Search the Community

Congratulations on your surgery! For me, the liquid stage after surgery was the hardest. I had a lot of ups and downs, head, hunger plenty of it. The only thing that I got through with it was time. Distract yourself with something else or start looking forward to the foods you can eat when you can. You have to find what works for you.. but hang in there you’re going through the hardest part.

I wish I enjoyed steaks, but unless its a very tender filet mignon I don't like them..its all the chewing. I have food texture issues 😔 I agree eating out is "one big RIP"! That's amazing, your mother didn't recognize you! You must be beaming! I haven't seen my parents or sister since my surgery (Aug 23) we live in separate states so we shall see if they recognize me! I hate cooking, but I do occasionally like to bake although not anymore (I used to decorate cakes in a bakery and boy do I miss a fresh fried donut!) and I fully understand missing out on not tasting a red velvet! Lol making my mouth water thinking about it! I ohhhh and rolls, I have a lot of Irish in me and love me some bread! Thanks for understanding the food mourning!

I had my bypass in 2018. Many foods still don't taste the same. My sense of smell and taste never really returned. That alone is worthy of mourning. I have a problem getting enough protein and calories. I am currently suffering from anemia (my hemoglobin had dipped to 5.2 at one point, requiring hospital admittance and blood transfusions.) The cause was determined... two ulcers slowly bleeding out. Eating is a chore... very little pleasure left.

It is true, I think mentally adjusting to everything is so massive, and I am noticing how my body feels at the moment almost 4 months out where I am just a bit dizzy and struggling to get food in, I am not gonna perform well at the gym like I used to! Sounds like a good plan to me! Definitely will get your steps in doing that! Eeee good luck with the injections!

Were the kindle freebies part of Kindle Unlimited on Amazon UK or something else? All the ones I find have to be paid for and the ones I did pay for already I would consider really poor - typos throughout such as no measurements for some ingredients or within the instructions it would mention ingredients not even in the list, no temps for cooking etc. and not what I would even consider healthy food at times, total waste of money.

Yes, @ShoppGirl, I had a similar experience with Miralax. I was at home, so no emergency, but I learned that lesson. My team didn't recommend stool softeners but I think I'm going to start one because this full liquids with protein powder is quite constipating. Monday I start pureed, and I am more than ready. I blendered some lentil soup with protein powder and extra water for dinner, and while it tasted good and satisfied my craving for something kind of hearty, it became this kind of brownish thin sludge and I was like, "This is what I eat now?" I know it's only day 11 and I'm still on liquids. I just want to be sure I don't give up the joy of good food. I'm not a cook at ALL but my husband and I decided we are on a mission to become foodies of healthy, clean, whole foods. Thank God my incisions are done itching. That was terrible. I mean, not a crisis in the grand scheme of things, but it was annoying. They're just about to the stage where I can start taking bubble baths again. I LOVE bubble baths and take a lot of them. That'll be really nice. I really feel everyone on trying to get it all right and balance things to get enough protein and keep the sugar and carbs low, and keep the quantities right. I'm still struggling with having zero feeling of fullness. I definitely do not feel hungry, which is crazy on less than 500 calories a day (I'm supposed to aim for 300 - 600 with no more than 1000). That's a total blessing and I hope I never get hunger back. That would help so much long term. But I do hope that once I advance my diet I will have fullness cues. I measure, so I guess I don't 'need' them, but I would be less afraid of overeating. Every once in a while, I have these sort of "mind echoes" of, "Oh, I want [insert high calorie comfort food here]". It's fleeting and it's not physical, it's totally a mind want, but it's interesting. I kind of shrug and say, "I don't do that anymore." I'm having an interesting thing happen with my one sister who was very against my having surgery but was being as supportive as she could of my decision. She's now sending me things like a mug warmer for my soups and an immersion blender, and links to Pinterest recipes for amazing soups. It's really cool. I am appreciating it a lot. I hope you all have supportive people around you. What is everyone doing regarding weighing? I kind of intend to weigh myself each morning when I get up, which will be more structured when I go back to work on Monday, but then I also don't want to get fixated on the scale and then get discouraged when I plateau, which I know will happen. On the third hand (LOL), it's exciting and reinforcing when I'm making these hard changes to see the scale move. I got a pill organizer and filled it with all my vitamins that I have to take starting Monday for the rest of my life. It's a LOT! I have to take pills 4X a day. Luckily, I haven't hated any of the bariatric chews and melts so far. And like @shoppgirl, I love the Bariatric Advantage calcium chews. They're basically Starburst candy!

Okay so look at the macros and see if this fits your plan. It may be a little high in carbs for some if you’re not very active but this recipe is probably my favorite out of my two weeks if soft foods so I thought I would share. It’s called south of the border chicken chili from the McCormick website. I added onions and garlic because I like them in everything but this is super simple and high protein. You may want to leave out the corn and do more beans or tomatoes if your tummy is still fussy but I haven’t had any issues with anything and I’m allowed to start incorporating more foods so I’m having it with the corn and so far so good 🤞 My pot made a little over 7 one cup servings which Baritastic calculated at 25g of protein (12.5 if you can only do a half cup) and 26g carbs (but part of that was the onions). I needed more protein for the day so I opted for the shredded cheese on top. Anyways, it’s chicken, bell pepper, white and black beans, canned tomato and corn with a seasoning pack from McCormick. I can’t finish the whole cup so I’m gonna have it again for a snack but I really love it. I hope it freezes well. https://www.mccormick.com/recipes/main-dishes/south-of-the-border-chicken-chili

Yes to both things you posted! I'm excited to try branching in to more variety of foods, especially things that I can make and share with my family. Both my Mom and fella are somewhat open minded about the recipes and definitely on board for eating healthier. Seeing the weight loss is encouraging but I'm eager to be healed enough to start some kind of exercises. I know that walking and gentle stretching after my meals definitely helps my food digest and alleviates feelings of fullness. I ordered my Magnesium just a bit ago to be delivered from Walmart. I did just double check the dose though and realize I ordered 100mg ones. Oops! Going to have to fix that! 🤦🏻

So, you don't feel "full", but do you feel "hungry"? Or do you just keep eating because you can? This early on, your body is still adjusting and relearning signals. Hopefully, you don't feel physical hunger pangs (most people don't but some do). Either way, you need to portion out your foods. A bariatric meal is generally 3-4oz of meat and around 1/2 cup vegetables. Even if you CAN eat more than that, you aren't supposed to and don't need to. It's pretty early to be adding in a grain, but that can also be part of your meal at some point. The feeling of restriction is different between the sleeve and the bypass, so I can't speak to it from experience, but I've seen so many people here say the sleeve restriction doesn't truly kick in for a few months. Until then, it's your job to only eat what you're supposed to eat. It helped me to get very small plates. I ate off a saucer for the first 6 months. Half of it would be my meat and half was a non-starchy veg. I would weigh the meat (after cooking) and just fill the empty space with the veg. If you are already truly feeling hunger, fill yourself with vegetables, fruit, and healthy whole grains as opposed to protein or simple carbs. After a certain point, let's say maybe 100g in a day, you really don't need the protein, so if you're truly hungry, a salad or steamed broccoli will do a lot more to fill you up with very few calories ounce per ounce. It can also really help to set specific meal times and not allow yourself to eat in between.

Seriously, this honestly sounds like my house - 2 deliveries today, 1 tomorrow, 2 Thursday. Not all weight loss related though, trying to get stuff bought now for the dreaded “C” word in December 😬 Just look at it as you’re not buying as much food so it should all balance out eventually…sort of…maybe 😉

Lot's of good advice in your post! I wanted to comment on the above issue regarding proteins that seem like they just don't want to digest properly. I was advised by my surgical team to try papain (also known as papaya proteinase I). It was like a miracle in quickly easing that really horrible feeling and getting the food to digest. It might not be for everyone (I hear some people can react to it), but it worked so well for me I tend to carry some with me when I'm traveling or know I'll be eating out.

My first day of soft foods is Labor Day and since they usually have snow crabs on sale I was thinking that would be a tasty choice for my first soft food. I just want to steer clear of the garlic butter. I tried googling for lighter ideas to dip it in but didn’t have any luck. I was thinking I could make it with I can’t believe it’s not butter light but I used to have a recipe. I’m pretty sure it had sautéed onions and it used broth. It wasn’t bad, I wish I had saved it. Anyways, anyone have a recipe like this or another idea of what to dip crab in? The more I search I think it may have been intended as a lobster or scampi sauce. I found one that may work but if anyone has one that they know is good I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for that! Yes I have been enjoying the smell of his food lol. I told him I was going to sniff all the flavor away lol.

@draikaina8503 wow, sounds like you are doing really well. Make sure that you give info that fatigue and get your rest though, you recover best while your resting. Yes, The no straw thing is for life with my team. There are a very small few it seems that make this only for like 6 months or a year but MOST seem to have that rule due life. Thanks for the direction of eating new foods. I already had a few today but thankfully so far I’m still good. I think I will do it your way from now on though. It will work out well because of course I have lots of leftovers from all I made today. I totally forgot about the recipes on Baritastic. I have the app too to track food and stuff. I just checked the soft foods and that cauliflower purée sounds good. Not sure about the heavy cream though. I think that may be bad witb the no gallbladder thing. I think that has a lot of fat. I will have to ask. Or maybe just try it with like 1/2 cream and half 1%! Is that like making whole milk. 😆 Anyways, for anyone who is looking for a way to track progress I second that app. It tracks measurement and weight as well as exercise and water too. And it’s nice that it lets you scan food and create meals to add things easier once you have used it for a while. And it’s free so worth a try.

Has anyome asked if corn is okay on soft foods. I know that my book said specifically no corn or peas on purées. I am curious because I was adding the spicy bean veggie burgers to my cart from Morningstar Farms for my soft phase which starts Monday but if I’m pretty sure they have some corn in them.

It just dawned on me that my first day of soft foods falls on Labor Day and I usually have snow crab legs since they always have them on sale for the holidays. I usually have other stuff with them that I can’t have now but I contemplating having them. Some people do develop allergies though and shellfish is certainly a common allergy so I’m a little scared. Part of me wants to go and get a scratch test to see if I’m allergic to anything now- although I’m not sure if that’s for foods and stuff anyways or just contact stuff. I had a little regular milk the other day and that went fine but peanuts and seafood scare me as well. I suppose I can just take a bite and then wait an hour. My husband will be home with me so I should be fine.

This sounds like the three week stall. Totally normal! Your body burns glycogen for energy, and during extreme calorie restriction, you burn a lot of it. Glycogen is stored in the body along with water, so each gram of glycogen you burn for fuel also releases 3 grams of water, which you flush out. This is why you lose weight so quickly the first few weeks, not because you are burning all of that weight just from fat stores. After the first few weeks, you start to be able to eat some solid foods along with your protein shakes. This gives your body a chance to replenish the glycogen you burned, which is vital for survival. But it means that for every gram of glycogen you store, you also store about 3 grams of water. Your body is continuing to burn fat during this time, but you won't see it on the scale because it kind of zeroes out with the whole glycogen/water storage thing going on. After a week or two, your body will be back to normal in terms of glycogen reserves and you should start to see your weight decrease again at a moderate pace. I really wish doctors would explain this to patients before surgery because it's just basic science, and people totally freak out when they are eating nothing and not seeing the number on the scale go down. I think doctors forget that their patients have failed at about a million attempts at weight loss prior to surgery and we are naturally prone to believing we are failing again. But you're not! Also, counting calories at this stage is pointless. You're in a massive calorie deficit. It's impossible not to be unless you are doing something terribly wrong against every bit of medical advice. Focus on protein and water but don't stress over calories until you get to a point many motnhs from surgery where there may be a legitimate possibility that you are overeating.

Don’t worry, you’ll be able to have that pizza again. It’s gonna be a long time before you do, but it will be there for you. so at first, I told my husband that I didn’t want him cooking in the house because I thought it would bother me and then the lack of smelling the food was bothering me so he’s back to cooking and I am even cooking for him I’ve learned to enjoy just the smell of food and what it would taste like and just being content with that mentally, but you’ll get through this!

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

Snap, almost ! I have had my ovaries and a huge cyst removed this week. For some reason they left them 28 years ago when I had my hysterectomy. I now have a new belly scar and have lost my belly button. I have gotten to my own target weight at last. I wonder if its the missing belly button, the cyst or the deplorable hospital food that accounts for the big weight drop. Hope you are feeling more like yourself today, I am, even though I am walking around hugging my tummy like I am about to loose my insides.

Had a productive visit with my doctor today, and there's some good news as well as a few adjustments to make. She was happy with my weight loss progress so far, but made it clear that it could be better. Her main concern is the calories I'm consuming, so the goal moving forward is to cut down a bit. One key suggestion was to start considering protein snacks as meal replacements, which makes sense to keep things in check. Since these are my "honeymoon months," she emphasized that it’s essential to get this right now to avoid hitting a stall by the 6-month mark. My workouts, on the other hand, are spot-on, so the primary focus will be on tweaking meals—specifically reducing carbs and being mindful of snack choices. On the health front, I’ve started taking iron supplements and will be getting my vitamin levels checked this Sunday. However, one piece of disappointing news: the counselor is no longer available, so if I need support, I’ll have to look for external options. Overall, I'm feeling a mix of being a little down but also more motivated to fine-tune my food intake and cut back on calories. I’m determined to make the most of these critical months and maximize my progress.

Had a productive visit with my doctor today, and there's some good news as well as a few adjustments to make. She was happy with my weight loss progress so far, but made it clear that it could be better. Her main concern is the calories I'm consuming, so the goal moving forward is to cut down a bit. One key suggestion was to start considering protein snacks as meal replacements, which makes sense to keep things in check. Since these are my "honeymoon months," she emphasized that it’s essential to get this right now to avoid hitting a stall by the 6-month mark. My workouts, on the other hand, are spot-on, so the primary focus will be on tweaking meals—specifically reducing carbs and being mindful of snack choices. On the health front, I’ve started taking iron supplements and will be getting my vitamin levels checked this Sunday. However, one piece of disappointing news: the counselor is no longer available, so if I need support, I’ll have to look for external options. Overall, I'm feeling a mix of being a little down but also more motivated to fine-tune my food intake and cut back on calories. I’m determined to make the most of these critical months and maximize my progress.

By 6 months out, I feel like I could eat double of I can right after surgery. Nutritionists said that’s because I am working out now. It’s not where near how much I used to be able to eat, but I sometimes feel worried that I could eat so much more now compare to just 3oz. I think I could eat about 6-8 oz if I really want to. I need to eat denser food to feel full. I could drink a full bowl of soup and still don’t feel full. So I eat a lot of meat. I work out about 3 hours a week. I think more though. On the days I work out, I do consistently feel that I want to eat more.

Officially 8 weeks and 2 days Post-op and honestly I'm pretty comfortable with my progress though a little disappointed with my hydration. The weight loss is steady, protein intake was a little tricky but I think I got it, and keeping up with physical activity has been smooth. Last month's first follow up with the nutritionist did get under my skin, I questioned returning to my previous vitamins vs these nasty Flinstones...and she went on and on about my calcium, iron and protein levels wouldn't be sufficient due to me not eating meat. I explained I had no problem taking additional calcium or iron IF necessary, and finding new ways to add my protein BUT I wanted to see how my bloodwork came back. She finally conceded in saying "well, you're an adult, if you want to take more vitamins that's your choice". I mean OBVIOUSLY it is my choice and her condescending tone is one of the many reasons I've never cared for nutritionist. Nevertheless, guess who's blood work is PERFECT?! In other news, I will say this ketosis stage, while extremely beneficial... it is giving me the "ick" with side effects, smells, body odor etc... I've introduced some carbs hoping things will balance out but it seems to be a slow process. Uranalysis confirmed I'm still burning ketones sooooo there's that. 🤷🏽‍♀️but when will these side effects end ? Speaking of introducing carbs... I had a small bowl (4 oz) of mac and cheese (chickpea pasta)... this is a true trigger food for me, but I ate it, I enjoyed it and I moved on... it wasn't until the next day, I was thinking wow, I really didn't "Want" another bowl... "I'm good". In the head scratching category... I overheard my co-workers having a convo about individuals on the show "My 600lb life"... DISCLAIMER: I say overheard loosely, there's 3 of us in a small room, they were speaking freely as we usually do but I had my earbuds on and wasn't a part of the beginning of the convo. While I can't say I've ever watched a full episode, I am familiar with the premise of the title as well as what "reality shows" really entail when it comes to production and I'm sure I've caught a snippet of an episode on a meme, commercial etc. They also do not know I've had a procedure. I digress, at some point in the convo, they were both giving their opinions on "how could someone let it get so bad"..." when your pants stop fitting..." "when you're out of breath walking from house to mailbox..." etc. and while I have no doubt that they did not have malicious intentions nor have I personally fit into any of these examples... I suddenly became very offended. I even thought to myself have I lost that much weight that this is how "skinny" people speak freely among you ? (The answer is no, regarding me... I've lost a good amount, but they've known me for several years...at my heaviest). I thought, are they thinking I'm really deep into my work and not paying attention ? (The answer is no, we always engage with each other based off of body language to get the others attention and they were engaging). The answer boiled down to, they were just ignorant to the reasons this could happen to someone and the fact that reality tv has a way of making people look and behave at their worse. So I chimed in with "As a fellow big girl..." and explained to them that food addiction is real, and it's real easy to forget that unlike, drugs and alcohol, people have to eat for survival/nutrition and if you are addicted to such it's easy to forget how someone can "let it get so bad", there are also health issues and medication side effects. They were both receptive and admitted that didn't even consider that thought. We went on to talk about the state of "healthy" food choices, labels, vending machines in schools and all. But I definitely walked away from that convo scratching my head because they are both thin and love to eat and not always the "healthy" stuff... so I'm thinking it didn't occur to you others JUST CAN'T do that. Anyways, it was an experience and I'm glad I had it.

Well I read that like 26% of sleeve patients end up revising whether it’s because of GERD, inadequate weight loss or regain. My surgeon said that it’s less risky and it’s a very good surgery that works fine for many people but it’s just not enough of a metabolic change for some. I honestly think he leaned towards it because my BMi was low (for this surgery at least). I was barely 35BMI but I tried telling him that was only because I was literally dieting my whole life and even then I didn’t eat that bad. I just ate a lot of food. I’m sure he hears that a lot but I think I just needed the bigger change from a more drastic surgery. From day one with my sleeve I felt like I was on a diet. I never did find healthy foods that I enjoyed, I ate chicken breast and one of the three veggies that I liked and downthe road I ate a tiny portion of something not so good for me (nothing terrible but not good either). I also never felt the spurt of energy that I felt this time so I never got into the exercise. It just wasn’t the whole lifestyle change. It was like any other diet when my hunger came back and my portions got bigger but it was healthy food at first. Then I started gaining and it just made me so depressed I was trying so hard and I was gaining already. I went to my surgeon and asked about bypass and he said he didn’t think it was a good option for me. I still don’t understand why he said that and later changed his mind. Anyways, after that I stopped following up with my team, stopped posting on here and I never went to in person groups. All of my friends and familY had already told me how big I was before thinking it was safe to say because I was thinner then so as I continued to gain I knew what they were thinking of me so my confidence just plummeted and that just snowballed into my gaining all of my weight back and then I just said forget it I guess this is just my life and I didn’t even try anymore. Finally one day my doctor said that I should really go ask him why it is that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea because they felt I was a good candidate and he said he would do it and asked me if I ever heard of the SADI. He sent me home to do research on that surgery and come back and tell him which one I wanted. I said I think the SADI and he said he needed tests to make sure I was a good candidate. He did an endoscopy, a barium swallow study and a gastric emptying test and then he said I was good and put me on the schedule. Then at the last minute they figured out I needed the nutritionist visit and the psyc eval that they didn’t think I needed so I did those in a hurry and started my preop diet. This time I told everyone about my surgery. Even though I have terrible fears that I will regain again I know that I need them cheering me on to keep me going as well. I started the In person support groups before I even had my surgery and I started posting here again as well. I have done so much more with finding healthy foods that I don’t dread and adding exercise so I can have things other than chicken breast macro wise as well. I also know this time that even if I don’t reach my goal weight or my secret goal weight that I already feel so much better and hopefully I can keep that In mind and not get caught up trying to do this just to be skinny because that isn’t the most important thing. Last time I reached the first goal I had set for myself but I never did reach the goal that I secretly wanted to get to. But I was only 18 pounds away and I let that make me feel like a failure. I would give anything to be that weight now. I just lost perspective I guess. Being healthy is really why I did it then and now and I’m already on the road to being a lot healthier so if I do lose more that’s really just icing on the cake. I just have to remember that and I think I will be okay.