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When my doctor told me to change my eating habits within that first year or 2 of major restriction, I took it seriously. I learned how to make better choices 80% of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I eat chips, dips, pizza, cake & all the other bad stuff. I even drink beer. However, I eat and drink in moderation and I do it occasionally. I stay away from sugary drinks and those extra calories that add up quickly—most of the time. I  do indulge occasionally. I also learned easy swaps when cooking to help reduce calories. For example, I cook with cooking spay, not oil. I use lean ground turkey meat, chicken breast, and other lean meats. I still wake and go with a Greek yogurt for Breakfast, and I will add Protein Powder in the mix & top with fresh fruit. I love eggs in so many combinations, and if I want eggs with bacon or cheese (or other high calorie toppings/sides, I’ll use egg whites instead of the whole egg. I do zucchini noodles instead of pasta…all these little things that have become habitual are what make a BIG difference in the long run. I literally changed my eating lifestyle. The 2nd component was body composition. I started lifting weights. Heavy weights…for me. The heavy lifting helped me add muscle and lean out at the same time. I don’t do cardio…or, I hardly EVER do cardio. I hate it. My fitness is purely from heavy weightlifting. It became another aspect of my lifestyle. I have lifted 4-6 days a week…Consistently…Year round…Since I was sleeved & released for physical activity. If I’m on vacation, I’m on vacation. If there’s an emergency, there’s an emergency. However! Tired. Not tired. I go to the gym. I think of it as my job. Whether I want up go or not, I have to work. And yes, I still have restriction 10 years out! But sliders are definitely still a thing, and if I stick to my Protein, veggies, and complex carbs, I don’t really crave or care to indulge in those sliders too often! Bottom line. It’s a lifestyle change. Change your habits. Be consistent.

Thank you Kathy. For me food has always been about culture. My family would fry and add bacon to everything. We make a fresh vegetable and add bacon. Trick myself into thinking it was healthy cause it was a vegetable. I went shopping to prepare for my puréed stage and made sure to buy low sodium and salt alternative. I’m really committed to a lifestyle change. I know it won’t be easy because I’ve eaten unhealthy most of my life, but I’m willing to put in the work.

The Dr or dietician didn't layout a post op plan? That's unfortunate . Yes , I was on soft foods like scrambled eggs at about 2 weeks. Sugar free pudding/jello/yogurt as well. Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

The Dr or dietician didn't layout a post op plan? That's unfortunate . Yes , I was on soft foods like scrambled eggs at about 2 weeks. Sugar free pudding/jello/yogurt as well. Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

Like @Arabesque I drink water throughout the night too. Every time I roll over or get up to pee. I also flavor it with herbal teas, just throw the bag in like sun tea. I make weekends special with fresh cut fruit or cucumbers in the water. I wouldn’t recommend the fruit or cukes until those foods are cleared. They may irritate the healing places. Early on, I made SF jello and popsicles, everything counts toward your liquid goal. I still love LS chicken bone broth warmed up! Early on, warm drinks were easier to get down.

couple things to remember: 1. you are only 33 days out. 2. The "keto diet" is a high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet. It usually consists of 75% fats, 20% protein and only 5% carb. Even though you are eating smaller portions the fat is too high. 3. A baratric diet focuses on smaller portions, high protein, low fat, and low carbs! The fat you are consuming in a Keto diet 33 days out is likely the culprit. I would stick to the meal plan that should have been outlined for you after your surgery. I am over a year out and lost 100+ pounds after my surgery w/in the first year. I did think (after talking to my dietician) that I could also try to go back on the Keto diet. I gained weight 10 lbs before I stopped that cold in its tracks and focused on my portions and eating right foods. I am almost lost the weight I gained thinking the keto diet would work for me now. I had done it before making my decision to have gastric sleeve and lost 75 lbs in a short period of time. But it came back on and then some once I stopped eating Keto.

9 High-Fat Foods That Offer Great Health Benefits: Avocados Cheese Dark chocolate Whole eggs Fatty fish Nuts Chia seeds Extra virgin olive oil

I lost the same amount (16 lbs) the first month and ended up losing 235 lbs (I've gained back a few since then). Most of us seem to lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month post-op, so you're in the right range. If you're getting your expectations from "My 600 lb Life", remember that those people start at over 600 lbs - that's way above where the average WLS patient starts from, and starting BMI is one of the factors that determines what your rate of weight loss is (other factors are age, gender, how much of your body weight is muscle, whether or not you lost a lot of weight prior to surgery, metabolism rate, other genetic factors, etc). The only two factors that play into the rate of weight loss that you have much control over are how closely you're sticking to your clinic's food plan, and how active you are. If you're doing well with those, you'll lose the weight, whether fast or slow. the other thing you may be dealing with is the "three-week stall" that most of us experience. It's not always the third week post-op - sometimes it's the second or fourth or fifth week post-op, but it's most commonly during the third week, hence the name. It's basically the first major stall after WLS. Most of us go through this. It generally lasts 1-3 weeks. I had mine during weeks 2 and 3 (so two weeks). I lost virtually nothing during this time, but once week 4 started, I dropped like 6-8 lbs within just a couple of days. so anyway, long way of saying, there's no reason to feel defeated. Sounds like everything is pretty normal...

I just had the second procedure in my bariatric revision. The procedure is called Endoscopy with Argon Plasma Coagulation. Basically they go down my esophagus to the top opening of the pouch and zap it. It causes scar tissue, which makes the opening smaller, which means my stomach can’t accept as much food. I lost 40 pounds with the first procedure, which my surgeon said was great. I think I’m going to try some of the clear liquid protein that BP sells. I also use Atkins Shakes, especially the chocolates and the mocha latte.

Hello. I'm relatively new to these forums. I had my VSG surgery on July 10th, 2023. I weighed 450lbs on my surgery date, but gained 13lbs during my two and a half days in the hospital. It was water weight because they kept the IV on non-stop pumping liquids into me without giving me my diuretic that I've been taking for nearly 10 years, Lasix(furosemide). I am at 410lbs now, a little over 5 weeks since surgery. My treatment team has a rather slow and careful recovery diet plan, starting with 1 full week of clear liquids + protein shake only, 2 weeks full liquid diet, 2 weeks pureed diet, 2 weeks of soft foods(where I am now), and then on to introducing regular foods starting the 8th week after surgery. I am extremely thankful for the surgery. I'm feeling better, and am thankful that they cut away the hunger along with 85% of my stomach. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I understand that my stomach is still healing and it is going to take months. Right now is the time to learn new good eating habits. I've been following the rules set forth from my treatment team closely. I haven't thrown up, nor have I really felt nauseous. My stomach seems to be handling everything I've been putting into it. Although at work today my stomach let me know it was not in the mood for egg salad. after 2oz of it I felt a pressure and ache in my stomach so I stopped eating. It might have been stress or I still had some liquid in my stomach. I follow the 30:30 rule, but work was hectic and I loose tract of my liquids. Its frustrating having to stop to take a sip every 10 minutes. I forget to sip more than I actually do. Thanks for reading my short little intro. I need to go back and catch up on the previous 24 pages of posts.

Back when I had surgery SADI wasn't really a thing yet so I never researched it. Of course, neither was VSG. My research lead me to ultimately choose RNY. Because of my size it was an open surgery which made early recovery very painful. I'm one of the lucky ones that dump both on sugars and fats. Back when I had surgery it was more of a 50/50 chance I would dump. I hoped I would dump so that I'd have another tool to keep me from the wrong foods. It took an amazingly few dumping episodes to learn to avoid sugars and fats. All these years later it's all just part of the joy of being me. I managed to lose my excess weight, a bit over 500 pounds, and keep it off. It's now pretty natural eating to my surgeon's program, I don't really even think about it. It's all just normal. There are success stories with virtually every type of surgery. Build good habits during the honeymoon phase and they will serve you when your surgery is but a distant memory. Good luck, Tek

honestly, there are more people who never make it all the way to their goal than there are those who lose too much, but that said, you can always increase your calories to either stop your weight loss or gain a few pounds if you think you're getting too thin. So I wouldn't worry about that at all. I lost 100% of my excess weight and yes, for a time I was "too thin", but I was also aware that a majority of us have a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain during year 3. And I did. In addition, even before the rebound gain, things (fat, I guess?) tends to re-distribute itself after a big loss, so even though I weighed the same for awhile, I started looking a lot better. My face filled out, etc - even before that gain. as far as it being hard - the first year, it wasn't too bad - esp before my hunger and appetite came back at month 5. For those first few months, for the first time in my life, I wasn't thinking about food at all the time. In fact, I didn't think about it much at all - and at times didn't even want any. Even though it was weird not to ever be hungry and to not give a flip about food, I found it very liberating! But things changed at month 5 when suddenly my hunger came back (and it does for most of us sometime during the first year). Then you're dealing with the hunger beast again, although it's not as strong as it was before surgery. But I wanted more than anything to lose this weight once and for all, so I really stuck to my program and lost it all (weight loss didn't stop until I was almost two years out, though - I had A LOT to lose!) it does get harder after the first year because diet fatigue sets in, as well as some old habits. You really, really have to watch yourself. And eight years out, I have to continue to watch myself. It's so easy to slip into old habits. But I have a "drop dead weight" limit - I weigh myself once a week now, and if I hit that limit - or come close to it - I cut back until my weight is safely within the limit again. But this really isn't any different from most of my never-been-obese friends. So many of us have to monitor our weight and to cut back when it starts getting too high. anyway, yes, it can be hard - esp when your hunger comes back and your motivation starts to wane, but unlike before, your effort actually pays off. You put in the work, and the weight comes off (or stays off). Before, the most I could ever lose is about 50 lbs (and even that was rare - most of my dieting ended up with a 10 or 20 lb loss). And inevitably, it will all come back. Happened every time. BUt this time, it worked!

I am 10-months post op, gastric bypass. How much I eat, depends on what I'm eating. If I'm eating leafy greens, I can eat quite a lot. If I'm eating a drier meat, I can't eat much. A typical salad for me would be one leaf of iceberg lettuce, 5 grape tomatoes, about 2-3 ounces of protein, and a little over a tablespoon of salad dressing. If I'm eating a burger, it will usually be one 1/4 pound patty, served with a slice of cheese and condiments, on a fajita-sized low-carb tortilla. I generally eat about 3/4 of this. My usual breakfast is 1 whole egg and two egg whites, scrambled with cheese. Sometimes I can eat the whole thing and sometimes I can't. I have hungrier days and less-hungry days. I've learned that overeating is unpleasant. If I eat too fast, food gets stuck in my chest and hurts. And that cuts my meal short, which is annoying. Do I still eat too fast? Yes - especially when I've waited too long to eat and I'm hungry. When I eat slower, the meal is more satisfying. With what I'm eating, I'm basically in maintenance mode. My weight bounces between 166 and 170. Though I haven't hit goal, Both my nutritionist and I are okay with where I'm at, right now.

I think you should just sit them down and tell them you are going to get gastric sleeve and ask them if they have any questions or concerns, also leave the conversation open so they can come to you with questions or concerns as they might think of some later. I think once you get your surgery it will become a lot easier to maintain the healthy balanced lifestyle you desire and your daughters will see your progress and cheer you on. I also think that your daughters may pick up some of your new healthy habits, for themselves and hopefully learn how to eat and maintain a healthy relationship with food. (something I wish I would have learned when I was a teen) I do not know how active you are with your kids, or if you plan on taking up new activities, but this could be a great bonding experience for you and your daughters, maybe you all be become expert divers, or hike around the state or world together if you do not already do these things. I just mean you might find something fun that makes activity easy that you guys can do together as you get healthier and healthier.

a couple of corrections and comments on bypass. Strictures only happen to about 5% of bypass patients and they're very easy to fix (I had two of them). If they happen, it'll be during the first three months after surgery. They almost never occur after that. there are no food restrictions with bypass after about the first six months. Zero. Fruit with seeds and/or skins, dry meat, etc - all fine. Those are only restricted during the first few weeks or months after surgery.

I am like you, I need to drink a LOT of water. Before surgery, it was nothing for me to drink 80 oz. or more of water every day. I'm 6 days post-op with RYGB and the most water I've been able to directly drink is 56 oz. in one day. I'm still on a liquid diet, and that's definitely helping me get more water in. From what I understand, as time goes on we are able to drink more normally than we can right after surgery. I started with a consult back in December of 2022. I'm 5'10, and always hovered around 250-260. I could focus on food and exercise and could never break 230. I also have been able to find flattering clothes and seemed to be able to "carry my weight well," like you, too. As of yesterday, I was down to 220 from my highest weight ever at 276 a few years ago. When I saw that number, I could actually imagine being below 200 for the first time in my adult life, and I got emotional. I don't wanna tell you what to do, but going in for a consult might help you make your decision. My program and insurance required me to be on a medically supervised diet for at least 6 months before surgery. And I had to prove that I could lose at least a bit of weight by tracking my food intake, taking nutrition education classes, and basically having them monitor my progress with an app on my phone. They were able to get Wegovy for me to jump start my weight loss, and I was at 224 the night before I went in for surgery. I weighed 263 when I began the program. Hope some of this helps, and I truly wish you good luck as you learn more!

The SADI and the Duodenal Switch (they are different) are the two surgeries with the highest percentage of excess weight loss, the lowest rate of regain and the best reputation for significant weight loss in people with high BMIs. You can read studies about this. That said there are plenty of people with high BMIs that go with Gastric Bypass instead and plenty of them do keep the weight off. Both surgeries have restrictive and malabsorptive components, though their malabsorption is rather different. The bypass tends to be better for people with GERD issues but has a higher risk of ulcers and strictures. The SADI-S tends to be better for people at risk of developing ulcers, for those that smoke or vape and plan on going back to it after surgery healing is complete, and for those that may need to take NSAIDS in the future. The bypass involves a modified stomach with smaller capacity (about that of an egg) while the SADI has a sleeve stomach (banana shaped) so will eat bigger portions. Both still restrict enough calories for weight loss. The SADI is pylorus sparing so the stomach still has the valve in it that keeps food in so digestion happens in a more normal way, the bypass has no pyloric valve so you have to be extra mindful to chew thoroughly as things pass through the stomach differently. Both have to supplement vitamins but do so in a different way--but they are not optional. If you stop taking the vitamins you run a high risk of nutritional deficiencies. The diets are a bit different for the two. I believe bypass patients need to be mindful of seeds, skins, and meat that is overly dry. They need to be more particular with lean protein as they don't have malabsorption of fats to the same degree a SADI patient will. There is some conflicting data that suggests fat absorption in SADI-S patients normalize in the second year post surgery so they need to be careful about not eating too much fat, but the studies are by no means conclusive at this point. SADI patients need a bit more protein than bypass patients since the SADI bypasses a larger amount of the small intestine. Dumping syndrome is more common with bypass. Diarrhea may be more common with SADI-S though I've been told most tend towards constipation like with the bypass. SADI people may have more gut issues with carb consumption but don't tend to have dumping syndrome. SADI-S is a much newer procedure and we don't know as much about it as the bypass. That doesn't mean it is bad and it isn't considered experimental by many insurances anymore, but the fact remains we still don't understand as much about it as we do the Gastric Bypass or Duodenal Switch. In the end it is very much a matter of preference and which patient profile you fit best. You have to pick the surgery that works best for you! I wish you much luck in deciding, I'm debating the sleeve vs DS myself. ETA: The SADI has a bit better chance of resolving metabolic conditions like diabetes and other co-morbidities. Though the bypass does a good job of resolving those too compared to the sleeve!

I don't know what determines this, but I never had any leak tests done. I was drinking fluids by morning and was brought 3 different trays of food in a 4/5 hour window just before discharge.

I was wondering what your portion sizes look like if you’re 6 months or longer out of surgery. Are you able to go to dinner with friends? How is your life affected by food now?

Hi there! Tomorrow I’m five weeks post op, and after an initial loss of 9kgs two weeks after the surgery, my weight loss became very slow. I worried too, but I spoke with my nutritionalist and my Dr & they both assured me that it was normal. I’m not a Dr, but I think it’s important to get your stomach used to foods at the rate you’re being advised on. I know the urge is to get to the weight loss NOW, but there’s more at stake here at this point. I urge you to just do exactly what your health care team have advised. It’s important for your body to acclimatise to foods again. You WILL lose weight, but don’t risk any complications by rushing. Apparently, it’s preferable to lose it more slowly rather than fast, for many reasons. I found it helpful to only weigh myself weekly, and to concentrate on walking and making the yummiest possible tablespoons of mush I possibly could! Get wild! 😉

At less than a month I wouldn't be forcing anything. Hydration is way more important at this point than trying to meet protein goals. You have plenty of time for that when food isn't such an aversion for you.

Hello everyone. I am new here. I got my surgery on 7/24/2023 in Seoul, South Korea. I've been living in Korea for around 4 years now and decided to take the jump. Got my consultation on 6/13 and then did my pre-op tests on 7/1! It's been around 3 weeks post-op, and I'm currently on the pureed phase of the diet. However, my weight is already stalling at 91-92kg 😰 Question is, should I go back to my first week post-op diet or try to keep going with the current diet?

Glad to know I’m not the only one. I’ve been forcing myself to eat my protein instead of drinking it. Hasn’t been the greatest. Struggling to get enough hydration because of the food. But im working on it. And I will improve. I believe in myself 💪🏾

I love these ideas everyone. Thanks for the input. I got a new list of food to try for week 4 along with foods to avoid. Spinach is a go. But no fruit with seeds or skin. I will look into a good juicer but it may be more cost efficient for me to buy it organic no sugar at this time and just add a creamy or clear protein. I will update everyone soon.