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I'm actually in Indiana. But I love TN! Counting the few days left before the liquid fast.

I’m 28 years old, and I’m 3 months and 2 weeks post op, and have had quite the journey so far….. I’ve had issues since surgery with not being able to eat and drink etc, finally got in for a gastroscopy the other week where they confirmed I have not one but 2 ulcers…… I’ve lost 80 lbs since surgery 3 months ago which to me seems super fast. Started at 297lbs, down to 213lbs. Anyways, so I’m on medication to heal from that, and have just noticed myself feeling worse and worse, zero energy since surgery, and feels like it’s depleting worse and worse every day…. Instead of getting better the further I am along…. Started to notice my back and hips hurting the last couple of weeks, thought maybe it’s because I’m not up walking enough….. sit all day at work in an office kinda thing, then go home and rest… idk why I took a test last night and sure enough PREGNANT 1-2 weeks pops up on the test…. what the heck am I doing!? Has anyone else gotten pregnant at 3 months post op and carried to term? I’m scared that because I’m not eating and drinking that I’m a danger to this baby and myself now, is it even possible to go through with the pregnancy?

Hey guys, Apologies for not updating this thread. I've been personally struggling with this weight loss despite everything. I've lost a bit more weight, but even with the help of the dietician, the weight loss is incredibly slow and it's still making me feel like a failure. On average it seems like I lose about 3 pounds a month despite the high protein intake, small meals, liquids and exercise. Today I woke up feeling particularly upset, as I started a 4 mile walking challenge to see if I could walk four miles every day for a week (in the morning). Today is Wednesday (day 3) and before i started walking, I decided to weigh myself. I've put on 2 and a half pounds since this SATURDAY just gone! I weighed myself yesterday morning too and I've put on a pound since then. I won't lie. I just burst into tears. I feel like i've been doing everything right. I'm burning around 3500 calories a day, according to my Fitbit watch. I'm eating/drinking between 50-80g of protein. I'm drinking my 2 liters of liquids and I'm still eating from a side plate, always prioritizing the protein first. I'm doing everything, but I feel like my body is rebelling against me. Everything in my being is telling me to start fasting and to start doing liquid diets/slimfast shakes again, but because I have a history of eating disorders, I don't want to lean back into old habits in order to lose weight. I bought slimfast meals two weeks and did the liquid diet/pouch reset for two days and lost a pound and a half - but I don't want to rely on only having liquids in order to lose weight. I've been loitering between 243-240lbs for over a MONTH now with no budge. I'm so disappointed in myself and it feels like all the exercise i'm doing is in vain. Has anyone gone through similar? Edited to add: My goal weight is 215lbs. Being bigger/curvy runs in my family, and I actually like being a little bigger as I find curves attractive so I purposely did not want to be unrealistic when setting my final goal. I've read elsewhere on the forum that weight loss can be harder when you're getting nearer to your goal or when you're in the last 20-30lbs of weight loss. Is this true?

about a month or so ago a made a humungous batch of (tomato-based) meat sauce from a giant lump of ground beef i got on sale from Costco. I made spaghetti that day and froze multiple ziplocs of the sauce for another day. i also assembled a couple lasagnas and froze immediately. fast forward 2-ish months and i baked one of those lasagnas for 2 hours from frozen, and voilà! Dinner for the fam. I think i left it a little too long without the aluminum foil to brown the top layer of cheese, hence the over-done top corner...oopsies! anyway, served myself about a 1.5 cup volume portion and ate half. i make awesome lasagna, btw 😂 first pic: lasagna right out of oven, second pic, my dinner: 465 cals for the bowl (are 1/2-ish, as said above. lasagna is vert filling!)

I am so Anti-LAP Band. I had a Lap band in 2010. From the beginning, I told my surgeon that I was experiencing pain and it didn't feel right. He always said it was normal and got me out of his office as quickly as possible. A couple of years in, I started looking for another doctor to check it out for me. From what to me appears to be a professional disinterest in the medical community here (at least 10 years ago anyway) in following up behind a fellow doctor and likely finding a problem (can anyone say "I won't give basis for a malpractice suit against you if you do the same for me"?). I was unable to find a single gastro doctor who would see me to investigate a problem or to assure me there was no problem. No one would see me. Then I tried lying and saying I just moved to the area and needed to find a new doctor. That would fall through as soon as I was unable to provide my previous doctor's name so they could get my records. All that aside, in 2015 I was admitted to the local emergency room for extreme gastric distress. Emergency surgery was performed and the lap band was removed. From the inside of my stomach. I ended up with partial gastroparesis (my lower stomach was paralyzed). So, don't do it. Run, don't walk, as far and as fast as you can from any doctor who thinks it's a good idea. I have been told that none of the hospitals in our area will do them any more.

I know what the problem is. With my restriction, I still have trouble eating full meals of "real" food. So, I have lapsed into grazing throughout the day, eating "pieces" of food that are quick and easy to digest. I lived on fast food pre-op, and this feels like slipping back into a "grab and go" fast food sort of pattern (without the fast food). What I eat is generally healthy (too many sliders, though), but because I'm grazing, portion control is more difficult. I need to get back to eating full meals and taking time to allow my baby stomach to process.

I was able to do desk work and chores (except the heavy lifting, of course, as per my surgeon) on day 3, but I did feel tired for a couple of weeks possibly due to low calorie intake, borderline dehydration and general recovering from surgery. Some recover fast, some recover slower but whatever your case is, don't rush back to work if you can help it. Relax and heal faster. Good luck and congrats on your upcoming surgery!

No, I didn't think it was a magic solution and I entirely know it is a tool, but at the same time - bariatric surgery has been criticized by many for the supposed rapid weight that occurs that isn't normal, which is one of the reasons why people have a whole set of new problems with hanging skin. The body can't bounce back that fast. I think there has been some "marketing" in this industry that have contributed to the expectations that some may have too - especially with before and after photos of people who may be the exception to the rule. Like I said, I don't regret the surgery at all and I am never going back, but I expected more of a woosh of weight loss at least initially.

I don't have a sweet tooth but it's so hot these days I had the craving for an ice cream sandwich the other day. So I had one of those mini Great value ice cream sandwiches (80 calories) and it was really good. I didn't dump but I never really have. I do have the foamies if I eat too fast or not chew enough. I can eat anything for the most part and not have issues. As everyone said, not many dump and you will pretty much be able to eat most foods unless you had become lactose intolerant... Etc.

I am 54 and had the sleeve done on 4/12/2023. I am 2.5 months post op and have lost 43lbs. I was concerned with age as far as losing weight as fast as some of the people who are younger, but i seem to be right on track. I was also concerned that menopause might cause slow weight loss. I like many people on here will say I wish i had done the surgery sooner!!!! Best decision ever to have the surgery! I do not regret it one bit.

Oh Lordy! Try them for me 😋 How can I be so hypocritical so fast! I just said I don’t like food anymore a few post ago but any sign of Caribbean (or Indian) food and clearly do like eating 😆

Toxins get released as we lose bodyfat and is excreted through our skin, breath and urine. Since fat stores that stuff along with hormones etc. I believe it's almost like an onion. Layers stored over the years. As we lose, we will experience certain smells and tastes. I had this happen before. Once during a 40 day water fast. It was the strangest thing. I would smell a certain food or taste it in my mouth. Whatever fat my body was disposing of that day. I kind of like when that happens but no I'm not gonna taste myself. xD

I had19 teeth extracted 2 bone graphs and a bone removed from my pallet. last year (2022) on April 25th and was fitted dentures. The bottom plate has never allowed me to eat with them, and it took 9 months for my gums to heal before I could eat (chew- or gum) again .I lived for 9 months on Ramen noodles, rice and multi vitamins. So when it came time for my pre-Bariatric surgery "diet" it wasn't a big deal. Because I had just lived through a 9 month what I called "Denture Diet" My peak weight was 245, In Nov 2021 I was referred for Bariatric surgery. Due to the fact that I suffered from Insufficient veins in my calves, causing edema in my legs and feet. Spondylosis in my L 3-4-5, Osteoarthritis in my SI joint where the sacrum and sacroiliac meet at the pelvis and the anterior cart edge in my left knew was gone. I was fit for compression socks, heavy duty knee brace and at times I had to use a cane to get up and down and to catch myself if my knee buckled.( I fell getting out of bed, 3x in 6months) I developed hyperlipidemia, and was Pre-Diabetic. I couldn't stand for more than 10 mins , squat, bend, lift, ( making the bed, sweeping or vacuuming was torture.) or walk more than a block or shop for more than 30 mins. Because of Covid everything was severely backed up, once all of my pre-surgery testing and procedures were completed, it was Feb of this year( 2023 ) . I was cleared as a perfect candidate, but again -back log. At the time they said it may be June to sometime in August before the surgeon would available , and maybe longer to find a clear OR. It took so long to get scheduled there were a couple of procedures and test I had to repeat. On April 20 (23) they called me, there a was last minute cancellation for May 22, 2023, was that doable ? Oh heck yeah ! So on the 25th they had me starting my Pre-diet, All liquids except for Cottage cheese, At almost 3 weeks in, they were concerned my weight wasn't dropping as it should be ,and asked if was following the liquid diet, I was like what ?. NO .I wasn't told to. She said yeah on the 25th. Ok well this may mean we have to re-schedule. I was so upset. She said she was going to get ahold of my Case nurse to see what to do. A couple of hours later, I was like wait a minute. I called her and said I think there was a mis-communication. I have a copy of the diet, it didn't say Liquid . Just that I was suppose to start this diet on the 25th, and on the 20th right after she called I went and stocked up on EVERYTHING, and had the receipt to prove it. I asked when you said liquid did it include Cottage cheese. She said yes, Thank goodness. Yes I HAVE been on that diet since the 25th. I am very fortunate, I am a crazy fast healer,. I had all of this trepidation about healing right, and being able to get around ASAP. I am almost 60 and everything had been falling apart. My roommate is a very empathetic, compassionate , and a generous person, but what she is not, is a caregiver. So I was concerned about that. So I had my surgery on May 22, at 9 am. Woke up later in a hospital room, I had a horrible pain in my shoulder and it felt like someone kicked me in the gut. Tuesday morning I woke, still a little sore in the tummy ( like a pulled muscle) but other than that I was fine. At 3pm she came into discharge me, and told me to call my ride ( roommate) I ended up having to walk down to the nurse's station, because she said she would be right back to get my IV out ,but she didn't return, so I hunted her down. After I got it removed , she said she was going to go get a wheelchair. So I got out of bed, got dressed, gathered my things and sat on the bed and waited, and waited, my roommate called , I am here what's going on. I said she had to get a wheel chair. So I waited some more ,after like 30-45 minutes . Once again I walked down to the Nurse's Station hunting for her and pulled a "Karen", some guy showed up with my wheelchair, quickly. My roommate had been waiting in the Patient Pick-up zone for almost an hour and a half, she was fuming. I get home, go to bed, my roommate goes and picks up my pain meds it was liquid Tylenol and Liquid Gabapentin and Celebrex. When I took the liquids I almost threw up...WTH ? Out of curiosity, I looked up the ingredients. Freaking FAKE sweetener. I cannot tell you how many times I informed them I could NOT use any fake sweeter, because it gave me severe cramping stomach aches, vomiting, or IBS. Just two days before the surgery they tried to give me three Ensure to drink ,which I already knew had the fake sweetener, and said no can do, Keep them. And now my pain killers had them. I was like do you feel actual pain? Not really, just some tenderness. So I threw them out. The rest of the day I was up and around, doing things. And the next day it was like I never had the surgery. I live at a Studio Apartment complex with 16 units. My roommate is the on-site manager. So as I went back to my normal on the 4th day, ( with the weight lift, carry, push-pull restrictions), and the tenants were all like " I thought you were having surgery this week ?" I said " I did. On Monday." None of them could believe it. So that is my story. I am disappointed with my weight loss so far, ( it's been a month) as I have only lose 17lbs since the surgery. But I also considered, due to my 9 month "Denture Diet"( I lost 25 lbs,but once I was able to eat again I got back up, so, it may have changed the immediate weight loss factor. I have lost 45 lbs. So maybe that is why. So below is my pre-food, my favorite a plate FULL of (Foie de Veau Lyonnaise) Calf liver in onions. and my new diet. 4oz ( with a total of 2oz of food) containers with liver, mashed potatoes and broccoli.

I was fine for the most part. Very little pain. Kind of bored with the liquid diet, but so is everyone! It goes by fast!

My first two weeks,I had uncontrollable diarrhea . Don't get scared - it's a very unusual happening and seems I was pretty much one of the unlucky ones. Other than that,pain was mild and only in the incisions . It went away fast. The worst part of it was being so tired . That lasted about 3 weeks and I was totally back to normal. Walking exhausted me,but I still did it. I'm 69 years old , and I'm lucky it was very easy. Good luck to you !

Hi! I was sleeved on March 7th. My highest weight was 309 lbs, and my weight after the pre-op diet was 296 lbs. I'm currently sitting at 251 lbs. I'm very excited to make it to - 60 lbs, but I'm at a bit of a stall. I walk 5-6 times a week for 20-30 minutes (20 minutes moreso lately because it's so hot outside), and I also do resistance training 2 times a week. I have way more energy than I did pre-op, which is so far my favorite aspect. I'm struggling with trying to find the balance between harder and too easy workouts right now. I can eat most food, if not all food with no discomfort. I've been sick twice, but it wasn't bad and I think it was due to me eating too fast at the time. Bread doesn't sit as easily in my stomach, but I don't miss it. I don't miss sodas, but I do miss my sparkling water. 😪 I haven't been able to see a big difference on myself until recently. I still feel like I look the same, but everyone else sees a difference and that is very encouraging. I struggle with PCOS, so I am hoping that as I lose weight, my ovulatory and fertility issues will improve, too. I'm seeing a lot of small changes so far, and it's all so exciting. It's the best decision that I've ever made.

Bravo! You should be proud of yourself. Contrary to popular belief, WLS is not the easy way out or cheating; instead, WLS is filled with sacrifice and determination. I was sleeved on March 3rd. I have had no complications and zero moments of doubts or regrets. I continue dealing with two challenges: (1) drinking too soon before and after meals and (2) eating too fast, which often results in the foamies or one bite too much which I inevitably throw up. I am a slow but steady loser. I hope to reach my goal by my 1st surgiversity. Let's hear updates from other "Marchers to Better Health".

Pinterest is a great place for recipes as well. When eating tuna/chicken/or egg salad, I don't normally eat it with anything. I want to keep the room in my stomach for the protein. To get fiber (and a little extra protein) with it, I like to add thawed frozen peas to my chicken or tuna salad. Maybe talk with your family about keeping snacks and other foods more hidden so they're not so tempting to get into. Another option is to make up your own snack boxes, so you can just pull them out. Maybe some reduced fat cheese and veggies, hummus and veggies, or whatever else you like. Meal planning (even out to eat planning) is so important for us. I have noticed that foods are way more unhealthy than we think. For example, our regular brand of pasta sauce has 16g of added sugar per serving (not to mention the added surger in a lot of food in the US), a small burger patty from a fast food place (no bun or condiments) is 280 calories, and carbs and salt are lerking everywhere in prepackaged and restaurant foods. For example, I got a cup of soup at Penara the other day and just looked at the calories when I ordered, once I tracked it in my app, it had over 2,000mg of sodium. Yikes! (Remember, track first) And I'm not scared of carbs, they just need to be the right carbs; however, they all add up. I try and stay under 60 carbs per day. So, I've learned to track before I put anything in my mouth, unless I know it meets the criteria that my dietitian has put me on. Sometimes, life happens and it's not always possible and none of us are perfect; it's really the effort we put in. Gosh, it's hard though. None of this is easy, I totally get that. And whoever said this was easy....well, I have a few words for them. I look at the surgery as a tool to help us fight back to get healthy and get our lives back, but it's still up to us to use it properly. (Not saying your not, it's more of a reminder for all of us). Again, I wish you all the best.

10 months ago I had my sleeve (with a hernia repair) done… to be honest I had expected to loose more weigh fast than I have but I’m very pleased with my progress so far. I’ve had LOTS of long stalls (weeks at a time) along the way … and I did manage to loose 57 pounds before my surgery. My highest weight was 382… surgery day I weighed 325… this morning I weighed 247. It’s been nearly 25 years since I have seen this weight! It’s taking me a while, but I’m getting there… I still have a way to go, but I can’t be mad about loosing 135 pounds (78 since my surgery). About the hunger… for me, I notice when I’m not drinking enough I feel “hungry”. It’s more about hydration (for me) than hunger. If I stay hydrated - I don’t seem to get those hunger feelings. Stick to your plan and track your intake (food and water) … it really does help. Best of luck.

My progress has been slow but steady. Sometimes I get a little frustrated because my loss isn’t as fast as others, but then I remind myself this isn’t a race and I’m working to a life long change not just a quick fix. I was over weight for most of my adult life, that change is going to take some time. I met a new “mini” goal today (I broke my weight-loss goals down into 10 mini phases/goals) so that felt pretty good. From my highest weight… I’m down 135 pounds! (57 of that was pre surgery loss, 78 since surgery). I’m hoping when I go for my 1 yr check up… I will be down 100 ponds post surgery (which will make 157 pounds lost if I hit that goal). Best of luck - hope you’re recovery is going well! You’ve got this. 🥰

PatchAid MV with iron https://patchaid.com/products/multivitamin-plus-topical-patch-patchaid And BariMelts ADEK, Dissolvable Bariatric Vitamins, Natural Strawberry Flavor, 60 Fast Melting Tablets (can find both on the store here too, I believe if not can get these on Amazon)

Hooy cow, I start my preop diet Tuesday! It's all happening very fast after months of meeting the insurance requirements. We picked up some of my center's recommended frozen dinners and ingredients for recipes. I've been a Diet Dr Pepper drinker forever, at least 20 years. We haven't had any in the house for a month. At that point I'd gone from drinking 2-3 of the 16.9 ounce bottles a day to 1 a week. (Not given it up 100%, I'll sometimes have a can at work or drink at a restaurant but I'm still hitting 55 ounces of water daily now). I do have the SodaStream syrup that I've been thinking about just adding to cold water. Tomorrow I fill out the FMLA paperwork for work and meal plan for the next 2 weeks. We're also going to take my measurements as the current starting point. We got this!

Depends what stage you are at. Doctors say you really can't stretch your new smaller stomach, but you can definitely damage it if you overeat while your tummy is still healing. Popping a staple and creating a leak can be deadly. My doctor told me of a patient who went through a fast-food drive thru on his way home from the hospital after WLS and blew his stomach out. I can't imagine....

Does anyone else have anxiety when they eat? Sometimes I eat too fast and I’m always worried that I’m going to stretch my sleeve. I know it’s probably not realistic.

I accidentally ate too fast and definitely over ate. Please tell me one time isn't going to ruin my tummy and stretch it out.