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In terms of protein shakes, I don't recommend getting a giant bag/tub of protein as your tastebuds might change after your surgery. Get pre-made ones & I cannot recommend Fairlife protein shakes enough! They cost a bit more per serving vs powder protein but in terms of taste they're A+ I've tried both their 26g protein & their 30g protein versions & they're both delicious.

I had revision to bypass on 12/13/22 due to GERD/acid reflux that also caused some regain. Recovery for me was a lot worse than sleeve, but thankfully that sounds uncommon so please do not get nervous reading my story; I only tell it to share my experience. I was scheduled for outpatient surgery, but had to be admitted for one night to the hospital due to not coming out of the anesthesia quickly, an abnormal EKG post-surgery and low blood pressure issues. I spent about 8 hours in post-op recovery and was finally admitted when I didn't improve. I suspect the difference in recovery had to do with the first surgery being done at my doctor's clinic, while the bypass was performed at a hospital (insurance requirement) so same doctor, different surgical team/anesthesiologist. I was given something pre-anesthesia which the nurse told me can make coming out of anesthesia more difficult. I requested that they not give it to me, but I was asleep before the mask went on my nose, so I suspect I was given it even though the nurse told the anesthesiologist I didn't want it. I was also given fentanyl in post-op, which I would not have approved had I been awake enough to object to it. I guess it is common in emergency rooms, but I was not happy to hear them saying they were administering it to me while I was mostly asleep. I also got a corneal abrasion during surgery, which caused intense pain and watering in my left eye in post-op. They gave me drops for it and it calmed it down. Other than these issues, my post-op stay at the hospital was great - I had an amazing team of nurses that seemed like they were dedicated only to my care. Comparing to my sleeve post-op, for that surgery I was released same day just hours after surgery and aside from being sleepy for a day or two, I had no post-op issues except for constipation, which I have not had with bypass. I had a JP drain for 1 week post-surgery. I continued to have low BP for a few weeks post-surgery and very little energy. I didn't eat much for the first 2 weeks (I completely overbought on the liquids and puree foods). I was able to get my water in no problem. I wasn't able to stomach the protein shakes until week 3, they just gave me nausea. At about the 3-week mark I suddenly recovered one day from both the low BP and low energy, and now I am feeling amazing. Aside from a little heart burn a few days out of surgery I have not had any GERD/acid reflux, thank god! So far with bypass I have not regained my hunger pangs yet (yay! hope that lasts a while) and am down 20 lbs, compared to having lost 18 lbs my first month post-sleeve. I'm very happy I had the revision surgery at this point. Try to not feel frustrated, my doc told me many people need a revision, especially with GERD. I didn't realize just how much it affected my sleep, eating, daily life until it went away. Such a relief to have it gone! I wish you the best of luck in your surgery!

If you’ve seen today’s news, the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending WLS as an option for teens who have struggled with obesity. The comments online are mostly negative. If you were obese as a teen, and surgery had been an option for you as a teen (money is a whole other story…), would you have taken it?

Update: The latest return label is back to BP Store! Thank you! 😀👍🏻 Unfortunately, the newer boxes being used (Netrition) have a larger Bariatric Pal printing…sigh…at least there are a couple other brands listed next to it. So it’s harder to assume. I would love a plain shipping option.

There are lots of diet plans, both pre and post WLS so it's hard to say exactly what you should do. Personal preferences also play into this a lot. I'd recommend talking to your team as they will have the best info regarding their plan and what they want you to do. As far as protein drink recommendations, I prefer the Fairlife Nutrition Plan pre-made shakes to most others. On the exercise front, sounds like you have a decent plan already, but I'd add a couple of things: Squats are great, but don't neglect your upper body or core. If you can, add in some planks, side planks, pushups and pullups. All of these can be modified to where you're at physically. For example, if you can't do a regular pushup, start with wall pushups. Progress to an elevated surface such as a bench, then move on to a pushup on your knees, etc. Make sure you keep in mind that you want to keep progressing in both the strength and cardio work. So maybe instead of walking just a mile and quitting, try to extend that a few minutes this week, then do a few more minutes next week, etc. Work up to 45 minutes to an hour a day. Instead of just increasing time, you can also vary your pace with walking "intervals". This would be maybe 30 seconds of all-out walking as fast as you can, followed by 2-3 minutes of a more normal pace to recover. Over time, make the all-out push last longer and/or shorten the recovery period.

So I am needing some tips and advice for food and protein shakes for when I start and exercising tips I have already started walking a mile everyday except yesterday and doing 20-25 squats everytime I take a little break.

10 weeks post mini bypass and I cannot seem to eat anything as majority of food has an off putting of odour attached to it living on plain biscuits and coffee made with frothed protein milk anyone else experience this , very very disenchanted , have tried loads of foods but nothing is working

No way! Your sugar "slip" is being NORMAL. Hair loss, from surgery? Again, NORMAL. It took me 3 years to get to have surgery. I weighed 357 at my highest and was treated like it was 753 lbs. I went down 27 lbs on my own. However, I had asthma all my life and my body HURT. I retired from a job I LOVED for 25 years due to fears of working in a COVID spread environment and in order to deal with my weight. My pcp gave me phentermine to reach the arbitrary 315 lbs hurdle goal to get into surgery. Now, 6 weeks post op TODAY, it hurts to eat, I HATE protein shakes and it feels like I'm starving. Still, I feel immensely HAPPY. I am grateful for the surgery! I lost 30 first 2 weeks post op, then nothing more and gained back 4 lbs. Yet, I know it's a blip. You lost weight! You lost 60 pounds! That's like putting down a kid who piggy backed on you for however long. You're sixty pounds LIGHTER. Your hair will grow back! EAT foods high iron, biotin, and vitamins for hair skin and nails. My sister went through same and 5 years later she's back to normal, hair and all. She gains a little on holiday's but goes right back to losing what she gained with more activity and WATER. You are NORMAL. Enjoy what you've accomplished! Plus I just read people with surgery are living LONGER!!!😎🤟

I finally got a surgery date of Feb. 7th. It has been an interesting journey! I initially went to a doctor to see what could be done for my severe GERD. I have been battling it for about 6 years and I now have a raw throat all of the time. I had a scope done and it showed I also had a hiatal hernia. My doctor referred me to a surgeon. At the meeting with the surgeon he told me that as severe as my hiatal hernia, GERD/reflux is that the best surgery option is gastric bypass. I was a little hesitant but after talking to him for about an hour I understood why this is the best option. After meeting with a nutritionist and getting my psychiatrist eval done I finally got my surgery approved from my insurance. Just wondering if there are any of you getting the same surgery done in Feb.? <a href=''><img src='https://www.bariatricpal.com/tickers/425374-teresa-eschenbaum/bodyweight.png/?ts=1672857590'></a>

Hi there this is probably a common issue with weight loss surgery. I am almost 2 years post op from a bypass and really have zero complaints ..but stopped exercising over 4 months ago and became more lenient on my food choices and ended up gaining 7 lbs over the last 6 months.. The issue is once you see a slight gain it seems hard to lose an ounce of weight. I’ve downloaded a weight loss app and started monitoring my daily calories, water intake and exercise with no luck so far. I’m curious how others out there who encountered this situation were able to restart there weight loss. What apps are you using? Did you continue using the protein shakes? I feel responsible here but want to stop it before the weight creeps up anymore.. I made a huge decision to get the surgery and it really helped me out but as the surgeon stated it was only a tool that we ultimately have to do the hard work to keep the weight off! I appreciate everyone’s feedback on this issue! Michelle

Unfortunately, my surgery has now become self pay. I have bcbs of Florida and they refuse to cover anything bariatric. Because my fistula is from the previous gastric bypass, they will not cover it. I have exhausted every option. Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first thing my doctor said was that my BMI was at 31 and that insurance would not approve me. Then she brought up another procedure called Lynx. Some kind of magnetic bead thing that would keep the opening of your stomach closed unless things passed through. I don’t want it. I had the lapband and it’s was the worst and I feel like anything they put in your body that can be removed, it’s not going to help me. My bariatric doctor thinks I have a small hiatal hernia. They took me into radiology and made me drink the dye, but everything looked normal. In a week they are going to look down my throat to see if there is in fact a hernia. I have new insurance this year, but it’s still the same company. If I don’t have a hernia, I’m going to push for the revision or any other options. I can’t keep taking anti acids multiple times a day on top of vitamins, medications, etc.

Thank you for your insight. I'm only on here off & on but hadn't seen anything on it either. Perhaps I'm a 'one off' kind of situation. Pasta is tough for me too- just a couple of bites of that. Although I can eat the pasta protein meals found in the Bariatric Pal store just fine. And they are pretty tasty too!

Thank you for your response. Even a small amount makes me vomit & my stomach very uncomfortable. It generally smells good though. I’m able to get my protein through yogurt, cheeses, protein lemon tea…. Wondering how common it is to develop an inability to eat meat.

I'm post-op 10/19. Stalled 2 weeks then bam down 4.5#. Down 40#. After 7 weeks it has jumped by at least 3#. Patience. I'm on regular food now and using Myfitness to see how much protein fat, calories and carbs I'm getting.

Still managing soreness. Luckily not too much pain. Belly button is tender and abdomen is bloated and stiff to the touch. All this appears normal, I spoke with my nurse. But what are peoples experience getting their liquids down? Today I finished 1 protein shake and probably had 30 oz of hydrating liquids. But when I take my sips it feels like my stomach cramps a little, or there's some tightness in my chest. In guessing this is normal so close to being post op, but it's very annoying and makes me not what to eat lol.

Maybe finding a good therapist & a dietician will help your cousin get back on track. They can be very helpful during this process - supporting her through the emotional turmoil & sorting out her dietary concerns & issues. Also speaking with her surgeon (via Skype or similar) or asking them for a referral to another surgeon close to her now may be helpful too. There is no need to go back to the very low calorie, shake diet. This was in place for a specific period of time to support healing. Sure people lose weight on very low calorie shake diets but they are not sustainable & regain is usually inevitable. Eating in a way that was more like what she was doing when she well into her weight loss (say the 6 or 12 month mark) would be more beneficial: observing portions, protein & fluid goals, & eating a range of vegetables, fruit, dairy, & small amounts of low processed multi/whole grains. As @catwoman7 said a bounce back regain of 10-20lbs is very common in the 2nd/3rd years so her regain could be just that. Also I wonder if she was given reasonable expectations as to what her weight loss could be after surgery? The average weight loss after sleeve or bypass is about 65%+/- of the weight you have to lose to put you in the healthy BMI weight range. (Yes, the healthy BMI range is not always the best weight range for someone & yes, some people do exceed the average result.) She may be beating herself up with somewhat unrealistic goals ( though I understand her desire to lose more). This video may be of assistance to help your cousin look at her achievement of losing 175lbs in a different way: a success.

Something isn't adding up here. If she's getting in 109g protein, that's 436 calories right there. If she's only taking in 662 calories, then her protein would be about 65% of that. Maybe some misinterpretation of what MFP is reading? I can see that they might "recommend" 35% protein for her low calories - a typical normal diet might be 15-20%, and a bariatric weight loss diet might well be 50-60% (or more, at the beginning when we are eating little else other than protein.) 60-80g would be a typical recommendation for a woman with a sleeve, as there is no significant malabsorption involved, though some go higher than that as a means of avoiding "carbs", or under the false assumption that the extra will help avoid loss of muscle mass (it will to the point that one is actually working to build muscle mass, but the only thing the excess does, other than make expensive urine, is to avoid deficiency, but one doesn't need much extra to avoid that - the typical bariatric recommendations will cover it.) It does sound like a bariatric RD would be a good person to consult, and if she is truly only getting 6-700 calories and still struggling, then there may be some other metabolic issue going on, and some other appropriate specialist may be in order. But a good RD would be a great start in getting a good baseline of what is really happening dietwise. Starting at 400 lb, a sleeve is often somewhat marginal for getting to normal, particularly for a woman of that size (how tall is she - that's a factor as well in determining an appropriate goal and understanding metabolic issues.) You say that she recently moved cross country - where is she now - that can be a help in finding new specialists. It might be that the VSG is indeed marginal for her needs, and she really needs something stronger. A DS is a straightforward conversion from the VSG (as it uses the sleeve as its basis) and is typically the strongest metabolic tool of the mainstream procedures, so that is also a longer term consideration.

Hello, I am new to BP. So I'm ten days after SADI surgery. Doing very well. But is normal I have zero gas issues, everything has gone down fine, BM and no nausea and vomiting. But dang am I tired of liquids. why is SADI not an option on the drop down box?🧐

OK I had my DS surgery 11/15/22 I've lost 28 lbs. I've lost 2 lbs in the past 2 weeks. I thought this was gonna drastically drop off. I'm doing my protein shakes ,and water. Why am I at a stall already Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

at two years out, she should be getting double the number of calories she's getting now (if not more - depends on her height, weight, activity level, etc) - unless she's super short or has really screwed up metabolism or something. 662 calories is only common in the first few months after surgery, not at two years out. re: the 10 lb gain, most of us gain 10-20 lbs after hitting our lowest weight, so that's not uncommon. It's almost expected...(not inevitable, but it happens to most people) protein - most of us are encouraged to get 60-80 grams a day. I need 100, but that's because we discovered early on that I malabsorb it - my prealbumin level tanks if I don't get that much. But I'm not the norm. 300 is crazy. No one needs that much - not even body builders. That's so weird that the app is telling her that!! you mentioned an RD - might be a good idea for her to see one to get some good advice and guidelines on what/how she should be eating. She may have some issues that we don't necessarily know about (like me and my protein issue....)

My insurance approved me pretty fast too once they got the information. I took the first surgery date I could get and had the procedure in Nov 2022. For me, the hardest part was the pre op liquid diet those protein shakes were just too sweet. After my surgery a friend of mine put together a protein concoction that i could live with, she put a protein shake, fage greek yougurt 0% unflavored, protein powder and coconut in the blender. Once i drink all of that in a day i know i got about 87 gm of protein. It is not too sweet and it works much better than the straight protein shakes.

CROSS POST Hey all! I'm a 3 timer (I've had all 3 surgeries: lap band, sleeve, and bypass, currently underweight, struggling to keep weight up after losing colon in emergency surgery about 10mths ago but still remember what being overweight was like). My cousin had the VSG about 2 yrs ago at almost 400 lbs and has been semi successful and has lost close to 175lbs but over the past 9 mths or so has plateaued becuz of numerous "reasons" (moving across country marital woes, works stress, you name the stress, heredity,, etc.). She has reached out to me for help, as I admin a FB group for people with wls's + i was fairly successful (before I lost my colon, lol ) as she's desperate for help before it gets out of hand. She's gained 10 lbs in the past 10 mths since moving cross country and doesn't want to continue on. So, for the past month (and yes, even during the holidays), she's kept a strict journal which she always during her active losing phase. She sent me the last few days worth. I was dismayed to see her intake/output. Literally I think she's starving herself. She's taking in 662 calories a day and exercising 280 . This means she's getting in maybe 380 cals a day. And shes' a special needs teacher and a mom of a 6 yr old! OMG! She's drinking a lo cal protein shake for bfast and lunch and eating a super lo cal protein/veg dinner. She's getting in plenty of water and her vits, luckily. I think she's starving. But she said she's tried every variation of every single meal variation out there and she's frustrated she wants to cry. She's been on every "diet" her entire life and this sleeve was her saving grace and the only thing that worked - for a minute. Until the honeymoon was over. It's been about 2 yrs and now the hard work actually starts and I've told her this. Ok, I just got this info from her when I asked her how much protein she was getting: 109 gms a day. MFP shows only 35%. And she downloaded the ACTUAL MFP pie chart to prove to me this WAS the case and OMG! This is TRUE. Since when is MFP encouraging people to get almost 300 gms of protein a day? What protein u don't use, u pee out. Unless u r an unlucky few that r prone to kidney disease and then u get kidney dz! Seems ridiculous. Almost 300 gms!? And now they charge u? I told her she really doesn't need more than 70-80. I need some input on how to help her. Some ,meal/snacking solutions. I dont think she needs to know that she needs to increase her protein as she's already getting an overabundance in that department. Maybe something her dr can do for her? Tests or something? Metabolism tests? Is this done with blood or what? Or can it be done by a RD? HELP! Marci X POSTED

Zero Sugar Pedialyte. Gatorade zero with protein, Gatorade fit. Bone broth. With my doctors it is more about staying hydrated. I was told to push the pedialyte and Gatorade for electrolytes. Protein shakes. the pedialyte I tolerate better then Gatorade. also recommend a hot water bottle to help push the gas through and gas x. And may want to alternate hot water bottle with ice pack until the pain has resided.

Hi. It could be that you aren’t getting enough protein.