Search the Community

first meal of the day: i was soooooo excited to eat this while i was preparing it...and yes, it was crazy delicious!!! smoked salmon, avocado, yuzu cream sauce, capers & toasted sesame seeds. with a side of some homemade feta focaccia i made yesterday. soooooooooooooooo yummer omg. a whopping 776 calories for the plate, ate roughly 2/3 of it (?)...Mr. ate the rest.

I just watched a video on the procare website that you might enjoy. I get my Bariatric vitamins from procare and they always have very informative doctors etc come on. A few key points made 1. everybody loses weight after bariatric surgery. 2. not everybody maintains weight loss. 3. after gastric sleeve 7 to 50% will gain weight after the seventh year Mark . he goes on to state that success is not about fault, but about physiology he goes onto state that surgery does not change your genetics. he goes on to state that those of us who gain weight have a calorie balance issue our body is not balancing it like it should. versus a person who does not gain weight. he goes on to state that movement at least five times a week is very important and that determining physical hunger versus emotional hunger is very important. Etc give it a look

Interesting info ! I was tracking my macros but my doc asked me to stop as he maintains it can lead to unhealthy obssesional behaviour I don’t fully agree with that but i tried winging it just to see. Maybe i should track macros for a while without fixating on calorie intake but only on nutrional values 🤔

OMG please do not compare yourself to anyone else, its the road to ruin. This is not a quick fix, it may take over a year to loose your extra weight. My journey took nearly 3 years. If you stick at the program you will get to the weight of your dreams. Everyone who does this surgery has a different regime to follow. Some can have solids straight away, some have liquids for 4 weeks then puree for 2 weeks. Some eat low calorie, zero sugar, zero fat etc Some of us [me] eat full fat. Some have Carbs, some of us don't [me] Some exercise, some don't. What I am trying to say is don't try to compare to the unknown. You are doing amazing. Right on track. Follow your teams regime. You are just beginning. Slow and steady wins this race. Any time now you may have a fright when you don't loose anything, your body needs these stalls to regroup.

It’s not particularly common but it does happen. I actually “eat” every three hours. Something small And I have seen others on here who eat every two hours but they are much further out from surgery than you and me. Also, this is something small and it’s all protein high protein food so if you log all of the calories and macros you can eat more often but still stay on plan. Maybe run this by your team. My nutritionist that I talked to you before my surgery did not think it was a good idea but the nurse practitioner said it was actually fine so long as I wasn’t eating more portion wise than I was supposed to while everything healed. I think the problem with it would be in the future as portions grow a bit if you’re eating five meals a day then you are eating five bits more instead of three bits that adds up faster. as long as you know that you’re able to control the portions and the quality of the food that you’re consuming your team may be on board. In the meantime, check in with yourself to make sure that it’s not what we call head hunger. Are you tired, lonely angry or bored or anything like that when you’re feeling hungry? If so, then talk to your team about that and maybe try journaling to get your feelings out or an alternative behavior such as working on a puzzle or craft or something like that. If that’s not it, there was a lady on here years ago that struggled with hunger that never went away, and she tried everything to get to the bottom of it. In terms of it being head hunger, and it didn’t seem to be she finally said that one thing that helped was warm liquid such as soup, broth, or tea or warm coffee. Another thing is there is not a whole lot of protein in one egg. I know your pouch is small and you can’t consume a lot food wise at this point, so maybe you need to supplement that protein with a little bit of a protein shake in between. I actually have what I call proffee for breakfast for that very reason. I am able to consume an entire protein shake over time with added chilled coffee and that keeps me full until lunch. Of course, don’t go against your teams plan without discussing these ideas with them, but hopefully something here helps. You have to remember that they give you a cookie cutter plan when you start out. But you are very individual and it’s possible that what they gave you just doesn’t work for you so make an appointment to talk to them sooner or email through your patient portal and tell them what’s going on. My suggestion would be to log what you’re eating and your activity and show them so they can have a better idea of what’s going on. I used a Fitness watch that is connected to an app on my phone for my activity and the Baritastic food app, which is free on the phone, but there are others as well. Also, pay attention to your mood or feelings because a lot of of us are emotional eaters. I know that I turned into food a lot of times out of just boredom. But also stress and anxiety. Basically, I realize this by sitting there with my hungry feelings for a few minutes and thinking about what had happened that day and whether it was particularly stressful or how I was feeling about it. If you really take inventory and it doesn’t coincide with emotions, though it is possible for the hunger to come back sooner, it has happened again just very uncommon. It will be easier to explain to your team if you have done a feelings inventory and tried a journal or really thought about if you were, I can’t remember there’s an acronym, but I think it’s stressed, lonely bored or tired. Something like that. After reading the comment above, it reminded me when I was early out. I did not eat food, solid food that often I had shakes in between. Also, yes, it is possible that it’s stomach acid too so ask about a PPI if you aren’t on that already. And please don’t just adjust anything without talking to your team because I don’t even know what surgery you had and everybody’s situation is different but you could run those ideas by them.

some things i've eaten the past week... 1) ½ an oven roasted acorn squash with butter and seasonings: est. 150 cals. ate ½ 2) homemade cabbage soup with 5 homemade pork and cabbage meatballs: est. 400 cals, ate/drank it all except for 2 meatballs. 3) ben & jerry's coffee ice cream, sour cream and onion chips, and a dark chocolate Godiva truffle: est. 500 cals, ate it all. 4) beet salad (beets, feta, balsamic glaze, green onion, ginger, vinaigrette): est. 275 cals, ate it all. 5) 1/4 sesame bagel w/ cream cheese and feta, roasted pork belly slices w/ ginger onion condiment : est. 550 calories, ate it all. 6) raspberry (9%) yogurt cup with black pepper: 175 cals, ate it all

Yeah, smaller goals is definitely better for us mentally. And paying attention to how you feel instead of what the number is on the scale. I mean, I am still only halfway to the goal that I would like to reach but I am feeling so much better. I put a lot less stock in what the scale says these days. Plus, like you said, you can always adjust and set another attainable goal once you reach your first one. They will have you up and walking the same day as your surgery and encourage you to keep doing so. I started wearing my fitness watch again, which surprisingly was able to update after a lot of years being in the drawer and it’s really fun to be able to watch how many steps you take, calories burned and how everything is improving every day. I got an alert a couple of weeks ago that my resting heart rate has gone down like 7 bpm which probably isn’t a lot, but it’s headed in the right direction for sure.

Well I’m early out yet so I’m sure the hunger will be back soon enough. If only it could stay gone forever!!. Yea the chomps does make minis too but they don’t come in the pepperoni flavor and that’s my favorite so I just do half and save the other half for later (I literally have a box of ziplocks in my car for that purpose). It’s 12g protein and 80 calories though so I do half of that with either a baby bell light or a Sargento mozzarella stick which is another 5g protein for 45 or 50 calories. 85 or 90 calories for 11g of tasty protein on the go is pretty good in my book. I will have to try the mini archer beef ones for something different.

Hi hi 👋 After my 1 month post op, my surgeon actually told me to go ahead and do whatever I wanted workout wise! He said I've healed internally and externally.. I joined the gym and started with cardio and swimming and then some weights and joined some aerobics classes.. to be honest, I am doing it all but I am not pushing myself and I listen to my body. So I did a class 2 days ago and I was on the lowest weight and took many breaks and still burnt almost 400 calories in 60 mins. So I suggest u listen to your surgeon then your body! And I am now 2 months post op fyi

Thank you very much! Congratulations to you as well for your successful journey. It's amazing to finally be free of the fat and, more importantly for me, the addiction to food and the total control/power I have over food now. It's seriously my lifelong dream at 55 so staying motivated was baked in.. Thank you again. I am sure I didn't elaborate or explain my reasons enough but actually I am concerned about slowing down the weight loss. I still eat very small portions and am worried it would be hard to sustain on just protein, without carbs. I like my body running more ketogenic than carbed up with the ups and downs of carbs. Without adding fat, and with our malabsorption aspect of the surgery, I am wondering if its possible or not so much..If I am being honest, at 240lbs, I started eating dirtier with carbs to try and stabilize at 240 until I got my knee surgeries, but then just dropped another 20+ within a month and a half or so. My steps and activity increased, small by normal people standards, but a lot for where I have been, after I got another Cortisone shot to the knees. This just illustrates my concern once I reach goal weight and I am rucking, hiking, and lifting. Those three things will be lifelong for longevity and mobility going forward. Obviously everyone is different as far genetically and such, but I have been extremely low calorie, plenty of short fasts up to three days, and have plateaued at certain points during my weight loss, and after doing a refeed with carbs and basically whatever I want to eat, I recharged my metabolism for another huge run of weight loss. The refeed was usually only a couple days to a few days but less than a week. Now with this approach remember I am lifting weights. I mean hard as I can weight lifting 4 days a week. It sucks! Low energy lifting is not fun but the recomp.. I really believe the built-in calorie burn from lean muscle mass is the most efficient way to permanently stay in shape. Male or female doesn't matter. IMHO if your metabolism is slow and you are struggling with the last few pounds, I mean the literally like 5-10 pounds from goal BF, man or woman, start lifting weights. The body recomp will floor you. And that weight or really I think just your body composition after significant weight loss without adding lean muscle mass leaves you looking(Sometimes) like a no muscle bag of skin. Flat. It's not fun but the results.. Anyways thank you for the reply and just to make clear if any of the vets care to weigh in, the WLS gave me the tool, the only tool I will ever need again to lose weight. It's so powerful for me that I need to think about slowing down my weight loss combined with, if possible, being low carb and more ketogenic as a lifestyle choice I prefer. I just don't know if low carb is sustainable without the fat calories. that specifically is what I am looking for. Does anyone prefer low carb/ketogenic after surgery and is it possible? I already realize that fats can be problematic, is anyone doing carnivore after DS Sadi. Not my preference but the only option it seems for low carb without the keto fat plan. Thanks in advance for any tips.

Hello everyone. My name is Tom and I have been a lurker for years. I had my surgery 11-22-22 at 471lbs. I weigh 214, for the moment, as I continue to lose. What a powerful tool this has proven to be! I am so blessed and thankful I couldn't possibly articulate it. With that being said, I feel I could help anyone that needs it just based on my own research for years into nutrition, fasting, and the many diet plans out there. I would be happy to give my own anecdotal experiences as well through losing the 255 lbs so far. But the point of this post is for me to lean on some of the vets of duodenal switch. I am approaching maintenance phase in around 35-40 more lbs. Does anyone do low carb in maintenance? If so what does that look like? Am I right to assume for us keto is out correct? The fat would be an issue or maybe someone has tried it? My concern when asking about low carb, for me specifically, I have protected my pouch size. I can still barely eat a few ounces of meat or whatever. I could, and may consider, actively stretching it a little when I get to maintenance, but as of right now I am not sure I could sustain on just meat once I am down to maintenance. I have Bilateral knee surgeries coming starting in Jan. I have lost all this weight in the recliner due to health issues. I am lifting, once I hit 300lbs weight, hard 4 days a week. But 0 steps for the most part. That's important because my exercise will skyrocket once I am healed from the surgeries and I will need more calories eventually. Carbs and fat are obviously the most calorie dense so.. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Well you should be able to if you don’t mind cooking. I have been trying all sorts of new recipes. Trying new veggies and fruits every week, different fish and turkey meals. New ways to use chicken Ways to reduce the calories from meals I liked before. It’s easier to do while your hunger is gone so the thought is that you will have found some healthy things you do actually enjoy and have better habits if the hunger returns. It does for many people but to varying intensity. I won’t lie I would still like to have pizza and pasta, but since surgery the healthy stuff is far more enjoyable to the point that I am able to resist temptation a little easier and I have found quite a few dinners that I actually look forward to.

Okay. I eat most of those things too. I’m thinking maybe it’s just because my calories are a lot lower than yours right now so the portion of those things I’m able to eat are probably a lot smaller after I get my protein. Probably just gonna be a thing until I get to maintenance. Except for the pasta and lentils. I’ve never tried lentils, but they actually put them in my grocery pick up order so I need to figure out how to make those. Is there a trick to it or just follow the instructions on the bag?

Well it should be a really good thing that you like water post op. Not sure about the salad. With the surgeries they actually cut your stomach and intestines it’s a while before your allowed salad but do they actually cut anything with the balloon or do they do they fill it after it’s in there somehow? I had the sleeve first, and I recently had a revision to the CB because of weight red and because they didn’t operate on my stomach. I had to wait like two months until everything was healed and now I can eat whatever I want so I’m back to salad earlier than those who had their stomach operated on. I’m sure you’re a doctor will tell you what is appropriate for you though. I really wish one of our restaurants would have Bogo on salads. I actually love them too. I have found that when logging all of my macros in an app that salad is actually not as great for us as we think it is as we tend to eat it. It’s mostly the dressing even one serving is pretty high in calories but if I am careful what I have the rest of the day I’m able to enjoy it on my plan. I finally figured out that if you put it in a bigger container and stir it around with the dressing, it’s easier to get a little bit on all of the lettuce with a smaller amount of dressing. Kind of like they do when they prepare Caesar salad. Of course it’s kind of hard to do that when you’re actually in a restaurant, but then I will just ask for the dressing on the side and dip a little bit as I go. With the smaller stomach, I mostly eat the toppings anyway, and just a tiny bit of lettuce to get the protein and nutrition before I run out of room.

and yeah...i NEEDED some dessert (before i showered! lol)...so totally ate these 4 squares of hazelnut milk chocolate! 143 calories! btw, Mr. is eating chips right now, so i will likely be logging some chips servings in MFP later on.....

don't judge me! had a 2.5 hour back to back hot power yoga classes tonight and came home absolutely STARVING. grabbed what was available before i even showered omg: a cold mini butter chicken meat pie, a can of smoked oysters w/ seafood sauce, and almost-expired blue cheese. 427 calories for all of it...scarfed it all in like 30 mins (except the meat pie crust...not very appetizing when cold. ew.)

I finally gained weight!!! I'm officially at 180, and I like that. I feel better, I have more energy, and I don't feel nearly so run down and out of it. Still look super thin, but it is what it is. Now I'm going to work on maintenance since this is where I want to stay. I'm ok with 2 pounds in either direction, but I definitely don't want to drop below 178 again lol I got all the way down to 170 and it was just really bad. I literally don't work out at all anymore because I'm on my feet all day working 5 days per week. I increased my calories to 1700 per day (up from 1500), my carbs to 55 net per day (up from 40 or so), my protein to 100g per day (up from 80), my healthy fats to 80g per day (up from 50), my fiber intake to 30g (10 from supplements and the rest from food - up from 20) and upped my fluids to 120 fl oz per day (up from 90 - 100). I'll add my weekend workouts back in now (nothing crazy, just core and strength but on the lighter side, not heavy) so I don't gain too much now that I've figured out how to finally gain weight lol

Has anyone else tried eating out yet. I went with my friend and we went to a steakhouse. They had a lunch portion of steak so I did that with mixed veggies as the side. I went home and put it in my calorie tracker and that small steak had a lot more fat than I thought but I just adjusted for it with dinner so I was still okay for the day. I was pretty proud of myself though because my friend had a bacon cheeseburger and it made my mouth water. I should remind you that they did not operate on my stomach. Steak is probably not a good call for most of you at this stage but my intestines are healed now so I can eat whatever.

Oh good. I use the Baritastic too. It’s pretty great isn’t it? I’m so sorry that your dietician didn’t help. I know how frustrating that is because I went out of my way to see a second one, even and they didn’t help either. Did your surgeons office give you a book of any sort? Mine didn’t have like a calorie goal or any other macros other than protein and water but it did say what portions they expected me to eat at each stage and stuff to avoid. What were your questions? Maybe between the group of us we can tell you what advise was given to us and that will help. If I were you I would see if you can meet with the NP or PA at your surgeons office if they have one. I told mine that the dietician wasn’t very helpful with the SADI so she has just been going over the nutrition stuff with me.

Late night snack- whole wheat toast with Vegemite, a white cheddar babybel cheese, and a microwaved apple with cinnamon and a packet of equal. 245 calories, 6g fiber, and 8.5g protein.

Oh I have so many questions that I seen the NP like five times since surgery and I call In between 😆 The NP finally gets it that with my anxiety I just need a little more reassurance throughout such major changes. She is so helpful. I ask her about my macros and stuff. I didn’t really feel like the dietician was very knowledgeable on my surgery. The goals the NP have given me are nothing like what the dietician had said. They should be fine to answer about the more common surgeries though. And they can tell you specific foods that will work. The NP just looks at the bar charts from my food logging app and says things about my trends. If you don’t have a fitness watch, consider one of those. They have some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon now. I got one on sale for $20 that seemed like a good one but my husband was able to get my old watch to update so I returned it. It’s really nice to be able to tell them your activity trends. And if you have an iPhone and carry it with you when you walk around you already have it on your health app. The watch will record your heart rate too though which gives you a better idea of calories burned.

So I get very very very hungry right before my period and the first few days of my cycle. It is so intense that I feel that there is a hole in my stomach where the food disappears 10 minutes after I’ve eaten. It is so weird and I have never experienced this pre WLS. I have clocked 1750 calories for 4 days straight and a whopping 120 grams of protein because I can’t seem to get full. Then I just lose interest in eating for the rest of my cycle, anyone else experience this? Things I’ve eaten the past few days: Galore of burgers. Double smashed cheeseburgers, a classic burger, and a spicy crispy chicken burger. Maple buffalo shrimps Up close and personal on the spicy chicken burger. So hubby was quite taken aback at how much I ordered (knowing he’ll have to eat most of it, teaser: he did) I got excited to try everything (teaser: I didn’t). I hade around 3/4 of one half of the smash cheeseburger, and a bite of the spicy chicken burger which was soooo good but then I felt so sick and regretted eating that. Hubby ate most of the shrimps, his whole burger and my half. The rest was put in the fridge. There was also a large portion of fries which I didn’t taste.

Not that uncommon and comparatively not more strict. There are variations between surgeons and surgeries with many of these things. Sometimes it’s also related to you, your health, how much weight you have to lose, your relationship with food, etc, Not being allowed carbonated drinks is common. The differences arise in length of time of this avoidance and then whether you can tolerate it. Also you may be allowed sparkling water that you let go flat a bit but not sodas. Same with alcohol avoidance but there are three main reasons often behind this. One is concern for addiction transfer which can occur after weight loss surgery. Secondly, alcohol is calorie dense and offers no nutrients which are vital while we are losing and eating small portions and lastly it will slow your metabolism & dehydrate you. Again some surgeons just put a time frame on it but it does depend on your surgery too. Caffeine is another thing that is allowed by some surgeons and not by others and again there can be differences in for how long you should avoid it. Deconstructing meals is not a forever thing. Certainly while losing, focussing on eating the protein component of your meal first is very important. If you are able after you’ve eaten the protein in your meal. you then can eat your vegetables then any carbs you are allowed. (There were many times I could only eat my protein at a meal and nothing else.) This is because of the small portions we can eat initially & the necessity of getting that protein in to meet your protein goals. It does make tracking your food much easier too. When you near your goal, and are eating larger portions, it’s not as important to eat your protein first but you must continue to hit your protein goals forever so it will be something of which you are aware when you’re eating. In saying that I often ate soups, stews & casserole type dishes, omelettes, etc. which combined protein & vegetables while losing but not every meal and not every day. Actually not allowing protein shakes is also not uncommon. For example, in the UK, many aren’t allowed protein shakes in the pre surgery diet (they drink milk instead). Protein shakes aren’t the sole source of protein & nutrients in that first stage after surgery. Bone broths, consommés and cream soups are also options. Thank goodness too because after surgery those protein shakes can be disgusting. I found them unpleasantly grainy and crazy sweet & struggled to drink one a day. Best advice is to follow your plan while you are losing.However, if you find it difficult to tolerate your food options or to reach your goals ask for alternatives that will allow you to still meet protein goals & other nutrient requirements within any calorie guidelines you are given. How and what you eat once your weight has stabilised is up to you, what you’ve learnt about your eating and relationship with food and if it allows you to maintain a lower and healthier weight & lifestyle.

Meals so far for today along with 6oz of caramel macchiato and a medium skinny mocha. Oh and my current calorie count. I’m not really hungry (it’s currently 6pm) so I might eat a snack but I dunno. Breakfast- plain nonfat Greek yogurt, strawberries, and a baked strawberry oatmeal bar cut up lunch- beans and peppers over Spanish rice and chihuahua cheese that I ate in the car because my son had an appointment.

@ShoppGirl I am having the same issues right now. I have been up and down the same 2 pounds for almost two weeks. It’s like the doctor jinxed me. He told me I should lose 20-25 pounds between my last appointment and the next visit in 8 weeks. Well, tomorrow makes 2 weeks since I have seen him and I have only lost 2.3 pounds. I am really struggling to get calories and rarely hit 600 for the day. I also struggle with my fluid goals. I can hit protein no problem. I still can only eat about 1/3 cup at a sitting and since I have zero hunger, it makes it hard. I feel like I am forcing myself to eat. I have committed to making the gym at least 4 days a week. Because my knees are “bone on bone” I am limited to which exercise machines are comfortable and walking is not. I think I may call the orthopedic surgeon and see about more shots for my knees. It is funny when you hear people that think this journey is easy. There is nothing easy about this.