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You've got this! You definitely haven't stretched anything out. The first few weeks figuring everything out is tough and it's pretty easy to freak yourself out. I will say that once you start eating real/solid foods, you'll notice that you get full VERY quick. A word of warning - Eat SLOWLY ... as in VERY slowly. Otherwise, you will generally feel absolutely miserable. I'm just over 3 years out and I can pretty easily drink and eat at the same time, so don't worry about that part. In the beginning, it's much harder to do. Only other warning I might give you is to be careful with grazing throughout the day. It can be a slippery slope to take what was (pre-surgery) a normal size meal for you and eat on it all day (been there/done that) thinking that you're only eating a little bit at a time. It can quickly add up in calories and sabatoge you.

Congrats on the 16 years of success! As we get older, our metabolism likes to mess with us, haha, but this is common. My surgeon told me that after a while, some weight regain will occur, but the best way to restart things is to redo your pre-op diet for 2 weeks, just to jumpstart things. His plan is at least try to get 64oz of water a day, start with 2 protein shakes for the two meals a day where you typically eat less. On the "big meal" each day, try to get in 6 oz of meat/protein of your choice along with as much leafy greens/broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers as you can. Cut out breads, starchy veggies (potatoes, carrots, etc) for the 2 week duration. Target 60g-80g of protein, and under 50g of carbs per day (not quite keto levels, just reduced). Calorie target was around 600-1000 per day, but it is meant to be temporary and not long term, just a jump start. From my personal experience, sugar/starchy carbs tend to send my cravings off the deep end for up to 3 days after eating them. I'm having to avoid bread, cookies, cake, candy, tortillas, wraps, potatoes, carrots, rice, and oatmeal whenever I start to regain. Some artificial sweeteners seems to set me off too, but I am a recovering Type 2 diabetic. I haven't isolated which ones affect me yet, but I can drink Fairlife protein shakes without having that sugar craving, and it has Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Sucralose. First day is absolute hell, but after 3 days it eases up considerably. Give that a try for 2-3 weeks and see if that helps with the weight loss. After that time, start working in your normal foods again, but give them a few days to see if any are triggering the new weight gain to happen again to see what's worth keeping. Slowly increase your calories to find the amount that works best for you long term. You want the range that lets you have the energy you need without weight gain. Some people may be only 1000 calories, others 1200, and others may be closer to 1800, so there's no exact number that works for every single person. Good luck, and I wish you well on your journey!

As @summerseeker was told, 65% or so weight loss is about the average excess weight loss for Roux-en-Y (RNY). Personally, I find such averages to be next to useless. I'm not average. Heck, it's axiomatic that the average person is not average. At any rate, what to expect. My plan is forever. From day 1 post-op I was intent that I would never be on a weight loss diet ever again. My plan is foods I enjoy that fit my life goals. No crash diets. No counting calories, carbs, or whatever. No weighing myself at home. Working out is one of those things everyone agrees needs to be done which I didn't do. Ever. There is nothing like exercising for it's own sake. No thanks. I did do a lot of walking, what my spouse and I call 'people watching.' When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5K. I did a plan similar to "Couch to 5K" (C25K). When I got to 5k I realized I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. I started binge running. Running was a time just for me, that I could contemplate the coming day and listen to audiobooks. A great start or end to a day. Long story short, I ended up running 5 marathons. That is something I never thought I'd do. I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Extra skin for me was inevitable. My deflated stomach hung way down. To a lesser extent all the places one would expect extra skin I had it. I started with an Abdominoplasty, after which a bleeding disorder almost killed me. No more elective surgeries for me. So I've had to get used to things as they are. Not the end of the world. What life is like now. I've been my current weight for about 17 years which is a weight loss of a bit over 500 pounds. I am still happily eating to plan. Some of the things I wanted to do after I lost weight I didn't end up doing. Other things I never thought about I thoroughly enjoy. Mostly, things just got easier. Good luck, Tek

Has anything changed? New medication? Lifestyle change? Has a little complacency slipped in? Not as active? You’ve been through Thanksgiving & Christmas recently could they have contributed? Go back to tracking your food & fluids to check you’re meeting goals. Go back to how you were eating before you reached your lowest weight in regards to portion sizes, calories, macros, etc. Protein first, then vegetables & finally only if you’re able any carbs you’re allowed. Check in with your dietician to ensure you’re not missing something. Remember not everyone reaches their goal. The average weightloss at the three year mark is 65% of the weight you would need to lose to put you in a healthier range. You’ve got this.

I platued after 6 months and started logging my calories in an app called MyFitnessPal. It can help to meet with your doctor or nutritionist to set goals for the day including macros and calories. It'll get you back on track along with any other guidelines they want to give you. Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

I platued after 6 months and started logging my calories in an app called MyFitnessPal. It can help to meet with your doctor or nutritionist to set goals for the day including macros and calories. It'll get you back on track along with any other guidelines they want to give you. Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

I had my surgery a day after you!!! I was also completely out of it for a few days. Haven’t vomited since the first day of the operation though. I weighed myself after a week and had lost 5lbs but I lost 20lb doing the LRD which was pure liquids for 3 weeks before my op!! I had a call from the surgeon today that said to not focus on weight for the first few weeks as it will constantly go up and down and then start to properly shift and stall and shift again when incorporating more textures and calories! I can have puréed food from next Tuesday. how are you incisions healing? I have a really awkward one that feels like a dent but it’s slowly getting there!!! hope your recovery goes well x

3 years out for me and weighed myself this morning.... UGH - 10lbs up. Funny, as soon as I weighed myself, I thought of this forum and this was one of the first posts I saw. I think we lose the weight, get comfortable, and "forget" the WHY and HOW we got here. Something I heard over the holidays: "Wow, I am so proud of you for keeping the weight off" - Me thinking: (as I'm drinking a high calorie cocktail).... I'm pretty much a failure at the moment.... Here's the reality - I lost the weight, got comfortable, quit tracking, eating whatever and whenever I want - Results: 10lbs weight gain. For me, the trick seems to be: Be a slave to the scale, TRACK TRACK TRACK. and get back into this forum. Tracking and weighing seems to be the only way I don't lie to myself (as if my clothes don't tell me...). Get back on the forum and remind myself daily of what I need to do vs. what I want to do. Going to try and get back to the basics: fluids and protein - skip the boredom/stress snacking and nix the alcohol. Thanks for these posts and knowing we aren't alone in this journey!

I highly recommend looking at the videos on the Pound of Cure channel on You Tube, which go into detail about how to eat to lower your body's metabolic setpoint. Foods that are ultra-processed and high carb push your body's setpoint, the weight it wants to maintain, higher, where nutrient dense foods like leafy green vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds, make your body want to maintain a lower weight. As I have been preparing for surgery, I found the Pound of Cure book on Amazon and implemented many of the basic changes it recommends, such as cutting out processed foods, breads, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, and eating more vegetables, fruits, and beans. I lost 15 pounds in around 3 months without counting calories or ever feeling hungry. And I can also say that in the past several weeks, as the holiday treats have infiltrated my house, I have not been as good about eating that way, and to no one's surprise, my weight has shifted upward. I will be returning to better nutrition as soon as the last of the ham, sweet potatoes, and pie from Christmas dinner is out of the house! I recommend starting with these videos that I've linked below (and then, if you're like me, binge watching the rest of Dr. Weiner's channel). I find his advice to be a common sense approach to nutrition that you should be able to implement long-term without a lot of pain. Hope this helps!

The reason for erratic weigh-ins (and the infamous three-week stall) is that in the early stages of running a sustained calorie deficit, your body does not burn much fat. Your body worked hard to store fat and considers it a precious commodity that it does not want to part with for no reason. For extra energy to make up for a lack of calories in the short term, your body first burns glycogen. 1 gram of glycogen is bound with 3 grams of water, so as you burn it for fuel, you also flush out this water weight. Only when the glycogen reserve is used up does your body turn to burning fat. The first few weeks after surgery, you were probably lucky to get in 600 calories per day. Your body was burning glycogen like crazy. When the numbers first dropped on the scale, that was almost entirely water weight. Now that you're a couple weeks out, you're allowed to have some pureed food, and you can probably get closer to your protein goals with your shakes. With a few extra calories coming in (still nowhere close to what you need every day to power your bodily functions), your body is at least reassured you are not in imminent danger of starvation. It's taking a look at your empty glycogen reserves with horror and doing its best to fill them back up with the calories you are giving it, like a squirrel storing up acorns for winter. For every gram of glycogen your body puts into the storage cupboard, you've got 3 grams of water tagging along for the ride. Meanwhile, you can rest assured that your body is also burning fat to keep your engines running. However, when you step on the scale, it can't really tell you that you've burned 4 pounds of fat and also stored 7 pounds of glycogen and water. It's just going to tell you that you've gained 3 pounds. But you've done nothing wrong. This is your body doing what evolution programmed it to do since humans lived in caves and constantly had to battle short-term food shortages. Once you've restocked that glycogen, you'll start being able to see the fat loss on the scale again, and in your measurements. As long as you keep doing what you're supposed to do, your weight will move in the right direction. But not as a straight line. Weight loss looks a lot more like a staircase with drops and plateaus, and a lot of small fluctuations that have nothing to do with fat. Try not to let it drive you crazy!

Nope you didn't ruin anything. Your journey will be all ups and downs and it is really best to get used to it. Throw in lots of stalls and you will be worrying like crazy if you don't believe your teams advice. You should be in a calorie deficit. Once you are on real whole foods as against puree your restriction will kick in big time. Then you will be on reduced calories again because you just can not eat much. You could have gained three pounds because of a few reasons. Have you been eating salty foods, Having a really stressful time, Have a full bowel or is it just the time of the month.

In my first 3 weeks I lost 16lbs too. My BMI was way more than yours and I could eat next to nothing as I had severe swelling on my internal scar. Hang in there, do the plan. This is not a race. Give yourself at least a year to loose the weight. This surgery is more about keeping your restriction going and eating less in the future so you never get obese again. Thats my goal. Log your calories and protein. Stick with what ever your team have said. They know what they are doing.

You’ve just had a major surgery that has about a 8 week recovery so feeling low in energy, weak, lethargic, etc. is pretty normal. Remember you are consuming calories (just drinking them not eating them) & your body is burning your stored energy which you want it do. Try adding an electrolyte drink as one of your fluids for an energy boost. They can be sweet so I diluted mine - doubled the water added. I used hydralite & would sip it with my other liquids throughout the day. Listen to your body, rest if you need to & pace yourself through the day.

I started the eating out once a week after my honeymoon. I kept it reasonable, but it gave me something to look forward to and variety (and taste). When I started getting hungry again I took out the high calorie low protein nuts (which I added because they told me to go from 800 to 1200 calories when I wasn't even able to consume 800 yet and upped me to 100g of protein from 80) and a scoop of protein powder (high protein, low cal) and added in peanut butter toast, raison toast and another serving of ham. I don't mind eating the same thing every day when I'm at home because it's easier. If you put all your food in a spreadsheet and figure out the calories and protein per ounce, then you can switch it around easier if you need a change. Once I met my goal they told me to add 100-200 calories a day to stop my weight loss. I added in the daily cheat. I still have my spreadsheet, meal plan and measure everything, but when I eat out I can't figure the calories and protein, so I just count it as a meal and a cheat and watch my weight. My weight stayed within 1 pound of my goal weight for over a month when I was going to Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and going out with friends. I've lost another 2 pounds in the last month since I was not going out much. I'm OK with losing a little more weight for now even though I like the way I look at my goal weight because I know most people gain a little back, but I will have to maintain my weight after I get the skin removal surgery next month, so I will probably watch my weight and add in more fruits and vegetables. I'll still count the calories so I can figure out how many I need and make sure I get my protein, but at least I won't have to cram in high protein for EVERYTHING. I saw a different nutritionist when I went in earlier this month and she was surprised my regular nutritionist had told me to avoid fruit and only eat 2 servings of veggies a day. I told her I thought it was because she wanted me to get extra protein due to not being able to exercise much because of my back issues and fruit isn't a protein source. Note, if you get too much protein, your farts smell really bad.

This /l\ sounds more reasonable and something I can live with! How long have you been doing this? When you met your goal or beforehand? I keep my calories at 800 or less (4 months post op) my protein between 75 and 80 grams - nothing crosses my lips without extra protein added including my crystal light (the only thing I allow myself with processed chemicals because I don't like plain water it makes me gag) , carbs 25 or less, no/low sugar, non-fat or no fat, no sodium, no processed additives and mostly organic etc.. Etc.. I think I'm just being overly strict and controlling with my food intake which is making me grumpy and sick of the whole thing. I will try to incorporate some of your ideas - thank you.

there really isn't much - if anything - you can do about hair loss. It's due to your body's shock reaction to major surgery, and that's already happened (well it's the shock - plus the fact we're taking in a very limited amount of calories those first few months).. The shock speeds up the normal shedding/regrowth cycle. Some things can help with regrowth, but there's not much you can do about the shedding. Although not everyone loses hair, and some lose so little that others don't notice it - so you may luck out. (I lost very little - I'm sure no one noticed - I barely noticed - I just knew about it since there were more hairs than usual in my combs and brushes)

I hate to cook too and still struggle to get as much water in as they want. I do get the minimum 48oz/day but don't always make the 64oz they want. I was so glad to stop eating cottage cheese and yogurt! I scoured the grocery isles for food that looked good and was easy to make (Or better, didn't require making). I have to admit I got a little bit of attitude about my diet when I was ALMOST, but not quite, meeting their calorie and water goals, telling them that I was struggling, and they scolded me and raised my goals. I have a spreadsheet that calculates calories and protein from every food I get with a nutrition label and buy low fat, low sugar foods so the calorie and protein count meets my goal. I got a frown from my nutritionist when I told her I eat ham every day, but I gave her a "look" and told her my calorie and protein goals were being met and she refrained from scolding me. I buy Kentucky Legend Bonless Quarter Sliced Ham because it doesn't have lunchmeat texture and I can just weigh out my portion and eat it cold. I got another frown when I told them I eat beef jerky, but reminded them that 100g of protein is hard to do, jerkey is low calorie and high protein, and I chew it VERY well and spit out gristle. If they have to cut a ball of gristle out of my stomach, then I'll stop eating beef. I switched nuts for peanut butter toast when I started getting hungrier. I eat a lowfat sharp cheddar with crackers. Quaker makes a protein Banana Nut Instant Oatmeal. I also eat 1/2 Atkins Chicken Margherita or Healthy Choice Simply Steamers Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo (1/2 is less than my 6 oz, but it's easier to just take half and eat the other half the next day and the math is easier too). Those 2 were the best my WalMart carries for frozen food Calorie/Protein ratio that I also liked. For an added vegetable I eat 2oz canned french style green beans with 1/2 oz Velveta low fat cheese heated in the microwave. Tyson makes a fajita chicken that microwaves well if you put a dollop of water on the plate. Turkey bacon doesn't really satisfy my bacon cravings, but turkey sausage is really good. If I'm craving sweets I'll eat a Quaker Caramel Rice Cake or a few dark chocolate chips. Luckily I crave salt, not sweets, and the salt cravings have almost gone away. If I'm going to be away from home for a few hours I pack an insulated lunch bag with a serving of ham, cheese and crackers, and jerkey to take with me. If I'm going to be gone for a day or longer I pack my food in bags and a cooler. I got married a little more than 3 months after my surgery and ate what I wanted at my wedding and during the honeymoon, I just kept the servings really small and took protein with me to make sure I still got enough protein and because I needed to eat more than 3 times a day. After that, I allowed myself one meal out each week, eating my 6oz and taking the rest home. Hubby ate most of the leftovers. After I reworked my diet to include tastier, real food, I switched my protein powder to a Collagen with the added missing amino acid. It mixes best with warm or hot liquids and was approved by my nutritionist. I still use 2 scoops a day, 1 with my protein oatmeal and 1 with my sugar free hot apple cider. I met my goal weight at 7 months, just in time for a Halloween party, and I allow myself a small cheat almost every day (my nutritionist told me to add 100-200 cal per day to stop losing weight and i decided to add a tasty snack rather than rework my diet). I watch my weight to make sure I'm not overdoing it. If I eat out, that's my cheat and it replaces a meal. I order what I want and ask for a container BEFORE the food is served so I can pack away all but 6oz before I start to eat. Some cheats aren't really cheats. I've added in apples, pineapple, strawberries and mango. Breyers Carb Smart Fudge Bars have 50 calories, 3g fat, 2g sugar (0 added), and 1g protein. It's only a cheat because of the low protein/cal ratio. Pure Protein bars could be a meal substitute instead of a cheat and have 180-200 cal, 3-4.5g fat, 2-3g sugar, and 19g protein. I like the Chocolate Salted Caramel that's a little chewy and the Chocolate Mint cookie, which has more of a grainy (cookie) texture but tastes really good. At a party, I may eat a bag of chips (~150cal), or I may give in and eat a single Reese's cup (105 cal). OK, maybe a bag of chips AND a single Reese's cup, I'm weak. Dot's Seasoned Pretzels have 130cal per oz. An entire bag of buttered flavored popcorn has 150cal (DO NOT LICK THE BAG). It's nice to eat something tasty and not worry about if it has enough protein. I just had my 9 month bloodwork done, it's all fine.

I had mine almost two weeks ago. Lots of protein drinks (breakfast and lunch) and then a low calorie low fat dinner. I start it on December 28th (day after my birthday). Surgery is January 10th.

How many calories are you getting in a day. Once I got to around 800 a day and got my protein and liquids in, then I began to really pick up

at the time I wanted to be normal-sized so badly that I knew I had to do whatever it took - and I made it. But you'll eventually be able to eat most/all of those foods again. All my food restrictions were dropped once I hit the six-month mark (although I still was very careful about what I ate until I hit maintenance - I didn't want to blow it after all that work!!). But now if I want something, I'll eat it - but I'm careful to eat small portions of high-calorie foods and/or make choices if several things are calling my name (instead of eating all of them, like I used to do). Sometimes I do splurge - but I know if I do that for more than a day or two, my weight will start heading north again. That keeps me in line.. And honestly, the way I have to do it now isn't any different than the way many of my never-been-obese women friends eat. They monitor what and how much they're eating, make choices when confronted with many not-so-healthy treats calling their name (instead of eating them all), recover quickly from the occasional splurge, etc. They have to or they'd probably end up looking like I used to. It's work - but unfortunately it's what most people have to do.

Me. This. I was so disabled that I could just about hoover a room and then rest for the day. I would gasp just standing to iron a shirt. Cooking I did sat down as much as I could. I was supposed to be my husbands carer but more and more he was having to help me. It took me some time to get the right amounts of protein in so that I didn't feel tired but I slowly got there. Then it was like having a new battery pack in me. Super charged. What ever I want to do is so easy now. No wheezing, no hammering heart or palpitations It feels as if I have been given a huge gift. I walk everywhere I can because its such a pleasure. Occasionally I overdo it and the day after I know about it. I think this has a lot to do with having Fibromyalgia not the lack of calories.

I'm having a food slump! I in no way get the water in each day I'm supposed too.. I'm not thirsty and to be honest I really hate going to the restroom 20+ times a day IF I do get close to the required 64+ oz a day. Plus, I don't understand why I need to, I didn't drink that much beforehand, so I don't understand why suddenly having a smaller stomach requires a sudden huge mandatory increase in water consumption!? Plus, I am sooooooooooooooooooo burnt out on the same foods over and over and yes over. I detest eggs (always have) and have always preferred something like avocado toast for breakfast and a cup of coffee. I detest cooking so I tend to eat the same thing every single day - something I can cook in quantity. Lately its been turkey chili with added protein powder. Chicken breast with veggies is boring/bland... Then there's the chicken of the sea - white fish with veggies..again just not my thing. So, I just eat the same thing over and over. I have to admit, I miss sauces, thai noodles and pizza and foods I can dip! I have a food texture problem so it leaves quite a few things off my plate..plus I'm hypersensitive to carbs - racing heart feeling jittery so I eat very low carb (under 25) low sugar, low calorie in other words low taste (to me anyway). I do what I have to to lose the weight and become healthy.. But its taken a lot of joy out of life, the holidays just plain suck now...all the family traditions came to a stop because of me (we used to all get our favorite restaurant dishes and share pot luck style for New Years), bake cookies with a Cookie exchange (no one wants my healthy protein balls - I eat them because I need protein, not because they're great tasting). I know I'm suppose to eat for fuel, but, we all eat for joy - if people didn't there wouldn't be different foods, cooking styles and spices, we eat at get togethers, social times, celebrations - I can't and don't want to inflict my eating restrictions/requirements on everyone else. I fight that siren song and battle it every week, anyone else? Anyone have any reasonable suggestions? (I added reasonable because my dietician suggests things like - " you want crunchy "eat a celery stick" you want noodles try palm noodles..etc. NOT even close. I think dieticians in bariatric clinics should have been a bariatric patient themselves so they'd understand their suggestions suck. Perhaps I'm asking if anyone else is or has gone through this...slump.....I find its easier to just not eat than eat another healthy bland boring food. Sorry for the rant.

Just wanted to follow up on a few things from the post above: 1. DS patients do not typically experience dumping syndrome. We maintain our pylorus valve during the sleeve part of the surgery, so we dump at the same rate as the non-surgical population. 2. Bypass patients have about a 30% chance of dumping, lower if they avoid the food behaviors that trigger it. For all but a few it is a manageable phenomenon. 3. Diabetes goes into remission MUCH more frequently with Bypass and DS patients because of the alterations to the small intestines. As do most other co-morbidities. 4. I don't personally view my DS surgery as "punishing". My body has done nothing wrong. I feel no need to punish it. I personally don't have emotional eating issues but I don't judge those that do, nor do I think it is a reason to punish the body... Having my small intestines rerouted was not a punishment. It was a BLESSING! My fasting blood sugars normalized within 24 hours of surgery. So did my high blood pressure. I'm not on medication for either one. I'm currently 7 weeks post op. I consider remission of those two conditions to be a modern medical miracle... I didn't choose the DS to be harsh to my body. I picked it because it had the best chance of restoring my health and keeping the weight off long term. My surgeon put it best "You have a metabolic disorder. You need a metabolically potent surgery. The DS is the most potent one available..." My bowels habits have changed, but nothing unmanageable. I have to watch my carbs, that's no different than before surgery. I no longer have to count calories because I malabsorb a portion of them. I'm at risk of vitamin deficiencies if I don't take my vitamins, that to me is no different than risking a blood sugar or blood pressure emergency from not regularly taking my meds pre-surgery. Nothing about this process is free. There are always trade offs. Any GI issues that occur with the DS can also happen with Bypass, including vitamin and protein deficiencies. But protein and vitamin deficiencies are also possible with sleeve patients. They may happen at different rates, but they are unusual across the board. As are serious complications. Gallbladder failure can happen with ANY surgery. It is caused by the rapid weight loss and low fat diet many adhere to post surgery. It is not unique to the DS or Bypass. I don't think DS and Bypass patients are choosing to punish themselves because they pick these surgeries. They pick these surgeries because of their own individual medical challenges and what they need out of their surgery. Most of us are working to heal various dysfunctional relationships with our bodies, or with food, or both. None of us are exempt from that. These surgeries are ALL support tools, not a punishment for past misdeeds.

I see you consume most of your calories from processed and ultra processed foods. They tend to flow straight through us and don’t help with feeling full. I am also very tempted when my spouse brings junk food into our home, and sometimes I give in but I always try to eat only non processed foods. Chicken nuggets ultra processed, ramen ultra processed, cookies ultra processed, soda ultra processed and empty calories. It was really hard to start but it’s been over a year now and has become second nature now. Best of luck, don’t feel guilty about slipping once in awhile we all do every once and awhile, we just don’t do it every day.

It doesn't sound like it. I know that the amount sounds like a lot compared to the can-only-eat-three-spoons-of-pureed-food-and-even-less-when-solid crowd but the amounts is not what strikes me odd. If the foods you're listing are fairly typical for a day of eating you simply might be lagging nutrients. No fruits at all, only a little bit of vegetables. I'm not surprised. The sodium content of the foods you listed seems to be fairly high. Quick weight loss or weight gain usually almost includes some water retention. My weight can swing up to almost 1 kg within one day because of how much water I hold. You say you want to start tracking. Are you a person who likes to track food, a person who abhors it (raises both hands simultaneously here) or a person who is not a fan but in the end doesn't mind it? Tracking foods/calories/macros can help people - however, it could be that you can benefit from a different food selection without even having to write everything down you eat. How far out of surgery are you? Are the stats you're listing in your profile still correct?