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Agree with @vikingbeast. You need to take a big step back. You’re stressed & emotional which only enhances those cravings. You crave the foods which offered you comfort in the past & you crave the familiar of being able to eat what you want, when you want it. And the more you worry the more anxious you become. You may find a therapist who specialises in supporting bariatric patients very helpful. Ask your surgeon for a recommendation. Constipation is part of the journey. I tried to keep on top of mine by taking Benefibre at least every second day, keeping my fluid intake up & taking a stool softener if I got to day 3 or 4 without movement. I also ate very mild instant rolled oats from purée stage. Took me days to eat a full serve but it was good fibre. You may need an enema since it’s been 15 days or a visit to the hospital for assistance. Being constipated does make it seem you’ve stopped losing or have gained. Get rid of it & your weight will be lower very quickly & you’ll feel much better. Stalls are very common. They can last 1 - 3 weeks, sometimes more. And you can experience a number of them as you’re losing. The first usually occurs around week 3 give or take. You just have to ride them out. They’re just your body taking a time out to come to terms with your weight loss. Changes to your sense of smell & taste are also common. They usually are temporary but how long it lasts is individual. Are there specific foods that upset you more you can avoid? The strong body odour is from your body being in ketosis - fat burning. It’s like every bodily secretion reeks. It passes too. I took deodorant, toothbrush, tooth paste & mouth wash & body wipes to work for refreshes during the day. I was someone who frequently skipped meals in an effort to lose weight (did that for 40+years) & tried all those very low calorie diets including one I did several times that was only 500 calories a day. I still lost all my weight & more. Stick as close to your plan as you can. It may take you a little longer to reach a stage recommendation for calories, portion size &/or foods you can eat but that’s ok. You’ll get there.

Sounds like it was too much, too soon & too coarse/heavy. I agree with the others: go slowly. Even if you’re allowed solid foods doesn’t mean you jump in with both feet. I’m surprised you were allowed bread - it’s very filling - but all plans have differences. Check your portion sizes too. Were you given portion size recommendations &/or calorie goals for each stage? Personally I couldn’t eat a whole egg until I was close to goal let alone sausage & bread as well. But that was me.

I like your surgeon’s position. I wasn’t given calorie goals only portion size recommendations so I didn’t have to count calories while I was losing but I’d do random checks for my own interest. Still do. Helps me keep on track. I check calories & nutrient content of all food stuffs I buy. I do a lot of my own cooking so it’s not always possible to work out exact calories which is when I rely on portion size. I don’t like using the word diet. This is just what I eat now & what I don’t eat. The nutrient value is the most important consideration. The only things I count carefully everyday are protein & water.

Okay. Deep breath. Exhale. 'Nother deep breath. Exhale. One more. Exhale. If you search these forums, you will find almost 20,000 posts on the infamous "three-week stall". That is exactly where you are, and sometimes it lasts a few weeks. Stay on your plan, stay OFF the friggin' scale except ONCE a week, and just be patient. The constipation is almost certainly part of the issue, though you're not eating enough to really be backing stuff up. But you can go and get an enema at any drugstore; sometimes it just "packs" and you have to break the pack. (Gross, sorry, I know, but facts.) You're also almost certainly not getting much if any fiber. It does get better. One thing you might want to try (though who knows if it'll work for you) is INCREASING your food a little bit. I know it sucks, but anything helps. Soup. Tomato soup. Cream soup. Whatever. Just increase calories to about 500-600, in concert with your nutritionist's guidance, and see if that moves things along.

My understanding from my surgeon is that the reason for the surgery is to stop dieting and just eat healthy. I hate calorie counting and what a pain it is and my doctor and nutritionist take the approach that as long as I make smart, healthy choices with protein first and listen to my body then stomach will do the rest.

Congratulations on your weight loss to date!! Losing 36 pounds post surgery, in 3 months is still something to celebrate, even if it feels slow to you. Everyone loses weight at different speeds. If you are worried that you may not be on track, I highly recommend talking to your doctor or nutritionist. If you aren’t already, I found tracking everything I ate really helped as it doesn’t take much for the calories to mount up. I’m certainly not suggesting that you can’t eat popcorn or anything like that but they are high in carbs and it also depends on how they are cooked, e.g. air popped vs cooked in butter, so tracking your intake can just help you keep on top of things. At just over three months out, your body is still healing and so it’s really important to stick to your doctor’s plan and the weight will continue to come off. Best of luck and I look forward to hearing about your journey as it progresses

I'm literally reading this while eating half a bag of the Spicy Sweet Chili! I was short on protein and calories for the day and my fridge was pretty bare so it's a workable solution. Yum.

I can't say I had any particular feeling of loss related to food or drink. I was a binge eater and drinker. If one was good ten was better. My requirement for surgery was to stop me from binging. If I could break the cycle, I could do this. Surgery isn't a magic weight loss button. All the rules still apply. Calories in vs calories out. Surgery just helps in some ways, especially early on. For a time it stops you over indulging at meals. But this effect tends to go away for most people with time, and then you are counting on the good habits you've developed to keep you going. You indicate that you have a big family and spend a lot of time hanging out, shooting the .. and grazing and enjoying wine. The scary part in regard to grazing is not that you will lose it, it's that you won't. Grazing is by far the way many/most post-ops fail and regain their weight and more. Surgery can stop you from eating a lot of food at one meal. But, it doesn't stop you from grazing for hours at a time. Evaluate your needs from surgery. This is not a short term diet it is a life long lifestyle change. Do what you can sustain. Good luck, Tek

Hi All I am a chef by profession and feel that though I am going through the same as most (currently in puree stage) I refuse to give up my desire to eat well and be creative. My weight loss is going great and I have been keeping the diet prescribed to me by my physician. I have, however, stretched my creative muscles to incorporate flavors I like into my day. This is one of my more successful ones. I am also trying to eat more vegetarian and vegan and this was a good place for that as I use Just egg and vegetarian sausage. If I had cashew yogurt I would have used that instead. 208 calories / 15 carbs / 12g protein (vegetarian) should yield 1/4 cup. If more only eat what you are prescribed. 1 Morning Star Farm vegetarian Sausage Link 1/2 cup Oat Milk 1 ts Low-fat Greek Yogurt (plain) 1/4 ts rubbed sage 1/4 ts garlic powder 1/4 ts dried chives (optional) Ground black pepper 1 ts corn starch disolved in 1 ts of water 1 egg or 3Tbl. Just Egg Over medium heat. Cut up one sausage link and, in a small pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté until lightly browned. Add Oat Milk, yogurt, sage, garlic powder and chives if you are using and stir until the yogurt dissolves and the gravy starts to simmer. Let it start to cook down a bit. Stir the cornstarch and water slurry well to make sure it is fully dissolved and add it to the gravy. Bring up the heat and stir till thickened to the consistency you wish. If too thick, add some water. Remove from the pan and put the gravy into a small food processor. Blitz until smooth and the sausage is well incorporated. Make your egg or egg substitute scrambled fine so it meets puree standards and serve with the gravy on top. Though you are using about 1/2 cup of milk and such, out leaving you with approximately 1/4 cup of sausage gravy. This is decadent, has the flavors you want, has a good amount of protein and meets the requirements. Cheers J

Same. 4lbs since surgery. Doc said I need to eat more calories and hit my protein. I’m 2weeks out.

I’m two weeks from sleeve to Bypass and I have only lost 4lbs since surgery. My doc said I need to eat more calories and hit my protein. I just don’t have a desire for soups, hate milk so protein drinks I just can’t stomach anymore and everything so sweet. I been only getting 200 cals or less. I have one more week before I get to chew on food lol. Has anyone else had an unquenchable thirst? No matter what I drink or how much I am always dry mouth. Only thing that helps is popsicles.

I am scheduled for surgery next Tuesday the 9th and am starting to worry that my lack of significant weight loss on the pre-op diet is a sign that I won't lose as much weight post-op as I would like. I've followed the instructions pretty closely--1000 calories a day, 60-80 grams of protein. I lost about 6 pounds the first week but have only lost about .2 in the last 3 days. Other people I have spoken with who have had the surgery lost 10 pounds or more during the pre-op diet, so my mid-diet plateau does have me a little concerned. My surgeon doesn't require a strictly liquid diet, so I don't know if that has something to do with it. Is my pre-op weight loss normal/how much did you lose during the pre-op?

The rate of your loss isn’t important but looking after your health is. Lacking in energy & being unable to undertake physical activity before your main meal of the day likely is because of your diet & not taking your vitamins. I wasn’t eating that many more calories by goal at 6 months & I’m about your height. I struggled with lack of energy for a few months too but it was complicated by low blood pressure & random hypoglycaemic episodes (pre-existing). What helped was eating nutrient dense food - low carbs, low fat: protein, vegetables, fruit & dairy. It wasn’t so much the number of calories but the quality of the calories I consumed. The importance of taking vitamins post bypass should have been stressed to you before your surgery. Have you had any blood tests to check you are not lacking in essential vitamins & nutrients & your body is absorbing what you need effectively? Malabsorption issues is a concern with bypass. Best advice is to stick to your plan. Meet your protein goals. Add water to your total fluid intake & meet that goal too. Do you still see your dietician? Have you reflected on your dietary choices & made any changes to what you ate before surgery to what you eat now? And why you ate & made those food choices? And I’m not talking just portion size because you can physically eat more as time progresses & you can eventually stretch your tummy out again if you ignore portion considerations. Many find a therapist helpful when coming to terms with what drives them to eat. Ultimately, the extent of your success is up to you & your choices. Nothing will change in the long term if you don’t make the changes.

Hi Its been a year since my WLS and I am roughly a stone / 14lbs away from my goal. I have been a slow loser, there are times I have slipped up which lasted for weeks, due to changes in my life. However when I am consistent about my eating, weight loss widely varies. All I do is make sure I eat around 700 calories a day. The content of the food is mostly carbs / processed food, but it keeps me happy. I dont monitor my water intake but I do drink alot of tea / coffee. I also dont take vitamins or supplements as I hate swallowing pills, but I suspect that has an effect on my energy levels. Dinner is my main meal , so doing physical activity before that is difficult. Also....I know u cant eat and drink at the same time. But for half of the year, I ve not been leaving a 20 min gap between food and drink. Mostly because of time constraints (work) and yeah laziness. This is definetly gonna stretch my stomach inthe long run right? So any tips to improve weight loss is appreciated, thanks.

I've moved to sugar free coke etc, I don't drink much but I try to stay on the sugar free as I'm pretty sure that plus alcohol was my biggest nemeses calorie wise. I've actually 'discovered' low/zero calorie teas such as raspberry and strawberry and also orange and turmeric which are now my go to drinks; not too sweet but a decent flavour. On a good day I do have a shake for breakfast - the only way I can drink it is if I cant smell it (weird hey?) so normally in a bottle with closed lid and straw (gasp) and I try not to think about it while I'm having it or I feel ill. I have gone through so many brands and flavours so far the one I'm on is the only one I can tolerate, other days it's just a flat out no. My body likes to keep me on my toes haha. Im back on omeprazole which has gotten rid of all my reflux/heartburn =]

I have. They're aware of what's going on and while they're ok with me going at my own pace to build confidence, they set a reasonable goal for me to try to get 500 calories a day. I get there maybe once or twice a week. I have had a lot of issues with air bubbles/acid reflux, and it kind of spooked me around week 3. Unfortunately sometimes I feel full all day long. I've found a few "safe" things that are rich in nutrients that I try to get down every day, even if it's 2 oz at a time.

Man, I'm TRYING not to eat too many calories. I'm hungry all the darn time. Maybe I should try adding some "good" carbs... I wish my surgery center would get back to me someday with answers to my questions!

It has been 7 months since I had my ESG procedure in March. What a weird ride. I guess I'm just posting this to muse on the situation as a whole. Wall of text time! Six Weeks of Suck A six week liquid diet was awful. It went in 2 week chunks and degraded over time. The first two weeks, it was amusing. I got to tell people what was going on! The first entire week I was basically sleeping anyway and took sick days, so it was just me, in bed, playing Pokemon Sword. A weird sort of vacation, really, even if half of it was crippling nausea and whining to my husband. The next two weeks was boring and a bit annoying, but I at least got to sip chicken broth and relish the fact that my food tasted like actual food. (I bought a jar of low fat chicken gravy at the store at one point and sipped it in the car while feeling like some kind of jewel thief having pulled off a heist. It was the best food I have ever eaten.) The last two weeks, I just wanted to strangle the doctors for not letting me eat solid food. Six weeks! People who have literal stomach removal have less time than that! But no, the surgeon said that six weeks was because the sutures are internal, and thus are constantly disturbed, so in a weird twist they take longer to heal than gastric sleeve surgeries. Did I mention basic recovery sucked for the first few days? When I came out of anesthesia, the doctors said I had been under for a long time, because I was just too sleepy to actually wake after I was technically conscious. They kept me until I could walk, which was way longer than they thought. Even walking down the driveway made me so tired I had to lean on someone. Going to the bathroom and back to bed was enough to take a nap afterwards. I had to rotate constantly to stop feeling nauseous or crampy. I emergency-called the doctors for some more anti-nausea meds because the first ones just didn't work well enough. Then, like magic, around day 7, it all stopped and I could get up and do stuff normally. Not being able to lift more than 15 pounds or whatever the limit was, was almost a deal-breaker. I work with heavy machinery a lot, but I saw that problem coming. My long-suffering (but kind) coworkers carried things for me. But at home, do you know how many things weigh 20 lbs? Stuff full of liquid is right out. A gallon of water by itself weighs 9 lbs, heaven help you if you have to carry anything else with it. My husband had to haul our pet food and litter bags, which we buy in 50 pound sacks because we hate having to shop a lot. Even normal grocery shopping bags can approach 15 pounds if you fill them full. When I was still exhausted, I had to get a very confused Target employee to help me carry a single bag out to the car. I'm sure this guy had no idea what was going on, with a 30-something woman shuffling up to him like an old lady and holding out a fairly light bag and asking if he would be wonderful and carry this to her car because she had picked up too much stuff and now her body was saying it was time to sleep right here on the floor if she didn't hand it off. Did I Cheat on the Diet? Yes. 100%. I absolutely cheated. I cheated like a soap opera spouse. Honestly, the lesson I learned was that this really caused no harm whatsoever. Probably a bad lesson, but in the end, it made those last two weeks bearable. The doctor said clear liquids only, but I added in pureed chunky soups, Greek yogurt, and scrambled eggs. I chewed for a long time and made sure everything in my mouth was blenderized into pure liquid, and I still ate incredibly small meals. But really, anything to get me off those fake-ass protein shakes. I didn't tell my team the extent of the cheating, but I never felt any pain, and I still made my calorie and macro counts. The first day I let myself eat tuna from a can was the day angels sang in my ear. I furtively snatched it up at CVS, a tiny can the size of one of those Fancy Feast cat food tins. I snuck it in the car and dumped the can in a recycle bin before my husband could see it and wag his finger. Oh, it was good. What I'm getting at is that I was losing my bananas during the last 2 weeks of that dang liquid diet, and I needed something to eat that felt like real food, or I was going to crack. I think this worked out. Have I Lost Weight? 45 pounds so far. From what I can tell, there is really no way to beat the "1-2 pounds per week" rule. No amount of surgery was going to take my resting metabolic rate of 1800 and somehow get 5 pounds a week out of lowering it to 1000 cal/week. I think all the "omg I lost 10 pounds my first week" is water and glycogen, no matter who you are, unless you're very obese. Water weight will get you early on. If you gain weight or have not lost weight even 3-4 weeks after the procedure, it's probably still water weight. There's no way your body can retain fat on 1000 calories a day unless you have a disease/disorder. You will gain weight abruptly when you start putting food back in your body. I'm shocked at how much food in various parts of digestion weigh. That said, according to the Mayo Clinic, food takes about 36-48 hours from entering, to exit your body. Think about how much you eat in 48 hours. Let's say, for round numbers, you eat a meal weighing 3/4 lb, 3x/day. So that's 2.25 lbs a day. 48 hours is 4 days. Before the meal on day 1 exits on day 4, you've put a total of 9 pounds of stuff into your body. 9 pounds! That's like 4 weeks of weight loss, supposedly gone immediately! But it's not. If, like me, your last weight reference was right before the surgery, you fully blasted those 6 or so pounds of food out of your system with the absolutely awful colonoscopy cleanse they made you drink. You know how much you ate at each meal before surgery, at least ballpark. Add those "phantom" pounds to your hospital weight, and you have your "actual" weight. So my actual weight was really around 260, not 251, because it was 251 with my entire intestinal tract scrubbed to a bile-yellow liquid shine. (Ew.) Basically, expect water weight to cover up early weight loss and food weight to cover up weight loss about 1-2 months in, depending on when you're allowed to eat solids. Frustrating Points I am still not particularly lower in my dress size. I have absolutely lost some inches, but it seems to be coming off relatively evenly, so I'm still a 16-18 in a dress. I'm frustrated, because part of the point of this was to fit into my old college clothes, but I expected to lose a couple of dress sizes in 45 lbs of weight loss. I still have a bunch of clothes sitting around waiting for me to be able to fit them. That said, women's clothing sizes are stupid, and I really don't know what my dress size was when starting. I thought it was 18, but I gained weight over the pandemic, so I have no clue anymore. Awesome Points I can eat what I want. Seriously. The physical size of my stomach limits me from eating a lot, but I can eat single meals, and usually they last me the entire day. I routinely take home leftovers now. But in the end, the food I want isn't fast food and pizza -- though to be fair, I still do eat pizza. I just eat way less of it. I don't have to optimize now, and my body seems to actually obey calorie counts now without getting hungry. I still eat pizza every so often. I still have dessert. I had candy on Halloween. I still don't eat salad. In the end, I feel like this was what I wanted: the ability to eat the food I actually like, socially, while having my body go in a direction I don't hate. I have actual hunger cues now, and I'm not constantly thinking about food. Would I Recommend ESG? I will tout ESG from the tops of mountains now. Some suck early on for a feeling of actual control over my body and a sense that I finally obey physics as I know it? Yes. Yes, please. I should have gotten this years ago. When my parents offered to cover weight loss surgery when I was like 23, I should have said "YES NOW" instead of "ugh why would you offer that?".

14 days post surgery - got my sleeve at 8:30 am on Oct 20th. I've followed the program perfectly - easy, since I have little interest in food - and been able to get in 60 grams of proteins every day and 64 ounces of water every day, although it was not easy the first week. First week was rough - felt bad physically, pain from surgery and from drinking/eating, fearing loss of food enjoyment as a thing in my life. Days 7-10 I started to gradually feel better. By this last Monday, Day 12, I guess, I felt totally normal, back to myself. Although I don't crave it, I find drinking a tasty broth or eating a sugar free jello or pudding pleasant. So much better. I averaged 300-350 calories the first week and 500-600 calories the second week. Down 12 lbs since surgery date, total of 22 lbs since pre op diet, and 40 pounds since I started the bariatric program in July. Sometimes it feels a little unreal, and I'm startled I undertook something that is going to change my life so profoundly, but I'm looking forward to a future with improved mobility and health (I hope) or at least proud I have done all I can to move towards that goal.

This sounds like me. I had my two month check in about 2 weeks ago, and the nutritionist said I should be at 1000 calories a day, especially since I was adding in moderately intense exercise again. I was averaging 600-700 at that point! They also wanted me to ease off the shakes (I was having one shake a day) in favor of food, though protein powder was definitely ok to use. She emphasized that WLS isn't supposed to be very low calorie forever, otherwise other problems arise. I assume it is metabolism concerns. I've managed to get it up to more like 800-850 calories on a really good day, but it is hard. I'm just doing the best I can - yesterday I managed to get to 1000 for the first time but wow that was a project. I feel like I am eating or drinking or waiting to drink all day long. I'm keeping the one shake a day because honestly that is an easy 160 calories, otherwise I need to figure out another snack to add to the rotation. I'm just doing the best I can, without adding in unhealthy things. So, adding in good carbs and listening to my body as much as I can. Just focus on doing the best you can. Good luck.

It is seriously so simple I'm embarrassed to call it a recipe... brown off some ground turkey with a little salt in a skillet, with just a touch of oil so it doesn't stick (spray works too). Then I add bottled Korean barbecue marinade. It's 30 calories 7C 0F 0P per tablespoon and I usually add 6 tablespoons per pound of turkey, but a pound of turkey lasts a LONG time for me. The one I buy is CJ Foods Korean BBQ Bulgogi Marinade w/Apple and Pear but any will work. Then I just sprinkle some sesame seed and chopped green onions on top, and eat it with a tiny bit of rice (like 2 Tbsp or 1/8 cup) and a piece or two of kimchi from a jar.

This is a tough journey, even if you have no complications. Glad you're doing well. I am 7-8 weeks out and I have found the hardest thing is that I'm not sure if I'm eating too much. I'm on the road for work and I've been hungry all the time since surgery, so I'm eating 800-900 calories a day. I'm not as hungry now that I'm on the road because I'm busier, but now I'm eating more because the food is less healthy (Or, am I less hungry because the food is less healthy/I'm eating more?).

My nutritionist has me on a range of 1000-1400 calories a day. Usually I struggle to get the 1000 calories. But I will say that when she added some carbs in, I felt immediately better. I'm not gonna go eat a tuna sandwich, but a couple of spoonfuls of mashed potatoes or a little rice with my Korean BBQ ground turkey goes a long way toward both good energy (I have an active lifestyle) and the dread constipation issue. I haven't had to take any Dulcolax since the carbs were added in.

my program didn't talk about calories at all, but I know a lot of people seem to eat in the 600-800 calorie range for most of the first year (after the first month or two, of course - when it's usually lower). HOWEVER, I'm hearing more about programs who want their patients to eat more like 1000-1200 pretty early on, so what your dietitian is recommending is not unheard of. I think it has to do with metabolism or something. Or being less restrictive from the get-go so people are more likely to stick to it and/or not have as much of a regain or something (I haven't paid much attention to the rationale since I'm pretty far out - I just know this has come up before on this site). Anyway, ask her.

Thanks all for the encouragement and wisdom! You all helped put my mind at ease and I truly appreciate the input. My dietician is in agreement with all of you, that I'm on the right track and should stay the course. No need to strive for "goals" that my body isn't ready for, just focus on fluids and protein and expanding my food options based on the program. She did suggest trying 3 smaller meals a day, instead of 2 larger ones, just to help get in the habit of eating more times a day, even though it won't have an immediate impact from a calorie/protein perspective; more a behavioral change than nutritional. So, I'll give that a whirl for a few days and see how it goes! ETA: First post-op labs are next month. Nothing pre-op was a concern, so we'll see if I'm holding steady when I check in.