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Hi guys, I've been very up and down with my emotions on this journey I have taken only 6 weeks ago. I am struggling mentally with intrusive food thoughts and I am coming to terms with just how serious a problem I had around food and still do, its early days. I know many of you have been through the same struggles emotionally. I was just looking for your experiences to reassure me that I'm not alone in this and that things will get better. I don't regret having the sleeve because I am feeling so much better health wise, I'm just struggling! I don't eat or crave junk food anymore, I just miss eating and my mind is telling me I'm hungry when I know I'm not! Thank you for hearing me out again! x

So I have one more thing to pass before my surgery and that's being cleared by the nutritionist. My surgery was going to be scheduled for November but it's being postponed for a few weeks because the nutritionist failed me this morning because I haven't been practicing mindful eating and that apparently can completely reverse the effects of my surgery. I've been trying to practice mindful eating now for months but I honestly just don't get it and I've never gotten mindfulness in general. Being schizophrenic myself they've tried to teach me about mindfulness several times and I've never gotten it and it's never worked for me. So is this it and the end of my journey and I'll have to try to lose 150 pounds on my own (I weigh 440) or is it not as hopeless as I think? I've got two weeks to learn mindful eating before my next appointment with her so is there any tips from people who've struggled to learn mindful eating in the past?

you won't need any of that weeks after surgery. It's really just the first week or so. After the first week, the only thing I felt was tired - that lasted for a couple of months. I didn't use a reclining chair - I just propped a lot of pillows up on my bed. Some people do rent or use recliners the first week or two, though.

KEEP THIS STAGE SIMPLE: Get your FLUIDS. Get that PROTEIN. Get MOVING. Three little things! This is the schedule I kept for Weeks 1 & 2 post-op. I bought 1 oz glasses at Walmart in the baking aisle. I bought 12 of them and used 6 per hour. They only cost me 97 cents each. I drank half an ounce every 5 minutes. After every ounce I drank, I got up and walked a lap around my downstairs. IF you start fiber now, take the fiber sparingly! Don’t overdo it, just get some. You can get constipated/gassy if you have too much. If you’re having gastro issues, eliminate the fiber until you get to soft foods, as your new stomach and sensitive track might not be ready right away. Use apple juice only if you need it for low blood sugar, and ONLY drink half-juice-half water dilution. Don’t drink straight juice. I use Hydrolyzed Collagen, by Codeage. I really like it. Also, drink decaf coffee only, of course.

Thank you!! I lift heavy 3/4 days a week (legs/glutes, back/chest, arms/shoulders, strength and conditioning) and do Pilates twice a week. I also run/jog daily on the treadmill, I do HIIT once a week and I close at least 10k steps a day! That’s pretty much it! I focus on protein mainly and enjoy eating out on weekends.

same! first day of puree stage i pureed some beef and barfed a little in my mouth at the result. tossed it and just extended my "full fluids" stage another week then went to afterwards "soft foods"

You ready for a long story? 😎 My exercise history is definitely one of extremes. I was very athletic in High School (Secondary School). I played football (American), was on the swim team, and ran track and cross country (not all of those every year). Afterward I spent time in the US Army where running was the norm, so I ran quite a bit. My recollection is that I was running roughly 30 miles a week at that time, so actually a lot more than the minimum required. Unfortunately I was badly injured while I was in the service and was barely able to even walk for a long, long time. Once I mostly recovered from that, I got heavily into powerlifting for almost a decade. I had convinced myself that due to bad knees I shouldn't run anymore, so instead i just focused on the strength training as well as a tiny bit of cardio on the elliptical. Unfortunately, I tore up my back in a workplace accident, so from that point on, no more heavy lifting for me. This was really the beginning of my descent into inactivity and severe weight gain. The heavier I got, the less I was able to even move, until using a cane or walker had become the norm. In addition, during this time I ended up having multiple surgeries, including 5 different shoulder surgeries, multiple knee surgeries culminating in a total knee replacement, and even open heart surgery for a bad heart valve. Fast forward a lot and about 9 months after my bypass surgery, I was walking and backpacking pretty consistently. A bit like you, I decided mostly on a on a whim to just try jogging a bit. It was more to see if I could even do it than anything else. You have to understand with my health history, lots of my doctors would say I shouldn't run. I say I'm going to do whatever I need to do to keep myself healthy because I suspect at some point, I'll need both a revision to the knee replacement and a new heart valve. My ability to survive those surgeries at an advanced age is going to be highly dependent on my overall health. Anyway, back to running. I was so shocked at how well and relatively pain-free the running went, that I decided to start training for a 5k. From there it's just snowballed and I've now done around 20 or so different races between 5ks, 10ks and Half Marathons. I'm not super fast (I am 60 afterall), but I am still pretty competitive in my local races, at least for my age. I'm also lucky that I'm now retired. This means I have the time to train appropriately. I typically run 4 to 5 days a week and average between 25 and 35 miles a week. I'll probably ramp that up in 2025 because I'm targeting a fall marathon and I'd like to be around 50-60 miles a week at peak fitness before the race. At this point running is my passion, but I do still strength train twice a week to keep what strength I do still have. As an aside, I'm strongly considering becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. Not really because I needed the knowledge, or because I expect to work in the industry (I am happily retired after all). My real goal is to help others where I can on their journey to fitness. I feel I can better relate to those that are struggling than a lot of CPTs that have always been fit. I also at least want those I work with to know I do have some knowledge of the subject (even though I've frankly probably forgotten more about training than a lot of CPTs even know). I'm really glad you're going to keep after it. You might surprise yourself in terms of what your capable of!

Oh wow! Thank you for sharing! I love seeing before and after pics because I'm 6 weeks post-surgery and I want more results and feel impatient but I know it takes time. I'm down almost 30 lbs since beginning pre-op liquids. So you give me hope that I can get there too. I know you feel so much better! That's what I want. More energy and less pain. My rt hip gives me trouble so less weight will help. Hopefully! Well congrats again! You are inspiring me today!! 😍

You’re in the OMG I really did it stage & where buyer’s remorse can begin. Give yourself some grace. First you’ve had a pretty major surgery which puts a lot of stress on your mind and body. It will take a good 6 weeks or so to fully heal and recover: be gentle on yourself. There will be good days and not so good days but in a few weeks you’ll start to feel more like yourself. You’re 4 days out it’s impossible to be failing yet. Unless you’re downing bottles of soda and consuming burgers and fries, cake and ice cream. Focus on your plan and your surgeon’s instructions for this week only. Next week look at what you need to do for your second week and so on. It can be information overload so work so forgive yourself if you misunderstand or miss something. Oh, & don’t be surprised if you can’t meet your fluid and protein goals to begin. As long as you’re making an effort you’ll get there eventually. We’ve all been where you are at some stage and to varying degrees. If you worry about what you’re doing, check in with your team or post here. Guarantee others here will have had the same question or experience. It does get easier as each week passes.

I see my surgeon next week I'm seeing my GP next week so will get a referral to a dermatologist. I see my surgeon next week too so will be again bringing it up. Previous to surgeries, my allergic reactions were hayfever not hives. I've cut everything and gone back to simple diet with no spices etc and soap/fragrance free everything.

I hope your day gets better soon! I completely understand where you're at, I've been in the same slump for a few weeks 😖 I'm hoping its the colder darker days doing it. You've been doing great, so just know its one day..you got it down!

My win is that I have had zero Halloween candy so far, even though its been in my house and at my office all week! This is a big deal for me because sweets were always my go to before surgery.

I am so sorry this has happened to you. Its a rare complication that I havent seeen on here before. I have a diabetic husband who heals ridiculously slow up to me. He had a leg ulcer that took 9 months to heal. I seem to heal over night. I am not squeemish but if I was in your shoes I would ask the nurse to change my dressings more often, so that I wouldn't need to. At least until you stop weaping. The surgery has your hormones all over the place anyway so that won't help your mood. Look at it for what it is, a small inconvenience. Keep your chin up and your reward will be that hopefully, your diabetis will be gone. Take your vitamins, sleep well and eat as well as you can considering you are only 6 weeks out, it will all help the healing process x

I had to start to keep a list of what I wanted to discuss with my GP & what scripts I needed on my phone because I always forgot something. Love the notes app. Took three appointments to remember to ask for a referral to a dermatologist until I started writing a list. Ugh! Damn menopause mind tricks & general aging. 😁

Yeah it is definitely normal for it to slow - and a good thing to remind us of the priorities when it comes to eating etc! Definitely good prep for the future I can see how that is a thing - I definitely weigh myself far far less than I used to in the earlier day of surgery, but I still find myself on that scale maybe 3-4 times per week! I need to perhaps take a step back and get the tape measure out instead and just weigh in once a month as you say!

This is a new video Dr. Weiner (bariatric surgeon in Tucson) put out through his podcast this week. He is one of the best resources out there for reliable information on bariatric surgery and the science of weight loss. This 55-minute video is all the most up to date information to get you started with all the basic questions you might have (and if you want more in-depth information, he has hundreds of other videos that dive deeper). He talks about nutrition, exercise, surgery, and GLP-1 meds.

Oh, saaaame. I'm in a stall right now, and my inner voice was trying to convince me not to weigh in this morning until after a bowel movement, but also to do it before eating breakfast (as if the cereal and almond milk were somehow going to raise my weight by noticeable pounds?) I do try to do it at roughly the same time on weigh-in days (I'm trying to stick to twice a week but during a stall I should probably go once a week lol), but that's more for my neuro-spicy brain. Sometimes the things my ED brain tells me are kind of ridiculous.

chiming in to say i had a similar start to running like AmberFL. (note though that i am a track or round-my-600m-neighbourhood-block runner, and not a follow-my-nose-runnner lol). started off walking around the track/block, then jogging one side of it, to jogging 1/2 of it, to jogging every other lap to full on jogging non-stop, then doing the same progression, this time interspersing with running. then longer and/or faster runs. by the end of my running heyday, i was running at least 5K every day (sometimes twice a day) with a longer 10K maybe once a week. then...i hurt my foot. didn't run for 3 months, and never went back to it with the same intensity. these days, i probably get a 5K in 1-2 times a week (less when its too cold). but i do get my exercise in other ways, so its all good. as for fuel, its been a while, but i do remember feeling quite hungry after runs and would actually eat food before noon (not my usual M.O.), could also be because i always ran on an empty stomach (by choice, i hate - and still do - the feeling of something in my stomach when i exercise). to the OP, its effing awesome that you are discovering a fondness for exercise...it really does make a world of difference, for your health, your sleep, your body's ability for recovery, your mental clarity....your overall well-being! plus, it makes you feel grrrrrrrreaaat and look hawt. ❤️

Hello! Thank you for posting here as well! I'm scheduled to have my 'virgin SADI/sleeve' on Monday morning and I was SO happy to read your post so I could get a realistic idea of what my life will be like post-surgery. I hadn't gotten much feedback yet on what to expect after a couple of years and had only read that the malabsorption would diminish after 18 months. Your experience seems to match up with that pretty closely. I've got the same three week diet guidelines to follow post-op; do you remember any particular foods that gave you trouble as you were adjusting to life post-op initially? Or do you have any suggestions on what to start with in the soft food week? For the liquid diet I've almost entirely relied on shakes and a few helpings of sugar free jello. Today I got some zero sugar yogurt and added that, and had a sugar free popsicle. I know that I'll have to be eating / drinking room temperature for at least the first week if I remember right.

@julie. I think it’s weird that everyone’s pre op diet is so different. My nutritionist told me that it use to be all shakes before surgery but she asked the surgeon to include something chewy to help us not quit. I have to say it’s not simple. My surgeon is one of two drs at University of Miami hospital who does Bariatric surgery. He told me my husband could stay with me because the floor is his and he can specify a lot of things. I’ll be staying 2 nights because of distance and my age. Just liquid the day before surgery for me and two weeks after also. Then every 2 weeks the next step. I would love a slice pizza or a grilled cheese sandwich right now. It hasn’t even been a week yet:)

My surgeon said no to caffeine. Two reasons were Gerd and Barretts. It would increase the stomach acid. I love coffee and drank coffee until the day before surgery. Almost 2 weeks post-up and I have not had any coffee. It was a bit difficult, but I don't seem too bad. I had started incorporating more water for months before my surgery and changed my coffee habit by mostly only drinking at work. That seems to help.

1kg a month is perfect right now. Instead of thinking in terms of a specific number you should be losing, think in terms of a percentage of your overall weight. This has an advantage in that the actual number to shoot for drops as your weight goes down. The ideal amount for most people would be one to two percent per month (and certainly no more than three percent). This is right where you're at. Believe it or not, slower is actually better here. The faster your weight loss, the more likely you are to be causing your body to decide you're starving to death. When this happens, your body starts doing things that slow down your metabolism to try to keep you from dying. Of course we know intellectually that we're not actually dying, but your body's metabolic regulation system doesn't know that. It's an amazing system, but it was designed before we had almost instant access to unlimited amounts of highly palatable foods. Thanks for clarifying on the new goal. 65kg sounds like a good goal for now and there's nothing wrong with adjusting up or down even more as you get closer to that. Regarding diet, calories and macros, I'd obviously tell you to defer to your dietitian, though I will say I'm very surprised by the recommendation to lower your protein. When dieting, there are literally hundreds of studies that show the advantages of eating more protein. You should know that overall, I personally am not a huge fan of tracking calories. I know that some people here seem to do so effectively, but for me it just does not work. As I mentioned, most of us aren't very good at actually tracking calorie intake accurately. Even more important to me, none of us have any way at all to know how many calories we are actually burning in a day so tracking intake is only showing you one side of the energy balance equation. Plus, energy expenditure can be highly variable day to day, so even if you did somehow know the exact amount you burned today, it's not going to be the same in one month or one year from now. With all that said, if tracking is working for you, don't change it. Do keep in mind that you may have to reduce calories as you continue to lose since the biggest contributor to metabolism day-to-day is body size. Regarding exercise, I'm going to recommend you stop thinking of exercise as part of your weight loss goal. It simply doesn't work. I don't say this lightly, nor to discourage you, simply to state fact. We have a huge amount of evidence now to show that our bodies tend to slow down in other ways in response to exercise. This is something called the constrained energy model. On a practical level, exercise is still critically important for your overall health. In addition, we do have a lot of data that shows people that have lost a lot of weight are better able to maintain the loss if they exercise on average 1 hour or more per day. In short, do it because you'll feel better, because you'll live longer, AND because once you reach goal, you'll have a much easier time keeping the weight off. I think I can speak for most of us here on this board that we have experienced the exact mental anguish you're feeling. It's normal to worry and let doubt creep in, so know that you are not alone, Mental health is not my area of expertise, so my advice will always be please seek help from a mental health professional if you think you need it.

I hear you, SSS! Mr. Smith thought I looked liked Mrs. Emma Peel/Diana Rigg from the Avengers after my first plastics in compression suit. Haha. I wore it for months - loving the cozy, comfy cocoon it provided. Seven weeks out now, and my first week wearing real clothes! Still some discomfort and swelling BUT making good progress. Yesterday surgeon said I can lift over ten pounds now. If the deep tissue pain and irritation continues after our return from Christmas holiday trip - He'll set up physical therapy for me. Elbows and abdominal still remain tender. Regardless, I am so happy with my new slimmer arms - especially in the winter sweaters. Do post here your favorite sweaters and/or winter outfits. I say, show off those beautiful arms ladies!!! I'll start a mini fashion show here with my chartreuse vest and pom-pom gloves. Getting ready for Pennsylvania winter trip... where I hear, Baby it's cold outside...

I get that, I said that for about two weeks and amazingly I turned the corner a few days ago. Yes, I'm still hungry but I am forcing my self to drink more protein drinks (cafe mocha) in-between meals and lots more water. I found both has helped me considerably and I am used to getting hungry so it's not as bad now. How are you feeling now?

Went to the clinic today n I'm back on the bill but like 3 times a week. Sigh .. maybe it was too soon going off it