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ok here's a weird one lol. went to yoga, pilates, nail appt, botox appt, then grocery shopping this morning/afternoon. i didn't eat before i left (which is normal), then came home around 3:30pm still on an empty stomach (not so normal)...and only realized i was STARVING when i finally got home omg. it was slim pickings in the fridge/pantry and was too hungry to order out, so just threw together what was available: 1 avocado, 3 tbsp of 4-day old cannedtuna with mayo (yikes), chilli oil & ginger-scallion sauce. 511 cals for it all. spoiler alert: it wasn't very appetizing. ate like 2/3? (basically until i wasn't hungry anymore). and was done. kinda wish i just waited and ordered something yummier. feels/felt like such a waste of stomach real estate, ugh. oh well. at least im not starving anymore.

ok here's a weird one lol. went to yoga, pilates, nail appt, botox appt, then grocery shopping this morning/afternoon. i didn't eat before i left (which is normal), then came home around 3:30pm still on an empty stomach (not so normal)...and only realized i was STARVING when i finally got home omg. it was slim pickings in the fridge/pantry and was too hungry to order out, so just threw together what was available: 1 avocado, 3 tbsp of 4-day old cannedtuna with mayo (yikes), chilli oil & ginger-scallion sauce. 511 cals for it all. spoiler alert: it wasn't very appetizing. ate like 2/3? (basically until i wasn't hungry anymore). and was done. kinda wish i just waited and ordered something yummier. feels/felt like such a waste of stomach real estate, ugh. oh well. at least im not starving anymore.

I’m starting to notice a pattern. The dreaded stalls and the gained pound for me seems to come after the too good to be true weight loss 🤣 basically what I’m saying is when I lose a couple of pounds quicker than my normal rate then I may go a week without dropping anything or I actually gain a pound or two before I lose again. But the overall my rate of loss for the last 30 days remains pretty consistent. It is super helpful to have that weight log in the Baritastic app. It automatically calculates your loss over the past seven days the past 30 days the past 90 days. Plus, it has a really cool little line graph so that you can see the steady loss also, you can track your measurements on there which is a nice way to keep them because I tend to lose things written on paper. 🤣

I need an overhaul. My weight loss has been so slow but I have been losing inches like crazy, I know it is possible and I see the changes, but it irritates me so bad not seeing the scale move. Maybe I should set some serious NSV to achieve. I have exactly 150 days til my birthday and I think I am gonna give this whole surgery thing an overhaul and see where it takes me. I will be honest, I have been low-key skating buy because I got discouraged right after my first stall..... I refuse to quite and I am gonna give it all I got right now.

So sorry you're going through this! This does NOT seem normal to me at all. Yes, most of us have things early on that just don't seem to sit right in our guts. For example, I could not eat eggs in any form for the longest time. I also can relate to the mental side of things. I was probably about 3 months post surgery and had a work function where they catered lunch. I knew better, but wanted to "fit in", so I decided to just eat whatever was provided. It was sandwiches so I decided to just eat the deli turkey out of the sandwich. It made me horribly nauseated to the point I had to leave work. After that, it took me almost 2 years before I tried any sort of deli meat at all. I knew it probably wouldn't actually make me sick, but the fear that it would kept me from trying it. Anyway, my point is a few changes and food aversions is quite normal. EVERYTHING making you sick is not normal. Regarding fluid intake, lots of people have a little bit of a challenge drinking at first, but it's supposed to get easier and easier as you go. That does not sound like you're experience, though? At 5 weeks in, if you're still only getting 40-48 oz that's pretty low. You mentioned that you're working with your surgeon. I'm curious what they are telling you? Have you really told them everything you explained above? I have found a lot of people (forgive me for stereotyping a bit), especially younger people are not good at advocating for themselves. Unless you really make your doctor fully understand what's going on, they may not realize just how big of an issue this is. I would also recommend talking to your dietitian and your therapist about all this if you have not already started working with those other professionals. The dietitian should have more experience dealing with these sorts of dietary issues and may be able to help you find foods that can help. I would also agree with your assessment that at least some of your issues are mental, thus talking to your therapist would be a really good idea because they may be able to teach you some ways to overcome those issues. With all that our of the way, I wanted to maybe suggest a few things for you to try to help you eat and hydrate: Your water intake seems to be on the low side as I mentioned. I would think you really should be getting closer to 64 oz a day right now. (If your program told you a different amount, go with what they told you.) Be aware that dehydration can actually cause nausea, so could be making your issues worse. IMO, you really need to double-down on drinking, even if that means you have to change your meal schedule. Also, at 5 weeks you should be able to drink several ounces at a time, thus it really should not take hours to get in another 15-20 ounces. If it does, this is yet another thing to talk to your doctor about. You could also consider adding in an electrolyte drink to help with the dehydration, but please only do that with your doctor's blessing. Consider taking a broad spectrum probiotic. I know that then becomes one more pill to take, but I do think at least some of your digestive issues are due to an out of whack gut microbiota. If you can get your gut healthy again, it should really help. You mentioned you are not exercising. At 5 weeks, you really should not be doing any strenuous exercise anyway, but you do need to be walking. I don't know your current weight or how much you're capable of doing, but if all you can do is just 5 minutes to walk to the end of the block and back, that's what you should be doing. If you can do more than 5 minutes, great, do what you can do. I would strongly encourage you to do this outside if at all possible. There are lots of benefits mentally from that exposure to nature, so please don't just walk around the house or on a treadmill. I know this feels like just one more thing to do, but how about you take some water with you and drink some while you're walking? Believe it or not, walking can reduce stress and even improve gut health. In short, don't consider this a nice to have or somehow related to weight loss. Think of it as part of your treatment plan to get past this nausea and on the path to feeling better. Food-wise, you mentioned you're okay with yogurt, but getting burned out on it. You might try flavoring it? In other words, if you're just eating plain greek yogurt to avoid the fake sugars and other ingredients, you probably can add extracts to make whatever flavor you want. I love coconut for example, but vanilla, almond, etc. would also work well. Just check the labels carefully and make sure it doesn't have weird ingredients and that it's using natural flavorings. Fairlife Milk. This is lactose free and taste just like regular milk (at least to me). It also has a lot more protein in it than regular milk, so will be a way to boost your protein intake. Best of luck. I do hope you find solutions to your issues.

Good luck! I’m a week in and am miserable to be honest. I know it will be worth it though.

Yep, SpartanMaker is awe inspiring a lot. He has good advice and will give you volumes of information. That is why he is so high up there on the track to Guru. Just to restate that hydration is the #1 reason for a visit to the ER. While there will be some nausea, it is because your body is healing and you need to give it time. Think about your 1 day out as having a 1-day old baby to feed, they only get formula. Your formula is fluids. Week 2 you have a 2 year old tummy, and they are still struggling with some foods, so it is a slow introduction of new foods. Slow and steady, don't push and you will do just fine. The nausea goes away once you are on real foods. But it takes time for the insides to heal. Just breathe right through it and don't over do it. Sip means sip, no gulping. Wishing you the best!!

I cancelled my gym membership in the month I had my surgery since I wasn't going to be able to exercise for 6 weeks after the surgery and I would be away for another 4 weeks and Christmas was coming up and didn't want to waste the money (month to month membership). I need to get back into the gym, but I've not been in months so I'm going back to complete novice stage. But I have been cycling so that's at least something. I want to make going to the gym a habit again. I haven't renewed my membership yet because it will be too crowded with all they "new year, new me" types who use the gym in January for two weeks and then never again.

Hello everyone! I'm checking in - @ShoppGirl- It sounds like you've really been through the wringer! You are a superstar for managing both chemo, a virus, and surgery recovery all at the same time and I hope you're being gentle with yourself and giving yourself lots of pats on the back! @Chatterbox - YES - portion sizes have gotten more flexible; for me taking an ADEK supplement has helped with the hair shedding; I've gone through that to a point as well and typically have VERY thick hair and I've noticed some extra shedding but even with that it hasn't thinned my hair dramatically. @Justarwaxx - You're doing great!! Please be kind to yourself! With increased activity level the calorie consumption does have to go up so you can keep up your energy! Now that I'm using my Fitbit I am able to better see my activity levels - I haven't hit 10k in a day but I got close a couple of days and my average went below 5k per day while I was sick as well (Gosh it's going around!) but I think the important thing is to LISTEN to your body, give it fuel, and just try to have more calories spent than you take in. I'm burning over 3k calories more days than not so if I eat a few carbs, a piece of bread once in a while, a half a sandwich, some veggies - that's ok. I think a lot of it is knowing and understanding the difference like so many have said on 'head hunger' vs 'physical hunger'. Usually at a given meal I eat maybe a total of a cup of food; I try to aim for at least half of each meal to be protein, then veggies, then maybe a little rice or other starch. I'm hit and miss on my food logging; I slipped for a few weeks and am trying to reset. I wanted to repost these recipes I used during the puree period because I don't know about ya'll but I tend to find things that work well and then totally forget they exist! Lately I've been doing lots of soups for myself and my family. I made an easy chicken noodle soup yesterday with half a rotisserie chicken breast, I steamed carrots and celery in the microwave until they were soft, sautéed some diced onion in garlic and onion with a little chicken broth, then added it all together with the cooked chicken breast cut up and more chicken brother. I threw in a small handful of egg noodles and let it all simmer. When I do something like a soup with meat I try to serve myself up a bowl that is heavy on the chicken and light on the veggies. You can do basically the same thing with broccoli, cabbage, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes. Fluids and healthy veggies with a protein is my go to; and I'm doing pretty well with my personal progress. You all got this! Don't get discouraged when you go through stalls; some weeks I will lose about 2 lbs and then the next week I might lose 6 lbs; it's all a process and the weight loss will slow and become more steady as long as you watch your calories, eat healthy at least 80-90% of the time - it's about getting your nutrients and staying at a calorie deficit. ❤️ Reposted recipes from earlier: "I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a time. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed. Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each.

The first week of the pre surgical diet is hard @Skewiff especially when it’s as restricted as yours. Much of what you’re experiencing is withdrawals from carbs, sugar, caffeine (though you said you’re drinking coffee which is unusual). Not being able to eat solid food adds to the challenge as your cravings (for textures like crunch, flavours like salty or sweet and for specific foods) are still there. The second week is always easier. And after the surgery when you’re still on the liquid diet, you won’t be all that interested in eating or food. All the best with your surgery.

I stalled about that same time too. I was still loosing, just slower. I added probiotics and personally worked on getting better sleep (meditation, CBD, journaling stress out, etc). The weight kept going down in spurts. It was just random spurts until the 2&1/2 year mark. Then I had to be super mindful and pay attention to my vitamins/minerals. It helped me to join some groups like Dr. Wiener , and a hiking club, just to be with like minded people who were trying to be healthy. I hope you find your tweaks and habits that help you :) Yes, there’s more gas in your tank to burn. It is possible.

How’d surgery go? I go in Dec. 26 and have been a ball of emotions this week. It doesn’t help that I’m a special ed teacher and had three IEP’s to be ok to take two weeks off after break. (I’m zooming in for one Jan. 14 still 🤦🏻‍♀️).

You sound like me. I was lapband to RNY revision. 5 weeks out. Not a single issue. I can eat and drink anything I try. Scale is moving and I am not hungry.

Yep, me. I never lost my hunger at all. I've just had to learn that if I follow my plan, I'm getting enough food. I ignore it by staying busy, working a lot, and keeping busy so I'm not focused on it. I make sure to have 3 meals and 3 snacks per day and prioritize protein, then healthy fats, then fiber, then carbs.

Just to chime in to the original question posed by BrandiBird, yes, sometimes we hit a plateau and we must deal with that. If it goes on for a while, you may want to talk to your provider, and/or their dietician that you talked with prior to surgery. Plateau's happen now and again and you might not be doing anything wrong. Your body is adjusting to the new you that the surgery created. Try not to be down on yourself, and celebrate the little wins that you have every week, no matter how small or large it might be. And if you truly are depressed please seek some therapy, it is worth the cost to get someone who understands bariatrics. Wishing you well!!!

I was wondering about when I can restart taking omega 3. I have to ask about that. Since yesterday I am feeling fedup with liqued diet to the point that i am close to new depression episode. This journey need lots of strength

Lynda486, that doesn't sound like a STAT CT if you can't get in to get one until Tuesday!! And liquid diet with soft foods when you can't even take in fluids without it hurting. I for sure would look at maybe going to their hospital where you had the surgery, to the ER, and see if they can get an emergent CT to find out what is happening. I know there is an insurance situation, but the old job should have COBRA for you for at minimum of 3 months, you can choose to do that if you are still in the right time frame. Either way, I'm more concerned about the health than the money, right? Being out as long as you have, do you remember what you may have done with your workout or walking, fall, or twist your body then it was a problem or it just happened for no apparent reason? I would seriously get some pictures and get them now. Not knowing where you were for your surgery vs. where you live now, indicating that you needed to stay in town...I'm assuming that you live quite a distance. Instead of paying for a hotel or motel room, go to the ER of the hospital your practice uses for surgery. That way you have the care you need and the pictures done via x-ray or CT. Let us know your progress!!

I have always spotted for a few days before my period; I look at it as my warning that its coming. It has calmed down some now, but for the first 3-4 months after surgery, my period was like when I was a teenager again. I had terrible cramps and a heavier flow; apparently there is estrogen in your fat cells and when you start losing weight, it releases the estrogen so it can make your periods worse.

Isn’t there a carafe in the middle of the table to pour into? I didn’t have alcohol that early on, but I did go to a wine/food pairing event last month (3+years out) and it went ok as long as I only took one sip per kind of wine and ate the one bite of food paired with it. I would bring a shake in your bag in case you find out the hard way that you dump or have delayed blood sugar issues. Or, I would be tempted to say that you have strep throat or the flu, and skip the whole thing. I bailed out on a lot of stuff early on because of foamies and fear of dumping in public. It took about 9 months for me to figure out my new body. I also knew that the surgery was my one shot. (I kept singing Lin Miranda’s Not Going to Mess Up My One Shot.) I still take my health very seriously and don’t care about loosing face with friends/family. You’ve got some choices.

I'm scheduled for the 10th. I officially start my liver shrinking diet today, though in reality, I started last week. I knew there would be some minor hiccups and I wanted them out of the way so I can be 100% on track with what my dr requests starting today. He has me on a 3 week liver shrink diet as my BMI is over 50. The way he sets it up is: Breakfast - Premier Protein Shake Mid Morning Snack - 1 cup melon or berries (or 1/2 cup other fruits) Lunch - Premier Protein Shake Mid Afternoon Snack - Premier Protein Shake OR 1 of the following: 6 oz light yogurt, 1/2c cottage cheese, 4 oz tuna, 1 string cheese, or 1 oz low fat jerky Dinner - 4-6 oz lean protein + 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked non-starchy vegetables I'm finding that I do well until that mid afternoon snack, then I'm wanting something more substantial. I might be scheduled a week before you, but I'm here if you want to chat at all!

I opted for surgery over the meds for a number of reasons including insurance coverage, med interactions and life long use of the GLP-1 meds. I did manage to lose quite a bit on my own when I woke up to the trash I was eating. A very simple tool helped me here. A phone app. It doesn't matter what you use (there are many to choose from) but actually logging everything you eat and drink even over just a week can be very eye opening. Read label too. Portions in restaurants are WAY too big. When I started keeping track and cutting back to actually serving sizes instead of overeating it helped a lot. If you start with that it will give you an opportunity to continue with researching the weight loss drugs while being aware of what you are actually eating. It is a pain to weigh and measure portions, but it makes a HUGE difference. Best of luck with your health journey!

It’s been ok, I’m ready for puree stage next week. I want something different to eat. Good luck to you with surgery, let me know if you have any questions

No one takes 2 months off maybe 2 weeks. It’s really just the lipo harvesting and fat grafting so no huge incisions to heal. But that being said, you really need to have a viable source of fat to harvest. And it needs to survive so you can’t be in a caloric deficit or actively losing weight. If you’re really lean I believe they still recommend implants instead although I think that’s falling out of fashion too. If you’re really really into fitness, I would suggest transitioning to fitbody/bikini modeling workouts. Those transformations are amazing.

73 last week. Had RNY in June 2016 when I was 64 and only 20 lbs regain. This surgery changed my life and has made aging so much easier Would certainly encourage anyone who’s interested to give it serious thought