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Check with your team as to whether 1/4-1/3 cup is appropriate for you. Some do encourage people to eat more than that. Slowing down can be difficult at first until you establish a sort of eating routine. Little things like putting my cutlery down between bites, sitting back from the table, if with people not taking a bite while someone’s sneaking all helped slow down my eating (& the mindless shovelling of food in my mouth). I also used a teaspoon and then buffet forks (sporks) & dipped them in my food versus scooping spoonfuls.

Ouch you tore your toenail on the refrigerator? 😶😖 Yeah...I'm thinking its the weight loss...even if its still just a small amount. I'm going to bring it up at my 3 month check up..just to see what they say. Thanks for responding.

It took me 2 long weeks! Pretty sure I took Colace and still had to strain when going. Then another 2 weeks. It was still hard at the time to go, but soon after things went back to normal. I did have to try a home enema, but what worked best was glycerine suppositories, also Prunelax cleared me out the last time I was backed up. So much so I've been regular since.

This is so true! Before VSG I would always have the mindset of "starting tomorrow". If I messed up, I would say "Okay I'll try again next week". Consistency isn't about being perfect, it's about being able to stick with something long-term. I, like everyone, have my days. Sometimes I just gotta have a Snickers bar after an exhausting long day. But I sure as hell don't eat one every day after that for a week! The quicker you can learn to pick up where you left off without starting over, the easier lifestyle changes become. Wishing you the best on your journey. Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything.

It took me 5 days from surgery to go. Mostly regular once or twice a day, at most only skip one day. I was good not really experiencing constipation for the first 6 months. Then the literal 6 month mark and it happened twice in about 3 weeks and I nearly died, lol. Not literally, but that's what it felt like. Both times, I wasn't exactly 100% on track (off my eating/drinking routine) and most likely not enough water intake. I am hoping to not repeat that again. I was already taking stool softeners since day 1, but have now added in a green juice, a little extra fiber and some ACV pills.

I really love your thoughtful reply. I'm definitely eating too fast. But the info you just gave will definitely encourage me to slow the heck down! At 6 weeks post-op, I don't think I should be eating as much volume per meal as I am. I'm doing about 1/2 cup each meal. I'm going to stop that immediately. I'll do 1/4-1/3 cup, as you suggest, and then just wait. I probably won't feel hungry after the wait, and I'll be better off for it. Thank you!

Well I had my surgery on the 27th at 10:30 am. I was told it went well with no complications. I was pretty tired afterward. The only pain I had was from laying flat on my back unable to move during the operation and my period started the day before, ugh. I spent one night in the hospital with the option to stay another, but I was really only struggling with nausea and wanted to the 130 mile drive back home over with. today is day 4 feel great, I was feeling pretty good on day 3 (only one nap that day) but I feel even better today. I have not been hungry at all, but I have been following the diet schedule the clinic gave me for the next two weeks.

I am having surgery in 2 weeks and I don't have a number in mind on the scale but like you I want to be alive and healthy! The biggest gift of all!! Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

I have been creeping around here for months and finally decided to create an account and share. First though, I have to give great credit to my wife and family. My wife has been so supportive and flexible through the whole process. She has always been by my side, but during this process she read and learned about the changes, as much or more than I did. She has gone above and beyond with her support and care for me, all while still running a busy household. My kids are a constant reminder of why I did this -- so that I would be around for a long time. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. I also have to thank my surgical team and the care they provide. It has been great and truly lifesaving. I weighed 514-lbs on 9/12/22. I was a big boy to say the least. Shockingly, I was not in horrible medical condition. I did not take any medicine. Did not have diabetes or high blood pressure. I did have swelling in my legs, constantly sore/bad knees, and was very quick to be out of breath. I lived a very sedimentary live and limited my physical activity. I wanted to be able to be more active and be around with my family for a long time. I finally got up the nerve to discuss with my wife and she immediately got on board. I went through the program without an issue. Checked all boxes and completed all steps. Surgery was on 2/28/23 and it went well. I was up and moving that night, because that was one of the biggest hurdles to clear in order to leave. I was able to sip and keep liquid down. Discharged after one night! Incisions were sore, as expected. Gas was the worst, and not the good kind of gas that can clear the room when expelled (yeah, I am a guy), but the awful painful surgical gas, which took almost a week to fully go away. I was basically fully cleared by the doctor and back to work (in a nonphysical job) one week after surgery. My process was textbook, none of the complications that many have experienced, and I am lucky for it! This process has not been easy but has not been impossible. I have followed my plan, with the support at home, and it is working. I feel physically so much better. I am so much more mobile and active. I have never been happier. I have made changes to my daily life to support the process. My diet has changed but not radically. I eat a lot less and that is the biggest driver of my weight loss. I walk and am active in live, but I do not have a detailed exercise plan. I am still learning exactly what works for me, but most importantly I want others to know there are many routes to get to the same place. I try to get the big stuff right and not sweat the tiniest of details. My blood work at my six-month checkup was solid. Protein was on the low end in the range, but still acceptable. I was encouraged to keep on keeping on (shout out to Joe Dirt). They were comfortable enough to set my next follow up appointment out to one year. I was scared and nervous. I have had good days and bad days (constipation is AWFUL)! Most importantly, I wanted to share my story and I hope it can help others in some way. I never wanted to be skinny. I could care less what my BMI is. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to be able to participate in life with my family. And I am! I am no expert and I still have a long way to go, but I am happy and glad I had this surgery. As I have seen here, over and over again, we are all different, so what works for me may not for others, but I still wanted to share, and I hope it might be of some benefit to someone else. The non-scale wins are just the best! When I started this process, I was so huge that home scales couldn't hold me, so I would go months without weighing, but I knew good things were happening because of all the non-scale wins. Cherish those! This is a long (probably too long) post, so I will wrap. I recently weighed on my home scale (yeah, that's right, it now holds me) and I was at 288-lbs. If anyone has questions or wants more details about my journey, please let me know. I would be happy to share more.

I know this is an older post but it was so well done I had to comment. I'm having my POS band removed very soon I hate it. It doesn't work long term etc,, The first band was in 2008 and redone in 2014 since then all weight is back. 380 right now. Question? Why do I read all the bad things here about MGB? stalls, pain, GERD, ulcers, and can never use aspirin again? I chew a baby aspirin every day 83mg for my heart...MGB seems to be the best overall procedure. Thought maybe of the sleeve but heard even worse things about it. I'm confused as to what to do next as the Band has not proven a long-term solution for me. I'm 58 and don't want to go through this again. Also, does the stomach still produce hunger hormone which is removed with the Sleeve? Thanks and great post!

My surgeon gave me up to a week before, asking just to make sure I was comfortable with my choice. The surgeon gets prior authorization for WSL ...and can change options mid surgery if they feel its a better option for you. So, I don't foresee it being an issue for you to change.

PERIODS: I had my WLS when I was 47 and i *thought* I was already menopausal, as I hadn't had my period in a couple (few?) years before that. Well. 2-3 weeks after surgery, I got my period...heavily...for like 8 days or something like that (which for me is an anomaly as when I used to have periods, they would only last 4-5 days max, and were very light). Then I got my period like clockwork every 4 weeks after that for about 4 years. Go figure...I wasn't menopausal at all, I was just fat, lol I am actually going through it now i think as my last period was in the spring 2022 last year (i'm 5 yrs post op now). So yeah, i raise my hand for weird period happenings. HAIR LOSS: Yep, i lost a significant amount of hair. It all grew back eventually, and I feel like its actually thicker now...but that may be due to the fact that my diet is better? I dunno. Bonus as well is that my hair now has a little wave to it, which i love. Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything you can do to prevent it. My advice if it happens to you, is to just ride it out. its temporary and just a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. STOPPING WEIGHT LOSS: My not-so-surprising answer to this: EAT MORE. lol. It took me few months of increasing my calorie intake until i figured out what calorie amount i needed to maintain. I lost 10+ lbs while i figured this out, but at least i did, ha! Now in my case (and alot of others) my restriction was still very much in effect, so I had to invoke the strategy of eating more higher-calorie foods vs. just more food in general. It was a little bit of a challenge as I was still in weight-loss mode thinking so switching mindsets to allow myself eat things i avoided for 7 months was a bit of mind f*ck. I'm really good at it now though, lol. Good Luck! ❤️

Like mentioned above it depends when exactly post-op you are asking about. I too was one of those weirdly low volume eaters (which, during weight loss phase, equated to being a super low-cal eater) According to my logs at week 6, i averaged 423 calories A DAY (vs. weeks 1-2 when I ate less than that for an ENTIRE WEEK) sloooowwwwwllly worked my way up to about 700-800 cals a day by the time I reached goal (about 7 months post op). I am 5 years post op and maintain now at about 1800 cals a day. (5'2", 51 yr old female, 113 lbs this morning). You will find that the number of calories each of us require to maintain or lose (or gain!) weight varies greatly. The trick is to find out what calories YOU need to lose/maintain/gain, and work that into your eating habits. Note also that this magic caloric number FOR YOU is forever a moving target and will change depending on your health, activity levels, metabolisms, time of year, amount of sleep you get, stress levels, medications, mood, etc., etc., etc. Good Luck! 😍

I'm sure you'll be fine, sleeve patients seem to bounce back pretty quickly unless they have complications. I've seen some return after a week off on this forum... ETA: Just no lifting heavy things!! You don't want to mess up those pretty stitches the surgeon worked so hard on... LOL

I couldn't get short term disability approved, and my company is too small for FMLA, so I'm going back to work the week after surgery. I actually couldn't get a full week so I had to schedule the week of Thanksgiving so I'm only burning 2 days. I've seen others do it in less time, so hopefully it won't be too bad.

I am working on my short term disability paperwork so that I can be out for the full 2 weeks with a little bit of pay.. Is anybody else doing this... Also anybody else buying there holiday PJ's a size smaller? I am in the middle of ordering our family Christmas pj's and gambling with ordering them a size smaller...

Hello everyone! Hi, I'm new here and I'm scheduled to undergo the VSG procedure on November 6th. Currently, on week 2 of my pre-op diet and it's going very well so far. I'm beyond excited but growing more and more nervous every day. Wishing much success to you all!

5.5 Years Out Hi all - I used to be very active on these forums, but as I continue on my journey I have found myself relying less and less on this platform. I do like to check in occasionally to provide insight, encouragement, perspective, and more to those who are about to begin their journey or in the first few chapters. A little about me- I had VSG surgery in May of 2018. My highest weight was about 260 and I was put out on my body and my weight affected all aspects of my life. I lost a total of 140 pounds and have maintained (most) of that weight loss. I am up about 10 pounds in the last year or so, but mostly muscle as I have begun weightlifting so I am not too concerned. I had two plastic surgeries after my VSG to help with loose skin and such. My favorite non-scale victories over the past few years: Being able to walk into any store and find something that works for me Having my boyfriend be able to pick me up as if I weigh nothing Being able to cross my legs when I sit! Feeling cute in my clothes My quality of life is exponentially better My most unexpected experiences: I am ALWAYS cold I quickly pass out if I stand for too long I struggle with iron intake Vitamins can make me feel super sick! I get an upset stomach very easily I suffer from acid reflux (something I never experienced before) My unsolicited advice: Listen to your doctors Get active Drink your water! Eat your protein Having one bad or off day is not an excuse to have a bad week You can still enjoy things in moderation

With my now being six weeks post-op, I'm curious what others' calorie intake has been in the early stages of typically rapid weight loss after surgery and am well aware that intake increases and body weight decreases. I realize everyone is different, and clearly stated in my original post that I have already spoken about this with my dietitian for my own case. I'm not seeking medical advice from an internet forum on what my target should be; I'm opening a conversation about the topic to see where other bariatric patients have found their own successes with respect to their caloric intake as one metric.

That's the hope. I initially started doing the research to help him but learning more about it and doing it together was best for us. I'm just hoping 2 weeks is enough time to support each other physically.

Don't bring a ton of stuff to the hospital, you'll spend most of your time trying to drink and walking. No need for a ton of entertainment items or toiletries. I spent two days (9/25-9/27) in the hospital and the only thing I grabbed out of my bag was my phone charger. Invest in a vitamin/pill organizer. I tried taking my pills straight out of the medicine bottles and was constantly forgetting. The organizer keeps everything in one place and is a better visual reminder. Ask for a binder in the hospital, it helps immensely when changing positions. I wore mine religiously for the first two weeks.

It’s pretty common for your menstrual cycle to be a bit screwed up with your weight loss (longer, shorter, more or less frequent, heavier or lighter). Like the others have said it’s the estrogen stored in your fat being released into your blood stream as you lose weight. I was in menopause too & all my menopausal symptoms disappeared yay! - they came back though when I got close to my goal unfortunately. You can’t stop the hair loss. Your hair naturally sheds & after surgery your rate of loss temporarily accelerates (it’s quite common after bigger surgeries, pregnancy, stressful periods). It often starts around month 4+/- & lasts about 3+/- months. Some people say take biotin or other supplements & use special hair treatments but their hair loss all seems to last the same 3 months or so. How much you lose is individual. Your new hair is growing as it always dies at the same time & at its usual rate. I too cut my long hair to just above my shoulder. Shorter hair is bouncier & looks mor full than long hair. It also takes less time for your new growth to catch up in length to your shorter length than your long length so your hair will look & feel as thick as it always did more quickly. Only way to slow your loss is to eat more calories. If you get to this point work with your dietician to ensure you’re following a way of eating that is healthy, still nutrient dense & is sustainable. Remember too, the surgery changes your body weight set point. We don’t always end at a weight we wanted or expected but is the weight your body is happiest at & is easiest to maintain.

Listen to your body. If you feel tired, rest/nap. If your tummy says nope don’t like that don’t eat or drink it for a week or so & then try it again (your tummy can behave like a petulant tantrum throwing 2 year old for a little while). Don’t push yourself to do more physically than you are able. You may experience random muscle twinges & discomfort at odd times for a couple of weeks - part of your healing. We all heal differently. We all lose at different rates. We all experiences stalls at times while we lose ( they’re a vital part of your weight loss & do break when your body is ready). We all lose some of our hair (it doesn’t last & it grows back.) Don’t compare yourself with others & beat yourself up if you’re not doing the same. Use other people’s experiences as examples of what you might experience & might achieve not should be doing or experiencing. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t hit your protein & fluid goals right from surgery or everyday. As long as you’re making an effort, are pretty close & eventually you have more days you do than you don’t you’ll be okay. Follow your plan as closely as you can. If you’re struggling with aspects contact your team for alternatives or strategies to help. All the best.

Remember too you’re only eating very small portions at this stage. If you keep to your portion size recommendations you likely won’t feel your restriction unless something is sitting more heavily in your tummy, you’re drinking while you eat or eating to quickly. (I was advised 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purées gradually increasing to about a cup by 6 months but check with your team for what they suggest for you & your needs.) Many of us find our signals are different now too & it can take time to work out what they are for you. The goal should not be to eat until you feel full. It takes 20+ minutes for that message to get through to our brains. (One of the reasons we’re told to eat slowly.) So by the time you feel full you likely have eaten way past full. Try to work out your ‘I’ve had enough’ signals. I ask myself do I need another bite or just want it. If I just want it I stop. Oh & it would take a concentrated effort of eating large quantities of food over a long period of time to stretch your tummy.

I have the same thing, and I'm 5.5 weeks post-op. I've never yet felt that "Stop! You're full now!" warning. And like you, it does worry me. I hadn't heard about the nerves being cut and that's why I'm not receiving the signals. Very interesting. And it makes sense. I just wish they'd hurry up and heal because I really don't want to stretch my stomach.