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You should just be taking a sip every few minutes of all your liquids. No gulping mouthfuls or downing glassfuls so you won’t feel full. Liquids go through your digestive system more quickly too. Plus many nerves were cut during your surgery so messages about hunger, satiety, fullness, etc. don’t get through in the same way or at all. This is why it’s very important to stick to the portion sizes & the eating & drinking guidelines (sipping, eating slowly, etc.) you were given most especially in the first weeks while you are healing. (I still sip & eat slowly 4 years out.) Actually not eating or drinking until you are full is an important learning. It takes time for the message to get through that you are full so by the time you realise you are full you are more than full & have eaten or drunk way too much. Listening to your signals & signs as to when you have had enough & don’t need more (need not want) does take time and they may be different from what you know them as. If you had a leak you’d know about it. Symptoms include: fast heart rate fever chills stomach pain chest pain shortness of breath of breathing difficulties nausea & vomiting If you have some or all of these symptoms contact your surgeon & go to your nearest medical centre. All the best.

Check it now if you’re grazing you have to pull back. You will look up and 3 pounds is 30 pounds and you will have to start over. I just restarted and lost and it was hardest thing to do. My advice is to go back to basics and incorporate intermittent fasting. It had been game changer for me. Train yourself to only eat when hungry and let’s be clear we aren’t not hungry just eating because we can.

Hi just now seeing this. I went pack to basics and intermittent fasting. The two Protein Shakes and one meal is what you have to do to get weight moving. Also you can never eat regular again to maintain the weight loss. That’s what I found works for me. I keep my calories around 1000 or less per day and I’m fine. If I splurge one day I only eat a little of the bad item. Also no leftovers of not good food choice items

Might be worth going and seeing another dr. This could be anything from GERD to an ulcer and now that you've had the surgery you want to get on top of that ASAP. It sounds like they haven't taken it as seriously as they should be. If the pain is really bad, might be worth even going to emergency, they'll at least try to figure out exactly what's causing the pain. I had GERD before my Sleeve and my surgeon said I should still get a sleeve and not a bypass, but I was really keen on the bypass having spent years reading up on the difference. Now that i look back on this I think it's because I self funded and he would not do a bypass on anyone that has self funded without insurance, meaning he'd lose me as a client. The few people i've spoken to have said many surgeons will choose bypass over sleeve if the patient has a history of GERD and yep, now my GERD is worse than ever and my surgeon keeps saying it's clearly just my fault, I must be eating wrong or sleeping after eating. I even fasted at one point and did just liquids to prove him wrong. It's gotten to the point, I've stopped talking to the surgeon and starting seeking help elsewhere and they've put me on anti acid medication (which the surgeon refused to). Life has been much better having stopped talking to the surgeon and talking to other health care providers. Might be time for you to switch to if they don't take this pain seriously. I hope you're feeling much better asap, but don't be afraid to get another opinion. Pain should not be happening. Please take care

I had sleeve & am just over 4 years out. my weight has been pretty much stable aside from a small gain of a good 2kgs after a medication absorption issue (& lost about half of it when the meds were adjusted). I never was required to measure & track my food intake. I only did it & still do randomly out of my own interest. While portion size is important equally important is calories & you can’t judge or make decisions about one in isolation of the other. The importance of nutritional value goes without saying of course. Generally I say I eat about a recommended portion of most foods & tend to eat predominately low processed food with the exception of some things. As an example I eat about 3-4ozs of protein with a good cup or so of vegetables for dinner. I have a half serve of rolled oats made with milk & blueberries for breakfast. Lunch may be 4 steamed prawn gyoza, a tub of yoghurt, 12 mid sized prawns, 1.5 egg omelette with vegetables, etc. I snack about 4 times a day (to get in additional protein, nutrients & calories). It’s usually some multigrain crackers with labneh or liverwurst if I haven’t made labneh, macadamia nuts, protein bar, string cheese, peanut paste, fruit, beef jerky. I don’t eat dessert, cakes or biscuits (except on very rare occasions), rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, chips, popcorn or other traditional ‘snack’ foods & don’t drink soda. Nor do I eat fast food & very rarely have takeaway (maybe 5 times since my surgery & not through my choice). Don’t really miss them either. Also I still take 30 - 45 minutes to eat a meal. If I eat more quickly, how much I can eat is reduced & I can end up with the foamies. I still aim to eat 60-70g of protein & to get my fluids in every day. I eat about 1500 calories to maintain my weight. I’m 5’3”, have a finer build, am 58 & aren’t really active. If I was taller, weighed more, was more active &/or younger I’d need more calories. Anyway that’s what I do & found works for me. It may not work for you. There is no right or wrong way to eat only what is right for you & allows you to maintain your weight & health, is sustainable & doesn’t limit or restrict the life you want to live. PS - Earlier this year I checked a BMR calculator out of curiosity. Interestingly, it suggested I’d need to consume about 1500 calories to maintain my weight which confirmed I was on the right path.

Yeah, it's honestly getting to the point where it's making me feel nauseous after I eat. And I would think the portions are fine when I'm eating just a single serving of yogurt and one protein shake at a time (both separately), but I'm trying my absolute best in having my required amount of water and protein, but this has been inhibiting me from doing so. Like I can only do 55g of protein at most out of the recommended 80-90g. And I am going back to work tomorrow and I want to make sure I'm ready and have enough energy as I have very much on my feet walking a lot job, and because of this issue it is also stopping me from having my complete water/hydration amount to the point where I still get lightheaded if I get up too fast and the only way to stop it is drink more water which I can't do because I keep hitting that wall! It's so frustrating!!

So I did my surgery on July 11th, and I'm currently on my puree stage and I've been doing soups, mashed potatoes, and yogurt outside of my liquids, but I've been getting some mild discomfort when eating. Not really sure if it's normal; like it feels like an empty stomach cramp but goes away after a time, but doesn't happen when I drink my fluids. Am I eating too fast? Or is it something else? Will this inhibit me from moving forward to soft foods?

I don't really have an aversion to any food. I don't particularly crave sweet things though, like chocolates, lollies and baked goods. It'd be good if that lasted! If I get a rare sugar craving something like an orange usually satisfies it. I definitely don't hanker for fast food like I used too either, I'm eating great and am enjoying what I'm making.

hey everyone! i love reading about everyone’s journey and i hope youre all feeling well today 🩵 it’s been a month since my surgery (july 3) already! i can’t believe it’s gone by so fast. no complaints thankfully everything has been going as smoothly as possible. noticing a little stall now but i’m not mad about it it’s all part of the process. one huge victory for me is i’m finally done with the blood thinner shots !! lol

Hi everyone I’m new here I had my surgery July 6th so im a month out and really struggling with eating to fast. I also ate something I had absolutely no business eating I also ate to much! I am now super disappointed in myself because of my behaviors. Just needed to vent!

Hey everyone, I am 2 weeks post op for the SADI-S and had an egg for my first food after clear liquids. I am now back to liquids. After the egg for 2 hours I felt like I was trying to burp and swallow at the same time and it was fighting to go down. Felt horrible. I don't want to eat after that experience and am glad to be back to clear liquids. It felt like when you eat too fast. Anyone else have this and when will it go away?

Dublunv.....I too was a night time snacker. And a " Finish all that is on your plate" I started my liquid diet on Monday, had our granddaughter with us so there was no time for that HANGRY monster in me to show its ugly head lol busy busy busy I was. That definitely helped. Try munching on sugar free popsicles or freezes... Today I go for my pre op appointment August 14 is coming up Fast

I’m hungry. Lol I miss chewing food. I’m only on day 8 post op. Chewing jello is not the same. It’s not like chicken. Lol Drinking my protein all day long is getting old really fast. Sigh… #justventing

I should have mentioned in my initial post that I had a sleeve in 2018. Had horrible GERD since and also never lost the most weight that my surgeon said I could possibly lose. Fast forward through COVID, loss of a family member, major job change l, etc etc - I actually gained almost ALL of the weight back. It very embarrassing. I would have never thought that I would gain it all back - ever. As the day goes, never say never. I have a new surgeon now and she is amazing and did not make me feel like a loser. Since I have GERD and never lost to my potential, and have the hiatal hernia, I am having a revision to gastric bypass on 8/11. My highest weight was 250 and my lowest weight after sleeve was 169. I’m 5’4”. To say that this second chance means everything to me is an understatement. I haven’t even told anyone (besides my husband) that I’m doing the revision because I’m so embarrassed.

I’m 15 months from my surgery. I have no problem with eating and drinking, as long as I drink slowly after eating. But when I drink too fast, my stomach hurts and I feel a lot of pressure in my stomach.

My surgery is on Monday (less than 48 hours!). My instructions are to fast starting at midnight before surgery. I was told to drink 10 oz Gatorade 3 hours before surgery. Does fasting include water or can I drink water in the morning? I can’t believe I didn’t ask my doc this question! Thank you!

we were out doing errands and were super hungry so we went to the first fast food place we could agree on: a tex mex chain neither of has ever been to. was pleasantly surprised with my chicken taco. yes, this is a taco! but it was so overloaded that it basically eats like a salad, lol. ate about a 1/3 of it...i estimated the whole thing at 551 calories. will definitely be visiting it again later tonight for dinner!

Are you on a PPI (like esomeprazole)? Stomach acid can make you think you’re hungry with hunger pangs. Stomach acid is often greater at night because of the fasting period when there isn’t any food in your tummy so the acid isn’t being used to breakdown it down. Also a growling tummy in most instances don’t indicate you are hungry (like we were always told) - it’s just our digestive system working. The hunger could actually still be head hunger. Our heads are a very powerful organ & can really mess with us. Your hunger could be caused by your emotions. The surgery & change of diet is stressful & the hormonal flush can make you emotional. For many of us we used to turn to food in stressful/emotional situations to sooth & comfort us. At the moment you can’t do that but your head is still telling you to eat. Also you can be simply wanting/craving what you can’t have. Subconsciously, you can also be questioning how such a little serving of food can actually be enough to satisfy you. All your head messing with you. I discovered my real hunger feels very different than the ‘hunger’ I used to know. I get restless, think something is wrong but aren’t sure what at first. There is always a reason I am hungry (missed a meal, delayed eating, didn’t eat enough for the day, etc.). I never crave or want to eat a specific food, flavour or texture… except I find I only want something high in protein. Distraction can be helpful. Read, go for a walk, undertake a hobby like gardening, drawing or crafting, play some games board or online, ring a friend or family member, clean out a drawer or cupboard, check social media, etc. Sometimes a warm drink can help.

Hi there! Congratulations on 7 weeks!! You didnt say what it was you ate other than "only good things". :) I personally followed my meal plan to the letter and still do almost two years out. But that is what I needed to do for myself. 7 weeks is not a long time, but there are a couple of things that you couldve been doing. 1. eating too fast. This is an ongoing challenge for myself. My jobs have always been such that time meal breaks were pretty much non existent and as a nurse we usually "ate on the fly". This is a bad habit from bootcamp and beyond that I work faithfully to control. Its not easy but I put a bite in my mouth, put my fork down and concentrate on chewing the food in my mouth to the consistency it needs to be for my pouch. 2. drinking too soon after eating. I have gotten good at this, I don't drink anything an hour after I eat, even now. In my preop class this was shown to me and it has stuck with me. If you have ever "forgotten" and drank after or during a meal once, you tend to not want to repeat that process again. LOL https://youtube.com/shorts/oNdeGkkwqlw?feature=share 3. not paying attention to the cues your body gives you when you are full or eating more than 1/4 cup (example). Or if you are eating veggies not cooking them. 4. check your macros with your dietician. That seems to be a lot of carbs. Relax!! Stick to your meal plan and touch base regularly with your Reg. Dietician.

Oh yes, I don't like the sugary drink once it gets flat either. I've tried to drink the zero sugar drinks but they upset my stomach and are very sweet. I enjoyed my cirkul but it isn't carbonated. My husband and my daughter eat a lot of fast food or highly carb filled foods, so I can understand when they think that you eat something weird. Even though they are supportive it's still very difficult to not eat or at least take a bite or 2 of it. I did get them to try the chicken meatballs and cauliflower rice and they liked that so it's a start. I'm really really trying to change my habits but I'm finding that I'm not meal prepping enough. I feel like I need to take that modo "a boy scout is always prepared' and apply it to my eating habits. 🤔

Mine only lasted about 8 days. My doc prescribed Tramadol for pain but it was only 18 pills ( I think). It was only supposed to last for like 3-4 days. The dosage was one every 4 hours for pain, but I would only take it at bedtime so that I could sleep through the night. That made it last much longer. I did not ask for a refill. After that, if I did feel something like soreness or dull pain, I'd just take the rapid release Tylenol. They dissolve really fast so that more of the medicine is absorbed.

I can more or less tolerate anything now, but there are a surprising number of things I don't want anymore. I lived on fast food pre-op. Now, I have zero interest in burgers, fries, and such. I might have the occasional pastry item, but it is very easy for me to go to a bakery and not get anything or see a plate of cookies and not grab one. Unheard of pre-op! On the flip side, I never was really keen on ice cream pre-op. Now, I love it. It's one of the few sweets that goes down easily.

Hello @LibrarianErin, you’re not a failure, you are trying your best. This is a major surgery and it is going to take time for both mind and body to adjust! You got this!! :)) I also struggle to get my liquids for the day and I recommend Nectar daily hydration water packets as adding it to a water bottle multiplies the intake (1 oz is 2; 2oz is 4 etc) which has helped me reach my water goal without having to drink that much to where my stomach feels uncomfortable! It also helps with that dry mouth feeling as it works fast in terms of hydration. (I added it to my gatorade on days I couldn’t stomach water) There are other brands but this brand is 0 calories and sugar free which I find to be very bariatric friendly! And they have a variety pack so you can try different flavors. May you have brighter days ahead! ☀️

i chose an arbitrary number of the mid-point of healthy BMI for my height: 120 lbs (which was more or less the weight i was up to my mid-twenties...im 50 now) By the time i got to 127, i called GOAL cuz i felt i was looking too gaunt and skelator-ish for my liking. I did continue to lose more weight, however, and for some reason or another, got down to a lowest-post-op weight of 109 around 1.5 years post op. fast forward a few years (i'm almost 5 yrs post-op now) and i've basically bounced around 115-120 for most of that time. This morning, i clocked in at 119.8 lbs oddly enough, despite the fact that i weigh about 7 lbs less than the time i called goal due to looking too sickly over 4 years ago, i actually look much, much healthier now. the rapid weight loss phase did a number to my appearance, i guess, and now that i'm on auto-pilot and eating more "normally" (i'm looking at you, carbs!), and getting a decent amount or regular exercise. everything sort of shifted around and settled so i no longer look like dead man walking. oh, and another observation: when i was a teenager, i weighed about 110-115, and looking as past pictures, i believe i actually look bigger back then despite actually weighing more today. soooooooo....that was a long winded way of saying that the number on the scale isn't always the best thing to determine the best goal weight for YOU. but of course its a good starting point, if one is realistic about it. Good Luck! ❤️

I very truly feel your pain. I was sleeved in 2009 and I did fantastic the first 6 years. I lost 149 lbs and 9 dress sizes. At first, I wasn't even exercising and the weight just melted away daily. When I got down to the weight limit that could not be exceeded on an elliptical machine that I borrowed from a sister, I started exercising on it. Eventually, I was using the elliptical for an hour, non-stop, 5 days a week. Everything began to change in December 2014. My father passed away and he was the be all end all of existence for me. I am the youngest of 13 kids and was totally a daddy's girl. He was very ill already, but he ended up dying on my mom's birthday from a heart attack in his sleep. I was the first one to get to his house after my brother who was taking care of him called us all. When I got to my dad, his eyes were still open. My brother was dealing with the coroner and the police officer. I really freaked out and thought I'd better close his eyes before my other sisters or my nieces and nephews saw him. So I did. I closed my father's eyes. My heart broke in half right at that moment. I kinda lost my sh*t. My doc ended up putting me on Xanax and Ambien. Fast forward a few months to April 2015, I ended up getting divorced. Then 15 months later in July 2016 my mother died. Her heart stopped, and during CPR administration, her ribs broke and one pierced her lung. It filled with fluid and because she'd had respiratory issues most of her life, they couldn't help her. She died after 3 agonizing days in the hospital. Then in 2017, I was transferred from one job post to another. They weren't even going to tell me until right before I showed up for work, I found out sooner by accident. I'd been at that post for 10 years. It was a retaliation from a supervisor who knew that I knew too much information about illegal activity that went on under his nose. Literally, every year something horrible was happening to me. The anxiety, depression, and meds led to me not giving a sh*t about what I ate and a lot of drinking. I was drinking every night. I wasn't exercising anymore. I was eating anything I wanted to eat. It was still very little food, because I had a lot of restriction. But I was eating every kind of junk food you can think of. I was eating at all hours of the day. I was grazing, as they call it. I could eat every 3 hours. And the alcohol was just straight shots of tequila. By 2022, I had regained most of my weight and gone back up 6 sizes. You can lose weight again. You can detox from carbs. You can go back to protein shakes. This past May, I started dieting (on my own) because the doc wanted me to lose weight before he'd do the revision. I was drinking a protein shake for breakfast and for lunch, then I was eating a good, solid, very low carb (even zero carb) dinner. No alcohol. In 30 days, I lost 30 lbs. And this was before my surgery. It is absolutely possible, but you have to make the effort and you have to have the discipline. The first 3-4 days are tough as you detox, but then it just gets easier and easier. I wish you luck, friend.