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I have already reprogrammed my brain a bit just doing the Optifast for 4 weeks. I detoxed in a sense with all the foods I was addicted to and I don't really crave them now. What I crave is just eating solid foods and not liquids and soft foods. When I do have some of those "bad" foods again, it won't be in the huge amounts that I used to it - because A: I will feel full sooner due to my stomach size now and B: I am learning a whole new way of eating in general. I am never going back to what I used to be.

I saw my doctor today and got weighed just to see if the scale is different there than at home. I am 380, which of course I am happy about - but like I said, much of that was from the Optifast prior to surgery. I am not going to focus on the scale, but like I said before I was expecting a bit more of a woosh of weight loss since having the surgery. As I said before, I lost 20 ponds in two weeks just doing keto and moving a bit more - again I know that is water weight and also that wouldn't continue, but it was a great feeling nonetheless at the time. I agree with your points about nonscale victories and a month from now, I may be singing an entirely different tune on here. I was just thinking outloud and giving my initial thoughts per this thread. Thanks for the support. HM

Thank you. I am on week 2 right now doing purée foods and so far so good. I feel like I am eating and drinking too much. It’s weird since day one I’ve not had trouble eating or drinking liquids other than making sure I go slow, I feel like I’m taking in 4oz of purée at a time. Other than that the incision where the stomach was removed is still sore but I am able to bend and walk. Hope everyone is feeling better this month as well!

You have a tough regime. Most of us have 2 weeks of each phase. The liquid phase is the hardest because we naturally want to chew. You are also getting over really tough surgery. Its a hard learning curve and you will be so sore. Your hormones are doing summersaults just now. Its a full on smack in the face. You have to white knuckle the liquid part that your team has set for you. You need to let your stomach heel. It will all pass very quickly. We all got passed it and we got fed up too. I couldn't do puree but I could do strained soups. Just do your best. It would not do any harm to contact your team and ask if you can have a little leeway with your diet. Try hot cold and frozen clear liquids just for a little variation

Hi, So I’m 10 days post op and in liquid diet phase and it’s dreadful. My plan as per my dietician is 4 weeks of clear liquid 4 weeks of puréed phase and 4 weeks of soft foods before real food.I am fed up with my food now and want to have some real food. How do I overcome this?

I've lost a similar weight to you in roughly the same time span. I did lose more post op than pre op though, 7kgs vs 10kgs. In the infamous 3 week stall now. Plus I'm backed up and working on fixing that issue. Taking a break from the scales. You need to be patient. This isn't the 100 metre sprint, it's an ultra marathon. If you do a bit of googling you'll see that the first 6 weeks isn't a time to expect anything much. You're body is adjusting to its new way of life. Hang in there, I'd anticipate you'll have weeks of great losses given you're starting a bit higher. It will come off nice and steady. Join our May Surgery thread, we're all there for each other.

The only thing I ended up taking out was my tablet and charger. I wore the same clothes home. I slept all day after my surgery, just waking up for small periods. The next day I had a 2 hour nap and went to bed at 7.30pm. I focussed on drinking so I could go home! Good luck next week!

I barely lost in the first two weeks post surgery and promptly stalled at the end of week 2, where I proceeded to stall frequently throughout the entire first year. My rate of weight loss post surgery was the same as my rate of loss doing calorie counting pre-surgery. I never had the big-loss-numbers some others have. But it still worked, I reached goal at around month 13/14. Despite not losing fast, it worked. It's done what I needed it to do, it stopped me self-sabotaging and continues to be the adult in the room when it comes to me and food. Losing slowly and steadily is ok! So long as you stick to the plan, the weight comes off. If you're an emotional eater, get yourself a bariatric therapist who can help because the primary thing this surgery does is help with portion control. Everything else is down to us, the calorie counting, the staying on plan, and getting on top of any mental issues that have contributed to obesity and may cause trouble down the line.

Ok, is painful intercourse a part of the changing hormones from losing weight, or should I talk to my doctor about it being another issue? It's not really dryness, though there is some. It is mostly pain during, not after.. I thought increased estrogen would help. It's only been in the last few weeks that this has been going on.

I've lost 20 since surgery (4 weeks) and 15 lbs during the preop diet for a total of 35 pounds. That's about what you lost, right? I stalled around 2.5 weeks in that lasted well over a week. Hang in there. It will come off. And like someone said, make sure you're tracking everything, and I'll go farther and say, before you ever eat it. What if you focused on some nonscale victories. For me it was a smaller size piece of clothing or getting my shoes on without huffing and puffing. Just today, I put on a shirt that didn't fit prior to surgery. Your body is doing a lot of behind the scenes work that may not be reflected on the scale.< br>This is not an easy process, and you don't have to do it alone.

When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5k just to prove I could. I did a program similar to Couch to 5 K (C25K). It took about a month. I discovered I enjoyed running. I could use to time to put the day in order and ponder life's challenges. I started adding distance, then worked at improving time. At some point I decided on running a marathon, so got a book (Idiot's guide to Marathons) and followed the program there. The more I ran the more I enjoyed it. I lived in Las Vegas at the time and decided I would run in the Valley of Fire Marathon which was out in the desert near Lake Mead. A couple months before the marathon I had a business trip to Long Beach and as it happened the Long Beach Marathon was that weekend. I decided I would sign up and use it as a training run. I didn't really intend to finish, but as it turned out I did. It was wonderful. So my second marathon was Valley of Fire, which was up and down a hill. Very challenging. My third marathon was Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach. 4th was San Francisco Marathon where I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. This was a tough one for me. I tripped at about 1/4 mile from the start, landed hard on my chin. I new there was an aid station about mile 4 on the other side of the bridge, so I said I'd get to there and call it a day. By time I got there I didn't feel bad at all, the bleeding stopped and the aches were subsiding, so I continued knowing I could cut to the half marathon if necessary. The half marathon cut off was about mile 11, and I was doing well so I just stuck with it. At about mile 13 was the first sustained uphill where I finally needed to take some deep breaths and realized I couldn't. I trudged as well as I could to the end, where they diverted me to the hospital tent then the hospital. Turned out I had a broken rib and required stitches in my chin. My 5th and last (as it turned out) was Long Beach Marathon, a year after my first. I was way past goal at this point, and couldn't eat enough to stop losing weight. For the year of marathons I ran about 90 miles a week, went through a pair of shoes every 6 weeks. I'm prouder of my marathons than I am of losing 500+ pounds. To your questions: I never worried about fuel during a run that was less that 15 miles. Over 15 I did a "goo" every 5 miles. Hydration is where I focused. That and breathing. I had to be careful as most "fuel" is heavy on sugar and I dump on sugar. I did dump a few times until I learned my tolerances of different products. I did yogurt before and after. Building stamina is what the C25K and other programs are about. Keep a running log & journal so you can see your improvement, which is extremely motivational. Be patient. Good luck, Tek

My stall hit a couple days before I was 2 weeks post op and lasted a solid 2 weeks. But the scale is finally moving downward again, much slower pace, but it’s going down! I’m a month out today!

I'm pleased to report that my surgery is now scheduled for early next week. I've been following all the pre-op guidelines to the letter- including the diet. I actually feel pretty good- way better than before and the surgery has yet to happen. Today, I did the pre-admission process at the hospital and the folks there --they have a specialized unit-- could not have been nicer. They use some method to reduce pain that does not involve opioids and the fact that I will be on a liquid diet for the first several weeks after the procedure will no doubt lead to some immediate weight loss. But then the real work begins, and I'm looking forward to it-- walking (something that has been more difficult during the last year due to weight) and eventually getting back to the gym. I am eager to get back into good physical condition. Mentally, I'm psyched. As to food and eating, I've found that even apart from the pre-op diet, my taste for a lot of food and my ability to eat large portions has already diminished due to gastric problems so I'm not going to be disappointed that I can't carve into a big honking' slab of steak. We'll see if my attitude changes over time--I never obsessed over food though I was always a good eater. It's just that all the tumult of gastric pain and reflux made it unenjoyable. And I'm really looking forward to fitting into some clothing that I've not been able to wear for a while. I know this is going to take time, but I feel like I'm fortunate to have explored this path and want to take full advantage of it. Will report back post-surgery and may have questions. The surgeon's office has been wonderful and seems to be very well coordinated with the bariatric unit of the local hospital here. I've been very impressed, having had some terrible hospital experiences in NYC when I lived there.

OP we all second guess and over-analyse immediately after our surgery. If you stick to your plan you WILL lose weight. Significant amounts of weight. You cannot not do that. However - you will NOT lose weight in a linear fashion. There will be many weeks (or even the occasional month) where you will lose virtually nothing despite knocking your socks off. What matters is that in the long term (18 months or so) if you do what you are asked to to use your sleeve to the max then you will lose LOADS! Welcome to your journey - it's quite the ride for lots of us!

Yep my surgery was 5/15, I am at a stall. Only 19 lbs so far. So now on soft blended food. I mix up casserole dishes for hubby, family, add everything I can eat , take out a couple cups, blend if necessary and half fill 4 ramekins. I then go forward with fixing the casserole for the family, bake as directed. Freeze 3 of the ramekins for me later. So far everything tastes good. Look up noodless tuna noodle casserole also cauliflower mushroom risotto

Yes I am running 18 months after my sleeve. Many years ago I did much longer distances - lots of half marathon type runs. Then I got properly fat and couldn't run any more but missed it hugely. Since I have got down to a normal BMI I am running again, but much shorter distances, and only with the aim of maintaining weight loss and general fitness - I have nothing to prove to anyone these days distance wise. I can run 3 or 4 miles easily and I do that (or less) a couple of times a week. I could push it and extend that but I have no inclination to. If I can keep this up as part of my maintenance regime I will be a VERY happy bunny.

I used to hate running but when I experienced the runner's high I changed my mind. LOL I worked up to 5 miles doing interval training. Basically alternating shorts bursts of walking/ jogging to eventually jogging/running. Times vary but the goal is to slowly increase running time with less recovery time. I haven't done any running yet after RNY. Just walking and TBH not sure I will push myself to do anything long distance related anymore. Reason being, I knew many marathon runners when I worked in the health clubs. They ran miles every week. Were in great shape and could eat anything they wanted. Years later I saw alot of them and they aged horribly. Looked way older than their age. Google free radicals and exhaustive exercise. Not trying to discourage anyone to get in shape but moderation is key and more is not necessarily better. Too Much of a Good Thing? Cellular Health and Exercise (wondriumdaily.com)

Thanks for the encouragement. I have been reading a lot on here. Yes I have to do a 2 week liquid diet. So it wills tart July 3rd. That has me worried the most since I have a physically demanding job. I am not sure how I am going to make it through the day with so few calories. I am going to talk to my nutritionist about it next time we meet.

Does it really say that? I went through the program once before, but at the time decided it was not right for me and bailed. Got back on the horse and did it 3 weeks ago.

I was under the impression everyone has to do Optifast or something similar to reduce liver size prior to surgery, but maybe that is more of a Canadian requirement vs. what bariatric surgeons require in the US for patients - as I am Canadian. So yes, I was sort of expecting that whoosh of weight loss at least temporarily following the surgery. I do also think there is a little bit of hype of weight loss made by the bariatric program I was in as they do want to get paid to do the procedure ultimately. Yes, I concede that getting the surgery will help keep me on track long term, but I didn't think the weight loss would be the equivalent of the weight loss of someone who sticks to a diet and exercises everyday - the 1 or 2+ pounds a week, so maybe my expectations were off there. However I think that is a reasonable expectation nonetheless because my stomach is much smaller than a normal person - so I can't consume what a regular person would daily anyway when it comes to calories or portion size. Of course the before and after photos of many people online can be quite shocking even from 6 months to a year, so of course one hopes for similar results. Or like that actor Billy Gardell - but yes, I know he can afford chefs and other things to keep him on track. Again, I am just thinking outloud here. Maybe my entire view will change in a couple of months. I think you kind of nailed it - I was expecting a whoosh of initial weight loss. Thanks, HM

I started running after my surgery. I started out slow for two reasons, 1. Cause I was and 2. Cause I didn't want to have any injuries. Each person is different and what I did may not work for you. I started with a 5k. I would run so far then walk the rest. After 2 weeks I would add a little more distance and just keep going from there until I was running the whole 5k. I then set up a schedule to run the 5k (everyday for me) and 2 days to add more distance so I could run 10ks 15ks or any other distance. It will come, it just takes time. When I run long distances I use the GU's to help out with endurance. I use them every 2 miles and make sure I get water at the water stations. I also made sure that I had a protein bar with minimum 20 grams of protein an hour before the race. I hope this helps and if you have any questions just let me know. Good luck with your new adventure!

One thing you can try is tracking calories. Find a BMR calculator online and determine your current calorie requirement. Then use a calorie log for everything you eat in a day. You should be able to determine from this your daily calorie deficit. This should give you a good idea of how much weight you could possibly be losing in a week. It is going to vary depending on stalls, water weight, etc.. 3500 calories is 1 pound. So if your deficit is 500 cal per day, you would lose 1 pound a week. I’m sure it’s more than that but that’s a nice round number to see the math.

Thanks for responding. I was 425 at my biggest. I am now just under 390, but most of that weight loss was from the 4 weeks of Optifast. Not the 3 weeks now after the surgery. When it is all said and done, I am looking to be 210/220 max which is the weight I was prior to gaining the weight. I haven't been overweight all my life, but I have been for a good 10+ years now. I am an emotional eater. Eat my stress away as opposed to say drinking or smoking when it comes to other dealing with life vices. I remember one time I lost about 20 pounds in two weeks when I did the Keto diet and joined a gym. Yes, I know that much of that is water weight and that rapid weight loss wouldn't continue as well as the fact that I didn't stick with it, but these are just questions that are popping into my curious head now - will I pretty much lose the same amount of weight monthly if I just stuck to a more traditional way of losing weight. I know it is a journey and tool for long term. I guess I am thinking how am I not losing more weight from just a calories point of view of just soups and other liquids in small amounts as I am not in the solid foods yet phase. I am also just thinking outloud here and just wanted to see what other people had to say when it came to weight loss just after surgery. Thanks HM

I stalled around 2 weeks and it lasted about a 1.5 weeks. I'm finally losing again. Hang in there!

Its officially JUNE!! Happy surgery month everyone! I have three days until surgery and I'm starting to get that nervous feeling