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Hi! I totally forgot about this thread, I used to post on it regularly, thx for reviving it! Anyone have ideas for greater calories per ounce, without resorting to junk food, until I can accommodate more volume? When I reached goal, I stressed about stopping weight loss...it was a bit of a challenge (both mental and physical) to change modes to get more calories in. I didn't want to up my carbs, nor eat "junk food". And my restriction didn't really allow more volume. So I resorted to avocados, nuts & nut butters, full-fat everything, olive oil. I also ate alot of chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklings), yeah, its not the "healthiest" and is really high in fat, but its relatively high in protein, was sorta a slider for me, and I wasn't worried about my fat macros (I never really was). It took me about 3 months to figure out what my maintenance cals were, and I lost a further 10+ lbs in the process. What are you maintainers' macro mix? I'm currently about 40% carb, 25% protein, 35% fat. At 1900 calories, that's 190g carbs, 119g protein, 74g fat. Or do you not track macros so closely in maintenance? During weight loss phase I did ultra-low carb (i.e., less than 25g NET carbs a day), 60g protein, and let the fat fall where it may so long as I was below my calorie goal. In the very beginning maintenance, I still aimed for 60g protein, and allowed myself 50g NET carbs. Now at 2+ years out, my carbophobia has greatly decreased, and I only care about total calories. I do try to reach 60g of protein, but I only probably reach it 60-70% of the time. Any thoughts from those more experienced than me would be appreciated. Ok, the following is just my opinion/experience, and may not be for everyone, but it is what it is: I don't consider myself a vet yet, as i'm only a little over 2 years out, so this may bite me in the ass later, but so for it works for me. YMMV. I've come to the realization that the ingestion of carbohydrates makes little difference in weight (for ME). What it does do is make a difference in how I look. When I am low carb-ing, I look leaner. This is good for my body cuz I can see more muscle definition, but bad for my face, as I look skeletor-ish. In terms of weight, all that matters (for ME) is total calories. Regardless of what my diet consists of, so long as I stay around 1800 calories (given my current activity level). I will not gain nor lose weight. Of course, If I eat 1800 cals of butter tarts all day, I may not gain weight, but I'm sure I would be doing some sort of damage to my overall health. With that said, i do eat "junk". Not in such large amounts as pre-surgery, but junk nonetheless (I also eat "healthy" stuff of course), but I prefer to keep my cals at 1800-ish no matter what I'm eating. My restriction is still alive and kicking (as is my dumping response) so I don't really eat a lot at a time. BUT I can definitely pack more in than I did when I had just reached goal (which was VERY little). I've been maintaining my current weight (give or take 5 lbs) for about 1.5 years. P.S. my latest labs (taken in November last year) came back satisfactorily, so I must be doing something right. 🤷🏽‍♀️ P.P.S. sorry this was so long

How much weight is a normal amount to loose in the first 2 weeks after bypass?

I had really bad neuropathy in my feet before surgery, due to being a diabetic. It is almost 6 months later, I am not diabetic anymore, and the neuropathy in my feet is actually getting worse. My doc gave me gabapentin(1200 mg per day), and it is not working. I have tried just about every cream/rub out there, and nothing is working. Last night was the worst so far. I literally could not sleep due to so much pain. Can anyone suggest anything that they have tried to get rid of the pain? I had the bypass, and am not allowed to take any Ibuprofen, etc. I don't even think that it would help, if I could.

Hi there! So obviously, I can't tell you what to do I was wondering, however: are you at a stable weight? Is your health declining, or has it been this way for a while? If you're gradually going up in weight and you're feeling the side effects of that escalating, I'd definitely consider the surgery if I were in your situation. In terms of how it works, it's pretty accepted now that the main effect from any WLS other than the lap-band is metabolic. That means it's not the restriction or the malabsorption or the combination that does most of the work. It's the change in our GI hormones. And speaking of those: I'd suggest you look into comorbidity resolution with the different procedures. It seems the resolution rates are higher for procedures that bypass some of your small intestine. Since you're self-paid anyway, have you considered the Mini Gastric Bypass? It's revisable and reversable and offers higher resolution of comorbidities than both the sleeve and RNY.

Which also wouldn't make a ton of sense, if you ask me? The sleevers have a high-pressure pouch, meaning it's closed on one end by the pyloric valve (the DS'ers, too). Mechanically, you'd think that would mean carbonation could do more stretching, I guess? However, their lower-set pouch means it has less potential, theoretically, to stretch because that area of the stomach is less stretching-prone (it obviously still happens to some). We bypassers have a low-pressure pouch (it's open on two ends), meaning fluids should pretty much go right through. Fast-emptying pouches are positively correlated with WL in some studies, which is somewhat counter-intuitive, but makes sense when you think about the metabolic effects of getting food to the small intestine relatively fast after starting a meal. Where we differ is obviously where that pouch is - the RNY'ers have it high, the MGB'ers have it low. I really wish there were some good scientific studies on post-op plans. I haven't found much, and it's not like I haven't tried. I really don't believe in just telling people no to everything. If our minds worked like that, we wouldn't be here in the first place.

I had exactly the same pain.... Never knew why.... After some massage it reduced. I had my bypass on February 8th and I'm feeling awesome! Sent from my SM-A515F using BariatricPal mobile app

It is my understanding that is for the bypassers only, not the sleevers.

I’m 28 and had my bypass May 2020! I’m 9 months post-op and have lost 130 pounds! I can eat almost anything. I try to stick with eating mostly high protein foods. I had a baaad sweet tooth before surgery and still get cravings but small bites of good sweets or sugar free options always satisfy me. Something that occupies my time now (that I never in a million years thought I would ENJOY) is lifting weights. I dont like cardio workouts, but lifting weights makes me feel stronger and like I’ve really accomplished something when I’m finished. The best part of it all is my self esteem! I have a confidence I’ve never had before and I don’t allow myself to care what anyone thinks of me. I finally feel like my outside appearance matches my heart. If that makes sense? Lol CONGRATULATIONS on getting your surgery date!! Everyone told me I would be so happy I did this while I was young so I could spend my younger years enjoying life to the fullest! And they were absolutely right!!

I just recently turned 29 and had my bypass about 3 weeks ago. I'm in the pureed phase and since surgery ive drop about 30 pounds. Seeing as I really can't do much and barely eat as of now I've had a obsession reading, it's literally taken over my old habits, that's all I want to do. I'm really looking forward to shopping and falling in love with myself again, the thought of reinventing myself leaves me excited for the future. The process isn't easy but it's worthwhile. Good luck on your journey and dm if you need anything!!! Sent from my SM-G981U using BariatricPal mobile app

Congrats on starting your journey. I am a sleeve to bypass revision. I had my sleeve originally in early 2017 and revision to bypass in December 2020. I’m currently 28 years old now. Since my revision in December I’ve lost lost 20 kg which I’m so happy about. I’m so looking forward to buying new clothes, being able to walk into any shop and know that I’ll be able to find my size, rather then sticking to plus size stores etc. also in regaining my confidence - which is increasing every day :) All the best for your journey. No regrets!

Hi! I am new to this forum. I had surgery last July and have been on a plateau since November. Looking for recipes and fitness suggestions for someone in mid 60’s to get jump started again as well as support.

I had bypass. We weren't supposed to eat the skin the first two or three months, but I don't think they meant that forever. I've been eating the skins for quite awhile now (I'm almost six years out). I'm pretty sure I started eating the skin sometime within the first year, though....maybe when I was a few months out (??)

You had the sleeve so I wonder if its different. I had the bypass, and was told not to eat the skin.

My cousin had a bypass at the same time I had my sleeve. When I asked him how he was finding the pre-surgery liquid diet, he had no idea what I was talking about. He went to Benihana's the day before his surgery, LOL. Different doctors take different approaches.

Hi all! I'm 24 and my surgery is 02/22. I'm kind feeling isolated, being younger and making such a drastic lifestyle change. Everyone my age in my life can't relate to this so I wanted to reach out to some peers! What stage are you at? How will you spend your free time now that food is a fraction of it? Once you're at goal what are looking forward to doing? Those are just suggestions, but feel free time share any and ALL THINGS!!

I have acid reflux due to the Gastric Bypass weight loss surgery and Sent from my U693CL using BariatricPal mobile app

My story has been a journey and has a lot of ups and downs. Hopefully I can convey all that I can remember. When I was young I was always large. The youngest that I remember my weight was when I was in 8th grade and was 4'8" and 180lbs. In 10th grade I was 5'6" and 220 lbs and that was might high weight then. I went on medication for ADHD shortly after this time and I dropped down to 175lb and graduated high school smaller than when I went in. Throughout the years following I fluctuated considerably and went between 220 and 175 until I met my wife. Shortly after marriage I had a construction job and dropped to 145lbs. That is the lowest that I have been in my adult life. I have struggled quite a bit with Binge eating and it has affected my relationship with food. In the 14 years since I was 145lb I gained every year and grew to 280lbs. Of course there were times that I dieted and lost weight and times where I was able to maintain my weight but it has been a constant struggle since childhood. My entire family is obese and I have never seen my mother at a healthy weight. Her health issues are one of the reasons why I choose to have bariatric surgery. In fact, my older brother had bariatric surgery about 14 months ago. With all of the health issues that my family has faced, I had to change my mindset of how I ate. Over the recent last few years I have fluctuated between 280 down to 240 and then back again. When I was at my highest weight I lost a job and that affected me mentally quite a bit. I went into quite the depression and finally sought help. This psychologist has changed my life in a way I was never able to achieve. She was able to help diagnose the Binge eating disorder and re-diagnosed me with ADHD. This was the start of my change in my relationship with food. Along with the binge eating, I also never had a sense of fullness or hunger. If I chose I could go without food all day long. Most days though I would eat all day and never calculated how many calories that I ate. At night I would also go back and eat and then shortly after would go and eat more. This was a bad cycle that I have been working on breaking and the diagnosis has helped me with this. 12 months ago I weighed in at 280. After the diagnosis and medication to help, I started to lose weight. I was able to get down and maintain between 250 and 260lbs, just by removing the extra snacking that I was doing during the day. Last June, my wife and I started to have some health issues and we sought treatment for them. I had a hand injury and started to go to therapy for this and my wife had swollen joints and started to get tests to figure out what was going on. My wife and I have both been large and have sibling who are also obese. By August we were able to get a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis for my wife. After the therapy sessions, I was not getting better and by September I had surgery to resolve my hand issues. At the time of my surgery my wife and I had determined that we should look into and pursue Bariatric surgery if we could as we were told this may help with her symptoms. We found a surgeon and proceeded with getting approved. Since we had done medically supervised diets already, we were able to take this previous diets and apply them to our application for insurance approval. By October, only one month after meeting the surgeon we had our endoscopy and were finalizing the requirements. We were able to submit to insurance shortly after this and were approved within 1 week. On November 11th, 2020 my wife and I both had the gastric sleeve surgery. It has been quite the journey so far. During the Pre-op diet we both lost over 16 lbs. After surgery we have both been about on pace with each other with weight loss. In the previous year, I am closing 100lbs of weight loss since I lost ~20 lbs before I had the surgery. My wife and I are at weights that we have not seen in over 10 years now and are working toward keeping it off. My wife still has quite a bit more to go and I am approaching maintenance weight very quickly and could be at my maintenance weight in the next month or so if the weight loss continues at the rate it is going. The good news is that the health of my wife has improved significantly since surgery and we have both been able to do more physically than we were able to do in a very long time. We are ready for what the future holds for us and are working together to make this lifestyle a success.

I had gastric bypass 5-14-20....it took about 3 months for me to feel what I would consider “normal”. The soreness and fatigue was gone after 4-6 weeks. I had some depression after my surgery due to not feeling like I could participate in family functions bc everything in my family was centered around food. Also most of my family didn’t know I had WLS. So lots of factors (that were my choice) played into that. But as of today I am 9 months post-op and have lost 130 pounds! I have more energy and I am happier than I have ever been. ❤️ Congrats on your surgery!! Wishing you happiness and a speedy recovery!

She had the sleeve, not the bypass, so she wouldn't necessarily be sick from the candy. It's still a really bad idea though and a form of self-sabotage.

Yeah, I get it. My class told us it's okay and there's really no reason for bypassers - not sleevers or DS'ers, mind you - to worry too much about it. So I try not to police others, because I know we all have different plans

Not sure how different the sleeve surgery & bypass are. I had the bypass and was very sick for the 1st month. I couldn't eat, or drink anything without being nauseous. I had to go on a script of a nauseous patch. The 2nd month improved a little, every month after that has improved. I am now almost 6 months post op and doing very good. Keep in mind that everyone is different.

I'm 3+ months past bypass and I've had steak twice. The first time I ended up sick, but the last time I took very small bits, chewed thoroughly, and enjoyed a fillet mignon over 5 days!

Not sure about the sleeve? I was 216 lbs. with type 2 diabetes, had a C-Pap machine to breathe while sleeping, asthma and a few other things. I qualified for the bypass. I don't know if every insurance is the same. My insurance covered it in full.

My program allows "small amounts" of sugar-free carbonated drinks after week 4. I was a major Pepsi Max addict, so I've kind of made it a point not to. I'd think the sleevers have it worse than us bypassers. Unless we gulp it down, or drink it while food is passing through to the small intestine, sure, stretching can occur. But otherwise, again unless you drink fast, it should not. We don't exactly have anything to keep it from running right through us (if we do, something is wrong). Now have I not had any carbonated drinks at all? I sure have. Exactly half a can of no-sugar lemon soda to spice up a little rum. And that's a whoooole other discussion (Also allowed, for those that are clutching pearls right now).