game. I'm dealing with it myself and HAVE opted to go for the "pouch reset" - or as I call it ... the "OUCH" reset. Going back to the basics seems to put me in a better mental state and reminds me constantly of what it took to lose the weight initially and what I have to do. Personally, if I try and make small changes one at a time, I find myself cheating and going back to deluding myself (I just ate a small bowl of chili, I just ate one slider, I just ate a scoop of ice cream, etc -) whereas if I go full bariatric - track, weigh, ONLY meals (vs snacks) make fluids a priority; it's actually easier for me mentally.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I also decided to just tell the women at my yoga class a vague version of what I am going through. Not because I am seeking attention or pity as some people may believe but because the doctors told me that with the first phase of chemo I need that I would no doubt be losing my hair and not to even torture myself trying cold caps because they wouldn’t work for me. I didn’t want to have to miss any days trying to hide that when it was inevitable that they would find out anyways. I can’t wear a wig to yoga without dying of heat stroke even if I can find one that doesn’t irritate my head and won’t fall off doing downward dog. Also, I have to wear a mask until class starts and I’m at my mat and far enough away from people. Also, with the chemo i do get a little dizzy at times and physically I have to take a tiny break once in a while which doesn’t go unnoticed I’m sure. I just decided that I have no clue what is going to happen with my body in days to come but I’m going when I can and doing as much as I can. I’m not missing something that is good for my health, weight loss journey and that I really enjoy just to try and keep something a secret. I have spent enough of my life hiding because of my weight and I have finally broken free of that. I’m not going back in that dark place ever again. I am usually a pretty private person so it was a big choice for me with sharing about the bariatric surgery and now with the cancer, but so far I am happy with my decisions for both. I just told them that I don’t want them to make a big deal about it that we are there to relax and do yoga, but I just didn’t want to feel awkward wondering what they must be thinking so I was just getting it out there. It was partly because I did the same with my revision surgery and it has worked out positively for me. With the sleeve I didn’t tell anyone outside of my best friends and that wasn’t successful so with the SADI i decided to try something different. I told the women in my crochet group and the one craft group because I have known them almost two years now (but not the one I joined more recently). They do ask how I’m doing or congratulate me on my weight-loss and ask what I’m eating and about my exercise, I briefly answer but then I will say enough about me we are here to craft and ask what they are working on today and that seems to work pretty well. So with yoga, now, I hope I can just walk in with my hat or wig and take it off before class begins and do my thing and when I take more an more breaks they will just ignore me. I’m sure it will feel really weird for me the first time when I’m bald because it was when i had to go really short and I was thinning with a head band covering most of the bald spots but everyone already knows about the elephant in the room now and hopefully we can just focus on YOGA. Food for thought for those with the decision about cancer and for those on the fence about whether to tell about their bariatric journey as well because people who see you once or twice a week notice things and they are probably wondering. It has worked for me to just rip off the bandaid and move on.

My bariatric nutritionist suggested vodka and SF cranberry juice. It's been my go to when I want a drink. I stay away from sugary or carbonated drinks now. I used to love a frozen Strawberry Margarita and occasionally miss them. But I know there are SF mixers out there. I Just haven't tried one yet. And like everyone else said, it doesn't take much to get buzzed unless you nurse a glass for a loooong time. Have fun on holiday!!

Girl lol I am right with you 4 months post op. I grieve not being able to guzzle down water or any beverage for that matter. I grieve everything right now. Thankful for the multiple bariatric groups that I am in. I wouldn't make it 😂

Sometime shoulder pain can be caused from the air that gets trapped from any surgery. I would probably run it by your surgeon though. Especially if you have already passed gas a few times and didn’t feel any relief. I was in the hospital after my bariatric revision surgery for 5 days because I couldn’t pass gas and the pain was so bad I couldn’t take it without the meds they weren’t going to send me home with so I stayed. Post sleeve I had no pain at all. I asked them to switch me to Tylenol the first time they brought the pain meds and I went home early the next day. The difference was all because of trapped air. I think it varies from person to person how much and where it manages to get stuck too. When I finally did pass gas I knew that I needed to keep it up because I instantly felt some relief. It took like 5 or 6 times and then I finally felt soooooo much better. I went home and took half a pain pill while my hubby went out for Tylenol and I didn’t take another. That gas is no fun.

That’s awesome. I have been very pleased with my revision to SADI. My surgeon didn’t mention the intestine length thing but he did have me do the barium swallow, an endoscopy and a gastric emptying study before saying that the SADI would be an option as well as the bypass and it was up to me which I wanted to do. There are pros and cons to the SADI revision. statistically (which by definition means there are outliers that are more or less) but the majority of people lose faster and the loss is more durable which got my attention but the possibility of bathroom issues is significant (fortunately I didn’t have this at all until I recently started chemo but I don’t think it has anything to do with the surgery). One con though of SADI is that many doctors have never heard of it. From my family Dr, to the urgent care, ER physicians, gyno, radiologies, breast surgeon, etc. Even the gastro dr who will be doing an endoscopy and colonoscopy on me Monday has never heard of the SADI but my bariatric doctor said he will explain my anatomy to her and it will be fine. I always tell them it’s a modified version of the Duodenal Switch with one anastomosis instead of two and if they still look confused I tell them it’s not exactly but kinda like a bypass and a sleeve combined. But obviously I need the person putting a camera in there to understand better than that. I think you will be very pleased with your results from either one but another thing to consider is if you have a complication or need revision to the SADI how many doctors are able to operate on you. My surgeon told me that if I had a complication he would stabilize me but he would send me to a nearby hospital if I needed any type of revision. I appreciated that he was willing to admit his limits and I was okay with that but I guess it is a risk you may want to ask about. Your surgeon may very well have done lots of these but mine had not. Also, not a lot of doctors will do a revision to the SADI just because of regain. You would be more likely to find someone to revise a bypass. Not that we are hoping to need a third surgery but obesity is complex and a lifelong struggle so it’s something to think about. I wish you the best of luck. And hope to hear about your surgery date soon.

So, you don't feel "full", but do you feel "hungry"? Or do you just keep eating because you can? This early on, your body is still adjusting and relearning signals. Hopefully, you don't feel physical hunger pangs (most people don't but some do). Either way, you need to portion out your foods. A bariatric meal is generally 3-4oz of meat and around 1/2 cup vegetables. Even if you CAN eat more than that, you aren't supposed to and don't need to. It's pretty early to be adding in a grain, but that can also be part of your meal at some point. The feeling of restriction is different between the sleeve and the bypass, so I can't speak to it from experience, but I've seen so many people here say the sleeve restriction doesn't truly kick in for a few months. Until then, it's your job to only eat what you're supposed to eat. It helped me to get very small plates. I ate off a saucer for the first 6 months. Half of it would be my meat and half was a non-starchy veg. I would weigh the meat (after cooking) and just fill the empty space with the veg. If you are already truly feeling hunger, fill yourself with vegetables, fruit, and healthy whole grains as opposed to protein or simple carbs. After a certain point, let's say maybe 100g in a day, you really don't need the protein, so if you're truly hungry, a salad or steamed broccoli will do a lot more to fill you up with very few calories ounce per ounce. It can also really help to set specific meal times and not allow yourself to eat in between.

This is a very good point about having a different procedure. I went with the SADI because it was a revision to an existing sleeve and revision surgeries do not produce the same results in terms of weight loss and durability, but the SADI offered more. In terms of other medical issues, though you will constantly have to have your bariatric doctor in the loop with any issues that may even remotely have to do with your gastro system and this can be complicated because the doctors don’t want to step on one another’s toes. But in terms of family doctors or doctors of any other specialty, I have not met one since I started researching this surgery or since I’ve had it that I have even heard of it. If you do go with this one, you need to educate yourself so that you can explain that to them. And it is possible that you find yourself in a position where something could get messed because the doctor just hasn’t seen it before where it’s more likely if you had something as common as a bypass they will have seen it. I mean there’s pros and cons with everyone. There’s no perfect answer or they would only do one and we wouldn’t be here naming off a handful of surgeries that are sort of commonly done and in terms of revisions, they do even more. I think they just make up names for them as they go along, honestly. My best advice would be to educate yourself as much as you can and go back a couple of times to make sure you get all of your questions answered by the doctor. They usually only want to give you one appointment but if you say you’re not ready to choose, they should give you another appointment with the doctor or a PA or NP. But that is a very good point about having the less common procedure does present obstacles or potential ones down the road. I mean if you raised the fact that you have it to any good doctors attention, they know where to find the information and should be able to still provide you adequate care but in an emergency situation it’s better for the information to already be in the doctors head.

This is the what one Hospital provided me for Gastric Bypass Medicare costs and requirements. One thing I noticed is "Consecutive diet counseling within 1 year of surgery" but did not specify a duration time for the diet. Anyway, thought some might derive some useful info from this. TRADITIONAL MEDICARE Insurance Requirements Primary Bariatric Surgery - covered benefit? Yes Revision/Conversion Surgery - covered benefit? Yes - BASED UPON MEDICAL NECESSITY Special Facility Requirements? N/A Specialty Referral or Authorization required from PCP? ● No referral required for clinic ● Policy Copay Fees Registered Dietician (RD) ● One on One Counseling Session ● Diet Class $0 DX: DIABETES $30 Psychology $0 Specialist ● (Surgeon, APP/NP/PA, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Obesity Medicine Specialist) $0 ● BMI requirements ● ‌ BMI >= 40 - OR - ● ‌ BMI >= 35 with 1 of the following: ● OSA on CPAP ● TIIDM ● HTN ● Nutrition Education ● ‌ Consecutive diet counseling within 1 year of surgery ● Documentation includes weight, diet education, supervised by an MD ● Must meet weight goal set by Dietician to return to see your surgeon and schedule surgery ● Psychology Evaluation ● ‌ Clearance within 1 year(s) of surgery (Special considerations may apply, to be discussed if needed) Medical Evaluation ● ‌ Letter of Medical Necessity by ANY medical provider Yes ● On his/her letterhead ● Signed and Dated by the MD/DO/RN/ARNP/APP ● Documents previous failed attempts at weight loss ● Lists co-morbid conditions related to obesity ● Additional Medical Clearances no

Glad the cause has been found and you are on the road to recovery. I have pernicious anemia and for that reason at the first surgical consultation the surgeon said she thought sleeve would be the better option for me due to later complications with anemia and bypass. I was also told that unlike most sleeve patients who can stop the recommended bariatric vitamin regime after the first year that I was consider continuing on them for the rest of my life, I don't have an issue with that as no harm in taking them.

Thank you so much I tried not to let her effect me because she clearly had no experience at all! Tomorrow I also have a call from the nurse incharge for all bariatric patients so I'll have a good chat with her and yes the dietician is experienced with WLS patients. I don't know why it shows bypass balloon! I had the gastric bypass. I think I picked the wrong one by mistake teehee. I'll edit it later! I'll keep a mental note to myself always to never ever compare 😫

Hello there and welcome! I was sleeved about 8 weeks ago now and I spent countless hours, days and months before surgery stressing about every little thing that I read and heard. Right up until surgery I was still hyperventilating! I totally understand how you feel right now. Now I'm on the other side I have to say there are some major challenges for me to deal with. I have been big my entire life and this is like a baptism by fire to me. What do I mean by that? Well I knew I had a food issue especially comfort eating but I didn't realise how bad it was until after my surgery. Head hunger is my biggest enemy I crave food a lot of times during my day. Interestingly enough I don't really crave junk food anymore because I have avoided that from the get go, I just miss the comfort of eating more if that makes sense. I did feel really drained and miserable months before surgery, I was so afraid of things going terribly wrong too, but I was Ok and it was worth it. I don't regret it and I am still early days. I have lost over2 and a half stone in that time and I am feeling much better than I was pre op. Now, you say you don't enjoy healthy food but what do you class a healthy? You will eventually be able to eat chicken, lean beef and pork mince, fish, cheese, yogurts, protein drinks, protein puddings and much more. You will also be surprised how much your tastes and cravings change post op, I know! I didn't believe it either! I make a healthy version of pizza with my own low calorie wholemeal base and low fat protein cheese with ham. It tastes better than the one I used to have before and it is a much healthier version. There's literally loads of ways you can alter your favourite foods to make them lower in calories and healthier too. Get on Pinterest and tiktok there's so much content out there for bariatric surgery patients. The main thing I should tell you with absolute certainty is that the sleeve is a tool not a quick fix. You really need to be fully prepared for the changes it will bring. You will need to put in the hard head work and explore a healthier way of life, Be willing to try healthier food and you may learn to like it. You will not be able to eat unhealthy food and get all the nutrients you need from your diet. If you are certain this is what you want to do then you need to research. you said you don't like healthy food but you also said you don't know how to eat healthy. This is where your research will come in. I noticed you said that you can't find the discipline but when you have a smaller tummy you physically can't eat as much, you will be in a lot of pain and then you will throw up! I wish you all the best on your journey, it's a hell of a ride! x

Congratulations on your loss. I was a savory girl Lee bariatric world and post sleeve I became a sweet girl too. Then post SAFI that went away but has started to come back. I think MAYBE it’s just our bodies wanting carbs and sweet food is usually the absolute highest in carbs so the quickest way to get them. I did not have the bypass but I don’t think your friend is correct about eating whatever you want. I know that was for sure not true for the me with the sleeve. I started at 235, lost down to 168 then gained it all back plus some to 258 and was still gaining when I started the preop diet for my revision. I have also heard plenty of regain stories on here about the bypass. Now, does it malabsorb some of your food, absolutely. So if you were like 900 pounds before it’s possible you would stay a bit smaller just because you pretty much already ate all you wanted volume and calories wise before and the malabsorption would in theory make you weight a bit less if you ate the same exact food, but it would only be a bit less anyways and who of us wants that. . As far as a more common starting weight I really don’t think so because even at our high weights we still weren’t eating absolutely all we would have liked to or we could have and if we ate any and everything we wanted, even with some calories not absorbing that’s still probably giving our bodies more than we were eating before. I do know from experience that what fuel I put into my body changed how I feel, though, so even if I could get away with eating anything I wanted cosmetically, I know that I wouldn’t feel as good as I do when I eat a balanced diet and keep up my activity. That processed junk that most of us used to eat all the time is not good for us and it doesn’t give your bodies what it needs to run efficiently. Another thing to keep in mind is that we are still pretty early out to be relaxing too much. Most people have a 10–15 pound bounce back even if they keep working at it. I don’t know about you but I’ve still got more that I want to lost. I definitely don’t want to be bouncing back!! for the sweet cravings try the sugar free popsicles again. They can trick my brain sometimes and others i Have fruit. I figure calorie wise they may be more calories but at least it’s not added sugar. I try to avoid that as much as possible because that makes me have more cravings the next day and for like a week.