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I don't think my cat is impressed with my new lifestyle as he sits in front of the oven expecting to be served food however I don't think I have used my oven more than twice in the year since my op, now it is air fryer or slow cooker if cooking. Guess he misses his oven cooked chicken 😂 I know he missed me (his servant) while I was in hospital for so many months with my post-op complications as he has been so affectionate and chatty since I was finally released last November. For weeks I felt he would go into panic mode if I grimaced and had a bit of pain but I presume he was just afraid I would not be home to serve him!

I didn't bring the scales with me and I am glad I didn't as it turned out there was one in the hotel room. I am frustrated though, the day I left for my holidays I reached my target weight (home scales) and when away I checked a couple of times on the hotel one and was still same or a bit less but got home last night and checked my scale this morning and it has me back up 1kg again and therefore above my target. I feel like it is 1kg forward, 2kg back at times. I walked so much over my holiday, D.C. is a very easy city to walk, but did find it hard to hit my protein goals but tried to make sensible choices as much as possible, I had to ask the hotel to only serve me a half portion of pancakes for breakfast 😉. I am hoping my system just has to settle again after plane food etc.

personally i just PREFER to exercise (any exercise) on an empty stomach. i just feel lighter and more nimble vs when im full of food. i've never heard of it being good or bad for you tho...i thinks its just personal preference.

I have not mastered the adding of protein powder to other foods. I tried to mix Isopure in my soup last week and it got weird. Luckily I've been hitting my protein goals with food but I do supplement one Fairlife a day just to give m that extra 30g. When you get to soft food, chicken salad is a game changer. I was eating it at least once a day. Now that I'm on regular foods, I love those snack packs that are like adult lunchables. My starting goal was 64oz of protein and between the waters and Fairlife I was able to hit it pretty consistently.

I will add protein powder to my Greek yogurt some times or will make a protein smoothie myself to drink as a snack, but I got burned out on the premade protein drinks during my liquid phase and pretty much have not been able to stomach one since. I do love protein water though and that helps. I think I’m averaging 60-80 grams a day, but I feel like the goal they gave me is unattainable right now. I should be moving to soft food soon and then I think it will help with I can include tuna and chicken.

That damn food noise 😩. I am so glad that for right now that little demon is asleep but once further out my ass will definitely be on my GLP. I still get my ozempic refills but don't use them they are just sitting in the fridge. Do not need them now

That's tbd at this point. My current plan is week to week keep a low dose in my system that quiets food noise and gives some suppression that makes it easier to IF, but not so much I'll continue to lose weight.

Because restriction isn't everything. It's easy to eat around your restriction. Restriction doesn't stop hunger, or food noise, or just wanting to eat food that is delicious but calorie dense. I had 20# of "good" regain. I got too thin after WLS, and I didn't like how my body looked at that weight. The normal bounce was good for me, and is what I've found to be my ideal weight. Over the last 3.5 year I slowly gained weight. At 20# over my ideal weight, i didn't like what I saw in the mirror. So I got on a GLP routine and quickly and easily dropped the excess weight. IME, GLP's are going to be revolutionary. I'll likely use them as needed to regulate my weight indefinitely.

I was in a food photography rut. Working on that Instagram account!! Thanks for the support

Do you track (weigh and measure) everything you eat and drink? Are you following the plan set by your surgeon and dietician? Are you meeting your fluid (alcohol doesn’t count) and origin goal every day? Are you focussed on eating protein rich and nutrient dense foods? Yes, alcohol will slow your weight loss. Did your surgeon really say live your life? Did they mean alcohol? Did they know how much you drink? Did I drink alcohol while I was losing? Yes. I had a gin & tonic at around month 3 (nursed it for hours) and then a couple of single glasses over the next 6 or so months after that. This first 6 months to a year or so are a gift. You want to embrace this time to lose the majority of your weight. So yes, you will have to make some sacrifices but for these few months it’s so worth the lifetime of future benefits. Doesn’t mean you can’t go out and socialise. It just means you have to make best choices you can in whatever situation you’re in and put yourself first. The reset diet of returning to the liquid stage is an old wives tale. You’re not trying to reset your tummy but reset your head, your thinking. You can do this.

You tend to experience constipation &/or diarrhoea post surgery. The constipation will often remain a regular occurrence. Initially it’s because of the surgery (blood and digestive irritation from the surgery and then because you’re on the liquid diet & consuming so little & not having much to poop out. Best advice is to try to keep on top of it. Add some soluble fibre to your diet, set a routine for a stool softener or similar. For example I’d take a stool softener (coloxyl)or similar if I hadn’t gone in three days. (Going every 2nd day was pretty common for me especially while losing.) Now 5 years out, I’ll take one if I haven’t gone for 2 or 3 days. (I’m on Creons and they tend to firm things up and slow the progress through the intestines which doesn’t help.) Some people swear by smooth tea, or regular miralax. You may have to try a few things but you’ll discover what works for you in time and it may change as you progress and eat more and a greater variety of food types.

That seems about bright. I was eating about a cup at 6 months which is what my surgeon advised. Slowly I was able to eat more until I am where I am now. So about a good cup of vegetables and about 3 or 4ozs of protein. My portions fit nicely on an entree plate (9inches/23cm). Doesn’t matter how large a portion you eat you can still enjoy and try a variety of foods. Five years out and my restriction is still there too. Not as tight as it once was but it can still shout no stop when it wants too. But yes, picking is the devil. So easy to lose track of how much you’ve actually eaten and because it’s usually such small portions, whatever you have left of your restriction, isn’t going to kick in. I have specific times I snack and I generally don’t snack or pick outside of those times (of course there are odd times or situations when I don’t stay the course perfectly). @SleeverSk did you speak to your GP or your bariatric surgeon about GLP -1 meds? Wonder if your surgeon may be more open to you trying it if you only spoke with your GP.

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!

That is scary ass hell!! I need that restriction forever (food addict). I guess that's when you have to use all your baratric tools. Movement, mindset, and portion control 😩😩😩😩😩

That will change and you will wish you were back where you are now. I can eat "normal" servings of food now. for example, I can eat a whole sandwich, most of a burger and some chips, a piece of steak and salad.

How much food can everyone eat now? Those of you further out? So many delicious food post but I can only enjoy about 1 cup of food at a time. I'm about 5 months out!

@Lilia_90:::omg im so u are posting ur food again!!! soooo yummmmmyyyy looooking!!! (do u have a food instagram? cuz i'd totally follow....)

Thank you @FifiLux, @ShoppGirland @Bypass2Freedom 🥰 I managed to shove a cotton bud up my nose (hate the sneezing and ‘scratchy’ feeling at the back of my throat 🤢) and I’m now clear of Covid - hurray! Hubby is still in its thrall though: headache, sick, generally feeling out of sorts. Amazing how it hits people differently 🤷‍♀️ 3lbs of my gain off this morning - thank you water weight! Just over 2lbs more to go and I will be back on track. This morning I went through my underwear and nightwear drawers and binned lots. All the too big and/or tatty items have gone. I do have some really nice things that I’ve not worn due to sizing so hopefully I will be wearing that at some point in the near future. I am enjoying getting on top of things once again as I think I really lost my way for quite a while. All down to a lack of interest in pretty much everything I think. No gym this week but hope to get back to it next week when hubby feels better. I have missed it and my knees are definitely stiffer for not going. I’m on with the circulation booster in the meantime, just to get the blood flowing in my lower legs. Can definitely feel a bit of the autumn chill now ☹️ I received an email from M&S saying it’s Christmas food stuff is now available to order and it feels quite strange not to be bothering with any of it because I don’t know where I will be on my WLS journey. All that stress, gone!! 🥳 Has anyone done the LRD over Christmas, just out of interest? As it stands, I’m not bothered if I have to do it then, be nice to have a festive season where I actually lose weight 😉

That's a lot of calories so early out, and yes, alcohol will definitely stop your progress. Especially this early out. What are you eating? How often are you eating? Slider foods can also derail things. Prioritize protein first, then veggies, then carbs and healthy fats. Make sure you get enough fiber, hit your fluid goals, and cut way down the alcohol. There are significant dietary changes you have to make with weight loss surgery. Eventually, like at a year or more out, you can start to live/eat/drink more normally, but this soon out, there are big changes that should be made to maximize your weight loss.

This week, my doctor has restricted my diet even further (from 1200 calories to 800) to make sure that the liver really shrinks so he said Slimfast Shakes and Weight Watchers soups because it's pre-made whereas the shakes I've been making it might be harder to get the right measurements when I'm cutting calories from what I've been doing for the past 10 weeks. I guess it makes sense. Honestly, those slim fast shakes are the worst. The only one that tastes Ok (and not in that British deprecating way where we say "it's alright" when me mean it's pretty good) is the chocolate one. The rest? How do Strawberry, banana or cookies and cream shakes end up with an almost chicken-y aftertaste? How is this possible? Is this some kind of pact with Satan? Long digression, I know. But it made me dream of food last night. Which I have never done before. I dreamed all my family had gone to all the fast food places and I couldn't eat any but I ended up having a bowl of porridge from KFCs Breakfast menu? Talk about head hunger vs actual hunger!

Food I’ve eaten lately part 3 (cheeky part): Chocolate fondant cake with praline ice cream, salted praline cream, chocolate mousse and fudge. This was so good, I had 3 big bites of this. (I did not make this). Upside down mango cheesecake. I am a big fan of cheesecake, especially baked cheesecake. This one was chilled but it was so delicious. I had 2 big bites. (I did not make this). My banana bread. While the ingredients are fairly healthy, the amount of chocolate I top it with isn’t LOL. I didn’t try it, the kids and the hubs almost cleared it. Turkey and pepperoni panini on sourdough focaccia, slathered with pesto, grated cheddar, arugula, sriracha and spicy mayo with a side of salt and vinegar chips. I had 1/3 of this panini in the picture and 3 chips.

Food I’ve eaten lately part 2: Fish tacos: Mini mission low carb tortillas, Spicy cabbage slaw, mashed avocado, yogurt jalapeño crema, grilled trout and homemade chimichurri with a side of homemade potato wedges. I had one whole taco. Spicy eggs with tomatoes and feta. Musakkhan. A Palestinian dish made with a layer of thin tawa bread topped with chicken cooked with lots of onions in olive oil and lots of sumac (Middle Eastern spice) and topped with roasted pine nuts (only had slivered almonds at hand). Had a thigh piece and small piece of bread. Wild arugula, sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, pomegranate seeds, sliced fresh figs, feta cheese. Had a 1/4 of this salad

Food I’ve eaten lately: homemade smash burgers with caramelized onions, melted cheddar, mushrooms, jalapeños and pickles with spicy sauce (spicy mayo, ketchup and cajun seasoning) in a potato bun. This monstrous burger was for hubby (double stacked) I had the same but single patty and ate around half of it. Baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, roasted almonds, feta. This is usually a portion for hubby and I, I eat around 1/4 of it. Medium rib eye with homemade chimichurri, avocado salad and grilled courgettes. I don’t know how much I had but I’m guessing around 4 strips of steak, 2 spoonfuls of salad and 2 courgettes. Shakshuka with a side of toasted sourdough. I had one egg white on one half sourdough. Mini Charcuterie board. Hopefully you can read the ingredients on the photo. Don’t know how much I had but it was delicious.

I found out I can't have soups. So if the soup is clear broth I will have the broth first and the protein after (albeit it not being comfortable at all) so I only do it if I'm under the weather. But if the soup is not clear (lentil, rice based or even cream based) then I can't have it with anything else so it's either soup or solid food so I just avoid it all together because who wants to go out to have soup?

Nah. I don’t think losing too much will be an issue. I mean we can always add more calorie dense foods. Malnourishment is a possibility if you don’t keep up with your vitamins and get your labs done regularly though. Just have to be diligent. I have alarms set for all those times I mentioned that I eat a small meal and take a vitamin. 8am to wake up the. 9, 12, 3, 6 and 9 I eat my meals and snacks and take my vitamins. It makes it so much easier to just stick to that schedule. I keep them drinkable yogurts and protein shakes in the fridge for if I’m way too busy to stop and eat and that seems to work just fine for me. Just watch the labels on the yogurts because they like to sneak added sugars in there. I actually made my own the other day and plan to continue when I’m home because they are kinda pricey for the healthy ones. I just blended a container of vanilla high protein non fat greek yogurt, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk and 1/4 cup fruit. (I made it with fresh mango and it was really good but you can use any fruit of course). Ooh while I’m thinking of it, clear protein water and unflavored protein powder will come in handy during your first couple of stages to get to your protein goals. Not sure if you used them after your sleeve but they came in handy.