Search the Community

This is more of what I was looking for when I posted my question. I was, in no way, judging anyone for what they do and don't like. Personally, I couldn't get past the taste or smell of alcohol enough to get to the point where I liked it enough to do it everyday, or even every once in a while. What I was more curious about was if it was that way for others of if they liked it right from the beginning. I know some people in my everyday life that hate the taste but drink it for the effects it gives, and that's more important to them than how it actually tastes. I know some who actually like the taste. And some who don't care either way but drink it in social settings more to fit in than anything else. So I was wondering how those on here that refuse to give it up (or even those that have no real opinion on it but still drink just because) got there. Do they have an addiction to it? Do they just enjoy the taste? Do they not care either way? I always wonder the same thing about cigarettes. I hate the taste and smell, the idea that if I smoke, others could breathe in the 2nd hand smoke and it could hurt them, how it makes clothes/skin/cars/furniture/breath smell, etc... My mom smoked like a chimney and I never understood it. I'm not judging anyone who smokes, either. I literally just don't understand it. I have an addiction to food, and I don't know why I turned something that I had a normal relationship with into an addiction that was slowly killing me. I don't know why it took having a major surgery to help me get back in control and on track. But I know food tastes good. Food smells good. There are exceptions, of course, but it's easy to find the good stuff. Since I've never thought of drugs, alcohol, or smoking as the good stuff, I'm always curious how anyone gets started on it to begin with. I know I can't go back to eating the way I did, or refusing to change the way I did things, or else I'll be right back to where I started. But why it took a surgery to get me here? I honestly don't know. I've been on here long enough that people should know I don't have ill intentions when I ask a question. I have a genuine curiosity, and the only way people learn, is to ask.

Wow. Every cell in my body is telling me that this new regime is so wrong. I have no idea why anyone would want you on such a low calorie diet. It seems to me she wants you to diet the weight off rather than have the surgery. Did you ask why ? You are on the lower weight for the surgery. Loose much more and you may be too low to meet the criteria. My maintenance diet has me on 1500 calories and I don't exercise. If I worked and exercised as I did in my younger days, I would be on about 2200 - 2500 cals a day. You need to be fit and healthy for your surgery. Such a low calorie diet is too restrictive. Why is the diet not more future proofed, for learning new habits, like less carbonation, less sugar and less carbs. These seem to be the goals that are set by others who have to do a pre op diet rather than a pre op liver shrink diet. I hope others will wade in and help you here because to me its madness

Your plan should list the foods you are able to eat & those you need to avoid at each stage. It should also say how long you stay on each stage. If it doesn’t, contact your team & ask for more specific information. Your tummy lets you know pretty quickly if you’re not ready. It may be discomfort on eating, a feeling of heaviness, you may regurgitate what you’ve eaten. It’s a lot of trial & error honestly. For example, most plans tend to advise 2 weeks on each stage. Some people stay a little longer on a stage or go back a stage simply because we heal differently & their tummy just isn’t ready for the foods (texture & density) on the next stage. Some foods are on the avoid list because they can be hard to digest by your healing tummy (bread, pasta, rice, seeds, fruit & vegetable skins, etc.). Other foods are off the list because of their nutrient content & calories (many plans are no starchy vegetables for e.g..). There may be foods on your list your tummy can’t tolerate (chicken breast, eggs often are a struggle few a while). Your tummy can be fussy while healing & the temporary change to our taste buds &/or sense of smell can make foods extra sweet, extra salty or just plain disgusting. Textures can be off putting too at this time. Many of us ate the same meals or rotated through a small selection especially in the first couple of months. One because we eat such small portions there’s lots of left overs. Two, because our fussy tummy & you can’t tolerate a wide variety of foods. Three it means you don’t have to think to much about food & what your going to eat & you know how much protein & other nutrients you’re getting with each meal. I still eat a lot to routine & often have the same meals & I’m almost 5 years out. It’s not that I can’t eat a variety of foods it’s just easier sometimes (or maybe I’m lazy LOL!). I struggled in purées to find foods that tasted good because the taste or texture was awful. Thank goodness for runny scrambled eggs, milky rolled oats, yoghurt & soups. In soft foods I ate a lot of minced meat dishes - savoury mince, meatballs (rissoles in Australia), bolognese (no pasta), etc., slow cooked stews, thick meat & vegetable soups, omelettes. Try some savoury egg muffins (add cheese, mushrooms, onions & other pre cooked vegetables you like) & a lot of people swear by ricotta bake (someone will have a recipe they’ll happily share).

When I first had my sleeve surgery, I was losing pretty rapidly. BUT, I had a LOT to loose. If you look in my signature, you can see my stats. The bigger you are, the faster the weight comes off. It also depends on what you eat, how often you eat, and how you move your body. The more you work out, the more calories you need. The less you work out, the less you need. If your body thinks it's starving, it'll hold on to every single bit of fat, every calorie, to protect you from starving to death. Maybe think about walking more, swimming, not so much heavy work outs. Lower your calories (try going back to your post surgery calorie amounts of 1000 - 1300). Look at your sugar, salt, carb, and fat intake and start adjusting/lowering it. Are you getting enough protein? That should be key in all this. And hit your fluid intake. Minimum of 64oz per day. For now, limit your alcohol and soda intake, if you drink either of those. Kind of do a reset on your body AND mind and get yourself use to doing things the post surgery way again.

Numbers 1, 5, 6, and 7 are literally my life now!!! The weakness is driving me crazy, not gonna lie. I absolutely HATE it. Not to mention, I'm down to a size 6 ring, but it's actually loose on me and spins around (drives me NUTS) but I can't go any smaller because I can't fit a 5 or 5 1/2 over my knuckles!!! And the loose skin actually stops me from going lower in clothing sizes. I'm in an XL right now, but I could be in a L if I didn't have so so so much loose skin. I was in a size 28/30 (4x/5x), so my clothes fit and feel a little weird.

I feel this in my soul right now. I was a DD bra size and I had booty for daysssssss. Now, well, I can fill a B cup with all my loose boob skin. That's pretty much it. I'll do a C cup if it's a sports bra mostly to make myself feel better, but yeah. And my butt? Yeah, we don't know her anymore. She just up and left. If I wear leggings, I look ridiculous. If I wear jeans, they sag unless I wear skinny jeans. Then they look alright but are tight everywhere else. The struggle is real, that's for sure...

aaaahhhh ok... put this way, i'll have to say i did notice some unexpected body composition changes in the year immediately following rapid weight loss: - went from looking deathly skeletor-ish (gaunt and drawn and frail looking) to pretty healthy looking despite weighing less now than those skeleton days. - my hair is actually thicker and "healthier" and even slightly curlier than even before surgery (which was a very welcome surprise after all that hair loss from months 4-6 post op omg) - i don't get pimples anymore. like ever. - those weird dark little bumps on my upper arms are gone. - when i do any sort of sustained exercise it's immediately noticeable. for instance if i do like 30 situps or 60 bicep curls i look shredded right after. no joke. - my dentist says my gums have receeded faster than expected since the weight loss (dunno if this is related or a coincidence??) - despite probably being the most "fit" i have ever been since my 20's, i still feel unbelievably weak compared to my heaviest days. i swear i can't open jars anymore nor can i carry multiple bags or groceries at once like i used to. - i used to be bottom heavy (hips/butt was my widest part) now i am top heavy (shoulders/back are my widest part). - i no longer have armpit hair ...but this is likely due to my arm lift? so i never have to shave there...which has the side benefit of the skin lightening up in that area...no more dark armpits for me! yay! - i have no ass. like zero. looking at me directly from behind is semi-normal looking, but from a side view, its a straight line from the base of my neck to my knees. - the hump on the back of my neck is gone - not sure if this is related to my overall weakness, or because i just do wat more stuff now, or im just getting old, or a combination of it all, but i get injured ALOT. multiple sprains, torn ligaments, torn muscles, pinched nerves, tendonitis like everywhere, abdominal hernia, bruised ribs, carpel tunnel, ingrown toenails, omg. ive had more doctors/physio appts in the last 5 years than i've had in my entire life. times 2. ok...this post is getting too long. gonna stop now lol

I should have said immediately after losing a lot of excess weight vs when your weight settles. I think immediately post WLS my skin was thinner (in certain areas) but over time it feels thicker again.

I’m not counting macros calories or even protein - I just know I’m eating not a lot - even if I’m having to eat out for every meal I’m trying to make good choices and eat protein first - I think I’m way way off 100g of protein a day though! My doctors did say not to stress the protein too too much though and aim for about 80g most days. I’ll be back in Paris to weigh myself for my 2 month surgerversary but haven’t been able to weigh myself since last Wednesday which was 6.5 weeks post surgery - I’d lost 12.5kg which is 27.5lbs - I’m happy enough with that as I had a lower starting weight. I have another 20 pounds to loose to hit a healthy BMI but I know things will slow down weigh loss wise fast for me and I’d like to loose another 44lbs total to be back at my pre Covid happy/non near constant leg pain weight. it’s hard not having access to scales here and not being able to walk as much as I’d like because Cairo at night isn’t the safest place for solo female walks at night and I’m basically screwed to a chair in a conference center from 9-5 and night falls here at 6.15pm !

Thank you for the great information- I did get to consult with dr before— and got the v-shape as that was what dr preferred as well. I had 4lbs of skin removed from my stomach, and they lipo scuplted arms, waist and back to get the 2lbs of fat to use for the tiny bbl they were able to complete. I am 3 weeks out (as of Wednesday April 10) and am very pleased with the results so far. The back side is not super dramatic, which I am happy about. Surgery went well, although i did have to have an iron treatment because my hemoglobin dropped 4 points ..but after that i felt great. Instead of general they used an epidural and exparel- so I didn't need any major pain meds after. Just had a headache for a couple of days, so Tylenol was solution. Staying in a recovery house for a week was THE best decision for me to not push it and to make sure i could recover well— at home I’d have been doing things when i should have been resting. No real pain to speak of from anything- sore and tight might describe it best—but that eased up at the end of the week. I admittedly have a high pain tolerance, and after previous breast reduction and hysterectomy knew some of what to expect. Now, Im just working from home and living a fairly normal life. Driving, walking, etc with ease. In a few weeks, I will be cleared to start exercising- which I have never done— so slow and steady will be course of action. Ill post some pics when things settle and i don't look too Frankenstein like. Thank you all for the kind words and support! Plastics is a game changer!

Good afternoon all! I just was thinking of all the surprises I've experienced since WLS...and I wanted to ask others what's surprised them about their weight loss/surgery journey that they weren't told by their bariatric team?! I'll go first: 1. All the aches and pains in my hips and butt. My butt hurts now when I sit since I'm missing my butt padding! Also, since losing weight my posture and gait have changed so now I'm in PT for hip abductor pain. 2. The ever increasing and changing locations of skin irritation. The skin now droops in places I wasn't told to expect and I get red irritation under my butt creases from over lap - sorry for the unpleasant visual! 3. I've shrunk..so driving I now need extra padding to be at my former "sitting height" I feel like a kid driving my parents car now. 4. I've had to buy new glasses, mine were stretched out from digging into my fat head 😋 and now they keep falling off when I look down. 5. I've had to buy new shoes, all my old shoes no longer fit. They just flop around. I was expecting new clothing..not shoes. 6. I feel more clumsy and weak despite working out. My manual dexterity is horrible now. 7. I still feel hunger 😔 These are just a few of the changes I've experienced that my bariatric team never mentioned. Do you have any to add that can take the surprise out of it for people just starting their WLS journey?! I eagerly await your responses!

Good afternoon all! I just was thinking of all the surprises I've experienced since WLS...and I wanted to ask others what's surprised them about their weight loss/surgery journey that they weren't told by their bariatric team?! I'll go first: 1. All the aches and pains in my hips and butt. My butt hurts now when I sit since I'm missing my butt padding! Also, since losing weight my posture and gait have changed so now I'm in PT for hip abductor pain. 2. The ever increasing and changing locations of skin irritation. The skin now droops in places I wasn't told to expect and I get red irritation under my butt creases from over lap - sorry for the unpleasant visual! 3. I've shrunk..so driving I now need extra padding to be at my former "sitting height" I feel like a kid driving my parents car now. 4. I've had to buy new glasses, mine were stretched out from digging into my fat head 😋 and now they keep falling off when I look down. 5. I've had to buy new shoes, all my old shoes no longer fit. They just flop around. I was expecting new clothing..not shoes. 6. I feel more clumsy and weak despite working out. My manual dexterity is horrible now. 7. I still feel hunger 😔 These are just a few of the changes I've experienced that my bariatric team never mentioned. Do you have any to add that can take the surprise out of it for people just starting their WLS journey?! I eagerly await your responses!

hello im 23 years old and all my life ive been battling my weight it was always fluctuating. Started at 280 and now I’m down to 180 I’m 5’8 and im definitely noticing muscle definition and loose skin is bouncing back. But as of lately ive been feeling super depressed and my recent breakup was what set it off. Just recently started going out with friends and having to eat small portion completely ruins it for me i wish i can cram in just a little more to enjoy food with friends. I feel like its a chore now to make sure im hitting my daily macros and im starting to have regrets. I feel good in my own body but i feel like i could’ve done this without surgery with the love i grew for the gym. I go 3-4 times a week with a split. Is there anyway to combat this depression and regret i have i just wish i can eat a little more to socialize and im scared of losing more weight

Did you go with a company/ nhs hospital in the UK ? I am surprised to hear you are getting no help if that's the case. If your surgery was abroad then you need to tell them if they don't respond to your questions then you will be leaving them a truthful bad review. People are really searching these sites for honest feedback and will take note of yours. If its a UK company you need to email the hospital director and ask why you are getting no help. No one can do this without the help of a team, its a huge change for all of us to master, both body and mind. I am maintaining now on 1500 calories a day which I log every meal. I lost weight on anything around 1200 - 1400 calories a day building in 60 grams of protein a day. To loose now you may struggle because your hunger is back. I would imagine that it will be hard to go back to protein and vegetables when you are hungry, leaving the filling carbs off your plate. Keep us posted, you are not alone.

Congratulations! Its always nice to see hard work that pays off. Good luck on your skin removal surgery! I'm hoping one day to do the same if I can afford it, although my doctor has already started a paper trail to help (she had WLS so understands)!

Hi @Beljer72 How are you getting along? I had mine 10 days before you. I'm generally fine but have very dry skin, am still quite tired and have had horrible cystitis for the past few days ...

I brought too much. My hospital didn't inventory belongings so nobody complained, but with the post-op fatigue and pain meds, I didn't touch either of my 2 books or tablet. I brought a shawl I didn't need. Go as basic as you can, is my rec. Chapstick will feel like a life saver. My hospital had me bring all my meds just in case they didn't have it, but they ended up supplying everything. Wear loose, comfy clothing there and plan to just wear the same clothes going back. Slip on shoes. Hairbrush or hat, toothbrush and toothpaste. Phone charger and power bank / long charger cord. Ear plugs and or sleep mask if you're a sensitive sleeper -- but I found the painkillers helped me sleep through basically everything lol. I had no energy and no attention span.

You will be wearing a hospital gown and given non-slip socks, so all you really need is to wear something to the hospital that is comfy with a stretchy or loose waist you can wear home, and bring clean undies and socks. Also bring a toothbrush, travel toothpaste, hair brush, deodorant, chapstick, and lotion. Don't bring meds or fluids as they will need to administer those to you and record them in your chart. But check on this because if you are taking something unusual, they may want you to bring it. In my case, they just gave me my daily thyroid medication from the hospital pharmacy. Bring your phone and charger and a book, maybe headphones if you'd rather listen to music. Hospitals are kinda gross, so the less you bring, the better. I had an incident where my IV came unattached and I ended up with watered down blood everywhere, which would have ruined any pillows or blankets from home. Oh, I brought a small pillow for the car ride home that is made for abdominal surgery (search Amazon for hysterectomy pillows) and can velcro to your seatbelt for extra comfort for your incisions. It was nice but not 100% necessary. For home, I had a weighted heating pad that I loved for sleeping. You will also want a bottle of liquid adult strength Tylenol at home for pain.

Good Evening All! I am almost 3 years postop from my Duodenal Switch w/ Biliopancreatic Diversion. It has been a long 3 years but it has been worth all of the effort I have put into this. I recently had to have emergency surgery to fix a wall hernia/bowel obstruction and something with my mesentery. I am scheduled for my excess skin removal on July 8th 2024. I am excited and I am proud of myself for all of this hard work. Its not easy with this surgery and anyone who has gone through it or is about to, remember one day at a time and YOU CAN DO THIS!!

I agree check with your team regarding if you can count it towards your protein goal. Generally it’s no because it doesn’t contain all the necessary amino acids though I believe there are some brands that add these additional amino acids. If you’re just taking it for general skin & hair health it won’t hurt. It won’t stop any of the hair loss though. That hair was going to fall out anyway as part of your natural hair shedding cycle. It’s just accelerated as a result of the surgery, anaesthesia & weight loss. Some people swear by taking supplements to stop the loss but they usually say it stopped after about 4+/- months exactly the same time frame as those who take nothing so … I took a collagen & silica supplement (powder) for a few months towards the end of my first year. Honestly, I can’t say if it did or didn’t do anything. Don’t know whether the quality of my skin & hair was a result of the collagen or just my weight stabilising & eating nutritious foods.

For the first 3 months after surgery, I used Nature's Bounty Hair, skin, and nails gummies w/ collagen & biotin. It's somewhere between $9-$11 at Walmart. I took 2 in the morning and 2 at night. After the 3 month mark, when I was making homemade smoothies, greens drinks and sometimes protein shakes, I started using Codeage multi collagen peptides platinum powder that I would mix into my drinks. It has collagen, biotin, hyaluronic acid, keratin, vitamin c, niacin, and vitamin B6. It's $35 and you get it online at Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc... This one is my absolute FAVORITE. It's completely flavorless, very fine and not grainy at all. I also use the digestive enzymes w/ pre and pro biotics supplements from Codeage, as well.

I'm so glad you tried the muffins and liked them!! I really enjoyed mine, they kept well in the fridge and warmed up really well with a quick zap in the microwave. Regarding the nutritional needs of a SADI patient. We don't really know, honestly. The SADI is too new to have some of the longer term studies that have been done on the sleeve, bypass, and DS. But it is commonly thought by most surgeons that the dietary needs of a SADI are more than with the bypass because SADI patients are thought to malabsorb more than a bypass patient. And their needs are most likely a little less than a traditional DS. That said, I attended nutrition classes with all the different surgeries in one group, so we had to learn everybody's requirements!! Most good surgeons recommend that SADI patients follow the dietary requirements of a DS patient to be on the safe side. That means 80-120 grams of protein, less than 50 TOTAL carbs while in the active weight loss phase (the dietician said "net carbs" is not an official measurement, but if you want to follow net carbs you'd need to keep under 30 net carbs since they get counted differently, most DS patients introduce a bit more complex carbs into their diets once they reach maintenance weight) and the fat grams recommended by the ASMBS is 60 grams of fat by 1 year post op. However, SADI and DS patients malabsorb a good amount of fat, so veterans of the surgeries will tell you that you need more fat than that. I seem to feel best around 80-100 grams of fat a day, but there are veterans of the DS surgeries that eat closer to 150 grams, or whatever alleviates their constipation and eases their symptoms of low fat like dry eyes and dry skin. According to most studies, a DS patient only absorbs about 20-30% of the fat they consume, around 60% of the protein they consume, 60-80% of the complex carbs, and every single calorie of simple carbs!! That's why simple carbs are so important to restrict post surgery (besides the digestive drama), you can eat your way around any surgery with simple carbs... And this is why counting calories is pretty useless for DS and SADI patients. We don't yet know exactly what the percentage of absorptions is for SADI patients as they haven't done a breakdown study (as far as I know) but it is safe to assume SADI patients absorb a little more fat and protein than a traditional DS patient would. The best way to find your own perfect macros post surgery IMO is to aim for 80-120 grams of protein and then watch your protein labs. They will tell you if you need more protein or if you can back off a little. And for me at least, I find my skin, hair and eyes are highly sensitive to when I have too little fat in my diet.

I've slowed down, finally. I averaged about 9-10lbs a month right from the start. I would stalled for 3 or 4 days, loose a pound a day for several days, then stall again. That was pretty much the whole 10.5 months and 126lbs. I did lose 15lbs during the pre-op diet that I'm including in this.

Before 262 lbs size 18 After 136 lbs size 2 I haven't had any plastic surgery done. There is some saggy skin and my breasts are.. well, ladies you know. But otherwise, I am 150% happy with the results I am so thankful for the opportunity to have had this procedure. It has completely changed my life! The various photos in the mirror 😂

Hi @Holly W How are you feeling today ? @NickelChip No pain is good at least ... how are you holding up with being back on liquids? @RonHall908 So I'm might be betraying a secret of worldwide womanhood here but I think you'll find that most women use lotion all the time, everywhere... I certainly do am using Cerave as usual but my skin is scaly! I think @NickelChip might be right... maybe it's the lack of fat ...