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Hello, 3 weeks out R N Y gastric bypass and still having abdominal pain/cramping/bloating….. Anyone else???

Hi all! New to the forum and this site. So, I just had roux en y gastric bypass on Monday, and I'm feeling a bit lost, scared, and anxious. I'm so worried I'll never be able to enjoy some of my favorite foods again. I guess I didn't realize that gastric bypass was so restrictive. My Dr recommend it because I have trouble with heartburn and said this would be a good option. I guess I'm just looking for encouragement - if I know I can have some of my favorite foods at some point down the road, I'd feel a lot better, but everything I look up seems like I can never eat again. Do any of you have experience eating any of the following foods sparingly, or are they gone from my life forever? Tacos, mac and cheese, ice cream, chips and queso or guac, falafel, pad thai? Please know I am aware these are not healthful food choices and my love for these foods got me to where I am today, but can I ever eat them again in any capacity? Thanks for your kindness to this emotionally struggling newbie. I'm scared I made the wrong choice and just reaching out to the void for people who have experienced these panicky feelings. Thanks!

I'm currently 4 weeks post-op and have been having a hard time. I can't get my liquids or protien in. I went to the doctor last week and they had me get IV fluids to help out. I just feel nauseous all the time. I am taking zofran to help with that. I feel like things are never going to get better. Any advice or just some reassurance would be great.

Anyone else told their stall was probably caused by not eating enough calories I am 6 months out from bypass and eat about 700 calories a day. Have been in a stall for 3 weeks. My surgeon said I needed to start eating more not sure how I can barely eat what I do now

Has anyone experienced weight gain three weeks post op? To preface, I do have hypothyroidism and PCOS. I was down to 227 and I’ve been 230 for a week now. And the scale has not budged 😅 even after introducing more movement this week. I’m hitting all my protein and liquid goals as well. I’m intaking about 600-1000 calories a day. Has anyone else experienced this and does it get better?

Hey! Stalls are really common, and I think around this point in the post-op journey it does seem to hit! My weight loss has stopped at the moment, but my surgeon did say to me that a stall is only really considered a stall when you have been stuck at the same weight for around 6-8 weeks! just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing, eating well, keeping hydrated and getting some form of exercise in and hopefully it'll break soon ❤️

I echo all the above. Patience, you won't loose every week. You will stall a lot. Use the knowledge on this site. Ask anything and someone will have had that issue. Chapstick, laxatives and Biotin. Lack of liquids does terrible things to our bodies. Dry lips are bad. Waking with a dry mouth is scary. Going over a week without pooping is hurty.

Hi all! I’m entering my 2nd week after gastric bypass and generally feeling pretty good (knock on wood!). The only thing I’m really missing— like, making me sad, missing— is coffee. I keep trying decaf but I can’t do the taste and all I want is a sugar free pumpkin cold brew cold foam. So my question is… how bad would it be to get one? I know I could only do maybe 3 or 4 sips of it but man, I want it. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks in advance!

Well just shy of the year mark. How is everyone doing? I lost 50 and stalled. I have 40 left to lose. I may go back to liquids for a week but i cant get motivated to drink a shake!

Both are very important to your general health. Vitamins because you’re not able to consume enough of a variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs to function effectively. Protein should be your focus not only now but forever. It can be a challenge to reach your protein goal every day especially in the first couple of months after surgery when your portions are so small. But work at being at least close to your goal and that your general trend is you’re consuming more and getting closer to the goal. We usually say eat your protein first then any vegetables you are able to and lastly any allowed complex carbs but only if you are able to eat more. This often means a meal is solely protein and nothing else. Protein is very important to your wellbeing and if you’re not consuming enough your body will take it from any it can i.e. your muscles. Not taking your vitamins or meeting your protein (or any other goals you are given) will have a negative impact on your health. The regular blood tests your surgeon & team will request are to ensure you’re not deficient in any nutrient. (5.75yrs out I still have regular blood tests - was 3 monthly until year 4 & every 6 months now.) You are likely experiencing a stall. Stalls are very common with the first one (yes, first one) almost all of us experience occurring around the three week mark though it can be earlier or later than that. @catwoman7 would tell you, there are literally 10s of 1000s of posts here about the infamous three week stall. A stall usually lasts 1-3weeks though some experience longer stalls. Frustrating yrs but they happen for a reason. A stall occurs when your body shuts down to reassess your current needs in response to your weight loss, smaller calorie intake and this first one the stress of your surgery & recovery. You will start to lose weight again when your body is ready to move forward again. Stick to your plan & meet your nutritional goals as closely as you can so you’re not & stressing your body more than it already is experiencing.

It’s been a strange kind of week. I haven’t gone wildly off plan but I have definitely struggled with focus. Nothing has gone wrong, I’m not upset about anything or fed up. I just think that having the dietitian appointment and everything going OK with that sort of had me taking my foot off the accelerator a little. Then the shock of getting my appointment with the surgeon has played with my head somewhat? “I honestly don’t know” is the answer right now. I think, as others have pointed out, that this whole WLS journey became very real this week and there’s a bit of panic going on. Me and hubby have had lots of conversations this week too, about how the future may look what with the LRD to come, immediate post-surgery things to deal with and then long term. Hubby admitted that he knows he’s going to find how little I will be able to eat a struggle but takes comfort in the fact that others have done, and continue to do, the exact same thing and survive plus the Bariatric team at our hospital seem really switched on so he knows I’m in good hands. It’s a learning curve for him too, with more lessons to come! Thankfully the hospital team does welcome questions from family members because they know it can be difficult for them too. I’m not worried about anything specific, just more a case of the practicalities of things. I always do better when I have planned things, even if it’s just in my head, because it’s feeling like I have some control! I’ve ordered a mini food processor to hel with the purée part of the journey to come, so that should be here by the end of the week. Hubby has been looking at different sized ice cube trays for freezing individual portions of purée plus looking at recipes etc. I think he feels a bit ‘in limbo’ at the moment, which I do understand. Anyway, went to see Fatboy Slim on Saturday. I felt good in what I was wearing: Size smaller sparkly black jeans (with lots of stretch, obviously 😉) It was a nice confidence boost anyway! However, the gig was outside and it was freezing cold - that a UK summer for you 🙄 I had a blanket plus a wrap but it got too cold and my hips and knees just had enough, especially with being locked in one position while sitting on the scooter. We left before the end because I honestly couldn’t handle the cold anymore. Disappointing, yes but it happens. On the drive home the heavens opened and it rained so I didn’t feel too bad after that. It took me ages to get warm though. Had a hot shower, extra blanket on the bed, plus pyjamas but I couldn’t warm up. Hubby eventually made me a hot water bottle and I managed to slowly thaw out. We’ve said no more outdoor things for now, especially as the weather is so unpredictable here. Nothing else to report. I will knuckle back down and re-focus. I’ve had a weekend of pizza and alcohol so that’s my wander off-plan done with! Oh, my new weighing scales are in agreement with the dietitian’s scales, which surprised me! The dietitian suggested that I took a photo of her printout from when she had weighed me. I have no idea what everything means but she did underline a couple of things like the visceral fat number, metabolic age etc etc and my new scales match those numbers exactly 😮 So thank you @FifiLux for your suggestion 🥰 I just need to make sure that the weight numbers on the new, shiny scales start reducing again… Wishing everyone a successful, happy week regardless of where you are on your weight loss journey 😎 Onwards and downwards everybody!

Weight loss calmed down this week - 1.5lbs. No complaints though after the losses of the week before 🙂 Feeling tired today. Visited family yesterday, 6 hours all together sat in a van and my knees are so unhappy with me. It was our first time to our son’s new home which is a longer drive than his previous place. Will try and be better prepared next time. At least we spent time with the grandkids, which is always wonderful. A NSV yesterday…I bought some (non-stretchy) 3/4 cropped jeans a couple of years ago for £5, telling my daughter-in-law that I would fit in to them eventually. I broke them out yesterday, took the tags off and they fit perfectly!! 🥳🥳 The only downside was that it was far too hot for denim but the point was made 🙃 However DIL recognised them yesterday and was really pleased for me. Hubby has been a bit weird lately. Don’t get me wrong, still as massively supportive as ever but the ‘you will probably leave me when you lose weight’ comments have popped out more than a couple of times. Why do blokes always use this?? I did remind him that I didn’t leave him when I lost weight previously so why would I now? Do they think we’re only with them because we’re too fat to bother looking elsewhere? Jeez, I haven’t got the energy for anyone new, never mind all the stuff you generally do at the beginning of a relationship like shaving my legs or wearing matching underwear 🙄 Anyway, physio for knees tomorrow and Bariatric support group at the hospital on Wednesday. Have remembered to dig out my food diary to complete this week, ready for the dietitians appointment next week. Have a slimmer week everyone, we deserve it 🥰 Onwards and downwards!

I am 5 weeks and was just curious to what other type of foods we can eat besides what’s on the booklet…. I been craving chicken soup so bad but was told I can’t have the noodles yet just the broth…. I’ve seen other blend it but don’t want to do something that will harm me… any suggestions

Just had revision to bypass due to stalling for a year and losing 8.5st but still not near target so wanted the bypass to finish my journey, lost 23lb so far and had the bypass 3 weeks ago, no hunger and can get all fluids in with no problem at all

So we are at the middle of the week - how are we all doing? What is something that has gone well so far/or something that you are looking forward to? Anything you'd like to learn from/improve on? My week has been okay so far! I have a driving lesson and then I am getting my hair cut, which I am in desperate need of as my fringe is in my eyes 🤦‍♂️ I am trying to increase the amount I am eating, which is proving difficult, but I'll get there! I also start with a personal trainer tomorrow which I am excited about!

One thing my doctor told me too when I inquired about a similar issue (tho for me it didnt stall until 3 weeks out), was that pre-surgery there was that very intense liver shrinking diet. A few weeks after surgery, the liver will start to build back up to a more normal size, which can cause a slight weight increase or stall. There are many other factors to the stalls, but this was just one aspect I had never considered. It all seems pretty normal! I'm at 7 weeks post surgery now, and down a full pants size, but actual weight loss since date of surgery is only about 17 lbs. I'm so happy I made this change in my life. This is going to be the best year ever!!

Yes all of the above. I still calorie count everything, every day. I log it religiously. I weigh myself every day. I am super scared of repeating my past mistakes. My first stall was scary. The second, well it was still a fright. By the third, I was quite used to them. Further along, I had a three month stall and everyone said I was done but I was no where near my goal so kept doing the same good things. It broke in its own good time and I chugged down a few more stones. In the end I chose my goal weight and with help from my team, upped my calories. That was a scary trip for me. I had to relax a bit. That was tough because I will not go back to being over 199lbs. Like you say, you have lost so much weight already. A lot more than 90% of us have, at six weeks. Your body needs to recentre itself. You will have to have faith and stick with the plan. We are all proof that this does work. Just take our word for it for now. Wait it out. x

Hi All...having some strange post surgery happenings and wondering what is normal. Let me first say that I do walk pretty briskly for an hour 5 days per week and I also swim laps 5 times per week for an hour. So, I am getting A LOT of quality movement on top of general stretching, etc. I am about 9 weeks post op for VSG and everything is SORE. My knees are killing me, my back, my legs, my arms..you get my point. Weeks 4-6 I was insanely tired and that has gotten better but now I have this new problem. I don't know if it's just because I'm existing in this calorie deficit or what. (?) I'm at about 900 calories per day and have been told to keep it there until I hit goal. I am getting about 80 grams of protein per day. I am very good about taking my vitamins. On top of the multi-vitamin, I take calcium, magnesium, tryptophan (for sleep), stool softener, ursodiol (gall bladder). Where I am not doing quite as well is water. Some days I am good with water, but I'd say about 50-60 oz of water might be my usual intake. I have a job where I drive a lot and I am not near a bathroom, so that's a problem I have to be careful about. There is still room for improvement there and I acknowledge it. I am working on it! Is this achy/sore feeling normal? Has anyone else encountered this? I'm not against asking my surgeon's office, but they have not been overly helpful with my questions in the past. It feels like I get dismissed by them and that has been very frustrating. I keep getting told "well you're not our normal patient" and then I feel like I am left to figure this all out on my own. It's lonely and frustrating. I'd like to do something to not be so sore, but this has been going on for about two weeks. Any thoughts?

I've had a very up-and-down sort of week, mentally/emotionally (and weight-wise too, I guess). It started in that I'd finally gotten out of a stall, and everything stayed good for 10 days or so? And then a week with absolutely no weightloss. On the back of a stall, it just crushed my spirit. I said fine, by next week it'll be better, stay off the scale... and instead I hopped back on 2 days later to a 1.4lb gain. I think I went into a sort of zombie-state. I was still doing what I needed to (work-wise, diet-wise, exercise-wise) but it was like some kind of emotional shock: I was functioning but apathetic about pretty much everything. My brain and heart just couldn't take it, and shut down. Then the physical side. I'm sure it will surprise nobody here, but when you're behaving kind of like an automaton you don't pay enough attention to things like time, or specifically eating slowly. Cue the foamies and vomitting. I think four times in the past week. Luckily, most of the time I caught it early enough to prevent anything too intense, but yeah. I'd thought I was smart enough / experienced enough at this point to learn from my mistakes, but that one I just kept making. Afterwards, the lingering nausea kept me from eating enough -- so the protein goals were not met for five days in a row. (Until I found Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Pudding which turned things around so I was exceeding my goals) I'm doing better-ish, now? I still feel mildly dissociated, but the past couple days it's been like... life & energy slowly returning and my mood improving. The universe waited for me to be in a better mental place, and all of a sudden knocked 4 lbs off the scale this morning. Sunday, I had a great NSV that I didn't feel hit me until today -- I'm wearing a 1X for the first time in over a decade. (Top and bottom, which is another NSV because ever since my late 20s, my bottom has always required me to go one size up from whatever shirt size I was wearing) But even this NSV, I'm able to acknowledge it and told a couple people about it because I knew they'd be happy for me, but it still just all feels pretty superficial. I only seem to be able to get excited and enthused about other peoples' good news, lol.

Hi all. I am six weeks post-op from VSG and met with my doctor's team today. I have lost 22 pounds since surgery, which the team is very happy with. There was no concern about my progress at all and they said due to my weight on surgery date being 231, that I should put my expectations at 170 for my final maintenance goal. I was asked the usual questions and asked if I am hungry between meals and I said yes. I am finding myself hungry about 2.5 hours after (some) meals. When I said I was getting hungry, I was told it was gastritis, not hunger. I said "do they feel the same?" because it sure feels like hunger to me. It's my stomach making noises, and feeling hungry in my actual stomach. It's not head-hunger because I KNOW what that is. I do understand that eating can get rid of gastritis discomfort just like it can obviously make you feel like you are no longer hungry. I do acknowledge that it's possible this is gastritis, but wondering if it really is. (?) Per my doctor's orders: My current meals are 1 oz protein and 2 tbsp veg or fruit for 3 meals per day. Absolutely No Snacks are allowed. Today I was told I can move down to just one protein shake per day. Up until today, the only "snacks" that I was permitted were protein shakes. I am trying to follow the rules here, but got home and I feel so confused and even though I asked questions in the office, I have all kinds of things swirling in my head. I want to be successful, but feeling a little lost here. I know everyone's program is a little different, but wondering about the following: 1. How the heck do we know this is gastritis and NOT hunger? And, if it was hunger, do we just ignore it? (They have increased my PPI medications for now to see if it solves the "gastritis". ) If it's hunger and the increase in acid reducing medications doesn't help, am I just living with being hungry all the time? (YES I am seriously asking this because I honestly don't know what the expectation is). Unfortunately I am not one of the lucky ones who lost their feelings of hunger. I have not had any heartburn at all. 2. I don't know if any of this matters, but I swim laps pretty intensely 5 days per week for 1-1.5 hours. I suspect that part of the reason I am feeling hungry is due to the swimming. I could be wrong, but curious if anyone else thinks it has something to do with it. Prior to surgery, I was always hungrier on days that I swim. 3. My protein goal is 80 grams per day. With one single shake @ 33 grams of protein and a total of 3 oz of protein during the day with 6 tbsp of veggies, how am I supposed to meet this protein goal? My calculations tell me it's not possible. I'm still early as I just transitioned today to "regular diet" from soft diet. So, I am still trying to figure things out and how everything will work moving forward. Your kind replies are appreciated.

you lost way more than I did in the first three months - and I started out around the same weight..

Frustrating & upsetting I know but like everything about this experience (including the amount of weight you lose, your rate of loss, your time line for losing, etc.) the three week stall is just an average. Some will stall earlier & some will stall later. They usually last 1-3 weeks but could be more or less. Don’t worry, you will start to lose again. Just give your body time to reset it itself and work out your new needs. You’ll notice the scales dropping again when your body is ready. Can’t force it. You’ll only stress your body & yourself more.

Today, I'm officially under 200lbs! only by half a lb but I'm counting it! I did a little weight conversion and had to remeasure due to disbelief! After gaining and losing the same kilo for the last three weeks, I'm so happy!

Stalls or plateaus are very normal with weight loss so you’re not failing. Frustrating, yes but not a sign of failure. Almost everyone experiences them. Literally thousands of posts about them here. The first one (yes first because you can experience a few along the way) usually occurs around the 3 week mark though sometimes they occur before then or after. A stall can last around 1-3 weeks. Stalls are a stress response. Your body thinks what the hell is going on here and shuts down. It uses the time to reassess your new needs (like what changes need to occur with your digestive hormones) as a result of the weight loss, changed caloric intake, surgery, etc. compare it with when you experience psychological or emotional stress and just want to shut the world out until you feel able to deal with the stress. Same for your body’s response to physical stress. Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more. The stall will break when your body is ready. Take some body measurements as sometimes, while the numbers on the scale don’t change, your measurements may. Though every plan and advice given is different, two plus hours a day of workouts is actually a lot this soon after surgery. Your body is still recovering and healing (lots of sutures and staples holding your digestive system together). Is your team aware of how much & what activities you’re doing? If not I’d check with them. Dr Matt Weiner (pound of Cure) is a great resource as is Dr John Pilcher. Check out their videos on You Tube (they have a lot so prepare to scroll). I‘ve included Dr Weiner’s on stalls as a start and to help alleviate your worries. He does podcasts too. Glad the vomiting has eased.

First stall. It’s not uncommon to experience a number of stalls as you continue to lose weight. Try taking body measurements. Sometimes when the number on the scale doesn’t move (or fluctuates around the same number) the numbers on the tape measure will change.