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I just mean water weight, some people retain a lot of water weight. You can build recipes in the my fitness pal app too. Exactly how you make them and then you know exactly what you are eating. If you are not hitting protein and eating such low calories your body may be in starvation mode too. Try to focus on getting that protein in, it is important for lots of reasons.

If you use a tracking app like My Fitness Pal, you can type in what you are eating and it gives some close proximations of calories and usually several options to choose from. That is better than just guessing if you do not want to calculate every ingredient.

Hi 👋 You’re right. I did list everything for the first few weeks - and I was at the 500 calories mark. Now that I can eat more solid food I’m making family meals and eating just small amounts. If I scramble an egg for myself then I can count that no problem, but I’m not sure how to calculate a ladle of home-made stew, for example. I’m assuming I’m under the 700 because I don’t drink calories, I don’t eat anything off-diet like sugar. I certainly don’t hit my Protein mark by far though.  I am drinking a lot more. Is that what you mean by water weight?

You say "I must be under 700 calories" as if you don't know for sure?? I would highly recommending tracking your intake. People are usually surprised at how many calories they are actually eating when they are tracking it. Then you will know for sure what your calories are, if they are that low and you continue to gain reach out to your team. It may be water weight also, which will pass.

Hey guys, I lost 14kg (30 lbs) in the first month and the pre-op diet combined. Average I think. But in the last 2 weeks I’ve put on 5 lbs!! I’m wondering if more movement could do it. It’s only in the last few weeks that I’ve been able to move around much. I really suffered after the surgery and had no energy. Anyone else put on weight? I’m frankly mortified. I must be under 700 calories per day easily.

Here is my considered reaction to the people who say, "You can't do keto once you have the surgery" "Says who?" I am a firm believer that in the days and weeks after the surgery, you need to listen to your surgeon and be conservative with what foods you try -- you don't want to cause any complications. But the further you get from surgery, the more you have to find a healthy routine that works for you. Now, post-surgery keto probably wouldn't look exactly like pre-surgery keto. The fats you can tolerate will be different. Your protein goals would be more important than your macros. It would be a process of trial and error. It may turn into a dirty/lazy keto diet (that's what my wife does. She eats whatever she wants as long as her net carbs stay below 20 per day). Your current way of eating like a bird and working out like an athlete isn't doing you any good. You are stuck in stalls because your metabolism is trying to account for not getting enough calories while you are burning like crazy.

I'm not in your area but I have lost 80+ previously with Kayla Itsines 12 week body guide you can look up on Pinterest and easy-to-alter workouts to your needs. It was all at home and with very little equipment. She also has a sweat app (a $20 monthly subscription). I never used the meal guide just restricted my calories and I was in the best shape of my adult life I had ever been in. Most people feel like you have to join a gym to get the results you want. My ex-husband tried doing my workouts with me (initially laughed and was trying to get me to join his gym) and couldn't keep up. After he took back all the unkind words he had to say prior. I'm not saying gym memberships & trainers are a waste but sometimes they just aren't in the budget.

I am a little over 3 years post op now. The past year I put no effort in to maintain or monitor and only this week got back on the scale for the first time and the results are what you would expect. I gained back 40lbs. The biggest difference in year 2 vs year 3 is the return of hunger. The sleeve prevents me from overeating at meals but it will not stop grazing and if you eat calorie dense highly processed foods you will not get restriction. This is a frustrating setback and I have no one to blame but myself. The honeymoon doesnt last forever and when it does wear off you will have a battle if you did not form good habits.

The narcolepsy may be worse because lack of calories? Regardless, I would speak with your psychologist ASAP, they may need to change up your medications after surgery. It is my understanding this has happened to other people. (I remember reading about it on here) Of course, I am assuming you take medications for your depression but if not maybe some are needed to help you? A blood sugar of 70 isn't a concerning low but you could let your Doctor know and he may have some insight. My blood sugar is naturally lower than normal. (in the 60-70 range with fasting) I was told 80-100 is normal. Good luck, please reach out to the appropriate doctors for help. I hope you feel relief soon!

I got the sleeve, and I will admit, sometimes I wonder "would my weight loss be faster with the bypass?" Especially times like now, when I am dealing with slowed down weight loss even though I am sticking to program. But then, when I really analyze it, I don't think I would be doing anything differently than I am now. I'd still be eating the same amount of calories, per my program's advice. I would be working out the same amount I am now. So, the tool would be different but I'm not sure I would be doing anything differently as a result so in the end, does it matter? People do incredibly well with both surgeries, and others "fail" with both options (I'm using fail loosely, but basically to mean not reach their goals or even much weight loss with either surgery). It's easy to get caught up in this sort of thinking, so I try not to do it. Especially because I am totally at peace with the sleeve (I was not so keen on bypass unless I needed to do it based on medical advice). I just have to use the tool as intended.

My team keeps you at 1000 calories or less until you hit maintenance.

Hi ViaLia! My starting BMI was higher than yours at about 42, and I can only comment as someone 10 months post-surgery, but it's been a fantastic surgery for me. I'm not far off my goal and feeling very good. The restriction is strong, but I've had no issues getting my protein, water and vitamins. No dumping - however I'm still very wary with the foods that can cause it. My weight loss has slowed down a lot now that I'm getting closer to goal, my appetite is easy to manage. It may be possible for some to lose too much weight, but I don't expect that would strictly be the fault of the surgery. I eat about 1000 to 1200 calories a day now. That will go up a little more once I reach my goal and begin maintenance. I would never have gotten to where I am now without the MGB. It stopped the self-sabotage and I couldn't be happier with how it's gone.

I was a low calorie intake - barely 900 at 6 months & at goal. I eat about 1400 now. But I was not actually ever told a calorie goal. Just portion size, protein & fluid goals & of course food choices recommendations. Plus I worked at establishing new eating behaviours & eating only what I needed not what I wanted. I just checked my calories now & again out of my own interest. Best is to ask your dietician for guidance because we all have our own needs. Like you’ll need more if you’re very active. I’m short, pretty finely built & not very active so my caloric needs will be very different to yours. I could never have been physically able to eat more than I was while losing either.

Asking the specific why questions is bound to leave you extremely frustrated, because the truth is that these plans, even more than most of medical practice, aren't well-studied and are pretty arbitrary. A lot of guidelines seem to be trying to outwit the assumed devious and/or stupid fatties, the sort of person who if given permission to drink coffee will drink a venti Carmel Salted Caramel mocha. So they tell everyone not to drink coffee. I was previously seeking surgery from a program that disallowed steaming your vegetables in the pre-op diet---raw broccoli only!--presumably because then you might get the idea that you could have cooked vegetables in any form and cooked vegetables will probably be fried in oil or slathered with cheese sauce. Ergo, no steamed veggies for you, dumb fat person who thinks that cheese sauce doesn't contain any calories. There's no way to tell which guidelines are based in actually demonstrated science, which are at based on a plausible mechanism, and which are just the random things that seemed to work for that particular surgeon or nutritionists' past patients. You can ask, I suppose, but I'd guess that they're not going to appreciate it, because most people in the medical field do like to think that they're doing evidence based practices, even when they're just... not. And there's also no guarantee that the explanation is going to be the truth. The signpost I use to see whether a source is BSing is whether they claim that you need to drink only water because caffeinated beverages are dehydrating. 1) It's not even plausible, since caffeine is a very weak diuretic so the net fluid balance would be positive unless you're taking caffeine pills with just a sip of water. 2) It's actually been studied frequently since it's such a ubiquitous myth that's so easy to test, and found to be false, even with doses of caffeine much higher than typical consumption. The reason you need to drink only water is so that you don't have permission to consume liquid calories and you can't be trusted not to consume liquid calories if you're allowed no-calorie liquids other than water... that's it. Just jump through the hoops they want you to. Some of them are genuinely there to limit reflux or to keep you from ripping your internal stitches open and some of them are there because you can't be trusted and there's no telling which ones are which. It's just food. Signed, a medical researcher for whom giving up the tea habit will be the hardest part of the process.

600-800 calories? Yikes. I can't imagine.

back when I had surgery seven years ago, most people were eating about 600-800 calories a day at that point, but it seems like a lot of surgeons now want you higher than that.

Exactly the same! I was worried about this initially - especially on reading so many accounts of people 3 months post-op only being able to eat 700 to 800 calories a day. But my surgeon put my mind at rest on this. And so did this guy on YouTube

I'm at 1100 to 1200, as well. The weight loss has slowed down to about 1 lb. a week, but anything less than 1100 calories and I am ravenously hungry now.

Hey... I had my VSG on 4th April, 2022 (so nearly 4 months ago) For the last month, I've been eating around 1100 to 1200 calories a day. The weight is still coming off at approximately 1lb to 3lbs each week. Including my 2 week pre-op diet I've lost 66lb so far... I've got another 45lb to go.

For me I am only supposed to take in 400-600 calories until I hit stage 4 after 3 months. Then it’s 600-800 calories til 6 months, then 800-1000 from 6-12 months. After that I should be 1000 - 1200 calories for life. I’ve seen others go up to 1000 this early so it could have to do with starting weight, amount to loose, etc. but I’d double check that. Aside from that, there is a well known stall around week 4 (some have it at week 2 or 4). Stick with the program your surgeon gave you and you’ll be fine.

This is really true. It depends the food, what surgery you had, how it was done, how tight your esophagus is etc. I find that I can eat one serving of most foods at a time too. Usually like 1 egg and I feel full. I can however resume eating within 1-2 hours pretty easily but you have to be careful not to eat too much throughout the whole day if you need to take a break in the middle of your meal. Sometimes I need a break after two bites because it feels so tight in my throat. But yeah then there are foods I can eat more of like salad, cheese, and bread. I can also eat more than the recommended serving size of chips or crackers but that tends to make me very nauseous so I avoid it. Pureed foods like refried beans, light soups, and yogurt I can eat in large amounts but again I don't because it makes me nauseous. For example today, I had a protein shake for breakfast and felt fine for 4 hours. Then made lunch as i started feeling low energy. made a sandwich for lunch with some protein chips. I use low calorie low carb small slices of bread (45 calorie slice) 45 calorie slice of cheese and 40 calories worth of plant based lunch meat. I got through a bit over half of the sandwich and three chips from a 160 calorie serving bag. Won't finish it, feel satisfied and know if I went back for more I'd start feeling nauseous. Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

How many daily calories were you/are you eating 4 mo post-op?

Day 12 of Pre Op - liquid diet (water, protein shakes or can replace one shake with a protein bar). Basically I am having 1,000 calories a day and I am drinking over 100 oz of water every day. I do not feel hungry but I pee a lot. I lost about 5 lbs in the first couple of days and that's it. The scale has not moved in 7 days. In fact, this morning, I was up 0.5 lbs. This is making me nervous. What is going on? Is the scale not going to move once I have the surgery? I keep telling myself to trust the process but this doubt is weighing heavy on me.

Honey garlic shrimp with sautéed sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes. This one surprised me how quickly I filled up. I’ll probably finish the sides later with a little more protein but this whole plate was only 110 calories?!

I'd like to know the reasons/purposes of the post-op diet and the different stages. I am following my instructions exactly. I think. I hope I'm doing it right. Now, likely all y'all know that a clear liquid diet sucks. The guide I was given says I have to be on the clear liquid stage for week 1 and I have 2 days left. But I have heard others only having clear liquids for 1-3 days. I'm doing well and I'd like to try a few things that are on my list for week 2 if it isn't going to hurt me. Which leads me to the question. What is the purpose of the clear liquid diet? Am I on a clear liquid diet to allow my new sleeve stomach to heal or is it so I won't have issues with reflux, heartburn, nausea or gas? If I knew, maybe I'd try a little of the food from the next stage. Or at the very least, not worry as much when I try to decide if my soup is as clear as it's supposed to be. In two days I graduate to a week 2 full liquid diet. The guide doesn't use the word puree', just full liquid. Is this the same thing or no? According to the guide I can add cream soups (strained). premade Protein shakes, sugar free pudding, V8 Tomato juice, low fat yogurt and Fat free milk. This is much better than week 1, but by the end of week 2, I know I'm going to start looking ahead to week 3 and want to try something from it. Week 3 is really not much different. Just adding bananas and oatmeal. But I can add unsweetened fruit to my smoothies. And, then I see this. NO GRITS & NO POTATOES. Really? Don't just say I can't have it without telling me why. What harm is going to come from potatoes, other than carbs/calories? In week 4, I am finally allowed to have cottage cheese. Not that cottage cheese is something I have to have, but I would love some right now with my clear liquids. I can also finally have well cooked beans and veggies, as well as 2% milk. Then I see, NO RICE & NO GREEN PEAS. Why? Again, I assume its starches and carbs from the rice, but tell me why... Week 5 I can finally have a scrambled egg.. Finally I can have an egg? In week 6 I can finally baked fish. Why not week 5? And then they say, NO HONEY & NO DRIED FRUIT. Why? Again, this is mostly my curiosity. But it frustrates me that they did not give me much (any) background information. I will continue following the guidance they gave me, I mean I'm dropping weight daily so it's working. But when I go to my follow-up appointment next Tuesday, I'm going to bring up some of these specific questions. I know this was a long post, but if any of you can shed some light on any of the questions I have, please feel free.