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That's an amazing amount of weight loss in such a short time (even if it may feel like longer, lol). You look incredible. I'm so happy for you! (re: lbs vs inches, I've always cared more about the size measurements rather than the weight. I only care what the scale says because it's easier to track how I'm doing on a given week -- but I'm much happier when my clothes start to feel too loose compared to anything I see when I look at the numbers between my toes)

If you were going to die, it wouldn't be "borderline". 😊 And it's worth noting that weight loss surgery tends to raise these levels for the first week after surgery. So that test is not definitive.

Dr. Josh Roller (Roller Weight Loss) has a GREAT segment on the podcast he’s on going over best surgeries if you need revision. I just finished listening to it. It’s on Spotify (& others) “The Skinny Truth”. I’m set up to get the Modified DS in the next few weeks with him.

You CAN probably do it, but doing extreme diets like that is usually discouraged because it pulls us back into "diet mentality", which is not helpful. Better to go back to the basics - protein first, then non-starchy vegetables, and then if you still have room, "good" carbs (e.g. fruit, whole grains, beans, etc). You don't need to go all the way back to what we were eating for the first few weeks after surgery, but instead, how you were eating once you were a few months out.

I just want to toot my own horn here and be a bit pround...sorry...not sorry. I'm 5+ years post surgery, 51 yo and playing beach volleyball (indoors)! I cant say Im all that good at it, but I try to play 2x a week and can run a 5k in 35 mins. Im the one in the black shirt and tan tights. From 315 lbs to about 175/180 lbs now and loving life in a whole new and sustainable way! PS. The saggy butt is still even after getting a lift and skin removed.

This is so important! I went into surgery with BP of 130/88, taking meds for years, and left the hospital 2 days later at 92/54. Because it was so much lower right away, I stayed off the BP meds and doctor officially removed them from my chart about 3 weeks later when my BP was still measuring 110/68 without them. Good luck meeting your protein and fluid goals!

Hi Joe! My surgery is in 4 days. I am 5'6" and at my highest weight, I was 250 pounds, which gave me a BMI of 40.3. Since starting the nutrition program and pre-op liquid diet, I am down to 228 pounds, so a BMI of 36.8. I have high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. Like you, I've dieted countless times. In fact, I was enrolled in the nonsurgical program at my hospital for 7 years, starting when I was 42. I found it relatively easy to lose up to about 15% of my total body weight, around 40 lbs, by counting calories, exercising religiously, and not letting my guard down for a minute. After that, I would stall. Then the weight would creep back up. My doctor would prescribe meds (including Wegovy for a while, but it's too expensive for longterm use for me), and I'd lose 10 pounds. Then I would stall, followed by regain. Or the nutritionist would suggest a new approach, and I would lose a few pounds again, followed by regain. A little more each time. After 7 years of trying, I was back to my highest weight ever. I feel like I wasted a whole lot of time with nothing to show for it. And now I'm nearly 50. My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol all have gotten worse. My feet hurt. My joints ache. I feel older than I am, and I don't want to be old before my time. I know from reading the latest studies in weight loss science that my chance of long term success in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight without the metabolic reset of bariatric surgery is around 5%. I'm fortunate because I've seen my brother go through sleeve surgery 15 years ago. He lost a huge amount of weight (about half his body weight) and though he has regained a fair amount of that, it's nowhere near where he used to be. His appetite is now what I would call the smaller side of normal. Nobody looks at him having dinner and would guess he had surgery. So I know that the most drastic parts of this (like a liquid diet!) are phases you have to get through to get somewhere better. I feel nervous, too. I've never had surgery. I worry about complications. I'm hardly ever sick, so I sometimes think what if I'm trading decent health for problems? But realistically, problems are in my future. I've seen it in countless family members. The writing is on the wall. And the surgery is very safe. So for me, the risk is worth it. I've tried on my own long enough to know it isn't going to happen for me without this. And a BMI of 40 might not be as big as some people, but it's big enough to rob me of good health in my future. I really hope this helps at least give you some things to think about to help you make your decision. Wishing you all the best!

This is something you will need to tell your surgeon about & ask for their requirements. They will likely suggest you stop the blood thinner for a little while before (days not weeks I’d think). You’ll be given blood thinner injections immediately after your surgery for a period of time. They may even have you wearing a compression device for a day or so. Plus you’ll have to put on compression hosiery before the surgery & wear them for a week or so after. Make sure you get up and walk laps around your ward as soon as you’re able after your surgery: short walks frequently. Same when you get home. They may have you doing additional things because of your history. But make sure you ask your surgeon lots of questions about this. All the best.

Did your doctor give you a list of what was tolerated on the liquid diet? I would just follow what was suggested for the liquid diet phase. Each doctor has their own plan specialized for their patients. I had gastric bypass and had to do a full one week of protein, water and decaf tea. My friend who had the sleeve also did a full one week liquid diet but also was allowed one low cal meal.

I did the 4 wk liver shrinking, it wasn’t a problem for me. I couldn’t eat anything just my protein drinks 800 cal. Some Bariatric Drs don’t do 4 wks just 1 to 2 wks I did 4 weeks befor and 2 wks after

first off, @newbegining2024, you will have zero complaints from me, food porn is my favourite kind of porn, ha! re: food funerals, like @Arabesque, i didn't really have time (or thought) to have one. i had postponed my surgery twice in the year and a half prior deciding to finally (again) go through with it. I called my surgeon to say, lets do it in early to mid september 2018, and he booked me in for surgery in a little over a month later for October 2018. I got into tunnel-vision like mode of like, "Lets GOOOO!" while i didn't do any specific diet prior to the 2 week liquid diet before surgery, i DID make conscious efforts NOT to stuff myself or eat mindlessly. i did this for about 2-3 weeks, and didn't lose any weight, interestingly enough. then it was time for my 2 week liquid pre-diet of 3 protein shakes a day. and since i'm a self-proclaimed over-achiever😂, by the end of week 1 i was doing 2 shakes a day, and by mid week 2 i was down to 1 shake a day. yes, i know i was NOT supposed to do this, but i just wanted to prove to myself that i could for some reason (i blame the tunnel vision). again, interestingly enough, i lost 11 lbs. fast forward 5 and half years and life is good, i'm skinny, healthy, happy, and full of energy. i also eat whatever i want...in fractions of amounts i used to, of course. and we aren't just talking salads (though i do LOVE salads!), and boiled fish. i will order items displayed in that awesome spread that @newbegining2024 shared. i eat bread and pasta and fatty steaks, deep fried whatever, chips, bacon, pizza, cheese, alcohol and yes, even desserts. JUST IN VERY SMALL PORTIONS (and yes, i also eat steamed vegetables, grilled lean meats, greek yogurt, and a ton of water). i guess what i'm trying to say is that you don't have to say good bye to your fave foods forever. good luck! ❤️

There is a new video from Dr. Weiner on the Pound of Cure YouTube channel just posted today updating his now 10-year-old video on post-op eating. This applies to the first several weeks, up through about 3 months. So if you're at the stage of reintroducing foods and trying to hit water and protein goals and want a little extra guidance or reassurance, (or if you are pre-op and want a great reference for later) give it a watch:

As always, you say exactly what needs to be heard. Thank you Yes, I've been struggling with body dysmorphia for a while now. I was having a hard time not seeing 421 pound me, even as I hit goal after goal. Now, I see stick thin, too skinny me. It's like a never ending roller coaster that I can't get off of. But I'm going to wait 2 weeks, then weigh myself again and see where I'm at. And I'm going to pay close attention to how I feel, how I look in my clothes, and how they fit me. Thanks again for everything you said.

Ty! Yes we are! Some of that weight loss was pre-surgery, lost about 26# since surgery. I feel really good actually. a) I too need to stop eating before I’m too full like so many others here, I’m having a hard time with that. b) I was super nauseous for the first 3 weeks or so but was lucky in that my surgeon gave me Zofran for it. My Dr. cleared me to eat whatever (as long as it’s healthy) I want after my 1 month follow up and so far so good. My new favorite food is canned chicken crust pizza I make. It’s soooo yummy and gives me tons of protein intake with just one piece. c) I’m definitely feeling the stalls, I’ve had 2 (one currently) which is what makes me come see how y’all are doing and then I realize it’s not just me so that makes me feel better. It’s just so annoying bc I typically eat about 750-900 cal a day and my brain just doesn’t want to get why the weight doesn’t just drop off 🤣. I think it thinks I’m starving to death 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 d) I have on occasion gotten super hungry which I hate. I was so hoping that feeling was permanently gone but 🤷🏼‍♀️. It’s only happened to me 2 or 3 times so maybe I was dehydrated? That’s what I’m telling myself for now. I also have a hard time getting 64 ounces of fluid in but I try. And going back to the nausea thing….i just had a couple of suggestions that I’ve tried and have helped me, but of course ev1 is different. Even the thought of protein shakes now make me want to vomit, I do everything I can to avoid having to drink them. I try to hit 60-80 gm of protein a day. I eat a lot of tuna, chicken, Greek yogurt, the Only Bean roasted edamame beans and chicken pizza crust pizza. And use liquicel if I need a protein boost before breaking down and having a shake. I don’t ever take my vitamins on an empty stomach, I always eat light and fit Greek yogurt first. water makes me nauseated now. So I very rarely drink plain water. I usually drink decaf unsweetened iced tea and now add Mio to my water but I’m trying to integrate the plain water back in, I think it’s just some kind of weird mental block. And just keep in mind that dehydration itself can cause fatigue and nausea! Of course so can the vitamins were all taking 😂 Sorry for the vvvveeerrryyyyyy long post guys! And thanks again for all y’all’s unknown help. I wish ev1 the best on their weight loss journey!

That was sweet of her, I hope you guys kept in touch. I mean even if my bf doesn't say anything, I ask him things like if this changed or is that is noticeable, ect. I've already landed myself back in the hospital once due to critically low potassium and the symptoms I had were obvious. So now I'm trying to be more aware so I can spot signs earlier. But yeah I do have to keep in mind that it could seem rude to say something without me bringing it up first. I just saw my therapist and after I said I had surgery, she said I could tell by your collarbones (its a televisit so the view is just to mid shoulder). You're so right about the body dysmorphia! I'm trying to find a balance between: not being obsessive about how much or quickly I'm losing and remembering to appreciate even the smallest change. I've never really taken pics or measurements even prior to surgery, but I did buy this body fat scale I saw another bariatric patient suggest. I am taking the information with a grain of salt, but it is satisfying to see the numbers trend downwards. Aside from that, it is strange to have to tighten my shorts and be able to wear shirts that are a size smaller. I don't want to celebrate too early then hit a stall/weight gain and spiral. But the idea of being able to wear that one dress that's been sitting in my closet?? Talk about a dream come true! Did you go out and strut when you got to that point?

Nah, I haven't had any issues with this post-op once I was past the nausea phase 3 months out. And OMG sex is so much better with less weight on your body! My boobs don't try to suffocate me quite as much... 😂 Maybe your tummy is just having an emo week? Go to bland foods for a few days to see if it settles down. I always revert back to plain foods when mine gets cranky pants, it seems to do the trick.

Yeah, I would just keep an eye on portion size to avoid overdoing it early on. I have a couple of favorite cookbooks out of all of the ones that I've bought (because I always overdo everything). They are: The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook by Dr. Matthew Weiner (a bariatric surgeon), and Bariatric Meal Prep Made Easy by Kristin Willard (a registered dietician who specializes in bariatric nutrition). I would 100% recommend both of them and you can get them on Amazon. I like Dr. Weiner's book because he gives you what serving size to expect at different stages post-op. For instance, there's a chickpea curry with riced cauliflower. If you're at 1-3 months post op, your suggested serving is 2 tbsp curry and 2 tbsp cauli (which is 1/4 cup total). If you are 3 months to 2 years, it's 1/4 cup of each. If you are 2 years or more, it's 1 cup curry and 1/2 cup cauli. What I like is that it normalizes the reality that you start with really small portions and naturally eat more over time. I see so many people getting so nervous because they are hungrier at 1 year than they were at 1 month, and it's like yes, that's what is supposed to happen! I wish this book had the nutrition facts spelled out for all three portion sizes, not just the largest, because my math sucks with fraction. And I wish it had more photos, although the ones it does have are very nice and the overall quality of the book is high. What I like about Kristin Willard's book is it gives you 6 full-week meal plans and is meant for doing prep ahead, grab-and- go types of meals that you portion out in advance. Also, it is gorgeously illustrated with full-color photos for every single recipe. There is one weekly menu for purees, one for soft foods, and 4 for normal diet. They even include a shopping list for each weekly plan. In my opinion, (comparing to my surgeon's plan and what I see in Dr. Weiner's book) the suggested portion sizes are geared toward a patient who is 1-2 years post-op, so bear that in mind. You would probably get twice as many servings out of each recipe in the first year, and up to 4x the servings in the first few months. And of course both books are likely to have specific foods at a stage that your own program disagrees with, so you have to adjust accordingly. I'm also going to give an honorable mention to The Easy 5-ingredient Bariatric Cookbook by Megan Wolf, a registered dietician and bariatric specialist. The book loses marks for the lack of photos but gains marks for its stage specific portion size suggestions and for all the recipes being really easy to pull-off without buying out your entire supermarket for ingredients. The author is based in Manhattan, and these are definitely recipes you could accomplish with a tiny NYC kitchen and limited cooking skills. Honestly, if I had a friend going through WLS, I would probably give all three of these as a gift, along with a set of small (4 oz and 8-12oz) freezer safe food storage containers. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm already doing all those things. I get 60-90 grams of protein a day (I'm a DS patient so my protein requirement is higher), I am getting all my water in daily, I'm walking when I can, and doing anything physical that is safe for this stage of my healing. Truly, there is nothing I can do to break the stall. Stalls break when they are ready. This is my body recalibrating. It is discouraging but I'm trying to be patient. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and the body needs down time to rest and recover and recalibrate so we can move forward. The best thing I can do right now is stay the course so I don't give it anything new to have to adjust to! LOL I'm one month post op today!! So happy with that. My healing is going well. I'm still nauseous on and off, especially in the morning, but other than that I feel good. My incisions are almost invisible already. No more soreness in the muscles of my abdomen. I still can't lift much yet but I'm being very careful about that because I don't want a hernia. I can sleep on my side again. I'm getting the hang of estimating what portions of what foods I can eat without measuring cups. I still think anything resembling chicken breast is vile and dry and a concrete block in my tummy. But I can get all different sorts of protein drinks in now when I need them!! Aaaand my partner bought us an espresso machine for Christmas so I can have my favorite espresso drinks decaf with my high protein Fairlife milk!! That's true love man...

I am waking at night with naseau or reflux (kind of trying to figure out which it is). Has ANYONE experienced this? I’m praying that it’s nothing serious because the whole reason I had the revision surgery was for bad erosions that wouldn’t heal from acid reflux (after the sleeve). had an endoscopy two weeks ago and have another scheduled In May THANK U FOR SHARING/your time

hmmm...you could always try it, and, if it doesn't work for you say, after 3-4 weeks, then just go back to what DOES work? or, if it's causing you too much angst, and your current M.O. is not causing you any issues (which sounds like it isn't), why fix what ain't broke? there is no one-size fits all prescription...find out what works for you and go with that. good luck! ❤️

Wow. Maybe the surgeon, nurses, and dieticians didn't go over any of this with me because they were focused on fixing my nausea and pain? But I'm going to have to ask a lot of questions on my next followup in a few weeks. "Reframing" is the perfect way to put it! Now, how to figure out how to do that 🤔...

Hi! I just got sleeved on June 7th and am a little over a week post-op! I was very nervous because I had never been under general anesthesia so I had an irrational fear that it wouldn’t work on me, lol. The surgery went very well and the recovery is not as bad as I thought! The worst part were the gas pains that lasted about 3 days, but I feel significantly better now. My one tip: get a heating pad!!! Good luck to everyone! If anyone got sleeved on the same day as me/around the same time lmk, I would love some bari-buddy twins :)

I totally understand how you feel. I started 2 week liquid diet (3 protein shakes and jello) on Dec 13th. Had my surgery on Dec 27th, then 3 days clear broth, and am now back on 2 week liquid diet (4 protein shakes and jello). I can not wait til the 14th when I move to softs.

your experience so far is VERY similar to what mine was (BMI wise, at least - as i am much shorter than you). we were both BMI 43-ish at start. we were both BMI 40-ish on surgery day. we were both BMI 30-ish at 14 weeks (yes, i tracked all my stats religiously and have all the records, ha!) so if there is anything we could glean from this series of coincidences (which, by the way, there ISN'T, because we are totally different people, and my experience is totally different and separate from yours, yada, yada), we can at the very least say that what you are looking for is POSSIBLE, since you seem to be travelling the same trajectory as i did, and yes, i got to BMI 25 (your goal) by my one year anniversary. To be more specific, i got to BMI 25 just a little after my 6 month post-op mark (6 months + 1 week to be exact) you're doing great. keep doing what you are doing and you'll keep losing until you don't (i also lost 2-ish lbs a week after the first 2 months...seriously we are like weight loss twins) many have said it before, and i'll say it again, losing the weight is the easy part (comparatively). keeping it off is where the harder work comes in. p.s. i am now past my 5½ year post op mark and i have maintained a BMI 21-22 since reaching goal almost 5 years ago. cross my fingers this continues, but i am not so ignorant that i actually believe i will be this weight forever...though i am definitely enjoying it while i am.

Strange isn't it, maybe it's because we're not eating as much as we was ? , when I came out of hospital I recovered so quickly, I had no pain, I didn't even need to stay in over night because I was doing so well , now a couple of months have passed I feel so week, hopefully you will feel better soon and hopefully I will too!