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I don't think I ever had a strict plan for myself other than limiting carbs, sugar and fried foods. I'm excited about Thanksgiving; I'm just planning to get a small plate and try a little of everything. We have 2 meals on Thanksgiving because we see both mine and my husband's family. I threw up for the first time since surgery last night. I think I just ate too fast and maybe didn't chew enough; it felt like it was stuck in my chest. So it was a good reminder to slow down and that I'm not completely the same as before surgery.

Well there is never a 100% guarantee because we are all different but I would say that your response so far makes it very likely that you will be a success story based on my personal experience and the knowledge that I have of others experience who have lost and kept it off vs those who have regained a significant amount. I had my sleeve surgery 3/9/2021 so I have been on these boards since then and I have been going to in person support groups since a couple of months prior to my revision and my personal experience and learned experience is that one of two four things happen to cause regain. 1: the person never really does change what they eat. This is a problem when the anatomical changes control portion of less nutritious foods for a while so they lose some but then as the stomach stretches they can eat more and they regain or they are able to have just a taste of things in the beginning but when appetite comes back that changes (note that some people can have just one bite of a brownie forever but that didn’t work for me so we just have to be mindful of how our body reacts and stop doing it if we can’t stop ourselves at a small portion). 2: the surgery was never a good fit. I know that this was part of problem with the sleeve for me because I never did feel ANY metabolic changes. I still absolutely hated healthy foods that I didn’t like before and I did not have any additional energy or motivation after the surgery. Basically I think for me the surgery was probably like Wegovy would be. The hunger hormones went away for a while and I was able to eat less until that came back. But nothing else changed for me. I never felt a change in energy and I was never about to get start r with exercise and healthy food options did not appeal to me in the slightest. I ate alot of chicken breast and a few veggies that I don’t mind in the beginning but there was no variety so like most diets I couldn’t sustain it when the hunger came back and I wasn’t moving my body to help my physical and mental health to keep it going. 3: This would be a combo of the two which would be where i would actually say that I fell with my sleeve. Because I didn’t like enough of the healthy food even a little bit I started having less ideal foods far more often. I mean i wasn’t eating McDonald’s ever and I wasn’t having poor choices all the time but I would have like a quarter of a frozen pizza or a lean cheeseburger with a roll several nights a week thinking it was okay because calorie wise it wasn’t much worse if that was all ate. The problem was the other macros and the fact that for me they were slippery slope foods and they made me crave more. I wasn’t gaining on that but carbs make me crave carbs so that little devil voice took over and I tested the waters a bit more by having just a few fries or a bit of cake with that but it was way too often and far too early out for me to know my limits. Then, to make matters worse, my mental health issues kicked in where I had not only stopped losing but gained 20 pounds and when I couldn’t reverse it even when I tried my hardest to rein it in (because I was now craving the carbs again bad) i just considered that I was a complete failure and they didn’t say it but i could see it that my friends and family felt that way too and I just slowly just quit trying. This is when the support of people who get it would’ve been sooooooooooo very important. Never been obese people are never going to be able to get it or be able to help. Reach out to your bariatric support if you struggle. Even if your disgusted. They get it and never judge. 4: Some people even though the surgery is a success and they make all the lifestyle changes and everything is working lose sight of their lifelong goal for one reason or another and let bad habits slowly slip back in and they gain. I think this is probate going to be the hardest one for me. To not take my eye off the prize 5 years down the road. But we can do it. I think that staying active in these support groups and checking in with my team is going to be key for me. I am going to ask to have my follow ups a couple times a year even when I’m a ways out just to keep me in check. I know that I am able to gain a lot of weight in a year!! I never did the In person support groups at all after my sleeve and I stopped posting here for a while and didn’t go to my follow up appointments when things were out of control and I needed the help the most. Basically for me the sleeve was just one of my longer and more successful diets that started with the curved appetite and a lot of hope that it would work this time but slowly ended when the hunger came back, bad habits slipped back in, the cravings got unbearable and my all or nothing thinking finally got the best of me. I think I probably would have leveled out somewhere between my starting and my low weight if I had not given up but since I started at a relatively low BMI to begin with that did not seem like a success to me at the time. 89 pounds later I only wished I had been back to that weight though. I learned a lot from the sleeve experience though and I think that knowledge is helping me now. Hopefully, it helps others too. I try to let my experience be a cautionary tale without scaring anyone too much. Anyways, based on your nutrition changes, steady loss and your activity I do not think you are like me with the sleeve or others who I’ve seen who never even tried to eat differently or exercise so I don’t think your surgery was a bad fit at all or that your just expecting the surgery to do all the work. I think that your surgery is doing what it was designed to do for you and so as long as you keep doing your part you should get your where your body needs to be. Just don’t get caught up in a certain number and let your brain get the best of you like I did. That last 10 or 15 pounds may feel like a lot but your already so much healthier and happier that you were before. Keep striving for that goal but don’t let it be the only thing that matters. To me it will be icing on the cake to what is already a success story Your body will have its own idea of what is an ideal size for you and you may have to just accept that it may not be exactly what you have in mind (it could be lower but it could also be a bit higher. It may be a sorry to accept where your body is happy and healthy if you don’t want to be really working hard at this forever. Honestly, I imagine we will have to work at it for the rest of our lives to some degree. By that I mean that we will probably never have it as easy as someone who has never been obese. You are doing so incredibly well, though, making actual lifestyle changes and I have listened to anyone who is willing to share whether they were successful or not and that seems to be the biggest piece of advice. This is not a diet it is a lifestyle. Your surgery is working for you and you are working hard for you as well. Those two things are key to this journey long term. Just keep it up and I really believe you will reach all of your goals. ❤️

I’m nearing the 3weeks myself. I had an issue with puréed food for a few days when I first started the puréed diet. I had to go a few bites every 2 hours and compensate it with 1 1/2 oz of protein shake. Now my system is saying it’s fine it’s even had non puréed (but highly chewed) chilli just fine. I suggest trying around. I still can’t handle chicken very well but I can beef and fish. Remember every body is different. Do not be afraid to ask your team the question either. My doctor didn’t tell me the actual amount they removed either just an estimate of 2/3rds before the surgery.

Now for a boring food pxt after those drool worthy food pxts from @ms.sss & @Lilia_90. Made zucchini fritters yesterday. Recipe said serves 2 as a light lunch. I’ll get three meals from the seven I made. Ha! As usual I started with a recipe (actually 2 different recipes this time) and then made up my own out of what was in my fridge and freezer. Peas, corn, chives, a little cumin, garlic & Parmesan with the zucchini. Forgot to add the celery I also had.

Awesome, Just remember to walk walk walk. The only thing that’s different is that your stomach will not be swollen to make you feel like you want to ear and drink slower. Of Course you still have to so your intestines can heal. Knowing the measurements for food at each given stage was very important because of this. I would’ve been able to eat alot more but probably would’ve hurt myself. Of course you won’t be hungry so it’s not hard. Just measure everything. Best of luck to you

@NickelChip I do snack on nuts, sometimes use them for breakfast with non fat Greek yogurt with some fruit. Coffee I drink 1-2 times a week with non fat milk and no sugar syrup. Once a week I have a meal in restaurant and allow myself to have whatever I am craving with portion that I can tolerate. I do allow myself to indulge once in a while, so I don’t get crazy carvings, but to be honest I don’t even order unhealthy food when I eat out. I crave for more quality food now. You are so right that I do feel like I m in a size that is close to my goal weight . I feel like I look very close to my goal weight, but the scale says other wise. I never wanted to be skinny skinny, but just healthy in my own way. I keep imagine myself without the excess skin and think that I would be happy after that. 160-170lbs looking is where I want to be. I’ve been obsessed with researching for plastic surgeries. I do know it’s not something I should do now, I would want to wait for at least another 6 months and evaluate then.

Everyone is different! I’m 5years out. My dumping is more like a hot flash with a very upset stomach. I have to lay down until it passes. I never had the foamies but I am nauseous A LOT! Sometimes I can eat a piece of cake with a ton of frosting & it doesn’t bother me. Other times I can’t. I only eat 3.5 oz of food at a time. I never know what my body is going to do. I am also constipated all of the time. My daughter is 4 y out. She slowly eats 5 meals a day. She has very loose, stinky bowl movements. She can’t eat a lot of sugar & drinks diet Dr Pepper but she would really like to drink regular sodas. I don’t like the taste of diet beverages so I drink an electrolyte replacement beverage. Bariatric surgery is kinda like pregnancy & your own kids. You don’t know what you are gonna get. I would like to know if there is a correlation between how much or a percentage of weight you loose & your symptoms afterwards. Best of luck to you!

Yes. I’ve had the same email since dial-up. I’m nervous about the liquid diet. I’m basically broth & protein drinks. I live alone so I’m in the process of getting rid of all my food. Best of luck with the surgery. Let me know how it goes.

Yea. For me whenever I have alot of carbs, I crave them for a few days so just be mindful of that and if that’s the case for you the only real way to get through it is to white knuckle it. One trick I did learn is to use my free foods from my preop diet such as pickles and sugar free popsicles to eat when I’m craving other things. May be one day of a few more calories still but it’s not nearly as bad as another day of high carb. Especially because that would only be followed by another day of the same. This is my first time having a lot of carbs with my revisions so hopefully this still works for me too

Well because it’s more common with SADI, they make special vitamins that are higher in those 4 vitamins for people who had those surgeries. It sounds like if you are only low in the one they will probably just address that one specifically but of course I’m not sure. Maybe search foods high in vitamin A and try to incorporate them while you contact your team.

It’s great to hear about the positive changes you’ve experienced since switching to a plant-based diet! Staying hydrated through water-rich vegetables like cucumbers is a fantastic benefit. Craving cucumbers and apple cider vinegar also shows your body might be responding well to these healthy foods. It’s interesting that after hitting your goal, fresh fruits and vegetables have become more appealing. Surgery and lifestyle changes can sometimes alter taste preferences, making healthier options more satisfying. Does anyone else have similar experiences with cravings or new food preferences post-surgery?

Collagen Protein by itself is not considered a complete protein because it only has trace amounts (at best) of tryptophan, an essential amino acid. As @NickelChip mentioned, some collagen protein supplements add L-tryptophan to make a more complete protein. Looking at the one your husband is suggesting however, it does not look to have any added L-tryptophan, meaning it's really not suitable. Something else to keep in mind is that whey protein has a huge number of scientific studies showing it's better at muscle protein synthesis than collagen. A protein first diet is recommended for bariatric patients due to the desire to spare muscle catabolism when on a very low calorie diet. If whey is better at muscle protein synthesis, then it makes sense to focus on whey (or alternately on lean whole foods like chicken & fish). This is the reason almost all bariatric surgeons will tell you that it's fine to take collagen, but you should be careful if you are counting it toward your overall daily protein goals. FYI, due to your issues with artificial sweeteners, you probably should be looking for an unflavored version of whey protein isolate. Because it's unflavored, it's also likely to be unsweetened. I personally like Isopure brand, but there are others that are good as well.

@SpartanMaker you are an absolute gem, thank you for your kind words! ❤️ I did not get to be 300lbs by eating healthy, it was definitely the binge eating and hiding the wrappers or food, which is why I had to make sure I help myself accountable. I have been able to keep it at bay but this month just let it take over. You are right, I am very goal-oriented, and a determined individual so me not being able to get my ish back together is driving me bananas. I love the idea of just setting one goal and not worrying about everything else. I am no longer relying on motivation to continue my journey but determination. My focus has been off this month and I can't pin point why- but you might have hit the nail on the head with the stress due to post surgery- however I had my 4month post op appointment a couple of hours ago and he cleared me for exercise again, just no running or isolated chest workouts. Which I am okay with! I can work with that! That got me excited to incorporate that back into my routine. That is something that has kept me from doing my norm since I was limited on what I could do, so I am hoping that lights a fire under me. I will keep you in mind if I am struggling with the diet and workouts and PM you! I appreciate you again!! @Mspretty86 I have 3 kids and a hubby, Who all eat differently. My daughter is the only one who have my genes so I do need to be cautious but the 2 boys and hubby have no weight issues. Its something that we all need to work out, but I'm starting with not buying it anymore. You're right this ish is HARD! But I CHOOSE this hard and not being obese hard!

Did you see the idea for the ricotta bake? I have posted it a couple of times but it’s really good. I will add though that with the purée stage I was eating a lot of cheese and barely any fiber and between that and the shakes the constipation was pretty bad. I ended up adding some purée oats with the NP permission and some purée veggies with Genepro unflavored protein powder mixed in and I added a teaspoon of soluble fiber to my daily proffee and all that seems to have helped. The other thing that is pretty good is puree egg salad. I just made it like normal then put it in the food processor. Well I did use less of the yolks and subbed some Greek yogurt for half the low fat Mayo to cut some fat. I thought it was gonna be really gross honestly but it pretty much tastes the same. The other thing I did was to purée a whole container of salsa and I add that to my scrambled egg beaters and my purée refried beans for some flavor.

You must be so incredibly frustrated! Which type of surgery did you get, the sleeve or the bypass? I'm at about 7 weeks post op from getting the sleeve + intestinal revision and my calorie consumption ranges from 500-700/day, with my carb intake less than 35/day and a protein goal of 60/day with fluids of at least 48oz/day. I agree with others - it seems like a good idea, regardless of any advice you get from this forum, to revisit your surgeon. That said, I do believe you hit the nail on the head for one with the alcohol, and secondly I'd ask how many of your calories are coming from carbs. It's ok to include carbs in your diet, but really, this early, unless you are very physically active there isn't cause for many of them. At this stage it's typical to eat no more than 1/2cup - 1 cup of total food per meal, three times a day (or spaced out into 4 meals if needed). That's including your protein, which as someone else said should be the first thing you eat. Another thing about alcohol - it tends to cause dehydration - so you'd need to be consuming even MORE water throughout the day to compensate for that, just like caffeine. If you aren't hitting your hydration goal (PLUS, because of alcohol) then your body will struggle to convert your stored fat into energy, which is what causes most of the weight loss. An example of what my diet looks like at this stage is a single serve yogurt for breakfast (I have been getting the Aikos zero sugar or 2Good ones) - Remember no drinking 30 minutes before or after, and your meal should last at least 20-30 minutes. For lunch I might have a 'tuna melt' - which I make out of 1/3 can of tuna in water, a zero net carb small tortilla, and maybe 1/8 cup of shredded cheese or a low fat string cheese (I cook it folded over like a quesadilla) with maybe 1/8 cup of low fat cottage cheese, then for dinner a serving of one of the many bariatric recipes - there's a ricotta bake (lasagna with no noodles, basically), unstuffed cabbage rolls (Kind of like egg roll filling), or maybe chicken or tuna salad made with low fat mayo and a dab of relish with some cucumber slices/2-4 saltine crackers. I use the free Baritastic App to track my food and fluid intake. Using a tracking app increases weight loss significantly from what I've been told because you can see and understand what exactly you're putting in your body. The good news is that as far as I know, it isn't too late to backpedal and reset yourself! I'm NOT a doctor but my understanding is that if you get off track after weight loss surgery, especially this soon, one way to 'reset' is to go back on a liquid diet for a week or two, with zero-sugar jello, zero sugar pudding, and protein shakes (less than 5g of sugar each) to hit your goals. After that, work your way back up to puree foods for a week, then soft foods for a week. I strongly recommend eyeballing the nutrition information on any shake you think of buying, too, because there are some that are loaded with sugar and have as many as 22g of carbs EACH. After weight loss surgery it's also strongly discouraged to have fried food at all for the first 6 months, and after that maybe once per month. The same goes for sweets and baked goods. I hope this helps, and again - I feel like you should really follow up with your surgeon and a nutritionist! Best wishes!

Sleeve Oct 2024. Band remove March 2024. Did all pre & post instructions, After solid eat stage I can eat large amounts of food without feeling full. For example, 3 turkey wraps with cheese and lettuce, had a T Bone for Thanksgiving. I'm stalled right now and don't know if drinking more water will help. Dr said need to loss 15% the first 3 months which is 56lbs, I'm only at 10%. With the band I could feel the restriction up high but now it's like relearning how to feel full, it's in my belly not my throat like before. I wish doctor would have use a smaller bougie, he uses 40's Last visit the nutritionist said "He does not do revisions" like to warn me. 383 start now 344 Need to be 325 by this month.

Starting 26 and can’t wait - allowed decaf tea and coffee as tolerated - what’s your experience with coffee? How did you make profee? What was a days eating like to wean off shakes and switch to food like? How was the first bite?

That doesn't sound like enough food, or a very healthy choice, to be honest. Crispy chicken is fried. Sweet tea is nutritionally the same as soda and can provide a shocking number of empty calories. You aren't getting enough protein and if you're only eating once a day, that's probably messing up your metabolism. Just based on what my dietician has told me, I suggest three meals per day, a minimum of 60g protein per day, 64 oz water, and little to no sugar or simple carbs. You might try cottage cheese with fresh berries for breakfast, a spinach salad with 3oz grilled chicken for lunch, and 3oz baked salmon with steamed broccoli for dinner. Maybe add in a serving of raw almonds for a snack. Make sure you weigh all your portions.

Beef fajitas yummm lol no tortillas 😩😩😩. I miss tortillas ! My food addiction does not allow me to indulge in breads anymore.

I'm now 6 days post op and woke up feeling "normal" for the first time in 6 days. As in, not immediately in pain, actually ready to get out of bed and start the day. I haven't really bothered much with food since I don't want it and just want water. I went for a walk today and started to feel a little dizzy and then realised I wanted so food so I went home and had a protein shake. Dizziness was gone and I felt better. Getting water in all day. Then about 6 hours later, I had the same feeling, had some soup and it was gone. I genuinely have no idea what hunger actually feels like. I think forn39 years I just assumed I was hungry because I wanted to eat. How do I know when I actually need to eat anymore?

Well, I will tell you that after my sleeve, there was nothing that I could not tolerate. I’m pretty early out post revision so I haven’t tried many of those foods with the exception of tacos but I haven’t had any issues with anything so far. I make tacos with ground turkey meat, 2% cheese, and just eat the filling or I have it with low-carb tortillas. Surprisingly the turkey meat and the 2% cheese do not taste much different at all by the time you add the seasoning and them little low-carb tortilla aren’t bad either. Sometimes I just do it as a salad too. You may be surprised to find that you don’t crave those same foods, though. The surgery does some metabolic changes and can change the foods that you enjoy. I mean, don’t get me wrong, pizzas still sounds good to me but all of a sudden grilled fish doesn’t sound bad either so it’s a lot easier to make the healthier choice. It really depends on what your purpose is for the surgery. If you’re only goal was to get rid of your Gerd, then you may not care about getting into a super skinny size in which case eating smaller portions of the foods you enjoyed before shouldn’t be an issue at all. But if your goal is also weight loss and you want to be able to maintain a very low BMI, then you’re going to have to make some sacrifices. In which case, my suggestion would be to search the bariatric websites and even the thread on here for recipes and try some things once you get to soft foods and regular foods. You may be surprised at things that you will enjoy. I make turkey meatballs, and I have those with peppers and onions and sauce which are delicious, turkey tacos are good too, chili with lean meat is pretty reasonable macro wise, white chicken chili is a favorite, I made a Mexican skillet that wasn’t bad macro wise you may enjoy if you like Mexican, I sometimes do the zucchini noodles if I want pasta. They are pretty bland and just pick up the flavor of whatever sauce you use and of course you will want to add some protein. I also found a recipe for spring rolls which some people call summer rolls that are so yummy. They’re not the fried ones but still really good. It’s chicken, avocado and veggies with peanut sauce to dip. These are all in the weight loss phase once I get to maintenance I can add things to jazz them up a bit You can also do chicken or cauliflower crust pizza with chicken and veggies so it has more protein Or cauliflower mac & cheese. Lean beef cheeseburger without the bun, a cheeseburger salad or low carb cheeseburger wrap. There are ways to tweak your favorites. Basically anything I am craving. I just type it in Google with the word healthy in front of it and I try some recipes until I find one I like. Some of it is bland but many things are surprisingly good. One that I still want to try is zucchini lasagna. After doing the ricotta bake on purée stage and loving it, my guess it that it’s good I still make the ricotta bake I just add Turkey sausage and veggies. Ooh and quest protein chips are really good once you can do crunchy. Also, they have an “ice cream” maker that you can control the ingredients I have heard some people talking about on here But the short answer is No, unless you have a specific intolerance, allergy or sensitivity you will not have to give up your favorite foods forever. You will just have to make tradeoffs. How often you can have them will be based on what weight you are looking to maintain. If you are willing to exercise, for instance, you will be able to eat more carbs and maintain at a lower weight.

This is where it can get tough. I hated the waste of products and money as everything was Blahh. TBH there are still a few things that I can't stomach. How much longer are you on liquids only? Contact your team, If they are in office at this time of year. Tell them your struggles and see if they have alternative, if not improvise if you can't stomach the shakes a day longer. You need the nutrients. Can you drink Full Skimmed milk ? This has a surprisingly a lot of protein. To add more protein add a spoon of yogurt, dried milk powder or I flavored it with PB2 powder and banana. There is also consomme, boullion and bone broths. They don't have as many calories as protein shakes or milk but you need to get food in you. Once you get a little further along it gets easier, I promise. Others who used shakes will give you other pointers but the Fairlife brand does seem to me one they advocate, so fingers crossed for you there.

Hey lovely It sounds like your mind is going into overdrive with everything and that's understandable I get it I've been there so many times. Only you can make the decision about if this is right for you. The sleeve will not solve your issues with food but it will help you to eat a lot less, for most of us it is the last resort. Ask yourself if you can carry on living your life as you are now. There are risks with every operation, even with having teeth out. Instead of looking at the bad stories look at the good! It does take a leap of faith to do this I'm not gonna lie but for me it was absolutely the right choice. I am type 2 diabetic and I was heading towards insulin. I had high cholesterol and there is heart disease in my family. I'm off my meds now and I feel amazing, it's just the mental struggle which is worse some days than others but I'm getting there and I'm early days. Another tip I picked up is to stop the diet mentality. In the beginning I was calorie counting everything even a bloody pickle! Now I keep an eye on my calories but I try not to obsess because when I do that it makes my brain fight the control. If I'm hungry I have some veges or fruit and I don't count that. Life does get better after the initial shock of such a huge life style change. Many people continue to tell me that life gets better and I have learned that it does gradually. Be kind to yourself though hun and give yourself time. I wish you well x

I've kind of had a breakthrough this morning. I took the meds on an empty stomach because I'm supposed to take them at least a half hour before food. About 10 minutes later, I felt like I was starving, but because I was on my bike and cycling to work, I knew I would have to wait to until I got to work in 20 minutes to eat anything. But the "starving feeling" just stopped after about 5 minutes. I think I've spent so much of life thinking "any sensation in my stomach means I need to eat". And then I had a yogurt about half an hour later and I feel completely full. So I think if I get any sensations in my stomach, I need to wait and actually see what it means and wait about 20 minutes.

Looks good! I feel you! I eat all the time too but it's very important to eat meals. I work out a lot and have to eat! My body is always like HELLO time to eat! I'm kinda on a schedule. So far it has worked for me eating frequently. Weight loss is still consistent about 2 to 2.5 pounds per week. I also stick to FULL fats keeps me fuller longer! P.S also because the food noise/cravings are gone sometimes I eat like a body builder the same S!#t everyday 😂